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Rick Shelley

La Quinta, CA

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About

Americana singer-songwriter Rick Shelley has been writing, recording and playing music throughout Southern California since he migrated to the desert in the late '80s. During his '20s, he was a fixture on the L.A. music scene with his band RagTag. When that chapter closed, he spent 12 years in Woodshed. The latter made their home in the Coachella Valley, but toured from the desert to the mountains and beach towns between Southern and Central California.

During the RagTag years, he was the charismatic front-man, reinforced by guitarist James Danielson, drummer Eric Turner and bassist Nick Oliveri. Their sound comfortably sandwiched between the gritty Glam-Metal of Guns N' Roses and the serpentine Punk of Jane's Addiction.

Woodshed featured nearly the same line-up as RagTag, the only difference being Dean Oliveri on bass. This time out, Rick split lead vocal duties with James and played rhythm guitar. Their sound, inspired by disparate influences like Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Stevie...

Americana singer-songwriter Rick Shelley has been writing, recording and playing music throughout Southern California since he migrated to the desert in the late '80s. During his '20s, he was a fixture on the L.A. music scene with his band RagTag. When that chapter closed, he spent 12 years in Woodshed. The latter made their home in the Coachella Valley, but toured from the desert to the mountains and beach towns between Southern and Central California.

During the RagTag years, he was the charismatic front-man, reinforced by guitarist James Danielson, drummer Eric Turner and bassist Nick Oliveri. Their sound comfortably sandwiched between the gritty Glam-Metal of Guns N' Roses and the serpentine Punk of Jane's Addiction.

Woodshed featured nearly the same line-up as RagTag, the only difference being Dean Oliveri on bass. This time out, Rick split lead vocal duties with James and played rhythm guitar. Their sound, inspired by disparate influences like Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Grateful Dead, was rough-hewn, rustic and Bluesy.

The band made their name as an incendiary live act, and recorded three well-received albums between 1994 and 2001. Following a recording session at the infamous Rancho de La Luna studio in Joshua Tree, Woodshed kind of went on hiatus...Rick recently noted "The band never officially broke up, we just evaporated in the summer heat, I guess." Sadly, their fourth album remains unreleased.

The next decade truly tested Rick's mettle. A sudden divorce quickly turned his life upside down. So he set aside music and concentrated on raising his kids. As they came of age, he rediscovered his muse. He found experience had made his music more heartfelt, introspective and nuanced. By 2014, he re-emerged as a solo artist, and began booking shows locally in the desert.

The following summer Rick connected with producer and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Unck, (Pink, Butch Walker, Black Roses). The pair retreated to Chris' High Lonesome recording studio in Joshua Tree, Rick had stockpiled at least 40 new songs since emerging from his artistic hibernation. They pared down to six superlative cuts, and co-produced his debut EP, "1909 Miles."

The EP arrived in November 2015, receiving rapturous reviews. But Rick didn't rest on his laurels. He and Chris hit the ground running and began work on his full-length follow-up, "Hope Wrapped In Razor Wire." While the EP felt lean and unfussy the new effort was augmented by bassist Damian Lester and drummer Tyler Saraca, and the result was lightning in a bottle. Christened The Desert Dogs by Chris, the four-piece decided to road test their expansive sound.

Since then they have played select shows in the desert as well as The Grand Old Echo in Los Angeles and Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace. In a recent interview, Rick confided, "The guys in The Desert Dogs make the sound I hear in my head when I write. I couldn't have come across a better, or more talented group of players. We're a band in the truest sense of the word, and a damn good one!"

Rick has made his mark with songs like "Walking With Ghosts," "Dead Horse Hollow" and "Highway 99 Bakersfield," an ode to the Bakersfield sound. A richly evocative storyteller, his songs employ an economy of language that recall Texas Troubadours like Robert Earl Keen and the late Guy Clark. He shares his hard-won wisdom with pathos, humor and grace. Every narrative accompanied by indelible melodies and killer hooks.

