Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Ricchiuto. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I feel like I’m still constantly learning and finding new ways to absorb material. I’m mainly a professional drummer for hire but I also play guitar, write songs, record, and produce music. I have many interests and I like approaching music from all angles which provides an endless challenge for learning. I started by listening to old cassettes my parents had and just banging along with them. One of my first musical memories is playing a tape that had random 70’s songs on it and hitting my cheap electric drum toy to crocodile rock by Elton John. Luckily my Dad is very musically gifted and recognized my interest and by the time I was a teenager I had already been taking piano and guitar lessons for years. Despite having a knack for electric guitar I became obsessed with drumming when I was about 12 and devoted the rest of my teenage years to smashing away at the drumset. That little electric pad died under the punishment and I upgraded the real thing soon after. Besides going back and telling my younger self to wear earplugs, I have pretty bad tinnitus from the cymbals, I would have stressed the importance of practicing simple things extremely slowly! It’s so easy for eager drummers or musicians to gloss over something as simple as bouncing quarter notes in each hand but this core skill is very complex and takes time to develop correctly. Drummers are like athletes and we have to be in tune with our bodies and approach our technique like a golfer or a baseball player swinging a bat. Practice a core skill wrong and you could end developing bad habits that set your growth back years. Above all else you have to love your instrument to get good at it. In the early years you have to be ravenous for learning and passionate about the music you love and everything else will eventually fall into place. As you mature I think the most important skill is having the discipline to set goals and achieve them with regular practice. The only obstacle to anyone learning is themselves. Free will gives us the gift to decide if we want to dream big and achieve what we want.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I moved to Nashville in Fall of 2016 after graduating Loyola University New Orleans. Soon I got a job teaching music camps at elementary schools as well as private teaching at Bluesman vintage guitars. During this time I also did many odd jobs including food delivery, cooking/serving at bars, and eventually bartending. Spending late hours in downtown Nashville watching the musicians and meeting many great players I quickly began picking up gigs and cutting my teeth in the honky tonk and cover band scene. I also lived with three amazing musicians including my now wife Emily Kidd. Having a solid network of talented friends and coworkers was essential to finding work and eventually becoming a full time gigging musician. After years of teaching for various companies and music studios I eventually went off on my own and started my private teaching career under Ajrmusiclessons.com where I teach students of all ages. During the pandemic with no work and tons of time I devoted myself to teaching lessons and doing guitar transcriptions on my YouTube channel AJRmusic and was eventually able to build a devoted following of guitarists interested in Alt country music. Emily and I also began recording her first EP as a solo artist in our house using my recording gear. With the help of our amazing band members including Derrick Whiteside, Griffin Winton, Keenan Date, Tyler Feehery, and the mixing expertise of Max Rubel we finished and released her songs in 2023. We were amazed at the response, eventually gaining over 25000 streams that year. Dreaming big is our mantra in 2024 and along with my own personal goals, Emily and I are eager to bring her music to a bigger stage and turn our attention outside Nashville. We have already begun writing songs for her next releases, planning tours, and honing our live show. We also regularly play in Nashville including a weekly residency at the world famous Robert’s Western world every Tuesday 10-2am. I also adamantly believe YouTube is the future for creative professionals and hope to grow my channel and expand my content to other areas beyond guitar transcriptions. I still love teaching and am always taking new students who want to discover how to find their own dreams and learn the discipline it takes to be a musician.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are two books that were personally essential for me to function at a high level. The first is Getting Things Done by David Allen. In this book you learn a fail safe system for organizing all of the information taking up valuable space in your head and figuring out the most efficient way to start tackling it. The first step is writing down all of the things you need to get done and once its out of your head and in front of you its so much easier to tackle. I essentially can’t function without my lists and my most valuable possession is my planner and calendar.

The second book is The War in Art by Stephen Pressfield. Procrastination has plagued me all my life and this book helps you understand why you feel resistance toward creativity and how to conquer it. Inspiration is a force you must pray to and no matter how long it takes eventually it will answer your call.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Learning that you don’t have to yes to every gig. When you’re starting out in Nashville and you want to keep the phone ringing you say yes to everything. This habit becomes instilled and you can find yourself in some bad situations playing horrible gigs or worse getting taken advantage of. Sometimes this is unavoidable as you have to find a way to navigate the massive music scene and the endless opportunities but eventually you develop a sense for red flags. In a way, I’m grateful for some of the weird and down right depressing gigs I’ve take because you have to see that side of the industry to understand which gigs are worth the trouble.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ajrmusiclessons.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajrmusic91/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajrmusic91
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ajrmusic91
• Other: patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Ajrmusic91