{{Short description|Canadian composer and musician}} [[Image:Friendlyrich.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Friendly Rich performing with The Lollipop People at [[Pop Montreal]] in 2005.]] '''Friendly Rich''', born '''Richard Marsella''', is a Canadian music composer and musician from [[Brampton, Ontario]]. He has independently released a number of albums of satirical and melodramatic songs. His music has been featured on [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] and ''[[The Tom Green Show]]''.
==Early life and education== Marsella earned a [[Master's degree]] in music at the [[University of Toronto]] under the supervision of Lee Bartel and composer [[R. Murray Schafer]], studying mainly musical instrument construction and parade pedagogy. In 2021, Marsella earned a PhD in music education at the [[University of Toronto]], with his dissertation [https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/104917/3/Marsella_Riccardo_202103_DMA_thesis.pdf The Musical Playground as a Vehicle for Community Building].
==Career== Rich composed background music for three seasons of [[MTV]]'s ''The Tom Green Show''.<ref>[http://www.electriccitymagazine.ca/2013/04/rock-blues-and-a-healthy-dash-of-crazy/ "Rock, Blues, and a Healthy Dash of Crazy"]. ''Electric City Live'', April 25, 2013</ref> Since 1994, he has recorded exclusively for his own eclectic record label, The Pumpkin Pie Corporation.
Friendly Rich has produced and composed nine full-length CDs, which have been featured on [[CBC Radio One]] (five documentaries for ''Outfront''), [[CBC Radio 2]] (continuous airplay on [[Brave New Waves]]), [[TFO]] (VOLT) and [[Muchmusic]] (Muchnews, BradTV).
In 2000, Friendly Rich founded the [[Brampton Indie Arts Festival]], an annual event which promotes underground artists, held in February at the [[Rose Theatre, Brampton|Rose Theatre]] in downtown Brampton. This event, under Rich's direction, has featured [[Nash the Slash]], [[The Nihilist Spasm Band]], [[Ron Sexsmith]], [[Cuff the Duke]], [[Bob Wiseman]], [[John Oswald (composer)|John Oswald]], [[Moneen]], [[Scott Thompson (comedian)|Scott Thompson]], and [[Hayden (musician)|Hayden]].
Friendly Rich and his live ensemble The Lollipop People signed a deal with Hazelwood Records (Germany) to release two albums in Europe. They have since toured Europe three times; the first album to be released there was ''We Need a New F-Word''.<ref>[https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/friendly-rich-and-the-lollipop-people/ "FRIENDLY RICH AND THE LOLLIPOP PEOPLE"]. ''NOW Toronto'', by Elizabeth Bromstein, February 16, 2006</ref>
Rich's 2007 album ''The Friendly Rich Show'', with the feel of a Vaudeville act, exemplified his satirical song-writing style, combining beat poetry and political commentary. <ref>[https://exclaim.ca/music/article/friendly_rich-friendly_rich_show "Friendly Rich The Friendly Rich Show"]. ''Exclaim!'', By Vish Khanna Feb 16, 2007</ref><ref>[http://brokenpencil.com/reviews/friendly-rich-and-the-lollipop-people-the-friendly-rich-show/ "Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People, The Friendly Rich Show"]. ''Broken Pencil'', Hal Niedzviecki (Moderator)July 21, 2011</ref>
''Dinosaur Power'', also released in Europe, appeared on the !earshot National Top 50 Chart in 2008.<ref>[http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm?intChartTypeID=101&dWeekOfID=2008-05-27 "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, May 27, 2008"]. ''!earshot''.</ref> The third to have a European release, 2010's ''The Sacred Prune of Remembrance'', noisily combined music from several genres.<ref>[https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/friendly-rich-and-the-lollipop-people/Content?oid=1837255 "Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People The Sacred Prune of Remembrance (The Pumpkin Pie Corporation)"]. ''The Coast'', September 09, 2010By Sean Flinn</ref>
In 2014, Rich released a solo album, ''Bountiful'',<ref>[https://exclaim.ca/music/article/friendly_rich_returns_with_bountiful_album "Friendly Rich Returns with 'Bountiful' Album"]. ''Exclaim!'', By Alex Hudson Apr 16, 2014</ref> and performed in support of it with the Lollipop People at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.<ref>[https://nowtoronto.com/music/concert-reviews/friendly-rich-and-the-lollipop-people-at-the-horseshoe/ Friendly Rich & the Lollipop People at the Horseshoe"]. ''NOW Toronto'', by Sarah Greene, July 25, 2014</ref>
In 2018, Friendly Rich arranged and performed, with the Lollipop People, Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's piano solo ''Pictures at an Exhibition''.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/friendly-rich-reinterprets-mussorgsky-loosely/article792197/ "Friendly Rich reinterprets Mussorgsky, loosely"]. ''The Globe and Mail'', November 2, 2009. Robert Everett-Green</ref>
In 2023, Friendly Rich released his ''[https://friendlyrich.bandcamp.com/album/man-out-of-time Man Out of Time]'' recording on vinyl through the [https://wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com/ We Are Busy Bodies] record label.
==Film and television credits== * 1994 to 1996 - Composer for children's TV series "The King Stanlislav Show" (Russia) * 1998 to 2001- Background music for MTV's "The Tom Green Show" * 2005 - 3 pieces used in [[Thom Fitzgerald]]'s [[3 Needles]] (director's cut) starring [[Lucy Liu]]. * 2006 - Old Trout Puppet Workshop short film (featuring The Lollipop People). * 2022 - Score for Gabrielle Favaretto's short animated film ''Tadpole''.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://friendlyrich.com/ The Pumpkin Pie Corporation], Friendly Rich's company. * [http://myspace.com/friendlyrich Friendly Rich's Myspace page]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Friendly}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Brampton]]