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Rick DePaoli was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1965 and moved with his family to Jersey City, New Jersey at the age of three. He started playing guitar in his early teens and grew up influenced by pop-rock, rock, and metal from the ’60s and ’70s—including the Beatles and Led Zeppelin—and began playing in a rock band in his late teens.
After graduating from high school, DePaoli studied analog recording techniques at a recording engineering school in Manhattan. Following graduation, he worked under Reggie Lucas at Quantum Sound Studios in Jersey City, New Jersey. He continued his training as an assistant to the renowned engineer Andy Wallace, who was also working at the studio, and eventually began working as a recording engineer himself. The recordings for the two bands he went on to play with in later years—"Band of Thieves" (unreleased) and “Without Love”—were also recorded, mixed, and mastered at this studio.
After working as an engineer, he pursued his dream of playing guitar in a rock band, and In 1989 he joined the band "Band of Thieves" led by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, who later became a member of Guns N' Roses from 2006 to 2014.
In 1992, DePaoli formed his own melodic hard rock band “Without Love”, sparking his interest in songwriting. He took on the roles of songwriter, arranger, recording engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer himself. The band members are Chali Cayte (vocals), Rick De Paoli (guitars, vocals), Cris Burguiere (guitars), Pete Ruello (bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Sarge (drums). The band's debut album “Trouble" was released in 2000—many years after the band went their separate ways—by Metal Mayhem Music. A reissue CD is scheduled to be released soon by 20th Century Records in response to fans' eager anticipation.
After taking a break from his music career, he attended culinary school in Manhattan at the age of 30, where he received classical training before working in high-end New York City restaurants. There, he sharpened his skills both in the kitchen and front of house, learning from respected chefs while developing his own voice. Eventually, he launched his own food truck, the ideal combination of his culinary expertise and his passion for interacting with customers. Through it, he brought authentic, high-quality Sicilian comfort food to the community. Though cooking became his profession, music was always DePaoli’s deepest passion. Family responsibilities ultimately led him to focus on food, but music never left him.
In 2017, he was working seven nights a week from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in his food truck near the Daily News newspaper plant in Jersey City. While serving food to press workers on the night shift, DePaoli kept a beat-up guitar in his truck and wrote songs in between customers. He made a demo of the song he wrote the night before in his home studio during the daytime, often without sleep. When he had enough material, he moved on to recording them. A singer and guitarist, he recorded the album with renowned studio musicians: Michael Landau on guitar, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Andy Burton on piano, and Aaron Sterling on drums and percussion. The recordings were mixed by Grammy Award–winning engineer Kevin Killen, known for his work with U2, Peter Gabriel, and David Bowie. DePaoli sent his recording to Killen, who immediately loved it and agreed to mix it for him. Kevin Killen also mixed his later recordings of his film cues (2017).
He considered himself a songwriter rather than a singer. So, he sent the finished songs as demos to artists he wanted to cover them. But he didn’t receive much of a response, leading him to shelve the project and focus entirely on his culinary career.
His collection of 13 songs was rediscovered in late 2025 by elsewhere music, a US label located in the neighborhood of his restaurant in Jersey City. The songs were newly mastered and was released as the digital album and CD-R 'Don’t Lose Your Faith' (elsesong 001) in April 2026. The album will be released as a physical CD in the future as well.
'Don’t Lose Your Faith' reveals a body of work marked by rustic sincerity and heartfelt, straightforward singing—qualities that are rare in today's music landscape. Honest, melodic, and deeply human, the songs evoke the spirit of '60s and '70s pop rock while speaking directly to the heart. They reflect the soul of an artist torn between passion and responsibility yet never losing faith in his music.
DePaoli continues to write songs to this day.
After graduating from high school, DePaoli studied analog recording techniques at a recording engineering school in Manhattan. Following graduation, he worked under Reggie Lucas at Quantum Sound Studios in Jersey City, New Jersey. He continued his training as an assistant to the renowned engineer Andy Wallace, who was also working at the studio, and eventually began working as a recording engineer himself. The recordings for the two bands he went on to play with in later years—"Band of Thieves" (unreleased) and “Without Love”—were also recorded, mixed, and mastered at this studio.
After working as an engineer, he pursued his dream of playing guitar in a rock band, and In 1989 he joined the band "Band of Thieves" led by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, who later became a member of Guns N' Roses from 2006 to 2014.
In 1992, DePaoli formed his own melodic hard rock band “Without Love”, sparking his interest in songwriting. He took on the roles of songwriter, arranger, recording engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer himself. The band members are Chali Cayte (vocals), Rick De Paoli (guitars, vocals), Cris Burguiere (guitars), Pete Ruello (bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Sarge (drums). The band's debut album “Trouble" was released in 2000—many years after the band went their separate ways—by Metal Mayhem Music. A reissue CD is scheduled to be released soon by 20th Century Records in response to fans' eager anticipation.
After taking a break from his music career, he attended culinary school in Manhattan at the age of 30, where he received classical training before working in high-end New York City restaurants. There, he sharpened his skills both in the kitchen and front of house, learning from respected chefs while developing his own voice. Eventually, he launched his own food truck, the ideal combination of his culinary expertise and his passion for interacting with customers. Through it, he brought authentic, high-quality Sicilian comfort food to the community. Though cooking became his profession, music was always DePaoli’s deepest passion. Family responsibilities ultimately led him to focus on food, but music never left him.
In 2017, he was working seven nights a week from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in his food truck near the Daily News newspaper plant in Jersey City. While serving food to press workers on the night shift, DePaoli kept a beat-up guitar in his truck and wrote songs in between customers. He made a demo of the song he wrote the night before in his home studio during the daytime, often without sleep. When he had enough material, he moved on to recording them. A singer and guitarist, he recorded the album with renowned studio musicians: Michael Landau on guitar, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Andy Burton on piano, and Aaron Sterling on drums and percussion. The recordings were mixed by Grammy Award–winning engineer Kevin Killen, known for his work with U2, Peter Gabriel, and David Bowie. DePaoli sent his recording to Killen, who immediately loved it and agreed to mix it for him. Kevin Killen also mixed his later recordings of his film cues (2017).
He considered himself a songwriter rather than a singer. So, he sent the finished songs as demos to artists he wanted to cover them. But he didn’t receive much of a response, leading him to shelve the project and focus entirely on his culinary career.
His collection of 13 songs was rediscovered in late 2025 by elsewhere music, a US label located in the neighborhood of his restaurant in Jersey City. The songs were newly mastered and was released as the digital album and CD-R 'Don’t Lose Your Faith' (elsesong 001) in April 2026. The album will be released as a physical CD in the future as well.
'Don’t Lose Your Faith' reveals a body of work marked by rustic sincerity and heartfelt, straightforward singing—qualities that are rare in today's music landscape. Honest, melodic, and deeply human, the songs evoke the spirit of '60s and '70s pop rock while speaking directly to the heart. They reflect the soul of an artist torn between passion and responsibility yet never losing faith in his music.
DePaoli continues to write songs to this day.
Rick DePaoli
Rick DePaoli - Don't Lose Your Faith (lossless)
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Rick DePaoli - Don't Lose Your Faith (HD)
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Rick DePaoli - Don't Lose Your Faith (CD-R)
$11.00
$11.00
