Diandra Interviews Richard Spitzer: Make Songs, Cry Wolf

Out October 23, Richard Spitzer’s Cry Wolf is 100% a DIY dream. Mixed and produced by him, at home, during lockdown, it feels effortless and easy for a man thinking about past relationships in the middle of a pandemic. Yet, I can’t say he has been alone. Everyone is in “reflection mode” and in our interview, Richard Spitzer reflects on being a child, dancing on boardwalks, yelling “I’m Homeless!” in front of strangers and parents, and presents his belief that films like, Babel, are just a concept album waiting to happen.

Diandra: What is one time you “cried wolf?” 

Richard Spitzer: When I was 7 my parents took me to the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan. I started break dancing on the boardwalk and sang while onlookers gathered around to watch. I then shouted “Please donate! My family and I are homeless!” Folks tried to give me money and my embarrassed parents had to return the change and explain we weren’t homeless after all. I tried this several times as small child. 
Richard Spitzer – SO IN LOVE

Diandra: How do you blend your Cuban and Jewish heritage into your sound and messages? Is there a core commonality you have found between their cultures/ religion?

Richard Spitzer: Not sure, but I think it could be music.  My mother, raised in Cuba, lived her life through music and dancing, and certainly brought that into our life.  Orthodox Jews also spend almost half their day singing and gyrating to the heavens, so there might be a commonality of sorts.

Diandra: The EP can be very much about pining over an ex. What are things your past relationships taught you about loving someone and what to like in a person? 

Richard Spitzer: Well, I might be referencing the ex of another, or maybe, subconsciously, I’m using my own experience. However, I think learning from your past relationships can be a useful tool to gage your personal growth (or lack there of…), since you have a clear point of reference.  Much easier said than done, but at least the opportunity is there if you can analyze yourself in that way scientifically. 

 Diandra: If you could describe yourself in love versus you in heartbreak, what two characters from a tv show, book, or film would you pick and why?

Richard Spitzer: In love, I’d be Charlie from ‘Always Sunny In Philadelphia:’naive, loyal and writing rock operas. 

Heartbroken, I’d be either Tweek from South Park or Monk (minus the crime solving skills or any skills what so ever).
Richard Spitzer – Text Your Ex

Diandra: Describe your first crush, and what song of the EP totally embodies that feeling. Why?

Richard Spitzer: My first crush was in junior high. I never flirted or attempted to impress, just kept a distance and wrote poems never to be shared. Then I wrote my first song on piano. 

On the EP, although interlaced with imaginary paranoia “So In Love” is the blossoming of that adolescent shyness into full on introverted, anxious delirium. Fortunately, as an adult I’ve learned to deal with it by writing songs and going to therapy. Yay! 

Diandra: What are 3 things music has taught you to love about yourself? 

Richard Spitzer: Strength in sensitivity, which I’d define as the ability to turn sadness into material that makes you happy.

Understanding. Music is the single most diverse human language, and by listening to new sounds with openness you can increase your own emotional landscape and understanding of humanity in general. 

Persistence. Music always progresses and changes through history like it’s own song . Following suit, I’ve never let up on giving my all to the art even though, at times, everything in life tells me to quit it like a bad habit.
Richard Spitzer – WORTHLESS

Diandra: What is your favorite childhood memory with music?

Richard Spitzer: Tough to pick one. There was Spanish monks in a church. My mom playing Yiddish songs on piano. And of course, singing in an orthodox choir during summer camp – the harmonies gave me chills.

Diandra: What is one movie you feel would become a great concept album and one album you feel would be a great movie? Why?

Richard Spitzer: How about those movies like ‘Babel’, ‘Crash’ or ‘Happiness’, where you’d have all these different story lines that converge in the form of different music genres and they all kind of come together at the end by blending themes? 

For an album, I always thought YES’ Close The Edge would be a great fantasy movie like, ‘Never Ending Story’… it’s all in there!

Diandra: What about your personality do you feel Cry Wolf captures, particularly what traits, and describe the moment of your life it captures? 

Richard Spitzer: The worry, the heartfulness, and nervous optimism.  It’s a time capsule of someone who’s in the midst of a vast transition. 

Diandra: What is the best life advice you have ever received and from whom?  

Richard Spitzer: A music professor in college once said, “Always go back to what brought your love towards the music in the first place.” 
So In Love

Diandra: How did the pandemic inspire the record, and what 3 new things did you learn, either about yourself or in general?

Richard Spitzer: The entire record was mixed and produced during lockdown so it was a source of focus and hope during an unstable time. I learned that my love for making music only grows stronger in darker times. Also I learned that you can befriend pigeons on your roof. I also learned more about Manhattan wild life and birding in general. 

Diandra: If your could make your own world, what 3 laws would create for it?

Richard Spitzer: There would be no currency.
Schools would teach only trades and the arts. 
I’d create an animal outreach program where humans are taught how to communicate with other earthly creatures. We’d learn so much!
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