ABOUT RICK:

Rick's interest in music, electronics, and sound, started at a very early age, when his creativity inspired him to construct drum sets with ice cream tubs from the local store and jam to a cranked up stereo.

In response to his passion and ingenuity, his parents then purchased a drum set for him at the age of 9, and soon following, he discovered the electric guitar and formed a rock band called "The Blue Flame".

Rick built his own guitar amp and constructed electronics as a hobby.

When he turned 14, his family moved to Austin, Texas, where he formed a three-piece hard rock band called RICK-A-SHAY.

After RICK-A-SHAY, he discovered the soundboard and mixed for bands, and then accepted an opportunity to work for BLACKSTAR SOUND AND LIGHTING, a large concert sound company.

He toured throughout the United States for more than 10 years, and ran sound at the Austin Opera House for seven years.

Rick has worked with everyone, from "Donny and Marie Osmond" to "Black Sabbath" to "Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble".

He has since formed two companies, namely; RICK-A-SHAY SOUND and RICK-A-SHAY PRODUCTIONS, in which he offers his advanced skills, talents, and 25+ years of expert professional music industry experience.

Rick-A-Shay Sound sells and rents state-of-the-art pro-audio sound equipment, stage lighting & effects, and backline equipment.

Rick-A-Shay Productions produces shows, and offers booking, management, and promotional services for performing artists and musicians in Austin and the surrounding area.

RICK SPENCER HAS TOURED WITH AND WORKED FOR:

• U2
• STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
• VAN HALEN
• JUDAS PRIEST
• THE PRETENDERS
• BLACK SABBATH
• GEORGE STRAIGHT
• NAZARETH
• LEON RUSSELL
• FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS
• ROBERT PALMER
• MISSING PERSON
• DIRE STRAIGHTS
• BUDDY RICH
• BELLAMY BROTHERS
• PATTI SMITH GROUP
• WENDY-O-WILLIAMS AND THE PLAMASTICS

Just to mention a few...!!

"My name is Phillip Nitch.  I am writing to you as a professional business referral for Richard Spencer and Rickashay Productions. Here is a brief synopsis of my background in the music business:

I am a native Austinite. I have been working as a musician, booking agent, sound and lighting technician and vocal instructor in Austin, Texas for over 20 years. I earned my degree in Vocal Performance from The Musician’s Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California, graduating in September 1990. While in Hollywood, I was an A&R assistant at CBS/Columbia Records and Private Music Inc. Upon returning to Austin Texas, I worked at The BackRoom club as a DJ, marketing director, booking agent, and sound & lighting technician from 1990 until the club closed in 2006. I have toured as a sound & lighting tech with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Oasis, Cheap Trick, and many others. I am the manager, principal songwriter and lead singer for the Austin group The Jolly Garogers. Now in our 6th year, The Jolly Garogers have won numerous awards, including two Austin Music Awards, performed on National Television (Last Call With Carson Daly), local television and radio, including a record 5 performances on Fox 7 News in the Morning, and played over 300 shows in Austin alone.

In all my years in the music business, I have never worked with a more sincere and dedicated production person than Rick Spencer. It is very rare that a booking agent, in any town, will take the time to write out contracts for every show, and run around town on Friday and Saturday night, promoting and supporting his bands and clubs. Rick is always on the internet plugging the clubs and bands he works with. He consistently encourages his bands to put up fliers and send out emails about their shows. His resume is far more impressive than mine and I have been lucky to work with him these past 5 years. When the smoking laws changed and The BackRoom opened a beer garden back in 2005, we brought in Rick Spencer to book Thursday, Friday and Saturday happy hour bands. He managed to create a “blues rock scene” in the beer garden in just few short months. The happy hour crowds he brought in spilled over into the 9pm live side of our club and nearly doubled our bar business.

I realize that running a bar is a monumental responsibility. With the economy in dire straights, it is very difficult to find extra money and take any risks as a small business owner. Rick has told me that you were considering his prospect of turning your venue into “South Austin’s New Home for Live Rock and Roll”. This is a great idea, but of course there will be risks involved. I can assure you that South Austin is full of rock, and hard rock fans who have no where to go listen to their favorite style of live music since The BackRoom closed. There are also thousands of college students living very near your venue that might prefer to stay away from the traffic, high drink prices, and “less than friendly police” that 6th Street is famous for. The big problem with any new band, club, radio station, etc, in Austin is that there are so many events happening here every night. Therefore you have to be creative and very smart in how you market yourself. I went out on a limb and formed a band who dresses like Pirates! Somehow this has really worked for me. In your case, I can suggest several long term marketing strategies that may or may not work. Some methods will cost more than others, but in the end, it comes down to how much you really believe in their creative vision. The waitresses, bartenders, security guards, musicians, soundmen, DJs, etc. do not make a bar successful. It is the patrons and the owners who make the bar a success!  Sometimes that means spending money to make money, losing sleep at 3am to send out emails to The Austin Chronicle, Statesman, and Daily Texan, etc. It all depends on what you as an owner want for your business. I believe your location is great for a live music club, but the summer season will be very hard this year for all Austin bars. You might consider a few test nights of live music and try to build a little buzz in the local press. When the time is right, you could book a “Grand Opening” and get sponsorships from local South Austin businesses. You could make it an all day event in the parking lot with bands playing outdoors and then inside at night. Budweiser and KLBJ love those kind of events, especially if “a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit (insert local charity of your choice)”. I work for Front Gate Tickets here in Austin. We handle ACL Fest, Stubb’s BBQ, The Parish, Lollapalooza in Chicago, etc. We could do the ticketing for you for next to nothing for a charity event. Finally you could set up a table, or booth sponsored by Straight Music, Music Makers or any local music store. You encourage bands to drop off press kits at that table so that they can be booked to play your venue in the future.  Eventually you could even look at some small touring bands next year.

I realize this is a lot of information to consider, and I thank you for taking your valuable time to read it. I see plenty of potential for your new club and I know, without any doubt, that Rick Spencer is the best production person in Austin for this job. If there’s anything I can do to help, please feel free to contact me. I wish you the best in all your ventures.

Sincerely,
Phillip Nitch
phillip@ppnom.org
512-789-7916

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Hi Rick,

I wanted to drop you a note to tell you just how much we enjoyed working with you and Boomerz on Saturday night. We usually dread working with house sound guys, because most of them talk a line of BS and wind up mixing every band like some Cookie-Monster Death Metal ensemble.

You know you stuff, and you're a blast to work with. And your PA sounds pretty darn good too!

Thanks for a great mix and a great night. I'll talk to you early in the week and we'll see when we can get a return date booked.

You've now got my email address....don't be afraid to use it.

Have a good 'un...

Ken
The Rhythm Dawgs
(512) 917-9443