Tony Pacheco has been playing guitar for over 15 years and has performed with local and international acts spanning genres from Rock, to Folk, to Adult Contemporary, to Rockabilly, to Power Pop. Although he appreciates the diversity of such styles, he is most at home with the loud and driving force of Automatic Rival. Tony has been a fan since the band’s inception in 2005, even though he auditioned and failed to secure a spot in the band at that time. Failure did not discourage him. Once he heard, “Guillotine,” he knew he it was only a matter of time and that moment arrived in 2008 when Jeff sent Tony a random, “How’s it going?” email. After a few “let’s see how it sounds” jams, 3 became 4 and Automatic Rival would become bigger, louder, and more in-your-face than before!
Tony plays a Custom Bumblebee Ibanez through a Blackstar Series One 200 and Fender cab loaded with Red Coat Governors and Patriot Swamp Thangs.