***DISCLAIMER***
Amanda has recieved much praise for her ecclected recordings and performances over the years. Although Amanda's most recently hailed "masterpiece" is centered around the bluegrass interpretation of the zombie apocalypes, Amanda continues to pursue her indie-folk roots and perform solo acoustic sets for more intimate groups.
Amanda Richards, Fever
MARK STOCK
9 pm, Sunday October 30 | Free
Rontoms
600 E Burnside St.
[DOOM’S DAY ROCKABILLY] If Sam Raimi and Bonnie Raitt had a baby, it might turn out an awful lot like Amanda Richards. The Portland singer-songwriter has a knack for twang, so much so that she’s flexing two Grammy nominations for Best Country Song. Her 2010 record, Play Dead, is a post-apocalyptic-themed story, rich with zombies, doom and her standard folky songwriting. Richards sings from a make-believe pulpit, with veins pulsing and fret fingers swollen. If Halloween were a band, it’d be Amanda Richards and company.
Where: Rontoms
Phone: 236-4536
Address: 600 E Burnside St.
Website: rontoms.net
August 25, 2011
Paul Riley - Country Music People (UK)
AMANDA RICHARDS
Play Dead
Intro/Quarantine/Don't Leave Your Woman (When There's Walking Dead)/Is That Lipstick?/Undead In My Bed/Zombie Baby/Play Dead/No Fear, No Pain/Walking Among The Dead/Feast Of Flesh/Zombyodel/Rest In Pieces/Alone At Last/Hush Little Baby/Outro
Producer: Amanda Richards
Self Released
35:20
In the press release for this incredible disc, is the following info, "Imagine that Oh Brother Where Art Thou impregnated The Rocky Horror Picture Show and together they had a zombie baby that ate it's way from the inside out."
This is Amanda Richards' fourth album. The first in 2004 was a rock album. In 2009's Who Has Your Heart was a blending of Americana/rock. There was however no hint that an amazing off-beat, strange hybrid of country and horror, would land in 2011... and land it has, hopefully creating many ripples in the pond of country music.
Amanda Richards is a highly talented songwriter, with an ear for quirky, interesting lyrics. Most important of all she understands and embraces real country music, with great style and enthusiasm. She also has an interesting voice and a fantastic steel guitar player. The disc begins and ends with two short instrumental pieces. Listening to the first one, I was struck by crystal clear production, done by the singer. The traditional 1950's feel of Quarantine begins the story of this dark "zombie opera." The singer isn't going into Quarantine, there is no need, she knows she is "infected'.
Don't Leave Your Woman (When There's Walking Dead) is a sad country masterpiece, one of the year's best songs, with stunning steel guitar and vocal. The undead are near, closing in. Tammy never used to sing of things like this! What a song! If Amanda Richards had been singing in the 1970's-1980's she would have been the ideal person to write the soundtracks to George Romero's horror films.
Is That Lipstick? confronts the age old problem, is a man having an affair. Is there lipstick on his collar? In the darker world of Amanda Richards the lipstick becomes blood. The song is more uptempo with added banjo, and a great snarl in the singer's voice. Undead In My Bed is a mid-tempo gem with the lyric "...if I try to hold him, he'll tear the flesh right off my bones..." All through this unique disc are many great lyrics.
Now we have an interesting birth, it's Zombie Baby. The singer wonders if her new baby will be a zombie, and if it is, does she "nurture or destroy", and will it, "eat her from the inside out". All this is set to a wonderful mid-tempo groove from yesteryear.
Play Dead tells of a woman who won't love her man again until he's dead. Other highlights of this wonderful disc include the zombie yodels of Zombyodel and a re-write of the old children's song, Hush Little Baby. The latter has the lyric, "Mama's gonna stab them in the brain". I don't think that line was in the original.
Amanda Richards' disc is aimed at the more adventurous country fan. People who like Rachel Brooke, Eilen Jewell and Karling Abbeygate should love this. Right now I regard Amanda Richards as one of country music's most important singers. This disc is a masterpiece.
Paul Riley
February 03, 2011
Frankie Tease - The Examiner (Portland, OR)
After over two years of working with Amanda Richards aka DeManda at all types of Burlesque Shows, Miss Frankie Tease sat down with Amanda to discuss her brand new Grammy nominations, how she got on the PNW Burlesque circuit, and what it's like to be a Singer/Songwriter, Bohemian Country Songstress in Portland, Oregon.
