ritchN

We've spent lotsa words on bands per se; examining the local entities as creatures unto themselves; organisms of sound; mechanical things generating audio waves. But now let's drill down a bit, to the individual contributors, the artists/musicians whose teamwork creates said music.

But let's not pick just anybody, no. Let's go traveled, let's go prolific, let's go hard-working. Let's go rItchN, aka Ritchard Napierkowski; a Yankee-born, Austin-transplanted, post-modern troubadour and jack of all trades; who is, arguably, one of the most influential artisans in the Austin electronic music scene today.

Don't let this yearbook photo spin you the wrong way - riTchN is better known in the industrial/electronic/metal circles thisaway:

And when we say "travelling"? We don't just mean he moves from place to place, physically, though he has:

...I had moved back to NY (where I grew up) from Florida after living down in Orlando for a year and knew I needed to find another base of operations. A friend and I put together a road trip to look for a new "home" and drove around the country. Austin happened to be one of the main stops even though I was still picturing Yosamite Sam and tumbleweeds in my head....New Orleans almost ended up being my stomping grounds...but between the musicians, festivals and tech field jobs Austin won my blood-pumper.
-- riTchN

No, by traveling we mean Rich, like a lot of musicians in Austin, plays with a variety of musical entities. But this guy is more prolific than most - He performs (or has performed) with subNatural, Inertia, Carbon Theory, Panjoma, Hipnautica, Chant, Personacide, sick_muse, and Destroyed for Comfort.

PLUS the occasional personal project. On the side, you know. When he has time.

It helps that he can handle most instruments. Though primarily known to work a synth/sampler, he also does duty on guitar, bass, drums, "...a little bit of everything... I want to get a nice Accordian to play some "unplugged" shows..."

With all those projects going on, which do you prioritize? The response is a bit of the old hem and haw: "...it's almost like a constant struggle...subNatural's always been a labor of love... With Panjoma we're working on new material...Carbon Theory needs to record and Jim and myself will hopefully be jamming/playing again soon... And there's always the solo stuff..."

The Panjoma project is working him; with a Madonna cover, a WarPigs cover, vids for both, upcoming shows, PLUS new material to be recorded in August - "hopefully".

But for the majority of his time, Rich is focusing on subNatural. Started as a solo project in '98 and weathering several personnel shifts, the band is back and very busy indeed: Re-recording their entire catalog AND working on a new LP AND tons of shows lined up in both Austin AND Houston.

With all that to do, you'd wonder if this guy has time for a day job. Turns out he has a pretty sweet music-related gig - He's the head sound engineer at The Elysium, and does the same duty over at Red Eyed Fly on weekends:

...instead of just "quitting" my day job, music helped propel me further into a career I enjoy. My desk-job has more buttons/faders and knobs than ever.. Well.. a few jobs definitely had a bunch of knobs.. just less gear-tastic and more knob-headed...
-- riTchN

With his solo website getting a makeover, and new projects in the works, thought we'd ask the relevant question: Any advice for other indie artists?

USE EXISTING RESOURCES!! I'm all about experimenting and coming up with something new.. but when it comes to distribution, videos and everything else don't try to reinvent a wheel unless you're really gonna trick it out. The're so many wonderful resources out there from blogs, to websites/forums, to groups of folks out there with so much information readily available it's almost insane. It's all good playing shows but if you're serious about a project do some research.. Spend a few days planning what you want to do and how you're going to do it. As far as just creating? Don't push yourself too hard or stop because "someone else is doing it". Trial and error not only shows us what works.. but new ways of trying things.
-- riTchN

Try to keep up with riTchN by watching subNatural or Panjoma on Facebook.