ENCORE EPISODE... Originally aired in 2019 but was accidentally erased.  

A fun 45 minute chat with old friend and TOP TALENT- musician, songwriter, and arranger EDDIE KILLGALLON. We talk music, songwriting, how he made the move from the Albany area to Nashville way back when, how “timing and preparation” helped, how George Strait propelled a song he co-wrote to the number one spot on the Country charts, his role with EDDIE MONTGOMERY OF MONTGOMERY GENTRY in light of the terrible tragedy claiming the life of Troy Gentry, and tons more. He also gave me the EXCLUSIVE on a brand new song that I’m going to play a portion of. Not to be missed. Very very timely with a vitally important message ..

Yes..that happened… An unbelievable opportunity to speak with a country music icon…Multi-Award winning singer and actor Randy Travis and his amazing wife Mary who has become, due to his unfortunate stroke several years ago, , his defacto spokesperson..and what an amazing job she does…   

 They make it work, and with great humor besides.    There is a backstory to getting this chance to chat with them, and it’s briefly explained at the beginning.  

To give you an idea….I and several others had the once in a lifetime opportunity to sing his own hits right there with him on the stage!  I will never forget that, and will never forget this super special episode… they were so down to earth that by the end of my working with them, I wanted to invite them for dinner!  Lol

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MASTERMIND OF THE SHOWS THAT I AND  OTHERS WERE INVOLVED WITH…KEVIN RICHARDS of KEVIN RICHARDS PRODUCTIONS.

He is also on this episode along with coordinator Cheryl Howe who did so much behind the scenes work with these shows at the Charles R Woods Theatre in Glens Falls and the Colonial Theatre in Laconia NH..      Absent here was Mark Petrie who also did amazing work on these gigs!

Part 1 of a 2 Part Podcast on our experiences performing in association with the UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL RANDY TRAVIS SHOW here in Glens Falls NY and Laconia New Hampshire-8/26-27,2023 - part of Kevin Richards Productions.  Mark and I were "warm up acts" and the duo of Martin and Kelly are best described as "Co- Headliners" along with the legend himself! 

More infö at MartinandKellymusic.com and same on socials. 

Mark Pierre on FB 

Let me write and record a special song for your special someone !  PICK-ME-UP PARODY INFO AT

                            www.hirerichie.com

                         RhyminRichie on Socials 

In this episode I pay tribute to a TOP TALENTed Tribute Artist -Pennsylvania native Doug Delescavage - of the PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM TRIBUTE BAND .  I happened to catch their act here in July 2023 at the Mohawk Harbor, part of the River Casino complex in Schenectady NY.  Don't miss them if they come your way in the future!  Wow! 

Here we discuss his impressive training, he talks about his day  job --, I try (and fail miserably) to stump him with  Elton Trivia questions, and  you even get a free mini piano lesson here for all you folks just starting out .  

His website if you'd like to hear clips and see his stage setup is www.philadelphiafreedomtribute.com.

A little sidestep from my normal musical topics--I wanted to explore talent in another medium- PHOTOGRAPHY.  I happened to see this man's work on Facebook where he expertly colorizes old photographs from downtown Troy way back when. A must see! 

John Bulmer is my guest.  We talk tips, tricks, artificial intelligence, the death of the digital camera (or maybe not) and other topics .   

Check out JohnBulmerPhotography on Facebook to see his incredible work.  

At the end of this, I am debuting a song where I dip my toe into the world of A.I. myself.  I had Chat CPT write the lyrics to a song explaining" how much I love playing my piano".

I put music to it and produced it with harmonies etc just for "you know whats and giggles".  It's toward the end of the episode.  

Hey--speaking of that--looking for a piano?  Digital? Acoustic? Hybrid?.  I know just the place..... HILTON PIANO CENTER, COLONIE CENTER ALBANY.    Check out his website at www.hiltonpianocenter.com  or [email protected] .

We continue with my series of Top Talented Tribute Artists.  This time Scott Townshend, aka THIRSTY BURLINGTON as Cher!!!  We discuss not only the process of transforming into this icon onstage, but also the trials and tribulations of growing up, gender identity, and we also should mention that Thirsty has a movie---aptly entitled THIRSTY - available on Tubi TV, Hulu and other services.  I happened to see it myself and it is powerful to say the least.    

