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Richie Kotzen is an American rock guitar virtuoso.
Kotzen was born in Pennsylvania. He first began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven Kotzen was inspired by New York City band KISS to learn the electric guitar.
Kotzen was discovered by Shrapnel Records' Mike Varney , and he recorded his first album for Varney by the age of 17.
Kotzen later joined hair metal band Poison at 19, co-writing and performing on the album Native Tongue. Kotzen was subsequently fired from the band when it was discovered that he had been romatically involved with Deanna Eve, the ex-fiance of Poison drummer Rikki Rockett. Kotzen and Eve later married and divorced.
In 1999 Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert as guitarist in the pop metal band Mr. Big. Kotzen performed on the Mr. Big record Get Over It, which sold more than 175,000 copies in its first two weeks in Japan, eventually reached platinum status.
Kotzen also contributed guitars to Mr. Big's subsequent release Actual Size. The record included the Kotzen song Shine, which debuted at number one on Japanese radio charts.
Following the disbanding of Mr. Big, Kotzen released the solo album Change. The title track, and the song Get A Life" were featured in TV commercials throughout Japan.
In mid 2002 Kotzen established a recording Studio/Production company in Los Angeles, California. Kotzen's most recent release is Get Up.
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