Solo Things
Fordham's Music and Performance outside of This Thing
To find out about non-music work, see Other Things.
For party planning info, see Party Things.
Announcements of upcoming gigs will be posted in the Top Frame
History
Richard Fordham started playing music in high school in the late 70’s and early 80’s. He studied percussion, guitar and theory. After high school he switched to bass guitar as his main instrument
Throughout the 80’s, he played in various cover and original
music bands in Montreal and Ottawa. During this time Fordham also worked on
his songwriting and arranging skills in his home studio.
In 1990, he moved to Nelson, BC. During the 8 years that he called it home,
he worked as a freelance musician, sound technician, stage manager, master of
ceremonies, promoter, and general organizer of countless gigs and recordings.
As well, he conceived, and executed – with the help of some strangely loyal
co-conspirators – a musical/performance ensemble called This
Thing. As probably the most "successful" of Fordham’s "projects"
it lasted for 5 years. It had the distinction of placing in the top 20 in Vancouver’s
CFOX Radio’s "Demo Listen ’93."
Fordham finished up his time in Nelson playing with performance artist Ken Dodds in Bartoc. He also employed himself as a concert promoter, presenting approximately 100 shows in a year and a half period. Also during this period he started a musical-comedy duo with John Percy, called Chuck Sinatra and Dawn. Richard was Dawn.
In 1998, Fordham decided to make Vancouver his new playground.
Since relocating, he has played bass with Evan
Symons, and local bands
Arthur Ellis 2000 and Public Online Terminal. He has also been studying
acting. This led to the role of "truck driver" in a Vancouver Film
School student project.
Richard has been performing solo for the past two years in the Vancouver, Canada area. He performs a set called Soul Food.
Soul Food
musical selections lovingly prepared for voice, guitar, and kazoo
this set is suitable for restaurant, pub, street, or stage performance,
Song Menu
Traditional British Fare
Joe Jackson
Instant Mash/Fools in Love/Happy Loving Couples/Sunday Papers /Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Elvis Costello
Waiting for the End of the World/ Mystery Dance/ Miracle Man
Led Zeppelin
Misty Mountain Hop/ Immigrant Song/D’Yer Maker/ Dancing Days
David Bowie
Queen Bitch/ Song for Bob Dylan/ Jean Jenie/We Are the Dead/Wild is the Wind/ Stay
Rolling Stones
Dead Flowers/Sweet Virginia/ Mother’s Little Helper/ It’s All Over Now/ Gimme Shelter
Cream
Tales of Brave Ulysses/ Swalbr
Classic Americana
With and Without Garfunkel
Boy in the Bubble/ I Know What I Know/ That Was Your Mother/ Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes/ The 59th St. Bridge Song/America/ The Sound of Silence
Steely Dan
My Old School/ Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More/ Haitian Divorce
John Prine
Illegal Smile/ Sam Stone/ Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore
Tom Waits
Tango Till They’re Sore/ That Feel/ Murder in the Red Barn/ I Don’t Want to Grow Up
…And Also
Darling Nikki……………………………………Prince
Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby……..Carl Perkins
Move It On Over………………………Hank Williams
Teenage Heaven........…………………Eddie Cochran
Spiders and Snakes………..……………..Jim Stafford
Big Ten Inch Record……………………….Aerosmith
Flowers On the Wall………………….Statler Brothers
Trucking………………………………...Grateful Dead
More Favourites
Beatles
Dr. Robert/ Blackbird/Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da/ And Your Bird Can Sing/ While My Guitar Gently Weeps/ Things We Said Today/ The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill / I Am theWalrus/Act Naturally/ Don’t Pass Me By/ Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey/ Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand/ When I Get Home
Bob Dylan
Subterranean Homesick Blues/ Quinn the Eskimo/On the Road Again/ Maggie’s Farm
House Specialties
Richard Fordham
Way Out Living/ Smelling Something Peculiar/ Mommy Broken/ Little Worlds #1/ Junk Sculpture Monument/Watery Love/Eat My Smell/ Ever Wonder?/#7 Scream
Frank Zappa
Hungry Freaks, Daddy/ Mom and Dad/ Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance/What’s the Ugliest Part Of Your Body?
Syd Barrett/ Pink Floyd
Effervescing Elephant/ If It’s In You/San Tropez/ Bike
Monty Python
The Philosopher’s Song/ The Lumberjack Song
Morsels That Make A Statement
John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band
Luck of the Irish/ John Sinclair/ Woman is the Nigger of the World/ Sunday, Bloody Sunday
World Party
Hawaiian Island World/ The Ballad of the Little Man/ Ship of Fools
Warren Zevon
Werewolves of London/ Veracruz/Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
XTC
Dear God/ Earn Enough For Us/Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
Canadian Recipes, Old and New
Leonard Cohen
First, We Take Manhattan/ Tower of Song/Closing Time/ The Singer Must Die
Crash Test Dummies
Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm
The Guess Who
Undun/ Running Back to Saskatoon
For the Younger Appetite
Teddy Bear Picnic/ On the Good Ship Lollipop/ Let’s All Bake A Sunshine Cake/ The Viper (a short story)
Itsy Bitsy Spider\Twinkle Twinkle (Little Star)/ Frere Jacques/Old MacDonald/If You’re Happy and You Know It/
The Hokey Pokey/Being Green/ Rubber Duckie/ 5 Little Monkeys (story with accompaniment)
If you have any inquiries regarding bookings,
or any of my future work, address them to:
E-mail: richardsthings@hotmail.com