Rick Gehrke: Guitars, percussion, & vocals
Roger Gehrke: Vocals & keyboards
Erik Gehrke: Percussion
Engineering by Captain Pulsar's Freq Factory
Simple Tools is an evolving project, originated by brothers Rick and Roger Gehrke, to give us something constructive to do when it's too hot to go outside. We figured by publishing online, we can to reach out and bug people all around the world without actually having to go anywhere.
Erik Gehrke, Rick's son, recently completed his first studio tracks for one of Simple Tools' recent rock songs, "Norwegian Woodstock". Erik turned twelve this year (2005) and has been playing drums for about a year and a half.
Rick started playing guitar while in the Air Force during the 1980's, mainly to try to impress chicks. Unfortunately, the karmic negativity generated by such impure motivation resulted in severe retardation of Rick's musical development, but he's catching up fast. Rick says "Hey, if there's one thing I've got, it's potential!"
As Benjamin Disraeli once said "Most people die with their music still locked up inside them". While it's likely that some of Rick's acquaintances desperately wish he would do just that, Rick decided not to let a little thing like lack of approval get in the way. Armed with a warped mind, a few loud toys, and a geek-like affinity for computer-based recording gear, he set off in 2004 to seek new depths as a songwriter and guitarist.
Based in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee (that's just north of Chattanooga), Rick works as a pesky salesman by day, pursues his environmental science master's degree in the evening, and stays up late at night working through the exercises in Guitar One Magazine. His beautiful wife and two young children suffer patiently and wonder why he writes about himself in the third person.
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