STAN RIDGWAY AND DRYWALL: Barbeque Babylon

Stan Ridgway and DRYWALL

Barbeque Babylon

© 2006 redFLY records (724101870521)

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ON SALE. Smell that smoke? Feel that flame? Stan Ridgway's electro/experimental noise combo, Drywall - IS BACK. With fellow fire-chiefs Pietra Wexstun & Rick King, a sizzling slab of sonic sedition. 15 choice cuts. Burn baby. Burn.

notes

"Ridgway has transformed himself into a decidedly offbeat version of Johnny Cash and Captain Beefheart, Rod Serling and Tom Waits all rolled up into one." -- LiveDaily.com

"A strange look at a strange land by a strange man.." -- Boise Weekly - 5 stars *****

"They're selling pure gold with this record! . . . Not only does Ridgway make a great carnival barker at the gates of Armageddon, but the music here is some of the strongest he's ever done." -- Santa Fe New Mexican


STAN RIDGWAY’S DRYWALL OFFERS CHARRED MUSIC FOR SMOKIN’ BBQs

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Songwriter and musical alchemist Stan Ridgway has taken a short break from his solo endeavors (last year's acclaimed CD Snakebite, the DVD Holiday in Dirt) in order to deliver another installment from his Drywall side project, Barbeque Babylon.

Drywall is Stan Ridgway, guitar and vocals; Pietra Wexstun, keyboards and vocals; and Rick King, guitar, bass and vocals. Other musical friends join in from track to track. Street date for the album is January 10, 2006.

“Drywall,” explains Ridgway, “is a mad musical project of ours that gets nailed up every once and a while when things of this nature pile up. Our experimental eletro noise combo. I still enjoy messing with sounds. Drywall music attempts to give ‘sonic understanding’ in a world that too often does not. Its also about saying we're mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore. These days , there's a lot to get angry about, too. We feel its the best Drywall record we've done. Pietra, Rick, myself and our studio gang cooked it up this last summer in a way to gather some equilibrium emoitionally. We hope it does the same for who listens. It’s about trash and frustration, fear and control."

Not that Ridgway doesn’t address trash, frustration and fear on his solo outings. But Drywall ups — or downs — the ante, addressing warmongers (“Wargasm”), middle age ennui ("Somewhere In The Dark") economic hardship (“Something’s Gonna Blow”) and robbers, bandits, bastards and thieves (“Robbers & Bandits & Bastards & Thieves”) in a mix of tropical rhythms, acid jazz, electronica, country and funk. Despite its topics, lots of Barbeque Babylon is quite danceable, and certainly will be fine accompaniment to any BBQ party . . . as the world burns.

Press: "Ridgway has transformed himself into a decidedly offbeat version of Johnny Cash and Captain Beefheart, Rod Serling and Tom Waits all rolled up into one." -- LiveDaily.com
****

Stan Ridgway's musical career began in the late ‘70s as part of a soundtrack company to create music for low-budget horror films. From its ashes, art-punk outfit Wall of Voodoo was born, and with Ridgway as lead voice, released an EP, two albums, and the 1982 single "Mexican Radio.” Ridgway then embarked on a solo career that has included work on the film "Rumblefish" with Stewart Copeland, other independent film soundtracks, artist production most recently Frank Black & The Catholics’ Show Me Your Tears (2003), Blood (2004) with composer Pietra Wexstun (a musical score to accompany the paintings of artist Mark Ryden,) in addition to numerous critically acclaimed solo recordings.

Stan says, "This CD completes the trilogy of apocalyptic documents we started back in 1996 with the first Drywall record Work The Dumb Oracle. Drywall music is like a weather report, really. The songs are written by all of us in a topical vien and you might even call this our blow yer mind / protest record, in the grand tradition of recordings we grew up with like Country Joe and The Fish's Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die. It also puts your head in a different space to make a band record, even though its more of a project than a real band. Still, we'll be playing some of this out on tour if we can just calm down long enough."

