I figured it would be like dancing with a grandpa at a wedding, but I get the feeling that this guy is checking me out. Full-length mirrors line the ballroom of the Rick West Theatre in Independence, and I catch him eyeing our reflection in a very ungrandpalike way. A minute later, he confirms it.
"I like your long legs," Rick West whispers in my ear, looking past me into the mirror. His hands are where they're supposed to be — one holding mine, the other somewhere midback — but they suddenly feel very heavy. A disco ball is spinning overhead. The dance floor is otherwise empty. Actually, the whole ballroom looks nearly abandoned. Most of the dozen or so spectators are family and friends of the band, occupying this space that could easily hold 200. Tea-light candles flicker from unoccupied banquet tables. There's a bartender in a dark corner. Someone's knitting.
This building used to house a Bally's fitness center. Most of the gym elements have been changed or disguised, except for a swimming pool elsewhere in the building that's filled with a few feet of stagnant water. Sound bounces off the walls like sneaker squeaks on a basketball court. The band plays country. Besides a lead guitarist, a piano player, a drummer, a bass player and a male backup singer, there's a slide guitarist whose playing lends an unmistakably weepy, rural sound. It's exactly what Rick West wants. West is the bandleader and the owner, proprietor and namesake of this theater.
"I love those shoes. What do you wear, a 7?" he asks, looking down at my feet. Reacting to my amazed look, he says, "I know women." He laughs.
When the song ends, he walks me back to a plastic cocktail table and rejoins the band. He wears black on black — pants, jacket, cummerbund. His black and shiny hair is styled à la Neil Diamond or Wayne Newton, a lacquered helmet. He's fit, with the same straight posture he had as a teenage guitar-playing heartthrob.
West likes to introduce his songs. "Jerry Lee Lewis was one favorite person of mine," he says from the bandstand. "People think things about him. They have misconceptions that he was arrogant and stuck up and conceited, but that's untrue. He was actually 100 percent convinced that he's great, and this song is dedicated to him." The band plays "Great Balls of Fire."
After the song, West tells his audience, "We just don't have anything but the best. Except for Barry, and we're working on him." Barry Boune, the bassist, plays along, aiming a dumb-hick look at the audience.
West pops over to my table between songs, cradling his usual drink, a glass of lemon juice, sour mix and ice. "Just stay most of the night and let me look at you," he says with a smirk. "I thought you'd look good, but not that good." Then he retreats to the stage. Now might be a good time to mention that I'm wearing a modest black dress with a white sweater and black heels. I could be at a baptism. I could be at a funeral.
I lean to the table next to me, where three middle-aged women sit and cheer, and ask if they're related to the band. Turns out they went to school with West at William Chrisman High School in Independence. They graduated in 1969, a few years behind West, and they remember him as an upperclassman who always filled the role of leader of the pack.
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I'm a goddamned westie sorry to say.. creeper he is. Its too accurate. He required all the women to lose at least 10 lbs no matter how thin. boyfriends were an issue..and he was always wanting us to look sexy. his short skirt low cut blouse thing, as he said, was part of his "gotta look ready" appeal that meant always in high heals, full makeup, and pantyhose no matter what the occasion, because he had big named important people frmo branson and nashville that could walk in the door any minute and we had to make a good impression lol. i was there in the summer of '04 for about 3 weeks as he was building the theatre, and after midnight practices would require even the women to do manual labor for the theatre. it was the most retarded situation ive ever been into. but it gets even better.
while i was there, ofcourse, there was the no eating infront of him rule, but one particular thing i LOVED was that the drummer was jewish and he and rick had issues with rick making him pray to jesus during the performances. So after the show Rick told all the band mambers and his whole entourage of 25-30 people there and they all began agreeing he was going to go to hell for sinning against god and someone remakred they should have an old fashioned pulpit? and condemn him for his actions... and he was fired lol. and then i left right after.
i went to re-audition recently, 7 years later, to see if he remembered me, and to film the experience as its a huge running joke among me and my friends about rick west and i wanted them to see who and what i had been talkig and laughing about for seve years. i could not believe i saw his add on craigslist. the craigslist add says he still wont pay people because hes still getting the show up and running lol. still seemed like the same rick to me..except the entourage is now gone, only the bare minimum of band members and two backup singers exist.
Go ahead, Big talker. Sue the Pitch. You are hysterical!! By the way, Charles Manson also had a high I.Q. IDIOT.
Forgive each other? Sure! But as Jesus himself said, "Confess your sins to one another". He has never, I repeat, NEVER admitted what he has done to dozens of girls. Get your facts, and your Bible straight.
I am not without sin, Cathy C Smith. But I wouldn't let my daughter get withing 100 miles of this guy. You are an idiot.
I am a sinner too...but I dont rip off musicians and friends and expect people to do my bidding for free......
WOW after reading this story....ever bit of it is so very true!!! I can witness it all. I have been there and been through it. There where many courts papers on his desk and coming in the mail from people/contractors suing him for unpaid work done. He NEVER pays anyone.
