SPOTLIGHT: Ricky Makes Rock, Despite the World on Fire
SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT
☆ BY ALEAH ANTONIO ☆
Photo by Brandon Michel - @tinyvictoryphoto
“DO YOU THINK YOU’RE A SLACKER?”—I’m sitting with the boys of Ricky in their practice studio, escaping the sticky heat of the San Diego suburbs. It’s the night of their first show of their tour with emo-indie band Buckets, starting at the Whistle Stop Bar.
Richard Schmidt, a.k.a. Ricky, is mild mannered and concise with his words, despite the rocker attitude of his music. “No,” he tells me. “I think we’re all pretty hardworking people.” He’s sitting next to guitarist Mike Mulé, drummer Cameron San Augustine, and guitarist Cameron Gates.
“Not me,” San Augustine chimes in. “That’s crazy.”
Ricky, the band, is promoting their newest record What’s The Point? released earlier this year. It’s part slacker rock, part psychedelic rock, with a specific California charm. While each member has their own music influences they bring to the table, they specifically cite A Giant Dog and Parquet Courts as sources of inspiration. Mulé, who’s originally from Pennsylvania, has roots in the punk and hardcore scene. Each song comments on something different: suburban apathy (“Nothin’ Goin’ On”), struggling in a sunny state (“SD Dying”) and finding motivation in a world of all work and no play (“What’s The Point”).
San Augustine continues, “I do care about things, and I want to put my best foot forward. But in my mind, if we’re not having fun, it’s like what’s the point?”
This is the sentiment they all lean into. Sure, they’re from San Diego. Sure, they’re in a rock band. They all meet me casual and kind, but I can tell they take their music seriously. They plan all their tours themselves, promote themselves, all without any corporate schmooze. The band—Schmidt, San Augustine, Gates, Mulé, and Uriel Montes who later met the rest at the Whistle Stop—all met through the San Diego music scene.
Schmidt, a military brat, has been in San Diego longer than any other city. He’s been in two other bands previously—Hey, Chels and Western Settings. Ricky was originally his solo project that started around 2020. He put out Palm Trees, an easygoing indie record that he created with just himself and another producer. He would later put out Pure Fun in 2022, and the band gained traction with tracks like “Escape Artist” and “Cool Guy.”
Schmidt later recruited the rest of his band, first to fill in during live performances, but would later contribute to the writing process of What’s The Point?
“[They] have been involved in the writing and everything. Those first two records were just me and a producer. With these guys, we wrote it very collectively. It has definitely gone in a cool, unique direction because of that. It wouldn’t have been without them being involved,” Schmidt says.
Their self-proclaimed “slacker rock” label goes all the way back to Generation X, the population known for their political cynicism and aimless disposition. The genre encapsulates the attitude with lackadaisical production and performance—think Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr. or Pavement. Ricky leans almost into the surf punk that California is known for (FIDLAR, Wavves), but their songs are just as sincere as they are satirical.
“There’s something special about music that doesn’t sound super polished. Especially with AI right now and everything going on,” Schmidt tells me. “I think [with] music, for a long time, the goal was to make everything sound more perfect. At this point, it just sounds so sterile. I feel like the world is thirsty for more rock, really human-sounding music.”
“Don’t Get It” is an exemplary song on the album, a commentary of the degradation of the working class that’s disguised as, honestly, a funny song. For example, these are the things they “don’t get:” football, formalities, credit, God, math and assholes. Things they do get? Naps, dogs, wall-staring and day drinking.
“I think there are a lot of songs on this record that were written from a place of analysis of the chaos of our current societal status. I think [for] any person with empathy, it’s easy to look around and be completely overwhelmed,” Gates says.
Does slacker rock actually mean that you’re a lousy, lazy musician, or does it point to someone’s authenticity and disdain for the demure? Ricky are a band with something to say, but they would rather lean on their humor and their guitars than on a holier-than-thou philosophy. Like San Augustine said, what’s the point if you’re not having fun?
They took these songs to the stage during their record release tour back in the spring, hitting California, Texas and the Pacific Northwest. After their weekend of playing with Buckets in the south west, they’re set to open for Tijuana Panthers at The Casbah on August 16.
