Aric Riley Drawn to Traditional, Acoustic Blues

Aric Riley

    In our fast-paced, fad-ridden society, it's heartening to find gifted performers who are drawn to, and even engrossed by, good old-fashioned, down-home Country Blues. It’s especially encouraging to see and hear young artists dedicate their talents to that style of music. Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, the legacy of traditional Country or Folk Blues remains a vital part of our culture and its understated power can still be felt today in live performances and new recordings.

    Aric Riley is an excellent example of just such a performer. Here is a musician, singer and songwriter whose lifelong interest in music has attracted him to a variety of styles. He finds enjoyment and inspiration from all sorts of artists. Yet, he has found himself drawn to traditional, acoustic Blues. So much so, in fact, that its allure has inspired him to immerse himself in the melodic, fingerpicking style of guitar that typifies Country Blues.

    Aric counts such pioneering Blues and roots music artists as Charley Patton, John Hurt, Skip James, Furry Lewis, Blind Blake and John Fahey as main influences in his artistic development. But it's somewhat misleading to name just a few artists when trying to characterize Aric’s influences and style. His broad musical interests have pushed him to seek out recordings from numerous artists and each time you talk to him he will rattle off more names of artists that have captured his attention.

    It has only been about eight years since Aric began dedicating himself to learning the guitar and playing the Blues, but he has been singing for most of his life. His musical background, strong commitment and natural abilities have allowed him to develop an uncommon feel for the music he plays, and in a relatively short period of time he has become a moving Country Blues performer. He began sitting in on live sets with his mentor, Terry Robb, less than three years ago and was asked to be part of the “Terry Robb NW School of Acoustic Guitar Showcase” at the 2002 Waterfront Blues Festival. Aric ended up “having a blast” at the Festival and the experience encouraged him to find more gigs around town.

    He now appears regularly, either as a solo act or in duos and trios. Over the last year and a half, he and bassist, Katey Angel, also a relative newcomer to the Blues, have been performing together regularly at the Mock Crest Tavern and other local venues. Aric has also found considerable support in the local Blues community, particularly from fellow guitarist and friend, Alan Hager.

    With his career beginning to blossom, Aric recorded his first CD, “Talk About Trouble”, in 2003 and he plans to begin recording a second offering early next year. To complement his guitar playing and singing, Aric has also been developing his songwriting skills. He included two of his own compositions on “Talk About Trouble” and hopes to feature more of his songs on the next CD.

    Even though Aric didn’t take up the guitar until he was in his early 20s, his musical background provided him with a solid foundation when he started. Growing up in Eugene and Salem, he would spend his allowance on records and music magazines and also frequently listened to music on the radio. Aric thinks his love of music may have sprouted from his grandmother, an Austrian, who would often play classical music at home when he was a child, including many a Viennese waltz. His parents, for their part, caught his ear by regularly playing popular songs from the likes of Elvis, The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel on the stereo.

    Whatever the source of his interest, music became an important pursuit in his life. He began taking piano lessons as a child and continued for several years. He also briefly dabbled with the drums. But, he found singing brought him the most enjoyment. He joined the choir in middle school and stayed with it throughout high school.

    Despite his love of music, it took Aric a while to really develop an intense interest in the Blues. It wasn’t until he had started college that a friend turned him on to a number of famous Blues artists such as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Albert King, and Robert Johnson. Aric enjoyed it all and began buying more Blues CDs. The seeds of his future in the Blues were sown, but his attraction to the Blues built gradually, until he finally connected with someone who could really introduce him to the music.

    That connection came a short time after Aric enrolled at Portland State University as a music student. His first effort at college had lasted only a year and he then took a couple of years off trying to figure out what to do with himself. Fortunately, the enjoyment he found in music brought him back to school in an area that has such a vibrant Blues scene.

Aric Riley

    While studying voice at PSU, Aric would head over to the Candlelight to enjoy one of his favorite local performers, none other than Terry Robb. At the time, Aric had only recently picked up the guitar and was still a beginner at the instrument, having only learned some basic chords. A friend who knew Aric was a fan of Terry’s, gave him a birthday gift of three guitar lessons. From there, Aric’s fascination with Acoustic Blues really took off.

    With the help of Terry’s instruction and direction, Aric’s guitar playing skills improved quickly and his exposure to Country Blues also mushroomed. The first artist that Terry suggested Aric listen to was Mississippi John Hurt. After hearing the distinctive Folk Blues sounds of that legendary artist, Aric was completely hooked and performing Acoustic Blues became his passion. Then he heard Skip James for the first time and his amazement at James’ technique and talents further aroused his desire to learn.

    Aric admits that, “guitar playing became a sort of obsession” and his lessons with Terry wound up continuing regularly for a couple of years. Aric did continue his voice studies at PSU for a time after catching the Country Blues fever. But, his routine of “practicing arias by day and the guitar by night” didn’t last as he came to realize that performing acoustic roots music was his calling.

    For Terry’s part, he was immediately impressed with Aric’s commitment and with his musical knowledge. Aric knew what he wanted to learn and was very focused on his craft. As with most teachers, Terry prefers to take on students who are serious about learning and want to take it somewhere, and in Aric he found just such a student. When asked about Aric, Terry makes it clear that teaching him and witnessing him grow as a musician has been a rewarding experience and that he takes considerable pride in Aric’s development as an artist. Although Aric continues to learn as a musician and performer, he has now graduated to the level of teacher and has also begun giving private guitar lessons.

    Having concentrated his guitar-playing efforts entirely on fingerpicking, Aric jokes that he wouldn’t even know what to do with a pick if you gave him one. Given his skills at fingerpicking, it is just as well that Aric doesn’t bother with flat picking. Yet, he still selects tunes from a broad array of Blues artists, while staying focused on the approach that has touched his soul. His CD, “Talk About Trouble,” encompasses selections from the songbooks of such disparate artists as John Hurt, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Fahey, Jimmy Rodgers and Jimmy Oden, all presented in the style of Country or Folk Blues.

    Staying true to the uncluttered nature of the music, most of the tracks on the CD are solo efforts, although Katey Angel contributed some solid bass lines to round out three of the tracks and Terry provided additional guitar work on two tracks. Naturally, Terry was the obvious choice to serve as producer for the CD, since he brought both plenty of studio experience and a thorough knowledge of Aric’s musical direction to the project. Given how well things worked out, Aric has asked Terry to also produce his next studio endeavor.

    Aric and Katey, who continue to appear together frequently around town, share a similar background in that they both have been involved with music for most of their lives, but have only recently started performing the Blues. Katey began with the trumpet in grade school and picked up the guitar as a teenager. Her interest in the Blues really began to grow about eight years ago and she started playing the bass just five years ago. She credits Alan Hager as her primary influence in taking up the bass and has also received guidance and encouragement from Dave Kahl and Albert Reda.

    Katey has a little more time to play the Blues now that she no longer runs competitively in distance races, which she did for almost 20 years. Her running career may not be particularly relevant to this article, but how often do you hear about a Blues musician undertaking a healthy activity such as running. And, has anyone ever heard of a musician who not only ran marathons, but even won the Portland Marathon?

    When Aric and Katey perform, their love of the Blues and commitment to the art form are obvious and, hopefully, infectious. It bodes well for Country Blues that such talented performers continue to keep the music alive and expose more people to its appealing sounds.

– Ken Condit

© 2004 Cascade Blues Association