Richie Kotzen

Richard Dale Kotzen Jr., born on February 3, 1970, in Reading, Pennsylvania, began his musical journey at an early age, playing piano at five and inspired by KISS to pick up the electric guitar at seven. His early career saw him relentlessly developing his guitar skills, eventually being discovered by Shrapnel Records’ Mike Varney. By the age of 19, Kotzen released his first solo album. He also produced the instructional video “Rock Chops” in 1989, demonstrating his techniques of using wide intervals and fluid sweeping. His second solo album, ‘Fever Dream,’ released a year later, marked the first time he featured his lead vocals, setting the stage for a prolific solo career with over twenty albums covering rock, hard rock, pop, blues, blue-eyed soul, R&B, funk, and jazz fusion.

In 1991, Kotzen joined the glam metal band Poison at 21, contributing to their album ‘Native Tongue.’ He co-wrote two top-twenty singles from this album, “Stand” and “Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice).” Following his departure from Poison in 1993, Kotzen concentrated on his solo work, releasing R&B/soul/blues and funk-influenced melodic rock albums. He collaborated with jazz rock fusion guitarist Greg Howe on two albums in 1995 and 1997. In 1999, Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert in the mainstream hard rock band Mr. Big, contributing to their albums ‘Get Over It’ (selling over 175,000 copies in two weeks in Japan, achieving platinum status) and ‘Actual Size’, which featured his song “Shine,” a #1 hit on Japanese radio charts. After Mr. Big disbanded in 2002, Kotzen resumed his solo career, releasing ‘Slow’ in 2001 and ‘Change’ in 2003, with tracks from the latter used in Japanese TV commercials.

In 2002, Kotzen established his own recording studio and production company in Los Angeles, producing his own acclaimed solo albums and collaborating with artists such as Gene Simmons and jazz legend Stanley Clarke on the project Vertú. In 2005, he formed the short-lived Forty Deuce project and also collaborated with Steve Saluto on his album ‘Rough Beat’. In 2006, Kotzen opened for The Rolling Stones in Japan during their Bigger Bang tour. He continued to release solo work, including ‘Into the Black’ (2006) and ‘Peace Sign’ (2009), on which he played all instruments. In 2012, he co-founded the rock supergroup The Winery Dogs with Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan, releasing their debut album in 2013, followed by a world tour. His 20th solo album, ‘Cannibals,’ released in 2015, showcased a relaxed, R&B influenced rock/pop sound. In 2020, to celebrate his 50th birthday, he released the 50-track triple-album ’50 for 50.’ His collaboration with Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith resulted in the Smith/Kotzen project, whose eponymous album was released in 2021, and they released a four-track EP, ‘Better Days,’ in 2021, performing tours in the US and UK in 2022.