Teddy Richards Talks About Songwriting, Developing As An Artist and Working With The Aretha Franklin Band

Teddy Richards: Well, you have to sort of find somewhere in the midst of being creative, the self-discipline, to also listen to what else is going on around you. And somewhere in there, you might find an even better idea than what you initially were planning to do, which is always wonderful.  And I love when that happens.

You know, nine times out of 10, when I’m working, or when I’m recording or writing, one of the reasons that I like to co-write with other people is it brings in so much new wonderfulness to a song. You’ve got someone else’s personality, someone else’s approach, someone else’s perspective. And again, nine times out of 10, I’ll hear something that’s much better than what I had planned on saying, or that chord is much better than the chord that I had envisioned, you know, happening right there.

So, co-writing for me is always the fun part of it. And from there you just kind of let it take flight, and you sometimes just go along for the journey, and see where it ends up.

And keeping in mind, some of the key things like making sure your verses are strong, and making sure you’ve got a hook to pull everything together and those things are always going to be applied, as well.

Jack: Is there anyone in particular who you’d like to kind of rely on in the studio or someone who you particularly like writing with currently?

Teddy Richards: Well, I’ve been very fortunate. All of the people that I’ve had the honour and pleasure to write with, they all bring something different to the table. And it’s always enjoyable. I worked extensively with Andrew Ferris from INXS. And I do credit Andrew,  who was really being a great musical mentor for me, and helping me not only find my own voice as a singer, but helping me understand the whole writing process.

And making sense of it so that it was almost scientific, in that it had some of the wonderful things that I had never even envisioned in song. And at that time, I’d come out of playing in college, and I was in bands while I was at Michigan State, and I’d been in bands while I was in high school.

I was primarily just a bar star. And I really didn’t understand the true mechanics of writing professionally. I knew how to throw some chords together and just kind of yodel through a tune, but I really didn’t understand much of the real substantial things that are needed in order for a song to be a real piece of music.

And Andrew was very kind and very tolerant and patient. He and I worked on so much good music, and a lot of it has not been heard. So, I’m also looking forward to sharing some of that stuff on this next album. I credit a lot of my formative professional songwriting to what Andrew showed me and illustrated.

Jack: You mentioned the difference between performing live and writing in the studio, are there any specific techniques that you can recall that are specific to a live environment and a studio environment?

Teddy Richards: The way that my course always takes me is,  I like writing the music first. And once I have a pretty good idea of a music bed, I’ll sometimes loop that, and then I’ll leave the studio and go into another room. And by putting it further away from me, I can usually hear a melody for what I’d like to sing. I won’t have any lyrics necessarily, initially, but you’re working on a piece of music, you’re looping its way off in the background, I’ll just start humming. And I’ll say, “Oh, you know, that’s kind of clever.” I used to use a cassette recorder, I’d come in with my cassette recorder, and then just sort of hum and sing against the track.

When I was working with Andrew, we just set up a 58 (Shure mic), like the one you’ve got there. We would plug that directly into the board. And just kind of scat and just sort of hum to that, so you never lose that melody. Then usually, probably later that night, or maybe the next morning, I’ll usually have at least a word or two, or sentence in mind, or a hook.

Just having a melody will also lead you in a certain direction. If you’re working with major chords then you’re gonna have a different melody line. And that’s going to suggest certain topics, it’s all kind of built in there, you’re just kind of chipping away at what’s beneath the surface.

Jack: So once those melodies are developed, does it go through a process where you go. “Well, I think I’d like that on that instrument, or I think I’d like it on this,” is that stuff that you’re thinking about all the time?

Teddy Richards: It comes through naturally, but also, if I were to cut a song, to my liking, right now, and then I come back, and listen to that a year from now, I’ll hear it entirely differently. And I’ll hear different instrumentation. I’ll hear maybe different lyrics. I’ll hear a whole different production. And then sometimes you go, “Oh my, I wished that I had just waited a year and continued to let it develop.”

And I guess I’m sure a lot of artists feel that way. And that’s again, part of the fun of it, too. You know, as I mature; sometimes music matures along with you.

Jack: Do your arrangements on the record ever change for live performance? For example once a song is recorded, is the arrangement set in stone? Or do you ever develop those extra ideas into a live performance environment?

