Hello, Tone Deaf! Happy to be here. I’m Ron Pope… I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, but live in Brooklyn, NY now. I actually live in a tour van at the moment and am coming to see you guys for a few shows in November! Very excited about that.
This will be my first time EVER coming to Australia at all – I hope you’ll check out the shows. If you haven’t already, check out my latest album, Atlanta – which features the single for my video, “One Grain of Sand.” As far as what else is going on, I’m just touring all over the world to promote the album. After Australia, we’ll head to Europe in January and then another tour in the US… AND THEN I’ll record the next record! I like to stay busy, ha. See you guys soon!
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
I was an obnoxious little kid. The sort who’s always singing. I remember being really young and singing at the top of my lungs in the back of my mother’s car while she was sitting in the front trying to have a conversation with someone. God bless her heart, she didn’t strangle me. My mom’s friend said, “He should be on Starsearch” and my mom (who must’ve been ready to burst a gasket at that point) just said, “I know.”
The first time I ever remember singing in front of a crowd was in the elementary school choir. It’s funny that the thing which made me such a weird child has made people think I’m much cooler as an adult.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
I was on my way to baseball practice in the middle of summer with a bunch of my buddies (in my mom’s minivan, of course)… my friends and I were about fifteen and someone said, “You know, No Doubt is playing tonight down at the Tabernacle.” The Tabernacle is this incredible venue in Atlanta; it’s an old church, but they’ve converted it into a great rock venue.
We changed our clothes and got a ride downtown. That night was amazing; I crowdsurfed for the first time there. We all left drenched in sweat and bruised from bouncing off the walls all night. I wish I could go back to that concert every day! I don’t remember much about the music, but the energy in that place was just off the charts.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
My parents exposed me to an incredibly wide variety of music as a kid. My dad’s taste is super eclectic. He loves Pink Floyd but we’d also listen to the Eagles or Hootie and The Blowfish (it was the end of the 80s and on through 90s when I was growing up). My mom also has super broad taste; we’d listen to the radio a lot, so it would be anything from Michael Jackson to Heart. She just generally appreciates music.
Jerry, my stepdad, is a rocker. He keyed me in to bands like Mötley Crüe and guitar guys like Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani. I still listen to “Always With You, Always With Me” about once a month. My desire to shred comes from Jerry; he’s a metalhead.
I also had the bonus of growing up around my grandparents who exposed me to lots of cool music; Johnny Cash (and lots of old country), Elvis, all the Motown stuff, Sinatra, doo-wop, gospel… just a ton of great stuff. I didn’t grow up in a family of musicians, but I grew up in a family that really loved and appreciated music. That was instilled in me from an early age.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
I can’t stop listening to the Tom Waits album Closing Time. I’ve been covering his tune “Old Shoes” with my band. In terms of newer music, I’m rocking a lot of Milo Greene and Dawes. Also, we just found these guys called Gin House from Atlanta. I’m digging their new EP. And Rick Ross… you can’t help but love Rick Ross.
How do you find new music?
I’m honestly terrible at finding music for myself. Usually, my fiance tells me about stuff. She’s always listening for new tunes, paying attention to blogs and such, and she keys me in on things she thinks I’ll dig. My friend Paul (who’s in a great indie band, Savoir Adore) also shares new stuff with me because he’s always exposed to interesting bands.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
I try to avoid getting into any crazy rituals. A few hours before we play, I do my vocal warmup, but otherwise, I just make sure my fly is zipped and that there’s nothing in my teeth and away we go!
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have ?
I love giant festivals, so I’d want to do a huge one. When you enter one of those festivals, you feel like you’ve just walked into a big city; it’s just incredible. I’d want a bunch of stages so I could have a really eclectic lineup but allow people to move around and see different things. I’d have all my favorite artists, of course. I think it should be rock bands until midnight, with a rapper going on after that and then a dj from 2 until the sun comes up. Here’s day one:
Midday-Milo Greene
14:00-Local Natives
16:00-Dawes
19:00-Tom Petty
21:00-Bruce Springsteen
Midnight-Rick Ross and Kanye West
02:00-deadmau5
As I said, there could be lots of stages, so other artists could be playing all over the festival grounds. If you don’t like Tom Petty, you can go see Meek Mill. That would be a party!
I’d want the food to be delicious; stands from incredible restaurants and none of that terrible fair ground type food you usually get at festivals.
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
The artist requires at least 10 puppies backstage at all times. HOW COULD YOU BE UNHAPPY IF YOU ARE CLOSE TO A PUPPY?
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
I think Gotye is doing really interesting things right now. I bet working with him is very inspiring, so I’d love to give that a shot.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
I think it’s different for different people. Some people cry to it, some people work out to it, and some make babies to it. Depends on your mood, I guess.
Where can we see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
I just released a brand new album called Atlanta that I’m really excited about. You can grab that (and all of my music) on iTunes. I’m on tour in the US through the end of October, then I’m coming directly to Australia for November! You can check out the full dates and details here; but tickets for all those shows are available here: http://www.frontiertouring.com/ronpope
For more info, stop by: http://www.RonPopeMusic.com
