Marty Friedman

background vocals · guitar

b. 1962 in Washington, D.C.

Martin Adam Friedman (Japanese: マーティン・アダム・フリードマン, Hepburn: Mātin Adamu Furīdoman) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well as his 13 solo albums and tours. Friedman has resided in Tokyo since 2003, where he has appeared on over 700 Japanese television programs such as Rock Fujiyama, Hebimeta-san, Kōhaku Uta Gassen and Jukebox English. He has released albums with several record labels, including Avex Trax, Universal, EMI, Prosthetic, and Shrapnel Records.

Personal life

Friedman is of Jewish descent. He lives in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Shortly after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Friedman began auctioning off a great variety of his musical equipment and paraphernalia that he used as a member of Megadeth and Cacophony, including some of the earliest productions of Jackson Kelly guitars and his signature Carvin V220. In December 2012, Friedman married Japanese cellist Hiyori Okuda in Yokohama. In 2018, Friedman confirmed that his hair is genuinely curly but hates it; he prefers to have it straight.