Teddy Richards:It’s never set in stone, there’s always some new twist or turn that you can give it. And by the time I’ve gotten to rehearsing for a live show that material is so much better, and it kind of becomes an extension of your own wrist and it also has a different energy. Usually, by the time you get to rehearsal and prep for concert time. There’s energy behind that song. In the studio, you’re working it out really and  it’s more surgical.

By the time you’re prepping for an audience, you know what works with the song and what doesn’t work. You’ve had a chance to hear 300,000 mixes of that song, you’ve had a chance to really delve into the vocal part of it. It just fits so much better by the time you’re dealing with concert mode, for me, anyhow, for me, that’s the way it works.

And then sometimes you cringe, you think back to the way that you sang something, you’re like, “Oh, my goodness, that’s recorded, and everybody’s gonna hear that forever. I wish they could be at the show tonight and hear this performance of it.”

Jack: It’s very easy when you’re working as a producer, guitarist and singer, songwriter to be self critical and do multiple takes until it’s perfect. So, when you’re in the studio, how’d you get to the point where you think you’ve got the perfect take?

Teddy Richards: Sometimes you just intuitively know. And  I tend to be a real, sometimes overly critical, person with regard to what I’m writing and recording, because it’s important. And it’s a representation of some thoughts or feelings that you had. But I’ve learned over time, sometimes you’d have these happy accidents. And I’ve learned to go, you know, leave that one in.

As a matter of fact, there’s a tune that’s been going through my mind that will also be on this upcoming record that illustrates that point. “On the Outside” is the name of it and it was co-written with a friend of mine from Michigan State, Dan Stecko. And as we were cutting the demo, the music was done, lyrics were pretty much written, three quarters of what we wanted to say was already in order.

And it was time for me just to put down a scratch vocal. As we were preparing to do this scratch vocal, I’m just waiting for my spot to start singing and I go, ‘lala, lala lala’, not even thinking about it. And he says, “Hold it, hold it.” He goes, “Come in here and listen to this.”

And where I had done it, you know, just mindlessly it was something I would have never thought of creatively to do at that point. But, it was the coolest thing that could happen at that spot.

Jack: They’re sometimes the best moments. Stuff that’s not planned.

Teddy Richards: Yeah, I was really happy to be part of that happy accident there.

Jack: You were a part of your mother’s band for 30 years, that must have been an incredible experience for you. Can you recall what it was like for you as a musician being around that?

Teddy Richards: Oh, it was, that was a wonderful 30 years. I pushed myself very hard during those days, because I’ve always maintained my own project. And now you’re a part of this wonderful, good part of history, you know, musical history, so to speak, while simultaneously having to juggle my writing and my schedule, and then getting over to England to work with Andrew Farris.

And then, being somewhat exhausted from the Aretha show two days before, and then you’ve got jet lag. And now, I’ve still got to work with him. And then I got another Aretha show coming up upon my return to the states, and so those were, they were very enjoyable days, but there was a lot going on all at one time.

I pushed myself pretty hard through those 30 years. But wonderful, wonderful memories. And again, as a guitarist, I’m learning and still a budding guitarist, to be able to play a very different genre than I had been used to, because I was primarily a rock listener at the time and rock guitarist. But to find these funky pockets, and to really just settle in and do some of these wonderful things that I had never dreamed that I’d be doing on a guitar, you know, great, great stuff going on there.

Jack: The original guitar player for Aretha’s band was Cornell Dupree, wasn’t it? So what were some musical techniques and attributes of his that influenced your guitar playing, if there were any?

Teddy Richards: Well, you know, the term that comes to mind when I think about being the person to take over the spot of guitar after Cornell, the term ” less is more” really became my mantra. Because, it wasn’t about this is not the Ted show. And this is not about, you know, just a flutter of solos and, and showing off, you know, it’s about the pocket.

Sometimes, the pocket calls for something just simple, and if you put anything else in there, you’re cluttering it, you really had to learn that this is my spot. And that’s gonna be what you played, you know, during that point in time.

So, I really learned how to take that to heart. And I became a much better guitar player by learning the economy, and the feel and the tone, and being able to complement her vocals. And that stuff becomes far more important than, “Watch Ted play this fantastic solo!”

Jack: Has working as a session musician contributed to your role as a producer?

