Bassist RkS (he started using the moniker RkS "professionally" at the age of 10) has been involved in musical endeavors and explorations since the tender age of three, when he was introduced to music by his father, a music educator and classical musician. With the 6-string electric “contra bass” and fretless electric bass being his main tools of the trade today, RkS originally began playing violin, initially studying the Suzuki violin method, which gave him an early and solid foundation in the fundamentals of music theory and musicianship. Throughout his youth, Rk studied and played various instruments, including violin, piano and an assortment of brass instruments. But his exposure to 1970’s heavy jazz-fusion and (now classic) progressive rock began to plant the seed of interest in rock music and its various experimental off-spring. Listening to bands like Return to Forever, Pat Metheny Group, Yes, Rush, and even early electronic music from bands like Kraftwerk inspired Rk to be drawn more to keyboards and synthesizers initially, which he still is interested in. However, Rk gives credit to the music of Weather Report with infecting him with the virus of electric bass infatuation which has motivated him musically ever since.

The first time he heard the late, great Jaco Pastorius’ bass playing on the Weather Report album Heavy Weather, Rk knew he wanted to play bass. He was 8 years old at the time. But it wasn’t until around age 11, after co-founding his first rock band (a trio in which he played keyboards . . . there was no bass player), that he actually got his hands on the instrument which in this case was a Hondo Precision Bass knock-off which was lent to him by his good friend, the band’s guitarist’s Eric Daugherty’s older brother who wasn’t using it very much. Much to the delight of himself and his young musical cohorts, Rk had a natural ability on the instrument and could also replicate and easily learn bass lines for tunes that the band had desired to play. From that point, although Rk was very involved in his grade school, junior high, and high school music programs by playing trumpet and other brass instruments, he shifted most of his focus to bass. He saved money from mowing lawns in the summer to buy his first bass, a cheap SG-shaped thing made by the Kay musical instrument company. In the early 1980’s Rk co-founded a progressive rock cover band (mostly Rush and Pink Floyd) called Time Piece with Eric on guitar, young 6-string phenom Eddie Maioro on lead guitar, drummer Dana Gilman, and vocalist Rich Black while in junior high school, and became a prominent figure in the youth music community in his area. The band continued when Rk entered high school, replacing Dana with drummer Mark Bencivengo and Rich Black with vocalist David Kalm. They also dropped guitarist Eddie Maioro when he went to a different high school. Rk started to sit in with other bands and projects and also helped organize independent rock shows and battles of the bands in and around his high school.

Rk has always tried to keep busy as a player, even from the early days. After participating in a few of the honors regional and tri-state Jazz Band programs, he scored a spot in the Jazz Studies program at William Paterson College in NJ, and not only studied the acoustic and electric bass and jazz music, but continued to play in an odd combination of jazz-fusion and punk and hardcore projects. Always having an interest in both heavy and experimental music which was fueled by punk, hard core, new wave and early alternative movements of the 1980’s and early 1990’s, one of the most notable projects that Rk played in was the “art-core” quartet called Ultraism, featuring Rk on fretted and fretless basses, drummer Bencivengo, guitar experimentalist John Kayes and singer David Kalm. Rk still regards this as one of his most fond band experiences. At this time, Rk was greatly influenced by such performers and groups as King Crimson, Adrianne Belew, Robert Fripp, Andy Summers, Talking Heads, David Byrne, , Mick Karn, and even heavier bands like Black Flag, Henry Rollins Group, Bad Brains, and .

