tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77950475588730747782024-03-04T20:05:12.566-08:00Stone Cold CrazyJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-88223734654959325452023-04-15T11:00:00.009-07:002023-04-17T09:58:50.691-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Ideofon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJFTgv-4ObWWC9Xo_-s4aNnVRzAklNz7vrLS3fA_WyEm3LnM2WYYoPC7PF4HkW6QZWu21ubc0-XgtslHRI9LItTz0Ivblu9nTHKsCcENNIjBjYCDiPzcxr_2RnqpQlUotih-pEsknXp8F7o_bDdSyoSB8zq0mXHShEPCePI0-OeEdoeWjFEEMLbLbIw/s1080/Askil.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJFTgv-4ObWWC9Xo_-s4aNnVRzAklNz7vrLS3fA_WyEm3LnM2WYYoPC7PF4HkW6QZWu21ubc0-XgtslHRI9LItTz0Ivblu9nTHKsCcENNIjBjYCDiPzcxr_2RnqpQlUotih-pEsknXp8F7o_bDdSyoSB8zq0mXHShEPCePI0-OeEdoeWjFEEMLbLbIw/s320/Askil.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Askil
Fangel(year unknown)</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>This is a new thing for me on this blog. I have interviewed
artists who were just starting out, but not from their very beginning. Ideofon,
a collaboration between singer-songwriter Askil Fangel and producer Kevin
Skaggs, released their first single, “Bright White Light” in March 2023. </i><i>At
the time of this writing, Ideofon only has one song and a <a href="https://ideofon.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">website</a> that is a week old.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Because Ideofon is in its early stages, this will be the
shortest intro I’ve written for the blog. It feels more natural to me to let
the conversation I had with Askil and Kevin tell their own story of how this
group began. I do want to thank Nichole Peters-Good from Get Good PR for
setting up this interview. And I want to thank Askil and Kevin for letting me
tell what is only the beginning of this group.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b><i>Jeff Cramer</i></b><i>:</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Whoever wants to go first, what got you interested
in music?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;">Askil Fangel<i>:</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can go first, if you’d like. So, my interest started
around the age of thirteen. And before that I hadn't really cared about music
at all whatsoever.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>My
dad was really into music. He tried really hard to get me into all these
artists, and I just didn’t show any interest. And then one day he played a U2
record. I was like, "What are these cool sounds? What is this stuff that
this band is doing?" I had listened to rock and pop, but U2, especially in
the nineties, were experimenting with different genres and incorporating all
these different sounds into their music. For me, it wasn't as much about the
lyrics or the messaging; it was just like "Okay, here is this band that's
got all these crazy experimental sounds incorporated into their kind of pop-rock
sound." It made me want to try to create something that would inspire me
in the same way as they did. I started listening to other artists and getting
into loads of different genres and stuff. And it kept evolving from there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;">Kevin Skaggs:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think mine started earlier than
Askil's, to be honest. I have memories as far back as five years old. Of
course, when you're a kid, you're simply hearing music—you're not necessarily
making anything. I remember distinctly "Night on Disco Mountain" from
the <i>Saturday Night Fever </i>soundtrack on 8-track cassette. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Oh </i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b><i>yes.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>[Laughs] </i>But
I was about five years old at that time. Fast forward a few years where <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I played saxophone in the elementary school
band. Then I did choir in middle school and in high school, and during that
time, I was experimenting with synthesizers 4-track tape recorders, cool
Depeche Mode kind of stuff. It was all about Depeche Mode. Fast forward a few
more years and I took that to engineering school. After engineering school, I
moved to Los Angeles and was part of the whole movie industry and the
post-production scene, all the while I was still doing music. Eventually, I
ended up meeting people, as you do in Los Angeles, and started doing music
professionally. But I think that's another question, so . . .</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>How did
you two meet?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From 2019 to 2021, I
lived in London, and I now I live in Tromsø, Norway. I had studied media in
London at a university, and I got to meet some really cool people there who
were doing lots of different stuff. One of those people was <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>Secaina,
and she did R&B,
kind of rap,<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>all
this cool stuff that I wasn't necessarily doing myself, but she kind of introduced
and brought me into that, and we made a song together. She knew Kevin, whom she
had been working with on a previous project. Kevin heard one of the songs that
we did, and I guess, Kevin, you can tell the rest of the story there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I had befriended
Secaina and also worked on some of her material doing production and mixing.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>With
Secaina, everything she does is so interesting and vibrant. I had remixed her track,
and then I heard Askil's voice, of course, isolated with the microphones, and I
fell in love with it. I immediately was like "Who is this guy? Where is he
at?" And she put us together on Zoom or something.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Email.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Oh yeah. And yeah,
long story short, I somehow convinced him to send me a demo of one of the
things he was working on, and he generously sent it to me. I was excited and just
started doing something over it. Basically, our trust in each other started when
he liked what I did, and I had already liked what he did. So, we kind of met in
a musical way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Kevin first reached out, it was like
some random guy just contacting me that I’d never heard of. Some random guy
just sends me an email and was like "Hey, I like your music. Do you want
to collab?" And I’m like, "Yeah, okay." At least that was
my reaction, to just be like, "Yeah, sure. Uh . . . okay." Because I
had no idea what to expect. I'm not very good at networking or meeting people,
so to be honest, I came into it with a bit of skepticism. But like Kevin said,
when I sent him my stuff and what he sent stuff it just elevated everything by
a hundredfold. I was like "Okay, this is the real deal. This is a guy who knows
what he's doing. He's got the experience. I've just got to jump on this and
take that chance." And yeah, so we ended up making an album and promoting
it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Where did
the name of Ideofon come from?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, it's a Norwegian
translation of the English word "ideophone." You can even say it like "i-de-o-phone."
<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>It’s sort of—I don't know if you’d say
scientific—but “ideophone” a collective term for sounds that can be described, like
"ooh" or "whoosh," like sounds that you can spell out.
That's an ideophone, basically. I just really liked that name.
It just kind of stuck. It's something I had in the back of my mind for a
project for a while. And then, when this turned into something real, it was
just like, "Oh, I need to give it a name . . . um . . . Ideofon. It seems
important. No one knows what Ideofon means."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I like the fact that in phonetic English
it just kind of sounds like an idea over the phone. <i>[Laughter]</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>I was
given a link to several of your songs. There was you and Kevin. Was there any
else involved in this <a style="mso-comment-date: 20230413T0019; mso-comment-reference: AI_14;">upcoming album </a></i>Finder’s Keep<i>?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So for the most part,
what you hear is just me and Kevin in our separate little bedrooms and home
studios. I did the guitars, basses, keys—a lot of the keys—vocals, all that
stuff. For the rhythms, it's a lot of drum machines, but we were lucky enough
to get Jack Baker, who is the drummer for Bonobo. I don't know if you'd call
them an electronic band . . .</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stemming from
electronica.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, he is the
drummer for the electronica band Bonobo. We were lucky enough to get him to
play on a couple of tracks. So, on those songs, you hear actual real-life drums—that's
Jack Baker recording stuff in a third separate space. It was all done remotely,
mostly by just me and Kevin with some additional drums. Kevin, do you have
anything you want to add?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Askil had a soloist,
a vocalist on one of the tracks. Her name was Rosie James, a friend from Askil’s
music school days. She just collaborated on one track, so we have a guest
vocalist on one of the tracks, "Fast Love." Askil?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, we have a duet
with one of my old classmates from uni on a yet-to-be-released single. And
that's about it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Okay.
Now, let's talk about the single that you've chosen to release, "Bright
White Light." What made you decide to release this one first to the
public?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I'm curious about
that too. <i>[Laughs]</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On this album,
there's a lot of different places. There's a lot of different sounds and influences
from different genres. Like, we're kind of moving from cinematic piano music
into rock into electronic stuff to orchestral stuff. I think we wanted to start
with something that was more ground level, familiar, rock-and-roll-ish, folkish—guitars,
drums, bass, that whole thing—but that still also kind of represents our sound
and our vibe, and the story that we're trying to tell with this music. So,
you're kind of getting in on the ground floor. And then as we release more
singles, you'll get different aspects of the music and the different styles
that we're going to present.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I would like to add
to that "Bright White Light" is the second track on the album, but it
feels like a middle position because each song is a story in the album, which I
love because it's not that common to do anymore these days. I like the fact
that he chose "Bright White Light" because and I like how this part
of the story is almost seeking in a way. I don't know how to say that
correctly, but it's like the character of the story is seeking something and
following the bright white light sort of thing. [<i>To hear “Bright White Light,”
click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRBvHerFoPc" target="_blank">here</a>.</i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 15;"><i>]</i></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2QQ4PcKchgalYRAaHczMyIwLV1Yb-zWuxgfJSybaDjpuguPRa3vk3lrxuCKbyaESWRnr4ECPU_Q4ELWSocGzB93Gq4N9SIYACWT4U08SZbbd0ZNEti7lg-Am6J95_NTw-kaXieeX_0FDwHJ4giNfOkJ0hG9ogAbJ_dOjN9HFQtRd_xJdiwYIWxVCxQ/s225/Ideofon%20White%20Bright%20Light.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2QQ4PcKchgalYRAaHczMyIwLV1Yb-zWuxgfJSybaDjpuguPRa3vk3lrxuCKbyaESWRnr4ECPU_Q4ELWSocGzB93Gq4N9SIYACWT4U08SZbbd0ZNEti7lg-Am6J95_NTw-kaXieeX_0FDwHJ4giNfOkJ0hG9ogAbJ_dOjN9HFQtRd_xJdiwYIWxVCxQ/s1600/Ideofon%20White%20Bright%20Light.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Bright White Light” cover (2023)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>There's
two things I wanted to mention about it that I noticed when I was listening to
it. One, that it's up-tempo. Out of all the songs I heard from you, this is one
of the most up-tempo ones. And there's another interesting aspect—in the last quarter
of the song, it's almost
like Black Sabbath.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think that ending
in particular is not really inspired by any sort of hard rock; it just kind of
happened because it was supposed to be sort of a harder-hitting ending. I wrote
this song on an acoustic guitar just by itself, and back then when I wrote it, I
was just like "Okay, we'll go a little bit more heavy here, and I'll just
use some power chords and it will sound cool."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think the Black
Sabbath thing is my fault.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>[Laughter]</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I did the demo
for Kevin, our process is that I usually record a basic demo, send it to him,
he sends something back, and we go back and forth. I sent him a demo, and there
was a little bit of a distortion in the guitars. There were some strings and
cellos. I just wanted it to be big. And then he sent back this massive effing
orchestra with huge strings, and there were trombones and distorted massive
guitars. And it just ended up working even though it shouldn't have. It's so
out of left field, but it sort of also encapsulates the sort of frustration in
the lyrics. It really works as a climax, I think, partly because it's so
unexpected.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Right.
And as I also mentioned, this is one of the more up-tempo songs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did that play a part in you choosing that as a
single?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, I would say
so. We wanted to choose something that's was engaging to listen to even when
you first listen. The kind of standard verse-chorus-verse structure, kind of a
hook and a chorus, because not all the songs follow that kind of structure. So,
yeah, it's one of the more common songs, I would say.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>The link
that was sent to me contained seven songs. Is that the entire album or is there
more coming? Because I know the album isn't going to get released till November
or October.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That's the whole
length of the album, which is kind of intentional, as it's an introductory
album. A lot of artists, I think, start out with EPs, usually having three or
four songs. I wanted to make something that was a little more substantial than
just a short EP, but I wouldn't say that we were ready for a full album either.
So, seven tracks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think it was the
material that dictated the amount.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah. Seven tracks
kind of felt like enough to tell the story that we wanted to tell without any
filler tracks. And you can sit down for twenty-seven minutes, get through the
whole thing, still hear a lot of different stuff, and go through the story. So,
yeah, it's definitely intentional as a short first course in the stuff that
we're going to do later.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>What is
the story that's going to be told in this album? I know you haven't released
the album, but can I ask you about the story you're intending to tell?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I wouldn't say it's
a concept album in that sense, if you think about something like Pink Floyd's <i>The
Wall</i>. We're not doing that. There's a sort of thread that runs through all the
songs that deal with themes of isolation—both physical and mental isolation— because
this was made during COVID, so we were all separated. No one was able to
interact with each other. There’s also mental isolation, and the fear of being
hurt or not meeting people's expectations. All those different reasons you
might have for choosing not to interact with people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I just want to interject with the<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>impression that I had from the beginning
about that exact thing—the story of it—because the way you describe it is one
element of it, but I also see it as this sort of journey. It’s a journey of a
character, and when the listener is listening to the album, they are the
character going on this journey, if that makes sense. So everything is being
seen through the eyes of the character that Askil is putting together. And from
the first song to the last song, you get imagery that includes the loneliness
and the connection and the longing and stuff, but you're being led along and
following along, from turbulent moments to beautiful moments, and it all seems
kind of internal. It's like if you were to dive into somebody's head and then
experience them falling in love, and also experience them feeling loneliness or
seeing something that they can maybe get to. “Finders Keep," the next
single that we're going to release, is one of my favorites.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The album tracks
that journey from just sitting there by yourself and feeling kind of hopeless or
like you're not going to be able to accomplish anything or connect with anyone,
and then there's a lot of self-reflection as the album goes on. It's based on a
lot of my personal experiences. One of the songs, the duet one, "Fast
Love," is kind of like, "Okay, why aren't my romantic relationships
working out?" It's very introspective. The song is just like if you were criticizing
yourself and figuring out, "Okay, what am I doing wrong?"</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;">A different track,
"Landfill," asks the questions, "Why am I pulling away from
these people? Why am I moving to a different country and just leaving everyone
I know behind?" And then, when you get to the end of the album, you're
kind of opening yourself up to the idea of "Okay, maybe it's – maybe I can
afford to let someone in just to see what happens. What if I do try to get
close to someone? Is it going to hurt me or am I going to be okay?" You're
opening yourself up to that at the end. So yeah, it's definitely a journey that
it takes you on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>So, this
album isn't coming out until October or November. Is there anything you plan to
do before releasing it to the public?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We're definitely
going to release "Finders Keep" down the pipeline just due out in
May. And a couple months after that, we're going to release "Fast
Love," which is the duet song that I talked about. Then maybe after that
we might do one more single. We're not sure yet. Nothing's quite set in stone.
So, there's going to be a steady stream of singles leading up to the album, but
it's such a short album, so a lot of the album is going to be out already by
the time the album is
released. And
then, between those singles we'll do some music videos— <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Live shows.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Live shows for sure.
We’re based in northern Norway—me and the other musicians in our band. We’re not
that kind of central, so it's hard to go on a European tour. But we're looking
at playing some gigs locally, maybe traveling to other places in Norway and
Scandinavia. And then hopefully expanding out into Europe as well sometime in the
coming year.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>Kevin, do you have anything?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, you pretty
much covered it. I don't think I would have anything to add.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Askil here. Yeah,
we're just getting started. So, this album was us learning how to make music in
the way that we do. I feel like composing remotely, bouncing ideas back and
forth—yeah, this is just kind of an introduction, and we have a lot more stuff
coming as well.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I also plan on going
to Norway to do some production up there and tracking later on, probably late
summer, maybe even early autumn. I'm not sure yet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Okay. So,
I guess some final words. What would you say about this journey that's just the
beginning? Do you want to add any comments on that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I'll start it off. I
mean, personally for me, it's rare to find a musician who is as enthusiastic as
I am about releasing and finishing and going forward. And the excitement I feel
about what Askil is doing is creating music which is not the way that is most
popular these days, where anybody with a laptop and a signal generator, or a
beat generator, or a sampler is splicing together stuff and making soundtrack kind
of music, where it's interesting and it's technically cool but it's not
musically thoughtful. Ideofon has a sound, it has a thing, and it pulls you in.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">AF:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I realize that working
in the way that we do has become a lot more common—really ever since the
internet became a thing, but also during COVID where we all just had to learn
to collaborate remotely. And for us it was definitely challenging to learn how
to do that efficiently, but I feel like we also cracked the code on how to do
that. Whatever we do next—if it's going to be a couple of singles or an album—we
know how to make the most of the work that we do, how to do it efficiently, and
also how to improve on what we've done before, where we can do all the stuff
that works well with working remotely.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KS:</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That's what I was
alluding to earlier. Askil, you can do what you do really well. I can do what I
do, and you trust that. And going forward, we don't have to figure any of that
stuff out. It's all established, and we can just make music and really enjoy
the shit out of it. <i>[Laughs] <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-18649176680954876712022-07-31T11:05:00.006-07:002022-07-31T11:13:59.317-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Dusty Bo<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33tJZjKID3IRa3-U3p3-9VY8uXzu3LrDVrMGxt-qDZ7J19zexhqwH41bOpzgz7hvnktmvDENPO9EEx47Umy2aXlq83gbEXWIPFBjKRF2Z_IuLl5sbfAdg5yCj333RziUQx_6pVVRClUGRyUTl4mYmGjieYYJbR9KhbsRuYVNuhz5-Lk8hdy9bFNux5A/s1536/Dusty%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33tJZjKID3IRa3-U3p3-9VY8uXzu3LrDVrMGxt-qDZ7J19zexhqwH41bOpzgz7hvnktmvDENPO9EEx47Umy2aXlq83gbEXWIPFBjKRF2Z_IuLl5sbfAdg5yCj333RziUQx_6pVVRClUGRyUTl4mYmGjieYYJbR9KhbsRuYVNuhz5-Lk8hdy9bFNux5A/w400-h266/Dusty%20cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Dusty Bo (2021)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Guitarist Dusty Bo <a>started his musical career in his native
Kentucky where he </a></i><i>formed
a Southern rock band, Bolt Action Thrill. In 2008, Bolt Action Thrill moved to Los Angeles
and played plenty of live shows in LA. </i><i>The
band broke up around 2012 and Dusty Bo joined the metal band, Future Villains. Eventually,
Future Villains fell apart as well. When Dusty had enough of the band situation,
he decided to venture on his own.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>His first solo project is </i><b>The Vulture & The Fox</b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>(2022).
Dusty defines the musical genre as “alternative Southern rock.” The music is
best described as metal combined with Southern rock lyrics. In addition to the
alternative Southern rock, the album also contains some gentle acoustic pieces.
</i><b>The Vulture & The Fox</b> <i>is also a concept album about the Fox,
a gunslinger, and his horse, the Vulture.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>At
the time of this writing</i><i>,
Dusty is embarking on his first solo tour. In addition to the logistics of
doing a solo tour, Dusty is playing venues he has never played before and to an
audience that has never heard him before.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>I had spoken to Dusty just
before he started his solo tour, and in this candid conversation, we cover his
concerns and thoughts regarding his solo tour. We also discuss his previous bands,
Bolt Action Thrill and Future Villains. In addition, we talk about </i><b>The
Vulture & The Fox</b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>and
the concept of “alternative Southern Rock.” I want to thank Nichole Peters-Good
from Jensen Communications and Get Good PR for setting up the interview with
Dusty. Most of all, I want to thank Dusty for sharing what is a crucial turning
point in his music career.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>Jeff
Cramer:</i></b> <b><i>All
right. So what got you started in music?</i></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">Dusty Bo: When I was seven years old, my parents took my
brother and me to see Earth, Wind & Fire and I vividly remember the bass
player. He was the one I had my eyes on. I can’t remember his name, but he was
a tall guy with dreadlocks. And he and all the other guitarists came to the
center of the stage and were just jamming on these guitars. I was thinking, <i>That
looks like a lot of fun.</i> I told my parents that I wanted one for Christmas.
And we went to this toy store, and I picked up this toy guitar where you pushed
the buttons and it made noise and whatnot. I asked for that for Christmas, and
then they ended up getting me a real guitar, thank God. <i>[Laughs] </i>So, I
started early. I got the bug early. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Well,
it's interesting you mentioned Earth, Wind & Fire because the music you've
done is very different from Earth, Wind & Fire.</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yeah,
things have changed a little bit. But I’m still a big fan of them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So, originally, you started a Southern rock band in your own
home state of Kentucky.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Bolt Action Thrill.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah, tell me about
it.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Oh.
So yeah, that was about 2008 or 2009. We were just kind of a hard rock band
here in Louisville and had a little bit of blues to us. We wanted to be like
Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe. And then when we moved to LA, we kind of started
shaping into more of a Southern thing, more of a Black Crowes, ZZ Top. There
wasn’t really many people out there playing Southern rock kind of tunes, so we stood
out. Girls would come to our shows dressed up like in cowgirl hats and boots
and stuff. We had this thing called the Bourbon Bus. We’d have a pre-party at
our rehearsal, and we’d get a keg of beer and a bunch of booze. We rented a
school bus that would pick us up from the pre-party and bring us to the gig and
then bring us back to the after-party. So, it was a lot of fun. [<i>To hear
Bolt Action Thrill’s “Trouble,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMp-QRndMk" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I understand you played
in one other band before going solo.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yes,
Future Villains. That happened around 2012 when Bolt Action Thrill was kind of
falling apart a bit. I was in that band for about six years—did a few tours and
a few international tours and recorded an EP. Yeah, I also had a lot of fun
with those guys too. [<i>To hear a Future Villains’ live performance of “Down the
Drain Blues,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtgMDRL8w8I" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]<i>
<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><i> </i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2CLKjyAwhDnKJrbJOx9Mofozx4T0v3nCBBYl7RfJ_aFuHl5UQ4lirXQfPw-LPt-3M81hLwbLzzhuXgXFV3yBlBtH-XvGiYVT0T7LqUggp94DsYrrslEggpVV7fdJEPi8tKHKp5DJId5Su8jwMRh-lz-XMyhbdzbGc12CiPI4mVVWlbT9P6hclg3Oxw/s250/FV1-e1488502838155.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="250" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2CLKjyAwhDnKJrbJOx9Mofozx4T0v3nCBBYl7RfJ_aFuHl5UQ4lirXQfPw-LPt-3M81hLwbLzzhuXgXFV3yBlBtH-XvGiYVT0T7LqUggp94DsYrrslEggpVV7fdJEPi8tKHKp5DJId5Su8jwMRh-lz-XMyhbdzbGc12CiPI4mVVWlbT9P6hclg3Oxw/w400-h270/FV1-e1488502838155.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Future Villains (2017)
(Dusty second from right)</span></i></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So, what made you decide
to go solo?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: I
got tired of my bands falling to shit for reasons that I couldn't control. I
was putting in a lot of work, and people either kept quitting or they kept
throwing wrenches in the mix. Deadlines weren’t being met. And it just drove me
crazy putting in all that work and then it failing because of somebody else. It’s
such a sensitive entity because even if you just break it down to the simple
things like rehearsals and photo shoots, it takes one person out of the four people
to mess up a photo.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>With
booking rehearsal schedules, it’s like you’re dealing with a lot of different
schedules, and different personalities, and different things and there’s just
drama.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> So I was like, “If I do this on my own, then
the only person I have to keep in check is me.” <i>[Laughs] </i>“I’ve always
been a pretty easy guy to work with. I always wanted to be in a band, and I
didn’t even
want to be a singer. I<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>started
singing because I couldn’t find a singer when I was trying to start my first
band. But I just like to play, man. I like to play, I like to write, I like to
create. And I can do those things without having anybody getting in my way or telling
me no.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMTf0iE4v-Yw12RUYzX-0rmLnegoC0ZVtV54VDxZ-xYGh7xWXCUCXRBQKruPpayqmagV7V9wbwYSI91gx-SV5AOvZh125aK2S2BCE34ULsdks4KY8bGPsLvgqI5EKnMnU4iMyVTY77zggoFoZ3Pxy3vF6IDb40a0lVDeuu2HI-DdROyAiPhTtd6NbFQ/s2000/Dusty-Bo(2020).webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMTf0iE4v-Yw12RUYzX-0rmLnegoC0ZVtV54VDxZ-xYGh7xWXCUCXRBQKruPpayqmagV7V9wbwYSI91gx-SV5AOvZh125aK2S2BCE34ULsdks4KY8bGPsLvgqI5EKnMnU4iMyVTY77zggoFoZ3Pxy3vF6IDb40a0lVDeuu2HI-DdROyAiPhTtd6NbFQ/s320/Dusty-Bo(2020).webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Dusty Bo (2020)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Now, the interesting thing is you came up with “alternate Southern
rock.”</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><b><i>Explain
how this is different than traditional Southern rock.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: That’s
a really good question. When you think of Southern rock bands, you think of ZZ
Top, Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, Black Crowes. And it’s usually pretty
organic. There’s guitars and a little extra instrumentation here and there with
key. And I guess it’s more kind of bluesy. A lot of the structures of the songs
and the progressions are pretty simple and similar.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> Some of mine are simple, but some of them are
kind of complicated or kind of complex where there is bluesy singing on top of
a heavy-metal kind of progression or guitar riff. Also the way we made it sound
sonically on the record.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Well, it’s interesting because when I listened to the album, </i>The Vulture
& The Fox<i>,</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></i></span><b><i>and the first few tracks—“Throw It
All Away,” “The Conductor,” and “Bandit,”—I was</i></b><i> <b>immediately drawn
to the metal guitar in those songs. Your guitar playing reminded me of <a>Tom Morello
from Rage Against the Machine</a></b></i><b>.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Oh,
wow. [<i>To hear the live versions of “Throw It All Away,” <a>click </a></i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0rGdnLZpa0" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>,</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>and a performance of “The Conductor,”
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVRJLXFwkN4" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i>.</i></span><i> For a video for “Bandit,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS744Pc1RsE" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah. But it was almost like where Rage would be doing their
own political lyrics against a metal background, you were singing these Western
lyrics against a metal background. So I
guess in a way that was how I saw it as alternative Southern rock. How did you
come up with the concept and that sound?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: I was hanging out with one of my good buddies
who actually cowrote the song “No One Else” that’s on the album. My friend’s a
big fan of Spaghetti Westerns, and I like them too. One night, we were watching
<i>Tombstone </i>and I just had this idea: “What if we wrote just a batch of
songs that kind of told a story about a Western town or something? And it had a
crime syndicate.” He loved it. We never really got around to sitting down and
writing all those songs together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> But one day, when I started writing “On With
the Ride,” I was like “Okay, this feels like something, like it would be
setting this very Western-sounding story.” So, I was like, “Okay, this is kind
of what the concept’s going to be. It’s going to be about this gunfighter moving
out to the Wild West, but it’s also stories that are about me.” Because when I
was twenty-one, I moved out to California with my band because often two guitar
players are referred to as “guitar slingers,” so it’s kind of like gunslingers.
So, that’s kind of what I was going for there. [<a><i>To hear “On With The Ride,” click </i></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvRWuUwankQ" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>What’s interesting about the album is “On With the Ride” is
the opening track, and
songs similar to “On With the Ride” are the next few songs.</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><b><i>At that moment I think, “Oh, I know
where this whole album is going.” Then all of a sudden, a different musical direction
takes place, and I say to myself, “Wait a minute. This isn’t the alternative
Southern rock I’d been listening to.”</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: <i>[Laughs]
</i>Yeah. It takes a turn. I was budgeting for a comic book, or a short graphic
novel to go along with the record, but that’s having to get put on hold for good
reasons because we’re going on tour, and that’s what we’ve been wanting to do for
the last few years.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> So I’ll tell the concept in a nutshell. The
story is this: the Fox is the gunfighter and his horse’s name is Vulture. Hence
the title, <i>The Vulture & The Fox</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MRCqAbDN1Hc_ZfYhpLB3Ji3hJbuXHKuJZ3x9BZhwFu3IfEmbs3bHHYwMu9-28_FklFiMUn3ntjOv5wEZJ1yRnxnQ9E1K9EPwnWgh2A_rYbxPyT4Mx9A2d9Aaz0ALTDEpvdS_e8Qr5eg8UvHpKcMaztrQIrlEsC_qUHyJHh3QJWVMFiZ6y7XbW-EsIQ/s1500/VULTURE_Y_FOX_ALBUM_COVER.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MRCqAbDN1Hc_ZfYhpLB3Ji3hJbuXHKuJZ3x9BZhwFu3IfEmbs3bHHYwMu9-28_FklFiMUn3ntjOv5wEZJ1yRnxnQ9E1K9EPwnWgh2A_rYbxPyT4Mx9A2d9Aaz0ALTDEpvdS_e8Qr5eg8UvHpKcMaztrQIrlEsC_qUHyJHh3QJWVMFiZ6y7XbW-EsIQ/w400-h400/VULTURE_Y_FOX_ALBUM_COVER.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">The Vulture & The
Fox album cover (2022)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> But then Fox moves out West, and he gets caught
up with this crime syndicate that wants him to work for them. They end up
turning on him, and the conductor is one of the guys that they hired to kill
him. He gets into this gunfight<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>and is shot down. His horse, Vulture,
finds him and gets him to this girl, Mary Lou. And that’s where “The Red” kicks
in. And then she kind of aids him back to life, and then he goes and scores his
vengeance on the guys who tried to take him out.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> And after that, he falls in love with this woman,
and then he kind of gets caught up in a different kind of trouble with drinking
and drugs. Eventually, he finds his way home at the end. I think it’ll speak to
a good amount of people because it does touch base on some actual real-life
issues and lessons to be learned.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I want to discuss “The Red.” You had mentioned Spaghetti
Westerns, and with the whistling on that song, I definitely hear the Spaghetti
Western influence. </i>[To hear “The Red,” click </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na3tEA2DMJs" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a><b>.]</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yeah.
And it’s funny because that song was written before the concept came along, but
it fit. That song was actually written with my friend Jamila Caro, who used to
live in LA. “The Red” is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written because it’s
so different from anything I’ve ever written. That whistle at the beginning was
a melody <i>[sings melody]</i> that Jamila came up with. I thought it was going
to be a guitar part. I was kind of working on the arrangement a couple years
after the song was written, and my buddy Luke said, “What if you whistle it?”
And then I started whistling. I was like “This fits perfectly.” But I’ll tell
you what. Whistling into a microphone in a studio is one thing. Whistling in
the microphone for a show is so difficult without just getting a <i>[blows air]</i>
into the actual microphone. And so I’m like “Damn, man—it’s such a big part of
the song, and it’s so difficult to get it done and to do it properly.” It’s
also tricky to do it live because there’s three guitar parts, not just the
whistling. It’s one of my favorites on the record for sure, but unfortunately
that one’s not going to be on the live set list.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You had mentioned “No One Else” earlier, but I don’t hear
anything about a Western in that song, but I do hear a lot of Hendrix influence
in that one.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: He’s
my guy, but when I started writing it, it wasn’t originally like Hendrix. When
I started writing the guitar riffs, I already had the words for the chorus but
with a totally different melody. And it was originally almost like a Maroon 5 kind
of chorus. But then I started playing that Hendrix guitar riff and weirdly those
words fit right on top of it—you know what I mean? The lyrics fit right on top of
the riff and with the melody. I was like, “Okay, this is cool.” I love when the
lyrics and the melody match the guitar part. I think that might be the first
song I actually ever recorded where that happened. But yeah, when we were
continuing to write it in preproduction, it was like, “Yeah, we should try to
make this a very Hendrix-y kind of tune.” [<i>To hear “No One Else,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSrWFNJgzbw" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I want to get into “All I Can Dream.” What I found interesting
is the lyrics: “I’ve played some big stages and made some big wages.” How does
that fit into the Western concept?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Well,
in the story . . . I mean, the West is like
a stagecoach and whatnot. There’re just different dimensions to it, though that
lyric means something different in today’s time. [<i>To hear a live version of
“All I Can Dream,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMarBcnpD64" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Speaking
of songs, the final track on </i>The Vulture & The Fox<i>, “Words Don’t Mean
Much,” could fit into modern times.</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yeah,
that one’s actually not part of the concept. So, that’s kind of like a when-the-credits-roll
kind of thing. That’s the one that doesn’t have anything to do with the actual
concept of it, and it talks about stuff that’s not in the story. [<i>To hear a
live version of “Words Don’t Mean Much,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTlECxQ5SoQ" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>In the song, the narrator sings about three things—religion,
love, and politics—that once meant something but don’t mean anything more. I
felt a personal connection to it because there was a time I believed in all
three of them just as much as the narrator did, and now it doesn’t mean
anything to me. And I’m guessing that’s what happened here with you.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yeah,
man. I’m a confirmed Catholic. When I was in high school, I went to this
program called Young Life, and it was very Christian-based and it really upset
me later on when I would see how much some of these religion-based organizations
would really try to hammer these rules and guidelines into children’s minds. I
know a lot of people find peace and warmth and happiness in religion, and I don’t
want to take that away from them. But I would like people to think more outside
of the box for sure.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> As for love, with women and relationships, men,
whatever kind of relationship you’re in—whether it’s romantically or in a band
or in a work relationship, whatever—pretty much the whole song is just kind of
like, “Actions speak louder than words. Don’t believe everything you hear.” </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>The lyric that says, “I don’t listen to both sides”— I think
that’s a very timely concept because I think a lot of American voters feel that
way right now. As we are talking, a huge number of people don’t want either
Trump or Biden to be running again.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Yeah.
And it’s not just them. It’s not just those two individuals, Trump or Biden. It’s
all bullshit to me. It’s all to feed whatever narrative the media wants. I know
personally about one company, which I can’t name or really give much detail
about, that paid off the media to say that this other company is going out of
business when it’s not true.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay, now you’re getting ready for your first solo tour. Will
this be the biggest tour you will be taking, or will be the same as your
previous two groups?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">DB: Well,
the first tour the Future Villains went on was the biggest one I’ve been on so
far. We did about twenty dates all throughout North America, and we were direct
support for Steel Panther. So, we were playing anywhere from 1,000- to 3,000-person
shows. So that was the biggest one I’ve been on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"> On this solo tour, we’re not going to be
playing to crowds that big. We’re going to be playing clubs and bars and
breweries and smaller music halls and stuff. We’ve got ten shows coming up in
July. And I think another twenty-something booked for September and October.
And then, we’re going to be heading out West in November and December. We’ve
been hit with some curveballs, just right in the crunch time this year. My
original drummer can’t do the tour, so I had to scramble and call a good amount
of folks to replace him. Going live, we play as a three-piece, so there’s a few
songs, like “The Red,” that we can’t do live. “Find Me” is one we can’t really
do because that has such a big female backing vocal in it. And “On With the
Ride” has a big guitar harmony thing, and there’s a lot going on in that one and
three people can’t do it justice. And I don’t want to play the tracks if it’s
not really necessary right now. But an acoustic version of one of those tunes
might pop up every once in a while. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kZ_-qoXraRFOmwZzHkD_VAMmJ9YcNEiH0fL3xPkaRlcKIFfPdLMpsk209PWJkV8Qrgz88FPtKaWGJDZ3k5shKSLH8eTgd1A8-x4StQkFrsfyz0Fmwbq9t9jzgyWu_ECFeM7HD7JbiJjINMtiMNKwlZ197NvSDzwrMTHSd8L0Q1r8elylwjwkaX6HlQ/s960/Dusty%20live%20performance.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kZ_-qoXraRFOmwZzHkD_VAMmJ9YcNEiH0fL3xPkaRlcKIFfPdLMpsk209PWJkV8Qrgz88FPtKaWGJDZ3k5shKSLH8eTgd1A8-x4StQkFrsfyz0Fmwbq9t9jzgyWu_ECFeM7HD7JbiJjINMtiMNKwlZ197NvSDzwrMTHSd8L0Q1r8elylwjwkaX6HlQ/s320/Dusty%20live%20performance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Poster for a July show
with Dusty (2022)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; tab-stops: center 3.0in;">I like to
play to a room. I’ve never played many of these venues before. And I know if
some of them have restaurants and bars and there’s people sitting down. If there’s
a dozen or so people having dinner and just kind of chilling, I don’t want to
come out of the gates blasting with “The Conductor” when I could do stuff a
little more low-down and kind of ease people into the rock-and-roll mood
instead of just kicking the door down. Obviously, we’ll check with the venues to
see if we should just add more dynamic to the show too. But if there’s some
people who want to hear more soft country, singer-songwriter kind of stuff,
then I’ve got that in my pocket too. If it were up to me, I would do that
either at the beginning or the middle of most shows. I like coming out of the
gates blasting with some hard rock tunes, but I love a show with good dynamics,
when there’s a change in pace and it kind of gives everybody’s ears and heartrates
a break for a minute.</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is going to be people who have never
really heard my music. We’ll be throwing a good amount of covers out there, too,
in some of these places because I’m never above that. As much as I love playing
my own songs, I also really like playing some of the classics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You mentioned “The Conductor” as not being an appropriate
opener for your tour. Do you ever think you might play at a place where it will
be appropriate?</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">DB: Well,
time will tell. <i>[Laughs] </i>We’ll find out. I mean, it hasn’t scared
anybody away just yet. I mean, it’s very surprising how that’s been a favorite
of people. A lot of women like that song as much as lot of guys like that one
because it’s just really hard rocking and screaming. That’s my booking agent’s
favorite song, and she’s a rocker. But yeah, we’ll see. I hope they’re okay
with it. <i>[Laughs]</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Looking back on it, first starting in Kentucky and then now
ready to do your first solo tour. What’s your feeling been on this whole
journey?</i></b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">DB: Oh,
man. It’s really difficult doing things on my own as a solo artist. And I’m
fortunate enough to have guys who want to play with me. It’s different because when
you’re in a band and you have your other invested band members—the guys that
play with me—and it’s not to say they’re not invested—but I pay them to play my
songs. I’m not one of those guys that’s like, “No, you’ve got to play it
exactly like it is on the record.” I’m not a dictator with it or nothing. But
it is kind of like I am steering the ship.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And so, it’s got its pros and its cons, man, to
be honest. I really love being able to keep the momentum going. I’ve done a
pretty good job with that, and I’ve been really fortunate to have people like
Nichole of PR who connected us, and Shirley, my booking agent. Without Nichole
and without Shirley, I don’t want to say I would have fucking called it quits, but
I definitely would not be as well off as I am with these things that we have
happening right now. You’ve kind of got to have a team. I don’t know anybody who
could do it completely on their own. Maybe Prince. It’s tough, man, doing the
solo thing. It’s a lot to worry about because you have to make a lot of
decisions. There’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of stress, and a lot of
responsibility. Financially, I’m not just paying my band, but it’s like
whenever I I need anything—I need merch or a tour vehicle—that’s all on me.
Recording time. All of that is self-funded.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, it’s a lot. I’ve legitimately put in everything
that I can to it, and the reward is just getting to do it. I get some money
from whatever and I get paid for gigs, but the reward is just being able to
create the art and then record it, document it, and then perform it, and then bring
it to people and hopefully move them in one way or another.</div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jLbqod6gZ7h85m_gqrSN8KMZtjcO-NJZle6CW1Zu-SpcLzA-DBBG009O4A5giVPIqofvuJWp2HpbkJeghXgrDT062YbksajVP1XuEYzCVCXSruqCTEQUmX7ZSw3Aa8tr3ThAqgkp88zB0ailipg09U1GazGl84vF3gat0jYatduJVnTfzfFW_OwWFg/s1536/Dusty%20closer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jLbqod6gZ7h85m_gqrSN8KMZtjcO-NJZle6CW1Zu-SpcLzA-DBBG009O4A5giVPIqofvuJWp2HpbkJeghXgrDT062YbksajVP1XuEYzCVCXSruqCTEQUmX7ZSw3Aa8tr3ThAqgkp88zB0ailipg09U1GazGl84vF3gat0jYatduJVnTfzfFW_OwWFg/w400-h266/Dusty%20closer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Dusty (2021)</span></i></div>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-1166763052181746732022-05-20T16:26:00.000-07:002022-05-20T16:27:28.454-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Kevin Godley<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn1jh2igs7LwiW6wFKIyfJuTymyHMg8OFYppPWB5jsQUIz357dbGlIKpeODQetcbcQO6Nylpa1_cpGeFyjBA9qYqIepY7rolarwql5uT6te8BLtGsGT0qQawszT9nLZs0tXMe1_qWiLJTTKqfI3WewVhSJHYF5fRxpGy0cZbiUzTkbakojmISFFeLVQ/s240/KevinCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn1jh2igs7LwiW6wFKIyfJuTymyHMg8OFYppPWB5jsQUIz357dbGlIKpeODQetcbcQO6Nylpa1_cpGeFyjBA9qYqIepY7rolarwql5uT6te8BLtGsGT0qQawszT9nLZs0tXMe1_qWiLJTTKqfI3WewVhSJHYF5fRxpGy0cZbiUzTkbakojmISFFeLVQ/w320-h320/KevinCover.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Kevin Godley (year unknown)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>A drummer, singer, songwriter, and music video director.
Kevin Godley has done them all and with great success. From 1964 to 1972, Kevin
played in various bands with Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman, and Eric Stewart. In
1972, the four formed the rock band 10cc, and Kevin sang and played drums. The
band was a unique creation: Eric and Graham were pop focused, while Kevin and
Lol were more experimental and daring. 10cc had success with three Top 10 UK
albums and nine Top 40 singles. In 1975, one of 10cc’s singles, “I’m Not In
Love,” reached number 1 in England, Canada, and Ireland, and number 2 in
America. The song was a perfect combination of Eric and Graham’s pop styling
with Kevin and Lol’s adventurous side. Like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” this
involved a lot of work in the recording studio to make an incredible original
sound.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Despite 10cc’s success, Kevin and Lol found themselves at
a musical crossroads with Eric and Graham. In 1977, Kevin and Lol split from
10cc and formed the duo Godley & Creme. Godley & Creme had a very
experimental music sound and a wide spectrum. (Listen to </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cRQQd_oriA" target="_blank"><i>“I Pity Inanimate
Objects”</i></a><i> and </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teLq5aR11oE" target="_blank"><i>“H.E.A.V.E.N / A Little
Piece of Heaven”</i></a><i>.) They made a music video for their single “An
Englishman in New York” and enjoyed the creative process. This began their
career as music video directors. Some of the artists they directed were the
Police, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Peter Gabriel, and George Harrison. Godley
& Creme's 1985 single “Cry” showcases their culmination as both music video
directors and musical pioneers. In the music video, they used an imaginative
technique that showed different faces morphing into each other as they sang the
song lyrics. (Michael Jackson used a similar technique in his “Black or White”
video in 1991.)</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>During his time with Godley & Creme, Kevin got to do
several solo projects on his own. In 1985, he was </i><i>asked
to film Fashion Aid, the UK fashion industry’s version of Live Aid. </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>Then
in 1988, Godley & Creme both felt it was time to take a break from each
other and so they parted ways. Kevin continued in film and shot a short film
with actress Dawn French called </i><b>Mother Earth </b><i>for Ark, an
environmental group that Kevin belonged to. In 1990, Kevin was behind the </i><b>One
World One Voice</b><i> project. Kevin created a musical track and sent it to
multiple artists around the world who put their own contribution to the track</i><i>.
The project was intended to raise awareness for the environment.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Kevin had a successful career directing music videos for
a variety of artists including U2, Sting, Bryan Adams, Phil Collins, and Eric
Clapton. In 2020, Kevin released his first solo album, </i><b>Muscle Memory</b><i>.
For the album, Kevin publicly invited musicians to send him pieces of music,
and then Kevin added lyrics and melodies to the music pieces. Many musicians
who have been around as long as Kevin may have long reached the end of their
musical inspiration, but Kevin remains as musically inspired as he was in his
earlier years. Recently, Cherry Red Records came across material that Kevin
recorded with Lol Creme in 1969 as a duo under the alias Frabjoy and Runcible
Spoon. The duo’s material, recorded before they joined 10cc, will be released
to the public in June 2022.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we cover this long journey
from Kevin’s beginning days with Lol Creme, 10cc, Godley & Creme (both
their music and music videos) and Kevin’s life after splitting with Lol. I want
to thank Billy James from Glass Onyon PR for setting up this interview, but
most of all, I want to thank Kevin for telling his story to a huge fan such as
myself</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Jeff Cramer:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay, Kevin, what
began your interest in music?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kevin Godley:<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> That's
a big question. I imagine like most kids and teenagers are today, you tap into
what other people are doing, and what looks like an interesting thing to do
when you're not at school. And at that time, it was being in a band. Obviously,
there was no internet or video games, so people wanted to be in a band, and I
attempted to do that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My first instinct
was to try to play the guitar. But I was bloody awful at guitar, even though I
ended up in a very small local band playing bass using a six-string guitar. But
I was even worse at that. It was only when my next-door neighbor got a drum
set. He let me sit down behind it and that was when I discovered I was in fact
a drummer. And everything changed from that point.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I understand there is something you did with Lol Creme, I believe
before 10cc. Can you talk about that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah, I haven't
got the list of tracks in front of me, but if I remember correctly, I think it was
a combination of demos that we cut. This was toward the end of the 1960s,
probably over at Graham Gouldman's house, and a few tracks that were produced
by Giorgio Gomelsky. After, we did a track for Marmalade, which was his label,
I sang a song called “Fly Away,” which is one of Godley & Creme's first
songs. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear “Fly Away,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXHFBlTAFfo" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He signed us up to
do an album and called us Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon. Bit of a mouthful, isn't
it? We were hauled down to London to do some sessions for a proposed album that
never materialized. I think Marmalade just fell to pieces financially at some
point for whatever reason. The record was never actually released.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A little bit of
archaeology took place at Cherry Red Records, and they discovered the existence
of all this stuff and asked if we wouldn't mind if they put it out as an album,
which is cool after all these years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguao5bXRQeSIsRfTzBI_As6uYXOKKhL0KZU84ZU7wJA_qpy175lIbrR_WPQf9j8zhTeWEzOO1zx4fvBVdz_A92-gQ_43AJfBt2bGqYem4VXwqT26ZN-NI1-KrX1Zi2m3gur6sBRRKTDkwbOjpGF4NUKzBW9LDobJAFY4UUmDA6MsJGGNK-y5724H9rsg/s250/Frabjous%20Days.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguao5bXRQeSIsRfTzBI_As6uYXOKKhL0KZU84ZU7wJA_qpy175lIbrR_WPQf9j8zhTeWEzOO1zx4fvBVdz_A92-gQ_43AJfBt2bGqYem4VXwqT26ZN-NI1-KrX1Zi2m3gur6sBRRKTDkwbOjpGF4NUKzBW9LDobJAFY4UUmDA6MsJGGNK-y5724H9rsg/s1600/Frabjous%20Days.webp" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Frabjous Days </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album cover
(2022) (Kevin left)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Since this was before 10cc, how was Graham involved?</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span>KG: Yeah, I mean,
the Manchester music scene was pretty small. Back in those days, Graham was a
friend. He'd already been very successful as a songwriter, and he was mentoring
us. We were art students at the time, and we started writing songs. Graham
said, "Okay, come over to my parents’ house and we'll record them,"
which we did on numerous occasions. There were no real studios in Manchester at
that time at all. Our knowledge of recording procedures was actually nil, and we
were being guided by Graham. It was fun, and it was more enjoyable than
studying for graphic design, which was what we both did.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">From 10cc’s first album to your most recent album, there's a lot of
imagination there. All these original ideas, where do they come from?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Where do they
come from? I have no idea. Like anything else if you're doing something and you're
keen on it, I guess you magnetize them toward you. If there's an innate talent,
in your capability, it gradually blossoms over the years. And the more you
enjoy writing, and the more you enjoy singing or playing, it's a series of
small steps, one after the other, but mixing with musicians.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The first 10cc album has doo-wop. Could you talk about that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah, I think
when you're young, you're starting off and writing and recording stuff, you
don't really have much of a clue who you are. You've probably not found your
own voice yet. Out of necessity to a degree, you are aping your heroes because you
think that's what good music sounds like.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were influenced
by the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Simon & Garfunkel, and all the really
great writers and performers of that era<a style="mso-comment-date: 20220517T2052; mso-comment-reference: AI_4;">. I think it</a> made good sense for us to imitate
them,</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> because we didn't have that many reference
points with regard to what was to come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But of course, when
you do that, you record it, and you listen back, you slowly begin to realize it
doesn't really sound like the Beatles, or the Beach Boys or Simon & Garfunkel.
It sounds like something else and it's beginning to sound like you. So, one
doesn't want to become too self-conscious about that. It's a matter of just
letting it happen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But I think the big
turning point was when we recorded our first album. We didn't have a great deal
of time to do it. I think we had about three or four weeks, both to write and
record songs, so we just did it. There was no time to pause and say, "Oh,
does that sound like what I think music should sound like?" We just wrote
it, recorded it, moved on to the next shot, and wrote something and recorded it
without thinking too much. Which turned out to be an incredibly valuable thing
because when the album was finished, again, we listened back and we thought it sure
didn’t sound like anything else. It was a revelation, it was like, "Oh,
that's us. That's not them, it’s us." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OPWNZwVJ8Eyjx4AdBO3Xa_5TwoSmr7rl89CGXUTjSdWE8WFViZhDpMutCXaWjS9TRQhh4MwwVVlQT87zL2dk-MHQ0oBO5EPd4PwPHTWYA8wQmri8f8uNO7NLbv5Plrjw05xgBMbLzGmKuOxfIYK1It-KKUKrDDWw_uLkfDc1cqWWWgf1UWU650LTjw/s505/10CC_-_TopPop_1974_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OPWNZwVJ8Eyjx4AdBO3Xa_5TwoSmr7rl89CGXUTjSdWE8WFViZhDpMutCXaWjS9TRQhh4MwwVVlQT87zL2dk-MHQ0oBO5EPd4PwPHTWYA8wQmri8f8uNO7NLbv5Plrjw05xgBMbLzGmKuOxfIYK1It-KKUKrDDWw_uLkfDc1cqWWWgf1UWU650LTjw/s320/10CC_-_TopPop_1974_2.png" width="317" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">10cc, 1974( Kevin standing in middle)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Of course, “I'm Not in Love,” 10cc’s hugest hit, not only doesn’t sound
like anyone else, but I've never heard anybody else attempt what you guys did
with “I'm Not in Love.”</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: We'd already
recorded the track once, and not very well. We recorded it as a cheesy bossa
nova—it was terrible so we shelved it. But we knew that the song was good; we
just felt that the treatment was a bit shit. At a certain point, during the
recording of the album, we came back to it and we were talking about how we
should approach it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And I think I said,
probably out of desperation, “Why don't we do it all with voices?” And that
seemed to strike a chord with everybody, and all we had to really do was figure
out how to do the voices. I think all of them suggested that we use tape loops.
And we tried that. It took quite a while to do, as you can imagine. I think it
was Lol, Graham, and myself went in the studio and went through the scales,
just singing notes. And then they were turned into tape loops and fed back onto
the 16 track or 24 track tape machine. And then each of those notes was routed
through to the multitrack desk and to the channel. We ended up playing the
console, playing the desk as one would play a keyboard, although they were
faders instead of notes, faders instead of keys.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And still we had no
idea if this was going to work or not. But once we'd figured out that was the
only way we could do it—and we actually did it—it began to take on the shape
that you're familiar with.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I understand part of your drumming on that
song was meant to stimulate a heartbeat. Is that correct?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: We put down a
piano and we put down the drum that you were talking about, which is like a
heartbeat. It's actually a monophonic Moog [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a Moog is a synthesizer</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">].</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">No drums at all. We
decided to record the basic backing track in the control room, not in the live
area, just so we could all be next to each other and feel it. And it was
incredible. Once we'd done our first pass of vocals using that technique, we
felt that we had something special. And remarkably, every other session to do
with that particular song yielded something that made the track better. That doesn't
happen very often.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Often you record
something and you call something good. And the next thing we try may not work
and something else is a bit crappy, so you try something else. But with this
particular one, everything that we tried made it sound better. And better. And
better. And when it was finished, it was like we knew we had something very, very
strong and very, very strange. It was quite long. I think it was about six-and-a-half
minutes long.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We didn't really
think of it as a single initially, which is why “Life Is a Minestrone” was the
first single off </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Original
Soundtrack</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. But it had to be a
single . . . it just had to be a single. We didn't edit it. It came out as a
long segment. And the rest is history. It was a magical phase. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear the classic “I’m Not in Love,” click
</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STugQ0X1NoI" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Very shortly after that, you left 10cc, and formed Godley & Creme.
