Josh Ritter continues powerful storytelling for ‘ Gathering’
In 2006, Paste named him among the 100 best living songwriters. Josh Ritter can indeed write songs. On just about any topic that crosses his mind — or his heart. And that includes everything from missile silos to Egyptian mummies, not to mention love and heartache.
Following what some called “a devastating divorce” in 2011, Ritter released “The Beast in Its Tracks,” ( 2013) a hugely intimate, emotional and ( surprisingly) uplifting journey through potent tales of hope even during life’s darkest moments. It was a catharsis of sorts, an autobiographical journey he seldom took in songwriting.
In 2015 came “Sermon on the Rocks,” an album he described as wanting “to make something grand. I wanted it to swing hard. I wanted to peek through death’s keyhole. I wanted my monster to run.” Ritter has never looked back. “I think in stories there’s a point where the lyrics are secondary to the story, to what’s running through my head at the moment,” Rit- ter says during a recent phone chat. “I’ve been given this great opportunity to write music for a living and I just want to do it right.”
“Gathering” finds Ritter entering a new chapter in his life and letting his words and music do the talking. Gospel, folk, pop all fuel the album’s heartfelt tracks.
“Every record for me is an instinctual reaction to the one before,” Ritter adds. “In between ‘ Sermon on the Rocks’ and ‘ Gathering’ I worked with [ the Grateful Dead’s] Bob Weir on his record [“Blue Mountain”] and what I really learned from that experience was getting to see the process [ of how Weir makes music]. I learned a lot.
“[ Before that project] I was driven pretty hard by thinking that I always knew the right thing to do. With ‘ Gathering’ I tried to bring [ Bob’s] open- mindedness to my own stuff and [ gather] as many ideas as possible. It was really fun.” Among the tracks on “Gathering” is Ritter’s duet with Weir on ‘ When Will I Be Changed.” Brought up in a “very religious household” in Moscow, Idaho, Ritter says his early vocabulary was filled with religious subjects and metaphors. “I feel those subtext in my music,” Ritter says. “Early on I was deeply exposed to hymns. If you think about it, hymns are a form of popular song. They pass around American history, a way to track our past.” The songs on “Gathering” are very much in the present, and find Ritter at a good place in his life, revealing emotions that he could no longer contain. “I really feel like I was able to talk about some feelings I had. I learned it’s really good having gotten those feelings out. [ It’s like] having a bunch of stuff in your attic that keeps building up and you just have to get this stuff out of your life.” For this tour, Ritter has surrounded himself with some of his closest friends and musical al- lies in the form of the Royal City Band — Zack Hickman ( bass, guitar, tuba, strings), Sam Kassirer ( piano, keyboards, organ, accordion), Austin Nevins, ( guitar, lap steel, vocals) and Liam Hurley ( drums, percussion). “The chemistry is just great. We have such a good time [ out on stage] right now.”
He’s also touring with his family, including his soon- to- be five- year- old daugther, Beatrix. Being a father has informed his life and his life on the road.
“I’ve been on tour for 20 years, so when someone new comes on the road with you, you notice things you took for granted. Having a kid is like that,” the 41- year- old says. “You have this new little person who’s seeing the world for the first time and it makes you appreciate things.
“She doesn’t suffer fools,” Ritter continues, with a laugh, when asked if his daughter likes his music. “She still likes it. At least I still have her respect.”