Guerra began his music career in the late 1970s, playing in the New England club circuit with blues and rock acts. His primary influences include
Rory Gallagher,
Paul Kossoff,
Jimmy Page,
Keith Richards,
Ronnie Wood,
Muddy Waters,
Buddy Guy, and
Joe Walsh. In the 1980s, Guerra recorded with
Rick Derringer,
Max Weinberg,
Guitar Shorty,
Kenny Aaronson, and many others. From 1983 to 1992 Guerra was a member of the
garage rock group Dirty Bones Band and recorded four albums with them. He was profiled in
Guitar Player magazine in 1991. He started writing for
Vintage Guitar Magazine in 1998 and continues to do so to the present day. His column focuses on authentic recording techniques and collecting vintage guitars. Guerra has also received many endorsements from guitar companies including Brian Moore Custom guitars, plus effects and amplifier companies like DST-Engineering. In 1999 Guerra formed the band Mambo Sons with longtime collaborator Scott Lawson. That band released four albums, receiving several "album of the year" accolades from publications like
NYRock magazine and
Modern Guitars magazine, while Lawson was invited to serve as artist-in-residence at the
Wallace Stegner house. In 2009 and 2013, at the request of
Johnny Winter, Guerra wrote the liner notes for Winters' series of live albums entitled
The Bootleg Series. He also turned to topical songwriting: his 2012 song "Love Comes to Us All" addressed the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and was praised by several Connecticut politicians. His first solo album
All of the Above was released in 2014, In a review of
Sudden Signs of Grace,
The Big Takeover commended Guerra by stating it's "his best album to date...gorgeous." The video for the title track features guest appearances from a number of rock notables, including
Hilton Valentine,
Dan Baird,
Christine Ohlman,
G.E. Smith,
Alvin Youngblood Hart,
Jeff Pevar,
Kenny Aaronson and
Morgan Fisher. In March 2022,
Sentimental Junk, Guerra's fifth solo album was released on the Thin Man Music label, featuring the single "California's Got to My Girl", a duet with
Jon Butcher, and also featuring Mike Kosacek on drums,
Morgan Fisher and Matt Zeiner on keys, and
Kenny Aaronson on bass. A
Newsweek podcast called the release "Capturing Lightning in a Bottle". In late 2023, Guerra released "Mutilated World", as a single, also featuring
Kenny Aaronson and drummer Mike Kosacek. In January 2024, the single "Sister Topanga" was released with this same lineup followed by "New American Way" in March 2024. In June 2024, Guerra released a new single with his core lineup of Aaronson and Kosacek, called “Television Dreams” with
Jon Butcher on lead guitar. August 2024 saw Guerra guest on the new single by The Forefront Ramblers and in September, Guerra's new single "Good Times Big Fun" featuring the core lineup of Aaronson (bass) Kosacek (drums) and Guerra (vocals and guitars) was released and added to the online streaming services. Guerra continued with his singles releases in 2025, with "Chi Chi Chu" featuring legendary SNL vocalist
Christine Ohlman as well as the rhythm section of Aaronson and Kosacek. Summer of 2025 had him guesting on new albums by Laurent Moitrot and former Mott the Hoople guitarist Ariel Bender. Based on the Minneapolis riots, Guerra released a cover of Minnesotan
Paul Westerberg's "Meet Me Down the Alley" in February 2026. Guerra has been praised for his commitment to songwriting: in a review of his 2016 album,
American Songwriter said, "Guerra has honed his songwriting homework... All in all, the record is that rarity in the rock world: eclectic but never unfocused". ==Solo and band discography==