Paul Kump

Paul has been diligently practicing the electric guitar since the early 90's and has now played all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Chicago. In 2013, Paul won Steve Vai's Best in Shred Contest, allowing him the opportunity to open for the three-time Grammy Award winner. Paul also competed in Guitar World's nation-wide Judas Priest-judged Shred the Web II Contest in which he placed in the finals. Paul's influences include Randy Rhoads, David Gilmour, Tom Morello, Buckethead and Frank Gambale. Currently, Paul studies under jazz fusionist and mentor-to-the-greates Pebber Brown and plays guitar for the experimental rock outfit Jussy. Having taken apart the electronics in his beloved guitar as a child, Paul's love for the electric guitar fueled his studying of electrical engineering and completion of a Ph.D. in said discipline.   After graduating from the University of Iowa and completing a post-doc at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Paul moved to Queens, NY and is a professor at SUNY Maritime.  Paul teaches guitar lessons out of his Astoria apartment and gives online lessons via Skype.  Interested students can email Paul for more information.