The Story of RichardJames
Born 2:55am, 28th November 1982. Richard-James Long made his debut into the world.... It became quite clear to my parents that I was a special kid! At three years of age my parents would watch me for hours standing next to the speaker box in our lounge-room singing to every song on the radio...word for word...not for note.....
Nirvana's 'Never Mind' album along with Silverchair's, 'Frogstomp' single-handedly changed my life forever! I picked up a guitar and played...I can still remember the first song I ever learnt; "Nirvana - About a Girl" (Live in NY). My brother had a lot to do with my development as a musician as he taught me (much to his disgust) how to play every Nirvana & Silverchair track I could get my hands on!! Listening and learning the songs of these bands created a deep love for the drums!! I decided put my guitar back in the case in my pursuit to become the next John Bonham....I became Solid, tight, LOUD & an absolute nuisance to our neighbour's. But I was there...and hungry to be in a band!!
I was 15 years old when I joined my first professional band. Created by James Hollands (Iron & Clay), this band was formed by talent scouted throughout Melbourne to tour various gospel conferences & push the boundaries as far as gospel music was concerned. I played with this band as a drummer for a year before Ben became a solid member. It was perfect, I was drumming and Ben was ripping it up on the axe! We had our band finally!
After 5 years together & the unfortunate demise of our band 'All or Nothing', Ben & I started playing for the band at our local church. This band wasn't your average gospel unit. In the time that we spent playing in this band we had the opportunity to rock out with artist's such as Aaron Hendra, Ben Carey, Jason Heerah, James Hollands & Russ Hendra to name a few!! This band taught me a lot about what it truly meant to be a musician!! Learning and watching the passion, love & respect they showed their art inspired Ben & I to think outside the square and start our own 'Original' band!!
Teaming up with hotshot musician/producer Jonathan Hunt, we started playing together constantly and recorded every single chance we had! Writing songs was starting to become a focal point of my development as an artist & eventually we had a sound that we could all be proud of. But as time went on, other challenges started to pose a threat to our sheltered lives. And being a natural born networker, I started to delve into ....Melbourne....'s thriving nightclub scene. Taken under the wing of Joe Mavrikos from Mavrik Entertainment, I was thrust deep into the heart of this scene & my music quickly began to suffer. Although the contacts made were priceless, what good was an address book with contacts if the material didn't add up!!
Amid Ben leaving to study in New South Wales & Joth's heavy touring schedule, I was placed in a position I had never been before...
I was now alone...
INTRODUCING RICHARD JAMES....
The music was ready & so was I! The time out from the scene proved to be just what the doctor ordered!! Joth had just finished a stint touring in ..South-east Asia.. & was ready to collaborate on a record that we both could be proud of!
Recording extensively to create an EP that would create waves, we put our heads down and the music you have before you is a snippet of all that hard work!! Armed with an arsenal of musicians, it is now time for Richard James to be unleashed!!
After a very successful Media Launch in 2008, Richard has now started pre-production on his debut album! So stay tuned...Music is my Religion, so say you're prayers!!!