Tallan Latz - Biography

Biography

Tallan Latz was born to parents Carl and Doris Latz of Elkhorn, Wisconsin in the United States. He received his first musical instrument, a drum kit, at the age of three and began playing acoustic guitar at age four. By the time he was five, a video of Joe Satriani had a major impact on the boy and he declared "That's what I want to do." At the age of eight, he has played on-stage with performers the likes of Jackson Browne and Les Paul. He appeared on the Rachel Ray show on January 21, 2009.

Latz's musical influences include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Miller, Eric Johnson, Led Zeppelin, Derek Trucks, Rush, Slash, Keith Urban, Craig Young, Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.

"The entire planet needs to see this kid play." - John Schuld, co-organizer of the Kenosha Bloomin' Days Festival

"Life has it's special moments and one of mine was the first time I saw Tallan perform at the Stevie Ray Vaughan Ride and Concert in Dallas, Texas. Watching him perform that day was one of those moments in my life, a special day I'll never forget! It was pure magic and the crowd couldn't get enough of Tallan. He IS the whole package!" ~ John Munder - Owner - Munder Amplification

Tallan Noble Latz (aka: T-Man) is a 13-year-old award winning rock/blues/pop guitarist/singer, who has been playing music since the age of 3, picking up the guitar for the first time at 4 and finally getting serious about the guitar at age 5.

At age 5, Tallan was taking lessons 3 days a week, soaking up all the information he could about the guitar. The dedication of a 5 year old practicing 3 hours straight was unheard of to his guitar teachers. As his first guitar teacher said, “This is unbelievable that he can learn the lesson sitting here. His speed of learning never existed in any student I have ever had in my 25 years of teaching!”

Tallan began performing regularly with local bands when he was 6 years old. He quickly became a crowd favorite everywhere he performed.

The decision was made for Tallan (age 7) to start fronting his own band. The name of the band became T-Man’s Blues Project and then when Tallan was 8 years old the band named changed to The Tallan Noble Latz Band and it is still called that today.

The talk grew and expanded quickly. Tallan (age 8) was asked to do a cameo in the movie, “Wildfire, the Arabian Horse”! This experience gave Tallan the bug to want to explore movie roles more in the future.

In 2009, Tallan (age 9) collaborated with the Louie Zagoras. Louie recognized immediately that Tallan had something and took him under his wing. With Louie’s guidance they quickly went into the studio to record 5 original songs: Journey Man, Slippin Away, Other World, Kid in the Region and a song for Tallan’s mom called 4U.

Tallan then started working harder to carve his place in the Wisconsin music scene and that caught the attention of the fans and the music industry. Together they voted Tallan (age 10) the WAMI's 2010 Rising Star of the Year Award Winner.

In 2011, Tallan (age 11) went back into the studio and collaborated with blues artist, Anthony Gomes. Tallan and Anthony did their work at Sawhorse Studios in St. Louis, MO. The collaboration produced 2 songs, one was called Blues Child and the other rightfully named at the time, Blues @ 11. The songs relate to Tallan’s experiences of being so young and being on the road playing music in the adult world. With the addition of top studio musicians Joe Meyer, Preston Hubbard and David Grelle to lay down the groove, allowing Tallan to focus on his guitar and vocal tracks. The tracks were then sent to mixer Jim Gaines who mastered the songs.

At age 12 Tallan became a sought after guitar clinician and guitar instructor. Tallan partnered with Dangerous Guitars and together they will be releasing instructional videos and books designed to help the young guitar enthusiast to advance quickly.

Tallan has been featured on many TV Shows, such as: NBC's America's Got Talent, CBS' Rachael Ray TV Show, WGN’s Morning Show, Fox’s Morning Show, NBC's Today Show with Kathy Lee and Hoda, CBS’ Early Show, FOX News: Studio B with Shepard Smith, The Bonnie Hunt TV Show, CNN, Milwaukee’s Morning Blend, NBC's Today Show with Meredith Vieira, Chicago's WLS TV Morning Show, Madison’s Urban Theater and Almost Live with Johnny B TV Show are just a few on his impressive list. Tallan has been talked about on news broadcasts and radio programs all over the country and around the world; Tallan was even featured on the BBC segment. His story has appeared in every major newspaper in the country and even some worldwide papers. He was the feature story on Yahoo’s Homepage multiple times! Tallan has received over 25 million YouTube hits on his videos. Tallan also has appeared on TV shows around the world. While in Denmark on tour, Tallan actually appeared on all 3 national TV networks within a 1-week span, which is an unheard of accomplishment for any musician.

