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BIO

America's loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese performs swingin' Vegas versions of rock, rap, and Top40 hits, "swankifying" contemporary songs into traditional pop vocal standards. Cheese has sold more than 175,000 CDs; his albums include Lounge Against The Machine, Tuxicity, I'd Like A Virgin, Aperitif For Destruction, The Sunny Side Of The Moon, his Christmas album Silent Nightclub, his TV Themes album Dick At Nite, his live album, Viva La Vodka, and his latest album OK Bartender.  He also just produced a new album by Johnny Aloha called Lavapalooza.

The hardest working Dick in show business has played sellout shows all over the world, and will be performing concerts around the U.S. in 2011, including stops in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis, Washington DC, and Las Vegas.  Richard Cheese's songs have been featured in the movie Dawn Of The Dead and the NBC-TV shows Las Vegas and Passions, and he's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, CNN with Anderson Cooper, KROQ's Kevin & Bean Show, Opie & Anthony, Howard Stern, MTV's Say What Karaoke?, Fox & Friends, and as the house band 20 times on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly.

With his snappy jazz trio, his tiger-striped tuxedo, and his enormous microphone, Richard Cheese presents the perfect mix of music, martini, and madcap. Swank that!
 

Following is a complete BIO and Richard Cheese's fabulous CAREER HIGHLIGHTS.

► RICHARD CHEESE - OFFICIAL BIO

America's loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese sings swingin' Vegas versions of rock, rap, and Top40 hits, "swankifying" contemporary songs into traditional pop vocal standards. With his swanky Lounge Against The Machine swing band, his tiger-striped tuxedo, and his enormous microphone, Cheese presents the perfect mix of music, martini, and madcap. Just imagine Sinatra singing a Radiohead song, and you've got Dick.

Cheese has sold more than 175,000 CDs, and his albums are available in retail stores, on iTunes, and at his official website richardcheese.com. His albums include LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, TUXICITY, I'D LIKE A VIRGIN, APERITIF FOR DESTRUCTION, THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOON, his Christmas album SILENT NIGHTCLUB, his TV Themes album DICK AT NITE, his live album VIVA LA VODKA, and his latest album OK BARTENDER.

The finger-snapping, liquor-lapping, night-capping crooner first stepped into the spotlight in 2000 with his LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE CD. This critically acclaimed album featured "swankified" versions of alternative rock songs, such as Radiohead's CREEP and Limp Bizkit's NOOKIE, arranged for a big band sound. Thanks to radio stations including KROQ/Los Angeles, Z100/New York City, and the nationally-syndicated Dr. Demento Show, Cheese soon found an audience that shared his love of lounge music, including rockstar Brian Setzer, who hired Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine to play at his private Christmas party!

Soon, Dick landed a gig as the co-host and bandleader on MTV's "Say What Karaoke" series. He was also interviewed in 2001 on CNN, profiled in The Los Angeles Times, and featured as a category on VH1's "Rock 'N' Roll Jeopardy." Dick also headlined frequent concerts at The House Of Blues in Los Angeles and Anaheim, The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and radio station festivals like 91X X-Fest in San Diego, The WHFS HFSmas Nutcracker in Washington DC's Patriot Center, and the Y100 Feztival at Philadelphia's Tweeter Center. Richard Cheese was also hired to entertain at Blink182 drummer Travis Barker's first wedding!

In 2002, Cheese was back in blacktie with his TUXICITY CD, an album of uncensored alternative, rap, and pop covers, including loungey remakes of Sir Mix-A-Lot's BABY GOT BACK, Van Halen's HOT FOR TEACHER, and System of a Down's CHOP SUEY. Dick's popularity grew with sell-out concerts around the U.S.A., plus a slot as the opening act for the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Concert at the world famous Universal Amphitheater. RC & LATM also made appearances on The Opie & Anthony Show and The Howard Stern Show, Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" Morning Show, and RC & LATM appeared a dozen times as the Vegas house band on NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly." The standing-room-only concerts continued in 2003, as Dick criss-crossed the country playing venues from the Mercury Lounge in New York City to Sunset Station Casino in Las Vegas.

Cheese returned in 2004 with his I'D LIKE A VIRGIN CD, an intuxicating collection of "loungified" covers, including a snazzy remake of Snoop Dogg's GIN AND JUICE, and an inspired version of Michael Jackson's BEAT IT accompanied by a children's choir. That same year, Dick performed PERSONAL JESUS and BABY GOT BACK on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his cheesey version of Disturbed's song DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS was featured in the 2004 Universal Motion picture "Dawn Of The Dead" thanks to director and cheese fan Zack Snyder. Dick played concerts all over the world in 2004, including a private performance at the Playboy Mansion, and sellout gigs in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu, Portugal, and London.

