2009.08.21
Stan Ridgway, Pietra Wexstun & Friends
with Ralph Carney, Rick King, JT Lazar and more!
Purchase: Silly Songs For Kids Vol. 1
2009.08.13
2009 - "Snakebite" and "BBQ Babylon" in stores and at ITUNES!
The Wire (UK) SNAKEBITE: BLACKTOP BALLADS AND FUGITIVE SONGS
Stan Ridgway at ITUNES:
Former Wall Of Voodoo singer/songwriter Stan Ridgway's eighth solo album is a glorious hard-boiled Hollywood road movie for the ears (complete with suitable sound effects) which takes the listener on a tumbleweed journey in three acts through his dark imagination. Ridgway's lyrical talent for detail, combined with a cactus spiked humor and sense of melancholy, is what gives Snakebite its fang, and his songs ripple with observation and atmosphere. The best of these are "King For A Day". a wild ride in a stolen car that ends up crashing into the side of a house. A chance meeting with Andy Warhol that develops into "Our Manhattan Moment ", and "Talkin' Wall Of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1" where Ridgway scathingly relates the rise and fall of his old band and the various record company and managerial rip offs that eventually tore them apart. If you are only familiar with Ridgway's work through, what he refers to here as "that radio song", then Snakebite is an invitation to get better acquainted. Long may he run. - Edwin Pouncey
"Into The Sun" - a fan generated video !
A short promo video for Stan Ridgway & Drywall's BARBEQUE BABYLON.
2009.08.09
2009.07.15
SAN DIEGO READER http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/13/note-wc/
STAN RIDGWAY - Belly Up Tavern, Tuesday, Febuary 19, 8 p.m. 858-481-9022.
By William Crain | Published Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008
“We were not really part of that whole MTV, new wavey thing,” says Stan Ridgway, speaking about his old band, Wall of Voodoo. This comment may come as a surprise to the many poor souls who remember Wall of Voodoo only for their weird 1982 hit “Mexican Radio.” Ridgway intends to catch them up with a concert showcasing “Mexican Radio” and other songs from Wall of Voodoo’s Call of the West.
“I like to describe ‘Mexican Radio’ as an accidental MTV hit,” Ridgway says. “We were at that point where MTV needed things to play. And as MTV took off, so did the videos they were playing. I think a lot of people who purchased the record or came to see us, they got more than they bargained for. It wasn’t just happy-go-lucky stuff. Some of it was interestingly dark, as is my interest. My favorite films, all that stuff. The American promise is filled with stories like that. It’s almost inexhaustible.”
Ridgway talks like that. Like the characters he plays in his songs, both in Wall of Voodoo and his solo career, he’s full of wry humor and tweaked clichés. “Part of the charm of the old music was that it was sort of a juxtaposition of the electronic and the old earthy sounds of the electric guitar,” Ridgway says. “I don’t think that had really been done as much as we did it. There were mostly electronic bands like Kraftwerk or there were the rockabilly-type bands like the Stray Cats. They had the twang, and the other guys had the drone. And I think what we did was we put the drone with the twang. So we had…dwang? Something like that?”
STAN RIDGWAY, Belly Up Tavern, Tuesday, Febuary 19, 8 p.m. 858-481-9022. $18.
2009.07.01
CLICK HERE: Ridgway headlines Norway's "Down On The Farm" Festival Aug. 7 & 8.
2008.11.10
Out Now
Mark Ryden "Blood" CD Soundtrack - Jewelbox Edition.
Score by Stan Ridgway and Pietra Wexstun
Available now from A440 Records and stanridgway.com
2008.08.24
Stan Ridgway Audio Interview Online
Lengthy discussion includes Stan's beginnings in music
2008.04.11
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys
"Featuring a crew that ranges from cult heroes (Stan Ridgway) to platinum-club rock stars (Bono) to folk icons (Eliza Carthy) to Hollywood actors (John C. Reilly), Rogue's Gallery is like a well-stocked treasure chest." - GeorgiaStraight.com
2008.04.02
INTENSE 'N' KINDA SHADY
TUCSON WEEKLY REVIEW
Though he'll never live down his former band Wall of Voodoo's '80s classic "Mexican Radio," Stan Ridgway has, since then, released 10 or so mostly excellent albums full of the musical equivalent of film noir--lots of shady characters stuck in lots of shady situations.
He last performed in Tucson almost two years ago at Club Congress, as part of the TapeOpCon music showcase, and he put on one hell of a show for those who could pull themselves away from M. Ward's equally riveting set in the parking lot. My memories of that show: Yes, he turned in a killer version of "Mexican Radio," but also a jaw-droppingly intense take on Mose Allison's "Monsters of the Id," which he spewed in the direction of our current commander in chief: "They're fightin' fire with gasoline / The creatures from the swamp / Rewrite their own Mein Kampf / Neanderthals amuck / Just tryin' to make a buck / And goblins and their hags / Are out there wavin' flags / Oh, when will we be rid / Of monsters of the id." He turned so red that he resembled Saturday Night Live's Will Forte doing his best Zell Miller impersonation. Translation: intense.
In fact, the whole dang set was pretty freakin' awesome, which is why we're so pleased that Stan Ridgway will be returning to Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Saturday, April 5. Doors for this early show open at 7 p.m., with opener the Voodoo Organist taking the stage around 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $14 on the day of the show. For more information, call 622-8848.
2008.03.11
Go to TOUR PAGE for details