Biography
Keep on rockin' in a free world...
A rock-oriented electric guitarist, Paride first took up the instrument in the late 1970s. He was initially drawn to the success of punk rock and later to the virtuosity of players such as Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) - Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) - Yngwie Malmsteen - Stevie Ray Vaughan.
After his promising early appearances, he built up extensive live experience throughout north-eastern Italy with several rock bands, especially the band bearing his name, Paride Fioretti Group, performing covers and arrangements of classic songs from the 1970s and 1980s.
Another milestone in his artistic development was meeting master guitarist Beppe Gambetta in 1995. Thanks to him, Paride began seriously studying acoustic guitar in the flatpicking style, linked to the old-time, folk and bluegrass traditions that stretch from the United States to Eastern Europe. Alongside the guitar, he also studied the Irish mandolin and the five-string banjo.
Since 1996 he has attended many advanced courses and workshops, including the annual International Summer Workshop for New Acoustic Guitar in Slovenia led by Beppe Gambetta, the Summer Bluegrass Workshop in the Czech Republic, the International Workshop of Acoustic Music in Virton, Belgium, and the MinierAcustica workshop in Urbino.
Since 2005 he has worked as an assistant at the annual Roberto Dalla Vecchia Acoustic Guitar Workshop in the province of Vicenza.
From 2006 to 2013 he was the guitarist in Cartefalse, a Led Zeppelin tribute band that performed throughout north-eastern Italy and abroad.
He has alternated electric-guitar performances with rock and country-rock bands such as Boars Nest New Country Band and Paride Fioretti Group, with fully acoustic performances by Wooden Flags.
From 2016 to 2018 he studied classical mandolin at the Pollini Conservatory in Padua.
From autumn 2016 to 2021 he taught acoustic and electric guitar at the E.M.M.A. School of Music in Treppo Grande (UD).
In September 2017 he joined the Città di Codroipo Plectrum Orchestra (UD), first as a mandolinist and later as a guitarist.
A story...
Rock...
It was the second half of the 1970s when, listening to one of the first independent radio stations, Radio Onda A (Alternativa), I discovered a rebellious new sound called punk rock. It made me pick up an electric guitar and produce my first piercing notes. At the time I was listening to songs by the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. I soon grew a little tired of punk's harmonic simplicity, although never of its energy and emotion, and broadened my horizons. I discovered the wonderful Lynyrd Skynyrd and the whole Southern Rock movement, including the Allman Brothers Band, Outlaws and 38 Special, thanks in part to an older friend with an excellent, well-stocked record collection. In those days this music was hard to hear even on the new independent stations, let alone on national radio. At the same time I began studying and playing what is now called Classic Rock: bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, all the way to the outstanding Iron Maiden, one of my all-time favourites.
Blues...
I was soon fascinated by those three chords repeated across twelve bars: the blues, especially its roots in the Mississippi Delta. Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Lemon Jefferson and many others inspired me to pick up an acoustic guitar and try to reproduce that devil's music. On 6 July 1988 I was fortunate enough to see Stevie Ray Vaughan live at the Arena in Lignano Sabbiadoro. He sadly died only a couple of years later, but his gripping sound and explosive power made such an impression on me that few others have influenced or inspired me as much. I remember standing below the stage, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, watching that force of nature play guitar.
Bluegrass...
Always drawn to country and western sounds, in 1995 I attended a short flatpicking acoustic guitar workshop with Beppe Gambetta in Spilimbergo (PN). He introduced me to the new world of folk, old-time and bluegrass music. From the following year I regularly attended acoustic music workshops with Beppe Gambetta in Slovenia, as well as in Hustopeče in the Czech Republic and Virton in Belgium. There I deepened my understanding of these styles and began studying new instruments such as the Irish mandolin and banjo. At the 1996 workshop in Ambroz, Slovenia, I met Roberto Dalla Vecchia. A strong friendship grew and continues to this day, and from the first edition in 2005 I had the opportunity to work as his assistant at the Roberto Dalla Vecchia Acoustic Guitar Workshop in Recoaro Mille (VI).
Country!
As a fan of Telecaster electric guitars and bluegrass music, the step towards country music was a very short one. After playing for a while in 2008 with the historic Pordenone band Beerdrinkers, I made my debut with Boars Nest New Country Band in mid-2014. My favourite guitarists and songwriters in the genre include Don Rich (Buck Owens), Jerry Reed, Albert Lee, Neil Young, Alan Jackson and Brent Mason.
Upcoming Events...
(click the date for details)
- Fri 11/09/2026 Osteria la Taverniera - Fontanafredda (PN) :
- Ore 20:30 Concertino Ciak Band
- Fri 18/09/2026 Pizzeria Bistrot Zona Rossa - Camolli (PN) :
- Ore 20:30 Concertino Ciak Band
Music Quotes...
“You couldn’t not like someone who liked the guitar.” Stephen King - The Stand Read more...
“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.” Plato Read more...
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” Albert Einstein Read more...
“Music is what tells us that the human race is greater than we realize.” Napoleon Bonaparte Read more...
They’d say “if ya play the record backwards, you can hear evil tings like grrrr!” and I would think, “Jeez, I didn’t know the devil sounded like that. I thought he was coherent, like the rest of us.“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” Victor Hugo Read more...
“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.” Plato, The Republic Read more...