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Nik Ritchie

@nikritchie

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Drummer for Wyatt Waddell, Fat Night, Smushie, Obliger, +more
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Listen to The Understudy by @wyatt_waddell4 ⬇️

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It’s been a week since The Understudy, the first full-length album from @wyatt_waddell4 dropped. Here are some fun facts, thoughts, and feelings:

🐲 Wyatt first demoed about half these songs with @nealfrancismusic on his Tascam 388, then he and I demoed the rest at mine and @smushie.aust’s studio on our Tascam 388. Maybe you’ll get to hear those some day… 👀

🐲 In April 2025, with short notice and a tight deadline, Wyatt, @_pechodepaloma and I recorded the instrumentation for all 12 tracks in 4 days with @nathanroseboom ‘s magic hands engineering. Nate also did the initial mixes in record time 👊

🐲 The foundation of each track is the three of us playing live in the room, with Wyatt on guitar or bass, Zach on Wurlitzer, and me on drums. No click, no comping, no nudging, no looping, no copy/pasting, no pitch correction, no virtual instruments. No track got more than 5 takes, most got 2 or 3. Guitar and drums for Therapy were tracked in 1 take 👊

🐲 Wyatt tracked all the vocals in 4 days 👊

🐲 @ev_monty tracked all horns in 1 session, learning the parts on the spot by Wyatt singing them to him

🐲 is it imperfect? Yes, and that’s the point. We wanted this to sound made by humans. My long battle with perfectionism has brought me here, where I can embrace mistakes as beautiful parts of a larger piece of art that captures a moment in time. Huge shoutout to @chace_infinite and @empire for giving Wyatt the freedom to make this album exactly how he wanted to - raw and real

🐲 @face.chicago did the beautiful cover art 👏

🐲 @mikeseaberg did an absolute bang up job on the mix and master. These tracks pop and sparkle because of his touch ✨

😺 @remstagram69 brought the vibes every day. If you listen closely, you can catch her on track 3

🐲 this was one of the most fun and gratifying weeks of my life. Working with these guys was an absolute dream. During these sessions I kept saying “I could do this every day”. I’m so excited to share the finished product with you, and so proud of my brother Wyatt for what he has accomplished. I’m truly honored to be part of this.

Do yourself a favor and give it a listen!

#TheUnderstudy #WyattWaddell #newmusic #music by @nikritchie

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6 months ago

THANK YOU
BE S AFE by @nikritchie

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23 days ago

Donuts by @nikritchie

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2 months ago

practicing harmonies for Gone Away from the new record The Understudy - @wyatt_waddell4

See y'all on the road next week ✌️#reelsinstagram #music #fyp #chicago #singer by @nikritchie

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2 months ago

getting ready for the @wyatt_waddell4 tour 🙂
@_pechodepaloma keys / vox
@nikritchie drums / vox #fyp #livemusic #reelsinstagram #creative #original by @nikritchie

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2 months ago

Locked in w/ @wyatt_waddell4 + @mysocialmediabuddy + @_pechodepaloma #MrTasteful taken in Blue Note Los Angeles by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

My mom said if you live in Los Angeles or New York City and you don’t buy tickets to see me play with @wyatt_waddell4 at @bluenotelosangeles 7/1 or @bluenotenyc 7/15 I have to play this groove forever which isn’t so bad but I’d like to stop and have a cup of water or maybe a coffee by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

Friday night bashing with @lastcalllegendband 🤘 by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

Catch me, @_pechodepaloma & @mysocialmediabuddy with @wyatt_waddell4 at The Blue Note L.A. 7/1 and NYC 7/15! Get your 🎟️ up thar ^

#bluenote #bluenotenyc #bluenotelosangeles #music #fyp taken in Blue Note Los Angeles by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

Have a little fun today ! by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

🥁 @nikritchie
🎹 @_pechodepaloma
🎸 @wyatt_waddell4

#livemusic #fyp #reelsinstagram #music #creative by @nikritchie

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3 months ago

#sad #canada by @nikritchie

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4 months ago