Stan Ridgway has always recorded his own music, even back in his Wall of Voodoo days.
"If we cannot control the means of production, then we're had. Then we're at the beck and call of people masquerading as experts. We have to be our own experts to make our own art," he said.
So Ridgway, who will be performing at TapeOpCon Friday, is also looking forward to learning some new tricks of the trade at the conference.
The singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began his career in the late '70s with the art-punk new wave band Wall of Voodoo. The band cultivated a cult following thanks to descriptive lyrics, Ridgway's signature dry wise-guy delivery and the band's biggest hit, the still irresistible "Mexican Radio."
Ridgway then launched his solo career in 1983 with "Don't Box Me In." True to his word, his solo albums have incorporated many musical styles, including rock, pop, jazz and folk. His music has cinematic qualities, and his lyrics are often bleak character studies of people on society's fringes. Not surprisingly, he's also composed film scores.
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Ridgway is lesser known for his quirky experimental-rock side project Drywall. "Barbeque Babylon" is the last album in the "trilogy of apocalyptic documents" that he began in 1986 with "Work the Dumb Oracle." The new album mocks politics and society, not always lightheartedly, with songs such as "The AARP is After Me," "Wargasm" and a re-created George W. Bush speech.
"Drywall isn't so much personal songs of my own as they are about cultural upheaval," Ridgway said. "It started as a way to document the coming apocalypse. This was the third installment in the apocalyptic documents. It's been popular enough that we'll have to start up a new triad."
On Friday, Ridgway and his three bandmates, including his wife, Pietra Wexstun, will play music from Drywall, Wall of Voodoo and Ridgway's solo material. There is never a set list.
"There's a lot of improvisation that goes on and we're able to have a big train wreck and get back on track and that's part of the fun of playing live," he said with genuine enthusiasm. "We don't try to re-create anything from the recordings. We leave that for 'American Idol.' There are quite a lot of songs to pull from. Half of the fun is to get up there and tailor a show for the moment."
The 25-year anniversary of "Mexican Radio" is coming up, but Ridgway isn't thinking about his musical legacy — he simply doesn't have time.
"I'm pretty busy just moving ahead with things, and I'm really just happy to be around," he said. "I'm happy to still be involved in music because it's what I always wanted to do. I feel lucky to make a living at it as an independent music maker.
"I think more about staying in a creative space, and you do that by staying connected to the enthusiasm you started with. I'm really just obsessed with music. I can't seem to get rid of it, not that I'd want to, but it is an obsession. It always has been. Something is always on the stove and I love it."
