Singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman (right) performs with Tommy Larkins (left) on stage. Credit: Courtesy of DrielyS
Jonathan Richman, the singer and songwriter who formed seminal proto-punk outfit The Modern Lovers in the 1970s, has continued to tour across the country as a prolific solo act and is set to perform Friday in Columbus.
Richman will perform at Natalie’s in Grandview — located at 945 King Ave. — on the Music Hall Stage at 8 p.m. The sold-out show, presented by Columbus-based promotion company Archie Fox Live, will feature Richman on acoustic guitar, accompanied by frequent collaborator Tommy Larkins on the drums.
Bobby Miller, a promoter who founded Archie Fox Live in 2013, said he believes Richman’s concert sold out quickly because of the distinctive energy and warmth he brings to his live performances.
“It’s his persona, you know, obviously, his songs are great, but it’s also just about the way he performs and connects with the audience,” Miller said. “He really creates a unique atmosphere that you don’t really get a lot of these days.”
Richman performs without amplifiers, which Miller said separates him from other artists. This sparse, stripped-down approach, he said, makes for a show that’s quieter, more intimate and personal.
“Everything is on a level where you can actually, you know, not that you’d want to, but you could talk to the person next to you and they could actually hear you,” Miller said. “It almost feels more like someone’s playing in your living room than they are on a festival stage.”
Miller previously brought Richman to Columbus in 2018 for a show at Ace of Cups and said the show was “a magical experience,” making him enthusiastic to bring the artist back when Richman’s management reached out.
“That night still sticks in my mind as being just a really special evening,” Miller said. “He always puts on a really memorable performance.”
According to Blue Arrow Records’ website — the Cleveland-based independent label that handles Richman’s press inquiries — the artist “chooses not to participate in online culture.”
Because Miller said this means Richman doesn’t use a cell phone or a computer, his publicist, Debbie Gulyas, transcribed Richman’s responses to questions sent via email by The Lantern.
Q: You’ve said before that the music you’re playing “works well in quiet places, like theaters and performing art centers.” What qualities of a smaller, quieter space like Natalie’s are important to you when you’re performing?
You said it! Smaller, quieter — thus, more intimate — but I can do festivals too just fine by what we do if they’re outside. But, if it’s big enough so that the audience can’t see you very well, then that’s too big.
Q: Similarly, how do you think those qualities of a space — for example, the way sound is transmitted — affect the way your music reaches an audience? What are you adjusting, either between you and drummer Tommy Larkins or within the space at large, as you prepare for a show?
I just sit in the dressing room thinking up song ideas, which we may or may not do that night.
Q: Speaking of Larkins, you two have been playing regularly since the 1990s. Could you describe your dynamic with him as a musician and collaborator?
Yes! 31 years now! It’s good chemistry. Sometimes I’ll just say, “Tommy, give me something,” and he’ll come up with a beat and I’ll just dance around and make up stuff for a little while. Then we’ll do a song again.
Q: Your live set-up — just you and a drummer — is relatively unique. Can you explain how you decided to start playing shows in that format, as opposed to either solo or with a larger backing band?
A bass, even, is too much for this type of show. Because I’m always changing keys, changing chord progressions, changing songs in the middle, and/or making up songs, the guitar and just drum gives us lots of space for all of this. I want to be surprised by what we do. I wouldn’t like a show where I knew what we were going to do next.
Q: What can audiences who come to see your sold-out show at Natalie’s expect from the concert?
Hopefully, they’ll be entertained. They’ll get melodies set to rhythms at not too high volume. But mainly the idea is showing up and seeing what happens. That’s what we do.
Q: You once said in a quote that while a lot of musicians your age might make their shows a career retrospective, you prefer to play more recent work, released in the last three to four years. Can you elaborate on your decision and reasoning behind staying away from your older catalog when performing live?
I sing newer songs because I like my new songs better, but it’s not strict. Sometimes I’ll sing old stuff. I just have to feel like it.
Q: I’ve read that your live performances tend to be improvisatory, and the songs don’t always sound like the studio versions. What’s the relationship between the way you write your songs in the studio versus the way you approach them live?
I don’t write songs. I make songs up. I write ideas down for songs, yes, but I don’t usually sit and “write a song.”
Q: You’ve performed music in a variety of languages, from French to Spanish and Italian. Can you explain your varied musical approach to language, where it comes from and what you’re able to express from it?
The different idioms give you different rhyme schemes, cadences and thus different ways to express feelings.
Q: In recent years you’ve been experimenting with different music styles, including Carnatic, reggaeton and Arabic. What draws you towards this sort of varied, globally-minded approach?
It’s not globally minded. I just sing what I like.
Q: What inspires you and your art?
Life itself!
Q: In terms of both your music and your life, what does the future hold for you? What are you looking forward to?
Let’s see what happens next!