Ridway has a suggestion for meeting others if you'll be listening in your car: “Place a big dirty sock over your car radio antenna to alert like-minded others that you are listening to Drywall in there. Then form a convoy and head towards your state capitol at breakneck speed. Do not stop. Do not pass go. Park in handicap spaces and wait for further instructions.”
# # #

Press: "Stan Ridgway's "experimental noise combo" Drywalls' latest CD sounds like a rave in which the ringmaster invited the Holy Modal Rounders, Sam The Sham, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, the Wiggles, the Trashmen, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Popeye, Steve Earle, Devo, Nico and err...George Bush, then spiked the punch with a scary, ultra-potent new psychedelic drug and hosted big ol' jam session. Brilliant, unique, hysterical, topical, oodles' o' fun, somehow exceptionally listenable, and (dare I say it?) even danceable, this is what happens when the concept of music as art actually succeeds to perfection. Clue: a sense of humor is always essential." -- San Diego Union Tribune
Five Stars *****

- All Music Guide - Barbeque Babylon
Stan Ridgway and Drywall
*****Review by Hal Horowitz

Continuing an on again/off again relationship with his Drywall side project that began in 1986 with Work the Dumb Oracle, the third album in Stan Ridgway's "trilogy of apocalyptic documents" isn't substantially different from his better-known solo work, at least on this 2006 release. His carnival barker vocals, bizarre lyrics and shapeshifting cinematic soundscapes are in fine twisted form as the songs morph from the moody, bluesy harmonica laced "Bury the Pope" to the more experimental subtle electronica textures of "Rain on Down" and the whimsical, Tex-Mex party atmosphere of "Goin' on Down to the BBQ." Co-Drywall conspirators/multi-instrumentalists Pietra Wexstun and especially Rick King are relegated to sid-
eline status as Ridgway's distinctive vocals and lyrics dominate the proceedings. The diverse sounds combine aspects of Tom Waits (the percussive "The Alibi Room" sounds like an outtake from Rain Dogs), jazzy noir lounge ("Somewhere in the Dark"), Yello ("That Big Weird Thing") and even world music ("Bold Marauder" is sung by Wexstun doing her best Grace Slick impression), but ultimately seem like Ridgway pushing his already elastic musical boundaries. At just over an hour, including a humorous bonus track that features sentences from George W. Bush speeches cut and pasted to mean something far different than what was originally intended, there is a lot to listen to here. Each track is overdubbed multiple times with layers of sound effects and instruments requiring repeated listenings to fully absorb. As with many Ridgway projects, the lyrical theme is obtuse but the music is so challenging, quirky and innovative that the whole shebang is a mesmerizing musical trip. Anyone already a Ridgway fan will be thrilled and open-minded newcomers might find enough of interest here to seek out his earlier, arguably more cohesive albums. Barbeque Babylon is a fun, often but not always lighthearted romp with the participants obviously enjoying themselves by painting a sonic palette the equivalent of 60s pop art. Part pastiche, part storytelling and part experimental, the album finds Ridgway at the peak of his powers, creating music that demands attention even if at times it doesn't take itself seriously.
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And listeners world wide over have spoken!:

"It's hard to have a grand experiment and expect everything to go right. Leave it up to Stan and crew to pull this off without harming anyone. When you first listen to this you should set aside an hour and two minuets and listen to it all the way through and experience all of its Luscious Glory. This is much more than a CD, it's an event. And if the song "Something's Gonna Blow" doesn't make you want to do the funky monkey something's wrong with you."

"Both lyrically and musically Drywall weave a complex vision of America. Easily Ridgway's best writing to date, this is a loud, raging indictment of the festering America Dream. BARBEQUE BABYLON is a must listen for anybody interested in the original."

"I'll be humming all these tunes in the 21st century concentation camp. As usual I'm totally blown away from Drywall. I love the voice of "reason" that weaves in and out of the material, he's on to somethin! All the songs are GREAT. Come back to Jersey, I'll get you a pair of Yankee playoff tickets."
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CD Review by Steve Terrell / The Sante Fe New Mexican

- "RIDGWAY BACK TO NEW TRICKS" -
---------------
As a solo artist, Stan Ridgway is nothing short of an eclectic, eccentric musician.

He draws from all sorts of musical sources -- garage rock, horror movie soundtracks, crime jazz, and more. His most recent solo album, last year's Snakebite, showed a fine knack for rootsy country and blues.

Lyrically, Ridgway has a skewed outlook and a soft spot for losers, loonies, small-time crooks and society's dregs. Most of his songs are sympathetic to his characters. He grants them dignity and many of his songs seem to offer a ray of hope for those struggling beneath the underbelly.

But when Ridgway records as the front man of his band Drywall, all bets are off.


And, after a ridiculously long recess, Drywall is back with Barbecue Babylon, "The Third Installment of the Trilogy of Apocalyptic Documents."

