Stan Ridgway
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Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway (born Stanard Ridgway Funsten, 5 April 1954 in Barstow, California) was the original lead singer for the band Wall of Voodoo, singing on their debut EP and first two albums, including their only hit song, "Mexican Radio".
Wall Of Voodoo's genesis was in a Hollywood company called "Acme Soundtracks", a commercially unsuccessful venture founded in 1977 in Hollywood by Ridgway. Ridgway's intent for the company was to provide soundtrack music for independently produced low-budget horror films; unfortunately, the company found few takers for its services. Instead, Acme Soundtracks evolved into a band that played live shows, as Ridgway (vocals, harmonica, keyboards) enlisted Marc Moreland (guitar) followed by Marc's brother Bruce Moreland (bass), Chas T. Gray (keyboards), and Joe Nanini (percussion) to the line-up.
The band was named Wall Of Voodoo by Ridgway before their first gig in reference to a comment made while recording and overdubbing a Kalamazoo Rhythm Ace drum machine, a gift to Ridgway by writer and iconic voice over artist Daws Butler, partner to Stan Freberg, voice of Yogi Bear and many other Hanna-Barbera characters. When someone jokingly compared the multiple drum machine and farfisa organ laden recordings to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Ridgway commented it sounded more like a "Wall Of Voodoo", and the name stuck.
Actually, for new listeners, the voodoo reference was a little misleading, as it referred to the music's often spooky quality, as opposed to any Haitian or Caribbean influences. In fact, WoV's music could fairly have been described as a cross between early synthesizer pop (especially that of Devo) and Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" films. Adding to the music's distinctiveness was Nanini's percussive experimentation, mixing drum machines with unconventional found instruments such as pots, pans and various kitchen utensils, as well as Marc Moreland's twangy spaghetti-western guitar. On top of the mix was Ridgway's unusual vocal style—a nasal Western drawl that combined the stoic ballad-style Sprechgesang of Johnny Cash, the declamatory theatrical delivery of Ethel Merman, and the ironic, clenched-jaw voice of a wisecracking ventriloquist's dummy. One of Ridgway's hobbies since childhood has been ventriloquism and he occasionally assumes the persona of a dummy named Jackie "Teak" Lazar, such as in his cover version of "Behind Closed Doors" from Holiday in Dirt and in the video for "Big Dumb Town" from Black Diamond.
Ridgway embarked on a solo career in 1983, shortly after Wall of Voodoo's appearance and break up at the US Festival that same year. After collaborating on the song "Don't Box Me In" with Stewart Copeland from The Police for the soundtrack to the film Rumble Fish (1983), directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper and Tom Waits, he released his first proper solo album, The Big Heat (1986), which included the top 5 European hit "Camouflage". This was followed by numerous other solo recordings Mosquitos (1989), Partyball (1991), Black Diamond (1995), and Anatomy (1999), "The Way I Feel Today" a collection of big band standards (2000) and "Holiday In Dirt" (2001) which also included a dvd of videos. Ridgway's most recent solo outing is Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs (2005) featuring the narrative song, "Talkin' Wall Of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1," a history of his former band in song that was especially poignant, having followed the recent deaths of Marc Moreland and Joe Nanini.
Since the early days of Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway has been interested in music for cinema. A list of films for which Ridgway has written scores and/or original songs is included below. Ridgway's album Holiday in Dirt was a quasi-cinematic project, with the release of the album accompanied by a showing of 14 short films by various independent film makers, each film corresponding to one of the songs on the album. A compilation DVD of the films was released in February 2005.
In 1994, Ridgway began work on a new project in the form of a trio called Drywall, the other members of the trio being Ridgway's wife, keyboardist/vocalist Pietra Wexstun of the band Hecate's Angels (who had previously worked with Ridgway on "Mosquitos" and "Partyball"), and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight. In 1995, Drywall released its first album (first of a "trilogy of apocalyptic documents"), titled Work The Dumb Oracle. A short film directed by Carlos Grasso titled The Drywall Incident was released the same year. An extended, instrumental soundtrack album for The Drywall Incident was released in 1996.
Ridgway and Wexstun also collaborated on a suite of mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces to accompany an exhibition of post modern surrealist artist Mark Ryden's paintings, which was released as the album Blood- Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear in 2003 in a unique 3 panel packaging design by the artist which quickly sold out of its limited pressing of 7,500. Ridgway plays banjo and harmonica in Wexstun's group Hecate's Angels.
Ridgway's most recent solo recording is "Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs" (2005). Stan Ridgway and Drywall regrouped in 2006 to release the album Barbeque Babylon, the third "apocalyptic document" with the single "The AARP Is Following Me". The new Drywall lineup features Rick King on guitars and bass and Bruce Zelesnik on drums and percussion.
Ridgway has also contributed to albums and projects by producer Hal Willner, Frank Black and the Catholics, The Flesh Eaters, The Divine Horsemen, The Ray Campi Quartet, The Fibonaccis, and Roger McGuinn.
