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July 2009
"Keeping it Strange" One-of-a-kind frontman and Wall of Voodoo mastermind Stan Ridgway comes to East Hartford By John Adamian ( pic: Mike Lynch) http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=12161 An Evening with Stan Ridgway Saturday, March 21, 8 p.m, E. Hartford Cultural Center
Stan Ridgway is an unapologetic eclectic and an unreformed noncomformist. Ridgway, who brings his music to East Hartford's Cultural Center on March 21, logged time as a jazz guy and dabbled in blues and country and just about everything else. He wanted to be a guitarist with Miles Davis's famously funky electric bands in the early '70s. He also wanted to make film soundtracks for second-tier schlock movies, setting up a music company in Hollywood. Now he's making kids music. You may know Ridgway as the idiosyncratic frontman and voice behind the '80s group Wall of Voodoo. Their song "Mexican Radio" — with its weird mix of noir, vintage rock, harmonica, dub effects and quirky pop — remains one of those oddball one-hit wonders that is still genuinely good, and played on the (American) radio with real nostalgic fondness, more than 25 years later. Ridgway and his unorthodox blend of styles — what he calls his "sonic succotash" — can be heard as a direct forefather of quirky bands like They Might Be Giants and the Mountain Goats. He may have pioneered that clipped, nasally town-crier delivery that became a calling card of "alternative rock." Ridgway spoke with the Advocate recently from his studio in southern California, as he put the finishing touches on a record of children's music and readied himself for the cross-country roadtrip that would bring him to Connecticut. Ridgway's musical detours have always been interesting ones. As a kid he studied guitar with David Lindley, a wide-ranging guitarist who's backed everyone from Dylan to Curtis Mayfield and Rod Stewart but who's known mostly for his work with Jackson Browne. Ridgway tells of getting to jam with pioneering cool tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh. Eventually he wound up in L.A. as the nascent punk scene took shape there, bringing together leftover elements of the hippie scene and the underground avant garde. Meanwhile, Ridgway had devoted himself to soundtrack music. "I rented this office space, and I had all these recorders," says Ridgway. "I got myself a phone with several lights on it, so when people came over they thought people were on hold and business was booming. ... I wanted to build my own Brill Building. I wanted my own 42nd Street. I wanted my Greenwich Village or Paris 1910, but the problem was I was in Los Angeles — still am — and at that time nobody could get anything going musically unless you had a coveted recording contract and were 'professional,' and this thing built up to a point where it was just so constricting to everyone." His movie music company was going to be sci-fi and cheap horror films, and he called the company Wall of Voodoo. And eventually he spun that into his band with a crew of fellow eclectics from the movie music project as well as from the local punk club. Since then and since "Mexican Radio," Ridgway did end up doing soundtrack music, perhaps most famously with Stewart Copeland of the Police in Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish. Ridgway has always had a compelling narrative element to his songs, which sound at home next to the sand-blasted California aesthetic of fellow nonconformists like Tom Waits and David Lynch. "Music has an ability to conjure up images and moods," he says. He calls this tour the Desert of Dreams: A Sandstorm of Song. And he continues to push against expectations with his original material. "It's always a musician's struggle. You have to take the audience, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the new thing. You really just have to spring it on them." His spirit remains intact. "You have to try out things and do something, or you're just sitting there letting pop culture and the world at large steamroll over your life. That's really the drive, to make something original, to try and throw that custard pie back in the face of the opposition, which is conformity."
