"The Blues
Guru", Richard P. Boals, was born April 14, 1952 in Columbus, Ohio. He
spent much of his early years playing in the back room of his father’s
restaurant, where he wore out copy after copy of "At The Hop" by "Danny
& the Juniors" and sang along with "Doo Wop" hits on the radio. This
early framework of songs by mostly black artists, predominately in twelve
bar blues form, set a foundation for music that has followed him until
this day.
In 1963, Richard and two of his friends, Soni Yinger (heard on
background vocals of "Mystic City Mantras") and Al Peterson (Richard’s
close friend), got their first gig, playing a party in the basement of a
restaurant in their hometown of Gahanna, Ohio. They received $75
compensation for the gig. Without any doubt, as an eleven year old with
twenty five dollars in his pocket, Richard decided then and there he would
be in entertainment the rest of his life!
Through his teenage years Richard continued to play parties,
dances and other functions and was influenced by the great guitarists of
the time, Steve Cropper, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn and of course B.B.
King.
Richard
graduated from Gahanna Lincoln High School, in spite of the music
business, in June 1970 and entered the U.S. Navy in 1971. He was honorably
discharged at the end of the Viet Nam War, and within five days of
returning to Gahanna, booked a pool party and had to scramble to put a
band together to play the gig.
Richard filled the years of 1974 through 1995 with tours, show bands, country bands, pick up gigs and blues gigs, followed by three to six month breaks allowing him to pursue a college degree on the side. (Richard received a B.A. in Philosophy from Ohio State University in 1993, leading to the "Blues Guru" nickname).
In 1984, bored with playing cover tunes and songs that did not speak to life the way he saw it, Richard started the "Monday Night Blues Jam" at "The Dolphin Lounge" in Gahanna, Ohio less than a mile from where he grew up. For the next eleven years, nearly every Monday night, Richard and friends in the music business gathered to grind out set after set of twelve bar blues in the smoke filled bar. Through personnel changes, tour conflicts, college schedules, leaves of absence and moves to a few other locations, Richard built a name for himself during and a reputation as a blues man of national touring quality and ability.
Then in December 1995, Richard made the surprise announcement that he was taking some time off and moving to Denver, Colorado. A little over a year later well rested from the time off and supported by longtime friends Al Peterson, Jack Miller, Cornbread Lyons, Steve Hill and Eddy Wilson, Richard entered Musicol Recording Studios in Columbus, Ohio to record "Mystic City Mantras". After a successful concert at "The Newport Music Hall" in Columbus, Richard took a five week road trip across the U.S. to promote "Mystic City Mantras", introducing himself to agents, club owners, DJ’s and important media connections all across the South and then up the East Coast as far as Connecticut. That hand-shaking tour was followed by an intense booking campaign and the band was off on tour.
By June 1998, Richard
was back in the recording studio again preparing for the October release
of his "Pieces From the Eclipse" CD. Following demands for return
engagements in Florida, the band hit the road again. Another trip West
introduced the band to Ft. Worth, TX and Albuquerque, NM. There was
another trip to the recording studio, this time recording tracks for the
July, 1999 release of a special acoustic CD, "On A Different Path" and for
the "Access Denied" CD released in October 1999. 
Making a clean
break for the holidays, the band returned to tour on Jan. 30, 1999 with an
incredible performance at the Indian River Grapefruit Festival, Ft.
Pierce, FL followed by more time in the recording studio and an intense 27
performances in 36 days, throughout Florida, Georgia, Virginia and
Pennsylvania. Included in the tour schedule were radio interviews, live on
air performances, two very successful fund raising events and "Blues in
the Schools" performances in Ocala, FL and New Enterprise, PA. Their third
tour of the Southwest broke new ground in AZ and introduced new audiences
to Richard P. Boals & the Soals original blend of Rock and
Rhythm & Blues. It made new fans and established that on the national
blues scene, they are a force to be reckoned with.
October 1, 1999
came and the band went on the road again in support of their new CD
"Access Denied". All was well in bluesville and the band was rocking the
house from coast to coast. During a Florida tour the band was
approached by a booking agent friend Geoff Blumenauer. Geoff had
always believed in Richard's writing and had sent two different packages
to Alligator Records in Chicago for review and consideration.
Richard received two very nice rejection notices from Alligator.
Geoff pressed on and secured a joint effort between Growlin Bare and JSP
Records of London, England. In January of 2000 Richard flew to Los
Angeles, California to record "That's The Truth" for JSP with
Handy
Award Winning Producer Jimmy
Morello. The CD is an incredible
blend of traditional electric blues and Richard's personal style.
Booking support was at an all time low throughout Europe at the time and
plans for European tours never materialized.
Personal crisis followed Richard throughout 2000, Richard's mother died in August of that year, between touring, Richard's wife Beth moving to Connecticut for a new job and trying to wrap up problems created by his mothers death Richard was forced to spend more time in Columbus, OH. In April , 2001 "Live @ The Dolphin" was recorded utilizing a large cast of players from the incredible array of talent offered in Columbus. Following personal events in June of 2001 it became apparent that his marriage to Beth was over and Richard began a slow climb back to normal life. The events of September 11 had dramatic impact on the economy and Richard had been touring, almost without stop, for five years.
Upon seeing that he would be spending more time in Columbus, Richard made arrangements to take back his position as Jam Master at the Dolphin on Monday nights. Richard also began working two Sundays a month for the Columbus Blues Alliance as the host of their jam at the Thirsty Ear Tavern in Columbus. Richard continued to play his regular Mid-West haunts. The Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis, IN; Stevie Ray's in Louisville, KY; Huey's in Memphis, TN; B. B.'s Lawnside BBQ in Kansas City KS; Brackens in Urbana, OH; Donahue's in Springfield, OH and Hoot-N-Annie's in Milford Center, OH. His short Western tour included stops at Club Rhythm & Blues in Albuquerque, NM; Cowgirls Hall of Fame in Santa Fe, NM; Alley Cantina in Taos, NM and Wild Hare's in El Paso, TX.
During the summer of 2002 Richard maintained a presence in Columbus, OH and began supplementing his own dates with long time friend Paul Clark. Paul has consistently worked around the Buckeye Lake Resort Region in Central Ohio for over 20 years. During 2003 and 2004 personnel changes in The Paul Clark Band brought together Paul with the former members of Golden Grove along with Betty Rhoden on Vocals and Keys. The magic had already begun at The Copper Penney on Buckeye Lake every Thursday night and grew into a party waiting to happen. Paul not being one to miss an opportunity made arrangements to replace leaving members with members of Golden Grove and with the shift of Steve Simpson to Keys from Drums the final move of adding Soni Yinger on Drums took place.
2004
Currently
Richard is writing new material, working on booking and performing several nights a week with
different organizations in and around Columbus. 
It’s the real deal. Catch "The Blues Guru" Richard P. Boals and his band the Soals in your area soon! "Mystic City Mantras", "Pieces From the Eclipse", "On a Different Path" and "Access Denied" are is available at: http://amazon.com and selected blues outlets.
CD's available on Growlin Bare Records
Catch "The Blues Guru" Richard P. Boals and his band the Soals in your area soon!