From the very beginning, music's been in his blood!
Banging on bongo drums at a young age, Richard later became a member of his elementary school choir. He also attended summer choir camps, turning toward percussion with the junior and senior bands in high school. He also handled drum responsibilities in the school stage band.
He attended McGill Music Camp in 1974 and 1975, where he discovered jazz and made many valuable musical contacts. The night in August 1975 when he sat-in with pianist Art Maiste and saxophonist Gerry Danovitch for a camp concert because drum instructor Ronnie Page had other commitments, remains one of his fondest musical memories.
In college, he hooked-up with talented musicians to do some rock shows and he spent several years as drummer and singer in a band called "Silver Shadows", playing around Montreal at weddings, private parties and various other events.
As a self-taught guitarist, he began writing his own material, recording his first demo of original songs at Montreal’s Listen Audio in the late seventies. While working on a psychology degree at McGill University, he took jazz improvisation and performed as a solo singer/songwriter at McGill's "Red and White Revues" in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Reviewing the 1978 show, the McGill newspaper wrote, “…guitar-strumming Richard Dagenais was a raving success. Of all the performers, he alone received a standing ovation”.
In the early eighties, he was a regular entry in CHOM-FM's “L'Esprit” talent contest.
Today, Richard has more than 100 original songs recorded in studios around Montreal and still writes, plays and performs. These days, he’s as likely to appear as singer in a rock band for an informal show at a Crescent Street bar, as he is singing jazz standards at events around the city.
He’s also sang the Canadian and American anthems at Montreal Expos baseball games at Olympic Stadium, at Montreal Alouettes football games at Molson Stadium, at Centre Pierre Charbonneau for the ABA’s Montreal Royal and at various Canada Day events.
He is a member of SOCAN and has recently experimented with original children’s songs. His singing voice has been heard in commercials and on French and English television shows.
Richard worked for five years as the live reporter for Global TV’s Montreal morning show, “This Morning Live”. The program was cancelled in March 2008 and for the final televised show, Richard performed several songs with guitar wizard Paul Deslauriers.
The “Richard Dagenais Trio” performs jazz standards. Typically, Richard sings, but for instrumental performances, he plays drums.
The trio has performed as part of the Midis Sun Life concert series (2006), as part of the Rogers Cup entertainment line-up (2003, 2002) and has appeared on the CFCF Telethon (2002). The trio has done several recordings at Studio Piccolo. Marianne Trudel has played piano, as well as Tim Jackson. Dave Watts has played bass, as well as Eric Lagacé and Daniel Lessard.
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