(as said to me…on stage...in the middle of a particularly rocking song)
The moment has never been too big for Cody Ritchey…and sometimes not big enough! A lifetime of pounding pianos and working alongside top talents in rock, soul, country, jazz, and musical theatre have honed Cody’s eclectic songwriting. His songs range from roots rock alternative to ‘70s and ‘80s tinged singer-songwriter pop. Each song has one goal…to become that one song that any listener can adopt as their own. Hailing from the isolated and broiling border city of El Paso, where the old west meets Mexico, Cody is immersed in a melting pot of cultures and music styles. The son of an early rock & roll rack jobber, Cody spent all his formative waking hours listening to music. He started playing piano, keyboards, and violin professionally at 18 with stops in L.A. and New York. Along the way, he played with many diverse acts including Chuck Berry, Juan Gabriel, Tanya Tucker, and composing for theatre Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway and Regionally. Cody has performed at The Kennedy Center, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and on Television Broadcasts of the OTI Festival and Siempre En Domingo. He even found time to raise five kids, manage Tower Records in NYC (like father, like son), and educate hundreds of young theatre students.
Cody doesn’t sit at the piano; he dances, he attacks, he even caresses the instrument when needed. His dedication to the show is beyond measure. He wowed hundreds at one funk performance when after shattering his knee and cartilage mid-song, he duct-taped a homemade ice pack around his knee and finished the show. This tenacity started years before when as a young concerto competitor, Cody improvised for 45 seconds when his memory failed him. In fact, it was probably that moment when he realized he would be a composer! Musically, Cody soaked in the sounds of the end of the 20th century. Lyrically, Cody had the words of Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, and Sondheim as inspirations. He went on to perfect his craft as a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in New York City under Maury Yeston and others. Together his music and lyrics seek the beauty of life…both profound and profane.
Cody Ritchey & The Sidewalk Inspectors are currently recording tracks to be released as singles and an album. Never one to be called a slouch, Cody is also finishing the score for his musical Night and the Search for Day. Cody still lives in the hauntingly out of the ordinary city of El Paso with his incredible wife and the occasional visits from his five kids!
