My Little Life is a collection of short stories by composer, musician and near draft-dodger Vito Ricci about his experiences in New York City, Mexico and Vietnam in the late 60s. An outspoken pacifist, Ricci struck a deal with the US army and ended up as a cook in a US army base, feeling more kinship with the Vietnamese staff who worked there than the American soldiers. The vernacular style of the stories give the impression of a memorable conversation with a close friend on the streets of NYC, a friend who’s little life was full of big events. Limited edition of 300 printed by the historic Coach House Printing in Toronto.

Vito Ricci helped with sound at NYC’s legendary Poetry Project for many years, often providing improvised guitar and electronics for readings. For this collection of stories he recorded a series of short electronic pieces which act as portraits of the Vietnamese characters in the book, audio memories of good friends from another time and place.

-

The music of Vito Ricci is a stunning re-discovery. Quickly becoming a Downtown NYC legend, Ricci has worked alongside luminaries such as Peter Zummo, Rashied Ali, Byard Lancaster, 'Blue' Gene Tyranny and Yousef Yancey. His work seems to have been a quiet parallel to Arthur Russell's, operating in many similar worlds such as CBGBs punk, avant-composition, jazz improvisation and new age. Taking their label name from Vito Ricci’s only LP, Music From Memory brought together a compilation of works by one of the unsung heroes of New York’s downtown music scene, now out of print