Stan Ridgway
born on April 5, 1954, is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo.
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STAN RIDGWAY TICKETS
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Wall of Voodoo
The band was named
Wall of Voodoo by Ridgway before their first gig in reference to a comment made by a friend of Ridgway's, 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. While listening to some of the music Ridgway had created in the studio, Ridgway jokingly compared the multiple-drum-machine- and
Farfisa-organ-laden recordings to
Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, while the friend 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, Ridgway's Wov 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 percussive experimentation, mixing drum machines with unconventional found instruments such as pots, pans and various kitchen utensils, as well as twangy spaghetti-western guitar. On top of the mix was Ridgway's unusual vocal style — a flat, uninflected, nasal Western drawl that combined the stoic ballad-style
Sprechgesang
of
Johnny Cash, and the declamatory theatrical delivery of
Ethel Merman .
Solo career
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
Francis Ford Coppola's
Rumble Fish starring
Mickey Rourke,
Matt Dillon and
Dennis Hopper he released his first proper solo album,
The Big Heat
(1986), which included the top 5 European (and UK) 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
(1998), a collection of big band standards (2000), and
Holiday in Dirt
(2001), a compilation of outtakes and previously unreleased songs. 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 guitarist
Marc Moreland and drummer
Joe Nanini.
Since the early days of Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway has been interested in making music for the 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 filmmakers, each film a visual interpretation of 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 and forayed into new musical territory, composing a suite of mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces to accompany an exhibition of
postmodern surrealist artist
Mark Ryden's paintings after being introduced by a mutual friend, Sean P. Riley, who toured with Wall Of Voodoo on their 1982 "Call Of The West - Tour Of Virtue" as the band's merchandiser. The album was released on CD in 2003 as
Blood — Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear
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. In 2008 Ridgway and Wexstun released
"Silly Songs For Kids Vol. 1", a collection of children's songs that feature the duo and also saxophonist and woodwind player
Ralph Carney.
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.
Albums
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
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)
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. Re-issued 2002, UltraModern/New West )
- 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)
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
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 December 6 1989 (Dis-Information, 2002)
With Pietra Wexstun
- Blood: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear
(Dis-Information, 2003)
Singles
| Year
| Title
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| Australia
| The Netherlands
| UK Singles
| US
Modern
Rock
|
| 1984
| "Don't Box Me In" (with Stewart Copeland)
| -
| -
| 91
| -
| Rumblefish Soundtrack
|
| 1986
| "Drive, She Said"
| 60
| -
| -
| -
| The Big Heat
|
| "Camouflage"
| 76
| 11
| 5
| -
|
| "The Big Heat"
| 91
| -
| -
| -
|
| 1989
| "Goin' Southbound"
| -
| -
| -
| 8
| Mosquitos
|
| "Calling Out to Carol"
| -
| 23
| 91
| 13
|
| 1991
| "I Wanna Be a Boss"
| -
| -
| -
| 13
| Partyball
|
Film scores
- 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 (song "Bing Can't Walk")
- 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
(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)