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Born in Baltimore, MD in 1969, it was not long before Rick found his calling. After a two week long stint on the popular children's TV show ROMPER ROOM in the 1970's, Rick knew he was a born entertainer. He started his first band "The Go's" named after his favorite toy LEGO'S ® at the ripe old age of 5 and has never looked back.
After graduating high school in 1987 Rick hit the street running. He headed for Boston to attended Berklee College of Music. He actually enrolled in the summer semester and had started classes at Berklee, before his high school graduation ceremony had even taken place. While at Berklee, Rick's mind and musical horizons were broadened with the constant exposure to many great players form all over the world. "The Berklee community is a wonderful place, a musical airport lounge of sorts, where the paths of so many great players cross. A collection of people, some of whom you will come across again and again during your life's journey and some that you will never see again, but for that short time the cross pollination of styles and influences is an invaluable experience." He studied all styles ranging from bebop to hip hop and received instruction in everything from acoustical engineering to big band arranging. He was well on his way to garnering the raw material he would need to take him to the next level. Rick graduated Berklee in 1991 with a Bachelors in Music. In 1989 Rick met guitarist /songwriter Chris Hobler. Together they co-founded the Boston based band SPAMPARIS. SPAMPARIS was received well on college radio. By 1993 Spamparis had been named a semi-finalist in MUSICIAN MAGAZINE'S "Best Unsigned Band" competition and was dubbed one of the ten best unsigned bands in the city by BOSTON MAGAZINE'S "The Best of Boston" awards.
The
following year, Reese and Hobler left SPAMPARIS and Boston for a
woodsy life in New Hampshire and the pursuit of a more inventive,
avant garde music style. SONIC JOYRIDE's 1995 debut received airplay
on 180 college stations and gave them the opportunity to open concerts
for Spin Doctors, Letters to Cleo, The Radiators, Ratt, and the
Fabulous Thunderbirds. Then came the Major Label interest. It was attractive, but Rick and Hobler wanted more control over their own destiny and decided to create their own artist run label with an artist based philosophy. Anomaly Records was born.
Sonic Joyride released four CDs on Anomaly Records. (Sonic Joyride, Bazaar,Breathe, Behemoth) Now Sonic Joyride was on their way to becoming one of the most truly independent bands in North America. With investors they were able to raise the capitol to compete in the market place with the big boys on a much smaller budget. With the ability hire the radio promoters, consultants, retail promoters, and publicists needed, Anomaly was in business and so was SONIC JOYRIDE. Through hard work and ingenuity they developed one of the most creative and unconventional marketing strategies ever attempted by any band. At the heart of it was the Cosmic Sled, surely a future piece of indie rock folklore. The
Cosmic Sled was SONIC JOYRIDE's one of a kind, custom welded tour
bus. (formely a retired school bus from the Oyster River School
district in New Hampshire).
With a retractable stage on the roof, a 10,000 watt "surround sound" sound system, giant rear projection video screens, a full lighting system, and a 16 track digital recording studio all powered by a self-contained generator, The Cosmic Sled had become one of the most recognized vehicles in America. SONIC
JOYRIDE launched an outrageous series of tours, named the "Bizarre
Bazaar" tours after their second CD release Bazaar (ANO20001-2).
SONIC JOYRIDE logged over 30,000 miles, 240 dates on a self-financed
voyage to the American heartland, setting up and playing for locals
at some of the country's most unusual landmarks - from the World's
Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas to the World's Largest
Bug outside Providence, RI. In fact SONIC JOYRIDE actually received
the key to the city in Cawker City in a town wide ceremony, a gesture
that has not been lost on Rick or any of the guys in the band.
