Bio:
Rick Quimby lives in Worcester MA, and has been playing piano and guitar and writing songs most of his life. As a teenager he led and arranged music for an instrumental band, the New Rock Brass, and in his college years discovered and fell in love with folk music. Folk and acoustic music has remained his primary musical passion, and even during a busy professional life as a physicist he found time for writing songs. Rick was also a DJ for a folk program on WICN public radio (Worcester), and was involved in John Henry's Hammer Coffeehouse (Worcester) in the 1980s and 1990s, running the sound board and organizing a series of sing-along sessions. During the 2000s Rick became active in accompanying The Fiddle Kids of Worcester on guitar and keyboard. This group of young fiddle students, led by Worcester fiddler Myra MacLeod, has morphed into the present-day Worcester County Orchestra, which Rick joins for contra dances on occasion.
In recent years Rick has become active in the open mike circuit in the Worcester and Greater Boston area, performing both solo and with other musicians. He and Bev Rodrigues met at WUMB’s first winter music weekend (now called WAMW – Winter Acoustic Music Weekend) in February 2013, and found that their voices blended well together and that they enjoyed the same musical artists and styles. Since then the Rick and Bev duo has performed at a number of venues in New England, mostly doing carefully chosen cover songs. In April 2014 Rick met lyricist and musician Linda McCarthy at an Open Mike in Worcester, and they soon discovered their mutual interest and complementary talents in song writing. Since then they have co-written many songs, and have started performing them as the duo Owengale.
In addition to song writing and performing, Rick helps with the sound system at various open mikes, and operates a home recording studio, Wood Thrush Music. He also enjoys learning new instruments, and has recently taken up clawhammer style banjo, as well as mandolin.
