Scholl n. (pron. shol) Ancestor: Richie, born Australia, late 20th century. Natural ability to write songs, play guitar, harmonica and sing at loud levels for extended periods of time to country crowds.

Born and raised in the cattle, coal and rail town of Rockhampton in Central Queensland Australia, it was clear that Richie Scholl was going to be exposed to country music.  After listening to great country music wordsmiths such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, the smooth multilayered harmonies of the Eagles, and guitar legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Richie knew exactly what that he wanted to do.

Richie comes from a long lineage of musical talent, so it was no surprise that he would enter the music business.

Connections to music performers that go back generations, ensured that Scholl had a vast array of musical roots to draw on as a young teen. After first picking up a guitar at 13, it was barely a year before he was playing licensed bars and clubs. Covering mostly country songs by Waylon, Willie and a little Neil Young, he was gigging at least a couple of nights every week. It would seem Scholl has hardly put the guitar down since, cutting his teeth on anything and everything from country, blues, pop and rock.

Fast forward to today and Scholl is no stranger to the road, having played the Central Queensland circuit in Australia full time for over a decade.  Carving out a strong following with the pub rock set in the country areas based out of Rockhampton, Scholl quickly developed an ability to be true to the original recording by applying an unparalleled level of attention to detail that won him critical acclaim.  Tearing off vocal, guitar and harmonica licks at will to parochial crowds earned him a reputation as a reliable act with booking agents far and wide.

As the horizons broadened, Central Queensland became a loose term.  Destinations soon included Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales coast, to Gove in the top of the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island to the East with Scholl's band ‘Zekes Wheel'. However, with the never ending road trips, and the grind of incessantly playing crowd pleasers to an increasingly similar pub crowd, Scholl began to crave something else. That something came with the difficult decision to leave Zekes Wheel, and return to the country roots that he was born and raised on.

As the guitars faded and the house lights came up after the last encore at the final Zekes Wheel show on New Years Eve 2005, Scholl was already planning out his new direction.  First on the list was a round of meetings in Tamworth during the Country Music Festival in late January.  Scholl held meetings with several producers before finally hooking up with the highly respected Australian producer, Michael Flanders.  Richie played Michael his newest material on acoustic, and right from the first song, Michael was impressed with the songs and his vocal style.  Over the next few days, Scholl and Flanders hammered out a strategy to harness Scholl's distinctive guitar playing and song writing ability, and put it to disc. From this casual meeting, things gathered pace quickly, and Scholl would find himself in the studio the following month.

The result was a 12 track album “The Blacktop Junkie’s Guide To Richie Scholl” that showcases the years of experience the leverages raw talent to a stratospheric level. 

Since releasing “The Blacktop Junkie’s Guide To Richie Scholl” in November 2006, two singles have been released to Australian Country Radio. “Blacktop Junkie” and “Madison County”. The first, “Blacktop Junkie”, reached #5 on the KixFM chart, and receives regular airplay on radio stations Australia wide.

The second single, “Madison County” reached #1 on the KixFM chart, and is also still getting regular airplay.

Supporting the first single release, was the debut film clip for “Blacktop Junkie”, which reached #35 on the CMC chart.

So warm was the local industry feedback during the cutting of the album, that Scholl and Flanders made a whirlwind trip to Nashville in May 2006, to gauge the USA reception of his latest offering. Following the brief Nashville trip, Scholl made the decision to relocate to Nashville, the following January of 2007.

Richie Scholl now resides in Nashville, and is currently writing material for a new album.