April 2009
Stan Ridgway at World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2009 Review by Mark Bonczek
http://nevermindtheposers.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/stan-ridgway-at-world-cafe-live-philadelphia-pa/ I have to admit; I am not too familiar with the extensive 30+ year musical career of Stan Ridgway. In fact, my only real knowledge of his back catalogue is through his former band Wall of Voodoo, who had their sole hit in 1983 with “Mexican Radio”, and even with this, I only recognize a handful of songs. Yet, being the 80s fanatic that I am, when I discovered that the great Stan Ridgway was stopping at one of my favorite venues on the planet, World Café Live for his “Desert of Dreams” tour, I knew that it was a show that I had to attend. I considered my lack of knowledge to be a plus when deciding to attend this show, as it would allow me to gain a unique perspective on the set, and allow me to get to know the songs for myself, as if I was having dinner with a brand new acquaintance. And I must say, the show was absolutely fantastic. He began the show on a humorous note, strolling out casually 20 minutes late, explaining to the crowd, “wow, I really wish someone had came back and told me that it was time for the show to begin. Well, here I am, there you are, so let’s get the show on the road”. Yet this mild inconvenience wasn’t enough to filter out the ever-growing crowd around me, who clammed-up with glee as he took the stage, eagerly awaiting the start of the first song. With his low key band of 3, which included his wife on synthesizers, he decided to break the show into 2 parts, the first would be his more folk-oriented material, running more along the themes of the tour, which he called “Desert of Dreams”. With his confident nerd-cowboy voice leading the way, he launched into the show with “The Overloads”, which although had soft guitar strumming and dreamy synth bells to carry the rhythm still gave me the impressions of an industrial setting. He continued along the synth-tinged acoustic roads with highlights such as a Bob Dylan cover (“Lenny Bruce”), “Beloved movie star”, a song which revealed his humorous wit, with Ridgway talking to his beloved movie star, assuring her that he knows “there’s more than cold cream in your jar”, finishing up the first set with the rousing “Goin’ Southbound”, which had the unmistakable feel of a tune one would hear on a road trip, or at a bar just before a fight breaks out. With the crowd around beginning with the usual fan boy shtick of shouting out requests, he took an audible deep breath, smiled at the crowd and said, “well, I’m not sure about those songs, but I think that the songs I have in mind should be perfect substitutes for yours”. This strange sense of humor helped ease the crowd into the second part of the show, where his more familiar material and New Wave classics began to show up in droves. Beginning with the title cut to his debt solo album, 1986’s “The Big Heat”, he continued the excursion in familiar territory with the title song from the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film Rumble Fish “Don’t Box Me In”. Further highlights include his “love letter” to his current place of residence Los Angeles (“Big Dumb Town”), a dream-like, after hours tale of visits to questionable places (“Lonely Town”), and his wild-west cowboy rhythmed tale of a soldier fighting charlies in Vietnam in the popular minor hit “Camouflage”. One of the most interesting moments of the night occurred when it came time to play his biggest hit “Mexican Radio”. He started with the offering a humorous aecdote about vacationing in the Caribbean, where he told of sitting at the bar with a drink, and listening to the ambiance, when he heard from the stage the house band playing Mexican Radio in a calypso style. He had wondered what it would be like to cover his own song, and surprisingly asked the crowd if they would be willing to follow along in a musical experiment. And it paid off, as we were treated to a Tex-Mex version of Mexican radio, which offered the feeling of relaxing by a pool during a b-b-q rather than sitting at a nostalgia concert. It created a perfect segway into “I Want to be a Boss”, which humorously describes the fantasizing and wishful thinking that we all do, wanting so much while trying to be grateful for the lackluster things that you have. Saving the best for last, he offered us the electronic robo-western songs “Call of the West” and the unique pulsing cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. After wrapping up the show with a 3-song encore that included the crowd favorite “Call Box”, he graciously thanked the crowd for hanging out, and invited us outside to meet him after the show. A large portion of the crowd, including myself, took him up on his offer, which was well worth it. And I have to say; he talks almost exactly like he sings.
Appearing at The Bit & Spur in Sprindale Utah Sat. April 18th. The Stan Ridgway Trio will present "Desert Of Dreams: A Sandstorm of Song," an all-inclusive show highlighting Ridgway's musical journey from past to present. Ridgway and his band will perform key songs and music from his career in an intimate acoustic format with Pietra Wexstun (keys, melodica, vocals) and Rick King (guitar, bass, vocals). New songs will be played from his soon-to-be-released solo CD. Ridgway is one of the most unique singer/songwriters in American music, from his early days with L.A.'s Wall Of Voodoo, to his even more intriguing solo career. "Music is more than just chords and notes to me, it has the ability to make pictures in the mind," Ridgway said. "My records are designed to be seen as well as heard." A mad scientist of sound and vision, Ridgway possesses a style unparalleled. Making his musical pictures for almost 30 years now, the singer-songwriter and guitarist has emerged as a singular voice in contemporary song. As he takes to the road, Ridgway is staging a series of retrospective shows - "Desert Of Dreams" - in honor of more than 25 years of musical mystery from the House of Ridgway. He'll screen his vivid stories starring his classic cast of anti-heroes, dreamers and schemers in the darkened drive-in theater of America.
