In the world of bass guitar there is not much Marco can’t do or hasn’t done. He has recorded and toured with some of the biggest names in the rock and music such as Blue Murder, John Sykes, David Coverdale, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Lynch Mob, Neal Schon, Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries, and The Dead Daisies.
Marco is a dynamic live performer who is equally at home at a huge stadium as a small jazz club. He can cover just about any musical style from jazz, fusion, world music, Latin groove to all out hard rock. In addition he is an accomplished vocalist who has written and recorded the highly acclaimed solo albums, ‘Viva La Rock’, ‘Live for Tomorrow’ and ‘Casa Mendoza’. He just recently released his fourth solo album ‘New Direction’ which has received rave reviews the world over. With the The Dead Daisies, he has recorded three studio albums (‘Revolución’ , ‘Make Some Noise’ and ‘Burn It Down’) and a live album ‘Live & Louder’. They also released a rockin’ album of covers, ‘Locked and Loaded’. They rocked stages from Cuba to Australia and everywhere in between. If all that wasn’t enough Marco is a true ambassador of music who always takes time to meet fans, do clinics, and give great interviews where he is always open and honest about where he has been and where he is going.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips had the pleasure of sitting down with Marco Mendoza to talk about his acclaimed career.
The interview was recorded for the NAMM Oral History Program, an archive of recordings of interviews with people from all aspects of the music products industry and includes everyone from Les Paul, Carol Kay, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock to Robby Krieger, Robbie Robertson, Hal Blaine, to Judy Collins and thousands more. https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history NAMM kindly allows Australian Musician to publish our own edit.
MARCO MENDOZA JOINS THE SATCH VAI BAND
A few days before we spoke to Marco it was announced that he would be fill the prestigious bass spot for Joe Satriani and Steve Vai in the Satch Vai band, alongside Kenny Aronoff on drums and Peter Thorn on guitar, touring Europe in June 2025.
Then came the choice for bassist, Vai says of the addition of Marco Mendoza in the band, “Marco is a bass phenomenon. With his 6-string fretless, his bass sings with perfect intonation and swooning vibrato. His wide, rich tone and masterful control of dynamics will bring a new dimension to our songs.”
With Satriani echoing, “Marco’s musicianship is boundless. He’s got a special magic to his bass playing; it’s both foundational and out front at the same time. Together with his exceptional singing voice and stage presence, he will be a driving force in our band.”
“I have to say that getting invited to be part of a great project like this is monumental for me personally! I know it’s going to be something very special and I can’t wait to get it started.” – Marco Mendoza