Richard Rojas

I started playing a “4” stringed Venezuelan instrument called “Cuatro” back in 1981, then I switched to classical guitar in 1983, but it wasn’t until 1985 when a friend of mine showed me a live video of Iron Maiden titled “Live After Death”….it blew me away!, Steve Harris’s performance inspired me to play bass, and from that day on I decided to be a bassist. Needless to say i started listening to Rock and Metal.The late 80s were the Heavy Metal times for me, I gigged with many local bands, and in the early 90s I got to study bass for real. I had relied on my ears, but I needed to study the theory and bass techniques. I remember buying any bass video possible, but watching Billy Sheehan changed the way I play bass, he’s been one of my biggest influences and he’s definitely my bass hero. I became very disciplined since the Billy Sheehan days, unfortunately I spent most of the 90s doing covers from other bands. Actually, in these 20 + years I’ve probably played a thousand cover songs!, everything from Classic Rock, Pop, Ballads, and even a bit of Jazz.From 2001 to 2005 many things happened, I visited Salt Lake City, Utah with no musical purposes or anything but to help a friend with my English, and I ended up attending clinics/concerts with Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Jimmy Haslip, and John Patittuci among others. In 2005 I competed in the Bass Extremes International Contemporary Bass Competition that took place in Atlanta, Georgia. I didn’t make it to the finals but I got congratulations from Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten. I recorded two bass solos for that competition, one of my own called “My Dream”, and “Michelle” by The Beatles.I’m currently teaching bass at the same music school I graduated from in the 90s, and I also play bass for the legendary band GILLMAN, which is the best Rock/Metal band in Venezuela’s history.