Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway was the original lead singer for the band Wall of Voodoo, singing on their debut EP and first two albums, including their only hit song, "Mexican Radio". Wall Of Voodoo's genesis was in a Hollywood company called "Acme Soundtracks", a commercially unsuccessful venture founded in 1977 in Hollywood by Ridgway. Ridgway's intent for the company was to provide soundtrack music for independently produced low-budget horror films; unfortunately, the company found few takers for its services. Instead, Acme Soundtracks evolved into a band that played live shows.
The band was named Wall Of Voodoo by Ridgway before their first gig in reference to a comment made while recording and overdubbing a Kalamazoo Rhythm Ace drum machine, a gift to Ridgway by writer and iconic voice over artist Daws Butler, partner to Stan Freberg, voice of Yogi Bear and many other Hanna-Barbera characters. When someone jokingly compared the multiple drum machine and farfisa organ laden recordings to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Ridgway commented it sounded more like a "Wall Of Voodoo", and the name stuck.
Actually, for new listeners, the voodoo reference was a little misleading, as it referred to the music's often spooky quality, as opposed to any Haitian or Caribbean influences. In fact, WoV's music could fairly have been described as a cross between early synthesizer pop (especially that of Devo) and Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" films. Adding to the music's distinctiveness was Nanini's percussive experimentation, mixing drum machines with unconventional found instruments such as pots, pans and various kitchen utensils, as well as Marc Moreland's twangy spaghetti-western guitar. On top of the mix was Ridgway's unusual vocal style—a nasal Western drawl that combined the stoic ballad-style Sprechgesang of Johnny Cash, the declamatory theatrical delivery of Ethel Merman, and the ironic, clenched-jaw voice of a wisecracking ventriloquist's dummy. One of Ridgway's hobbies since childhood has been ventriloquism and he occasionally assumes the persona of a dummy named Jackie T. Lazar, such as in his cover version of "Behind Closed Doors" from Holiday in Dirt and in the video for "Big Dumb Town" from Black Diamond.
Ridgway embarked on a solo career in 1983, shortly after Wall of Voodoo's appearance and break up at the US Festival that same year. After collaborating on the song "Don't Box Me In" with Stewart Copeland from The Police for the soundtrack to the film Rumble Fish (1983), directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper and Tom Waits, he released his first proper solo album, The Big Heat (1986), which included the top 5 European hit "Camouflage". This was followed by numerous other solo recordings Mosquitos (1989), Partyball (1991), Black Diamond (1995), Anatomy (1999), The Way I Feel Today a collection of big band standards (2000) and Holiday In Dirt (2001) which also included a DVD of videos. Ridgway's most recent solo outing is Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs (2005) featuring the narrative song, "Talkin' Wall Of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1", a history of his former band in song that was especially poignant, having followed the recent deaths of Marc Moreland and Joe Nanini.
Since the early days of Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway has been interested in music for cinema. A list of films for which Ridgway has written scores and/or original songs is included below. Ridgway's album Holiday in Dirt was a quasi-cinematic project, with the release of the album accompanied by a showing of 14 short films by various independent film makers, each film corresponding to one of the songs on the album. A compilation DVD of the films was released in February 2005.
In 1994, Ridgway began work on a new project in the form of a trio called Drywall, the other members of the trio being Ridgway's wife, keyboardist/vocalist Pietra Wexstun of the band Hecate's Angels (who had previously worked with Ridgway on Mosquitos and Partyball), and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight. In 1995, Drywall released its first album (first of a "trilogy of apocalyptic documents"), titled Work The Dumb Oracle. A short film directed by Carlos Grasso titled The Drywall Incident was released the same year. An extended, instrumental soundtrack album for The Drywall Incident was released in 1996.
Ridgway and Wexstun also collaborated on a suite of mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces to accompany an exhibition of post modern surrealist artist Mark Ryden's paintings, which was released as the album Blood- Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear"in 2003 in a unique 3 panel packaging design by the artist which quickly sold out of its limited pressing of 7,500.
Stan Ridgway and Drywall regrouped in 2006 to release the album Barbeque Babylon, the third "apocalyptic document" with the single "The AARP Is Following Me". The new Drywall lineup features Rick King on guitars and bass and Bruce Zelesnik on drums and percussion.
Ridgway has also contributed to albums and projects by producer Hal Willner, Frank Black and the Catholics, The Flesh Eaters, The Divine Horsemen, The Ray Campi Quartet, The Fibonaccis, and Roger McGuinn.
