Richard Earl Beach, Jr.
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Live musician
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Personal information
Also known as: Reb Beach
Born on: 31.08.1963
Official Website
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Richard Earl "Reb" Beach was raised in the steel-making town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It became almost immediately apparent that Reb would not end up laboring in the steel refineries, however. He was a musical prodigy; playing piano and later guitar at an early age without any formal training whatsoever.
Influenced by the monster rockers of the 70's, Reb spent his teen years jamming along with recordings of Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar and Ronnie Montrose. But it was Steve Morse, then with the Dixie Dregs, that had the biggest influence on the young Reb. The complexity and the speed of the Dregs was a challenge compared to the blues-based playing of most musicians of that era. Reb not only loved the Dregs - they were a catalyst that drove his playing into the greatness now so well known to music fans the world over.
After only a couple of semesters at the Berkeley School of Music, Reb realized that formal musical training was not for him. Instead, he started recording some of his own stuff on a four-track recorder; a mix of Jazz and Rock called "Fusion." After winning an Annual Best Guitarist contest with one of his Fusion tapes, Reb took his guitar to New York. Within one year, he went from eating ramen noodles and smoking resin scraped off the bong to being one of the most sought-after session players in the music industry; working with such all-time great talents as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Kahn, Howard Jones, and Twisted Sister.
It was while living and working in New York that Reb hooked up with his future band mate - bassist and frontman Kip Winger. Reb and Kip formed the band Winger and the rest is history. The two proved to be great writing partners, producing platinum records that featured no less than six top-forty singles with music that was commercial yet complex.
Reb found himself with literally tens of thousands of fans and admirers. Suddenly, he was on the cover of every major guitar publication. Guitar for the Practicing Musician voted him "Best New Guitarist." Guitar World Magazine voted him "Best New Talent" and asked him to write a column. Beautiful girls begged him for sex.
In short, Reb Beach had arrived.
The now world-famous Reb designed a line of guitars for Ibanez and toured, teaching guitar clinics. He also produced an instructional video entitled "Cutting Loose" that sold very successfully.
After recording and touring in support of three records with Winger, Reb returned to Pittsburgh to perform on other artists' records and start collecting material for his solo work under the name The Reb Beach Project.
The Reb Beach Project showcases Reb's unique virtuoso guitar style over a heavy fast blues rhythm section with a sound reminiscent of Pat Travers or Robin Trower.
Unfortunately for Reb's solo project but fortunately for fans of great live guitar shows, the road called and Reb was invited to play with long-time friend, the legendary Alice Cooper. The two joined forces for three years of successful touring. More recently, Reb was recruited to replace the departed George Lynch as not only lead guitarist but also co-songwriter of Dokken. Not surprisingly, the resulting CD, "Erase the Slate", was the most successful Dokken record in almost a decade. Years of Jazz Fusion and session work had not dulled Reb's heavy metal instincts!
2001 was a very important year for Reb. It marked his debut as a solo artist with the album entitled "Masquerade". With this album, Reb was able to show the world how talented he really was. He wrote, produced, and sang all of the songs on the record, and to rave reviews. His guitar playing on the record was regarded as some of his best performances. His solos were described as "deeply moving" and "jaw dropping". The record was multi faceted, and spanned a myriad of musical styles, proving that he was a great songwriter, as well as an award winning guitarist.
Then, in 2002, the day came that fans had been waiting almost 10 years for - a Winger Reunion! Casting off their 'poodle haircuts' and elaborate stage sets, all members of Winger - Kip Winger, Reb, Rod Morgenstein, Paul Taylor and John Roth - got together for a US Tour entitled "On the Inside", concentrating on the music first, image second. In addition, a CD was released titled "The Very Best of Winger", put together by Kip and featuring a new track "On the Inside".
Reb released a new instructional video in 2003 under the title "Homegrown Private Lessons Volume 1". It was entirely filmed in his own home studio in Pittsburgh. In the video, he's showing his gear, effects, amplifiers, and recording techniques.
Following the Winger reunion, Reb finally got the gig with a guy he'd been sending tapes to for many years - David Coverdale. The band? Whitesnake. Since 2003, Reb has toured the world with Whitesnake. The band's sellout show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo was filmed for a DVD that was released in the spring of 2005.
