Musician Mania - Doug Riedy

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My grandfather was a piano player, and that was my first influence to actually learn the instrument. I was picking up tunes by ear, that he was playing, when I was about 4 years old. I started formal piano lessons when I was 9 - I did that for about 2 years; the rest I learned on my own. As far as guitar influences go, my dad was pretty good with a ukulele. I picked up on that when I was about 5, and learned to play a few chords. By the time I started with the piano lessons, I had gotten pretty good with the ukulele., and decided it was time to graduate to 6 strings. Coincidentally, a friend of my mom's bought me an acoustic guitar, so I figured I would try it.

When I was about 14, my friend Steve Norris had a drum set, and after playing it for about an hour, I knew I had to get a drum set and learn how to play it (so I did). I started High School right after that and saw band as an outlet, so I decided to join up. I had acquired my own drum set at this point, and started taking lessons from Steve's drum teacher, Cary Borter, a local drummer who was working the club circuit.

Last, but not least, is the bass guitar. I bought my first bass mostly out of necessity. The director of the jazz band at my high school, Russ Liachoff, was in dire need of a bass player. I was looking to get in the jazz band as a drummer, but he already had three drummers, so he asked me if I was interested in taking up the bass. I said, "What the hell" and bought a bass from the jazz band's former bass player, James Hanford, who was a bass virtuoso way ahead of his time. I was totally self-taught at this point, and since I couldn't read the frets yet, I had to go home everyday and learn all the sheet music on my piano first, and then transfer it to the bass by ear!! After that, I was in various bands playing various instruments - sort of a "jack of all trades" like my friend Steve Jack.

Eventually I wound up in the same band with Steve Jack and Jamie Allison, went to a professional studio, recorded some killer tunes, and the rest is history.

To contact Doug Riedy, please email him at: dctrdrum@comcast.net