By Mike Smith, Media Mikes

Kansas City, MO

What makes a hard working union man in Pennsylvania suddenly decide to chuck everything aside and head to Texas? That’s one of the things I made sure I asked Rick Hornyak when we spoke. A singer/songwriter with a great gift for lyrics, Hornyak is currently embarking on one of several short tours planned for 2012 in support of his new CD, “Marigold.” I recently talked to Rick about his music, his passions and, of course, why Texas?

Mike Smith: How long had you been writing songs before you decided to pursue music as a career?
Rick Hornyak: I guess I started writing songs when I was about 19. I used to work in a steel mill and that kept me pretty busy so there weren’t a lot of songs from age 20 to 27, when I finally had a dozen or so that I was kicking around. When I was 27 I moved to Austin (Texas) and I’ve written a lot more since. So probably when I was around 19 or 20 years old was when I started coming up with original songs.

MS: How was it adjusting from quiet, sleepy Pennsylvania to wild and crazy Austin?
RH: I have to tell you it was really terrifying for the first six months.  read more

By Mike Smith, Media Mikes

Kansas City, MO

4 out of 5 stars

It was about three songs in, on the second listening of Rick Hornyak’s new CD, “Marigold,” that I put my finger on how to best describe his sound. The Austin, Texas resident, by way of Clarks Mills, Pennsylvania, was spinning beautiful stories that made my mind wander. And then it hit me. Hornyak’s music is best described as Mike Nesmith (his solo stuff (“Different Drum”), not his Monkees years) meets Jimmy Buffett. Like Nesmith, who hailed from Houston, Hornyak has a smooth, folksy delivery that emphasizes the moods of each song. Like Buffett, his lyrics tell amazing stories. He is also an accomplished guitarist, starting of songs like “So Many Times Before” with some fancy guitar work. To me the standout song is “See This Through,” delivered so sincerely it could have been part of Bad Blake’s concert set in the film “Crazy Heart.” Other notable songs are “Foolish Love” (good for slow dancing) and the cheerfully delivered “The
Monkey Song.”

By Joe Pinchot Herald Staff Writer

Printed in the Sharon Herald - Mercer, PA

FREDONIA — Rick Hornyak had just moved to San Antonio and, separated from his friends in Austin, looked inward.

After having come through periods where he had to sell his guitars to pay the rent, he was now a self-sufficient musician. But, he decided he needed to do more.

“I realized I wasn’t really happy playing gigs every week and not really growing,” said the 37-year-old solo singer and songwriter.

The Fredonia native and Reynolds High grad decided to deal with the isolation by locking himself away for significant portions of the day and giving himself over to writing songs.

“I decided I needed to come up with some new stuff,” said Hornyak, formerly of Perry and Delaware townships. “I wrote that album in about three months or so.”

“That” album is his new one, “Marigold,” which he is promoting with a seven-state, 2è-week tour that includes five gigs locally: April 30 at Tully’s, Sharon; May 1 at North Country Brewery in Slippery Rock; May 3 at the Sidebar & Grill, Mercer; May 4 at the Tap House, Sharon, with Terry Dach and James Willaman, who have their own album to push; and May 6 at the OK Corral, Stoneboro.

While he did not necessarily notice a change in his songwriting, his friends did, he said. The songs reflect the two significant moves in his life – from Mercer County to Austin, Texas, and from Austin to San Antonio – and his marriage to Amanda Adams Hornyak, who also manages his career.

“Homesick Blues” reveals the bittersweet memories of moving to Austin, leaving behind a steady job for the unknown of a music career, and his realization that, for all he lost when he left Mercer County, he can’t reverse course.

“I’ve created this new life and I can never go back,” sad Hornyak, who again lives in Austin.

“Cigarettes” covers his longtime addiction, which he kicked three years ago.  

“Everybody who was around me said, ‘You gotta quit smoking,’” Hornyak said. “It started to affect my voice.”

“Foolish Love” is his first real love song, he said, as compared to the angry love songs he had written in the past.

Hornyak, who has made a living solely from music since 2005, said he has reached a level of happiness that startles even him.

“I almost don’t want to believe it sometimes,” he said. “Just trying to enjoy it.”

In recording the album, Hornyak brought in some ringers. Rich Brotherton, a guitarist for Robert Earl Kleen, played guitar and produced the album, helping him “cut fat” from his songs.

Drummer David Sanger and bassist David Miller, both of Asleep at the Wheel, backed him.

Hornyak tapped Lloyd Maines and Cindy Cashdollar to add slide guitar, whether in the form of steel guitar or dobro.

Maines is the father of Dixie Chick Natalie Maines and an award-winning producer of the Chicks, Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. He has played for Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

Cashdollar, another Asleep alum, has played with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.

Hornyak said he had “amazingly little” rehearsal time with the guests, who basically followed charts and nailed their parts on the first or second tries.

“In many of the cases, they’d give me two takes just so I’d get my money’s worth,” he said.

That’s not to say they phoned in their performances, he said. He noted that Cashdollar would listen to a take and change her approach if it interfered with his vocals.

“They care that their name is on the record, and they really want to give it their best,” Hornyak said.

The steel guitar gives Hornyak a more country sound. He’s been called not country enough, but too country for rock. It’s left him somewhat in no man’s land in terms of getting airplay and promoting his music.

Social media has helped fill the gap. Musical acts no longer need major label backing to survive and grow, he said.

Social media “has leveled the playing field,” he said.

Hornyak has a website, a Facebook page and videos on YouTube.

While he will not have a steel guitar or dobro player with him on the road, “We basically can still pull everything off live,” he said.

Hornyak will be playing more electric guitar on the tour, including lead guitar. He had sold all of his electric guitars over the years and just played acoustic guitar, but found a need to go back to plugging in as part of his musical growing process.

“As a three-year gift to myself for not smoking cigarettes, I bought a Fender Telecaster,” he said. He also is taking lessons to accelerate the process of regaining his chops.

“You’re always going to be your own worst critic if you’ve got an artistic brain,” he said. “I’m always pushing myself, looking to get better.”

While fame is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time, Hornyak said he’s happy to be a working musician.

“I’m tickled that I’m going to be doing this tour and I’m going to be playing lead guitar again,” he said.

The tour starts today in Oklahoma and includes dates in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri.

“Marigold” will be sold at his shows, but also is available through his website, and outlets such as iTunes, Amazon.com and CD Baby. Info: www.rickhornyak.com and www.facebook.com/rickhornyakmusic

Radio interview & Headliner performance, broadcast on WRCT 88.3 FM Pittsburgh, WSAJ 91.1 FM Grove City, WCUC 91.7 FM Clarion, WIUP 90.1 FM Indiana, WNJR 91.7 Washington, and WMCO 90.7 FM New Concord.