Canadian producer / engineer Richard Chycki, who is best known for his work with Rush, has shared the following message via social media:
"So, we had a bit of a Halloween get together last night and surprised our friends and family by getting married to my longtime love of my life, Sylvia Niewinski, on the spot. It was such a special night and we are so grateful to have awesome people around us to share our love. This was definitely a night to remember."
Chycki is a multi-platinum mixer and engineer whose clients include such rock royalty as Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater, Skillet, Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper, Pink and many more.
Niewinski is the vocalist for Canadian metal band, Scarlet Sins, formed in 2004. They released their self-titled debut in 2008; Chycki worked with the band on the record.
Heartfelt congratulations to Rich and Syl from the BraveWords family.
Scarlet Sins called it quits in 2009, reuniting in 2019 for two shows. They hinted at the possibility of new music in the future, and are currenbtly working on new material.
The reunion shows took place in late 2019, on October 19th and November 2nd in Ottawa and Toronto respectively. Video of the band performing "Let Go", "Own Truth", "Reborn" and Scarlet Sins' cover of Depeche Mode's "Strangelove" at the Toronto show is available below.
Richard Chycki began his career as a guitar player, and worked in studios in Toronto, Canada. He was playing in recording sessions, but really wanted to get his own record deal, so he was also recording himself and sending his recordings out to record companies. In order to record himself, though, he wanted to learn how to use an SSL console. So, he reached out to the Canadian distributor of SSL consoles, who let him come in and pick up the manuals and make copies of them. Chycki then read through the manuals and taught himself how to use the SSL console.
Eventually, Chycki began hearing back from some of the record companies he was sending his recordings to. But, they were not necessarily interested in him as a guitar player, instead they wanted him to come record some of their bands, because his recordings were so well done.
Chycki began working with various bands, and recording them, and began working with a guitarist named Jeff Healey. Through his work with Healey, he met Marti Frederiksen, who was a very prolific songwriter. About 10 months after their work with Jeff Healey, Frederiksen called Richard Chycki and asked him to come record some drums for a band. When Chycki asked who the band was, he was told it was Aerosmith. Chycki accepted, of course, and helped to record the song "Jaded", which became his first number one hit on rock radio in the US, and the turning point in his career.
Following his work on "Jaded", Chycki started to get on projects with more major bands and began making a name for himself. He has recorded and mixed in some of the world’s finest studios, including Ocean Way, Henson, Capitol, and The Record Plant. He added artists Pink, Mick Jagger, Seal Shawn Colvin, Def Leppard, and Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries to his resume.
On working with Chycki, Rush’s Alex Lifeson has said, “Rich is very settled in with the way that he hears the band .... [He] is such a great engineer.” And (the late) Neil Peart added, “I have never enjoyed the recording process so much, nor been so satisfied with the results.”
