Richie Mayer | Interview | “A power pop road trip through love, loss, surf, sex, and surrender”

Richie Mayer’s career started in the early 1980 in the power pop band from Chicago called Loose Lips. The band released ‘Hung Up On Pop’ and were surfing on their own scene for the next two years in Chicago.

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A development deal with Epic Records led to a songwriting, production and publishing deal for Mayer with BMG Music in Toronto, Canada. Many songs, recordings and productions now bring us to 2021 and the release of his first solo album, ‘The Inn of Temporary Happiness’. Richie sings all the lead and backup vocals and plays all the instruments on sixteen tracks including acoustic, electric and bass guitars, keyboards, drum pads, percussion and Navajo flute.

‘The Inn of Temporary Happiness’ is a power pop road trip through love, loss, surf, sex, and surrender.

Your new album was recently released. What kind of record did you want to make with ‘The Inn Of Temporary Happiness’?

Richie Mayer: Honestly, I had no preconceived notion about what it would be when I started other than I would include any style of song I felt like doing. I wrote thirteen of the songs in a six week period during the Covid lockdown. I had been away from the music business for twenty years so apparently, the muse had something to say.

How do you usually approach music making?

Pre-pandemic, I would’ve enlisted the aid of musician friends to flesh out the songs-I enjoy collaboration and an organic feel-but since I was locked-down in my small home studio, I ended up playing all the instruments on sixteen of the tracks. And that was a reality check.

Can you share some further details on how your latest album was recorded?

First off, I don’t use a computer or ProTools or sequencers or vocal doublers. I did use a drum machine to keep time, programming either a kick or a hi-hat, and playing most of the other drums, cymbals and percussion live. I hadn’t touched drums in years so my meter was…suspect.

 

What does the cover artwork represent?

It represents my obsession with old Alfa Romeos….Actually it represents that feeling of fleeting happiness you experience when you’re creating something new in art, or experiencing a new place or emotion; when you are set free to dream.

You were part of the power pop scene that was happening in the early 1980’s. Would you like to tell us about your upbringing and early influences that led to the formation of Loose Lips?

I grew up in Chicago. My dad was an artist and musician though when I was growing up, he had to get more stable work to feed the family. He taught me my first chords on guitar and paid for accordion lessons (an instrument I hated) though he did not encourage me to do music as a career. I started playing in a band at the age of fifteen and never stopped. I inhaled surf music, soul, R&B, blues, the Detroit sound of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Iggy & The Stooges, The Beatles, and on and on.

What’s the story behind ‘Hung Up On Pop’?

I had been playing in a rock band with another guitarist, Jeff King, and we both were tired of the posturing that was rock music in 1979. We both dug classic pop songwriting but also the freedom of expression in the New Wave movement and decided what came to be known as power pop was our calling. The band coalesced with the addition of Gary Ritchie on drums and Dan Welch on bass and after a flurry of songwriting and rehearsals we went almost immediately into the studio to record our 1980 EP ‘Hung Up On Pop’ with British producer Michael Freeman. The band was surprisingly tight for so early on and the freshness and energy of those sessions is still apparent.

The band received quite a lot of attention although you never released an album. Why is that and is there any unreleased material left?

It certainly wasn’t for lack of material as Gary Ritchie surprised us with great songs to add to the material I was already writing. We did go in to record quite a few more songs in demo form for a full album but at this point, feel none of that material is releasable. A lack of good management and the financial means to record a full album, plus the struggle for acceptance of our clean power pop sound outside of urban areas made the road ahead very difficult. But we gave it everything we had for three years and with the advent of the internet, the Loose Lips fanbase has grown surprisingly.

How did PushPush come about and what can you tell us about ‘World On Fire’?

In 1985 I met Marcus Padgett, a multi-instrumentalist who was writing some rather dark material that matched my mood at the time. He still is one of the most interesting musicians and personalities I have ever met. Dan Welch from Loose Lips joined us and we built a studio above my mom’s garage. The process of writing music for what became PushPush was quite different than any of us had experienced before in that Marcus would come in with tapes of instrumental sections without lyrics, explain them briefly, and then leave it to me to write the themes and the lyrics.

Dan and I would cut and splice Marcus’ tracks on an eight track tape machine adding bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals with Marcus returning to add soprano and tenor saxophones. Halfway through the album we added David Suycott, soon to play drums for Rage Against The Machine. In live performances, we were fortunate to attract other serious musicians to join us in a very creative atmosphere. Btw: the song ‘World On Fire’ was my reaction to seeing the mayhem in our world as I switched channels on TV one night; forest fires in Yellowstone Park, rioting in Northern Ireland, great fish and reef die-offs in the oceans, choking pollution in cities, political upheaval….fast forward to 2021, thirty five years later, and nothing’s changed.

How was it to work with the bands compared to making your own solo release?

I do love the chemistry of playing with other musicians as it opens windows into your own songs but at times dealing with personalities can be an idea-killer. Since this was my first solo record-actually the first record of any kind in the last twenty years-it was a renewing experience. Ideas came flooding out, relationships with my instruments rekindled and a fresh perspective-one where I would try anything that came to mind-seemed to lift my soul amidst the weight of the pandemic on our lives.

You became a professional songwriter and successfully worked with Love And Sas.

Yes, after a development deal Loose Lips signed with Epic Records fell through when the president of Epic in New York was fired, I’d had enough and through the suggestion of an A&R man at BMG/RCA Canada, moved to Toronto. There I wrote non-stop for eight months- mostly R&B style songs to clear my head-and they eventually made their way to the BMG label president. He said “we have no Black artists on the label. Find the singers and I’ll fund the album.” I auditioned twenty-four girls, settling on Lovina Fox and Sakia Garel, played all the original instruments, recorded and co-produced the album ‘Call My Name’. It went on to win Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys) in 1991 and 1992 for R&B/Soul Recording Of The Year. I signed a publishing deal and wrote for other artists, TV and film soundtracks.

As a songwriter, tell us, what makes a good song?

A good idea and getting out of the way of that good idea.

What are some of the most important musicians that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?

Guitar-wise, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Townshend, George Harrison (when I finally realized who was playing what on their albums), Django Reinhart….then Elliott Easton, Dave Edmunds and Rick Nielsen for his aggressive power pop style. Vocally: Early Elvis or Roy Orbison and later a man of many voices, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick. (As Loose Lips played in the same clubs as Cheap Trick, I got to hear Robin numerous times in the early days and his gifts were stunning) Lennon and McCartney, Colin Moulding, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Bacharach, Prince. All of these musicians share certain qualities: A unique approach, lyrical styles and music that has stood the test of time.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

I have three hundred old “favorites” loaded in my CD player-I really don’t know where to start and end. Certainly ‘The Sun Sessions’ [Elvis Presley], any Nick Lowe or Joni Mitchell or Jellyfish, ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Pet Sounds’, ‘Abbey Road’. I am more excited about the “new” indie power pop artists I’ve discovered since returning from my self-imposed exile: Bill Lloyd, Jim Trainor, Lannie Flowers, Star Collector, Dolph Chaney, Kevin Robertson, Chris Church and many more.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

Peace, love, take care of the earth and each other.

Klemen Breznikar

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