Richard Bryce Vance

Everyone just calls him “Ricky” though.

Ricky appeared in Popomundo 11/10/2006. His father died when he was very young. Ricky went to public school and received really poor grades. He likes going to clubs and having a good time. He hates racism and unjust societies. Ricky got caught shop lifting candy in his early teens.

Richard Vance was born in New York on Day 11 of Year 5. He is the only child of Sarah Ann Harlow-Vance and James Bryce Vance. At least, that's what he thought for most of his early life. Soon after his father died in year 12, his mother told him that she had had a daughter with another man. Immediately after his birth, Ricky's father was called into military service overseas, and was away for nearly two years. During that time, she met a man by the name of Antony John near the skating rink at the Rockefeller Center. She fell in love with him almost immediately, but was forced to make a moral decision: Wait until James returned home (if he even would), or stay with Antony. The thought of Ricky's father not making it back home overcame her, and she continued to see Antony. She was soon pregnant with her second child, a girl, by the name of Destiny John.

When Destiny was born, Ricky was nearly one year old, so he vaguely remembered her at his tender age of seven. Antony and Sarah was forced to split when she learned that James was returning home in a few months. A bitter custody case took place (in secret) for two years, before Sarah finally settled on letting Antony keep Destiny. She knew that she had to keep her affair a secret, so that meant Destiny couldn't stay, as much as she cared for her.

After he learned about his sister, Destiny soon came to live with him. Antony had died two years earlier after suffering a massive heart attack which kept him bed-ridden for a year. They got along together very well, but Ricky was very shy and didn't speak much. He trusted few, and cared for fewer. It wasn't to be a mean person, he just was a cautious person with fragile feelings. He never wanted to get hurt by someone, and the fewer people he knew, the better the chance that it wouldn't happen. Destiny was pretty much the only person he cared for during his teenage years, however she was completely different than him. They were like two sides of the same coin. He never really trusted his mother again after she kept that secret for so long. At the age of 15, he began a short lived path of crime. Petty theft, breaking and entering, and a love of fire got him arrested at the age of 17 after robbing a candy store's safe. He had tripped the silent alarm, and police were onto him within minutes. Giving up, Ricky was placed into juvenile hall for six months. There, he went through rehabilitation programs, and after being released, he had a greater respect for people and property. From that day, he never committed another crime. When he returned home Destiny was gone. She moved out to her own apartment. That basically left him alone with a woman whom he'd grown bitter towards. So, he just stayed away from home for the next two years. He hung out in clubs, and soon found a job in one he frequented.

At the age of 20, Ricky left home to start his own music career. After two months he joined with a group and met the woman of his dreams. Cristina Zapatero was a 17 year old girl who was everything he looked for in a partner. Beautiful, intelligent, kind, and almost the same age as him. Together for a year, Ricky asked for Cristina's hand in marriage through an article It's Pop. This was a huge risk for him to do, because he was still the same shy person he'd been in his teens. If she said “No”, the whole city of New York would know it. To his glee she said “Yes”, and they remained engaged for a year. During this time, Cristina became pregnant with their first child. The next year, they were wed (still expecting parents) in a private ceremony at Madrid's countryside Casa de Campo. Soon after the wedding, at the age of 24, their son Tyler Bryce Vance was brought into this world. Not long after his birth, the couple were blessed by a second pregnancy. Exactly one year after Tyler was born, their daughter Analice Zapatero Vance was born. The couple's third child, a son by the name of Cristóbal Vance was born on New Years Day when Ricky was 27. It was decided that they would name him after Cristina's father. Their fourth and final child was a little girl, and Ricky (now 29) couldn't have been more delighted. He was adamant that she be named after her mother, so she was given the name Cristi Vance.

On his 25th birthday, Ricky got into a rather heated debate with his mother concerning his life choices. His tense relationship with his mother finally shattered, he removed all his things from his mother's home, gave her the key, and left New York stating she would never see him, his wife, or his kids ever again. He moved to Melbourne and settled down for a couple of years, but he could never get comfortable. Finally, he decided to make London his home, and he still lives there to this day as a mentor.

When he became 27, he was struck by a tragic event. His little sister that he cared deeply for, passed away. He changed after that day, and he has not been the same since.