Can you talk about that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah, Lol and I
invented this device that we nicknamed “the Gizmo” even before 10cc existed
because we liked the sound of an orchestra. But hiring an orchestra and
arranger was a really big number and an expensive one. We figured because a
guitar is a stringed instrument that maybe there's a way of playing it that
gets it to sound like an orchestra. Hence our early experiments with an
electric drilled piece of rubber on the end of it to try and get it to sound
like strings. And we eventually found ourselves at the Manchester College of
Science and Technology with a guy called John McConnell who built us a
prototype of the Gizmo, but we never really got to play with it that much in the
context of 10cc.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At a certain point,
there was a hiatus between albums, so Lol and I thought, “Well, let's book a
couple of weeks to experiment to see what this thing can actually do.” Which is
pretty much what we did. And we had a lot of fun doing it. I think around about
that time, it was becoming a little bit more obvious that Eric and Graham's
work and Lol and I's were kind of different.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were making music from two different
perspectives. Lol and I were art students, who have more of an experimental
frame of mind, whereas Graham and Eric were more of a sort of classic
songwriter frame of mind. Our thrills would gain by breaking new ground
whenever we could. Whereas I think their thrills was more about making
something perfect and continuing what we already knew worked. It’s a little black
and white, but that's what it was like.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Those couple of
weeks at Strawberry studios was the first time we had a chance to try stuff on
our own. And we were getting off on it so much so me and Lol</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">suggested, "Listen, guys, let's just
take a break from 10cc—just give us a few months, two or three months and let
us do this. Let's put it out as a single album, and then we'll come back
together and do 10cc."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But it didn't work
out because we had a road crew, and we had to record an album for the label. It
wasn't practical for the business of 10cc at that time, unfortunately. And I
don't think we were mature enough as individuals to understand that sometimes
you need to step away to try different things so you can learn different things
and then bring them back to the table.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That was not on the
cards, unfortunately. We were young, and so we decided to bail. Actually, I
know it's sad, it needn’t be like that, but it was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCC9p0lGJxs_QdctAVGuoMXm33cQDfMzMdsUBWPdVEhm9uOG6iQjXou2o-CLJMiBymcci7FXv7FvHma-Sz8IDD1qP0aEGSgeS0hUS9Y5av20SMaWmjNB_SDO9BJukju3cFZym_vdUZ4vdNy4n2kaDjhKuEK34lT2pYhODxnQaSRCoq4pSjHIfAdPpEw/s299/GodleyandCreme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCC9p0lGJxs_QdctAVGuoMXm33cQDfMzMdsUBWPdVEhm9uOG6iQjXou2o-CLJMiBymcci7FXv7FvHma-Sz8IDD1qP0aEGSgeS0hUS9Y5av20SMaWmjNB_SDO9BJukju3cFZym_vdUZ4vdNy4n2kaDjhKuEK34lT2pYhODxnQaSRCoq4pSjHIfAdPpEw/w400-h225/GodleyandCreme.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Godley & Creme (year unknown) (Kevin
on right)</span></i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In addition to recording your own music, you and Lol wore a new hat as
well: you became music video directors. What began the whole interest in being
a music video director?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Certainly, we
were art students, which is a great environment to be in prior to 10cc, etc.
And one thing that we both bought into while we were in art college and what we
learned was to challenge yourself. Don't stop when you do something good
because you know it's good. Always look further, always go further. We enjoyed
being in art college—it was a buzz, it was a very creative environment with a
lot, and we were good at what we did.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Also Godley & Creme,
the artists, weren't touring. We weren't playing live at all. But we made an
album for our record label Polydor</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. One of the tracks called “An Englishman in
New York” was about to be released as a single. We figured perhaps we could make
a little film to go with it because maybe that was one practical way of
promoting it, and maybe some programs in Europe or the UK may show it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But it was all we
could think of at the time. We approached the label with an idea for the film. And,
surprisingly, they said yes, and to go ahead and make it, but they didn't allow
us to direct it. Because we'd never directed anything before, they hired a
proper director to direct it. During the process, we were performing—essentially
enjoying the process—and a light bulb went off over our heads.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It joined the dots
between art school and music. It was like, “Wow, this is amazing.” We could do
this. We knew inherently we could do it. I think we must have been a total pain
in the ass. Derek Burbidge was the director—he directed a few clips for the Police—but
we kept insisting “Can we try this? Can we do this?” and we showed up at the
edit room and asked him to “Press this button, push this lever.” I mean, as I
said, we must have been a total pain, but during shooting and editing we
assimilated enough to know that we could do this. And what happened next was we
essentially got the credit for that even though that particular piece of work
is not 100 percent ours. But we did influence the finished thing. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To watch “An Englishman in New York” video,
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJre-YHmLaI" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Steve Strange had
formed Visage and they had signed with Polydor</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">at that time. Now, we knew Steve from the
clubs in London. When he joined Polydor and they were discussing making a
video, he wanted us to direct the video. In fact, he insisted that we directed
the video, which was “Fade to Grey.” That was our first professional engagement
as video directors. It turned out to be quite an influential piece of film. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To watch the “Fade to Grey” video, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koy3Szyb-zo" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And suddenly, we
were professional video directors as well as artists. We didn't know 100
percent what we were doing, but rather like when we were making the first 10cc
album, there's that sense of “Well, that's okay.” We didn’t want to know
everything about what we were doing because then it's a foregone conclusion
what we’d end up with. You've got these two experimental minds coming up with
ideas for this new medium, pretty much called “music video.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That was at the
time a very open and free industry. It’s not that it wasn't a proper industry
yet, but nobody really knew what a music video was. It came to people like us
to do what we wanted to do, which was brilliant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And actually, as a young kid watching MTV, that was the first time I heard
of you because you were directing a lot of videos that people on MTV would mention
you and Lol’s name. When you guys did “Cry,” I was like, “Wow, I didn't know these
guys were musicians.”</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then I saw the “Cry”
video and it left an impression. It must have left an impression with Michael
Jackson because he used the faces changing in his “Black and White” video</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Well, imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery. The funny thing is the faces-changing idea
wasn't the first idea we had for the “Cry” video. Our first idea for “Cry” was
to get two very popular ice skaters, Torvill and Dean, to ice skate to the
track. Because Lol and I weren't pop stars, we didn't look like pop stars
particularly. And we weren't that keen of being in it really.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But unfortunately, Torvill
and Dean weren't around when the film was needed. We couldn’t find a time when
they were available, so we had to come up with something else fast. We realized
it was a song that anyone could sing and feel. We thought, “Well, why don't we
do that? Why don't we just pick a lot of faces out of a casting book and every
one of them can lip sync to the song, film it and see what we can knock about
that?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It's a funny thing,
but I think most people when they make any form of film, financially speaking
and practically speaking, it probably has to be as nailed down as possible. But
Lol and I still always insist on there being an area of exploration. And the
edit process, because it's more like making music where there has to be room
for the God-given mistake.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And that's what
happened here. We put everyone in front of the camera, and they all sang it. Then
we went into the editing and started cutting between the faces, and it was
okay. And then we started mixing between the faces. And that was okay. I mean, if
you’ll notice that maybe the first 45 seconds or so, it's very simple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We're just going
from face to face. It was only after that amount of time when we discovered
that if we used this very simple device called a wipe, we can open out from the
middle of the picture or come down from the top or up from the bottom, or go
from side to side. We did that, and you get a new face on the way from face A
to face B, which was like, “Whoa, that person doesn't exist except for that
moment in time.” And that was a magical moment. We took it forward from that
place, and it made the record a hit, I'm convinced. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To see the “Cry” video, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypMnBuvP5kA" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeah, one of the things when you said everyone could sing the song,
that was true back then and true today. Although when you did “Cry,” the term “ghost”
hadn’t existed yet in the dating world. Yet whenever I got ghosted or someone I
knew got ghosted, the lyric in “Cry” comes to mind: “You don't even know how to
say goodbye.” And I feel that lyric really describes why being ghosted really
hurts. In today’s dating world, there's new technology, but still the emotions
are the same</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah, that's
interesting. The song itself took 15 years to write. We had the first two or
three lines, way back. It was only when we met Trevor Horn, our producer, when
the song started. We played what we had, which must have been about 30 seconds
worth. He said, "Well, let's go work on that."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Horn was working
with </span>J. J. Jeczalik<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> of the Art of Noise, who put together a kind of a backing track and mood.
And then I went in the studio and started singing to it with what we had, and improvised
a lot of the track. Bit by bit we tried things that sounded good and then moved
on to the next bit. And it was extraordinary—it came together relatively
quickly. But it wasn't written as a complete song ever.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was 30 seconds
that existed and the rest was put together in a recording studio with one of
the finest producers in the business, Trevor Horn. The line you mentioned—I
think was one of the lines that just seemed to scan about. And funny how things
actually work . . . they don't always work the way you think they work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now, you and Lol would eventually split up and go your separate paths.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: In total, I
think we've worked together for about 27 years. For the majority of that time,
it was absolutely brilliant. But I think it got to a point where we knew what
each of us was thinking. And we knew where things would go when we started it.
That element of surprise was withering a little bit. I'd been asked to do a
number of projects on my own. In 1985, I was asked to film the Fashion Aid—the UK fashion
industry's version of Live Aid—at the Royal Albert Hall because I mixed in
fashion circles in those days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That wasn't
something that Lol was remotely interested in, so I got to do that on my own.
And I enjoyed it. It was the first thing I'd done on my own. And, subsequently,
I joined or helped found along with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, my wife
and numerous other people very early an environmental pressure group called Ark.
In 1988, I made a short film for them starring Dawn French called <b>Mother
Earth</b>. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To watch the film,
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEkltFoAYkc" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">] It was on my own again,
and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of not having to answer to anybody.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think that those
two experiences probably more than anything else contributed to us breaking up.
At the same time, we were due to do a movie. We were about to go into
pre-production and it didn't happen. It was such a shame, and had it have
happened, our story may have been different. But unfortunately, it didn't
happen and that was a little bit of a blow. It made sense for us to part ways
at that point, but it was tricky. I was so used to asking Lol, “What do you think about
this?” I <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>had
enough confidence to move forward from that point. And I think I've read a
couple of times that Lol in interviews agrees, that it was probably the right
thing to do at the time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I mean, along with the Mother Earth video and Fashion Aid, what have
you done since on your own?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KG:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Well, I did <b>One World One Voice</b></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.
Essentially, it was a musical chain letter. And every artist from around the
world showed up to play with this idea. We started a piece of music in New York
staying with a film crew, and we took up pieces of music around the world to
different cities and had other people contribute to it. We filmed them doing
so. You should check it out, it's interesting. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To watch the film </i><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One
World One Voice</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAKYdPZeT7g" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I also filmed U2
live—I forgot what country it was—but it was for the Zoo TV tour. And I've done
lots of music videos, including for U2, and many other artists. I've written a
couple of screenplays, I would like to do direct, so I've been a busy boy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What encouraged you to decide this time to do your solo album </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Muscle Memory</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">? How did that all come together?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: I just felt
like making music again. What happened was a couple of people who I didn't know
got in touch with me out of the blue and sent me two pieces of music, and said,
"Would you be interested in turning this piece of music into a song? Write top
line and write a melody and write some lyrics</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. "And
I've never done that before. I tried it and it worked very well. I enjoyed
doing it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I'd only played
drums, which isn't the ideal instrument to write songs to. And I missed the
process of creating music. I figured that if I were to ask people to send me
pieces of instrumental music online that they thought that could become songs,
I would choose a bunch of them and turn them into songs, and share the
copyright of that particular piece of work with the person assembling the
music.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And that's the
bottom line. I received probably about 296 pieces of music, which shocked me. I
was expecting about maybe 20 or 50 or something. I had to go through every
piece of music and try ideas out, which was difficult at first, but I
eventually discovered an intuitive process again—what was going to work for me,
and worked on the tracks I felt that I could contribute something interesting. It
wasn't enormously different to sitting opposite someone with a guitar or
keyboard or writing songs. It just meant that I didn't have to get up and make
coffee every half hour. And I would put something down in GarageBand </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[a music studio software]</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, mix it roughly, and then send it off to
them while waiting for comments and take it from there. It reminded me of the
first 10cc album, and I found my own voice through doing this. And there was
all sorts of shit going on while doing this. I remember that terrible incident
that took place in Charlottesville.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I was working on a
track at the time, and I kept stopping and watching the TV. It really affected me,
and that song became the track, “All Bones are White.” I don't know, I jumped
into the mood of the time with the lyrical side of things. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear “All Bones are White,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70AQTTcfwwA" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6-0DYnlA7mh2pms-AbH7sHz-QsUQeUj4nbvAIvy4pmVmLyNBlJOl025uQpqzCEV7UX4Su4NCiuX7VjLJ5tG4XJkd-kaN6mfj7KHziBYe4PvCW0dYF4w4zAXFrDWIphmnsoZO3SChZ_XtZxCqQMKr4TKQkEvc-ek30me0XGyZynj9tiF9NXd1cCdmVg/s3840/Kevin-Godley-Muscle-Memory-cover-scaled.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="3840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6-0DYnlA7mh2pms-AbH7sHz-QsUQeUj4nbvAIvy4pmVmLyNBlJOl025uQpqzCEV7UX4Su4NCiuX7VjLJ5tG4XJkd-kaN6mfj7KHziBYe4PvCW0dYF4w4zAXFrDWIphmnsoZO3SChZ_XtZxCqQMKr4TKQkEvc-ek30me0XGyZynj9tiF9NXd1cCdmVg/s320/Kevin-Godley-Muscle-Memory-cover-scaled.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">M</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">uscle Memory </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">album cover (2020)</span></i></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well, one of the tracks on the album was “Song of Hate.” The song
lyrics indicate hate all right, but the music accompanying it is upbeat.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah, I know,
that is funny. If you think about it—and I always go back to this example—I
know people who have played the Police's, “Every Breath You Take” at weddings
because it sounds great. But when you analyze the words, it's about mistrust, it’s
about surveillance, and it's quite fucking dark.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It just doesn't
quite make sense. And you are right, “Song of Hate” has a sort of a Motown
swing. I'm not into genres. I'm into mixing things up a little so that didn't
bother me. And that was the one people asked me about. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear called “Song of Hate,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4rxnnxibuo" target="_blank">here</a></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">] Another one was called “Five Minutes
Alone.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC: Oh</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yes, I know that track.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: What did the
lyric mean to you? What does it say to you?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I guess it says to me what someone could, given the limited amount of
time I have, this is what I can do in this type of time. I mean, that's just my
guess. But then again, I thought the lyrics “I’m Not In Love” were literal that
the singer wasn’t really in love and of course, he really is.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yeah. I guess
that's what most people say. But the inspiration for it was a horrible idea. I
mean, a lot of the stuff on the album I was gazing into the future a bit, but
not that far into the future. I have this despicable image in my mind of a
consortium of global prison officers who have this site on the dark web where you
could book time to spend five minutes alone with a prisoner of your choice. And
in this case, the song was a prisoner who kidnapped and murdered somebody that
the singer loves as a child. The singer is taking advantage of the opportunity
for him and his friend of having five minutes alone to do what they will with this
particular prisoner. It’s pretty a vile thought, and it's not that obvious in
the lyrics. But now I've told you, listen to it again. It's funny . . . some
people I know have a great deal of difficulty writing lyrics. And it's the part
I like least about songwriting process. But I believe if you're going to use
words, make them count. [</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear
“Five Minutes Alone,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiwoNxKFtAM" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I understand you recently did a music video as well as the solo album.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Have you heard
of the English band the Charlatans?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I've heard of them. I can't say I've listened to them, but I've heard
the name.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Okay, so I've
worked with the Charlatans a while ago. I was approached by the singer Tim
Burgess. Tim’s a very talented guy who asked if I'd do a video for this track
he was about to release. I thought, “Yeah, it'd be fun to actually commit
something to film again.” The song is called, “Here Comes the Weekend,” by Tim
Burgess.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I had this idea
about using projections—a digital laser projector—but using it in a different
way. I wanted to film performance, but not everybody at the same time. What we
just filmed onto a big, white background and then have the rest of the band
perform live in front of it—that was essentially the idea. The finished thing
would be a mixture of projected images, and live images, the thought being that
you wouldn't always necessarily understand which was which.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was a great
shoot. Again, it was one of those situations where I had a good team of people.
I had the tools that I needed, and I'd given myself the freedom to be able to
try things that I had written down. In other words, if some idea came up on the
day, I'd give it a shot. And everyone's great. Tim gave a me great performance
stuff and understood inherently what I was trying to achieve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I got some of the
stuff I also edited it myself. I'm trying to become more adept for the
technical side as opposed to just being the guy who sits in the chair bossing
everybody about and I thoroughly enjoy it. It's exhausting, but I thoroughly
enjoyed the whole process. It was great fun. It turned out extremely well. It's
very simple, but it's just got something about it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Probably because Tim
and his band were great in performance and they look great on camera, and we
just captured something special with a very simple idea. No postproduction
effects whatsoever. The outcome was lovely and it was a great day. You should
check it out. {</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To watch “Here
Comes the Weekend” video, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE_4j9yjTsQ" target="_blank">here</a><a style="mso-comment-date: 20220518T0402; mso-comment-reference: AI_15;">.</a></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 15;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There are talented people who have been at it long as you, but they’re
tapped out creatively. But with your recent stuff—the album </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Muscle Memory</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> and your recent music video—you are far from tapping out. It sounds
like you have a lot still to say. Well, how do you feel about that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KG: Yes, I would
agree with you. I have a number of projects I’d love to get out there. Doing
this is what drives me. It’s what gets me up in the morning. I don't rest on my
laurels, if I've got any, I get a thrill. It's always been the same. I guess
it's all about coming up with an idea. And it's selfish in a way—it's an idea
that I want to see exist or hear exist.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If I feel strongly
enough about it, I will go to the ends of the earth to make that happen. And if
I can't, what tends to happen every now and again is that an opportunity will
arise that will allow me to make it happen within a different context. And that
happens quite a lot. But I get a thrill out of making something that I think is
a good idea, but I'm also aware that I don't know exactly how it's going to
turn out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that little element of jeopardy is the
thing that drives me. I want to see what this guy does with it. I mean, they
make the best out of the idea, and 85 to 90 percent I’m usually on the money
and it usually comes out pretty well. And I love it. It gets me up in the
morning. What else am I going to do?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmMLcYpb7nthqcJrmNbEIjFlk1HMe_KkX7c2MiLmu6htU0O06cT23eoipudVoD6Dg1IVyKAKSCgGxs_PnGkB6O81Gx1Joik7CHcGcknJacVr2irY7eAOq7YbpCQdR5edl8f-Rs2busoFkEkujAtFSrD5nQ1D511-SzWJG2F4FczZvtJt43r6k88dFyg/s1200/KevinRecent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmMLcYpb7nthqcJrmNbEIjFlk1HMe_KkX7c2MiLmu6htU0O06cT23eoipudVoD6Dg1IVyKAKSCgGxs_PnGkB6O81Gx1Joik7CHcGcknJacVr2irY7eAOq7YbpCQdR5edl8f-Rs2busoFkEkujAtFSrD5nQ1D511-SzWJG2F4FczZvtJt43r6k88dFyg/w400-h266/KevinRecent.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Kevin (2021)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
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</div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-6370844247443735122022-05-17T19:19:00.000-07:002022-05-17T19:19:50.861-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Holly Montgomery<div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfPnujD7Fta9YQDaiR6RkcuhS8KmhpR-X1zinHOlv1K_kgEwhpbBxc1k09CGgGkJxT-ihOCaYsys4lnrAHOeVcxI4SW4aT44tuexlDP-hxpV7egQMW6I9rQgsw1L6gemJbSL-EjtxBgLOquAhIVK0m54BTKWJOcxkRlwCwZ0YJhG_dy6RpP0idHiQLA/s1087/Holly%20cover.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1087" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfPnujD7Fta9YQDaiR6RkcuhS8KmhpR-X1zinHOlv1K_kgEwhpbBxc1k09CGgGkJxT-ihOCaYsys4lnrAHOeVcxI4SW4aT44tuexlDP-hxpV7egQMW6I9rQgsw1L6gemJbSL-EjtxBgLOquAhIVK0m54BTKWJOcxkRlwCwZ0YJhG_dy6RpP0idHiQLA/w265-h400/Holly%20cover.webp" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Holly (year unknown)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Holly Montgomery’s musical career has gone on for three
decades. In the nineties she moved to Los Angeles</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>and
sang and played bass for various cover bands, as well as bands as Big Planet
and the Mustangs (an all-female country band), and she also had a solo career. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the early 2000s, she put her music career
on hold for eight years when she adopted three teenage orphans from Kazakhstan</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>During
the time when Holly was on a hiatus, </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>she
left LA and moved to the East Coast. Around 2009, she </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>started
her musical career again with her own band, Holly, and also her solo career.
Several of the albums include </i><b>I’m Only Human </b><i>(2009), </i><b>Uncanny
Valley </b><i>(2011), and </i><b>Leaving Eden </b><i>(2016). The latter album was
in the first-round ballot and up for consideration for a Grammy Award. While Holly
was in LA celebrating at Grammy parties, she contacted the Mustangs [Now known as the Mustangs of the
West] and met up with guitarist, Sherry Barnett</i><i>.
From that meeting emerged the reformation of the Mustangs. The Mustangs got a record
deal wi</i><i>th
Blue Élan Records in which they release an album called </i><b>Time</b><i>(2020)</i><i style="font-weight: bold;">. </i><i>They
also got a tour deal including a ticket on the South by Southwest Music festival,
but COVID put
a halt to their tour plans.</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>During COVID, Kirk Pasich, the head of Blue Élan
Records,</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>was
so impressed with Holly’s solo stuff and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>encouraged her to work on her solo career. She
recorded </i><b>Sorry for Nothing </b><i>(2022) during the COVID pandemic. </i><b>Sorry
for Nothing </b><i>was produced by her guitarist Buddy Speir and Grammy-nominated
producer Dave Darling. It was</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>released
on May 6, 2022. Holly plans to tour behind it, as well as continue playing with
the Mustangs.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we go through Holly’s life,
whether it was starting out in LA, becoming a mother, and her recent career
with the Mustangs and her solo stuff. Special thanks to Nichole Peters from
Jensen Communications for setting up the interview, but most of all, I want to
thank Holly for providing me the opportunity to tell her story.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So what got you interested in music?</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Holly Montgomery: Oh, gosh. Well, both my parents were
musicians, and I had a ton of brothers and sisters in the house growing up. And
to us, music was just cool, you know? We listened to a lot of music. I played keyboards
in a band in my teens with my brother, Bucky. It was a prog metal band. My
other siblings loved music too. We all dreamed about being in a band and doing
all of that kind of stuff. I just never <i>[chuckling]</i> got over it, you
know?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay.
Now, from what I've read, your career goes back about three decades ago.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Oh. You
know . . . <i>career</i> is a tough word as a musician, <i>[chuckling]. </i>Well,
do you mean when I got paid for it, or when I actually started doing it in
front of people? I guess that would be the band I was in with my brother,
Bucky, when I was 14. I played trombone in the school band, and all my friends
were into jazz. And then I played classical music in concert band in high
school and college, and somewhere along the line I had my epiphany about playing
bass. And I started playing bass, and that was it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Was
this what you were doing in the ’90s? ’Cause I read that your career started
three decades ago.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> No. In the ’90s,
I<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>moved
to LA. At first, I went to Musicians Institute. I worked for Mike Tobias at
Tobias Guitars, and I was just trying to figure out how to not be homeless and
play music. And I started playing around, you know? I played with Suzanne
Morrisette, a drummer who I'm actually playing with now, again, in a different
band. We played in a lot of cover bands—we did five nights a week for a couple
of years just to make some money playing music. Then Suzanne and I got in a
band called Big Planet with Bill White Acre, and that was a great band. I mean,
we made an album that the world never heard, and they really should have because
it was a really great album. That was in ’92, I think. When Big Planet
disbanded, I started doing a duo with Dan Bern, and so he was a huge influence
on me as a songwriter. So I did that for a year or two, until it was
like, "Eh, you know what? I'm a bass player. I'm a rocker chick, and I
wanna play rock." So I spent basically the rest of the 90s and into the
early 2000s trying to make that work.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc4YFvdR9a6pDljaEeLoR5u7amuPEYcVu6oOKyLlAlN6_yqGhrj6UUZ45mcj7gL_NVbQjTKddW1hzJBSppMjZKn_-x6Jm9zNAP9n7NNVZAD-2yAcuiMtaIoM_5D9Qygs-R7GlqAa8Q7s6ThzWyyn3iQoRlJPBScDg6fVoMjYQAK3G2a3eUSMI0R5dWw/s500/Holly-Montgomery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc4YFvdR9a6pDljaEeLoR5u7amuPEYcVu6oOKyLlAlN6_yqGhrj6UUZ45mcj7gL_NVbQjTKddW1hzJBSppMjZKn_-x6Jm9zNAP9n7NNVZAD-2yAcuiMtaIoM_5D9Qygs-R7GlqAa8Q7s6ThzWyyn3iQoRlJPBScDg6fVoMjYQAK3G2a3eUSMI0R5dWw/s320/Holly-Montgomery.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Holly (year unknown)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Now,
I understand that you put your music career on hold to become a mom of three
teenage orphans?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> I did,
yeah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Could
you discuss what happened there?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> When I
started doing my band in the mid-nineties, it was just dealing with the music
industry, and I heard, "You're too fat,” or, “You're too rock,” or “You're
not rock enough" . . . whatever it was. It was just the constant barrage
of negativity and people not doing what they say they're gonna do. A million
people have written a million songs about having to deal with that <i>[laughter]</i>.
And there was a certain
point at which I wanted to have a real life. I didn’t want to be doing this so
long that I woke up one day and say, "<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>Wow, I never bothered to have a normal
human existence." I never wanted to play music to replace real life—I kind
of fell into it. I know that seems naïve to say, but I wanted to do something
useful in the world, so I started volunteering for an organization called
Kidsave International. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kidsave might still be the only—<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>I don't know—but at the time it was really
the only nonprofit that was dedicated to finding older children to give them some sort of
permanence<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>in their life. You know, there's lots of
adoption agencies for babies, and Kidsave wasn't an adoption agency; they're an
advocacy organization. But really, nobody was advocating for older kids, and I
just thought that was an incredible focus, so I started volunteering for them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hosted kids a couple of times and tried to
help them find permanent families. And then one day, out of the pages of a
binder that had a bunch of possible kids for a program, I saw a picture of my
son, Ari, and I was like, "Oh, wow. Who is that kid? That's an intense
look on his face." I got him into the program, and that's kind of the way
I met him. I couldn't live without him, and then that changed the course of my
life for the infinite better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So
how long did you put your music career on hold?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> For about
eight or nine years, I didn't do anything. I moved to the East Coast. Basically,
it was kind of starting from scratch, which I still feel like I'm doing. I’m
living there with the LA scars and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
nine years older than when they told me I was too old for this.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>So, I just kind of started playing around
town, and I came to find out that this area around DC has a pretty solid
working musician culture. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mean, it's not perfect, but I don't really
know that many places like it other than a few oddball places, you know? You get
paid for your gig. You don't always get paid enough, but it's not like LA or
Nashville or New York, where people will get paid nothing. I got the meaning
out of my life, and what's real in life. Now I'm doing it just for the love of
music, so I don't care about the other stuff that much anymore.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, I just started playing. The gigs I do
range from the ridiculous to the sublime. I mean, one night I will be sitting
in the back of a wine bar with nobody paying any attention to me at all,
singing my songs. And the next day, I'll be in front of a thousand people at a
venue. That's kind of fun sometimes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">At a certain point, I was like, "Oh, I
wanna make a record!" And I made my <i>Uncanny Valley</i> record. I was
just trying to put together a band to work around town, and I kept going
through band members. So I finally settled on a great group of guys, and when I
started playing with them, I got inspired to keep writing. That's kind of how I
ended up where I am.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I
also understand you were in another band, the Mustangs of the West? Could you
tell me a little bit about that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Sure. I
was in the Mustangs in the '90s, kind of simultaneously with Big Planet and Dan
Bern. So about that same time, I was doing shows with the Mustangs. The
Mustangs were an all-female country band, and I didn't know anything about
country music; I still kind of don't. I just have never listened to it at
length. I'm
not saying that I don't hear some country song and not like it, but it's not
where my interests naturally go. But I really loved the songwriter in that
band, Suzanna
Spring, and they were fun to hang around with.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So we had a few years of doing some stuff and
doing some touring. We got a publishing deal in Nashville. You know, people's
lives change, and so the band disbanded. I mean, it was just one of those
unbelievable things that you can't believe actually happened.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But in 2016, I put out an album called <i>Leaving
Eden.</i> And I still never figured out quite how this happened or how it
works, but it got onto the first-round ballot for a Grammy. And I was like,
"What?" I didn't even know what it was. I mean, I've since learned
what it means and what it doesn't mean, to be on the first-round ballot. I
didn't know at the time because I wasn't a member of the Academy—and I’m still not—so
I didn't nominate myself.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I was like, "You know what? There's very
little chance that anybody's gonna listen to anything else from me, but I'm
gonna go to LA and go to some Grammy parties, so what the heck." So I
called up Sherry Barnett, the lead guitarist in the Mustangs, and also a very
world-famous concert photographer. I said, "Hey, this thing happened—I'm
on the first-round ballot. I'm gonna make myself feel a lot more important than
I actually am, and I'm gonna go to LA, and I'm gonna hit a Grammy party or
two."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And she was like, "<i>[gasp]</i> Suzie's
gonna be in town! We should do a Mustangs reunion!" And I said,
"What? But I'm only gonna be there a few days. I'm gonna be really
busy." And of course, almost the whole trip ended up being Mustangs. But
what we got out of that was a new-formed band. We added a fiddle player, Aubrey
Richmond—which was always something that the band would've loved. Aubrey's just
so great. And then, to my delight, we got Suzanne Morrissette<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>to play drums—you know, Suzanne and I
played in so many bands in the ’90s together. Suzanne and I play really great
together, and so I was like, "Yes, okay."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And we did this video and this album. Sherry, the famous
photographer/guitarist, had already been shooting photos for Blue Élan. So she
took the video and the song that we made that day and basically pestered Kirk Pasich [<i>the
head of Blue Élan Records</i>] <i>[chuckling] </i>to take us. In fact, when
Kirk signed the Mustangs, he said, "I don't care how much you weigh or how
old you are, but I do want you to make good music." I was like, "All
right. I can work with this guy. Let's do it." And so that's kind of what
happened and the band got back together.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3jsEVKhcK2Qkc-bqvJVJYYrPibvE1QahoSLArBEI3lf0NL0y62UtXP9SUDhtcibkpmNvBABW54kbeg4zDOEKimSpHMl3TzBD_V8aUK_gel5DvHiqiDQR07pC_KESOSMAL_r0RmivsgolEvvnW1XWvmG-CHAkMI94txepL-IxZXGaNbGaRYRqJC6bbQ/s879/Mustangs.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="879" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3jsEVKhcK2Qkc-bqvJVJYYrPibvE1QahoSLArBEI3lf0NL0y62UtXP9SUDhtcibkpmNvBABW54kbeg4zDOEKimSpHMl3TzBD_V8aUK_gel5DvHiqiDQR07pC_KESOSMAL_r0RmivsgolEvvnW1XWvmG-CHAkMI94txepL-IxZXGaNbGaRYRqJC6bbQ/s320/Mustangs.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <i><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">The Mustangs (2020) (Holly is second from right)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Mustangs took
a major blow because of COVID. We spent more than two years getting the Mustangs
record done, and all the promo in place, and touring.
We had a show at the South by Southwest festival<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>booked, with Soul Asylum. We were getting
ready to do all this stuff. Our tour was supposed to start on March 21, 2020,
but the week before, South by Southwest got canceled, and everything got
canceled. It's tough for the Mustangs because I live on the East Coast. LA is
nowhere to live unless you have a lot of money. I'm able to do what I do
because I can live below my means. The Mustangs just did an album in January of
this year [2022], so we're hoping for a late ’22 release for that. [<i>To hear
the recent Mustangs’ single, “Crooked Road,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1MZFNciqGk" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>How
did your new
solo album</i></b><b><i>, </i>Sorry for Nothing<i> come about?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> I started
recording that album in 2017. I had gotten a couple of tracks into it, trying
to figure out, "Okay, what is this album gonna be about?" and then
all the stuff with the Mustangs happened. So me being able to stay concentrated
on my album really kind of slowed down when I was trying to get the Mustangs
record done and all of that. What I do as a writer and as a singer is very
different than the Mustangs, but that's fine ’cause I'm the bass player of the
Mustangs. So Kirk Pasich of Blue <a name="_Hlk102830101">Élan</a> told me,
"You know, you should send down some of the stuff you're doing, and we'll
see if we can at least license it."</p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm like, "Heck, yeah. That'd be
great." So I sent it over to him, and he was like, "This is not for
licensing. This is for an artist deal." And I was like, "What? What?
Are you insane? Really?" Right before COVID happened, he told me "I
wanna sign you to an artist deal. Let's do it." And then COVID happened,
so it took forever to get the artist deal happening. But with COVID, we had the
time now, and during COVID, we were able to do the record.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, the thing is, over the years of working with my own band
that<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>I'm in now, the guitarist in my band, Buddy
Speir, is so fantastic. I had already self-produced the first two cuts for a
record, but the truth is he's just so good, and he has such a unique stamp that
he puts on everything he does. I was like, "You know what? You need to
produce the rest of this record." And so finally I talked him into doing
that, and he did a fantastic job.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We were able to do the rest of the record over
the first year of COVID. And in that time, which I find to be amazing and
awesome, and I'll never forget it, Kirk had passed on some of my music to Dave
Darling. I don't know if you know who he is, but he's like— </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I
understand he produced six Grammy-nominated records.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Yeah,
he's a producer in how own right, and a great guitarist. He was in Boxing
Ghandis in the ’90s, and he's producing a lot of really great people these
days. He listened to this stuff and just became an über fan of what we were
doing. He was like, "You gotta finish this record. Send me the stuff and
let's do it." And so I would send the song, and he really helped us to
focus on a direction for the album. Because as an indie person, who doesn't
have to care about whatever her label thinks, if I wanna do one song that's
like soft and pretty and then the next song is kick-you-in-the-teeth rock, it's
my business. But Dave was like, "Well, if you want your next record to go
further, let's keep it focused.” <i>[laughter]</i>. And of course, he was right
about everything. So once we figured out the direction for the album, we said, “Okay,
this is the formula that works. Some days after finishing, we were listening to
what we did, we were just like, “Wow. This stuff is really good.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJUkSxmIb2GoLFK0tsuAlAnQvGtxv1SyeoEYKNVUe8mvqEdVggun3MgYXySB4fGC5tb2pjTqKszDZFO5R5imY3oc8f6Bq4e21XbtkT8h_Z_usc6ob94zGCivwo4JHLyteaGAswOUHGVO_q6Z5C_D0HXTC07NW3uhqiEmupWwcWf_DRGRDzG12IHYfjg/s275/SorryforNothing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJUkSxmIb2GoLFK0tsuAlAnQvGtxv1SyeoEYKNVUe8mvqEdVggun3MgYXySB4fGC5tb2pjTqKszDZFO5R5imY3oc8f6Bq4e21XbtkT8h_Z_usc6ob94zGCivwo4JHLyteaGAswOUHGVO_q6Z5C_D0HXTC07NW3uhqiEmupWwcWf_DRGRDzG12IHYfjg/w320-h213/SorryforNothing.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Sorry for Nothing </b>album cover(2022)</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>The
first one I want to talk about is the single “All for Nothing.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was the idea behind that?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> I was
going through a really, really rough patch. So, I actually really felt that way
when I wrote the song. I mean, it was like I just could not find any light in
that day at all. And at the same, my friend, Dan Chadburn, who is this
incredible classical/new age piano player, and he does this incredible thing. He’s
an improvisational composer, so you can tell him B-flat minor with a waltz
feel, and he'll sit and concentrate for about 30 seconds, and then play ten
minutes of music.I've always been so impressed by that. I was like, "You
know what? I feel like such utter crap today that I'm gonna sit here, and I'm
gonna be like Dan Chadburn, and I'm going to write the first thing that comes
into my head, and I'm gonna take my time about it, and I'm not gonna beat
myself up." And I wrote that song in one take. I didn't change one single
word or anything. That's it. I finished it and was like, "Okay, well, I
don't know that anybody's gonna wanna hear this song, but it sure does feel
good to have written it.” It just so happened that in the writing of that song,
for me personally, I felt like I completely and perfectly captured the feeling
of that moment, which was, "I'm fighting off some despair right now."
And then I wrote the song; I felt better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The title "All
for Nothing" is a euphemism for depression and despair. If you ever have
struggled with any of that kind of thing, or even if it’s situationally
depressed, which I certainly was at that time. I was just feeling like I put
the vast majority of money and time and love and my life into things that not
only haven't paid off, but are actively not good for me. And here I am, at my
age, going, "Wow, okay. What has my life even been worth?" You know?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mean, that's what you feel like in those
moments. It's not something that I sit around and feel all the time, but I
certainly feel it sometimes. I mean, I think every musician does because you
can't live a life where what you do is perpetually undervalued. Even if you're not
so great a musician, you're still undervalued <i>[laughter]</i>. And that's
just the way that the world works in these days of instant downloading. So
yeah, that's really what it was. Trying to scrape together that last bit of
defiance that you feel before you just give in to giving up.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That's what the song was, actually. I haven't
put it that way before, but that's what it was. It was like the person in the
song, that's their one last little attempt to hang onto any shred of something. "Okay, I'm not gonna just utterly give
in and disappear," you know? That's what it was about. [<i>To hear a live
version of “All for Nothing,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47-KQb4SMjU" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>There's
another song, "Looking for Lancelot." </i>Excalibur<i> is one of my
favorite films, and so I certainly know the whole story of King Arthur,
Lancelot, and Guinevere.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Well,
you know what? Okay, great. When the single got posted last month, a guy or two
said to me, "Oh, I'd be your Lancelot." And I'm like, "Oh, dude.
You don't know the story, then. You don't wanna be anybody's Lancelot. That's
not the way that the story goes.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I
certainly know how that story goes.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">HM: With
“Looking for Lancelot,” I had joined a songwriters’ group, and the guy who moderated
the group made some comment about Daddy issues being "in" with female
songwriters. At first, I was like, "Eh, dude, whatever." And then I'm
thinking to myself, "Right, I've got Daddy issues. I'll write a dang song
about Daddy issues. You want that? I got that."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mean, my father died when I was seven, so
there's always this thing hanging over my life of what would it have been like
if he had stayed alive, and would I have felt more secure in the world, and
would I have had better luck in relationships? There's a lot of things like
that you just have to ask yourself. So it was a combination of that guy saying
that, and a lot of women I know who have those kind of issues, like, “Dad
yelled at me too much,” or, "Dad left us when he was young," or,
"Dad was an alcoholic," or whatever it is that people individually
have had to deal with in their life when they have a difficult relationship
with their fathers. So I just kind of drew on my own experience and the
experience of other people I knew who had those same kind of issues.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I'm a huge history and literature nerd. I
love all that stuff. I will travel thousands of miles. In October 2019, I went
to England just because I wanted to put my index finger on Hadrian's Wall. And
I did that. So, you know, I mean, I'll do anything. So I know all the various
Arthur and Lancelot stories, from the medieval to the Saxon one. I mean, I know
all of the differences. But, you know, the whole mythology around Arthur and
Guinevere and Lancelot, and the downfall of the woman because she went with her
passion instead of her duty. I think they're really great fodder for songs. [<i>To
hear a live version of “Looking for Lancelot,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtGS9GDnaEo" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> <b><i>One
of your songs "For My Son”—was that one autobiographical? Was it about one
of the three kids you adopted?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Toward
the end of my son Ari’s bachelor's degree, he was just kind of going through a
hard time. He was
just trying to figure out, "Wow, when I get out, how am I gonna pay my
student loans?"<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>All of that kind of stuff. Just regular
hard-times stuff. And I just remember sitting and thinking. You know, you get
so helpless when you wanna help, especially when you're a parent, and
especially a single mother. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There's only so many things you can say that
are gonna get listened to. Your kid knows that you love them more than anything,
so when you tell them it's gonna be all right, they think that you're just
saying that. You know what I mean? So there's all kinds of things like that—that
as a parent, you feel impotent to be able to effect any sort of comfort, or
change, or hope, or anything. And so it was just basically in that moment of going,
"Okay, right now, I'd like to say some stuff to him.But he's not gonna be able to hear it right
now, and so that would not be useful, so I just won't. I'll just write the
song." So that's what I did. [<i>To hear a live version of “For My Son,”
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYRoJ0Sy1vY" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>It’s
a bit jarring that the next song that follows “For My Son” is "Cunning
Woman.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"For My Son" sounds
very uplifting but "Cunning Woman" sounds like it's telling a hard
tale.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Yeah.
"Cunning Woman" came to me almost all at once, the whole idea for
that song. So "Cunning Woman” is another archetype song. It's like the
archetype of a woman/female/girl growing up and not fitting into the culture or
family that you're raised in, and trying to figure out the world when you don't
feel like you have a place in society where you are inextricably intertwined. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What do you do, as a woman, to go out into the
world and find your power when you're not gonna be able to get it at home? This
is something that I've thought a lot about in my life. And one obvious thing
that women tend to do when they feel like that is the use of their sexuality, which can take on many
different looks. So this is just a song about somebody who figured out young
that their body is their vehicle, and that they can do what the hell they want
with it, and they can think what the hell that they want.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Do you know that term, ‘cunning woman’?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>No.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> So
historically, cunning women were what they called the local witch. Those were
the women who got blamed for being witches, or the ones who had special powers
that everybody was afraid of because they spoke their mind and they didn't
conform. So I mean, that's kind of what the song is about. About being an
atypical female growing up in a place where you don't feel like you fit in at
all.[<i>To hear “Cunning Woman,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0uwIH14nU" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Any
touring plans for </i>Sorry for Nothing<i>?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> Yeah,
I'm working on the touring part of it now, trying to get a few things in place.
I'm gonna go on and play as much as I can. I'm pushing as I have the energy to
do, to solidify a couple of tour options that I have, just to be able to tour
and see what people think. I mean, I have to give it to Kirk Pasich, you know,
having the balls to find women who are, again, not your typical 23-year-old
blonde, thin female. He's willing to do it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, yeah. I mean, I wanna tour. I wanna get
out there; I wanna play it. And we have a lot of radio promo that's ramping up
and getting into place. And I've got a bunch of radio interviews coming up while
trying to figure out, "Okay, how can we make the music business work where
the artist also gets paid along with everybody else?"</p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_B3KmtgwKVZDb64o4lCuCnlPndbmm_ex4sOfKQI796zvbK3qGP3YTJrzVCMUO17LJGUbGkFe9Zlht4DrmogLJxcRVG4N6qtB0aOjIbB1rCdjCrmVjMnanmp0UTlEjaIwgEN2dAhdhgJHsZNAAqewDs3AEhEnjpRQnXEP0htYrhm9xrrlwzxbODJVz1A/s1044/Holly%20touring.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_B3KmtgwKVZDb64o4lCuCnlPndbmm_ex4sOfKQI796zvbK3qGP3YTJrzVCMUO17LJGUbGkFe9Zlht4DrmogLJxcRVG4N6qtB0aOjIbB1rCdjCrmVjMnanmp0UTlEjaIwgEN2dAhdhgJHsZNAAqewDs3AEhEnjpRQnXEP0htYrhm9xrrlwzxbODJVz1A/s320/Holly%20touring.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Holly on tour (2018)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So
what would you say that this whole journey you've taken—from playing in bands, becoming
a mom, and now having two careers: your solo and the Mustangs—what would be
your own reflection on all that's come?</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">HM:</span> I guess
I would probably say that one of the blessings of bowing out of the music
industry before I felt sullied by it was that I had an epiphany. Nobody is
responsible for creating my adventures in my life. I can create my own
adventures. I can record my own albums. Yes, they're probably not as polished as
if there was more money behind it. But that doesn't mean that I can't live my
own adventure. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So my words are that even though artists,
musicians, photographers, visual artists, whatever, are grossly undervalued in
terms of livelihoods, I still feel like the world needs it more than almost
anything. I tell people all the time, "Even if you don't wanna play music professionally,
just do it because the world is the better for it." Do it. It's the
essence of everything that's human. We wanna make the world the best of what
humanity is. It's like, in all the sci-fi movies, whenever we're trying to
convince the aliens why they shouldn't wipe out humans, the warring human
species, you know? Because there's this greatness in the art world of music and
musicians that makes the world a better place. And so I hope that in my very
small way I've contributed to that worldview. That's it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-35560233427769735002022-03-13T12:04:00.003-07:002022-03-13T12:39:11.603-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Jackie Giroux<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio88wPb-s5_XoL_u3AkL_yURqBoG_9kRgCC8MtaWLHFvp99LYB8ZvwZxmhwisYPgAY9JL8I-69xwP1zd3YsmQVZw_lHvq9CD1ykwlR-_t_NJcMY1TUcs86iaWpvgn4vdZvJ8r1AhRLZnSZFjkfQG-nD1-PFjpoph7rlV-lY9TnFnVWdUWGjn_GXJhpIg=s243" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="208" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio88wPb-s5_XoL_u3AkL_yURqBoG_9kRgCC8MtaWLHFvp99LYB8ZvwZxmhwisYPgAY9JL8I-69xwP1zd3YsmQVZw_lHvq9CD1ykwlR-_t_NJcMY1TUcs86iaWpvgn4vdZvJ8r1AhRLZnSZFjkfQG-nD1-PFjpoph7rlV-lY9TnFnVWdUWGjn_GXJhpIg=w343-h400" title="Jackie (2010)" width="343" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Jackie (2010)</b></span></div><span> </span><div><i>Actress. <a>Screenwriter. Still Photographer. Film producer. Director.
Streaming channel creator. Jackie Giroux has done them all in the film
industry. </a></i><i>Jackie
has worn all those hats for nearly fifty years, which is remarkable because the
film industry is not known for longevity when it comes to careers. There’s a
saying, “You go with what you have, not with what you want.” Throughout
Jackie’s career, many of her accomplishments, whether she was a producer or an
actress, weren’t necessarily what she had initially out set out to do but instead
were things that were offered to her at the time.</i><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Jackie’s career started with the Christian-themed film </i><b>The
Cross and the Switchblade </b><i>(1970). The film was about Reverend David
Wilkerson and his use of Christian faith to help inner-city problems, such as
crime and drug abuse. Jackie played a heroin addict and the girlfriend of
Erik Estrada, a gang member.</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>While
that film started her career, the films she would act in</i><i> would be completely different from </i><b>The Cross and the Switchblade</b><i>.
Unable to find work because of her ethnic looks, she found employment in
non-union low-budget films using a pseudonym of Robyn Whitting or Valdesta. (Jackie
used a pseudonym because she was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and didn’t
want them to know that she was violating Guild rules by doing these pictures).
Most of the low-budget films were either horror or <a>exploitation, such as </a></i><b>A Taste of Decadence </b><i>(1975)<b> </b>or
</i><b>Drive-In Massacre </b><i>(1976). </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>By
1980, Jackie also wrote (one of which she won an award</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>for
in best writer), and was a still photographer for and acted in pornography
films. She did not participate in any of the porn scenes.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Jackie would get her chance to be a lead using her real
name in </i><b>Trick or Treats </b><i>(1982) where she played a babysitter and
was pranked by the kid she was babysitting. Adding to her trouble, the kid’s
father escaped from the mental institution and planned to kill everyone at the
house. In the A-list film </i><b>To Live and Die in L.A. </b><i>(1985), Jackie played
John Turturro’s girlfriend. Unfortunately, most of her role ended up on the
cutting room floor. During the filming, Jackie had taken an interest in the
making of the film. The film’s director, William Friedkin, encouraged her to
start producing.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Jackie then switched careers in producing, where she
produced (and in some cases) co-wrote several films: </i><b>Distortions </b><i>(1988),</i>
<b>Forever </b><i>(1992) and </i><b>Tryst </b><i>(1994). The films would
present challenges, as the films had limited budgets, but Jackie produced these
films within the initial budget that was financed.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In 2010, Jackie took a break from the film industry to
work for FoneFriend, a company that offered free long-distance calling. After <a>the </a>company</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><i>was
sold to Skype, Jackie came back to the film industry, only this time films were
being watched by streaming services rather than in theaters or on physical
media. She acquired a streaming channel called Crimes & Capers, as well a
film distribution service called Final Chance Films </i>(Their website is <a href="https://www.finalchancefilms.com/">here</a>.)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>As you can tell from this bio, Jackie has had a long
career with many accomplishments. In fact, neither Jackie nor I have the time
to go through everything she has done, but I wanted to get her film highlights.
I went to several of my film fanatic friends (also known as my film brothers-in-arms)
to make sure I did not overlook Jackie’s accomplishments. Special thanks to
Casey Scott, Chris Poggiali, and Art Ettinger for providing me with some
excellent questions to ask Jackie. But most of all, I want to thank Jackie for
letting me tell her long and impressive career.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-indent: -1.5in;"><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So what got you interested in
the film industry?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jackie Giroux: I
was from a very small town in rural Connecticut. Everybody became a teacher or
got married, and I had no interest in doing any of that. So, I hitchhiked to
New York when I was seventeen, and I auditioned for the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts. I had seen an ad in New York, and I just walked in and said, “I'd
like to audition.” And they said, “Do you have a scene?” I didn't even know
what a scene was. </p><p class="MsoNormal">So, I decided to ad lib something. Then they said to me, “Can you do any
Shakespeare?” I said, “I've got to be honest with you. I'm not even familiar
with Shakespeare.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">So, the person who interviewed me, an elderly man, said, “Tell me about
yourself.” I told him the whole story. I said, “I'm from Connecticut. I'm about
to graduate with about twenty-five kids in a small graduation class. I live on
a dirt road, and I have two jobs.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">He just
was blown away by me. He said, “I'm going to take you into the school as a
student.” I asked how much it cost. Now, keep in mind, this was a long time ago.
