Rick grew up in Lowell, Mass in the 60's and 70's and started playing guitar when he was 8 and hasn't stopped since. He went to school for mechanical engineering and work at iRobot Corp. He met his wife in high school and they were married in 1981 and have two beautiful daughters who are now on their own after attending college. Music has always been a part of his life. His grandfather was a cellist in the Lowell Electric Light Orchestra in the 20's, and his father (RIP) was a ragtime piano player and guitarist. Rick has been in bands in the Merrimack Valley since age 15 and was one of two lead guitarists in THE SHOP from 1983 to 2002. A short lived project called Roadrunner ran from 2002 to 2004 and he played in another project called Shuvelhed from 2004 to 2008. Rick took a break for a few years and was doing fill in work and building his own guitars and amplifiers. His influences are Angus Young, Jeff Carlisi, Neal Schon and Albert Collins. The right opportunity finally came around when he joined Southern Breeze in 2009.