ANTHONY MEZZA
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER
A father of 3, an artist, a musician, and a writer , straight outta Jersey, Anthony grew up surrounded by art and music. His mother, Marie, a self-taught artist, carpenter, and musician , created a home where guitars, piano, painting and power tools reigned!
At age 11, he picked up his first guitar and by 13, tried to emulate the blues artists he grew up listening to on his Squire Strat.
Being a shy kid, he turned to paint and canvas , rhythm and blues, and his friends Marshall and Fender to find his voice and express his soul.
In his teens, he formed a band, playing lead on originals as well as overdriven classic rock covers. Throughout high school and college he always dreamt of designing and creating a guitar company, often times sketching ideas in his notebooks (and his textbooks).
Today you can still find Anthony laying down tasty blues leads while pursuing his artistic endeavors that include screenwriting, songwriting and solo and group art shows. All this while fulfilling a childhood dream by teaming up with his best friend Mike, to incorporate art, music and creative writing into the creation of Soulfire Guitarworks.
MIKE BARCH
PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER
Mike Barch was born and raised in North Jersey to a close-knit Italian family where music always filled the air. Mike’s parents bought him his first “real” guitar when he was 12. It was a cherry sunburst, Zapp Les Paul copy. With that guitar in hand, he was now armed to start his journey in becoming the next Ace Frehley! He started his first band at age 13 and never looked back.
His college cover band, The Distractions, were favorites among the thriving Norfolk / Virginia Beach, VA alternative music scene in the mid-1980’s. In the early 90’s, Mike moved back to Jersey and wound up joining a cover band consisting of friends from his youth…this time on bass. In 2021, Mike formed a band called The Riveras, playing all original music in venues throughout the NY Metropolitan area, including the legendary Greenwich Village club, The Bitter End, in NYC.
Well Mike never had the chops to become the next Ace but found himself proudly taking on the role of a solid rhythm guitarist and bass player. Over the years, he developed a style of rhythmic, textured, layered guitar playing. He is heavily influenced by the likes of Keith Richards, Jim Babjak, Peter Buck and The Edge. As Keef, once said, “It’s all about the RIFF, not the solo!”
Other than a great Grey Goose dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives…Mike’s favorite cocktail is a guitar loaded with P90’s and a Bigsby plugged into a Vox AC15, shaken, with a splash of overdrive, delay and reverb!
Mike currently lives in North Jersey just outside NYC and is a single dad to 4 amazing young adults and his Pit/Lab mix Grey.
DENNIS MACPHERSON
MASTER BUILDER
Dennis grew up in Newark, NJ, where his passion for understanding guitars and their construction began at an early age. While still in his teens, he often found himself in the role of a guitar repair and setup tech for local bands of which he also rocked with his SG in hand!
Eventually Dennis took a job at Oscar Schmidt, famous makers of autoharps and Harmony guitars, further sparking his interest in guitar making.
As his woodworking and technical skills increased, so did the artist in him. He soon found himself making handmade acoustic and righteous electric guitars for clients — from local musicians to well-known recording artist and industry professionals.
His acquaintance with Mike prompted the obvious — securing Dennis as Master builder for SOULFIRE GUITARWORKSLLC.
With his 40+ years of instrument building, technical experience and Clapton-esque playing style, Dennis transported Anthony’s 2 dimensional sketches, and Mike’s design insights, into master built, hardcore, functioning works of art.
GREY LONESTAR BARCH
VICE PRESIDENT OF R&D
(RUNNING AND DIGGING)
Rescued from the wilds of Texas… Grey became a member of the Barch family when he arrived in NJ in 2019. He has been the right hand (err…paw) man to Mike ever since. He is an active participant in all SoulFire marketing and strategy meetings. Away from the office, he enjoys listening to his favorite Smithereens, Replacements and Cult albums as well as going on daily walks and spending quality time with his long time girlfriend, Luna.
