May, 2005
Interview by Harvey Cline

They began “Moonlighting” back in 1986 as the Rippington's and have blazed a path of music that is unparalleled in the industry. Led by guitarist Russ Freeman, the band has weathered personnel changes over the years as many have gone on to become solo artists. Just days away from their 16th release, Smoothviews had a chance to chat with Russ from his Florida home and discuss the new disc, tour and current lineup.

SmoothViews (SV): We are here with Russ Freeman of the Rippingtons whose 16th disc Wild Card is scheduled to be released in just few days. So Russ, you're just four days away from the new disc coming out. What is the anticipation of a new disc?
Russ Freeman (RF): Well, it's a little different this time, Harvey. Because we're doing so much for the Spanish radio stations, and there's such a great buzz for these Spanish songs. So I'm really excited about this new CD.

SV: That's great! What do you usually go through the days before a new release comes out?
RF: It seems always hectic because I'm doing a lot of interviews and a lot of press and our fans are very excited. So it's usually a very busy time plus we're getting our tour together. This year particularly we're going to do a very extensive tour and I'm really excited about that.

SV: I see you're kicking that off in Florida the latter part of the month.
RF: Actually we're starting the end of June in Ft. Lauderdale and it goes all the way through the second week of September.

SV: Have you been able to perform any of the new songs live yet?
RF: No not yet. We just did a gig in Winter Park, Florida, but we haven't worked in the new songs yet.

SV: Let's Talk about Wild Card and the vocals of Chante Moore, Willy Chirino and Abita. How did those additions transpire?
RF: It's funny how organically it all happens, but I guess originally I wanted to introduce more of a Spanish flavor to the record. I just love this kind of music, and I've been listening to a lot of this kind of music. I hooked up with a very successful songwriter for pop songs in Spanish, and we started writing songs together. Out of the songs we wrote, we asked ourselves who would be the best singers for these, and the names that came up were Willy Chirino and Albita. So we contacted them and we were lucky enough to get both of them. They're both huge stars in Cuba. In fact, probably the biggest Cuban salsa stars around. They were very pleasant and it was a lot fun working with them.

SV: They really come off great on the new disc. Have you been listening to a lot of the Latin-influenced music in preparation for the new disc?
RF: I have, just mainly for my own listening pleasure. It's just something I enjoy. I love the Spanish guitar. Ever since I worked with David Benoit last year on our collaborative project I've just fallen in love with my classical guitar and just wanted to look for opportunities to use it. The Spanish and the Latin salsa influences is something that's been growing with the Rippingtons over the past ten, fifteen years. It's not really that new, I'm just getting more into it now.

SV: It's funny how the whole thing kind of comes full circle and you come back to your original love that being the classical guitar. Do you think this disc will open up new avenues of fans in South America and some of the Latin America countries?
RF: Yeah, isn't that funny? I think what we're finding is that we already have those fans. We seem to be very well-known in some of these other Latin countries and I just think it's going to serve that fan base. It's probably going to grow because of the vocals and because of the fans that Albita and Willy Chirino have. But it's so funny that they've received the album so well that I'm really heartened that we have that support.

SV: Albita's song just makes me want to get up and dance and turn down the lights. It's really uplifting. It's not a typical Rippingtons song, but you can hear the words “Rippingtons” in there. It's very exciting.
RF: What she's saying is this is “Albita here and I'm performing with the Rippingtons, and now it's time to party.” (laughter)

SV: I'm sure as everyone hears that song, they're going to do that. What's your favorite song from the new disc? I'm sure there's probably several on there that you like.
RF: There's a couple I really like. I'm amazed at how people react to “Gypsy Eyes” and I like the song “Paradise.” Oh, I love “Spanish Girl.” It's probably my favorite song.

SV: I like “Spanish Girl” too, but one of my favorites is the last song on the disc called “In the End” which is very soulful and brings in layers of music. How did that one come about for you?
RF: It's a funny story how that song happened. But believe it or not… this never happens to me… I actually started that song in 1988. I started writing it, and every year I would write more on it and I could never finish it for an album. It became comical. It's like that song is never going to be finished. (laughter) And what it took from me was to take a completely unexpected turn in the middle section. It just kind of happened this year, and I felt like this seems right now. It finally seems right. So art imitates life. It's funny.

