Richard Marx Interview Part 1
On October, 31st I had the opportunity to interview the singer and songwriter Richard Marx, of whom I am a huge fan since his first album in 1987. The interview took place in at the Rocco Forte Hotel in Berlin and was timed shortly before the start of his European Acoustic Solo Show Stories to tell, which brought him back to Germany and a few other European cities for the first time in five years (then as an opener for Joe Cocker). The short version of the interview and an article were published in german newspapers like Abendzeitung in Munich and the Leipziger Volkszeitung in Leipzig to promote the concerts in these cities.
To give all Richard Marx fans the chance to read what he told me on that day, I asked his manager at the concert night in Munich, if I were allowed to publish it on my website as well, which he did. And because I want all international fans of Richard to be able to read it, I publish the original version and not in the german translation.
So let´s start with part 1 of the interview. Part 2 will be published on November, 16th.
When I type in your name in these Internetradios, where they then play your songs and other artists which they think are related, the only music I hear are songs from the eighties. Is this a good way to be remembered or you think it´s completely unfair, because your career didn´t just end in the eighties?
I totally understand it but it´s definitely just a little peace of the picture. My first record came out in 1987. Even by time with Repeat offender which was the biggest album, the singles ended in 1990. There were a rushing more hit singles in the nineties then there had been in the eighties. When the first records hit, they hit very quickly and simultaneously. And also maybe people get in their mind the picture of me with the mullet. It´s just such and eighties thing. So it´s a little inaccurate but I get, I am used to it. It doesn´t bother me.
A reason for that is probably that not many people in Germany have heard something new from you in years. And now you publish an album with at least four or even five of your greatest hits again and they might think another Best of Album from a star of the past. Even if it has many new songs on it as well. Did you consider in advance that this could happen?
No, the record which is out here right now, we put together after we decided to the show. I started to this Stories to tell show this year. And it´s kind of a natural evolution.
For years and years I always did this band shows and never thought of doing anything else. A few years ago I did a couple of benefit shows and I didn´t want to waste money, wanted to give it to the charities. So I told them I could do about 30 minutes. And it´s just me and maybe one or two other guitar players. Make it smaller. We did this a few times and then couple of years ago I started doing some shows with my friend Matt Scanell from the band Vertical Horizon. We really started doing shows because we are such good friends, but he lives in L.A. and I live in Chicago. So weren´t seen each other hardly ever. It was a selfish excuse to hang out together. But then people were coming to the shows.
Early in the year my agent said “Why just go and do some solo shows, where it just you.” And I said I can´t do that. He called me a chicken shit and a coward. “You want me do get you do something, that´s what you gonna do”. So I said I gonna try it but it´s gonna be horrible. We booked some shows down in Florida. And I have to tell you, it was just the greatest. It was just me and the audience. I couldn´t believe I waited so long to do that. And I take these songs, even some of the rock songs and bring them back to where they were I sat down in this room and wrote them. I told a lot stories and just hung out with the audience. It´s just like you came over to my house and let me tell you about when I wrote Endless summer nights and then I gonna play it for you. And it just became that comfortable. I have done fifteen of these shows and then the opportunity came up to come here and do some shows here in Germany and some other places in Europe.
My manager said I should put something out. So I went in the Studio in my house and basically did kind of what the show is. It´s all kind worked together. And then it was also my managers idea to put some of the bonus songs on it which are bunch of songs I wrote for other people like NSYNC, Daughtry, Lifehouse, Keith Urban or Josh Groban.
You start your European tour on Tuesday in Sofia, Bulgaria and after that in Helsinki, Finland and Velje, Denmark before you come back on November 9th for your concert in Cologne. Three unusually places to kick off a European Tour? How did it come to that?
Up until a month ago the one thing which was gonna be different was that show was gonna start in Sofia and then go to Moscow and then to Bucarest. But these shows were gonna be band shows. Then a month ago the Russian government shut down the venue and that was kind of “Ouch”. That were the main reason we were gonna bring the band. So we went to Bucarest and Sofia and asked can we just do the Solo shows and Bucarest said no and Sofia said yes. So it became a whole solo tour.
On Tuesday you will read, what Richard told me about the state of the music business, when he fell in love with Germany and that what makes him happy.