It was like $250 at that time, which today would be $1,000, I think. So, I
said, “I can't afford this.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, he gave me a scholarship. I got a year's scholarship at the American
Academy. So, then I was locked into acting.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
I was at the American Academy for probably two months when I was asked to be in
an off-Broadway play. The school had a policy that if you act and you got paid
for it, then you couldn’t go to school. And I thought to myself, <i>Well, okay,
I can go to school on a scholarship and make no money, or I can go act.</i> So,
I left school and went into acting because I got paid, right? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mean, I might have been from a small town,
but I had a few brains in my head, you know? And that's what started the whole
thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay. Your
first film, </i>The Cross and the Switchblade,<i> was very different film from the
other films you would later either act in or made. That was your debut, if I
understand that correctly.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: That's true. Yes, it was my
first film. Dick Ross was the producer, and he didn't want to hire me. He said
I looked too healthy. I have—I still do—a round face. I have a younger look,
but a fatter face, and Dick wanted someone more emaciated to play the drug
addict part that I was playing, which was based on a girl. I don't think they
could find her, but she wouldn't sign the contract even if they could. So, they
had to change her name from Maria to Rosa.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
And it was Don Murray who fought for me. He was the director, and he had done <i>The
Hoodlum Priest</i>, you know, and he was religious, but in a very different
religious way. When he acted, he would take part of his acting salary and go to
Europe and buy machinery for third-world country people to survive and produce
food.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And so he had a lot of instincts, and he saw a lot of purity in me, because,
again, I came from a small town. I didn't know anything about drugs. I never
even smoked marijuana. The strongest thing I'd ever had in my life at that point
was having a beer.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Don fought for me. He told Dick that I had the innocence of the character and
it didn't matter about the look. So anyway, he went out, and they hired me,
finally. I stayed with the movie after it was made. I toured with the film for
about six months. [<i>To watch the trailer for <b>The</b> <b>Cross and the
Switchblade</b>, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ANAyIQi8Y" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Really?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: I went to every single state
in the United States to help out that movie. And to tell my story, because
you've got to remember, this is going back to '67, '68. Drugs were not
prevalent at that time. All the heroin was up in Harlem. I had to go up to
Harlem with Reverend Wilkerson to learn about heroin and see real heroin
addicts because I didn't know. <br />
<br />
So when I toured with the film, I told those stories about the people I met,
and so they kept me on tour because I was selling out a lot of tickets.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah. I also
read that Erik Estrada confesses in his autobiography that he got interested in
you during the film. <o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizZ6ftzATOPhELRS0DFL5SSMBD9iQ-uyYZm3B0-_AcYyH8SpdLcm2ckOd9-SSpDfJwTDwjTNulhF34bW9rlajXLbti2PVbKPapm-Ss1yW0FjHTvxkh1tBHCgnjtt6WyXRiV9Vy-5wJzUBjqidLfCOgnLe3qAga8ourp99oaIxHxw7rfcecCE4Ls_6GSA=s247" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="247" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizZ6ftzATOPhELRS0DFL5SSMBD9iQ-uyYZm3B0-_AcYyH8SpdLcm2ckOd9-SSpDfJwTDwjTNulhF34bW9rlajXLbti2PVbKPapm-Ss1yW0FjHTvxkh1tBHCgnjtt6WyXRiV9Vy-5wJzUBjqidLfCOgnLe3qAga8ourp99oaIxHxw7rfcecCE4Ls_6GSA=w320-h264" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Erik Estrada and Jackie in </span><i style="font-size: 8pt;">The</i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 8pt;">Cross and the
Switchblade </i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1970)</span></b><span class="MsoCommentReference" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold;"> </span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh, you mean as a romantic
couple? He and I? Is that what you're saying?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah, that's
what I'm saying. He was thinking about it.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah. No, no. We were involved.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Oh, you were?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh, yeah, we were involved. I
mean, we worked very closely together, and he was a lot more experienced than I
was. He had lived in Harlem. Well, he was a funny guy. You know, if he really
wanted a part or something, he would go to this medium—I guess she was a medium
or something—and he would do all kinds of crazy things to get the part and
stuff. He was the first one who ever told me, “If you want to get into voodoo,
you put a dead chicken on somebody's door,” or something like that.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>What?</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: I mean, I remember like it was
yesterday. We didn't do it. But he said, “Hey, if somebody is really treating
you badly, go get a dead chicken and nail it to their door or something.” He
was a very outgoing person, far more outgoing than I was. At that time, I
wasn't hardly outgoing at all. And of course, that changed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Erik and I went to Serendipity's a lot, and we
hung around together. He was a lot more worldly than I was. And so we did
become involved, and then we just kind
of separated after the movie was over.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>And the movies
going forward were very different from </i>The Cross and the Switchblade<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah. I have to say, <i>The
Cross and the Switchblade</i> was a great experience for me because the
director, Don Murray, was so good. And I figured all directors would be that
good, but I later found out that wasn’t true. A lot of times I did things that
didn't turn out the way I hoped they would turn out because the directors were
not as good as Don Murray.</p><p class="MsoNormal">That movie got me to Hollywood, you know, and that was a good thing. I didn't
really want to go. I loved New York. I absolutely adored New York. I got an agency, William Morris, and the agent
believed in me. And then I moved on to agent Meyer Mishkin because of Richard
Dreyfuss. He was with Mishkin, and Richard and I became friends. And so the
rest is history. I just stayed out in LA and did what everybody else did, you
know. Try out for parts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>But the next
thing we get into, starting from that, there begins parts, and this is also where
we get to see the pseudonyms of Robyn Whitting and Valdesta.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, you can't work on a
non-union part if you’re in the Screen Actors Guild [SAG]. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>You
can now, though. Most people don't know this. A Screen Actors Guild actor or
actress can do one non-union part a year. But at that time, you couldn't. And I
wasn't getting the roles I was going up for because I was too ethnic-looking. I
had long black hair, dark brown eyes, and people would say, “She just looks
very ethnic.” They never said Spanish. They never said anything. They just said
Hispanic. They just said, “She's too ethnic for this.” And I wasn't getting any
roles. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj6DhpzyJUYq2HlbeEKEtTcFyazSq-fir7_7RVOG-qS2tXIYlHP5WGelaBRTIUCHOfQ9zJN5-HgtdvY2C37tDo8TOfbbM31Tz0GfebbR2u8Rj1i-h1M_Pm-CtjEZc5LMLFwFpEmU2WeOMo4gcqxFeNlxcC7qHB6Szu9wh9PD63yL9AeWj6Soh2WD7PtQ=s950" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj6DhpzyJUYq2HlbeEKEtTcFyazSq-fir7_7RVOG-qS2tXIYlHP5WGelaBRTIUCHOfQ9zJN5-HgtdvY2C37tDo8TOfbbM31Tz0GfebbR2u8Rj1i-h1M_Pm-CtjEZc5LMLFwFpEmU2WeOMo4gcqxFeNlxcC7qHB6Szu9wh9PD63yL9AeWj6Soh2WD7PtQ=s320" width="269" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 8pt;">Jackie Giroux headshot photo (1971)</b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And so what happened is I met people like Stu Segall,
a producer, who was in exploitation movies, and—I can't remember everybody's
name—but a guy with the last name Fredericks or something. They said to me, “You're
beautiful. You know, don't let Hollywood do this to you, and put you in a box. ”</p><p class="MsoNormal">
So I had to change my name in order to work non-SAG. I changed the name to
Robyn Whitting because of the fact that I had gone to UCLA, and I had trained
with a man called the Major, who was into regression and progression under hypnosis.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: And so in one of my past
lives, I saw the name Robyn Whitting, and that's the name I picked.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Even though
it's a very short role, you played Ed McMahon’s wife in </i>Slaughter’s Big
Rip-Off [1973] under the Jackie name<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah. Gordon Douglas directed that
movie. And I'm not quite sure how I got that role, to be honest with you. But I
guess the agent sent me up, and I auditioned and got the part. It was an
interesting role. I mean, it got me on <i>The Tonight Show</i>. I was on<i> The
Tonight Show </i>like, I don't know, six times or something, over a couple of
years. So it was a nice exposure part for me, because being on <i>The Tonight
Show</i> was great exposure at that time.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ed and I became great friends. I used to go to
his house. Ed had a butler, and the butler would drive him around. I had never
seen that. I didn't know that people could have a butler. Again, I came from a
small town. And this man lived with him, drove him around, and did his clothes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But the
best thing about Ed was his sense of humor. I mean, just like what you saw on <i>The
Tonight Show</i> was exactly how he was. He was just really a phenomenal person. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I want to talk
about some of the other movies you did during the seventies. The first one is </i>Drive-In</b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><b>Massacre<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: I'm amazed by that because I never saw the
film. You're the third person who's asked me about that movie.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>And
I don't know why I didn't see it—whether when they screened it and I was out of
town. Because normally, every movie you made at that time—not always today, but
at that time—they screened them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Drive-In Massacre</i> was Stu Segall, and I don't remember where I met him. But
he was a writer-director-producer who later became very, very successful. He
did <i>Hunter</i> with Stephen Cannell, and <i>A Team</i> and a bunch of TV. He
became extremely powerful in the industry, and a great producer.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
So anyway, he hired me for that movie. I don't know why exactly. All I did in
the movie as I recall was went around screaming at the drive-in, when the theater
people's heads were rolling out of cars and the maniac was on the loose. It was
a nice experience, except it was all filmed night, so it was pretty grueling. But
yeah, it's turned into kind of a cult horror movie, I guess. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-ab5TEVNJam5v9A82f4UiHRws44njsyy01qzrdACQzI0uk8hVgo-9EFNaaGdo4exV42txhIBau0a1DeyadnGgyyNl7wRlkSvIQG0fzdHaXY1BBKAWap9ARKurGW4XqTIUlIc_MhSh8DpKa2_d5jsS7uDFJXCgdxQnaLw5U8EmtJnCRN8pwWcrjqCblA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="300" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-ab5TEVNJam5v9A82f4UiHRws44njsyy01qzrdACQzI0uk8hVgo-9EFNaaGdo4exV42txhIBau0a1DeyadnGgyyNl7wRlkSvIQG0fzdHaXY1BBKAWap9ARKurGW4XqTIUlIc_MhSh8DpKa2_d5jsS7uDFJXCgdxQnaLw5U8EmtJnCRN8pwWcrjqCblA=w187-h283" width="187" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Drive-In Massacre </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(1976) (Jackie is in the acting credits under Valdesta)</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I'm going to
talk about another cult movie, </i>Ilsa She Wolf of the SS<i>, even though
you're not credited for it.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh yeah, that’s right. I don't
remember his first name, but his last name is Fredericks or Frederickson or something.
I don't know. But that was really interesting, because even though that was
exploitation, it was a strong movie about prisoners in a German camp. And that
affected me, you know, really, really badly, because if I remember correctly, I
had to cut somebody's throat in that movie. I remember they said, “You have to
get it right on one take. We can only do this once.” And I was going like, “Well,
what if it goes through and really cuts his throat?” They said, “Don’t worry
about it. Just do it.” I was really affected by that because it had a real
strong core of truth to it, what they were doing to people in concentration
camps. And nobody was making movies like that at that time. I really enjoyed
making the movie because I learned a lot about history even though it was,
again, exploitation. Dyanne Thorne, the lead, she was pretty big in the
industry. I really didn't know her when I did the movie. She wasn't like the
kind of person that became friends with you or anything. [<i>To watch the
trailer for Ilsa, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsWUBnH-Rnc" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I have a bunch
of friends who are real versed in seventies low-budget films and they had some
questions. First, I'm going to ask about you about playing Snow <a>White in </a></i>Cinderella 2000<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKtZOmnFI0lNNep5IjUKFHZmYz7LAwr0nfrjePBtKQQIYHVM40VbD-fWamREZnFoi2XTg0ZLVZU9-8h9cZZtKPcZxlRrSiqX9B6XyE6eNEr-fPvGUQY0Nve9pG2K0Vs_dnufQm-psOTgmOU9yf1eCO1x_qOF4p5C9d0N3eobQmwCSMxzOTPCZhLxvfiA=s400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="341" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKtZOmnFI0lNNep5IjUKFHZmYz7LAwr0nfrjePBtKQQIYHVM40VbD-fWamREZnFoi2XTg0ZLVZU9-8h9cZZtKPcZxlRrSiqX9B6XyE6eNEr-fPvGUQY0Nve9pG2K0Vs_dnufQm-psOTgmOU9yf1eCO1x_qOF4p5C9d0N3eobQmwCSMxzOTPCZhLxvfiA=s320" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Jackie in </span><i style="font-size: 8pt;">New York News Magazine </i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(1974)</span></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah, I don't really remember
too much about that. I did a lot of films, so there's some that I remember
because of a great experience or a great director, or I just really liked the
story. But then there's others that I don't really recall. And I know I'm in
the movie, but I really couldn't tell you much about it because I don't recall
that much.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Another question is about </i>Regina<i>, which was a mid-seventies
movie that was advertised as "an action-packed love story in rock opera
style." You played a skydiver and race car driver in that movie."
Ring a bell, by any chance?</i></b></p></div><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yes, I remember <i>Regina,</i> which we filmed on weekends.
I nearly got killed on a motorcycle driving in the film. It slid on a
corner that had sand on it. The director said, "Hey we're losing the
light . . . get back on the bike and try not to fall." [laughs] <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>that
is independent film making. I also had to jump out of a plane because I
was told the stunt double got injured. I never thought that if the stunt
double got injured, what could happen to me. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i></i></b><b><i>JC: Very brave woman. </i></b><b><i>You met cinematographer Gary Graver.
How did you two meet? You two have a very long working relationship in movies.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Very long, yeah. Gary did a
lot of different types of movies, from being Ron Howard's DOP [director of photography] all<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>the way down to doing porno films. And with
the pseudonym Robert McCallum.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
But next door to me was a production manager who did a lot of low-budget movies
and knew Gary. And he introduced us. And so what happened was Gary came to me
and said, “You know, you're a good writer, and why don't you write some films
and I'll get them made?” And so that's what I did. I started writing for Gary and
a bunch of other people. And then if it became a porno film, they would just
take my story and then put the sex in it because I didn't do porno films. I did
exploitation. I did nudity. But I didn't do porno.</p><p class="MsoNormal">JC: <b><i>One of my friends is a
major adult film historian. He had a <a>question about one of the adult films that you
wrote for Gary. You also acted in it where you played Bonnie as in Bonnie and
Clyde for </a></i>Garage Girls [1980]<i>.
</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, again, it's not a story
I remember that much about, but I do remember that we had to drive this old
car. I don't even remember the guy who played Clyde, but he was a good actor. I
remember we had to drive through a mural or something. Gary played the painter
who had just painted the mural, a French painter, and we had to drive through
it. We had to do it in one take because there was no other mural. And we didn't
have a lot of money to make these pictures, you know. We shot it in San
Francisco, because I remember driving that old car down these hills, and I was
just praying that the brakes were good, you know, because San Francisco has a
lot of hills.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>The other
question is about working with adult filmmaker Ted Paramore. My friend wanted
to know what was it like working with Ted.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, you know, when I first
met Ted, he was with his wife—I don't remember her name—but they were still
together in a house in the Hollywood Hills. And Ted said to me, “I need
writers, so you write them, and then I will put the sex in them. You don't have
to worry about that. You know, we'll add that later, because, I mean, how do
you write about sex?”</p><p class="MsoNormal">
So anyway, I started writing for Ted, and then eventually I was making a lot of
money. I mean, he was shooting like a film a month. And yeah, and it was so
funny, because one of the films I had written won the Best Adult Film and the
Best Writer. And my husband at the time was horrified. He said, “You can't go.” And I go, “But I
want to go.” And he said, “No, you can't go.” So I said, “How about I wear a
blonde wig and then no one will know it's me?” And he said, “Oh, okay.” And then about two months later I went
blonde with my real hair.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcumA67D7rEc7BRoYy24a6tdsG_ccuLSQdSpm1UNpO-j9J9WuANXdH-PwfnliurY5IRZE5BHW_RQIR3xXi8kznHt_QeN2rp1lFbM05wpK06V3EK6hu4c1VRJrIdD_zDqRtIHzqfPSSo4ODmWckm8lSLu2d2Dm5QijvUXbIKQPSfKOhZDpq0_bMis7OlA=s612" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcumA67D7rEc7BRoYy24a6tdsG_ccuLSQdSpm1UNpO-j9J9WuANXdH-PwfnliurY5IRZE5BHW_RQIR3xXi8kznHt_QeN2rp1lFbM05wpK06V3EK6hu4c1VRJrIdD_zDqRtIHzqfPSSo4ODmWckm8lSLu2d2Dm5QijvUXbIKQPSfKOhZDpq0_bMis7OlA=s320" width="223" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><b>Blonde Jackie and her then-husband Steve Railsback (year
unknown)</b></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC: You did more than just
adult films with Gary.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Basically, Gary and I became
very, very good friends, and for a short time, I was on the male tennis circuit
as a photojournalist. And when I quit that, Gary was the one in 1980 who said, “Why
don't you become a still photographer and do my movies with me, and we could
shoot for Ron Howard and Orson Welles and a lot of other people too.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You starred in
one of the films that Gary did. It was the </i>Trick or Treats<i> movie.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yes. Mm-hmm. Well, Gary and I
kind of worked together on that. He had the idea, and he was in with Lone Star,
and I can't remember that guy’s name. There were three men. And one of them
liked me, and he said, “Gary, I'll give you $100,000 if you get Jackie to take
off her clothes in the movie.” And I thought that was kind of odd because I had
taken my clothes off in a lot of other movies. But at this time, I was married,
I was doing more straight roles, you know. So anyway, so we devised the shower
scene where I was nude, but there was plastic, so all you see is a silhouette. You
really didn't see the nudity. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We did it for $100,000. And we actually opened
the movie in New York. It was in the middle of a snowstorm. And it was not
Halloween. It was after Halloween. So it kind of was stupid, the way that Lone
Star took the movie out—it was just dumb, to be honest with you. Just dumb. You
don't take a Halloween movie out in the middle of a snowstorm around Christmas.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay. It was
around Christmas. Not a good idea. But in the film, you’re a babysitter, and
the kid you’re babysitting plays pranks on you. He is driving you so crazy that
I think you’re about to kill the kid himself before the killer arrives to the
house.</i></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: The kid—that was Chris—that
was Gary's son. Chris wanted to be an
actor, and I've seen Chris now in his adult age. But in that movie, he’s a kid so advanced
in his thinking and tenacious.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>I don't know. It was quite a different
story.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I wonder if he
or any of you thought about </i>Trick or Treats<i> when you watched </i>Home
Alone<i>, because Macaulay Culkin was a little like the kid you were
babysitting.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: No, that [<i>Home Alone</i>] came
much later. I mean, <i>Home Alone</i> was its own different animal because it
really was a clever movie, and what we did was a quasi-horror picture. It never
really qualified as being a true horror picture, you know?</p><p class="MsoNormal">Look at the cast of that. Carrie Snodgress was married
to Neil Young at the time, you know, which makes me laugh, because now Neil
Young hates Joe Rogan. I mean, God, Carrie was a lot worse than Joe Rogan was,
and Neil was married to her. You know, we shot in their house.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So it was shot
in Neil Young's house, then?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: That’s right. It was in Neil
Young's house where we shot that movie in. And I mean, Tim Rossovich, the
football player, was in it. And David Carradine was in it. I mean, what a funny
guy. I so enjoyed working with him. He was out there, but he wasn't nuts. He
was far from being nuts. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah. I'm
curious, with Carradine, his character tries to make a pass at you when you just
came in to do your babysitting.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh yeah, he tried to make a
pass at me, and then Carrie came in and broke it up. But yeah, it was a nice
moment between us, I thought. He was really easy to act opposite. I think what
Gary was trying to say is the whole world was a little nuts, you know. And he's
right. It is. Especially now, it's really nuts. But yeah, it was Gary's sense
of humor. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and it came out in that film.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But for its day, you know, $100,000 on film was
pretty good. And they made their money back, that's for damn sure. [<i>To watch
the </i><b>Trick or Treats </b><i>trailer, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSeXLPdaSOg" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.]</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Orson Welles is
in the credits of that movie as magical advisor.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh, well, you know, Gary was
Orson's DOP. He did all those commercials, you know—Paul Masson wines, and
several magic shows. Orson was really big into magic, and Gary shot all of his
magic shows on tour. And, yeah, I don't think Orson was in the movie, though. I
don't recall—</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>No, he isn't,
but he gets a credit as magical advisor.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, Gary and Orson were
really good friends. So that's possible.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Did you have
any personal involvement with Orson?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, Orson was a bit
difficult. I don't remember what I did. I was the still photographer on his
stuff, and Gary was the DOP. Orson would walk on the set, and he would say to Gary,
after Gary lit the entire set, “I don't like that light there. Move it over
there.” He always found fault with what Gary did. And I thought, <i>God, what a
nasty person.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">But later I realized he was teaching Gary that there was more than one way to
light a set. He was a great teacher, Orson Welles.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, we were doing that wine commercial, and honest to God, I don't remember
what I did, but I did something that he didn't like, and he yelled at me. I
mean, at the top of his lungs, “Jackie, you know . . . blah blah blah.” I don't
remember what he said, but I was
horrified.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
But after that day's shot was over, he came up to me and apologized and gave me
a $100 bill. I mean, that's the kind of
guy Orson was. You know? And several times he'd say to Gary, “Oh, I love this
restaurant in North Hollywood.” And he would say, “Oh, bring Jackie over. Let's
have lunch.” And we would sit outside at that time. You know, it was a pretty
crazy place.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He would have lunch with us for three or four
hours, and drink wine. He’d order different wines and different foods. And he
would talk about when he was in France and England. Orson Welles had quite a
life, and he loved to talk about it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
When he wasn't working, he was really an excellent, wonderful person. But when
he worked, he had this other side to him, you know? So anyway, what can I tell
you?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You managed to get into an A-list film, </i>To
Live and Die in LA<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, when I went out for <i>To
Live and Die in L.A. </i>for Billy Friedkin . . . I mean, that was an
interesting story.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Because, you know, I felt Billy wasn't going
to hire me because, again, I wasn't a big name. And a lot of the people that
were being auditioned were bigger stars than I was. And so when I went in the room
to audition, he said, “Oh, that was really good.” And I said, “Well, you're not
going to hire me anyway.” So he said, “Well, what do you mean?” And I said, “Well,
you're going to hire a name, you know, and that's what everybody does in this
town. You bring in everybody to justify the Screen Actors Guild that's you're
seeing people, but you always turn around and hire the star.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">And he hired me. If you look closely at his
career, he's had a lot of stars out of a lot of unknowns.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Right.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah. John Turturro, Willem
Dafoe, Billy Petersen. They're all in <i>To Live and Die in L.A</i>. So Billy had
this ability to really read into people, and he was a very good director. Now
having said that, at that time, you know, Billy was the one who suggested I
start producing movies. And he suggested that because I was always on the set
watching him, where the other actors were in their dressing rooms. And he would
say to me, “Why are you here?” And I said, “I really want to learn about
filmmaking.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>I didn't think I could be a director. But I
wanted to see all the nuts and bolts of making a movie. ”</p><p class="MsoNormal">He was the first director of the first movie I did that took their time.
Everything I did was like you were done after one or two takes. Master medium
shot, close up. That's it. And he actually would try different things. I
learned a lot from watching him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And so when he was in the editing room, he cut it up at Universal. I had a
house near Universal Studios, and he invited me up there. I thought, <i>Oh, he
wants me to see the picture. </i>And I go up there, and he said, “I want to
tell you something. You’re a really good actress. But we're going to have to
cut a lot of you out, and other women, too, because you're not with the lead
actor, you’re with John Turturro, the bad guy, and blah blah blah. ”</p><p class="MsoNormal">And I said, “Why are you cutting me out?” And he said, “Because I have to do a
car chase. “</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Oh yes.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: And I go, “So what?” He said, “Well,
the car chase has to be seven to ten minutes, so I have to cut something out of
the picture. And women do not sell tickets. So here's my suggestion to you. Why
don't you start producing? Because there's not many women producers.” And one
year from that day I did my first movie I produced.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>We're going to
go into your career as a film producer. The first one you did was </i>Distortions
[1988]<i>. So that was the first beginning of your producing?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: <i>Distortions</i> was a year
after Friedkin told me, “Go find a script and work on it.” Yeah, that was the
first one. First of all, <i>Distortions</i> was great for me because it was a
thriller, and thrillers are cheap to make. Originally, the budget was $1.5
million. Bob Rehme was at New World at that time thought it was $1.5 million. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH03TeoHe2ry3UZ0laQf2TmsQcwEVEDIRlR9rd-D9Q24UBXwmMLpwtyRt4QRVsAWAoRLVy6XXc5OtIkSeLYYloFx95iuHzKnjU4VyxyXh46NmOStG0n83CC2ee1TUbVgBd0jsfmWiYHWT8Vumtt8IwrtPLqXJ3jUrGOfhHgxiNk4g8j3n8QnqoXznvnQ=s1514" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1514" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH03TeoHe2ry3UZ0laQf2TmsQcwEVEDIRlR9rd-D9Q24UBXwmMLpwtyRt4QRVsAWAoRLVy6XXc5OtIkSeLYYloFx95iuHzKnjU4VyxyXh46NmOStG0n83CC2ee1TUbVgBd0jsfmWiYHWT8Vumtt8IwrtPLqXJ3jUrGOfhHgxiNk4g8j3n8QnqoXznvnQ=s320" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Distortions </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">poster
(1988)</span></b></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Well, guess what? We made the picture for
$430,000. And what I want to say is that no one was thinking thrillers at that
time. I was told this movie was going to be the kiss of death because there
were no thrillers and I had to do action pictures. And I said I didn't want to
do an action picture. So anyway, we made <i>Distortions</i>, and it didn't win,
but it went to a competition at Cannes. It got me to meet a lot of heavyweights,
such as the head of Columbia, and at Universal when Pollock was running it. I
got to meet Pollock. I got to meet a lot of heavyweights from doing that one
movie, so it helped my career a lot.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Then, from there, I got signed by Charles Fries, and I was the first female
producer he ever hired, but that turned into a nightmare because his sons
didn't get along. They had Tom on the eleventh floor, and Butch on the twelfth floor,
and they hated each other. I remember cutting <i>Deadly Intent</i><i> </i>[1988], my second film, and Tom
would say “Do this,” and I'd do it, and then Butch Fries would say, “I don't
like that. Take it out. Do this.” And then I would do that. It went back and
forth. I was like cutting that picture forever.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I got smart. I had a contract for six months, and it went into eight months
because of the stupidity of editing. So I wrote myself another check for
$35,000, and they went ballistic. And I said, “But, guys, my contract ended at
six months, and we're now eight months. You have to pay me double.” And they
did. They couldn't do anything about it because I was right, so I thought, <i>Well, if
you guys want to dick around, I can dick around too.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">I had a three-picture deal with them, and I was supposed to do a second picture.
And it was a picture I had found called <i>Escape to Canada</i>, which I wish to hell we had made it,
because it's so timely, like today, with what's going on with the virus and
everything.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Jimmy Woods wanted to do it. I'd known Jimmy for many, many years. Jimmy
and I got together, and he goes, “Yeah, I want to do this.” And then Sharon
Stone wanted to do it. And Sharon wasn't
a big actress at that time. So I went to Chuck, the head honcho, and he said, “Oh, we're
not going to do this picture.” And I went, “Why?” And he said, “We're going to
do a horror movie. You're going to produce this movie,” and he gave it to me.
The script was so horrible. I had a young daughter and it was like, “I'm sorry,
I can't do this film.” “Well, you have to.” And I said, “No,” and I walked out.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Now . . . I want to tell you another story. This
is interesting. There was a guy named Peter Iliff, and he’d just wrote a script that
Antonio Banderas starred in for Millennium. Peter came to my house—I had an
office in back of my house—and said, “I have a great script called <i>Prayer of
the Rollerboys</i>.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay. Yeah. I've
heard of that.</i></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: And I read it, and I loved it.
I brought it to Chuck Fries, and Chuck wouldn't do it. I said, “Well, let me
out of my contract. I would like to do it.” And they wouldn't do that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So I brought it to Academy Video, who had bought <i>Distortion</i>. They were a
pretty big outfit. And I got the movie partially financed. I was instrumental
in bringing Corey Haim to that movie. Corey and I remained friends. The Frieses wouldn't let me out of my contract, but I
met Corey Haim, which helped me later on in life producing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>But the next film
you did, </i>Forever<i>, actually has stars. Sean Young was a big deal at the
time. Keith Coogan had just done </i>Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,<i>
and in 1987, Sally Kirkland had gotten nominated for </i>Anna<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: There was Diane Ladd. She got
nominated for <i>Rambling Rose </i>right after my movie <i>Forever</i> wrapped.
It was originally called <i>Hollywoodland</i>, and it was about the death of
William Desmond Taylor, the director. [<i>William Desmond Taylor was a silent
film director who was mysteriously murdered.</i>] I wrote it with Tom Palmer,
and we thought we had what really happened. We thought we had the true story,
and we still believe we have the true story. We shot it in my house, which was
a nightmare, but we made that movie for $600,000.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Pretty aggressive. We were the first people to
use lasers in special effects. No one had ever done it before. And so we were
ahead of our time, to be honest with you. We were way ahead of our time. And it
wasn't a well-received movie. In fact, I'm glad you're bringing this up because
I<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>bought a streaming channel, Crimes &
Capers, and that's one of the movies that will be streaming on it. We’re going
to play <i>Forever</i> because a lot of people have never seen it. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I interviewed
Keith Coogan about the film. He tells me he came in at the very last minute.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh, well, that's because I
wanted Brad Pitt. Yeah. And Brad Pitt wanted to do it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Oh, he did?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: But keep in mind, Brad had
only done one movie at that time. So Keith did come in last, and to be quite
frank with you, he wasn't the right actor for the part.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>That's fine.
He's told me that too.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: He was the wrong actor. It's
not that he's not a good actor. They wanted him because he was a television actor,
Keith Coogan, at that time. And he's a nice guy, and he is a good actor, but just
not for that role. I mean, when he does that bathtub love scene with Sean
Young, it looks like she could eat him alive. [<i>To watch what almost was Brad
Pitt’s first starring role, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4-b5cgaTrc" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i> on this
music video featuring images of </i><b>Forever</b><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm not trying put down Keith at all. That's
not what I'm trying to do here. I'm just telling you, look at Brad—and I don't
mean today Brad Pitt. Look at Brad Pitt in his early days, even before he did <i>Seven</i>.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>Look at Brad Pitt and look at Keith Coogan.
They're two different actors. I mean, you wouldn't go out there and hire Tom
Cruise to do a Will Ferrell job. You wouldn't do it. And I kept trying to tell
everybody.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Triad was the distributor, and I say that
lightly because they really had a deal with—I can’t remember . . . Steven Paul's
company. I mean, this story is incredible. They changed the title from <i>Hollywoodland
</i>to <i>Forever</i>. And they really wanted the movie because Steven Paul was
going to sell three of his movies with my movie, so he would split all the
money four ways, but it was my movie that had the draw power. And I didn't take
lightly to that, and I told them all where to go. I did it for the actors and
for the people who worked so hard on that movie, and then just got screwed by
Triad and Steven Paul and everybody who was involved with him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And it wasn't right. So nobody saw the movie because it was a dollars-and-cents
film to pocket. It wasn't the movie it should have been. It was ahead of its
time. But we're going to play it on Crimes & Capers, our streaming channel,
and we'll let people make their own judgment call at this time.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>There is
another film I saw where you were behind the camera: </i>Tryst<i>.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah, with Barbara Carrera?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah, I produced that as well.
That was an interesting story. At that time, <i>Tryst</i> got picked up by
Orion. <i>Tryst</i> was actually for a small company, and they said to me, “If
you can bring in some names, we'll give you the money to make the picture, but
you have to finish it in four months.” And I said, “Oh, my God, that's a tight
window.” We shot over Thanksgiving. We shot in Santa Barbara. And we finished
it in four months, and we finished it during an earthquake as well.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The picture got picked up by MGM. Chris McGurk, who now runs Cinedigm, he came
in to see it. He didn't stay for the whole picture, but he said it looked so
good.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We actually hired a DOP who was an artist. I can't remember his name, but God,
he was great. And he used a lot of colors in that. McGurk said to me on the way
out of the screening room, “I don't even care what the picture's about. It
looks so good. We're going to buy it.” And he took it. [<i>To watch the trailer
for </i><b>Tryst</b><i>,<b> </b>click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09phN2K4gk0" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.]</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I remember
there was one other film I saw. You reteamed with Sean Young. Richard Grieco
was in it</i></b>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh my God, they hated each
other.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Oh, they hated
each other?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Oh my God. That was a nightmare. Oh, God almighty. I
don't know what I can say about <i>Bolt</i>. That was the one you're talking
about.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Right. That's
it. Yeah.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Somebody else had written the
script. I liked the script. I rewrote it. Chuck Smiley came in from to produce
it in Canada. We were at Cannes when the deal was made. I was told if I can get
Richard Grieco and Sean Young, the picture will be financed. So I went back,
and Grieco's agent wouldn't even talk to me. I mean, he was so, “You know, you
don't have enough money . . . you know, you're nobody, blah, blah, blah.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, there was a big club at that time where Richard hung out, and I hung
out at the club, and I could try to talk to him, and of course, he didn’t want
talk to me. One night, I followed him home. And the next day I went there, and
I stood on my car and I jumped over his fence. He had a privacy fence, and I
jumped over it. I scared the hell out of him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I said, “Look, let me tell you, you have four bikes in here. Four Harleys.” And
he said, “Yeah.” I said, “Would you like a fifth one?” And he said, “Yeah.” I
said, “Which one?” He said, “A lowrider.” I said, “Okay, if I can get you a lowrider,
will you do this movie?” And he said “Yeah. Let me read it,” and then he said “Yeah.”
His agent was pissed. And I said, “Too bad.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then we went to Canada, and he got paid. He wasn't paid scale [<i>scale is the
minimum an actor can get paid]</i> or anything. I mean, he got paid well.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So anyway, we made the movie. Richard and Sean didn't like each other. We had
cut a couple of love scenes that just were taken out, just totally gone. And
nobody wanted to stand behind the picture.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I guess we'll be playing that on Crimes &
Capers, my new streaming channel, because nobody saw it. And all these movies I
produced have reverted back to my company. We’re going to play them on Crimes
& Capers, and the people will make up their minds if they like it or not. Not
a distributor. People. The audience. Movies are not made for distributors. They're
made for audiences. And if a distributor won't show it to anybody, how does the
audience know it exists? They don't.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB2d5XT-vGa9oObWDWkwugS63Hbs5wJzJ4UY9H4EFL6nBa2wOFk7fSyXIwZwNR1gDuSorKl91g2CbE9VfSG5DogTIRxnTHV3S80-JhnpEiiQqmg4-8GEEiN9JK8WTZN5r-oQhtyuEm6SqHAOfkrNhiL_kLbI2mH4VHOtnempYLUpfI_rN7YseL_N_xFw=s1481" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB2d5XT-vGa9oObWDWkwugS63Hbs5wJzJ4UY9H4EFL6nBa2wOFk7fSyXIwZwNR1gDuSorKl91g2CbE9VfSG5DogTIRxnTHV3S80-JhnpEiiQqmg4-8GEEiN9JK8WTZN5r-oQhtyuEm6SqHAOfkrNhiL_kLbI2mH4VHOtnempYLUpfI_rN7YseL_N_xFw=s320" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><b>Bolt (under alternate title </b></span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><b>Rebel Run,</b><i><b> 1995</b>)</i></span><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></i></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I
want to talk about several of other films you produced. One of them you directed.
How was it as a director?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, let me tell you why I
started directing. I couldn't raise enough money to produce films and get a
director for the kind of wages. Directors were starting to get more and more
money, and I couldn't get it in the budget.</p><p class="MsoNormal">You know, everybody thinks it's so easy to go out and get a star. I just
finished a screenplay and got it to a star. He wants $1 million. And then you
go to a distributor, they say, “He's not worth $1 million.” This is how it goes
down.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And so at that time, with the budgets I was given, and the one you're talking
about, which I believe is <i>Coo Coo Café</i>, I was told, “We have $100,000. Do
you have a screenplay with a couple of names in it?” And anyway, I said, “Yeah,
I can get Barbara Carrera and Wayne Rogers.” “Great. We'll give you the
$100,000.” Well, guess what? It was $100,000 Canadian, which was really $68,000
USD at that time. I didn't know that. That was the first picture on a Canon XL1.
That's what we shot that picture on.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We had to cross the border from the United States into Canada, and then hide
the equipment. We didn't have work permits. You know? And we had to hide
everybody. We were just tourists. Now luckily, nobody knew what a Canon XL1 was
at that time. It looked small and didn’t look like a movie camera. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7kfZs7Z0mzO2I2mlDItcftcwZn9OX1wiuQsG80hricLpIWNYdasARh0LQqLTRD8HBSE32Xq94QsPlmirOpZtD-2oRCGMoA4VD8sQfSFIGktPcJyQj_TkUyWZctE8Ymp6dKgrklMtObBqVNOl0HCybKkq_kLnNaYc9QJ6qOO1BVEgEdmQgxDXiovMitA=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7kfZs7Z0mzO2I2mlDItcftcwZn9OX1wiuQsG80hricLpIWNYdasARh0LQqLTRD8HBSE32Xq94QsPlmirOpZtD-2oRCGMoA4VD8sQfSFIGktPcJyQj_TkUyWZctE8Ymp6dKgrklMtObBqVNOl0HCybKkq_kLnNaYc9QJ6qOO1BVEgEdmQgxDXiovMitA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; text-align: left;"> <b>A Canon XL1 camera</b></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
So luckily, you know, we got in. Well, that came back to bite me later on too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But anyway, basically, we'd go up there, and the executive producer said to me,
“I didn't believe you were coming.” I said, “Well, we're here.” He goes, “I
don't have the hotel rooms or anything.” And I said, “Okay.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">So we go to nice hotel, and it was like midnight. I walked in there and asked for the manager. Of course, no manager was
on at midnight, so I said to the woman, “Look,
we're doing a movie, and we have Barbara Carrera, Wayne Rogers, and here's a
few other actors in the picture, and we need rooms.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">So she called the manager and got him up, and he said, “Well, how much can you
afford?” And I said, “Well, I'm going to put up my credit card, so probably $25
a night. And again, I was thinking USD. That would have been like $10 or $11 Canadian.”
And he said, “Okay. How long are you going to be here?” “Two weeks.” “Okay. And
you'll give us a credit in the movie?” “Yeah.” “Yeah. Okay.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">Our bar bill was the biggest expense on that entire film. We drank champagne
like you wouldn't believe. The first day we walked on the set. Now keep in
mind, I had never directed before. But I had Gary, and I knew Gary would watch
my ass, you know?</p><p class="MsoNormal">When we walked on the set, the executive
producer said, “Okay, you're going to shoot in this pizzeria.” I said, “People
can't eat here while we're shooting. I mean, I've got a sound problem.” “Well,
I can't shut down the restaurant,” he said. So we had to shoot nights. </p><p class="MsoNormal">We were in the middle of a snow blizzard. It
was the end of November, the beginning of December. It was a blizzard in New
Brunswick, you know, and we were freezing cold.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, if you look at that movie, we made it for $68,000, and we had a lift—we
didn't have a dolly. We used the carriages from grocery stores. And we used a tree
cutter and a cherry picker to get the high-up shots down. And look at
the picture, for $68,000, you know? But again, it was shot on a Canon XL1, and
it had a different look. And that threw a lot of people off, and it got its
money back, but not much more than that. You’ll see it on Crimes & Capers.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I want to talk
about </i>The Hostage Game [2010]<i>.</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span><b>This <i>would be Corey Haim's last movie.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: It was, yes. And that was
originally called <i>American Sunset</i>, and it was called <i>American Sunset</i>
because it was supposed to be taking place in America, but the distributor
didn't like the name, so he changed it to <i>The Hostage Game</i>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I was in Canada producing that movie, and we
had a female actress who raised her rate. And I said, “I can't afford to pay
you this.” And she said, “Too bad, I'm not showing up.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">I turned around and rewrote the part for a male rather than a female, and I
called up Corey, and Corey said, “I'll do it for your rate.” Now Corey got sick
on that picture—he got bronchitis. So I went online and started hiring a new
actor to take some of the slack off of him because he was sick, really sick. And
so basically, he was a joy to work with. I mean, Corey knew every line. He
never argued with the director. And he was easygoing, a lot of fun, great
stories.</p><p class="MsoNormal">During that movie, <i>The</i> <i>Hostage Game</i>, a good friend of both of
ours, Marc
Rocco, died. He was the son of Alex Rocco, the actor. [<i>Marc is also the director of </i><b>Dream
a Little Dream </b><i>and </i><b>Murder in the First</b><i>.</i>] I got Marc
his first camera. I knew Marc because I bought Alex Rocco's house. Alex was a
good actor. He was in <i>The Godfather</i>. So I knew Marc. I knew all of Alex's
kids, and I knew his first wife, Sandy.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Marc died while we were making <i>The</i> <i>Hostage Game</i>. It was very
shocking. He was very young.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>And so we were both very disturbed by that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Corey wanted to go to the funeral, but they told him in Canada that they
weren't going to let him back in if he left. So he couldn't leave. Then, by the
time we finished the movie, he couldn't get into America, either.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Oh. Why not?</i></b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Yeah, because he owed taxes or
something. It was like a harrowing story. But he did get in. We got him a
lawyer, and he went in through upstate New York, Niagara Falls. So he did get back
into the country, but the lawyer had to get him back in. People don't understand
that actors rely on other people, and if those people don't do what they're
supposed to do, that's what happens. They get behind on their taxes. I think
Chris Rock is going through that right now, And of course, we all know about
Wesley Snipes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, the bottom line of this is that Corey
was a joy to work with. He wasn't using drugs. Everybody said, “Oh, he died because
of a drug overdose.” No, he didn't. He died because the bronchitis went into
pneumonia, and his lungs were large. I wasn't there where he died, but the next
day I was there with his mother. And she said he kept saying, “I don't feel
well.” They brought a doctor—he was staying at that time at Oakwood Suites. The
doctor went over there. The doctors gave him medicine. But what the doctor
didn't recognize was that there was so much fluid on his lungs, and his lungs
were overextended. They were large.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Now that could have been from drug use in the past, or it could have just been
from a long infection. We don't really know. But the bottom line is that he
died in her arms. And it's very, very sad because he should have been in the freaking
hospital.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8mK2oDhzXus1i_6Z6wVXImDPt2KbryP4zaTz4n655zNF2vIF0z3OTqCXFmz3xUupGLfubEFNH9Zsnxfk2MTkfvbNG2VU3bdujoSHu9EGjjdwHhQtaSFVDfLo8jzP5H0aN1FdbwUKlJJs4Yh_IS58rDkDawqRBEPr_pLviz8AtxhU-xQtFqebHeLpKhQ=s300" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8mK2oDhzXus1i_6Z6wVXImDPt2KbryP4zaTz4n655zNF2vIF0z3OTqCXFmz3xUupGLfubEFNH9Zsnxfk2MTkfvbNG2VU3bdujoSHu9EGjjdwHhQtaSFVDfLo8jzP5H0aN1FdbwUKlJJs4Yh_IS58rDkDawqRBEPr_pLviz8AtxhU-xQtFqebHeLpKhQ" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Jackie being interviewed about </span><i style="font-size: 8pt;">The</i><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 8pt;">Hostage Game
(2010)</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Looking at the
IMDB right now, and after 2010, it sounds like you took a break from it. Is
that what happened?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: In <i>Coo Coo Café</i>, at the end of it,
you will see the FoneFriend. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>It’s actually used in the movie. It was free
long-distance phone calling. And it's at the end of the movie. I have a blurb
there, and it says, “Yes, this really works.” Well, from that movie, that
company raised about a half a million dollars, and I was asked to run the
company. So I moved to Carlsbad [California], and I had to quit the movie
business. I was doing commercials for it, and I was traveling to Europe a lot. And
then I took the company public. After a couple of years, Infinicall took it
over, and we sold off to Skype. So that’s what happened and why I wasn't in the
movie business.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I don't know if
you can talk about it, but I'm looking at an upcoming project you have. This
one has Mike Tyson in it.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, you know what? I was
supposed to do it with Wesley Snipes. It's called <i>Rockland Boulevard</i>. Mike
Tyson wanted to do it, and Snipes said he would do it. It took us about a year to raise the money. When
the real estate market crashed, it sort of busted the movie business. If we can
speak frankly, everybody was going into a tizzy. So yeah, it took us a year to
raise the money, and then Snipes wanted $1 million. And the distributor said, “No, he's not worth
$1 million.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">By the time we were doing <i>Rockland</i>,
there was no video business anymore—that was completely erased. Theatrical
release was how many companies?<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>Not that many for the US. There was no
video, very limited theatres for US, and all that was left is pay TV and cable
TV. That was it. It's a pretty skinny market for a lot of films in the US. The
budget on the film was like $3 million. I couldn't give Wesley Snipes $1
million. There was no way I could do that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And so I went foreign. I got one company, Millennium, and they called Snipes up.
I don't know if they talked to Snipes or what, but he said, “Oh, I don't want
to do it anymore. I'm doing business with Eddie Murphy.” And I said, “Oh my God,”
after doing three rewrites for him, and now he was going to throw me under the
bus? And that's what he did. He threw me under the bus. So where is he today?</p><p class="MsoNormal">He's in pictures with Eddie Murphy. And he's a
damned good actor, but boy, he's as arrogant as they come. And, you know, what
goes around comes around. Nobody wanted Mike Tyson. Everybody wanted Snipes. And
Snipes was too expensive.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then Mike Tyson gets all these fights going. He goes back to boxing. There is a
business you either jump on it while it's ready because you can't wait. Because
this year's flavor is definitely not going to be next year's flavor. I can
promise you that. Much different
business today than in the eighties and the nineties.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah, you
mentioned how the films you produced are going to a streaming channel. You're
getting into what's obviously the new territory of where films are being watched,
through streaming.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Absolutely. And the reason I'm
doing that is not just because of my movies. I've made seventeen films. It's
not just because of my movies, but there are movies out there that have never
been seen. We're not a film festival, okay? And we're not saying you must make this
movie in the last three years. You could have made this movie any time you want.
And you give it to us to stream and I'm going to send out to buyers, and I know
a lot of buyers, especially foreign. When you look at all the countries in the
world, excluding Canada and the US, you're looking at thirty-five avenues. You
don't need the US and you don't need Canada, okay? I'm just here to tell you
that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So, I guess you would have a budget that isn't
excessive. You can make it work. So that's what I plan to do, is I'm going to
be streaming movies. We’re going to have a channel called Final Chance Films. You
don't come to us first. You come to us last.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm going into that business. It's something I have a passion about. I've
already picked up a series. We're in negotiations. It's a damned good series. I
can't talk about it because we haven't signed, and somebody could hear this and
beat me to it, but it's got names in it—big names. Nobody would release the
series, and we're going to do. It’s seventeen episodes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So there's a lot of product out there. And we're going to do that. That’s my
passion.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>It's been a
very long career, but you kept going for all of this. What would you like to
say about having been in it so long?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">JG: Well, I’m not going to die, if
that's what you mean. Look, I've had a wonderful career—like I said, from hitchhiking
to New York, to getting into drama, and a prestigious drama school on a
scholarship, you know? I mean, that started it, right? I think that was an
indication there isn't anything I can't do. At least to myself it was an
indication there wasn't anything I can't do.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When I was in school, the guidance counselor said to me, “You want to be what? An
actress? Nobody's an actress. You're in Monroe, Connecticut. Who here is an
actress? Tell me who is an actress in Connecticut? Tell me, tell me, tell me.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">And I said, “You know what? Everybody had to come from somewhere.” So I proved
them all wrong. You know? I proved every one of them wrong. I wasn't Meryl
Streep, but I had a passion about me. And I still have that same passion. It's
not like a fire that you can put out. You're born with it or something.</p><p class="MsoNormal">You get an idea, and it's like fueling the fire, and your passion flames up
again. You can't just take it out. You have to continue going, you know? And so
I do. I find little outlets that are meaningful to me, because right now, I'm
debt free. I own a house. I own a condo. I own two cars. Everything is paid for.
I have nothing to lose. I do what I want to do now. But I want to be in the
industry because I love it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div>
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</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-52996367647750430082021-11-16T15:58:00.016-08:002021-11-16T18:00:49.602-08:00A Very Candid Conversation with Michael James<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFfz9BF5eRoDJvmdic1GfqYZaAOS2ortH9Fa6JvKwzHiTvlZuDsQ79JSuR9k704yrs9OJMJcG3DQsqhJadOVE9Xh_N_Nm8GfyICIfx0fZ_iCsXIA48_TBg4nVbx8VQQyEuyrWRK8mQxIs/s226/Michael+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="220" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFfz9BF5eRoDJvmdic1GfqYZaAOS2ortH9Fa6JvKwzHiTvlZuDsQ79JSuR9k704yrs9OJMJcG3DQsqhJadOVE9Xh_N_Nm8GfyICIfx0fZ_iCsXIA48_TBg4nVbx8VQQyEuyrWRK8mQxIs/s0/Michael+cover.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Michael James at work
(1999)</span></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Michael
James got his start in music when he was nineteen years old. He started as a
recording artist and then became interested in the recording process. Michael started
off working for Ethan James, keyboardist for rock band Blue Cheer, who owned a
recording studio. Ethan had noticed Michael’s interest in recording. He gave
Michael an opportunity to learn recording by leaving Michael alone in the
studio at night until the morning. Michael’s first break in producing music came
when Ethan, who was producing alternative rock band <a style="mso-comment-date: 20211114T1241; mso-comment-reference: AI_1;">Too Much </a>Joy,</span></i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">asked
Michael to sit on a session. The band was so impressed by Michael that they ask
him to produce their next record</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, Son of Sam I Am<i> [1989].</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After
working with Too Much Joy, Michael began his career as a recording
engineer/producer. He also worked for Sub Pop, the record label that began
grunge, where he produced L7 and Hole. Some of the other artists Michael has
worked with are <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Edwin McCain, Robben
Ford, and Chicago. His biggest credit as engineer is the New Radicals’ platinum
album </span></span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too [1998],</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">on which
Michael also played guitar. Michael has been very prolific as a producer/engineer.
From 1994 to 1997, he amassed more than 100 credits. Today, he either produces
or mixes (Mi</span>xing is the process of
optimizing and combining multitrack recordings into a final mono, stereo, or surround-sound
product</i><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> ) more than 250 songs a year. In
addition, he has written for </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Billboard</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">magazine,
critiquing a lack of innovation in the music industry.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Michael has released two solo albums. The first was the instrumental
album</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Marchesano</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
</span></b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(2015). His most recent album, </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Shelter in Place (2021), <i>reflects a variety of themes such as
loneliness, racism, and drunk driving. In addition, it has covers as the Beatles’
“Something” and the Frank Sinatra classic “Fly Me to the Moon.”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In this candid conversation, we look at Michael’s prolific career as a
producer/engineer, as well as his new album. I want to thank Nichole
Peters-Good from Get Good PR, but most of all, I want to thank Michael.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jeff Cramer:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What got you interested in music?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Michael James:</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>One
day when I was a teenager, I was listening to a Joe Walsh album called <i>You
Can't Argue with a Sick Mind</i>. It was recorded live, and instead of just hearing
the song as a whole, I actually started hearing the component parts of the
songs. I found this really cool countermelody<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>down
at the bottom of a really big sound—it was moving around, outlining the chords,
providing a foundation—and it turned out to be the bass guitar, and it was
played by Willie Weeks, I believe. And I thought, <i>Wow, that's cool.</i> I
just became fascinated with the way that so many things could fit together and
help tell a story on an emotional level. And then I discovered Steely Dan, and
I analyzed the way their songs came together, and I just loved the puzzle
pieces.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then I started writing poetry with no
idea that I'd ever be a musician myself, and some of my buddies taught me a few
chords on guitar. I started putting my words to music and stuck with it. When I
was nineteen, I was on a full scholarship to UCLA, and I was recording my own
music in a recording studio. The guy who had the keys to the studio was a
junkie and he needed a fix, so I paid him $15 to use the studio for three hours—that's
my understanding of the story, anyway. The
owner of a record
company<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>walked
in and heard what I was doing, and he said, “Why don't you do a deal with me? I
can get your song played on KROQ; I'm confident in it."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>KROQ, by the way, was a premier radio
station in Los Angeles for what they called “alternative rock” or “new wave”
back in the day. And I said, "Naw, I'm not really interested. I'm not a
musician. I'm a student." He said, "Yeah, student? When that gets
old, just give me a call and I’ll make a record with you." A few months
later, I thought,
<i>Shoot, I may never have this opportunity again.</i> <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>I
was nineteen at the time, and again, I just went for it, and forty-plus years
later, here we are.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So what happened when the owner gave you
your shot?</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
was a recording artist for a few years. It was myself, Michael James, and then
I was in a band called Waves of Grain, and when neither of those panned out the
way I expected, I did sessions as a guitarist for various local bands in LA and
took an interest in the recording process. There was a guy named Ethan James—no
relation—who was the keyboardist in Blue Cheer, and actually I think his name
back then was Ralph Burns Kellogg.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ethan owned a studio, and he knew I
took an interest, and he gave me the keys and said, "The place is yours
from midnight until 8:00 a.m.," and so I became a self-taught recording
engineer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Your first break was doing <a style="mso-comment-date: 20211114T1316; mso-comment-reference: AI_6;">Too Much
Joy's second album, </a></span></b></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 6;"><b>Son of Sam I Am<i>. </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Yes,
that was my first major label break. Do you want the story behind that?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Sure.</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Kinda
fascinating. Ethan—the guy I just told you about—had three days booked with Too
Much Joy. Ethan couldn't make the middle date, which was an overdub [overdub<i> </i><i>is
defined as recording additional sounds on an existing recording</i>] date. Day
one was the basic tracks, day two was the overdubs, and day three was the mix.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since Ethan couldn't make it on day
two, he said, "Well, I think you're ready now to run a session, and even
if you're not, you have to be because I can't make it, and this is important. So,
show up, do a great job, and call someone if you get stuck.” Turns out that the
session pretty much ran itself and I was doing good work, but they got stuck on
some background vocal arrangements, so they turned to me. When you're an engineer, you really need
to remember that there's a reason that God gave you two ears but only one
mouth, and if you open your mouth, it should be in a way that supports the
artist or don't open it at all. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, the band asked, "What do you
think?" I said, "Well, I really love your songs, and I think that the
one that you're working on right now could be cooler if you added these background
parts."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They got around the mic, they sang the
parts, and they said, "Really cool. Got any other ideas?" I said,
"Yeah, I think this guitar part could be a cool countermelody." And
all of a sudden, the songs took a new life. The band asked, "Can you come
mix us tomorrow?" I said, “Sure.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The next day, Ethan called me and
said, "Hey, good job yesterday. I got a great report, but you can't mix
the band. I need to mix them." The band liked the mixes that Ethan did,
but they loved working with me. So, the band asked, "When we get our major
label record deal, will you produce our album?" I said, "Sure," thinking,
<i>Yeah,
that's going to happen. It never happens. Because you play the odds. Nobody
ever gets a major label record deal.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sure enough, it sort of, kind of
happened. Too Much Joy got a deal with Alias Records, which was a well-funded
indie label, and we did the entire album on a $12,000 budget, and that's
ridiculously low. They wanted to pay me $1,500 to do the album, and they wanted
to do it over the course of four weeks. I made a deal with the studio: "Why
don't you go on vacation? I'll take all of the money and I'll give you this
percentage of it, and my paycheck will be whatever's left." The band
agreed to it, the label agreed to it. It was one of the first all-in deals that
I knew about.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As we got near the end of the album,
we realized that another $4,000 could make it a great album—make it sound, in
our minds, like a $250,000 album instead of $12,000. And I called up the record
company after speaking with the band, and I said, "Hey, can we have $4,000
more?"</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And they said, "Why?" And I
pled my case, and they said, "You want to do it, pay yourself." I told
the band, "The label said no. We gotta spend our own money to make it
happen." So, they said, "Well, if you want to make it happen, let's
figure out a way to make it happen."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I threw $800 on the table, so then the
other guys grabbed their checkbooks and did the same.