Following the Winger reunion, Reb finally got the gig with a guy he'd been sending tapes to for many years - David Coverdale. The band? Whitesnake. Since 2003, Reb has toured the world with Whitesnake. The band's sellout show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo was filmed for a DVD that was released in the spring of 2005.
2005 also marked the release of "The Mob", a super band created by Reb, and produced by his best friend Kip Winger. Reb was joined by the unique and powerful vocals of Doug Pinnick (King's X), someone with whom he had been dying to work with. Also, in the band, his friends Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), and Timothy Drury (The Eagles, Whitesnake).
In 2006 Winger published "IV", the fourth studio album after thirteen years since the excellent "Pull". Winger was now ready for a brand new adventure. The tour would bring them all across Europe and United States. Following the successful tour, a live cd and dvd were realized. Simply entitled "Live", it showed without any doubt how excellent the band was at performing live.
Whitesnake decided to take a break from the exhausting days on the road, so in 2007 Reb joined Night Ranger for their summer tour, and recorded a live album called "Rockin' Shibuya 2007". It was released later the next year.
Following the Night Ranger tour, Reb entered the studio with Whitesnake to make the new studio album, "Good To Be Bad". The world tour that followed was very demanding, and kept Reb on the road till the summer of 2009. The tour reached its peak with a show at the Download Festival, in Donington (UK). There were 70,000 screaming fans.
Reb and Winger were ready for their come back with the new studio album "Karma". The acclaimed record got outstanding reviews from critics and fans of the band all over the world. That year, Winger toured extensively to promote the record and traveled all over Europe, Russia, the United States, and South America.
2011 began with a clinic tour in Italy where Reb was able to perform on his own, crafting his very special one man show and amazing the Italian crowds with his guitar skills and funny stories from his days on the road. Right after that, it was time to go back on the road with Whitesnake to promote the new studio record "Forevermore". 9 months, 44 countries, and one hundred plus shows later, he is finally back home, and busy writing his new instrumental solo record.
Who knows what the future will hold!
Born on: 31.08.1963
Official Website
Richard Earl "Reb" Beach was raised in the steel-making town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It became almost immediately apparent that Reb would not end up laboring in the steel refineries, however. He was a musical prodigy; playing piano and later guitar at an early age without any formal training whatsoever.
Influenced by the monster rockers of the 70's, Reb spent his teen years jamming along with recordings of Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar and Ronnie Montrose. But it was Steve Morse, then with the Dixie Dregs, that had the biggest influence on the young Reb. The complexity and the speed of the Dregs was a challenge compared to the blues-based playing of most musicians of that era. Reb not only loved the Dregs - they were a catalyst that drove his playing into the greatness now so well known to music fans the world over.
After only a couple of semesters at the Berkeley School of Music, Reb realized that formal musical training was not for him. Instead, he started recording some of his own stuff on a four-track recorder; a mix of Jazz and Rock called "Fusion." After winning an Annual Best Guitarist contest with one of his Fusion tapes, Reb took his guitar to New York. Within one year, he went from eating ramen noodles and smoking resin scraped off the bong to being one of the most sought-after session players in the music industry; working with such all-time great talents as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Kahn, Howard Jones, and Twisted Sister.
It was while living and working in New York that Reb hooked up with his future band mate - bassist and frontman Kip Winger. Reb and Kip formed the band Winger and the rest is history. The two proved to be great writing partners, producing platinum records that featured no less than six top-forty singles with music that was commercial yet complex.
Reb found himself with literally tens of thousands of fans and admirers. Suddenly, he was on the cover of every major guitar publication. Guitar for the Practicing Musician voted him "Best New Guitarist." Guitar World Magazine voted him "Best New Talent" and asked him to write a column. Beautiful girls begged him for sex.
In short, Reb Beach had arrived.
The now world-famous Reb designed a line of guitars for Ibanez and toured, teaching guitar clinics. He also produced an instructional video entitled "Cutting Loose" that sold very successfully.
