Sergio Pizzorno
Encyclopedia
Sergio Lorenzo "Serge" Pizzorno (Born 15 December 1980 in Newton Abbot, Devon) is a British
guitar
ist and songwriter
, best known for his work with the indie rock
band Kasabian. He became Kasabian's lead song-writer after the departure of Christopher Karloff.
, Italy
to England
and settled in Leicester
. Despite being brought up in the city, Serge was born in Newton Abbot
, Devon
.
Serge originally had intentions to start a career in football. He says “I told my careers adviser I wanted to be centre forward for Leicester City. When he said 'No' I thought I'd be in a rock 'n' roll band." He also stated as a young boy that his main aim in life is to become as successful as possible.
and The Stone Roses
. He says “The foreign fans listen to the music more and don’t call us The Stone Roses or anything. “I think they get us for who we are, especially in France and places like that. There’s no baggage like in the UK.”
Despite this, Serge is still a keen admirer of Britpop band Oasis, in particular former lead guitarist Noel Gallagher
. “At our school, if you played guitar you got beat up for being a ponce. Then Oasis came along and suddenly playing guitar was cool. They inspired a whole generation of bands. When we started out as kids, it was Noel Gallagher who inspired me more than any teacher or historical figure I’d heard about.” “For Oasis to ask us to go with them is an honour and a pleasure. I imagine they see a lot of themselves in us and I don’t imagine they’d go on tour with a band they didn’t like.”
track “The Tiger” from the album “The Outsider”. He notably scored a fabulous volley in the "Road to Wembley" segment on Soccer AM
.
Serge was at Wembley in December 2010 to make the draw for the FA Cup Third Round Proper, along with former Oasis guitarist and good friend Noel Gallagher. There were allegations of the draw being fixed after both men drew out their favourite teams - Leicester City and Manchester City - to play each other in a Third Round tie, however these were denied by the FA, Pizzorno and Gallagher.
In 2010, he composed the music for the movie "London Boulevard" with Colin Farrell, Ray Winstone and Keira Knightley.
II with a golden pickguard, notable for unique guitar sound from their 2009 single "Underdog
" despite the Rickenbacker 481 being shown in the music video. The Fender Coronado
is used for their live performances of the song. The Fender Coronado
is also during live performances of their 2009 song "Where Did All the Love Go?
". He uses a white Teardrop guitar made by Mick Johnson in live performances of Fast Fuse
.
A Full List of His Guitars is:
Serge has also used an Epiphone Casino, notably during Kasabian's headline slot at T in the Park 2010
.
Sergio Pizzorno utilises many guitar pedals to achieve his sound such as Electro Harmonix pog, Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, Electro Harmonix Synthesizer, Rodger Mayer Voodoo Vibe, Boss tuner, Vintage Fuzz Face, Roger Mayer Octavia, Line 6 Echo Park, a Boss Digital Delay, and an Mxr Blue Box. He uses a Fender Bandmaster Reverb head into a Marshall Cab and a Vox Ac30 Heritage, and also a Fender Blues Deville combo and a Vox AC30 Top Boost.
On Kasabian's new video: Days Are Forgotten, Sergio is seen using a Marshall MA Series amp.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, best known for his work with the indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Kasabian. He became Kasabian's lead song-writer after the departure of Christopher Karloff.
Biography
Serge's father emigrated from GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and settled in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. Despite being brought up in the city, Serge was born in Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Serge originally had intentions to start a career in football. He says “I told my careers adviser I wanted to be centre forward for Leicester City. When he said 'No' I thought I'd be in a rock 'n' roll band." He also stated as a young boy that his main aim in life is to become as successful as possible.
Kasabian
Serge is not seen as being fond of Kasabian being compared to similar, older bands, including OasisOasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
and The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
. He says “The foreign fans listen to the music more and don’t call us The Stone Roses or anything. “I think they get us for who we are, especially in France and places like that. There’s no baggage like in the UK.”
