| Richard Scotti - back to you for something real |
| In
20+ years with this site, I've had the fortune to meet artists of many
kinds, not only musically but also different personalities and spirits.
I've met quiet, explosively creative artists, I've met
thoughtful, comtemplative artists, I've met loud, flaky varmints who
test your patience :D, and occasionally you come across one who is
solid. as. a. rock. That's how I'd describe this guy whose energy
kind of snuck up on all of us, the man just does his thing and around
every month or so he delivers an excellent song to add to what can only
be described as a great, varied catalogue of melodies. We have
all watched him grow and flourish as a songwriter from the day he
arrived and last year, 2025, may have been his best year yet.
This guy has accumulated a total of 13 total Golden Kayaks, 2nd
overall on the site and has won 2 Best Male Artist Kayaks including
last year. and the best part is, he ain't stoppin' folks, that
rockin' river keeps flowin' on. |
Scott: Do you remember how you landed at IAC? Richard Scotti: A good friend of mine named Ronnie Gent (an IAC/IMP member) told me about the site and the rest is history! I had never put any of my songs on line before and I was a little apprehensive about it. I also didn’t have a lot of confidence back in 2008 and had no idea as to how my work would be received. I was pleasantly surprised when my songs were greeted with open arms. It felt like home. Scott: Tell us about your background in music. Richard Scotti: I had piano lessons at an early age but I never learned how to read music. Scott: When did you start to play the instrument that you rely upon most these days? Richard Scotti: When I was 17 my mother bought me an imitation Hammond organ. My stepfather was furious that she spent the money and insisted that it should be returned. The organ, still in the box stayed in my room for days as my mother tried to convince him to let me keep it. I proceeded to cut holes in the box and managed to plug it in with an extension cord and then cut holes for my hands. It had built-in speakers and this was my blind introduction to the organ! Eventually my step father agreed to let me keep it and I played along with my records that featured organs like The Animals, Dave Clark Five, Bob Dylan, The Band, The Doors and others. Later I learned to play guitars. Scott: Do you remember the first song that ever captured your fancy? Richard Scotti: Like A Rolling Stone by Dylan and Do You Believe In Magic by the Lovin’ Spoonful were very inspirational to me. They represent totally different sides of my musical equation. Scott: What was the first album you bought with your own money? Richard Scotti: Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Scott: Damn! Scott: Do you have any experience playing live or with bands? Richard Scotti: I’ve played with several bands and performed in well-known venues in NYC on the same bill as Richie Havens, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Byrds and others. The venues were the Bitter End, The Café Au Go Go, The Café Wha? CBGB and others. We also played at large festivals in Vancouver, Canada. It was a thrill to interact with so many famous and accomplished artists. I learned a lot from them. Scott: On the same bill as the Byrds, I am jealous. CBGBs? I was there once. Scott: Got any interesting stories along those lines? Richard Scotti: My band hijacked my high school hootenanny where the acts were supposed to perform only acoustic folk songs. We were last on the bill and conspired to go electric at the last minute with amps we had hidden behind the curtain. It was loud and gloriously revolutionary. Rock music had never been played in the auditorium before and teachers were running up and down the isles freaking out and screaming at us to stop which of course we didn’t. All the kids loved it and were going crazy! Afterward, we were called to the principal’s office where we were yelled at and told “this is going on your permanent record!” Apparently, that had no effect on my life but the cheers of my classmates reinforced my desire to rock on forever. Scott: Sounds like Dylan breaking out the electrics at the Newport Folk Festival. I know you're a big fan of Bob Dylan, turns out you played at the Cafe Wha? which is one of the places he got his start. Have you ever seen him live, when and how many times? Richard Scotti: I’ve seen Bob several times at Madison Square Garden, The Beacon Theatre, Radio City Music Hall and the Fillmore East. Scott: Which era of his brought you to him? Who are some of your other major influences? Richard Scotti: I liked his early work but really got hooked when Highway 61 came out. Blonde On Blonde also blew my mind! My other fav albums are John Wesley Harding, New Morning, Time Out Of Mind, Bringing It All Back Home and Blood On The Tracks. My other influences are the Beatles and the Rolling Stones although I draw inspiration from a wide variety of artists and genres including Motown. Scott: I'd like to hear about your rock and roll dream. Richard Scotti: I’m writing a book about that dream. You’ll be the first to receive a copy! Basically, I’m living my rock and roll dream. I never sought fortune or fame but I did what I loved my entire life and I’m still doing it. One could say I’ve paid my dues in the rock and roll arena and I have the rewards and the scars to prove it. A somewhat autobiographical song that I recently posted addresses