>>PREVIEW
RIS PAUL RIC
Monday, October 24
Broken City
As guitarist for Washington D.C. punk-funk outfit Q and Not U, Chris Paul Richards has been winning over fans and critics with jagged ass-shaking material since the band formed in 1998. When that band packed it in earlier this year, it left many music lovers with their jaws on the floor and band members looking for a creative outlet.
In the wake of Q and Not U, Richards has resurfaced with a self-named project called Ris Paul Ric and his solo debut Purple Blaze. Recorded in Ottawa at producer Tim Hecker’s home studio, the result is a shimmering collection of bedroom pop in the style of Elliot Smith. As he gets ready to leave on tour, Richards talks about going it alone.
Fast Forward: How long has this material been percolating?
Christopher Paul Richards: I pretty much worked on stuff through the end of 2004 and we recorded it in January ’05 so it was a pretty quick turnaround. I think my old band had been doing a lot of touring…. I find you get used to hearing the same song over and over again every night for so many days. This is kind of necessary for your musical health to try and bang off some new jams. That’s what I did. We recorded it pretty quickly though. I didn’t really have a lot of ideas too polished when I went up to Ottawa to record, which was kind of the intent, in a way.
What does this project give you that Q and not U didn't?
The music that you arrive at in a band is definitely enriched by the collaboration, whereas with this music I think the strong suit is that it was made by one person. It’s just a little more personal and it might not be as multi-faceted as what you hear from a band, but at the same time it gives audiences something more to examine.
Do you find it hard to write and perform without the safety net of a band?
It’s kind of a conundrum – at times yes and at times no. To me, music has always been about freedom. In a sense, this is the ultimate musical freedom. You can stop a song, slow it down, make it louder, make it softer – it’s however you like when it’s just you in control of everything. At the same time I have such democratic music ideas burned into my brain from playing in Q and Not U for so many years, I’m always looking over my shoulder to see what everyone else thinks and realizing I’m the only one there. It has been a difficult transition from democracy to fascism.
Indie rock and punk types have a tendency to make introverted bedroom albums and they also have the potential to wuss out. Are you concerned about that?
Not really. I can tell you why that probably happens. People who play music live 200 nights a year – their ears get exhausted from constantly banging out stuff at high volume. When you get the chance to explore quiet things, people jump at the chance. I think I tried to make the music sound threatening even though it was quiet. I feel like the common thought is, the louder it is the more aggressive or dangerous it is. That is not necessarily the case. Quiet music can be just as threatening or propulsive as loud music. I think it’s weird to think that quiet equals tranquillity and that loud equals danger, and if people can reverse that, I think it’s great.
What would you say to people who claim you can't dance to your new material?
This is the record you should listen to when you are coming home from the club, or maybe the Sunday morning afterwards. |
Copyright ©2005 FFWD. All rights reserved.