Richard Shubb (born January 11, 1945 in Oakland, California) is best known as the inventor of the Shubb Capo, a very popular guitar and banjo accessory. His 1978 patent is cited by Sterner's Capo Museum as being one of the most significant improvements in the development of the capo. He also invented the lever-operated banjo fifth string capo, the compensated banjo bridge, and holds several other U.S. and international patents on musical instrument accessories and improvements. He is also a noted and influential 5-string

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player and teacher. He was among a handful of young West Coast musicians to discover and popularize

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

, which was already well established in the Southeast. He graduated from

Oakland Technical High School Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech or simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District. It is one of six compre ...

in 1962, and during the folk boom of the 1960s he played in coffeehouses and taverns in Berkeley and San Francisco, playing with such musicians as

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

, and others. He later went on to develop a distinctive swing-influenced banjo style, which he performed and recorded during the 1970s and 1980s. Rick Shubb also is known as a graphic artist. During the psychedelic era he drew posters for the Carousel Ballroom, one of San Francisco's hip rock palaces. Three of his posters are included in ''The Art of Rock'', the definitive work on rock posters. He was a featured artist in various underground comic books, including his own ''Brain Fantasy'' published by

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...

,Last Gasp Publishing
/ref> and his popular poster ''Humbead's Map of the World'' was regarded as an integral part of the folk-rock culture of the 1960s. Rick Shubb currently owns and operates his own company, Shubb Capos, which manufactures various guitar and banjo accessories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shubb, Rick 1945 births Living people American bluegrass musicians Oakland Technical High School alumni Musicians from Oakland, California