Richie Kotzen: No Fear To Change

By Miche Archetto:

Here is rock singer and guitarist Richie Kotzen playing his song called “Fear” with an acoustic guitar. Richie is well known for his electric guitar shredding technique, but on youtube you can find many videos where he prefers to go acoustic. Actually it is interesting that, according to this interview, in 2008 he decided to abandon picks completely and to abruptly switch to fingerpicking. At the end of the interview he says that

“losing the pick made me feel more connected to the guitar. It slowed me down immediately, and forced me to consider each and every note. It changed my phrasing. I also felt more in control of my tone, because when you strike or pull a string with your fingers, it’s a very intimate attack—a radically different sound than when you use a pick. Certain things you lose, of course—like alternate picking—but other things happen, and your technique evolves.”

In the bio in his official website you can find that

“With guitar styles ranging from rock, blues, jazz and fusion to pop and soul, Kotzen has built a remarkably diverse 20 year career as a guitarist, singer and songwriter.  During that span, he has not only built an incredibly successful solo career, but has also found himself writing, recording and playing live with a variety of different artists, ranging from Pop/Rock bands like Poison and Mr. Big to Jazz/Fusion groups like Vertu featuring Kotzen and Jazz legends Stanley Clarke and Lenny White.  Working with these artists has provided Richie with a great deal of in-studio experience, as well as the opportunity to tour the world, introducing him to an international audience.  In fact, his immense popularity overseas led Kotzen to one of his greatest honors –  touring as the opening act on the Japanese leg of the Rolling Stones’ 2006 “A Bigger Bang Tour”.”