Everyone comes to Rick's
My parents were fans of Humphrey Bogart, and they named me after his character in the film Casablanca, Rick Blaine. I think that’s pretty cool.
So what brings you to Rick’s Cafe? If you’re looking for the man behind the capo, here I am. If you’re interested in my modest careers as either a musician or a graphic artist, I’ve posted a page devoted to each…
Lately I’ve been writing my memoirs. I’m not under the illusion that there would be any general interest beyond my own circle of friends, but it’s been fun to do, and it’s approaching book length now. I will post some excepts from it here, and rotate them from time to time:
• Picking with Doc and Hank
Circa 1967, playing fiddle tunes with Doc Watson and Hank Bradley.
• Humbead’s Map of the World
The origin of what is probably my best known poster.
• My Monroe Moment
In 1974 I made a trip to the southeast, to launch my new fifth string capo. I wound up playing a stint with Buck White and his family, and playing one magic set onstage with Bill Monroe.
Click on the pictures, and some will show a larger copy.
For the past few years there have been bi-annual reunions of a band I played in during the late 60s, The Diesel Ducks. (L to R, Ed Littlefield, Hank Bradley, Rick Shubb, Eric Thompson). It was a spinoff of the days when Hank and I played with Doc Watson, and we covered some of the same material; mostly oldtime fiddle tunes. When we get together, our hands feel like they’re 20 years old again, and the music comes out pretty good.
Memories of the Berkely Fiddlers’ Convention. Another excerpt from my memoirs.
Here’s a video of me talking about the beginnings of Shubb Capos, when Dave Coontz and I came up with a new 5th string capo, and cautiously entered into business. The interview was conducted in June of 2010 by NAMM as part of their oral history project.
• For an article about me from the January 1996 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited, written by Sandy Rothman, CLICK HERE
• I’ve played the same instrument for almost all the years I’ve been playing. My banjo…
• My old friend George Jansen is a writer, and recently had his second novel published. It’s about amateur baseball in 1900. I read it, and loved it. More…
• I was featured in Business 2.0 magazine. This was just a one-page piece, which is essentially accurate, but kind of truncates the development of Shubb Capos just a bit for the sake of brevity. You can see it or download it here (pdf)
The same article ran in FORTUNE magazine, as well.
The GALLERY is loaded with pictures, along with a few videos, from our various trade shows and festivals over the years. Come on over and browse through them.