One of the guys said, "I need to call my mom." And so we scrounged up
the other $4,000.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It ended up getting a very favorable
review as an indie band in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rolling Stone.
</i>Irving Azoff [<i>manager of the Eagles</i>] took notice, and apparently
Warner Brothers had just given him $30 million to start Giant Records. Too Much
Joy was one of the first bands that he signed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My fee went up exponential when the
A&R [<i>artists and repertoire</i>] man called and asked how much I needed
to get paid. I misunderstood the question and told him what the whole album
cost, and before I could finish explaining, he said, "So your fee is
$16,000 a song?” And I kept my mouth shut, and all of a sudden, I was in
business, and I was a major label producer, and had a fee. [<i>To hear Too Much
Joy’s single “That’s a Lie,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHh47sCELjE" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">You would be working with Sub Pop, the
label</span></b></i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b><i>that began grunge.</i></b> [<b>Grunge
pioneers Nirvana got their start by recording for Sub Pop</b>] <b><i>How did
that come about?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There was </span>a local band called Seizure
Salad, which I did the best job that I could with them, and we had fun in the
studio. Seizure Salad had some friends who were hanging out in the back of the
studio. There were four young women who had a grungy look. I got a phone call
from one of the women who said, “Hey, I have a band, and I was hanging out when
you were working with Seizure Salad, and I loved the fun that you guys had and
the energy and stuff. Would you produce our new album?” And I said, “Depends.
What is it?” And she said, “We’re a band called L7, and we’re pretty heavy. We’re
a girl band.” And I said something like, “I don’t believe in girl bands. I
believe you’re either a band or you’re not a band. It has nothing to do with
girl or boy. So, are you a great band?” And she said, “Yeah, I think we’re a
great band." I'm like, "Great, then I’m interested."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>And
so, we got together. I loved what L7 was doing, and I ended up doing half of
the album called <i>Smell the Magic </i>[1990], which was released on Sub Pop. [<i>To
hear L7’s “Fast and Frightening,”click.</i> <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3PJkciaQAU" target="_blank">here</a></i>.]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Jonathan
Poneman at Sub Pop liked the work I was doing there, so the next thing he had me
doing was Hole. When he was pitching Hole to me, he said, "Hey, we have
this band called Hole, and I think that you'd be a really good fit for them.
It's a priority for us. The singer is Courtney Love."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And I thought he meant Whole, so I asked,
"Wow, how did you know that I'm into holistic stuff? I wear Birkenstocks
and eat granola and stuff.” He said, "What are you talking about? No, there’s
no <i>w</i>. it’s not holistic." “Okay. So, they have a little attitude,
right?" He said, "Oh, yeah."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Do you want me to tell you the story of my
first session with Hole? It's a pretty good one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 11;"><b><i>JC:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sure.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 11;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>So, the first time I
meet the band, it looked like there were four women in the band.</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>And then I realized it looked like one of
the people with long hair was a dude, and it was Eric Erlandson, the guitarist.
Eric had this rat's nest of effects pedals. There was no pedal board under it.
It was just pedals and wires and stuff, just this mess on the floor. Eric asked
me, "Hey, do you want to use your fancy studio effects ’cause they got a
cleaner sound?" I asked him, "Do you like your sound?" He said,
"I love my sound." And I said, "Well, let's hear it." By
the way there was a big lesson in this: let’s hear your sound.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And he played me something that didn't
make any sense to me, but he loved it, and I said, "Let's record that
because maybe it'll make sense in the track.” He said, "Wow, you're
awesome. No other recording engineer or producer has ever let me do that."
"Do what?" I asked. He said, "Record with my stuff. I love my
gear; I love my sound."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Eric was able to convey an emotion
with his pedal. We get sounds on all the instruments. Courtney is actually a
really solid rhythm guitarist. She has a good style, a good groove, and the
band was actually quite good. Anybody who says Courtney was all about Kurt
Cobain or Billy Corgan, they’re mistaken. She had something before she was even
connected with those guys. I digress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They’re playing this ambient, textural,
moody thing, and then all of a sudden, boom, there is this scream, and the
loudness, and I thought I was gonna launch off the chair like a rocket right
through the roof. I was so startled, and that’s when I understood the dynamics
and the intensity that was Hole. And by the way, Eric’s sound in the context of
the song fit it perfectly. [<i>To hear Hole’s “Dicknail,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QNcbkJ63Gc" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.]</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sub Pop, circling back to them, really
loved the results, and they then asked me to record and produce the Reverend
Horton Heat, which was a psychobilly [<i>psychobilly merges punk rock and
rockabilly</i>] band. I really don't remember how many records I did with them;
it was just great working on them. I remember them like it was yesterday.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One of the things I guess which would have
been your biggest record, was the <a style="mso-comment-date: 20211114T1404; mso-comment-reference: AI_12;">New Radicals record, </a></span></b></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 12;"><b>Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
think that sales-wise, at least in the US, it was probably the biggest. It went
double platinum, and most of the records that I do tend to be more cool than
big sales, but that's just my opinion. So, New Radicals was totally
serendipitous. On paper, Gregg Alexander [<i>frontman of the New Radicals</i>]
is the producer, and technically Gregg is New Radicals, but I did have a large
hand in the production of it. Gregg and I, we had a rolodex, and we worked on a
bunch of tunes together at EMI Demo Studios, courtesy of his lover at the time,
Danielle Brisebois, who had a publishing deal with EMI. Danielle would call us
down to the studio to listen to a couple of tunes, and say, "Oh, yeah,
just like I remember, they sound good."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Gregg and I would work on tunes. And
he's 100 percent the songwriter, but I was definitely his wingman on quite a
bit of it. I played guitar on it, engineered, mixed. Thought I was actually
going to get a production credit, but he said it was important that he had the
full production credit, and that was fine because we made a deal otherwise that
compensated me for that. Feels like this happened all the time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another part that you may not know is
that I actually shopped the band. I just knew that if I found a band I loved
and wanted to work with, I'd be able to get them a deal, but it didn't happen
with these guys. I'd taken it to A&M, RCA—I don't even remember where else
I took it, but basically everywhere, and even though I had the credibility, I couldn't
get ’em a deal. And Ken Hertz, an attorney, stepped in. Ken said, "I can
make this happen." Ken went over to Michael Rosenblatt at MCA, and Michael
just got it right away. He gave the band a good deal.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think there's only one bonafide
guitar solo on the record on the song “Crying like a Church on Monday.” It's the
last song on
the album,<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>and actually you'll notice I played two
solos on it. When we were recording it, Gregg asked, "Do you play slide
guitar?" And I said, "I have a slide in my toolbox." He was
like, "Great, put it on."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I really don't know what I'm doing; I
get lucky and come up with something cool. Gregg said, "All right, let's
double it now." I'm like, "I don't even know what I just did. That
was luck." And so, we picked it apart, figured out how to double it pretty
much exactly. And what you’re hearing on the album is actually a double track
solo on it, and that particular tune, by the way, we never even did the proper
mix. That was just the demo mix because I had to get on a plane and fly to
Boston to produce another band. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear
“Crying like a Church on Monday,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0KmTQY4qKM" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here</i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In addition to producing, you also wrote for
</span></b></i><b>Billboard<i> in 1998.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
wrote an op-ed piece on <i>Billboard</i> where I basically I said, "Stop
chasing everything else because by the time you chase and emulate what's
already out there, it's too late." With all due respect to certain other
bands, Jeff, I'm sure you know Nirvana, right?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJFc_WsWCVmVyOMoX-a05-W-4Opn0fHjMNsgcIfD2KpJOlm2oPCM3StTI1UYcGCXe8RUmx6HCqqhDxrXke82ystVy5n6Hvc9dVDQzg08vADaTf6l1SM61fZv6ETxvO5oRj4ZriP6IE8hT/s1200/Michael+James+2009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1200" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJFc_WsWCVmVyOMoX-a05-W-4Opn0fHjMNsgcIfD2KpJOlm2oPCM3StTI1UYcGCXe8RUmx6HCqqhDxrXke82ystVy5n6Hvc9dVDQzg08vADaTf6l1SM61fZv6ETxvO5oRj4ZriP6IE8hT/s320/Michael+James+2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Michael
James at studio (2009)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes.</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Do
you remember Candlebox or the Afghan Whigs?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I remember them, but I can't say I've
listened to them recently.</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Right,
and that to me is precisely what the point of the article was. It's a metaphor
for it, in that Nirvana was first. So, with Candlebox or the Afghan Whigs, they
probably had their own thing, but everybody was chasing that
quiet-loud-quiet-loud crazy dynamic sound that Nirvana was doing. Smashing
Pumpkins and Soundgarden were also lumped into that grunge category. They had
their own thing. They weren't copying Nirvana.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And thirty years later, you still know
Nirvana songs, but I can't remember an Afghan Whigs or a Candlebox song to save
my life. And again, I really got to stress this is no disrespect to either of
those bands. I'm just using them because they come to mind as a good way to
illustrate my point here. Yeah, so with the presence of the <i>Billboard</i>
article, I just saw that it was a losing battle to keep chasing stuff that was
already done.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, I actually don't think that was
totally the reason for the collapse of the music business. Long story short, I
think that free music more killed the industry than the innovation versus emulation.
But the innovation would have helped.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeZb65cY_379EjqYpM065hNxnWLhlqKQ1LKobFcHldEKxhjj3yy45S8FL9u_4MZSTuwjPBPDavb5DZSA8q-wKRIWob58mdzNakAIeXPdE8HNJtKNfwLARplnbWJ6mudBsCzOAuoKg8x2-/s300/Michael+James+2015.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeZb65cY_379EjqYpM065hNxnWLhlqKQ1LKobFcHldEKxhjj3yy45S8FL9u_4MZSTuwjPBPDavb5DZSA8q-wKRIWob58mdzNakAIeXPdE8HNJtKNfwLARplnbWJ6mudBsCzOAuoKg8x2-/s0/Michael+James+2015.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Michael
James at studio (2015)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before we get into your new solo album, is
there any artist that you worked with that we haven’t mention here in this
interview?</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>A
blues artist named Robben Ford. Are you familiar with him?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, I am.</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
remember the way I connected with Robben was that I ended up producing an album
for AJ Croce, Jim Croce's son, and when I was going through some of his
previous catalogue, I asked, "Hey, man, what was it like to work with Robben
Ford? He's one of my favorite guitarists . . . actually one of my favorite
musicians." And AJ said, "Oh, Robben’s great. You guys would be like
two peas in a pod. He's a very spiritual cat. He moved to Ojai [<i>California</i>]
so he could help give a Zen Buddhist community a start there. He's just a good
dude. Here's his number, call him." Eventually I did call him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Robben and I clicked, and next thing we
were<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>writing some tunes together, mixing some of
his records. On the first mix he came right into the control room. He walked
right past this wall of guitar amps and guitars that I had there, and went right
over to my producer racks, which is where I have all my compressors and EQs [<i>music</i>
<i>equalizer</i>]. We listened to the first tune that I mixed for him, and he
was grooving, standing up at the console. He asked, "Can I turn it
up?" And I said, "Yeah, turn it up." I was behind him thinking, <i>Slam
dunk, he loves this. This is cool.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And then he turned around<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>afterwards, and he had this huge smile on
his face, and he said, "Can I hear it again?" He listened to it
again. Track finished playing and it was quiet, and he turned around to me and
he smiled again, saying, "Wow, it's so clear, I can hear everything. I
don't even remember playing some of those parts. I don't know what to listen
to." I just said, "Huh, very interesting. What do you want to hear
and what don't you want to hear?" And he said, "I think I would just
turn my voice and my guitar up and leave everything else the same. It'll put
the focus more on them. I'm a blues man. I sing and I play guitar." I
turned them up one decibel louder—just one, which is the least that you can for
sure hear a difference, according to some people at least. And turned it up,
played it for him, and he was like, "That's it. Now everything is focused,
it's in place. Now I'm feeling the guy singing and playing." And it
occurred to me, "Don't make a record to impress your engineer friends.
Make a record that's gonna make somebody feel something."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I just figured I had<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>to name drop Robben on that one, because
the lesson for me was huge, and if I could give any lesson to people who aspire
to do what I do, not as an artist, but as a producer and a mix engineer, I'd
say that. Focus on telling the story and focus on making that story have the
right emotion. [<i>To hear Robben Ford’s “Don’t Deny Your Love (Remix),” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEUYeYnqV7I" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfIBUVF0kKOtuFXAAHdsjgKD1tYlZrGQVsTKWONDrKIjbAnY2VY5AirwypsvSSFRw39l4CNHHpE4Gm_Y-0QsyaG7ZQCQ8rrqxvUt3gdFuE91myWNgZD7WTusnI4wq6D7Aq3wrI1Mtz89E/s1240/MJ-Studio-New-1240.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1240" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfIBUVF0kKOtuFXAAHdsjgKD1tYlZrGQVsTKWONDrKIjbAnY2VY5AirwypsvSSFRw39l4CNHHpE4Gm_Y-0QsyaG7ZQCQ8rrqxvUt3gdFuE91myWNgZD7WTusnI4wq6D7Aq3wrI1Mtz89E/s320/MJ-Studio-New-1240.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Michael’s
home studio (year unknown)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Let’s now talk about your album, </span></b></i><b>Shelter
in Place.<i> You came up with this during the pandemic. And so, tell me the
beginning of what inspired this.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>About
ten years prior to the pandemic, I had my studio set up so that I could
livestream my console and I could look at you on FaceTime video, or some
equivalent to that, even if you're sitting in Melbourne, Australia, and I'm in
San Francisco or Los Angeles. You could look at me, and you could listen to my
console with a live stream of music, and we could bring a mix across together,
or I could play guitar parts for you, and you could tell me what you want to
change, and I'd do it right there on the spot.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I had no difference in terms of my
workflow and my schedule did not slow down during the pandemic. I decided I was
gonna write a song and call it "I Tell Myself that Everything’s Okay."
Pretend that everything's okay. I did a quick demo and I thought, <i>I'm just
gonna put this up online and I'll make some crazy name, not Michael James, but
maybe I'll make the band called something like, Music for Vacuuming. Something
like that.</i> I played my buddy, Aaron Durr, a song and asked, "What do
you think?" And he said, "Man, that's a riot. It's hilarious. I think
people need to laugh right now." I said, "I agree. It'd be nice to
laugh. Pretend that everything's okay." And I asked, "Would you sing
it?" And he said, "I'd love to sing it, but that doesn't really suit
my brand as an artist, so if you want to rewrite it and take the good parts and
tell the story about it, yeah, I'd be happy to sing it for you." I said,
"Well, you got any ideas? Why don't we do the rewrite together?" And
he said, "Yeah, I do have some ideas."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And so, we started banging out stuff
and that one song turned into “Come Back, Lover,” which is not a joke song. I
personally think “Come Back, Lover” is a beautiful song. Aaron and I wrote the
song in the same way that I made the album, which is just like, “I want to hear
what this song or this album would sound like, and nobody has made it before,
so let's just make a cool album so that we can listen to it and enjoy it.” Make
a custom playlist with new material. So that's how it all started. [<i>To watch
the video for “Come Back, Lover,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW61AIN8_RQ" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpe-_rShs5IsfEelVst8F1IyMsoyB34KgqYdlZgGEw5gn_ZbhlvTwXjRJ9Xxj68y9COyJi7jDKD4IYNTx79uRs5l0rmzEribrJ7HKYt-ZeFytOM-WCjE4E9OoM_O4XzwyuQjGPqDc9zKD/s1425/Shelter+In+Place+-+Album+Cover+-+Flattened+-+High+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1425" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpe-_rShs5IsfEelVst8F1IyMsoyB34KgqYdlZgGEw5gn_ZbhlvTwXjRJ9Xxj68y9COyJi7jDKD4IYNTx79uRs5l0rmzEribrJ7HKYt-ZeFytOM-WCjE4E9OoM_O4XzwyuQjGPqDc9zKD/s320/Shelter+In+Place+-+Album+Cover+-+Flattened+-+High+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Shelter
in Place </span></b><i style="text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">cover (2021)</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><i><br /></i></b></div><i>JC:</i> <b><i>One of the instrumental tracks “Scraping the
Guardrail” actually reminded me of Jeff Beck.</i></b>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Jeff
Beck, he's amazing. He's another Robben Ford to me. So, yeah, you just made my
day. Are you looking for the story behind that?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b><i>JC:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>My
friend Warren Wellen and I were making up scenarios that would fit a “shelter
in place“ lockdown theme.<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span>With “Scraping the Guardrail All the
Way Down,” we were thinking of a scenario of somebody who actually makes out in
the pandemic, workplace changes, and they get a promotion. Picture this newly
minted corporate executive at a dinner party in the Hollywood Hills off
Mulholland Highway, which is very torturous, it's very windy, bunch of hills up
and down. People often drive off it when they they’re a little tipsy, and they
land down in a ravine or something.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, we were talking about that, just
picturing this person having a little too much to drink, not taking an Uber to
get home because they figure that they can drive, and then in the process of
driving, basically scraping the guardrail. "Yay, they took out a few
guardrails, but they made it down the mountain . . . woohoo, everybody
lived."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We were trying to create the image of
. . . how do I say this? Snowflakes delicately pirouetting on the smoldering
wreckage below. Not that anybody's dead or not dead, but just the juxtaposition
of someone taking out a guardrail, the car's down at the bottom of a ditch,
it's smoldering and it's snowing, and they don't even know which side is up.
That's where we were going with that. Of course, nobody who ever listens to the
song is gonna have that as a takeaway. But yeah, we were going for that, and
sometimes, I just wanted to convey a feeling without using words, and that's
how that happened. [<i>To hear “Scraping the Guardrail,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVQwEb38SE" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What made you decide to cover the Beatles' “Something?”</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
really don't know. I always liked the song, but if I'm ever gonna cover a
Beatles tune, I need to turn it inside out. And rather than focus on the
implied lyrics, “Oh, she's beautiful, there's something in the way she moves,”
I figured that I would focus on the bridge part where Harrison sings,
"You're asking me will our love grow. I don't know.” I liked the melody,
and I thought it would just be kind of cool to change all the chords and give
it a different take.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">You also have “Fly Me to the Moon."</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Well,
"Fly Me to the Moon” . . . that's not my own song. That is the Bart Howard
song. I wanted to have a good time. I wanted to basically be able to laugh at
myself. You needed some uplifting stuff for this album because some people
who've actually given it the time of day said they cried when they heard it.
One guy actually called up and said, "Michael, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm doing great, actually,” I said. He was like, "Wow, there's
some heavy subject matter, but then there's also some really light stuff.” I
was like, "Yeah, it's balanced. You need some yang to go with your
yin." “Fly Me to the Moon" was me just wanting to have some fun and
thought, <i>Wouldn't it be really cool to play the Count Basie orchestra brass
section on a guitar with a Brian May tone.</i> I then had Aaron Durr, who sang
“Come Back, Lover”, sing it. [<i>To hear “Fly Me to the Moon,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YRjCnK0mU0" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>You also have “I Can't Make You Love
Me"—that's the name of a famous Bonnie Raitt tune.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
loved the melody from the Bonnie Raitt song, "I Can't Make You Love
Me," which by the way she didn't write, but everybody associates the tune
with her. By the way, I heard that the tune was written by some Nashville
writers who would get together with coffee, bagels, and the newspaper, and
they'd look for stories that would inspire their creative juices to flow. I
don't know if this is true, but I really hope it is. And two guys are like,
"Oh my God, look at this article. This dude is suing his wife for not
loving him." And then they ended up turning it into a beautiful song even
though they were laughing at the lack of machismo of the guy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I worked up a beautiful arrangement of
that tune that I was gonna do instrumentally, and then I thought, <i>I'm intrigued
by the idea, so let me just add a few more words to the title and make a new
song.</i> And I had some friends that I wanted to play on it. Kenny Bräck, the
race car driver who won Indianapolis 500—he actually didn't end up playing on
it, but he was sort of a spiritual guide and helped with the production of it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And Chris Hesse, the drummer from
Hoobastank, and of course, Warren Wellen, the keyboardist who played on “Scraping
the Guardrail.” Frank Aledia, the singer who I met when he was singing in Kenny
Bräck’s band maybe fifteen or sixteen years ago. We got together, and we did
that.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, yeah, I just made a new song. I
actually wish the title was different, but those words just fit the song so
perfectly. It's like, "Okay, add a few more words and it'll be a different
title." That's the story there. [<i>To see the video for “I Can’t Make You
Love Me," click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNQCCXz80Gw" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I'm guessing George Floyd inspired “Color of
My Skin.”</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>Yeah,
so that's an interesting one for two reasons. One is that it initially didn't
fit the concept of the album to me, and the second thing is that I knew it was
going to be perceived as a political song, even though it has nothing to do
with politics. It's about humanity and it's not gonna solve racism, but the
start that most people could do, which is to open up your heart or open up a
conversation and just listen. Open up your eyes, your ears, and your heart, and
start talking, and it might lead to something. Not talking and making
assumptions is not gonna be a good thing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Circling back to the first part of it
with it not fitting the arc of the album, I had conceived the album, and I knew
everything that I wanted to do. I knew the titles that I wanted before I wrote
the songs. The end of the album for me was supposed to be “Rise Up into Light.”
“Color of My Skin” was actually a very important song, <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>but it was not part of <i>Shelter in Place</i>.
But a couple of the coproducers on the album said, "Like it or not, <i>Shelter
in Place</i> has turned into a time capsule of an album, and you have to put it
there. You have to put that song on the album."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And so, the deal I made with my team
was, "Okay, fine, I'll put that song on there after the natural spiritual
arc of the album ends with “Rise up Into Light." The two conditions were that
we needed some sort of an orchestral piece that kind of takes you back in time
from the pandemic of 2020 to 1863, because the “Color of My Skin” starts with a
field song, a blues spiritual. I started thinking, "Let's go back in time.
Hey, you already let the soul go out of the body, so let's let it float back to
1863."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The George Floyd murder triggered it,
but it's the reaction to the shit that I see all of my friends of color going
through all the time. I’ve been able to see some things that a lot of people
who do not look like me don't. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>I don't want to get political here, and
again, it's not political. It's humanity. Whether you want to believe in white
privilege or not—let's forget about whether you believe it—but I'm just gonna
say that I get the benefit of the doubt more often than my friends of color do.
So, “Color of My Skin” was just thinking about stuff that happens and pointing
out the differences of why I'm able to think about having a self-realized life.
I'm not worried about different things that are more basic survival level. I'm
worried about how can I be a better person? How can I be more productive in society?
How can I be kind to my fellow humans? How can I basically have purpose?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I talk with Morris LeGrand, one of my
best friends, who cowrote the song with me, who is Black, and he loves the
song. It's very interesting that when he listens to <i>Shelter in Place</i>, he
hears that I have the privilege of being able to think about different things,
when I'm in vacation mode. He's thinking about how civil rights are taking a
step backwards, and I'm thinking about how I can make the most out of the
remaining years of my life. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I didn't want to end the album on that
note because I know I'm gonna take heat for that song, because you can't please
everybody. You can't cure racism with one song. But I did something, and even
though people told me there are all different ways that I can get flamed for
this, I thought, <i>Well, there are ways you can get flamed for everything, and
if somebody doesn't stand up and at least throw the first pitch, the game is
never gonna get started. </i>[<i>To was the video for “Color of My Skin,” click
</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4QqxMfcSSM" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><span class="MsoHyperlink">.] </span>I had to end the album with—I hate to use this
term, but a <i>kumbaya</i> moment, “Let's Connect Our Mind.” I just wanted to
make sure that I ended on something that was very positive, very upbeat, very
inclusive.<i> </i>[<i>To hear “Let’s Connect Our Mind,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1C9vHaOUJM" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When you look back when you started first as
a musician, then as an engineer, and then as producer, and now today releasing
an album, what would you have to say about it?</span></b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;">MJ:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></i>I
would have to say that from my perspective, I'm the luckiest guy on the face of
the earth. I'm surrounded by love; I love what I do. One of these days is gonna
be my last—I don't mean to sound morbid too. I don't know if that's gonna be forty
years from now or forty minutes from now, but I'd have to say that even though
there are a lot of things that I would like to do and wish I could have
forever, I've had a pretty good run for now, and I just can't believe some of
the things that have happened.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-char-indent-count: 0; text-indent: -0.1pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I get to spend hours of my life doing
stuff that I love, and even if it wasn't the most pleasant thing at any given
moment, you find a way to look at the good stuff. Look at the serendipity. I
really hope I can continue doing this thing until my last day, right? Because
it doesn't feel like work. Really to sum it up, if I had to put it all down to one word,
it's just gratitude.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-34075527701767637752021-08-24T16:53:00.003-07:002021-08-24T18:11:40.851-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Kaylin Roberson<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_xNx7R81pJ_jeE39l_FQOU21KkzAmTeH1BW0Ivnzneg5P457PMfZXkgNV0qEoj9-cEh7kAToed_tXn54PU293MbrMWNqkfb9VY35tC6w1xIitO1c3uoAkS8Ueth8s4j38Pna5tMsgjgg/s922/Kaylin++cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_xNx7R81pJ_jeE39l_FQOU21KkzAmTeH1BW0Ivnzneg5P457PMfZXkgNV0qEoj9-cEh7kAToed_tXn54PU293MbrMWNqkfb9VY35tC6w1xIitO1c3uoAkS8Ueth8s4j38Pna5tMsgjgg/s320/Kaylin++cover.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Kaylin Roberson (2020)</span></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><i>From a young age, Carolina native Kaylin Roberson loved
playing music, but it wasn’t until she was fourteen when she found her own
voice. At age nine, Kaylin was the victim of a brutal dog attack, which
required facial reconstruction. After the accident, Kaylin used music as a way
to heal and then ventured into songwriting. By the time she was in high school,
she joined the Teen Nation Tour and visited high schools throughout the country
to speak about bullying. In addition, she had toured with her band in the
Carolinas where she played guitar and piano. Her first single in 2018, “Christmas
Everyday,” was featured in a Christmas movie for the BET Her network</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In 2019, Kaylin moved to Nashville to pursue a musical
career. While in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaylin was busy
writing songs in the pop country genre. Kaylin’s music speaks on several themes
about love, hometown life, and moving to a city. In 2021, Kaylin released two singles,
“Big Fish” and “When He’s Been Drinking,” with more to follow.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we cover the beginning of
this promising young artist. We start with Kaylin’s childhood to her recent
move to Nashville. We
discuss her musical inspiration and her goals for her musical career. </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"> </span></span><i>I
want to thank Nichole Peters-Good of Good Public Relations for setting up the
interview, but mostly I want to thank Kaylin.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;"><!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->
<div style="mso-element: comment;"><div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1" language="JavaScript"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So what got you
interested in music?<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: I actually started playing music when I was 14, and I
started writing my own songs. My dad always kind of pushed me into music a
little bit. He put me into piano lessons when I was six. That's kind of where
it started. And, of course, I dreaded going to my lessons, but I'm really
thankful that he put me in them because as I got older, I wanted to pick the
piano back up and learn how to write my own songs on it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then, I formed
a band in
the Carolinas, and we started playing both North and South Carolina venues. It
just kind of started from there, and it grew. I've been in Nashville for two
years. And now I'm just really trying to become a better songwriter and put out
quality music because I don't just want to be another voice in Nashville. I
want to be a voice that people want to listen to.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>I understand that you had an accident when you were nine years old.</i></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: Yes. When<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>I
was nine, I was attacked by a black Lab—it was actually a family dog. And he
ended up ripping off the right half of my lip and splitting open the side of my
eye. I had to go into surgery and get facial reconstruction and the whole nine
yards. It took a toll on my family.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Going back to the question about what inspired
me to get into music, and that incident honestly played a really big role in my
music career.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
After the accident, I was home for a couple weeks recovering and my dad was
like, "I have to go to work. Here's a camera." He set it up and said,
"Here's
the Record button. Have
fun." ’Cause he knew that I was always the kind of kid who could entertain
myself. I was out of school, so I didn't see it as an issue, but I started just
recording covers of who knows— KIDZ BOP or Hannah Montana, whatever you do when
you're nine years old.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Later in
high school, a company reached out to me and wanted me to join them on an anti-bullying tour. They're called the Teen Nation
Tour. We went from California, to Texas, and my hometown, and we just talked to
kids in schools about bullying. I always tried to preach self-confidence, because
in my mind, if you don't let yourself get bullied, you won't be. So, I try to
preach just loving yourself for who you are, things happen, and that's part of
my story.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
I actually got homeschooled after that. I missed too much school because I was
going to other schools to talk to kids about bullying. One thing led to another,
and I think it helped the transition of me moving to Nashville go really easy. I
mean, I had already given up so much. I'd given up public school and things
like that. So it made it easier and just kept inspiring me to want to do the
music thing. And now I'm here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Your first single was a Christmas song “</i>Christmas Everyday<i>.”</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: Yes. Actually, it's really funny. I had a drummer back home
in the Carolinas, and he knew a lot of people in music. From him, I got this
opportunity to write a song for a Christmas movie. I thought it was really
cool. So we wrote a couple of Christmas songs together, and it actually got put
in the
movie,
and it plays on BET Her, the female one, every Christmas. So it's really funny
that you said that because I do have Christmas songs out. A lot of people don't
know that. [<i>To listen to “Christmas Everyday,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjlXrXmND0" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>There’s another Christmas tune, “</i>Grandma Got Lit<i>.”</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: Oh my goodness. Yes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Let's talk about that one.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: That was part of the Christmas songs we did. It wasn't in
the movie, but they wanted to have an extra bonus track thing that was fun.
That was probably the most fun I've had in a long time for sure. And my grandma
loved it. [<i>To listen to “Grandma Got Lit,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaCp9x-UMiY" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP1yDV0QO8-N4Kz9-uM-05iimKUVJYDJ_wpZinMujTIkRMA8Dxt6xjtC9-w-vIXjvIVKZjnOlfP7forqirKCAtF0YNkycu0qnTSvhwqxGaGxTMZKpJXFb9pxeXBYsMZeBzzAHb-Ygfx_c/s225/Grandma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP1yDV0QO8-N4Kz9-uM-05iimKUVJYDJ_wpZinMujTIkRMA8Dxt6xjtC9-w-vIXjvIVKZjnOlfP7forqirKCAtF0YNkycu0qnTSvhwqxGaGxTMZKpJXFb9pxeXBYsMZeBzzAHb-Ygfx_c/s0/Grandma.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Grandma Got Lit” cover (2020)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>During the pandemic of 2020, you wrote a good deal of songs.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: Yes, I definitely did. At first, going<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>from
in person to using Zoom didn't mesh with me well. I was like, “No, I'm going to
wait this out.” I think a lot of people thought that about the whole COVID
situation anyways—they thought that it would just blow over and we wouldn't
have to change our entire lives around it. But we did end up having to do that.
So after a month or two of just being like, “Oh, I'll wait it out,” I was like,
“I'm going crazy. I have to keep writing.” So I started writing songs. Luckily,
now the world's open again, but yeah, it was a lot of songwriting for sure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>You were living in Nashville in 2020, and the first song you wrote and
released </i></b><b><i>was
“</i>Out of My Town<i>,</i>”<i> where
you talk about how your hometown can never be replaced no matter what happens
to it.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i> </i></b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yCJQeJ4HbHBsBNSC2uGkcNoRaBjn_mNXnSaW6wwaMg8QLMhU_6hhko7ud7hyphenhyphen1N9MtJRzwCFubb7xpk8FZ2aiUc1NFf34NTJA9M6Kr5NCd9QjiYu2FHLgsKCGPiW6G36K2BCjnuhIeByt/s640/Out+Of+My+Town.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yCJQeJ4HbHBsBNSC2uGkcNoRaBjn_mNXnSaW6wwaMg8QLMhU_6hhko7ud7hyphenhyphen1N9MtJRzwCFubb7xpk8FZ2aiUc1NFf34NTJA9M6Kr5NCd9QjiYu2FHLgsKCGPiW6G36K2BCjnuhIeByt/s320/Out+Of+My+Town.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Out of My Town” cover</span></div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: An Uber driver inspired that idea because he was telling me
all about how Nashville is his home and a lot of newbies like me keep coming
in. Not that he has anything against it, but it just made me really reflect on
my hometown and how it would feel when I would go back and little things that
happened. Actually, part of growing up is moving away from your hometown. But I
also met a lot of people in Nashville who made me realize that this is their
hometown. <a></a>The city is tearing
down their homes and rebuilding them,<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>and doing all that really changed a lot of
this town. But to them, it's still their home.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
So I wanted to capture that with my buddies, Clayton Mann and Bryce Mauldin.
They helped me write that song. I'm glad that it was my first release. [<i>To
hear “Out of my Town,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEliTeBpVBE" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Then you get into falling in love and wanting to know someone better with
your single </i>“Know You Like That</b>.<b>”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: That one is super fun. Actually, I think it might be my most
streamed song. I just wanted to write something fun and upbeat, but it's harder
to write those types of songs, like love songs that are happy. It sounds bad, but
it's a lot easier when you're upset to feel inspired to write about a breakup
or something like that. [<i>To listen to “Know You Like That,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ull_dyEUMHc" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Then we touch the theme of breaking up in your </i>Break Up Proof <i>EP. There
are three songs on the EP, but they all carry the same theme.</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: It does. I really wanted to tell a story with that EP.
Obviously, you can tell I'm glad you noticed. I kind of wanted to tell the
story of someone who fell in love because it starts with the “I See You” [<i>To
listen to “I See You,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBh4365jg-8" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a>]<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span> and then the breakup happens and that's “Break
Up Proof.” And then “Right About Now” is kind of like the phase of getting to
know somebody new again and having to deal with the moving on and stuff like
that.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>I thought it was a good choice to have piano as the only instrument for
“Break Up Proof.”</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: I really wanted “Break Up Proof”<i> </i>to be stripped down.
Who knows, maybe I'll rerecord it later and do some production on it. But I
wanted to showcase the lyrics of it. [<i>To listen to “Break Up Proof,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NTA_zVemPM" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XqN_mEAGsYEb7SZmgL6V5xQLdBUf7lQ8NNcw0-HrFoyv4odnDwrBQZNBJ4QBb-xeyOr4J3UzdQNs7TpLNTqKlOetPeubZdfHoxSgoOQ7Tj1bkvD3cFevPmLjSA65o4lzql3wh3-VkpaC/s500/Break+Up.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XqN_mEAGsYEb7SZmgL6V5xQLdBUf7lQ8NNcw0-HrFoyv4odnDwrBQZNBJ4QBb-xeyOr4J3UzdQNs7TpLNTqKlOetPeubZdfHoxSgoOQ7Tj1bkvD3cFevPmLjSA65o4lzql3wh3-VkpaC/s320/Break+Up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Break Up Proof </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">EP
cover (2020)</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Then there’s “</i>Right About Now<i>.</i>”<i> In the song, the narrator is still remembering her past lover, but
the lyrics also say, “I should be over you right about now.” It's like the lyrics
for </i>“Break Up Proof”<i> and “</i>Right About Now<i>” could be
narrated by the same person.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: I really wanted to just capture that moment of trying to get
to know somebody new and it was kind of hard to do. Because when you put too
many “yous” and “he” and all that in a song it's like, “Who are you talking
about? Who is she with?” But I just wanted to really capture moving on and
getting to know someone new is always really hard because it feels like you're
pressing restart. You have to come up with new inside jokes, and you almost
become like a new person in that way. [<i>To listen to “Right About Now,” click
</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY0uBlSi6-A" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a>.]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>I wonder if the single “Big Fish” has something to do with your move from
North Carolina to Nashville because the lyrics are about thinking you’re big
but once you go to another town, you're not as big as you think you are.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQsUa-gIEG-8G0vJMImOuJAyjTTCdJ3a1gJOF9C0SosJiPU20IvtcbfOYXEozWmM8a8OnmemQBiqVvBzrxcwHic7fzfgfE5Z0RN52E3iO0uQISM0hXwFalVSpXvTXyF-zt2SCff0p6JRj/s640/Big+Fish.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQsUa-gIEG-8G0vJMImOuJAyjTTCdJ3a1gJOF9C0SosJiPU20IvtcbfOYXEozWmM8a8OnmemQBiqVvBzrxcwHic7fzfgfE5Z0RN52E3iO0uQISM0hXwFalVSpXvTXyF-zt2SCff0p6JRj/s320/Big+Fish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Big Fish” cover 2021</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: Yeah. What I love about that song is it just started when my
mom has said growing up about just people in our town that thought that they
were on their high horse all the time. But I experienced it as well on the
other side of things. Being the big fish, then coming here realizing there's a
lot of other people doing the same thing as me, which is very comforting and also
really just inspiring. <br />
<br />
And it makes you want to work harder. But yeah, I mean, people can take it
either way they want to. And what's cool about it is you can take it as maybe
there's someone you know that needs to hear that song. Or maybe you've been there,
and you're like “Oh, yeah, people told me that and look where I'm at now.”[<i>To
listen to “Big Fish,” please click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1TlJhBpQu4" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>We're slowly starting to reopen. You've put a bunch of songs together. What's
your plans now for 2021?</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: So I actually have two more singles coming out. I have one that
came out on August 20 called “When He's Been Drinking,” and I'm
super excited about it [<i>To hear “When He’s Been Drinking,” click </i><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FPuPGK7ExjBnLzN4F-2KAErgtkfMPzz8/view" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>].
Then sometime in November I'm going to release another song with the vibe like “Break
Up Proof.” People seem to love my sad-girl country songs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b>
<b><i>Any chance you be going taking the singles out on the road?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">KR: I've been playing a lot around Nashville. I mostly do a lot
of songwriter rounds. Every now and then I play on Broadway. [<i>Note: In this
context, Broadway is referring to the major thoroughfare in the downtown area
in Nashville, Tennessee</i>.] I opened up for Chris Janson recently.
I think I'm playing one festival so far in October, but I don't have any major
things planned yet. Right now my big focus is getting music out there, and I'm
completely independent. So the goal is to just keep building my team up and hopefully
one day there
will be some<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>one who can help me and my band figure out
how to get on the road more because I love doing that. So, hopefully we get
back to it soon. But right now, you can catch me playing in Nashville for sure.
<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZANXS0a74dgjkuNmQP8ttEYPWmUEN3yWtqG41vR14STfQRyFcDNOwrOGVeBrvfzaOBj4H2TI33u_sWIrPtAmxfCOUIZZvgxmzq3_lPWQXio49OepUYnaE4QSX2VSiMzAgbW7ie07Y9sVk/s1000/Kaylin+sitting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZANXS0a74dgjkuNmQP8ttEYPWmUEN3yWtqG41vR14STfQRyFcDNOwrOGVeBrvfzaOBj4H2TI33u_sWIrPtAmxfCOUIZZvgxmzq3_lPWQXio49OepUYnaE4QSX2VSiMzAgbW7ie07Y9sVk/s320/Kaylin+sitting.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Kaylin Roberson (June 2020)</span></div>
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</div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-57277356455187547722021-06-27T16:30:00.010-07:002021-06-28T16:25:07.608-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Lyle Workman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYWWoPmAmKJavMyWKsGLMa0b6SBjcZNQOxUd5IrOCeWo0Ac-NNXq-f3kJ12xGf-v6xTeLBewS6lPYC_sPkuSWTa6gYN_KHLsNi-JCZiWZML4jVnqxPE9adBemedW4jHcmKu6hwvW5GpcR/s750/LyleCover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYWWoPmAmKJavMyWKsGLMa0b6SBjcZNQOxUd5IrOCeWo0Ac-NNXq-f3kJ12xGf-v6xTeLBewS6lPYC_sPkuSWTa6gYN_KHLsNi-JCZiWZML4jVnqxPE9adBemedW4jHcmKu6hwvW5GpcR/s320/LyleCover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Lyle Workman (year unknown</span></i><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">)</span></b></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Lyle Workman has had an extensive musical career that
stems from the mid-80s to the present. He first got his start playing guitar with the rock
band Bourgeois</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>Tagg
in 1986. Todd Rundgren produced their album </i><b>Yoyo </b><i>in</i><b> </b><i>1987.
Their 1987 single “I Don’t Mind At All,” which Lyle co-wrote with the band’s founder,
Brent Bourgeois,</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>hit
the Top 40. After Bourgeois Tagg broke up, Lyle became a session musician, both
in the studio and live performances. Some of the musicians Lyle played with
include Sting, Sheryl Crow, Beck, Shakira, Norah Jones, </i><i>Todd Rundgren, Frank Black,</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>and
many others.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Lyle’s résumé doesn’t end there. He has composed the film
score and/or produced
the music for</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>many
well-known <a style="mso-comment-date: 20210622T0020; mso-comment-reference: AI_5;">Hollywood
comedies such as </a></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 5;"><b>Superbad</b><i>,
</i><b>The 40-Year-Old Virgin</b><i>, </i><b>Forgetting Sarah Marshall </b>and<i>
s</i></span><i>everal
others. In addition to films, he has written the music for TV shows such as </i><b>Love</b>
<i>and </i><b>Good Girls</b><i>.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Yet despite Lyle’s busy schedule, he has found time to
release four instrumental solo albums since 1996. He released his latest solo
album </i><b>Uncommon Measures</b><i> in 2021. </i><b>Uncommon Measures </b><i>is
a jazz fusion album that features orchestration by John Ashton Thomas, who was the orchestrator for the </i><b>Black Panther </b><i>and </i><b>Captain Marvel</b><i>
films. Guitar legend Steve Vai</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>has
praised Lyle’s album.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we cover Lyle’s extensive
career beginning with Bourgeois Tagg, his session work, his film and TV work, and
</i><b>Uncommon Measures</b><i>. I want to thank Billy James of Glass Onyon PR
for setting up the interview, but most of all, I want to thank Lyle.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"><i>Jeff Cramer:</i></b><span style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> <b><i> So, what got you interested in
music?</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: -13.5pt;">Lyle
Workman:</span><span style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </span><b style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"><i> </i></b>The Beatles.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>My dad played guitar as well, so I
wanted to do what my dad did, but I also wanted to do what John and George of the<span class="MsoCommentReference" style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></span>Beatles did.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>He bought me a little guitar and taught me
the basic open chords.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>Then I had a record player in my room, and I
would play the Beatles’ music and play my guitar simultaneously.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>I was hitting on chords that they were using and, in the process,
teaching myself how to play Beatles songs.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>That process pretty much
just continued for the rest of my life <i>[laughs]</i> learning things from
records.<i style="text-indent: -13.5pt;"> </i>As my tastes expanded and I grew up, so did my taste in music and
learned a lot by ear. I went to a college and studied music, and I still am.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i> How did you wind up playing with Bourgeois
Tagg?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">LW:<b><i> </i></b>Just from playing with local bands and club bands in the Bay Area.<i> </i>That's how I met the central songwriters of Bourgeois Tagg—Brent
Bourgeois and Larry Tagg.<i> </i>They saw me, I saw them.<i> </i>We were playing in different bands.<i> </i>That’s how that started.</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiy9yn9GGvB8fn3JpvvqtaViZ2VmWM8ELB0rUmTx70J4NichHhB-_u-o9WQx1V-Ly4u_I8IK2s05m9LoUNROVQ4noJfWzDwQV_f-eVHHkrfHMItrJ_VX0px5oEAdCcMMOz5ZDahz5AtbP/s300/Bourgeois+Tagg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiy9yn9GGvB8fn3JpvvqtaViZ2VmWM8ELB0rUmTx70J4NichHhB-_u-o9WQx1V-Ly4u_I8IK2s05m9LoUNROVQ4noJfWzDwQV_f-eVHHkrfHMItrJ_VX0px5oEAdCcMMOz5ZDahz5AtbP/s0/Bourgeois+Tagg.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Bourgeois Tagg
(Lyle, far right, year unknown)</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b></div><b><i>JC:</i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></b><b style="text-align: left;"><i>What’s
interesting about the video for Bourgeois Tagg’s single, “I Don’t Mind,” is that it’s directed by future
film director David Fincher.</i></b><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>This is the first time anyone’s ever mentioned this. [<i>To watch the “I Don’t Mind”
video, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gUDMeIEMMI" target="_blank"><i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></a><i>.</i>]</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Oh.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yeah, at the time, David Fincher was in his mid-twenties.<i> </i>We were all young.<i> </i>He was a pretty big music video
producer at the time.<i> </i>I think he had directed music videos for Sting and Madonna.<i> </i>But yeah, I remember working with
him.<i> </i>He was
great, really fun.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> Did you have any idea that he
would be doing movies later on?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>No. <i></i>Neither him nor me. <i>[laughs]</i></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Also Todd Rundgren produced Bourgeois Tagg.</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b><i>You would later work with him</i></b><b><i>. Talk about how that went from Bourgeois Tagg to eventually
working with him.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yeah, it was a big thrill for us to have him produce our record. Shortly afterwards, our band disbanded.<b><i><br /></i></b><i></i><br /></div><div>Several of us
went on to play, tour, and record with Todd, which was a huge treat.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>I was a gigantic fan and continue to be.</div><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3tlXttuVyuoegPss3yjpk5K10P4iT-2XU4eLsZO86EPDZfV8Qz39jgJmswZlCpNBZL4B5s8M0LC6hlZYXp5ZbeSXA6RzXVkxSJwyluVC7zDgkiSi7OJp0DMs567IecQGJRRmdFVU3ooj/s1024/LyleTodd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3tlXttuVyuoegPss3yjpk5K10P4iT-2XU4eLsZO86EPDZfV8Qz39jgJmswZlCpNBZL4B5s8M0LC6hlZYXp5ZbeSXA6RzXVkxSJwyluVC7zDgkiSi7OJp0DMs567IecQGJRRmdFVU3ooj/s320/LyleTodd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Lyle in Todd Rundgren’s band (1990)</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i>And now Todd’s been inducted into
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yeah. It's about freaking time. <i></i>It's kind of a no-brainer. But, yeah, I mean if there's anyone who belongs there, he sure does for
all he's done in music.[<i>To hear a live performance of Lyle and Todd</i></div><div><i>Rundgren playing “Parallel Lines” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O8S5pdXUpQ" target="_blank"><i>here.</i></a>]</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>After Todd, you worked with Jellyfish.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW: Jellyfish was something that happened right afterwards.I recorded a record with them called <i>Spilt Milk </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">[1993],</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span> which is a fantastic record.[<i>To hear Jellyfish perform “Glutton of Sympathy,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-8Flo4Udmk" target="_blank"><span style="mso-comment-date: 20210622T1912; mso-comment-reference: AI_10;"><i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></span></a><!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><a style="mso-comment-date: 20210622T1912; mso-comment-reference: AI_10;"></a><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 10;"><i>.]</i></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>Then I went on the road with an
artist named Jude Cole, who had a hit single out at the time called “Start the
Car.”<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>That was one tour.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Then I did a more substantial tour with Frank Black.<span style="font-size: 10.6667px;">.</span></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>I understand that you worked
with Frank a lot because you even arranged some of his songs in addition to
playing with him <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">live.</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>It was about five years of touring and recording with Frank.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>It was a great gig, personally and musically, yielding several records
that I’m very proud of being a part of<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>[<i>To hear Lyle perform with Frank Black performing “Headache” live,
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8NOPjrXfso" target="_blank"><i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></a><i>.</i>]<i> </i>This went on from the early to the late ’90s. At
that time, I moved to Los Angeles and I've been here ever since.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Around that time, I guess you
also worked with Beck.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yes.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>That was another fantastic experience.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>It was almost three years
of touring
for his <i>Midnite Vultures</i><i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>album<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>which was a lot of fun. [<i>To hear Lyle perform with Beck performing “Debra” live, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuvR9d73OlI" target="_blank"><i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></a><i>.</i>]</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Then you worked with Lazlo Bane.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b><i>[laughs]</i> Yeah,
a good friend of mine, Chad Fischer, that’s his band.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>We're very good friends.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Also, another composer. [<i>To hear “Buttercup,” a song that Lyle wrote
with Chad, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcUysH6DJc" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>You've performed live a lot of with
artists. You had to cover a lot of other guitarist’s parts. How did feel
playing guitar parts that were not originally yours?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Well, you know, when you work with a number of artists and number of
bands, you learn how to be a chameleon.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>You learn how to play
other people's music and guitar parts if that's part of the job.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>It's part and parcel of being a session musician.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>It's great in that it helps widen your scope of interpretation of music
when you learn other people's material.</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>JC: Is there anyone
who stands out during your session musician time</i></b>?</div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Well, they all stand out for very different reasons.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>I would have to list a few of them.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>You know, Todd Rundgren
was a huge influence on me before I started working in his band and recording with him. The
most substantial are Todd Rundgren, Beck, Sting, and Frank Black.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>They all had a huge influence on my music and my versatility.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>You know, they don't sound anything alike and through their vast differences,
important to my growth as a musician. It was and still is rewarding to work
with such a wide range of artists.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>So how did you go from being a
session player to writing
music for movies?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>It was through session work. I was working with a film
composer named Ed Shearmur, and his wife was an executive at Universal
Pictures. <i></i>Harry Garfield, who was the executive Vice President of Music at Universal, needed a guitar player for a
personal project.<i> </i>I gave him a CD of some of my music to take with him, and that's how I
ended up with Judd Apatow. [<i>Judd Apatow is the director of </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Knocked Up </span><i>and </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The<i> </i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">40-Year-Old-Virgin</span><i>.</i>] It was through that connection.<i>
</i>Judd had his own take on
comedy, his own formula—his own brand of heartfelt comedies—and it was great
being part of that scene
when his films were exploding, it was very fortuitous to be in his team.</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>JC:</i></b><b><i> What's the difference for you
musically as being a session player as opposed to scoring the music?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>I’m not writing the music as a session player.<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span>I'm not hiring musicians, working budgets, working with directors, film
studios, and music contractors.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>It's a big responsibility being a composer as
opposed to being a session musician where you essentially show up on the day. Most
often you’re hearing the music at the beginning of the session and by the end of the day, you’re done. So, it’s a gigantic difference.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Maybe the same difference as farming to being a chef. <i>[laughs]</i> It's somewhat
related, but it's a different aspect.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Again, it's a much bigger
responsibility being a composer, I feel.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Yeah, okay. Is there any particular film score that you've worked with that you're
super proud of</i></b><b><i>?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Super proud of <i>Superbad.</i></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Okay. That one particularly?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>It was an R&B and funk-based score, and Sony was okay with financing
and bringing the architects of that music into the fold.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>So, we flew out Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo
Starks, and Bernie Worrell.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>That kind of
legitimacy in that genre was brought to my music. [<i>To hear Lyle’s
music for </i><b>Superbad, </b><i>click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUUSdyYpwT8" target="_blank"><i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></a><i>.</i>]</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>JC: Also, I understand you've
worked as a producer as well.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yes, but to be precise I produced the
original score for soundtrack, I was not a producer of the film. My
largest scale music production was for the film <i>Get Him to the Greek </i>with Russell Brand and Jonah
Hill.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Twenty-something songs that had to be written, recorded and produced for
the soundtrack.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>We whittled down our favorite ones to be in the movie and then which
also appear on the soundtrack CD.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>That was great fun.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>[<i>To watch </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the “African Child” video from </i><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Get Him to the Greek</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-YCZr0epts" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">here</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.]</i></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> What is the difference between producing a soundtrack as opposed to
composing it?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Well, there is overlapping in the two.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>Being a composer, I’m automatically
the producer of the music.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>When I’m producing a soundtrack, I’ll bring
in musicians<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>and follow through to mixing –
that’s the same job between the two hats.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> You released </i></b><b>Uncommon
Measures</b><b><i>
in 2021. Your last solo album was released in 2009. Why did this one come out much later?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>The reason it came out much later was due to my workload composing over
the last decade. To
add to that, it takes a long time to make a record
of this scope; just the preparation and planning of orchestral recording alone
took a good amount of time. I worked on the record when time permitted, within
a four-year period.<i> </i>That's why it took so long.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><b>Uncommon Measures <i>is a jazz fusion album. That’s very different from
what you’ve played on before. How did you decide on jazz fusion?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>I think there's a thread of that kind of music on all of my solo
records.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>For this record<i>,</i> jazz fusion
only applies to certain aspects, whereas other some are neither jazz nor
fusion. There are elements of rock, classical, soundtrack, prog rock, funk.<i> </i>All the tracks are instrumental and
feature high levels of musicianship.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>This record was an opportunity
to express various sides of who I am as a musician.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>You brought in John Ashton
Thomas who had done the music orchestrating for </i></b><b>Captain Marvel</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> and </i><b>Black Panthe</b><b>r<i>.</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Oh, John’s an orchestrator, arranger, conductor and composer. A brilliant musician all around<i>.
