Richard Meyer is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, and set designer. Meyer was active in the Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...

 folk music scene of the 1980s and '90s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

 and did much to promote other artists. As one of the leaders of a musicians cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 in the Village he handled booking at the SpeakEasy and edited Fast Folk Musical Magazine (1986-1997). He has since written reviews for various media such as Allmusic. He has also worked extensively as a lighting/scenery designer

Designer

A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...

 in theater.

As of summer 2008, Richard is suffering from advancing Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

 and living at a nursing home in the New York area.

Discography

• Laughing/Scared (1987, Old Forge)
• The Good Life! (1992, Shanachie
  Shanachie Records
  Shanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...
  
  )
• Letter from the Open Sky (1994, Shanachie)
• First Aid for the Choking Victim (?)
• Works in Progress (?)
• Strange Generosity/Bitter Moon (2001, Old Forge) [2-CD]

Further reading

• [ Richard Meyer] entry at Allmusic
• Dirty Linen, No. 40, June/July 1992 link to back issues
• internet archive of rmmeyerhere.com (now defunct official web site)
• "At the age of 56, Parkinson's Disease has trapped Richard in his own body. We can help free him." by Torin Peterson, Wordpress.com June 13, 2008