Born into a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, Johnny “Chops” Richardson lives and breathes music, in particular, the craft of writing songs, which he’s successfully been doing for the past two decades. Influenced by Tom Petty, Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, he’s landed several songs on albums by the Randy Rogers Band, whom he’s played bass with since 2002. His contributions include “Ten Miles Deep,” a staple of RRB’s live show, “Last Last Chance,” which garnered a Texas Music Chart #1, “Shotgun” a cinematic, hard driving country rocker from the acclaimed Trouble album and “Wicked Ways,” which was chosen for the band’s appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.
Richardson’s first foray into a solo career began with 2013’s acclaimed Sticks & Stones, and on March 23rd he will release his second solo LP Johnny Chops & The Razors, named after his band. Buoyed by the incredible response to his debut, Richardson began writing a new batch of songs in 2015 and finally entered the studio at the end of 2016 to begin recording. On the new collection, Johnny Chops seeks to establish a signature sound, featuring bluesy grit and soulful vocals all backed by an all-star band, The Razors. For his new sonic adventure, Richardson teamed up with Reckless Kelly guitarist David Abeyta to co-produce. Building on the bold muscular sound of Sticks & Stones, Chops and Abeyta have commissioned a heavyweight cast that includes RK co-vocalist Cody Braun, Eric “Ebo” Borash (John Fogerty, Radney Foster, Jack Ingram), Aden Bubeck (touring bassist for Miranda Lambert) and rising star Brandy Zdan, who duets on a cover of the Willie Dixon classic, “I Just Want To Make Love To You.” Tracked at Cedar Creek Studio in Austin, ground zero to recordings by Jimmy LaFave, Wayne Hancock, Kris Kristofferson, James McMurtry, Uncle Tupelo, who immortalized their final opus, “Anodyne,” and the Dixie Chicks who used the facility to craft their 6x Platinum album, “Home.”
Today Glide is excited to premiere the new video for “Taking a Chance On Me”. The video captures the chemistry of a band easily able to tap into a laid back Southern rock groove. At the helm is none other than Johnny, who steers the music with his relaxed vocals, exuding just the right amount of soul and roots rocker energy. As a whole, the tune has a bluesy, southern boogie sound with an infectious, uplifting chorus.
Reflecting on the video and the song, Johnny “Chops” Richardson has this to say:
“Photographer Brandon Aguilar shot everything and we edited it the night before Thanksgiving until 2am with some help from a bottle of Templeton Rye. My Basset hound, Emmylou, nailed her part in about 3 takes, which I think is pretty good for a dog. I had another location in Manor, TX that had a similar look, an early 20th century farmhouse that was empty, but another film crew got to them before us. I then searched real estate listings for unoccupied houses for a couple of days and got turned down by several real estate agents and an owner who clearly did not like the idea of a ‘video shoot’ in his dad’s old house. I finally remembered there are a bunch of these type of houses turned into bars in a section of downtown called Rainey Street that I thought might fit the bill. I texted a buddy of mine who used to work at one and he passed the word down and we got lucky with this one. We shot it all at Lustre Pearl East, a cool old house turned bar/restaurant/patio with a small smoke machine and two lights. They actually moved the entire house to the east side a couple years ago.”
WATCH:
Taking A Chance On Me will be released as a single on January 12th with the full album, Johnny Chops & The Razors, releasing March 23.
Upcoming tour dates, including w/ the Randy Rogers Band:
Jan 10 – Austin, TX @ Guero’s Taco Bar (Texas Radio Live)
Jan 11 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill
Jan 12 – Lake Charles, LA @ Golden Nugget*
Jan 13 – Norman, OK @ Riverwind Casino*
Jan 17 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox at the Market*
Jan 18 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom*
Jan 19 – Boise, WA @ Knitting Factory*
Jan 20 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory*
Jan 24 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater*
Jan 25 – Anaheim, CA @ House Of Blues*
Jan 26 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues*
Jan 27 – Mesa, AZ @ Denim & Diamonds*
Feb 02 – Chicago, IL @ Joe’s on Weed St*
Feb 03 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater*
Feb 09 – College Station, TX @ Hurricane Harry’s*
Feb 10 – Donna, TX @ Chisholm Trail Festival*
Feb 14/18 – Kansas City, MO @ Folk Alliance International
Feb 23 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works*
*w/ Randy Rogers Band