</i>We've worked together within
thirteen years on some of my movies.<i> </i>We’re kindred spirits in music, loving jazz,
progressive rock, the music of our formative years.<i> </i>I knew I wanted him to be involved
because he's such a great orchestrator and arranger. It’s a real joy<i> </i>and
for me, each time a learning experience in the orchestral domain.</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Now, had you used an orchestra on
your other solo albums?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>Yes, on my previous record I had some strings, miscellaneous woodwinds
and brass, but recorded in piecemeal fashion. hadn’t booked a studio with a large
orchestra for my own project, although I have several times for my film scores.</div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JXlM2dBHcYao7l5jqZeaiTuVAwdV7lD-JO-bM4Bm4JTi081LaC5fWGQCW1LJ0U5IxVRyf7_tqLQYBCsDIVVjwhsgi8_iw-2ONgN3W-6VIm_ohSEPlm2rfulWFaY0U7bbgNTcaUDN2SKw/s1280/Orchestra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JXlM2dBHcYao7l5jqZeaiTuVAwdV7lD-JO-bM4Bm4JTi081LaC5fWGQCW1LJ0U5IxVRyf7_tqLQYBCsDIVVjwhsgi8_iw-2ONgN3W-6VIm_ohSEPlm2rfulWFaY0U7bbgNTcaUDN2SKw/w400-h225/Orchestra.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><i>Orchestra playing on </i><b>Uncommon Measures </b><i>(2021)</i></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i>JC:</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><i>Is there a particular favorite
for </i></b><b>Uncommon Measures<i>?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b><i> </i></b>I like them all quite a bit, but I would say that “North Star” is akin
to the “greatest hit” of the entire record because it features the orchestra<i>, </i>has<i> </i>fantastic solos with drums, violin
and guitar. It has a
section that’s purely orchestral and dynamic. That piece alone is a pretty full
meal.<i> </i>[<a><i>To watch
the “North Star” video click </i></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gjwm4KZgWI" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC: </i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Have you ever toured behind any
of your solo albums, or are you planning to tour behind this one, </i></b><b>Uncommon Measures<i>?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW: I haven't toured any of my music <i> </i>primarily<i> </i>because I've been busy working for other people.
That has been my primary focus in making a living, and quite frankly how I
was able to self-fund such a record as <i>Uncommon Measures</i>. It was not done on
the cheap<i> </i>and<i> </i>was
a huge expense out of pocket.<i> </i>Additionally<i>, </i>it's very to expensive tour
without the support of a label.<i> </i>I've got a family and need to be responsible and keep the
money coming in.<i> </i>So, at least for the time being going on the road—especially with an
orchestra—is not in the works.</div><div><br /></div><div>All that said, if an orchestra in Europe would finance to have me over to do some shows,
that would work.</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>JC: In addition to recording </i></b><b>Uncommon Measures<i>, what else have you been doing the pandemic?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>I worked through the whole pandemic.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>I write music for Facebook,
which is another job that I have.<i><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></i>They have a program called "Facebook
Sound Collection."</div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh really?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>LW:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> </i></b>It's essentially what they call "library music." It’s license free
music for Facebook and Instagram users to accompany the videos they post.
It’s a free service. The music can be downloaded from the Facebook Sound
Collection web site. I’m one of many writers for the program, and
was writing music for it during the pandemic.<b></b></div><div><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><br /></span></b></div><div>Also last
year, I released twelve records on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify<i>, </i>etc<i>. </i>They’re my favorite collections of
songs written for the Facebook Sound Collection, in a number of styles, also
all instrumental.<i> </i>They're available for streaming
and downloading on all the popular formats. </div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>JC:</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>It’s quite a musical journey you had. You
first started with Bourgeois Tagg, then a session musician, then you're a film
composer, then a soundtrack producer and in addition you do these instrumental
solo records. It's quite a lot of destinations
along the way</i></b>. <b><i>How would you
describe the whole journey?</i></b><div><br /></div><div>LW: Yeah, it's been a physical manifestation of all my interests along the
way. I feel very
lucky to have had these experiences in such a broad arena. We all put our energy into the
areas of life we're most passionate about .My musical interests just happen to vary widely and so it
was natural for me to sidestep into different genres with different kinds of
artists and then into the world of composing. The key is to say “yes” to any opportunity,
even if it feels like a stretch. For me, that’s what led to other projects, and those to
other projects. Through dedication, persistence, and
perseverance through good times and bad, I was able to sustain a career over
the long haul in this ever changing music business, and feel very blessed that
things worked out the way they did. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 4.5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p></div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-72430122704177886662021-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:002021-06-22T14:04:09.406-07:00A Very Candid Conversation With Leslie Hunt<div class="separator"><br /></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf9oVYS-hgOs4XcEWbjsMja6tZAiAK0RPb65VPSC4_cnT7ZBgAWFlQQxdquT3nDeH_ZIthOAt4kEvRj2T96I0Cvvc2I-031Z4eA662tSa1P5mmoQPXG-kD5K9UTABdUinXoBsRQM8HSIx/s300/Leslie+Cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf9oVYS-hgOs4XcEWbjsMja6tZAiAK0RPb65VPSC4_cnT7ZBgAWFlQQxdquT3nDeH_ZIthOAt4kEvRj2T96I0Cvvc2I-031Z4eA662tSa1P5mmoQPXG-kD5K9UTABdUinXoBsRQM8HSIx/s0/Leslie+Cover.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Leslie Hunt (year unknown)</span></i></b></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>On the music reality show </i><b>American Idol</b><i>,
most of the contestants sing pop like Kelly Clarkson, or country like Carrie
Underwood. Leslie Hunt was a completely different contestant. In 2007, Leslie was
a semifinalist on season 6 of </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">American
Idol,<i> and would stay in the semi-finals for two week. On her first week, she
covered Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.” On the second week, she covered Nina
Simone’s “Feeling Good.” At the end of her performance, she was “scat singing,”
which is an improvised way of soloing using various nonsense sounds and syllables.
Her scatting didn’t warm the hearts of Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, and she
was voted</i></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>off
the show shortly after. Her performance of “Feeling Good” and the reactions by
the judges can be seen </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO5bVxHVcuU" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Leslie may have been done with </i><b>American Idol</b>, <i>but
she was not done with her music career. In 2009, she recorded a solo album, </i><b>Your
Hair Is On Fire</b><i>, and then joined District 97 as their lead singer.
District 97 was unlike anything that Leslie had done before. They are an
unusual music mixture of metal and progressive rock. (</i>An example of the
musical style of District 97 can be heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TduqAiwp89E" target="_blank">here</a> in the video for
“Snow Country.”) <i>District 97 have recorded six albums, starting with </i><b>Hybrid
Child</b><i> (2010)</i> <i>and most recently with </i><b>Screenplay</b><i>(2021).
Their music has received favorable mentions from legends in the progressive
“prog” rock genre as John Wetton (</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King
Crimson and Asia<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">) and Bill Bruford (</span>Yes).</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In addition to fronting District 97, Leslie has decided
to make two solo EPs in 2021. The first EP, </i><b>Ascend, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">will be released on June 25, and the second </span><i>and
EP, </i><b>Descend</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">,</span><i> will
be released in September. Each EP will have seven songs and both will contain
new music genres for Leslie to explore.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we will cover Leslie’s
musical journey from </i><b>American Idol </b><i>to District 97 and her current
solo endeavors. I want to think Billy James from Glass Onyon PR for setting up
this interview with Leslie, but most of all, I want to thank Leslie.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So what got you interested in music?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Leslie Hunt: Well, I was raised in a very musical family.
Both of my parents played music. They performed it, rehearsed it, or taught it
in some capacity every day. I loved to sing, and I started playing piano at the
age of four. Music was just a huge part of my upbringing. All of my aunts and
uncles, and cousins, and grandparents on both sides played music. It was just a
super musical environment. I basically had no choice.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>When you
were on </i>American Idol<i>, you mentioned that your grandfather was a
particular influence. How was he an influence on you?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: Yeah. Well, I
grew up in the same neighborhood as my grandparents, so I was able to walk over
to their house quite easily. And my grandpa was very supportive of my songs.
When I first became a songwriter, he loved to listen to them and analyze the
lyrics. He would say. “Oh, play that part again.” With grandparents, it’s
usually a less complicated relationship than with your own parents, so in a lot
of ways that was probably the easiest adult relationship that I’d had at that
time. It was sad to lose him so early in my career because I felt he would
really have gotten a kick out of everything I’m doing now. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>When did
you discover that you could write songs?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: I think the
first complete song with words and instrumentation was when I was fourteen—that
was like when I finished a song. I used to write little mini songs, like silly
songs all the time. The first song of mine I performed with my friends when I
was in a band in high school. The band was like, “Well, you don’t need to be
writing songs for this band,” and I’m like, “Oh yeah. All right. Challenge
accepted.” And yeah, and it just hasn’t stopped.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Okay. I
understand</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b><i>before </i>American Idol<i>, you actually teamed up with Jim Peterik </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(</span>performer and songwriter for “Eye of
the Tiger” by Survivor, and “Vehicle” by the Ides of March).</b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jim Peterik took
me under his wing when I was fifteen years old, and he started mentoring me as
a songwriter. He helped me shaped my songs and record them. We still work together,
actually. He helped me a lot when I had a development deal with Sony, which didn’t
end up going through, but he definitely was a big help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>I
understand you had a health scare shortly before you went on </i>American Idol<i>?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah. That was
actually a big reason why I even did <i>American Idol</i> in the first place,
because I realized how I almost died at the drop of a hat. I ended up getting the
Yellow Fever vaccination to go to Brazil. We had plans to be in the Amazon
rainforest, so I had to get the Yellow Fever vaccination. But I had a very
adverse reaction to it, and basically all of my organs started to fail, and I
was more or less unconscious for roughly ten days. My parents came to say
goodbye to me, and I ended up pulling through. The doctors<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>said
that if I lived, I would be basically a vegetable and I would suffer severe
brain damage. But
none of those
things ended up happening, and I’m completely unscathed. So I was<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>thinking,
“I’d better do something big—so yeah, that’s pretty scary.” But I don’t
remember any of it. I just remember waking up and feeling pretty much okay.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Okay. How
did you become involved with </i>American Idol<i>?</i></b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, I
auditioned. I was one of the 104,000 people to audition in Season 6. I was a
singer and had always been, and I thought that might be a key thing to do. I’d
never seen the show, so I auditioned without any knowledge of what the show was
like. It probably would have been helpful for me to know a little more about it
going into it . . . but yeah. I ended up making it to the top twenty, so I was
like a top ten female finalist. But overall, I was a semifinalist. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIv6f1i8hnjb14qJOG11G9Q1hRZnAaqGPC8PHVsx-DqsSI_m8ZTjdn5SgAFtJR6fN0eVMgmoMEzJ5ypCWQ1qf4O90vkJscM797EclX4BaB22sueKVz8tw9gzpiVOJ3_e9CWfJpVsf9Kda_/s240/AmericanIdol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIv6f1i8hnjb14qJOG11G9Q1hRZnAaqGPC8PHVsx-DqsSI_m8ZTjdn5SgAFtJR6fN0eVMgmoMEzJ5ypCWQ1qf4O90vkJscM797EclX4BaB22sueKVz8tw9gzpiVOJ3_e9CWfJpVsf9Kda_/s0/AmericanIdol.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Leslie on <b>American Idol (2007)</b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Okay, I was
about to ask if you had seen </i>American Idol <i>before you got on the show since
you performed both Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, both who aren’t usually
covered by </i>American Idol<i> contestants.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’d previously
just been to music school, and I’d been performing in different jazz clubs
around Chicago. I played piano and sang exclusively. I didn’t really like just
standing and singing. I needed to be playing piano at the same time. Actually,
that’s how I entered <i>American Idol</i> too. So standing there and singing in
<i>American Idol</i> felt very strange. I strongly would have preferred to have
my piano in front of me. I did Nina’s “Feeling Good” pretty often. And I just
kind of mimicked Nina Simone’s scat, which did not translate well, so that was
a pretty hilarious unfortunate choice. I identified as kind of a soulful
singer, but in hindsight, I guess I wasn’t really developed yet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>You would
scat again over the closing credits of </i>American Idol<i>.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think I
actually started to swear, and they cut me out before I got there. I walked off
the stage, and I’m like, “Oh my God, what did I just do? What did I just say?” It
was a horrible thing to ask a contestant to do in the first place, let alone
something that’s so kooky. To have credits rolling when you’re like expected to
do this big scat. I’m like, “Oh no, this is horrible.” So I was going to sing
about how horrible this is.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>You scatted,
“Why did I decide to scat? America doesn’t care for jazz.” You maintained a
good sense of humor after what had just happened.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yep. That’s
me. I’ll spin the worst things. Try to make it funny somehow. It’s a coping
skill.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-weight: bold;">JC:</i> <b><i>You started
your solo career before joining District 97. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard “All The Way” and “American Dream Man.”
Those songs don’t sound like jazz to me.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now those are
pretty pop. The first album that I made after <i>American Idol</i> was decidedly
kind of all over the place in genre. You know, it had one jazz piece on the
album. Jazz drummer Vinnie Colaiuta is on the whole record. There was like a
slight jazz influence.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>You
know, complex harmonies and things like slightly unexpected turns but sonically
it hits the ear as more of a pop record for sure. [<i>To see</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>Leslie perform “American Dream Man,” click
</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM5p_Lbmo3M" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEF1Z1EKUK7f78F15OKC5zkb6Tfxai04JPd5zACS-GjFNYqe66LEA5SX_ckbo_ZeUsxxryyueNVWF9-eK5Y4osNCQLtSvQsXNI6YFXW_Mwh5Y8sNOUjwUpR6tUilBP5_RVosKNBiUh1nz/s236/HaironFire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEF1Z1EKUK7f78F15OKC5zkb6Tfxai04JPd5zACS-GjFNYqe66LEA5SX_ckbo_ZeUsxxryyueNVWF9-eK5Y4osNCQLtSvQsXNI6YFXW_Mwh5Y8sNOUjwUpR6tUilBP5_RVosKNBiUh1nz/s0/HaironFire.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Your Hair is on Fire </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album cover (2009)</span></i></div><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>After hearing
your solo singles and </i>American Idol <i>stuff, I don’t think anybody could
have predicted your next turn. You became the singer of metal prog</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b><i>[</i>progressive rock<i>] band
District 97. How did that all come about?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was in music
school, and that was how I met the bulk of the band members, at the time at
least. We all went to school together. When I got off <i>American Idol</i> and got
back into town, Jonathan [Schang], the drummer, asked me to open up for
District 97 as a solo artist. So I did, and I stuck around to check out their
set and they didn’t have a singer yet. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I
was blown away.</p><p class="MsoNormal">My sister
had just passed away and she was a big fan of metal. District 97 had enough of
a metal kind of quality in it that I just felt like I needed to kind of create an
alter ego for her. For her kind of rebellious energy, and anger, and just a way
to kind of get some of those feelings out. District 97 has been a wonderful
outlet ever since. I’ve been in it for almost twelve, thirteen years or
something.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>District 97
is metal, but it also has a prog element to it as well.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: My dad was a free
jazz drummer. [<i>Free jazz is</i><i><span style="background: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span>an improvised
style of jazz characterized by the absence of set chord patterns or time
patterns.</i>] Prog’s sort of like free jazz. It begins with a very bizarre,
complex melodic odd kind of time signature line, which is really unconventional
but complicated. It’s almost impossible to dance to.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BWNR-R-YPKAPRHbEYllcw2pzt2GYgzT5mRi1Mf5XLAL6KzSXbo7_fgwgFB3DGSYlHVJMIkuLd0y5-89z_cd9mhGLbEYs36YAkRX0_PR0Hkx6UqbkYUqZ2pOJwAfEXok_30vYYJYxTklP/s1024/DISTRICT-97-2-1024x543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BWNR-R-YPKAPRHbEYllcw2pzt2GYgzT5mRi1Mf5XLAL6KzSXbo7_fgwgFB3DGSYlHVJMIkuLd0y5-89z_cd9mhGLbEYs36YAkRX0_PR0Hkx6UqbkYUqZ2pOJwAfEXok_30vYYJYxTklP/s320/DISTRICT-97-2-1024x543.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">District 97 in 2018</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had that
grooming already and had that sensibility and appreciation for that. So, I
guess the avant-garde didn’t feel like a stretch thing. Although, what I had
been doing at that point wasn’t along those lines, but I just felt like I was
able to fit right in and come up with melodies and words that would make it a
little more memorable. I brought some of my pop background to those complex songs,
and I think it worked out pretty well.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>I do detect
a minor bit of jazz in “Forest Fire” when you’re doing the verses.</i></b> [<i>To
hear “Forest Fire,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFCCACPiItg" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: Oh, yeah. [<i>Hums
the “Forest Fire” melody</i>.] I hear that. It’s in there somewhere.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Now
District 97 was getting attention from some prog legends. First, there was John
Wetton.</i></b> <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">[</span>John Wetton
has played bass and vocals with King Crimson and Asia.<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">]<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: We did
multiple tours with John Wetton. He really liked our music. John and I got
along as singers and front men. We talked about a lot in common, and he was
just such a generous, humble, appreciative person. He really opened up a lot of
doors for us with his audience. I think there were three times when we did a
set of our own music, and then he joined us on one song and then we played a
bunch of classics
like<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>King Crimson.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Did
you cover any Asia tunes?</i></b> <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: You know, we
were about to. We didn’t end up getting there. Unfortunately, John<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>got sick and we had to cancel it. So we
didn’t have a chance to perform the Asia songs with him, but that was the plan.
I think we had planned to do “Heat of the Moment.” </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Another
prog legend, Bill Bruford, who was the drummer for Yes, has praised District
97.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: Bill Bruford
is a big, big supporter. He mentioned us in <i>Rolling Stone</i> as a younger
band to kind of look out for. That was really cool. A younger band that’s been
at it for a long time, I might add. I’ve never met Bill myself, but he’s very
supportive of us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>I was
hearing the recent album </i>Screenplay,<i> and you did some covers. What’s not
unusual is that you covered Yes’ “</i>Long Distance Runaround,<i>” but you also
did “</i>Walking On Sunshine<i>” which is not prog or metal.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Right, I know.
I was working with a company called Music Dealers, and they asked me to record
a version of “Walking On Sunshine.” Neil Kernon, who used to produce Hall &
Oates, produced that track at Wax Trax in Chicago. District 97 had it in the
vault. Jonathan, our drummer, runs the band and he keeps stuff around for
special things like this. So we had content and we piled it all together. You <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>know, it doesn’t all match, but it’s all us.
It’s all cool. [<i>To hear District 97’s “Walking on Sunshine,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtOgcY8vlZI" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.]</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>So what
made you decide to go back into your solo career? It’s been a while since your
last solo album.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: Yeah, it sure
has. I just got really inspired again. My boyfriend and I have been together for
almost two and a half years. I got very inspired when I started dating him. I
just felt like I wanted to write songs again. I was writing some love songs,
but I’ve also since written songs around the big George Floyd protests across
the whole world. I’ve also written songs about the quarantine and the effects it
has had on humanity. My boyfriend kind of helped open the floodgates.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>I’ve
listened to the </i>Ascend<i> album.</i></b> <b><i>I understand that this is a
two-part series</i></b>. <b><i>On June 25, the </i>Ascend<i> album will be
released. But
in September 2021,</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><b>Descend, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a second album, will be released.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Both albums
are stylistically quite different. They sort of represent the world
pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, but they are . . . you know, they feel like they
could become one body of work. Like maybe go into a final double issue or
something like that to kind of combine the two.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ascend </i>has
kind of a Nashville feeling to it at times.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3cEBsTDDCTH5OuUTbMa9wE43tglTauBMhi2pU6kZRxIwEcwjJ7rKDSVlZk4Unlx7tH1kLZveSACo48otxyLa7tr1VJl2YNj8rpztJ-M0m7cUaeuUrEIzL6wRIpOzs89-79NRQlb1wHpU/s1000/Ascend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3cEBsTDDCTH5OuUTbMa9wE43tglTauBMhi2pU6kZRxIwEcwjJ7rKDSVlZk4Unlx7tH1kLZveSACo48otxyLa7tr1VJl2YNj8rpztJ-M0m7cUaeuUrEIzL6wRIpOzs89-79NRQlb1wHpU/s320/Ascend.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Ascend </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album
cover (2021)</span></i><b style="text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>I noticed
some country elements in one of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
songs from </i>Ascend<i>, “Down the Road.” I hadn’t heard any previous country
themes from you.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Down the
Road” sounds like a driving song, like watching the trees go by. Kind of like
writing a letter to my sister who passed. Kind of catching her up with
everything that she’s missed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>One
interesting choice off </i>Ascend <i>is “</i>Wolf Cried Boy<i>.” That’s an
interesting title choice. How did that come about?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So I kind of
slipped the metaphor of the boy who cried wolf. In this song, I’m kind of
depicting somebody as the wolf. Basically, the girl has a lot of boyfriends and
keeps trying to tell everybody, “This boyfriend is the best one yet. No, this
one is the best one yet.” Kind of like you just had a long line of
relationships when you start to kind of feel embarrassed after a while. You can
imagine that people are gossiping about you. So yeah, it’s just sort of that. I
don’t know. It’s a song about fear of judgment, or mild paranoia, I guess. [<i>To
hear an acoustic take on “Wolf Cried Boy,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xue9nKJ9Vjk" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>]</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Are there
any other tracks from </i>Ascend <i>you want to talk about?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, I’ve got
some videos coming out from <i>Ascend</i>. There’s going to be a really, really
fun stage video for “There You Are.” [<i>To watch the video for “Ther</i><i>e You Are,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVURbhxrO1U" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.</i>] And
then there’s this really cool video coming out for “Right Here.” When I wrote
that song, I instantly had a visual of what I thought the video would be, and I
think it did a good job with my vision. It’s like visualizing carrying this
giant heart around the city of Chicago and trying to fit it into my car. Crossing
streets just carrying this huge heart. And it’s heavy and it’s windy out, and
it’s really difficult. I hope other people will like that one and think it’s
pretty cool.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Talk to
me about </i>Descend<i>.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’m actually
working on <i>Descend,</i> and my producer is in town right now. I’m taking a
break from recording to talk to you right now.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>Really?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And then I’ll
go right back to work once we’re done. <i>Descend </i>has got some funk and
soul quality to it, but it’s still my songwriting. It’s still my voice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>And soul
funk is yet another genre you have chosen to work on. Do you decide on genres
before working on them?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I don’t think so.
I’m just realizing after the fact that they are kind of going along those
lines, but it’s not something I deliberately did. I don’t know. I don’t think
it’s something I decided that I was going to try to do. I think it just
happened. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I listen to
a huge variety of genres. My main income source as a musician is that I lead an
event band. We do a lot of weddings and stuff like that, and so I listen to
just tons of different stuff because of that. And also just with District 97, I
feel like I’m exposed to a huge variety all the time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>What plans
do you have with either District 97 or your solo career? Do you have any
touring plans in the future?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, we do.
District 97 is planning a tour at the end of October to go down South maybe.
We’re going to be in Florida and those surrounding areas. And then I am trying
to line up some release shows for both <i>Ascend</i> and <i>Descend,</i>
respectively. Yeah, so that’s kind of what I’m working on. I’m still trying to
finalize some of the details to see what I’m going to be able to pull off. You
know, pretty much everyone I know is vaccinated, but some of their standards
are different from what they’re willing to do. So it’s always an adventure at
this point still for music, but the future’s looking pretty good. And we’re going
to be on the cruise again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-weight: bold;">JC:</i> <b><i>The Yes
cruise?</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH: Yes. Yeah,
we’re going on the next one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><i>It’s been
quite a music journey. First, you started with </i>American Idol<i>, then
District 97, and now you’re back on your solo career.</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LH:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, I think what
really shaped my direction was my affinity for songwriting. I’m always taking a
thing of beauty and making it more beautiful. I think that’s how I’ve always
kind of dealt with life and also try to help those around me. My sister kind of
had a troubled time of this thing called life, and I wrote a lot of songs to
hopefully inspire her to see things in a new way. When I realized that I could
really affect people and help them see things in a way that I found helpful,
that’s really what did it for me. Just the outreach of it. I wanted to be a
therapist, honestly, but then I started writing songs, and I would give a tape
to a bunch of people, and they would all tell me how much my songs helped them.
I was like, “Okay, this is it. I love this.” Honestly, performing is a huge
part of my identity, and it just really feels like I get to be my whole self. I
need the performance, and I need the songwriting and the singing.</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-29461379399259011582021-02-28T14:32:00.000-08:002021-02-28T14:33:33.110-08:00A Very Candid Conversation with Demitri Lerios<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjnTvTUnIgqMHKhodmZF1p5T7El0hbr1w9aK6MxcqMhLMe14pZh911TucLcPTRASFxsqcJtoGLLYzgQ-yJ-Sdo-23zFGxahIuj8bVmiZPTQSMFgyYzjmMUpJ_q2yETeqrkK7Bo5tJK9Cw/s300/Demitri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjnTvTUnIgqMHKhodmZF1p5T7El0hbr1w9aK6MxcqMhLMe14pZh911TucLcPTRASFxsqcJtoGLLYzgQ-yJ-Sdo-23zFGxahIuj8bVmiZPTQSMFgyYzjmMUpJ_q2yETeqrkK7Bo5tJK9Cw/w499-h280/Demitri.jpg" width="499" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Demitri Lerios had music ingrained in him since he was
born. His father Cory Lerios was a member of soft rock band Pablo Cruise. When Demitri
was nine, he started playing drums. His brother Michael played guitar, and
eventually they formed a band together. That band would not last, so they formed
a new band called Fox Wilde. The name “Fox Wilde” came from an alter-ego
concept that Demitri had come up with. Demitri had thought about this calm,
ultra-confident person named Fox Wilde. In addition to drums, Demitri sings and
plays guitar, bass, and piano They have a wide music range that goes from dance
pop to arena rock.</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Demitri and Michael wrote and produced all of their music
for Fox Wilde, starting in 2017. Their music caught immediate attention. </i><b>People
</b><i>magazine did a feature on them in 2017. Throughout 2018 to 2020, before
the COVID lockdown, Fox Wilde did a lot of concert shows. In addition, they
starting writing background music for TV, including a documentary by Demi
Lovato called </i><b>Simply Complicated</b><i>.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>During the COVID pandemic, the Lerios brothers focused on
writing songs for a new album. In 2021, Fox Wilde focused on material for their
upcoming debut EP </i><b>Killer</b><i>. In addition, <a style="mso-comment-date: 20210226T1637; mso-comment-reference: AI_2;">they plan to record another EP </a></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 2;"><b>Desire</b><i>. </i></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>Both
EPs are material that will come together for a full-length album called </i><b>A
Psycho Killer with Desire</b><i>, which will be released at the end of 2021. Demitri
has suffered from alopecia since he was sixteen years old, and he has come to
terms with it recently. His struggle and resolve with alopecia will be
reflected in the upcoming music.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this candid conversation, we cover the beginning of
Demitri’s musical career, his past and current work with Fox Wilde, writing music
for the Demi Lovato documentary, and</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i>his
struggle and resolve with alopecia. I want to thank Nichole Peters-Good<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of Jensen Communications for setting this
interview up, but mainly I want to thank Demitri.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So
what got you interested in music?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Demitri Lerios:<i> </i>I have always been around music. My
family just always had music around, so I think naturally it's something you
just gravitate to. When I was nine years old, I woke up one morning and told my
dad I wanted to play the drums. He kind of looked at me and was like, “You
don't know how to play the drums.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">So being a good dad
he took me to a store, just to kind of get my drumming out. He was <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>just
kind of like, “Oh, we'll go look at drums.” I guess I just sat down and I
started playing. It was so natural. And my dad was like, “Okay, I guess we'll
actually get you a drum set.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">So that started my
musical journey. My older brother, Michael, who is also in Fox Wilde, played
guitar. I think why I wanted to play drums was because he played guitar and I
kind of wanted to hang out with him all the time. And he didn't want to hang
out with his little brother, so I thought, “What does a guitar player need?”
They need a drummer. That started our musical journey together and where we're
at now. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>Talk about the musical journey.</b></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>It stemmed from us just jamming. We
started to love the same music and have the same aspirations. We just continued
to grow together musically just by working together as a bunch. </p><p class="MsoNormal">We originally started
another band, which was a really great education for us. It started this fire
in us to write and produce, which I had never done. I was just the drummer. And
we were fortunate enough to be in the room with some really incredible writers
and producers and just soaking up every single bit of information that we could
about this business and everything. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC: Who were the incredible writers and producers you
spoke with?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>Right. Well, I was fifteen years old when
I met Desmond Child [<i>songwriter of major hits for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, KISS,
and Alice Cooper</i>] for one. I was just kind of soaking things up. When you
sit in the room with Desmond, you start to see the genius at work by how
meticulous he is about a song title. Desmond said, “Do you have any titles?” We
must have thrown out fifty titles and he said, “No, it needs to be better,” to
every single one of them.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And he sat there
until we actually got it. But the interesting thing about it is once we got the
title, the song suddenly starts to write itself. It suddenly starts to just
form because you can write. The title of the song is everything. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Another mentor is Andreas Carlson, who also wrote NSYNC’s “Bye,
Bye, Bye,” Backstreets Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” and tons of just awesome
songs. We went to Sweden with Andreas and he took us to meet a lot of awesome songwriters.
Everybody has a little bit of a different way of approaching a song, but there
is this commonality between all these people where it's like, “Oh, the song
title.” The song title must be really important if everybody keeps talking about it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC: What happened
with the original band and how did it become Fox Wilde?<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL: The initial band kind of fell apart, but then Fox Wilde
was born. That was really the outlet I think we were looking for to put all of
our creativity and put everything into it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The last band was
just a little bit more manufactured. It wasn't really us. We weren't really
spearheading the operation. We were just a part of it. So Fox Wilde really
became the outlet to discover what we could do creatively, and there were kind
of no limits to it. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC: How did the name Fox Wilde
come about?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>I was driving one day<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>and
I wanted to create a character that was the antithesis to what I was at the
time. And I was like, “Who is this confident, daring character? What's his
name?” I liked the name Fox for some reason, and I thought “Fox Wilde.” I don't
know where Wilde came from with the <i>e</i>,
but it just made sense.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <a><b>Let's
talk about the beginning of Fox Wilde with your first single “Soap.”</b></a></i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span><b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoCommentReference"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VD1t5h7n662JeEJAWHLZIlU0nl-OO0Vl4X9SHCSzy-C3UAXTBpv2rO9Y9hRsRETOBIpYane4uupgDb7xrcnY8kK-OoMUl3YYJtywlATZMT8cTJWeytLLVFI5mMAxUvBFz-L3NKgHNXmy/s225/Soap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VD1t5h7n662JeEJAWHLZIlU0nl-OO0Vl4X9SHCSzy-C3UAXTBpv2rO9Y9hRsRETOBIpYane4uupgDb7xrcnY8kK-OoMUl3YYJtywlATZMT8cTJWeytLLVFI5mMAxUvBFz-L3NKgHNXmy/w272-h272/Soap.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Soap” single by Fox Wilde</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>"Soap" was the perfect kind of
beginning to what Fox Wilde could do. I think that really was a test if Michael
and I can write songs.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">So we sat down and it
happened. It was really a test on how we could kind of just create a song from
this funny title, “Soap.” How can we make that interesting? How do we be ironic
with it?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And it just came
together really quickly, actually. I put a track together. Michael came in and
we started singing melodies. From there, we were bouncing off each other and
there was the lyrics, “I want you close. I'm on you just like soap.” <i>(To watch
the video for “Soap,” please click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpMSG5KMjrw" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>You
really took the lesson of song titles from those great songwriters to heart.
First there is “Soap.” Then the next interesting song title is “The Lonely Inn.”
I’m thinking, “How exactly can an inn be lonely?”</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNg1UKCUIMkL_awfoBLoSluK0b4J2NWinQCsrhsnVahUat4i5db-zCTduCR17sqds2XBZTIQl8QfP2vpIM3skOq1a3cJdt1n9GN8P08F6E1ffsZkVEZHO9YbpyYQYDNTBiI86T4yhHnsl8/s500/Lonely+Inn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNg1UKCUIMkL_awfoBLoSluK0b4J2NWinQCsrhsnVahUat4i5db-zCTduCR17sqds2XBZTIQl8QfP2vpIM3skOq1a3cJdt1n9GN8P08F6E1ffsZkVEZHO9YbpyYQYDNTBiI86T4yhHnsl8/s320/Lonely+Inn.jpg" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“The Lonely Inn” single by Fox Wilde</span></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>That's true. “The Lonely Inn” was actually
the second song we wrote. I was flipping through these old <i>Esquire </i>magazines<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span>from
the 1930s, and I saw this thing called “the Lonely Inn.” And I was like, “What
is that? That's so cool.” It was this place where lonely people go. They go to
this place to find somebody to love. That was the irony in that. One of the
greatest lessons we've learned about writing is irony. Irony is key to having a
song. <i>(To hear “The Lonely Inn,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qylHpXJ_TU" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>There’s
an interesting track you did in 2017 called “Life.” I mean that song is an
anomaly because all of your other songs sound like they could be in a dance
club. Yet "Life" wouldn’t seem appropriate for a dance club. Can you
talk about that one?<o:p></o:p></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASCYbPCaRYO6W-2PqQcscRJikYFfjfGdZopBTtJnTOflaROxnSnKq0ybFsDr0S3CCyZWc-nFQN7Jv_EppbeNbL7VlV5CKPiS5da8rfUW6PeYRGQQsuS7otd6rwtEXMlgJxwTWVaAa1jqd/s400/Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASCYbPCaRYO6W-2PqQcscRJikYFfjfGdZopBTtJnTOflaROxnSnKq0ybFsDr0S3CCyZWc-nFQN7Jv_EppbeNbL7VlV5CKPiS5da8rfUW6PeYRGQQsuS7otd6rwtEXMlgJxwTWVaAa1jqd/s320/Life.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Life” single by Fox Wilde</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>DL:<i> </i>Fox Wilde was maybe entering into a more mature
way of writing. "Life" was actually the first song that actually had a
truth and meaning behind it. And it wasn't that “Soap” or “The Lonely Inn”
didn't have truth or meaning—it’s just that those were fun songs.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I had basically the front line of like
"Woke up this morning, felt so incomplete." And then the chorus of
"What is life? What is life? It's not time to say goodbye.” I showed
Michael that lyric and it just connected to Michael because his best friend and
his best friend’s brother passed away in a car accident.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>Oh,
that's terrible.</b></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>I think it touched Michael in a different
way that I didn't really realize at the time that I wrote it because even
though the song’s sad, there is a
hopeful sort of “It's not goodbye, it's I'll see you in a little while.” That’s
how we end the whole song. So that's kind of the story of that song.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I
think it was something that we needed to release. It was just like we
needed it out there. We've heard from people who listen to it and go, “Thank
you for this. This song means a lot. It's helped me.” <i>(To hear “Life,” click
</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAfTaVcdS-4" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>I’m
curious, you were very prolific with a bunch of songs in 2017. But from 2018 to
2020, it’s only one or two songs a year. Why only a handful of songs a year
going forward?</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>Great question. In 2017 there was a lot of
experimenting and just trying to figure out what Fox Wilde was.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And in 2018 to just
up until 2020, we were playing a lot of shows. So it was really heavily geared toward
the live show. That's kind of where "Strangers on the Run" came from.
When we play that song live, there is so
much energy behind it, and it just brought the show around. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC: Talk about “Strangers on the Run.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i> </i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s4XwJPz5rJZCiHls0xci7rTBdRa4KATEbO1EdKbaDZKCtWyifBd0vqwVTuSeUn4bRc9M4JT8-TEt5JYT_FqsJJXWuJdG6bnMLTz8l7UdATmTQVUSByszw8oeDSygODv_NqqZud13sxQk/s500/Strangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s4XwJPz5rJZCiHls0xci7rTBdRa4KATEbO1EdKbaDZKCtWyifBd0vqwVTuSeUn4bRc9M4JT8-TEt5JYT_FqsJJXWuJdG6bnMLTz8l7UdATmTQVUSByszw8oeDSygODv_NqqZud13sxQk/s320/Strangers.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Strangers on the Run” by Fox Wilde</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal">DL: I had that piano riff. I had woke up one morning and
just played that main riff, and had lyrics as, “She's dancing, dancing on her
own tonight. And he's driving on the highway ride.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">And I told Michael, “I
don't know what this is. Let's try to form it together. I don't even have a
title, but I like the idea that this is about two different people who don't
know each other, and they’re living life. If we were to capture this in a movie,
it's at the same time at the same point but just they're in different parts of
the city or something.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">Michael came up with,
"How about the title ‘Strangers on the Run’?” And it just was like, “Oh
my, that's perfect.” That's exactly what this is. So it was kind of this seventies-eighties
rock kind of anthem in a way. And so yeah, that's the story on that and where
that came from. The piano part was the key element to that.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And it's still one of
my favorite bridges. It's such an eclectic bridge. It's got a little bit of
Elton John in it. <i>(To hear “Strangers on the Run,” click </i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbCw-PpFUXU" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a></span><i>).</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>You’ve
mentioned playing piano and drums. How many instruments have you played or
composed with in Fox Wilde?</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>Any type of instrument I can get my hands
on, that's the instrument I play. I play drums, piano, guitar, and bass. All
the key instruments to really move around and compose.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And the same with
Michael. Michael plays the guitar. The guitar is his main instrument, but he
can play piano, drums, bass . . . you know. So it definitely helps in the
composition process because whatever idea is kind of sitting there it's up to
you to just try to execute. When you’re sitting there day after day trying to
write and produce, it kind of natural to start picking up these other
instruments. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>I
understand you have written music for Demi Lovato.</b></i> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL: We actually entered into composition for film and
television. So that was where we started writing things for Demi Lovato. A lot
of her documentaries she had done. We've done ESPN documentaries. So we kind of
entered into a new world, which was actually pulling the lyrics back and no
titles and it was all about the music. We were going for John Williams and Hans
Zimmer scores. (<i>Both John Williams and Hans Zimmer are major movie
composers.</i>) </p><p class="MsoNormal">There is something so
magical about the marriage between music and picture, and without music, the
picture wouldn't have any sort of life to it. What would that opening scene to <i>Forrest Gump </i>be? It would just be a feather
just floating without anything. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>Yeah.
Cool. So I understand that you're coming out with a new EP </b></i><b>Killer<i>.
I’ve heard the two singles that will be on that EP: “Dangerous Thing” and “Bad
For You."</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Both
tracks fit this pop-dance genre, but it seems like there is more use of synths and
less of the basic musical instruments such as guitar, bass, piano, and drums.</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>Yeah. So I think the core element in all
the previous songs were the guitars. With this new sound, the guitar is still
heavily prevalent, but I think there is
more with synths now because I think in past when we wrote a song, it
was like, “Can we play this live?” In some ways it helped us, but it also may
have hindered us in our creative exploration in some sense.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And then COVID happened and it was like,
“Live is no more.” It kind of freed up the creativity process. But I think we
were still looking for what was the next iteration of Fox Wilde. What do we
sing? And it wasn't until COVID that we had the feeling that we had when we
first started Fox Wilde. It’s like, “Oh my gosh, there is now purpose. There is
now a point to this again.” There is meaning now, and I think those past years
it was trying to discover that meaning and figure it out.</p><p class="MsoNormal">You don't hear a guitar very much anymore,
but this sound definitely has more creative explorations with it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>I
understand </b></i><b>Killer<i> is part of a future concept album you
are doing. Can you explain what the concept album is about?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>I was sixteen years old and in high school
when I was diagnosed with a disease called alopecia. Not life threatening or
anything, but all my hair fell out when I was sixteen. I was incredibly shocked
and didn't know what was happening, especially at that time. It was overwhelming
to say the least.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was ashamed of having no hair. I was
ashamed of being bald. I couldn't stand it. And this was really where I kind of
hid from the world. I just stayed in my room all the time, and that was where I
really found music. It wasn't until that point where I really fell in love with
music because it became the only thing I had.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Flash
forward three years later and that was where Fox Wilde was created. It's
suddenly three years later I was like, “I need this confident persona, this
character that I can get into.” It wasn't until COVID where it became this full-circle
thing for me. Everybody is saying, “Oh man, I'm stuck inside. I'm in quarantine,
like I'm in my room all the time.” I was like, “I've been doing this almost
since I was sixteen. I've been in my room forever.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">The first time I was hiding. The first
time I wasn't trying to conquer my fears of being the bald person or being the
kid who lost all his hair. It was like I was hiding from that. Now this time
around I was facing it. And I came to this realization that this whole thing—this
whole ruse that I was on—I didn't need to be on it. So we started writing the
concept album of this Fox Wilde character, who actually ends up killing off his
old self, and that's what I was doing. I was killing off my old self, the
person who was taking over my true self and taking over my life.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It's not this person
who is wearing a wig and hiding from the world. It's actually me. It's the real
me. The person who I thought I needed to escape from became the person that was
always in me. And that's why the meaning of Fox Wilde completely shifted.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Once we had this new meaning, it was kind
of like all bets are off. We could write about anything. The meaning of the
songs had more truth now.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFFUUsiu8tGy8jflhQhJQ4cGzLmyjpHYQ6j6g-x0kAs7ECZx6t5LVu3Q6LhBKbP7G6htC61luoKg2bw931g1A8d-6yyeOtBqzhzCNrU0FJeGaq4DKd7ATEtgTBtH4KlZ6udweoAjcmUlD/s300/Bad+For+You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFFUUsiu8tGy8jflhQhJQ4cGzLmyjpHYQ6j6g-x0kAs7ECZx6t5LVu3Q6LhBKbP7G6htC61luoKg2bw931g1A8d-6yyeOtBqzhzCNrU0FJeGaq4DKd7ATEtgTBtH4KlZ6udweoAjcmUlD/s0/Bad+For+You.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">“Bad For You” by Fox Wilde</span></i></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">"Bad For You" sounds like a love
song, but it's actually just me talking to myself in a lot of ways. The lyrics,
“I'm so bad for you,” or, “I was this midnight cowboy kind of on the run with a
gun.” I'm trying to get away from myself constantly. <i>(To hear “Bad For You,”
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS9WSVkqoUM" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">So that's really where the concept for our
concept album became so clear. It was like telling the story of me kind of killing
off these demons to discover my true self, and discover the character who lives
inside each and every person. That it's just a matter of facing those fears.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>I
notice on the cover for the singles “Dangerous Thing” and “Bad For You” you go without the hair now. It's showing you
as you are.</b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpfgxr9YHhFjy4_NRnPneY-6Si501RPeAzfPuWSyoJUd7WM0v5P-Z6JFcejkJxwocZe6XSV-t4-LmUtIniO6z_qbRZPc1QNwlrLM-ghSnjm6t_Cd4YdV0TDy7Dw71NpCEqtgbm4BBkDER/s300/Dangerous+Thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpfgxr9YHhFjy4_NRnPneY-6Si501RPeAzfPuWSyoJUd7WM0v5P-Z6JFcejkJxwocZe6XSV-t4-LmUtIniO6z_qbRZPc1QNwlrLM-ghSnjm6t_Cd4YdV0TDy7Dw71NpCEqtgbm4BBkDER/s0/Dangerous+Thing.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">“</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Dangerous
Thing” by Fox Wilde</span></div><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>Yeah. It was a big step. I hid for seven
years and I didn't tell anybody. I was really a recluse. I was really ashamed.
