Chris Richards (Home)

This week, I booked some dates in a Nashville studio for January. That’s always good news. But along with that comes a big responsibility in the independent music-making world — and that’s paying the bills that need to be paid to get it made. Lots of things have gotten cheaper in the universe of music, but not so much on the creation side.

Most of you have heard about sites like Kickstarter and PledgeMusic and the like. Those can be wonderful pathways to generate funding, but they’re just not for me. I am a poor multitasker, and coordinating something like that is beyond my abilities.

So, instead, I spent an afternoon deep in the vault while I was in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, and I came away with a trove of rare items that haven’t seen the light of day in nearly a decade. I thought you might like to own one or a few of these special pieces, and at the same time, help me fill the coffers enough to make a great-sounding album. Here’s what I found:

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The Chris Richards T-shirt (Crewneck, V-neck and Pigment-dyed)

These beautifully screened high-quality shirts were only available during my U.S. Tumblers & Grit Tour in the summer of 2004. When we unloaded the van at tour’s end, they went straight to storage. I’ve given out a few to musicians (Lloyd Green’s got one!) and special supporters (Mom’s got one!) over the years — but I’ve never made them available till now. The white T’s are mostly Fruit of The Loom 50/50, in standard sizes. There are sharp women’s V-necks as well. The colored shirts are pigment-dyed, premium Gildan Ultra Cotton, and maybe run a hair bigger. The colors are Red, Blue and Charcoal. They feature the Mark Dancey-designed CR logo (more about Mark later).

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The Chris Richards Pigment-dyed Polo Shirt

These are not your average band-table shirts. These are pigment-dyed knit polos from White Mountain Traders. They are a bit oversized, in Barn Red, Marine Blue and Charcoal Black. Featuring the Mark Dancey-designed CR logo.

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Jam The Breeze Digipak CD (Out Of Print)

This is a sealed Digipak copy of my 2001 debut album, long out of print. 70 copies were recently found in storage in Colorado. There will never be more produced. It features songs like “Why Arizona,” “Tijuana Lullaby” and “Someone Else’s Blues.”

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Tumblers & Grit Digipak CD (Limited Quantities)

My 2nd album, which received 4 stars in the U.K.’s Maverick magazine, 3 1/2 stars out of 4 in the L.A. Daily News and Philadelphia Enquirer. Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper named it one of its Best Off-Music Row Albums of 2004. Inside the Digipak lies custom artwork by Mark Dancey, photography by Jim Herrington, as well as hand-written lyrics by me. These copies are the last of the first edition run.

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Brilliantine Limited Edition CD Single (Out Of Print)

I released this as a standalone single a year before Goldenwest. These copies are what remain of a small run that will never be re-ordered.

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Here’s THE DEAL:

For a $40 (postage paid, U.S. only) contribution to the ALBUM #4 RECORDING FUND, you’ll receive:

    ~ 1 shirt of your choice — Crewneck T-shirt, Women’s V-neck or Polo

    ~ 1 out-of-print Digipak CD copy of Jam The Breeze 

    ~ 1 final-run Digipak CD copy of Tumblers & Grit

~ 1 out-of-print “Brilliantine” CD single

    ~ As a special bonus, I will also include a sealed CD copy of Goldenwest,

            * All CDs will come signed if you wish

            * Please specify shirt type & size at checkout

            * Some shirt sizes/colors may be limited, and it’s first-come, first-served

            * Packages will be mailed out around December 21/22

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Follow this link to PayPal to purchase this great collection of items:

==»  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NE76GPG6WSS42

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** Additionally (and separately), I’ll be offering this very rare item **:

The Chris Richards @ King King Poster, Hollywood, CA, by Artist Mark Dancey

Mark Dancey is one of the finest illustrators and poster artists of the last two decades. He’s based out of Detroit, and you’ve probably seen his work for groups like Soundgarden before. One of the highlights of my career so far has been having Mark work on many of my projects. Back in summer of 2003, he created a 100-poster run for me for a special show at The King King in August of 2003, just before I headed back to Nashville to make Tumblers & Grit. Only a handful of these individually hand-screened posters exist, and none are alike. I’m selling these for $30, (postage paid, U.S. only). I’ll happily sign yours if you’d like.

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Follow this link to PayPal for this item only:

==»   https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6UNBYVBNWWYFY

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** Interested International parties, please email us at Mailbox@ChrisRichards.com for pricing outside the United States. **

Any other questions can be emailed to Mailbox@ChrisRichards.com and we’ll get you squared away, OK?

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Thank you!

The new album Goldenwest arrives at digital music stores March 13, 2012!

(photo by Jessica Daschner)

People have been asking: “What are you doing with your new record?”

My answer: “Y’know… just sending it out to digital stores.”

I feel a little bit guilty about my less-than-inspiring answer, but here’s the thing. It’s been 8 years since my last full-length album. You heard me. 8 years. Sure, I’ve released 4 or 5 singles in there, co-written and -produced a full length for another artist, produced 2 music videos. But let’s be real… if you ain’t got an album, it’s hard to feel like you’re fully in the game. You’re like a tailback that only carries the ball once a half.

8 years. 2004. Ronald Reagan was still alive. So was Ray Charles. That Usher song that just keeps repeating someone yelling “Yeah!” over and over again was on top of the charts. Justin Bieber was in 5th grade.

Normally what’d happen now is I’d hand the record off to a publicist, and you’d see it maybe by the fading days of summer. 

My thinking is… It’s been long enough. My job is to make the album the best that I can. Check. If it’s good, you’ll hear it and then share it, and it’ll float to the top. If not, it’ll sink. I’m perfectly OK with that scenario.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking that I don’t have some aces up my sleeve. To offset the lack of publicity push, I’ve decided to add these surefire-success-inducing items to my official bio. Behold:

* All the songs on my new album GOLDENWEST were written about the bitter breakup of Adele’s last relationship.

* The record was recorded entirely on 2-inch tape, in Dave Grohl’s garage.

* And in an effort to get in with the young kids who are crazy about the three-word-name-with-“the”-in-the-middle bands (Foster The People, Young The Giant, Cage The Elephant), I will from here on out be known as Chris The Richards.