some of these issues. It pays homage to Bob Dylan because the title is Back Home To You and the chorus is “bringing it all back home”. I consider this website to be the home for my music. As far as using Dylan’s title for my song, there’s a line: “Sometimes I borrow, but I never steal”. It’s one of the most intense rock songs I’ve ever written! Perhaps the most profound line Dylan ever wrote is: “There’s no success like failure and failure’s no success at all”. Discuss! Scott: Did you ever think you could be a star? If so, have you ever given up that idea and when? Richard Scotti: I never really cared about stardom although many people in the business thought I had the receipts. I just wanted to write the best songs I could, make a living, and provide meaningful, enjoyable songs to as many people as possible. I guess you could say I’m a legend in my own mind! Scott: You're a legend here at IMP. 2 Golden Kayaks for Best Male Artist. 13 freakin' Golden Kayaks!  Scott: I'd like to hear about your songwriting process, how often you write, how you start, do the songs generally happen all at once? Richard Scotti: I always write the music first on a guitar or piano. Then I add all the other instruments on an incremental basis over days, weeks or months, sometimes years! Then I listen to the song every day until words pop out of my mouth. When I come up with a title, the rest of the lyrics present themselves. The title is the song and the song is the title. Scott: I know you don't sing a lot of your songs. Can you describe how you decided on using other voices? Richard Scotti: I sing reference vocals on every song that I write and record but they are mixed way down in the mix. I used to work in a recording studio where I met many great singers. I would barter my producing services for their vocal services. Now I do the same thing virtually at home. I use an advanced version of Garageband. One of the highlights of my life was working with the original cast members of the Broadway show, Beatlemania and Glen Burtnik from the band: Styx. I still interact with them at present. My thinking on the matter is this: I write in many different styles but my singing is not versatile enough to sound drastically different on every song. My use of other singers on most songs represents my effort to match the right kind of voice with the appropriate song and to highlight the professional aspect of my songwriting. It adds more authenticity to the overall vibe of each song and accents their diverse nature. The singers sing exactly what I’m singing but better and with tone that fits the genre. I strive to avoid what one engineer calls “creeping sameness”. I do play or program every instrument. Scott: If you had time left in your life to listen to 2 more songs, which 2 songs would you choose? Richard Scotti: I would listen to “This Is Not Goodbye” (very Dylanesque) and “She’s An Angel (very Beatle-esque) Scott: I like to ask all those I interview if they had any experiences of high strangeness like UFOs, ghosts, or the supernatural. Richard Scotti: Anything is possible but not everything is probable! It’s possible that there is intelligent life on other planets but it’s improbable that they have been here or will be here in our lifetimes. Check out a video on YouTube called Why Even Advanced Aliens Can’t Reach Earth by Carl Sagan. Scott: Anything that made you feel fate played a role in where your life headed? Richard Scotti: Like Dylan once said: “I was born to the wrong parents”. Where, when and to whom you’re born largely determines your trajectory in life but we all do our best to challenge fate with our own ambitions and desires. I did the best I could with the cards I was dealt and I urge others to do the same. Scott: What sort of stuff do you listen to in the car? Richard Scotti: I don’t have a car but when I take an Uber I always request that the driver play classical. In general, most cars have great sound systems. They have a very bassy analog sound that I love. Back when my brother John was alive, we used to go places in his car and listen to all our favorite CD’s and a few of my original songs. It was fantastic! Scott: My favorite song of yours is Ice Cream Pop, I love how it has strains of Philadelphia Soul in it. Can you describe how you conceived of the song, titled it, and how you went about writing and recording it? Richard Scotti: I recently wrote an instrumental called POP4U which I entered into the pop category. I wrote it strictly for fun but it’s one of my most popular songs. I thought it would be fun to write another song with “POP” in the title. Hence the title: Ice Cream Pop. I started jamming with a drum beat and those catchy chords came my way. I used a Telecaster guitar with lots of Boss stereo chorus and it was off to the races! Really enjoyed playing the glockenspiel like the one Springsteen uses on Hungry Heart. In closing, I want to thank you Scott for interviewing me and for the opportunity to be a long-time member of IMP. Although many members have been supportive to me over the years, there are a few I want to single out and they are: Bryon. Stoneman, Bruce, and Tom. This community has been a life changing motivation and inspirational experience for me. The validation I’ve received here gave me the confidence I needed to soldier on and write the best songs I’ve ever written. This is the only site where my music can be heard because this is home and I will continue bringin’ It all back home. |