Rock 'n' Ritter

Josh Ritter could be one of the characters in his songs when he takes a break from jury duty selection in Brooklyn, New York, to talk to The Prague Post.

"It's a party and a half," he jokes about the tedious legal process. "I just hope I don't get chosen for something that keeps me tied up here, like a triple ax murder."

That would be a crime, given his enthusiasm for his concert at Lucerna next week with The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová), the first opportunity for Prague audiences to get a full-bore sampling of Ritter's prodigious singing and songwriting talent.

"I'm really excited," he says about a half-dozen times. "It's a hometown show. I'll try not to mess up."

Though he's the opening act on the current Swell Season tour, which swings through 20 European cities over the next month, Ritter is a headliner in the States, with a devoted following and six impressive albums. In particular, The Animal Years (2006) and The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (2007) showcased an original songwriting style, with a flair for catchy hooks and clever lyrics, and music ranging from thoughtful, well-crafted ballads to kick-out-the-jams blasts of keyboards, horns, percussion and guitars mixed to the rhythms of BB guns going off in the woods.

There are clear elements of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan in Ritter's music, but he's just as big a fan of classic American song stylists like Johnny Mercer and Jerome Kern. "I like songs that you can remember, and sing to yourself all the way through," he says. "Songs are like little doses of medicine - you take it when you need it."

As for his own music, Ritter says simply, "I play rock 'n' roll with a lot of words."

Ritter started taking his musical medicine early, on violin. Though it was clearly not his instrument, he spent 15 years sawing away before picking up a guitar. "It was ridiculously hard, but I'm really grateful to my parents for making me do it," he says. "I learned a lot about dynamic expression and how to carry a tune. It was pretty hard on the dog and cat, though."

A self-taught guitarist, Ritter was working the open-mic circuit in Boston and hustling copies of his self-produced first disc, Josh Ritter, when he ran into the Irish band The Frames, who promptly packed him off to Dublin. He was a hit there, quickly graduating from an opening act to his own shows, and learning a ton about performing in the process.

"That was the place I got started, really," he says. "It's a small country, so word got around fast." As for what the Irish liked about his music, Ritter says, "There's a real love and respect for language there; I think that was a big part of it. If you know a good joke, you can be king of the bar for five minutes. But if they don't like what you're doing, they're not afraid to tell you."

Ritter toured Europe with The Frames in 2003, including a stop in Prague at which he went virtually unnoticed. The view wasn't much different from his end. "Mostly what I remember from that tour is all the traveling," he says. "It wasn't like I was fresh off the turnip truck, but that was a pretty formative experience for me. The Frames taught me a lot about making music a way of life."

Ritter has blossomed considerably since, producing lively stage shows with a band, an ambitious cross-genre project with classical violinist Hilary Hahn, and polished albums of depth and complexity that still retain the raw spontaneity of his open-mic performances. Prague will see plenty of the latter, as Ritter is opening for Hansard and Irglová with a solo set, sans band.

"I enjoy playing solo; it's a whole different thing with the audience," he says. "It really sharpens you, makes you feel free."

It should open up the set list, too.

"I'm excited to be playing for an audience that doesn't really know me," Ritter says. "I can play anything I want from all six albums. I'll try to do a pretty broad sampler." With a new album due out in April, he also promises, "I'll definitely do some of the new stuff."

As for the city, Ritter has been here as both a tourist and a performer (albeit briefly), and says he's looking forward to coming back. "It's an incredible place to just wander in," he says. "I'm planning to show up a couple days early and spend some time."

That is, if he dodges the triple ax murder.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at
fkuznik@praguepost.com