Radio St. Pete - Meet Musician Rich Sheldon on "Lunchtime Conversations" 10-17-23

Click photo below to hear the radio Interview

SINGER/SONGWRITER RICH SHELDON

Story and Photo by Leigh Clifton, in Gulfport Living - July 2023

Rich Sheldon is a boyish 49-year-old guitar player whose return to Florida from LA has culminated in a calendar booked solid with solo gigs as well as shows with the Rich Sheldon Band, which features local guitar legend Steve Connelly on lead guitar.

Born in Pittsburgh, Rich knew at an early age that he loved music. At age 12, his mother bought him a guitar and soon Rich had Beatles and Bob Dylan songbooks, spending hours on end playing along to the tunes on the radio. His love for music has never wavered.

Moving to Florida from Pittsburgh after high school, Rich went to USF for 2 years, then Florida State, studying Media Communication with a minor in Film & Theater. He had desires about directing, production and acting.

He pledged ATO Fraternity, thinking it might be fun and perhaps useful in his future endeavors. He bounced around on other people’s couches as well as the occasional ATO house, where his membership afforded him a cheap or even free place to hang his hat.

In 1996, thinking LA might be the place to be, Rich and some friends decided to drive cross country, stopping whenever and wherever they wanted. Again, using his ATO affiliation, Rich was able to secure lodging in any ATO house along the way…so the drive was fairly cheap. Rich did return to Florida and graduated from FSU.

Back in LA, Rich continued pursuing jobs in the entertainment industry, while working as a production assistant, valet, server, anything to put food in his mouth. On a fluke he was able to get an internship as a Production Assistant with James Cameron, who was starting work on his new movie Titanic.  During this time, he was meeting and playing with local musicians as well as taking acting lessons. Much later, he got several commercial gigs, had his vocals on a song (“Duck Parade”) for the hit-tv show “Modern Family”, and also did voiceovers . But in the beginning, the 16 hours days on “Titanic”began taking its toll juggling movie work, acting classes, and playing music.

A friend of Rich’s sister gave Rich a copy of “No One Gets Out Alive” a biography of Jim Morrison and it changed his life. He became enamored of Jim Morrison’s music and learned how to write songs by improvising.

He was also gifted the book,” The Artist’s Way”. Both books convinced him that his path was to follow music.

Rich spent years cultivating a cadre of musicians for different bands, and played gigs all over the LA beach towns, playing all the time. He lived with friends, couch surfed and even found an ATO house he could crash in occasionally. He lived in a VW bus for six months on Venice beach. After 24 years Rich had built up a life, a following and a musical reputation that kept him busy almost every night.

Then came Covid.

ALL of his contacts, his gigs, his commercial acting work just stopped as the country shut down. Luckily since his days at FSU, he picked up a Grateful Dead songbook, listened to their recording and learned to play their music. He had seen the Dead in 1995 in San Francisco with a few of friends. By then he was a big fan, playing the Dead, The Doors, Dylan, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and also HIS OWN MUSIC!  And proceeded to bounc around LA for 24 years. And then, he came “home” to be near his parents, sister and relatives.

Rich found his way back to Florida after the shutdown essentially ended all of his LA work. He decided to stay in Florida for a while and began the arduous task of rebuilding his music contacts. After being away for so long, he thought it would be extremely difficult. But he started gigging almost immediately, hooking up with some Grateful Dead tribute bands (Uncle Johns Band and Ship of Fools) as well as reggae and regular rock and roll guys. He met Steve Connelly, a phenomenal guitarist who played with The Byrd’s frontman Roger McGuinn, and Greg Roy, a Jamaican reggae singer among others.

Now Rich is once again playing every night and most days as well. The beach bars are packed, and everyone has music every day. He lives in Spring Hill and plays from there all the way to Bradenton and beyond.

Rich has started coming to Gulfport and played with Christian Walker of Deadset at the North End Tap House.

“I really love Gulfport, it’s such a super chill town. It’s so friendly and there’s music everywhere. It reminds me of some of the Southern Cali beach towns I used to play at. I’m really excited to play here! “

Check out his Facebook page or for more info, check out www.richsheldonmusic.com.