FRANKIE
So Amanda, how did you get the news of your "Official Grammy Nomination" this week?
AMANDA
Well I got a call from my manager saying "we have some good news for you' and I hadn't heard from them for a while. And they said 'You're up for Grammy nominations this year'. It took about a week for me to get the list of what all the categories were, six total.
[Here are the six nominations 1-Record of the Year : Cookies & Whiskey 2-Record of the Year : Perfect Cup of Coffee 3 - Song of the Year: Ballbuster 4- Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Ballbuster 5-Best Country Song: Ballbuster 6- Best Country Song : Cookies & Whiskey]
FRANKIE
What is your favorite nomination, is this fair to ask?
AMANDA
It's hard to say, it all hit me at once. I was surprised that the song Ballbuster got 3 nominations. And, Perfect Cup of Coffee was great to see there.
FRANKIE
Don't you have a video of Perfect Cup of Coffee coming out?
AMANDA
Yes Perfect Cup a Coffee which was up for a Song of the year nomination, will be a video coming via community access and will also be released online sometime this year. It'll be on MCTV (Multnomah County).
FRANKIE
Would you have thought the type of year that 2010 was,would end in a Grammy nomination?
AMANDA
It was the farthest thing from my mind. I feel like this is a carrot I needed to keep going. Last year was really hard. There were times I thought 'why am I still doing this?' When this happened it was another thing to justify me being on this path.
FRANKIE
You've had many sold out shows at larger Portland venues over a period of approximately ten years. It's been phenomenal to see you putting out so many wonderful albums and original lyrics as a singer/songwriter, that are so well received. How do you stay inspired as a songwriter?
AMANDA
I'm preparing to record a fifth album and working on a sound track to a film right now, and I probably have a few hundred songs that haven't been recorded yet. I think it started as a therapeutic sort of thing. Over the last couple years it's started to evolve into an art form where I like the challenge of coming up with an idea and going with it. That's where the zombie album showed where I could pick a topic and go with it.
FRANKIE
Is the zombie album the most thematic album you've ever written?
AMANDA
Oh yeah, I've never written a theme album before that.
FRANKIE
What is your favorite Zombie album song?
AMANDA
People's favorites are: No Fear No Pain or Play Dead. My personal favorite on the album is Alone at Last because I really like the harmonies that were done on the chorus, I really enjoy playing it.
FRANKIE
What category do you most relate to singer/songwriter or female country vocalist?
AMANDA
Both have a stigma. For a long time I never wanted to call myself a singer/songwriter. It just seemed like such a cliche' : 'I'm a singer, I have a guitar, I play songs'. It's just really hard to be taken seriously. On the other hand country music, especially in Portland, has a stigma too. For one thing, a lot of Portlanders don't like commercial or pop music, and neither do I. I prefer much more the old school country.
FRANKIE
You bring up a good point that country today has been turned into pop, but old school country was much harder. You had to hit certain marks, sing in two octaves and you had to yodel! Am I right? When I heard you yodel on Zombie Yodel I got excited. I didn't know you could yodel. The original country is a venerable genre and you're doing it justice.
AMANDA
Thank You. People don't expect to hear yodeling, so when I do the yodel song live, people freak out. It's hilarious.
FRANKIE
How did you begin performing at burlesque shows?
AMANDA
It started probably about three years ago. I met Ashia Grzesik (currently a cellist for the 'Vagabond Opera') a few years ago at an underground competition where we were the two remaining finalists. I did some naughty songs and she did some naughty songs, and she did a naughty song, and she won. I was thinking "I hate you, you want to be in my band?" She started playing along with me at my solo gigs. Then later, she later got invited to the Moisture Festival in Seattle, and we created dirty duo called Buxom. We went up and sang songs about anal sex. She and I seem to perform together about once a year. She is very educated in Burlesque having lived in Las Vegas for four years and played with Cirque De Soleil. That was my first introduction to being involved in Burlesque. Then shortly after that I met you Frankie, and started opening at Tease Time Burlesque Show.
