Why He’s Interesting: Sidoti has developed quite the reputation since 2007, touring as the lead guitarist and vocalist for Taylor Swift. Last year, the Cleveland native performed alongside Swift during the Reputation Stadium Tour, the highest grossing tour in U.S. history. He’s also a frequent contributor to Cleveland cover band The Breakfast Club.
Wild Child: Sidoti picked up his technique from an early age by listening to his parents’ records. At 3, he was imitating Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” on a nylon string toy guitar. At 5, he was taking guitar lessons. “My ear developed very quickly. By the time I was 7, I was starting to hear actual guitar solos and I could play by ear.”
Boom Box: Sidoti is often tuned in to ’80s classics such as Van Halen and Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,” which he performed for his fifth grade talent show. “What set the ’80s apart from everything else is you had this new medium of music television where you could see what the artists looked like. There was so much experimentation with synthesizers and drum machines and production that had never been done before.”
Pucker Up: Sidoti’s obsession with Kiss runs deep, from collecting hundreds of pieces of memorabilia to working their merch booth during the 1998 Psycho Circus Tour where he met the original band members. While opening for Keith Urban in 2009 as part of Swift’s band, he devised a prank where he and Swift came out on stage dressed up as Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley during Urban’s performance of “Kiss A Girl.” “It’s always fun dressing up like [Simmons] because you get to get in full character.”
Long Live: The Parma-born and Strongsville-raised Sidoti has been living in Nashville for 20 years, but that doesn’t keep him from coming home. Although he returns to Cleveland to catch ballgames with his dad, Ronald, there’s now a new bundle of joy in his life: his first child, 18-month-old Scarlett. “Along with my wife, Ashley, she is my world. She’s a total joy to be with.”
Star Light: Sidoti has played alongside the Raspberries and more, but his biggest claim to fame is playing for Swift, who released her seventh studio album last August following a 53-concert stadium tour in 2018. “If you’re looking out at a stadium and you see all these people, it looks like a big painting, like a canvas.”
Interesting Fact:
Trent Reznor was an engineer on Sidoti’s first set of original songs, recorded downtown in 1988, one year before Pretty Hate Machine debuted.
Most Interesting People 2020: Paul Sidoti
The lead guitarist and vocalist for Taylor Swift has been playing guitar since he was 3 years old.
