Meet Rick Torres | Record Company Owner, Music Producer, Composer & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rick Torres and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rick, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process went something like this: Hmmm… I already own the studio and gear to make records, and with just a few bits of paperwork and a few small government fees and processes, I could release whatever music I want, whenever I feel like it, worldwide without needing a huge corporation behind me. OK! make it so!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art… That’s a question that has more answers than I have room to type, but I will tell you about some of the latest projects that I am working on. I am the bass player, backing vocalist, and occasional lead guitarist in a Rock & Roll band called “Dirtycakes”. We are currently putting the finishing touches on our debut album, and concurrently releasing singles and music videos to keep our fanbase engaged. DIrtycakes is a wild eyed and untamed Rock & Roll band with a powerful and heavy sound . Electrifying live performances and songs that stick in your head. We pull no punches and wear our hearts on our sleeves. Soooo much fun playing LOUD!!! Then there is Supreme Beings of Leisure… We are finishing up a new album! A cool, sophisticated kind of music, well suited for mixing with the Smart Set. We blend elements of Trip Hop, Electronica, World Music, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Hip Hop… we mix it all up like some bespoke exotic cocktail from a suited and bearded Silverlake hipster bartender. Yummy music! There’s also The Pendejos of Doom… the Avant Garde, Prog/New Wave band… and the Ooks Of Hazzard… A rootsy and gutsy Ukulele Folk-Rock Indie Alternative/Americana band… Our eponymous album is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc. – Yee-Haw, mate! and there’s KUBIK – who is a very politically minded found object sound artist on my label that loves horror movies and NASA engineers. KUBIK has an album out called “World On Fire” – It is sonically intense and psychologically thrilling as well as thought provoking. Some fun projects!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow! So many favorite secret spots… Tiny brightly colored authentic taco nooks, Film Noir Korean BBQ hideaways, turn of the century Chinese restaurants, luxurious and ancient Art Nouveau hotel bars, fresh air rooftop lounges, downtown Punk Rock dive bars, Malibu beach bars perched over the ocean with dolphins and whales swimming by, dimly lit french restaurants with master chefs. You’ll just have to go out for a night on the town with me and see… 😉

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The person who inspired me the most to start my own record label was Mr. Chris Blackwell. Chris is the founder of Island records, the Palm Pictures Record Label, and he was the Big Kahuna when Supreme Beings Of Leisure were working on our first record. His energy and passion, his LOVE for music and the people who made it, and his colorful storytelling about the adventures he had with Millie Small, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, Nick Drake, Grace Jones and others, really lit a fire in me and sparked a desire to have the ability and freedom to release whatever music I wanted to. I admired his independent and maverick way of doing business and working withing the music industry. He was always thinking “outside the box” and it was awe inspiring to watch how he made things happen.

Website: http://www.erecordsmusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirtycakesband
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricktorres/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/erecords1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erecords
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DirtyCakesBand
Other: Kubik – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PByXQn_d_Rg&list=OLAK5uy_lKRi2d94gb75nQOBBKeLjOcA2XcrmnjCk
Kubik – https://www.facebook.com/theartistkubik/
eRecords® – https://www.youtube.com/user/ERECORDS1
Supreme Beings Of Leisure – https://www.facebook.com/supremebeingsofleisure/
Pendejos Of Doom – https://www.facebook.com/pendehjos/
Ooks Of Hazzard – https://www.facebook.com/ooksofhazzard/

Image Credits
Dirtycakes video shoot images courtesy of Lucas Bomeny