8 string guitarist Richard Scott

Richard Scott is a true eccentric- one of those rare guitarists whose gifts defy the generic boundaries assigned to his art. Scott, 34, is a guitarist and luthier who cites a broad base of influences spanning from Primus bassist Les Claypool to flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya. But Scott's musical vision is deeply rooted in blues, and even his most polished and studied compositions retain the unsettled and suspenseful qualities of roots music at its rawest. Scott has lived most of his life in rural Lee County, Virginia. Though he has included some bluegrass jams in live performance, Scott's music typically bears no resemblance to the mountain and ballad style associated with the region. His eclectic repertoire includes traditional and electric style blues, Latin and modal jazz, raggae, avant garde funk-jazz fusion, and improvisional flights of fancy that defy categorization. His often startling challenges to the instrument's sonic possibilities are created by the use of alternate tunings and custom hand-made eight string guitars that employ a combination of guitar and bass strings along with stereo effects and amping.

Scott has played guitar in a variety of bands including Electric Roadkill, Low Diamond, Boogie with Stu / Blue Karma, a very brief incarnation of the Horizontal Blues Band featuring Darrel Garnett, and a few small jazz groups at Virginia Tech, one including Jennifer Turner, later to play guitar with Natalie Merchant's Tigerlilly band, Furslide, Perry Ferrel and Inner, on piano. In 1994 Scott formed the first incarnation of the Richard Scott group with Wally Robbins of the Horizontal Blues band on drums. Since then, the Richard Scott Group has included: Keith Brown (played with Junior Marvin of Bob Marley fame, Corey Harris, grammy nominee Eek a Mouse, and Latin Jazz Grammy winner Chip McNeil among others) Merrit Partridge of Corrosion of Conformity; UNC Asheville professor of percussion Byron Hedgepeth (Judy Collins) private percussion instructor Chad Blackburn of Johnson City Tennessee; Dave Franz, a Chemistry graduate student living in Blacksburg, Virginia at the time; and Tim Taylor of The Kind, Rubicon Crossing, the Electric Woodshed, among others. Since then, Richard has made an album of 6 string guitar and 8 string guitar/ drum loop one man band music that has yielded 4 #1s and 6 top 15s at Vitaminic, and 3 tracks of the day at Garageband.com.

Playing live again.

I listen to all forms of good music that I can come across. Michael Hedges especially, but Chet Atkins was the first known good guitarist that I heard. There were also plenty of mostly regular people that I knew. Some were music teachers, one was an elementary school teacher, another was a hired farm worker. The public high schools around here have reliably produced actual paid professionals in the music field. Greg Howard is amazing. Chip McNeil can demonstrate more chord theory on saxophone than most people can express with a piano. Hearing, seeing and hanging out with exceptional professionals is as profound as anything that could come out of a recording.

Richard Scott model One stereo eight string tremolo guitar/bass combination 10 string fretless various 6 string guitars Carvin MTS 3200 100 watt guitar amplifier Carvin Pro Bass 200 160 watt bass amplifier Rocktron Chameleon 2000 guitar processor Art X-15 Ultrafoot midi effects controller Carvin Studio Mate SM 162 16 channel stereo mixing board Carvin HT 150 75 / 150 amp Carvin PM5 speakers Carvin AG 1000 100 watt acoustic guitar, bass & pa combo amp 4 Carvin CM 90E microphones Personal computer equipped with a recording, mastering and CD duplication studio, also drum machine capable Tech 21 "Killer Wail" wah