Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

electronpirate

electronpirate

Axe-Master
One of my idols, Gary Richrath, who played a wild weird out of control type of guitar that I loved, had disappeared off the face of the earth for the last few years. I always wondered where he had gone to. I even found a few posts that had the same question in a few places. Hell, even his Wikipedia page had a 'if you know, put it up here.'

Well, I found him. He did a benefit and a quick reunion with REO, and I guess the vid speaks for itself.

REO Reunion with Gary Richrath Dec 2013 - YouTube

Hey, I'm all about an appetite for self-destruction, but...damn.

R
 
JabbaTheHutt.jpg


:lol
 
Re:Richrath

He was out there from the start. *I saw them several times in the very early 70s before they recorded, inthe Midwest rock barns they frequented ( majestic hills, anyone...?), when they were still speedwagon, and Richrath and I got into a stoned eye lock as he soloed during sympathy for the devil (!). one of the seminal moments of my early rockin' adolescence. They were never as good as they were as a cover band, but you could see the madness in his eyes even then.
 
Thank God the video is blurry! They look like Morlocks. Some old rockers should be heard(maybe) and NOT seen.
 
Dating myself:

I've seen them in the early days, then saw them at Red Rocks maybe a year ago? For 60+ guys, they did a great job rockin' it...even if I want to punch Kevin Cronin every once in awhile. In the end, it came across as a bit 'rote' for me. Just hammering out another show. Sure, no night can be magic, but how can you be off your game at Red Rocks? Dave Amato is a fantastic guitarist, and he had 'wow' moments, but none of that 'edge of your seat, what the fook is he going to do' moments you saw with Gary. Vaguely out of tune solo's, and that odd dance he did. Amp (Plexi) at the edge of exploding, riffing during verses randomly. Dave falls into the 'very solid' category. Safe(r).

On the subject of aging rockers, I've seen Styx (seen first in 1976/77 as a young pup), and Peter Frampton in the last few years. Frampton (when he goes off script) can still throw it...he's got a way of looking at a scale that is uniquely *him*. Tommy Shaw is an underrated acoustic guitarist, and can knock your dick in the dirt at will in solo's. James Young I like, but he always seems a little too full of gin at these things.

Either way, Gary reminded me of Ronnie Montrose, who couldn't contain his appetites, and sent himself 6 feet under the grass.

Anyway. As I get older I look to see how these guys are dealing with how they play and continue to push the envelope. I find most do not innovate anymore, but some at least maintain gracefully. They seem to have given up on new material that's, well, NEW (yeah, I'm talking about you Journey...)

Even tho I don't listen to him often, I find Dylan still an old fook who can still find wells of inspiration in an old frame.

R
 
Loved him too, looks like Robin Crosby from Ratt at the end, omg that guy went south, then died from Aids
 
You know, I'm hoping he pulls his shit together, and gets back into the game.

It's just this sort of thing that might make him consider that his talent may not just belong to him. And that standing on that stage is a high you can't get from the sauce.

Wish him well I do.

R
 
Wow - I learned pinch harmonics by reading a Guitar Player interview with him and trying to learn this song:

Good to see him back!
 
Loved him too, looks like Robin Crosby from Ratt at the end, omg that guy went south, then died from Aids
 
I'm kind of with Bill Hicks on the whole drugs vs quality of human expression. It's usually not pretty but it's always a good show :)

Besides, haven't you ever noticed the correlation between fat fingers and good tone? :)
 
Saw REO back on the Good Trouble tour. My best guess w/o looking it up is around '83 or '84. Red Rider opened up for them. Absolute great show! Although I was in high school and only saw a few bands prior to that (My first concert was Rush in '81) i thought the show was killer. Gary had a huge presence on stage with the big hair and all. Or at least i thought he did anyway. I was like 17 or something. What i thought was so cool about it the emphasis was on the band and the songs. Thats it. No fancy light shows or anything like that. Just a great straight-forward rock n roll show. Three encores if i remember correctly.
I saw them again with styx and thought they were just as good even tho Gary wasn't there. Its sad to see him look like this. Big influence on me as a guitar player.
 
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