Teddy Richards: Well, you know, when it’s produced, that’s one of the first things that comes to mind. Again, I like to start with a simple drum loop. Then I’ll pick up my bass and play some very simple bass part and the nice simple guitar part. And from there, you know, you’ve got plenty of breathing room, you’ve got room to think about where you want to sing, and what’s going on.

And again, strangely enough, I learned that from Mr. Farris. And it was taught to me in such a way, it didn’t make any sense. I can recall, one of the first trips coming over to Alton, Hampshire, Surrey, which is where we were, and I moved in, to work with him so it was much more convenient. I remember getting over there and sitting with him. And we had a couple of acoustic guitars. And he had this idea of explaining it to me in the following way he would go, “Alright, Ted play this,” and you play something very simple like that.

And I initially thought to myself, “Wow, I flew halfway around the world to do something, this rudimentary?” Wow, I’m really glad to be in England, you know. But what I then learned, and it became very clear, so if you have a track that’s doing that; everybody had their one little spot. And before I knew it, we had something that had the same kind of feeling, like, almost not sounding like James Brown.

But I understood why James’s music was so powerful, you know? Everybody’s got the one spot, you know, the sax player, don’t get in the way, the bass player, the drummer, don’t get in the way of the guitar, everybody’s spot. And learning that thing from Andrew, for me, was just mind blowing.

Jack: For me, when, when people talk about playing in the pocket, that’s what I think about. You’ve described it really well, everyone’s got their spot and everyone’s just contributing.

Teddy Richards: Without that, all you’ve got is a wash, you know? If there’s it without that, it’s just, you know, it’s pudding

Jack: So, playing in Aretha’s band then, were there any special moments or moments with your mum that impacted you musically that you think back fondly of now? Or are there any kind of teachable moments, like anything that kind of helps you in your career and that keeps you on a good path?

Teddy Richards: While there’s so many, outstanding memories from, performing for Obama, working for 30 years so many things that come to mind, but to think about it musically. I think, of course, the first performance will always stand head and shoulders above everything else.

And at that time, of course, I was quite young. And being asked to perform in the group was just also just, wow. You know, I kind of felt like I had arrived. And the first show was in Chicago, Illinois.

We played the day before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving and the day after, at the Chicago Theatre. The Spinners were also on the bill. I borrowed from my college roommate, Chip’s guitar, and I had to borrow another friend of mine’s amp. He had a Mesa Boogie, a small Mesa Boogie with a little six band EQ. I didn’t even have my own gear at that point.

That’s how how green I was. But, I remember thinking.”Wow, this is this is something to remember and tell your grandkids about; during those three nights in Chicago and definitely I was more of a rock guitarist, you have to learn to settle down, find the pocket, and I started going back and really listen, listening more deeply and referencing Cornell’s playing.

I also started listening at the time to a lot of Donny Hathaway. Now because a couple guys from Donny’s group had also come through the Aretha group. And I said, “You know, what, listen to what they are doing and kind of make a bit of that your flavour.”

And so I started to kind of over time, you know, you start doing that kind of referencing. And then before you know it, you go, “Wow, I don’t sound too bad in this group. I feel like I’m doing something here.”

But yeah, the 1984 concert in Chicago, comes to mind. Working in England, at Wembley Stadium, when we did the first Mandela Day, and that was not tied to the Aretha show. I was there working with Al Green, Natalie Cole, Mick Hucknall, Joe Cocker, Ashford and Simpson, again, musically, those, you know, are the things that are mountains that you will always be proud of and it’s hard to surpass those, for me anyhow.

Jack: I mean, if I played with an artist with half of that calibre, I would die happy but it must have been incredible, even at Wembley, as well. Was that the big football stadium?

Teddy Richards: Yep, and you know, again, I was very fortunate because I didn’t crumble under the pressure and really, I’d forced myself into something that I was hoping that I was going to be able to do properly. But something like that can become overwhelming for some people and I could have very easily, just folded.

And of course, if that would have happened I would have walked away from music entirely. But as it was, I forced myself to prepare and rehearse and to organise and to listen, or as my dad used to say “Son, you have two ears and one mouth, that means you do twice as much listening and half as much talking” and I did just that, and when you’re operating above your echelon, you just want to listen and learn and make sure that you’re not in the way and make sure that you’re able to give the best that you can give. And hopefully get something that you didn’t have prior. So, it was a good learning experience for me.