I too have worked for this man for over 3 months before the show opened. He never paid me, every week it was a different reason. I too had to be at his beck and call 24/7 even when he wasn't at the theatre I had to be there with Birdie. I had to work all day and then be at every rehearsal in which he kept them there til 2 or 3 in the morning. I also was told that pants where not allowed, that I had to wear skirts and they had to be well above the knee. My tops had to be very low cut as well or he would send me home to change. He is a creeper and should be in jail.
WOW after reading this story....ever bit of it is so very true!!! I can witness it all. I have been there and been through it. There where many courts papers on his desk and coming in the mail from people/contractors suing him for unpaid work done.
He NEVER pays anyone.
I too have worked for this man for over 3 months before the show opened. He never paid me, every week it was a different reason. I too had to be at his beck and call 24/7 even when he wasn't at the theatre I had to be there with Birdie. I had to work all day and then be at every rehearsal in which he kept them there til 2 or 3 in the morning. I also was told that pants where not allowed, that I had to wear skirts and they had to be well above the knee. My tops had to be very low cut as well or he would send me home to change. He is a creeper and should be in jail.
Hi, Rick
Can sing the song with three like Farther along, The old cross and In the garden.
Hi, Rick Can sing the song with three like Farther along, The old cross and In the garden.
I am the "blonde" in the story and everything that April said is true. He was verging on "Stalker" when I was re-hearsing for his show. Truthfully, he is a very weird old guy who happens to be a decent singer. However, his entire family is very dysfunctional. Including the strange relationship he has with his co-dependant mother. He wouldn't allow anyone to drop me off or pick me up from rehearsals/shows. He was insanely jealous and called me upwards of a dozen times per day, saying "Lisa, I NEED you here NOW! You have to be at MY DISPOSAL 24/7!" Obviously, I ran like hell. Good look jerk.
I am the "blonde" in the story and everything that April said is true. He was verging on "Stalker" when I was re-hearsing for his show. Truthfully, he is a very weird old guy who happens to be a decent singer. However, his entire family is very dysfunctional. Including the strange relationship he has with his co-dependant mother. He wouldn't allow anyone to drop me off or pick me up from rehearsals/shows. He was insanely jealous and called me upwards of a dozen times per day, saying "Lisa, I NEED you here NOW! You have to be at MY DISPOSAL 24/7!" Obviously, I ran like hell. Good look jerk.
I would just like to share that no matter what anyone does we are all sinners and have many problems in life but we forget to tell the good things about people because this man has been blessed by god with a great talent and 98% of people trash others because they are very jelouse,,,,,,,, MAY I SAY ONE MORE THING .......WE MUST FORGIVE EACH OTHER FOR IF WE DONT GOD WILL NOT FORGIVE US AND I WANT GOD TO ALWAYS FORGIVE ME FOR I SIN EVERY DAY FOR GOD MADE US ALL HUMAN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND HELP US ALL TO FORGIVE , WITH GODS LOVE MRS,CATHY C SMITH
I would just like to share that no matter what anyone does we are all sinners and have many problems in life but we forget to tell the good things about people because this man has been blessed by god with a great talent and 98% of people trash others because they are very jelouse,,,,,,,, MAY I SAY ONE MORE THING .......WE MUST FORGIVE EACH OTHER FOR IF WE DONT GOD WILL NOT FORGIVE US AND I WANT GOD TO ALWAYS FORGIVE ME FOR I SIN EVERY DAY FOR GOD MADE US ALL HUMAN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND HELP US ALL TO FORGIVE , WITH GODS LOVE MRS,CATHY C SMITH
In this article about rick, NADIA flat out lied about me!!!
I should have sued her and The Pitch.
Not only did she lie about ME, she lied about a friend of mine who was Rick's bass player, singer and COMEDIAN.
She called him a "hick", but if she had done her homework she would have found that his IQ is nearly that of a genius.
She couldn't tell an ass from a hole in the ground.
She talked with me shortly and lied outright when she said my hair was piled up on my head and I wore sweeping eyeliner. To top that off, she left out the part where I went to high school with Rick, that we were only friends and at rehersals I joked with and about him!!! She does not know me, nor my friend or RICK for that matter. And was allowed to put out slander about all 3 of us.
I hope she has been fired. I saw HER flirting with Rick, not the other way around! Dumb bitch.
In this article about rick, NADIA flat out lied about me!!! I should have sued her and The Pitch. Not only did she lie about ME, she lied about a friend of mine who was Rick's bass player, singer and COMEDIAN. She called him a "hick", but if she had done her homework she would have found that his IQ is nearly that of a genius. She couldn't tell an ass from a hole in the ground. She talked with me shortly and lied outright when she said my hair was piled up on my head and I wore sweeping eyeliner. To top that off, she left out the part where I went to high school with Rick, that we were only friends and at rehersals I joked with and about him!!! She does not know me, nor my friend or RICK for that matter. And was allowed to put out slander about all 3 of us. I hope she has been fired. I saw HER flirting with Rick, not the other way around! Dumb bitch.
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