Son of Stan

The 50-foot limestone angels trumpeting from the façade of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth face a trio of venues hidden from the outside world. Hyena's Comedy Night Club is down a grand staircase on the right. There's a smaller stage next to it. And on the left is Queen City Music Hall, which opened earlier this year and is Fort Worth's biggest non-arena music venue. You could fit a couple hundred people on the sunken dance floor, and that's only a third of the available floor space. A few seating areas in the back are corralled off with thick metal handrails, which might give the place a rodeo feel if it weren't for the maroon carpet.
It's a little after 8 on a Friday night, and the first of four bands is on the stage, a Fort Worth singer with slick, desperate tunes straight out of the Top Gun playbook. He finishes his set and the crowd applauds politely, but then, from down on the dance floor, someone yells, oddly, "Do a cheer!" The singer, a thin guy with linen pants named Nathan Brown, relents and launches into a series of choreographed cheerleading routines, "Go, Fight, Win!" and that sort of thing, a grown man doing the claps and stiff-leg struts. He's got one about a pizza party, which slays. Everyone is laughing warmly and cheering now, no one louder than the guy who called for the cheers in the first place.

He's a big dude, more than 6 feet tall and meaty, but that doesn't explain the way he's swallowing his corner of the dance floor. People seem to get caught in his orbit. He's wearing a hat from a 1993 TCU sorority Spring Formal, when he was 11. He's 32 now, and he's got a bellow of a laugh, the same one as his dad. It starts -- revs up, really -- with a couple low HUHs and lands with a few deep HAs. He looks like the kind of guy who was either class clown or class president. Both, probably.

That's Jordan Richardson. Google him and you'll find a 2011 Drum Magazine feature and the Ben Harper Wikipedia page and a slew of YouTube videos where he's playing drums for Ringo Starr and John Paul Jones, on PBS specials and late-night talk shows. He's been playing drums pretty much every day since before he could walk.

Richardson will play second tonight, after Brown, with his band Son of Stan. He'll play songs he wrote as he traveled the world and recorded in the middle of night by a Los Angeles pool. They're about car wrecks and heartbreak and shootouts in shopping malls. But the melodies are so indelible they'll have people humming on their way out to their cars.

Some of those people, the ones orbiting near him now, absorbing his HUHs and HAs, have likely seen those YouTube clips, are aware of his history of going hit-for-hit with Ringo. But when Richardson takes the stage tonight, they won't see him touch a drum stick or sit on a throne, and that's the way he prefers it….(see link for more) - Dallas Observer

Who knew divorce could be this much fun?

Son Of Stan is rapidly becoming one of the most listened to artists in my morning commute. I’m not entirely sure if it’s because I’m intrigued by the concept of “Divorce Pop” or if I’m in a pop withdrawal to begin with, but these kids know how to party in the most dire conditions, i.e., while signing divorce papers. Lead singer Jordan Richardson and producer Adam Lascus (whose name might sound familiar from working with favorites Yo La Tengo and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) have resurrected a vibe that I thought died in the ’90s, but in a good way, duh.

Go forth, young nerds, old nerds, married nerds and divorced nerds! Enjoy this happy song about sad. - The Nerdist

When Fort Worth native Jordan Richardson started recording his Son of Stan debut -- last fall's Divorce Pop -- he very much initially intended it to be a mostly studio-centric side project.

In many ways, it had to be. At the time, Richardson was touring as Ben Harper's drummer. Meanwhile, Richardson's co-producer, Adam Lasus (Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), had a similarly busy schedule of his own. So the bulk of that album was recorded at Lasus' studio in the middle of the night, during gaps in thwe twosome's otherwise busy schedules.

In the time since, though, Richardson has parted ways with Harper so as to focus more on his own ventures -- among them Son of Stan, producing other artists and running his own WIZARDVIZION label full time -- while splitting time between his native North Texas and his current hometown of Los Angeles.