 The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach offers 'Songwriters Jam Night' on Tuesdays

By Michael Hixon - Dec 11, 2019 

Rich Sheldon is a busy musician who plays about 230 gigs a year, including the “Songwriters Jam Night,” which takes place Tuesday nights at The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach.

At the event, several singer/songwriters get 30 minute sets while Sheldon's Rolodex Band, featuring a rotating roster of his musician friends, jam in between sets, beginning at 9 p.m. From midnight to 1 a.m., Sheldon says he encourages the earlier performers to jam with his band

“We're encouraging the songwriters to play your own original music and maybe save a song at the end to play with the band," Sheldon said, "or if they want to bring in their own musicians, they can play their set and we'll have a back line set up for them."

Sheldon's band features a “rolodex” of musicians that can back him up at a moment's notice, including bass players, keyboard players and drummers.

“I've developed these relationships over 20-plus years playing in L.A. and meeting all these musicians,” said Sheldon, who created the event along with General Manager Steven Grehl.

Life in music

Originally from Pittsburgh, Sheldon moved to California in 1996 after attending Florida State University. He originally worked in the film industry as a production assistant for director James Cameron on the blockbuster film “Titanic,” as well as on other films. He also studied acting but he was drawn to the “power of music” and the “social consciousness about it.”

Sheldon, who lives in Santa Monica, was drawn to Venice and the westside because that's where The Doors' founding members Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek originally met in the mid 1960s. With the beach and music he “found my place.”

For about 15 years, Sheldon has played at local clubs owned by Paul Hennessey, including Hennessey's Tavern, H.T. Grill and Mickie Finnz, as well as The Lighthouse which Hennessey purchased in 1989. He's also performed at Mickie Finnz in Las Vegas and Hennessey's locations from La Jolla to Las Vegas.

'Moments of Magic'

Sheldon said Hennessey is “keeping music alive in the community,” but he's reaching out to South Bay musicians to “bring some life and original music to The Lighthouse.”

“There's a huge contingency of South Bay musicians that I don't even know and I’ve heard about,” Sheldon said.

For the jam night, Sheldon acts as musician, stage manager, band leader and promoter, where he gives exposure to the performers through social media including Facebook Live or YouTube. He said he finds this aspect of the jam night rewarding.

“You're doing something that's helping other people,” Sheldon said. “After having played as much as I have, it's bringing other people into the fold and pushing them and promoting them. They're getting a chance to play and we're opening up the stage for them.”

Sheldon also finds the jam night a networking opportunity for musicians.

“I like bringing together some songwriters that might not have as much experience, but are still talented and putting them with people who are seasoned veterans. It's kind of like pushing them into a situation where they can meet each other and create together,” Sheldon said.

Sheldon said he hopes to create unexpected “moments of magic” with the jam.

“(When) something is good, you just know it,” Sheldon said. “It does not matter if it's a cover or not. There are people putting their heart and soul into a song and you can feel it.”

Sheldon will next be performing at The Lighthouse, located at 30 Pier Ave., on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

For more information, visit thelighthousecafe.net, richsheldonmusic.com, or call (310) 376-9833.

Contact this reporter at mhixon@tbrnews.com or on Twitter @michaeljhixon.com.

https://tbrnews.com/entertainment/the-lighthouse-in-hermosa-beach-offers-songwriters-jam-night-on/article_b4e1da58-1ada-11ea-931d-17137ada28d2.html

Deadheads returning to Ventura after 30 years

Bill Locey - April 4, 2017

Much like those zillion zombie movies where the dead never really die, Dead On The Beach is returning after 30 years to the Ventura County Fairgrounds with the debut of the Skull & Roses Festival, a real dead man’s party celebrating all things dead, to be personified most convincingly by 48 bands playing all Grateful Dead and/or Jerry Garcia music all the time, on three stages and all weekend long.

And let’s not forget the 55-hour drum circle, an epic undertaking that might even rival the activity from Skull Island, every cheesy 1950s Western or "Jumanji."

The Grateful Dead played the fairgrounds from 1982 through 1987 — except for 1986 when guitarist Jerry Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma and almost died, leaving distraught Deadheads wandering around Ventura a week after the shows that did not happen, mumbling, "Jerry’s sick, man."

