Album Notes

MY NAME IS RICHIE KOTZEN AND I AM A GUITARIST/SINGER/SONGWRITER.
I STARTED LEARNING THE ELECTRIC GUITAR WHEN I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD
IN MY HOME TOWN OF READING PENNNSYLVANIA.
AT THE AGE OF 12 I FORMED MY FIRST BAND AND PERFORMED LIVE
CONSISTANTLY IN THE PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, NEWJERSEY AREA
UNTIL I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
WHEN I TURNED 18 I WENT WEST TO SAN FRANCISCO AND RECORDED
MY FIRST ALBUM FOR A COMPANY KNOWN AS SHRAPNEL RECORDS.
THAT SAME YEAR I WAS FEATURED ON SEVERAL MAGAZINE COVERS
INCLUDING GUITAR WORLD MAGAZINE AND WAS VOTED ONE OF THE TOP 3
BEST NEW GUITARISTS THAT YEAR BY THE READERS OF
GUITAR WORLD MAGAZINE. I RECORDED THREE RECORDS FOR THE
SHRAPNEL LABEL GROUP AND THEN MOVED TO LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA. IT WAS THEN THAT I WAS INVITED TO JOIN THE MULTI PLATINUM
GLAM METAL BAND KNOWN AS POISON.
I RECORDED ONE CD WITH THE BAND AND DID A WORLD TOUR IN SUPPORT
OF THE CD. MY SONG STAND REACHED #4 ON MTV’S MOST WANTED
AND WAS IN THE TOP 20 IN BILLBOARD MAGAZINE.
OUR RECORD EVENTUALLY REACHED THE PLATINUM SALES STATUS.
AFTER FINISHING MY OBLIGATIONS WITH THE GROUP I WENT BACK TO
BEING A SOLO ARTIST AND RELEASED SEVERAL RECORDS ON VARIOUS LABELS
INCLUDING SHRAPNEL, GEFFEN, AND JVC UNTIL I WAS INVITED BY JAZZ LEGEND
STANLEY CLARKE TO FORM THE BAND VERTU.
WE RECORDED OUR SELF-TITLED CD FOR SONY AND SPENT
THE SUMMER IN EUROPE PLAYING JAZZ FESTIVALS. IT WAS AN HONOR AND A
GREAT EXPERIENCE TO BE IN A BAND WITH MR CLARKE AND THE REST OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE BAND. THAT SAME YEAR I JOINED THE ROCK BAND MR BIG
WHICH IS KNOWN FOR THEIR NUMBER ONE SONG “TO BE WITH YOU”.
WE PLAYED THE OSAKA DOME WITH AEROSMITH IN 1999
FOR THE MILLENIUM COUNT DOWN. I RECORDED AND WROTE 2 STUDIO
RECORDS WITH MR BIG AND HAD MY FIRST NUMBER ONE SINGLE IN JAPAN
WITH A SONG I WROTE CALLED SHINE.
WHEN MR BIG DISBANDED I WENT BACK TO MAKING MY SOLO RECORDS.
SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN TOURING ALL OVER THE WORLD AS A SOLO ARTIST
PLAYING CLUBS, OUTDOOR FESTIVALS, AND MOST RECENTLY STADIUMS
IN JAPAN AS THE OPENING ACT FOR THE ROLLING STONES
A BIGGER BANG TOUR 2006.
TOURING AND MAKING MUSIC IS MY LIFE. IT IS ALL I HAVE EVER DONE.
I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD
WHO HAVE MADE THAT POSSIBLE.

SINCERELY,
RICHIE KOTZEN