Drywall is Ridgway, his wife, keyboardist Pietra Wexstun and guitarist/bassist Rick King.

(For those keeping score, the first installment was 1995's Work the Dumb Oracle, which contained some of Ridgway's most intense songs -- "Police Call," "Bel Air Blues," "Big American Problem." The second was The Drywall Incident which was mainly instrumental tracks.)

Like Work the Dumb Oracle, the songs on the new album are darker, harsher, more extreme both musically and lyrically than Ridgway's other work. Rays of hope don't last long in Drywall Land. And except for a few stray moments, forget about kindness or dignity.

And, yes, the world of Barbecue Babylon is apocalyptic. Corruption is everywhere. A desperate spirit of lawless has settled over the land. Thievery and murder abound, but the government has gone even more insane than the populace. To play on a few song titles here -- It's a "Land of Spook" run by people seemingly intent on achieving a "Wargasm."

Life is cheap. Love is tawdry. Paranoia thrives. ("The AARP is after me," sings one sad Ridgway narrator.) Doom is always just around the corner.

Luckily, Ridgway's twisted humor still abounds.

Not only does Ridgway make a great carnival barker at the gates of Armageddon, but the music here is some of the strongest he's ever done.

The opening tune "Goin' on Down to the BBQ," is a deceptively upbeat tropical romp with shaking maracas and a happy organ that sounds like it might break into "Tequila" at any moment. The song sounds like a darker version of Joe "King" Carrasco. "Tammy Got a Knife with a razor blade/ She brought her baby with a burnt teddy bear/ Lost her finger on a midnight swinger/ Cook it up and like it medium rare."

But after the cops break up the backyard party, Drywall goes straight for the Bizarro world with the acid jazzy "Fortune Cookies." A honking sax soars over the techno rhythms as Ridgway declares, "Fascist state television, it's a blast ... that's the way the cookie crumbles."

On "Big Weird Thing," against a throbbing electronic sonic backdrop punctuated by sampled voices and sinister clanking bells, Ridgway goes into a berserk rant. He sounds like the celebrated crank Francis E. Dec (Google him, if you dare) or one of those frothing preachers and political crackpots that David Byrne and Brian Eno sampled from short-wave radio broadcasts on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. "It's a whitewash! Disintegration! Surely something that just seems to rot and fester ... Show me these things and I shall salute it."

On Barbecue, Drywall sounds more like a band than they did on Dumb Oracle. Wexstun, whose voice is a proven delight on her own albums (released under the name Hecate's Angels) gets two solo spots on this album. The most impressive is "Bold Marauder," an old Richard & Mimi Farina song that's appropriately sinister and, yes, apocalyptic for a Drywall CD:.

"For I will sour the winds on high and I will soil the river/And I will burn the grain in the field and I will be your mother/And I will go to ravage and kill and I will go to plunder/And I will take a fury to wife and I will be your mother/And death will be our darling and fear will be our name ..."

Pietra's also out front on "Something's Gonna Blow" (with Stan providing unison baritone backup.) This one, with its rolicking garage-rock backup, reminds me of the Farinas also, their more rocked-out tunes like' "House Un-American Blues Activity Dream" (or maybe Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day.") Drywall's tune is a bitchen funky-chicken dance about economic decay.

There's a secret hidden track featuring the voice of the president of the United States of America. Ridgway surely remembers The National Lampoon''s infamous cut-and-paste manipulation of a Richard Nixon speech ("I am ... a crook ..."). He's done the same shock-and-awe editing here for President Bush.

"Every year by law and by custom we meet here to threaten the world," the president says, backed by an ominous Mid Eastern sounding Drywall instrumental track, interrupted every now and then by applause. "We must offer every child in America three nuclear missiles ... We are building a culture to encourage international terrorism ... I have a message for the people of Iraq: `Go home and die.' "

There's one notable calm in the madness of Barbecue Babylon, a cool, almost jazzy little finger-popper called "Buried the Pope." Ridgway released this surprising reverent tune as a free internet download just days after Pope John Paul II's death.

"A world choked up with lies and politician doublespeak/ Nowhere to get the truth sometimes, but some will always seek/ Now you can criticize it, run it down/ Maybe religion's not your dope/ But it's hard to argue solid about a man of peace and hope/ That's the day they buried the pope."

But the funeral is just a short respite for Ridgway's outrage. Elsewhere he has nothing but contempt for the large and in charge. In a sweet, almost western-sound waltz called "Robbers & Bandits & Bastards & Thieves," he sings, "Hey nothing' is new, this story is old/ Some will always steal tin and then sell it for gold ..."

