Interview: Neil Citron Talks About the Music in Meryl Streep’s “Ricki and the Flash”

Neil Citron was the Musical Director for Ricki and The Flash starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Rick Springfield, written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jonathan Demme. It was a lot of fun talking to him about helping Streep learn how to portray a singer/guitarist in a cover band and the challenges of recording live performances instead of the usual highly controlled studio sessions.

What was it like recording live performances for the film?

It was kind of fun. We found out early that Jonathan Demme wanted to do it all live, no play backs. We were sort of okay with that. Mark Wilson and I had the task of doing it. The problem was that Jonathan didn’t want to see any microphones on stage. That is when it became terror. It was supposed to be this club in Tarzana and they wouldn’t have real mics and amps and stuff. We had the overhead mics on drums, and we had to hide everything else as we sort of finagled our way through. So we used these things called drum triggers. I, smartly I think, sampled Joe’s drums before we started so I got to use his real drums, sounds for his real drums so they are not just somebody’s drums.

You had some very, very experienced musicians but you also had a lead singer who was not an experienced musician. How did that work out?

Meryl was fun. She was a good egg. I spent months with her eight hours a day playing, singing, standing up in her house practicing for the movie. She could play the songs within a week, I had her pretty much being able to play. But then we just had to drill, drill, drill so that she could act and not have to worry about playing. And it’s amazing; she’s a really good musician and you can’t teach that. She has good timing, good feel, and she played in the movie. That’s her playing in the movie, there is no finger double or any of that stuff. And the biggest obstacle I think for her was that she had not been in a band obviously. So I tried to warn her it’s pretty loud, she got used to it after a day or so but it was pretty shocking.

Tell me a little bit about the culture of a band like this. What kind of an experience would that be like and how is that reflected in the film?

In my own case I had a record deal early and I didn’t make it, like Ricki. She had a record out and didn’t make it. And you are playing around and I don’t know when you’re supposed to confront yourself with, “Hey I’m a little too old! Probably should get a regular job but I don’t want to give up on my dreams.” And so I think that it’s hard to put aside the fact that music makes you feel alive and it’s worth having the bad job and no real money coming in. In the film she loses her car, her cell phone gets turned off. This is really typical of a lot of musicians thus the joke – “What do you call a musician without a girlfriend? Homeless.” So I think that even though we make jokes about it, it’s hard to stop the passion and the dream that you grew up with. And I think that the thought of fame is one thing but financial security isn’t something you think about. And so in the film just as in reality you just sort of keep doing it and even though she is struggling there is that moment on stage when she’s really, really happy. So it’s hard to give that up.

There’s a great moment near the beginning where Ricki with good spirit but some reluctance plays a Lady Gaga song.

That’s a really funny point because that just shows how well Diablo Cody understands this situation. When I was playing Top 40 songs, we were trying to play Deep Purple and that stuff and the kids wanted to hear Brick House. Stuff that you don’t want to play as a rock ‘n roller but people want to hear it. So it’s really true and I liked the way she said it very pissy when she played the Pink song, “Okay let’s get this party started.” The one thing that some people did pick up on is that “American Girl” is a same song that Jonathan used in “Silence of the Lambs.” That was his pick, it was kind of his little thing. Jonathan did all the music selection except for “My Love.” the Bruce Springsteen song and that was picked by Meryl. We needed a song for that scene and I think they put out feelers for someone to write a song, then Meryl said, “What about this?” and it was just like the perfect and so there we go, there’s our music background. She is just great.

What makes these songs so enduring?

I think that songs today because, because we have so much more quicker access via the Internet or whatever, I think people are thinking about singles versus bands content. And so in those days of Tom Petty it was band content. I really remember if a band didn’t have a first record that was huge it was just not a big deal, it was always a three record deal and it was always assuming that it would take two or three records to get that kind of stability and hugeness. Now it’s sort of like you have one song and it doesn’t sell a lot you are gone. And so I think that Tom Petty there was a style there, more so than what’s happening today. I mean his singing was unique. Look at Bob Dylan. His musicianship was a throwback to the blues. The Yardbirds and that kind of stuff is pure Americana. And I think that there is a warm spot in people’s hearts for that stuff. And I also think that it’s not as aggressive, therefore it’s more inviting. I think as a listener you don’t have to think about it; you just enjoy it.

Tell me about Rick Springfield. It was great to see him on the screen. And boy, I was super impressed by his guitar playing.

I had worked with Rick, I knew Rick from before. But I haven’t just sat down and played guitar with him. And so I agree with you it’s really shocking how good a guitar player he but mostly it also comes from the knowledge of the songs. He knows inversions and chords and stuff really well. And so like even the introduction of “Drift Away,” the fact that he knew that I was like, wow! So it’s really cool and his tone and his fingers — he’s a rock star.

The guitar used by Rick Springfield is an important part of the movie. What is the difference between the one he likes and the one he does not like?

Basically a good guitar is like driving a Ferrari. They are solid, they don’t go out of tune, anything you want to play is not sort of running up hill, it sort of feels like you’re running downhill, super simple, easy. There’s a few kind of differences between guitars that suit people’s personalities, like David Gilmour on the strat, it’s just what it is. But there are really bad copies of those guitars and if you saw David Gilmour play that with really high strings and bad pickups and bad sounding wood so there is no vibration and that kind of thing, you would see him struggle like a beginner, it’s not easy, it’s not fun. So Rick goes from this classic SG which is worth thousands of dollars to one I think retail costs 250 bucks. So it’s got high action and the wood feels like balsa wood, it doesn’t really feel like mahogany are anything. In fact that guitar wasn’t set up and we had problems with it staying in tune.

What was the first instrument you learn to play?

I played clarinet and saxophone while I was in grade school. I have a kind of a well-known cousin whose name is Howard Leese. He was in Heart and he is in Bad Company now. Howard one day said to me, “Do you ever want to date women?” And I said, “Yes”, he said, “Then you got to quit playing saxophone, dude.” He’s the reason I’m a guitar player.