And Richardson's commitment to his own endeavors of late shows -- not only in the ever-impressive nature of his live performances, but in the honed intensity found on the brand new Son of Stan track, "The Lady That's Around Me," which will serve the kickoff track on his outfit's forthcoming Georgia EP, and which Richardson has been kind enough to pass along as a free download to Central Track readers below.

"[The album is] called Georgia because that is my mom's name," says Richardson of his new collection, which he anticipates releasing in either late August or early September. "I can't name my band after my dad and then not name something after my mom. My sister is next, I guess, and on and on..." - Central Track

Ghettoblaster often uses a column inch or two here to set up the record featured. In the case of Son of Stan’s Divorce Pop, Jordan Richardson, the man behind the record, said it best when he describes it this way: “Imagine driving around with your mom in a shitty Oldsmobile, you’re nine-years-old and its 100 degrees. You’re pissed because your favorite GI Joe (or My Little Pony) is trapped under the back seat. You’re driving to pick your older sister up from her gymnastics class. You’re siked because you’re going to Long John Silver’s later. Phil Collins “Sussudio” is on the radio. Divorce Pop is the musical version of that. I hope.”

Naturally, Ghettoblaster had to catch up with Richardson to discuss the project that just earned Son of Stan “Best New Act” honors at the Dallas Observer Music Awards. This is what he said about it.

When did you begin writing the material for your most recent album?

Though, I’ve pretty much been solely a drummer for most of my career, I have been writing songs for many of my bands ever since Junior High. Son of Stan is an idea I’ve had for a long time and is a name I’ve used for many years while DJing and stuff. But writing this album – my first album, in fact – really came as a happy accident. I basically woke up in the middle of the night in November of 2011 with a melody in my head and i grabbed this old guitar from the ‘20s I had just bought and just droned a D chord underneath and sang along. I wrote the words in the same setting (in bed) that night.

Definitely influenced by my girlfriend at the time, the song is “You Never Liked The Way You Left Home” and that was the first song that eventually became part of Divorce Pop. I took that tune and pieced it together over a few late night sessions at my best friend’s/longtime producer of my projects Adam Lasus’ poolhouse. That’s how the whole record was recorded. We probably worked on the record in 40 or 50 late night sessions just like that. I was writing while on tour with Ben Harper, in hotels, and then recording during my down time. All in all, it was about a year and a half process.

What was the most difficult song to take from the initial writing stage through recording and mixing? Why was it so troublesome?

“Look of Leave” was probably the most difficult song to take from writing to recording. Like a lot of my songs, it was written on guitar, but I knew I wanted it to be synth based. I struggled with that for a while before I wrote the bass line and then it sort of fell into place I guess. I had a totally different, pretty poppy lyric melody recorded for months on it before I realized that it needed to be dustier and dreamier. So I turned up the smoke and then it got better. I think. I wanted the end ambient part to feel really hypnotic and I wanted it to come really early in the record so that the uneasy feeling is right off the bat. Divorce Pop on Robitussin.

Which of the songs on the record is most different from your original concept for the song?

The song “Rochelle and Connie” was intended to be a big jangly acoustic strummer style of a tune, like Paul Westerberg or something. But when I got into the studio with Adam, he suggested getting a gnarlier guitar tone and that made all the difference. We didn’t use any guitar amps on the album at all. We merely just plugged crappy guitars into shittier pedals and then right into the soundboard. Everything was recorded on the couch at 4 am afterall…Once we got that initial tone, the song pretty much made itself. Now when I hear it, it reminds me of Steely Dan meets California Games Frisbee level. And that’s probably my favorite feeling on earth.

Did you have any guest musicians play or sing on the record?

The album is about 98 percent me playing and Adam recording in the poolhouse, but there are multi-homies on the record. Musician/producer Chris Cosgrove (of Future People) gets down with his mouth voice on “Motorcycle Rolled”. Danny Kalb (who’s made incredible records for Beck and Ben Harper and many others) also recorded and produced that song. Justin Pate (a longtime friend and music colleague) is singing background vocals on “Sadie”. That song also appears on this pretty rare tape pressing (out on Pour Le Corps and DDM Records) and it features two rap verses by my favorite LA MC called Micah James. His mixtape is coming soon and it’s so crazy. I tried to get Toni Braxton but she didn’t return my page.

