“Rock and Roll guitar playing has become the most predictable and mundane of all

styles to the point that I hardly pay attention... then suddenly we meet this guy, Ricky! I

can watch him play for hours, just when you think you know what’s coming next he plays

something so imaginative and passionate that it grabs your attention and reminds us that

Rock and Roll is risky and frisky and soaked in whiskey. He’s the kind of guitarist that

makes you wanna run home and practice!”

-Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady, Wide Mouth Mason, and many others)

While most 9-year-old kids played video games, sports or got into trouble, Ricky Paquette got

his first guitar. The rest was history in the making.

Born in 1990 in Gatineau, Quebec, Ricky demonstrated great musical ability at a young age.

Within a year of picking up the guitar, he was already developing his unique style, blending

several blues and classic rock influences, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Aerosmith, and

performing all over the Ottawa-Gatineau area by age 13. Trevor Finlay (Ottawa), Fernando

Jones (Chicago), The Junkyard Dogs (Ottawa), Paul Deslauriers (Montreal), Steve Hill

(Montreal) and The Mud Boys (Ottawa) are among those who took notice of Ricky, inviting the

young guitar slinger to perform with them regularly. Around this time, Ricky honed his singing

chops and began performing with his band, Ricky and the Soulbenders.

In 2004, now performing under his name, Ricky Paquette signed a record contract with

Preservation Music Inc. (Montreal), which oversees the release of his first two blues albums,

Early for the Show and Live at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. A whirlwind of

activity follows, performing in festivals and venues across Quebec, Ontario, the USA, and even

Afghanistan to perform for Canadian soldiers on two different occasions. He further cemented

his reputation by sharing the stage with Johnny Winter, Babe Ruth, Bruce Cockburn, Trudy

Lynn, Finger Eleven, Frank Marino, Credence Clearwater Revival, James Cotton, Colin Linden,

Crash Karma and Buddy Guy. In his home province, he also performed with Steve Hill, Bob

Walsh, Jimmy James, Nanette Workman, Breen Leboeuf, Éric Lapointe, Jean Millaire, Jim

Zeller, Bob Stagg, Paul Deslauriers, Guy Bélanger, Angel Forrest and Martin Deschamps,

among many others.

Around 2010 Ricky decided it was time to put some original music out into the world, melding

his blues and rock influences with pop and psychedelic sounds. The result was the album Inside

Out, released in 2010. More opportunities come around this period, including recording the song

You’ll Never Walk Alone for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier video game

and becoming a spokesman for the Rocksmith video game series.

Not one to rest on his laurels, he becomes a mainstay in Quebec, becoming a member of Martin

Deschamps’ band, Angel Forrest’s band, and as a first-call live guitarist for several other artists,

playing stages across Canada and the UK. Having taken an interest in recording and

production, Ricky assumes a more active role in the studio beyond performer, taking

engineering and production/co-production roles on albums by Martin Deschamps (Soulshine,

Leboeuf Deschamps, Comme Je Suis 2020), Angel Forrest (Electric Love, Hell Bent With

Grace, Angel’s 11 Vol. 2), Travis Cormier (Where’s the Time Gone) and King Melrose (Fleur de

Cactus). The Canadian music scene took even more notice in 2022 when the album Hell Bent

For Grace earned Ricky his first Juno nomination.

In 2020, wanting to further strike out on his own, Ricky sells most of his worldly possessions and

packs his house and home (and the cat) in an RV (complete with a recording studio) bound for

Nashville, hoping to work with several different writers on a new solo album. While the COVID-

19 pandemic might have curbed those plans, his short time there saw the recording of his first

solo single in over ten years, Hello (featuring none other than drumming legend Kenny Aronoff).

While the world was shut down, Ricky wrote and wrote some more, amassing a collection of

original material that caught the ears of Ad Litteram out of Montreal. The young musician

secures a deal for his next album.

One thing leads to another, and his music catches the ear of Gordie Johnson, a Canadian

musician best known as the guitarist and vocalist for Canadian Roots-Rock-Reggae band Big

Sugar, as well as a world-renown record producer with an extensive resumé. Making a record

during a pandemic, with one person in Quebec and the other in Texas, may not seem the

easiest way to go about things. Still, they make it work and make it look easy at the same time!

The result is the 2021 album Sparks, which features nine songs that blend rock, blues, country,

and pop, with a hint of influence from the great English bands from the 1960s and 1970s.

Ricky’s love for 1970s rock and roll is imbued all over the record, making for a timeless sound

that sits well on any rock playlist.

In 2022, an email came out of the blue that knocked things for a whirl. Canadian rock band The

Sheepdogs (known for several hit records and getting their picture on the cover of the Rolling

Stone) are down a guitarist. Ricky’s name is at the top of their list. One audition sealed the deal;

everyone in the room knew that the matching was perfect! Before he knows it, he’s on the tour

bus spending the fall of 2022 into 2023 on The Sheepdogs’ Outta Sight Tour, playing dozens of

dates across Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia. Ricky was made a full member of the

Sheepdogs following the Outta Sight Tour, ensuring more years of rock n’ roll!

Considering his age, Ricky’s career is already the envy of others twice his age, with no signs of

slowing down. Apart from The Sheepdogs, he has kept himself busy with a long trip to Austin,

Texas, to further his career and inspire more songs and collaborations. With many more years

ahead of him, we will not be hearing the last of him any time soon!