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Behind the scenes from the Mr Mister reunion sessions at Thrak Studios — capturing rehearsals, conversations, and moments from a rare return to the room.

Richard taped a live solo performance for friends and family at Kula Studio in Santa Monica. The show is available on this site and a DVD/CD double album is available on the music page as well. This performance gives Richard a chance to break down some of his best-known songs to their core, challenging the old adage that a great song is a great song with or without the recording production surrounding it. Viewers will enjoy hearing the raw versions of some of the classic Mr. Mister hit songs along with some of Richard’s solo masterpieces. Included is a song from Richard’s former band PAGES called Midnight Angel, a ballad written around the time he met his wife Linda along with a song co-written with Richard Marx entitled No Tomorrow. Produced and directed by Richard’s brother, Rob, this performance and production has gathered great reviews over the years since it was first released.

On March 5th, 2011, Richard took part in a charity event to raise money for the Santa Monica/Malibu school districts music and arts programs along with David Crosby, Venice and America. First created by the Lennon brothers and cousins, Kip, Mark, Michael and Pat, also known as the band Venice, these shows have featured Jackson Browne, Michael McDonald and other well-known artists while raising money for the school districts underfunded music and arts programs. One of Richard’s biggest musical influences was Crosby Stills and Nash so singing with David Crosby was a milestone moment. The finale featured Suite Judy Blue Eyes, a song Richard and his brothers have song together at family gatherings for decades.

This is a rare shot of Richard, Steve George and Pat Mastelotto together walking on the beach near Richard’s home. The guys got together to video a short interview about the making of the final and unreleased Mister album PULL. That video can be seen here. Since it was ‘shelved’ in 1989 by their record company RCA (which now is part of Sony Music), there was a loud outcry for its release by loyal fans. After much wrangling with Sony, the album was released on Little Dume Recordings in CD format. Sony retains the digital rights. The album, which many think is the bands most original, stretches the boundaries of the perceived pop/rock style Mr. Mister was most known for. The album is a hybrid of synth, percussion, guitar and layered vocals, reflecting the band’s multi-genre influences. Mixing jazz, latin, folk and straight-ahead rock into a mind bending collection of songs, the final album shows the diversity of its members and is a journey into their musical souls.

This is a shot of Steve George and Richard circa mid 70’s in a rented house on Sancola Street in N. Hollywood. The “studio” was a converted garage whose walls were covered in second hand carpet, taken from a large garbage bin behind a local carpet store. This was used carpet the installation crews took out of the homes they were putting new carpet in. But hey, the price was right! To hide the stains, they covered the carpet with tapestries. Brilliant. The boys had saved up enough money to buy a Teac reel to reel four track tape recorder, which was the top of the line piece of gear for songwriters and artist trying to get their songs recorded somewhat professionally in those days. You could actually overdub vocals, keyboards and guitars by bouncing down tracks. These “sessions” not only gave Rich and Steve some valuable experience, but also allowed them to come up with song demos that got some attention from industry people that lead to future record deals. So that “studio” was a wise investment.

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Always good to get family involved when needed. These pictures were taken by Richard’s nephew, Seth Page, in the studio and around the house and neighborhood. Seth is an accomplished professional photographer living in the Phoenix area. Richard’s son James also plays a big part in his dad’s career, handling website issues and managing Little Dume Recordings, Richard and Mr. Mister’s private label. The studio is Richard’s sanctuary at home. The first time he stepped into a real recording studio, he recalled having the feeling that it was a kind of magical space, a place where what you hear in your head becomes reality and that the possibilities were limitless.