User:Dudeshred/sandbox

Early life
Andrew Jonathan Soto was born on 2 July 1988 in Torrance, California. When he turned 16 he wanted a drumset but couldn't afford them at the time so he bought a guitar instead and the rest was history. Self-taught, he started off listening to punk bands like The Offspring, NOFX and Blink 182 then started listening to bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Deep Purple then gradually worked his way up to bands like Dragonforce, Children of Bodom and Steve Vai.

His skill is wide-ranging & he can tap into blues, rock & speed metal seamlessly. His music tells a story that is packed with passion, rage, edginess and is deeply introspective with tight licks to create the atmosphere of a thrill ride. With Andrew, one door closes and another opens. He is not afraid to venture into unknown doors and his music reflects his fearlessness.

Career
Soto started off as an independent solo artist posting his music on Myspace and Youtube. In 2009 he was asked to join A Band of Orcs as their lead guitarist and take on the role of Cretos Filthgrinder. He accepted their offer they played a ton of shows including Mayhem Fest and Summer Slaughter opening for acts like Sothis, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Motorhead and Slayer. In 2012 A Band of Orcs released their first album titled Adding Heads To The Pile which Andrew played a huge role in writing music and playing guitar.

In 2013 Andrew left A Band of Orcs to focus on his band Soulera and start working on an album. Soulera started playing shows throughout Southern California as they were working on their full-length album but ran into many bumps along the way due to a lack of funds and dealing with difficult people. In 2015 Andrew and Rob made the decision to start making Youtube videos of video game and cartoon themes with Soulera to start pumping out content while their full-length album was being finished.

2015-2018 Soulera would go on to release a handful of independent singles on their Youtube channel while their full-length album was in limbo. In Late 2018 Soulera disbanded leaving Andrew to keep the train moving. Even though it's unknown when the elusive Soulera album will ever be released Andrew hasn't given up getting the album mixed and mastered.

Currently
Andrew Soto just released his first album Worst Album Ever Available Worldwide

Guitars
Andrew Soto mainly uses Jackson Guitars but has also used Ibanez and Fender Instruments.

Amplifiers and effects
Hughes and Kettner amplifiers, Orange amplifiers and TC electronic pedals.

Singles

 * "USE YOUR BLINKER"
 * "RIDE THE RIFT"
 * "SPACE CAT"
 * "CHECK YOU OUT"
 * "MEMENTO FOR THE FALLEN"