John McCarthy is a guitarist, author, educator and creator of the Rock House Method system of learning. Since 2001, The Rock House Method has sold more than three million instructional programs of which McCarthy writes, composes, and demonstrates in. In the past John has written columns for Guitar School magazine and starting June 2009, he began writing a monthly column titled “Metal Rising” in Guitar Player magazine.

As an educator

John McCarthy began providing music lessons at the age of 15 and created the first complete rock guitar

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 instruction series on video in 1986. In 2000, John designed the Rock House Method accelerated learning system that combined instruction in video and book form with an on-line support system. In 2001 marketing specialist Joe Palumbo

Joe Palumbo

Joseph C. "Joe" Palumbo is a former American football guard. He played college football for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999....

 became a business partner and the mission began to take “The Rock House Method” to masses.

John currently has authored 19 instructional method books, 48 instructional DVDs and 1 instructional DVD rom. John designed and developed a Disney Learn Guitar method featuring the songs of Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...

 and High School Musical

High School Musical

High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

 released in 2009 on DVD-ROM. In addition to his own instructional books and programs John has worked with many of the greatest musicians in the world creating personal instruction programs featuring the Rock House Method, Alexi Laiho

Alexi Laiho

Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho is a Finnish singer, composer, and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead guitarist as well as lead vocalist for melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, and he is also the guitarist for Sinergy and Kylähullut...

, Alex Skolnick

Alex Skolnick

Alexander Nathan Skolnick is an American jazz and metal guitarist. He was a member of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Testament from 1983 until his departure in 1993...

, Kiko Loureiro

Kiko Loureiro

Kiko Loureiro is a Brazilian Heavy metal guitarist who has worked with bands such as Angra, Silent Moon, and Blezqi Zatzas....

, Jeff Loomis

Jeff Loomis

Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore.-Early days:...

, Bernie Worrell

Bernie Worrell

George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...

, Oli Herbert, Michael Paget, Rusty Cooley

Rusty Cooley

Rusty Cooley is a guitarist from Houston, Texas known for his highly refined guitar technique.-Early life:Rusty received his first equipment on his fifteenth birthday. From that day on Cooley immersed himself in music, practicing upwards of 4 hours a day...

, Dan Jacobs

Atreyu (band)

Atreyu is an American rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/lyricist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller...

, Rob Arnold

Rob Arnold

Rob Arnold is a member and lead guitarist of the metal band Chimaira. In an interview with Roadrunner Records, he named Kirk Hammett, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman and Kerry King as being influential to his playing style...

, Doug Wimbish

Doug Wimbish

Doug Wimbish is a bass player, primarily known for his studio work for the rap/hip hop label Sugarhill Records and his membership of the funk metal band Living Colour. He has played for a vast range of artists, including Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Madonna, George Clinton, Paula Cole, Bomb the Bass,...

, Leo Nocentelli

Leo Nocentelli

Leo Nocentelli in New Orleans, Louisiana is one of the founding members of the New Orleans funk band, The Meters. He has been credited for popular funk songs such as "Cissy Strut", "People Say" and "Hey Pocky Way"...

 and Dave Ellefson are some of the collaborating artists.

As a guitarist

John began playing guitar at the age of 6 inspired by listening to the vast album collection of his older brother and sisters and states this as the reason he has a wide range of music genres in his vocabulary. When John turned 8 he already had a band playing local camps and parties and at 15 was playing across the tri-state area in clubs.

In 2006 John recorded his first solo release “Drive” a full length guitar centered instrumental album. Doug Wimbish

Doug Wimbish

Doug Wimbish is a bass player, primarily known for his studio work for the rap/hip hop label Sugarhill Records and his membership of the funk metal band Living Colour. He has played for a vast range of artists, including Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Madonna, George Clinton, Paula Cole, Bomb the Bass,...

 of Living Colour

Living Colour

Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...

 fame produced and played bass on the album. Other players on the album include Will Calhoun (Living Colour) on drums , Bernie Worrell (P-Funk

P-Funk

P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed...

 and Talking Heads

Talking Heads

Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...

) on keyboards , Leo Nocentelli (The Meters

The Meters

The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...

) on guitar, and Jordan Gengreco on keyboards.

