Rich is a specialist in blues mandolin, with an emphasis on the style of Yank Rachel. A truly great player and teacher, he has taught music for over 25 years.
For 10 years he coordinated the Handy Award winning Augusta Heritage Arts Workshop: Bluesweek in Elkins, West Virginia, teaching classes in bottleneck slide, mandolin, and blues band labs. He has also taught at the Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop and served on the faculty of the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the California Coast Music Camp.
He has been a writer for Blues Revue magazine since 1991, and an associate editor since 1996. His monthly column, "Take It On Home Now," features written music in each issue, accompanied by RealAudio sound files on the Blues Revue Web site. He also has a regular column in Mandolin Magazine, and his writing has been featured in Living Blues, Mandolin World News, and Frets magazines. He prepared articles on Yank Rachell and Johnny Young for Mandozine, and wrote a mandolin method book for Hal Leonard.