Tallan has had the privilege to share the stage side by side and trade licks with some of the greatest musicians around: Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Hubert Sumlin, Jackson Browne, Ian Moore, Derek St. Holmes, Van Wilks, Devon Allman, Bryan Lee, Anthony Gomes, Guitar Shorty, Michael Burks, Chris Duarte, Walter Trout, Greg Koch, Albert Cummings, Eric Gales, Wes Jeans, Lance Lopez, Eric Mantel, Louie Zagoras, Tommy Katona, Rob Hunt, Eric McFadden, Bugs Henderson, Pat MacDonald, Chris Aaron, Lonnie Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Jim Peterik & the Ides of March and JJ Grey & the Mofro to name just a few. Tallan also had the honor of sharing the stage with Les Paul. At age 8, Tallan was the youngest person to have ever shared the stage with Paul.

Tallan has had the opportunity to play at some of the best venues in the country, such as Antoine’s (Austin, TX), Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar (Memphis, TN), Wild Horse Saloon (Nashville, TN), Maggie Mae’s (Austin, TX), House of Blues (Chicago, IL), BB King's Blues Club (Memphis, TN), House of Blues (Dallas, TX), BB King's in Times Square (NYC, NY), Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee, WI), The Harley Davidson Museum (Milwaukee, WI), BB King’s Blues Club (Nashville, TN), BB King's Lucille’s in Times Square (NYC, NY), and Amager Bio (Copenhagen, Denmark).

Tallan has performed at many major festivals around the country. Here’s the short list: Ain’t Nuttin But the Blues Fest, Summerfest, Lil Bear Ribfest, Northwest Ohio Rib-Off, Urbana Blues Brews and BBQ Festival, Ozark Blues Fest, Blues Bandits and BBQ Festival, TX State Fair, Bloomin Days, Blues Café, Oak Creek Lion’s Fest, Great American Biker Rally, Round Lake Beach Fest, St. Fabien’s Festival, The PRS Experience, Dallas Guitar Show, Bamfest, Prairie Dog Blues Fest, Lakefront Art Fest, Steel Bridge Songfest, IL Blues Fest, Harley’s 105th Birthday Celebration, Paramount Blues Festival, WI State Fair, NAMM, Children of Fallen Riders Fest, Ruben’s Run, Westmont Blues Fest (Muddy Water's Blues Fest), Northbrook Days, WI Harley Rally, WI/IL Border Rally, Sun Prairie Blues Fest, Jimi Hendrix's 67th Birthday Bash in Times Square and CO-HEADLINED (multiple times) The Stevie Ray Vaughan Ride and Concert in Dallas, TX. These are a few of the festivals already on Tallan’s resume’ and some of these festivals Tallan has made multiple appearances at.

Tallan has also traveled abroad to Denmark, where he appeared on multiple TV shows and played at a number of different venues including performances at the Odense Internationale Bluesdage and the Frederikshavn Blues Festival.

Tallan has endorsement deals with: Ultimate Ears, PRS Guitars, Shure Microphones, Mojo Hand FX, Amalfitano Pickups, Ultrasone Headphones, Munder Pedals, Mogami Cables, In-Tune Guitar Picks, Curt Mangan Strings, Morley Pedals, Effects Pedal Boutique, Soulful Impressions, LR Baggs, Diamond Finish, Seymour Duncan Pickups, N-Tune, Graph Tech and Peterson Tuners. Tallan is the youngest musician that any of these companies have ever endorsed.

Tallan is working on multiple projects during 2013. Tallan will be heading into the studio and then touring in support of the CD release with a nation-wide and possible worldwide tour.