Ric Menck

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Interview

When I interviewed Will Courtney from Brothers and Sisters he was so good I asked him if he would help me out. Here is his first interview with Ric Menck (Velvet Crush, Matthew Sweet, Liz Phair & The Tyde.) – Clint

Ric Menck 1 WC: Ric, you have a huge record collection. When you die, will you please have your family share some of your record collection with me?
RM: This question suggests I’m going to die, which I’m not comfortable thinking or talking about.

WC: What are you listening to this week?
RM: I am obsessed with Los Shakers, who tore it up in Uruguay during the middle 60′s, and an obscure 50′s rock & roller called Benny Joy. I’ve also been hooked on the first three Thin Lizzy albums.

WC: You have been involved with a lot of amazing bands and have been a part of some very cool records on the hippest labels. What’s the most uncool record you’ve ever been apart of?
RM: The first record I ever made, “Too Immature” by Drats is a real stinker. So is an album I recorded with the Del Reys. I’m not very proud of those.

WC: About 8 months ago I saw you playing at a tiny club in Long Beach with the Tyde. The show after that I saw you playing in the backyard of a house in LA for a Beach Boys tribute. Are you done playing arenas?
RM: I’m a musicians, so I’ll play anywhere. The challenge is to make it work in whatever situation I find myself. My favorite gigs always seem to occur in small clubs, or in Japan, where the fans get so emotional listening to music. I recently had an enjoyable time playing at McCabe’s, which is not exactly set up for drummers, but I found the sweet spot and rode it like a sunbeam.

WC: The Beatles or Rolling Stones?
RM: The Kinks

Ric Menck 2 WC: You’re a killer drummer. You keep really good time and you know how to keep your volume steady. I’ve seen a lot of shitty bands with bad drummers. Would you rather a band use samples and play to a drum loop or keep their shitty drummer? What’s your take on modern productions use of drums samples?
RM: First of all, thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it. Now, to answer your question, I have no problem with shitty drummers or drums machines, as long as they serve the song and the vibe. I don’t like drummers who feel the need to assert their ego in a quest for attention. That guy Lars from Metallica comes to mind. I can’t watch or listen to him. It makes me very uncomfortable.

WC: What’s your main drum set up or favorite set to play? What year/model?
RM: In the early 90′s I got two Slingerland kits that are replicas of 60′s drums, although they have sturdier hardware. I still use those two kits exclusively. I have a variety of snare drums, my favorite being a cool ribbed Slingerland from the 70′s. Equipment talk = snoresville. Next!

WC: Who’s your favorite drummer or biggest influence on you as a drummer?
RM: The guy from the Sonics.

Ric Menck 3 WC: I really enjoyed reading your 33 1/3 Series book on Notorious Byrd Brothers. Did you ever hear from members of the band or hear of them reading your book? What did they think?
RM: Chris Hillman still hasn’t accepted me as his Facebook friend. McGuinn has always been very pleasant.

WC: I know you love Notorious Byrd Brothers. Is that your favorite line-up of the Byrds? If not, what is? Any recommendations on which recordings to seek out?
RM: I like ‘em best around the time of “Eight Miles High” and “Why”, after which Gene Clark left the group. They were also great when Clarence White joined the band in 1968.

WC: Besides releasing new music on the Action Musik and Bird Song labels, you have Reaction, your reissue label. You released one of my favorites, Rolled Gold by The Action, which is a true gem. I was sorry to hear about Reg King’s passing last month and was curious if you’d share how you came to release that record? Did you just cold call and ask to release those demos?
RM: I wrote a letter to bassist Mike Evans, who used to handle all the band’s business affairs. He was very rude at first, which almost put me off the whole thing, but the deal eventually went down and I’m pleased too say we made those guys a lot of money. Rolled Gold is really just a bunch of demos, but it plays like a classic rock & roll album.

WC: What’s Velvet Crush up to these days? Are you working on anything new? If not, what are you working on?
RM: Velvet Crush has a retrospective compilation coming out on Bomp Records next spring. It chronicles our first album and the demos we made for Teenage Symphonies To God. At that point in our trajectory we were a scruffy power pop band influenced by Cheap Trick, Teenage Fanclub and the Kinks.

WC: Anything you’d like to promote? Band? New release? Blog?
RM: I’m not a big fan of self promotion. My publicist will have to help you sort this one out.

WC: What obscure or under appreciated bands would you recommend people check out?
RM: This questions requires several weeks to answer. There are millions of obscure bands I could recommend. Let’s see, how about:

The Boys
The Keys
Bruce & Terry
The Four Lovers
Dale Hawkins
The Q’65
Old Californio
Neal Casal
The Mattson 2
Starry Eyed & Laughing
Milk N’ Cookies

and the list goes on and on and on…