Rikk’s musical influences are
varied in many different areas, but a short list, in no particular order, could include:
Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, KISS, Rush, Van Halen, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Thin Lizzy, Jim
Croce, Mozart, Beethoven, the Kinks, Three Dog Night, the Doors, Metallica, Megadeth,
Judas Priest, Iron Maiden *(Better Days), Dwight Yoakum, Garth Brooks, ZZ Top, Elvis,
Frank Sinatra, Motley Crue, Poison, Tesla, Riff Raff, Jerry Snow, Tim Gack, Don Henley,
Joe Walsh, Prince, Linkin Park, George Thorogood, Billy Idol, Collective Soul, Electric
Love Hogs, Dokken, Buddy Holly, Adam Sandler.. the list could go on and on. Each influence
added something to the combination or development of the songwriter / guitarist / singer
soon to be heard via internet.
Rikk’s first instrument was the coronet in elementary band, but even
at that age an electric guitar was what he really wanted. At 14, Rikk’s dad gave him
his first guitar, an acoustic guitar that had been simply collecting dust hanging in
storage for a few years.
The strings chewed into his fingers
and he couldn’t get the sounds he wanted from it, but the hollow-body served
it’s purpose in developing calluses and learning basic chords, which aided in the
progression to electric guitar at 15 or 16. A cheapy strat-style knock-off and small
Peavey amp served as Rikk’s first electric rig. The guitar would never stay in tune,
the amp was less than adequate and Rikk never did take lessons, but that guitar would be
his primary axe for another 10 years before purchasing the green demon, bigger amp and
other accessories to round out his guitar playing experience.
It was soon after this that Rikk
joined in his first garage band "FourPlay". Doing cover tunes for parties and
getting exposure in his father’s bar, the band looked like it may go somewhere but in
time went through personnel changes and eventually everyone just drifted apart. Rikk
picked up quite a bit on guitar in that short time with FourPlay though, and set to work
on his own, putting music to lyrics he had been writing since age 14. With other
distractions abundant, the music often was left by the wayside and many a song became a
forgotten scrap of paper, never to be finished. In all, Rikk estimates his written lyrics
combined into upwards of 50 songs since first setting pen to paper, though many were not
destined to ever be set to music.
Lyrics come easy to Rikk, given a rhythm and a short amount of time, the
words will spring forth, whether given an idea what the song should be about beforehand or
not. Many will never be heard, and that is probably a good thing, but some have stood out
as having too much potential to not be recorded at some point.
In 2001, Rikk attempted to solo
record "Carita" live on tape and was not satisfied with the output, so a renewed
initiative compelled him to put together a collection of songs nearly completed and seek
the aid of former band-mate Tim Gack to get the songs recorded. The results of that
endeavor should be available in July 2002, right from this website...