FRANKIE
I've seen crowds go wild after hearing your edgy lyrics, spoofs, comedy and commentary on relationships and on being a female in today's society. I think the anal sex song is one of the favorites. It's my understanding that Ashia Grzesik wrote that song and now you and her sing it separately and together. What is your favorite song to do at a burlesque show?
AMANDA
I do some covers for the burlesque shows. I like the Dirty Farmer song, which I learned when I was like five years old. "There once was a farmer who lived by a rock, he sat in the corner just shaking his ... fist". I've got songs on STD's and poor personal hygiene. Both angry and funny songs.
FRANKIE
What are you getting out of being able to perform in a burlesque show environment, as opposed to being in a more conservative environment such as a traditional country audience?
AMANDA
I have a lot more creative freedom. I won't have to worry about offending people. People are looking for comedy and sexuality. I think doing burlesque shows has helped me infuse more theatrics into my performance. It has improved my performance all around.
FRANKIE
Like the theatrics I saw at your Rock Opera Zombie album premature release party for "Play Dead" when your band 'the Hardly Hards' were in full bloody gore? I also love your comedic timing when you're introducing a song, and singing.
AMANDA
I am interested in getting more into stand-up comedy and sketch comedy.
FRANKIE
How far of a stretch is it writing lyrics that are a story, and doing the sketch of an idea on stage? How different is it?
AMANDA
In some ways writing sketches may be easier, just because I don't have to make things rhyme. I also have done this enough to begin to know where the audience will go with things.
FRANKIE
It seems that as an artist you want to keep growing as a performer, as a top priority.
AMANDA
I want to become a better entertainer all around. Burlesque has helped me with that, to be adventurous, being in the moment with your audience, the improvisation. I don't always go out with the set list, I might figure out what to play as I feel out the audience. Sometimes being too rigid and planned keeps you from connecting to your audience. If you go in with a plan you say 'ok I will generally work in this area, but I will also do what I want. Sometimes the things I say are in the moment and unplanned.
FRANKIE
One of those moments that stick in my mind is when you brought a very large heckling man on stage while you sang seven verses of an Irish folk song, ,and he had to do the jig. It seemed perfect behavior for your Burlesque altar ego: DeManda. How did you come up with the name DeManda?
AMANDA
My first album's engineer gave me the name, first to others then to me. It's easy to come across as being demanding when you want something a certain way.
FRANKIE
How often do you write?
AMANDA
It comes in spurts, there'll be a few months where I just can't stop writing, songs and sketches come out of me. Then I'll get distracted for a while doing business or relaxing. I've really learned to honor that creative process and not put too much pressure on myself to write when I'm not being productive. To allow myself space to grow as a person and as a writer.Sometimes it takes a while to finish a song. It took me probably almost a year to write the song Ballbuster. I wrote the first verse and the chorus and then it took me forever to write the second verse. It's something I had been thinking about for a while and I had to draw upon real experiences to finish the other verses. The last verse took the longest to write, because I really wanted to come up with something that drove the whole song home. "Instead of giving flack, maybe I should be giving thanks, for the chlorine in the gene pool because I know you're shootin' blanks".
FRANKIE
I've heard the debate that the word feminist is no longer relevant. You have called yourself a feminist, what is your take on being a Feminist and what that means in today's age?
AMANDA
I think being a feminist is a crazy belief that women are equal to men. I don't think that feminism is dead. There are millions of our sisters out there in the world that are without freedom and are suffering with male dominated patriarchy and sold into the sex trade. Also, if you are forced to have children you are easier to control and it's easy to control your children. Feminism isn't over, there is not an equal amount of women in the government and our government is very patriarchal, the system itself is patriarchal. Until we're all taken care of and we can see the world from an equally feminine and masculine point of view, there is still a need for feminism.
FRANKIE TEASE
With burlesque, what's interesting to me is that professionals like yourself are bringing their skills to Burlesque where they can be more creative and free with their expressions. Because it's been filled with amateur efforts it has changed the landscape of what people may expect at a Burlesque show. I've seen people hear the introduction 'singer songwriter' and see the cliche's that are popping through their head, and you get up there with a smile on your face and sing feminist songs that are also hilarious, and make people think "what am I actually doing with and to women?"
AMANDA
At the same time, I have extremely sexual songs too.
FRANKIE TEASE
I think feminism can be misunderstood, angry, or lesbian. There is no way that we have the choices that men have at this time.
