Naveen Thomas

Arguably one of the most technically proficient rock guitarists in the country, Naveen has amassed admirers aplenty for his ability to nail Petrucci, Vai, Satriani or Romeo solos with elan. Though he began playing acoustic guitar in high school, his journey with serious music actually began with a stint on the drums in his first band. Forced to sub for the band's injured guitarist at a gig, he soon discovered his true calling was to the strings and the rest is... a story of innumerable hours practicing. Over the last 11 years, Naveen has honed his live performance skills with bands like the Galeej Gurus, Molotov Cocktail, Parousia, and others, playing genres as wide-ranging as funk, progressive metal, classic rock and blues. In addition to his regular projects, he has worked as a live and studio sessions player with very popular artists/ bands like Raghu Dixit and Moksha. As guitarist with the Galeej Gurus, Naveen has shared stage with some of the biggest acts in the world like Korn, Machinehead, As I lay dying, Killswitch Engage and Velvet Revolver at the Dubai Desert Rock festival, where the band took top honours in an international rock competition. Closer home, he and the band have opened for the likes of Deep Purple, The Rasmus, Bryan Adams and Mr. Big. As a guitar instructor, Naveen has been helping guitarists at various levels, to fine-tune their approach and develop the technical tools necessary to express themselves more fully and intuitively on the instrument. A self-confessed addict to the rush of playing live, Naveen is able to give students hard-won advice in the subtle nuances of turning jam room hard work into a live gig that rocks. As one of the few guitar players in the country to be endorsed by Gibson, he also conducts guitar workshops for them.