3 minute read
The Beat Goes On
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BeatTHEGOES ON
by Diane Ciarloni | photos by Ava Stipe
Rick Troutman, a 20-year-plus resident of Corinth, has a tagline that condenses a significant section of his 68 years into 10 words and numbers. “Beautiful wife, one Golden Retriever, and two granddogs brighten my life.” It sounds simple enough but, really, there is a bit more backstory to the statement.
Troutman sports a full head of lovely white hair and a voice that should belong to a 40-year-old. Anyone on the other end of a telephone signal is, without exception, shocked to find out otherwise. The shock is magnified when they learn Troutman has been an accomplished blues/rock guitarist for 40 years. He’s still active and, as he’s said, “can rip a mean lead guitar solo.”
“I picked up my first guitar when I was 12,” revealed Troutman. “I used it for my first paying job, which was playing at a wedding. I love to play, but I want to do more when it comes to my music. I want to be involved in actually putting the products out there.”
The products, in this case, are two albums of his music, with a third scheduled for this year. He accomplishes this through his Golden Dog Recording Studio.
Troutman says he “dabbles” in a lot of things but, in many instances, dabble is an extremely anemic word for what he does. Intrinsically, he’s a public servant who’s always trying to make things better for people.
He was president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Central Texas for 12 years, an organization critical for the health, welfare, and productive future of at-risk youth. The four clubs (Lake Dallas, Lewisville, Denton, and Little Elm) flourished under his guidance with 95% of the participating kids maintaining a B grade or above.
“I love to connect people in a way that’s helpful to them,” he says. “Producing music is one of the things on my to-do list. I want to work mostly with young people to help them get started. Something like that also benefits me because it takes my skillset to the next level.”
Troutman’s corporate life, which is now in his rearview mirror, was several years with Boise Cascade followed by a decade in the mortgage business. He then moved into the non-profit sector with his stint in Boys and Girls Clubs. Babs, his wife of 31 years, was an
airline executive. “I’m a creative person,” he said. “But it’s hard to keep creative juices flowing in the stressedout corporate environment. There was a long period when I didn’t write anything. That’s hard for someone whose kindergarten teacher wrote on his report card that ‘Ricky likes music.’ About 80% of what I do these days revolves around music, but that’s all solo work. I need other things to keep me connected to people.”
In addition to the music, there are two other high-up projects for Troutman. He’s putting together a non-political program called “Community Voices of America.” The goal is for him to interview people, many of them random, and uncover a common thread linking all of us. Then, he’ll present his findings to the relevant politicians.
He’ll also continue his political activism by helping his preferred candidates, at whatever level, get elected. And, while all that is happening, he’ll create avenues to lead more people to his music because, for Troutman, that is his personal heartbeat.
