BIOGRAPHY:
Early life and education
Born in the Greek island of Crete, Ioannis Anastassakis completed his Bachelor’s degree at the American College of Greece and subsequently studied at the distinguished Musicians Institute (GIT), where he remained as an instructor, after graduating at the top 1% of his class. He continued his graduate studies in Music, at the California State University, completing an MA in Guitar Performance, graduating Magna cum Laude.

Mentors and Collaborations
Ioannis’ list of Electric guitar teachers is extremely impressive: the list reads like a “Who is Who” of contemporary electric guitar legends! He has taken private lessons and attended seminars from:
•    Steve Vai (Whitesnake)
•    Vinnie Moore (UFO)
•    Marty Friedman (Megadeth)
•    John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
•    Frank Gambale (Chick Corea)
•    Paul Gilbert (Mr.Big)
•    Richie Kotzen
•    Brett Garsed
As well as Joey Tafolla, Scott Henderson, Mike Stern, Jean-Marc Belkadi, Darren Housholder, Tommy Tedesco, Ted Greene, Ron Eschete, Sid Jacobs & Joe Diorio.
Ioannis also studied Solo Flamenco Guitar for several years with flamenco maestro Juan Serrano. Also, he has studied with Flamenco guitar legends Manolo Sanlucar, Juan Martin, Paco Serrano, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, and Manolo Franco.
Ioannis has also performed and/or recorded in various settings with band members of:
•    Whitesnake, Dio
•    Deep Purple
•    Ozzy Osbourne
•    Elton John, Santana
•    Celine Dion, Natalie Cole
•    Tito Puente, Julio Iglesias
•    Tower of Power, Jeff Beck
•    Chick Corea Electric Band
•    Steve Vai Band, Badlands
•    Joe Cocker,  Blood Sweat & Tears
•    and many more…

Live Performances and Discography
Ioannis has presented over 500 solo recitals in Europe and the United States and has been a regular guest lecturer at several American and European colleges and Universities (University of Southern California, California State University Northridge, California State University Fresno, California State University Fullerton, Musicians Institute, Fresno City College, American College of Greece).
In addition, he has won or placed as a finalist in several Classical and Flamenco guitar competitions and has been featured 15 times on European and American TV. In 2000, he was the 1st guitarist ever to present a solo guitar recital at the prestigious Greek National Opera House.
Ioannis’ 1st instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Suspension of Disbelief”[*], was released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2007 – within 3 weeks its worldwide sales soared at the top 5 worldwide in the highly regarded Guitar9.com website! Ioannis’ highly anticipated second instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Orbital Attempt”[*], was released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in April 2009 and within weeks reached the #1 spot of Guitar9.com.
Ioannis’ first solo Flamenco guitar CD, “Flamenco Live at Ioannina”[*], was released by MP3.com in 2000, immediately entered the company’s flamenco Τop 10, eventually reaching the #1 place worldwide on October 2002. The CD was re-mastered and re-released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2004 and also reached the #1 spot worldwide in 3 different music categories in 2009.

Publications and Instructional Materials
Ioannis’ instructional materials are published and distributed worldwide by Mel Bay Publications. He has authored 5 Books/CDs/DVDs:
•    “60 Tapping Licks for Contemporary Rock & Metal Guitar” [*]
•    “60 Sweeping Licks for Contemporary Electric Guitar”[*]
•    “The Art of Rasgueado”[*]
•    “Flamenco Journal”[*]
•    “The Art of Tremolo”[*]
Most of them achieved best-seller status within months of their initial publication date.
Ioannis is also a regular columnist in Mel Bay’s Guitar Sessions magazine, specializing in articles in Flamenco Guitar and Contemporary Electric Guitar Technique and writes a monthly column on Rock Guitar at the Rock Hard Greece magazine.