I think tapping into this Fox Wilde character allowed me to accept who I was. When
I announced that I had alopecia, people who were following Fox Wilde started
reaching out, saying, “Oh my gosh, I struggle with the same,” or, “ I have the
same issue,” or, “I know somebody who has this.<i>” (To hear “Dangerous Thing,”
click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n41q9jWTk6k" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">And the Fox Wilde name now has been given
a new meaning. It has even more meaning than I think when it first started. That's
what I want Fox Wilde to be about. It's about owning your flaws and finding the
art in your pain. That's what I discovered in quarantine. So finally being on
the cover—just being me and being bald—became the statement of the new era of
Fox Wilde. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>So
far there are two songs off the album.</b></i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span><b><i>When
can we see more stuff coming with this album? What's the plan with it?</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>We have two EPs coming out. One will be
titled <i>Killer</i> and the next one will be titled <i>Desire,</i> and then
the whole album will be titled <i>A</i> <i>Psycho Killer with Desire</i>. I think about every month and a half, we'll
have new music.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We have a lot of music,
but there will be a story, a thread throughout all of it. The song we didn’t mention,
“Looks to Kill" is part of this batch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q4N9YDHLR4sdnpzOwLm1OVLs1nd6-aKvyrMQJPq4Dab_uFjSO_dBHN5Hit0QNnTgFyAGKIktXPzt6oNK5lW0heNiKVBQkyWpki-fBGfAIoeU-0LGknsg3mVneQf6628XULVm4DgdwaIa/s300/Looks+to+Kill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q4N9YDHLR4sdnpzOwLm1OVLs1nd6-aKvyrMQJPq4Dab_uFjSO_dBHN5Hit0QNnTgFyAGKIktXPzt6oNK5lW0heNiKVBQkyWpki-fBGfAIoeU-0LGknsg3mVneQf6628XULVm4DgdwaIa/s0/Looks+to+Kill.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“Looks to Kill” by Fox Wilde</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">"Looks to Kill" was the starter of the whole world,
and that song was really actually me killing myself off. We did a video, and
you see me running from something. It actually seems as if a girl is killing me
off, but then it’s revealed that the new character is me. <i>(To see the video
for “Looks to Kill,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VmOyiZtpgw" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a><i>.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">A lot of the visual
aspect that you'll see is me facing me. A lot of this is staring at myself,
looking at myself, and facing my old self. I think a lot of people battle with
that. I think a lot of the things we battle with in our lives are our internal
demons and internal kind of issues. I know that's what I was going through. So
that’s what this whole world and album is about.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>JC:</i></b><i> <b>Is
there anything you want to say about this whole musical progression of Fox
Wilde from 2017 to now? It took a few music directions along the way. What are
your own feelings about the journey you took?</b></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">DL:<i> </i>I think this now is where Fox Wilde has
always meant to be and supposed to be. Fox Wilde always had the foundation
there. The meaning of Fox Wilde was to be bold, to be daring, and to be
confident. But it was this kind of switch where the meaning now has much more
meaning. It wasn’t that I needed to conform to it the way other people should
see me, or I needed to be bold in order to do all of these things. It was like,
no, no, no, Fox Wilde is bold and daring because it's owning yourself. Owning
those demons. And for that progression, it took iterations.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Getting to this place became everything I
think we wanted to do musically. I think it’s everything we've wanted to do in
a storytelling fashion. And so this progression took a while for sure. It was
just discovering what we could do musically. I think musically, we came more in
tune with ourselves and lyrically and melodically. It was putting in the hours
to get to where we're at.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It's like trying a lot
of things and COVID made us reflect and slow down since we can't play live, so
I guess we're really going to actually have to focus on this next phase, which
is an album, which is music, more music. That next step of creativity and
really focusing in 2020 was a culmination. It was just like the perfect
concoction of all these things happening in life, and <i>A Psycho Killer with
Desire</i> is our answer to all of it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></p><div>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-20342144114418081822020-11-17T18:26:00.258-08:002020-11-17T19:40:31.659-08:00A Very Candid Conversation with Deen Castronovo<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/y3DYC2VkQXx281QQrqEJXL7ULiAyXtpuZokyqXHq8vtMnM-PS98RcD0gt3fszKSCOudnhZZqSDJfSw6oUYNVPd6E3mfirm0K6oinW3MJSO8mEgRxqm96B8I5VWO8IKJrDff1V7eAPswNYJLoGA" /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Deen Castronovo (year unknown)</div></span><br /><i>Deen Castronovo started his musical career behind the drum set when he was 16 or 17 for the heavy metal band Wild Dogs (1982–1987). His drumming caught the attention of Mike Varney, head of Shrapnel Records. Mike put him in contact with many talented guitar players, including Tony MacAlpine and Marty Friedman. Through Tony’s connections, Deen met guitarist Neal Schon of Journey and Santana. In 1987, Neal asked Deen to join the hard rock band Bad English along with Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. Bad English had a number-one hit, “When I See You Smile.”</i><br /><br /><i>Bad English broke up in 1991. In 1993, Deen played with Ozzy Osbourne on </i><b>Ozzmosis</b><i> (1995). Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, who also played on </i><b>Ozzmosis</b><i>, asked Deen to play for his band GZR. Deen played on GZR’s two albums </i><b>Plastic Planet</b><i> (1995) and </i><b>Black Science</b><i> (1997). In 1995, Ozzy fired Deen, but Deen rebounded and played drums for Italian artist Vasco Rossi. </i><br /><br /><i>In 1998, Deen got the call from Neal Schon to play with him, this time with the legendary rock band Journey. Deen is a rare breed of drummers who can sing lead vocals. However, Journey tunes are not easy tunes to sing due to all the high notes that former Journey vocalist Steve Perry hit. That Deen can sing a Journey tune and still be able to play drums is amazing.[Side note: I saw Journey in 2014 and did not expect that Deen would sing lead vocals. It was very impressive.]</i><br /><br /><i>However, in 2015, Deen was arrested in a domestic dispute, and as a result, he was fired from Journey. A year and half later, Deen continued his musical career and got session work, and then he joined the Dead Daisies, an Australian band. Various people who played with INXS, the Rolling Stones, Whitesnake, and Nine Inch Nails have played with the Dead Daisies. In 2018, Neal asked Deen to partake in a musical project called Journey Through Time. Journey Through Time covered some of the familiar Journey tracks but also a lot of rare and obscure Journey tracks. At the time of this writing, Deen plays drums for a country rock band, The Rise Above, which has members from Chicago and Rascal Flatts.</i><br /><br /><i>Deen’s career is both impressive and resilient. This candid conversation covers the high points, low points, and comebacks of Deen’s career. I want to thank Cat Swinton of Catalyst PR for setting up the interview with Deen, but most of all, I want to thank Deen. </i><br /><br /><b><i>Jeff Cramer: So what encouraged you to pick up your sticks?</i></b><br /><br />Deen Castronovo: Kiss, dude. Kiss encouraged me to pick up my sticks. My older brother brought home a Kiss album, and I saw the album cover and I was hooked. I just loved the way they looked, and then I heard the music and of course loved the music. I mean, I knew from six or seven years old that I wanted to play drums, but when I saw Kiss, that was it for me. I mean that was it. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Your first group was Wild Dogs.<br /></i></b><br />DC: Yeah, Wild Dogs is a heavy metal band out of Portland [<i>Oregon</i>] featuring Jeff Mark, the guitarist, who is a freaking monster player. Danny Kurth was the bass player, and Matt McCourt was our lead singer. Wild Dogs was just a little local act we did, like Seattle, San Francisco, and LA. We just went back and forth and up and down the West Coast playing shows. So yeah, it was a fun band, dude. I joined that band when I was 16 or 17. I was pretty young, but it was a blast.<br /><br />We got a deal with Shrapnel Records because of Jeff's playing. Mike Varney was the head of Shrapnel Records. Varney discovered me, and he got me involved with Tony MacAlpine, a major guitar player. And then he had me play with all the major guitar players—I went to Tony MacAlpine to Joey Tafolla to Marty Friedman and Jason Becker. [<i>To hear “Metal Fuel” by Wild Dogs, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoMbON3yi9Q&list=PLOCN_7x9ejvHm_Y77PsSFEyEn256y_Mfb" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/r3dYSq3guA_fFw7gNOiTdfJt0wO63OTbtWsaNGxFb67tSSVxIzM3P44HGRvKwYSop6WsscmzTT4IWKSr0BWOKTtzbdoTjJrZAost7-ueH-kDaHoM3YQuyXvVh9H-Z4GcfNRHCN8KtGwBalutuQ" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wild Dogs (Deen, top left) (1983)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><i>JC: How did you meet Neal Schon? </i></b><br /><br />DC: From playing with Tony MacAlpine, I met Neal. Journey broke up in 1987 and then Neal formed Bad English. Neal got me into Bad English with him. Then we just took off from there. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Bad English had two Journey players in the band: Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. This would begin your association with Journey.</i></b><br /><br />DC: Both knew I was a huge Journey fan. I knew all the songs. I loved Steve Perry’s lead vocals. I loved Steve Smith's drumming. So when they asked me to join Bad English, it was a no-brainer. I was like, “Yeah, I'll be there.” [<i>Laughs</i>] Incredible. Really, really cool. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/DfKTMSCkPNVZmbcz7YrOoBNPD1zv_4TpSeAak5nDtPKQzns71UMKdMXuLHPw4SCBfwRocnTCSSKIFANUgiAvUYEZPslAE9_pNn_1cEDWq33Z7sPhGKAZFEMlCBGfInOas5EWKUvwzhSSv3Dz7Q" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bad English (Deen, top middle; year unknown)</span></div><br /><b><i>JC: Bad English has a top 40 hit, “When I See Your Smile.” </i></b><br /><br />DC: "When I See You Smile" was number one for two weeks. It would have been three, but Milli Vanilli knocked us off, and then we found out that they were lip-synching the whole time. It's like, “Well, can we go back up?” [<i>Laughs</i>] [<i>To hear “When I See Your Smile,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu6pclWsxzs" target="_blank">here</a></i>.]<div><br /><b><i>JC: Okay. How did you go from Bad English to Ozzy?</i></b><br /><br />DC: I got a call from Steve Vai ’cause I had done a couple records with Steve. Steve said, "Hey, man, Ozzy's looking for a drummer. I'm playing guitar. Do you want to come in and try this?" I was like, “Heck yeah.” So I came in and Ozzy hired me on the spot, right after I played the first time. We ended up going to New York and wrote songs. I guess the label didn't like the direction that Steve was taking the band, which I thought was kind of crazy because Steve Vai was writing some killer stuff. Steve was replaced with Zakk Wylde and Ozzy kept me on. I was there from '93 to '95. [<i>To hear “Perry Mason” by Ozzy Osbourne, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QapkGK-6G90" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br /><b><i>JC: From Ozzy you also met Geezer Butler, the bassist in Black Sabbath. </i></b><br /><br />DC: Ah, Geez, I love Geezer. I did two records with him as a member of his band GZR. Those records will probably be the pinnacle of my metal drumming. The first record is unbelievable. They were all one takes. GZR just killed on that record. It was recorded in the studio in Massachusetts, Long View Farm Studio. It was 90 degrees outside when we recorded it, but we were in a barn upstairs so it was probably 103 or 104 degrees. It was hot as heck up there. And I remember just sweating—like profusely sweating—but the songs came out so good. There was so much energy, and it was unreal. After our first song was done, the band came walking down, and Geezer had his hands over his mouth. We were like, “Oh God, does he not like it? Are you cool with this, man? Do you like that?" And he took his hands off his mouth and he had a big smile on his face, and he goes, "It's effing brilliant." [<i>Laughs</i>] So we knew we had something there. [<i>To hear “Drive Boy Shooting,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnaLPlLi9tI" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br /><b><i>JC: You had played with two Black Sabbath guys: Ozzy and Geezer. Were you ever considered to play drums with Black Sabbath?<br /></i></b><br />DC: No, I pretty much went from Ozzy to Geezer's band, and then Geezer went on to do other stuff. I don't remember what, but he was doing his other things. I was ready to quit music after getting fired from Ozzy. I was so heartbroken.<br /><br /><b><i>JC: What happened with Ozzy? </i></b><br /><br />DC: I don't know. Ozzy said, “It’s just the chemistry wasn't right." And I was a very busy player, and also I'm a very happy guy. I didn't fit into the doom-and-gloom thing. I can remember one time before a show, I said, "Man, let's go out and kill it," and Ozzy was like, "Don't say that. You'll jinx it. You'll jinx the show." I was like, “What?” I didn't really fit in, so I got the boot. First I was the greatest drummer Ozzy ever had, and then at a press release I was the worst drummer he ever had, so I was like, “Yeah, well, okay.” <br /><br />But I was ready to quit music altogether, dude. I was like, “I'm done. Don't want to do it anymore.” After the Geezer and Ozzy thing I got a call from Vasco Rossi, who's like the Bruce Springsteen of Italy. I shouted out a really exorbitant amount of money to play with Vasco because I didn't want to do it. I figured, “Okay, they'll pass,” but they took the amount I requested. So I was like, “Oh, shoot, I gotta do this now.” Vasco only plays is Italy—he doesn't play anywhere else, only in Italy. I did three nights at San Siro, a soccer stadium. One hundred thousand people a night. That was one of the best gigs of my life, next to Journey. I'd put it underneath Journey, definitely. [<i>To hear Vasco Rossi live in 1997, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXuGNAhCMtk" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br />I toured with Vasco from '95 to '97. I was eating the food in Italy and I got really fat. [<i>Laughs</i>] So after Vasco, I got the call from Neal on February 16, 1998, to join Journey. I'll never forget that date . . . one of the greatest days of my life. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Steve Augeri was the singer when you first joined Journey. </i></b><br /><br />DC: Yeah, we started with him and it was tough, dude. The first six months of touring maybe five hundred people showed up. I mean, it was that bleak. I remember Jon Cain saying, "No, we gotta reeducate the fans. Let them know that we're still here, we're still doing stuff, and we've moved on from Steve Perry." I remember our manager at the time, John Baruck, saying, "Well, let's do something with Foreigner. You know, we'll do Journey-Foreigner, a co-headliner tour. Let's go on the road.” And that was when we started playing to sixteen or eighteen thousand people. We were killing it. It was great to rebuild something that was so legendary and had such an amazing legacy. So I was very, very blessed and honored to be a part of that. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/4EUCB_mje2F_XZIVjqEqHcIYoINZr95_y2zZi-hPy3w_yAFbE33Jia4j8ceXiz_WhjQBzMfj95yjGl_eRNJP9OJW_YztA9R09YfT4VOSGQrqwrh6exYDpc8BPyKMrs4z9NqsVjw7-k6bKkrJmQ" /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Journey (Deen, second from right; year unknown)</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><i>JC: You also sang lead in Journey. When did you know that you had a voice? </i></b><br /><br />DC: Well, I was in a band when I was about eleven, and my guitarist, who was like twenty-three at the time, brought over Journey’s Infinity and said, "Here, learn ‘La Do Da’ and try and sing it." I hadn't reached puberty yet and I had a high voice. So it worked out really good, and that was where I started to learn to sing. <br /><br />Steve Perry was always a god to me vocally. I mean just unbelievable. It was him and Ronnie Dio. Those were the two guys that I loved singing-wise. I loved Journey and I would sing to Journey all the time, but of course never close to Perry until I joined the band and learned a lot of his inflections and how he phrased things. And again, I’m not even close, but it's an honor. I get hammered for that. "Oh, you're just a Steve Perry clone." It's like, well, you gotta learn from somebody. I might as well learn from the fricking best. You know what I mean? Nobody touches that guy. <br /><br />In Bad English I remember we had just finished "Best of What I Got" in the studio, and they said, "Well, can you sing?" I said, "Yeah, kinda." And they looked at each other, and I went in and I did the backgrounds to "Best of What I Got." I could see all the guys in there high-fiving and laughing 'cause they had no clue that I could sing as well. So it worked out really good. And then Neal and Jon gave me that chance to sing when Steve Augeri lost his voice, and it just kind of snowballed up, man. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: There aren’t many drummers who sing, and you're one of the rare breed who actually sings. What is it like singing while playing drums?<br /></i></b><br />DC: The drumming takes a back seat. It's almost like the drums are on autopilot. I know what I need to do there, and I focus solely on the vocals because I don't want to butcher the songs. One thing I always said was, “If I sound like crap, you guys better fricking tell me” because I didn’t want to screw these songs up, and I certainly didn’t want the fans crucifying me for butchering the song. So they were like, "No, no, no, you sound good, man. Keep going. Keep going." And I got better and better at it. I don't consider me a lead singer—I play drums and I sing, but there are so many great singers out there. It's like I can't even get near those guys. I’m still learning as a singer, man. I think I got drumming down, but I got a long ways to go with singing. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: What would you say was the hardest Journey song to sing?</i></b><br /><br />DC: Oh, dude, they're all hard. I think the hardest one for me to sing was “Open Arms" because it's so tender. I sing pretty hard, and so I was trying to learn how Perry sang that. That was a hard one to do. When I sing "Mother, Father," that song’s a bruiser. You gotta go out there and you gotta sing hard. It's not something that you do lightly. "Open Arms" is so tender and so soft, you really gotta know Perry's inflections and phrasing. And if you're reading, Mr. Perry, no one touches you to this day. He's the best of the best, dude. [<i>To hear Deen sing “Open Arms,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82vGoLNvu10" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br />So “Open Arms” was probably the hardest one for me. I wanted to get it perfect, but singing it was only short lived. I only got to sing it for a few years until Arnel [<i>Pineda</i>] joined, and fricking Arnel kills it, just fricking smokes that tune. So yeah, that would be the hardest one for me to sing, definitely.<br /><br /><b><i>JC: Okay. Arnel Pineda came in to sing after Steve Augeri left. What would you say is the difference between Steve Augeri and Arnel?</i></b><br /><br />DC: Well, you know, Steve was more of a bluesy singer, and I loved the way that Steve sang because he put a little bit of a blues taste to it, which I thought was really cool. It wasn't just so R&B. But Arnel is one of those guys like me . . . he's a chameleon. You show him something and he can sing it. And he’s got so much soul, man, just so much passion when he sings. He really does, and to listen to him . . . I’m like, “Dude, I'm not even close to that.” The difference I think is that Arnel could sing anything whereas Steve brought in his own style to the Journey songs. So yeah, that's kind of what I saw. That was the difference for me. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/M0mtg84GUsZxICvsrfL10fBzOzjKxzW59uxKlw0FV5AvEOhMbV8YVibnuaA4ivEd5V4IZjVHItHmrh2fjPJim502yw8y6p-MHPgfQHWaJ3Jr-gcr2JwqQjquv6-ROBro-otXzbDX_GBMfgaJ5A" /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Journey (Deen, second left, 2013)</div></span><br /><b><i>JC: Do you want to talk about when Journey ended for you?</i></b><br /><br />DC: Oh sure, bro. I mean, it is what it is. I was on a twenty-four-day low on methamphetamine, believe it or not. I was a mess and I got into a domestic dispute with my wife, Deidre, and it got bad. She had to call the police. Thank God she did. Saved my life. It really did, believe it or not. As horrible as it was, it saved my life. There were a lot of charges on me. It was heartbreaking 'cause I couldn't really defend myself, but a lot of those charges were dropped. I was charged with the two charges out of the fifteen they had for me. It was a really rough time, but we're still together. We're still very strong, actually better than ever, and she's right here watching me so— <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Really?</i></b><br /><br />DC: —if I say anything wrong . . . [<i>Laughter</i>] No, she's my champion and I owe her a lot. I really do. She saved my butt. Journey did what they had to do. I mean it's a business, and the repercussions of the charges I had is horrible for a business. I needed some time. Nobody would even talk to me. It was pretty bad. You find out who your friends are, dude. I'm telling you, you find out quickly.<br /><br />I needed to find out what was important in life, and what's important is keeping my crap together and taking care of my girl and my dog and my three cats. So, you know, as horrible as it was, I'm grateful. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: So what did you do after Journey? </i></b><br /><br />DC: Well, after Journey I put the drums away, man. I literally stopped playing for about a year and a half. Didn't touch them and didn't want to look at them. Didn't want to listen to music. Just focused on recovery, staying clean, and getting my life back together. Music, career, it didn't matter at that point. What got me back was Serafino [<i>Peruigno</i>], who ran Frontiers Records and actually gave me another chance. He asked me to drum on a couple records and some background singing as well. I gotta give Serafino a lot of credit, man. He really gave me a shot. <br /><br />He and the Dead Daisies, man . . . that was another one. I'd played on Johnny Gioeli's record, and like two weeks afterwards I was like, “Okay, now what do I do? I've got nothing coming. I gotta support my family, but what am I gonna do?” And that was when the Dead Daisies called. I mean if that isn't a Jesus Christ shot, I don't know what it was. I was like, “You're kidding. You want me, I'm there instantly.” So I gotta give the Daisies’ manager David Edwards and David Lowy from The Dead Daisies for giving me a shot when I didn't have a lot of friends. So that's where I've been ever since, man. Still doing Dead Daisies, and got this other little project I'm doing, this country thing, and that's about it. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: So the Daisies came. Was Motley Crue’s John Corabi the singer when you first joined?</i></b> <br /><br />DC: Yep, Johnny was the singer. We had Marco Mendoza on bass, and Doug Aldrich and David Lowy on guitar. Johnny, man, he's a great singer. Guy can sing the phone book. He's a badass. That's the beauty of it. I've never played with any crappy musicians. I've been really fortunate to play with the best of the best, and that makes your job so much easier and much more fun because I look up to these guys as masters of their instruments. So to be working with them again, it's humbling. It really is. I don't take it for granted, man. I get tight with these guys. I bond with them, you know, so they're always a part of my life, and I still keep in touch with Johnny and Marco a lot. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: As the Daisies went on, eventually the lineup would shift to Glenn Hughes on vocals and bass. <br /></i></b><br />DC: Yes, the god. And I love Glenn too, dude. I mean, come on, he’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for being in Deep Purple, and what a voice. He's a fricking animal. Being able to sing harmonies with that guy, 'cause he's got perfect pitch—it's so effortless to sing with him because I don't have to really think about pitch. I just follow right with him and it's right on. So it's really been an honor. I love working with him. We just got back from rehearsals in LA last week, and we really had never played together. We did the record but had never gotten in and played those songs as a band, and once we did the first couple of songs, it’s like dang. He and I are like a fricking freight train, bro. I'm telling you. <br /><br />His bass playing speaks for itself because he plays very percussively. He's a very aggressive bassist. I'm a very aggressive drummer, so it fits really good, Jeff. It's pretty amazing. You guys are gonna freak out when you see it live ’cause it's amazing. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/b5jHpBmY8ku_BDpLCYkVvFGcW9wbJB7fR-sGiXyVJ1LRG5L54jDSxHR-8raknEbAP9eWqWRXhf_9QRpOl2Z4JKaTVND3DloM1Z3QwhuqwrVCx7hS5nZ2fdu29y6HHL43LmQxsnCKIR4GeAKTsw" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dead Daisies (Deen, far right, 2019)</span></div><br /><b><i>JC: You also did something incredible—Journey Through Time with Neal Schon and Journey’s original keyboardist Gregg Rolie. You did a lot of rare Journey tunes that aren’t often heard at a Journey concert.</i></b><br /><br />DC: Yeah, dude, that was huge. That was an honor. When Neal talked about doing that, we were just kinda throwing the idea around, and he said, "What if we do something with Gregg Rolie and we'll do all the other stuff they don't get to hear at a Journey concert?” I was like, "Dude, I'd be honored." And so we had a chance to do this benefit for the fire victims in Sonoma, Napa, and Marin County. We did that show in February 2018, and it was just incredible. Being back with Neal again . . . I mean, he's a brother, and he always will be. Whether I'm in Journey or not, he will always be very close because he took me to the next level, so I owe him a big, big debt of gratitude. <br /><br />But oh those shows. Man, it was unreal. It was raw. It was perfect. It was just an incredible experience to be able to play with Neal again and Gregg Rolie. My God. I wish we were still doing it, to be honest with you. I loved that band. That was fun. [<i>To hear Journey Through Time do “Any Way You Want It,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDVrlY89hmU&list=PLisbZsD4cWkLkufi3rN-No55B4z0GzQZY&index=8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br /><b><i>JC: Didn't Gregg also call you in after that for his solo album?</i></b><br /><br />DC: Yeah, we were actually working on it and getting some stuff together. Gregg’s got a bunch of ideas, and I got so dang busy with the Dead Daisies that I really couldn't get it finished. His solo album started going in kind of a Brazilian direction, which I wasn't expecting, to be honest. I thought we were gonna go for more of a Journey-esque thing, but he wanted to get away from Journey. He wanted to go in his own direction. We haven't really discussed finishing this record or not. I don't know if we will or not, but I had a great time with Gregg and I love him to death, man. I really do. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Getting back to the Dead Daisies, I’ve heard your recent stuff. I've heard the recent two singles with Glenn, but I also heard </i>The Lockdown Sessions <i>EP. One thing I want to talk about is covering Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” where you sing lead.</i></b><br /><br />DC: I didn't expect to do it. Glenn was like, "Well, go ahead. You sing it, bro." I was like, “Really?” I'd never really read the lyrics. In the past, John always sang it, and I did my backgrounds and stuff. When we covered it, I had cheat sheets on the floor and I had my glasses on because I didn't really know the lyrics, and the Daisies were pressed for time. But it was like, “You gotta sing this today.” The lyrics are so good and, God, I hope I did it justice, dude. Come on, John Fogerty . . . so good, dude. He don't suck. Put it that way. <br /><br />So yeah, it was challenging for me, but really it was great. It was humbling to be able to sing that song ’cause they're a sixties’ band and stuff, and it takes me back to that time when the Vietnam War was going on and how intense it was. That song kind of explains the times. I was like four or five when the Vietnam War was going on, so I didn't really know what was going on there. But yeah, that song really kinda opened my eyes to like, “Man that was a struggle.” Very heavy, intense. Protest song, dude. I love it. [<i>To hear Deen sing Creedence’s “Fortunate Son,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IohsG0O0LPo" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br /><b><i>JC: I'm sure this is a question a lot of Journey fans ask, which I wanted to ask you: Did Neal ever call you when they fired drummer Steve Smith? </i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b>DC: Well, yes and no. I mean he talked to me and said, "What are you doing, bro? What are you up to?" I said, "Well, I'm doing the Daisies still, and I've got this other project with Jay DeMarcus from Rascal Flatts and Jason Scheff from Chicago called The Rise Above.” The Rise Above just do little, tiny corporate things when the Daisies aren't doing stuff. And he was like, "Wow, man. Well, I'm letting you know right now there are some big changes coming up, so check it out. It's gonna blow your mind." So I said, "Are you asking me back? Did something happen with Smith?" And he goes, "You'll see in a few more days.” And then boom, all of that stuff came out with Smith and Ross Valory fired from Journey. <br /><br />I didn't know what to say. I kept calling, like, "Are you guys gonna ask me back? Is that kinda what's going on?" He said, "Bro, we're not sure yet. Just kinda stick tight. We're not sure what we're gonna do." And then they ended up going in a different direction. Jonathan thought, “Well, you know, instead of going backwards let's go forwards. We'll get Randy Jackson again on bass and Narada Michael Walden, who's an animal drummer, an amazing singer, songwriter, and producer.” So they decided to go in that direction, and I understood. You can't get any better than Narada and Randy Jackson. I mean seriously, they're great. <br /><br />And when this was all going on with Journey, it was pre-COVID. The Dead Daisies were supposed to start rehearsals in April, so if I did get the offer for Journey, I couldn't do that to the Daisies, give them like four weeks to find a drummer that sang. That's rough. I mean, Journey is a huge thing, but I've got to be able to sleep at night too, and even if they had said, "Look, come back," I don't know if I could have. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Really?<br /></i></b><br />DC: I couldn't do that to the Daisies. I couldn't do that to any band. That's just not right to do. There are certain things you don't do in this business, and having those guys try to find somebody in four weeks before a major tour would have been really cold-blooded. Neal and I still talk a lot, and I wish him well. As for me, I'm grateful that I'm still doing what I love, maybe not on a grand scale like Journey, but at least I'm doing what I love and making a good living doing it.<br /><br /><b><i>JC: Yeah. The Dead Daisies were gonna tour with Foreigner and Judas Priest.<br /></i></b><br />DC: Yes. Dude, we had them all set up and it was all ready to go, but that got thrown out. Everything got thrown out. We were supposed to start this year. We've been doing a lot of social media, a lot of content and stuff like that, to try and keep the interest up in the band. I gotta thank you and all the journalists that have asked for interviews for us, ’cause if it wasn't for you guys we'd have nothing. Seriously. I mean you're keeping our name out there and you're keeping the band alive, and so I gotta thank you, and the band thanks you. Because if it wasn't for you guys and all the journalists, man, we'd be screwed. Seriously. You can only do so much social media content. You know what I mean? Just thank God for you guys, man. I gotta tip my hat to you, bro.<br /><br /><b><i>JC: How have you as a musician dealt with COVID?</i></b><br /><br />DC: Well, for me . . . I never really went anywhere. I'm not one of those guys that goes to dinner every night, heads out, goes to clubs, watches bands and stuff. I'm a homebody. When I'm off the road, I'm off the road. I just stay at home. So it wasn't a big change for me, but obviously it was a big change for the music industry and life in general. I mean everything shut down. Bands aren't playing. Venues aren't open. So a lot of people have been affected by this. A lot of musicians, a lot of friends of mine, are selling guitars and selling stuff just to keep alive because nobody can tour. <br /><br />So I'm watching that and that's heartbreaking to see. It really is. It's like, “What do you do?” So that's kind of what we're doing with The Rise Above, this country thing I'm doing. We’re doing benefit concerts. The first one was for the music people, the crews, and the people that can't work that are off the road. They can't go on the road. I don't know how much we raised, but we raised a ton of money for the crew members in the music industry. It's like a big fund and tried to help them out. I think that's what's kind of hurt me or touched me the most is knowing there's a lot of musicians out there and crew people that can't do anything, and it's hard. It's really hard. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: Talk to me about The Rise Above band.<br /></i></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yby3sQGmEpAnnjAKqFyyju-Hd2AHmrugrvV_730510464a0AuMPAxpeDHqVmZUjs16DCqj1ChIZU9sbL-3YVeuhnQ1KtFgN6wkkWKSlb3VCCCFrxDhIz_FG6xpbqqYpufE3yNUCCh2wSMivj-w" /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">The Rise Above (Deen, middle, year unknown)</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>DC: It's myself, Jay DeMarcus, the bass player for Rascal Flatts, and Jason. There are five guys in the band. We got Tom Yankton, who's in Rascal Flatts as a utility guitarist. We also have Chris Rodriguez who's played with Kenny Loggins for eons, Amy Grant, and Peter Cetera. He's an amazing guitarist as well. So it’s a little five-piece unit. We all sing lead, and it's like the Eagles on steroids. It's cool stuff. Great music. They write some great songs. Right now I'm working with Jason Scheff, the singer for Chicago, and my god. What a voice. And not only that, he’s a bass player—dude, he's a wicked fricking bassist. I had no clue how great he was as a bassist, and that blows my mind. We're recording this little country record, and Jason's been helping me as far as singing ’cause I really don't know what to do. I'm really one of those guys that, as singing goes, I'm a chameleon. Show me what you want, and I can do that. But it's definitely a different approach vocally for this country rock stuff, so Jason's been ace at helping me through this and showing me inflections and going, "Well, try this." He's really great at what he does. I put him up there with Perry. You know ,Jason doesn't get a lot of respect, but yeah, he's a badass, man. People don't know how good Jason is. [<i>To hear The Rise Above perform a medley of Rascal Flatts, Chicago and Journey tunes, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JPN-cfS8UE&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br /><br />We go out and do little benefit concerts. I mean nothing major. We're not doing a big tour or anything like that. It's just something fun to keep us busy. I'm actually flying to Nashville in a couple of days to do another benefit show for the first responders, the nurses and doctors, and people that were there when COVID hit. Then I gotta go under the knife, dude. I gotta get back surgery.<br /><br /><b><i>JC: Oh, what happened there? </i></b><br /><br />DC: This is my second one. [<i>Laughs</i>] Getting old, bro, really old. <br /><br /><b><i>JC: I'm using the word "journey" here, but I mean it in a different sense than Journey the band. Talk to me about the journey you had when you first started with Wild Dogs, then with Journey, and then your comeback after Journey. <br /></i></b><br />DC: It’s been incredible. I mean, I've been very fortunate. My career is like storybook. It really is. From where I started to where I'm at now, I’ve been very, very, very, very, very, very fortunate to have done what I've done. And if I was to stop today, I could look back and say, “Man, what an amazing career.” I dreamed of doing this when I was seven years old. This is what I wanted to do. And to be able to fulfill that dream is massive. I give God all the glory for that. So yeah, it's been quite a ride, bro. Definitely quite a ride. </div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-27838417129402493492020-10-14T19:51:00.004-07:002020-10-14T20:04:22.261-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Carl Fischer<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFzgMe7Ndq1LBuOrOLA6jZVIXHAOUXkdc0G_iq5MAi2aJGb1fTuhPuSjUBY98SbDeMOd9Fm3ysLuilr4q-b-ly25nMcTe9qNEtyRDXqV86IxblyRC0XKp4MoQyyKPKNCFYPeiNvP9W9ov/s245/Cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFzgMe7Ndq1LBuOrOLA6jZVIXHAOUXkdc0G_iq5MAi2aJGb1fTuhPuSjUBY98SbDeMOd9Fm3ysLuilr4q-b-ly25nMcTe9qNEtyRDXqV86IxblyRC0XKp4MoQyyKPKNCFYPeiNvP9W9ov/s0/Cover.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5309ec48-7fff-3fab-4e0a-d0418a15f51d"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carl Fischer (year unknown)</span></span></span></div><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d9e47662-7fff-a355-d3ff-c3d462d42dd6"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carl Fischer has the gig of a lifetime. He is the trumpet player for the Billy Joel Band. He played trumpet in </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a Broadway musical centered on Billy Joel music, and his playing caught the attention of the Piano Man himself. After </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ended, Billy asked Carl to audition for his band. Carl got the gig and has been playing trumpet for Billy Joel ever since. He played the last concert ever held at Shea Stadium, and has had many appearances at Madison Square Garden.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carl has also played with other talented artists. Early in his career, Carl worked as a stage manager and eventually played trumpet with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. He also played with another jazz legend, Maynard Ferguson, first as Maynard’s assistant and then as a trumpet player. Carl played with both jazz legends in the 90s. In 1999, Carl recorded his first solo album </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Carl promoted his album by being the opening act for Maynard. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2001, Carl moved on to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and then Billy himself in 2005. While with Billy, Carl found time to be part of two major acts: Blood, Sweat & Tears and Diana Ross. He juggled all three major acts together for a couple years before solely focusing on Billy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, with the pandemic, Carl still is busy playing music. He has his own band, Sunshine City Brass, which plays New Orleans Jazz. In addition, he holds virtual jam sessions every Tuesday.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this candid conversation, we discuss Carl’s career with jazz greats Wynton Marsalis and Maynard Ferguson. We discuss his time with Billy Joel, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Diana Ross. In addition, we look at Carl’s current musical activities during the pandemic. I want to thank Stephen Wright, Carl’s manager, for setting up this interview, but most of all, I want to thank Carl. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Cramer:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what got you interested in music?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carl Fischer:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What got me interested in music was growing up on Long Island in a musical household with my dad. My late dad, Charlie Fischer, was a wonderful jazz trumpet player. He always had music on in the house. My mom loved music also, and they were very supportive of me playing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My dad had a few bands and always rehearsed in our basement when I was growing up in Baldwin, Long Island, so I always had instruments in my basement. I just wanted to be like my dad. He had a quote that I hold dearly to my heart to this day: "When I go to play music, I don't go to work. I go to play. When I get up in the morning at six, I go to work. I go drive a truck. That's work. But when you go and play music, you go play." And so that stuck in my head. That's what got me into it, and the recordings I heard playing in my house of Maynard Ferguson, the band Chicago, and Buddy Rich. I loved Frank Sinatra, and of course Billy Joel was always on in my house too. It was very eclectic, but I was very fortunate to have that in my life. That's why I wanted to play trumpet.</span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-4597277c-7fff-f2cc-2265-62f202635e98"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your first professional gig would be with a circus band.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-36e6dc66-7fff-caec-10f4-66d8a7ceab3b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">CF:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Wow, you did your homework. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">[Laughs] </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Wow. Thank you, man. Yeah, my first score was with a band that had two names: the Holiday Hippodrome Circus and Showtime Follies. That was out of Sarasota, Florida. I joined the band. It was just a Hammond B3 organ, drums, and a trumpet.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a smaller stage show—they had some animals. I learned a lot really quick on that six-month stint. Yeah, I ran off and joined the circus. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You were mentioning you learned a lot. What did you particularly learn during that six-month stint?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That the road is not as glamorous as people make it out to be. At that time we traveled in travel trailers. We'd stay at rest stops and KOAs [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">KOA stands for Kampgrounds of America.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">] We'd stay wherever we could for free. But if we stayed at a campground, that was a special thing. It was mostly parking lots.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a dichotomy of musicians living together and people living together for six months at a clip who were not necessarily there for the music. You don't go to join a circus to play the music, really. You go there because it's a gig.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I learned really quickly, "Okay, let's become proficient and professional." And it was probably one of the best learning experiences I had. What I also learned from it was stamina. I was the only horn, and I was basically the only melody maker other the Hammond B3 player. He played left-hand bass and his right hand for chords.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would have to carry the melodies, and there were a million melodies, so the horn was on my face constantly. It was a two-hour show. The stamina of playing two hours straight with the horn on your face is something different from your normal jazz gig or rock gig. So I learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself and a lot about my playing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What was your next gig after the circus band?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At that point I was living in Florida, and I came back from the circus. The next gig I joined was a local band here in Tampa-St. Pete, Florida.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was Belinda Womack. She's a jazz singer here in Tampa, Florida. I joined her band. She had a club band, and we worked three or four nights a week in all the clubs. She had a great following.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of her friends and producers of that band was the late, great, famous Nat Adderley, a great trumpet player. His brother was [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">jazz saxophonist</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">] Cannonball Adderley. So I got to meet Nat through Belinda. Belinda let me pull solo a lot.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A steady gig in Tampa was nice. I didn't have to travel. I had a steady gig, and I was saving up to move back to my home state, New York. So I guess I did that for a year or two and then went back to New York.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who did you play with in New York?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An offer came up. A friend of mine asked me if I would like to be a stage manager for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, which it was their first national tour in 1992. The director of that band was the infamous, wonderful [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">trumpeter</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">] Wynton Marsalis. I got on as a stage manager, which I never did that. I didn't even know what it was.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That band was the who's who of jazz guys at the time. I was a big fan of the late, great Lew Soloff, the infamous lead trumpet player with Blood, Sweat & Tears. There was also the late, great, and wonderful gentleman and great-sounding trumpet player, Joe Wilder. Then the late, great, wonderful trumpet player Marcus Belgrave. And Sir Roland Hanna on piano. It was an unbelievable band with Joe Temperley on baritone sax.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I got to learn how to be stage manager really quick, and Wynton heard me play trumpet. It was the second day, and he heard me play trumpet. I brought my trumpet out with me ’cause I wanted to keep my chops up. He heard me play trumpet and said, "Okay, well, you're playing fifth trumpet in the band. We have some extended tunes that have some fifth trumpet, and we'd love for you to join and play trumpet."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wynton was very influential and was very accommodating. Man, I learned so much from those guys . . . Wynton and all those guys. I have wonderful memories and relationships with them throughout the years. I’m very, very blessed to have that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I came back off that tour, and the Lincoln Center was getting ready to do another tour and they called me to do it. I got big britches and I asked for more money ’cause I was playing trumpet and being a stage manager. They originally said they were gonna give it to me, but it just didn't work out logistically for them, and they decided to go a different route, which was fine.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At that time, it was very hard for me to take, but within a week I got a call from Maynard Ferguson, who was my childhood hero on jazz trumpet. I got a call from his manager, whom I developed a relationship with, and he said, "Hey, we know you were just out with the Lincoln Center with Wynton, and a position came open for Maynard Ferguson. But again, it's more of a production role being his valet, which is basically Maynard Ferguson's personal assistant. We know you're a player. Maynard knows you're a player. Obviously, there'll be time enough for that, but we really need you to mold to this role."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I told them when and where, and they told me to meet ’em at JFK Airport in a week. JFK was literally eight miles from my house. I went to JFK. After picking him up at JFK, I was on and off with my friend and mentor Maynard for twelve years. He was probably the biggest influence of my life spiritually, musically, and educational-wise, on and off the horn.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being Maynard’s personal assistant and valet, I learned more about him and his day-to-day and became more friendly with him and seeing how he worked on his craft and his business and how he treated people. To me, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about and take those lessons that I've learned from him. That was a very good growing time for myself as well. I miss him as well. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear Carl’s solo with Maynard’s band, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLfK9v8HFdA" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsyBbVGmmfQxj8cAW-lieZaJ3xGXPXxNcrDo9exFZERp6Im3InFvUs4YQ1Wbwey1A7HCc4X5Tovg-iJzZlJbWHvvUsxewiVnr9H-K7sztW0qsH6Lx6-uHoUzD-Vbl7hKh4n-TDsugnQyV/s604/MaynardCarl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsyBbVGmmfQxj8cAW-lieZaJ3xGXPXxNcrDo9exFZERp6Im3InFvUs4YQ1Wbwey1A7HCc4X5Tovg-iJzZlJbWHvvUsxewiVnr9H-K7sztW0qsH6Lx6-uHoUzD-Vbl7hKh4n-TDsugnQyV/s320/MaynardCarl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maynard Ferguson(left) and Carl Fischer(right) (year unknown)</span></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During your time with Maynard, you would do your first record, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1999, I put the band together for </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I wanted to put a little club band together called the Organic Groove Ensemble. I have a friend who is a Hammond B3 player, and I played with him with Maynard Ferguson. He's one of the best, in my opinion: Ron Oswanski. He’s from New Jersey. He was the impetus of the Organic Groove Ensemble playing left-hand bass on the Hammond B3. I wanted John Scarpulla to play tenor sax. John and I were doing a lot of session works, and John was one of my great friends and still is to this day. I wanted a funky, feel-good jazz bar band—the "organ" was a play off "organic." And I just wanted a funky, feel-good “groove” thing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the Organic Groove Ensemble would play these clubs on Long Island and in the city. We played at a little place in the Rockville Centre area. It was called the Vibe Lounge right across the street from the train station on Sunrise Highway.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the funny thing that ties this whole thing together is we recorded that record at a studio in Oceanside, New York. The studio had just opened. We recorded it, and we did it early ’cause John had to go to Chicago to do the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> off-Broadway Chicago run before it even got released on Broadway.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 225px; overflow: hidden; width: 225px;"><br /><img height="225" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/4PoQwFMBgLlRNl4FZRBRVsvYY5f2MrZD_qnBs4NPh9ShYrKbc-2W246S9h2wwUdH17uBjGHWVu1Ipo76bLlHDsnVu9dXmfx6U8SsqOzjWuMichVUWuMHk0Fo66eihs3515wUpVqxY8kpvAHtJw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="225" /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Organic Groove </i>album(2003)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10.6667px;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-94f626df-7fff-b91d-6649-18f8d82fb295"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The day before John went to open </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Chicago—prior to previews—was the day before the last </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> session. So we did that record, and we put it out. I jumped on the road. I went back on the road with Maynard at that time, and I did another year with Maynard.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The record came out, and the album sold really, really well ’cause Maynard let me open. I was fortunate that Maynard let me open his concerts playing </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">music. He also let me sell the CDs at the merch table. Man, we sold quite a bit of merchandise. It was kind of like a grassroots campaign, and Maynard was behind it. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear the opening track from </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organic Groove</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, “Renaissance Man,” click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YBgJGL5vcg&list=OLAK5uy_ntbDmgjNyIr3rfVx5tg_XVY5fRjuTHCBc" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John was already on </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and so that's when I left the road when </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> got established. I did a year with Maynard, sold a whole bunch of product, and decided that maybe I should check into this Billy Joel Broadway thing and see what that brings me. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell me how you got to be in the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> production.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> started rehearsing in 2000. John Scarpulla was the saxophone player of that show. Chuck Burgi, who is now Billy's drummer, was the principal drummer of that show.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I got a call around 2001. I was on the road with Maynard. I got a call to sub. They had a principal trumpet player, Barry Danielian, who is a friend of mine. Barry is a wonderful, wonderful, great trumpet player. He did the first couple of years, but when the show first started, Barry made me a designated sub.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I actually left the road to be a designated sub on Broadway. I wanted to get off the road, and I started subbing quite a bit. Barry was doing a lot of recording sessions and wasn't around for a lot of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He gave me a lot of his work at </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, so I was his sub.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barry had another show coming, and he jumped off </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to get another show. Tommy Byrnes, who was Billy Joel's music director at the time, was the lead guitarist of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Tommy offered me full time for </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and I want to say that was late 2003 or 2004. So I did a year straight on </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and then that's the impetus of joining Billy's band.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was great ’cause it was a great band. The wonderful, great Greg Smith was on bass, and Dennis DelGaudio was the guitar player. There was a bunch of us Long Island morons. Wade Preston was a keyboard player in the band and frontman sometimes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I played a lot with Kevin Osborne, who was the principal trombone player and one of the singers. Then there’s Scott Kreitzer, who is an alto player. I had never played with him up until that time, and we became really good friends. He's a great musician.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course Chuck Burgi, the drummer of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and he’s Billy’s drummer right now. I became a fan of Chuck. I knew of Chuck's playing prior to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because of Brand X and his recordings with Brand X. I actually got to the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> previews 'cause I had to go to the previews as a designated sub. I'll never forget this. I remember sitting in a preview, and the previews were only for certain people before it opened on Broadway. It was in the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and I was listening to Chuck Burgi warm up. Hearing Chuck warm up, I was like, "Man, this is the guy I listened to on these records." Hearing him just get loose on the drums and playing different grooves and how he goes through his whole thing . . . man, and how he gets limber, I was like, "Wow." </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So how did the thing from </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> come to playing with Billy himself?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was interesting because Twyla Tharp, the choreographer, and Billy Joel put it together. What was amazing is that there was a great energy there. The energy was always at ten, and the audience would go to eleven.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wasn't your typical Broadway show. The band wasn't in a pit. We were on a travelator </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[a moving walkway].</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We were over the stage. The thing moved, and it moved quite quickly. It moved up sixty feet down to the stage level. It moved all around.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were part of the show, not like we were sitting in a pit and just playing your part. We had to dance around and we all jumped off the travelator at the end of the show.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We never knew when Billy would show up, and he showed up quite a bit. He'd show up—he'd come in through the stage jump onstage. No announcement. He just had an open-door policy, and he'd play the show with us. He'd play a couple tunes, and the crowd would go nuts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Billy asked me, "Hey, who are you?" I was like, "Hey, I'm Carl. I'm a Long Island guy, too, like everybody here. Obviously, I could talk to you about music, but I'm also a big South Shore boat fisherman. I'm a big bike guy, too. I just kind of like what you're about, man." He was like, "Oh, cool." It was just kind of passing. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So jump ahead, and I was running late. I was running up the stairway to get on the travelator like one minute before 8:00 when the show started. And there was Billy. He was like, "Hey, Carl Fischer. How you doing, man?” He remembered my name, which threw me for a loop. I'd met a lot of famous people prior to that, and I was very fortunate too. And for him to remember those things, it was like, "He remembered my name. He remembered the conversation."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first scary moment with Billy Joel was rehearsing. After </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Tommy Byrnes asked me to rehearse "Zanzibar" and a couple of other tunes at Billy's rehearsal space on Long Island in 2005. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I came, and we played "Zanzibar." We got done, and it wasn't my best. I wasn't proud of what I played. It was okay. Billy looked at me and stopped. He got up off the piano, and he walked out. As he was walking out, he looked at me again and said, "Man, we sound like adults." I was saying to myself, "Oh man, I guess he hated it." Then he came back in and said, "Come on, let's do it again."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By that time his crew and band were giving me high-fives. I was like, "What?" And then Mark Rivera, Billy’s saxophonist, said to the monitor guy, "Hey, put Carl Fischer up in my monitor more. I really want to hear him better this time." What I found out later was that Billy equates “grown-up” music to jazz and classical, not pop. That was a really good compliment that we sounded like grown-ups. And so we did it two more times, and then we had lunch. I've been having lunch for fifteen years, and I eat good. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear Carl play with Billy on “Zanzibar,” click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAjvLp-bw-k" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Man, Chuck and I talk about this all the time. I got to know Chuck in 2000, and we're coming on 2021 here. We both joke about having been playing Billy Joel's music for twenty years. We're both coming on fifteen years with Billy, and we had five years with </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Crazy. We both pinch each other. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Man, playing in the Billy Joel Band . . . not only are we all great friends, but it feels like such a great gel. I'm very humbled and honored to be a part of it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 10.6667px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVOjsTStmEpwJ-2NgBN6DS6a8MS8evm7azcgJADq5lmenM00Ku8PD9-G6144olo7eGNDbPg1RbWNioFLJEONbPH91nJsblfo_aQusDeW_yoGKBiWuVtQTlbEpKagp5PhyphenhyphenBqyQ9PD9Nj1x/s2048/BillyCarl.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVOjsTStmEpwJ-2NgBN6DS6a8MS8evm7azcgJADq5lmenM00Ku8PD9-G6144olo7eGNDbPg1RbWNioFLJEONbPH91nJsblfo_aQusDeW_yoGKBiWuVtQTlbEpKagp5PhyphenhyphenBqyQ9PD9Nj1x/s320/BillyCarl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Billy Joel (back) and Carl (forefront) (year unknown)</span></div><p></p><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-aa66fd0e-7fff-8adb-77c0-9d6e27290b1e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you are playing with Billy, one of the things I'm gonna ask about is the show at Shea Stadium.</span></p></span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shea was a definite time and moment and place, man. I think back on it now and a lot of people still think that it was just one show. It was two shows, which was very interesting and two different concerts totally. I remember even the rehearsing; we made the whole thing grander.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Billy wanted the band to sound bigger, so David Rosenthal, the keyboardist, had orchestrated strings and extra horns. I was so happy that Tommy Byrnes got our </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin’ Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> boys back. John Scarpulla and Kevin Osborne came back on horn. Raul Agraz was playing </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movin' Out</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the traveling shows, also added as a horn. Pete Hewlett added background vocals as well as Kevin Osborne.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rehearsals were fun, but I remember it was so freaking hot. I remember the vibe of the show when we actually had sound checks for the rehearsals for the guests artists of the day. I guess I had a Yankees hat on at rehearsal at Shea Stadium. I didn't have enough guts to wear it on the gig. Steven Tyler was coming in, and we were playing "Walk This Way," and he wanted horns on it. He came up to me, and I was sweating. He goes, "Hey, man, nice chops. I used to play trumpet when I was young." </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just remember crazy stuff like that. I don’t play on every song, and I have a big horn trunk at back of the stage there. I have a lot of my extra horns, and they're all in that case, and it's a very fragile case. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a guy during the show pacing back and forth that I’d never seen before. He had a Mets jersey on, and he was knocking into my horns, man. He almost knocked my horn case over, but he was just pacing. I said, "Excuse me, sir. Can I help you? Are you all right?"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn't put it together because we were at Shea Stadium and in the middle of the gig. The guy turned around—I didn’t put it together, but the back of his jersey said "Brooks." It was Garth Brooks. He turned around and looked at me and goes, "Man, Carl. Carl, I'm nervous." I said, "You're Garth Brooks." And he looked at me and said, "Yeah." I said, "You're nervous?" He goes, "Yeah, man. Billy Joel at Shea Stadium has got </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> nervous." I said, "Man, I know. You almost knocked my horns over." He goes, "Oh, I'm sorry.” I said, "No, I'm just busting you on it. I didn't know who you were." 'Cause Garth didn't make rehearsals. He just showed up. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then of course the biggest surprise at Shea was having Paul McCartney come at the end of the last night for the last couple songs. We didn't know until the last, last minute. Having him come up was surreal because obviously he played Shea with the Beatles. So for him to close it . . . there were just a lot of great moments at Shea. I'll just leave it at that, a lot of great moments at Shea. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You must have a lot of great moments with Billy at Madison Square Garden.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, I could sit here for hours and just reminisce. There's so many great moments that have happened that Billy has brought in and brought people together. To me, that's a true sign of a great leader, and that's what I see in Wynton Marsalis. That's what I see in Maynard Ferguson. That's what I've seen in a lot of the people who I love working for, and Billy, he's number one, or if not, he's right up on top there.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maynard and Billy, those guys know how to put things together. I mean, before a show, you hear, "Sting wants to come? Cool, have him come. Come on in." And it's just like that. Billy’s like, "All right, come on." A lot of the stuff at Billy’s show is very spontaneous, and that's jazz.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">JC:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the groups you got to play with while in Billy’s band was Blood, Sweat & Tears. That band is a combo of jazz and pop.</span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, sir. That was a fun gig. I got that gig as a lead trumpet player, which was a very demanding job. Again, I had to fill the shoes of the late, great Lew Soloff. Playing Blood’s discography of music is very challenging and fun because I think it was one of the first bands to gel jazz and rock together.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So not only was it great for me to join as the lead trumpet player, I left, and then they asked me back to join again, and not only that, but to be the music director of the band. So that was a very, very challenging and rewarding experience for me, and again I'm honored to be in that and was in that for a while. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear Blood Sweat & Tears’ cover of “Got to Get You In My Life” with American Idol Bo Bice on lead vocals, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRAX8GxC4U" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just last year I got a call from Blood, Sweat & Tears, and they asked me to be a special guest artist at a festival in Clearwater, Florida. I was a guest with Blood, Sweat & Tears because they were opening for Chicago, which is another great horn rock band.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those two bands—Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears—and opening for Chicago, and being a guest artist and a music director for Blood, Sweat & Tears for three years prior, I said, "Man."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really got to look at the situation. I grew up with this music. It's in my soul, and I just love sharing it with people, and I love that people enjoy it. I just like to keep the ball rolling. That band is still rolling along, and I spoke to the road manager tonight, actually.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Really?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I spoke to you, I spoke to the Blood, Sweat & Tears’ road manager. Every gig I leave I try to leave in the best possible way because the world is small, and we need friends not enemies.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You also got to play with Diana Ross.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, she was a trip. Diana Ross is definitely the queen diva, man. She is a wonderful, prepared artist, and her band is wonderful.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gerry Brown has been with Diana Ross for years. He was Stevie Wonder's drummer for years. Wonderful band. Again, my boy John Scarpulla, another Long Islander,. John Scarpulla got me on that. And Ozzie Melendez, another great Long Island trombone player, a wonderful musician, writer, singer, and trombonist. Chris Karlic, who's a Brooklynite now. Well, not now, but he was a Brooklynite. Now he's back in Pennsylvania, I believe. The horn section was great.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What Diana Ross showed me, kind of like the Maynard school, is knock those gigs out and be consistent. It kind of reminded me of my Maynard days and of my circus days. Be consistent. Go out and do your show and do it consistently and have fun doing it, and we did. That was a wonderful experience. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear Carl solo with Diana Ross, please click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ddfj49qIy4" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzr8kOCuB9MkskFdw7kMni-yofKxTZj0jaUpnoXZgIQP5MNNklI7MvHJkevCu9nrchHeRoNxAhLTbVDPrFZlxLfZ4Es4nIcbMBKdYiPxJlY7NHqU41JIVsymAqKLJDHHrvmv_OYKIqlkh1/s720/CarlDiana.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzr8kOCuB9MkskFdw7kMni-yofKxTZj0jaUpnoXZgIQP5MNNklI7MvHJkevCu9nrchHeRoNxAhLTbVDPrFZlxLfZ4Es4nIcbMBKdYiPxJlY7NHqU41JIVsymAqKLJDHHrvmv_OYKIqlkh1/s320/CarlDiana.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carl (center) behind Diana Ross (year unknown)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>I got to do that for a little over two years. She was very cordial. I started subbing out because I never left Billy. It's just we weren't working much with Billy at the time. When Billy started working again, we actually started the Garden run, too, I remember.</span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'll tell you a funny Diana Ross and Billy Joel story. Can I tell you this one? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, sure.