Cameron Richard
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Cameron Richard

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Band Pop Singer/Songwriter

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Discography

"The Solo Sessions" EP

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Bio

When I was very young, my mother fed me a steady diet of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Neil Diamond. The soundtrack to every car trip, to the mall or across the country, involved a playlist consisting of these artists.

My mom (God bless her) tried to ensure that I had a "proper" musical education involving piano lessons from the age of five. I was a terrible student - I had no patience and I didn't like to practice. When I was a little older, I played saxophone in my school's band program. Again, I was a lousy student. Still though, some of those musical fundamentals somehow managed to soak into my brain.

At the age of fourteen, something changed. My older sister had an old nylon string guitar that my dad had found in the back of a used car he bought back in the seventies. She played it a little bit but it spent most of its time leaning up against a wall in her room. I remember that she didn't want to relinquish it to me but one day, when no one else was home, I went into her room and I helped myself. I started awkwardly plunking out Nirvana riffs and little by little I learned about chords, melody, and lead guitar.

By the time I got into high school I had an electric guitar and I spent a lot of time trying to emulate Metallica and Van Halen. I believed that blistering guitar solos were the highest ideal to which a guitarist could aspire.

Once my university years rolled around I had decided that music would be my unofficial second major. I was an English student destined to become a teacher but I spent a lot of time learning music theory, taking vocal lessons, and practicing my guitar. The English degree helped when it came to writing lyrics.

Early in my university days, I discovered Oscar Lopez and Dave Matthews - my world changed. My eyes opened to the possibilities that come with the acoustic guitar. Although to this day I still love to play music by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani (I was even fortunate enough to meet both of them), my focus is primarily on the things that one person can do with an acoustic guitar.

Today, I like to play and write music that challenges my hands and my ears. As a lyricist, I write about whatever is important to me in the moment. Sometimes I write in a very broad and general way - I hope my audience takes from my words what they see fit. Sometimes I write about silly, whimsical things. Ultimately, I play for the fun of it.