
Bruce Richardson Music
Expert Music Creation for Media and Stage
With a lifetime of experience as a performer, producer, composer, and designer, and a deep understanding of stagecraft and technology, Bruce Richardson brings a wealth of creative inspiration to every project. contact Bruce...
What's New...
-
Performance Calendar
November-December 2009
11/08/2009 The Balcony Club, Dallas TX, w/Dave Burris Group, 8 pm
11/08/2009 The Balcony Club, Dallas TX, w/Arthur Riddles Group, 10 pm
12/03/2009 Workplay, Birmingham, AL, w/Inner City All Stars
12/31/2009 Victoria Country Club, Victoria, TX, w/Inner City All Stars
...more dates pending, check back soon for details
-
GIG LAND: Bruce reappears on local stages
June 2009
OK, I said it. If the Dallas City Council passed the comprehensive smoking ban, I'd get back out and start playing live again.
Well, they did it. So, here's a list of places you're likely to find me playing:
Balcony Club: Great jazz bar, located in the historic Lakewood Theater. Here's some news...it has a ceiling! I always looked up and assumed it just dissipated into a smoky infinity.
Sandaga Market: This is the best kept secret in Dallas. Amazing players, amazing performances. The Tuesday Night "jam" is legendary, and you never know who will be hitting the stage
Inner City All Stars: I've been playing with Calvin Sexton's Inner City All Stars for the past month, and it is one of the most fun and enjoyable gigs I've ever had (thanks Calvin). We just played the Dallas Museum of Art Late Night Block Party, which was a gas. I'm playing several dates with the All Stars in the coming months, so check the Inner City All Stars website for the latest scheduling info.
The Hideaway: Well, The Hideaway has had a rough time of it over the past month. We'll see how it all plays out. I've appeared there a few times over the past couple of months with my dear friend Liz Mikel.
I'll try to start listing upcoming performance dates here, as well as on my Facebook Page.
-
ARTICLE: Tips for purchasing a used bass guitar
January 2009
After seeing about half a dozen totally ruined basses on sale for CRAZY money on our local Craig's List, I decided to write up this little article to help shine a light through the fog...
-
LMFA 50th Anniversary Concerts with BL Lacerta
June 2008
BL Lacerta, featuring Kim Corbet, Buddy Mohmed, and yours truly, descended upon my home town of Longview, Texas this summer, to help celebrate the Longview Museum of Fine Arts 50th Anniversary celebration, Museum Mania
It was a blast, performing with local dancers, yoga classes, clinics, and especially our two feature concerts, live film scores for Fritz Lang's iconic Metropolis, and the always-fun Charlie Chaplain classic, Gold Rush
Big thanks to LMFA Director Renee Hawkins for hosting us with such generosity, and to all the LMFA Board of Directors and staff for the warm welcome (and flowing libations).
-
TMEA 2008 Report
February 2008
Despite some rain and gloomy weather, the 2008 Texas Music Educators Association Convention was a total blast. I was hosted by my good friend Key Poulan, and between meetings, had a great time catching up with old friends and colleagues at the Key Poulan Music booth on the Exhibit Floor. It's wonderful to see my old school classmates doing so well. Scott Coulson's Poteet High School Wind Ensemble was selected as this year's 4A Honor Band, and they knocked it out of the park with an exciting, precise, and musically expressive performance. The standing ovation seemed longer than the last piece!
Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow composer John Mackey. He seems to have a piece on just about every band's concert program these days, and we had an opportunity to catch up over cocktails a couple of nights this year at Swig. His piece Strange Humors was the closer on Scott's concert, and they played the living **** out of it!!
We had a great reunion at the Mariott for all the ne'er-do-wells from my alma mater, East Texas State University (now rather obscenely renamed Texas A&M University-Commerce...yuck). I managed to sell over twenty copies of Sohmon III, and it was nice that my fellow alums were willing to open up their wallets and support the school--crappy new name and all.
One of the biggest highlights for me was seeing my dear mentor Jim Keene, who was at the convention doing some clinics on score study. He looks great for 150 years old (just kidding...he's not a day over 97). Seriously, I learned more about running an ensemble from this man in three years than I have been able to apply in a lifetime.
You can't attend TMEA and come away uninspired. I feel really fortunate to have been educated in this Texas. There's nowhere else in the entire country that places more importance on music education.
-
Sampledaddy exhibits at NAMM 2008
January 2008
After launching my new virtual instrument company, Sampledaddy, I had about two weeks to get my act together and exhibit for four days at the NAMM 2008 Winter Show in Anaheim. I was hosted by Tascam, and shared booth space with my good pals Mark Belbin (Wavelore) and Larry Seyer (who has more Grammys than I have brain cells). We demoed our instruments by day and plotted world domination over generous libations by night.