After the '87 shows, the local politicos on the Fair Board and the city of Ventura, along with the carpetbagger tourism shills, were sicker than Jerry’s Kids — actually sick of Jerry’s Kids — and decided to cancel the Deadhead shows slated for June 1988 because these were not the sorts of tourists the Poinsettia City needed to attract.

In fact, Deadheads were the perfect visitors. They came, they spent their dough and they didn’t move here or drive like idiots in front of us or reassure us that the traffic’s really not so bad up here — no, none of that. Instead, the Deadheads moseyed off to the next show as in, "Need a ride to Tucson, man…"

Just half an hour late at 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 1982, and for a mere 13 George Washingtons, the Dead kicked off their first Ventura show with "New Minglewood Blues." There was something like 10,000 people on acid and four cops, but by the last show on June 14, 1987, the demographics had changed dramatically to four people on acid and 10,000 cops, with too many of Ventura’s finest acting the part of the unwelcome wagon, writing people up for jaywalking.

There are no more loyal fans than Deadheads. They’re like Trekkies with their own culture but with more options when it comes to what’s in their closet. There are literally thousands of Dead shirts — including our own classic Dead On The Beach shirts, created for the '83 Ventura shows. There are even Bill Walton Deadhead shirts.

So where are all the Deadheads these days? Did they get haircuts, jobs maybe, eventually come down? All of the above — they’re all around us, and they’ve been breeding. Not a geezer fest by any stretch, there will be plenty of young folks spinning aimlessly on the fifth-mile oval that is the Ventura Raceway, creating a much more tuneful Commotion by the Ocean. And all that smoke won’t be from those roaring race cars or even methanol from speedway bikes, but rather the smoke that Jeff Sessions really does not like.

Sessions would not wear a Dead T-shirt anyway, nor would his boss. Hillary might if she thought she might get an extra vote. And Bernie? Probably so.

Anyway, the band played from 1965 through 1996 when Jerry Garcia died. But then it continued on sporadically in various incarnations, closing it all down with the 50th anniversary shows in Chicago, featuring the last four surviving members and guest stars such as Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby.

So what’s a Grateful Dead show like? There aren't enough adjectives, but this simple description seems close enough: There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.

The Dead played more than 2,300 shows, and they never played the same song in the same way twice. They released 13 studio albums, close to 70 live albums, and the vast majority of their shows are available somewhere in that vast Deadhead network. With a nod to posterity, taping was encouraged at Dead shows. Just as artists who have entered the past tense keep releasing albums, the Dead are no exception: Last year Rhino released a 13-CD boxed set of five concerts from 1978. All in all, their resume is not bad for a band that got minimal airplay, was virtually unknown on MTV and had few hits but more fans than almost everybody else.

Despite the Dead’s long career, it was never enough for their insatiable fans, so there have always been Dead tribute bands, now more than ever. So in a way, the Dead are truly dead, but on the other hand, they’re not even sick. But why didn’t event promoter Chris Mitrovich opt for a Ramones fest or a Jimmy Buffett fest?

"Being a Deadhead myself and understanding the scene, a couple of years ago I was floored by how many tribute bands there were for the Dead than there were for other bands. That whole scene has blossomed in the last 10 years and I thought, 'I’ve got to get all these guys together.'"

But why Ventura, a city that has had a checkered rock 'n' roll past to say the least, and at the fairgrounds itself? There was a riot at the Jimi Hendrix concert in 1970 — same at the Surf Punks show in 1982 or so — same with Aerosmith a bit later. The Fair Board and the city gonged the Dead in '87, and the neighbors still routinely complain about the Ventura Raceway, which has been in operation since 1971 — or before the vast majority of the whiners moved here.

"Because of the connection with the old Dead shows — the famous shows from '82 to '87, and it was sort of like the penultimate Grateful Dead experience, those day shows on the beach. That’s the only place they ever played gigs like that. So after the '87 shows, it’s been 30 years," according to Mitrovich, a survivor of over 100 Dead shows, which explains plenty.

