Having just recently turned 60 does come with some benefits. One of those was living through the 70's where songs that told meaningful stories began to emerge. I mean REAL story telling.
Don't get me wrong. Every song tells a story in one form or another. The 50's to mid 60's songs concentrated mainly on songs about broken hearts and unrequited love. Move into the mid 60's and the songs were more about peace, flowers and drugs.
It wasn't until the 70's that songs that told actual stories began to emerge. Songs like Don McClean's 'American Pie' and Ricky Nelson's 'Garden Party' set the tone for others. If you closed your eyes and listened to the words, you felt as if the story was being to told to you and only you. Every time I listen to Gordon Lightfoot's 'Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald' I can actually visualize the crew on that boat and the panic they went through as they faced their final minutes alive. The emergence of disco put the spotlight more on the beat then the lyrics. Then it was 80's ushering in a new era where the artists relied on video to tell the story. Sadly, that trend has carried into today. MTV literally did kill the radio star.
The 'story telling' artists are still out there. You just have to dig a little deeper to find them. And, thanks to Radio Candy's Marc Platt, found one, I have.
Meet RJ Comer, an Indie Americana Roots artist, currently residing in Los Angeles. Based on his own life experiences, most of RJ's songs are like a confession. When you listen, it's almost like you are in the same room, sharing a private and intimate conversation.
Self -described as "an outlaw who hates bad guys' a lot of RJ's experiences are from ending up at "bad places at the wrong times". His lyrics range from laughing at himself to dark memories, often showing both his tough and tender sides. His powerful vocals and lyrics have attracted fans from biker bars to concert halls. He's toured from Florida to Canada, including a 5-week stint in New Orleans and an official showcase at the 2016 Canadian Music Week. Before embarking on his solo career, RJ fronted the band, The Dance Hall Pimps. Formed in 2009, the 7 piece blues-rock show band released 2 albums in 2012 and 2013 through Lakeshore Records and Growling Moon Records, respectively. He released his first solo EP, 'Hell Hole Swamp' in 2015, a collection of 5 tracks produced between Los Angeles and Louisiana. Later that same year, he released the two-sided single 'New Orleans Under Cover', which reached #2 on the iTunes New Blues Releases charts. He also produces his own videos, all which allow you to visualize the feeling he puts into his songs.
Fresh off the release of his latest EP, 'Nightly Suicide', I caught up with RJ from his home in Los Angeles.
So, RJ, welcome to Q108.
Hey, thanks for having me man, I really appreciate it.
Before we talk about the new EP, I’d like to ask you how you got started in the music business.
Well, how I got started in the music business was when I was about 8 years old. My mom was a choir director in our church and went to music school and sang with big bands so, she taught me how to read music. She was my first voice teacher. I learned to sing in church and then I started doing musical comedy as a kid. So I did all those kid parts in musical comedies.
We were all from the Midwest, by the way. We are not southern folks but for some reason my dad had this affinity for southern music, so he and I would watch every episode of Hee Haw even though we lived in Chicago. He played guitar and ukulele, my grandpa played banjo and we played songs around the campfire. I got started in the music business two ways. I got started by singing in the choir at the cathedral in Chicago and doing musical comedy. And I got paid for that. Then I got started playing folk music with my dad and grandpa around the campfire.
I got started in the music business two ways. I got started by singing in the choir at the cathedral in Chicago and doing musical comedy. And I got paid for that. Then I got started playing folk music with my dad and grandpa around the campfire. Those two things coalesced. There was a lot of
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