Rich proudly endorses:
Rich started playing guitar in church at the age of thirteen and it wasn’t until he was twenty-seven that he considered switching over to bass, and it was only because a friend was setting up a “Christian Salsa” band and was in need of a bass player.
On guitar, Rich was influenced by the sounds of Al DiMeola and George Benson. However, since the transition to bass, those influences quickly veered towards the great sounds of Ruben Rodriguez, John Benitez, and Oskar Cartaya to name a few.
His interests grew as he played with Christian Salsa bands like Orquesta La Gloria de Cristo and Orquesta Inspiration and listened to bands like Eliezer Espinoza, Orquesta Xariz, Orquesta Rubi, Richie Rey & Bobby Cruz, and David and Abraham.
His current musical influences cover a wide range, partly because of his respect for other cultures/genres. He is also inspired by all Bass players he listens to. Most people would use names like Victor Wooten, Jeff Berlin, Marcus Miller, etc., and though many of those musicians are a huge part of his listenership, which he admires and respects very much. The bass players he is closest to are the ones that he has had the honor and pleasure of sitting down with and spending quality time with, i.e., Ruben Rodriguez, Danny Hernandez, Joshua Lozada, and Hector Ostolaza. These musicians offered their friendship as well as their musical knowledge freely.
He has been fortunate to play in many rewarding musical settings in various genres: Country, Funk, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Reggae, Latin, Contemporary Christian, and Gospel, etc. Spiritually he feels his most rewarding opportunity arose when he got the opportunity to meet and was invited to play with one of his favorite Christian Salsa bands “Orquesta Xariz”. He was so honored to be invited to play with such an anointed group and even more anointed leaders in Ruben and Wanda Felix.
Currently Rich is a part of the worship team for Transformation Church located in Middletown, NY. He is also the bassist for Country Music Singer Tracy DeLucia (a recording artist out of Nashville, TN), and has had the opportunity to back Christian artists, i.e., Tyrus Morgan and Heather Williams to name a few.
His current desire is to venture out to the Jeff Berlin’s Players School of Music in Clearwater Fla. to continue his pursuit of a better education in music and sit down and pick the brains of Mr. Jeff Berlin himself.