SV: It's really a very good one to end on. Where did the name and idea for Wild Card come from?
RF: It's funny, but about the middle of last year I started thinking about what the Jazz Cat should do next. I'm thinking about the whole lifestyle and the history of the Jazz Cat. It's so funny that he's got his own personality you know, and people know him so well. They identify and associate with him so much. I ask myself what would the Jazz Cat be doing? I always go back to this idea that he likes to have fun, and I was seeing the World Championship Poker and I thought this is exactly what the Jazz Cat would be doing is gambling too much money. The idea was that he would be sitting at a poker table, and that's when I came up with Wild Card. When I talked to Bill Mayer, (the brilliant artist who draws the artwork) I said, “Bill I want him to be sitting at the poker table, but I also actually want him to be on a face card. I want him to be the Joker.” And Bill had sent a bunch of thumbnail sketches to me, and it popped off the page when I saw him as the Joker. It was just so good I couldn't believe it. So I called him back and said , “What do you think if we just make him the Joker?” It turned out perfect. I love the graphics.

SV: That's a great graphic on the front. It seems that Jazz Cat has been everywhere! He's been in the desert with Sahara, in the tropics, a Brave New World, Morocco, and Across America. Tell us about the first single, and the title track “Wild Card.”
RF: “Wild Card” is actually one of the last songs I wrote for the CD, even though I had the title first. I figured that I wanted to write a song that I could feature Eric (Marienthal) on. He's such a great player. Knowing that we had the Jerry Hey horns lined up I really just wanted something that Ripps fans would love, you know, the vintage Ripps sound. It turns out to be the first single, which is very cool.

SV: I'm sure that all of your fans will look forward to that one coming out very soon. I understand you wrote four songs with Yaredt Leon on this project. How did that come about?
RF: I made the decision that I wanted to venture a little more into the Spanish and the Latin areas that we've been exploring over the past years. I thought collaboration would be a great way to do that. Originally when I was introduced to her… she's known for being a pop song writer, she actually has some pop hits in Spanish throughout the world… the first thing I asked her to do was just to send tracks just so that I could listen and get an idea of what we're going to do. It was very inspiring some of the music she sent me. It was awesome.

SV: That sounds great. “Gypsy Eyes” has that recurring theme that continues to build. What was the writing process for a song such as that one?
RF: Again that was collaboration with Yaredt Leon . She had a lot to do with the melody on that song. It's funny as we had mentioned before… you never know how collaboration will turn out or the unexpected turns that happen along the way, but she definitely felt strongly about the melody and I harmonized it. It was a very easy song to write. It's so funny, but it has a lot of impact. People really respond to the song. I'm amazed and delighted that it kicks off the record. That song came about from wanting to blend gypsy music with Spanish music. What's exciting these days is to take these genres that are kind of different that have not been mixed before and mix them up. That's really a cool thing to do.

SV: The final product is very, very good. That's one our favorites. I see that you have Chante Moore on the disc this time. How did you come about picking the song “Till You Come Back to Me”?
RF: I had gone into a studio with Lloyd Tolbert, who is a really cool song writer in LA, just to listen and get some ideas about what to cut. I was listening to some of his originals and also some cover tunes and we came across that song. I thought that was a great song, I remember that tune. Then about two days later my manager Andy Howard called and said, “You know Chante Moore is available and might be able to sing on the record.” I instantly put that connection together. She would be great on this tune. So I call her up and… she was a doll, really fun to work with… I love the fact that she carved it, I mean the background vocals are beautiful.

SV: She does a great job on that one. I noticed that you have some dates with Al Jarreau and Cassandra Wilson later on in your tour.
RF: That's really going to be a nice package. I'm looking forward to that. I think most of our dates in August are with this package. We've done some dates with Al J arreau, but I love the idea that we're going to package a couple of weeks with them. I haven't worked with Cassandra before.

SV: I'm sure you're looking forward to that. Let's change directions for just a few minutes from the new disc. What's it like touring with Eric Marienthal?
RF: (laughing) He's such a great musician. He's a wonderful player and really a funny guy with a great sense of humor. To hang with him, the unique thing about Eric Marienthal is that you'll never see him run out of energy. This guy is just like the Energizer Bunny. He will never stop. He never seems to be jet lagged. I've only seen him really tired maybe once or twice that he was visibly tired. He can go forever.