In 2005, Dick released his fourth album, APERITIF FOR DESTRUCTION, an all-new CD of kooky covers for lounge lovers. This 18-track record included Vegas versions of songs originally by Guns 'N' Roses, U2, Black Eyed Peas, The Beastie Boys, Metallica, Slipknot, and many more. From 2 Live Crew's ME SO HORNY to Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, Cheese served up another "fromage homage" to the hottest hits in music. Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine performed a giant sellout concert at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, and the band was hired to entertain at big-time showbiz events like the TVLand Awards, the Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Hollywood benefit for Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, RC released two new albums. His greatest hits CD, THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOON: THE BEST OF RICHARD CHEESE, featured 10 all-new recordings plus 8 of Dick's cheesiest favorites. The album boasted newly re-recorded 2006 versions of Cheese classics RAPE ME, CLOSER, CREEP, NOOKIE, COME OUT AND PLAY, and FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT. Backed by a big band and a bigger sound, this was the biggest Dick yet!

In the winter of 2006, Cheese was back with his sixth CD, SILENT NIGHTCLUB, a collection of happenin' holiday hits just in time for Christmas. The all-new album included 14 spirited covers of songs like HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA, DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS, PERSONAL JESUS, I MELT WITH YOU, LIKE A VIRGIN, IMAGINE and ICE ICE BABY. Plus, Richard Cheese recorded an all-new original song called CHRISTMAS IN LAS VEGAS, which was featured on the NBC-TV series "Las Vegas." Dick's versions of SILENT NIGHT and Beyonce's NAUGHTY GIRL were featured in the NBC soap "Passions," and his CDs debuted for digital sale on iTunes.

In 2007, RC & LATM hit the road for their nationwide "Drinkchronicity" tour. The band performed sellout shows for thousands of fans at the House Of Blues in Chicago and New Orleans, the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, The Derby in Los Angeles, The Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco, and The Social in Orlando, plus venues in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and San Diego. Richard Cheese also began headlining monthly at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, including a sellout show on New Year's Eve..

Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine released their 7th CD in Fall 2007, DICK AT NITE. This album features lounge-style versions of classic TV theme songs, including THREE'S COMPANY, THE BRADY BUNCH, THE JEFFERSONS, and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, plus more recent theme song hits like SOUTH PARK and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. The album was also released on iTunes with exclusive bonus tracks, and several of Dick's tracks were featured in promotional events for TVLand.

In 2009 and 2010, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine released three all-new CDs for members of the Richard Cheese Superfan Funclub fan club. The first album, VIVA LA VODKA: RICHARD CHEESE LIVE presents live performances from RC’s 8 years of concerts, radio and television appearances, and private party gigs. The band’s next release, O.K. BARTENDER, was an all-new studio recording, featuring covers of songs by Lady Gaga, Kanye West, and Radiohead.  And, Richard Cheese produced a new CD for Waikiki lounge singer Johnny Aloha called LAVAPALOOZA, featuring Hawaiian-style “tiki music” versions of popular rock and rap songs.  An autobiography, documentary, video game, and a Richard Cheese iPhone app are also in the works.

The hardest working Dick in show business continues to perform sellout shows all over the world, from Las Vegas to London, from New York to New Orleans, from Honolulu to Hollywood. Thanks to ten CDs, a dozen tours, hundreds of concerts, 60,000 FaceBook fans, and a million martinis, Richard Cheese has earned a prominent place in that prestigious pantheon of lounge legends: Frank ... Sammy ... Dean .......... and Dick.
 

► CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

► ABOUT THE BAND


Bobby Ricotta - Piano & Arrangements
Pianist Bobby Ricotta has been playing piano since he was just a kid.  His phenomenal talent is the end result of years of formal education, thousands of professional concerts, and a 39-hour period during which he was locked in a minivan with Anna and Ines Walachowski, a Casio MT-40, and a bottle of Belvedere Vodka.
FUN FACT:  Bobby is deathly allergic to ivory, so he must take cortisone shots before he goes near a piano.


Frank Feta - Drums
Frank Feta is one of the most innovative drummers working in the music business today.  He is considered a pioneer in the field, and has developed a unique style of playing that has revolutionized the percussion genre.  His inventive methodology is difficult to describe to the layman, but essentially, Feta uses two wooden sticks, held simultaneously in his hands, to produce sounds from the drums by hitting their surfaces at different tempos, intervals, and intensities, generating a variety of thumps, clicks, bangs, and pops.  It has to be seen to be believed.
FUN FACT:  Frank's ATM card PIN is 9982.


?? - Bass
The Richard Cheese band has had so many upright bass players in the last 10 years that there isn't enough bandwidth on the internet to include them all here.
FUN FACT:  Hey, do you know anyone who plays upright bass?