AMANDA RICHARDS
It's getting closer but we're not there yet. I was really intimidated by a male dominated business when I first started. I realized if I had a band I had to boss all those boys around and I've learned to do it without being a bitch about it.
FRANKIE
Do you have any advice working in the Portland music scene that you can impart? Portland is a nice place to collaborate, but what advice do you have for serious artists?
AMANDA
If you're just getting started, play all you can in Portland. But there are places outside of Portland accessible if you drive and have a sound system. If you're trying to make a living it's important to explore all aspects. Sell your music online, build your fan base, and keep your lifestyle really simple. Keep your expenses down. Some months are great, some months are not so you have to be prepared.
Amanda Richards will be playing as her bawdy burlesque altar ego at TEASE TIME A Naughty Valentine Show at Tonic Lounge Sat. Feb. 5, 2011, 9pm 21+ . Advanced tickets and front row tables for two are available http://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/152205 , or $10 day of show.
View the 53rd Grammy Awards Ceremony Sunday February 13th 2011, 8pm EP/PT CBS
This interview was conducted and recorded live and transcribed by Miss Frankie Tease in Portland, Oregon 2011
September 07, 2010
Ezra Ace Careff - The Portland Mercury
People, we are fucked. The dead have risen, hungry for brains (or flesh, or meaty ribs, or whatever it is that zombies actually eat), and this time around hiding in a mall with a sawed-off ain't going to help things. That's the bad news. The good news is that local country crooner Amanda Richards has scored a soundtrack for the undead's flesh-chomping insurrection. Play Dead just might be the first zombie-themed country album (unless Merle Haggard has actually been dead all these years, which when you think about it is quite possible), told from humanity's final survivor (Richards herself). Stripped bare of unnecessary rock opera flair, Play Dead is both sweet and enduring, despite Richards' bloody lyrical content. The end of days never sounded so great. -EAC
January 20, 2007
- 75 or Less
Lady can certainly sing the blues, but with a sharp, sometimes comical, tongue. On "Cookies & Whiskey," Richards drops these lyrical bombs: "But I'll drown my sorrows/In pastries and booze/I've got a big ass and bad gas/And heartbroken blues." The acoustic-folk arrangements are given extra spice by George Turner's cello; however, it's Richards' words that steal the show.
January 10, 2007
Michael Sutton - CD Reviews
Portland, OR singer/songwriter bares soul in bluesy folk performance. Most live albums are pointless. True, for hardcore fans of that particular artist, they can serve as a memento of a fondly recalled gig or provide a snack between studio releases. Given that Portland, OR singer/songwriter Amanda Richards is far from a household name, you have to figure that she must feel there is something special about this performance. Sure enough, the rounds of applause that appear between tracks are well-deserved; this is one of the most intimate, emotionally charged, and occasionally funny albums you’ll hear this year. Richards has a bluesy, dark-hued voice; it can soar with unbridled passion, as on “Home, I’m On My Way,” or melt into 3 a.m. melancholia, like on “I Want You.” Richards’ lyrics are steeped in romantic despair but she never gives in to depression. In fact, her message seems to be that, yeah, we can get screwed up in our relationships, but we have to push ourselves forward. In “Home, I’m On My Way,” Richards sings about leaving a man who can’t even save himself. “Though it’s sad to let you go/I’m on my way to a brighter day/And this boat is mine to row.” In a sense, Richards has discovered how to heal herself of the blues while singing about them at the same time. “I’m Sure You’d Know” finds Richards in love with a guy who can’t drop an old flame, but the old blues cliché of wallowing in pain isn’t utilized here. “So now what am I supposed to do/Sit around and wait for you?” Richards asks. The independent spirit and personal strength that fuels Richards’ words is pretty uplifting—and sometimes humorous as well. “I Love You More (When I’m All Alone)” (great title!) has a hysterically pointed punch line: “I dream about your body/I think about old times…But I’m so glad, baby, you’re gone.” Richards delivers that line with a stand-up comedian’s sharp timing and the righteous indignation of a woman who isn’t going to take shit from anyone. However, not everything here is laced with vinegar. “I Want You” is genuinely romantic and “Cookies & Whiskey” is a hilarious, warts-and-all look at the aftermath of a break-up. www.amandarichards.net
