About Richmond Fontaine

So, thanks to my love of Willy Vlautin's books, The Motel Life and Northline as my loyal bleaders know well, I have been getting to know his band, Richmond Fontaine. (Though I was rather peeved that I could find none of their records locally-I mean what's the benefit of living in a college town if you can't immediately get CDs by 'sort of obscure but huge in Europe' bands, I ask you?) I'm torn between being rather shamefaced I didn't know them before (how did that happen?) and really excited to have a whole unexplored catalog by a new-to-me band I really like. I guess that's one of the joys of being a fan-no matter how up to date, finger-on-the-pulse you think you are there's always more great stuff. And they keep making still more. Gotta love it.

Anyway, I started with the most recent,"Thirteen Cities", which has a great desert-y, Calexico feel (probably because it has Calexico guest stars). I found Willy's songs to be much like his books-populated by people both scared and scarred. Lots of trailers, cars, casinos and booze. And, in a 'hello Sam, this'll be right up your alley'- horse racing! *

I could see where all the comparsions I had read about online-Thom Jones, Denis Johnson, Tom Waits-were coming from, but found a bedrock kindness in Vlautin's songs I would argue is missing from the others. This was borne out when I read an interview about a song from the other CD I have so far, "Post to Wire", (a racing expression!) called "Allison Johnson" which is the same Allison as in Northline. In the interview, Vlautin said he wrote the song as he was writing the novel because he felt for Allison in her struggles and wanted to do something for her. I like that. A writer should care that much for their characters and I hear that in the music of Richmond Fontaine.



*Hey Willy,

Want to be my Derby date? I know Churchill Downs is no Portland Meadows but I'm pretty sure we could scare up some old school racetrack degenerates even on Derby Day.