Thursday, March 31, 2011

Tom's Song Circle at Rick's

Come, gather around our circle of friendship and enjoy a night of acoustic music, where everyone takes a turn performing. Or just come to watch.


Our song circle is a great way to get used to playing in front of others without taking the stage at open mic. The fun starts at 6:30 and goes til about 10:30. All skill levels, original or covers and as casual as can be. Come Play! $3 cover charge  

Questions? Email Tom at tom468strings@yahoo.com
SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 8, 2011    6:30-10:30
Friday, April 22, 2011  6:30-10:30

Monday, March 28, 2011

Johnny A Tickets on sale now!

Johnny A -Guitar Clinic & Workshop 
Sun, April 10, 2011  7pm (doors open 6:30)


“Up Close & Personal with Johnny A”

TICKETS $20 General Admission ($17 for Rick’s Music students)
Buy tickets in store or online

″…his guitar creates dense musical shadings, conveying nostalgia, regret, hope and intrigue…” — Jazz Times
Guitar-slinger and Boston Music Award winner Johnny A. grew up listening to Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix before cutting his teeth leading a short string of blues-rock bands. But the Bostonian bluesman really came of age in the early ’90s as a member of J. Geils Band.Everything he learned about supporting a song by knowing when to show off (and, more important, when not to) has been incorporated into his now elegant style: a potent blend of rock, jazz and blues tied together by a sweet tone and a constant emphasis on melody.
During the Clinic, he’ll share the inside story of his style & techniques, answer your questions.. plus plenty of great music to inspire you!
LINKS:
http://www.johnnya.com/
Buy tickets online at http://www.ricksmusiconline.com/
Johnny A  YouTube video mix

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

2nd Tyme Around -Open Mic Feature Thurs 3/24/11 @7


Dedicated to Playin' Original Music- written by John Arruda

"..for the PURE REWARD of making it sound as GREAT as it can possibly be!"

Open Mic starts @7pm
Performer Sign up @6:30

Admission:  $3 per person




BAND MEMBERS: 
 Ed Fonseca- lead vocals & percussion,
John Arruda- lead guitar, vocals, songwriter
Alan Belong -2nd guitar and vocals
Roy Vieira -drummer and vocals
Ray Letourneau- bass guitar and vocals

2nd Tyme Around is the brainchild of Ed Fonseca, who wanted to put together a band featuring the original music of his cousin, John Arruda. Finding musicians who would be willing to sacrifice playing cover tunes to dedicate themselves to learning original material was not easy. The financial rewards would be very small, not to mention the time commitment for rehearsing and learning the material.

The band has gone through several transformations: a drummer, three bass players, two keyboard players and a percussionist have come and gone, but the 5 remaining players have proven to be the nucleus of the band.

In the words of John Arruda, who writes all the original material for the Band, “The driving force seems to be everyone's dedication to the music, which is diverse; from country rock, to rhythm & blues, latin flavored, good old rock n' roll, Americana...I guess that covers it all. It is hard sometimes to say with words, what you feel in your heart. I try to do that with my song lyrics, which I find the perfect vehicle to deliver my inner most thoughts and feelings.”

If the band is destined to be successful, John says it will be because of everyone's dedication and desire for the music to sound as good as it can get. Says, John, “I guess it all depends upon your definition of success. Just playing and enjoying the music has been reward enough for me. I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by good musicians, but more importantly good friends. I'd say we've been very successful.”

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

BIG BREAK Contest Entry Deadline Approaching!

Have you entered your video of an original song yet?!  You only have until March 20th!
Register and enter the contest here:  EVENT LINK

 Note: You must be 18 to enter.  Be sure to read the contest rules to get all the details and dates and to see all the great prizes!

Voting begins March 23rd!

Friday, March 4, 2011

"Jam for Jim" ~ Sun. March 13, 2011 Benefit for family of the late Jim Johnson

This event was a trememdous success!!
It was a magical night filled with great music all night long.  Thank you to the teachers, students, staff and special musical guests who performed and to the many volunteers who helped. 
Thank you to Washburn for donating the beautiful guitar won by Paul LeClerc who immediately re-donated it to be raffled off to one of the kids attending the event.  New tickets were handed out to all the kids and boy, were they excited!  Paul drew the winner, our student, Robert Matthews-Forte.
Thank you, Paul! 
Our combined efforts raised $1,375 for Jim's family.
Join us for a night of awesome music
to be provided by
 all of the TEACHERS at Rick's Music
along with SPECIAL MUSICAL GUESTS!
Plus ...enter our drawing for a special Guitar Giveaway for the cause.

AWESOME LIVE MUSIC and GUITAR RAFFLE
Admission:  $10 donation at the door
SUNDAY - MARCH 13, 2011
TIME:  6:30 - 10:00


Our teacher, Jim Johnson, has led a life filled with music and has shared his joy of music making with so many people.  Just ask his many band mates, family and friends over the years plus the thousands of people who've watched him perform.  He's shared it with us here at Rick's for over 10 years and most importantly ... passed it on to the many students who've had the good fortune to be taken under his gentle wing and shown the possibilities that music brings.  A legacy that will live on through them.

Sadly, on January 14, Jim lost his battle with cancer.  Please join us to celebrate his life and the music he loved so much. 

All proceeds will be going to help Jim's family.

MORE About Jim's musical and theatrical journey:

A Taunton native, Jim was the lead singer of such bands as Rockestra, Snapdragon, Kindred Spirit, Full Moon Fever and many more!  On the stage, Jim lived each moment to the fullest and gave every ounce of his gifted talent, energy and spirit to the performance.  He also portrayed Jesus in the rock musical, Jesus Christ Superstar for ten years.  Many have said that as you watched Jim perform the role, you came to believe it was Jesus you were watching, so complete was his creative commitment to the purity of his role.

As a solo artist, he was often known as "Jim Jonson:  The Wandering Minstrel"  and while living in Florida, many called him "JJ On The Beach." 

We recall one special memory of Jim's musical journey that happened right here at Rick's.  Jim loved no, make that LOVED The Beatles!  After George Harrison's death, Jim wrote a song about George, his favorite Beatle.  In 2006, we co-sponsored a weekend of events with the Beatles tribute band, The Liverpool Legends, a band put together by George's sister, Louise Harrison.  And on the Friday night before the big Sat night concert, we held a private event for a small group of people to meet the band members and Louise and play Beatles songs together.  It was a magical night.

When Jim took the stage, he sang George's song for all of us, but mostly, for Louise who came onstage to thank Jim and give him a big hug.  Later on she gave Jim her contact information chatted with him and invited him to stay in touch.  He talked about that night as being one of the most memorable of his life.
JIM'S MYSPACE LINK:  http://www.myspace.com/514034565/music/songs/61976260

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

BIG BREAK 2011 Contest!!

The BIG BREAK Contest is back and it's your chance to "Get your Original Music Out There!"


Upload your performance video of an original song. The top bands and solo artists will appear on The Rhode Show on Fox Providence. Cardi's Furniture NIROPE Studios will produce a music video featuring the winner. The video will air during the American Idol Finale and the winner will get to perform live at Twin River. Click the "Event Link" below for more information, to upload your video and to vote for your favorite.


EVENT LINK   


Many thanks to the event sponsors for supporting live music!