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This one was really good. This is how the world is connected by six degrees of separation. I remember I had a very big decision to make. Billy just started up at the Garden, and Diana's tour was conflicting with Billy’s dates. I'm loyal to Billy, and Billy's been loyal to me. At that time, I was running with Billy eight or nine years, so I had a lot more time with Billy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, long story short is we were at dinner with Ms. Ross, and she said at the table, "Oh, Carl, I heard you're leaving me to go back with Billy. What's that about?" You could hear a pin drop.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I said, "Ms. Ross, I'm very loyal, just like you are. Billy is family to me, and your band and crew has been family to me. I just have to pick the family I've been with longer. There's no ill will. I've subbed this gig out long enough. It's time for me to play it loyal."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked at me and goes, "Carl, I love you. I love Billy Joel. You can come and go as long as you want with me. If it's for Billy Joel, I don't care. I love Billy Joel."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And everybody's mouth dropped because we were expecting her to be not nice, and she was so charming and pleasant. My heart melted. I was like, "Thank you."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What was ironic was I was at the Garden playing upstairs in the arena with Billy Joel, and Ms. Diana Ross was downstairs playing in the theater below on the same night. Of course, I had to go downstairs and see my boys and girls and Diana Ross. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I made the right pick, although I do love Diana Ross and her entourage and the band. But I think I made the right pick with that one. Again, I've gotta shake my head because you can't make this stuff up. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At one time I was doing Diana Ross, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Billy Joel for about—</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All three of them at the same time?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, I was doing three, and that was for about six to eight months. Then I got this side of my gray hair, and then I was with only Blood, Sweat & Tears and Billy Joel. The Blood, Sweat & Tears camp was great ’cause I could sub out and they understood. When I got the music director job with Blood, Sweat & Tears, it was getting a little harder for me to line up musicians and get music and get set lists remote.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was when I got this other strip of gray hair. At that time, I had to step off. That was within the last six years. Basically the whole Madison Square Garden run, I would say between Blood, Sweat & Tears and Diana Ross, I juggled three of them, then I just juggled Blood and Billy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I got this other gray streak in my hair, I decided I was gonna doing more clinics and workshops, concentrating more on my new band projects that wouldn't take me far away and cause me more gray hair traveling. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Laughs]</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let's talk about your new bands. One of your bands is Tribute to Evolutionary Trumpet Icons, and the other is the Nouveau Big Band.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We had the Nouveau Big Band in New York for quite a number of years, and that was a fun band. We haven't played that band in a long time just because it's a bigger band. It tributes a lot of the obscure writings of jazz legends Jaco Pastorius and Maynard Ferguson. That band had residency in New York in Queens for a while. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To see the Nouveau Big Band cover Maynard Ferguson’s “Waltz for Nicole,” click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0C0iRQcF0c" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfpTIR7uhwVuDWgMAyew4ajR1__JUH1RZdCL-9vM2ZfDZt-zihwh6XsVyOtDz_-JQBMFw6J-YkYdHYvSBSCiOQ5LGklu3QUN1XB4dgyxFO43cKLzx1fYyB85eZ05WuyU9yzX50fNEt68m/s900/NoveauBigBand.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfpTIR7uhwVuDWgMAyew4ajR1__JUH1RZdCL-9vM2ZfDZt-zihwh6XsVyOtDz_-JQBMFw6J-YkYdHYvSBSCiOQ5LGklu3QUN1XB4dgyxFO43cKLzx1fYyB85eZ05WuyU9yzX50fNEt68m/s320/NoveauBigBand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carl (left) with the Noveau Big Band (year unkown)</span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I moved down to Florida about six-and-a-half years ago. I put together this TËTI band, which stands for Tribute to Evolutionary Trumpet Icons. I just thought it was time to put my own spin on the jazz greats of trumpet icons who were not only unbelievable trumpet players but also brought a different spin to the music. We have some arrangements and recorded this record last year. We're mixing and editing and trying to get the record out sooner than later. So right now, the heritage in the record goes from Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Maynard Ferguson is the way we feathered this first record. So keep an eye out for that. We're excited about that. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To watch a promo video for the TËTI</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">band, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPEduUVL2EM" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My man Stephen Wright, who's a wonderful producer, arranger, and manager, has helped me with this project. Before COVID hit, we started playing quite a bit. We had some nice festivals laid out for us. We had a couple gigs. Our last gig was in a beautiful theater in New Jersey. That was fun.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">COVID kind of hit us hard with that band. Not only is TËTI a tribute, but it's also what Stephen brings to the table. It's a virtual and multimedia experience. There are screens behind the stage, and it has a lot of the footage that we talked about today with my learnings with Maynard and Wynton and gentlemen who brought a lot of things to the forefront.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's a voyage, we'll just say that. TËTI is a voyage. I think once everybody can be together in a room, we can start the voyage up again.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the interim, we've been staying busy doing small projects, and we just came out with Carl Fischer's Sunshine City Brass Band. It's basically me and a couple of other guys just tracking things remotely playing New Orleans backbeat funk. We’re having fun with that too. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To hear Sunshine City Brass Band take on “Down by the Riverside,” click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTtVnVCJVzE" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fvdsSn4wVkFoG5gsOzB7yVl7hLzwP_YWQf5WVI1DFAXeB3GpimJbfp2Wza3fyhwM_-WuDj3pRMfy_UTsq154OMRkoSEvdwiv0mSVw_fx4J1Bb21-xiHeBxHOMvBnzva5vz1NTorSX7Z8/s312/SunshineCityBrass.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fvdsSn4wVkFoG5gsOzB7yVl7hLzwP_YWQf5WVI1DFAXeB3GpimJbfp2Wza3fyhwM_-WuDj3pRMfy_UTsq154OMRkoSEvdwiv0mSVw_fx4J1Bb21-xiHeBxHOMvBnzva5vz1NTorSX7Z8/s0/SunshineCityBrass.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Promo for Sunshine City Brass (2020)</span></div><span><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I understand you’ve been doing virtual gigs every Tuesday night.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, those are fun, man. I'm glad you're catching them. That's another thing with the pandemic. We've been doing that. We came on our twentieth week, our twentieth episode last week. Next week we have a guest, a wonderful trumpet player, Wayne Bergeron. [</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To see that episode with Wayne Bergeron, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwxbRrwjXwk" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVMBnr6pZ2KmT_0QvjMS-Ct9NYlcZwQsJ9_WwKejwPPJwaizbk8dvaclGAS4gXg-ZyQNnjgQ1wCEu5JduXzNN_PIuT8qJbt66FJgP1ruYwMPdX5O2LVD854lfvSvArMUrpnhPmzEjrVZl/s300/TuesdayNights.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVMBnr6pZ2KmT_0QvjMS-Ct9NYlcZwQsJ9_WwKejwPPJwaizbk8dvaclGAS4gXg-ZyQNnjgQ1wCEu5JduXzNN_PIuT8qJbt66FJgP1ruYwMPdX5O2LVD854lfvSvArMUrpnhPmzEjrVZl/s0/TuesdayNights.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tuesday night episode with Wayne Bergeron(2020)</span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But we're lucky enough that we've had a lot of Billy band members. The two people from Billy’s band we're still gonna have on is Mike DelGuidice and Chuck Burgi. They're gonna hopefully be on more episodes. We're excited about that. That keeps our Tuesday nights popping.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a great time doing that, and we also try to bring in some different things, some different musicians, whether it be singers, songwriters, or trumpet players, or even some of my trumpet gurus and manufacturers that make my trumpet gear.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we try to keep it educational but fun, and it's open for everybody. It's not just a trumpet hang. I learn more about the person probably than you guys. It's keeping Stephen and I sharp throughout this dark time. It's been a godsend, I'll be honest with you. I'm very, very happy to have that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JC:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It sounds like you've been constantly working. Even now with this pandemic, you're still managing to go. What would you say is the key that's kept you going all this time?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CF:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's a great question. I feel like I'm busier now than I've ever been for way less money and playing for way less people. But it doesn't matter because I think it's all about change. I really believe if we don't take advantage of the technology and try to bring people closer together—if we don't take advantage of that, it's a dead world, man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The way I look at it and I think Stephen looks at it, is that the way we approach it is to try to work ourselves into a hole and see what works. We do what's passionate to us. I try to do the music the best justice I can, whether it be any type of music. I try to be true to the music and try to get it out to the masses however way possible.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we have to give it away, we'll give it away. Going back a decade or even two decades ago, you had CDs to sell, but now for a stream you're getting $0.003 or whatever it is. I'd rather have the music produced right and out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the world comes back together, it's gonna be a different thing. I think people are really gonna want to come out and see live music and support live music. We've been very fortunate that we've had some donations, and people buy merchandise on our stream now to help support the stream for our software and servers.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that's wonderful. But I think changing with the times, and just changing and rolling with the punches and being true to the music and being genuine, I hope that's gonna get us through. That's what's keeping us busy right now. Some days are hard, but most of the days we wake up and we're excited, man. I've been so excited talking to you, Jeff. You made me happy ’cause I get to tell you this whole story on me, and it reaffirms why I'm doing this. I appreciate it.</span></p><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-17148934156878549972020-09-12T12:54:00.002-07:002020-09-12T13:08:59.821-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with South of Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwCTeEfcEo7zPl4m-4VobEZ9lQOlXGCOIFjVAbKtlvxysG_aFgnnIjMSjCOhRJKxQl13kgp0t1S70PQKcnABZ4ndE3PGNDX6QAdkKMA9V5hsP7wF8eUzMtAiD5EMNY5InetxR1do1mrS2/s640/South-for-Winter-Promo-2-EA-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwCTeEfcEo7zPl4m-4VobEZ9lQOlXGCOIFjVAbKtlvxysG_aFgnnIjMSjCOhRJKxQl13kgp0t1S70PQKcnABZ4ndE3PGNDX6QAdkKMA9V5hsP7wF8eUzMtAiD5EMNY5InetxR1do1mrS2/s320/South-for-Winter-Promo-2-EA-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">South for Winter (Nick (center), Alex (top left), and Dani (top right) (year unknown)</i></div><p><i>South for Winter is a folk band that started in 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is composed Colorado native Dani Cichon (vocals, mandolin), New Zealander Nick Stone (vocals, guitar), and Michigan cellist Alex Stradal. Dani’s vocals, Nick’s intricate guitar work, and Alex’s cello give South for Winter a unique sound. Dani’s lyrics alternate between romantic themes and dark themes (one of their upcoming songs is about America’s first female serial killer). This unique sound has been described as “folk blues,” “folk jazz,” or “renaissance.” </i></p><p><i>In 2018, South for Winter released a five-song EP titled </i><b>How the Mountain</b><i>. While making their EP, they met Grammy award-winning producer Matt Leigh, who helped them craft one of the songs on the EP, “Whispers in the Trees.” Since then, they have worked with Matt on recording their upcoming album </i><b>Luxumbra</b><i>. They have taken the time during the coronavirus pandemic to perfect this album. (In addition to being a gifted lyricist and singer, Dani also works as an ICU nurse in the Nashville Covid-19 unit.) South for Winter has released various singles in 2019 and 2020. </i></p><p><i>In this candid conversation, we cover South for Winter’s beginnings, their future plans, as well as Dani’s lyrics and their unique musical sound. I want to thank Nichole Peters-Good from Good PR music group for setting up the interview. But most of all, I want to thank Dani and Nick for doing this interview.</i></p><p><b><i>Jeff Cramer:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So whoever wants to take this first, I’ll start off with the first question: What got you interested in music?</i></b></p><p>Dani Cichon: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nick, do you want to go first?</p><p>Nick Stone: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, sure thing. I got into music pretty young. Most of my family are classical musicians or jazz players in New Zealand. My uncle is an orchestra composer. Grandma has perfect pitch, so it was always kind of pretty standard in the family to follow down that line. So it wasn't until you get a bit older and you start finding the music that you really enjoy and it really connects with you. </p><p>DC: My family is also musical—not the same level as Nick's, but they are people who do other things for work. Music is on the side. My dad is actually a surgeon who plays four instruments, and both of my parents sing in the church choir together every Sunday. </p><p>[My parents] always had us singing and taking music classes, but I was the first one in the family to really want to do it as part of a career. So I started writing when I was younger, and then realized that I could combine my love of music and my love of writing with songwriting. It was kind of this big revelation when I was around 12 years old that I could take poems and turn them into songs.</p><p>Since then I've kind of just been completely addicted to it, taking opera classes in high school and learning several instruments. And then getting to Nashville. I actually did a degree in nursing and became a nurse there, but I have always done music on the side.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How did you two meet?</i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I used to be a tour guide for an Australian volunteer organization. I was doing some work out in Peru and Dani was also there. I saw this beautiful girl playing with the guitar and I thought we should jam. That was kind of how we first met.</p><p>DC: Yeah, so the long and short of it is that we met in Peru. We actually dated long distance between New Zealand and the US for several years. Then I moved to New Zealand to continue the relationship and he moved to Nashville afterwards, and we started South for Winter here in Nashville.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, that was when we met the cellist, Alex Stradal from Michigan.</p><p>DC: We pretty much just started the band when we met Alex. He is a classical cellist. He was looking for friends and connections, and we were looking for a graphics designer. So we posted on a Facebook page, “Hey, are there any graphic designers out there to help us create this website?” Alex posted and asked if we wanted a cellist instead. We had talked about wanting a cellist in the band but hadn't really pursued it. We first jammed with him in September 2017, and that's pretty much how we all met.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaW-o7e4u8Ree1AIxlVv0W3faFO2pYqQXsjjeOtvVSjs8FHDDThO9BJtsA_7XMGTha3lBO42jJ758VG8hXr3G0hRcEhDsML9KIy36Cdp4BN8Ewyy0XQ_mTuw2_clEY8nY90zTyEGxh1QOw/s1000/SouthforWinter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1000" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaW-o7e4u8Ree1AIxlVv0W3faFO2pYqQXsjjeOtvVSjs8FHDDThO9BJtsA_7XMGTha3lBO42jJ758VG8hXr3G0hRcEhDsML9KIy36Cdp4BN8Ewyy0XQ_mTuw2_clEY8nY90zTyEGxh1QOw/w400-h301/SouthforWinter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">South for Winter (year unknown)</span></i></div><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How did you come up with the name South for Winter?</i></b></p><p>DC: Well, I was starting to figure out a way to describe all of these random places that we have met up in the past few years because the relationship has been in so many different places, and that's kind of the same with the music. Most of the places that our music really took shape was in the south, so South America, the South Island of New Zealand, and the South in the United States and in Nashville. So it kind of just felt like we were traveling south for the winter.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Something like that.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I like to discuss your first single, “Whisper in the Trees.” It’s on an EP, How the Mountain. On the cover of the EP there’s a mountain, and it looks like it's cold at the mountain. I’m also thinking of winter because of the band name. Yet, when I played “Whisper in the Trees,” the melody and guitar riffs reminded me of surf music. (Surf music is a subgenre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California.) </i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, yeah, it's definitely got a surf-folk element to it. Interesting. Yeah, well the mountain on the cover of the EP is Mount Cook or Mount Aoraki. It's the highest mountain in New Zealand, so we try to tie back into my homeland quite often. </p><p>When it comes to the actual music that was a huge leap for us. I played in rock before, so it's kind of normal for me, but playing in a folk band was very unusual. "Whispers in the Trees" was the first song we did with our producer, Matt Leigh. It was just a great opportunity. He was doing a course for a sound engineering school here in town, and he was just offering a chance to do a free single.</p><p>We played him the song acoustically and he said, “How would you feel about putting a drum kit on this and bass?” I was like, “Yeah sure, give it a shot.” And we turned out to the studio, and the cellist got on the bass and a drummer turned up with a drum kit. We ran through it a couple of times. (<i>To hear “Whispers in the Trees,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHniQlXxUdU" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>)</p><p>It was the first time we played the song in that format. So we basically gave our producer all the options in the world to see what he could create. And I was really quite blown away. It's like you can still hear all the acoustic instrumentation, but you can hear a band as well. I think that helps in the studio recording environment. Whereas live, I don't think you necessarily need all the additional players.</p><p>DC: Yeah, when played live, that song tends to feel more gypsy. Because we play as a trio, it's acoustic guitar and tambourine and cello, but in the studio setting that gypsy sound translates more into surf when you add an electric guitar. (<i>“Gypsy music” is recognized as instrumental music played in Eastern European countries notable for its style in idiom and ornamentation. It is usually played in coffeehouses, restaurants, at parties, and sometimes on stage.</i>)</p><p>It's really interesting because that happened with another song, “Fallen Seeds,” we just recorded for the album, which will be coming out in a couple of months. "Fallen Seeds" has always been our South America song. We wrote it in Peru. It's very gypsy, and then it becomes a surf-folk song when you add in all the other elements and some grooving electric guitar.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to talk about the guitar work in these songs. Usually in folk music, a guitarist strums a few chords. But the guitar work is very intricate here. There’s a lot more notes here than there is usually in folk music.</i></b></p><p>DC: Yeah, that is all Nick. It was one of the things that really drew me to writing with Nick in the first place. He has these guitar parts that already had a melody in them. He has these really creative guitar parts with these riffs that were so easy to write to because they already felt like a song . . . like you could hear the song in them. He is really good at that. </p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, thank you. It's definitely a relationship that goes both ways. If there is a melody that Dani has created, I can incorporate the melody into the guitar parts that I'm playing and then add a harmony to the melody that I'm playing.</p><p>I'm not the fastest guitarist out there, but I like creating interesting guitar parts. Alex, the cellist, is really great too because he alternates between playing bass lines and harmony lines. Yeah, I really appreciate the compliment on that. Thank you.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Your guitar riffs on “All We Have” remind me of one of my favorite guitarists Ritchie Blackmore, who played guitar in Deep Purple and is now with Blackmore’s Night. Ritchie likes to come up with riffs that were inspired by classical music. “All We Have” has guitar riffs that sound inspired by classical music.</i></b></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FnSnJ2SS0NgqDW4PfNXyTFlJreKLbjdbL_FksiV_2Ra2oNoW5I3eJxiv1xFJeEmsVOe1EOeaWN4T_SyfoHvWr1xHBX1VCLXrxMF0OjB6ogym6VIJkgy6EodTr9bGhSa6fjt9J2AFvXSm/s225/AllWeHave.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FnSnJ2SS0NgqDW4PfNXyTFlJreKLbjdbL_FksiV_2Ra2oNoW5I3eJxiv1xFJeEmsVOe1EOeaWN4T_SyfoHvWr1xHBX1VCLXrxMF0OjB6ogym6VIJkgy6EodTr9bGhSa6fjt9J2AFvXSm/w281-h281/AllWeHave.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“All We Have” single cover (November 2019)</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">NS: </span><span style="text-align: left; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">A lot of these riffs were written over a decade ago. In fact, I came out with a lot of these ideas when I first started getting into acoustic guitar when I was 9 or 10 years old. But it's brought to life in such a different way when you play with other instruments. When you play with a cello, it gives you this extra sense of melody and lead and drive to it. So I think the instrumentation that we have leans itself to classical motifs all the time. (<i>To hear “All We Have,” click<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnjwe7k6Mp4" target="_blank"> here</a>.</i>)</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I've always really enjoyed the sound of an orchestra arrangement. Alex does maybe two or three cello parts and all of the sudden it sounds like we just hired a whole string section. We're very, very lucky to have the talent that we've been able to run into, and I think that is largely in part to making the move to come to Nashville.</span></p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The other thing I noticed in the </i>How the Mountain <i>EP is that Nick occasionally sings lead vocals. With the singles that came after the EP, it is almost entirely Dani taking up the lead vocals.</i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, for the most part for me personally it’s nice to be able to focus on riffs rather than doing both myself. I also like to focus more on the guitar than singing a lot of the time as well. There is definitely a lot more lead vocals for Dani on our upcoming album. That's all right. I'm still learning how to sing. I'll get there one day, mate.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45d-G3nz2EKRWb81hraldJEl7hcZy_FMagsyoXYdGLzMsOT5Ae0oyYW9hqwSKMmW3YrWzjvYd1x7TvdMQhV4LjnmoQGRN39hkS5_yUmap4P_VQ6yB0oEg_0qxOjVEXAEvhXOPTISVZLpu/s255/SouthWinter.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45d-G3nz2EKRWb81hraldJEl7hcZy_FMagsyoXYdGLzMsOT5Ae0oyYW9hqwSKMmW3YrWzjvYd1x7TvdMQhV4LjnmoQGRN39hkS5_yUmap4P_VQ6yB0oEg_0qxOjVEXAEvhXOPTISVZLpu/w399-h310/SouthWinter.jpeg" width="399" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">South for Winter (year unknown)</span></i></span></div><p>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also want to talk about your single "Ten Black Crows.” I think it’s interesting because I listen to heavy metal, and even though “Ten Black Crows” isn’t metal, it doesn’t sound like you would need to do a lot to turn the song into metal. (<i>To hear “Ten Black Crows,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guqZu2Uf3M8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>)</p><p>DC: Yeah, there is a song that you'll hear later called “Black Widow in White Lace.” It's actually the story of Lavinia Fisher, who is the first documented female serial killer in the United States. That’ll be coming out in about two months. And that one you'll be like, “This is a heavy metal song.”</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s definitely metal folk, yes. Like there is no other way to put it. If you like the "Ten Black Crows" song, I think you'll probably enjoy "Black Widow" because it takes the concepts that you heard in that song to another level.</p><p>J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dani, you’ve written some very dark lyrics that wouldn’t be out of place in heavy metal. First, there is "Ten Black Crows.” Another song is “Devil Is a’Calling,” and now “Black Widow.” Where do all the dark lyrics come from? (To hear “Devil Is a’Calling,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qiQfURmF7A" target="_blank">here</a>.)</i></b></p><p>DC: I love dark folk, and it's weird because I am not a dark person. I mean, I work as an ICU nurse and I deal with a lot of heavy stuff, but I have always loved crime shows, thrillers, and listening to heavy music. I’ve always been really attracted to dark stuff in storytelling songs. And I always say I learned in literature class when I was in high school that a good story never ends happily. </p><p>I think maybe I'm taking that literally, but it's just so much fun to write those kind of songs. I used to write pop songs. If you look at my old music on Spotify, you wouldn't think it was the same person because it's all very up, very happy. I just started to get bored with these pop songs as a songwriter. I think with these murder ballads and these stories, you can't run out of topics. It's so much more fun to write, and it's mostly what I listen to as well.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another interesting thing I found lyrically was the single “Twine.” What I find interesting is that you rhyme “twine” with “mine” or “your kind.” Now “twine” is not thought of as a personal word, but the words “mine” and “your kind” are thought of as personal words. What was sort of the inspiration in that? </i></b></p><p>DC: That song was one of those cool songwriting moments that don't happen often enough where the song kind of just falls in your lap. I was actually listening to a lot of the Paper Kites. Do you know the Paper Kites?</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>No, I haven't heard of them, but I'll check it out.</i></b></p><p>DC: Such a beautiful, beautiful folk band out of Australia. And they have a lot of really gorgeous songs with these running bass lines going through them.</p><p>Nick was at work, and his guitar was on the wall, so I took his guitar, sat down, and started strumming some notes and ended up being inspired by them. There was this melody . . . so I just hit my recorder on my phone and was playing a few things and singing along. And I just kept having this image of a beaver and a sparrow.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh really?</i></b></p><p>DC: Whenever I introduce it at shows, I say this is a love story of a beaver and a sparrow, and it doesn't go well for the beaver. It is the love story I've told from the beaver's perspective in terms of trying to create something stable, trying to create something here on earth, but it's just not meant for the sparrow. They're just two different kinds of creatures. I think that's applicable to many love stories, where there is nothing wrong with either one—they just need different things. (<i>To hear “Twine” live, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POroVDNQMsU" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqj_SzTILmkhZfAlIWEA6jYHswTTqUj0K_nvdXdV_qqO_cRU7mKBenANnioS_mZMZK-TNhgXa9P-y1dsbYDeVxZxxxO-WUtqdzdHcTgF_y8eZaKAa4QfUXVdM56YB2Y7E8TtPSzEekM8w/s225/twine.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqj_SzTILmkhZfAlIWEA6jYHswTTqUj0K_nvdXdV_qqO_cRU7mKBenANnioS_mZMZK-TNhgXa9P-y1dsbYDeVxZxxxO-WUtqdzdHcTgF_y8eZaKAa4QfUXVdM56YB2Y7E8TtPSzEekM8w/s0/twine.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Twine” cover (April 2019)</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, now that you know it's about a sparrow and a beaver it might change the perspective on the lyrics for you.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It sure does. Even though “Twine” is about animals, two of your songs—“To Be Next To You” and your most recent single “Always You”—appear to be love songs about humans. Dani, while you do write some dark lyrics, there are also some romantic lyrics you write as well. (To hear a live version of “To Be Next To You,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXbsy4mj2TY" target="_blank">here</a>.)</i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's like we have happy folk songs and murder ballads. I think there is a good balance between the two.</p><p>DC: We actually named our upcoming debut album about the balance between happy folk songs and murder ballads. On every show that we played in 2019, we would ask people, “What would you name this album based on what you heard?” One person who I actually grew up with Colorado Springs said, “You should call it Luxumbra, which is Latin for “the light and the shadow.” So the name of the album is going to be Luxumbra.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also the recent single “Always You” has a faster tempo than most of your songs. </i></b></p><p>DC: Well, “Always You” really picks up the energy and people can clap along with it, so that was definitely the inspiration for that. We’ve done a lot of touring and have been lucky enough to play with a lot of different incredible folk artists. You look at all this interaction. You look at someone tapping their feet. Look at someone moving in their seat and clapping along, and you want something like that in a set. </p><p>The idea was really inspired by everything going on right now. In all these dark times, there is that one person or pet or whatever it is that is your companion that you can hold on to. I really feel like we needed to balance. None of us love writing. I mean, I don't mind it, but Alex doesn't love playing happy songs.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's no secret that the single was Alex's least favorite song we've written. But I think as songwriters it's good to challenge yourself and not just stay in the same realm of what you're comfortable with. So yeah, we definitely try to look analytically as well at what people will listen to. It's like we can't just have five murder ballads in a row, you know? That might get a little depressing. (<i>To hear “Always You,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riOanIcO6Is" target="_blank">here.</a></i>)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I like to get back to the debut album coming out in a couple of months. Is it different or similar to your earlier EP </i>How the Mountain<i>?</i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The album is more evolved. </p><p>DC: Yes. <i>How the Mountain</i> was a test for us. It was the first time we recorded as a full band. Besides recording it in our closet in our apartment, we also put together that EP. We wrote the songs and recorded them within two months. </p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, it was pretty quick turnaround, so we did a lot more producing our own music on that EP, and then we sent it to our producer to make a mix out of the parts we created. Although, I still love that EP, and I think it's got a lot of great, great moments to it. </p><p>I just think that lot of the ideas are more thought out and get executed on the album largely in part to the studio equipment we had and the time that we put in to preproduction as well.</p><p>DC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And we’ve been working on this album for almost two years.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two years.</p><p>DC: So we end with all this studio minds on it, having our producer Matt Leigh constantly in the studio and challenging us.</p><p>NS:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, Matt did a phenomenal job saying like, “Hey, you guys are musicians. Why don't you create interludes?” Something that ties the album together and makes it a little bit different, or draw in a motif from one track to another. The album feels like a well thought-out piece of a body of work rather than just a lot of singles.</p><p>When you hear <i>Luxumbra</i> as a full album I hope that it will take you on a bit of a journey where you still hear the three-piece acoustic folk band, but also that we are in a studio and built the music as big as we can. </p><p>And yeah, I'm really, really excited to release our upcoming single, “Stone” because I think that’s one of my favorites off the album. Our drummer used African custom instruments on that one. It was really quite a beautiful thing that he created. (<i>To hear “Stone,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFWSMveJ4zs" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>)</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Definitely curious to hear that.</i></b></p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, the cool thing is that our drummer is primarily a classic rock player, but he’s also been a drum teacher for years, and he plays very classical percussion style as well. </p><p>DC: <i>How the Mountain </i>felt pretty folk. I mean, there are drums in it and some rock elements, but in general it's somewhat like a folk album. Whereas <i>Luxumbra</i> definitely feels more like a folk rock album, but we tried to make it really diverse. It's got a jazz track on it. Actually, one of the first songs that Nick and I wrote is a straight-up jazz track. We really tried to push ourselves to write something that we hadn't created.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, that jazz song has a guitar part from a song that I had worked on in my early twenties. And so I played her the guitar part, and she just said, “Don't sing . . . don’t, you know, you'll corrupt the music with your melody.”</p><p>DC: He has some ideas.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think that's really awesome because it brings these ideas back to life in a completely different way. That's the joy of collaborating, you know? So it's been a real labor of love working on this album, as all albums are. But yeah, we're super excited to release it this year, to finally get it out there, you know?</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm going to shift a little . . . Dani, I understand you are a nurse who works in the Covid-19 unit. There are no words to say how impressed I am by that, because that's really frontline work in dealing with the coronavirus.</i></b></p><p>DC: Yeah, it's been a weird time to be between both worlds, where you see your musician friends' livelihood getting destroyed, but then you see the other side and how serious the virus is. We’re in Nashville and most of our friends are musicians. Each of us has gone through our own “corona depression,” as I call it. </p><p>We've had all these really exciting plans. We were actually in New York City in March and played a sold-out show with this amazing artist. This was the night before the city shut down with Covid-19. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghc8kSPLng03Qh-NE96gCpTGpgCx69ucN6YeSyKRKStr46VYimdN3djQgD1SzpQnyM90KwGWyTklrtvt-DkbKqdwE5hLJxducPSq8Nv5TRQDFILJiJjPh0c4DwbIQY_RJkV4gjGp6fqeYj/s1294/south-wintertour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghc8kSPLng03Qh-NE96gCpTGpgCx69ucN6YeSyKRKStr46VYimdN3djQgD1SzpQnyM90KwGWyTklrtvt-DkbKqdwE5hLJxducPSq8Nv5TRQDFILJiJjPh0c4DwbIQY_RJkV4gjGp6fqeYj/w310-h400/south-wintertour.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">South for Winter on tour (year unknown)</span></i></span></div><p>And at that show we were getting all these offers for summer concerts, and we were like, “Oh great, we can each go part-time or quit our jobs within the next years and tour all the time.” All of that is gone.</p><p>But at the same time, it let us really focus on the album that we're releasing, because we would have been so busy this summer. It's given us the time to focus on it. It's given us time to think about our plans for the future, our online presence, and we now have a manager and a publicist and a distribution deal that we might not have had time to really think about before.</p><p>And also I'm an ICU nurse. I did one crisis nursing assignment in a Covid-19 ICU, and then I've worked in the Covid-19 ICU in Nashville. And so I think sheer gravity of the situation with how sick those patients are and how real and scary the virus is . . . </p><p>So we're not touring at all until it's safe. It's just not worth it to even play a couple of shows in-house, even if you're trying to be safe. I think other bands might be touring a little sooner than us, but because of my perspective and what I've seen, I think we should be the most careful. But we're just lucky to be safe and be healthy, and I think that's all we're thinking of right now.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We just bought a new van. We got a ProMaster Dodge Ram, so we're kind of getting that out for touring hopefully next year. Yeah, so we’re just working that out, like how to convert that van to be exactly what we want to take on the road. We're looking at building a stage on top of the van so that we can do socially responsible concerts.</p><p>DC: We'll be six feet away.</p><p>NS: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We'll be always six feet away from everyone, that's right.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hopefully you’ll be on the road soon.</i></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-88020942016596236162020-09-12T08:40:00.009-07:002020-09-15T16:25:35.989-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with David Rosenthal<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpkevtq5a700hBBI9nVy-mrKm6gTkdah24W52ot_pcvXYyoRe7B9tdnoaayVv7Y7XKPTzjOc8rlH21A74JnkI9F9-jWxz_hpfCKV3Dm5S8pxS5EtW-GlY5rQJiLh6lqqQP6d_Q_GVnRgw/s268/220px-David_Rosenthal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="220" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpkevtq5a700hBBI9nVy-mrKm6gTkdah24W52ot_pcvXYyoRe7B9tdnoaayVv7Y7XKPTzjOc8rlH21A74JnkI9F9-jWxz_hpfCKV3Dm5S8pxS5EtW-GlY5rQJiLh6lqqQP6d_Q_GVnRgw/w344-h419/220px-David_Rosenthal.jpg" width="344" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><i>David Rosenthal has the gig of a lifetime. Since 1993, he has been the keyboardist in the Billy Joel Band. David has also toured with several other artists including Cyndi Lauper, Robert Palmer, and Enrique Iglesias. </i></p><p><i>David had a fast start with his career. Shortly after graduating from renowned Berklee College of Music, a tape of David’s piano recital made its way to guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie, who had previously played with Deep Purple, created the rock band Rainbow and invited David for an audition to be the keyboardist. It was during his time with Rainbow (1981 to 1984) that I became familiar with David. I particularly like his keyboard opening of “Can’t Let You Go” (1983), as well as his playing on Rainbow’s concert in Tokyo in 1984.</i></p><p><i>In 1984, Rainbow dissolved, so David teamed up with Little Steven (aka Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band and actor on The Sopranos). Shortly after his world tour with Little Steven, he played with Cyndi Lauper and Robert Palmer. After playing with these big names, David formed a melodic rock band called Red Dawn, which included Chuck Burgi who had played with David in Rainbow and future Rainbow member Greg Smith. Red Dawn attracted listeners all around the world with their 1993 album </i>Never Say Surrender.<i> (You can find my interview with Chuck Burgi <a href="https://jeffcramer.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-very-candid-conversation-with-chuck.html" target="_blank">here.</a>)</i></p><p><i>In 1993, David landed his gig with Billy Joel. Despite the high-profile gig with the Piano Man, David also toured with Enrique Iglesias (where he would reunite with Chuck Burgi again) and worked with guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen. David later joined the group Happy the Man for a reunion album and series of concerts when their original keyboardist, Kit Watkins, decided not to participate. </i></p><p><i>Since then, David has continued with Billy Joel, including a historic concert at the closing of Shea Stadium as well frequent sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. In addition to his gigs, David has done keyboard rig design and synth programming for various artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, and Phil Collins.</i></p><p><i>In this candid conversation, we covered David’s extensive career from Rainbow to Billy Joel. I want to thank David for his time. In addition, a special thanks to David for letting me use photos from his website. </i></p><p><b><i>Jeff Cramer:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What prompted your interest in music?</i></b></p><p>David Rosenthal:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was about seven years old and I asked my parents for a piano. We didn't have one in my house at the time. I have absolutely no idea why, but I was determined to play piano, and I kept pleading with my parents to get one. And finally they did and I started piano lessons. But I don't know where the inspiration came for me to want to play that particular instrument . . . I guess I had some sort of calling to it.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Were you a classically trained pianist?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I was classically trained but not from the beginning. When I first started playing, I only wanted to learn songs that were on the radio. So I learned how to read sheet music—I learned all the chords, I could read anything, and I learned how to solo. I was already playing in bands by the time I was 12. I started studying some jazz when I was 13. I really got into classical when I was about 14, and I dove in deep. I have a very extensive education, but I didn't start with classical right at the beginning.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand you studied at Berklee College of Music. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes. I continued my study there. Berklee is mostly known as a jazz school, but they do have all other types of things there. I studied jazz, classical, synthesis [<i>“synthesis” is the technique of generating sound from a synthesizer</i>], audio recording, and orchestration. It was a great school and I got a really well-rounded education there. </p><p>J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A tape of you playing a Liszt piece when you were in Berklee made its way to Ritchie Blackmore. His reaction was being a little fearful that you probably wouldn't want to join Rainbow because Rainbow was rock and the tape of you playing was classical. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, really?</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. Ritchie said, "He's gonna be too good for us," and at the same time, Ritchie wanted a keyboardist who was oriented in rock and classical music. After auditioning several keyboard players that didn’t work out, he finally called you in.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That's funny because the cassette tape that I sent him, which got me the audition, had my classical piano recital from Berklee on one side of the tape. And on the other side was my cover band at that time, which was playing all rock and roll songs.</p><p>I assume he listened to both sides of the tape. Maybe he didn't, I don't know. In any event, the tape got me the audition with Ritchie. But that’s interesting, I've never heard that side of the story before.</p><p>It's funny because I totally have rock and roll running through my veins. I grew up on rock and roll and I love it. It sounds like a cliché but it's true. I studied classical because I wanted to become the best player I could possibly become and I wanted to take my playing to a point of virtuosity. But I never had any intention of making a career as a classical pianist. However, my teachers at Berklee were suggesting that I become a classical pianist. I was like, "No way. That's not at all what I want to do." I just wanted to elevate my playing up to that high level. </p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have interviewed several people who played with Ritchie and one thing just about everyone tells me is that they have a story about Ritchie. What's your Ritchie story?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I endured some of the traditional initiation things that he does to all new Rainbow members. But I had a great relationship with Ritchie. He really respected my musicianship and I had tremendous respect for him and we got along great. I know a lot of people didn't have similar stories to that, but I always got along fine with Ritchie. Yeah, he's a prankster—he does his pranks and everything—but when it came time for the music, we really clicked on a lot of levels I think, musically.</p><p><b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I can hear the chemistry between you two when I listen to Rainbow. I particularly like the keyboard opening you do for “Can't Let You Go.”</i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAfeQOLkzemRgyx8D2cidZgzeffzpD2Cs3IrdCKFnLXZTeHzmYBpYqxyRyw8j3bUS0r-pAluPcSArz4_j4ufT84-u0PBflMWxKmNpAZwe2Lyj-I-t4mP1_Bu4pMNcvd8n1JgBFfgLAibN/s273/RainbowCastle.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="273" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAfeQOLkzemRgyx8D2cidZgzeffzpD2Cs3IrdCKFnLXZTeHzmYBpYqxyRyw8j3bUS0r-pAluPcSArz4_j4ufT84-u0PBflMWxKmNpAZwe2Lyj-I-t4mP1_Bu4pMNcvd8n1JgBFfgLAibN/w341-h231/RainbowCastle.jpeg" width="341" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Rainbow (Dave in middle) (1984)</i></span></div><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. That was actually improvised on a pipe organ sound that I played on an Emulator. Ritchie and I both loved that sound. We wanted to do something with it, and he asked me to create an intro like something reminiscent of Bach's Toccata in D minor, a piece which we both love. But it needed to be something that would work well for “Can't Let You Go,” and that’s what I came up with. [<i>Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sjM-o14pIE" target="_blank">here</a> to hear “Can’t Let You Go.”]</i></p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the most memorable times in Rainbow was when the band did “Difficult to Cure” [a rock instrumental of Beethoven’s Ninth] with the Japanese orchestra. What are your memories on that?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh yeah, that whole experience was a lot of fun. I did all the orchestration for the live performance of “Difficult to Cure.” We got to Japan and rehearsed with the orchestra. We were doing two shows at the Budokan and both the shows were sold out, so we didn't need to announce the orchestra in order to sell the shows. We did it unannounced; it was really a surprise to everybody. </p><p>And all of a sudden at one point in the show, we started the beginning of “Difficult to Cure” and it gets to that big chord . . . we're all holding out the chord and suddenly there's a curtain that opens behind us and there's an entire orchestra lit in rainbow colors. The whole audience gasped and went, "Whoa." On the live album you can hear the crowd doing that. And then we launched into the song with the orchestra playing along with the band. In the middle of the song the band stopped and the orchestra played an excerpt from Beethoven’s 9th. The whole thing was really cool. [<i>To hear “Difficult to Cure” with the Japanese orchestra, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yzvZAtC5h4" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who did you play with after Rainbow?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After Rainbow was Little Steven. I did a world tour with Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in ’84. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2d_wfPIC8UaQgrHmMtHv2ggEBbBEDlCx8_1SpdeH4o8iLA50Ru0tGAEl9YQ7TtwzhFc2jXa1NHi_aJ33lwJVTMzijD5YFjcrNHz4nAwiAdBSJ7Wqc6kG8MdupAW8QAvSN8jXm0BadVar/s351/LittleSteven.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2d_wfPIC8UaQgrHmMtHv2ggEBbBEDlCx8_1SpdeH4o8iLA50Ru0tGAEl9YQ7TtwzhFc2jXa1NHi_aJ33lwJVTMzijD5YFjcrNHz4nAwiAdBSJ7Wqc6kG8MdupAW8QAvSN8jXm0BadVar/s320/LittleSteven.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">David (top right) in Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (1984) </span></div><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And how did that come about?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, Rainbow had come to an end because Ritchie decided to put Deep Purple back together to do a reunion. So I was looking around to see what might be out there for something I could get involved in next. I crossed paths with Steven Van Zandt, and he invited me to do the tour with him. So that's how that went. [<i>To hear Little Steven’s cover of Black Uhuru’s “Solidarity,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5l2dXIqziw" target="_blank">here</a>.]</i></p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then I know you worked with Cyndi Lauper. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes. That came a couple years later. After Steven's tour ended, I produced an album for a band called Hammerhead in Germany for EMI Records. I was writing a lot of music and put together my own band called Infinity. Some of the songs from my Infinity days made their way into the group I later formed, Red Dawn. But in those early years I was working with singer Mitch Malloy and writing songs for Infinity. Then I got the gig with Cyndi Lauper on the True Colors tour. That was 1986 to 1987. [<i>To hear a 1986 live performance of “Time After Time,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29G8L3j1lLE" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJu0uVddxvnfzrNWpEx7RLKsEsmOl8JSUD92LURdnQRZGZb64KNpq39kO1pHqIGMNe7YXCJUeVbHslntW4Xh3uXmD3BFz9BmuKtNxVzS4AJJyOvvpPcIs7KhFxDaELbs6uPKgDxvTtKxLG/s380/CyndiDave.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJu0uVddxvnfzrNWpEx7RLKsEsmOl8JSUD92LURdnQRZGZb64KNpq39kO1pHqIGMNe7YXCJUeVbHslntW4Xh3uXmD3BFz9BmuKtNxVzS4AJJyOvvpPcIs7KhFxDaELbs6uPKgDxvTtKxLG/s320/CyndiDave.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">David (far left) in Cyndi Lauper’s band (1986)</span></i></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay. What's interesting is going from Rainbow, then Little Steven, and now Cyndi Lauper. All three acts are different musically.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, well . . . they're completely different. But I have a lot of musical styles that I'm very comfortable with. I love pop music just as much as I love rock and hard rock. And there’s lots of keyboard parts in Cyndi’s music. The band was great—it was all top-notch musicians. She was at the peak of her career at that time, so yeah, it was kind of cool. Yes, it was completely different, but why not?</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then you also worked with Robert Palmer.</i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HF7Jv3imVU4SKB40855x_AvICJKxSMxw_rwcjq5TFGZyljJuILV6QD3f5CkiEjLISKlImzS7L9HA9_FSFt-Cuin1Eh_gvpKuagRLSris7Qp9ZR24a8iKEK-23mWZFetGkBdcdSeyzROg/s1080/robertpalmer-new.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HF7Jv3imVU4SKB40855x_AvICJKxSMxw_rwcjq5TFGZyljJuILV6QD3f5CkiEjLISKlImzS7L9HA9_FSFt-Cuin1Eh_gvpKuagRLSris7Qp9ZR24a8iKEK-23mWZFetGkBdcdSeyzROg/s320/robertpalmer-new.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">David (left) and Robert Palmer (1988)</span></span></div><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. I did the Heavy Nova tour with him. That was also a great tour with great musicians. We are actually in The Guinness Book of World Records for that tour. On one leg of the tour we did 56 shows in a row in 56 cities in 56 nights. It was pretty crazy. [<i>To watch a video single of “Early in the Morning,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjOWLsdRgm0" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] </p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now to the group Red Dawn you mention earlier . . . when I had interviewed Chuck Burgi about Red Dawn, he had said you were the musical leader of this band. How did the whole Red Dawn project get started?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Right . . ., I had been looking for a deal for quite some time for my previous group Infinity, but we weren't able to get a deal at that time, so everybody went in their own direction. I eventually ended up getting a deal in Japan to do the Infinity record, but Infinity no longer existed at that point. The label was fine with that, and they said, "Just put together a new band." I said, "Okay." And so I signed the deal in Japan with EMI-Toshiba and I put together a really, really amazing band which became Red Dawn. I asked Chuck if he would be willing to do it. I didn't even know if he was available or if he would consider it, but he was really enthused about it and he was a great addition to the band. </p><p>There was Greg Smith on bass who also went on to play with Rainbow in the nineties. Greg's an awesome bass player and a great guy. That was the first time Greg and Chuck had met, and right from the first day when the two of them played together it was magic instantly. I knew immediately that was the rhythm section I wanted. </p><p>I had worked on some other projects with Tristan Avakian, a great guitar player from New York; he was my first choice for guitar. Larry Baud was the last piece of the puzzle to put into Red Dawn. He was just a tremendous singer. I just think the band was great, and I'm very proud of the album we made <i>Never Say Surrender</i>. [<i>To hear a live acoustic version of “I’ll Be There” in Japan with David on keyboards and Larry on vocals, please click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKZQM69A8co" target="_blank">here.</a></i>]</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When I interviewed Greg Smith about Red Dawn, he told me he was in a foreign country—I forget which one—when he was asked to autograph a Red Dawn CD. </i></b></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e1mEtDIFHi8d3Vzz0vDgLXLzW0jf4HWO__YLo2Z-qGD6qDfoMLKh3DVKqwvntNyASX_HDsaW8mc868Prs-YOJpWZjaq9mf665pXv0a8Nlskep_NY-iSq46bxfBtOS75Ch2RdXT5d9Q_6/s650/RedDawn_Group.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e1mEtDIFHi8d3Vzz0vDgLXLzW0jf4HWO__YLo2Z-qGD6qDfoMLKh3DVKqwvntNyASX_HDsaW8mc868Prs-YOJpWZjaq9mf665pXv0a8Nlskep_NY-iSq46bxfBtOS75Ch2RdXT5d9Q_6/s320/RedDawn_Group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">David (far left) in Red Dawn (1992)</span></span></div><p><br /></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, we have quite a following around the world. <i>Never Say Surrender </i>made a lot of noise over time. It’s a shame that it didn't really do well when it was first released because maybe then we would've had a different trajectory than we did. But the record was very highly critically acclaimed, and it was loved by a lot of AOR fans all over the world. [<i>“AOR” stands for “album-oriented rock” focusing on album tracks by rock artists. AOR evolved from hard rock and progressive rock.</i>]</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So after that, I understand you met Billy Joel. How did that gig land?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I heard that Billy was looking for a keyboard player. You know, I was at that point in my career when my name popped up in those circles when somebody was looking for a keyboard player. So I was invited for a closed audition and I beat the other guy out. I got the gig and I started on the River of Dreams tour in 1993. [<i>To hear “Pressure” from the River of Dreams tour, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oupnEyd2Jp4" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OmGUua5nnFNStWxoL8pwtw1vp52Y41fkwZD3l1-fhCHVwkyD_YxfrEupvz4plaQD-M0CyBUQ33BHoUYSPv0xCvExQnrHLCarAXN-Ey5OB_IglCGpqtBMkj_HU2ou0G3NkkuMkh8xFwEA/s312/BillyDave.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OmGUua5nnFNStWxoL8pwtw1vp52Y41fkwZD3l1-fhCHVwkyD_YxfrEupvz4plaQD-M0CyBUQ33BHoUYSPv0xCvExQnrHLCarAXN-Ey5OB_IglCGpqtBMkj_HU2ou0G3NkkuMkh8xFwEA/s0/BillyDave.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Piano Man and David (right) (1993)</span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I've watched some videos of Billy's early shows and there was only him on piano and keyboards. Were you the first keyboard player to have played alongside with Billy Joel? </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>No, I wasn’t. It was Billy on all keyboards in the early days. Sometimes he would play piano and then he would jump to a Minimoog [<i>a Minimoog is a type of keyboard</i>] and a couple of other keyboards. And sometimes some of his other bandmates would double on keyboards. But he did have a keyboard player through the eighties on some of his tours. Dave Lebolt was first, and then Jeff Jacobs did the Storm Front tour and then I started on the River of Dreams tour. But yeah, it’s been 27 years that I’m with him now, by far the longest of any keyboard player that he's had.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One thing I've heard about Billy live is that even his own band doesn’t know what songs he’ll be playing in concert.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, we do have a set list, but he will sometimes veer off it or he'll throw a song in spontaneously or just start playing something. Sometimes he'll play a song that we haven't done in a long time, and sometimes he'll even play a song that we never did before and we just go for it. So it's a lot of fun. Everybody in the band is a phenomenal musician, but it keeps us on our toes and it's really great because we never know what he's gonna do next. As a result of that, no two shows come out the same, and that makes it a lot of fun. </p><p>I think the audience really picks up on that and they love it too because they can see that we're really up there playing and we're just going for it. The audience loves that and they appreciate the spontaneity of what we're doing as well. That’s a big part of what Billy does, and it takes a unique group of players to be able to do that. I think we have a really unique chemistry within Billy's band—it's really a unique band. </p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What's your keyboard setup for playing with Billy?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, all the keyboards that I’m using on stage are MIDI controllers [<i>a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controller is any hardware keyboard that transmits MIDI data to devices to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance]</i>, and I'm running MainStage [<i>a music application by Apple which is designed for use in live performance</i>]. All the sound sources are coming from a computer, but because computers can crash, I have a second computer system running simultaneously at all times should that ever happen.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand that you've done some keyboard rig programming for other artists like Bruce Springsteen.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. Since programming is a big part of what I do, over the years not only have I done it for myself but I've also done it for several other keyboard players and some big artists. They bring me in to program their setups, design keyboard rigs, things like that. I'm always pushing the envelope of technology and I love it. I’ve had a lot of experience with redesigning my own rigs over the years, so I have been called to do some of that for other artists as well. </p><p><b><i>JC: I want to talk about some of the other artists you played with after you initially played with Billy. First, let's talk about guitar legend Yngwie Malmsteen.</i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DR:</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Right. Well, I played on a couple of tracks for Yngwie’s </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inspiration</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> album. When we were working on that album, he started telling me about his concerto that he was writing, so he brought me aboard as the orchestrator for his concerto. It was a big, big project. We first recorded his Millenium Concerto Suite in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic in 1997, and then we recorded it again in Japan live with the New Japan Philharmonic. I think that was 2001.</span> [<i>To hear Yngwie and the orchestra’s “Icarus Dream Fanfare,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqoG7wU71yg&list=PLQeKoYK2Gthks_ukCvK8c8PNj2C-Bq2jL" target="_blank">here</a>.]</i></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSxRjdfCP4MXpr6i95UWiHpXFKesbIJLpV_N4lm2GPSaNXqMjwsP6A5slc5xHlwFKsNJAQi6ou7EJ5Zh3ncGzL1ahTNleNysktp3WjFFP3Hv1qswnDhqVhXpuXmWDNlYB55vCjPJCQBvK/s229/yngwiedave.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="184" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSxRjdfCP4MXpr6i95UWiHpXFKesbIJLpV_N4lm2GPSaNXqMjwsP6A5slc5xHlwFKsNJAQi6ou7EJ5Zh3ncGzL1ahTNleNysktp3WjFFP3Hv1qswnDhqVhXpuXmWDNlYB55vCjPJCQBvK/w230-h286/yngwiedave.gif" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">David (right) and Yngwie Malmsteen</span></i></span></div><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I've noticed throughout your career you got to play with a lot of guitar greats.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I've been fortunate to play with a lot of great guitar players maybe in part because I have a deep understanding of guitar. In high school I played guitar as well as keyboards. When my band played a song that didn’t have keyboards in it, I would just play guitar. But I kind of gave guitar up when I met Steve Vai because he and I played in a band together at Berklee. When I saw how he played guitar, I thought, "You know what? I'm gonna put this instrument down and just do what I do best" [<i>laughs</i>] and that was keyboards. </p><p>So even though I don't play guitar professionally as part of my career, I do have a deep understanding of the instrument. I think that comes in really handy when I play with a lot of guitar greats like Ritchie, Yngwie, Steve Vai. and many others. I've just been fortunate to play with so many great guitar players over the years, and they all seem to like what I do.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In addition to guitar greats and Billy Joel, you also played with Enrique Iglesias. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Right, that tour was in 1997. Several of the guys in Billy's band were involved in Enrique’s band. I was playing with Chuck Burgi again. We had played together in Rainbow, then Red Dawn, then Enrique Iglesias, and as you know, Chuck would also end up in Billy's band. [<i>To watch the video for Enrique’s “Solo en ti,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWYFv2NvbFs" target="_blank">here</a></i>.]</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ksCxFHhM21hEQY818lEFTzBn89q6Qnfd-KOPFQP8UyBVlq_hSooNRP0441z_AlKQL9BGDTGdYt-vLuf4LXSN7Hyi0iQwf0hdRP6PjMOejPlMTMfrvQBNnDZYBw16_JV3ubiLfahAtp0w/s255/EnriqueDave.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="255" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ksCxFHhM21hEQY818lEFTzBn89q6Qnfd-KOPFQP8UyBVlq_hSooNRP0441z_AlKQL9BGDTGdYt-vLuf4LXSN7Hyi0iQwf0hdRP6PjMOejPlMTMfrvQBNnDZYBw16_JV3ubiLfahAtp0w/w319-h195/EnriqueDave.png" width="319" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>David and Enrique on keys (1997)</i></span></span></div><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand you were involved in the </i>Movin’ Ou<i>t Broadway show.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I was on the creative team for that. I was associate music supervisor and I did the synth programming. I was offered a position to play in the band, but I didn't want to do it because it was eight shows a week. I preferred to just be on the creative team and not have to do that. Although, I did sub a bunch of times. I did quite a number of shows as a sub on Broadway and also on the touring production. They would also bring me around to work on all the touring productions of the show. There was a national tour of <i>Movin’ Ou</i>t in the US, then there was a non-union tour in the US, and there was a West End production in London. I was involved in all those productions as well as the Broadway production. Another part of my job was to train each of the piano players to be sure they were playing Billy’s parts correctly.</p><p>J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While </i>Movin’ Out<i> was going on, you got to play with Happy the Man. That band had been one of your favorites.</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, they were one of my favorite bands of all time. Happy the Man is a progressive rock instrumental band. When I was at Berklee, I studied their music heavily and transcribed a lot of [keyboardist] Kit Watkins’s solos. I think I wore out their records listening to them so many times! The band was a big inspiration to me musically, and their keyboardist Kit Watkins was a big inspiration to me as a keyboard player. Unfortunately, by the time I found out about Happy the Man, they had already broken up. </p><p>In any event, fast forward 20-somewhat years later—I think it was 1999 or 2000—and Happy the Man were gonna do a reunion. I had become friendly with the guys over the years. Kit Watkins didn't want to do the reunion, so I was like, "Hey, I'm your guy. I'll do it. I know all the songs." They were thrilled with that. We got together and we played, and the chemistry clicked immediately and we started writing songs. Most of the song “Contemporary Insanity,” which is the lead track on the album, I had written when I was at Berklee wishing that I could someday be in Happy the Man. At that time, it was an impossibility because they had already broken up and didn't exist anymore. </p><p>So when it was time to actually play with them, I said, "You know, I got this song called “Contemporary Insanity” that I think is pretty cool . . . see what you guys think of it." And they absolutely loved it. So I polished it up, and it became the first song on the album that I did with them, <i>The Muse Awakens</i>. I also wrote a couple of other songs on that record. It was just a thrill to be able to play with those guys and to be able to make a record with one of my favorite bands of all time. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiqBkrHEwe20in0IFIuzZcUt5Ig475_-evYI6cUQTv22xHATaa-VGVqFQQ3L1BGNTwjdZU6jHlw8sVQOUaHaF50LFYLmhn-DcEbAVLecQTu19qcz0GGYfIzANH-aseuMlsQDCbQHP3A6P/s1024/dr-recording-with-happy-the-man-2004.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiqBkrHEwe20in0IFIuzZcUt5Ig475_-evYI6cUQTv22xHATaa-VGVqFQQ3L1BGNTwjdZU6jHlw8sVQOUaHaF50LFYLmhn-DcEbAVLecQTu19qcz0GGYfIzANH-aseuMlsQDCbQHP3A6P/w400-h300/dr-recording-with-happy-the-man-2004.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>David recording Happy the Man’s <b>The Muse Awakens</b> (2004)</i></span></span></div><p>J<b><i>C: Now getting back to Billy Joel . . . the concerts with him had hit a new dimension in recent years. There was a live performance at Shea Stadium, and then of course there's now the residency at Madison Square Garden. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shea Stadium was an incredible experience. I mean, it was two shows and all of these amazing guest artists came up. It was sorta capped off at the end with Paul McCartney. To be able to play with a Beatle at Shea Stadium was really a cool moment. I grew up in New Jersey. Shea Stadium is a place that has a lot of history, not only for baseball but also for concerts. And it was really cool that we did those shows. At the Shea Stadium shows, we had a string orchestra as well which I did the arranging for. It was just a really, really cool event, definitely one of the highlights of my career. </p><p>And now to be able to do the residency at Madison Square Garden has been incredible. We've done 73 shows sold out in a row, interrupted only by the pandemic. When this is finally over, we'll go back and continue, but who knows when that will be. We all hope it will be soon. As I mentioned, I grew up in New Jersey, and when I was a kid I used to go to concerts at Madison Square Garden. I saw so many great shows there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKUBWy2nCGZhOpxpL8GJRlSP8YcoDk607zZhZCOm7bHuiNMcKZGv5RWzSKDa4EQgAZv4mM5DjNxkDuI1pThaecamwU2m8_1CqJlgolQIYsEkh8YE57q25blaBwwSHo3sc1ZiCDO2G1CVF/s508/perlman-lg-reduced.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="508" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKUBWy2nCGZhOpxpL8GJRlSP8YcoDk607zZhZCOm7bHuiNMcKZGv5RWzSKDa4EQgAZv4mM5DjNxkDuI1pThaecamwU2m8_1CqJlgolQIYsEkh8YE57q25blaBwwSHo3sc1ZiCDO2G1CVF/w400-h266/perlman-lg-reduced.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Billy, David (back left center) and famed violinist Itzhak Perlman (right) at Madison Square Garden (2015)</span></i></span></div><p>Now, to be able to play there so many times has been an amazing experience. I mean, 73 shows on this run alone, but over the course of my whole career, I've played there well over 100 times. It's really something that I don't take for granted because most musicians are lucky to play there in their lifetime even once. And to be able to play there over 100 times, it's pretty special and I never take it for granted. I always try to take a mental snapshot of the whole picture of everything when I'm on stage each time to really write it into my brain and really remember how fortunate I am to be in involved in something like this. [<i>To hear Billy Joel’s “My Life” performed at Shea Stadium, please click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw5uBPWJUHE&list=PL-HzNWxgD9K7y55jatEu1-xbDD8D6h4q9" target="_blank">here.</a></i>]</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also saw that Billy has trusted you to do piano transcriptions of his songs. </i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I'm actually still in the process of this. I'm correcting his entire sheet music catalogue, which has been sold for many years and has had tons and tons of mistakes and wrong notes and all kinds of crazy stuff. He trusted me to just go through the entire catalogue and make sure that all of his sheet music that's in print is correct. I'm going album by album—not in consecutive order, but I've finished seven of his albums so far and I'm working on the eighth one now. I'm gonna keep going until I get through the whole catalogue. </p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You’ve been with Billy a long time and he's trusting you to do the transcriptions. What do you think has been the key to your success with Billy?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I just think that he saw my ability and my deep knowledge of his music and the job that I was doing as a band member, and eventually he made me musical director. He knows that I really know his music inside and out. He knows that I also have a deep understanding of his music as a piano player myself, so he trusts me to make sure that it's all correct in print. I'm quite honored to have that job.</p><p><b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My final question is similar to a question I asked earlier. It’s not just that you have played with many musicians, but the many musicians you’ve played with are different musically from each other. What do you think your success in playing different genres is due to?</i></b></p><p>DR:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm very comfortable in a lot of different genres. The one thing I think is true across the board with any style of music is that it's great if it’s done right. And music can be great in any style. I enjoy the challenge of reinventing myself as a player and for the types of sounds that I use and what I can contribute to all of the different roles that I've had over the years. So I wouldn't say that I love anything more than anything else. I love music, and I've been very fortunate to play in some great bands with some great artists. I think every situation I've been in is special and unique unto itself. </p><p><br /></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-36593950877545812382020-06-04T18:33:00.001-07:002020-06-04T18:45:02.965-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Chuck Burgi<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">C</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">huck Burgi at drums (year unknown)</span></div>
