Richie Gilbert
Richie Gilbert has had a love affair with music for almost as long as he can remember. It's such an integral part of his life that he couldn't imagine his life without it. This love shines through in his songs, which are often personal, and always highly emotional, full of human drama.
"A song has to move me, take me somewhere," says Richie, "so I write from emotion. I figure that if my songs are able to make an emotional impact on me, they might have a similar effect on other people too."
Richie's signature blend of mainstream rock and pop/rock ballads does have that effect on other people, and his songwriting skills have earned him nods of approval and encouragement from the music publishing industry.
Born in Luton, England, Richie grew up listening to his Mum and Dad's old rock'n'roll 45s. Although they were well before his time, The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Everly Brothers became his first musical influences, ones that are echoed in his songwriting today.
He picked up the guitar at an early age, learning to play by listening to the radio, and after relocating to California in his early teens, Richie began writing songs. A kid of few words, he soon found he had the ability to express himself through his songwriting.
He also began building a home recording studio and producing his own demos. What started out as a vehicle for cataloguing and presenting his songs quickly turned into another passion for Richie, one that is intimately connected to his songwriting.
"I'm not only obsessed with learning how to write great songs, I'm also obsessed with producing the best recordings of my songs that I can."
So Richie divides his time between pouring his heart and soul into writing his latest song and bringing it to life in the recording studio, turning it into something worthy of pitching to music publishers. Based on the reception of his latest compositions, the future looks promising!