In a telephone call from Atlanta, Richard Marx listed all the things he is not: "I'm not like the Smashing Pumpkins or other trendy acts. When I went out on tour in 1987 and met with screaming teenagers, it always worried me. I'm not Rick Springfield. I'm a 30-year-old `dinosaur' - a singer/songwriter who sings melodic songs. Now I get an audience - from 14 to 50 - that's enthusiastic but wants to listen."
Marx is also husband to actress/dancer Cynthia Rhodes and father of Jesse, 5 months; Lucas, 11/2 years, and Brandon, 31/2, - his own little "Marx Brothers." But it's Richard Marx, with a baker's dozen of top 10 hits on the charts and three albums that have sold 15 million copies, that the public knows. Marx's latest effort, "Paid Vacation" is looking very platinum with "Now & Forever" and "The Way She Loves Me" released as singles.Marx will be in concert at Wolf Mountain (ParkWest) Wednesday, July 6, at 8 p.m. Tickets, $24 and $18 in advance, $26 and $20 day of show, are available at King Kong in Park City and at Smith'sTix.
Marx's fourth album will hold some surprises for fans tuning in for romantic ballads. Once "Now & Forever" has played, Marx digs into a cornucopia of musical genres from country to rockabilly. All with the full-out smoky voice Marx only hints at on his love songs.
Describing the creative process of songwriting, Marx said, "The music always comes first. The lyrics are more painful, they take a lot longer. Writing my own songs makes them that much more meaningful. Love songs are the hardest to write. C'mon, it's all been said a thousand times. `Now & Forever' is really a thank-younote to my wife. After the music was written it called out for a romantic love lyric. I have to write what I feel. I can write it in a song but I'm like most men, I can't say the words to her sitting face to face. I'm better working the remote button," he said.
When asked about the riveting melody of "Hazard," one of Marx's biggest hits, he said, "I heard that haunting piece of music on the radio in the back of the bus. I have my own radio station in my head. I hear the whole record, the whole arrangement. When I go into the studio to record, it's like opening my skull and letting the music come out. I'll say, `I hear the bass line doing this . . .' I'm grateful for the ideas that have come. It's been a prolific 10 years. I don't sit down to write music, I just let it happen."
Cynthia Marx laughingly dubbed Marx's studio time as a "paid vacation," giving his latest album its name. Marx admitted, "Recording is not work. I'd do it even if I wasn't paid. I don't ever view it as a job - dealing with the record company is a job."
"I feel like I need to go out and support the album (on tour) but this is the shortest tour I've done. My responsibilities lie elsewhere now. I have three sons I need to be with. I get the best of both worlds: I have fun with my family and get to play for fans," Marx said.