Julio Fernandez
I was born in Havana, Cuba and grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey. I started playing guitar at the age of nine, my father being my first and most influential teacher. Although his roots were in traditional Cuban music he had a great jazz sensibility. I was always fascinated by his ability to take a simple tune, and turn it into something more harmonically & rhythmically complex. These were very valuable lessons.
Then came The Beatles. I think that when I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show, I knew I was going to be a musician. I would practice for hours every day and by the time I was in high school, I was playing with different local bands. I also got very involved with the school music program. Unfortunately, guitar was not offered in the program, so I started playing the tuba. I think it weighed more than I did at the time. I graduated in 1972 and went to Montclair State University, majoring in music. I continued playing the tuba in college but by the time I was in my second year I decided it was time to take a leave of absence and started making a living playing the guitar, working in bars all over the Tri-state area.
In the mid 70’s I took jazz workshops at “The Sound of Joy” music school in Manhattan and started honing in on jazz theory and improvisation. I also took a songwriting class at the School of Visual Arts with songwriter Lou Stallman and later became a staff writer for his company. Through my association with Lou I met a lot of people in the business, including Gerardo Velez, the percussionist for Spyro Gyra at the time. Gerardo and I hit it off and we started collaborating on various projects. In 1984, when Spyro Gyra was looking for a new guitarist, he got me an audition with the band. I remember being nervous, but I gave it all I had. The next day I received a call from the band’s manager Phil Brennan, and he told me the gig was mine. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
I’ve been working with Spyro Gyra for over 30 years and it’s been a rewarding experience. In addition to Spyro Gyra, I’ve played with other artists including Bernie Williams, Chuck Loeb, Dave Samuels, Phoebe Snow, Richie Cannata, David Broza, Eric Marienthal, BB King, Emanuel, Marion Meadows and many others. I’ve been part of the NYC area music scene for four decades and I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to do what I love most. As for the future, I hope I can continue living the dream.
I use Ronaldo Custom Guitars, Dean Marley Strings, Full Contact Hardware and Fender amplification. My effects consist of Line6 M9, Tech 21 Fly Rig, Boss Blues Driver (modded by Keeley) and various Fulltone pedals. For recording I also use a Gibson Les Paul, D’Aquisto New Yorker and Taylor and Seagull acoustics.
