DJ Ashba

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Daren Jay "DJ" Ashba (born November 10, 1972) is an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He is currently the lead guitarist in Sixx:A.M.. He is also known for his work with hard rock bands BulletBoys and Beautiful Creatures. He has worked with various artists including Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven, Aimee Allen and Neil Diamond. He is the CEO of Ashba Media.

Biography

Early life

Ashba was born in Monticello, Indiana. He was raised in Fairbury, Illinois. His mother was a classically trained pianist who began teaching him about music as a toddler. Ashba performed in his first piano recital at the age of five, where he played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". His next ambition was to learn the drums. He built kits out of garbage cans and pots and pans, until he finally acquired a real set at the age of six. When he was eight, he took a job picking corn in the fields to earn enough money to buy his first guitar out of the Sears catalog. He would ride to his job in the corn fields on the bus with a guitarist from a local band, who would teach him a new chord each day on a fret that they had carved into the back of a bus seat with a pocket knife. For his 16th birthday, his father took him to his first concert: Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls Tour. He later said, "The crowd, the music, the lights! It was the night I realized that no matter what it takes, I was gonna be on that stage one day." At the age of 18, he packed up his possessions and moved to Hollywood to begin his career.