Driely S.
Richman: "If they’re not satisfying, I don't play 'em."
Jonathan Richman is as famous now as he was when his proto-punk band The Modern Lovers captured fans’ hearts back in the ’70s and ’80s; which is to say not very famous. Innovators rarely are. The Modern Lovers’ nonchalant intelligence made room for acts still-to-come like The Cars and Talking Heads (bands where two of Richman’s original foursome wound up). With more than 30 albums and thousands of small club shows performed, the 66-year-old Boston native is still an innovator — even though his methods are frozen in time. He’s never owned a computer. He doesn’t do phone interviews. He provided the answers to these questions via fax. It’s business as usual for the prince of art rock whose musical canvases include portraits of misfits, dreamers and do-gooders. All of whom will be present — on both sides of the mic — when Richman plays with drummer Tommy Larkins at the Sett in Union South on Nov. 8.
Many Wisconsin fans of The Modern Lovers are also fans of the band’s keyboardist Jerry Harrison (also of Talking Heads), who is from Milwaukee. What was it like to work with him?
Jerry would play our songs in a different way each time. So would I. He and I would play “against” each other (my guitar and his keyboards) while Ernie and Dave held down the beat. We never discussed this and I never even thought of it ’til recently. Anyhow, he’d play a Fender Rhodes electric piano with a fuzztone and with his other hand play a Farfisa organ that sat on top of it. He was a lot of our sound. I just called Jerry up a week ago to ask him if he wanted to play keyboards on my new record that we’re recording. So he’ll be coming to the studio in Oakland on Oct. 2 and I’ll tell you how it went, when I get home from there. (It’s still Sept. 27 now.)
(Written after Oct. 2nd) Ok. I’m back, it’s Oct. 3. Jerry sat down at the Mellotron (electronic keyboard) and fit right in with the songs. He added so much color! Tommy, my drummer, who had never played with Jerry before, exclaimed about how many great musical ideas Jerry would come up with on every take. And I didn’t tell him much of anything; he just played what occurred to him and we loved it. You’ll hear him on the songs “My Love Is From Somewhere Else” and “Jab Mein Tha Hari Nahin” and on “A Penchant For The Stagnant” that will be on our new album SA on Blue Arrow Records. It’ll be coming out in a few months.
On a day-to-day basis, do you feel as optimistic as you seem?
Yeah, I’m usually in a good mood.
You have so many songs. In concert, are there a couple of numbers that are always satisfying to play?
It all depends on the night. If they’re not satisfying, I don’t play ’em.
Wisconsinites will want to know if you met Brett Favre during the filming of There’s Something About Mary? Did you? If yes, what did you make of him?
Me and Tommy were introduced to Brett Favre for a minute. Big polite fellow as I recall.
What do you do to work off steam?
No steam that I know of, but during the day I build garden walls and bread ovens and things.