Jack: With that in mind then, as you’re preparing as a session player, what are the types of things that you do to prepare for a gig like that? Do you write charts down? Do you listen a lot? What’s the overall process for that?

Teddy Richards: You know, all those things are charted, but the funny thing about it is I don’t read music. I’m self-taught and I play by ear, which means that I’ve gotta really have myself together. That means rehearsals must be recorded, so I can go back and listen through the whole rehearsal, remembering where tempos are, remembering where key changes are, and things like that.

And, now of course software will allow you to chart stuff. I can literally record a track and have the tablature printed out by the time I’m done. So I do a lot of that.

I also work very closely with Richard Gibbs, a good friend of mine and co-writer out of Chicago and he’s the reader. So you know, sometimes it’s like “Hey Rich, explain it to everyone in those terms that they will understand rather than me going, well it sounds kind of like this here.” It’s nice to have the technical terminology together.

But, I think that probably one day, it will be my last frontier in music, to sit and learn to read music. It’s something that I’ve never really given that much thought to.

Jack: Is that something that’s been a challenge for you? Or is it something that’s helped you to keep your natural creative juices in touch? Because sometimes I think, being self-taught, it means you’re not constrained by specific techniques, such as music theory or anything like that. What are your thoughts on that?

Teddy Richards: It was for me, there are challenges that go along with it. There have been many opportunities that I couldn’t participate in early on, because I didn’t read music. I remember a couple of television shows approached me, and they needed somebody they could chart real quick, you know? Sorry, I’m not the guy.

So, there are situations like that where it has been to my detriment, but then there’s other situations, again, as my own artist, it’s quite freeing, because you don’t have a lot of the regimentation that goes on in the thinking of somebody that is overly concerned with the technical aspect of it.

For me, the sky’s the limit, melody is the limit, and all the things that are sometimes constraints, I’m wide open for it, you know, and it’s wonderful to have that freedom now, and to be at this point in my musical career and know that I’m probably a better musician because of that.

Jack: Do you find as you’ve grown with different artists, that your theory developed from that? Is it something that you think about now? Does it influence your writing? Do you use it as a toolkit?

Teddy Richards: It’s just second nature to me now. And what happens is, as far as my toolkit or my paint brushes, my sonic paint brushes currently involve a lot of reggae. My wife is a massive reggae fan. So, we listen to a lot of reggae. And subsequently, a lot of that feel is going into my material now. I’m not writing and recording a reggae song per se. But, I will always find elements to bring into it.

And again, it adds another wonderful texture to the song that if I didn’t listen, I wouldn’t add that texture in there. But because of that, the song takes on just that much more weight.

Jack: Yeah, it goes through just by osmosis, doesn’t it. And like you say, it doesn’t mean you have to suddenly write a reggae song, but like a certain element of groove or something like that will be influential on it, won’t it?

Teddy Richards: Although, you know, that being said, again, another wonderful venture would be to write with an accomplished reggae artist, you know, if I were able to just sit and write with Ziggy, I think that’d be fantastic. You know, how much I could learn from that? So, Ziggy if you’re out there listening.

But, that’s all part of the adventure of being able to create, to turn a corner like that and decide, “Wow, you know, I’d like to know more about that genre. I’d like to know more about this style here.”

It’s almost like food, I always draw the analogy between food and music. And it’s just the same sort of thing for me. If you were to only eat hamburgers, think of how dull that would be. But there’s a world full of wonderful flavours, and different cultures and different ways of preparation. Music is the same thing.

Jack: Yeah, absolutely. So, does that kind of start to translate into stuff, like specific equipment? Is there any specific gear that you use to get the sounds that you hear in your head? For example, in the studio or on stage? You know, stuff like pedals and amps, that kind of thing.

Teddy Richards:  Yeah, I’m back to the KISS theory. Keep it simple, stupid. Yeah, pointing a finger at myself. You know, the pedals, I might use a pedal once every blue moon now. And as a matter of fact, my pedal board sitting right here, this thing has not been opened since the Aretha show, this was just a little board that I used to use for that performance. The pedal board itself, I found a good verb, I found a good distortion sound, I found a good wah and a good chorus. And that’s pretty much in my bag. That’s all I need.

