Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick is an American rock musician, born May 10, 1968 in Bay Village, Ohio. He is the frontman for the band Filter. A guitar player since the age of nine, Richard Patrick names U2 and The Cure as primary musical influences. Specifically, it was the flood of sound and the inventive use of technology employed by those artists to which he was drawn.

Richard had some fun with his unorthodox aural stylings when he spent two and a half years as the touring guitarist in Nine Inch Nails. His only recorded contribution—a droning guitar sound—can be heard at the end of “Sanctified” on Pretty Hate Machine. Due to the fact that Trent Reznor would not allow him any creative input or musical contributions, he chose to leave the band during the recording of The Downward Spiral in 1993. Richard and Brian Liesegang were both former Nine Inch Nails members.

In 2002, Richard entered rehab for alcohol addiction. On November 11, upon completion of treatment, he released the following statement on his website:

“Hi this is Richard again, I’m alive and kicking! Rehab was the best thing that ever happened to me, my mind is clear, my body is fit and I feel great. Thank you for all your love and support, I definitely felt it over the last 45 days. I can’t tell you how great I feel. Rehab has made me rethink everything in my life. Now that I’m not wasting time on getting fucked up, I’ll be able to devote more energy toward creating my music.