Tascam was a great host, and we had a perfect location right by the Sennheiser Stage. One of the peripheral highlights of the exhibit for me was hearing the AMAZING Debby Holiday perform two unplugged sets. You've heard her work on the title track of Courtney Cox's series Dirt, and she has some video up here and there on the web. But there is something about this girl...when you're in the same space with her, there is an energy present that's indescribable. I've seen video of the show, and you can't catch it and play it back. So, if you're in the LA area, you owe it to yourself to find one of her shows and get there. You can thank me later.
On Monday, after the show, I attended Craig Sharmat's lovely L.A. Composers' Dinner, and about twenty-five of us had a great time dining and chatting as the sun set over Marina Del Rey.
Best of all, on the way in I found a little tailor's store having a sale, and copped an absolutely slamming silver wool/cashmere suit for beans. A very, very good night.
Recent Projects...
-
-
Dallas Theater Center: Death of a Salesman
April 2010
The moment The Beauty Plays open, I shift my attention to Arthur Miller's happy little family frolic...
Directed by Amanda Dehnert, this production will be stripped down to the essentials, probably the most stark look at DTC's new theater we'll see this season.
Stay tuned for details...we're just getting started.
Dallas Theater Center presents "The Beauty Plays," by Neil Labute: Reasons to be Pretty, Fat Pig, and The Shape of Things
Spring 2010
When
the folks at Dallas Theater Center asked me if I'd be
interested in this project, I missed the part about
three techs, back-to-back. Having failed to note
that little detail, looks like I'll be sitting in
a dark theater for about six weeks, getting these shows
ready to open.Each play studies our obsession with physical appearances from a different angle. Each is cruel and heartbreaking in its own way; they're like slow-mo train wrecks...you can't stop looking.
Three great directors, a wonderful design team, and a brilliant ensemble cast make these a must-see for all Dallas theater fans!
-
Shakespeare Unplugged: Timon of Athens
April 2009
But what I'd really like to do is direct...
In April, Bruce Richardson directed a staged reading of one of Shakespeare's least known treasures, Timon of Athens. Featuring Gregory Lush as Timon, and an all star cast, the reading was a wonderfully successful proof-of-concept for this rarely produced gem.
Stay tuned for the next installment of Timon.
-
Introducing: Lizard Lounge
Winter 2009
What would happen if you rolled up a posse of past and present music professors, tossed in a near-tenured alumnus or two--with the idea of reading through a pile of jazz fake books? In public?
Hosted by Paesano, Commerce's numero uno Italian eatery and nightspot, Lizard Lounge fires up a monthly fix of finger-poppin', cocktail-droppin' jazz of the sixties and seventies. So whether you actually enjoy 20th-Century beatnik lounge jazz, or just want to marvel at the audacity of it all, join your favorite menagerie of Commerce relics for the spectacle of sight and sound that is Lizard Lounge!
-
Kitchen Dog Theatre and Project X: Psychos Never Dream, by Denis Johnson
March 2009
Psychos Never Dream, by Denis Johnson, a co-production with Dallas's Kitchen Dog Theater. Directed by David Kennedy, featuring Tina Parker, Raphael Parry, Sean Hennigan, and Project X designers Bruce Richardson and Robert Winn. Performances at Heldt-Hall Theater, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, 3120 McKinney Avenue. For tickets and info, contact Kitchen Dog Theater at 214.953.1055
-
Project X: One in 3
January 2009
One in 3 grew out of the silence around abortion. It reveals the courage, compassion, anger, love, grief, relief, defiance, and ambivalence of individual women facing a decision others often want to make for them, but only they can make for themselves. A play about the reality, not the politics...Tickets/Info here
-
Radiant at CineVegas "10 Years On The Edge" series, Fridays in April, Los Angeles
April 2008
Steve Mahone's panoramic tale of a genetically engineered supervirus on the loose has been selected to appear on the upcoming CineVegas "10 Years On The Edge," in Los Angeles. Bruce's evocative score and sound design combines with stunning imagery of the American Badlands...more info here
-
Sampledaddy: Tokyo Seoul 30-day Trial Bundled with Tascam's GigaStudio 4.0
March 2008
Bruce's new virtual instrument company, Sampledaddy, has released its first product, a collection of two powerful Asian drums and piccolo woodblocks titled Tokyo Seoul. It's a one-stop solution for all your pounding action-track needs.
UPDATE: Sadly, GigaStudio has been discontinued by Tascam. Obviously, this has changed things for Tokyo Seoul. I am currently investigating a new platform, and will announce a new release date once I've found a host that can accommodate the full feature-set....B.
-
Sohmon III, New and Unknown Music of Minoru Miki released.
November 2007
Tokyo composer Minoru Miki, known for his large scale symphonic and opera works, has composed for percussion groups of varying sizes for his entire career. Brian Zator and the Texas A & M Commerce Percussion Ensemble, with special guests Stan Richardson (shakuhachi), Jessica McCormack (soprano), and Nathan Ratliff (piano) . Produced by Bruce Richardson. Buy the CD
