Note-worthy in Plymouth: Ian Richardson

When Ian Richardson was 15 years old he saw a flyer in a Duxbury ice cream shop for a band that was in need of a drummer. Not long after, he became a member of American Beauty, a Grateful Dead tribute band, despite the fact that the other band members were in their mid to late 30’s.

Playing at bars and restaurants from Boston to Cape Cod, Richardson has not stopped playing cover music since his teenage years in American Beauty. Currently, the acoustic guitar player and singer rocks Plymouth’s on Main Street every Tuesday night.

At this location, Richardson says he entertains the crowd with classic rock by bands and singers such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix and Van Morrison. When he starts his solo act around 9:30 p.m., the musician said he sees many familiar faces in the restaurant audience.

“I have sort of a built-in crowd there,” he said. “If you play at the same place every week the same people tend to come out and see you. It’s always just a great time down there.”

While some artists scoff at cover bands and musicians, Richardson believes that there is nothing wrong with sampling music from another artist if it is done correctly.

“A lot of musicians think that when you do play covers you are sacrificing artistic integrity, which you can,” he said. “You can play it exactly as it is on the album of the person who wrote it. There is nothing wrong with that. Myself personally I tend to kind of do my own versions of these songs. I think that you can still do covers and still give people a sense for your individual style as a creative musician.”

Richardson said there is also a large market for his music, as many restaurants across the state now provide guests with live sounds every night of the week. When these locals head to South Shore bars and restaurants, Richardson said they want to hear songs that they know playing in the background.

Although the musician travels from South Boston to Cape Cod to perform cover songs for his fans six nights per week, Richardson also works as an agent for William Raveis Real Estate during the day. Even with his busy schedule, he said he would never give up his late-night gigs.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s part of who I am. I’ve been playing professionally for half of my life. Even after a long day of working in real estate, I know that for three hours that night I get to be on stage and just forget everything and play music. At the end of the day, that is really all the matters.”