Tommy Rickard

Drummer, and Singer/Songwriter, Tommy Rickard grew up in Northern California on the Russian River and in Santa Rosa. In early childhood he spent many nights singing along with his Italian Grandfather Dominic to Johnny Cash and George Jones songs. As a pre-teen he cut class to air drum along with his mom's Beach Boys, Elvis, and Beatles records. It all took a turn when, at 13, he got his first drum kit. His first gig followed just months after at a punk festival.

Rickard spent his teenage years drumming in the punk band The 4xLoozers and opening for punk legends like Black Flag, Agent Orange, Victims Family, and Sea Hags.

As soon as high school graduation hit he hightailed it down to San Francisco where he met singer Davy Vain. Together they formed the glam rock band Vain. Within a year, they were headlining and selling out clubs all over the Bay Area. Vain were soon signed to Island Records and started working on what would become a sleaze rock classic called ?No Respect.?
Rickard toured with Vain around the world from 1988 through 1992, opening for Guns & Roses, Poison, and Skid Row. Lemmy, of Motorhead, jammed with them at the Hammersmith Odeon, the final show of Vain's sold out UK tour.

The down time after 4 years of touring gave Rickard the chance to reconnect with the SF music scene where he started a new band called Loaded. Their trashy, brit-pop sound garnered them extensive California tours and an EP named ?TV Star? released by Crush Records. When not on the road, Rickard began studies with Bay Area drum legend, Chuck Brown.

At this time Rickard also did a short stint with San Francisco Punk/Metal heroes, The Clarke Nova. They recorded an EP and a full length record for Frank Kozik's, Man's Ruin label.

In 1997 Tommy joined up with singer/songwriter Michelle Muldrow to form California Alternative Country band BloodRoses. After two independent record releases the band drifted off to different states and different callings. Rickard moved on to local power-pop quartet, Blue Sky Roadster. B.S.R. released two records ?Julio's Dream? and ?Rollercoaster Goodbye,? both of which received critical acclaim. The band then licensed songs to MTV, VH1, the NFL and a few small Independent Films. B.S.R. renamed them selves Single and released ?Welcome Nada? and continued to license songs to MTV and VH1.

It was around this time that Rickard began working with Linda Perry, playing drums on her songwriting demos as well as performing with her live, playing in her jaw dropping tribute to Led Zeppelin. In studio Rickard recorded the Grammy single ?Beautiful? (Christina Aguilara). Rickard would continue to work with Perry on here solo records and side projects such as Courtney Love's ?Nobody's Daughter.?

After acquiring a taste for Southern California, Rickard packed up and moved to LA to pursue more work as a session drummer. Hard times and closed doors made his first year a difficult one. It was a perfect time for him to pick up a guitar and begin writing songs. The first song written was about longing for a life just out of reach called ?Dream California.? Soon Rickard had a few songs put together and tried them out at local open mic nights. He then put together a band of his own and began trading his drum services for studio time to record his album.

As his talent began to spread by word of mouth, he developed a reputation as a drummer comfortable in any style, from Metal and Country, to Jazz and Pop. He soon found himself in the middle of the California Country scene, a warm and familiar place harken back to his childhood on the hills of west Sonoma County. From 2006 to 2009 Rickard recorded music for the TV shows Scrubs and Army Wives and the films ?Little Manhattan,? ?Firehouse Dog,? and ?Less,? all the while continuing to work with Linda Perry, Michelle Shocked, and members of Dwight Yoakam, and Lucinda Williams bands.

Part of 2009 was also spent in Germany recording the drum tracks for the Delany ?Blood and Ashes,? project. A CD that would accompany the Wolfagang Holbein book, ?Chronicles of the Immortal.?
The end of 2009 was spent on a tour of Europe with Vain, celebrating the 20th anniversary of ?No Respect.?

Rickard spent 2008 and 2009 in the studio recording the tracks for his debut album ?Dream California.? This record is a melting pot of the music Rickard grew up on. The reverb drenched guitars of California's surf scene with a raw and honest voice, reminiscent of Johnny Cash. The vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys and laid back feel of the Eagles with an occasional hint of the punk scene where his musical journey began. The live shows are equal parts all of this with Rickard fronting the band, singing while standing and playing drums. He's backed by 2 guitars, bass and a female background singer. At times there could be a pedal steel player or possibly someone playing Hammond organ, or even an accordion player. Ever show's different. Every night a new canvass.