The band “nostatic” has been through various iterations over the past two decades. The alumni list is long and distinguished, and I’m indebted to all the musicians who I have been lucky enough to share a stage with.

Historically, nostatic consists of the core “trio” of Hiroo Nakano (drums) and myself (Todd Richmond – bass) with Claire Rifelj providing her amazing vocals. From about 2012 until mid-2014, nostatic mostly appeared with the “sparse lineup,” consisting of Claire on vocals, Rachelle Romeo on sax, and either Hiroo or Vincent Heckard on drums. There were other explorations including bass and drums, two bassists (with Steuart Leibig) and drums, and various other solo instruments.

When Rachelle headed off to the warmer climes of Phoenix in the summer of 2014 and Vincent went even further east to Nashville, nostatic moved back to a more traditional keys or gtr/bass/drums section with Claire’s vocals leading the way. Midway through 2015 Rob Anderson brought his violin and mandolin into the mix, and nostatic moved back to the “sparse lineup” and the album “String Life Live.”  Through 2017 guitarist Jay Dover brought his country-jazz sensibilities, embracing the “color rather than comping” ethos of the band. Little did we know that 7Mar20 would be our last gig for a year plus due to the pandemic. As 2022 moves in, nostatic moves with it – all the way to Lompoc! And a new album of original music to boot, released on 11Jan22.

Eleanor Rigby track notes: Claire on vox, Rachelle on sax, I’m playing bass, guitar, and keys. That is part of the 2014 “Time’s Up” album, available on iTunes and two tracks on Spotify.

nostatic alumni: Claire Rifelj (vox), David Winston Barge (vox), Michael Lamper (vox/gtr), Sue Jin (vox), Stacey Byrne (vox), Vivian Rogers (vox), Tony Egan (vox), Chadwick Bishop (vox), Malika Chaterji (vox), Larkin McLean (vox), Gary Mendell (keys), Jason Olsen (keys), David Tobocman (keys), Rachelle Romeo (sax), Julie Sax (sax), Dennis Mitcheltree (sax), Kyle O’Donnell (sax), John Whoolilurie (sax), David Kochen (sax), Keiko Okamoto (flute), Rumi Flute (flute), Fabio Santana (trombone), Tom Ralls (trombone), Jun Iida (trumpet), Russell Zimmer (trumpet), Cico Silva (trumpet), Bray Ghiglia (gtr/sax), Michael Lamper (gtr), Jory Schulman (gtr), Curtis Fornadley (gtr), Jason Lee (gtr), Mark Chosak (gtr), Kurt Szul (gtr), Jay Dover (gtr/vox), Bob Hamilton (banjo/gtr), Rob Anderson (violin/mandolin), Harry Hache (bass), Steuart Leibig (bass), Hiroo Nakano (drums), John Platero (drums), Ed Via (drums), Hyung Kyu Lee (drums), Eric Allen (drums), Andy Crosby (drums), Rivkah Ross (drums), Tom Jedynak (drums), Tony DiGiovanni (drums), Vincent Heckard (drums/percussion), Roberto Guiterrez (perc), John Celentano (perc).

Score (for those playing at home):

vox – 10
keys – 3
sax – 7
flute – 2
bone – 2
trumpet – 3
guitar – 9
banjo – 1
violin – 1
bass – 2
drums – 10
percussion – 3