| CD REVIEW Tommy Rickard |
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Band : Tommy Rickard Okay, a short quick one (the editor-in-chief dropped some 40 albums in my to-do box yesterday)! Tommy Rickard was the original drummer of San Fransisco based Sleeze/ Glam Rock band Vain, from which he separated himself in 1991 after having contributed to the recordings of their second album (only recently issued) and finding their record label Island going bankrupt. The thing is, Rickard had always had a more versatile taste in music. He started singing with his italian grandfather Dominic to the tunes of Johnny Cash and George Jones, as a pre-teen started air-drumming to his mom’s albums by Beatles, Elvis, and Beach Boys, and got into the real thing when he got his first drum kit at 13. His first gig was only a few months later at a Punk festival, and he spent the rest of his school days playing with Punk Rock outfit The 4x Loosers (who were fortunate enough to play support slots to the likes of Black Flag, Agent Orange, Victims Family, and Sea Hags). Right after high school, he moved to San Fransisco, met Davy Vain, and began his 4-year run with the band. After leaving Vain, Rickard reconnected with the SF scene and started the Thrashy BritPop band Loaded, whom went on to release the EP TV Star through Crush Records. He also did a short stint with SF Punk/ Metal heroes The Clark Nova (released an EP and a full-length issued through the Man’s Ruin label), and when not on the road he continued his drum lessons from the legendary Chuck Brown. In 1997 he joined with singer/ songwriter Michell Muldrow to form the California based Alternative Country act BloodRoses. Two full-length albums later the bandmembers drifted apart, Rickard moving to local PowerPop quartet Blue Sky Roaster, whom also released two albums, then renamed themselves to Single and released another album. It was around that time that Rickard started working with Linda Perry, playing drums on her demos and performing live with her (in her Led Zeppelin tribute band) to begin with, then continuing to work on her solo albums. A change for Rickard came when he got a taste of Southern California, and moved to LA. However, the first year would prove to be a difficult one, and it’s in those days that he picked up his guitar to compose his first own songs. The very first song he wrote, was a song about longing for a life just out of reach titled “Dream California” (sound familiar?). With a couple more of his own songs in hand, Rickard went out on the local “Open Mike” nights to try ‘em out, eventually put together a band (with revolving line-up, there IS a steady team of two guitarists, a bassist and a female backing singer…but at times an additional pedal steel uitarist may join the 5 one stage, or someone playing Hammond organ, or accordion), and started trading his drum services in exchange for studio time to record his debut mini-album (6 tracks) Blues And Blacks, released in 2006. Through his session work he started gaining a reputation as a drummer comfortable in a multitude of styles, going from Metal to Country and from Jazz to Pop, and soon found himself in the middle of the California Country scene, and from 2006 to 2009 he recorded music for TV shows Scrubs and Army Wives and the movies Little Manhattan, Firehouse Dog, and Less…at the same time continuing to work with Linda Perry, Michelle Shocked, and members of Dwight Yoakam’s and Lucinda Williams’ bands. Part of 2009 was spent recording drums for the Delany Blood And Ashes project, and at the end of 2009 he went on a European tour with Vain, in celebration of Vain’s debut album No Respect’s 20th anniversary. But since 2008 Rickard also spent time of and on recording his debut full-length (revisiting 4 of the 6 songs on Blues And Blacks). Stylistically, the music is a melting pot of the music Rickard grew up on, with a Country and Folk Rock coating, and an occasional Punk touch harking back to the music he started out playing. Rickard’s vocals are raw with a slight nasal touch…and somewhat, as the biography mentions, remeniscent of Johnny Cash. Raw as the may be, they are the constant calmer factor in his songs overall (no shouting at all here, and the album’s most energetic passage, vocally speaking, is when the female backing singer comes in (very happening backings in album opener “Make You Mine”, “Jackie”, and album closer “Waiting”, plus more to the front even in the duet role for “Tell Me What You Want”). In essence, Dream California is the ideal soundtrack to a warm Summer evening’s porch party (you know what I mean, the whole family’s there, cool drinks are being handed out, and even Grandpa is telling the kids to keep their cool, so he can listen to that nice music in the background while he’s rocking his chair rhythmically. Wanna practice sitting in front of the computer? Surf to (www.) tommyrickard.com, and find 4 of the songs posted in the music section (for once MySpace ain’t the better place to be!) to test the flexibility of your chair! Oh good grief…was I really gonna make this a shórt one?! 83/100 Tony. |