Italian guitarist Carmine D’Onofrio is a passionate musician originally from Naples who now lives in Parma, Italy. Inspired by the music of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler, he began playing guitar at a young age and has continued to develop his skills ever since.
Although Carmine enjoys playing different musical styles, rock music has always been his greatest passion. Over the years, he has carefully studied Mark Knopfler’s unique fingerpicking technique and distinctive guitar sound.
“I have really deepened his technique over the years, studying almost every live performance,” Carmine said about Mark Knopfler.
Today, we’re pleased to share four of Carmine’s early YouTube performances, each featuring a different Dire Straits classic.
“Romeo and Juliet” Intro
The first video, uploaded in 2016, features the beautiful intro from “Romeo and Juliet.” Although the performance lasts only 29 seconds, Carmine captures the melody with impressive accuracy on his Yamaha acoustic guitar.
“Down to the Waterline” Solo
Next is a short performance of the outro from “Down to the Waterline.” Lasting just 22 seconds, the solo showcases Carmine’s smooth playing style on his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar.
“Money for Nothing” Guitar Lick
The third video focuses on one of Mark Knopfler’s famous guitar licks from “Money for Nothing,” inspired by the 1992 performance in Nîmes, France.
Related: Watch Carmine D’Onofrio Perform “Down to the Waterline” – CLICK HERE!
For this recording, Carmine used an original Pensa MK2 electric guitar that he borrowed from a friend for a few days, making the performance even more special.
“So Far Away” Intro
The final video is the longest in the collection at 39 seconds. In it, Carmine performs the intro to “So Far Away“ on his Crafter classical acoustic guitar.
His goal was to recreate the introduction from Dire Straits’ legendary Sydney Live 1986 concert, and the result is both tasteful and faithful to the original performance.
Reflecting on these recordings, Carmine explained:
“All of my first videos were recorded in 2016. At that time, I didn’t have the professional equipment I use today. I recorded them with the front camera of an Asus ZenFone smartphone. After that, I decided to stop uploading videos until I had better equipment. Once I finally had it, I started recording again. That’s the true story.”
Even though these performances were recorded with simple equipment, they clearly demonstrate Carmine’s dedication to learning Mark Knopfler’s playing style and his love for Dire Straits’ music.
Watch the videos and let us know which performance is your favorite.
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