I’m also doing a covers project with different female artists where we do duets of old pop tunes and stuff. So far I’ve got “Nite and Day” with Jenny O and now I’m working on “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” with the artist JAN.

What input did Lasus have that changed the face of the record?

I wrote the tunes and played the tunes on this album, but Adam is as much a part of this record as I am. It sounds funny, but the thing that stands out most about the album, at least to me when I listen to it, is that you can hear the sound of me and Adam just hanging out and having fun. We didn’t even set out to make a record and I hope that you can hear that, I hope that comes through in addition to whatever depth or dimension may be there also.

Is there an overarching concept behind your new album that ties the record together?

I think maybe there are two. On the surface, or more technical side, there was a specific aesthetic in mind when we made the album. We wanted it to have a vibey, but unsettling feel. A combination of shitty high school black light bedroom meets LA poolhouse. We didn’t use cymbals on the album and instead used white noise from old synths. Our word for the sound is dust. In the way that Mad Lib records can sometimes sound like a dirty desktop…we wanted that, but in a pop way.

I think the deeper concept is the idea behind Divorce Pop. Imagine driving around with your mom in a shitty Oldsmobile, you’re nine-years-old and its 100 degrees. You’re pissed because your favorite GI Joe (or My Little Pony) is trapped under the back seat. You’re driving to pick your older sister up from her gymnastics class. You’re siked because you’re going to Long John Silver’s later. Phil Collins “Sussudio” is on the radio. Divorce Pop is the musical version of that. I hope.

Have you begun playing these songs live and which songs have elicited the strongest reaction from your fans?

We play the songs live yes. Son of Stan is, in studio, by definition, a “solo project”, which has allowed me to unfold it in a live setting in lots of different ways. I’ve had as many as seven people on stage for a show, but the core of it and what I think is the heart of Son of Stan is when its performed as a duo. That’s when it’s most live. Me and a drummer. I’ll typically play guitar and sing while either Dan Marcellus or Brian Garcia on drums.

Lately on some stuff we have been double drumming. Sometimes we’re joined by Ronnie Heart (ex -Neon Indian) on guitar to get a little loose and that’s my shit, but I think the fire of this band live comes as a duo, at the core. We sort of reach a full climax with the song “Sadie”…I sort of tend to lose myself by the time we get to that part of the show. That feeling is what you hope for, but that you don’t know you’re going to feel when its two years before and a melody wakes you up in the middle of the night. - Ghettoblaster Magazine

One of the coolest batch of tunes to come out of Fort Worth in the past couple of weeks is from … Los Angeles? Fort Worth native Jordan Richardson decamped for L.A. years ago to pursue rock stardom –– and everything, well, everything went pretty much as planned. For the past few years, he’s been the drummer in the Relentless7, a guitar-splendored quartet fronted by major-label college-radio superstar Ben Harper. Amid his Relentless7 work, Richardson has also managed to form his own band, the stoner-rock collective EPIC RUINS, featuring an array of notable Fort Worth musos, including bassist/co-songwriter Steve Steward (Vorvon), vocalist/rhythm guitarist Sam Anderson (Quaker City Night Hawks), and saxophonist Jeff Dazey (Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors, Gunga Galunga, Dazey Chain). And Richardson also has managed to do his own thing. Up until recently, Son of Stan was a DJ sort of thing. Now it’s a band. Kinda. Posted now on www.soundcloud.com/son-of-stan are several rough mixes of songs that Richardson has written, performed, and recorded by himself. They sound like the handiwork of at least three people, but he’s the only captain of the ship. He’s planning to do five more tunes to comprise an album to be released digitally soon. With the exception of one track, the acoustic “Motorcycle,” the sound here is Old Wave pop, all bouncing guitars, synth washes, and bubbly beats, a little Clues-era Robert Palmer and Buildings and Food-era Talking Heads, everything laced with Richardson’s wispy, distant, echoing voice. The first track, “Corsica,” is a snappy jaunt that has a hauntingly sweet, chamber-pop vibe that’s somehow unique yet oddly familiar. Richardson plans to perform live soon. - Anthony Mariani Fort Worth Weekly

