Don Lappin – Tapped In album cover.
Guitar virtuoso Don Lappin has just released Tapped In – an instrumental rock album featuring Steve Hunt (Allan Holdsworth, Billy Cobham, Stanley Clark) on keyboards, Joe Santerre (Jon Finn) on bass, and Chad Wackerman (Allan Holdsworth, James Taylor, Frank Zappa) on drums. A milestone release for the guitar world, Tapped In clocks in at just under an hour and is essential listening for fans of Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Guthrie Govan, and Steve Morse.
Don Lappin is renowned for his one-of-a-kind voice on his instrument, developed in part due to his unorthodox two-handed tapping technique. Paired with a keen sense of melody, the approach allows him to craft fretboard-spanning lines with a distinct fluidity that reminds the listener of a violin-like tone, rather than a traditional rock guitar growl.
Don first picked up the guitar at age seven and began playing professionally by age eleven with an original rock group in northeastern Ohio. The “Destroyers” gigged relentlessly and were voted into Ohio’s top 10 original acts in 1980. After relocating to New England in 1981, Don spent his teenage years with various teachers and bands before attending Berklee College of Music in January of 1990, where he went on to graduate “summa cum laude” with a Bachelor’s degree in performance.
Since then Don has shared the stage with the likes of Michael Sweet (lead singer for the multi platinum group Stryper), Jon Finn, Steve Hunt, Joe Stump, Joe Santerre, John Petrucci, drummer Jonathan Mover, and Guthrie Govan. He proudly endorses Ernie Ball Products, Dimarzio Pickups, FretWraps by GruvGear, MusicMan Guitars, and Engl Amplification.
In addition to teaching privately and via Skype, Don has been an in-demand professor in the guitar department at Berklee College of Music since 1997. He fronts his own instrumental rock band, “The Don Lappin Group” and is an active clinician and maintains a busy performance schedule throughout the year.
Find out more info about Don at DonLappinMusic.com, subscribe to his videos at Youtube.com/TappinLappin, and listen to Tapped In at donlappin.bandcamp.com.
