Wyatt Rice (born 1965) is the rhythm guitarist who stood beside his brother Tony Rice in the Tony Rice Unit for most of his career. He joined the band as a teenager and recorded on Tony’s albums from Backwaters in 1983 through Unit of Measure in 2000. He made two records of his own for Rounder, led the band Santa Cruz in the 1990s, and has taught guitar at East Tennessee State University since 2014.
Why Wyatt matters
Every jam needs a rhythm player who holds the beat while the soloists fly. Wyatt Rice is that player, and he did the job behind Tony Rice, whose solos left no room for a shaky beat. He learned the Rice approach to rhythm from the inside and then wrote it down in lessons and videos. If you want to know what the guitar does under a Tony Rice solo, Wyatt is the one who can show you.
Life and career
Rice was born on January 6, 1965, in Long Beach, California. The family moved often and settled in Florida. Several family members played, and his father, Herb Rice, started him on guitar at age six with Little Brown Jug. He also played saxophone, bassoon, and bass in school bands, but acoustic guitar held his attention. His older brother Tony was already a star, and Tony’s work in new acoustic music shaped Wyatt’s ear.
Wyatt joined the Tony Rice Unit as a teenager, at age 17. He played on Tony’s Rounder albums Backwaters (1983), Me and My Guitar (1986), Native American (1988), and Unit of Measure (2000), and on the Sugar Hill album Church Street Blues (1983). He also played on the two Rice Brothers albums for Rounder, This Old House (1990) and The Rice Brothers 2 (1992), with brothers Tony, Larry, and Ronnie.
Rounder released his first solo album, New Market Gap, in 1990. It was recorded in February 1989 with Sammy Shelor on banjo, Ray Legere on mandolin, Rickie Simpkins on fiddle, and Ron Rice on bass. In 1995 he formed Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz, which made one album, Picture in a Tear, for Rounder in 1996. He joined Ronnie Bowman’s band, the Committee, in 2003, and he made a series of instrumental records with fiddler Rickie Simpkins.
He and his brother Ronnie co-founded Rice Recording and Rice Mastering studios. Wyatt has produced and played on records for Steep Canyon Rangers, Terry Baucom, Junior Sisk, and many others. In 2014 he joined the bluegrass program at East Tennessee State University as a guitar instructor. He released Something Out of the Blue with Dan Menzone on Mountain Fever Records in 2016.
Playing style
Wyatt Rice plays what Bluegrass Today called the “Rice style” of lead and rhythm guitar. His rhythm has a strong bass note on the downbeat, a light strum on the offbeat, and bass runs that connect the chords. He does not rush, and he does not crowd the soloist. That steadiness is why Tony kept him in the band for so long.
His lead breaks use the long lines his brother favored, but he keeps them short and close to the melody. He put the whole rhythm approach on tape in the FGM Records video Advanced Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar (2002), and he made an earlier lesson video, Guitar Lesson and Tunes, for the same label in 2000.
Influences and legacy
His father Herb Rice taught him first. His brother Tony Rice was his model. His brothers Larry and Ronnie were bandmates in the Rice Brothers.
He recorded a live trio album with David Grier and Kenny Smith for FGM Records, and he played on Grier’s Freewheeling (Rounder, 1988). He has worked with Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman, Béla Fleck, Aubrey Haynie, and Bobby Hicks. His students at East Tennessee State University and at bluegrass camps and academies carry the Rice rhythm style forward.
Signature tunes and songs
New Market Gap Picture in a Tear Manzanita Church Street Blues.
Essential recordings
New Market Gap (Rounder, 1990) Picture in a Tear, Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz (Rounder, 1996) Backwaters, Tony Rice Unit (Rounder, 1983) The Rice Brothers 2 (Rounder, 1992) Unit of Measure, Tony Rice Unit (Rounder, 2000)
Watch and listen
Rice teaches a rhythm guitar lesson for Bluegrass Unlimited. Watch his right hand and count the bass runs between chords.
Tony and Wyatt Rice play Manzanita together. Listen to what Wyatt does under Tony’s solo.
What to learn from Wyatt
Learn Manzanita as a rhythm part, not a lead. Play along with the Tony Rice Unit record and copy Wyatt, not Tony. The technique to steal is the bass run. Rice connects G to C and C to D with walking bass notes that land on the downbeat of the new chord. Practice those runs slow until you can play them without looking, then keep your strum light so the runs stand out. A jam will follow a guitarist who plays like that, even when nobody notices why.
Sources
About, Wyatt Rice official site Discography, Wyatt Rice official site Wyatt Rice, Wikipedia Wyatt Rice teaching guitar at ETSU, Bluegrass Today Wyatt Rice, East Tennessee State University Wyatt Rice, New Market Gap, Discogs
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Wyatt played rhythm for his brother Tony Rice for decades. He recorded with David Grier and Kenny Smith, two more players who put rhythm first. Tony’s own model was Clarence White.