Richie Kotzen, lead singer of the well-known rock group The Winery Dogs, has never been an artist known for playing by the rules. And for this ever-adventurous triple-treat songwriter/guitarist/vocalist, that meant putting on the brakes after a nonstop flurry of band-related activity in order to refuel the creative process for the ten heartfelt and hard-hitting songs that comprise his vibrant new solo album, Salting Earth.