Mark Ripp Interview
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: I started out as a kid, maybe 9 or 10 with guitar lessons on (what I thought then was) an unplayable Harmony Stella acoustic. I’m lazy by nature so I didn’t get very far until in high school I decided to explore the urban folk genre which was (at that time) inhabited by Dylan, James Taylor, Cat Stevens etc. I realized then that I had a bit of a knack for songwriting.
I began playing the coffee houses around town and did that for a few years until I got it into my head that I wanted to become more of a working musician vs a folk singer. I bought myself a Telecaster, began lessons again, listened to Chuck Berry & Buddy Holly and played the bars in cover bands. Through that experience I met two older guys that would eventually morph into The Bel-Vistas. That period, roughly the mid ’80s to the mid ’90s was where I made my most focused effort to become a professional recording artist and songwriter. It was a time to throw everything we had at it, which we did, with some success but not enough to create a business that could sustain itself. So like many rock n’ rollers before us we disbanded. The years since have been a transition to family life while still attempting to keep a pulse on my creative interests. I put together a studio in my basement, a very common thing these days and have the good fortune to make recordings down there. The final unexpected twist of the last few years is my interest in surf/instrumental music. I’ve taken on the genre as a means of getting better on guitar and spending less time yelling into a microphone. It’s been a challenge and humbling but full of joy, in fact I call the band, “The Joyful Hope.”
Q: What inspired you to make All Things Considered Vol 1?
A: Songs, be they good, bad or indifferent simply occur to me. I don’t really struggle much to write them. I also really like listening to the recorded versions of them, shaping them, adding parts etc. All Things Considered Vol 1 is the latest example of that.
Q: Can you talk about some of the themes on the album?
A: Sure, some are quite autobiographical, “Out of Mind,” “My Father Was An American” and “Old Man Car” are pretty much me. Others are observations fleshed out with constructed characters, “Robots” and “Dog N’ Cat Blues” are me trying to explore tech, loneliness and homelessness by way of a character from my imagination. I also returned (in part) to what I think of as a good pop record, meaning the words matter but it’s more about the song holistically. “Can’t Shake You,” “That Girl,” “Never Enough” and “You Don’t Owe Me Anything” are like that, they’re my attempt at more of an ear candy idea. Hopefully, the song hits the listener as one thing.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: All through my songwriting life (with some exceptions) begins with an idea on a guitar, then mumbling something melodic and finally (if I’m lucky) coming up with words that are worth saying. The words have always been the least easy for me. I’m always thinking of people like Tom Petty or John Hiatt and try to swing for the fences with lyrics that are simple but impactful.
Q: What was your recording process like? And has it changed over the years? Would you explain some of the tools you use?
A: I began learning about and putting together a digital home studio almost twenty years ago now - hard to believe it’s been that long. Before that the recording world was still mostly analog and recording usually meant a big studio at high hourly rates. Sometimes that would be on our/my dime or sometimes it meant the record company or publisher. I miss those days to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, the freedom of computer recording is great but there was something magical about a big console and two inch tape with all the fancy outboard gear and mics. I’m glad I got to experience both methods. My basic tool kit these days is an old pro tools hd rig with Rupert Neve mic preamps and a couple of good mics. It gets the job done pretty good I think.
Q: How do you usually go about writing lyrics?
A: As mentioned above the lyrics usually come last with me as they’re the most challenging part to get good. A lot of the time I’ll sing nonsense until something starts to gel phonetically, other times I may have a concept/story in mind and write to that. Mostly I use the voice notes app on my phone to put things down as my hand writing is pretty much indecipherable.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: That’s a good question. Let me think. Ok, it’s most likely to not appeal to younger folks, of course I’m sure there will be exceptions. I say that because the cloth that it’s cut from is rock n’ roll that was done a half century ago, give or take. The melodic ideas, arrangements, production is very old fashioned by today’s standards (far as I can tell). So I’m someone a listener might like if what generally rings their bell is rock n’ roll that references the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: I started out as a kid, maybe 9 or 10 with guitar lessons on (what I thought then was) an unplayable Harmony Stella acoustic. I’m lazy by nature so I didn’t get very far until in high school I decided to explore the urban folk genre which was (at that time) inhabited by Dylan, James Taylor, Cat Stevens etc. I realized then that I had a bit of a knack for songwriting.
