Alex Richard (Alex or Ricky) Commins

About Me

My friends call me “the singing CPA.”  It’s true.  I got my first guitar in fifth grade when I was 10 years old. I almost earned a PhD in romantic poetry and literature, then became an accountant. Those have been the three constants in my life:  music;  a love for poetry, language and lyrics;  and, earning a living.

In grammar school I played guitar; then in 8th-grade, I started playing Scruggs-style and old-time clawhammer 5-string banjo, as well as guitar, with my high-school bluegrass group, the Nancy Creek Ramblers. By the time I was in 10th grade, we had a regular Friday afternoon program on an Atlanta AM radio station and were performing members with The Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music.

In college, at Tulane University in New Orleans, I played lead guitar in a rock band, “Mass Hysteria.”  Then, back in Atlanta after college, I played guitar and fiddle for 15 years with an old-time string band, “The Sorghum Syrup Soppers.” As a group, we played numerous times at The Galax Old-Time Fiddlers Convention and I played many times in the guitar competition at Galax. Today, I mostly fingerpick the guitar; back then, my styles were broader: fingerpicking, flatpicking, fiddling, or hitting bluegrass or old-timey licks on the banjo.  I didn’t care as long as I was playing music.

Today, I mostly play solo or with a bass guitar backup, and thanks to my love of poetry and the nature of language, I have written a fair number of lyrical pieces (as well as instrumentals) and my repertoire has grown to some 200 songs.

Over the years, I have honed my style by studying with some amazing teachers.  Among them, Larry Campbell (who played with Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and John Prine), Jorma Kaukonen (of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna fame who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and founded the Fur Peace Ranch), Mike Dowling, who I have studied with extensively (and who toured with fiddler Vassar Clements and has written songs for artists that include Del McCoury, Tim O'Brien, Kathy Mattea, and Emmylou Harris), and Bob Margolin (who played in the Muddy Waters Band).  I’ve also had the great fortune to play with some of America’s best guitarists, including David Bromberg, Pat Alger, and the Late Happy Traum.

As with many, I guess, the ride has not always been smooth.  Earlier in my life I battled with depression and put my guitar away for too many years.  Fortunately, I beat those demons.  When I did, I focused on finger picking the guitar and started writing music.  My song, “Circle in the Water,” is my reflection on emerging from that dark period and finding joy in playing music again.  My song, “Your Friends Are Around You,” is my tribute to those who helped pull me through to the other side.

I hope I get to play for you sometime wherever you may be.  Let me know if you hear of any good gigs I might be interested in – you can fill out the Contacts page to book me, and, of course, you can leave a comment on the Guestbooks page.

Peace,

Alex Richard Commins