Jordan Richardson makes his debut at #17 because of the release of the first single for his latest project, Son of Stan. - Pete Freedman Central Track

Fort Worth-native Jordan Richardson may have relocated to Los Angeles a couple of years ago, but when he's not busy touring the country backing college radio staple Ben Harper on drums, he occasionally finds time to play with a few local projects such as Epic Ruins. He's also begun work on his first full-length solo album, which he hopes to release sometime this fall.

Recording under the name Son of Stan, a name he formerly DJed under, Richardson has already crafted a handful of dark, pseudo-new wave tracks he says will appear on his upcoming debut, in which he plays all of the instruments himself.

Considering he's made his name mostly as a drummer, the tracks feature much more sparse percussion than one might initially suspect. In fact, there's not a single cymbal used on any of the tracks we previewed.

This choice gives the tone of the record a sense of intimacy, while still leaving listeners with an unsettling feeling.

It's an aesthetic Richardson calls "divorce pop." Though the songs are pretty laid back, they still manage to drive the listener forward -- almost against their will, and with a prevailing sense of urgency.

The first single, "Corsica," which Richardson has been kind enough to pass along to Central Track readers as a free download, embodies all these feelings. Per Richardson, the song is meant to evoke the sense of being a kid that gets dragged to the shitty mall in town with their mother on a hot Saturday afternoon in 1989. The eighth note synth bass line rarely ever lets up on the entire track, playing against larger swells and sweeps, and a slick lead guitar lick, constantly driving forward, continuously adds to the overall feelings of uneasiness. - Cory Graves Central Track

Fort Worth-native Jordan Richardson may have relocated to Los Angeles a couple of years ago, but when he's not busy touring the country backing college radio staple Ben Harper on drums, he occasionally finds time to play with a few local projects such as Epic Ruins. He's also begun work on his first full-length solo album, which he hopes to release sometime this fall.

Recording under the name Son of Stan, a name he formerly DJed under, Richardson has already crafted a handful of dark, pseudo-new wave tracks he says will appear on his upcoming debut, in which he plays all of the instruments himself.

Considering he's made his name mostly as a drummer, the tracks feature much more sparse percussion than one might initially suspect. In fact, there's not a single cymbal used on any of the tracks we previewed.

This choice gives the tone of the record a sense of intimacy, while still leaving listeners with an unsettling feeling.

It's an aesthetic Richardson calls "divorce pop." Though the songs are pretty laid back, they still manage to drive the listener forward -- almost against their will, and with a prevailing sense of urgency.

The first single, "Corsica," which Richardson has been kind enough to pass along to Central Track readers as a free download, embodies all these feelings. Per Richardson, the song is meant to evoke the sense of being a kid that gets dragged to the shitty mall in town with their mother on a hot Saturday afternoon in 1989. The eighth note synth bass line rarely ever lets up on the entire track, playing against larger swells and sweeps, and a slick lead guitar lick, constantly driving forward, continuously adds to the overall feelings of uneasiness. - Cory Graves Central Track

Jordan Richardson made a name for himself in L.A. with his rhythms — the native Texan is the drummer for Ben Harper, and before that he manned the kit for local indie-rockers Oliver Future. (He was last spotted on this website participating in the stoner-rock project Epic Ruins.) Between tours of duty with Harper, though, Richardson has been pursuing what he calls “North Texas Unsettling Childhood Memory Pop,” songs that speak to humdrum life in a small town where a trip to the mall qualifies as entertainment. Richardson, who’s calling the solo venture Son of Stan, has been recording with producer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Army Navy), playing all the instruments himself, with plans to release an album in the fall. “Corsica” references having a car break down in a small Texas town, and it has that seething feeling. - Kevin Bronson Buzz Bands LA