Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280101
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
She still can't explain it, but she knew. 4 Non Blondes was going somewhere.
So, she packed up and moved from Los Angeles to the rock band's home base, San Francisco.
She left behind a steady job as a drum instructor, and regular gigs with two Los Angeles bands. Richardson said neither was really going anywhere.
Richardson, 29, replaced original drummer, Wanda Day, who was fired from the band. The official word is that Day was physically unable to carry on with the group. Unofficially, there were reports of drug use and unreliability.
"She had some problems" is all Richardson admitted to in a recent telephone interview.
Whatever, the 29-year-old drummer is just glad she got the call. 4 Non Blondes opens for Aerosmith tonight at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Originally, the group was all-female.
There were no blondes, either. More on that later.
But neither was really a factor in hiring a new drummer, Richardson said. In fact, the band now has a dark-haired male guitarist, Roger Rocha, who replaced Shaunna Hall.
Hall couldn't cut it in the studio.
Richardson got an audition because she knew Linda Perry, the band's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, more than because of her gender or hair color.
Perry met Richardson during an ill-fated five months Perry spent in Los Angeles - before 4 Non Blondes - when she tried to land a record contract as a solo artist. They were introduced through a mutual friend.
Richardson said she was impressed by Perry's voice.
A critic's favorite, Perry has one of those voices that flirts between beautiful and grating, like fingernails on a chalkboard. She's unique, but it's not for everybody.
Richardson also was attracted to Perry's sense of eccentricity. Her trademark is a bizarre assortment of hats.
"She's definitely an artist," Richardson said.
She also writes some bizarre song lyrics. "Can you explain why the messy kitchen sink is so confusing?" Perry sings on "Calling All The People."
Not even the band understands them, Richardson said. She isn't so sure Perry understands them.
Perry came to 4 Non Blondes when she met bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Hall and drummer Day, who already had a band together, but were looking for a lead singer.
Perry was set to audition, but 45 minutes before the rehearsal started, the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 hit. The audition was rescheduled.
With Perry out front, the foursome took the name 4 Non Blondes after an incident that happened to them one day they were sitting on a park bench.
As a little blonde boy and his blonde parents walked by them, the boy spied a slice of pizza perched atop a trash can next to the bench. The boy wanted the pizza.
His mother told him no. It was probably dirty from the pigeons and the people, she said looking right at the newly formed band.
4 Non Blondes.
Richardson said they get asked about the name often. "I just thought it was funny," she said about hearing it herself for the first time. Her previous gigs were with The Wild Stares and Urban Artillery, so strange names are nothing new.
4 Non Blondes first attracted a following around San Francisco when college radio stations started playing a demo tape the band made of Perry's song, "Mr. President."
That led to a record contract with Interscope Records and the release of its debut album, "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!" and hit single, "What's Up."
The success of "What's Up," in turn, led to opening concerts for Primus, Big Head Todd and the Monster, Neil Young and Prince.
Richardson said she knew the band was going somewhere when she joined, but she really didn't expect this level of success. "I don't think you can ever really know," she said.
About Neil Young, she said she got to chat with the rock dinosaur on an elevator. About Prince, she said she didn't get to actually meet him.
"He watched our shows, but it was a pretty high-security thing."
It was probably just as well. She didn't know what to call him anyway, now that he has changed his name from Prince to a symbol that doesn't have a name. "We were trying to figure that out," she said.
But Richardson said opening for Aerosmith was the goal all along. She said everybody in the band is a big Aerosmith fan.
"I can't think of another band we'd rather tour with."
Beyond Aerosmith, Richardson said the group hasn't given much thought to any other goals or future plans. She paused and thought about it a moment.
"I'd love to be like Aerosmith and play forever."
by CNB