Ricky first started a group at the request of his mother. For two months, his solo act Rock On The Rocks stayed in New York to play several shows around town. Not very good shows, but they got his income started. While working at The Yellow Shark, he met a group called Renegade Stars. After speaking with the band leader Sunday Ryder, it was agreed that he would join them in Rome. Renegade Stars was now comprised of 4 individuals: Sunday Ryder (Keyboardist/Lead Singer), Cristina Zapatero (Drummer/Back-up Singer), Manuela Gutierrez (Bassist/Back-up Singer), and Ricky (Electric Guitarist/Dancer).

About one year after joined Renegade Stars, Sunday left the group to start over. This left the band hanging in limbo since no one in the group had leadership experience. It was decided that the whole group would run things together, instead of relying on one person to handle everything. Ricky took over the job of scheduling band travel, buying stage equipment, and booking recording sessions. Cristina handled show design and booked jam sessions, while Manuela handled all of the group's art (From band logos to CD covers). This is also when the name was changed to Stars of Orion.

The band overhaul was also accompanied by much assistance from Yuonne Emery (of Top 15 Rock artist Alva Of Darkness), a very close friend to the entire group. She taught the group the ins and outs of keeping a group running like scheduling, releasing albums, setting band roles, and more. Were it not for her, the group would have likely fallen apart at the seams. After getting back into the game, the group started looking for a replacement member to even out the trio. A young man named Kevin Clapham was the first to try out for the group, and while he looked promising, he soon dropped out of the group due to lack of interaction. He never got to know his fellow bandmates, and would never accept any advise from them.

About a year and a half later, Stars of Orion (still a trio) took over a group called Tyran. Tyran was a two man group who were splitting up to do other things and were giving their group out to a smaller artist. Yvonne came to the group with the offer to take control over Tyran, and after a couple of weeks of debate among the members, Stars of Orion had an updated status as well as their fourth and final member, Taylor Sooalo. Taylor, the former dancing bassist of Tyran, remained with the group to the other's unexpected joy.

Taylor left soon after, so the group started looking for new members. Help came to them in the form of Gwendolyn Holden and Lawrence Gauthier. They did well in the beginning, but became rather distant to the group. They would not work together with the others and that left the band in a position of never being fully prepared for shows. After two world tours, it was decided to let them go. However, this wasn't the only change this time. Due to his failing health, Ricky decided that he needed to step down from the music career. So, in one of the most difficult times of his life, he bid farewell to those he had been with for the last 10 years of his life.

Shortly after, Stars of Orion completely fell apart, and the entire group disbanded. Manuela pursues a Country/Western career, and Cristina joined Ricky in a new duo by the name of Rock Elements. They plan to be a laid back rock artist with no set schedule, and play when they want to. Ricky continues mentoring students, but he is not as hands on with them. But he's happy this he has the entire family traveling together again.

• Ricky is a kind and caring person, but also very insecure, who always puts others before himself. However, he always worries about what others think of him, as well as if he is too kind at times. Always one to return a favor or repay someone with interest, he gets chastised from his friend Yvonne quite often.
• There were only three people in his life that he trusted completely. His sister Destiny, wife Cristina, and best friend Yvonne.
• He helped co-found the Save the Children Committee with Odelia Brower. The STCC strives to find abandoned children and relocate them to caring families. Things are going slowly, but he feels entirely confident that the committee will make a significant change. He is also the owner of the first Ruby's Playtime Palace, a daycare center sponsored by the STCC. Due to certain problems, he reluctantly resigned from the campaign, but the committee is still running strong.
• Now a full time volunteer firefighter, he strives to protect people and places from the dangers of fire.
• An avid entomologist, he enjoys looking for rare insects.
• Ricky believes that almost anything can happen if you make a song about it, and put your heart into it. Prayers never hurt either.
• At the age of 31, he decided to indulge himself in the finer things. His first action was to fill his garage with cars. He currently owns a Kawosaki Samurai, Ferrara 250 GTO, 67 Stallion Ellenore, Ashton Martini DB5007, and a Holly Davidson.

• Ricky's Character Page—-
• Rock Element's Band Page—-