Grammy winning guitarist/producer/engineer/songwriter Neil Citron has had a long and successful career in the music business since the 80's. When Neil's cousin Howard Leese, of Heart & Bad Company fame, taught him his first chords at age 13, he fell in love with guitar. Starting early on, he got the opportunity to work with Roy Thomas Baker during the recording of The Cars, Foreigner and Journey. Neil knew then that recording and mixing would be a big part of his music career. Like the Doors and Van Halen, Neil's band "Prodigy" became the house band at Gazzarris’ famous club on the Sunset Strip and soon Neil and the band were signed to Mercury Records, touring the US for several years opening up for “Manfred Mann”, “Y & T”, and "Triumph".
As a guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist, Neil has worked on numerous recordings with artists from all over the world including Quite Riot, Lana Lane, Steve Vai and others. In addition to his solo releases, Neil has worked on several Declassified Records projects including BangTower and Ju-Groovin.
Neil has engineered & produced records for numerous artists including John 5, Slash, Joe Satriani, and John Waite. He produced at Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Vai's studio “The Mothership;” with artists such as Eddie Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, The Yardbirds, and The Wallflowers and ran the studio. After building a portable rig for Steve and recording his yearlong tour, Neil recorded the "Live at the Astoria” album, which earned him a Platinum record. Shortly after that success, Neil recorded the live album from guitar greats Steve Lukather & Larry Carlton entitled "No Substitutions: Live in Osaka" for which Neil won a Grammy Award.
Neil excels in song writing, and has co-written music for projects with Dino De Laurentiis, Chrysalis Records and Playtone Productions, as well as band like Quiet Riot and Wasp. He's well versed in recording multiple genre’s including Acoustic, Metal, Rhythm and Blues, Folk, and Hip Hop. Some of the movie soundtracks he’s worked on have included “That Thing You Do” (Tom Hanks), “My Big Fat Greek Wedding I & II, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (Oprah Winfrey,) “Ricki and the Flash” (Jonathan Demme) featuring Meryl Streep, on which Neil personally coached Meryl on the guitar. Currently, he owns his own mixing room and continues to record, mix and master many major artists, including the last Quiet Riot releases (Frontiers Records) as well as music for the film and entertainment industry.
With the temporary closure of Declassified Records in late 2024 for the move to a new location, Neil launched S. B. I. Records, a new label based in Las Vegas to continue his work. This new venture will not only feature all of Neil's upcoming releases, it will also highlight several of the artists Neil is working with. One of the first releases is Neil's newest album "Steal From Me (Dead To Me)" which also features Declassified Records founder Jon Pomplin on bass. The project was joined by several of the best drummers in the world including Van Romaine, Virgil Donati, Tom Brechtline, Jeff Bowders, Joshua Seth Eagan, and the late Frankie Banali. Available on streaming services worldwide.