And then I ended up most of the time playing through a Fender Twin, which was my preferred amp, I mostly played clean, 98% of the show was just plug and play and find your tone in there.

But then there were always a couple of things where you had to have an effect or two. I remember doing the song “Angel”, which requires a nice little thing. During the intro and in the background, you’ve got this wonderful reverb and guitar sort of doing this thing in the background. So I had a nice verb setting for that. But otherwise, the bulk of it was just hey, you know, don’t complicate it. And it’s not broken. Don’t fix it. Don’t put too much in there.

Jack: Yeah. So, are you definitely more of the mind of focus on the playing, rather than the gear, is that more of your thought process?

Teddy Richards: Well, my thought process is always to just stay as simple as possible with it. And sometimes there’s gonna be a twist and turn along that road. But for the most part, I’m able to add more musically by not cluttering.

We also had an opportunity, my wife and I recently, were able to go to Germany. This is in the midst of all the COVID concerns, we did a television show with SWR. This was last October. And they invited me on board to participate in this television production, perform one song and do a little interview. And I also had a second performance at a festival that I’ve done, for about nine or 10 years running. And again, going over and just taking my acoustic or as they call it ‘akustisch’.

And then just being able to sing the track that I did, against the guitar. I also brought a music track along with it. But I do enjoy just kind of solo acoustic you know, that’s kind of been my go to as of late.

Jack: With COVID, did you find you’re able to write material at home and still collaborate with other musicians from home?

Teddy Richards: I had high ideas, grand ideas of doing that with technology being what it is. Like what you and I are doing right now, this could also serve as a writing session. Right? I grab a guitar, you grab a guitar, we could sit down and start pulling some music together. I had a very difficult time getting anyone else to understand something that simple. I had more going, “So you want to do what?”

Well, I’m really not gonna fly over there. And I don’t want you to fly over here. Because I’m like, no, no, no, no, we can do this right here on Zoom, you know, maybe we can do it.

But people have to be able to embrace that idea. And so as it was, I ended up not doing any writing or co-writing during the rough COVID times. I did end up doing a few performances, I did a performance for Detroit’s Arts Beats and Eats Festival, I literally set up the entire performance in my studio, filmed it and also streamed it live. And that was fantastic!

I’ve done it also on my patio here in my home, again, streaming it and just broadcasting it. So, you know, that was the safest, the most cautious thing to do. And then because we certainly have lost a lot of valuable musicians to COVID, coming to mind right now would be Toots and the Maytals. We lost Toots to COVID and many others. So if you don’t have to put yourself in harm’s way, let technology be the platform and sing all you want.

Yeah, and never cough, never catch. And believe me, my wife and I, we ended up having COVID early on. And it was no joke. So, you know, it’s not anything I’d like to go back to.

Jack: One of the challenges with live streams is the absence of audience response. How did you find that? Was it strange for you? Or was it just like a personal practice session?

Teddy Richards:  I was aware that you get to the end of your great song and then there’s no applause, there’s no nothing, there’s just you. Yeah, I didn’t anticipate that. And I had also done something maybe a year before last, I did a full performance on my patio and I invited five or 10 friends over. That really equalized things, because now you kind of felt like you were performing for someone, you have somebody there to give a little light applause and you get some sort of feedback.

I’ve done them both and I’m comfortable doing either one, I’d prefer to have a few friends over. But I’m used to the idea now, you just have to  do the performance. And then imagine the audience in the crowd. I can do that, too.

Jack: It’s an interesting time isn’t, it’s good to see that things are getting a little bit more back to normal. You’ve got your third release, Solitaire, coming out. Are you planning on doing any shows in support of that once the record comes out? Have you got a tour or anything planned?

Teddy Richards: I’ll have to do at least a handful of performances, but honestly, it would be wonderful to maybe chart out, say 20 or 30 performances for the year in support of the release and make those happen. So sporadically, like maybe one show a month or something like that it would be lovely to have the luxury of organizing a schedule that doesn’t get in the way of my RVing, or my golfing or spending some quality time with my wife. That would be my great wish, would be to still be able to support that release, but to also find balance in life too.

Jack: I think that’s definitely important as an artist to find that balance between doing music, especially when you’re doing it as a career. Do you find you get a bit more balance with that now that you’re not touring as extensively as you were with the Aretha band?

