Troll Studios is the creation of Richie Saccente, a long time musician passionate about his work. "I started teaching at Crest Music Center in Forest Hills [New York] in 1978. That is where I really learned how to teach and my playing improved a great deal as well. I taught there for about ten years. Then I broke out on my own."

Sitting in his office, littered with guitars, Richie recollects his early start in music. "I started playing guitar when I was seven. At nine music took a back seat to playing with my friends. At fifteen, a high school friend and drummer pushed me to play again so we could jam. I was really inspired by "One Way Out" by the Allman Brothers, so I decided to give it a try. From that point on I never put the guitar down."

"After a while I began to jam with my cousin, Steve Mallardi. Steve initially played the drums, then moved to bass. Over time Steve’s career blossomed. He became the music director for the Les Miserables and Jeckyl & Hyde national tours for a number of years and still tours with them."

"I received instruction from a number of people. Matt Dirjish (also known as Matt Dezio) started me in the right direction. At the suggestion of another tutor, Brian Kelly, I studied with Howie Morgen, columnist for Fingerstyle Guitar magazine and author of several guitar theory books. I also studied music at Queensboro College [Bayside, New York]"

Richie’s pursuit of music led him to join several bands, including Night Train (1977-78), Delusions of Grandeur (1978-80), Troll (1980-85), and Sweeney (1986-90). He played in various duos throughout the 1990s. From 1996 to 2001 Richie was the lead singer of the tropical rock band, The Mangos.

In 2000, Richie began a new project, "Juice." This studio band adds the talent of Steve Mallardi on bass and the unique percussion duo of Randy Knudsen and Brian Johnson (of The Mangos). Several Juice tracks are currently available for download at MP3.com. The first Juice album was released in the spring of 2001.

On any given day Troll Studios is open for guitar instruction. Soon the studio’s recording capabilities will be available to the public as well.