Rook Richards writes music from the heart and for the people, exploring concepts of heartache and the importance of perseverance in the life long pursuit of love and happiness. His overall message is one of hope, optimism and positivity. Creating music guided by his own honest and raw emotional experiences, he lends a supportive hand to his listeners, reminding them that heartbreak is universal, that you are never alone and that there’s never an appropriate time to lose faith. As we learn before, Richards draws influences from folk and classic rock as much as he does 2000s alternative like Incubus. The result is a mix of soaring and comforting music, as we can hear on his song “Euphoric Dream.”
“It was a typical song about finding young love but through a tundra of cold hearts that are out there that couldn’t care less if you added to their lives or not,” shares Richards. “It was the realization that the hope of someone you could really spend your life with was actually there.”
Beginning his musical career in 2017 with the band, A Note Two Self, Richards started making large strides towards music, treating it like a language and immersing himself in it fully. Driven by an intense passion and purpose, he did everything in his power to make music his livelihood, releasing multiple singles, an EP, engaging in many local touring opportunities, and eventually deciding to dedicate himself to pursuing a solo path.
In our interview, Richards talks his favorite music and how it influenced him.
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
“Landslide” by Fleedwood Mac. It mixes just the right amount of emotion with an incredibly catchy and an iconic guitar line that is recognizable instantly. It also paints a beautiful picture and tells a story that everyone can relate to no matter what age or where you’re from.
Tell us about the first song you wrote.
The first song I ever wrote was when I was 14, listening heavily to a lot of The Beatles. It was called “Tears of Silver” and it was mostly about growing up and trying to understand who you were to become. I was one of those high schoolers that didn’t exactly have a plan for when I got older, and I was always told music was a pipe dream. So this song had a lot of references to Charlie Brown and Superman, some of my favorite characters growing up, and thinking about what they might be destined for just because they were in the positions they were in. What if Charlie Brown never met Snoopy? What if Superman never lived up to the expectations set on him? It was a serious moment of soul searching in a tune that I didn’t even understand I was doing at the time.
Do you have any songwriting tips you can share?
Always write from the heart, and stick with what you know. It doesn’t always have to be something that happened to you. A fantastic writer I worked with out of Nashville last year asked me as we were doing a co-write “What are you, one of those non-fiction songwriters?!”. It really got me thinking about the limitations I was putting on myself, and it really opened up a whole world of creativity I hadn’t thought of since I was a teenager starting my first songs.
What 5 albums are you going to make your kid listen to and why?
- Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life — It’s chock full of life lessons, and groovy tunes that helped me grow up
- Billy Joel: The Stranger — Same reason, but less groovy and more feels. Billy Joel’s music taught me a lot of life’s lessons to live by, and has helped me continue toward living with grace.
- Incubus: Morning View — This was Incubus’s second greatest album of all time in my opinion, but it was made when they were a little more mature. I’m not sure what the scoop is and if Brandon Boyd was going through a tough break up at the time, but it’s absolutely the best break up album I’ve ever listened to, and it certainly got me through some tough times.
- John Mayer: Continuum — It’s just such a well-made record after Mayer strayed away from the Acoustic Rock Pop he was making and went into an incredible Blues Rock genre that touched on so many points from unity, to getting through tough times, and who could forget that amazing cover of “Bold as Love” he did by Jimi Hendrix?!
- The Beatles: Abbey Road — My dad was the one who put me on to The Beatles, and this record really took the music to the next level. The B side of this record on “The End” with the big finale was phenomenal, and I still can’t think of a time someone else did that on a record to date.
Where are some places you’ve found joy within the country/Americana world?
The solid work ethic, the beautiful lyrics, and the grit that you don’t often find in any other genre these days. The world needs more of it.
What’s the first concert you ever attended? What do you remember about it?
My dad took me to see B.B. King at Wolf Trap in Vienna Virginia when I was about 13 years old. I remember him being a fantastic storyteller even when he wasn’t singing or playing. He was a phenomenal talent that inspired many through several mediums, and I certainly am one of those.
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