2004 was a great year for me. It started off touring with my good buddies Frank Gambale and Joel Taylor. We had a great time in Spain, Italy and Moscow. It was a grueling tour, schedule wise, but because of that the band has become a very tight and close playing unit. It's funny how some tours can transform a band almost like a "baptism through fire". In May I then had the great pleasure of receiving a phone call from one of my musical idols, Chick Corea. Chick and the "Electrik Band" made me feel real comfortable like I was slipping into a comfortable set of shoes. John Pattitucci has been real gracious and helpful, a real first class guy who I respect very much. Dave Weckl has become a great friend and always a joy to play with. Dave is always searching for the very best performance and always the best sound quality from himself and others. He certainly sets a high standard for whoever plays with him or for that matter, the audience as well. I continue to learn much from playing with him. Chick is certainly an inspiration, musically and as a teacher. Chick is 100% music with every breath and step he takes and I must say that to be around that kind of energy is wondrous. Eric Marienthal and Frank Gambale played incredibly every night and equally kept the band in a constant state of laughter. Great chaps. I must thank Bernie " The Illuminated Beacon of Wisdom" Kirsh for all the great mixes and conversation. Elise Toth, Bob Rice, Joe Hesse, Bill Rooney, Evelyn, Kris Campbell , Matt O'Donnell and the rest of the crew for the great job keeping everyone comfortable and primed to play the music.

    I have a lot of touring scheduled this year with "The Dave Weckl Band", "Chick Corea Electrik Band", "Billy Cobham Group" and "The Bill Evans Group". Check the "Where's Ric playing" link for upcoming dates. I certainly hope to play or record with Brett Garsed real soon. We had some great gigs in Athens Greece with Joel Taylor. Brett is an amazing musician who happens to play the guitar.

    I will have the esteemed pleasure of recording a DVD with Chick Corea and the Electrik Band in April 2005 during our California/Asia tour. It will probably be recorded at "Yoshi's" so please come out and be a part of it.

     ***Many of you have been asking for some more mp3's to listen to so I have added some more for you to check out, enjoy.

      P.s. I promise to get my book out and available asap. I've been absolutely swamped and whenever I get back into writing it I find that I have new knowledge that I need to digest and pass on into the book so please be patient.

       Everyone have a great and productive year and I hope to meet some of you in person real soon.   Take care, R.F.

***

Hi everyone, I have some great news. I will be touring with "The Chick Corea Electric Band" starting this summer! The European dates are posted and we should have the U.S. Dates on the website real soon. This will be a fantastic show so try to make one.

***

Thanks for all the great emails; I appreciate everyone taking the time to write in. I haven’t had a chance to respond to all the email but I do plan on writing back to everyone so please be patient.

2003 was a very busy year. I had the pleasure to play with some great musicians and write and record often. I also moved from Los Angeles to New York City area and I am quite enjoying the musicianship and the food. I also had the not so nice pleasure of tearing a tendon in my left upper arm and having to have surgery to re-attach it during the Yanni tour. I now can proudly say "I can do that gig with one arm" and mean it!

At this time I’m getting ready to do a European Tour with the great guitarist Frank Gambale. Joel Taylor, one of my best buddies and an incredible musician, is on drums so I’m looking forward to it. Check the concert dates and try to make a show, you won’t be disappointed.

Instructional Book

Many of the emails I read are from aspiring musicians asking for lessons and musical direction. Because of my nut schedule and because many of you live overseas I am not available to teach. After some thought I am compelled to write an instructional book/CD. It will include all the things that I personally feel are most important to musicianship and to finding your voice in Music. I have been very lucky to come in contact with great teachers who were very open-minded, first at The University of Miami as well as throughout my professional career so I will try to pass on as much knowledge and food for thought as possible.

The book will be intermediate/advanced in nature and will focus heavily on technique, harmonic concepts, rhythmic concepts, improvisation and many philosophical ideas and concepts. I hope to inspire you and help your confidence and point you in a direction to find your musical individuality. I was originally going to try to get this book out in 2003 but "time marches on and it waits for no one". The book should be available sometime around October of 2004 so keep an eye on my website for details.

I know that many of you are not rich and live in many different countries that are having difficulty financially so I’m going to try to make the book as affordable as possible. I must add that it has been my experience that the musicians that overcome the greatest of obstacles and that also come from the poorest and most modest beginnings seem to play and write with the most passion and sincerity.
For those of you struggling please persevere, and try to remember that energy and persistence conquer all things.

CD News:

We recently finished Brett Garsed’s CD " Big Sky " and it is available from Brett’s website www.brettgarsed.com, www.audiophileimports.com or www.paranormalrecords.com . Brett is a great guitarist and I think you will also like Toss Panos on drums as well www.tosspanos.com .

The CD MOJO " Tapestry " with Brett Garsed on guitar and Kofi Baker on drums has been out for about a year and is still selling well and getting great reviews. It’s also available from these websites www.brettgarsed.com, www.audiophileimports.com or www.paranormalrecords.com .

Frank Gambale’s DVD "Concert with Class" is now available. It features Steve Smith on drums, Steve Tavalione on sax and myself on bass. It is an Instructional DVD and concert and of course features one of the greatest guitarists traveling the face of the globe. Check it out: www.frankgambale.com

I am pleased to announce that Joel Hoekstra’s new CD "The Moon is Falling" is available.. It features Virgil Donati on Drums, Joel on guitar and yours truly on bass. Check out the reviews and audio clips at www.joelhoekstra.com

Australian keyboardist, Phil Turcio, and I have written some cool tunes for an upcoming CD. Check it out in "Future Projects". We should start recording this summer record deal or not! I’ll let you know when we start the sessions.

Phil was the keyboardist and composer for Virgil Donati’s "OTV- Serious Young Insects" CD which many consider a classic fusion recording. Go to www.audiophileimports.com if you need a copy of "OTV- Serious Young Insects"