and the dynamic “Divine Pow-
er.” The tracks “My Rock” and
“Grammy” reveal a more vulner-
able side of Richie while “This
Is Life” showcases a funky yet
sensitive vibe. “Make It Easy”
engages with its catchy refrain.
The majority of Salting Earth is
the result of Kotzen’s one-man
production machine, with the
exception of Julia Lage adding
background vocals to “Make It
Easy,” a tasty, sing-along groove
stew. “It’s really not deliberate
when the record is finished and
suddenly I’m the only performer
on it,” Kotzen admits. “It actually
comes out of my process of writ-
ing and documenting my ideas.
It started back in the late-’80s
when I had a makeshift studio in
my parents’ barn. I grew up fairly
isolated, and I soon realized in
order to get this music out of my
head and onto a format where I
could listen to it, I’d have to fig-
ure out how to do it alone.” So
single-handedly Richie serves up
his 21st savory platter of music.
Kotzen will be on tour in 2017 in
Watch the video for “My Rock” by Richie Kotzen
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 5
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