RICK TODD MUSIC
My new album "Diesel Town" is now live. Click on the Diesel Town link in the Menu to explore the album. Follow on Bandcamp for streams, purchase, extras. Also on your favorite streaming service.
MY MUSIC
I'm a songwriter, performer and multi-instrumentalist based in Amarillo, Texas. My music resonates in its own space somewhere between folk, country and Americana. I write songs that tell stories, stories that help us find our common ground, songs to remind us of the complexity, wonder and mystery of being alive. I cover songs that do the same, with a special fondness for the rich Texas troubadour tradition.
Get in touch. I would love to play for your bar, eatery, party or event.
BIO
So many years and lifetimes separate the forlorn looking lad in plaid and the grizzled geezer in the Stetson fedora. What links the young man and the (ahem) somewhat older man is a life of music.
Between those two lives was the first band my brother Gregg and I put together, Ricky and the Redstreaks, a punky rockabilly romp low in experience but high in energy. Then came The Skyōtēs. For nine years we howled out roots rock and roll, blues and ska in small town bars, roadhouses, county fairs and biker rallies in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. With the inimitable Mick McLaughlin, we established Nine Ball Recording Studio. With eight tracks and stacks of songs penned by Mick and me, we filled a couple dozen reels of 1/2" tape. Out of those sessions came The Skyotes album Fax The Pax.
I hung up the red Chucks and cased the guitars in 1991. It was a tough choice. But earning a living, supporting my family and figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up won out. I went to graduate school and finished a few years later with some letters after my name. Yeah, Dr. T is a doctor, but you sure as hell don't want me taking out your appendix.
Working as an agricultural research scientist was a great career. But always in my heart was the loner kid with the acoustic guitar, the rocker with the Telecaster, and the long studio nights working on a dream always just out of reach. So, I picked up my guitar, learned to play the mandolin, dusted off the accordion's bellows and began again to write songs, record and perform.
I'm loving it.... and still playing that beautiful Gibson Hummingbird.