Sir Rick. If you’ve read anything I’ve written on the subject, it’s self-explanatory. If you haven’t, “Sir Rick” is Rick Wade, one of Detroit’s tireless bodymovers and a Deep House warrior with as many scalps on his belt as anyone. He’s making an appearance this Wednesday, September 12 at Scotty Brandon and Mike Serafini’s monthly Rhythmatic residency at SmartBar (facebook RSVP thingy here) and the choice of programming for the night is as always sublime.
Though Rick is maybe the only DJ to have an anime character based on his persona. From my interview with Rick back in the January 2012 issue of 5 Magazine:
“There’s a guy named Abdul Haqq who’s a talented painter here in Detroit. He used to be a part of Underground Resistance doing their labels and covers, and has also worked with Transmat, Planet E… He sort of became the go-to guy for Detroit techno labels that needed artwork. He’s always travelling to Japan where there’s been a really great reception for his work. He was sort of taken in by a crew called the StoryRiders, which consists of a screenwriter named Dai Sato and Shinichiro Watanabe, who’s directed Cowboy Bebop and a number of other great anime.
“They released a book showcasing Haqq’s artwork entitled Requiem for a Machine Soul… One of the images was actually a painting of me, or like a futuristic painting of me. In the clubs I’m usually wearing sunglasses. Haqq drew them as almost cybernetic sunglasses – a real Ghost In The Shell sort of look. Based on that painting, Watanabe San wrote a short story with that character as the central piece tying all the artwork of Haqq’s book together.
“Anyway, based on that story, I wrote a couple of tracks and then I was inspired to put together an entire album. I sent the mp3s over to them as kind of an advanced preview. They came up with another story based on those tracks with me as the central character. Haqq read the story and that story in turn inspired him to write more and turn it into a graphic novel. That’s how it all came about.”
Now you know the backstory of what became Rick’s last album, Neverending Reflections.
Rick Wade is appearing with Derek Fox, Scotty Brandon and Michael Serafini at SmartBar this Wednesday, September 12 2012 (3730 N. Clark Street, 10pm-late, $3 all night). RSVP here.
