Rocco Guarino is a record producer based in Nashville, TN. He's been entrusted by some of the biggest names in entertainment to produce music that demands attention and makes a statement.

 

What brought Rocco to his current path began in Hudson Valley, NY with his first guitar at the age of five. By fifteen, he was producing his band's music, and designing the artwork (on acid).

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Sweet sickteen found Rocco in drug rehab in Pinellas County, FL, where he got sober (for 20 years), then dove deep into songwriting. He recorded his first album in '98, which never got released. He then formed a band, and they did over a hundred shows in 2000, followed by a trip to Wichita to record their album in a basement. Like any good rock band, they broke up and never released the album.

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The call of the wild led Rocco to Los Angeles in 2002, where he landed the gig with Slash and Duff from Guns 'n Roses, as the official videographer and photographer for their rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. After two platinum albums and world tours, Rocco embraced his newfound passion for film, and directed his first music video, which reached #9 on VH1, followed by webisodes, promos, and documentaries featuring many of his idols (Elton John,, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Bono, Alicia Keys, Steven Tyler, Ringo Star, etc). He was nominated as Best Director for his first short film, and wrote two feature-length screenplays, while he continued to balance music and film production throughout the 00's.

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Obsessed with recording studios since childhood, Rocco has owned and worked at hundreds of them. Matt Sorum's (G'n'R) studio in West Hollywood was home for a while, as well as Gilby Clarke's (G'n'R) studio in the Hollywood Hills. In 2014 Rocco partnered with Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) to transform Lavish Studios from a private space into a commercial facility, while serving as A&R and Chief Engineer for Softdrive Records. In January of 2019 Rocco partnered with Rami Jaffee of Foo Fighters to serve as A&R and Chief Engineer of Fonogenic Studios. 

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In 2021 Rocco founded Starlite Records in Los Angeles, CA, Starlite was born out of a  frustration for too much great music left collecting digital dust. After years of working on projects that never saw the light of day, Rocco decided it was time to create a platform where talent would come first—and artists would never be left behind. 2023 saw him make the big move to Nashville, TN, where he produces, engineers, and mixes only good music.

 

Rocco is a songwriter signed to APM Music Publishing and has had placements on NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, IFC, E!, Hulu, Netflix, and many others. He's produced many indie rock bands, some featuring members of The Cult, Weezer, GnR, etc, and he's produced two American Idol finalists.

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Photography has been a lifelong passion for Rocco, and his photos have been featured in Billboard Magazine, Bass Player Magazine, Penthouse (the music section;-), Entertainment Magazine, retail packaging, album art, and outdoor billboard campaigns in NY and LA.

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Rocco is endorsed by some of the top brands in music, including Gibson Pro Audio, KRK Systems, Aston Microphones, Furman Power, Sandhill Microphones, Behringer, Cerwin-Vega, Rode Microphones, and ProCo Sound.

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Rocco’s interest in keeping the arts accessible to everyone led him to work with non-profits Adopt The Arts. Rocco continues to create in a variety of mediums, to tell stories that move the masses. He's obsessed with dogs (over 25 lbs), likes pineapple fried rice, and is a voting member of The Recording Academy (The Grammys).