I’ve been doing a lot of stuck 3&4 chords this week so I decided there was no better time to finally finish transcribing a song from one of my all time favorite bands, Richmond Fontaine. This year is the 20th anniversary of their album “Winnemucca” which this song is from.
The early 2000s were a rough time for me. I had recently finished college, was away from “home” and was quite lost in life, not really knowing what I wanted to do with myself or even how I wanted to behave at a very basic level. This song and much of Richmond Fontaine’s work encapsulates that feeling nicely for me.
Richmond Fontaine is from Portland, Oregon where many of my friends had moved, and although I had been listening to them for years before Winnemucca came out, I had the great pleasure of finding out that this was actually recorded in a studio that a friend started by another friend who we used to hang out with.
Richmond Fontaine has gone their separate ways but they are all still prolific musicians. Willy Vlautin, lead singer and songwriter of Richmond Fontaine, has gone on to become a very successful author and plays in a band called The Delines. Another friend who has more recently moved to Portland and owns a guitar shop there frequently runs into Willy who brings his guitar in for regular tune ups.
If you enjoy this tune please check out Richmond Fontaine, The Delines, and Willy Vlautin.
Hi Dan,
Nice song ,good performance and you know how to deal with dynamics …and no idea if I’ve said it before, but I think your guitar is beautiful,
Greetings Rogier
@batwoman Thanks so much. I’ve always felt like music is such a great outlet for my emotions that I try not to hold anything back.
@roger_holland Thanks for your comment as I have been really concerned about dynamics lately. I think it is the main thing that I can really use to my advantage in a solo setting.
I auditioned about 15 guitars before I settled on this one. It’s a Martin Road Series dreadnaught, not an expensive guitar. I’m not super pleased with the electronics (the tuner button rattles a little bit) but everything else is great. They really give you a lot of bang for your buck with these midrange Martins. Funny I think the guy who wrote this song plays the exact same guitar.
@jkahn That’s encouraging! I have no voice training. I think I could really use some help with my singing. I think my intonation is off in a lot of places and I have no idea how to practice and improve. There are probably a dozen justinguitar videos I need to go over on singing.
Thanks Brian! Yeah if you just look up Willy Vlautin you will find a lot about him. It’s been pretty amazing to see him go from a complete nobody to musician to author with a tiny bit of fame.
Never heard of this song before. But when I hear you play this, my head immediately goes to that TV show Scrubs, which has a lot of songs with this similar vibe throughout the show and its soundtrack.
I really enjoyed your performance. It sounded like professional-level playing and singing! Nice stuff mate
