This month’s guest, Jody Richardson is no stranger to San Francisco bluegrass and old time audiences. She plays in 2 stellar San Francisco bands: The Earl Brothers and The Vivants and is a regular at Amnesia’s Monday night bluegrass shows.
db: Tell us a little about yourself Jody.
jr: I was born and raised in the Outer Sunset District of San Francisco, attended public schools, and went to Lorna Fordyce Dance Studio on Lawton and 26th. I’ve played classical violin since the age of 7 and studied music at New England Conservatory. I’ve been a professional early childhood educator for the past 8 years and have a Master’s degree in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I also hold an honorary degree in how to swing from the Vivants, and a PhD in how to be a woman from the Earl Brothers, both local San Francisco bands. I have written some songs and can really tap dance.
db: As a native San Franciscan, how did bluegrass and old time music find you?
jr: My father’s cousin, Gerry Milnes, is an avid folk musician in Elkins, West Virginia. He was the coordinator of the Augusta Heritage Festival at Davis and Elkins College and worked for the Augusta Heritage Center at this school year round collecting field recordings of Appalachian music. I remember going to the festival and square dancing with Gerry when I was about 4 or 5 years old.
db: How did you come to play this music?
jr: My father and Gerry were very close growing up, running wild in the woods all summers long in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Gerry taught my dad to play clawhammer banjo, guitar, etc., and taught him a love of bluegrass and old time music that made it a permanent part of my family’s listening fabric in daily life. When my father died of cancer in 2002, I wove myself deeply into the grief expressed in many old time ballads, particularly from the album “Come All You Tenderhearted,” by Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice, and those most poignant songs from the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. As I transitioned into fatherlessness, I began to identify strongly with my family’s heritage of music and feel grateful to have received this gift from him.
db: What other styles were you exposed to?
jr: My mom is responsible for my deep love of classical music. I technically heard her sing Handel from inside the womb, as she attended San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Sing it Yourself Messiah. My mother would sing a lot in the house, old folk tunes for lullabies, and wailed to Bob Dylan while cleaning. My father loved to play Scott Joplin tunes on the piano, and banjo and guitar on occasion too. He was constantly listening to old time and bluegrass music in the house and in the car. I’ll never forget the grating torture of a ripping bluegrass banjo sound blasting through the speakers when I didn’t want to get up for school.
db: Who do you consider your biggest musical influences outside the family?
jr: My violin teacher Steve Miller definitely instilled the values I most passionately express as a performer. He taught me the value of always expressing myself emotionally through the violin. My next teacher, Robin Sharp, took my perseverance and helped me develop the technique to express myself to the fullest. They both helped to instill in me a deep love, reverence, and respect for music and how it churned inside of me. Additionally, Bach, Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Laurie Lewis, Mozart, the Violent Femmes, Beethoven, Schubert, and Shostakovich were some of my strongest musical influences as a teenager and college student.
db: What about bluegrass influences?
jr: Since I’ve come into bluegrass and country more, I would have to say the Davis Sisters, Red Allen, and Robert Earl Davis of the Earl Brothers.
db: What instruments do you play?
jr: Violin, tap shoes, mountain dulcimer, and, oh yeah, fiddle. I also play guitar nowadays and just started a bit of bass here and there with the Handsome Ladies.
db: Do you do any composing?
jr: I’ve written four complete songs, and I am particularly proud that “Don’t Call Me Darlin’” was recorded with the Vivants. I would like to some day tap into more of my writing, I think there might be a lot in there.
db: You have played in a variety of bands, tell us about that history.
jr: Dogs in Doublets was the first band I ever played in. You can find a quite illuminating music video online called “Nothing Between Us,” by said Dogs, that will give you a little bit of a Jody Richardson history lesson. I left the Dogs to move on to what was then called Emily Bonn and the Vivants about four years ago, and I played my first regular gigs with the Vivants. The Vivants have also given me my first experience participating in a professionally produced full-length album, the experience of which is a gift beyond words. I love being in the studio!
db: Tell us about the Earl Brothers?
jr: The Earl Brothers are some of my most honored and humbling mentors. My participation as the first Earl Sister began as a sort of apprenticeship, getting up on stage at their monthly Monday Night at Amnesia performance, and they came to find that I had something they couldn’t do without. I formally joined the band about three years ago. It was an honor to be featured on their latest album “Outlaw Hillbilly,” and to be a respected part of such an amazing cast of bluegrass masters. I’m proud to be the first woman in the band since its inception roughly 15 years ago.
db: Do you approach all genres pretty much the same or are there differences?
jr: As far as I can tell, repetition is the key amongst any challenging material. In old time that repetition feel like a profound spiritual meditation. In bluegrass it feels like “I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I’m only a classical musician after all.” In classical music, it’s actually a beautifully complicated mix between those two extremes, making it the most twisted realm of all.
