Richard Aquilone was born in Schenectady, New York. His mother Mary was a school teacher, who taught fifth grade in the schools of Troy, New York. Richard’s father worked as a salesman for the General Electric Company, and was based out of Schenectady.

As a child, Richard Aquilone enjoyed playing with the other boys in his neighborhood. He had a Husky named Henry who accompanied him around the neighborhood. As a child, Richard delivered newspapers after school, with his dog helping to pull his red radio flyer wagon. The two of them quickly became a common sight in Schenectady.

One of Richard Aquilone’s fondest memories growing up in Schenectady was building downhill go-karts with his friends in the neighborhood. They would scavenge in their father’s basements and garages for scrap wood to build these contraptions. In those days, people didn’t wear helmets, and it is lucky that Richard Aquilone didn’t kill a few brain cells on the tumbles down the big hill.

During his high school days, Richard formed a garage band with a few friends, including Brad Playfair. As the drummer, he was responsible for driving the guys to and from gigs in his mom’s station wagon and carrying a majority of their gear downstairs, as most of their shows were in friends’ basements. As high school graduation neared, Richard wasn’t sure what to do for career. His music career had stalled. His high school group, “PlayFair”, had recorded one single that managed to get some airplay on WRUC, Union College’s radio station. With a passion for music, Richard Aquilone decided to head to college to try to give himself more of a chance to become a successful performer.