The DJ Takeover sponsored by Level Up is a program for listeners to discover their favorite artist's favorite artists, working to foster connection to the music and makers inside and outside our city. For the entire hour, we go down the rabbit hole of stories from their past, experiences of the present and goals for the future.
“John Malkovich.”
That was Ridley Tankersley’s firm answer when I asked him who would play Poor Ridley in the obviously inevitable biopic. “He can become anyone,” Tankersley continued, “so I would really love to see (it).”
While the Oscar winner may not know it, the flow goes both ways. Poor Ridley, the local “punk pop / pop rock,” outfit truly harnesses the range, charm and charisma of Malkovich through the music created by Tankersley — the namesake behind the project.
His first full-length album, Songs I Wrote, is a collection of (you guessed it) songs he wrote over roughly eight years. While Tankersley has been the backbone of Poor Ridley since its inception, Collin Papenfuss and Brian Hospital have completed the current iteration of the band, bringing the music to live audiences at local venues near you.
When I first heard “The Longest Song Ever,” I wished it was longer. It immediately felt classic, like a song I had grown up listening to — akin to national treasures like Weezer’s “Say It Ain't So,” with some Radiator Hospital flair.
There’s a coming-of-age quality in Poor Ridley’s music, a sort of high-school math class, teenage-dirtbag candy wrapping that reveals a sweet center of facing the parts of yourself you try to hide from the most. It’s present in other tracks I’d regret not mentioning here: “No Thoughts,” “Red Smoke” and “Simpler Simon.”
Tankersley’s songwriting is clever, witty, absurd and incredibly wise. Those lyrics are met by music with tonal shifts, high tempo, complete conviction and a type of composition that reaches inside and flips a switch.
It’s an ability he developed on a journey that started growing up in Phoenix before moving to Appleton, where he went to art school and joined Wisconsin legends Dusk as bassist. Tankersley now calls Milwaukee home, and I'm grateful to have Poor Ridley’s sound woven into the fabric of our local music scene.
For show and music updates, follow Poor Ridley on Instagram or visit the project’s newly chromatized website.
DJ Takeover: Poor Ridley playlist
- Poor Ridley, "Red Smoke"
- Combat Naps, "White Page"
- Eli Orion, "Deserve"
- Why?, "Fatalist Palmistry"
- Eagles, "Nightingale"
- Fiona Apple, "On The Bound"
- Joanna Newsom, "Peach, Plum, Pear"
- Owls, "This Must Be How..."
- Obsess Tact (Milwaukee band nomination), "Braided Streams"
