Conrad Richards
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Music
Press
In his paintings this Chicagoan pits jagged splashes of hallucinogenic color against lines of poetry that seem to leap off the canvas (plywood, etc); they’d make great covers for the albums I hope he gets around to making. The music he’s put up online shows him to be a singer-songwriter working at a riveting level of energy and charisma: guitar and harmonica blare and rattle and chug like the soundtrack to a rail-riding hobo’s apocalyptic nightmare—like Captain Beefheart is back and he wants to kill you. OK, sometimes Richards goes the Tom Waits-ballad route, as on “Leave It Beautiful,” but I’m pretty sure that’s just to lull you into a false sense of security. - Monica Kendrick of the Chicago Reader
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Conrad Richards has written over 1000 songs and poems. He has created a mountain of basement 4-track and digital recordings. He has played in a number of bands, including the country-punk band The Emptys. Under the Conrad Richards moniker, he has played many of Chicago's premier dive bars and music venues, and on occasion, plays in New York City and Brooklyn. The set-up and number of band mates varies from show to show. Currently the band is a 2-piece with drummer Eric Sands. His sound has been compared to a mixture of Captain Beefheart, Murder City Devils, and Nick Cave.
Monica Kendrick of the Chicago Reader called him "a singer songwriter working at a riveting level of energy and charisma." She adds, "guitars blare, rattle and chug like the soundtrack to a rail-riding hobos apocalyptic nightmarelike Captain Beefheart is back and he wants to kill you."
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