Music

Img 7119

Hope Wrapped In Razor Wire

- Americana

$10.00
2. All She Really Wants $0.99 0:00 / 3:05
3. Dead Horse Hollow $0.99 0:00 / 3:09
4. Easy Lies $0.99 0:00 / 3:24
6. Home To The Bed I Made $0.99 0:00 / 4:02
7. Highway 99 Bakersfield $0.99 0:00 / 3:01
8. Kisses Bitter $0.99 0:00 / 4:30
9. Long Way Around $0.99 0:00 / 3:38
10. Right Back In My Arms $0.99 0:00 / 2:59
11. Sweet Poetry $0.99 0:00 / 3:38
12. Heart I Never Had $0.99 0:00 / 4:28
1449212235 shelley cover

1909 Miles

- Americana

$5.99
1. Walking With Ghosts $0.99 0:00 / 3:44
2. 25 Mile An Hour Town $0.99 0:00 / 3:03
3. Lifted $0.99 0:00 / 3:23
4. Outskirts of Nashville $0.99 0:00 / 3:23
5. Northwestern $0.99 0:00 / 3:32
6. Youd Be Better Off $0.99 0:00 / 3:34
1. Chasing Better Weather 0:00 / 3:40
2. Tomorrows A Train 0:00 / 2:48
3. Two Birds One Stone 0:00 / 4:00
4. Hearts Still Painted Blue 0:00 / 3:22
6. My One Right Turn 0:00 / 2:53

Press

  • “The first episode of the Hi-Lonesome Concert Series is now streaming on You42! "Writing helped me through a lot of things...writing again and playing again reminded me who I was." Rick Shelley ... Click the link... to watch exclusive concert footage and hear artist interviews from Rick Shelley, filmed on location at the Hi-Lonesome Studio in Joshua Tree.”
    You42, you42.com
  • “Since 2014 Coachella Valley resident and Americana singer-songwriter Rick Shelley has persevered through the sometimes merciless music business with pride and joy. His 2015 debut EP 1909 Miles and 2017’s full-length Hope Wrapped in Razor Wire, both produced by Chris Unck (Pink, Butch Walker, Black Roses) at High Lonesome recording studio in Joshua Tree, are a collection of sentimental American roots stories that represent the best of the dynamic genre known as Americana.”
    Noe Gutierrez, Coachella Valley Weekly
  • "On this Special Artist Interview with Rick Shelley we talk about how he got into music, his inspirations, advice for rising creatives, playing and collaborating in the Coachella Valley, his upcoming plans and we listen to some great tracks"
    Toni Bakal, KCOD CoachellaFM
  • "20 albums to discover the high desert sound. " Rick Shelley “Hope Wrapped in Razor Wire,” 2017 ALBUM CUT: "Highway 99 (Bakersfield)" This low desert native re-invented himself and created another variation of the high desert sound when he recorded this album at Unck’s Joshua Tree studio
    Bruce Fessier, Desert Sun
  • “2017 CV Music Awards Nominee Best Country Band/Artist, Best Male Vocalist, Best Unsigned Album "Hope Wrapped In Razor Wire", & Chris Unck is nominated for best producer”
    Publisher, Coachella Valley Weekly
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Events

  • Feb 1st

    Saturday at 6:00 PM
    Spaghetti Western, Morongo Valley
    Morongo Valley, CA
  • Feb 7th

    Friday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Country Club
    La Quinta, CA
  • Feb 15th

    Saturday at 6:00 PM
    Autocamp Joshua Tree
    Joshua Tree, CA
  • Feb 23rd

    Sunday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Brewing Company
    Palm Desert, CA
  • Feb 28th

    Friday at 6:00 PM
    Autocamp Joshua Tree
    Joshua Tree, CA
  • Mar 7th

    Friday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Country Club
    La Quinta, CA
  • Mar 9th

    Sunday at 1:00 PM
    La Quinta Brewing Old Town
    La Quinta, CA
  • Apr 4th

    Friday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Country Club
    La Quinta, CA
  • Apr 5th

    Saturday at 1:00 PM
    Hops & Honkytonk
    Cathedral City, CA
  • May 4th

    Sunday at 5:00 PM
    Palm Springs Cultural Center
    Palm Springs, CA

Past Events

  • Jan 3rd
    Friday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Country Club
    La Quinta, CA
  • Dec 29th, 2024
    Sunday at 5:00 PM
    Palm Springs Cultural Center
    Palm Springs, CA
  • Nov 22nd, 2024
    Friday at 6:00 PM
    Autocamp Joshua Tree
    Joshua Tree, CA
  • Nov 17th, 2024
    Sunday at 3:00 PM
    La Quinta Brewing Company
    Palm Desert, CA
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