Favourite quote.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein.
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The story so far . . .
Dick's first influences in music came during his early teens, (1973 onwards) when he would secretly listen to the pirate radio station 'Radio Caroline' every night in his bedroom. He recollects bands such as The Eagles, Allman Bros and Lynyrd Skynyrd, during that period. His record collection then started with Led Zepplin, Bad Company, Deep Purple and the like. What did he do with these influences? Join a gigging Country and Western band as a drummer! None of the songs that the band already played were known to him, but using the tempo of the rhythm guitar intros, they were up and running in no time, and gigging immediately. Dick's creative and flexible approach to music had already begun.
His first 'in-car audio' influences then developed into the silky vocals of Sade, the funk of The Average White Band, and surprisingly, the jazz of Grover Washington Jr. There was a common link to these, the saxophone. Despite then playing drums in a contemporary band, in the first half of the 1980's he also fell in love with the sound of the sax! After the band split up in 1986, Dick was never enticed into playing drums with a band again.
A number of years later, Dick eventually bought his first saxophone, and that became his musical focus. During the late 80's influences included the unsurpassed Quincy Jones, Hall and Oates, Michael McDonald and Christopher Cross. A pattern was developing, and Dick found himself subconsciously appreciating the work of some of the finest production and songwriting talents. In the early 1990's his attention was drawn to building his dream home in the country, but as soon as the dust had settled, he quickly converted a room above the garage into a 'drum room'. Although he continued to practice his drumming techniques, it also doubled as a general 'music room' where he would practice his saxophone too. Of course, by now, the size of the drum kit had evolved into a monster, and moving it around became too much of a problem, and as the years passed, the thought of joining another band was out of the question. So after much deliberation and soul-searching he sold his beloved kit. But to soften the blow he decided to reinvest the money into some basic studio recording equipment and instruments, and thought he would have a go at 'creating'. Dick had no particular focus on any specific genre, no doubt caused by his eclectic tastes, and soon got to work playing with the infinite possibilities. From 2004, the 'creations' evolved into many genres from jazz ballads to pop/rock, from chill-out to dance.
Over those years Dick studied Sound Engineering and Audio Mixing/Mastering courses, to try and improve the overall quality at every stage of the process. He still plays drums, keyboard, guitar and saxophone, though he insists that he would never profess to be a musician!
He then turned his attentions to trying to get publishers interested in his work. His dogged determination soon paid off when he was offered contracts from four publishing companies in the USA for a total of 18 songs. However there was always something 'not quite right' with these companies and Dick made the decision not to go ahead with them.
In March 2012 he eventually found a music publisher to put his trust in. That was William Wilson of Touch Records Inc/PLG Music Group based in Chicago. The rest is history, and Dick now works exclusively with William on all projects, and The Oaks Studio is now considered PLG's UK production and recording facility. Dick's first album is an anthology of his earlier work. William selected 11 tracks written by Dick featuring 8 different singers that have recorded at The Oaks. The album entitled 'The Journey' was followed by 'Deep Into You' ft. Sidonie Spooner. Since then Dick has worked with many artists and continues to publish his projects thru Touch Records Inc.
"I would like to think that my main talents are determination, imagination, creativity and constantly trying to improve my craft".