THE BACKSTORY
After twenty years of teaching, touring and other music related endeavors it's time to consolidate everything under one umbrella, Washashore Music.
TEACHING
I began teaching music in 2005 at Score Music, founded West Bend Music in 2008 and taught there until the Spring of 2020. Because of the pandemic, I began teaching remotely and it made sense to open my own music school (also called Washashore Music) and focus entirely on my methodology of teaching and my own students. I specialize in Fiddle (Mark O'Connor Fiddle Method) individual and ensemble, Guitar, Ukulele, Piano, Voice, Viola, Songwriting and Artist Development. I also teach several adult students, whether they are beginning, picking it up again after years of collecting dust, or just want to advance their skillset. Over 75% of my students are female and many of them study with me through out their school years. I have developed a deep connection with these girls, as I try to empower them to be strong, successful women, and often times our lessons go beyond music.
TOURING
Going back as far as I can remember I have always been on stage. I have performed with various bands over the years, collaborated with the Cape Cod Symphony, Tom Rush, and many one-off projects. I currently tour, or hope to again some day, as Monica Rizzio (solo) or with the band Monica Rizzio & The Round Up. Live music is the pulse of life in my opinion, it creates so many emotions for the listener, and there is no place I feel more comfortable than on stage. I look forward to the day when we can all safely gather and let our hair down.
VINEGRASS
In 2014, I founded the non-profit Vinegrass. We produce small Americana/Roots concerts and an annual festival to raise money for music scholarships, grants, and instruments for kids on Cape Cod. In 2020, so many of our local musicians and techs, were blindsided by Covid and lost out on a significant part of their income. We established the Cape Cod Gig Relief Fund and were able to put over $11,000 directly into their hands. We maintained our scholarship program, which is for all (4) years of college, and to date we have awarded over $75,000. Our programming is on hold until it is safe to return to live music settings.
LICENSING & PUBLISHING
When Covid hit the touring stopped. I had always wanted to direct more of my time into writing and producing music specifically for TV, Film, and commercials. It is the exact opposite of writing for an album, you have a specific theme and sound you are trying to accomplish and much of the music is a deviation from my Americana style that I have wrote and toured with for so long. I have dipped my toes into POP, EDM, and of course Christmas Music. I look forward to sharing some of these projects with you or maybe you will hear me on TV someday.
ARTISTS DEVELOPMENT
I write music with many of students and some of their songs are really good, but what is the next step? I work with the students and introduce them to recording their music and navigating the endless paths of the music business. With 20 years in almost every aspect of the music business, it definitely helps to have a mentor when trying to figure it out. I also work with several of my fellow songwriters who are so talented when it comes to creating lyric but lack the business acumen to successfully get their music out to the world.