Ric's solo project...
Here's some exciting news about Ric's solo project. The album, "Crushed Dreams and Cracked Pavement" is being released soon by Ric's own label: Old Blue Dog Records.
Ric Cheyenne, bassist for Chet Ramone and the Rent-to-Owns introduces his new solo project in an interview with James Davies
JD: Chet Ramone and the Lay-z-boyz (formerly Chet Ramone and the Rent-to-owns) seems to be a good foundation for you to branch out from with the solo album. Do you find the rest of the band is supportive of your new direction?
RC: Absolutely. I still consider myself a Lay-z-Boy first and formost. The guys are just as excited about the new songs as I am. They were all psyched to play on the album.
JD: And they do. Particularly your brother Philip. He's on eight of the 12 tracks here, playing everything from drums to dobro. What was it like to work with your brother both with the Boyz and in the studio for the solo album? I assume you're close?
RC: Not at all. He was just around and I didn't have to pay him because he was living in my basement for free. He's a horrible person to have to live with on a daily basis. I think a lot of the anger vibe on the songs came from that experience.
JD: This is indeed more of an edge to the album as compared to the Boyz stuff...
RC: Well, Chet writes about ninety five percent of the Lay-Z music, so you can't really compare this to the Chet Ramone and the Lay-z-Boyz stuff.
JD: Right. Your music seems to be more edgy than Chet's material. The title is perhaps the greatest indicator of the albums content - "Crushed dreams and Cracked Pavement". What does the title symbolize to you?
RC: It's actually stolen straight from something I saw on tv. I was watching a road race. This runner was about five minutes ahead of the pack, basically assured a first place finish. The announcers kept saying how it was a miricle because he'd never placed very high in any races. So the guy is taking it easy, enjoying the lead, when from nowhere comes this sprinting dude. He shortens the gap to about 50 feet back of the first place guy. There's still no chance he can catch up this late in the race, or so you'd think. The first place dude, though, just went flying suddenly and landed spread eagled on the pavement. He got up just as the guy passed him and took first. The announcers were shocked, but then all of a sudden one of them says "That's Road races for ya. Crushed dreams and cracked pavement."
JD: That is a fabulous story.
RC: I'm already sick of it. I nearly changed the title, but the artwork was already done.
JD: Well you certainly seem tell stories well. The song "Never Time" comes to mind. Was that a story you borrowed, or was it something you created?
RC: It actually happened to me. It was an intensely personal song, and very hard to record. Especially with my half-baked brother on backing vocals. I would have liked to have recorded it all on my own, but it would have taken me far too long. By bringing in a bunch of musicians for it, I was able to dostance myself.
JD: Incredible. Thanks you very much for your time. I will look for your album in the next month, right?
RC: Yes sir. That's "Crushed Dreams and Cracked Pavement" by Ric Cheyenne on Old Blue Dog Records. Thanks, James.
