Tallan Latz
Encyclopedia
Tallan Noble Latz is an American
blues guitar
player.
in the United States
. He received his first musical instrument, a drum kit
, at the age of three and began playing acoustic guitar
at age four. By the time he was five, a video of Joe Satriani
had a major impact on the boy and he declared "That's what I want to do." At the age of eight, he has played on-stage with performers the likes of Jackson Browne
and Les Paul
. He appeared on the Rachel Ray show on January 21, 2009.
Latz's musical influences include Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Jimi Hendrix
, Joe Bonamassa
, Walter Trout
, BB King, Buddy Guy
, Joe Satriani
, Steve Vai
, Steve Miller
, Eric Johnson
, Led Zeppelin
, Derek Trucks
, Rush
, Slash
, Keith Urban
, Craig Young
, Johann Sebastian Bach
and Ludwig van Beethoven
.
s and nightclub
s. His booking agent also received an anonymous letter threatening her with death should she continue booking the 8-year old guitarist.
. He received a standing ovation from the audience, and all three judges approved of sending him to the next round. On the July 29, 2009 episode, he was eliminated at the Las Vegas round at the start of the episode.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues guitar
Blues guitar playing
Blues guitar playing is an instrumental technique which is used to accompany the singing of blues music. It often incorporates the use of a slide guitar technique.-History of the blues:...
player.
Biography
Tallan Latz was born to parents Carl and Doris Latz of Elkhorn, WisconsinElkhorn, Wisconsin
Elkhorn is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is southwest of Milwaukee and northwest of Chicago. The population was 7,305 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Walworth County...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He received his first musical instrument, a drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, at the age of three and began playing acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
at age four. By the time he was five, a video of Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
had a major impact on the boy and he declared "That's what I want to do." At the age of eight, he has played on-stage with performers the likes of Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
and Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
. He appeared on the Rachel Ray show on January 21, 2009.
Latz's musical influences include Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...
, Walter Trout
Walter Trout
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones...
, BB King, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
, Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
, Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
, Craig Young
Craig Young
Craig Young is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. George Dragons in the NSWRL premiership competition. He played at prop-forward...
, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
Controversy
In 2008, Latz's father Carl received a letter from the state of Wisconsin informing him that Tallan may not play club venues anymore, as a result of an anonymous e-mail sent to state officials complaining that he was too young to be performing in tavernTavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
s and nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s. His booking agent also received an anonymous letter threatening her with death should she continue booking the 8-year old guitarist.
Appearance on America's Got Talent
On July 14, 2009, Latz appeared as a contestant on America's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent (season 4)
The fourth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on the NBC network on June 23, 2009. Country singer Kevin Skinner was named the winner on September 16, 2009....
. He received a standing ovation from the audience, and all three judges approved of sending him to the next round. On the July 29, 2009 episode, he was eliminated at the Las Vegas round at the start of the episode.