photo caption: l to r, Erika Lopez (Mix publisher), Bob Rice, Tom Kenny (Mix Editor)

At last night‘s composers dinner/party, put on by APM and Four Bars Intertainment, the room was filled with the energy that creative minds bring. Fifty of the top game composers and developers in the country just hanging out. But the highlight of the evening for this Mix editor was sitting down and eating dinnner with Bob Rice, the CEO of Four Bars and manager/rep for many in the room. He‘s worked with film composers and in TV. He‘s promoted and marketed and produced. He‘s represented the business side of the music business for nearly five decades now, and he‘s not slowing down. He‘s pushed for videogame music since 1982, when he produced the game Journey Escape, and now, finally, he‘s beginning to see the rest of the entertainment world take notice. He‘s relaxed, and he‘s smiling, a bit quiet by nature until he gets going with some rare, fine stories. But his eyes reveal the wisdom of his 48 years in the music business.

Bob put on his first show at the age of 15. He lived in Cleveland, and sensing the craze that birthed rock ‘n‘ roll, he thought he‘d put on a dance. He booked a hall on the east side of Cleveland, then drove 150 miles to Erie, Pa., and booked the bands. Saturday night sold out, so he added Friday. It sold out, so he booked a hall on the west side. It sold out both nights. He retired from the “concert” business at 24 as the biggest promoter in Ohio.

Then he went to L.A. and danced right into the glory days of the recording industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s. He‘s always been in music, and he‘s long worked in film. He has a love for the orchestra, and many credit him with helping to bring the symphony to games. When we talk about those people who live in the music industry because they just couldn‘t imagine doing anything else, we‘re talking about people like Bob Rice. Expect to read a few of his stories in the coming months of Mix. That was a good night, Bob. Thanks.