Meet the Artist: Rich Show
Meet notable South Dakota musician Rich Show. As a locally grown artist, show is now re-recording songs from his 40 years of creating music and is preparing for the release of his new double album from Different Folk Records, That Was The Future, This Is The Past. From performing lead vocals in alternative rock bands to writing classic rock ballads, Show manages to uncover what rock and roll means and how it changes people. Whether Show is playing with his dogs, Violet and Hops, or watching a Wes Anderson classic, he is always focusing on the power the arts provide in daily life. Discover what makes this midwest melodist tick just in time to indulge in his newest solo work, which will release January 27 with a performance at The Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls.
YOU MAY KNOW ME FROM… local bands. No Direction, Flag With Hank, Violet, The Working Poor, The All Get Outs, The Body Electric, Geaux-Geaux, Fingers, These Charming Men, and Oxford Comma.
MY FIRST MUSIC-RELATED MEMORY IS… The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Monkees TV show.
THE ONE THING I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS… my MP3 player and a nice set of headphones. And mineral water.
MY FAVORITE PLACE TO PLAY MUSIC IS… Total Drag. It’s very intimate and very artist-encouraging, whether you’re doing your first performance or your 200th performance. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it feels like whatever you do in there, it will be appreciated or considered, and that’s pretty special. No cover songs allowed! But, before Total Drag, I had many nights at the Pomp Room, The Limelight, and Phil’s Pub. I even remember an acoustic set that Mark Romanowski and I did at The Brew Pub, which is now Luciano’s [North].
MY FAVORITE LOCAL PLACE TO HANG OUT IS… Hy-Vee.
MY GO-TO PRE-SHOW RITUAL … is to call the Palmer Candy Company in Sioux City to see how their King Bing inventory is. Then I leave a message and let them know I’m a big fan. They’ve never called back…
YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW THIS, BUT I… play the bagpipes, and I was in air traffic controller school back in the day.
I THINK THE QUALITY OF MUSIC DEPENDS ON… how good the idea is and how it makes you feel. Does it make you want to listen to them over and over? There are many songs that sound very simple, but I will listen to it over and over again because of how they make me feel. I want to somehow find the essence and hope it will rub off on me. A great guitar lead or a great vocal performance cannot save or fix a bad song. The lyrics might be great, but the song still sucks. I want the whole package.
IF I WASN’T MAKING MUSIC, I WOULD BE… insane.
THE LAST MOVIE I WATCHED WAS … Bushwick and Wrecked. I re-watched The Royal Tenenbaums the other day. Wes Anderson is so fun.
IF MY DOGS COULD TALK, THEY WOULD SAY… sausages!
THE BIGGEST CHANGE I’VE SEEN IN SOUTH DAKOTA MUSIC IS… when I started, most bands played the hits of the day and they would stop and make a point to let everyone know that they were going to play an “original song,” like the gods reached down and appointed them the vessel that this music would be performed. Nowadays, bands play their own music and occasionally throw in a cover song.
I’M OBSESSED WITH… finding new music to listen to.
IF I COULD HAVE A YACHT OR A PRIVATE JET, I WOULD CHOOSE… to sell them.
MY FAVORITE RECORD I’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN IS… That was the Future, This is the Past. This project, more or less, forced me to dig into my past to see where I’d been and how far I’ve come. Now I have to deal with the future.
IF I HAD TO PICK A SONG THAT DESCRIBES ME, I WOULD PICK… Even the Losers by Tom Petty.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT DIFFERENTFOLKRECORDS.COM/RICH-SHOW.
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differentfolkrecords.com/rich-show
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Rich Show