Contents |
[edit] Albums
[edit] Wall of Voodoo
- Wall of Voodoo (EP) (Index, 1980)
- Dark Continent (IRS, 1981)
- Call of the West (IRS, 1982)
- Granma's House (IRS 1983)
- The Index Masters (BMG/Restless, 1999) remastered release of "Wall of Voodoo" EP with additional concert tracks
[edit] Drywall
- Work the Dumb Oracle (IRS, 1995)
- The Drywall Incident Soundtrack (Geffen, 1996)
- The Drywall Project/The Drywall Incident (TWA, 1996)
- Barbeque Babylon (redFLY, 2005)
[edit] Solo
- The Big Heat (IRS, 1986)
- Mosquitos (Geffen, 1989)
- Partyball (Geffen, 1991)
- Songs That Made This Country Great (IRS, 1992) a compilation of older, published material
- Black Diamond (Birdcage, 1995)
- Film Songs (EP) (TWA, 1997) a compilation of individual songs written for various films
- The Way I Feel Today (Impala, Disinformation, 1998) a compilation of big band cover songs
- Anatomy (Ultramodern/New West, 1999)
- Holiday in Dirt (Ultramodern/New West, 2002) a compilation of older, mostly unpublished material
- Snakebite (redFLY, 2004)
[edit] DVD
- Holiday in Dirt:14 short films of the Music of Stan Ridgway DVD (Ultramodern/New West, 2005)a collection of short films of songs found on the Holiday in Dirt Album
[edit] Solo--Live
- Stan Ridgway Live: “Poolside with Gilly”: The “Partyball” Tour: The Strand, Hermosa Beach, CA 1991 (Dis-Information, 2001)
- Stan Ridgway Live: The “Beyond Tomorrow” Show: The Coach House 3/16/90 (Dis-Information, 2002)
- Stan Ridgway Live in NYC: The “Black Diamond” Tour: The Mercury Lounge 6/17/96 (Dis-Information, 2002)
- Stan Ridgway Live: The Mosquitos Tour: The Ancient Town of Frankfurt 6 December 1989 (Dis-Information, 2002)
[edit] With Pietra Wexstun
- Blood: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear (Dis-Information, 2003)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
| US Modern Rock | |||
| 1989 | "Goin' Southbound" | #8 | Mosquitos |
| 1989 | "Calling Out to Carol" | #13 | Mosquitos |
| 1991 | "I Wanna Be a Boss" | #13 | Partyball |
[edit] Film Scores / Film Music
- Rumble Fish (1983), directed by Francis Ford Coppola (end title song "Don't Box Me In," with Stewart Copeland)
- Terminus (1986), directed by Pierre-William Glenn (title song)
- Slam Dance (1987), directed by Wayne Wang (title song)
- Pump Up the Volume (1990), directed by Allan Moyle (song, "Talk Hard")
- Future Kick (1991), directed by Damian Klaus (score)
- Floundering (1994), directed by Peter McCarthy (title song)
- Melting Pot (AKA "Race") (1997), directed by Tom Musca (score)
- Death Smokes a Big Cigar (1997), directed by Franco Riccardi (score)
- Error In Judgment (1998), directed by Scott Levy (score)
- Desperate But Not Serious (1999), directed by Bill Fishman (score)
- Speedway Junky (1999), directed by Nick Perry (score)
- The Keening (1999), directed by Alex & Andrew Smith (score)
- Simpatico (1999), directed by Matthew Warchus (end title song)
- $pent (2000), directed by Gil Cates, Jr. (score)
- Vengeance (2001), directed by Brian Belefant (songs)
- Desert Saints (2002), directed by Richard Greenberg (song)
[edit] Trivia
- "Peg and Pete and Me," from his album Mosquitos, features backing vocals by then-unknown Tori Amos.
[edit] Press Quotes
- "Stan Ridgway is equal parts Raymond Chandler and John Huston, Johnny Cash and Rod Serling." NME
- "Some know him just as the long lost singer with the great Wall Of Voodoo, others as one of the great unsung maverick geniuses of our time." MELODY MAKER
- "For Stan Ridgway life is like an old detective movie, full of furtive con men and tough dames who hide their daily crimes in the gray mist of the city. This is mature music, short on sentimentality, long on imagination and style." PEOPLE MAGAZINE
- "Stan Ridgway has a cast of thousands at his fingertips, and a wealth of tales in his head. A rare and famous talent. Not part of any club or click, just a maverick in his own right." LONDON MIDWEEK
- "Stan Ridgway is one of the most unique and talented songwriters around." RECORD MIRROR
- "Haunted by America's pulp serial past, Stan Ridgway has become his own wireless theater." THE FACE
- "Filtered through his sardonically insightful wit, these stories become engaging not only for the details he includes, but the ones he chooses not to expose as well." THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
- "Stan Ridgway tells stories from the underside of America. It's the dream gone sour; the dream that never even took root. Tales of losers who battle on and play the game their own way, with a glamour-less beauty and a bath of realism...slices of lives that knew the rules have been drawn up 'someplace else'; characters that have to bluff to get by." FOLLOW MUSIC AUSTRALIA
- "Ridgway has transformed himself into a decidedly offbeat version of Johnny Cash and Captain Beefheart, Rod Serling and Tom Waits all rolled up into one." -- LIVEDAILY
[edit] External links
- [1]Stuck In The 80's - Stan Ridgway Interview 2006
- Official Stan Ridgway Site
- Essays and Reviews on Stan Ridgway, by Prof. Sam Umland
- Complete Discography
- "Beyond Tomorrow" fan site
