Solar Powered
Featuring ten new originals and a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Ribbon of Darkness", recorded with just vocal and guitar, Solar Powered is an off-the-grid production. Echoes of Mississippi John Hurt and Reverend Gary Davis can be heard in the guitar, but the songs are fresh, hopeful and inspired
Nothing Halfway
Suzie Vinnick and Rick Fines have released their long-awaited collaboration! And there's nothing halfway about this collection of mostly self-penned songs. From soulful to moody to all-out rockin' blues, this is what fans have come to expect from Rick and Suzie. Strong vocals, tasty guitars, heartfelt lyrics... it's all here!
www.rickandsuzie.comRick Fines - Solar Powered
It’s good to have a dream, a dream to work toward. Rick Fines’ fifth and newest solo CD is a step toward that dream of having a solar-powered home and studio in the woods north of Peterborough Ontario.
Solar Powered was recorded in his little cabin in the woods, an off-the-grid production. Featuring ten new originals and a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s "Ribbon of Darkness", it’s recorded with just vocal and guitar (co-producer Alec Fraser plays bass and sings on one cut).
Echoes of Mississippi John Hurt and Reverend Gary Davis can be heard in the guitar, but this is no mere imitation. The sound of foot tapping and the intimate vocal brings the listener right inside the little cabin in the Kawartha Highlands, where a master storyteller spins yarns and plays guitar.
Released simultaneously, Nothing Halfway by Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick, is a full-band offering recorded in Toronto with some of the best from that scene.
Al Cross (Big Sugar, Jane Siberry…) on drums, Richard Bell (The Band, Janis Joplin…) on keys, Colleen Allen and Chris Whiteley on horns… from soulful to moody to all-out rockin’ blues, this is what fans have come to expect from Rick and Suzie.
Strong vocals, tasty guitars, heartfelt lyrics... it’s all here!
At 45, Rick Fines is a veteran of the folk and blues circuits in North America. In October 2005 Rick went to Alabama where he took first place in the Sweetgum Bottom Acoustic Blues Competition.
His song "Riley Wants His Life Back" won first place in the blues category of 2003 International Songwriting Competition, with B.B. King one of the judges!
He won the MapleBlues Award for Songwriter of the Year this year, Acoustic Act Of The Year twice (98, 99), and has received eight additional nominations.
His work with Jackson Delta (for 15 years) brought nominations from both the Juno and the Handy Awards. He has played for legendary blues piano player Pinetop Perkins, songstress Colleen Peterson, folk icon Penny Lang and many others.
He toured from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic, from B.C. to NYC last year alone, bringing his understanding of blues, finger-style and bottleneck guitar.
In addition to a busy touring schedule, Fines conducts classes and workshops. For several years now he has taught fingerstyle guitar at the Haliburton School of the Arts and blues guitar at Kincardine Summer Music Festival in Ontario and Hornby Island Blues Workshop in British Columbia. He also works with kids as part of the Blues In The Schools programs in Ottawa, Saskatoon, Toronto and Fredericton.