Plugged in

Young bluesman Ricky Valente lets his guitar do the talking

by Bob Gulla

While many of his dead-end high school classmates spent their teen years glued to a PlayStation, Ricky Valente was working toward something real, writing songs, practicing guitar, mapping out his future. He poured hours and hours into listening to and learning from his teachers -- Clapton, Hendrix, Stevie Ray, as they cranked out dazzling guitar tracks through Valente's stereo. Soon, he'd apply those lessons to his own Strats and Teles.

Valente's been playing guitar as far back as he can remember, but he first got his little hands around an actual solo when he was seven. Somehow he squeezed out the crying melodic motif of Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," and those who heard him were dazzled. At the time, he was playing a "toy" guitar that came with a little amp attached to a microphone. "I don't know how it happened," says Valente, who'll be 18 next month. "I just did it."

The wunderkind guitarist had been mainlining Clapton for a couple of years, courtesy of his dad, a high-end car salesman and his mom, who's in retail. Both knew which end was up musically. "I didn't mind listening to the same music as my parents," he says. "I thought it was pretty cool. At least we could agree on a radio station in the car."

From Clapton, Valente shuttled over to Hendrix and the real potential of the guitar became unveiled. "Nobody in my house listened to Hendrix," he says, mentioning that his three older sisters were more into '80s pop radio. "But someone gave me a Hendrix CD for my birthday," and there was no turning back. To make a long story short, Valente immersed himself in the dark brilliance of the world's most innovative player. So much so, that when he was 14, Valente won the Northeast Regionals in the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition and in January of 1998 finished second in the Nationals held in Seattle, Hendrix's home state.

The win bolstered Valente's name recognition and boosted his confidence, prompting him to increase his live appearances as much as he could, considering he was still in high school. But it wasn't until his graduation this past spring, from Cranston West High School, that Valente decided to pull out all the stops. If he's going to make this thing work, now is the time.

"I guess you could say that I was held back by school," Valente says, "but the teachers are gonna hate me for saying it." In reality, the worry of school, getting passing grades, and not being able to gig late on weeknights held Valente's superstar ambitions in abeyance, at least until graduation.

During spring break this past year, Valente managed to begin sowing seeds for the future; he squeezed in a studio date to make his first real-live recording, A Place In My Dreams. Produced by Scott Riebling of Letters to Cleo at Q Division and Sonic Studios in Boston, the album is a remarkable showcase for the guitarist. But not only does it demonstrate the kid's chops, which fall somewhere between the Stevie Ray Vaughan/ Freddie King school of new blues rock and the fluid elegance of Eric Clapton, it also highlights Valente's surprisingly mature songwriting skills. A Place In My Dreams doesn't sound like a teenager aspiring to imitate his heroes; rather, it paints a picture of a talented musician searching for a recognizable voice. On the new album, that voice contains bits and pieces of southern rock ("Stepping Stone"), roots ("We Lost the Day"), Texas Blues (a cover of Freddie King's "Hideaway"), and soulful classic rock ("Find a Way"). OK, yeah, sometimes he overplays, and yeah, he can showboat occasionally -- check out "Hold That Thought" -- but in most cases he holds back graciously, reflecting patience and good taste beyond his years. "I'm not looking to do straight blues [like those other young players]," says Valente. "That's not my style. Mine's more a blend of everything.

"I love playing out and I can't wait to do it more, especially with these new songs," he says, on his way to a Boston gig as we speak, where he'll take the stage with drummer Don Culp and bassist Dave Amaral. A Place In My Dreams is selling well at gigs so far, and is available in local record stores. That same recording is in the hands of many major label honchos.

"We haven't pushed it much, but I'd really like to get signed by a major label now," says Valente. "People who know seem to think I have a good chance, but I'm a pretty modest guy so I just kinda keep quiet." Besides, when you can let a guitar do all the talking, words don't mean that much anyway.

Ricky Valente will takes the stage Friday, October 8 at the 94WHJY Birthday Bash with hot blues guitarist Susan Tedeschi.

WANDERING EYE. The Slip, a jam-rock outfit featuring a couple of Barrington-ians, seem to have mobilized in a big way. They're touring all this month -- appearing in Chicago tonight, if you're interested -- and buzzing around the Midwest and down the east coast to Tallahassee, before bubbling back up to Rhode Island. They'll need some luck: on the 29th the band will be in Athens, Georgia, on the 30th they've got a gig slated at the Ocean Club Roller Rink in Narragansett. Drive safely, boys. You can keep abreast of all the action at http://www.theslip.net.

Competing with the Valente show is the M-80 CD release party down at the Ocean Mist in Matunuck. Made up of former members of hard working punk bands/recording artists, Arson Family and ska-punks Racketball, M-80's new sound combines the thrash punk of the former with the ska-punk of the latter in creating a zippy hi-octane mix. To get more information about the band, check out their website at www.netsense. net/~mobcore. They'll be giving away 150 of their new CDs at the show. Plain As Day and the Brunt of It will open.

Got some points of interest? Contact b_gulla@yahoo.com