I began playing the coffee houses around town and did that for a few years until I got it into my head that I wanted to become more of a working musician vs a folk singer. I bought myself a Telecaster, began lessons again, listened to Chuck Berry & Buddy Holly and played the bars in cover bands. Through that experience I met two older guys that would eventually morph into The Bel-Vistas. That period, roughly the mid ’80s to the mid ’90s was where I made my most focused effort to become a professional recording artist and songwriter. It was a time to throw everything we had at it, which we did, with some success but not enough to create a business that could sustain itself. So like many rock n’ rollers before us we disbanded. The years since have been a transition to family life while still attempting to keep a pulse on my creative interests. I put together a studio in my basement, a very common thing these days and have the good fortune to make recordings down there. The final unexpected twist of the last few years is my interest in surf/instrumental music. I’ve taken on the genre as a means of getting better on guitar and spending less time yelling into a microphone. It’s been a challenge and humbling but full of joy, in fact I call the band, “The Joyful Hope.”
Q: What inspired you to make All Things Considered Vol 1?
A: Songs, be they good, bad or indifferent simply occur to me. I don’t really struggle much to write them. I also really like listening to the recorded versions of them, shaping them, adding parts etc. All Things Considered Vol 1 is the latest example of that.
Q: Can you talk about some of the themes on the album?
A: Sure, some are quite autobiographical, “Out of Mind,” “My Father Was An American” and “Old Man Car” are pretty much me. Others are observations fleshed out with constructed characters, “Robots” and “Dog N’ Cat Blues” are me trying to explore tech, loneliness and homelessness by way of a character from my imagination. I also returned (in part) to what I think of as a good pop record, meaning the words matter but it’s more about the song holistically. “Can’t Shake You,” “That Girl,” “Never Enough” and “You Don’t Owe Me Anything” are like that, they’re my attempt at more of an ear candy idea. Hopefully, the song hits the listener as one thing.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: All through my songwriting life (with some exceptions) begins with an idea on a guitar, then mumbling something melodic and finally (if I’m lucky) coming up with words that are worth saying. The words have always been the least easy for me. I’m always thinking of people like Tom Petty or John Hiatt and try to swing for the fences with lyrics that are simple but impactful.
Q: What was your recording process like? And has it changed over the years? Would you explain some of the tools you use?
A: I began learning about and putting together a digital home studio almost twenty years ago now - hard to believe it’s been that long. Before that the recording world was still mostly analog and recording usually meant a big studio at high hourly rates. Sometimes that would be on our/my dime or sometimes it meant the record company or publisher. I miss those days to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, the freedom of computer recording is great but there was something magical about a big console and two inch tape with all the fancy outboard gear and mics. I’m glad I got to experience both methods. My basic tool kit these days is an old pro tools hd rig with Rupert Neve mic preamps and a couple of good mics. It gets the job done pretty good I think.
Q: How do you usually go about writing lyrics?
A: As mentioned above the lyrics usually come last with me as they’re the most challenging part to get good. A lot of the time I’ll sing nonsense until something starts to gel phonetically, other times I may have a concept/story in mind and write to that. Mostly I use the voice notes app on my phone to put things down as my hand writing is pretty much indecipherable.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: That’s a good question. Let me think. Ok, it’s most likely to not appeal to younger folks, of course I’m sure there will be exceptions. I say that because the cloth that it’s cut from is rock n’ roll that was done a half century ago, give or take. The melodic ideas, arrangements, production is very old fashioned by today’s standards (far as I can tell). So I’m someone a listener might like if what generally rings their bell is rock n’ roll that references the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.