Wright and Ricochet to entertain patrons at SPC Scholarship Gala on Feb. 24
LEVELLAND – Six years ago, headliner Heath Wright graced the stage at the Annual South Plains College Scholarship Gala. His performance was flawless and highly entertaining! The only damper on the evening was a winter storm that wreaked havoc on the surrounding highways and prevented the audience from filling the Physical Education Complex.
Not to be deterred, Wright will once again take to the stage and attempt to rile up the masses as he performs in the Mallet Event Center with the current members of his band, Ricochet!
"We’re going to have an awesome show with dancing girls, lights and pyrotechnics," Wright said. "Okay, maybe without dancing girls, but we’re going to give the audience the hits from the 1990s and our favorite cover tunes during our 45-minute to an hour performance!"
Wright said he owes a debt of gratitude to the college and performing at the Scholarship Gala gives him a chance to give back to the school. He said he is grateful for the education he received as a South Plains College student in 1992. When he arrived on campus, he already had a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.
"I came to South Plains College to focus on studying music," he said. "I had saved up some money to live on while I attended SPC, and I found out that the money didn’t last as long as I thought it would."
Wright had planned on supporting himself at SPC by playing with a band in Dallas. He thought he would be able to fly to Dallas on the weekends for the shows, but the event proved to be more expensive than he thought. He lost the gig, and then he returned to campus to work on his studies. Shortly thereafter, Wright was awarded the Nathan Tubb Scholarship, which helped him complete his coursework and earn his associate degree in commercial music in May 1993.
A week after graduation, Wright headed to Nashville, Tenn. He said that when he was working in Dallas, he visited nightclubs to listen to live music. He met the fiddle player for the band, Lariat, while visiting the bar Borrowed Money, and he gave him a demo tape as well as his business card. When the band lost its lead singer, they reached out to Wright. The timing was perfect because Lariat also had moved to Nashville.
Wright said he joined the band with brothers Jeff Bryant, drummer and vocals, and JR Bryant, fiddle, mandolin and vocals. Lariat had been performing as part of a carnival, but the band wanted to go on tour and release their own music. Unfortunately, the manager owned the rights to Lariat, including the name, and he found replacement musicians and continued his operations.
Wright and the Bryant Brothers set out to create their own band. They recruited Greg Cook to play bass guitar and vocals. Cook and Wright met while attending the university in Oklahoma.
Wright then added a steel guitarist and dobro player, Teddy Carr, and a keyboard player Eddie Kilgallon, who also played the saxophone, rhythm guitar and provided vocals. And with the addition of the final members, the band, Ricochet, was born.
The band played for several years before signing with Columbia Records in 1995. Their self-titled debut album produced three straight Top Ten hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including the Number One single "Daddy's Money." The album was also certified gold in the United States.
The band hit its stride during the 1990s when they earned the New Vocal Group of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music, as well as several other CMA and ACM nominations. During their peak, the band made numerous television appearances on Country Music Award shows, the ACM Awards, the Tonight Show, Prime Time Country, the Grand Ole Opry and Crook & Chase.
Wright purchased the shares of the band from his remaining bandmate Cook in November 2013 to take sole ownership of Ricochet. While he is no stranger to rebuilding, Wright has managed to create a modern version of the band.
Ricochet now features Wright on lead vocals, lead guitar and fiddle; Chris Hempfling of Poteau, Okla., on drums and vocals (12 years with the band); Larry Hight of Springdale, Ark., on steel guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, saxophone and vocals (10 years); Bruce Bennett of Lowell, Ark., on bass and vocals (4 years); and Rick Toops of Moore, Okla., on keyboards and vocals (3 years).
On Feb. 24, Wright will not only headline the 25th Annual Scholarship Gala with Ricochet, but he will also present a $10,000 check to endow a scholarship to assist students at South Plains College.
“I’ve been lucky enough to save up enough money to start this scholarship,” he said. “This has always been a goal of mine since leaving SPC.”
Even while on the road touring with his band, Wright continues to be involved with SPC and serves as a member of the SPC Commercial Music Advisory Board.
For sponsorship opportunities/tickets for the 25th Annual Scholarship Gala and to see Heath Wright and Ricochet perform live, contact Samantha Goldie at (806) 716-2020 or by email at sgoldie@southplainscollege.edu.
Photo Tagline – Heath Wright and Ricochet
Courtesy Photo