This
traveling medicine show captured people's imaginations an very quickly
caught the attention of the national press including CNN and MTV
[more],
not to mention hundreds of news papers and dozens of TV stations
from all parts country documenting their every move. Rather than
sit home and complain about how hard it was to get the right deal
and break through all the difficult aspects of the music industry,
SONIC JOYRIDE just went out and played. There was a relaxed, un-commercial
vibe that people seemed to be hungry for. When the tour brought them to Los Angles they shot their first music video for the single "Baked". This mini epic incorporated a great deal of actual footage from the "Bizarre Bazaar Tours" and is a great time capsule of their adventure. [watch the BAKED video] SONIC JOYRIDE toured extensively after that in more traditional ways, however the Cosmic Sled always found its way into the scene. In 2000 the band embarked on the Y2K tour (Yard Wired 2000) in support of the Release "Behemoth" (ANO20003 -2) This promotional tour used the momentum of the "Bizarre Bazaar" tours to create a valuable prize for radio stations across the country give away. Each station placed the band's single "Everything is Beautiful" [listen] into rotation, and for a period of two weeks prior to SONIC JOYRIDE arriving to their city, each station would register listeners for the grand prize. A prize pak that included a private SONIC JOYRIDE concert on the "Cosmic Sled" in the winners backyard; an autgraphed Brian Moore Custom Guitar; a digital camera to capture the moment; a DVD of the event and a DVD player to play it on. This was hugely successful and was quickly propelling SONIC JOYRIDE on the national stage and their single "Everything is Beautiful" up the rock radio charts. This promotion was the crown jewel in the marketing plan that was three years in the making and it all started with a school bus and a band who wanted to make a difference. The Y2K tour was cut short in the Spring of 2001 when SONIC JOYRIDE's front man and Rick's longtime friend Chris Hobler was Diagnosed with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Chris was no longer able to perform and Sonic Joyride was put on hold until a cure is found. [see the last Y2k Show] Chris, never one to give up or take no for an answer, went on and founded ALS Hope. ALS Hope is a non profit foundation whos mission is to raise money to fund worthy, progressive research, while simultaneously fostering public awareness of this unnoticed tragedy. Chris is actively working to this end, and music still plays a large part in his life. He released the CD "Don't Ask Why" [listen] a remixed collection of some of the most thoughtful SONIC JOYRIDE songs penned by Chris Hobler. This CD is aimed at raising public awareness to the need to fund reseach of ALS and other 'Orphan Diseaes' or in other words diseases that are not profitable enough to develop a cure. [Please visit their site] Chris lost his battle with ALS, but his fight and legecy continues. Rick relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida and reinvented himself. In the Spring 2002 Rick met Matt Fagen and Phil Pressler, coincidentally also from New Hampshire, and formed a band that would become FOOD. FOOD was 180 degrees from his former life in the mainstream rock radio driven market place. Exploring the sounds of inspired recklessness, FOOD quickly became one of the most popular bands in Tampa Bay.
The sound of FOOD could be described as a progressive fusion of funk, jazz, and integrates many other musical styles including latin, country, and even hard rock. The term "jam band" may come up, but these guys certainly distinguish themselves with an edgier, fearless attitude and a Zappa-esque sense of humor. FOOD performed with The Neville Brothers, Deep Banana Blackout, G Love and Special Sauce, Galactic, Donna the Buffalo, Jazz is Dead and many more. After 4 great years FOOD stopped performing, however it is such a fresh sound they could pick up at a moments notice. In
addition to performing throught Florida Rick also jumped in to his
community. He was the Music director and instructor for Creative
Clay. Creative Clay's mission to provide people with developmental,
physical and emotional challenges a place to experience all aspects
of the art world. Our classes include instruction in the creative
process and experiences with various art mediums taught by local
artists. This allows an improved quality of life enhanced through
style and imagination. To
learn more about Creative Clay please click <here>
2008 Rick became the touring bass player and band leader for Mikel Knight. A country Hip Hop Artist. Country Hip Hop, a relatively new genre music, if you can believe that, has presented some unique challenges, because the rules are not written it allows for some innovation and creative license. To check out the sound go to www.mikelknight.com .
More to come.....
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ick Reese,
a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts,
has been playing the bass guitar for over 25 years.
