On his first release on Open Road Recordings, Buckles and Boots, Ridley Bent serves up tall tales, sweet rhymes, and love songs, with a dash of mayhem and murder on the side. Populated by a cast of modern day desperadoes, lovesick drifters, and small town heroes, Buckles and Boots, is full to the brim with stories you just can’t take your ears off.
Whether it’s a high school drug sting gone bad, or an aging road racer taking one last shot at glory prompted ‘a whiff of the glory days comin’ from the back seat’ Ridley’s characters don’t compromise. They get what they deserve and take what they can get, straight up, with a shot of whiskey on the side. No matter how wild his characters get, though, Ridley Bent’s own life and experiences shine through. “When I first started writing I was singing from my heart, and those songs are always harder to sing for people. So I kinda went completely the other direction and wrote from character's points of view. But no matter what, there's always going to be things that are you.”
Sometimes it’s a growl, or a sly chuckle, but more often, these days, it’s some shade of heartbreak. While there’s no shortage of dangerous characters haunting the corners of the record, there’s a far more personal side to Buckles and Boots. Tracks like ‘Cry’, ‘Arlington’ and ‘Stand In Line’ make it clear that Ridley, like the fallen rodeo star in the album’s title track, has spent his own share of ‘nights with the cold, hard truth.’ Evenwith no police or punk ass kids to teach a lesson, and only everyday enemies, like loss and regret, to cope with, Bent’s means of doing so are often brutally hilarious.
Shortly after relocating to Whistler, BC in the late 90’s, the Halifax born, Alberta bred singer/songwriter ditched his dream of being a pro-skier, picked up a the guitar and taught himself to play. It wasn’t until he moved to Vancouver and took a job as a security guard that he really began developing his unique lyrical style. With nothing but his guitar and a pile of books for company, he started spinning his own tales to kill time. There, John Steinbeck, Louis L’Amour, and Cormac McCarthy became almost as important to his distinct style as his musical influences.
Known for spinning wild yarns against a unique blend of roots and urban grooves, Ridley’s rekindled a love for an old flame on Buckles and Boots. Born out of early exposure to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash – courtesy of his father, the world’s greatest country music lover – there's always been a strong underpinning of alt. Folk and Country to his music. “But with this record,” he says, “I really wanted to be clear where it was going.”
Where it went was straight up Country – no exceptions, and no apologies…
Alone, or with his band, Ridley Bent is no less ferocious live. He brings a level of commitment to his performances so complete, the audience can’t help going where he takes them. “He's not strutting around the stage,” says Ellis, “he's standing there like Hank Sr., holding his ground.” More and more, people can’t help but notice; nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the 2006 Western Canadian Music Awards, Ridley has also toured with Corb Lund, hit major Canadian Folk Fests like Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Hillside, and is fresh off multiple appearances during the 2007 CCMA’s.
Buckles and Boots is the kind of record that hits you right ‘where the bottle and the truth collide’. More than that though, it lets you have a long, hard – and occasionally sadistic – laugh at yourself when you start feeling like you’re alone there.
