Richard In Your Mind are heading out on their 'Give A High Five' tour in June to celebrate the re-release of their fourth album, 2014's 'Ponderosa', on vinyl.
'Ponderosa' was released last August and took two years to create. Band leader Richard Cartwright says because they released their previous albums quite quickly, it felt right to take their time with this one. “We weren't exactly sure of its form. It wasn't one of those 'ah this is exactly what it is!' ones, you know? We just wrote and wrote and wrote and had a lot of songs, and ended up cutting a lot of songs, and so it was a bit of a process to figure out what shape the album would actually be. So I think that's why it took so long – we were being careful.”
Richard In Your Mind really care about 'Ponderosa', so the decision to release on vinyl was a way to give the album justice. “I think 'Ponderosa' is our best album, and we all love vinyl! At first we weren't sure if we could afford to do it. But the reaction to it has been pretty positive and lots of people are asking for it. We would always put things out on vinyl because we're a kind of vinyl-lovin' crew. So we took the plunge and did it and it feels right.”
Richard believes vinyl appeals to a lot of people because of the shape, science and sound. “In my own, personal record collection, of the records I really love and care for, I have managed to get on vinyl, and keep on vinyl, and when I'm at home and really enjoying music I love it on vinyl to see the big picture.
“We have this nice artwork for the album, it came out on CD, but it's kinda so small and ... doesn’t do it justice to see it on this tiny little thing. You know, a 3cm high picture on your iTunes? So hopefully it sort of adds to the overall experience.
“Also, it's kind of made in two halves, so it's really lovely to start the second side with 'Shooting Stars'. It gives the whole album a different personality being in two halves rather than one jumbled collection. But at the same time, digital is really cool and really convenient ... It's expensive to do vinyl! So you can only really do it with your very special things.”
The name Ponderosa was inspired by a few things. Firstly, it's a cool word. Secondly, it somewhat resembles The Pixies' 'Surfer Rosa' album title. But more interestingly, it has to do with Richard Cartwright's very own name. “I'm a Cartwright and I've never really watched 'Bonanza', but being a Cartwright, people go, 'oh Cartwright! You're from 'Bonanza'.
“Ponderosa was the ranch where they lived and it just sort of felt like, I don't know, the name of the homestead where all the songs were going to go home to roost.”
The 'Give A High Five' tour will consist of a lot of the newer songs and... confetti. “[We've] just [got] a bunch of new songs from the album that we haven't been playing on the previous tours. We're gonna have vinyl to sell and I think we're going to have some cool, new t-shirts and I think we'll have some sort of confetti explosions and some strobe lights – but I'm still working how best to present my confetti and strobe lights this time round.”
The group's excitement levels are building as the tour approaches. “We're really excited and we've been doing a bunch of touring since the album came out last year and it's just been really fun to play in Sydney and also to get out of Sydney, visiting places and heading back up to Queensland and down to Victoria. We're excited to keep doing it because we've been having fun doing it!”
Richard is already writing new songs and making demos for a future release, and is currently thinking about what will be next for Richard In Your Mind. “I've sort of been feeling the writing feeling that grows inside, it's sort of coming out at the moment … It seems to be the time to start working on some new songs and it's time to see where it goes.”
With the indie success of 'Ponderosa', Richard In Your Mind are enjoying the positive feedback and are looking forward to their upcoming shows. “Lots of people have really loved it and the feedback we've gotten back from people is great. We haven't been able to buy any jet planes or sport cars – I don't think we'd buy jet planes and sport cars anyway – but we haven't had the opportunity to not buy jet planes and sport cars as a result, but still, it's done pretty well.
“The work itself, I think people have really liked it and said lots of nice things so I hope other people are going to enjoy it. I think it's still a really amazing album and this'll be a really cool tour and then sometime soon it's time to start thinking about the next wave.”
The ‘Ponderosa’ vinyl is released 29 May.
Richard In Your Mind Tour Dates
Thu 28 May - Rad Bar (Wollongong)Fri 5 Jun - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Sat 6 Jun - Great Northern Hotel (Byron Bay)
Sun 7 Jun - Coolangatta Board Riders (Gold Coast)
Fri 12 Jun - Shebeen (Melbourne)
Thu 18 Jun - Newtown Social Club (Sydney)
Fri 19 June - The Lass O'Gowrie (Newcastle)
