A Labor of Love
Welcome to the R.A.B. official website!!
The Rick Arcusa Band has been a labor of love from its inception.
When Vanya and I were first married (October 18, 2003), we frequented a local coffee shop in our little town of Neptune Beach. It was there that the seed was planted. Vanya and I noticed that they had live music there on different days and nights. Vanya said, "Why don't you do a solo act here?"
It had been years since I had played in public, except in church. But, the idea sounded pretty harmless. That's when we approached Steve Hicks. He was then the manager of "Shelby's Coffee Shop" (as well as Shelby's oldest son). Steve told me that he couldn't pay me anything, but I was welcome to come out on Thursday night for an audition. Apparently, he was satisfied with what he heard and I was a fixture every Thursday night (that wasn't an A Shift) for quite some time.
During that time, my brother Robert and many of my friends would come out to have great coffee and join in on some of the fun. Enter my longtime friend and great drummer, Danny Southworth.
The three of us made some good music together and consequently, brought in some more business for the coffee shop.
Winter gave way to warmer weather and Steve asked me to think about playing outside in the courtyard. What better excuse to go out and buy a P.A.system!! It was still my solo act with Danny and Robert joining me on occasion.
Once again, Steve came to me and said, "Hey Rick, the owner of 200 First Street wants to start a live music thing on Friday nights. He's gonna call it, "Music in the Courtyard". You guys interested?"
This was the birth of, "The Arcusa Brothers Band". We did one gig together as a four piece (Richard Looke on bass). But, it didn't last long. Richard was in bad health and he couldn't take the humidity. Soon after, Robert had to bow out. His work schedule was too hectic.
Speaking of love...
This is about the time when I bought some keyboards and brought Vanya out of the managerial wings and onto the stage. If you read her bio, you'll see the details. Trust me, this too, was a God thing. Sometimes, you just gotta do what He says and let Him worry about the details!! (Insert labor of love plug here).
At this time, we had a fellow come up and ask to jam with us. This was my good friend, Keith Stanton. He was a good player and sang, too.
Eventually, Keith moved on to play bass for his friend and fellow courtyard musician, Sam Rodriguez.
Our next bass player was from our church. Billy Aldrich was and is a model human being, great big brother, multi-talented musician and singer, and one of the Beaches’ favorite sons. He brought a true sense of polish to our sound. He continued to play for R.A.B. even after moving to Lake City, FL. What great dedication he displayed- A true labor of love.
One day, Billy told me that he had to leave the band. He heard God's calling for him to take his already established Praise Team in Lake City on the road to reach out beyond his home church. I was saddened, to say the least. But, I knew that it would happen soon enough.
I had another BUMC brother (Hal Hollingsworth of Fourplay) fill in on the bass guitar slot for a few gigs, until it was time for Susan to take the reins. She didn't know it was time, but I did.
As it stands right now, everyone in the band sings either lead, or background vocals and many of us play multiple instruments. All these improvements to the group are due to labors of love for one another, the quality of the group and our fan base.
The Rick Arcusa Band
A Labor of Love
