SEAN YARBROUGH

Sean Yarbrough started playing guitar when he was 12 by sneaking onto his older brother’s 1973 Stratocaster every chance he got. When his brother saw Sean playing better than him he gave his kid brother the guitar. Sean grew up listening to massive doses of early Blues, Hendrix and Motown, followed by Rush, DEVO, XTC, The Scorpions, Blondie, The Ramones, and The Clash. At 14, Sean began studying withJoe Satriani, a masterful connection that would define and shape his own artistry.

As a Berkeley High student during the vibrant and colorful 1980’s, Sean would practice guitar at lunch and roadie for his friends’ band The Uptones. He played in several bands including Amadafair and Shy Hands who opened for The Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1986.  Sean co-founded the groundbreaking, alternative Bay Area band Black Pole with other former school friends.  The SF Guardian wrote, “Black Pole plays funk as though it were punk”, and fans were quoted saying, “ I don’t know what it is but I like it”.

Since then Sean has played hundreds of gigs throughout California including the Ralph Nader convention at the Henry J Kaiser auditorium with singer/songwriter LizAnah. Other bands included SWANK fronted by MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson, Bettie Black, Unity 5, and Electric Chair Repair Co. He’s covered just about every music genre: Rock, Pop, Funk, Post-Punk, Experimental, Jazz, and Reggae. He began teaching guitar in 1997 and recently took a master class with Mimi Fox at the California Jazz Academy.

Sean writes, composes, and produces solo works for film and performance art and does sound for youth school events. He’s working on an album titled Between Galaxies to be released in 2018 and currently plays with old friend Alzara Getz in her band Brother Spellbinder. He’s committed to sharing his musical expertise with aspiring young musicians in the Bay Area by teaching guitar, ukulele, bass, and vocals. Sean currently lives and teaches in Berkeley with his 10yr. old son.