Rik Fox

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Rik Fox, born 'Richard Suligowski', is an American bass guitar player.

Rik Fox was born in Amityville, Long Island, and raised in the heavily Polish neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. While in high school, Fox was interested in photography, choosing as his subjects the flashy personalities of the New York glam scene of the 1970s. He photographed the New York Dolls, among others. During this period, Rik dated a younger sister of early KISS drummer Peter Criss. Fox and Peter Criss became friends, and because of this, Fox was there to watch the formation of KISS from the very beginning, including, before the addition of guitarist Ace Frehley.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1982, Fox played bass-guitar in several bands, including Steeler, SIN, and W.A.S.P.. Matter of fact, Although he was only briefly associated with W.A.S.P, for several months, and recorded a 'live' three-track cassette demo, he did, in fact, name the band. The idea occurred to him after he stepped on a wasp in the courtyard of the house where he lived with his fellow bandmember Blackie Lawless. This story is retold in the book Bang Your Head : The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal by David Konow, where it is confirmed by W.A.S.P. guitarist Randy Piper, and in online interviews with guitarist Piper. Blackie Lawless reportedly denies Rik Fox's participation in W.A.S.P., but he's clearly shown in photographs taken by Don Adkins Jr. during the band's first photo session, and has played on the bands' first demo which circulates among collectors. Adkins went on to photograph bands like Mötley Crüe. See also: http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/rikfox.html http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/rikfox2.html http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/rik_fox_part_3.html

Fox's music career ended, (for the most part), after he folded his last band, Thunderball, in the early 1990s. After that, he worked in the film industry as an assistant Property Master, and weapons handler, working on the Television series Air America, featuring Television Idol Lorenzo Lamas. Fox also dabbled in acting and took several film roles. Through acting, he eventually became involved with the Renaissance Faire scene, where he actively sought to bring the noticeably absent Polish history into the forefront. Fox has been referred to as a 'pioneer', (or, a "Johnny Appleseed"), in this venture, by many Polish media correspondents. Apart from being a musician, Rik is the First Polish-American of noble ancestry, who represents the Polish Winged hussar cavalry in U.S. History. More recently Rik has been nominated & voted in, as the Vice-President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Nationally known organization of the Polish American Congress. He is also involved in co-promotion of the European & Japanese market release of THE STEELER ANTHOLOGY with former band mate Ron Keel. Plans for touring to promote the late 2005 release, remain yet to be realized. In the meantime, Fox continues to make tremendous strides in his pursuit of raising Polish Historic awareness and Culture.