Richard Marx keeps circling back to one word during our interview: elegance.
The descriptor works for the artist’s latest album, “After Hours,” a collection of originals and standards that sees the 62-year-old Marx channel his inner, swinging Frank Sinatra. But Marx also uses the word to detail his life with partner Daisy Fuentes, with whom he wrote the light-stepping Latin-tinged new number “Magic Hour.”
“It’s one of my favorite, if not favorite word, these days,” Marx says. “I just want to live my life more elegantly.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
How does that manifest? The hitmaker, who rose to fame with the now timeless ballad “Right Here Waiting,” never hopes to miss a small indulgence such as a nightly martini. Marx was born in Chicago but says he has fully acclimated to the Southern California lifestyle. It’s on the hiking trails, for instance, where he does his best songwriting, and it’s around the firepit where he and Fuentes share their deepest conversations.
Splitting time between two homes — one “in the deep Valley” and another in Malibu — Marx these days appears intent on aging gracefully. It’s partly what drew him to record an album that lovingly pays homage to the likes of Sinatra and Dean Martin.
“When I recorded this album, I dressed up,” he says. “I put on a suit like Sinatra used to do. It makes sense, since in the last dozen years since I met Daisy — she’s sort of old-school — we’ve tried to be as elegant about everything as we possibly can.”
Marx shares with us his ideas for a most elegant Sunday in L.A.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
8:30 a.m.: Sun and meditation
I start every day when I’m in California with an iced coffee of some kind, sitting in the sun for 20 minutes. No sunscreen, just 20 minutes of vitamin D. I don’t look at my phone. This is my 20-minute meditation with a little caffeine and the sun on my skin. That’s so important to me.
9:30 a.m.: Brunch at home or in Malibu
Daisy is a really great cook. She’s great across the board, but her breakfast and brunch talent is off the charts. So usually on a Sunday we’re going to stay home and she’s going to make some brunch. If we go out, one of my favorite Sundays, even when we’re here in the Valley, is to drive over the hill and go to the Malibu Country Mart or stop in the Marmalade Cafe or the Carbon Beach Club, which is in the Malibu Beach Inn. There’s a couple places we love in Malibu. There’s a place called Ollo’s that has great breakfast. It’s in a strip mall with Ralph’s.
11 a.m.: More sun on the trails
I’m addicted to hiking and so is Daisy. There are some really great hikes out here in the Valley — Las Virgenes — but my favorite hikes are in Malibu, whether it’s Solstice Canyon or the Westward Beach hike. It’s not a challenging hike physically, but it’s probably the most gorgeous hike. What’s the point of being in California if you’re not outside? Sunday is a day I need to be out hiking in the sun and sweating.
About 30% of the time I’m writing in my head, even if I don’t want to be. It happens. If Daisy is with me, I love to not take my phone because I like to be unencumbered and to not think about it. What will happen is then I’ll have to have her open her voice notes and sing a melody into it. I’ve written so many songs in the great outdoors. I saw an interview with Sting where he said that lyrics hide behind bushes and trees and under rocks. He goes outside too. I knew I liked Sting.
2:30 p.m.: Time to chill with a book
And then it’s really just a matter of relaxing, getting some time to sit with a great book in the afternoon. I always have a couple books going at the same time. I haven’t been reading hardly any fiction for a while, but I just started reading Scott Galloway’s book, “Notes on Being a Man.” He’s an investment guy and he’s got companies, but he’s become really big on social media. He’s an interesting guy, and I’m totally into that book. I’m almost finished with Charlie Sheen’s memoir. I saw the documentary, which I thought was amazing. His story is fascinating, and the quality of that filmmaking, especially in the use of the old movie footage, I thought was world-class. So I’m finishing Charlie’s book. Those are the two I’m reading right now.
4:30 p.m.: Pre-dinner martinis
As great a cook as Daisy is, we like to go out for dinner. Our favorite thing is to go someplace for martinis and a little bite of something and then another place for dinner. With more martinis. I can’t focus enough on the martinis.
If I had to pick one martini spot, it’s Lucky’s in Malibu. First of all, it’s an incredible martini, but they do a whole presentation. They bring it over to the table and shake it at the table. It’s a generous pour. You usually get a little sidecar. Being vegetarian, it’s a little challenging, but it’s a great place for us. There’s also a place called V’s. It’s a local place that’s been there a long time. They have a tiny little bar when you first walk in the door with a couple little hi-tops. That’s a really nice place to stop and get a quick drink and maybe a flatbread.
7 p.m.: Dinner and a scene
I’m going to sound so obnoxious saying this, but I really love Craig’s. I love going there. We feel at home there. They take good care of us. If I’m going to Craig’s for dinner, I’m looking forward to it all day. I always run into people I know. It’s a hot spot of activity. It’s just about feeling comfortable.
It’s a scene-y place, but I got s—-faced at Craig’s with Rod Stewart one night. We got so drunk together. It was just the two of us, like 2½ years ago. We’ve become really great friends, and we had a driver, of course, but it was such a fun night and I’ve had so many fun nights at Craig’s, with my family and friends. It’s an industry place, but it happens to be my industry so it’s really fun for me, especially when I run into someone I haven’t seen for a while or I meet somebody who I admire.
9:30 p.m.: Relax on the balcony
Daisy and I, we talk. We have endless conversations. I still have so much to tell her, and so much I want her to tell me. We’ve been together 12 years, and one of my favorite things is to come home, and we have a firepit outside our house here or in Malibu we have a beautiful balcony overlooking the beach. In either of those places we’ll just sit and talk for hours, until we’re sleepy. There’s not a lot of going to the movies or going out. Once we come back from dinner, we love our time to wind down.