We think of child guitar prodigies as a product of the YouTube era. Li-sa-X shredding Scarified at eight years old. Nine-year-old Maituo going viral with death-defying sweeps. America’s Got Talent contestants wowing judges with guitars bigger than they are. But Thomas McRocklin was tearing up an Ibanez JEM back in the 1980s – and winning over some of the biggest names in guitar with abilities far beyond his years.
At eight years old he landed a support slot with Ozzy Osbourne. By nine, he’d caught the attention of his hero Steve Vai, who helped secure him a record deal, and produced his band Bad4Good’s first album – but not before giving him a starring role in the Audience is Listening music video and handing over the original Passion and Warfare seven-string.
“I’d never seen a swirl before, never mind this seven-string with the handle,” McRocklin says of the Ibanez Universe – a priceless artifact now. “It’s almost eerie to play that guitar. So much of Passion and Warfare was recorded on it. It’s faded a little in color, but it’s just as awesome as it ever was.”