Rick Springfield, together with Vance DeGeneres, have gathering up their famous friends (and family) like Ellen DeGeneres, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Sammy Hagar of Van Halen, Matthew Wilder, Tommy Tutone and members of the B52s, Berlin and Loverboy, for ‘The Wall Will Fall’, a benefit song for people financially fucked by COVID-19.
Rick Springfield tells Noise11.com, “I wanted something uplifting because everyone was down being home. I wanted the video to look like a Zoom chat. There’s a lot of celebrities in there, kids, nieces. I’m happy how it came out.”
He says everyone he asked wanted in. “Everyone was into it. The money is going to charities that are helping people who are having financial problems not working. Everyone was on board and heard the message of the song and understood what it was all about”.
Rick says he ‘stole’ the idea from his mate Vance DeGeneres. “Vance is a musician but mainly a writer. He has production deal at different TV places. He is Ellen DeGeneres brother. I’ve known him for years. I stole an idea from him putting things on the internet to keep people’s spirits up. He did a thing about how to play the guitar in 60s seconds. I thought ‘that’s a great idea. I’m going to steal it and teach people how to play Jessie’s Girl in 60 seconds’. The joke was I keep getting interrupted and I never get to it. He saw it and said I copied his idea so why don’t we get together. It turned out fun”.
Recording with no-one around was a first for Rick Springfield. “The upside is this is the first song I’ve ever with no-one else in the studio,” Rick says. “I did the clicktrack and sent it to Matt Bissonnette who plays bass for Elton. He sent it to his brother Greg who plays with Ringo. It kept on going to other musicians who added their parts separately. I Zoomed them to explain the idea so the video was totally done on Zoom”.
‘The Wall Will Fall’ is the cheapest song Rick Springfield has ever made. “It cost nothing, just time. Everybody did it because of the idea of the song. Everybody did it for nothing. It was absolutely the cheapest song I have ever done”.
Rick says he can see a different attitude to recording when the world goes back to some level of sanity. “A lot of people I know are setting up virtual studios,” he says. “If you are linked in it is just like talking in a vocal booth and talk back to each other just like to the guy sitting in the booth. It is no different to that”.
COVID-19 has brought Rick’s American tour plans to a standstill. “I should have been out already with the band Chicago. We were going to do arenas. It will still happen but its just been pushed out”.
However, he says he still want to tour Australia with Zoot in November and even if it means spending 14 days in isolation when he arrives he will do that. “Yes I would. If that’s what its going to take. We could always push it further out but if everyone’s ready for it in November, I am not sure how they’d handle a big audience. I’ve done the test, I haven’t been exposed to it or had it”.
Australian dates with Zoot in November are still on sale.
NOTABLE CAMEOS IN “THE WALL WILL FALL” MUSIC VIDEO
Andrea Anders – Actor (“Joey”; “Mr. Sunshine”; “Better Off Ted”)
Bryan Batt – Actor (“Mad Men”)
Yannick Bisson – Actor (“Murdoch Mysteries”)
Greg Bissonette – Musician (Ringo Starr Band)
Matt Bissonette – Musician (Elton John Band)
Linda Blair – Actress and Animal Activist
Creed Bratton – Actor (“The Office”); and Musician (Grass Roots)
James Carpinello – Broadway Actor (“Saturday Night Fever”; “Rock of Ages”)
Andy Cohen – TV Personality and Producer
Cat Cora – TV Personality (Iron Chef) and Restaurateur
Emily Cutler – Sitcom writer (“Fresh Off The Boat”; “AP Bio”)
Chris D’Arienzo – Writer (“Rock Of Ages”)
Doug Davidson – Actor (“The Young And The Restless”)
Ellen DeGeneres – Actor and Comedian
Vance DeGeneres – Actor, Musician, Producer and Writer
Duzat St. Marie – Musicians
Shelia E – Musician (Prince and The Revolution)
Mark Goodman – (MTV and SiriusXM Radio)
Ronnie Grinel – Musician (Fools Gold)
Tim Gross – Musician (Rick Springfield Band)
Sammy Hagar – Musician (Van Halen)
Alex Herschlag – Writer (“Broke”; “Will & Grace”)
Eddie Jemison – Actor (“Oceans” series; “Waitress”)
Marky Lennon – Musician (Venice)
Terri Nunn – Musician (Berlin)
Lori Majewski – Radio Personality (SirusXM) and journalist
Krista Marie – Musician (New North)
Richard Marx – Musician
Scoot Paisant – Radio Personality (WWL New Orleans)
Wally Palmer – Musician (The Romantics)
Tim Pierce – Musician
Kate Pierson – Musician (The B-52s)
Rick Polizzi – Producer (“The Simpsons”)
Mike Reno – Musician (Loverboy)
Allan Rice – Sitcom writer (“Stuck In The Middle”; “The New Adventures Of Old Christine”)
Claudio Sanchez – Musician (Coheed and Cambria)
Paul Sanchez – Musician (Cowboy Mouth)
Fred Schneider – Musician (B-52s)
Paul Stanley – Musician (Kiss)
Matheny Treco – Broadway Actor (“Hamilton”)
Brett Tuggle – Musician (Fleetwood Mac)
Tommy Tutone – Musician (Tommy Tutone)
Beth Utterback – Radio Personality (WWOZ New Orleans)
Katie Von Till – Actor (“Young Sheldon”; “Conan”)
Jack White – Musician (former drummer for Rick Springfield)
Matthew Wilder – Musician (“Break My Stride”; “Mulan Soundtrack”) and Producer (No Doubt)
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