Rick Silecchio
electric & slide guitars
great jokes

Rick tries to hide in the back of the stage. There is no good reason for this, as Rick brings a reputation as one of Long Island's finest lead guitarists. When Rick steps out to take a solo, all the guitarists in the audience move forward to listen and watch. His slide guitar work (usually played on a beaten old Gibson SG named Gus, with a neck that has been re-glued many times) is sublime. His solo guitar work receives so much attention that his superlative rhythm guitar work is often overlooked. In a band that operated for many years without a keyboard player, it was the intricate interaction of the multiple guitars that gave the JSB its sound. An amazing thing about the Silecchio sound, is that Rick plays every gig through a small, ancient 30 watt Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, and with the exception of an occasional echo box, uses no pedals, no wireless - just a cable between his guitar and amp. It's all in how & where his fingers touch the wood and what he feels in his heart at that moment. Rick tells very funny jokes, although usually only a few at a time.

January 28, 2022
The Jim Small Band is sad today. Our friend and guitarist Rick Silecchio passed during the night. Rick was a very private, gentle giant of a man. While his guitar playing is why he is known throughout Long Island, his generosity, humor and kindness are the qualities that truly made the man. Throughout 40 years and over 5,000 gigs Rick was a superb bandmate and electrifying performer.

Our hearts ache for his wife Margaret, daughter Amanda, sister Lisa and son and fellow JSB member Ricky. The world is a different place today.

click here to read the Rick page with thoughts from JSB members and hear some classic Rick guitar solos

Some thoughts about Rick from the band:

From Mike Guido

So ... in my almost half century playing rock music on Long Island I have had the privilege of working with many highly respected guitarists. Guys like Mike Nugent, Mike Flyntz, Mike Cummings and Mike Barbarich - and that is just the “Mikes.” The musical experiences I have most enjoyed have been when Rick Silecchio was on guitar.

During the late 70s, I was playing in rock bands for a living. Though I rarely went out to see a band, when I did, I went to see the Stanton Anderson Band. Anyone who experienced this band knows why. SAB was a very talented band. They played extremely well written songs, high energy rock music, with an excellent and efficient PA system and stage lighting. The numerous SAB recordings that survive attest to the exceptional guitar playing coming out of young Rick.

In 1983 Rick and I were welcomed into the Jim Small Band together. Over the next 30 years we played over 5,000 gigs. For 14 years, beginning in 2003, I was fortunate enough to be invited to play sax with the Stanton Anderson Band. Of all the musicians I have worked with in my life, I have played more gigs with Rick than anyone else.

Playing bass in the Jim Small Band is the most satisfying musical experience of my life. In any context, 5,000 gigs with the same core players is a lot. The lineup consisted of three guitars, two horns, two harmonicas, keyboard, bass and drums. The majority of our gigs were 3 sets, 40 minutes to an hour each. In venues where we had regular work it was not unusual for us to play until sunrise. Hey, it was the 80s.

During a JSB night, there were usually five or six songs that had extended “Rick” solos. Kill the Pain, Layla (fast Layla and slow Layla, sometimes both), Traffic Jam, Blues Power, Ventura Highway, Sultans of Swing, Summer Rain ... Rick stood stage right, and I stood upstage left (next to the high hat). As a Rick solo started, I would wave the other guys in the front line to move over so I could see Rick and I would focus on his body language and the sound of his playing. He played these solos with his eyes closed, head tilted slightly to the left. Rather than tapping the toes of his foot, he would lean forward, bend his left knee and tap his heel.

The JSB played very tight accompaniments to these extended solos which sometimes stretched to 10 minutes. The solos had huge dynamic range, usually beginning quietly, building, ebbing, building - like a good mating dance. Based on how he held his head and body, what I heard, and my memory bank of Rick-licks I would guess where the solo was going, what was coming next. I could then look into drummer Vin Cimino’s eyes. He would use his music sense to comprehend what was needed and the band could instantly drop from very loud to a whisper, in the middle of a measure, at full speed.

While Rick would never use the word, there were motifs in each solo that were touchstones for the band. These were unquestionably free solos, each one a different color or sensation. A reggae section could pop up. Eight bars of heavy metal could appear out of nowhere. We could work the music to a frenzy, all the while maintaining a stage presence of relaxed precision and easy excellence. There was a hurricane going on in the club but the 6 guys on stage were calm, in the eye. This non-verbal communication among 6 musicians, perfected over thousands of repetitions pushed the Jim Small Band’s music to become a sublime experience. When we were in the “Rick solo mode,” the six of us moved as one.