January 01, 2007
Adam Harrington - Whisperin & Hollerin
Our Rating: [8 out of 10 stars] Those who think that folk music, or the blues, lacks a sense of humor hasn't heard singer/songwriter Amanda Richards (http://www.amandarichards.net). On "Cookies & Whiskey," Richards describes the plight of a woman who has been dumped by her lover. Instead of simply writing words of despair, Richards describes how the ex-girlfriend drowns her sorrow in junk food and hard liquor: "Been living on memories/Cream pies and drink/Which might explain the tear drops/And chocolate smeared ink." It's funny stuff, but also deeply sad because it's a phase that probably all of us, male or female, have gone through. Although lyrically speaking the tone of "Cookies & Whiskey" doesn't summarize the CD as a whole, I bring it to your attention because it's a can't-miss track. Whether or not folk music appeals to you, "Cookies & Whiskey" should strike a chord. In "Cookies & Whiskey," the protagonist has gotten fat and miserable, losing the beauty she once had: "I knew you liked tight jeans/But I took it too far/'Cause I can't fit in nothing/Including my car." Nevertheless, Richards manages to write a surprisingly happy twist at the tune's end. Richards is a fine storyteller, narrating her tales of heartache with a brutally honest pen. "I Love You More (When I'm All Alone)" is a keen kiss-off: "I don't care, I won't fight/If you don't come home/Because I love you more/When I'm all alone." Ouch. Richards' characters are either proudly independent, as on "It's Already Over," or clinging to a dying relationship, like in "Here I Am." Although recorded before an audience, the record sounds warm and intimate.
October 28, 2006
Janet Brayson - Mount Hood Community College's Winter Schedule
Singer/songwriter Amanda Richards is well-prepared for musical stardom and credits the beauty of the MHCC campus for the inspiration it gave her to write many of her songs. “Whenever I felt the urge to get away and write,” Richards said. “I’d climb into a tree and play the flute. I wrote a lot of songs in that tree.” Richards, now 23, enrolled at MHCC when she was 17. Even though she had grown up in a musical family, Richards hadn’t thought seriously about being a performer. All that changed when she was offered a chance to perform at the MHCC College Center. “This was my first real “gig” and the feedback I received from the audience was so positive, for the first time, I started to think about a singing career.” This October, Richards released her second CD, headlined her first major concert and is embarking on her first tour this fall. When Richards started at MHCC she knew that understanding the business side of a music career would be important, so along with music classes, she enrolled in the Business Management program. One of the first projects assigned by her marketing teacher was to create a marketing campaign for a product, so Richards decided to design a plan to promote herself as a singer. She created a press kit, identified her target audience and made a detailed plan on getting exposure as a singer. “The business classes taught me how to act as my own publicist, and to negotiate for my fees,” Richards said. “Eventually I will need to hire people to do that sort of work for me, and I feel confident I will be able to avoid the many rip-off artists in the field because I understand business.” Richards also understands the technical aspects of music production because of the recording studio available with her music classes. “I learned the vocabulary used by the sound engineers and that helped me better communicate what I wanted during the production of my two CDs,” Richards said. Surprisingly, Richards claims the hardest classes she took at MHCC were her music classes. “I’ve always just played music, so when it came to music theory, I felt lost,” Richards said. “It took a lot of discipline and practice to make it through the music classes, but I am a much better musician because of it.” In the four years she attended MHCC, Richards is fairly sure she took just about every class offered at the college—including welding, astronomy, environmental science and philosophy. “Every instructor I had opened my eyes to a different aspect of the world. I feel the education I received at MHCC expanded my views, made me more creative and brought a richer texture to my songs,” Richards said. Having found inspiration in the trees and in the classroom, Richards says she will always hold a special place in her heart for MHCC.