He continued: "People have been happy — the Deadheads are happy to go back to Ventura because it was a cool experience for everybody. Also, I didn’t realize there were so many bands from Ventura. We have a lot of bands from Northern California, but I was surprised by how many were locals. The Ventura scene has just blossomed — it’s really cool.

"And it’s not just old people. There’s guys in their 20s in these raging bands. And everyone has agreed to the format, which is playing all Dead, which is really absurd. They’ve agreed not to play their originals, and there’s all this camaraderie among the bands. It’s a community and it’s really cool. I’m trying to merge the parking lot into the shows — people will be camping inside the show. Obviously, it’s not going to be a loose Grateful Dead parking lot like it used to be, with dogs and all the fringe activities."

It sounds as though all the parts — fringe activities to some extent — are in place to recreate Ventura’s best party ever, and Deadheads can camp and dance around in circles until they fall over. The shows on Saturday and Sunday start at dawn — the first set is at 6:30 a.m. — and there’s the drum circle that starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and goes all the way to the end of the show at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. The shows go to 10 p.m on the outside and midnight on the inside, while Sunday is basically 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday is 2 p.m. to midnight.

Providing the soundtrack for all this spinning and grinning are, at last count, 48 bands, including lots of locals and/or bands that play the 805 all the time such as Shaky Feelin’, 9 Mile Skid, Unkle Monkey, Mars Hall, Sheldon & Cunnane, Rachel Sedacca’s Scarlet Fire, the Deal and Greatest Story. Then there’s Cubensis, one of the most successful Grateful Dead tribute bands with 30 years experience, fronted by that Jerry Garcia re-enactor, Craig Marshall, who survived over 200 Dead shows, and had this to say about all that:

"I think it’s going to be a Grateful Dead concert on steroids. There’s almost 50 bands — little guys, big guys and everything in between. The Grateful Dead — you know, I never had a better time — and now we’re going to do it again for three days on three stages.’’

Local guitar shredder, Mark Masson, all the way from Camarillo, will lead his band, Shaky Feelin’ and noted, "Yeah, we’re gonna be in it Saturday on the Main Stage at 2:30 p.m. and I think it’s going to be awesome, especially for the SoCal Deadheads. So it’s going to be Dead music but also related music that Jerry Garcia played in his solo projects, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be Grateful Dead songs."

One of the busiest guys over the weekend besides the dancers will be Jeff Hiller. He’s the bass player in Shaky Feelin’ but he also fronts the Deal. Here’s the deal on the Deal.

"You know, my main band is Shaky Feelin’ really, so this is just a side project, but we know 75 or so Dead tunes. I think it’s awesome — a once-in-a-lifetime thing. There’s been Dead-centric events before but I don’t think with 40-something bands before.’’

Steve Stafford, who has seen the Dead close to 100 times, fronts Unkle Monkey, a band that has been playing in Ventura since the '80s, including numerous appearances at the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. To this Monkey’s Unkle, there’s more to this than just bands and fans, but maybe the soundtrack for ethics.

"It’s not just the music — it’s the whole spiritual part of it. Be kind. Do good things. Enjoy life. So there’s that and there’s the music part which I love because it’s so free form. They don’t care what genre the song is in. If they like it, they play it and make it their own, which is what we do actually."

Longtime local musician Rachel Sedacca, who went to around 150 Dead shows, will be fronting an all-star band:

"All excited, yeah, and looking forward to see what all the bands come up with. It’s all about family values, adventure and music — their songs are like anthems to me; and literally, there’s something for everybody from blues to rock, country and soul. They’re a band that’s really run the gamut of genres. So yeah, I can’t wait. I’m gonna be there with my new bus named Grace. It’ll be her first time out…"

Not to break the mood, Ted Kraut, who fronts Mars Hall, had this to say about the upcoming weekend: "The Mars Hall set is going to be Dawn of the Dead Sunday morning — we’ll play some Dead and some Jerry Garcia and doing this show has got me to go back and start really listening to a lot of stuff. He has a huge catalog of songs and covers — bluegrass tunes, classic rock, Bob Dylan tunes — there’s tons of stuff out there that that guy did. It’s amazing… Hey, I’ve lived in Ventura for 13 years — the 818 number is for my work. I know the 818 is kind of embarrassing…"