Teddy Richards: Well, at one time, there was more balance. I actually stopped performing with the Aretha show for a handful of years and I put more emphasis on my career. And making sure the website was in order and making sure that I was writing good material. I did a lot of writing with Gabriel Gordon, and with my then writing partner, Dan Stechoe, and a handful of these tunes that I’d done with Andrew and I had written with Gary Clark, whom you probably know from, he had a band back in the ’80s, I called Danny Wilson and then he went on to do some television work. But, I had put together enough of my own career, and was finding quite a bit of balance in that.

And also, lots of ample time to be on the golf course, which is where I’d love to be more. And now what has happened is now things have ramped up again, and I’m not allowed so much breathing room, and not as much balance.

I’ve also taken on the role as an administrator, music publishing wise, and it’s a family business that we’re working on. So what would normally be relaxation time is now office time. And, you know, here in the States, it’s also tax season, which is terrifying. So my little office is full of things, not a lot of music at the moment, but again, the balance will return, it always does.

Jack: With Solitaire coming out soon, what can you tell us about your new record? And what can your audience expect from it? And how does it differ from your previous records?

Teddy Richards: Well, I’ve kind of evolved, and I’m not so much the loud rock player that I used to be. I think back to songs like “Gravity,” there was once a time where that felt a lot like what I wanted to do at the time, I started playing that kind of thing forever. It’s nice to have evolved. Things are far more melodic for me these days. There’s more of an old school r&b base for a lot of my writing now.

My lyrics are far more insightful. Also utilizing you know, what Ringo says, “You get by with a little help from your friends.” I’ve been pulling a lot of friends into, you know, come and sing background, so it’s just a much more mature body of work now, far more than 10 years ago. The songwriting is better, my ability to produce this better, my ability to engineer some of these things is better.

My guitar playing, actually, if anything, I wouldn’t say it’s suffered. But there’s not as much emphasis on the guitar now. There’s more keyboards, and there’s more lush backgrounds and it’s more hook oriented. And again, I have a very retro ear, anyhow. So I’ve been spending a lot more time listening to ’60s and ’70s soul. We’ve been listening to a lot of reggae and as far as the rock music that I listened to, I started listening to XTC again, and I started listening to Level 42 again.

So these are the influences that are kind of pushing me now musically. And it’s an awesome album. So far, of what we’ve written and recorded, I’m quite proud of it. It’s also nice. I have one solo acoustic track that’s going to appear on the record. So, there’s a couple of surprises. I don’t want to give everything away because then it’s not worth listening to at that point. But, yeah, it’s been a good project and there’s still so much more to come.

Jack: One of the tracks that’s going to be coming out on your latest release is your version of “Until You Come Back To Me” with the Aretha Franklin band members. This is clearly a record, it’s quite close to your heart, what was it like producing, arranging and performing that song during the studio?

Teddy Richards: Well, firstly, it felt very natural, of course, and it was one of the most wonderful things that I was able to participate in. I was in the studio with her the day that she recorded her famous version. So, as you said, the song is very close to me. And it’s one of my all time favourite songs of my mother’s.

And then by participating and putting that track together, in a way, with her being gone, you felt a closeness. It felt like she’s smiling as she’s watching me put this track together. And I felt a real closeness and a real wonderful, kind of an additional dimension to participate in to put that track together.

And knowing that she’s in Heaven, going, ‘alright’. In listening to it now, I still had that same feeling, you know, anytime that I listened to the track when I pull it back up on the board, I know she’s there. Yeah, and I painstakingly put together just the intro, the piano intro. You know, she’s in there. She’s in there.

Jack:  When you can have influence from someone as iconic as your mother, it’s undoubtedly going to come out in the music, especially with a track like that. It’s a very heartfelt, important performance, isn’t it?

Teddy Richards: Oh, I was gonna say I wasn’t sure if you knew or if your listeners and viewers are aware, but you know, that’s a Stevie Wonder tune.

Jack:  Yeah, I wasn’t aware of that. So, just as we start to wrap things up, over a period of time, you’ve experienced how the music industry has changed and evolved throughout the course of your life. With that in mind, what advice would you give to aspiring musicians who want to make a career in music or the arts?

Teddy Richards: Don’t quit your day job. Don’t quit your day job. The music industry it’s a cutthroat industry. It’s beyond competitive. And it can crush the gentlest of souls. It takes a lot of stick-to-it-ness, it takes a lot of prayer, it takes a lot of being at the right place at the right time.