October 20, 2006
Barbara Mitchell - The Portland Tribune
Local Band: Amanda Richards Weekend!Music: Relationships may not work, but songs do It’s hard to believe that Amanda Richards is only 23 years old. This rising local songwriter has a voice that commands instant attention — alternately clear, cutting, gritty, sultry and full of longing. But Richards isn’t just an impressive voice. Her songwriting — which mostly revolves around relationships that didn’t work, aren’t working or aren’t going to work — is remarkably diverse and complex, and she brings a sense of warmth and humor to the material, as well as her perfomance. On her new CD, “Live at Mississippi Studios,” songs like “I Love You More (When I’m All Alone)” and “Cookies & Whiskey” add a wink and a bite to the standard relationship-gone-wrong equations and prove to be crowd pleasers. Richards is equally at home with more forlorn material, and her emotive vocals add a genuine resonance to the material. She’s spellbinding across the spectrum, and a standout whose star is on the rise.
October 01, 2006
Lee Williams - The Oregonian A&E
Creativity and deep roots Friday, October 20, 2006 Amanda Richards, 23, seems grounded for life. The singer-songwriter, who grew up in Gresham and whose grandfather was an 18-year member of the Sons of the Pioneers, is about to headline her first show, Saturday night at the Aladdin Theater. But speaking recently at a North Portland coffee shop, two things are clear: She's hoping her country-western and bluesy-folk will take her far as her musical heritage helps to anchor her feet firmly to the earth. Is this the biggest venue you've played so far? In Portland, yeah. The bigger ones I've played have been in festival situations. I've played at the Haight Ashbury Street Fair, where there's 10,000 people. But, you know, they're not all there for the music; they're there for the brownies (laughs). So this is pretty exciting. Your grandfather was in the Sons of the Pioneers. Is the rest of your family musical? Oh, yeah. My cousin taught me some Joan Baez songs that her mom taught her. Three of my grandpa's four children all became professional musicians; my dad and two aunts. My dad sang country and western, and at one point sang in the Grand Ole Opry. When you did begin teaching yourself to play guitar? I started playing guitar when I was 12. I started playing covers and just thought, "Well, this will be easier if I just write my own songs" (laughs). At 23, some musicians are still rebelling against their parents' musical influence. But you're embracing your roots. Well, I went through the whole teenage rebellion phase, like everybody did -- burnt part of the record collection, didn't want anybody to know I liked this kind of stuff, and still do. But it really is a part of who I am and in a lot of ways a big part of history. Do you hope to reach the status of your grandfather's group? Honestly, the band my grandfather was in was like the '40s equivalent of The Beatles. . . . For me, more important than being a rock star or anything like that is being a good person with a message that makes other people want to be good people also. . . . I don't necessarily want to be on major label or be a millionaire. I just want something humble and sustaining. Amanda Richards' concert (with Stevi Marie & Jackson Road, and Blue Lightning) is at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. All ages. Tickets $15 at Ticketmaster or day of show. Details: www.amandarichards.net.
September 22, 2006
Kari Hastings - The Gresham Outlook
She’s got a strong voice. She plays a mean guitar. But at her core, she’s a lyrics girl. “If I hear someone rhyme dove with love one more time,” she says, “I might …” Amanda Richards rolls her eyes and giggles as her voice trails off. At 23, Richards is a hometown girl – she attended Barlow High School and Mt. Hood Community College – with big talent. With a self-produced CD out and a tour planned this fall, she’ll headline her first major concert Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Aladdin Theater. Hailing from a musical family, Richards grew up learning classic folk rock music. Her cousin taught her “Diamonds and Rust” by Joan Baez. At age 5, she was belting out “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar. Leonard Cohen, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits are regulars on her CD player. Not exactly typical for a 23-year-old. But Richards isn’t your average young singer trying to make it. She’s performed at more than 100 venues around the Northwest and California, including the Rose Festival, the Washington County Fair and San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury Street Fair. She garners praise as she goes. In a 2005 Portland Tribune article, KINK FM deejay Kevin Welch said he was “surprised at the talent that came out of this gal, not even knowing who she was. It came out of nowhere.” Maybe it grew out of learning songs from her father and grandfather before hearing them anywhere else. Her grandfather was part of the legendary country harmony group, The Sons of the Pioneers. Her father performed at music festivals, trotting his 2-year-old daughter out on the stage to sing along with him. She’d