Only a few weeks in, 2017 is turning out to be a great year for young White Rock troubadour Richard Tichelman.
At just 17, the hard-working singer-songwriter-guitarist has musical talent aplenty, photogenic looks and the assurance of a much older and more experienced performer.
He’s frequently seen at local performance venues – including Sea Festival – and many passersby have enjoyed his busking on the promenade and on the pier.
Central to the appeal of his pop-country-rock style is a welcome humility, pride in his community and a genuine desire to learn, grow and put his best foot forward, whether in performance or in print and video promotion.
Latest confirmation that he’s on the right track came early this year when Tichelman – who has been working with Dale Harding, founder of South Surrey’s Pizzazz International Model & Talent since 2015 – travelled to the International Model & Talent Association showcase in Los Angeles Jan. 3-7.
Not only did Tichelman win the event’s singing-songwriting competition, but he was second runner-up in the event’s ‘TV real people’ category and even received an honorable mention in the ‘runway and fashion print category.’
His win provided him a scholarship with New York’s Watersound Entertainment to write and produce an original song, while organizers were impressed enough by his participation at IMTA workshops and seminars during the week that he won a prestigious spot at the event’s closing night awards banquet.
Just as crucially, his presence at the event, scouted by agents, producers and casting directors, resulted in 24 callbacks signalling interest – too many, as he and mom Tracy admitted, for him to follow up on all of them.
“Usually, getting 10 or 12 callbacks is considered good,” Harding said, adding that the feedback she has received is that Tichelman’s musical talent is augmented by a look that has drawn comparisons to a young Elvis and James Dean.
“Which is an amazing compliment, because I really admire them both,” Tichelman said.
“The agents’ compliment to Richard was the fact that he was the total package,” said Harding.
“His dress, his style, the time and work he puts into his music – it was clear that he needs to go to a new level.”
“It’s most definitely the best way I could have started out the year,” Tichelman said, adding that he sees the showcase as “a big leap in my career.”
He agreed that, very often, presentation becomes an afterthought for musicians.
“I started modelling because I figured if I was going to be in the arts and entertainment industry, I needed to have a foot in every part of the industry,” he said.
“For me, now, it’s ‘sure, I’ll do that photo shoot’. And I’ve gained so much more from doing it – I have more confidence on stage, more confidence in interviews. I’ve found it’s good to get out of my comfort zones.”
Seeing video of his performance of George Thorogood’s Bad Boy – “a good crowd song,” Tichelman said – at the IMTA awards banquet, it’s hard to imagine anyone who seems more comfortable on stage – or less shy about encouraging audience interaction.
“They’re really with him,” Harding commented.
“It was really fun,” he noted about the showcase, in spite of an inevitably nervous first day or two in which he was very aware of the usual ‘scoping out the competition’ dynamic among the participants.
And the singing-songwriting contest was anything but a breeze, he said.
“Everybody had such good songs – there was a lot of talent there.”
But it was an experience he wouldn’t have traded, he added.
“It was definitely one of my best experiences so far. I learned so much and made new friends.”
“And a lot of fans,” Tracy interjected, a fact that Tichelman shyly acknowledged.
“I’m probably just as proud of him as his mom,” , said Harding, who seldom misses any of Tichelman’s live performances.
“I love working with young talent and I’m grateful being part of his journey.”
For Tichelman, who opted to leave Elgin Park Secondary to do high school courses online at home – and is just a few steps away from completing Grade 12 – the journey has already included opening for Aaron Pritchett and Emerson Drive, and opening the Abbotsford Air Show.
And he paid some serious dues, and made more friends, travelling east to participate in a music project in Quebec City and playing the Hard Rock Cafe and Hugh’s Room in Toronto.
Other key experiences over the last year included an earlier trip to Los Angeles to participate in a performance skills seminar called Vocalize You.
At the end of that event he had the chance to sing his original song, Gambling Man, in front of a panel of producers whose credits include working with such performers as Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Britney Spears.
While he describes that experience as “surreal,” the fact remains that such opportunities have left Tichelman with a strong sense of self – and a clear vision of where he wants to go next.
In the next few months he wants to complete a video he is making for Gambling Man, one he hopes will help launch a new recording of original material and provide further impetus to his career.
“I want to be a recording artist, I want to be doing performances in Canada and in the States.
“The next stop is making a name for myself and helping do my part to put White Rock on the map.”
