Riki Rachtman knows what music history feels, looks and sounds like because he\u2019s been in it. <\/p>\n
In 1980s Hollywood, California, he and roommate Taime Downe, frontman of now-iconic glam-rockers Faster Pussycat<\/a>, cofounded the club Cathouse. <\/p>\n The Cathouse was both a decadent playground for rock stars (and those in their orbit or wanting to be), and a music venue. Cathouse hosted shows by quintessential Los Angeles rock groups like Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/a> and L.A. Guns<\/a>, as well as up-and-coming out-of-town rockers like Black Crowes<\/a> and Pearl Jam. <\/p>\n Rachtman later became the host of popular MTV show \u201cHeadbangers Ball.\u201d<\/a> It didn\u2019t hurt his chances when he showed up for his audition with GN\u2019R singer Axl Rose in tow. <\/p>\n As Rachtman told me in our 2016 interview for an LA Weekly retrospective on the Cathouse,<\/a> \u201c[Axl] was a really, really big part of me getting the [MTV] job.\u201d But, he added, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have met Axl if it wasn\u2019t for Cathouse.\u201d <\/p>\n On \u201cHeadbangers Ball,\u201d Rachtman did everything from introing the latest M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce and Metallica videos to skydiving with Megadeth\u2019s Dave Mustaine to interviewing a dress-wearing Kurt Cobain of Nirvana<\/a> to going to a New Jersey waterpark with Alice in Chains<\/a>. <\/p>\n Last week, Rachtman experienced a different chapter of music history in Alabama. His annual fundraising cross-country motorcycle ride, Riki\u2019s Ride, brought him to Muscle Shoals. <\/p>\n Muscle Shoals is the north Alabama area famous for being a \u201860s and \u201870s recording epicenter for classic tracks by artists ranging from Aretha Franklin<\/a> and Etta James to Rolling Stones<\/a> and Staple Singers. \u201cThis place is rock and roll holy land,\u201d Rachtman wrote on social media. <\/p>\n During a 13,000-mile ride from Key West, Florida to Glacier View, Alaska, Rachtman is raising money for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline<\/a>, via his Heavy Mental Foundation. All funds go to that, and you can donate via lostramblers.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n Riding a Harley-Davidson with wife Lea Vendetta, known for her work on reality show \u201cInk Masters,\u201d Rachtman is almost $10,000 toward a $30,000 goal for this year\u2019s Riki\u2019s Ride, which started June 7. <\/p>\n Post Shoals, the fundraising ride has taken them to Southern music must-dos like New Orleans and Austin, Texas, through rain and heat.<\/p>\n Previous Riki\u2019s Rides have raised more than $50,000, according to Rachtman, and have included guests like \u201cUse Your Illusion\u201d era GN\u2019R guitarist Gilby Clarke<\/a> and The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy.<\/p>\n Rachtman and Vendetta rode around 300 miles to get to Muscle Shoals, from North Carolina, where Rachtman has resided from for years and has worked as NASCAR on-air talent, to Tennessee to Georgia to Tennessee again.<\/p>\n On June 10, Rachtman visited FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. He posted on social media, \u201cThe music that came from Muscle Shoals, watch the doc<\/a> if you never saw it.\u201d <\/p>\n In his post, Rachtman also mused on classic recordings at FAME by Little Richard<\/a> and more recent tracking<\/a> by Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler<\/a>. He added, \u201cDuane Allman<\/a> slept in the parking lot before he rose to fame.\u201d <\/p>\n That same day, Rachtman stopped by Muscle Shoals fried chicken spot Champy\u2019s, where he met with fans<\/a>. <\/b><\/p>\n Next, Rachtman stopped by Muscle Shoals Sound<\/a>, the legendary recording studio in Sheffield founded by FAME expatriate studio musicians the Swampers<\/a> and stars like Lana Del Rey<\/a> have recorded in recent years. <\/p>\n \u201cIn this bathroom Keith Richards,\u201d Rachtman posted online, \u201cworked on the final details of [classic Stones ballad] \u2018Wild Horses\u2019 recorded the song and [Stones hit] \u2018Brown Sugar\u2019 in the studio where this bathroom is. Muscle Shoals Sound it was an honor, and I seriously got goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Riki Rachtman knows what music history feels, looks and sounds like because he\u2019s been in it. 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