Local music legend Rick Bolton has been a pioneer in the Saratoga Springs music scene since moving to the city more than 25 years ago.

He is a member of three band which include T-Bonz, Big Medicine, Rick Bolton and the Dwyer Sisters, not to mention performing the occasional solo project.

Bolton has produced one album to date titled “I’m only in it for the beer!,” hosts open mic nights once a week at the Saratoga City Tavern and continues to perform throughout Saratoga Springs and its surrounding area. I sat down with Bolton to discuss his career which has spanned more than 35 years, his current bands and the evolution of the Saratoga Springs music scene.

How did you first get into music?

It all started the first time the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show. I saw all the girls go crazy and I thought how can I do that. I got to learn how to play guitar. Just seeing that one band is kind of how it all got started.

What has enabled you to have a successful career in music for more than 30 years?

It’s all got to do with surrounding myself with good people. Just like every president, whether they are good or bad they have to surround themselves with the right people. So as a musician it’s very important that you surround yourself with good friends and good musicians.

What do you like most about performing music live?

Well this answer has changed throughout my career, but I think these days it’s playing with my friends and for my friends. There is also the side of it where I still want to get a reaction out of people, whether it be laughing or crying or throwing things.

Since moving to Saratoga Springs how has the music scene changed?

It has exploded. When I first came here 30 years ago there were two places to play, but what happened in the last 12 to 14 years is club and restaurant owners realized that music brings in customers. With that what happened was musicians started looking up Saratoga Springs. Then what happened after that was better musicians started looking up Saratoga Springs and then you’re at a point where the local musicians felt Saratoga Springs was a nice place to play. So it has really done an about face since I first joined the scene.

Do you have a favorite venue to play in Saratoga Springs?

It’s changed over the years because it used to be a place like Caffe Lena because you always strived to play there. But today I enjoy playing at Gaffney’s because it’s like a revolving door of people. We will start at 10 and there will be an older crowd present, and then you play a second set and the crowd will change a little bit and then by the time we get to the 1 a.m. hour, the crowd has gotten younger and you have to somehow still make it happen.

How does your album represent your career as a songwriter?

I got to do a new one, let’s put it that way. This is a compilation. It took me 10 years to complete; it’s more or less a diary or a chronicle. I would go into the studio and do a couple things here and a couple things there, but there is a lot of stuff that didn’t make it on the album. But it’s kind of a representation of my songwriting career because there are a couple of songs about my hometown on Lake George, there are a couple songs about Saratoga, a couple about my wife and past loves, you know, the whole nine yards.

Do you have a favorite song that you have written?

The one that I wrote for my wife, it’s called “Sharon’s song.” Most people like “Road Kill,” but that one is my favorite.

You play in three different bands. How would you describe each group’s sound?

Big Medicine, I would describe it how other people describe it and that is as Americana. We do everything from Bonnie Raitt to Janis Joplin to Irish music to Reggae. Rick Bolton and the Dwyer Sisters is mainly a vocal band, which is very focused on harmonies. The T-Bonz is a blues and R & B dance band. And then I play solo every now and then and that’s just a mishmosh of weird stuff, everything from John Prine to Bob Dylan to swing stuff.

You have used your music to aid benefits that help support an array of great causes throughout the area. As a musician why is it important to use your music to help give back?

I think it is one of the most important things you can do as a person. Whether it is a musician, electrician or a restaurant owner it doesn’t make any difference; it’s just my philosophy that you have to give back every so often, you can’t take everything for yourself. That’s the beautiful thing about playing because you can touch people that goes far beyond any monetary value, so if you can help a neglected or a make-a-wish kid you can’t put a dollar sign on that, you can’t tax the feeling you get from doing that because it’s just the greatest elation in the world—it’s much better than standing ovations.

Why is it important to offer open mic nights?

There are a variety of reasons. Open mic’s are for the individual who is stuck in the living room, has a great song and a great sound, but can’t find a place to play it. It’s for the pro that’s got a new song and wants to go out and try it out and see what kind of reaction they get. It’s for the person that doesn’t care either way and just wants to go out and enjoy themselves in a non-structural musical setting. Open mic’s are so important because people have to have an outlet to express themselves. It’s like a painter needs a wall somewhere publicly where people are going to react to whatever he does and I think that’s the cool thing about open mic’s. I just love them.

You can learn more about Rick Bolton and his bands by visiting: www.rickboltonandthedwyersisters.com/