From writing and recording almost month to month now, SHORTSTRAW really got their songwriting muscles working overtime. RICH RICHARDS was born out of a jam session in their rehearsal room. “Al and Tom started the crashing guitars, and the idea of us drinking for free at our favourite bar here in Joburg called The Good Luck Bar, got Al thinking about themes around being a cheapskate and a trust fund kid. We’ve all got a little of this in us, and so it's partly inspired by us, but then taken further into a fun song about a freeloader going about his life.” - Russell Grant. Other parts for the song then developed that were in a different groove, but the band were magically able to slide it all into one another. At first the band thought it might come across as a bit schizophrenic, but at the same time felt liberated trying to make it work whilst breaking any mould they had created for themselves in terms of how their songs are usually structured. "The song has a solid injection of light-hearted humour that we enjoy bringing into many of our songs. It’s got a clear authenticity to it, as it draws from some of the things we do in real life, which is another element that always shines through in our songs. It’s a little weird that there isn’t an obvious verse and chorus; there are ultimately three parts that get built on and repeated. It also has a strong element of the more punk sensibility we have come to explore from the start of Those Meddling Kids.”
The video for RICH RICHARDS was shot by Tom Revington and directed and edited by Alastair Thomas. The band’s beloved friend D$tyles returns in his signature blue tracksuit, following on from the same antics fans have come to love from the ‘Couch Potato’ and ‘Mo Money’ videos. Once again this one-of-a-kind dude gets set loose on a crowd; only this time he's now come into some serious money, that he may or may not have worked that hard to get! Viewers follow him through all the highs and lows of having a large amount of expendable income.
THOSE MEDDLING KIDS - New Member: PIERRE MARAIS - Designer
The artist for this month is Pierre Marais, who is a fan of the band and currently studying to be an architect. He approached Shortstraw to be a part of the project and the band is delighted to have him as a part of the collective. They have allocated budget to pay the designers part of TMK for their time, but Pierre didn't want to accept the money for himself and instead asked the band to donate it to Pug Rescue in the name of The Bowsie Foundation.
Also one of the TMK squad, is NICK HAMMAN, longtime friend and supporter of SHORTSTRAW. Nick is the host of a morning show on 5FM, one of South Africa’s biggest commercial radio stations. He has very kindly given SHORTSTRAW some needle time on the first Friday of every month to debut and talk about each single as they are released. As their media partner, and good chommie who supports local music, he undoubtedly deserves to be a Meddling Kid. Listen to the latest SHORSTRAW single from the TMK Collective every first Friday of every month at 8h20AM on Nick Hamman’s show on 5FM. SHORTSTRAW is also proud to have all their music equipment provided and endorsed by TOMS. With branches around South Africa, these guys run a great ship, and help out with all Shortstraw’s instrument needs.
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