Cory Graves
Get To Know Red Bull Sound Select Performer Son of Stan.
It was about a year-and-a-half ago when we first started noticing the name Son of Stan popping up more and more.
Pretty quickly, we were hooked in by the L.A.-based, Fort Worth-bred drummer/producer's debut single, “Corsica,” which later wound up on our list of the best local songs of 2012.
But then several months passed — with no further word from the SOS camp.
The album we were sure was destined to be one of the year's best debuts? It had all but completely dropped off our radar.
Turns out, there was pretty good reason for that: Traversing the globe as the drummer for Ben Harper's Relentless7 project didn't leave much time for Jordan Richardson, the Fort Worth native behind the Son of Stan moniker, to spend much time in the recording studio. Further complicating matters was the generally packed schedule of his co-producer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo), who Richardson refers to as a sort of “indie crown prince.”
“We'd literally just record from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. after he was working on other things, after I'd get off tour, and [in] just other holes in the schedule,” Richardson says. “That's why it took so long to make. We were just doing it when we both had time. It probably would have taken three weeks to make, but it ended up taking a year-and-a-half.”
Recent months, however, have found Richardson parting ways with Ben Harper in order to focus the bulk of his energy on Son of Stan. While his debut LP, Divorce Pop, won't earn its release until October 15, Richardson's band will still be in town this Thursday performing as part of the second installment of the Red Bull Sound Select series we're helping to curate.
Before that show, we thought it might be nice to introduce you to the man behind the project.
Musical Upbringing.
Jordan's father, Stan, began giving him drum lessons at the age of three. At first, says Richardson, that just meant him beating on pillows and tables. Not long after, though, he was given his father's old drum set and he was instantly hooked.
“Probably my earliest memories are playing drums, that's sort of when it stuck,” Richardson says. “My parents were really encouraging and supportive the whole time, so I would definitely be annoying the fuck out of everybody in our house playing the drums from like 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. until I moved out when I was 18.”
Resume Padding.
For the last four-and-a-half years, Richardson has toured and recorded as a part of Ben Harper's Relentless7 — but that was far from his first band. The Fort Worth-raised Richardson has played with local acts Epic Ruins, Soviet Space and Horses, among others, as well as LA-based outfits Oliver Future, Spirit Animal and Future People. Oh, and he's toured with a Beatle.
“I played with Ringo Starr for six months, which was really unbelievable,” Richardson says. “It was like a learning-from-the-creator type of deal. Totally wild.”
Production Credits.
Aside from his own Son of Stan project, Richardson has produced albums for local outfits, including Skeleton Coast, The Longshots, and Oil Boom's new 7-inch. Along with Oil Boom and Epic Ruins bassist Steve Steward, Richardson is in the early stages of launching a Fort Worth/LA-based record label called WIZARDVIZION.
“I've toured for a long time, so it's nice to be off the road right now,” Richardson says. “But I'll be touring all of October for Son of Stan. I definitely get the urge to get back out on the road if I'm off of it for too long. But as soon as I'm out on the road for a long time, I want to be in the studio, producing.”
Divorce Pop.
The name of Son of Stan's upcoming record has long been a term Richardson has been using to describe the genre of his solo output — since nearly the beginning. Interestingly enough, though, Richardson's parents are, in fact, still together.
“I remember being young and hearing these certain songs on the radio, like when you're with your mom-shopping and you just don't want to be there and it's the worst,” Richardson says. “Things like odd Phil Collins songs or really rare one-hit wonders, soft-rock, '80s pop music. When I think back on it now, it sounds sort of awkward, like it comes out of the age of suburbia and divorce. And then it just makes me laugh, too.”
Son of Stan performs Thursday, August 15, at Three Links as part of our August Red Bull Sound Select showcase.
