Rick Seratte from Foreigner and Whitesnake

The passion to write and produce music while playing in front of thousands of fans with some of the biggest bands in the world seems like the path to chase. It's what this man does with our U.S. soldiers that makes him a real rock star. You know him from Foreigner, Whitesnake, Poco and so many more. Now get to know who he truly is. From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with Rick Seratte. “Born to Country….raised on Rock” Friends know him as a real straight shooter and a man never afraid to speak the truth. This honesty is reflected in the music he makes and in the songs he writes. Early Life Seratte was born and raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley on the family ranch where he learned hands-on working skills of ridin’ and ropin’,along with the value of hard work and what true grit determination was all about. His natural musical talents in piano and singing had surfaced at a young age and, by the time Seratte was a young teen, music was his main focus. Prior to his teen years, he was influenced by his parents’ record collection listening to everything from Nat King Cole to Sons of the Pioneers. The now legendary Bakersfield Sound was evolving at the time and was the prevalent music throughout the Valley, including Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys headquartered in Fresno. Seratte fondly remembers sitting with his family every night to watch the now legendary “Cousin Herb’s Tradin’ Post”, a Bakersfield regional tv show. The show featured a young Buck and Bonnie Owens, Merle Haggard, local and regional acts like Roy Buchanan as well as newcomers Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, Wanda Jackson, Johnny Cash, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams along with Gene Autry, Ernest Tubb, Texas Ritter and many more. Family member “Uncle Jelly ” Sanders was a regular member playing fiddle and guitar on the show, and also doing live shows with cousin Bob Wills quite often. Jelly is on many of Buck’s early recordings. When Jelly decided to stay in town, Buck had to find someone to replace him, so they found a young handsome champion fiddle player and handed him a Telecaster guitar. His name was Don Rich. ( A tribute to Jelly Sanders is included in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Bakersfield Sound Exhibit as a founding member, having performed, toured and recorded with many of these pioneers of The Bakersfield Sound.) Seratte is Blessed by exposure to his heritage and bloodline, as a part of musical history. Influences Good music was ingrained in Seratte. Growing up he was fully exposed to everything from “The Bakersfield Sound”, Rock, R&B, Blues, Motown and Jazz. Seratte absorbed the musical influences of legendary artists such as; Nat “King” Cole, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Byrds, The Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay, Bad Company, Oscar Peterson, Poco, Faces, The Allman Bros., The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Ray Charles, Brian Auger, Modern Jazz Quartet, Bill Evans, The Sons of Champlin and so many more. In high school, he sang and played in bands throughout the San Joaquin Valley and all along the west coast. Seratte already knew he wanted a career in music and performing. After graduation and a brief college stint in pre-med and music, he headed to L.A. to make his dream of music a reality. Professional Timeline In L.A., Seratte worked hard at his craft, and it paid off. Asylum Records took notice and Seratte was offered a deal. As with so many in Hollywood, people changed chairs, left the company, and the deal fizzled after a year, but his talent was recognized. Seratte’s keyboard and vocal skills also earned a solid spot on the “A” list of musicians in town and he was cutting tracks with the best players in town. He was in-demand in the studio and for live performances, as well as keys and vocals on film work, T.V., and commercials. After taking an audition , Seratte was asked to join Poco. Seratte’s keyboards and vocal blend were a perfect fit for the band and their signature harmonies. As a member of several multi-platinum and Grammy winning acts, Seratte has performed from Budokan to The Meadowlands, for audiences in stadiums, arenas, studios and television all over the planet, including ; Whitesnake, Foreigner, Three Dog Night, Spencer Davis Group, Stan Bush, Rick Springfield, Lion/Bad Moon Rising, ShadowKing, Masters of Reality, Debbie Gibson. Seratte joined as a member of the Baxter-Entwistle Band (Skunk Baxter, John Entwistle, Mickey Thomas, Zack Starkey, and Seratte), a project he wrote for and co-produced. Recording sessions, producing, writing songs , singing jingles, music for television and film and more was packaged between the touring. Seratte lended his keyboard/vocal talents on many projects and recordings, most are listed at allmusic.com or a general discography search. Intermission Life happens. Seratte suddenly found himself a single dad with two young children to raise alone. He moved the family from L.A. to establish a new life in Nashville. With calls and offers coming in, the children were his number one priority and leaving town was out of the question. During this time period, this single dad was busy at work caring for his family and working in town to stay home. Never an easy task for any single parent. Seratte’s spare time was spent writing songs, producing and performing only when the schedule allowed. Fast forward several years, the kids are now grown and off on their own. With a new found perspective called “Life Happens”, and an everlasting passion for music, Seratte’s main focus is again back on the music. New CD “Rock Country” is a project Seratte has wanted to record for a long time. Seratte gives the listener a unique glimpse into a side of the man that’s never been heard or talked about and says, “It’s so easy to lose yourself in all the high profile tours, sessions, and wide varieties of music and personalities. I needed to find myself again. There’s more to me than one kind of music. Like Ray said “There’s only two kinds of music, good and bad.” I decided to take all my experiences and influences, go back to the beginning, and start there.” Giving credit to his friends and big-gun players themselves making it a special recording, Seratte produced and engineered on the cd, sang vocals, played keyboards and wrote/co-wrote all of the songs. “Rock Country” is a music lover’s album for all. www.rickseratte.com