Biography
Bill Ricchini, a singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, first explored songwriting with an emphasis on indie rock while studying at La Salle University in his native city. Even so, the sounds in his parents’ collection—the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Ronettes—ultimately shaped the character of his debut album, Ordinary Time.
He began by capturing material on a four-track machine and passing the results among friends. After graduation Ricchini contributed freelance music pieces to the Philadelphia Weekly and the Philadelphia Inquirer, yet he left both publications in 2001 to devote himself wholly to recording. That year he assembled Ordinary Time on a home computer inside his south Philadelphia apartment. Working inside the Vegas program, he supplied vocals and acoustic guitar while layering synthesizers, tambourine, cello, trumpet, sleigh bells, vocal harmonies, and a children’s toy xylophone; band members Bill Avayou (drums and percussion), Brian Christinzio (organ, Fender Rhodes, harmony vocals), Chris Doyle (electric guitar), and Nathan Slabaugh (trumpet) added further parts, with some tracks reaching thirty separate layers.
In the liner notes Ricchini observed, “This is a summer record about the winter,” describing the warm-weather sessions that nevertheless conveyed winter’s chill and long nights. Ordinary Time, the Catholic Church’s designation for ordinary calendar days outside Advent and Lent, balances its detailed arrangements, orchestration, and affection for ’60s California pop against the close focus of singer/songwriter and folk traditions.
Issued first as a self-released demo in 2001, Ordinary Time stirred interest on both sides of the Atlantic and was named Best Unreleased Album of the year by Salon.com. Ricchini subsequently signed with Megaforce/Transdreamer Records and Rykodisc; the label edition appeared in October 2002 with an added track and remastered sound, and Tonight I Burn Brightly followed in 2005.
He began by capturing material on a four-track machine and passing the results among friends. After graduation Ricchini contributed freelance music pieces to the Philadelphia Weekly and the Philadelphia Inquirer, yet he left both publications in 2001 to devote himself wholly to recording. That year he assembled Ordinary Time on a home computer inside his south Philadelphia apartment. Working inside the Vegas program, he supplied vocals and acoustic guitar while layering synthesizers, tambourine, cello, trumpet, sleigh bells, vocal harmonies, and a children’s toy xylophone; band members Bill Avayou (drums and percussion), Brian Christinzio (organ, Fender Rhodes, harmony vocals), Chris Doyle (electric guitar), and Nathan Slabaugh (trumpet) added further parts, with some tracks reaching thirty separate layers.
In the liner notes Ricchini observed, “This is a summer record about the winter,” describing the warm-weather sessions that nevertheless conveyed winter’s chill and long nights. Ordinary Time, the Catholic Church’s designation for ordinary calendar days outside Advent and Lent, balances its detailed arrangements, orchestration, and affection for ’60s California pop against the close focus of singer/songwriter and folk traditions.
Issued first as a self-released demo in 2001, Ordinary Time stirred interest on both sides of the Atlantic and was named Best Unreleased Album of the year by Salon.com. Ricchini subsequently signed with Megaforce/Transdreamer Records and Rykodisc; the label edition appeared in October 2002 with an added track and remastered sound, and Tonight I Burn Brightly followed in 2005.
Albums
