Richard Swift

Richard Swift (born Ricardo Ochoa; March 16, 1977 – July 3, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker. He was the founder, owner, and recording engineer of National Freedom, a recording studio located in Oregon, and worked as producer, collaborator, muse and influencer for acts including The Shins, Damien Jurado, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), Foxygen, Jessie Baylin, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius, Lonnie Holley, The Mynabirds, Wake Owl, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Gardens & Villa, Cayucas, Fleet Foxes, Mango Safari and Guster. Swift was a former member of Starflyer 59, The Shins, and The Arcs. He was also a part of The Black Keys' live band during their 2014–2015 tour, performing as their touring bassist and backing singer. Early life Born in California on March 16, 1977, with the name Ricardo Ochoa, into a musical Quaker family, Swift started performing and singing in churches at an early age. In his youth, his family moved frequently, spending time in rural locations in Minnesota, Utah, and Oregon. As a teenager, he worked at a farm near International Falls, Minnesota. Career Solo Ricardo "Dicky" Ochoa released his first solo album under the name Dicky Ochoa on Metro One Recordings in 2000. While in 2002 released an album called Company with Frank Lenz and Elijah Thomson. Also in 2002 he was a musician on the Promise Keepers Live Worship album. In 2001, Swift moved to Southern California to pursue his solo recording career. That same year, he recorded Walking Without Effort, an initially unreleased album with drummer and producer Frank Lenz. He recorded much of his early music on a four-track cassette recorder. From 2002 to 2005, he released four small pressings of "properly manufactured" 7" vinyl singles via Velvet Blue Music. Swift also released The Novelist in 2003 and Walking Without Effort (recorded in 2001) in 2005 and combined the two albums to create the double-disc The Richard Swift Collection Vol. 1 released by Leftwing Recordings in August 2004. In December 2003, American webzine Somewhere Cold voted The Novelist EP of the Year on their 2003 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame list, while a year later, in December 2004, they ranked The Richard Swift Collection Vol. 1 No. 5 on their 2004 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame list.