Vic Chestnutt Collaborates With Jonathan Richman
In addition to recording his new album, Skitter On Take-Off, live with no overdubs, Vic Chesnutt got the legendary Jonathan Richman to produce and play on it.
Richman wrote a short essay explaining as to why he decided to take it on, entitled “The Vic Chesnutt Record And Why Me And Tommy Wanted To Do It.”
My drummer Tommy Larkin and I were driving in the van across the United States as we do two or three times a year on our tours of clubs and I said, “Y’ know, we should produce Vic’s next record!” And he said he thought so too. We both were thinking that the way to get the feeling for Vic as a listener was to hear just Vic – no arrangements, no guest guitar solo guys, no “ironic” touches or anything else to cloud his voice or his poetry. His guitar playing is also the guitar playing on this recording because we think no help is needed.
Tommy and I have toured with Vic several times and he’s long been one of our favorites. So we’re both proud of this record and glad for the chance to make it our way. A lot of it was brand new stuff – a few hours old or becoming a song right there as he sang.
Skitter On Take-Off comes out on Vapor Records October 6.
