Richard Julian

Biography

Richard Julian is one of the music industry's best-kept secrets. Highly regarded among peers, he is both a gifted composer and a storyteller with an honest, if ironic point of view. His songs, often confessional, and always cinematic, are likely to leave a lasting impression. As a songwriter, he has been compared to Paul Simon, Beck, and Prince and his 1999 release, Smash Palace, found a welcome home at AAA radio, reaching #16. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe, opening for an array of major recording artists as well as headlining in nightclubs. His most recent effort, 'Good Life,' was released on the web independently January/2002 and has been enjoying rave reviews in the press as well as being added to radio playlists nationally.

Richard Julian grew up in Arden, Delaware - a small bohemian community 30 miles south of Philadelphia. Demonstrating an early talent for music, he was classically trained on piano at age six, jumping to modern music theory in his early teens. He wrote his first song when he was fourteen.

Delaware, being no hot bed of musical stardom, an 18 year old Richard headed west toward L.A., but only got as far as Las Vegas. There, he met and played keyboards for cocktail aces Johnny Rico and Pete L'Angelle (This is not a myth). After a year of cranking out "When You're Smiling" in various casinos and dives, Richard read an article about the happening New York songwriter scene while waiting in a dentist's office. "Ladies' Home Journal, I think." With a longing to perform his original material, Julian headed back East where he soon established himself as a well-respected songwriter/performer on a buzzing New York City music scene.

A recording contract was soon to follow and Julian released two records on the Blackbird/Sire label. The new recordings revealed a bold artist searching for his true voice, and finding it in a pile of odds and ends covering a wide spectrum of pop and other influences. On Smash Palace, his second effort, Julian teamed up with infamous Nashville producer Brad Jones and departed from the more standard singer-songwriter fare, creating a swirling blend of horns, woodwinds, vibes, piano, hand drums, loops, and samples. At the center, though, was Richard's voice and guitar, making keen observations about love and hate in a tricky universe - a musician combining the finer points of lyric, melody, irony, and booty. It is regarded by many as one of the most overlooked gems of the last couple of years, perhaps a victim of an unestablished upstart label.

His new CD, 'Good Life,' is a furtherance of his musical partnership with Jones albeit a homier, more acoustic version of their previous work. It was recorded at Jones' house in Nashville, the perfect setting for its intimate minimalist sound. Both records have not been without strong accolades from press and radio.

As CD Now put it, "All this eclecticism might be for naught without the incisive, studied lyricism, sophisticated harmonic sensibilities and smoky, intimate tenor that are the main weapons in Julian's formidable arsenal. This varied, inspiring album hangs together chiefly due to the strength of Julian's authoritative artistic vision."

Or David Dye of World Café - "We were huge fans of Richard's first record, but this new one, by all means, show's that he's here to stay."

And strangely, his song Roman Polanski fell into the hands of the infamous director himself, who sent along a letter of thanks from Paris, something Julian regards as a real high point.

Currently, Richard is preparing to tour nationally throughout 2002, starting in the southeast this February. Other singers are beginning to find Julian's work as well. Art Garfunkel recently recorded 'Young and Free,' a song from Julian's self-titled debut record.

'One of the best songwriters and record-makers I've heard in a very long time.'
- Randy Newman

For more information on Richard, please visit his website at: www.RichardJulian.com

Comments about 'No Song':

I wrote 'No Song' in late September. I don't think Jack Hardy is aware of this, but he inadvertently inspired it. While reading the New York Times, I came upon an article where Jack was interviewed. He was talking about how 'silenced' he felt as an artist due to the events. He said it was the first time in his life he'd experienced writer's bloc. As a songwriter, I had been profoundly humbled as well and related to the things he was saying. Next thing I knew, I was writing 'No Song,' a song about that feeling, as opposed to a political song, or a human-interest story. I just didn't have the stomach to approach anything like that. The acrid stench of downtown was still heavy in the air (it lasted well into December), and that was something I don't think anyone who was in New York at the time will ever forget. For me, the memory of that smell is as palpable as the memory of the day itself. It just left you speechless.
- Richard Julian

A song that explores the futility of words to describe what happened on that day.
- Suzanne Vega

'No Song'

[ mp3 sound clip ]

the stark
reality
defies
poetry
it mocks
this melody
there is no song
there is no song

murder
in the air
you can't escape
it's everywhere
it's more
than the senses can bear
there is no song
there is no song

no, not this time
no, not this time
no scheming rhyme
not this time
not this time

as sure as time
passes by
this pall will lift
and singers will try
but they will fail
and their songs will lie
there is no song
there is no song

no, not this time...