Beginning with the 4 B's; The Beatles, The Byrds, The Beach boys and Buffalo Springfield, the 3 Kings; BB, Freddie, and Albert, then on to CSN, Neil Young, Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Crissy Hynde, Sandy Denny, Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac, Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Frank Zappa, The Eagles, Poco, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Steve Earle, Woody Guthrie, Jimmy LaFave, U2, The Ocean Blue, Grand Funk Railroad, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Joe Walsh, James Gang, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Isao Tomita, Osamu Kitajima, Apsaras, Shawn Letts, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Pete Townsend, The Who, The Guess Who, Elvis Costello, Seal, Miles Davis, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Dan Fogelberg, Jethro Tull, R.E.M., Roxy Music, Harry Nilsson, James Taylor, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Richard Thompson, The Greatful Dead, Plane Jane, Barry Ray, to name a few.
Never be frightened by those you assume have more talent than you do, because in the end energy will prevail. My formula is: energy plus talent and you are a king; energy and no talent and you are still a prince; talent and no energy and you are a pauper. - Michael Levine
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where
thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. - Hunter S. Thompson
"In the film industry they stab you in the back....in music, they stab ya right in the front" - My friend Amylyn Arcadia from SL
I come from a musical family. My father sang and
played piano in the tradition of Fats Waller. Both older brothers were players, one co-founding the popular Tulsa based
group Bill and Cliff in the mid sixties, and the other founding the LA-based rural-psych band Plain Jane in 1968 with Les Brown Jr. producing and playing drums.
My first cousin, Paul Ray from Dallas, Texas grew up with Jimmy Vaughan and formed the group The Cobras, which became
the first group 17 year old Stevie Ray Vaughan joined upon arriving in Austin in the '70's. I naturally grew up with a desire to sing and play. I learned harmony early on singing along with the Beatles and the Byrds. Even as a little tyke, I used to help my brothers figure out harmonies. I first took up the drums at age 6, trumpet in secondary school, then trumpet, drums and guitar in college.
I enjoy the creative process of song writing, vocal arranging and music production. My last project was producing the "Songs For The Illinois River" compilation disc which is composed of original, mostly environmentally themed songs by 15 local artists. I recorded and produced 11 of the 15 songs on the CD. All proceeds are to benefit STIR (Save The Illinois River) in an effort to raise awareness and save the scenic Illinois River from further deterioration as the result of mega development and poultry farms chicken waste run-off. Be sure to check out the website http://www.songsfortheillinoisriver.com for bios, sound clips and producer's notes. CD's are available through the website as well as a wide array of local retailers. As time allows, I plan on recording my backlog of original songs and release a few CDs.
I'm now actively performing live via streaming audio in Second Life! My SL name is Ric Rembrandt, so if you're into that, look me up! I'm havin' a blast!
NOTE: All Second Life show times are Second Life Time which translates into Pacific Dayight or Standard Time! Here's a link to my calendar:
I'm the featured artist tonight on IndieSpectrum Radio broadcast LIVE at 8 pm! You don't need to be on Second Life to listen in! I'll be playing an hour of ALL ORIGINAL SONGS, so tune in at http://www.indiespectrum.com.
i know they fit me just right huh??? lol ya i have been home sick for two days now ugh it sux... got some decoations put up in my window last night thats about it well love ya dad u need to come over soon
Hi...Welcome, and thanks for dropping by our site for a visit. Thank you too for the add, and for the friendship.
If you'd like to find out a little more about Slick Nickel go to www.slicknickelyumaaz.com , and if you get a chance check out our new CD, "MAGIC" at www.cdbaby.com/cd/slicknickel Get your copy today while they're on sale!
Here's hoping you have a fantastic week! Enjoy the Nickel Tour.
Thanks so much... I'm glad to know you could hear the Floyd and Radiohead influences. They are definitely there - I love both of those bands so much :) I try to do my own thing with my own flavor, but I am glad to know my favorite bands can be heard somewhere in there.
Hey, thanks man, we're glad you like the music! It'd be great to see you @ the show w/ any and all of your rock n roll loving friends! We're lookin forward to giving Tahlequah one helluva great show ~ thanks again for giving our tunes a listen! Rock on!
Hey Ricky-Ray I hope you make it out to the Illinois River Ranch this weekend. The Vets party is in full swing. I'm going out Saturday and staying the night. Bring lawyers, guns and money!
Yeah man, strumming w/ my right hand just feels strange. The only guitar teacher I ever had spend the first 2 lessons yelling at me and telling me he couldnt teach lefties. I quit his lessons after that haha Its still hard finding good lefties. Every shop has one or two, but they sound like hell. Big Doyle, actually, told me about a lefty shop down in Houston, Southpaw Guitars.....wow! That place is awesome, they got so many GOOD lefties. I dont even waste my time at other places anymore
You think Paul might have a copy?! When I talked to Denny awhile back, I kinda got the impression that he didnt even know of anyone who had it......... but then again, Paul is a DJ, and they have their tricks haha
ALMOST TIME FOR DALLAS!!! WOOOT!!! 
