Born 2:55am, 28th November 1982. Richard-James Long made his debut into the world.... It became quite clear to my parents that I was a special kid! At three years of age my parents would watch me for hours standing next to the speaker box in our lounge-room singing to every song on the radio…word for word…not for note.
Feeling the need to nurture my natural talent for singing, my mother-being a deeply religious woman, started me singing in church. For years I grew up singing old gospel hymns and children’s rhymes in front of our congregation. But unlike your conventional musos, I had no interest in the gift I had been blessed with.
But that was all about to change!!
1993, 11 years old, new school, new surroundings & the dawn of a new era! An obsession with Michael Jackson’s album Dangerous opened the doors to a freedom I had never felt. Dancing released me, but it also gave me a glimpse of life as an entertainer. You think about it, an 11 year old kid starting his first year at a new school, going from no friends to becoming the most popular kid in school…simply because he could do the moonwalk. It awakened me…I had found my calling!!
Music had always been a part of my family, my dad had been in bands for almost 20 years & my brother was always constantly on the road touring. But the connection for this young Richard James wasn’t made until a crazy almost out-of-place Seattle band impacted me in a way I’ll never forget….the seed of Rock was sown!
Nirvana’s ‘Never Mind’ album along with Silverchair’s, ‘Frogstomp’ single-handedly changed my life forever! I picked up a guitar and played…I can still remember the first song I ever learnt; “Nirvana – About a Girl†(Live in NY). My brother had a lot to do with my development as a musician as he taught me (much to his disgust) how to play every Nirvana & Silverchair track I could get my hands on!! Listening and learning the songs of these bands created a deep love for the drums!! I decided put my guitar back in the case in my pursuit to become the next John Bonham….I became Solid, tight, LOUD & an absolute nuisance to our neighbour’s. But I was there…and hungry to be in a band!!
After playing guitar & the drums recreationally for a couple of years, I joined a youth choir made up of talented singers/musicians from various churches in the South east…Thus the reason why the choir was called the ‘South-Eastern Youth Choir’ (SEYC). This choir changed my life & taught me a lot about being a professional artist. People like Rowden Kolone , Moe Ioane , James Hollands & Mama D all mentored me very intensively & I will never forget what each of them have contributed to my development as an entertainer.
This was also around the same time that close friend & gifted guitarist, Ben Bolek picked up his first guitar and started to play with dreams of starting our own rock band!! As I experimented with different bands, Ben kept refining his talent on the axe.
I was 15 years old when I joined my first professional band. Created by James Hollands (Iron & Clay), this band was formed by talent scouted throughout Melbourne to tour various gospel conferences & push the boundaries as far as gospel music was concerned. I played with this band as a drummer for a year before Ben became a solid member. It was perfect, I was drumming and Ben was ripping it up on the axe! We had our band…finally!
For 5 years we were together….the high’s, the low’s, we went through it all. As a band we grew up together, weekly gigs gave us a lot of exposure and soon we were headlining rallies and conferences. Although the vibe of playing to capacity crowds was amazing, for the 2 mates who shared a dream, this was still not enough!! In-fighting started to become common in the band and the cracks were clearly showing. Communication breakdowns and constant arguments led to the eventual split of the band.
For Ben & I, this was only the start of something bigger!!
After the unfortunate demise of our band ‘All or Nothing’, Ben & I started playing for the band at our local church. This band wasn’t your average gospel unit. In the time that we spent playing in this band we had the opportunity to rock out with artist’s such as Aaron Hendra , Ben Carey, Jason Heerah , James Hollands & Russ Hendra to name a few!! This band taught me a lot about what it truly meant to be a musician!! Learning and watching the passion, love & respect they showed their art inspired Ben & I to think outside the square and start our own ‘Original’ band!!
Teaming up with hotshot musician/producer Jonathan Hunt , we started playing together constantly and recorded every single chance we had! Writing songs was starting to become a focal point of my development as an artist & eventually we had a sound that we could all be proud of. But as time went on, other challenges started to pose a threat to our sheltered lives. And being a natural born networker, I started to delve into Melbourne ’s thriving nightclub scene. Taken under the wing of Joe Mavrikos from Mavrik Entertainment , I was thrust deep into the heart of this scene & my music quickly began to suffer. Although the contacts made were priceless, what good was an address book with contacts if the material didn’t add up!!
Amid Ben leaving to study in New South Wales & Joth’s heavy touring schedule, I was placed in a position I had never been before….
I was now alone….
But as they say, “If you want to get something done, do it yourselfâ€. And that’s exactly what I did. I decided to walk away from the nightclubbing scene and dedicated every spare moment I had to writing songs and moulding my sound! Working with George A & George T from Karma Nights, I learnt to understand that a career in music was a journey & that every high & low defined who I was as an artist-an entertainer-a songwriter! I will always be thankful for the lessons & time spent with Karma Nights as I know I wouldn’t not be the person & musician I am today without their guidance. But the hunger inside was telling me that it was time….a new age was about to being…
INTRODUCING RICHARD JAMES
The music was ready & so was I! The time out from the scene proved to be just what the doctor ordered!! Joth had just finished a stint touring in South-east Asia & was ready to collaborate on a record that we both could be proud of!
Recording extensively to create an EP that would create waves, we put our heads down and the music you have before you is a snippet of all that hard work!! Armed with an arsenal of musicians, it is now time for Richard James to be unleashed!!
Long time friend and mentor, Joe Mavrikos saw the vision that I created and has quickly become an intricate part of the Richard James project! Recruited by an A&R rep for Arista & J-Records there is nothing but excitement building as 2006 comes to an end, things look very positive for the new year!!
This is where my story resides…..and as this chapter comes to a close, I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your continued support and for the love that you have shown to me along the way. I will never forget what you have done for me!!
Its coming….’THE REASON’…...Stay tuned!!!
"Lets Rock ’n’ Roll!!"
Richard James xo