Below, you can read our interview with artist Les Fradkin. Check out our full music review of “I Know You Rider” here.
Q: Always good to hear from you, Les! What have you been up to since our last interview with you in July?
A: We’ve been protecting our California trademarks and working on ideas for something new for my solo output.
Q: Your version of “I Know You Rider” blends traditional blues with a pop sensibility. What drew you to this song, and what made you want to interpret it in this way?
A: I am always interested in doing music that represents a hybrid of several ideas. In this particular case, I saw commercial possibilities in blending traditional music into a pop music presentation. As far as I can tell, most folks in Generation Z may not have heard some of these sounds before. The response from Internet radio certainly verifies that.
Q: You originally recorded this track in 1995 and released it in 2000. What inspired you to revisit it now?
A: Its time has come. The emotions contained within the song lyrics seem to speak to today’s problems. And for a new generation, the sound I make—particularly with the electric 12-string guitar—is new to them.
Q: This track features some impressive musicians. How did you bring this group together, and what did each of them bring to the final sound?
A: In the case of Warren Odze and Paul Harris, they were session musicians who were introduced to me. I was certainly aware of the kind of musical contributions they had made with other projects and thought they would fit in perfectly. In the case of Greg Witchel, the harmonica player, I worked more closely with him to develop the kind of harmonica solo he was doing on the track. I think it gives the results a real roots feel.
Q: How do you walk the line between honoring traditional material and making it your own?
A: I don’t worry about where the line is at all. In fact, frankly, it gets in the way of my doing what I want to do—so I just do my thing and it comes out the way it comes out. I used to be a tribute artist in Beatlemania, but I haven’t done tribute music in many decades.
Q: Your musical journey spans quite a few decades. How has your approach to songwriting and performance changed since the earlier stages of your career?
A: I don’t perform live anymore, so I can completely focus on what I do in the studio. And actually, what I do in the studio hasn’t changed very much at all over the last few decades.
Q: When you’re not making music, what helps you stay creatively energized?
A: Travel.
Q: What are you hoping listeners take away from your version of “I Know You Rider”?
A: Hearing something new that they treasure for years to come.
Q: What else can fans expect from you in the rest of 2025?
A: Working on issuing unreleased material for an album to follow I Know You Rider.
Q: Any shout-outs you wanna make?
A: I want to take the opportunity to thank Warren, Paul, and Greg for helping make the track happen.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: Many thanks to Bob Shade at Hallmark Guitars for the wonderful 12-string he makes.
(Want to be interviewed by The Ark of Music? Click HERE.)