That's not the case for Ridgway and Drywall. They're selling pure gold with this record.

Steve Terrell - The Sante Fe New Mexicam

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KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL

Bledsoe: Collaboration elevates Ridgway's weirdness
By WAYNE BLEDSOE, bledsoe@knews.com
January 22, 2006

"Barbeque Babylon," Drywall (redFLY)
****
Stan Ridgway has always been on that weird side of rock 'n' roll. He's sort of the musical equivalent of Orson Welles' classic film noir "A Touch of Evil" - a little creepy, a little funny, wonderfully entertaining and just plain bent. Ridgway seems to revel in the company of Drywall co-conspirators Pietra Wexstun and Rick King. Unlike Ridgway's organic-sounding instrumentation on solo albums, Drywall is filled with wiggly synthesizers (mostly courtesy of Wexstun), processed beats, bleating saxophones and the like. Electronica mixes with Tex Mex and twisted lounge music. Dialogue from band members fills gaps between songs. As on Drywall's 1995 debut, "Work the Dumb Oracle," songs address politics.

Sometimes the references are oblique, ason the bouncy "Abandon Ship," but, more often, the group goes for the throat.

An untitled track at the end of the disc is made up of re-edited speeches by George W. Bush set to the sound of tribal beats, guitars and electronics.

At times, Drywall recalls Ridgway's tenure as frontman for the early 1980s group Wall of Voodoo.

Drywall, though, is far more mercurial. Ridgway, Wextun and King are adults who still remember what a blast it is to be smart-aleck kids.

It's not as arresting as Ridgway's wonderful 2004 solo album "Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs," but it's great to hear all the things that Ridgway won't do on his own."

Purchase NOW.

reviews

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  • Barbeque Babylon
    author: ALLISON GREELEY

    This disc is right on the money in every way.It is one of Ridgways best.Totally pins down the fucked up times we live in,but yet still entertains.Musically all styles served here. I just love all of it,great tracks Land of the Spooks, Fortune Cookies, Total Focus.Just buy it ,it is perfect .Yes we all are just big weird things.

  • The dude abides...
    author: AST

    Stan Ridgway continues to put himself WAY out there, so the rest of us sinners can take her easy. The Drywall experiment is a truly great and noble undertaking: while Stan's never been afraid to push the envelope of what his admirers expect, this collection of songs allow him to explore musical innovation and excess in equal measure. Barbeque Babylon manages to be exactly the same as Stan's solo work and entirely different at the same time. The shouts of barking-mad barkers in carnival masks interweave seamlessly through dub-heavy dance, rock and even folk tracks. It's sometimes a tough listen, but it's also a very precious thing.

  • Stan Ridgway does it again.
    author: Johnny Patrick

    Stan Ridgway never fails to entertain. If you like anything he's done, then this CD is on par if not better than the rest of his offerings.

  • DRYWALL DONT NEED FIXING
    author: UK Spy

    The Third Installment of this Triology pulls no punches, wonderfully played, interspaced with some chilling goings on in the mind of Drywall. Pure class throughout finishes with the most controversial track I ever heard. You guys keep yer head down!

  • BUY THIS ALBUM
    author: Clark Price

    Please... just buy it... really, but it. Buy it now... Right now.

  • DRYWALL IS
    author: Jeff

    drywall is everywhere... surrounding ... gypsum compressed ridgid standing on edge insulation of cold white dust ubiquity is the god of the unfortunate transient is it's reflection in the artists flux

  • This album cured my HPV!!
    author: Rupert Murdoch

    That's right folks... Drywall is good for more than your ears!

  • UNBELIEVABLE!!!
    author: WINEAU

    5 stars is not enough! This is a brilliant CD, among Stan's best. Just buy it and wonder if Stan signed a deal with the devil. "Bonus" track is great too! Go Stan!!!

  • This is a must have CD!
    author: LURCH

    This is a great CD and I encourage anyone considering buying it to do so. The tracts that really stand out to me are: Fortune Cookies, Buried the Pope, In Total Focus and Wargasm 2005. So don't hesitate buy it now! On the scale from 1 to 10 this CD is an 11.

