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Rich Jacques returns to Pittsburgh with CD of new tunes
Oct 23, 2009 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Rich Jacques left Pittsburgh in 2000 for the West Coast, uncertain of what he would find. The former Brownie Mary guitarist, who returns Saturday for a show at Club Cafe, South Side, knew only that "it's more frightening for me to stay stuck" in one place.
Jacques' gambit paid off. He not only has found work as a producer, songwriter and teacher (with one particularly famous client), he's found himself as a musician. Jacques has just released "Right the Stars" (also the name he records under), an album of ingratiating pop and rock tunes that are intelligent and accessible. The album features "We Got it All," a song that was scratched at the last minute from the movie "Couples Retreat," and "Know That I Would," a song Jacques penned with Bill Deasy from their collaboration as Thomas Jefferson's Aeroplane.
"More than anything, it's just trying to please myself," Jacques says. "I listen to so much music, I've been producing so many people, I think the real trick is trying to define something that sounds unique to me. Really, the only thing you can do is let it come to you."
Because of his move to Los Angeles, Jacques has been afforded some diverse opportunities. He has a studio in West Hollywood in the same building where Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard work.
"You walk out there and think these people are doing it, and doing it big," Jacques says. "You kind of get a sense of possibility, No. 1. And No. 2, these guys are for real. If I'm going to compete at all, I have to learn everything I can about becoming better."
As Jacques' career has been gaining momentum, he's had at least one major brush with fame. A few years ago, he got a phone call from Ben Affleck's assistant, asking if he woud like to give the actor a few guitar lessons. The pair hit it off, and before Jacques knew it, he was in Ontario, Canada, during the filming of the movie "Hollywoodland," serving as Affleck's guitar coach.
"We literally just moved to Canada for a month with him," says Jacques, who was able to take his girlfriend on the road trip. "We just hung out and played Led Zeppelin."
Rege Behe can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7990.
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