Richard Speight, Jr. on his music, past and future

By Jadeen Mercado. Oct. 24, 2018

Cover photo credit to Chris Schmelke

Richard Speight, Jr. is a man who wears many hats. Those include, but are not limited to, his acting, directing, writing, hosting and yes, “Professional goofball”. Fans know the popular actor for his role as Gabriel in the CW hit show “Supernatural”. What some may not know about Richard are his musical abilities. He has been in the music game for many years, performing for the love of it. For those “Supernatural” fans that have attended Louden Swain’s “Saturday Night Special” at Creation Entertainment’s conventions, they have seen him play bass, guitar, and singing.

Nerd Alert News got the chance to sit down with Richard and in part two of the interview below, check out Richard’s words about his music. He touches on his past, his upcoming album in the works, and what he hopes “Supernatural” convention fans take away from the experience.

Jadeen Mercado: There has been confirmation that an album produced by Jason Manns is in its early stages of life. What can you tell us about where you guys are at with it?

Richard Speight, Jr.: Jason Manns is the most persuasive man in show business and has convinced me that it’s a good idea that we do something musical together. I make no bones about it, I’m not a pro; I’m a hobby musician. But I do love it and if I’m going to do anything I’m doing it with Jason because I trust him. We have similar sensibilities and have had conversations about what it should be. It’s not something I’m going into lightly because I’m aware of the perception of “goofball character actor releases record”. This sounds like a shitty headline. I’m trying to do this in a way that it’s something that I like, that the fans will get a kick out of, and that’s not taking itself too seriously. It’s going to be well done.

I think Jason and I agree on that approach and how it’s going to be handled, and what music fits my sensibilities and my style. We’re not turning me into a lounge singer–we’re not trying to overshoot. We’re trying to find the vibe that works in the framework of who I am as a person, who I am as a personality, as an artist, and a musician onstage with a guitar. I really think we’ve come up with some good ideas. I like the playlist of the songs we’re honing in on, which is a mixed bag of some cover tunes. Some are kind of deep tracks from other artists, and a couple of originals that he’s crafting as well. I’m really looking forward to it. I have been on the fence about whether it was a good idea or not, I have come to the conclusion that it’s a good idea. With Jason behind it, with him appreciating my input so that I’m not totally turning the reins over, it’ll be something that by the time it comes out, it will be something that I’m proud of and happy to have released to the general public. I feel that it’s going to be a good partnership and something that’s going to be fun to work on.

JM: What cover song are you most excited to put on your record?

RSJ: I think for the sake of this early part of the conversation about the record, I’ll say I’m looking forward to recording Copperhead Road because I play it at conventions sometimes and I’m a huge fan of that song. There’s really no reason to cover Copperhead Road. It was done perfectly once by the guy who wrote it, Steve Earl. It’s purely because I’m a nerd and love the song. It’s almost like karaoke, but with professional musicians and it’s going to sound great. Purely for fun, I’m looking forward to doing that song. There are a couple of other songs that I don’t want to mention because if they don’t end up making the record, I don’t want to have talked about them and then they never exist. But there are a couple of songs that are by bands that never quite made it that I grew up listening to, and I’m excited to cover some of their stuff because it’s great music and great memories for me growing up with this music.

JM: And has this album been a dream of yours for a while now?

RSJ: No, I think it’s been a dream of Jason’s for a while now.

JM: And all of ours.

RSJ: You say that but I really had no aspirations to record a record. I just played music as a hobby my entire life. I played in a band since I was 15. I’ve been adequate since I was 15. I’ve never spent a lot of time fretting about my lack of excellence in that field. To me, it’s purely pickup basketball. It’s a great way to pick up an instrument, go out with your buddies and have fun. Guys like Louden Swain are great songwriters and they tell their stories, but I’ve been playing with cover bands for free beer in crappy bars across Tennessee and California since I was in high school, and I love that. I love the freedom of playing. One of the things I like about Saturday Night Special is getting to play bass. I love getting to play bass behind Louden Swain. It’s a real treat for me to pick up that instrument and play it again. I stopped doing that when I started having kids because it didn’t make sense for daddy to be gone all Saturday night for no money. So now I get the best of both worlds. Now I get to come to a convention and meet people who are fans of Louden Swain’s music. I get to be part of their ensemble and help their music be played because Mike Borja (Louden Swain’s bassist) can play piano and I’ll sit in for him on bass. I get to be part of that experience onstage and feel that energy. In terms of making a record, I was the lead singer of my band in high school, and I say that with air quotes, but so it’s been fun to revisit that role on these tours at Saturday Night Specials. Jason’s sensing that it’s been fun and I enjoy it. There’s a tone and a style that he relates to that could make for a fun record that really triggers the idea.

I live in eternal fear of doing something that makes me look like a goofball. Even though I’m a professional goofball, I like to be in control of my “goofballness”. Everything I do is on purpose, all my goofiness on stage, everything I do on stage is a controlled silly. It’s a silly I’ve decided to do. I’m in control of it and I’m deciding when it’s silly and when it’s not: Which kind of going back to the directing thing. I enjoy that balance of not having to be the goofball all of the time and being the businessman and the storyteller. In this case, I’m doing something that’s outside my framework. It’s outside of what I do all of the time. It’s outside of what people expect of me. I want to make sure of whatever I do and whatever I put out is something I’m proud of, and that it doesn’t come out and become a train wreck because I let it get away from me. I’m still going to micromanage alongside Jason so that it represents what I do and what I am and what I want out there.

JM: If there’s one thing you can leave your fans with, what would it be?

RSJ: I hope when it’s all said and done and we stop doing conventions, we stop traveling around and we no longer see each other in terms of the fans and the actors, I hope people take away that at the end of the day that it wasn’t about paying for photos and paying for conversations. It was about getting together and sharing an experience, and sharing a common goal which is to be nicer and to be better. It’s also to put priorities in line and to do things because they’re the right thing to do and not because it’s what you or your family or your political party tells you should do. I hope there’s a greater meaning to everything you’re pursuing. We gather together with people who have been in one episode and people who have starred in every episode; people who have been to one con and people who have been to every con; people who have no money and people who are made of money. We get together and share laughs, heartfelt stories, and music and moments throughout our weekend. When we all part company and these are a distant memory, I hope what that fans take away from the experience is the experience is the personal connection and the humanity of it all. Take that and bring it into their daily life and spread the idea that we are all the same but we just have different jobs. At the end of the day, it should be fun, or it shouldn’t be done.

Nerd Alert News is very grateful to Richard for lending his time to us and opening up about all of his amazing endeavors. Check out part one of our interview with Richard Speight, Jr. if you haven’t already. Follow Richard on Twitter to stay up to date with what he’s up to. Again, special thanks to him and all the readers who have supported these articles.