For Ventura-based 9 Mile Skid, this gig will provide an opportunity to serenade the choir and not have to stare at the dreaded tip jar, bad-at-math club owners, bouncers that hate your face and bartenders that mistake you for the invisible man. Frontman Evan Grosswirth discussed his favorite band:

"I think last time I talked to you, 9 Mile Skid had just started and we didn’t even know where it was going. We just knew we wanted to play Grateful Dead stuff. So we started playing, and over the last few years, we were just blown away by the response we got. We just kept playing, building the set list and having some fun. We’re pretty much like the Dead now with two guitars and two percussionists, and so by doing that, we got into the pipeline with all the Grateful Dead people, including the guys from Cubensis who recommended us. Yeah, Craig Marshall is a great guy. So we’re playing Sunday afternoon, so that’s pretty good."

Shawn Cunnane — the Cunnane half of Sheldon & Cunnane that plays half a dozen times each month in the 805 — also will get to experience the we-do-it-nice-because-we-do-it-twice scenario this weekend.

"I work with the band Cubensis — I sub for them sometimes — and we’ve done a lot of Dead music in the community, so we wanted to be a part of it. Our band’s kind of unique because Rich Sheldon and myself play most of our shows as a duet, so we’re performing Friday as a duo and then Saturday with the band, so we get to offer two different renditions of our interpretation."

The Grateful Dead, often as high or higher than the people in the crowd, were known for their long sets — sometimes playing up to six hours. Compared to the Dead, Bruce Springsteen is a slacker. They never did that at Ventura — it was pretty much around a three-hour show with a half break in between. When the Dead closed festivities at their first show back in '82 with the prophetic "It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue," one stubborn guy was yelling at the empty stage, "You owe me money, Jerry!"

So can any of the bands this weekend play longer than the Dead? Not us, Masson of Shaky Feelin’ said.

"Hell, no— they’re not my main forte. I’m not as good as other bands are, like Cubensis — that’s their thing. We’re gonna have fun and kinda make some medleys out of it — three songs in one, that kind of thing. We’re going to explore and lean more toward the improvisational side…like Shaky Feelin’."

Grosswirth of 9 Mile Skid — they of the ever-increasing set list — knows they can play a really long time: "Here’s one for you: Brad (Strickland), our guitarist, who is sort of new to all this, said, 'This is the first band I’ve ever played in where we run out of time before we run out of songs.' So we just play it as it comes — there’s just so much leeway towards having fun."

Although no one is being asked to play more than 90 minutes, Cunnane is another artist who will be forced to edit, depending on the time of day. Who knew?

"We have a pretty large catalog — we could probably lay down three to four sets. So we’re doing a daytime set at noon on Saturday and there’s specific stuff out of the catalog that’s supposed to happen during the day and there’s specific stuff in the catalog that’s supposed to happen on Friday or Saturday night, so we’ll probably stay in a lighter area and not play any of that wet, funky stuff, which is definitely more of the nighttime stuff. It’s like those Indian ragas for sitars — some are actually meant for a specific time of day. I’d never really thought of the Dead like that, but there’s definitely daytime Dead songs and nighttime Dead songs."

Ted Kraut of Mars Hall gets the last word:

"The Dead, man … the first time I ever saw the Dead was here in Ventura in 1983. I was in junior high school and I fell in love with Garcia’s playing and their traditional song craft from roots to music to progressive rock — know what I mean? The Grateful Dead made me listen to Bill Monroe. I mean, where would I get Bill Monroe? It was from Jerry Garcia, and all that bluegrass stuff, and I probably never would’ve listened to Tony Rice… and Bela Fleck — it ends up turning you onto a whole other genre of music.

"All right, I gotta go — I’m going to go hang up some posters…"

What a long strange trip it still is.

If you go

What: Skull & Roses Festival

When: Friday through Sunday

When: Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Drive, Ventura
Cost: Varies
Information: Skullandrosesfestival.com

https://www.vcstar.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/04/04/deadheads-returning-ventura-after-30-years/100004622/