My name is Ric. I play guitar. I am a trained professional. I have a B.M. in Contemporary Writing & Production from Berklee College of Music and a M.M. in Music Education from Boston University. No matter how old I get I will still not be as old as the other guys in the band. They are old. I am not. Not yet anyway. Although sometimes I feel like it. Up at 6am, down at 2am. You know how it goes. Old is pulling a muscle in your back while shoveling snow off your roof. Hey wait a second... I stick out my tongue because when I had braces at age 32 I decided I could either feel like an idiot and try to hide them or stick out my tongue every time someone took my picture and show off my new grilles (or RR tracks as my kids liked to call them.) If you don't want me to stick out my tongue then don't take my picture. If you complain about me sticking out my tongue then you don't have enough problems in your life and I'd like to know your secret. Sometimes I lay awake at night but usually I just sleep. I learned how to play guitar by learning Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani songs. Not necessarily in that order. Besides playing in 8 FOOT 4, 4 foot 2, and World According to Garth, I teach at McNally Smith College of Music in Saint Paul and give guitar lessons in Bloomington. If you don't know how to play guitar I can teach you in 5 seconds. Strum the strings with one hand while holding them down with the other. Maybe that was only 3 seconds. But anyway, now you know how to play guitar. I've been practicing for nearly 30 years. Hopefully I'll be good at it one of these days. Some people say I'm good but I always remind them that anytime someone thinks they're good at something they can usually find a teenager (or worse, a 9 year old) on YouTube that can do it better. But if you would like lessons please email ric@ricoliva.com or visit my website at www.ricoliva.com. Good luck. Rock Hard. \m/