Rich Alpert
Guitar, Kazoo, and Vocals
Rich Alpert was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island in Great Neck, NY.
He was introduced to playing guitar in the early sixties by his cousin Lanny
Lambert, jazz guitarist Joseph Monk and the Brit Band Invasion.
Played on the folk scene while attending the University of Pittsburgh for Studio Arts.
He came west to attend the San Francisco Art Institute and received a MFA in sculpture in 1973. He was awarded a NEA Fellowship Grant in Sculpture in '79 and was active in the SF visual arts scene up to 1986. Rich's first West Coast band was called 'Acerola' and played rock n' roll and reggae music. He started a band in '97 called 'The Sawbucks' that played Blues and rock n' roll covers and original material at various clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area and has evolved into 'the OUTBACKS'.
He is currently studying guitar playing with Jim Campilongo.
Rich plays a Doug Roomian semi hollow Telecaster style guitar, a Steinberger Transtrem six string, Martin D-35, and a Gibson/Epiphone acoustic/electric. Dean Markley, Marshall and Fender amplifiers crank up the sound for Rich.