January 2004 ~ Featuring Ricky Free
In Southern Gospel Music, it seems that the live bands are fading away. Musicians are either limited in number or they are pursuing other careers in music that offer more money and benefits. But I feel that the musicians that we do have are some of the best! This month, I would like to shine the spotlight on a musician friend of mine that travels with a quartet, but is one of the best drummers in any genre of music. This young man is Ricky Free. Ricky Free has been playing the drums with Brian Free and Assurance since December of 1998.

In early December of 2003, I went to a recording studio in the Atlanta, Georgia, area to work on the "Southern Gospel Players" project that I wrote about last month. Ricky came to the studio that day to add drums to several of the songs. I sat and listened in amazement. This twenty year old kid has mastered the drums. When he is not on the road with his dads group, Ricky keeps himself busy doing recording sessions in Nashville and Atlanta.

Ricky Free was born on July 10, 1983. He is the oldest son of Brian and Pam Free. He has one younger brother named Bryce. Ricky lives in Douglasville, Georgia, where he grew up and the group is based. He is a member of the West Metro Church of God, and was saved in 1992 at his home in Douglasville. Ricky enjoys bowling and fishing, and he collects cds.

It is easy to figure out how he got the job and why he is with Brian Free and Assurance. His father, Brian Free, was the original tenor for the Gold City Quartet. Brian was with Gold City from 1980 to 1994. Brian has been voted as "Favorite Tenor" in Southern Gospel on seven occasions. In 1998, he took his fifteen year old son Ricky on the road to play drums. Ricky says that nepotism was how he got the job! I started thinking about the drummers in our industry, and several came to mind that probably got their job the same way. Mike Hopper, Doug Riley, Brandon Reese, are all the son of the group's owner.

Ricky is the bandleader and drummer for Brian Free & Assurance. I can only imagine being a drummer for a group and having to set up all of the pieces to a drum set every night. I just have to set up a keyboard and I get tired of that. Ricky is endorsed by three major drum, drumhead, and drumstick manufacturers. This past year, in 2003, Ricky was nominated for Favorite Musician in Southern Gospel Music. That is quite an accomplishment to be a drummer nominated among all of the guitar players, etc. Just more proof that he is at the top of his game.

Ricky credits his biggest influence as Nashville session drummer Steve Brewster. Steve is Ricky's mentor. Even though Ricky has a style of his own, I think it's safe to say that he is a carbon copy of Steve Brewster. Ricky can play any style of music that needs to be done which makes things great in the recordings studio. He also lists Dave Weckl and Jeff Porcaro on his list of influences.

Ricky is available for your recording session and can be contacted at the group's website or through their office. If you or your group is planning to record in the Nashville or Atlanta area, I strongly recommend hiring Ricky to be on the session. Actually, I'll go ahead and recommend exactly what we did last month. We set up our session at a new studio just west of Atlanta called Red Hill Digital. They have a website at www.redhilldigital.com. The studio is owned by Jason Singleton. Jason is a great friend and has a top notch professional facility. I have recorded in many studios across the country and some of the finest in Nashville, but I assure you that this studio is one of the best that I've ever been in. It was a very comfortable setting, and has everything that you could possibly need. If you're not on the internet, you can get info on this studio by calling 770-843-3116 and ask for Jason. I wouldn't recommend the studio if it weren't something awesome that I didn't use myself. Ricky doesn't live far from the studio if you need a drummer on your session. In fact, if you're going to record and use Ricky, since it would have to be during the week, due to his group's schedule, I'd love to come up and play too. (hint, hint) We could recreate the session that we did last month with Ricky Free, Randy "Scoot" Shelnut Jr, and me.

On the website: www.brianfreeandassurance.com, you can find out where the group will be appearing and order their latest projects. Brian Free has led this great quartet to the top of the Southern Gospel Music industry. Singing lead for the group is a young man by the name of Bill Shivers. Bill has been a friend of mine for several years. Actually, when I first joined the Dixie Echoes at the 1998 NQC, Bill stayed on the bus with the Dixie Echoes. The baritone vocalist is Derrick Selph. I first met Derrick when he was with the Dixie Melody Boys, and he is doing some awesome singing on the new cd of Brian Free and Assurance. I haven't met their new bass singer, Keith Plott, but have listened to him on their recordings and have been very impressed. I will let you folks know when the Southern Gospel Players recording is done, which will feature Ricky Free along with all of the other great musicians in Southern Gospel. I promise you that after you hear the awesome playing that he put into that recording, you will know for sure that he is the best there is!