Rick’s first band experience was in the mid Sixties, playing both keyboard and guitar, and influenced like everyone else by the Doors, Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, etc. Rick lived a block away from a young Bruce Springsteen in Freehold, New Jersey, and his band had the same manager as Bruce’s – Tex Vinyard. Rick went on to college and a career with the State working with juvenile offenders, but continued to play informally through the years including recording with Men in Black on the CD “Life’s Hard Learned Lessons.”
Early on Rick discovered the blues foundation that was behind many of those 60’s bands. Musicians like Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, and a host of other blues players who poured their heart and soul into their music. Rick’s musical focus shifted to blues and absorbing as much as possible on both keyboard and guitar.
Rick’s first foray into a blues band began as a keyboard player in the early 2000’s, spending a few years with the band, The Mojogypsies - a group of seasoned blues players with excellent musical ability and a passion for the blues. With their support and encouragement, Rick was able to hone his skills - learning how to blend in the massive sound of a Hammond B-3 or setting a solid boogie woogie piano behind a smoking harp or guitar.
It is with the Ramblin Dawgs, however, that Rick has found his niche in the world of blues. Combining the deep emotions of the blues with the energy of the 60’s, Rick has emerged as one of Jersey’s hottest keyboard players. Rick’s leads are searing, tube driven, screaming Hammond B-3 renditions that shake the rafters, and boogie woogie piano leads that tear up the ivories. And he can sing a little, too.
