Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Richard began writing and performing original songs at an early age and became active in the Mad City club scene after high school.  As Indie bands were becoming more sought out, a perceptive radio DJ, who featured a 30-minute set of Richard’s original music, gave him just the right amount of encouragement to set him on a journey west, in search of a deeper pool of opportunity.

Arriving in the middle of the Hollywood scene was like an invigorating immersion into another planet – rich with cultural diversity. The Punk, Hip Hop, Funk, and Latin musicians he encountered and jammed with were a wellspring of inspiration, adding an abundance of flavor and spices to his musical pallet.

Finding out about UCLA Extension’s Film Scoring program proved to be an invaluable step in his music education. Composing for live orchestra and writing to picture brought new insight to the dynamics of film as an artform, and imparted cinematic elements to all of Richard’s music.

A fortunate opportunity to acquire a residential/commercial property at a strategic location in Hollywood became one of those fork-in-the-road turns that provided Richard with a musical base of operations. This became Pearl Music Studios and allowed him to compose, produce, and continue to build his music library. The studio provided an optimal facility, where he went on to produce albums for several artists and score multiple independent films. Work in the studio led to engineering credits on a Grammy nominated album, and guitar music credits for an Oscar nominated film.

In 2006 Richard released his first Instrumental album entitled “Phenomenation.” The work received consistently high marks and praise from the media, with several of the tracks receiving radio airplay on 4 continents. The album continues to generate royalties year after year.

Currently Richard is licensing music for film and TV, developing new audio products, and working as a consultant and contributing artist, for the cloud-based magazine, ZO, that has international connections in over 170 countries.

With a desire to score more independent and feature films, Richard is open to any size project with a great story that would inspire a powerful score. 

Wisconsin photos by Tim Barringer (photos 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7)