Rich Ortiz is a one-man band who has been captivating audiences from Upstate New York to Florida since he started performing his solo acoustic act.

He has been a staple in the area’s music scene for 10 years now and has opened for such national artists as Merl Saunders, Melvin Seals and The Wood Brothers.

Today, he continues to perform throughout the Capital Region including playing once a month in New York City’s West Village at the world-renowned Red Lion. Recently, I sat down with Rich to discuss how he got into music, his first album and what the future holds for the vibrant young star.

What made you want to become a musician?

I was really inspired by my family background having come from five generations of family musicians. My father passed away when I was two years old and the only thing I had left from his death was an album he recorded and that made me want to follow in his footsteps.

Where do you draw your influences from?

I just try to soak up every kind of style. I don’t have a specific artist because I love artists for different reasons. I like Willie Nelson because he’s 72 and wears New Balance sneakers and does his gigs and writes millions of songs and that stuff is really inspiring because that’s the direction I want my career to head in — I want to be a hard-working musician for the long haul.

How would you describe your sound?

My sound is large because over the years I have found ways to make myself sound like more than one person, so it’s funny to go back and look at something I did a long time ago because it has really evolved into something different these days.

What is your favorite song to perform?

My favorite song seems to change on a weekly basis. I usually find something I really like to jam on for a couple of weeks, but then it gets old and I switch to something else. I mostly play originals these days, but I just learned Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” I have this really cool version I do of it and that is currently one of my favorite songs to play because it’s new and fresh.

What is the most memorable show you have ever played?

It was at a fundraiser I played in Round Lake at this old church that had been converted into a venue. There were a bunch of different acts playing that day and I was set to play right after the act that the majority of the people were there to see. Right after they finished their set, everyone got up and started to leave, but then this giant thunderstorm came out of nowhere and everybody pretty much got back in their seats, so at that point they were stuck watching my show. So I started playing the set and then I had like this Jerry Garcia moment when this shining light just came through one of the windows and hit me and my guitar right on stage like a spotlight and that was probably one of the coolest moments I had that I didn’t expect.

You have written and produced one album over your career. How do you feel it portrays who you are as a musician?

I think it is really hard for me to portray what I am on an album because I am strictly a live performer, so making the album was really hard because I wanted to keep the live feel. So I recorded the whole album live in a studio in one day. It’s hard for me to get the passion for playing when it feels like I’m stuck in a square box, but I think the important thing that came out of it is that I was able to get a lot of the meanings behind my songs across to people.

What do you like most about performing for audiences around the Capital Region?

The Capital Region is a small area, but I feel like each town has its own special crowd element that it offers. People have just seemed to always get me ever since I started playing in Saratoga. They understand what I am trying to do and what I am about. My roots are from the Lake George/Glens Falls area and for the people that come to see me there my music has grown familiar to them, but I feel that people in Saratoga grasp the art of what I do and I appreciate that.

What is in store for the future?

Well I have a new album that I am working on and I would really like to start playing colleges or open for some popular groups and just try to take it to the next level while I still have the energy to. I feel like my playing is still developing and I’m really anxious to show a larger audience what I can do.

You can learn more about Rich Ortiz by visiting www.richortiz.com or www.myspace.com/richortiz