Stan Ridgway Leaves A Lasting Impression At Boccelli's Preview and photos by Joe Milliken Arts & Entertainment / Bellow's Falls VT 3/23/09
American singer, songwriter and multi–instrumentalist Stan Ridgway, who first burst onto the national scene as the quirky vocalist for the Los Angeles art–punk band Wall Of Voodoo and their early 80's hit “Mexican Radio”, has forged quite a prolific career as a solo artist. And thanks to local music promoter/artist Charlie Hunter's Flying Under Radar, Ridgway recently brought his trio to Boccelli's on the Canal in Bellows Falls for a rare, Northeast–New England show. “When we do come to the Northeast for New York or Boston shows, it's difficult for us to get any farther north than Boston,” Ridgway stated in an exclusive Message interview a couple days before the show. “But when we had a few days open before our Northampton (MA) show, we thought it was a great idea when Charlie contacted us about playing in Bellows Falls.” The room was filled to near capacity as a dapperly–clad Ridgway, dressed in a dark suit, gold tie, dark porkpie hat and glasses, and flanked by guitarist Rick King and keyboard player (and wife) Pietre Wextun on keyboards, proceeded to guide his audience through a mirage of urban L.A.–wild west themes and narrative tales of intrigue and human circumstance, but also a very keen balance of dark, underlining humor as well. The set list offered songs spanning Ridgway's entire song writing career, opening with the rollicking “Goin’ Southbound” and “Road Block”, before going into perhaps this reviewer's favorite Ridgway solo song “The Big Heat”, from his first album of the same name. A song that somehow evokes both dark city intrigue, with a rolling tumbleweed effect shot through Stan's unique harmonica flair. Ridgway's dry humor, almost mumbled, improvised thoughts and unique story telling ability are almost as entertaining as the music, as he talked about attending an 80's Hollywood party and rubbing elbows (and almost fists) with actor Mickey Rourke, before going into the song “Don't Box Me In”, a number written with Police drummer Stewart Copeland for the movie soundtrack to Rumblefish. “It was just a communication break down,” Ridgway wryly said as he peeked out from the top of his sunglasses. “I like Mickey, and I surely didn’t want to fight him.” “King Of The Highway” told a funny tale of stealing a car right out of someone's driveway, while a new song from his upcoming CD Dessert Of Dreams: A Sandstorm Of Song revealed an almost Elvis–meets–Hawaiian lounge delivery as Ridgway so familiarly sang out the corner of his mouth. “Big Dumb Town”, written for his hometown of Los Angeles (“You're a little too smart for a big dumb town”) was another highlight of the first set. This sparse trio creates a very full sound with keyboardist Wextum doubling as computer programmer to create various beats, while guitarist King developed his own unique rhythmic embellishments and occasional solo throughout. The second set opened with the Wall of Voodoo favorite “Factory”, before the trio touched upon a variety of textures including his other trio group Drywall with “Robbers, Bandits, Bastards and Thieves”, the Wextum–penned “Eve's Ankle”, (“Eve got a bad rap”) the war-tale of “Camouflage” and a fuzz–toned, tension–filled cover of Johnny Cash's “Ring Of Fire”. Of course throw in the Voodoo favorites “Call Of The West” and a slowed–down, slinky version of the hit “Mexican Radio” and what you end up witnessing is a well–rounded representation of truly, one of the most under–appreciated American singer/songwriters of our generation.
March 2009
METRO TIMES / DETRIOT MI SUNDAY • 15 STAN RIDGWAY MUSIC WITH A LIT BENT Critics love to compare artists with other artists — but that's (nearly) an impossible feat with Stan Ridgway. Although he first landed on an underground pedestal in the '80s, leading Los Angeles sensations Wall of Voodoo (their "Mexican Radio" is still remembered fondly … early MTV watchers will never forget the video which featured Stan's head emerging from a steaming pot of baked beans), his subsequent solo career and albums have found him dunking his noggin into numerous genres — including successful film soundtracks — while intelligently exploring various socio-political elements through his daring lyrics, creating the types of characters that'd be found in novels. He's even been called a rock 'n' roll version of Raymonds Carver and Chandler. In fact, with the release of his The Big Heat (he's a big fan of all forms of noir) album, Greil Marcus called his work "probably the most compelling portrait of American social life to appear on a rock 'n' roll record since Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska." For his local performance, which he's titled "Desert of Dreams: A Sandstorm of Songs," Ridgway — who'll be performing with his trio — plans to deliver an overview of his career, dating back to Wall of Voodoo material and straight through to his latest critically lauded solo release, Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads & Fugitive Songs.
November 2008
TEMECULA: Ridgway conjures Voodoo for Halloween By Scott McDonald - For The Califorian Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stan Ridgway is one of them. The singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the new-wave band Wall of Voodoo has an eclectic body of work that from the very beginning has shared a relationship with the spooky and macabre. "I started by renting an office on Hollywood Boulevard and running a business making soundtracks to sci-fi and horror movies," Ridgway said from his studio in Los Angeles. "Not a lot came out of it, but one day I looked across the street and a punk club called The Mask was starting up. That's where I met the guys with whom I would turn that business into Wall of Voodoo." Wall of Voodoo released one EP and three LP's before they split in 1983. It was then that Ridgway decided to try his hand at a solo career. "I left the big record company thing behind years ago," he said. "When you get out of that, the whole world opens up and there's just music. Eclectic is a word that comes up for me a lot. I don't make a whole lot of distinctions between what's country music, what's rock or what's avant-garde. To me, it's all one big stew of sonic succotash. You just stir in and try and make your way with it." In addition to the solo work, Ridgeway began to score and contribute songs to films. He started by collaborating with Stewart Copeland of The Police on Francis Ford Coppola's "Rumble Fish" and has since worked on over a dozen others. Ridgway believes there are great similarities between film and songs.