compete in festival and fair talent shows, singing “Rockin‘ Robin” and “Angel in the Morning” with no hint of stage fright. When she was 12, she began to write her first songs and found a talent in crafting lyrics. “I like to find an old topic and put a new spin on it,” she says. “I try not to write about things I don’t believe in. I try not to do those ‘poor me’ love songs, the ‘why’d you leave me’ songs.” In her CD, “Not Always Sexy,” she hits on the dissonant notes of fading romance in the song “That Much to Me.” I won’t hold my breath for you to change your mind. I won’t try to fix Faults that aren’t mine. I won’t try to stop you When you go. But I won’t stop loving you, no. ’Cause you mean that much to me. Her voice, reminiscent of Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris, lilts softly on such songs, but watch out. It can also pack a punch, growling and purring in “Magnum 45,” a song Richards wrote about a woman who hunts down her one-night stand after he leaves her and kills him. “I couldn’t stand to watch him run,” she sings. “Obviously, I’ve never killed someone,” she says, laughing. “And I’ve never had a one-night stand, but it makes for a good song.” One can imagine Richards’ popularity at her regular gigs at Paradise Harley in Tigard. She’s got just the right mix of sweet and sultry, country and rock, twang and smooth vibrato. Her sense of humor wiggles its way into her songs too, as in “Cookies and Whiskey.” Oh, cookies and whiskey Donuts and beer. I love you darlin‘ I wish you were here. But I’ll drown my sorrows in pastries and booze. I’ve got a big ass and bad gas and heartbroken blues. “I was living in California at the time and there was this period where I seemed to be eating a lot of cookies and drinking a lot of Kahlua,” she says. “But nothing rhymes with Kahlua, so that’s how ‘Cookies and Whiskey’ came about.” For Richards, writing lyrics is her “best form of counseling.” And performing provides her the best reward. She felt that way May 25, when she packed out Mississippi Studios for a live performance. “It seems like every show, there’ll be one person in the crowd who’s really into it, and if I can have one person like that at every show, it’s all worth it,” she says. The girl who started out playing in Café Delirium and Trufflehunter restaurant is now a woman. She’s ready to give her dream everything she’s got. In June she quit her day job as a receptionist at a mortgage company. Nothing much seems worth doing for Richards, except what comes naturally – making good music. “If even one person comes up to me at the end of a show and tells me my music’s done something for them,” she says, “that’s what keeps me going.”
June 16, 2005
Lori Fagerholm - CoOpted
I have to be honest: I'm having trouble writing an objective review of Not Always Sexy, Amanda Richards' debut CD. From the moment I heard her single, "Magnum 45," I was jump-up-and-down psyched about this bold-voiced artist. Part rockabilly, part old country, part blues, part classic rock, she even throws in a little bossanova just to keep you on your toes. Amanda refuses to be categorized, which is cool, because the richness of her style pretty much makes her uncategorizable. A native of the Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter scene, she's 23 years old, but you wouldn't know it from her lyrics. Her poeticism, depth, and eloquence are rare for artists twice her age. She's playing all around Portland this summer, and even has a date in Seattle too. If you'll be around those parts and want to check her out, you can find her tour schedule on her website: http://www.amandarichards.net/. Go there to download free MP3s of "Magnum 45" and Not Always Sexy's "Cookies and Whiskey" or to order a copy of the awesome CD. And don't, like, lend your copy to a friend without buying a duplicate or something, because this album's addictive, and you might never get it back. And in case you're still not convinced she's the coolest thing ever to come out of Gresham, OR, Amanda confessed to me that, when she's 50 and having her midlife crisis, instead of buying a convertible or dating some 20-year-old, she's gonna get a full-color tattoo of a peacock feather on the back of her calf. That is so indie-star cool.
March 29, 2005
Eric Bartels - The Portland Tribune
Amanda Richards is playing guitar and singing at a home and garden store in Troutdale. Folks stroll in off the town’s main drag eager to study the art installed for a monthly First Friday event.
But some don’t get any farther than the couch just inside the front door where Richards is sitting.
“We heard you from across the street,” one woman, practically spellbound, says to Richards. “Who are you?”
It’s a good question. A 21-year-old songwriter, guitarist and singer, Richards may be one of the best undiscovered talents in Portland, even though she’s been turning heads with her music since she was 14.
She is not immodest; in fact, a minor chord of girlish diffidence is part of her charm. But she knows what she can do to people.
“There’s certain songs that I do ÉI can guarantee somebody in the audience is going to shed a tear,” she says. “It’s other people’s emotions more than my own talent. It’s just me being myself.”
