Richie Kotzen
| Richie Kotzen | |
|---|---|
Kotzen in San Diego, November 2007
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Dale Kotzen, Jr. |
| Born |
February 3, 1970 Reading, Pennsylvania United States |
| Genres | Hard rock, blues rock, funk rock, instrumental rock, pop rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion, blue-eyed soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, piano, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, mandolin, dobro, violin, banjo |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Shrapnel, DGC |
| Associated acts | Arthur's Museum, Poison, Greg Howe, Vertú, Mr. Big, Forty Deuce, Wilson Hawk, The Winery Dogs |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Richie Kotzen Signature Telecaster |
|
Richard Dale "Richie" Kotzen, Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. Richie has a prolific solo career but, since 2012, he is also part of the band The Winery Dogs. Kotzen is signed to California-based Shrapnel Records.
Richie Kotzen began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven, he was inspired to learn the electric guitar by the band KISS. He started his career in a band named Arthur's Museum. Kotzen was eventually discovered by Shrapnel Records' Mike Varney, and he recorded his first solo album by the age of 19. He created the video Rock Chops for REH video in 1989, highlighting many of his formative techniques, including using wide-intervals and fluid sweeping.
In 1991, at age 21, Kotzen joined glam-metal band Poison, co-writing and performing on the album Native Tongue. This album produced two top-twenty singles which Kotzen co-wrote, "Stand" and "Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)".
In 1999, Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert as guitarist in the mainstream rock band Mr. Big, performing on their album Get Over It. He also contributed guitars to their subsequent release Actual Size. The record included the Kotzen song Shine, which debuted at number one on Japanese radio charts. After Mr. Big disbanded, Kotzen released the solo album Change, in 2003. The title track and the song Get a Life were featured in TV commercials throughout Japan.
In 2002, Kotzen bought a commercial building in Los Angeles and established a recording studio and production company. He has since produced his own acclaimed solo albums and collaborated with various figures in rock (e.g. Gene Simmons), jazz and fusion, including jazz legend Stanley Clarke.
...
Wikipedia