There are many fine musicians from the Berks County area, but not many with both the national and international fame as Daniel Boone grad Richie Kotzen.
Kotzen will be coming back in his hometown to perform 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8 at Building 24, Wyomissing.
Kotzen, 44, has made his way to the top in the world of guitar players and has over 30 rock albums released to date featuring his guitar skills and vocals.
In the 80s, the teenage Kotzen played such memorable Reading hotspots as The Silo and Jams with the legendary local band Arthur’s Museum. Their album “Gallery Closed,” produced by Grammy Award-winning producer David Ivory never quite hit the charts, but the limited 500 EP pressing sold out very quickly in 1988 and is now very much in demand on the secondary market as one of Kotzen’s first recordings.
“The first record came out in 1989, so I was 19 when it was released. It had songs on it that I wrote when I was 17,” Kotzen said. “By the time that record came out I had zero [attachment] to that music. I was changing my taste and trying to figure out who I was and direction and all that. All these records are a little snapshots in time of evolution.”
After playing in various bands throughout his middle and high school years, Kotzen ended up in a Top 40 band but quickly realized he wanted to produce his own sound.
“I did not enjoy playing other people’s music, but I really learned a lot from just playing live, getting in front of people, in front of an audience,” he said in a recent phone interview with Berks-Mont Newspapers. “It was an important phase of my career.”
Kotzen signed solo with Shrapnel Records in 1988, releasing a self titled album in 1989 that earned him a spot on the cover of Guitar World Magazine. Subsequent releases gained even further respect from the guitar community. In an effort to broaden his audience Kotzen moved to L.A. and signed with Interscope Records in 1991.
His song “Dream of a New Day” was put on the soundtrack of “Bill and Ted Bogus Journey” and matched well with songs by groups like Kiss and Faith No More. He continued his solo efforts throughout the ’90s and in 1996 was honored by Fender with not one, but two Richie Kotzen signature guitars.
The guitars, once only able to be purchased in Japan, are now available worldwide.
Kotzen was originally well-known for his ability to sweep pick, playing single notes on consecutive strings with a “sweeping” motion of the pick. “It came easier for me,” Kotzen said, “but it’s no longer in my repertoire.” Kotzen stopped using a guitar pick a decade ago, only to replace those skills with other elements.
“When I stopped playing that way I remember I was playing in Brazil. I was having the most horrible night [and thought] ‘what can I do to change for the next show?’ I decided to try to do the show without a guitar pick.”
Kotzen forced himself to play in a different way and has since developed ways to recreate the sweep picking style with his fingers.
“Sometimes you have to do that as a musician. Put yourself in a situation where you could potentially really fall on your face and you have to find a way out,” he said. “For me it connected me more to the instrument.”
The 1993 Poison album “Native Tongue” was greatly influenced by Kotzen who briefly replaced CC DeVille in the glam bands line-up. Kotzen was tapped for guitar duties in 1999 by Mr. Big as well and helped to write and release the albums “Get Over It” (2000), and “Actual Size” (2001).
Still it was Kotzen’s solo efforts that brought him world-wide interest.
“Once the internet made a situation where I could literally take my work and make it available on iTunes, my career started to grow again,” Kotzen said. “That led to the tour in Italy and Germany and all these other places.”
His solo recordings prompted extensive touring with his trio outside the U.S., in South America, Europe and Japan to many sold out shows. His popularity in Japan prompted rock royals The Rolling Stones to make Kotzen their opening act when their 2006 tour cruised through Japan.
2013 found Kotzen joining forces with drummer, Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrealine Mob) and former Mr. Big bassist, Billy Sheenan to form The Winery Dogs.
The anticipation was real and their self titled album premiered in 2013 at #27 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. The power trio embarked on a U.S./European Tour that played to many sold out shows.
In early 2014, The Winery Dogs ended their first tour in the U.S. just in time for Kotzen to release “The Essential Richie Kotzen” a personally picked selection designed to give both new and seasoned fans a glimpse of the body of his work. “The Essential Richie Kotzen” also offers up two new selections, “War Paint” and “Walk With Me” that also seem to illustrate the musical journey of Kotzen from the 1980s through today. These may also give a glimmer of what may be on the horizon for the 20th promised solo album.
Kotzen puts out about one album a year.
“I can’t really set goals when it comes to being creative; it really is just something that has to happen on its own.”
Allowing the creativity to flow is something that comes easily to the guitarist, especially with a full recording studio set up in his Los Angeles home.
“The ability for me to have an idea, roll out of bed, walk a few steps and record is essential to my creative process,” he said. “I can go in there any time and go work.”
Kotzen is set to release another solo album entitled “Cannibals” early next year.
One of the tracks, Kotzen wrote together with his daughter, Autumn.
“It’s a song she wrote on piano. We just recorded a video for it. It’s cool to be able to write and play with your kid.”
Autumn began her musical training with School of Rock and continues to follow in her father’s footsteps producing music on her SoundCloud account.
Kotzen encourages his daughter to pursue her interests, but when it comes to advice, he lets Autumn find her own way.
“I stay completely out of anything related with the artistic side or her creativity unless she asks me for that advice. I like to let her find her own way.”
For Kotzen, he strives to “connect with people beyond the music” and finds the experience to be very personal.
“My personal experience, my perceptions, all come out in the music,” Kotzen said. “When you write there’s a lot of output happening. I need to get away from music sometimes, I need a balance in order to stay fresh and be creative.”
Come hear Kotzen perform and welcome him back to his hometown. For tickets and more information visit Building 24 online.
