Richard
started playing professionally in 1966 (you do the math) as a drummer.
Richard worked in the house band at a local country bar where they
made him wear a hat to hide his hair! He also wasn’t allowed
off the stage without an escort because of his age.
He didn’t pick up the bass until 1977 after being laid off from
the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. Jobs for drummers were becoming
scarce so Richard chose to try the bass and turned to another local
musician, Barry McLawhorn. After playing at the “Ponderosa”
every night, Barry would drive to Gloucester to give Richard bass
guitar lessons until 6 or 7 in the morning. (Definitely a musician’s
schedule!) After ONLY two weeks, he auditioned and got the job as
the bass player in the “Ponderosa” house band.
Since then, he’s played with several bands including Iron Cross,
The Road Runners, Whompascat, Sandcastle, Gayle Warning, South Bound,
the Marvin Mann Band, Sports, Double Take, and the Back River Band.
..... Not only is Richard a wonderful player technically, but he also
is a great performer who likes to have fun while he’s playing.
It amazes me how quickly he has learned the songs. We have over 60
songs on our list and he is well on his way to knowing all of them
in just a short amount of time.
We, in the band, are all pleased and honored to be performing with
him and we can’t wait for you to meet (and hear) him too!
-Lynda
A
Word from Richard:
It’s
been an incredible ride.
Music has taken me places and shown me things that the average person
never gets to experience. I was privileged to be around when it was
all new, and local musicians playing Top 40 dance hits were rare and
revered, and when country music was influenced more by bluegrass than
by formula rock.
I have met some incredible characters along the way and made some
lifetime friendships. I got to meet and go backstage with Sly and
the Family Stone, Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane, Blue OysterCult,
Rare Earth, and Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen. I played
on a CBS television commercial.
As a temporary member of the Shades of Country in the early 80’s,
I was treated like family by Joanna and Betsy and got to play with
some of country music’s legends.
In 1999, I decided to call it a career. But, as the story goes, just
as the itch began to return, a call came from Lynda. The individual
talent level in Live Wire is outstanding, and just what I was looking
for.
So, here I am, on the stage again.