Into the Sun
Stan Ridgway Lyrics
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I'll hit the road now, and take my leave
No-one will care, I'll slip away
Into the sun
Where the clouds all meet the sky
Where the sand blows in your eye
I'll take your hand, we'll walk this land
Into the sun
Out where the beer cans don't talk back
We'll disappear??it's time we run
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Now, for the times I've heard the sound
From way up high to underground
The wind will burn, our heads will turn
Into the sun
There where the cow walks the toad
The tumbleweeds speak in secret code
No lawns to mow, our new plateau
Into the sun
Out where the sagebrush sings our song
Some will be jealous of our home
But no friends we'll shun, as we fly off
Into a new day
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Yeah, oh, we gonna get there
Drivin' on the highway
All night long
All night long
It's gonna be boilin' hot
Out in the sun
Out in the sun
Out in the sun
The lyrics of Stan Ridgway's "Into The Sun" can be interpreted in a few different ways, and the imagery throughout the song is vivid and mysterious. At its core, the song seems to be about leaving behind the cares and troubles of modern life and escaping into an idyllic, natural world. The first verse sets the scene: the air is heavy and oppressive, and the singer decides to leave it all behind and slip away into the sun. The second verse continues this theme, as the lyrics describe a world where the sky and earth meet, and the sand blows in your eye. The singer takes the hand of a companion and they walk together across this wild land. The third verse suggests that this world is out in the wilderness somewhere, away from the noise and chaos of civilization. The crows dive and the beer cans don't talk back, and the singer and their companion can disappear into this world.
Through all of this, there is a sense of longing and escape. The singer wants to leave behind the familiar world and enter a new one, where they can find peace and freedom. The lyrics suggest that this new world is not easy to find, but once you do, it's worth the effort. The phrase "into the sun" is repeated throughout the song, and it seems to represent a kind of transcendence, a way of moving beyond the mundane and finding something new and transformative.
Overall, "Into The Sun" is a dreamy, poetic song that manages to conjure up a vivid and compelling image of a wild and untamed world that exists just beyond our reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Here, where the air's too thick to breathe
In this place, the atmosphere is unendurably dense
I'll hit the road now, and take my leave
I will begin my journey, and depart from this place
No-one will care, I'll slip away
Nobody will notice, I will leave without a fuss
Into the sun
Directly towards the blazing ball of fire in the sky
Where the clouds all meet the sky
At the point where the mass of water vapor converges with the atmosphere
Where the sand blows in your eye
A location where gusts of wind carry small grains of soil into your vision
I'll take your hand, we'll walk this land
I will grasp your hand, and we will explore this terrain together
Into the sun
Towards the searing, radiating orb of plasma that illuminates the earth
Out where all the crows all dive your slack
In a region where large black birds swoop down upon your weakness
Out where the beer cans don't talk back
In a place where inanimate objects do not provide unwanted feedback
We'll disappear??it's time we run
We will vanish, without hesitation it is imperative to flee
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Towards the glowing object in the sky (Towards the glowing object in the sky)
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Towards the shining celestial body (Towards the shining celestial body)
Now, for the times I've heard the sound
At this moment, remembering the occasions when I have encountered certain noises
From way up high to underground
From locations far above the earth's surface, to depths beneath the ground
The wind will burn, our heads will turn
The intense gusts will incinerate as we observe our surroundings
Into the sun
In the direction of the sun's rays
There where the cow walks the toad
In an area where the bovine ambles alongside the amphibian
The tumbleweeds speak in secret code
The wandering masses of dried shrubbery converse in a clandestine language
No lawns to mow, our new plateau
No need to cut grass here, our new flat elevated region
Into the sun
Towards the giant ball of fire that radiates warmth across the planet
Out where the sagebrush sings our song
In an area where the silver-grey vegetation hums our melody
Some will be jealous of our home
Certain people will envy our residence
But no friends we'll shun, as we fly off
However, we will not ignore our acquaintances, as we depart while airborne
Into a new day
Towards the beginning of a fresh sunlit cycle
Into the sun (Into the sun)
In the direction of the glowing, heated astral body (In the direction of the glowing, heated astral body)
Into the sun (Into the sun)
Towards the star that illuminates the planet (Towards the star that illuminates the planet)
Yeah, oh, we gonna get there
Affirmative, we will arrive at our destination
Drivin' on the highway
Traversing the thoroughfare designed for vehicular travel
All night long
Throughout the entirety of the night
All night long
Throughout the entirety of the night
It's gonna be boilin' hot
The climate will be scorching hot
Out in the sun
Outside in the direct path of the sun's rays
Out in the sun
Under the glowing orb in the sky causing high temperatures
Out in the sun
Exposed to the scorching heat of the celestial body
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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