Ricky

RICKY POTTS:

By Liv

“Ricky Potts, born June 5th. Gemini: the dual nature. Favorite ride, the Gravitron. Born of a semi-renowned Pentecostal pastor, Richard at a young age toured the province with his father, spreading the good news, speaking in tongues, and handling their saw-scaled Viper Snake, JoJo. The bad news was that after witnessing JoJo give his father a lethal bite during a rousing sermon, Richard was thoroughly traumatized, and lost his power of speech. Moving in with his grandparents, who were collectively 180 years old, his life consisted of feeding their 19 cats and reading the comic books he got for his birthday,” (51). 

Silver Surfer–”if sacred places are spared the ravages of war, then make all places sacred. And if the holy people are to be kept harmless from war…then make all people holy,” (58). Silver Surfer is a fictional character that appears in Marvel comic books. His first appearance is in The Fantastic Four #48 in 1996. He is a hero and an ally to The Fantastic Four and “treasures freedom above all else.” 

The world of Ricky’s song is inspired by famous British rock musicians and bands, especially David Bowie. Bowie was especially known for his out of this world musical transformations, as well as the makeup and costumes he wore onstage as the characters and personas he would take on. 

Click here to read more about the world of Ricky’s  song.

To understand Bowie's performances and expression even further, we must also take a brief deep dive into kabuki theatre!

–Kabuki has a history stretching back over 400 years

–All-male

–The word kabuki is made up of three characters that translate to song (ka歌), dance (bu舞), and acting (ki伎)

–In aragoto plays, costumes and makeups are impressive and exaggerated

–Obi sashes and hair ornaments are the most notable pieces of this type of theatre

If you’d like to learn a bit more about kabuki theatre, this video (pictured in the middle) from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) is a great, brief introduction–click on the image to access it.

Now, back to Bowie!

Bowie on the creation of Ziggy Stardust: “I think we brought a lot of our sense — aesthetic sensibilities to it, in terms of that we wanted to manufacture a kind of vocabulary, a new kind of currency,” he told Fresh Air. “And the so-called gender-bending, the picking up of maybe aspects of the avant-garde and aspects of — for me, personally — things like the kabuki theater in Japan and German expressionist movies and poetry by Baudelaire… everything from Elvis Presley to Edith Piaf went into this mix of this hybridizing, this pluralism about what, in fact, rock music was and could become.”

Click on the image below to find an editable playlist of songs in the style of/songs that inspired Ricky's songs! Please feel free to add to this during the process as you discover more that remind you of your character.

Below, you will find a direct link to an editable Pinterest board. Feel free to add images throughout the process that remind you of your character!

Questions to consider:

Why is it that Ricky loves the character Silver Surfer so much? What aspects, if any, might this character emulate that Ricky desires to exhibit? 

How does knowing more about Ricky’s song, ‘Space Age Bachelor Man’, being inspired by David Bowie and specifically the creation and intent of Ziggy Stardust showcase more of Ricky’s desires? Mainly, his desires of what he wants to project to the world from within himself? What is it that he wants the world to see? 

Sources:

Bertram, Colin. “How David Bowie Created Ziggy Stardust.” Biography.Com, 17 Dec. 2020, www.biography.com/news/david-bowie-ziggy-stardust. “Track-by-Track Breakdown: Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond on the Creation of Ride the Cyclone.” Playbill, 10 Dec. 2021, https://playbill.com/article/track-by-track-breakdown-brooke-maxwell-and-jacob-richmond-on-the-creation-of-ride-the-cyclone.“Kabuki Costumes, Makeup, and Wigs.” Kabuki Theatre, www.kabukiweb.net/about/kabuki/costumes_makeup_wigs/ .