Stephen Rickard
grew up in Sheffield, Alabama, the town right next to Muscle Shoals,
one of the most-noted music cities in our time, so he was greatly
influenced by the local sounds and artists there. While
growing up, Stephen took interest in the guitar, and his father
taught him how to play and bought him his first electric guitar.
Interested in all
types of music, Stephen played trombone in high school and later in
the college band. He started writing songs when he was 15. While
attending college, he got a degree in Commercial Music.
He worked at Broadway
Sound Studios as an intern and later became the studio manager,
responsible for booking sessions, being an overall gopher, and
helping in day to day operations, both for the studio and the
publishing company there.
He worked with Percy
Sledge, Kenny Price and several other artists during his time there
and got to know a lot of the local musicians and studio owners. He
has been a member of the Muscle Shoals Music Association. Aside from
music, Stephen is also a gifted photographer.
Stephen has recently
started devoting more time to music and writing, which includes
setting up a home studio, joining the Georgia Music Industry
Association, and also becoming a member of the Nashville Songwriters
Association. His ultimate goal is to continue to improve his
songwriting and to have a song recorded by a major artist.
Stephen Rickard songs:
"What Would
Andy Do"
Vocals - Stephen Rickard, Camille Scoggins
Keyboard - Hugh Hession
Guitar and Bass - Joey Stuckey
Drums - Tim Alexander
Recording Engineer/Producer - Joey Stuckey at Shadow Sound
Studio
Mastered by
Shadow Sound Studio
"It's Hell
Growing Old"
Vocals - Stephen Rickard
Keyboard - Hugh Hession
Guitar and Bass - Joey Stuckey
Drums - Tim Alexander
Recording Engineer/Producer - Joey Stuckey at Shadow Sound
Studio
Mastered by
Shadow Sound Studio
Senate Records' songwriter has song on new GMIA CD
The
GMIA CD started about a year and a half ago as a fund-raising idea
for the Georgia Music Industry Association. The members were asked
to submit two songs for consideration and the best 19 songs were
chosen by the board of directors.
A
few of the songs were already professionally demoed, but most of
them had to be recorded after being chosen. The hardest part of
making the CD was taking 19 songs from various studios and blending
them together in a way that sounded like they were recorded in the
same place. The result is a mixture of country, pop, folk, and even
a couple of instrumentals that really shows off the versatility of
the members. Most of the songs are sung by the writer, but a few had
a professional singer fill-in.
Once the songs were all recorded and mastered, they were shipped off
to make the actual physical CD and cover art. As this was a
fund-raiser for the organization, Diskmakers donated a substantial
number of CDs at no charge and became a corporate sponsor. Best Buy
also came on board as a sponsor and agreed to place the CD in 25
Best Buy stores throughout Georgia and also listed it on their web
site,
www.bestbuy.com.
One
of the writers included on the CD is Steve Rickard, a member of GMIA
who appears courtesy of Senate Records in association with Shadow
Sound Studio in Macon, GA, both owned by Joey Stuckey. Steve also
played a part in getting the CDs into the Best Buy stores and
getting preferred placement inside the stores.
A
copy of the CD was sent to Alan Shephard, the host of the online
radio show "Country Dreams" and seven of the songs from the CD were
featured on their December 5th radio program. "Country Dreams" plays
only unsigned artists and writers and has various affiliates
throughout the U.S. including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Vermont,
Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Ohio.
GMIA is currently contacting radio stations throughout Georgia to
make people aware that the CD is available at the various Best Buy
stores and through their web site at
www.gmia.org. All
the money made from the CD goes directly to the organization to
promote and encourage the craft of songwriting and to offer
opportunities to those writers and performers who have set goals for
themselves in the music business. GMIA's main goal is to educate and
provide experience and exposure for its members at-large and to
promote Georgia music.