Rick Seibold

Background

Rick Seibold grew up on the East Coast in Wilmington, North Carolina. His music career began around age 10 when he appeared in the film The Road to Wellville as John Harvey Kellogg's son, played by Anthony Hopkins, singing the Christmas classic Silent Night. He started playing the guitar at age 15 and began writing songs soon after. Seibold states, "I began surfing earlier that summer, so naturally, images of life at the ocean seeped their way into my songs. Not long after I started playing, me and some friends started writing and recording together." He was also an accomplished wrestler. His career eventually garnered him an invitation to the United States Olympic Training Center before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a varsity wrestler.

2006–2008: That's the Day (EP)

In the winter of 2004 Seibold began recording his first EP, That's the Day. "I never even intended to release those recordings, I did them in my friend's bedroom," recalls Seibold, "but after some convincing from a friend, I decided to put them up on iTunes."

That's the Day logged over twelve weeks in the iTunes Top 100 Pop Charts in early 2007, without the support of a record company. The album's success came on the back of viral internet sites like MySpace and Facebook, and has been fueled by the enthusiasm of his young fans. Rick's internet fan base flocked to him for his fun, easy going Jack Johnson or Colbie Caillat-like sound and lyrics inspired by his upbringing on the beaches of Wilmington, North Carolina. "It really comes down to people loving the music and then passing it on to their friends," Seibold says. "That's how this whole thing grew so fast."

"Rick Seibold presents songs about love, learning and coming of age with a knack for smart and often catchy melodies... it's sure to make any young female listener swoon," says Alyssa Rashbaum (MTV, Spin, Vibe).

In June 2008, Rick appeared in Southwest Airline's Spirit Magazine as part of a feature on Nashville based songwriters. Later that year he interviewed and performed an early version of "Thrift Store Gypsy" for Seventeen Magazine. He also followed John Mayer's footsteps by performing at the Pennsbury High School Senior Prom in May 2008.

"You know, I hope my music will be something comfortable for anyone listening to it," Seibold said in a recent interview. "Whether you're in the middle of a New York City blizzard or a Seattle rain, I hope you can put on my record and it'll make you feel like summer time."

Commercial reception

In the first half of 2008, That's the Day spent twelve weeks in the iTunes Top 100 Pop Charts, putting Seibold's first record among the top selling independent albums in the first two quarters of 2008, selling nearly 25,000 units in that time and reaching as high as #27 on January 26. In addition, "That's the Day" reached as high as #3 in Canada, and #18 in the United Kingdom.

2009–2012: New York

Seibold released his 2nd EP in April 2009 entitled New York. It was recorded over a four-month period during the fall and winter months of 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. After spending more than two months experimenting in his own studio in Nashville, Rick worked with indie producer Cason Cooley (Derek Webb, Katie Herzig) to help finish the record. "New York" is his most polished album to date, and marks a significant step from the acoustic simplicity of That's the Day. When asked about the marked difference between the two discs, Seibold replied "I wanted to make a record that captured my experience of living in the bustling city of New York". Seibold released an album of acoustic b-sides and demos on August 28, 2009 appropriately entitled "Acoustic New York". Shortly after its release Seibold made the move to Los Angeles, California.

On November 24, 2009, Seibold released a Christmas single to iTunes entitled Why Won't It Snow Here. It was remastered and released again on iTunes in late 2013. He also frequently appeared as a house guest of Justin Gaston in the 2010 web-based If I Can Dream (series). Many of his songs have appeared on television and film. The song My Best was featured on MTV's The Challenge in March 2012. As a much sought after producer and songwriter, he began writing with artists such as David Archuleta and Alex Lambert.

Commercial reception

New York made its debut at #17 on the iTunes Pop Charts.

2013: Summertime Tonight and Beautiful World

Rick launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding for Summertime Tonight, released on October 1, 2013. The set of 7 songs was written and recorded in Los Angeles, California, over a three-year period. He also released a documentary later that month about the recording process called Beautiful World, which was shot over a 2-year period while living and touring out of Los Angeles, California. He has continued to write and collaborate with various artists, and in 2013 he wrote and produced the song "Stay Away" on American Idol winner Lee DeWyze's album Frames, which made its debut at #116 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, #38 on the Rock Chart and #12 on the iTunes Alternative Albums Chart.

Commercial reception

Summertime Tonight become Rick's third album to date to break into the iTunes charts, peaking at #113 in its week of release.

2014: The Rix

In 2014 Seibold began a side project with Ricky Jackson of The Daylights called The Rix. Their first single, Beautiful Disaster, was featured in Season 5 of Pretty Little Liars and featured singer Jessi Collins. On October 7, 2014 The Rix released the song "Dizzy" also featuring Jessi Collins. Seibold also collaborated with indie artist RIVVRS (Brandon Zahursky) on the song Save My Soul, which was featured in The CW's Reign and Frequency, USA's Eyewitness, NBC's The Night Shift, and MTV's Finding Carter.