Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over the years. He formed his own band Tremonti in 2011 and has released five albums with them, including A Dying Machine, which was adapted by Tremonti and science fiction novelist John Shirley. Since his early years with Creed, Tremonti has received positive recognition as a guitarist and songwriter and has received a number of accolades, including one Grammy Award for Creed's single "With Arms Wide Open". He was also named "Guitarist of the Year" for three consecutive years by Guitar World, and in 2011 he was listed in Total Guitar magazine as the fourth-greatest heavy metal guitarist of all time. Early life Tremonti was born on April 18, 1974, in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family of Italian descent in Grosse Pointe, just outside Detroit, for most of his childhood before moving to Wilmette, Illinois. He began to become enthralled with music, and bought his first guitar at the age of eleven. When he was fifteen, his family moved again to Orlando, Florida, where he enrolled in Lake Highland Preparatory School. During this time, his mother was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, which left Tremonti devastated. After graduation, he moved to Clemson, South Carolina to attend Clemson University to major in finance. After his freshman year in college, he moved back to Florida to enroll in Florida State University, where he was reunited with his then future Creed bandmate Scott Stapp, whom Tremonti had known since high school. Before Creed took off, he worked as a cook at Chili's. Career Creed Tremonti is a founding member of the American hard rock band Creed. He formed the band with lead vocalist Scott Stapp in 1994 with fellow members Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips joining as bassist and drummer, respectively. Creed is recognized by many as one of the major acts of the post-grunge movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tremonti and Stapp have been collectively recognized as one of the most prolific songwriting teams in all of rock music. The band released their debut album My Own Prison in 1997 to strong mainstream success, selling over six million copies. Four singles were