Ridgway's solo career has been a journey of producing releases with a broad spectrum of different styles ranging from traditional and experimental albums to cinematic and big band albums. Most recently, he and Pietra Wexstun released a six song EP of silly songs for children. It was inspired by time spent with nieces and nephews. While it's all part of his aforementioned stew of sonic succotash, it's also part of his fundamental belief that re-invention is paramount. "I've always been excited by music and I'm always trying to do something new," he said. "I'm frustrated by so much of the mediocre these days that I feel like I have to make something of my own and throw it at the horizon. Or else I feel like I'm just being crushed under the wheel." Ridgway won't be trying to re-invent very much when he brings his "Halloween of Voodoo" show to Wiens Family Cellars on Friday night. He just wants the audience to have some fun. "These shows will be fun because of the holiday themes," he said, "but it will also be fun to re-visit all of the solo and Wall Of Voodoo songs that I haven't played in a while. This will probably be the last time we'll be playing them for a spell. I'd like to concentrate on a new record for 2009." Ridgway wants the mood to be festive and is encouraging all fans to come dressed in costume. He will lead by example and promises that the entire band, as well as Sirius radio special guest host Richard Blade, will don costumes. "We'll probably be dressed as undertakers," he said.
When the tour is over Ridgway will go back into the studio to work on new songs that will be slated for a 2009 release. He is happy to be back creating original material, and while he didn't go into great detail about the new project, it promises to draw from his extraordinarily wide range of influences. "All you can really do in life is try to get better," he said. "I'm quite grateful to be involved in music and that the energy and passion are still there. I feel really fortunate to still be so obsessed with songs and music." Link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/10/22/entertainment/music/zb246e7ec25fefb6f882574e90067656a.txt
Barbeque BabylonStan Ridgway/DrywallReview
Continuing an on-again/off-again relationship with his Drywall side project that began in 1986 with Work the Dumb Oracle, the third album in Stan Ridgway's "trilogy of apocalyptic documents" isn't substantially different from his better-known solo work, at least on this 2006 release. His carnival barker vocals, bizarre lyrics, and shapeshifting cinematic soundscapes are in fine twisted form as the songs morph from the moody, bluesy harmonica-laced "Bury the Pope" to the more experimental subtle electronica textures of "Rain on Down" and the whimsical, Tex-Mex party atmosphere of "Goin' on Down to the BBQ." Co-Drywall conspirators/multi-instrumentalists Pietra Wexstun and especially Rick King are relegated to sideline status as Ridgway's distinctive vocals and lyrics dominate the proceedings. The diverse sounds combine aspects of Tom Waits (the percussive "The Alibi Room" sounds like an outtake from Rain Dogs), jazzy noir lounge ("Somewhere in the Dark"), Yello ("That Big Weird Thing"), and even world music ("Bold Marauder" is sung by Wexstun doing her best Grace Slick impression), but ultimately seem like Ridgway pushing his already elastic musical boundaries. At just over an hour, including a humorous bonus track that features sentences from George W. Bush speeches cut-and-pasted to mean something far different than what was originally intended, there is a lot to listen to here. Each track is overdubbed multiple times with layers of sound effects and instruments requiring repeated listenings to fully absorb. As with many Ridgway projects, the lyrical theme is obtuse but the music is so challenging, quirky, and innovative that the whole shebang is a mesmerizing musical trip. Anyone already a Ridgway fan will be thrilled, and open-minded newcomers might find enough of interest here to seek out his earlier, arguably more cohesive albums. Barbeque Babylon is a fun, often but not always lighthearted romp with the participants obviously enjoying themselves by painting a sonic palette the equivalent of '60s pop art. Part pastiche, part storytelling, and part experimental, the album finds Ridgway at the peak of his powers, creating music that demands attention even if at times it doesn't take itself seriously. |
Only certain people are capable of pulling off a Halloween show.
"I grew up with 'The Twilight Zone' and ghost stories and all of that," he said. "And I've always thought that songs were visual. If it's a good song, there's usually a lot to 'see' in it. I still find it very powerful. There's something evocative about how a lyrical narrative and music can make something that can take you on a journey for three or four minutes."