  • one of the best from 2005
    author: Patrick Walsh

    from the Kurt Weill sounding Abandon Ship,to a less gothic Chickasaw Muddpuppies on BBQ,to the brilliantly clever Wargasm & secret Bush-tracking?,to the brilliant rhyming of get focussed & government dope-us....this is one of the albums of the year for me..Go-Drywall-Go........PW

  • Free musicians with great inspiration
    author: Ivan The Terrible

    "No quarters" could have been the title of this cd.Stan,Pietra(sweet and sexy voice),Rick,thank you for being a bright light in our foggy and confused world.Thank you for playing such good music.Your cd makes me close my eyes and move my head. I saw you Stan at Cafe Campus in Montreal,years ago, when are you coming back? Your french Canadian fan, Yvan

  • Another winner from Stan and band!
    author: Brian

    The new Drywall cd is very interesting and has a wide variety of styles. Not quite as appealing to me as the solo Ridgway material but still very good!

  • Experience all of its Luscious Glory
    author: Boredmonkey

    It’s hard to have a grand experiment and expect everything to go right. Leave it up to Stan and crew to pull this off without harming anyone. When you first listen to this you should set aside an hour and two minuets and listen to it all the way through and experience all of its Luscious Glory. This is much more than a CD, it’s an event. And if the song “Something’s Gonna Blow” doesn’t make you want to do the funky monkey something’s wrong with you.

  • great,awsome makes one use his noodle a bit opens gaps in ones mind
    author: longarm mike vellon

    opens ones mind keeps me up at night,takes me on a trip through my past it keeps me on my toes.It's like a carnival ride at at midnight full of suprises

  • One word baby, just one....
    author: Marcus

    fan-friggin'-tastic!! What?...Oh man, the cops are here. Quick, hide everything

  • Got it and had it stolen...
    author: Tom Edwards

    Got my new Drywall CD, alright. Took it to my niece's BBQ and someone stole it. Imagine that!!!

  • This baby cooks with gas...
    author: Stan in the City

    Brilliantly penetrating, reconstituted layers of musical debris. The West is still calling, though it's now singed around the edges. Stan's sax smolders. Pietra's vocals rock. Handle with tongs.

  • Stan and Co have come up with the goods!
    author: Ian Emery

    This cd is a must for Stan fans, at times dare I say, a little shadow of his past glories seems to appear at times. Go buy!

  • Just in Time for the end of summer & freedom
    author: Jerry from Jersey

    I'll be humming all these tunes in the 21st century concentation camp. As usual I'm totally blown away from Drywall. I love the voice of "reason" that weaves in and out of the material, he's on to somethin! All the songs are GREAT. Come back to Jersey, I'll get you a pair of Yankee playoff tickets.

  • Summer Fun!
    author: Jeremiah Devlin-Ruelle

    This is the perfect summertime CD. Stan and Company have done it again! A side note: The CD does not end after song 15, so keep listening.

  • Stan and company never dissapoint
    author: chazmo

    From the cajuny opening track all the way through the babbling shrub in the hidden track a very solid cd.

  • A magnum opus!
    author: John Trivisonno

    A magnum opus! Another great one from the masters of mayhem! And a mysterious piece of work too: What do we call that last track (I say either "Commander in Chief" or "Drywall's Got Balls" depending on who the audience is!) and who is that hippy-dippy stoned guy asking the big philosophical questions between the tracks? "It's like what you're trying to do, in a way, but..." Hear it for yourself and unlock the mystery!

  • A Complex Vision
    author: CHINASKI

    Both lyrically and musically Drywall weave a complex vision of America. Easily Ridgway's best writing to date, this is a loud, raging indictment of the festering America Dream. BARBEQUE BABYLON is a must listen for anybody interested in the original.

  • Brilliant, brilliant
    author: alex hutton

    Different to the previous drywall releases this still contains some brilliant stuff: Drywall takes an almost jazzy route at times that will take you somewhere you've never been before. The bonus track (what's it called?) is worth the price of this CD alone - it had me laughing out loud and I wish it were number one in the US!

  • Barbeque Babylon is great
    author: Jim

    Great cd from a great artist. this is a perfect follow up to the other Drywall cd's. The hidden bonus tract is worth the price of the whole cd by it's self.

  • charbroiled sacred cows ALWAYS make the best hamburger !
    author: jan bunting

    good morning industrial military complex shoppers you are 'bout to get zapped by re-engergized mimi and richard farina styled wild maurauders. the prices are low low low and so are the politicians- fish rots from the head and despite the summer heat you gotta stay focused on THIS IMMORTAL OPUS! social commentary set to musique- A+! sorry not to score a postcard...darn it.

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