Rick grew up listening to music during the 80s and 90s, but didn't start playing until much later. He's a product of Bay Area musical instruction, taking guitar lessons and then voice lessons from local instructors and earning his chops in open mics and cover bands. Some artists who captivated him early on were Jimi Hendrix, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, R.E.M., and the Barenaked Ladies.

Rick started out with the electric guitar before embracing the acoustic guitar and singing. After seeing live looping for the first time at a KT Tunstall concert, the idea of being able to play both lead and rhythm as a solo artist set him on what would eventually become his path as a performer.

A large part of Rick's live show is something called "Live Looping". This is a technique that utilizies on-stage pedals to record the live performance and re-play it in real time. When layering these recordings with various guitar and vocal effects, it lets Rick emulate the drummer, bass player, and background vocals to gives the music a true full-band feel.