Tommy Colletti started playing guitar at the age of 12. Lessons quickly progressed into an obsession. By the age of 15, he was teaching at the local music store in Maspeth, Queens. Tommy then studied music at Queens College’s Aaron Copeland School of Music. After graduation, he joined Brooklyn based hard rock band Kingsland. 

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Eventually, Kingsland broke up and Tommy moved to Studio City, California.  His early roommates included Greg D'Angelo, drummer of White Lion (Tommy's cousin) and Derek Sherinian, then keyboardist for Alice Cooper and Dream Theatre. Tommy wrote briefly with D’Angelo and recorded with D'Angelo and bassist James Lomenzo (White Lion, Pride and Glory featuring Zakk Wylde). Tommy was also considered for the Alice Cooper band at that time. After a quick visit back to New York the idea for a guitar store started to take shape. 

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The Music Zoo, Inc. opened the doors in its original location in Little Neck, Queens in late March of 1994. In 2011 The Music Zoo moved to a larger location in Roslyn Harbor

The Roslyn location also became home to visits, clinics and performances by Steve Vai, Warren DeMartini of Ratt, Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, Steve Miller, Jimmy Vivino, Perephery’s Misha Mansoor and Marc Holcomb, Captain Kirk Douglas and The Roots, Guthrie Govan, Megadeth's Chris Broderick and Dave Ellefson, Tosin Abasi, Yankee and jazz guitarist Bernie Williams and more. 

 

In 2019 The Music Zoo moved from Roslyn to Farmingdale to their new and current home and showroom.  

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themusiczoo.com