The Perfect Storm has to happen to even make something encouraging. So, I think my advice would be for someone that loves music, to always participate in it, to get involved, if possible in local theatre, to find someone that you can write with, to find a band that you can work with and to always know that some dreams are not going to take place.

I think we all start out with that idea that “Oh my god, I’m gonna learn to play guitar, I’m gonna be a big rockstar.” There will be hundreds of thousands of people and sometimes that doesn’t always go that way. And sometimes it can be real discouraging for people, if you’ve set yourself to that and if it doesn’t come together that way.

I spent most of my life understanding that; I have maintained real jobs throughout high school throughout college. And my dad was also, and again, most folks don’t understand, I was raised by my dad, my stepmom, and I lived with them and my two sisters.

My dad was an extremely practical and understanding person, he says, “Son, it’s great. I know that you love playing guitar. But you know what? Let’s not hang our hat on that. If it turns out that you are able to make something wonderful happen in the music business, that’s great. If not, how about you just get your degree? And let’s make sure you get through school and get through college and everything’s in order. And you can still live comfortably, and still be an armchair quarterback and still moonlight on the weekend and play music if you’d like to.”

He was quite insistent that I keep my head in a book. And I would give that advice to anyone, as well. I did my undergrad, which was telecommunications, I did my master’s degree in clinical psychology.

And then I worked for the court system in Detroit for a while while also working at a record store, and then also playing in my band and doing dates where I was opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the weekend and Fishbone would come through town and I’d work with them, and the Aretha dates would come through. And on Monday I’d be either back at my job, or I was on my way to work with Andrew.

So I kept a lot more going, I was juggling too many chainsaws, mind you, I would never advise anybody to do that. But what I would advise is that you have something practical in mind. So that if the career doesn’t come together, musically, you have something not only to fall back on, but something to hang your hat on and be proud of.

Jack: I think you’re absolutely right. It’s definitely good advice to have something to fall back on. It’s interesting that your master’s was in psychology and one of the things I was wondering was, do other kinds of art and elements of culture influence and inspire you as an artist?

Teddy Richards: Well, I’ve always been a travel bug, I love to travel because of food and different cultures and different music, I’d like to do more of that. Hopefully, my wife and I can get on the road a bit more, for the sake of experiencing those things.

But it would be wonderful to go to India, it would be wonderful to go to Africa. You know, I’d love to see these cultures and hear musically what they’re doing and experience. It’s a different thought process. And it’s gonna definitely bring something to the table musically.

So for me, travel is something that will always be in my blood. Matter of fact, we just bought a new RV and we’ll be travelling in the States, of course. And again, you’ll find the same thing, there’s different flavors in all 50 states, and then musically, as well.

So I will always maintain an interest in that. Aside from music, I love RVing, I love being on the golf course. The golf course doesn’t bring so much to the table, artistically. But it’s relaxing, and it’s challenging and it allows me to kind of clear my head when I’m able to get out there.

And you can go golf today and play fantastic and go out tomorrow and just beat yourself up, go out the following day, because you got to make up for that day that didn’t go so well. So, you know, I’m trying to find those sorts of things and maintain them. But travel, that’s at the top of my list, would be travel.

Jack: Cool. Well, it’s been great talking to you. And it’s definitely been a memorable experience for me participating in this as my first interview.

Teddy Richards: Thank you and likewise, I’ve enjoyed this conversation. Yeah.

Jack: So, just before we sign off, have we missed anything that you’d like to tell our readers or suggest that they listen to in order to appreciate your music?

Teddy Richards: I always invite people to stop by my site,  teddyrichards.com.

They can learn more about me, they can listen to more of the music, there’s photos, there’s videos, there’s a lot more that people can discover there. And we never talked about this, but I launched a radio station not too long ago. (THINK Radio)

I’d also invite everyone to stop by and enjoy THINK radio, which is on LIVE365. It’s also on Tune In And most recently, we’ve been added to iHeartRadio as well. So yeah, I would always invite people to hear what’s happening musically there. You’re gonna find a lot of the influential music that helped me move forward. That’s all, it’s open format. It’s different. In a good way!

Website: https://www.teddyrichards.com/