Rocco Guarino is a songwriter/producer based in Nashville, TN. Born and raised in Hudson Valley, NY, at fifteen he was recording his band's demos on a 4-track, which led to other local bands hiring him, and from there the fire for music production was lit.

​

The 90's found Rocco in Tampa Bay, FL, where he dove deep into songwriting. He recorded his first album in 1998, which never got released, then formed a band and recorded an album in 2001 that also never got released.

​

The call of the wild led Rocco to Los Angeles in 2002, where he landed the gig as the assistant to Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), just before Scott formed rock supergroup Velvet Revolver with Guns n' Roses members Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum. With a Billboard #1 debut, a double platinum album, a world tour, and a Grammy, Rocco was there filming and photographing everything. When the band took a break, Rocco entered the studio to record his next album, which of course never got released.

 

For their next album, the band hired Rocco to direct his first music video, which reached #9 on VH1. Rocco embracing his new obsession for directing, and dove into making webisodes, promos, and documentaries featuring some of the biggest names in music. He was nominated as Best Director for his first short film, and wrote two feature-length screenplays, while he continued to balance music and film production throughout the 00's.

​

Obsessed with recording studios since childhood, Rocco has owned and worked at many. Matt Sorum's (G'n'R) studio in West Hollywood was home for a while, as well as Gilby Clarke's (G'n'R) studio in the Hollywood Hills. In 2014 Rocco partnered with Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) as Chief Engineer to transform their Lavish Studios from a private sandbox into a commercial facility, while serving as A&R for Softdrive Records. In 2019 Rocco partnered with Rami Jaffee of Foo Fighters to serve as A&R and Chief Engineer of Fonogenic Studios. 

​

In 2021 Rocco founded Starlite Records. Born out of a frustration for too much great music going unheard for not fitting into trends, Rocco decided it was time to create a genre-agnostic label where stale formulas don't exist.

​

Rocco is signed to APM Music Publishing and has placements on NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, IFC, E!, Hulu, Netflix, HGTV, and HBO. He's produced many indie rock bands, and projects featuring members of The Cult, Weezer, GnR, and two American Idol finalists.

​

Photography has been a lifelong passion for Rocco, and his photos have been featured in Billboard Magazine, Bass Player Magazine, Penthouse (the music section;-), Entertainment Magazine, retail packaging, album art, and outdoor billboard campaigns in NY and LA.

​

Rocco is endorsed by some of the top brands in music, including Gibson Pro Audio, KRK Systems, Aston Microphones, Furman Power, Sandhill Microphones, Behringer, Cerwin-Vega, Rode Microphones, and ProCo Sound.

​

Rocco’s interest in keeping the arts accessible to everyone led him to work with non-profits Adopt The Arts. Rocco continues to create in a variety of mediums, to tell stories that move the masses. He's obsessed with dogs (over 25 lbs), likes pineapple fried rice, and is a voting member of The Recording Academy (The Grammys).