Teacher Profile: Riley Merlino

About Riley Merlino

Riley Merlino is a guitarist, bassist, drummer, songwriter, producer and engineer born in Tacoma, WA and raised in Woodinville, WA. He started playing drums at age 10 after his dad showed him Led Zeppelin and he saw the movie School of Rock. He then began playing guitar at the age of 14, to be able to write riffs and songs.

Through high school, Riley played with several bands and performed around the Seattle area, including at El Corazon. He double majored in Communications and Liberal Arts at Colorado State University and for his senior thesis he had an internship at The Blasting Room Studios; a famed recording studio where artists like Rise Against, A Day To Remember, Descendents, Flobots, and Puddle of Mudd have recorded. He gained a vast amount of recording knowledge and now produces his own music as well as others. Eventually the internship was over, and Riley stayed and worked in the area for another year. Nearly 8 months after the internship had ended, he found out the studio was adding on and was asked to help with construction. After doing construction for a few months, Riley knew he would be moving back home to Woodinville.

Two weeks before moving back to Washington, Riley and his band Fiddafoe recorded an EP at The Blasting Room Studios. This was a sign of appreciation for helping with the construction of the studio and now Fiddafoe's music is on every streaming platform. After moving back home in the summer of 2017, Riley eventually began teaching the subject of music after realizing music is his passion and teaching is something where he can truly make a difference in someone's life!

Although he has several trades in the music world, teaching is the most rewarding job in Riley's life, and he hopes to do it for the rest of his life. In his spare time, he likes to jam on guitar, work out, watch the Mariners and Seahawks, play slow-pitch softball, and spend time with friends and family.