We are pleased and excited to announce the tour of Stiff Records' Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby who will play songs from their new s/t album at The North Star here in Philadelphia on September 26th! For most of you, the name Wreckless Eric is synonymous with his most well-known (and widely covered) song "Whole Wide World", but for those of you really in the know--you're excited not just about that, but about Eric's wealth of pop material over the years (including gems like "A Popsong", "Reconnez Cherie", "Broken Doll"). And maybe, also for the fact that he is a regally, and fully-realized original Stiff Records' alumni (releasing his first album for the label in '77), and more simply, because he is performing dates with his true love--an amazing songwriter in her own right with multiple albums under her belt; Ms. Amy Rigby. Over the years Amy has received rave reviews for her songwriting, noted especially on her most well-known album to date, Diary of a Mod Housewife. The two met in the UK while Amy was on tour, and also covering Eric's "Whole Wide World"--apparently incorrectly. The duo decided not too long after this, that they should get together to create an album.
Eric: We met in a pub in Hull. I was playing the following night and the promoter asked me to come a night early and DJ at a gig Amy was doing. I’d never seen her before though I’d heard a few of her records. I was really enjoying her set and then she played Whole Wide World and the promoter pushed me on the stage. She played it in a different key. I said ‘it’s only got two chords in it and both of yours are wrong‘. She seemed very nervous - I think she was scared of me. Oddly enough it was the pub where I first ever sang Whole Wide World back in 1975.
Amy: I knew he was coming, I’d been playing Whole Wide World in my shows for a while. I first heard it as a teenage girl and then, in the late 90s, an Eric compilation came out and it just spoke to me again but in a different way, some twenty years later. I started playing it live, and I found that at some shows I would play it just to pep myself up. It has some sort of magical power - that was what lead to us meeting at that show. (from wrecklesseric.com)
The songs on the Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby album have a Velvet Underground, rather home-recorded and warm feel to them still utilizing eachother's unique vocal style to great effect together. We're looking forward to the duo performing these new songs live, and hoping that each will have some of their own material to commit to these live sets as well!
Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby Upcoming Tour Dates:
Sep 23 Thunderbird Cafe // Pittsburgh PA
Sep 25 Jammin Java // Vienna VA
Sep 26 North Star Bar // Philadelphia PA
Sep 27 Southpaw // Brooklyn NY
Sep 30 Beachland Tavern // Cleveland OH
For further tour listings, click here.
For another take on Stiff Records artists, we should also suggest one of our favorite tribute albums; a locally produced compilation "The Stiff Generation: If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Tribute" compiled by Jim Slade of Groove Disques and Rock Town Hall which also features Amy Rigby, Matthew Sweet, The Lowe Beats, Philadelphia locals The Photon Band, Trolleyvox, Nixon's Head, and more. If you're a long-time fan of Stiff, you'll definitely want to add this fantastic CD to your collection as well!
Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby - band site / stiff records / myspace
Cool, isn't it? We've got an interview with Eric and Amy that will be running in the coming week! Stay tuned. And thanks for the tribute CD plug!
Posted by: frankenslade | September 03, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Great news--can't wait to read it! Go Jim!
Posted by: Carly Marcoux | September 03, 2008 at 11:58 PM
As promised, the interview is now up:
http://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/2008/09/12/the-rock-town-hall-interview-amy-rigby-a
Enjoy!
Posted by: frankenslade | September 12, 2008 at 01:18 PM