She plays at tiny coffeehouses and has a regular gig at a Harley-Davidson showroom in Tigard. But to hear Richards sing is to wonder how good a musician can be without drawing big-time attention to herself.
With the completion in November of her first full-length CD, “Not Always Sexy,” Richards is hoping to bring more people along on her musical journey.
One song from the new CD got airplay on the Air America radio network, resulting in 2,500 hits on Richards’ Web site.
“I was really surprised at the talent that came out of this gal, not even knowing who she was,” says disc jockey Kevin Welch, KINK FM 101.9. “It came out of nowhere.”
It runs in the family
Richards hails from a musical family. Her grandfather played with the the western singing group Sons of the Pioneers, an act that has been performing continuously for over 70 years. Her father also is a professional musician.
“I’m supposed to be doing this,” she says. “It was genetically expected of me. One day I took my mom aside and said, ‘Mom, I can sing.’ I remember that instant.”
The 13-song “Not Always Sexy” showcases Richards’ talents effectively. The handiest point of comparison is the Lilith Fair-era songbird Jewel, but the echoes of earlier artists such as Joan Baez are equally evident. Richards plays guitar confidently, can turn her breathy voice into a growl in an eye blink, and writes thoughtful, evocative songs about life and love and loss.
The surprise is Richards’ assured style as both writer and performer. Ruminations about pleasure and heartbreak are supposed to sound silly coming from a part-time college student. But Richards somehow acquired an emotional burnish that seems almost illogical for someone her age.
“She has a sense of being around a bit,” says local musician Bob Bergeni, who has performed with her. “She seems like she’s seen a few things.”
It’s true. Richards moved to the Portland area with her mother and brother as a young child, her parents having split up. When she was a teenager, strained relations at home prompted her to change schools several times, and she never finished high school.
But Richards’ nature also plays a part. She describes herself as reflective and philosophical.
“I’ve always kind of felt like an oldest child,” she says. “People tell me stuff. I take a lot of that on. It affects me. I’m older than I am. I feel like I’m middle-aged.
“I’m not into the scene. I’m more of a contemplative homebody. I like more intimate sorts of friendships and relationships, not hanging out with people for the sake of not being alone. I like quality over quantity.”
‘I love doing this stuff’
When the Oregon Symphony sponsored a contest for young songwriters last year, Richards didn’t win but was invited to perform at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at a symphony event.
“It means a lot to me to get that kind of encouragement,” she says. “I want to get that reaction from my music. I love doing this stuff. There really isn’t anything else out there that makes me as much money and that makes me happy.”
Richards admits she has little stomach for conventional work. She’s far happier steering her 1979 Volkswagen bus to a Pearl District street corner, where she’ll set up a battery-powered amp and play for change at First Thursdays.
“I’ve never had a job for more than six months,” she says with a giddy giggle.
Richards and three other musicians, fellow students at Mt. Hood Community College, will perform Thursday at a downtown rally for child abuse prevention at which Gov. Ted Kulongoski will appear. She was chosen by a panel that included coordinator Angela Garcia of the Committee on Children, Families and Community of Multnomah County.
“She’s an amazingly talented musician,” Garcia says. “We reviewed a bunch of musicians, and hers was the best package. She has a very nice, sultry voice. I listen to her CD now.”
Richards is confident that the new CD will bump her up a rung as an artist. But she’s also determined to shape her own career.
“I think this album is proof that I could have a record deal,” she says. “But I want to have control over the product. The process is really fascinating to me, and I want to be in charge of it. I want to at least have a say in it. Somebody would have to give me a lot of money to give that away.”
Richards seems guided by different aspects of her musical heritage. She has a relationship with her father, a working musician in Southern California. But while she admires his abilities as a musician, she says lifestyle choices kept him from fully realizing his talents.
“I want to accomplish something,” she says. “I almost do have something to prove. ”
Richards is confident a larger audience exists for the kind of music her surprising maturity guides her to create.
“So far it’s been just me, and I’ve got a lot of response from that,” she says. “I’m not a bar band. It’s not about a band. It’s not about me. It’s about a song. It’s not the kind of music that you go out and ignore. There’s stuff that’s being said.
“Norah Jones won eight Grammys. That proves that there’s people that are craving this kind of stuff. They’re needing this.”