SV: I'm sure he has a lot of fun mixing his solo work along with the Rippingtons work. Along with all that he's doing, I'm sure that keeps him hopping. Does Kim Stone ever do anything on stage that just blows you away? I know that he's been with you for a long time now covering bass. He's one of the better one's out there.
RF: Oh, all the time. His solos are so good. We laugh at him sometimes because he gets the crowd going so much. He's so well respected as a bass player that I forget sometimes. Our ex-tour manager was a bass player. He was reminding me how great Kim Stone is because I just know Kim as my friend, just one of the guys.

SV: He really comes out on your Live Across America disc.
RF : Yeah, he has a lot of heart that guy, ya know.

SV: It's been a couple of years since Jeff (Kashiwa) and Steve (Reid) departed. Has this band pretty much gotten into a groove now that they have a couple of discs under their belt?
RF: Oh, absolutely. It's so funny that the perception is with Jeff and Steve. First of all, Jeff came and subbed a couple weeks last year, so it's not like we never see him. And Scott Breadman actually did our Tourist In Paradise tour in 1989, so he's been around forever. Dave Karasony is such a great drummer. I love the band, and a lot of our fans do too.

SV: I know that you released another solo disc just a couple of years ago. What differentiates a Rippingtons song and a solo song for you?
RF: With that solo disc you know it's so funny… as time goes on the music becomes more familiar and endears our fans more. That's one of those sleeper discs that people will really be able to come back to in later years. Primarily I wanted to showcase more classical guitar or guitar in general because sometimes people tell me that I don't play enough with the Ripps. That I'm featuring all these other guys, and of course that's what the band is all about… featuring the multi-talent that we have. But on the solo disc I really wanted it to be guitar oriented. And that kind of kicked off this whole phase that I've been going through. I worked with David Benoit again on our collaboration and again fell in love with the classical guitar. That led me to the whole concept of Wild Card. You know the whole Spanish and Latin thing.

SV: It's all a transformation, isn't it?
RF: Yeah, i t's all one step leads to the next step.

SV: You covered “Boys of Summer” on that one and I liked it a lot.
RF: I've love d that song forever. I thought it would be fun to cover it. It's kind of a completely different thing.

SV: At one time you worked with music as therapy. Are you still doing that?
RF: We don't do as much now, but we love to when we get a chance to go to a facility and do a music therapy concert. It's just a beneficial thing, and it just feels so good to make any difference in someone's life and that's a particular area where you can make a difference.

SV: When I first heard that, I thought that it was the neatest thing because I know what a difference your music has meant to me in my life just making me feel better. I know that if you do that for therapy it would really pay a lot of dividends.
RF: Oh, it sure does.

SV: Label question for you. I know that you are with Peak Records and have a few artists there, I noticed that Rick Braun and Richard Elliott started ARTizen label last month, Dave Koz has Rendezvous and has signed Jonathan Butler and Kirk Whalum. Do you see a lot of artists going towards those types of labels and away from the main ones now? RF: That's a good question and I think it really depends on what the creative environment is for the artist. I think what's happened is that independent labels have grown stronger because they really support their base of fans. So the answer is probably a qualified yes that if the artist feels comfortable in a creative environment then he'll be able to create good music there. That's what we've tried to do at Peak Records, and I really think we've started to succeed. I'm just so proud of the roster that we have.

SV: We're doing a Perspective's article for the website this month on the late Carl Anderson. I know that he was with you on the Welcome to St. James disc. Any background or remembrance on Carl that you'd like to add for us?
RF: Yeah, I produced two of his records. I'll never forget working with him. I actually worked with him live quite a bit as well during the earlier years too. It was always fun to work with him in the studio. I was always amazed to see him sing. He was one of these singers who was a real performance singer, and I think these days you get into a studio and you can fix any vocal and make anything perfect. We've gotten away from singers who really perform. He was one of these guys that could just sing perfectly, perfectly in tune. He had great ideas. I loved working with him. He was a wonderful guy.

SV: I wish I could have seen him perform live. I have your Live in L.A. video, and he does a couple of songs with you there that are just remarkable. His passing was much too early. Well Russ, is there anything you'd like to tell the fans as we close today?
RF: Well, once again I'd like to thank them for their long-term support and love. We feel it from them and appreciate it so much. We're excited to be able to offer our new album Wild Card and I'm hoping that they really enjoy it. I also want to let them know that we're revamping and rebuilding our website into a much greater presence than even it is now. So in the next month or two, we'll have a cool website kickoff.

SV: Thank you Russ.
Russ: Thank you for your support.

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