since founding his independent record label, wollenberg records, in the fall of 2004, folk rocker richard cortez has been taking the indie music scene by the balls one busted guitar string at a time. for more information about current and upcoming projects, band merchandise, tour info and free downloads of unreleased richard cortez songs, please visit the official wollenberg records homepage!
known mostly for his infamous first single, craving something beautiful, (or, "the 'smoking pot and watching cartoons' song"), which appeared on cortez's first full-length studio album, it was clear from the get-go that richard cortez was not your average recording artist. the record, appropriately entitled "craving something beautiful," started appearing for sale online and in small gay retail shops in the summer of '05, and has become somewhat of a gay folk cult classic. lyrically raw and uncensored, the album showcases the voice of a heartbroken but determined cortez striving to find meaning in the crowded streets of new york city as he leaves the only love hes ever known. from its catchy title track to the intricate string arrangements written by cortez himself, craving something beautiful was a major success and helped put both richard cortez and wollenberg records on the map.
almost immediately after releasing his debut musical effort, richard embarked on his first tour with friend and cellist greg bortnichak of sparta philharmonic. the tour consisted of an intimate array of coffee houses and dive bars along the east coast. it was this high level of intimacy and performance quality that brought to the table the idea of recording a live album similar to the likes of these shows. on june 16th, 2005, in a room filled with only his closest friends, richard cortez recorded his sophomore record, live @ the red room. this personal and musically profound follow up to his debut record showcases new and improved renditions of pre-wollenberg records compositions, songs off craving something beautiful, and raw first takes of songs off "he loves me not." with material spanning his entire career as a writer and musical arrangements that will leave you breathless, this high-energy album is the perfect introduction to what richard cortez really has to offer as a live performer.
recently, the folks at wollenberg rediscovered tracks from a five-song EP entitled he loves me not, which was shelved due to a loss of essential music files. a burned cd of the five songs in their rawest form luckily resurfaced and the low-fi tracks were released as a free download—a "gift" to all of richard's loyal fan base. we are proud to announce that hundreds of people have downloaded the album all over the world and the album is still receiving extremely positive feedback. download your copy now!
this summer richard cortez boldly traveled outside of the "gayborhood" of ft. lauderdale, florida, where he spent most of 2007 playing live shows, to record his latest cycle of songs entitled "sleeping with strangers." in his "do it yourself" fashion, richard and the wollenberg records staff have built his very first recording studio and has spent recent months preparing arrangements with local musicians and conceptualizing the record as a whole.
in the meantime you can keep up with the inner workings of the record as well as see richard showcase new songs, innovative covers and classic originals on his youtube song blog!
