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, 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.
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!
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". Following the tour, once again the guys, still great friends after all those years, went their separate ways.
Following the Winger reunion, Reb finally got his 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, most recently on a highly successful European Tour that visited countries such as the UK, Finland, Russia, Germany, Spain. The band's sellout show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo was filmed for a DVD released Spring 2006, with a live CD following.
In early 2006, Reb and Kip returned to the studio together for sessions that would produce the long awaited new Winger album. Winger IV, released October 2006.
Reb is now back home in Pittsburgh working on the follow up to his "Masquerade" solo album. He and Kip are still in touch daily, contemplating Winger live dates.
When not touring the world with Whitesnake or recording his solo work, Reb performs locally in Pennsylvania, endorses Suhr Guitars and tries to sleep a few hours each day.
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