What made it truly special were the solos themselves, and the man behind them. His solos could grab the entire room and they were silent during the really quiet parts and raucous at the ending. Rick is not a music theory buff. His guitar solos are not scales or modes that he learned and drilled to perfection. Rather they are melodies and phrases that come from his heart. Beautiful soaring lines, blindingly fast and clean guitar figures, dropping to a whisper with just the slightest nod of his head (known to the band as the stew-nod). It is all in how his fingers touch the wood and strings of the guitar. Playing these beautiful pieces of art and meshing my bass parts to Rick’s solos, especially the non-verbal communication thing, transformed these moments - these incredible escapes from reality - into total musical absorption, the most rewarding experiences of my musical life.

For most of those 5,000 gigs and 30 years, Rick and I drove to the gigs together. We had many memorable trips in his pickup truck, aptly named Pig Pen. We talked. We laughed. Rick told jokes and took naps. One snowy winter night we suddenly realized the tailgate had come down and our guitars needed to be retrieved from the middle of Rte 110.

My old pal Rick is having a bout of poor health. He is a proud man and as tough as they come. I remember the day he had a hangover that would kill a normal man. I walked into his backyard and he was six feet into digging a dry well with a shovel. He is a great man and has my gratitude and respect. In a life full of musical fun, my proudest moments have come while standing behind Rick Silecchio, trying to read his thoughts

Our hearts go out to his sweet wife Margaret, his kids Ricky and Amanda and sister Lisa.

posted January 2021 ~ edited March 2022

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From Jim Small

The passing of my friend and band mate, Rick Silecchio, saddens me deeply. His family is in my heart and prayers. I will celebrate his life, his incredible legacy, his humor, his generosity and his love. Rest in peace my old friend. I have added a few words below to remember him.

A Little Less Color

There’s a little less color in the world today
A little less music, a little more gray
I think there was more that I wanted to say
There’s a little less color in the world today

There’s a little less laughter in my heart tonight
A little less magic, more black and white
I feel like my lamp is a little less bright
There’s a little less laughter in my heart tonight

There’s a little less power, a little more blues
No one to criticize, none to accuse
One more of his solos I think I could use
There’s a little less power, a little more blues

There’s a little less sunlight, a little more rain
And no medication for killing this pain
But the greatest of memories for us to retain
There’s a little less sunlight, a little more rain

There’s a little less fire, a little more cold
It’s not in our hands for us to control
We rev up the engine, and just let it roll, but
There’s a little less fire, a little more cold

There’s a little less fortune, a little more fate
His impact and influence, you won’t duplicate
He touched everybody, we must celebrate but
There’s a little less fortune, a little more fate

There’s a little less shadow, a little more clear
He’d be embarrassed by our shedding a tear
He’d rather us savor his music we’d hear
There’s a little less shadow, a little more clear

There’s a little less wonder, a little more why
Time enough everyone must say goodbye
And watch the moon hide in that ole desert sky
There’s a little less wonder, a little more why

There’s a little less color in the world today
A little less music, a little more gray
I think there was more that I wanted to say
There’s a little less color in the world today

In memory of my friend, Rick
J. Small
1/30/2022

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From Kyle Small

I believe before I could walk, I treated my dad’s music like food. I couldn’t get enough of it. “Time Enough” was the first CD I can remember listening to on my silver Discman with Mega Bass (always on, of course). If my memory serves correctly, I wore out 3 copies of that awesome collection of live stuff and started asking for the master copies ... my dad was not pleased! He made me promise not to destroy them, like I had with almost everything else at the time. Needless to say, I was obsessed.

I think that obsession only got worse, as I became an even more devoted fan of the Jim Small Band, wanting to archive, listen, watch, mix, master, and revel in their performances from over 5 decades. Sharing the stage a few times with these guys was an extreme honor and some of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life (so far)! And while I was always extremely impressed by the performances of Jim, Phil, John, Vin (and Phil), Mike, Sally, Greek, and Bobby (and others over the years), there was one who set the bar for every other guitar player I would eventually come to love, admire, and (poorly) attempt to emulate.

There is only one Rick. Rarely does a tape, CD, video, or any other type of media go by where my jaw has remained in place after hearing him. To describe him as “incredibly talented” falls short of his true abilities. According to Jim, Rick’s talent makes the band perform at a more challenging level, and I couldn’t agree more.

Last summer, during the quarantine, Rick had reached out to my dad with the intent to “get the band back together,” this time including Ricky and myself. That is now the goal - but first, let’s get him better. While we’re waiting for the world to return to normal, let’s help out this integral member of the JSB and our dear friend get back on his feet. Please share this post and video with anyone and everyone you can. Thanks

posted January 2021 ~ edited March 2022

click here to hear some of Rick's classic solos

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