Richie Kotzen

Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.

As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases.

Kotzen was signed to California-based Shrapnel Records from 1988 to 1991, and again from 1995 to 1997.

Kotzen began playing piano at the age of five.

At the age of seven, he was inspired to learn the electric guitar, by the band Kiss.

He started his career in a band named Arthur's Museum.

Kotzen was eventually discovered by Shrapnel Records' Mike Varney, and he recorded his first solo album by the age of 19, the first of two instrumental records, simply entitled Richie Kotzen.

He created the video Rock Chops for REH video in 1989, highlighting many of his formative techniques, including using wide-intervals and fluid sweeping.

One year later, a second solo album called Fever Dream was released, which was the first one to also feature his lead vocals.

Since then, Kotzen has released a long series of more than twenty albums with musical influences ranging from rock, hard rock, pop, blues, blue-eyed-soul, R&B and funk to jazz fusion.

He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big from 1999 to 2002, and since 2012, has been the frontman of the band The Winery Dogs.

In 1991, at age 21, Kotzen joined glam metal band Poison, co-writing and performing on the album Native Tongue.

This album produced two top-twenty singles which Kotzen co-wrote, Stand and Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice).

In late-1993 he parted ways with Poison after it was discovered that he had begun a romantic relationship with Deanna Eve who at the time was engaged with the drummer of the band, Rikki Rockett.

Kotzen then focused on his solo career, regularly releasing song oriented, R&B/soul/blues and funk influenced melodic rock albums.

He also made guest appearances on several albums by artists like Glenn Hughes, Stevie Salas and T.M. Stevens.

In 1995 and 1997 he collaborated with Greg Howe on two jazz rock fusion albums.

In 1999, Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert as guitarist in the mainstream hard rock band Mr. Big, performing on their album Get Over It. He also contributed guitars and songwriting to their subsequent release Actual Size.

The record included the Kotzen song "Shine".

In 2001, while still in Mr. Big, Kotzen recorded and released another solo album called Slow, which contains a mix of bluesy rock for which a music video was filmed.

On some of the songs on Slow Kotzen experimented with the use of a drum computer, while on others he played drums.

After Mr. Big disbanded, Kotzen continued his solo career.

In 2002, Kotzen established a recording studio and production company.

He has since produced his own albums and collaborated with various figures in rock (e.g. Gene Simmons), jazz and fusion, including jazz legend Stanley Clarke, with whom he realized the project Vertú.

He released his next solo album Change, in 2003.

The 2004, follow-up-album to Change, Get Up featured a more edgy, aggressive rock sound.

It was more hard rock oriented than any of his previous solo outputs since Fever Dream and contains the ballad "Remember".

In 2005, Kotzen teamed up with three Japanese punk rockers to form the short-lived Forty Deuce-Project, which only lasted long enough to record and release one album.

Later in the same year, Kotzen collaborated with Funk Rock Fusion guitarist Steve Saluto on his album Rough Beat.

In 2006, Kotzen was the opening act for The Rolling Stones in Japan on their Bigger Bang tour.

During the year 2006, Kotzen produced and released two solo studio albums, first Ai Senshi Z×R, an album on which he played several English sung rock covers of theme songs from the Japanese Gundam anime franchise, and only nine months later Into the Black, containing ten self-penned rock songs

In 2007, Go Faster was released, which alternatively was named Return of the Mother Head's Family Reunion in Europe and Japan.

It includes the eight-minute-song "Fooled Again", and the soft pop ballad "Chase It", for which a music video clip was filmed in Venice.

In 2008, Kotzen's first live album, simply entitled Live in São Paulo was released, followed by the acclaimed Peace Sign album in 2009, for which Kotzen played and recorded all instruments.

In 2009, Kotzen also teamed up with songwriter/producer Richie Zito for a short-lived project they called Wilson Hawk.

Wilson Hawk produced one album called The Road, on which they celebrate some R&B and soul influenced pop music in the style of the late 60s and 70s and many soulful pop ballads.

After the "Peace Sign" world tour, Kotzen released one single in 2010, Angry Boy.

In 2011, Kotzen released a full-length Solo album titled 24 Hours. The release was followed by another tour.

In 2012, he joined forces with Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan to form the rock supergroup The Winery Dogs who released their self-titled debut album on May 15, 2013, in Japan, with a worldwide release on July 23 of the same year.

A world tour followed.