After recording and touring in support of three records with Winger, Reb returned to Pittsburgh to perform on other artists' records and start collecting material for his solo work under the name The Reb Beach Project.
The Reb Beach Project showcases Reb's unique virtuoso guitar style over a heavy fast blues rhythm section with a sound reminiscent of Pat Travers or Robin Trower.
Unfortunately for Reb's solo project but fortunately for fans of great live guitar shows, the road called and Reb was invited to play with long-time friend, the legendary Alice Cooper. The two joined forces for three years of successful touring. More recently, Reb was recruited to replace the departed George Lynch as not only lead guitarist but also co-songwriter of Dokken. Not surprisingly, the resulting CD, "Erase the Slate", was the most successful Dokken record in almost a decade. Years of Jazz Fusion and session work had not dulled Reb's heavy metal instincts!
2001 was a very important year for Reb. It marked his debut as a solo artist with the album entitled "Masquerade". With this album, Reb was able to show the world how talented he really was. He wrote, produced, and sang all of the songs on the record, and to rave reviews. His guitar playing on the record was regarded as some of his best performances. His solos were described as "deeply moving" and "jaw dropping". The record was multi faceted, and spanned a myriad of musical styles, proving that he was a great songwriter, as well as an award winning guitarist.
Then, in 2002, the day came that fans had been waiting almost 10 years for - a Winger Reunion! Casting off their 'poodle haircuts' and elaborate stage sets, all members of Winger - Kip Winger, Reb, Rod Morgenstein, Paul Taylor and John Roth - got together for a US Tour entitled "On the Inside", concentrating on the music first, image second. In addition, a CD was released titled "The Very Best of Winger", put together by Kip and featuring a new track "On the Inside".
Reb released a new instructional video in 2003 under the title "Homegrown Private Lessons Volume 1". It was entirely filmed in his own home studio in Pittsburgh. In the video, he's showing his gear, effects, amplifiers, and recording techniques.
Following the Winger reunion, Reb finally got the gig with a guy he'd been sending tapes to for many years - David Coverdale. The band? Whitesnake. Since 2003, Reb has toured the world with Whitesnake. The band's sellout show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo was filmed for a DVD that was released in the spring of 2005.
Following the Winger reunion, Reb finally got the gig with a guy he'd been sending tapes to for many years - David Coverdale. The band? Whitesnake. Since 2003, Reb has toured the world with Whitesnake. The band's sellout show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo was filmed for a DVD that was released in the spring of 2005.
2005 also marked the release of "The Mob", a super band created by Reb, and produced by his best friend Kip Winger. Reb was joined by the unique and powerful vocals of Doug Pinnick (King's X), someone with whom he had been dying to work with. Also, in the band, his friends Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), and Timothy Drury (The Eagles, Whitesnake).
In 2006 Winger published "IV", the fourth studio album after thirteen years since the excellent "Pull". Winger was now ready for a brand new adventure. The tour would bring them all across Europe and United States. Following the successful tour, a live cd and dvd were realized. Simply entitled "Live", it showed without any doubt how excellent the band was at performing live.
Whitesnake decided to take a break from the exhausting days on the road, so in 2007 Reb joined Night Ranger for their summer tour, and recorded a live album called "Rockin' Shibuya 2007". It was released later the next year.
Following the Night Ranger tour, Reb entered the studio with Whitesnake to make the new studio album, "Good To Be Bad". The world tour that followed was very demanding, and kept Reb on the road till the summer of 2009. The tour reached its peak with a show at the Download Festival, in Donington (UK). There were 70,000 screaming fans.
Reb and Winger were ready for their come back with the new studio album "Karma". The acclaimed record got outstanding reviews from critics and fans of the band all over the world. That year, Winger toured extensively to promote the record and traveled all over Europe, Russia, the United States, and South America.
2011 began with a clinic tour in Italy where Reb was able to perform on his own, crafting his very special one man show and amazing the Italian crowds with his guitar skills and funny stories from his days on the road. Right after that, it was time to go back on the road with Whitesnake to promote the new studio record "Forevermore". 9 months, 44 countries, and one hundred plus shows later, he is finally back home, and busy writing his new instrumental solo record.
Who knows what the future will hold!