‘Mystere’ guitarist still playing strong after nearly 9,000 shows
Bruce Rickerd hasn’t missed a day of work in 19 years.
That’s impressive, no doubt. But is it newsworthy when a man does what he’s paid to do?
Rickerd, 60, doesn’t think so. But he is a modest, unassuming fellow who plays guitar for a living. In his mind, that is hardly work. It’s his good fortune.
On Tuesday , he will play guitar in his 9,000th performance of Cirque du Soleil’s “Mystere.”
His co-workers are in awe of his record.
He’s like baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who earned the nickname “The Iron Horse” for his durability and 14 years of never missing a game, says “Mystere’s” general stage manager Armand Thomas.
“Bruce is our own Lou Gehrig,” Thomas jokes.
Although there are other artists and musicians who hold perfect attendance records, Rickerd’s feat is unmatched among Las Vegas Cirque performers. And that old stereotype of flaky musician? Rickerd turns that on its ear. He credits his record to a mixture of luck and determination.
“Over the years, I could have taken a day off but decided not to. I guess it’s just a carryover from an old work ethic and sense of responsibility when I was a contractor,” Rickerd says. “Back in the day, being an independent musician, if you didn’t show up you didn’t get paid. And when you don’t show up, it affects everybody else.”
When Rickerd took the “Mystere” job in 1993, he didn’t set out to be Mr. Perfect. He was taking what he thought was a five-year gig. Benoit Jutras, a former keyboard player in Rickerd’s Canadian band, had gone on to bigger things as a Cirque du Soleil composer. He called Rickerd when Cirque was putting together a band to play live music in its new show called “Mystere.”
At the time, Cirque was just gaining a foothold in Las Vegas. No one imagined it would grow to dominate the city’s entertainment, Rickerd says. He was a little hesitant to take the gig, at first. He owned a house, had established himself in the Canadian music scene and was loathe to uproot his wife and their two children from their comfortable lives. Still, they decided to give it a try for a few years. That turned into 10 years, and then 15. In 2013, Rickerd will mark his 20th year with the show.
“Being with Cirque, it’s almost like a steady gig. It’s been a really great opportunity and experience,” he says.
The oldest of four, Rickerd was born in Ottawa and grew up in Quebec. As a kid, Rickerd was an introvert. His father, a graphic artist, told him: “You’ve got to do something. Choose a hobby. Maybe play guitar.”
Rickerd was only 13, but his father’s innocent words laid the foundation for the rest of Rickerd’s life.
It was just before Christmas 1965, and Rickerd had a little cash. He went to a pawnshop and bought a $13 acoustic guitar. It may have been a Gemstone, he doesn’t remember. But Rickerd played it for six months before deciding an electric guitar was cooler.
At the time, he was listening to Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Kenny Burrell, all musical artists with strong guitar influences. He thought he could do a lot more with an electric guitar.
Playing guitar brought him out of his shell. He developed a stage presence, something that was hard to do for a kid who didn’t want to look people in the eye.
“At that time, a light turned on in my head,” Rickerd recalls.
By the time he was in high school, he was a working, self-taught musician. At age 23, he decided to take guitar lessons. He had already recorded albums and toured with major acts but thought he needed to get better at reading music and playing it, too.
He found a teacher in Montreal who squeezed a two-year Berklee School of Music curriculum into six months.
That education has served him well. The score for “Mystere” is complex and requires Rickerd to maintain sharp skills to play nearly 500 shows a year.
To keep his chops up, as they say in the music biz, Rickerd also plays for kicks after work. On Mondays, you can usually find him at Boomers Bar, playing the blues. On Saturdays, he jams with buddies at Joey’s on Craig Road.
“I do a lot of playing outside of the show to keep my creativity going,” Rickerd says. “I bring that back to the show. There might be some spark of creativity that might come into me through collaboration. It just furthers my craft.”
The 10-piece band is an integral part of “Mystere,” helping to keep the pace for acts and individual tricks. The score doesn’t change but the musicians never play the same thing twice. During a recent performance, acrobats were having trouble with their landings but the band played it through, extending the scene until the performers rescued the trick.
Rickerd switches off among three guitars in every show, playing everything from growling guitar solos to soft acoustic melodies. Sometimes, people ask him if he gets bored playing the same thing night after night, year after year. The answer is, unequivocally, no.
“A lot of guys say, ‘You’ve done it for so long, you should be bored,’ ” Rickerd says. “Well, cops don’t get bored, lawyers and doctors don’t get bored. Why would a musician get bored?”
Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.
Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.
