To general music audiences in Australia, Richie Kotzen is well known for his guitar-playing stints in the glam-metal band Poison and rock outfit Mr Big. But to the guitar playing community, Kotzen is a well-respected guitar virtuoso, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with 22 albums under his belt as a solo artist. His diverse playing techniques and musical influences, ranging from hard rock to ’70s-infused soul and funk, jazz fusion to R&B, can be heard on his new album, Nomad, which is set for release next month.
On one of the album’s tracks, Nihilist, Kotzen proudly wears those influences on his sleeve.
“I grew up listening to hard rock, with bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple,” he says.
“But also, other non-rock influences, like George Benson, who was one of the first concerts I ever saw.”
On another track, an acoustic number titled This Is A Test, Kotzen showcases an intimate side to his musicality, one born out of a moment of creative spontaneity.
“I had a laptop and wanted to test my setup to make sure everything worked,” he says.
“So, I plugged a guitar and a microphone into it and started strumming some chords and singing a melody.
“And every now and then, I’d go, ‘This is a test. This is a test.’
“After about two minutes of it, I thought, ‘Wait a minute, this is not a test, it’s a song!’
“And so, I listened back to what I was singing and found some spots where I could tell words were needed, so I wrote some words down.
“And before I knew it, I had a song.”
Kotzen first toured Australia in 2017 and hopes to return in the future in support of his new album.
“It was a lot of fun the first time I was there,” he says.
“I remember walking around the streets, and there were times when it felt like a movie set to me.
“My impression of Australia was that everything felt very clean and very much in order.
“So, I’m hoping I’ll be able to return next year.”
Kotzen, who signed his first record deal while still in his teens, is very much aware of how the industry has completely changed since his early years.
“I know very well what’s behind the curtain of the record business, as I’ve had three major label contracts as a solo artist,” he says.
“But one of the things that I like is how it has evolved to a point where the artist now has direct control.
“Whereas when I was young, you had to have a recording contract.
“That was the only way to be heard as an artist.
“Nowadays, though, you can have your music and put it out for people to share it with without having to have a recording contract.
“And in many regards, that’s very good because you can really be pure with what you’re doing and put it out there and let the world decide where that will live.”
For more info on Richie, visit his official website: www.richiekotzen.com
Music news
1980s rocker Pat Benatar’s first three albums — 1979’s In the Heat of the Night, 1980’s Crimes of Passion and 1981’s Precious Time — will be reissued on vinyl next month.
Industrial electro-rockers Nine Inch Nails are composing the score for the upcoming film Tron: Ares.
Legendary Roxy Music vocalist Bryan Ferry will be issuing an 81-track album collection on October 25. Titled Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023, it collects songs from across his 16 solo albums.
In a recent interview, renowned classical violinist André Rieu expressed his wish to perform in front of the pyramids in Egypt, as it is one of the many places on his bucket-list he is yet to perform at.
The view from here
Music is so crucial to our lives; we are surrounded by it every day. And films, in particular, would not be as enjoyable if no music was included. Music is vital to enhancing the emotional content of a film’s narrative, yet it’s ironic that music, which is so pivotal to a film, is buried deep in the end-roll credits. After the director, producer and actors’ credits roll, music should be next, yet we get credits for the crew and others who have minor roles in the making, such as the tea-making person or the boom mic operator. They are all credited above the music! While they all play a contributing part towards the creation of the film and deserve to be credited, their credit should be allocated after the music and not before.
Imagine watching a film with no music, but just dialogue. I doubt any film would achieve its goal of connecting with an audience. Let alone a mass one. In fact, without music, a film would lose much of its substance, and its art form would become less appealing. Music elevates the art form of film to the highest degree possible. With streaming platforms such as Spotify and the like already playing their role in the devaluation of music, placing music credits towards the end of a film places further emphasis on this devaluation.
We all know how important music is in our lives and how much it was needed during the pandemic, yet post-pandemic, we seemed to have forgotten how much of an integral role it played. And with the emerging AI technology, it may even get worse. As famed American lyricist, E. Y. Harburg once stated, “Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” Spend some time musing on that quote the next time you sit down to enjoy a movie.
This week’s music singles charts
Australia: ARIA Top 50 Singles: Guess — Charli XCX
US: Billboard Hot 100: A Bar Song (Tipsy) — Shaboozey
UK: Official Top 50 Chart: Guess — Charli XCX
Fun fact
Taylor Swift used to babysit the kids of famed American pro wrestler Jeff Jarrett. Interestingly, Jarrett’s gimmick in his wrestling career was that of being a country music star. And one of Jarrett’s children would later appear in the video of Swift’s 2010 song Mine.