It was the summer of 1989 that changed Rk’s musical career. After making a decision to shift academic gears to studying multi-media production, Rk transferred further south in NJ to Rowan University (then Glassboro State College), where he pursued a degree in Radio, Television, and Film production. However, upon arriving there, Rk discovered a thriving independent music scene in and around South jersey and , and fell in with the musical community on campus. It was here that he met up with the likes of keyboardist Kenneth A. Johnson, guitarists Sean Heim and Mark Sannuti, vocalists Suzanne Hamilton and Paul Knox, and a host of drummers including Jay Fisher and Joe Wells. Here, Rk became an integral member in a number of progressive rock and funk bands and recording projects including the funk band Chocolate City, the experimental funk “jam band” quartet Room Full Of Booty (both with guitarist Heim and keyboardist Tom Weber, as well as Joe Wells playing kit for the latter, and Jay Fisher on drums for the former), the “roots rock”/cover band A Few Moments Later (also with Wells on drums), and the progressive rock ensemble called The Web (featuring Heim and Xperiment guitarist Mark Sannuti on guitars), which eventually morphed itself into the psychedelic-progressive heavy funk band Yurasis Dragon. Yurasis Dragon, or YD, as it’s fans fondly referred to it (the last incarnation featured Rk on 6-string “contra bass” and fretless bass, Ken Johnson on keyboards/sequencing/samples, Suzanne Hamilton on vocals, Jay Fisher on drums, and guitar virtuoso Bill Molchanow), played shows and engaged in some recording projects (one of which was produced by New Jersey Indie-Rock production giant Greg Frey). The band continued to thrill and South Jersey Philly club audiences with its onslaught of technique, blazing guitar and keyboard solos, and solid foundation of funk, until the band finally dissolved in 1999, having its last show at the popular Pontiac Grille in Philly.

At this time, Rk took an all too lengthy and somewhat forced hiatus from musical performing to deal with “everyday life” issues, but the sweet, sultry tones of the bass constantly called to Rk and he soon returned to recording and playing in projects. In 2001, he began working on recording sessions with musicians like Bo Child and Mark Hill of Heard of Blues and Stringzville, singer-songwriter Steve Kunzman, and singer-songwriter Carol Barbieri, who he continues to play the occasional show with in support of her most CD release, Let it Go, which he lent his bass playing skills to.

During the past five years or so, and currently, Rk has been busy playing more rock-oriented projects as well as jazz sessions, recording projects and shows including:

•  The groundbreaking and exploratory WordRock collaborative production project Dawson/Scott, featuring poet/spoken-word artist Cyndi Dawson and Rk.

• The avant garde/experimental rock and modern punk trio Tweede Kamer, with Mark Bencivengo on drums and guitarist/songwriter Chris McMillan on guitar and vocals.

• Acoustic rock/indie rock ensemble known as Back-Alley Diplomats.

•The progressive rock/electronica creative collective known as The Xperiment, founded by ex-Web guitarist Mark Sannuti and his wife, keyboardist Linda Sannuti.

• The classic rock live review known as TnT Blues.

And many others.

So what does the musical future hold for RkS? In addition to continuing the aforementioned projects, Rk is interested in doing solo productions which bring him into new areas of playing. Rk has always had a side-interest in electronic music, but in addition to continuing to listen to and study past and current experimental and progressive rock music and bass playing, he has turned his sites to the blossoming electronica scene in the and in , particularly the jungle, breakbeat and drum-and-bass genres. After re-evaluating his sound, Rk has been going back to basics and paying much more attention to groove and foundation in his sound and playing. He feels that many of the more adventurous and intricate electronica forms not only explore this, but integrate real bass playing and drumming rather than sequenced and synthesized bass parts. Inspired by producers and projects such as Junglefunk (featuring Living Colour drummer Wil Calhoun and Bassist Doug Wimbish), LTJ Bukem, Dieselboy, Salmonella Dub, as well as state-side “hip-hop” performers like Erykha Badu and The Roots, Rk is currently involved in an independent, groove oriented  electronic release which not only features all “real” bass tracks and more fretless playing, but some ambient guitar work by him, and numerous guest appearances from his musical cohorts. The upcoming Dawson/Scott full-legnth release employs these influences, techniques, and principals, and also features musical compositions and production by Rk.  In addition to working on solo production work, Rk continues to seek out studio session work from area independent artists as well as the aforementioned live band projects. With a vast bass-playing resume stretching over 26 years, Rk hopes to become a low-frequency force to recon with in the independent and live music scene, and possibly beyond.  Rk has also been experimenting with producing live digital recordings of  the various gigs he is involved in.

RkS currently plays Yamaha electric bass instruments, Tune Guitar Technology electric bass instruments and  Michael Kelly Guitar Company acoustic bass instruments, and Gallien-Krueger bass amplification.