i come in at 4 a.m.
imagery and mood, in music, is a lost art form and thus lost on most people. dont tell that to willy vlautin and his band richmond fontaine. willy is a classic american storyteller that whips of tales of love, loss and despair on par with some of the greats. while willy is spins the yarn the rest of richmond fontaine set a sometimes other worldly like tone and atmosphere. they possess an uncanny ability to place the listener directly into the world of the characters that inhabit willy’s tales. they are an american treasure as far as i am concerned.
the disappearnace of ray norton from 13 cities
wellhorn yard from the fitzgerald
post to wire from post to wire
willy was kind enough to answer a few questions posed by yours truly.
CD: the first time i read about you guys was in some uk publication, the name of course escapes me, but each successive interview and review seemed to come from overseas. would it be safe to assume that you have been more well recieved across the pond? if so, why do you think that is?
WV: For the last five years or so we’ve been touring mostly in Europe, and yeah, I guess the press over there has been pretty nice to us. The reasons for it are probably due to the fact that we fell into good management over there. They really put our records into the right hands and luckily the critics over there liked a few of our records. Then our management got us some cool tours and then we just started going over there. It’s been a lucky break for the band. Most of us hadn’t ever seen much out side of a van driving around the US so to see Europe and Australia has been fun as hell.
CD: one thing i really love about your music/lyrics is that each song is more like a novella or 3 minute musical movie than anything else – something that is really quite rare and usually only found in springsteen or waits penned songs. they, meaning your lyrics, really beg for the listener to actually invest themselves mentally, rather than just something you put on whilst washing dishes. where does your writing style come from and/or who are your biggest influences, musical or otherwise?
WV: I’ve always been a big fan of songwriters who could put you in a different world. Tom Waits can always do that for me and so can Bruce Springsteen. Especially his earlier stuff. I’ve always been interested in narrative songs. Other guys that are great at it are Shane MacGowan and Paul Kelly. Also I write short stories and novels. I’ve always felt more comfortable in that world and I think that comes across in my songs. As a kid I always tried to write songs like X. Fast with great one liners, but my head just couldn’t get there. So I’d always end up writing a song with 10 verses and no chorus. Half the time the band wants to hang me for it but I guess you’re just who you are.
CD: a running theme throughout a lot of your stuff seems to be stories about the downtrodden. are these people you actually have run across or mostly just fictional? why do you think you are drawn to such characters?
WV: Well, I’ve always been attracted to people having a hard time. I guess more than anything it’s because I’ve had a hard time so I’ve always felt more comfortable around people who are a bit beat up or who have caved in a bit. And really the reason I began writing songs was to get my darkside out in hopes of maybe figuring it out or at least seeing it so I wasn’t so scared of it. I wish I didn’t always write such bleak stuff but then again I am who I am.
4. your latest, 13 cities, would be the perfect soundtrack to what?
It would be a decent soundtrack to guy who went on a bender in the desert, who was trying to decide if he should ever go back home. This record is definitely not a date record. Sorry about that. I’m trying to work on one, but you might have to wait a few.
here’s a show i posted a few months ago from the borderline in london on 5.5.04
1. cascades
4. out of state
6. post to wire
7. o.t.b.
8. willamette
9. polaroid
10. twyla
11. winner casino
buy all the richmond fontaine records directly from the band, here.
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