db: Do you have any recent or upcoming recordings?
jr: Aside from Western Addition by the Vivants and Outlaw Hillbilly by the Earl Brothers, the Vivants are about to record a brand new EP focusing on the bluegrass and country side of our roots. Some very special guests will be participating as well. We hope to release it by August.
db: What interests you when you are not playing music?
jr: I love to dance, and am now learning more about two-step and zydeco. I also am dedicated to early childhood development and education, and I’ll be starting a Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology in the fall at Cal State East Bay.
db: Do you teach music?
jr: I have one classical student who’s about 15 years old, but we play some fiddle tunes and improvise occasionally as well. I think it is important to understand a students needs and desires and to know their personalities well enough to see where they need a little nudging and where they might need space and time to develop.
db: Are there any shows coming up this year you are looking forward to?
jr: Yes, there is a big show at the Freight and Salvage on Sunday, August 30th. It will be an Earlstravaganza, and a birthday celebration of the original Earlman, Robert Earl Davis! I also look forward to touring a bit around New York and Boston with the Vivants in early September.
db: Have you played any CBA events?
jr: The Earl Brothers were honored to be one of four bands to participate in the CBA luncheon at the 2014 IBMA Conference. It was wonderful to see their music representing California bands, as they have been such a staple of the California bluegrass music scene.
db: Are there any eras of music that are your favorite?
jr: I can safely say that I prefer every style of roots music that developed between the 1920s and 1960s, or bands that emulate a traditional or vintage style in the modern day.
db: Do you think this genre is being preserved and will continue to thrive?
jr: Traditional music focuses on the pure playing of an instrument, no tricks or frills, and it illustrates the subtleties of cultures in a way that no other form of expression can. Maintaining traditional forms of music and dance gives us a sense of heritage within this mainstreamed, soul-drained, tech crunched, plastic world, and reminds us what it actually feels like to be human beings together. I am so grateful for the CBA for pumping blood into the veins of California bluegrass music, as it has its own unique tradition in our fair state.
db: What techniques enabled you to get where you are today?
jr: Putting the hours in is the only thing that can make you feel fluid, natural, expressive, and capable of anything on your instrument. Listening and singing to music that you love, even if it doesn’t seem directly related to what you want to play, is a really important way to develop your ear. Jamming is also important because it forces you to push through performance pressure amongst your peers.
db: What about playing to live audiences?
jr: Funny, I get more nervous jamming with bluegrassers I don’t know than performing on the stage of the Great American Music Hall or the Freight & Salvage! When I’m on stage I try to make everything in the sound and presence exaggerated, the big and the small, exaggerated to the extreme. The audience cannot see or hear your intention, they can only see and hear what you put out to them. Nerves for a big show always affect the performance, so if you really want to perform at 100%, prepare for at least 110%.
db: Can you describe the physical or tonal qualities of why different instruments work or sound better for specific genres?
jr: I think fiddle is a wonderful instrument for bluegrass and country music because it can emulate the emotional qualities of the human voice, and has a very human sounding expressive quality that is unique to bowed instruments. One thing I love about playing fiddle, as opposed to violin, is getting to enjoy and indulge in the twang that it naturally wants to have, rather than trying to constantly smooth it out and make it flawless and beautiful. Twang is the thang.
db: Tell us about your favorite singers.
jr: I love the angelic purity of Alison Krauss’ voice, but I also appreciate a singer with some grit like Ginny Hawker or Janis. I love to listen to blues and soul as well, and I’ve recently discovered an amazing singer named Z.Z. Hill. I don’t really have a “type” of favorite singer, but I judge more based on what kind of expression I can hear in their voice. The passion and art that comes through is the most important thing.
db: What fiddle tunes do you love to play when you first pick up your instrument?
jr: I love the West Virginia tune I recently learned called Jimmy Johnson, and a Tom Lucas favorite Leather Britches has been on my mind a lot lately.
db: What other artists do you listen to and what about them excites you?
jr: Good writing gets me, but really anyone that carries a joy of making music in their performance and a sense raw expression I love. I’ve never been one for categorizing or naming names. If I hear something I like, I like it, if I hear something I don’t, I don’t. I don’t tend to orient around specific artists too closely.
db: Are you Stones or Beatles?
jr: Stones! But I love the Beatles too.
db: Any final thoughts or things you want to share with the readers?
jr: I feel like I don’t represent your typical bluegrass musician, and hopefully that goes to show that musicians come in all shapes and sizes and backgrounds and interests and minds.
db: On the contrary Jody, folks with your type of background are the new bluegrass norm. Thanks much for your time.