Despite this, Serge is still a keen admirer of Britpop band Oasis, in particular former lead guitarist Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
. “At our school, if you played guitar you got beat up for being a ponce. Then Oasis came along and suddenly playing guitar was cool. They inspired a whole generation of bands. When we started out as kids, it was Noel Gallagher who inspired me more than any teacher or historical figure I’d heard about.” “For Oasis to ask us to go with them is an honour and a pleasure. I imagine they see a lot of themselves in us and I don’t imagine they’d go on tour with a band they didn’t like.”
Other work
Serge has also worked with former Kasabian lead guitarist and song writer Chris Karloff on the DJ ShadowDJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
track “The Tiger” from the album “The Outsider”. He notably scored a fabulous volley in the "Road to Wembley" segment on Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
.
Serge was at Wembley in December 2010 to make the draw for the FA Cup Third Round Proper, along with former Oasis guitarist and good friend Noel Gallagher. There were allegations of the draw being fixed after both men drew out their favourite teams - Leicester City and Manchester City - to play each other in a Third Round tie, however these were denied by the FA, Pizzorno and Gallagher.
In 2010, he composed the music for the movie "London Boulevard" with Colin Farrell, Ray Winstone and Keira Knightley.
Equipment
Serge’s guitar of choice is a red Rickenbacker 481 which he has played in nearly all of Kasabian’s music videos (excluding the video for Switchblade Smiles), and nearly all their live performances. He also uses another rare guitar, a red 1966 Fender CoronadoFender Coronado
The Fender Coronado was a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl in an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of...
II with a golden pickguard, notable for unique guitar sound from their 2009 single "Underdog
Underdog (Kasabian song)
"Underdog" is the third single released from the Kasabian album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It only peaked at #32 in the UK Singles Chart on the week after the album's release. Despite this it became a widely popular song.-Popular culture use:...
" despite the Rickenbacker 481 being shown in the music video. The Fender Coronado
Fender Coronado
The Fender Coronado was a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl in an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of...
is used for their live performances of the song. The Fender Coronado
Fender Coronado
The Fender Coronado was a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl in an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of...
is also during live performances of their 2009 song "Where Did All the Love Go?
Where Did All the Love Go?
"Where Did All the Love Go?" is a song by English rock band Kasabian and is the second official single from their third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum...
". He uses a white Teardrop guitar made by Mick Johnson in live performances of Fast Fuse
Fast Fuse
Fast Fuse is an EP by rock band Kasabian and was released to a select market on 2 October 2007. The track "Take Aim" was slated for inclusion on the EP but was eventually omitted...
.
A Full List of His Guitars is:
- FireGlo Rickenbacker 481,
- JetGlo Rickenbacker 481,
- MapleGlo Rickenbacker 480,
- Red 1966 Fender Coronado II,
- Vox Ultrasonic,
- Mick Johnson Teardrop,
- Vox Semi acoustic,
- Gibson J-160e Acoustic,
- Gibson Hummingbird,
- Gibson J-200
- 1950's Hofner Senator (which he stole from his old guitar teacher)
Serge has also used an Epiphone Casino, notably during Kasabian's headline slot at T in the Park 2010
T in the Park 2010
T in the Park 2010 was a music festival that took place in Balado, Scotland from 8–11 July 2010. It was the seventeenth event to take place. The festival was headlined by Kasabian, Muse and Eminem. Tickets for the event sold out on 26 February 2010.-Tickets:...
.
Sergio Pizzorno utilises many guitar pedals to achieve his sound such as Electro Harmonix pog, Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, Electro Harmonix Synthesizer, Rodger Mayer Voodoo Vibe, Boss tuner, Vintage Fuzz Face, Roger Mayer Octavia, Line 6 Echo Park, a Boss Digital Delay, and an Mxr Blue Box. He uses a Fender Bandmaster Reverb head into a Marshall Cab and a Vox Ac30 Heritage, and also a Fender Blues Deville combo and a Vox AC30 Top Boost.
On Kasabian's new video: Days Are Forgotten, Sergio is seen using a Marshall MA Series amp.