Thirsty is appearing at the Charles Woods Theatre in Glens Falls on 4/15/23.   I hear there are a handful of tix left!!! Call the box office or go to Kevin Richards.com for this and all his upcoming shows - including Randy Travis on 8/26...I will be one of the opening acts!! 

Here is a clip if you would like to see a"Cher"  performance 

https://youtu.be/guEC4fDPLXE

                                    SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION 

Planning a wedding, private party, retirement party, anniversary party, corporate event?  Live and recorded music is available from yours truly.  

SPECIAL OFFER!  BOOK A 3 OR 4 HOUR PARTY BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER FIRST 2023--and I will  write and perform a song parody about that special someone at your event.  You also get a recorded copy of the song.  (THE PARTY CAN BE ANYTIME, BUT YOU HAVE TO BOOK IT BETWEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER)

For testimonials and other information -  www.hirerichie.com - all my contact info is on there.  

Enjoy the podcast!!  

Another in my series of Tribute Acts episodes.  This time we feature two TOP TALENTS.. Jenna Sue and Bill McGrath, two Albany area musicians taking on the persona of the great Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash for their final performance of their TRIBUTE SHOW  SAT. APRIL 8 at the LITTLE VEGAS WEDDING CHAPEL AND THEATRE in ROTTERDAM NY.   Call 518-419-1334 for reservations.  

FYI.. I’ve also done Billy Joel and Joni Mitchell Tribute Act interviews.  Links below..

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-phk69-11e9e80

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-sp4mm-11e435e

HIRE ME TO PLAY KEYBOARDS OR DJ YOUR NEXT WEDDING, RETIREMENT, ANNIVERSARY, CORPORATE EVENT ,OR BIRTHDAY PARTY , MENTION THIS PODCAST, AND I WILL WRITE A PERSONALIZED “PICK ME UP PARODY” EITHER PRE RECORDED OR PERFORMED LIVE.  ($199.00 value!)  

"Why did you climb that mountain? Because it was there". You've heard the saying.  Well, this was a real stretch on my part.  To try to put music to someone else's lyrics.  Especially if it's a computer's!  This was very bizarre, but I would love you to listen.  Plus a discussion (with myself) over the pros and cons of this new transformational technology.

 Try ChatGPT for yourself.    Right now it's free..              chat.openai.com

                          NEW SPONSOR! 

 Want me to write you a personalized song?   

  It's called the PICK-ME-UP PARODY

  Great for retirement parties, employee recognition nites, anniversaries, birthdays and more.  

      INFO AT 

 www.hirerichie.com

 This was a special thrill and honor to have this gentleman on here.  You know him from the number one country hits "I Don't Have To Be Me Til Monday", and "Sunshine" plus many others.  Time to catch up with this TOP TALENT to find out what he's doing down in Mississippi - you may be surprised to learn that he now is the author of the Mississippi state song- plus lots of other cool goings-on.  

His newest album is MISSISSIPPI REUNION, but there are many others to choose from.  He hosts a huge podcast called "IN A MISSISSIPPI MINUTE" which is also repeated on talk radio shows throughout his state (in fact, he asked ME to be a guest on his!  

But I digress.  Hope you enjoy this one... I certainly did.

www.steveazar.com for more on this TOP TALENT 

My website btw is www.hirerichie.com.  

Thanks for listening, and thanks for the questions that were submitted! 

Is it possible that there is a choir group that you can join with no experience and no need to even audition? Yes! It’s called ROCK VOICES! Plus you get to sing awesome music… Nate Altimari is my TOP TALENTED guest-Director of the Capital Region chapter.

  This is such a great community service. I think you’ll enjoy the conversation..

If you’d like more information about the group.. [email protected]

BTW.. At the end of this podcast I also include a little ditty that was written  20 years ago… It’s called Dog Shampoo…TRUE STORY! And I did this live on the air as part of my crazy job on WGNA ALBANY as part of the SEAN AND RICHIE show. Just a little bit of nostalgia….

My website btw is http://www.hirerichie.com. There’s old show photos, shots with some of the artists I had the pleasure of meeting and services I can provide for your next event …plus testimonials……   See ya next time…