The future

John McCarthy is currently designing a four book teacher based method for learning guitar and bass guitar that will correspond interactively with a full on-line music school for the Rock House Method. This is planned to release January 2010.

Instructional books

• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Beginner
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Intermediate
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Advanced
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Course
• Rock House Learn Rock Acoustic Beginner
• Rock House Learn Rock Acoustic Intermediate
• Rock House Children’s Guitar Method
• Rock House Clap, Tap, Sing & Swing
• Rock House The Only Chord Book You’ll Ever Need – Guitar
• Rock House The Only Chord Book You’ll Ever Need - Keyboard
• So Easy Ultimate Guitar Acoustic Guitar Course
• So Easy Ultimate Guitar Electric Guitar Course
• House of Blues Acoustic Guitar Beginner
• House of Blues Electric Guitar Beginner
• House of Blues Acoustic Guitar Course
• House of Blues Electric Guitar Course
• House of Blues Blues Guitar Course
• House of Blues Blues Guitar Level 1
• House of Blues Blues Guitar Level 2

Instructional videos / DVD

• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Beginner
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Intermediate
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Advanced
• Rock House Learn Rock Guitar Course
• Rock House Learn Rock Acoustic Beginner
• Rock House Learn Rock Acoustic Intermediate
• Rock House Blues Riffs, Rhythms & Secrets
• Rock House Hands of Steel
• Rock House Advanced Metal
• Rock House Modes Demystified
• Rock House Learn Metal Guitar Beginner
• Rock House Learn Metal Guitar Intermediate
• Rock House Learn Metal Guitar Advanced
• Rock House Learn Blues Guitar Beginner
• Rock House Learn Blues Guitar Intermediate
• Rock House Learn Blues Guitar Advanced
• Rock House Lead Guitar
• Rock House Learn to Play Ukulele
• Rock House Modern Classical Guitar
• So Easy Electric Guitar Level 1
• So Easy Electric Guitar Level 2
• So Easy Acoustic Guitar Level 1
• So Easy Acoustic Guitar Level 2
• House of Blues Acoustic Guitar Beginner
• House of Blues Electric Guitar Beginner
• House of Blues Blues Guitar Level 1
• House of Blues Learn Metal Guitar Beginner
• House of Blues Blues Guitar Level 2
• Peavey Play It All Acoustic Guitar
• Peavey Play It All Electric Guitar

CD/DVD ROM interactive programs

• Disney Learn Guitar Method - featuring the songs of Hannah Montana & High School Musical

Branded instructional videos / DVD (featured in guitar packs)

• Washburn/Lyon Acoustic and Electric Guitar
• Peavey Acoustic Guitar
• Peavey Electric Guitar
• Silvertone Acoustic Guitar
• Silvertone Electric Guitar
• Burswood Acoustic and Electric Guitar
• SX Acoustic Guitar
• SX Electric Guitar
• Valencia Classical Guitar
• Gypsy Rose Acoustic, Electric and Bass Guitar
• Mahalo Ukulele
• Ashton Acoustic and Electric Guitar
• Spectrum Acoustic Guitar
• Spectrum Electric Guitar
• Spectrum Keyboard
• Behringer Acoustic and Electric Guitar
• Jim Deacan Acoustic and Electric Guitar
• Switch Acoustic and Electric Guitar

Custom Artist Programs

• Leo Noccentelli (The Meters)
• Doug Wimbish (Living Colour)
• Rob Arnold (Chimaira)
• Marc Rizzo (Soul Fly, Solo Artist)
• Dan Jacobs (Atreyu)
• Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom)
• David Ellifson (Megadeth)
• Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads)
• Oli Herbert (All That Remains)
• Michael “Padge” Paget (Bullet for My Valentine)
• Bobby Thomson (Job for a Cowboy)
• Kiko Loureiro (Solo Artist, Angra)
• Alex Skolnick (Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio, Trans Siberian Orchestra)
• Gary Hoey (Solo Artist)
• Jeff Loomis (Nevermore, Solo Artist)
• Buz McGrath (Unearth)
• Rusty Cooley (Solo Artist)
• Freekbass Rock House Funk Bass (Solo artist)
• Alex Bach - Guitar for Girls (Solo Artist)

John McCarthy CD releases

• 13 O’clock – independent release (1999)
• Drive – solo instrumental guitar (2006)