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"NOT BORN IN A LOG CABIN"... Growing up in Ohio, Ricky heard The Beatles on a small AM radio one day and never looked back. Cutting his musical teeth in America's power-pop heartland, Ricky's early bands included PUNK from Cincinnati,legendary Chicago band D'THUMBS d'Lengendary d'Thumbs, and THEATRE,the group that brought him to Florida by way of Chicago and Detroit(as well as a #6 song on the charts in Michigan).His bands always seemed on the brink of being the "next big thing" but were ultimately denied the Big Deal. All of the above listed bands were hugely successful on the club and concert circuits, touring constantly (sometimes up to 300 days a year) and garnering regular rotation airplay on major radio stations. From 1983 until 1996 Ricky played with notorious Tampa Bay band DELORIS TELESCOPE Deloris Telescope,with Kacy Ross(guitar, vocals)and Stevie Grandmaison(bass, vocals). DT's wild club shows in Florida became the stuff of legend (El Gordo's, Club Detroit, the ACL Club...)and it seemed that major success was just around the corner as the guys constantly toured up the east coast to showcase in Manhattan at such famous clubs as CBGB's, the Cat Club, The Bitter End, the Rodeo Bar and more. Louise from CBGB's once called DT "the band that wouldn't die", but they eventually did, however not before touring from the Virgin Islands to Japan and giving their loyal flock of "Delorians" a hefty catalogue of music and a hell of a lot of great memories. While a reunion is not presently in the works, the band is currently working to update their albums for new CD release. Stay tuned, Louise may have been right! Ricky has settled in Tampa Bay where he is concentrating on a songwriting career. He continues to perform with a solo original band THE MOONSNAKES featuring former Deloris Telescope mate Stevie Grandmaison on bass,Raiford Starke on guitar and Tampa Bay icon Jeff Wood on drums. Ricky also plays solo, in an acoustic power-pop duo THE NOTS with former Edwin McCain bassist Scott Bannevich, campy lounge duo DICK and FEEF featuring Kathy Randall, and with the popular British Invasion combo THE SHAGUARS in a lineup of all-stars including Jimmy James (of Tommy TuTone) and fellow Cincinnatian Tere Bertke (of Blackhawk), also starring Tracy Labarbera and Mickey Couch. Ricky also bashes the drums backing up S. Florida recording artist RAIFORD STARKE (roots/country/thrash) with old DT mate Stevie Grandmaison on bass.The Raiford Starke Band has recently toured with HANK3 and JUNIOR BROWN. |
“BRUSHES WITH FAME”... Along the way, Ricky has had several interesting brushes with fame. The Cincy based band Punk was invited to nearby Bloomington, IN to jam with a then signed but unknown singer named Johnny Cougar. Ricky turned down an opportunity to leave his band and share percussion duties with -duh!-John Mellencamp. Punk also featured an unknown guitar player, fresh from Fender Guitar UK, named Seymour Duncan- who ,of course, went on to become one of the world's leading pickup makers. Later, playing in Chicago with D'Thumbs, Ricky got replaced in a management ploy by none other than the already famous Tommy Aldridge (Black Oak Arkasas, Whitesnake, Ozzy) but not before getting a ride in Tommy's Ferrari down in the Ozarks! Fellow D'Thumbs bandmates in Chicago John Brandt and Pete Comita both went on to serve replacement stints in Cheap Trick (for Tom Petersson). Ricky's hanging out with Bun E. Carlos led to Deloris Telescope's frequent (and often noteable) opening slots with Cheap Trick when they came through Florida. Ricky has also toured with EMI recording artists The Hazies and opened for everyone from the Police to the Butthole Surfers and A Flock of Seagulls to X. |
Tampa Bay icon Jeff Wood passed away September 12, after a long and valiant battle with brain cancer. Jeff was a good friend and the drummer for the Moonsnakes for the last 4 years. Back in the day Jeff and I knew of each other by reputation - we were both playing in somewhat high profile local bands so we would run into each other and occasionally hang out…one time he called me and we talked about something almost everyone here can relate to…bitching about our bandmates…we were repressed drummers and a friendship was forged. When I called Jeff to play drums in my new band in 04, he didn’t call back- I thought he was blowing me off until I heard about his first surgery. Eventually he did call- sarcastically apologizing for not getting back to me sooner. Within a couple of months he was in the band, banging away , occasionally , as always- working on his craft with persistence and discipline. He continued to impress people who had never heard him play before…and I would say “man- if you could have heard him really play- the way he used to… and still wanted to…he was a monster.” When Butch Ryan asked me to go to Liverpool and play at the Cavern Club- a dream of mine, and I couldn’t go…Jeff went instead and I’m so grateful he got to have that experience. Jeff played from the heart, and not just musically. He would always ask about my other half and about my dogs. He was a sweet and funny and a serious ass rock god. It was an honor to finally play with him these last couple of years. |
"MONKEYSHINE" NOW AVAILABLE at CD BABY.COM- GO TO LINK on page 4. Ricky's newest solo CD "Monkeyshine" finally came out in September '03. The CD is basically compiled from 2 different recording sessions, one in which RW played everything just after the demise of Deloris Telescope, and a later session which was produced with Steve Connoly, who also played most of the lead guitar. Steve was with Tampa Bay legends the Headlights and also toured with Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. |
the Moonsnakes play at Skipper's Smokehouse for WMNF's Who Tribute show, June 24, 2006. l. to r., Wes Dearth, Ricky, Scott Bannevich, and Jeff Wood on drums |
RICKY APPEARED AS A BAND MEMBER IN "THE PUNISHER", A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JOHN TRAVOLTA DUE FOR RELEASE IN APRIL 2004. HERE A "BAND SHOT" ON THE SET...(L.TO R: RICKY, GREG WOHL, JC LOADER,AND DUTCH) |