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C<i>huck Burgi has the gig of a lifetime. Since the 1970s, Chuck has maintained an impressive music career. Since 2005, he is the current drummer for the Billy Joel Band. He has also played with other big names such as Bon Jovi, Michael Bolton, Diana Ross, and Meat Loaf.</i><br />
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<i>Chuck was born in 1952 in Montclair, New Jersey. He started playing drums when he was a teenager. He had his first big break in 1977 when he had the opportunity to play for jazz legend Al Di Meola. He then played drums in Brand X, a jazz fusion band. He took over for Phil Collins, who previously occupied the drum stool for Brand X. Chuck played on Brand X’s </i><b>Masques </b><i>album (1978). </i><br />
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<i>The jazz era came to an end and Chuck began his rock career with Hall & Oates. After playing drums with Hall & Oates, he played with a hard rock band Balance, and then he joined Rainbow, a group led by Ritchie Blackmore (guitarist of Deep Purple). I became familiar with Chuck when I heard his playing on Rainbow’s </i><b>Bent Out of Shape</b><i> (1983), and I was even more impressed with Chuck when I saw a video of Rainbow live in 1984 in Japan before the band dissolved. </i><br />
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<i>In the late eighties and early nineties, Chuck played on recording sessions for a variety of artists such as Michael Bolton and Bon Jovi. He then toured with Meat Loaf for seven years. When Meat Loaf took a break from touring to work on his next album, Chuck played with Blue Oyster Cult for four years. Then in 1995, Ritchie Blackmore decided to reform Rainbow and Chuck rejoined the band. Blackmore would later dissolve Rainbow in order to start Blackmore’s Night. Chuck then found employment with Enrique Iglesias for three years. Afterward, he got the chance to perform in </i><b>Movin’ Out,</b><i> a Broadway musical featuring Billy Joel songs. During the three-and-a-half-year run of </i><b>Movin’ Out</b><i>, Chuck caught the attention of the piano man himself. After </i><b>Movin’ Out</b><i> came to an end, Chuck played drums with Billy Joel himself, playing to sold-out crowds at stadiums all over the world.</i><br />
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<i>In this candid conversation, we cover Chuck’s entire career from his beginning in jazz to his current tenure with Billy Joel. I want to thank Chuck for his time in talking to me about his incredible career.</i><br />
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What encouraged you to pick up your sticks?</i></b><br />
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Chuck Burgi: Oh man, that takes me way back. My father was an aspiring dilettante drummer, and when he was a teenager, he won a couple of Gene Krupa competitions, and he always maintained a love for the drums and a love of music, especially big band music, and he always had a drum set around. I would mess around with them on and off and play them a bit, but it wasn't until I saw the Beatles on <i>Ed Sullivan</i> that I realized I had to be playing music. I first thought I should be a bass player because I fell in love with Paul McCartney. I just thought he made it look so good. But I didn't have a bass, and there was a drum set staring at me, and I'd been beating it on and off for the last five years, and that was it.<br />
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In junior high, I met a bunch of people who were really good musicians and we started a band. It was in seventh grade, but by the eighth grade, we were getting bookings. We went through a couple of changes, but primarily it was the same group of players. By the time we were juniors and seniors in the north Jersey area, which is where I grew up, we were working every Friday and Saturday night. I was making more money in school because we were getting paid in cash than I did for the first three years out of high school after taxes no matter what job I was doing. So I was locked in.<br />
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I have to say that while we had a good band in high school, I had an older brother figure. I'm the oldest in my family, but I had an older brother figure, who is Joe Walsh from the Eagles.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Joe Walsh?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Joe Walsh. He was my musical hero as I grew up. He had a band, and his band befriended my parents, who used to have these long, crazy jam sessions every Friday and Saturday night in Montclair. When Joe finally left Montclair, he went to college and then subsequently his college band turned into the James Gang. By that time, my band was playing harder rock, and we saw him at least twice a year every year after that when he would come back for usually Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought if Joe could do it, and I could play with him in my folks' basement, then maybe I have a big shot at being able to do this also. So that was the beginning of my whole career.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So you started off in jazz fusion. You played with Brand X and Al Di Meola. Which came first?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Al Di Meola was my first. It was his first solo tour, and it was my first big-time tour gig.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And how'd you get that?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay, so I'll try to make this really short. In 1974, I was living on the West Coast, and I was in a band with a percussionist, Mingo Lewis. So when Al was looking for material for his albums, he called Mingo up, and Mingo said, “Hey, I've got some songs for you.” Al used them for his album. Then in 1977, I went to New York City because somebody called me and said, "Dude, I know you're looking to play crazy music. Al Di Meola is looking for drummers." I went in to SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) unannounced with no appointment, and Al came out within minutes of me being there. As it turned out, Al was auditioning Michael Shrieve from Santana, an old friend of mine.<br />
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Al was auditioning Michael on one of Mingo’s songs, and it wasn't going good. So Al came out to say goodbye to Michael, walked over, and made a phone call. As Al was getting off the phone, I walked up to him and said, "Sir, you have no idea who I am, but I know how to play that song." He looked at me like I had three heads. I told him I used to play with Mingo. “Are you shitting me?” he said. I was, like, “No, that's why I'm here.” He said, "Come in with me." By that time, I had already familiarized myself with Al’s solo record, so I knew all the songs, at least as well as I could. Al and I jammed on them and he asked me back the next day. We went through the same songs and a few more. His road manager gave me an itinerary and said, “You’ve got the job.” That was it. [<i>To hear Al Di Meola perform a 1977 live version of “Senor Mouse,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zGQ2xBgOu0" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And did you get the Brand X gig from playing with Al? Is that how it came about?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Actually no. At the end of '77, I got a call saying, “The bass player from Brand X is here in New Jersey looking for a drummer. Do you wanna audition?” And I was like, “Are you fucking kidding?” So I got in the car and drove up to the House of Music, which was an old studio in West Orange—a great studio. I jammed with a friend of mine on guitar, and Percy, the bass player for Brand X. Percy said, “Thanks for showing up.” He had some other people to listen to. I guess about two weeks later I got a call, and they said, “Percy wants you to meet the whole band.” I jammed with the whole band, and they asked me to come to New York.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It also must have been quite a thing because Phil Collins was the drummer of Brand X. How'd it feel following in his footsteps?</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Drummers for Brand X: Chuck and Phil Collins (year unknown)</span></div>
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dude, you have no idea. It was the creepiest, craziest time of my life to be suddenly tossed into a job where not only am I replacing Phil Collins for the time being—and I never looked at it as a replacement—I was actually filling in for him. But also, those guys were some of my heroes. I listened to Brand X all of the time. I knew a bunch of Percy’s stuff pretty good—maybe better than a lot of other people—so I had the opportunity to play with him and we hit it off. Next thing I know, I'm rehearsing with the band. So wow. It was incredible.<br />
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And funny you bring that up because I wasn’t playing and touring, so I took the time to go through the archives of my own music. I had a tape that was recorded at the old venue—a beautiful theater in London—of one of our most prestigious gigs that I did with Brand X. I transferred the tape to my computer, and I was mixing it as an album. I wasn’t gonna sell it because I would get in trouble—well, maybe not. I don't know. I didn’t need to sell it. I was burning it for the few friends who were always fans of that. I've been reflecting on that whole time period, which was absolutely mind-boggling to go from being a shmoe from New Jersey to working with friends of Phil Collins, and eventually Brand X opened up the big outdoor shows and Genesis would close them. So, it was just overwhelming. It really was. It was amazing. Looking back on it, I’m so glad to have had that opportunity, not only to play with Al, but to be a part of the Brand X crew and to do an album with them. Really lucky. [<i>To hear “The Poke,” the opening track off the </i><b>Masques</b><i> album Chuck played on, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db_k0jyHmSY" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>From jazz fusion, we go into rock music. I understand you played with Hall & Oates.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, I did. And oddly enough, it was within a year of leaving Brand X. I got a call from a friend who said, “Hey, I heard Hall & Oates.” I had met a bunch of people over the years, and a couple of ’em lived in Manhattan and had their ears to the pulse of whatever was going on in Manhattan and whatever auditions would occur. So I went right out there. I really wasn't familiar with their stuff—that was like going from A to Z, you know, or Z back to A. If I was playing a million notes every minute with Brand X and Al, I had to start playing real simple again for Hall & Oates. I joined them when they were having their first resurgence. I played on the album <i>Voices</i>, but it was only of a couple songs. But that album had two number-one hits, and one song I did play on ended up being Top 10.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which song was that?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was "Loving Feeling," their remake of the Righteous Brothers. [<i>To hear “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXX5OtJJWDo" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] It was a real blast to go from playing crazy, crazy music to suddenly hearing myself on AM radio. So I kind of switched gears at that point, and I never looked back as far as work went. I realized that I was happier playing rock and roll, because that was how I began. I'd been in cover bands most of my life, so back then it was the Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, and Led Zeppelin. Hall & Oates also had a number one hit called "Kiss On My Lips" while I was in the band. We went from doing big clubs to suddenly big theaters. I had a great time with them, and it really took me like 360 degrees back to my roots, which was playing pop music, playing rock and roll.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know you got the Rainbow gig because Joe [</i>Joe Lynn Turner, singer of Rainbow, will be referred to as “Joey”<i>] wasn't happy with the drummer they had at the time and he told the band, “You've got to bring in Chuck.” How did Joe know you?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh man, so between the years of '71 to '72 and '74 to '77, I lived in the New York area, and there were so many big clubs to play that I was able to make a living. And while I was playing with a couple of groups, Joey was in Fandango, and he was looking for somebody to help him get a record deal. It turned out he was going around to all the clubs looking for a drummer in another band. And he saw me play and got my number from somebody. He called me up and said, “Listen, I've got a band, we're looking to do a half-dozen original songs, and we wanna bring you in and do live gigs as well.” So, when I joined Fandango, it was for a three-month tour. I was a hired gun, and that's how I got to know Joey. Back then, he was a great lead guitarist.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I've seen some of his lead guitar playing from live concert footage of Fandango in '78. </i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think he was in a band called Ezra before he joined Fandango, and they were a Deep Purple cover band in the North Jersey area. So I was in Essex County, and we hit it off. We became best of friends, and I helped him get the record deal. And it's funny because just as Fandango was getting signed, I got the offer to go out with Al Di Meola. So, I was really hoping to do the Fandango record, but I thought that working with Al would have been a better choice. So that's what happened. And you know, Joey and I stayed in touch through the years, and when he joined Rainbow, I remember hearing about it and thinking, <i>Oh my God, he's hit the big time</i>.<br />
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I guess after it was after <i>Straight Between the Eyes</i> came out and they toured . . . that's when Joey called me up and said, "Listen, you wanna come out and jam with the band? We're looking for a drummer." So I went out, I played with them, and I thought it went really well, but Ritchie was such a pisser. He was, like, “Yeah, thanks. Thanks for coming by.” And so he left, and I went over to Joey and I said, “So what do you think?” And he said, “I don't know, he's so weird.” And the bass player, Roger, came up to me and said, "Dude, I'm getting ready to do a solo record and I'd like you to play on it." So I was like, “Cool.” So I started working with Roger.<br />
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I got a call from their manager and Joey, and they said, "You know what, Ritchie went with this other guy." So I worked with Roger till he had to go to Scandinavia to start the next Rainbow album <i>Bent Out of Shape</i>. I thought, “That's it, I got to start all over again.” Ten days later, I got a call—a fairly drunken call—from Joey, and he said, "Dude, you gotta come over here, man. We don't have anything." So that was it.<br />
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The sessions were really difficult and really pressurized because they had already wasted about ten days in the studio and had nothing to show for it. So I went in every day, and I'd rehearse a song and then we'd try to cut the track. It didn’t always work that way, but it came close to that. And when I left Scandinavia after recording the album, I thought I would never work with then again. Ritchie just didn't seem to like me at all, but about a month later, I got a call from their manager again. He said, "Hey, Ritchie wants to know if you wanna come on the road." And I was, like, “Are you kidding?” So it was another eight months of some of the best times of my life.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rainbow 1984 (Chuck in middle)</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I've interviewed several people who’ve played with Ritchie, and I've heard a lot of stories about him. What’s your story?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh my God, Ritchie’s a legend. I just think he is the quirkiest, weirdest Englishman I've ever met. You know, I didn't get along with him in the studio. I had my own ways of working and he kept fucking with me. But when we went on the road, it was nothing but fun. So you know, I personally have nothing but good things to say about Ritchie. Suffice it to say, once we hit the road, it was nothing but fun. And he was a soccer player, and I loved soccer back then. We played all the time. We played, worked out, dribbled the ball, so it was really fun, and I got along with Ritchie. He was one of my heroes.<br />
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I love Deep Purple from <i>Shades of Deep Purple</i> and “Hush.” When I was in high school, their album <i>Machine Head</i> came out, I was, like, “Holy fuck.” So, I was thrilled beyond measure to be able to play with him. And Joey—I thought Joey was—and still is—one of my favorite vocalists ever. It was a real thrill to be in Rainbow with Joey and Ritchie. One of my favorite rock and roll guitar players and one of my favorite vocalists. Really good times. I look back and I was so blessed to have those experiences.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was a memorable moment in Japan when you were playing live with Rainbow along with a Japanese orchestra. You were doing “Difficult to Cure,” a rock instrumental of Beethoven's Ninth. Any memories of playing with the orchestra?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Absolutely. First of all, we got off right around Christmas, and then we had a couple weeks off, and we literally started up in Tokyo, Japan. And the only rehearsals were right there at the Budokan venue, and I wish we were able to ramp back up again. Like, let's do a bunch of gigs before and get back into the groove. But we flew to Tokyo after a couple weeks off. We did three shows at Budokan, and then they compiled the shows for video. I found out we were playing with an orchestra. They were right behind me, or they were behind me enough so that I could hear them. Back then there were no in-ears [<i>in-ears is an earpiece musicians use on stage or during recordings to hear vocals, stage instrumentation, etc.</i>], so I just had really loud monitors [<i>Before in-ears, loudspeakers were placed on stage directed toward the performer</i>]. But it was very unsettling because Ritchie liked to play ahead of the beat. He liked to be on top, and the orchestra leader felt like playing behind the beat. So I was in the middle between the two. We were playing those pretty intricate lines of Beethoven's Ninth. I was hearing Ritchie and Roger and me, but I was also hearing enough of the orchestra and they were a half a beat behind me. It felt like that at rehearsal, and it felt like that when we performed and recorded it, but it turned out okay. I was just freaking out the whole time because I had to be able to watch Ritchie, who was definitely a handful every night, but I also had to watch the conductor and keep both groups happy. My main memory of that was one of extreme pressure. That's all I can say. And you know, it came out great. [<i>To hear Rainbow and the orchestra’s performance, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yzvZAtC5h4" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also after Rainbow, I understand you did a lot sessions with a lot of famous people, such as Bon Jovi and Diana Ross.</i></b><br />
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Yeah. Before Rainbow, I had left Hall & Oates to join a band called Balance. We did a record that was okay. I didn't particularly like most of the writing, but they wanted it to sound big and nasty, like Journey. So we all did our best to try and turn their songs into Journey type of songs. [<i>Readers can decide if Balance’s “Slow Motion” sounds like Journey by clicking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGR2V7ozAc" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] I met Bobby Kulick who had played with Kiss. [<i>Bobby Kulick shortly passed away after this interview.</i>]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Balance (1982, Chuck in middle)</span></div>
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And then Gene Simmons heard the Balance album and called me about getting some drums for Kiss’ <i>Creatures of the Night </i>album. I wasn’t going to play on it because they had Eric Carr to play drums, but I rented my drums to them. After I worked with Gene with Kiss, he called me up and said, “Diana's looking for somebody to do some percussion.” So I did a session with Diana Ross for her album <i>Silk Electric</i>.<br />
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After Rainbow, I had also done a few sessions with a producer on a project called Archangel, and then it turned out that he got the job to do the rest of the first Bon Jovi record. So the producer called me, and I think I played on five songs on that self-titled record. It was so crazy because I used to work a lot at the Power Station, and back then, Jon Bon Jovi, known as John Bongiovi, he was the night manager. You know, clean up after sessions, sweep the floors, clean up the studios after everybody's gone. I met Bon Jovi that way. I remember seeing him standing in the doorway of Studio A, which I was fortunate enough to record a lot in. He’d be standing there listening to the playback and say, “Sounds pretty good, man.” I would look at him and say, “When are you gonna do your band?” He would say, “Well, I'm working on it.” I was like, “Well, you need some help, let me know.” And sure enough, I ended up playing on his first record. So it was very cool . . . very cool.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also you got to play with Michael Bolton. This was when he was still a hard rocker before he became the Michael Bolton we all know.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Absolutely. So the same guy who was managing Balance was also managing Michael Bolton, so he called me up about doing Michael's first solo record, which I was fortunate enough to do.<br />
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The album had me, Bobby Kulick from Balance, and Mark Clarke on bass. Michael was coming off another band he was in, Blackjack, and they were serious hard rock. So yeah, Michael was totally into rock, and I had a blast working with him. I have to say that when we started with him, we rehearsed for his album, and we did a really, really slick arrangement on every one of his songs. The day before we started recording, his producer took us all into the studio and said, "Okay, you know all the rehearsing and the arrangements you've done? Well, forget about 'em. I want you to do Michael's album like this.” And he played us AC/DC’s <i>Back in Black</i>. He said, “That's what I want you guys to be like.” I was like, “Wow.” So it was a real challenge, and we did our best to forget the work we did and the real slick stuff we were gonna do and tried to tough it up and emulate AC/DC, who I really hadn't heard that much of. [<i>To hear a different Michael Bolton singing, “Can’t Hold On, Can’t Let Go,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvnaDjJGlxk" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] And then it turned out that Michael's manager was working for Leber-Krebs, who ended up taking on AC/DC as a client.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Was Blue Oyster Cult your first group after all of the individual sessions?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>No, after Rainbow, I did Joey Lynn Turner's solo album and his solo tour. We were out for a whole year opening up for Pat Benatar and Night Ranger. Due to circumstances beyond my control, he managed to piss off the record label, so by the end of that year, they were like, “Fuck you, Joe.” So I took some time off, and then I got asked to audition for Meat Loaf. I joined Meat Loaf after auditioning. Bobby, who I played with in Balance, was asked to come back, and Bobby wanted to get rid of Meat Loaf’s drummer, and Meat Loaf was like, “If you've got somebody better, bring him in.” So I joined up with Meat Loaf, and I was with Meat Loaf for seven years. I met my now-wife back then. My wife and her sister were background singers, and they sang on the album that he had done. We did a lot of headlining gigs that Blue Oyster Cult were on before us. [<i>To hear Meat Loaf live in 1988 perform a medley of rock classics as “Johnny B Goode” and “Jailhouse Rock,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm-L6oMbf1M&list=PLB0xGdhVdMla6rxqHyqvQN6uuFv_hybXF&index=8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Chuck playing drums with Meat Loaf (1988)</span></div>
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I got to meet Blue Oyster Cult. When the time came that Meat Loaf put touring aside to start working on the next album, Back into Hell, which took him like two or three years, I got a call from Blue Oyster Cult and they said, “Hey, we heard you're gonna be home because Meat Loaf's not gonna be touring. Our drummer's leaving; do you wanna join?” So I was with them for four years, I think.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While you were in Blue Oyster Cult, didn’t the band create music that was used for</i> The Stand <i>TV miniseries?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Absolutely. We did a couple of remakes and a couple other incidental pieces of music. We remade “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The remake of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” was supposed to sound like the original. What happened was that all their catalog from Columbia Records was in limbo. [<i>To watch the opening scene from </i><b>The Stand</b><i>, involving the rerecorded “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUAvTn3uz5w" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] They couldn't access their original songs because they had been dropped from Columbia, and Columbia just wouldn't budge. Blue Oyster Cult earned money for <i>The Stand</i> by redoing “The Reaper,” which was their biggest hit, sparked them in getting a record deal to re-record all their classic hits. So we did an album called <i>Cult Classic </i>and rerecorded all of their other songs, "Burning for You," "Godzilla," "Cities on Flames.” So that ended up being the <i>Cult Classic </i>album, which is really a karaoke record. I mean, it’s supposed to sound like their original songs. So yeah, that was the first recording I did with them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Blue Oyster Cult, <i>Cult Classic</i> (1994)</span></div>
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Then Buck [<i>guitarist/singer for Blue Oyster Cult</i>] and I did some music for a thing he did, <i>Bad Channels</i>, which was a sci-fi movie. Then they eventually got another album deal and we did <i>Heaven Forbid</i>. So yeah, I had a lotta fun with them. I loved Buck Dharma. Oh man, one of my favorite people and one of my favorite guitar players.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It seems like a good deal of band members were both in Blue Oyster Cult and the 95–96 incarnation of Rainbow.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Huh. Well, I will say something really wacky. John O’Riley was the drummer on Rainbow’s <i>Stranger in Us All</i>. For some reason, Ritchie didn't want to take him on tour even though he did a great job on the album. So I left Blue Oyster Cult and joined Rainbow, and John came in and joined Blue Oyster Cult. So while I was with Ritchie, John O'Riley was with Blue Oyster Cult. So that's the kind of glue there.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rainbow 1996 (Chuck, far right)</span></div>
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Another thing, when I called John Miceli to take my place in Rainbow to do a two-week tour, John Miceli was also the guy who I talked Meat Loaf into to take my place. So, John Miceli ended up being there with Meat Loaf for the last 20 years. Pretty nutty.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ritchie then eventually formed Blackmore's Night very shortly after that Rainbow lineup. While you were in Rainbow, was there any hints that Blackmore’s Night would happen?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Absolutely. I'll take you way back to Deep Purple. You know, one of the reasons why they parted ways, as far as my understanding goes, is ’cause Ritchie was pushing to get Candy back then to sing background with Deep Purple. [<i>Candy is Candice Night, singer of Blackmore’s Night and wife of Ritchie Blackmore.</i>] So when I was getting ready to tour with Rainbow, Ritchie said, “Candy's gonna sing on a couple of these songs. She'll sing off stage.” When I joined the band, they had a great manager, a guy named Joe Boyland. He did 38 Special and a bunch of other bands. But halfway through the tour, Ritchie fired Joe, and then he said, “Candy's mom is going to manage.” So I saw the writing on the wall with that, and coupled with the fact that he really wanted her to start singing with the band. He had also co-written a song called "Ariel" with her. [<i>To hear “Ariel” live, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcVk-ZDHFfo" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] I think his patience with rock and roll had ran out, and he wanted to go in another direction, and more power to him.<br />
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I think Blackmore’s Night did a couple of records that are really nice. I didn't like them in the beginning because she was new, she was young, she was trying to figure out how the studio works, but I think she's blossomed into a really great talent, and he seems happy.<br />
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Recently, Ritchie put Rainbow back together. You know, I saw some of the latest incarnation of Rainbow, and I was underwhelmed. But you know, I understand that he was thrown a good deal of money to put that type of thing back together, and he was also being pressured to bring in people who had been in Rainbow, and he didn't want any of that. And you know what, for an old guy who was very set in his ways and very opinionated, that was his choice, that's what he wanted. When I saw him play live, it wasn't what I thought he should be doing, but again, he's Ritchie, no one can tell him nothing. So, I didn't think it was bad; I just thought, “You know, like why are you doing this?” He didn't even seem to be into it.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand you reunited with a former Rainbow player (also future Billy Joel player), David Rosenthal, when you went to play with Enrique Iglesias. How'd that come after Rainbow?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1992, Dave called me up and was doing a solo record called <i>Red Dawn</i>. I played with him then, and it's a phenomenal record. It was done after Pantera hit. This wasn't nasty enough as Pantera, but it was also too hard; it didn't fit anywhere for where most of music was. But it was a great album. [T<i>o hear Red Dawn's “Flyin’ High,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jnzPdmT0CI" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] So I kind of reunited with Dave in '92.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">R</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">ed Dawn (David, left, Chuck, second from left) 1992</span></div>
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It wasn't until '97 that we both ended up being in Enrique's band for Enrique’s very first world tour. [<i>To see a live performance from Enrique Iglesias in 1997, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR15gbpLOiw" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] The music that we had to reimagine live for him was right up my alley. It's arena rock and it's big and had a lot of guitar solos. I was hired by guitarist Tommy Byrnes, who has ended up being my best contact in the music business. He got me Enrique. He offered me, <i>Movin’ Out</i> the Billy Joel Broadway show. He and I have done a bunch of recordings since then and before then. He always told me that Billy would wanna hire me, and I never believed him until it actually happened. So we've been working together with Billy since 2005.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand Billy saw you could play his music when he came to watch </i>Movin’ Out<i>.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, he saw me play in <i>Movin' Out</i>. <i>Movin' Out</i> played for three and a half years, and it was a pretty good run on Broadway compared to the amount of shows that have tried to be like it and have only run maybe a year or less. Billy had a chance to see me play his stuff for three and a half years. He started sitting in with us at the end of the show during the curtain calls, so I met him and we actually started jamming together and playing. I have to say that for the years I was on stage with that band almost every night, I prepared by imaging that Billy was gonna be in the audience, so there was never any slack on my part. But I always gave every show 1,000 percent with the hopes that he would see I could be his drummer. All I could hope for was that I might get the gold ring some day. And literally within two months of our show closing, Tommy came up to me and said Billy wants you to go on the road.<br />
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I just looked at Tommy and said, “Don't play with me, man.” And he was like, “No, no, this time for sure.” So I was out on Long Island in Oyster Bay rehearsing with Billy during the day and then I drove back in to do the Broadway show at night. And talk about an intense time in my life. Oh my God. I don't think I slept for like a month. But yeah, I got the gold ring.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell me about having the gold ring. It's something you've been doing for about 14 or 15 years now.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fourteen years, yeah, because I joined Billy at the end of 2005. It has been the most jaw-dropping experience that I ever could have imagined. He is the fiercest live performer I've ever worked with. He doesn't jump around as much anymore. But his vocals and what he brings to the show every night has made me work harder than I have with anybody night after night. And with him, I've been blessed to do things like play with a dozen of my heroes, from Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Steven Tyler and Roger Daltrey at Shea Stadium. Billy was asked to give the two final performances to ever play at that iconic venue. So to be with Billy and the band doing these two massive shows in 2008 was just great. I thought, <i>Well, I can die and go to heaven because not only did I do this, but I also played with McCartney.</i><br />
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Since then, in the last six and seven years, we did two Wembley Stadiums in London, completely sold out, like 80,000-something people. We've gone on to play Lambeau Field, sold out in Green Bay. I've done six Fenway Parks in a row. I have played Madison Square Garden so many times. A friend of mine called today and said, “Do you realize that you are gonna be in the <i>Guinness Book of World Records</i> as the only drummer to play as many shows as you have at the Garden?” I have played 84 or 85 sellouts. Every show sold out. Not only will Billy be in the book as the entertainer, but we, the band, will all be there on our different instruments. Everybody in the band deserves to be in the <i>Guinness Book</i> as well. So, it's been monumental.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The current Billy Joel Band (Chuck, second from top left)</span></div>
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And it's beyond comprehension what we've been doing at the Garden, as well as six Citizen Bank Stadiums. We did five Wrigley Fields in a row. All sold out. It's insane. Billy's popularity now is greater than it's ever been, and he's seventy. The band has all my favorite people from my career. Billy gives us all the room to bring all that we can every night, and it is a magic situation, which I miss terribly. [<i>All music concerts have been postponed because of the coronavirus</i>.] I'm pining for it every time a gig comes up and passes us by because it truly is on a personal level, a professional level, a musical level, and a spiritual level that is unsurpassed in my life. I always thought somewhere there's got be somebody who's indestructible and can sing unbelievable every night and write the best songs like the Beatles, and I found him. And I swear it is beyond comprehension. That's how deep it is. So I'm blessed. [<i>To watch Billy Joel play his classic “Piano Man” at the final shows at Shea Stadium, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ict7HVYlFs" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’ve heard that Billy doesn't like to go for rehearsals. In fact, you guys don't know the set list he’s going play for the show.</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You know what? I love Billy for that. Yet, as the drummer, I can't fuck up, although I've definitely made my share of big, horrible mistakes. But Billy loves it. But he hates to rehearse. The most rehearsing we ever did was when we did a benefit for Sandy [<i>Chuck is referring to Hurricane Sandy in 2012.</i>] But most of the time, there's no rehearsal, and I don't know what the set list is gonna be, and it's all by the seat of your pants every show. Billy wouldn't have it any other way. So I love him for that, but man, there's no comfort zone. I've shown up to some shows at the Garden, and as soon as I'm walking in, someone will say, “You know, we're gonna do this, and we have this person as a guest tonight.” I’ll say, “What? How come I didn't know?” “Well, none of us did.” So we’re sitting there with our iPads or iPhones, dialing up the song, making cheat sheets. And at sound check, Billy might come in and say, “Hey, I wanna do this tonight.” So between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00, before the show goes on 8:15, we have to be familiar enough to be able to get up there and play something that we may not even get to do one practice run through it. Billy says, “I just wanna do it in the show.” I'm like, “Well, we haven't played that in seven months.” He will say, “Well, we're gonna do it tonight.” No one else in the music business does that.<br />
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Billy's like, “I do not want to be comfortable. I want to be walking the edge. I want the rush of not knowing how a song goes, and I want to feel that. I don't want to be complacent.” Well, I'd like to be comfortable, but that's not his gig. Never was, and it couldn't be more unique and more different every night. It's a different set list every night. Every night, I'll be sitting there over and over again listening to something on my headphone saying, “Oh fuck, how'd that go?” I make these music charts so I can get through the song. I’m like, “Really? We're gonna do that? If you had told me last night, I could have stayed up late at home and done this at least better.” But no, he's not like that. He's a crazy man.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm curious if Billy was a fan of Rainbow, because right now both you and David Rosenthal are in Billy’s band, but you were both part of Rainbow. In fact, Billy used Joey from Rainbow to do backup vocals for the studio recording of "I Go to Extremes."</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That's interesting. I've never really asked him. I've gotta say, though, I do know that Billy is a hard rock freak. And it wouldn't surprise me if he was very familiar with a lot of that stuff. Certainly, he knows a lot of the Deep Purple stuff, but I mean, it sounds horrible on piano. He loves jamming on Cream, he loves jamming on Hendrix, Zeppelin. We've got a guy in the band who can now sing Zeppelin, so we've morphed some of that into our concert set.<br />
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When I play with Billy on piano, a lot of what he does on piano reminds me of Eddie Van Halen on guitar. When I play with him, I feel like I'm gonna try to be Alex Van Halen (<i>drummer of Van Halen</i>) to his Eddie, and that's how we play. So I tend to swing his stuff as if I'm in Van Halen, not playing with a piano player. And it works. Yeah, it takes me a lot of time to really figure out what his music truly means.<br />
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I'm not really there to do anything new. A lot of what Liberty Devitto [<i>ex-drummer for Billy Joel</i>] brought to the table wasn't broken, and it didn’t need to be retooled or reimagined by myself. I'm just there to be consistent, I guess. I don't know how Liberty got fired out of that band. You know, it can happen to the best of us. You get complacent or you get bored or you think, <i>You know what, I'm a better drummer than these songs show and I'm gonna show it to you.</i> And you start doing that and you start detracting from the music on top of maybe not having the best time in the world to begin with, and it's a recipe for disaster. So I don't know why Liberty's not there—I never dug into it all that hard. I'm just blessed that I got the opportunity to be playing with who I consider to be the premier American composer in popular music.<br />
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I mean, it's not called Billy and the Barnacles. It's called Billy Joel. And so you're not a barnacle. You're not like an E Street member. You're a drummer. I think that's a mistake some guys make, and I think it was a fatal one for Lib.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, Chuck, I guess one question I wanna ask. Even though the Billy Joel gig alone would be a very impressive thing for any drummer, you also been working for several decades and you got to play with a lot of big artists. What do you think's been your secret to sustain all this?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, that's a nice question. I can blab about all this stuff, but I think it's been my willingness to reinvent myself. You know, I kind of don't know if I have a style. If you listen to me on any particular record or video, that's me doing my best to bring something for the arts. Like I told you, I had a bunch of really cool drum parts worked up for Michael Bolton's first album and then I get played “Back In Black.” And I'm like, “Oh my God.” So I had to reinvent what I had rehearsed. I think my willingness to reinvent myself has definitely kept me working as opposed to something like, “I only play double bass and I'm a metal drummer.” Man, if the opportunity comes up to play something else where it's not as slick or it's not as heavy, then I'm gonna try and change to bring something that’s not new, but instead bring something to that artist or to the music that suits the need. I've kind of been a chameleon my whole life, and I think that's probably been my biggest plus. Certainly it hasn't been my musical choice at time, but I've been given different opportunities, and I've tried to do them as well as I can. I think that willingness to kind of reinvent myself has been the single most contributing factor to whatever success I've had.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know you go on tour because of the coronavirus, but do you know of any tour plans Billy might have when the coronavirus fades away?</i></b><br />
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CB: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You know, Billy and I talk once a month. I know he's missing it. I know everybody in the band's missing it. I'd like to think that when the smoke clears we could ramp this up, but for any of the big acts to fire their engine back up again they need a minimum of twenty-five to thirty core people. I'd like to think yes. I'd like to think that Billy's far from wanting to say “I'm done,” but I'm on the edge of my seat every month waiting to see and hear something. It's a tough call right now, and I know it sucks for everybody. Whatever happens, obviously I'm gonna have to deal with it.<br />
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I find it hard to deal with even the concept of it not happening again. I really do. I feel like I'm retired right now, but I'm not sweating. Billy's been cool enough to take care of us, but if everything dries up, then everyone's life is gonna change massively. And I really can't entertain that right now. That's too painful. It's too much of an incredible experience. We did have a whole year planned, so when and however that's going to get fired up again, there's a whole another year of work that we have to make up. So, I'm hoping that we're gonna get the opportunity to do that.<br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-37830726471780636932019-12-18T04:04:00.000-08:002019-12-18T04:06:21.296-08:00A Very Candid Conversation with Mick Cripps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mick Cripps (year unknown)</i></span></div>
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<i>Mick Cripps was a rhythm guitarist/keyboardist as well as contributing songwriter for rock band L.A. Guns. (Tracii Guns, lead guitarist of L.A. Guns, originally played with Axl Rose in Guns N’ Roses. The name of the group, Guns N’ Roses, is a combination of their last names.) L.A. Guns was part of the Los Angeles metal scene with bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Poison, and Mötley Crüe. They achieved moderate chart success in the late eighties and the early nineties. Their biggest hit album </i>Cocked & Loaded<i> (1989) hit number 38 on the album charts. </i>Cocked & Loaded <i>also contained their biggest single “The Ballad of Jayne” which peaked at number 33. In 1993, Cripps formed Burning Retna, an experimental band that at times included L.A. Guns drummer Nickey “Beats” Alexander and bassist Kelly Nickels. The band never recorded an album and dissolved in 1996, but they released a compilation in 2006. </i><br />
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<i>Cripps left L.A. Guns in 1995, but he reunited with them in 1999 only to leave again in 2001. He was invited to play on the album Hollywood Forever but declined. In 2017, Cripps formed the Brutalists with vocalist Nigel Mogg (of the Quireboys). The music was an emulation of the pub rock era. (Pub rock was a British pop/rock music scene in the seventies that was played in pubs rather than in theaters or stadiums. The music was more of a back-to-basic style of rock in response to the British rock scene that had become more experimental. Punk rock would be pub rock’s successor.) The Brutalists released a self-titled album in 2018 and their sophomore album, </i>We Are Not Here to Help,<i> in September 2019.</i><br />
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<i>In this candid conversation, we discussed Mick’s time with the three bands. I want to think Billy James from Glass Onyon PR for setting up the interview, but most of all I want to thank Mick.</i><br />
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what got you interested in music? </i></b><br />
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Mick Cripps:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I had an older brother who was a classical pianist. He bought lots of records and we’d listen to his Beatles and Rolling Stones’ albums. Usually it’s a sibling that turns you on to something, but he happened to be a professional piano player, so there was music in the house, and who wouldn’t get into the Rolling Stones and the Beatles? And then there was all the other great music that was coming out in the ‘seventies.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What made you decide on playing the guitar? Your brother was playing the piano. </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was messing around with the piano, but I preferred the flashiness of a guitar, so I got a bass and a guitar. I always played bass and guitar and just kind of bounced around between different instruments. The bass was easier. It was a quicker way to get in a band.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you were growing up, was there any guitarist you saw and said, “Hey, I want to play like that”? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, I always idolized Mick Ronson from David Bowie and Spiders from Mars. I always thought he was amazing. I guess if I had a guitar hero, Mick Ronson was definitely one of them. And then there are all of the usuals . . . Keith Richards and all of the blues guys like Muddy Waters.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Talk about how you started with L.A. Guns.</i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was living in England and I’d come to LA for a vacation when I met Nickey Beat, who was the drummer for the Weirdos. He had a rehearsal studio, and Guns N’ Roses was rehearsing there, and the Cramps, and all of these people. I met [<i>lead guitarist</i>] Tracii Guns. I think the week before I met him he had just left Guns N’ Roses, and so we were all hanging out and playing. That led to starting a group. He already had all of the posters and things from the old L.A. Guns thing he did with Axl Rose, so for the purposes of getting quick gigs, we just used the same band name. It stuck, you know? So it was really out of just not having to come up with a new name—it was convenient. No one knew that anybody was going to get big record deals. No one knew that Guns N’ Roses would become as huge as they would. Nobody knew any of these bands would get signed, so it was surprising when everybody all had record deals a year later. Hence, I didn’t return to England.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>L.A. Guns went through a lead singer change before they were signed.</i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, we went through a couple of different singers. Allan Jones, who was a Welshman from Wales, played in a number of bands in the ‘sixties, including the Amen Corner, and he had clubs and things in England. He had a number of clothing stores on Melrose, and he became our manager. He brought over Phil Lewis, so that’s how we hooked up with Phil. And when we got Phil as lead singer, we got signed and it all took off.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">L.A. Guns, 1988 (Mick Cripps, second from left)</span></i></div>
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<b><i>JC: In addition to playing guitar, I understand that you also worked on the songwriting. Could you explain the process of writing songs? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, some of the songs would just come out of group jams. Other ones would come from people bringing in bits and pieces of songs or music and some lyrics. Phil would usually do the lyrics, so it’s always done in different ways . . . whatever worked, you know? There wasn’t one set method, but everybody would contribute. We always split everything five ways, even if somebody didn’t do anything on a particular song. We always split it. That was a good way to keep bands together, to be democratic about the songwriting process. Usually that keeps everybody wanting to contribute. If something is not working, you can just go onto another thing because you’ve got different inputs into the process. If you get stuck on one or two songs, you can keep moving on to the next thing until you come up with one that works. It’s pretty obvious when you have a good song everybody likes. There’s no set rules.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let’s talk about L.A. Guns’ biggest hit, “The Ballad of Jayne.” </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That was another kind of group composition with me, Phil, and [<i>L.A. Guns’ bassist</i>] Kelly Nickels. Kelly wrote the lyrics on that. I did most of the music, and then later on the other guys came in and did pieces on it. Most of the compositions were group efforts. [<i>To watch the music video for “The Ballad of Jayne,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6198qSm0Y0" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So you stayed until ’95. What made you leave L.A. Guns? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was mid-’95. I pretty much needed a break from it, and so I left in’95 and went to work for a publishing company. Then I was instrumental in getting the original guys back together in 1999–2000 when we did a lot of touring, and we put out a few records on Cleopatra Records. That went until 2001, and then me and Kelly left.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why did you leave again? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I had other things to do, you know? Different types of music.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The one thing I wanted to mention is that I’ve listened to your other bands that you play guitar in, Burning Retna and the Brutalists. All three bands were different from each other. Let’s start off by talking about Burning Retna since that happened shortly before you left L.A. Guns. How that did come about? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I had a lot of interest in different styles of music, and I was playing with other people so I wouldn’t get stuck on one particular genre. I liked to listen to other types of music and always did and explored different things. So if I had the opportunity I took it. [<i>To hear Burning Retna’s “Write My Name in Blood,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr2PY-3EkNk" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Burning Retna (Mick, far left, year unknown) </i></span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also understand that you were invited by L.A. Guns to record the Hollywood Forever album in 2012, but you declined. </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was busy doing other things, you know? They’re doing fine. They’re doing their thing. They didn’t need my help. They were managing along nicely without me. They didn’t need me.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Your recent group, the Brutalists . . . tell me how it all began. </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I’ve been playing with the guys in the group for a number of years. We were playing different variations of it and doing lots of jamming and recording, and then we kind of formalized it when we talked singer Nigel Mogg into doing this kind of Ian Dury lead vocal thing, which worked out quite well and it was fun. You know, you play in a band with guys that are friends—you’re brothers, and things like that. It's real easy. You know the people you’re playing with well, so it was just an enjoyable experience. We just finished an English tour a couple of weeks back. We’ve been playing some gigs around town, and we’ve got a couple coming up. So it’s enjoyable. It's just a good outlet, a fun experience, and we enjoy ourselves with it. [<i>To watch the Brutalists’ “Know Your Value,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZOGcVrPW90" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Brutalists (Mick, center, year unknown)</i></span></div>
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Again, it’s different from Burning Retna. It's different from L.A. Guns.</i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I try to get inspiration. I go back through my old record collections and listen to things I haven’t listened to for a long time and try to analyze why I liked it when I was sixteen, eighteen, twenty-five, or something. That’s what happens when you get old. You have lots of different age brackets where you can pull the experiences from. I was listening to a lot of old pre-punk music, pub rock music like Dr. Feelgood, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Nick Lowe, Rockpile, and all that, so there was lots of inspiration. It's easy to emulate the kind of music you like.<br />
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People don’t even know about a lot of that stuff, or they’ve forgotten about, or it was never on a level that people could really pin on anybody, so it was a good source to rediscover. Eras like the pub rock era, the punk rock era, the post-punk era, and the Goth era . . . all of those musical movements are never going to happen again.<br />
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It’s just too convoluted and too fragmented now for anything like that to happen again. The world is different, but it’s very important, because those were milestones in musical development. It’s important that people follow that history and understand those threads, because that’s what makes it good. It’s unique and the fact that it will never happen again is kind of lends itself more importance to that era.<br />
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What’s great these days is that you can go on YouTube and see all of the old footage of old performances by all of the groups. It’s really amazing that you can dial up some real archival footage of all these great heroes that you wouldn’t have seen back in the day because it would never be broadcast on TV, and people would always covet all of these old films and things. So it’s inspiring. I would hope and imagine—but maybe it doesn’t happen—that it would inspire the youthful generation to get into those styles of music. Unfortunately, I don’t see a lot of that happening, which is kind of baffling. There’s no accounting for taste, is there?<br />
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J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What type of model of guitar have you played? Do you use the same model in all three bands or is it different in each band? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I mostly use Telecaster and Gretsch. With Burning Retna, I used the big hollow body. I like hollow bodies. (A hollow-body electric guitar has a sound box and one or more electric pickups. These guitars were designed in the thirties to be as loud as big bands and an orchestra.) With the Brutalists, I'm mostly using Telecasters.<br />
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J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, the other thing I want to talk about is the music industry. It’s very different with the Brutalists than it was when you were doing L.A. Guns. What’s your feeling on the change? You were talking about the record deal was the big thing, but now getting a record deal isn’t the biggest thing. </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> At least you can make better music now because your goal isn’t the big payoff because that’s not going to happen. So you’re more or less making music from a more sincere motivation, I guess. There isn’t that big end game or anything, at least not for people like us. So it’s just making music that sounds good and from your experience. You can be discerning enough not to put out crap, or put out something that some other entity wants you to put out because they want to get it on MTV, or something like that. That doesn’t happen anymore, and that’s refreshing in terms of making music that’s good, you know? But unfortunately, with the internet and everything, there’s the other side of the coin. Everything is so fractionalized that it’s hard to get mass attention.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What other plans, besides touring, do the Brutalists have? </i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Right now we just have some club dates. We’re working on a new video for the second single, “Price On Your Head.” So that should be coming out in a month or so. That’s the immediate plans.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I guess just give me your feelings on your musical journey. From the time you did L.A. Guns to Burning Retna and then the Brutalists. What are your reflections on that?</i></b><br />
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MC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, at one point, I tried to leave it and I couldn’t. It's just something that you have to do. It kind of gets underneath your skin and you can’t leave it alone. I’ve explored other things, but nothing’s more enjoyable and satisfying than playing music in front of an audience because of the immediate response. People will clap their hands. If they don’t like you, they’ll throw something at you. So you know if you’re doing something right or not. It’s the immediacy of it, I think. It's the most rewarding thing.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mick Cripps (2019</i></span>)</div>
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-19561696359076492132019-10-13T06:30:00.000-07:002019-10-13T06:36:41.165-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Caroline Dare<br />
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<i>North Carolina native Caroline Dare immediately got attention in 2016 when she posted videos on YouTube singing original songs with her acoustic guitar. One of her first singles, “Thank You Dan and Phil,” is about YouTube stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester and has over one million views on YouTube. Her rising popularity on social media brought a demand to put her songs on Spotify and iTunes. </i><br />
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<i>In 2017, Caroline released her first EP</i>, <b>Me</b><i>, where she was backed by a band. She released two acoustic singles, “The Weight” and “Snowy Day,” before making her second EP</i> <b>Take It or Leave It </b><i>in 2018. Unlike her previous work which was acoustic, she played with a band and recorded in a studio. Very prolific, Caroline released a few more acoustic singles in 2018 and 2019.</i><br />
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<i>Today, Caroline lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is signed with Suretone Entertainment, an agency who manages Fleetwood Mac and ZZ Top. She has also teamed up with Nick Wheeler, the lead guitarist of All-American Rejects. The first single, “Dive,” off her soon-to-be released EP </i><b>Dive</b><i>, shows the direction she is currently taking with a studio-produced pop sound. A lot of promise and potential await Caroline, who is the youngest interview subject of my blog.</i><br />
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<i>In this candid conversation, we discuss Caroline’s beginnings on YouTube to where she is now with her music, ready to make her mark on the scene. I want to thank Nichole Peters of Jensen Communications for setting up this interview, but most of all, I want to thank Caroline for her time in doing this interview.</i><br />
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what formed your interest in music? </i></b><br />
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Caroline Dare:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I started playing guitar when I was eleven years old. I got a guitar of my own on my eleventh birthday. I was always a very musical kid. I loved listening to CDs and music on my way to soccer practice and everything, so I’ve always loved it growing up. Once I got a guitar of my own, I just really fell in love with it even more. Then I ventured out into songwriting and here I am.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Were there any influences you had on guitar? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think my biggest influence musically is or was Ed Sheeran. I saw him play live and I was just so fascinated with everything that he was able to do on the loop pedal. [<i>A loop pedal records what you are playing and then plays it back in a repeated loop, allowing you to record another line or play over it</i>]. It just fascinated me and really drew me to want to play guitar. So he’s kind of the main reason why I began playing.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When did you start songwriting?</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I started songwriting about half a year after I started playing guitar. When I was really little, I would write short stories and poetry. I always loved to read those to my class, and my teachers were kind enough to let me do that in front of the class and share what I’d created. But people would always ask me when I was little if I wanted to be an author, and I was like, “No, that’s not really the path that I want to take.” So it was funny because when I started songwriting, it was like my love for music and my love for writing stories and telling stories all meshed into one thing, and I just fell in love with it. That’s kind of when it really clicked for me.<br />
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J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay, I guess we’ll start off with one of your first singles in 2016, “Thank You Dan and Phil.” A curious question: Who are Dan and Phil? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dan and Phil are two YouTubers I was a huge fan of when I was fourteen. They do a lot of comedy videos and everything, so I loved watching their videos growing up and through high school. So I was on FaceTime with one of my friends, and I had the random thought of writing a song expressing how much I appreciated them, and I was kind of like, “Why not? Why not do it?” So I did. I was really scared to post it at first, but I'm really glad that I did. [<i>To hear “Thank You Dan and Phil,” please click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAi982p3GWw&list=PLOO3krw6sfli_-T0yaN_d4X7KKWvgURj8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dan Howell, Phil Lester, and Caroline (May 29, 2016</span>)</i></div>
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You released a couple of singles throughout 2016 and 2017. Then you released your first EP, </i>Me<i>, in 2017.</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Correct.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Describe the process from doing singles to pulling out an EP. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So I started out posting songs on YouTube—original music—and I gained a lot of attraction and just connected with so many girls all around the world and everything. There was just such a huge demand for me to put my songs on Spotify and iTunes so people could buy it and stream it and have it in their library. So that’s what led me to going into the studio and recording songs and making EPs. I made my first EP, <i>Me</i>, when I was fifteen or sixteen. And then about a year later, I put out a second EP, <i>Take It Or Leave It</i>. In-between the EPs, I put out some acoustic singles of just me and my guitar in my room. I put that on my Spotify and iTunes. I really appreciate people listening to those songs even though they’re not high quality or produced in a studio or anything. They still just really love that acoustic vibe.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Caroline Dare</i>, Me <i>EP (2017)</i></span></div>
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to talk about two songs on </i>Me<i>. One song, “Wish You Were Mine,” has the line, “I don’t fall in love this easily.” Was this inspired by anyone? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I wrote “Wish You Were Mine” when I was fourteen and I’d never had a boyfriend or any experience with relationships. But that doesn’t mean I can’t write about it either. I was just inspired by that sort of thing. That’s kind of how it was. A lot of people try to guess who they think I wrote the song about—<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But honestly, it’s not really about anybody specific. But it’s really funny, because a lot of people have sent that song to their crushes and it’s ended up getting them into relationships. I think that’s really cool. [<i>To hear “Wish You Were Mine,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1G2lmy_cMg&list=PLOO3krw6sfli_-T0yaN_d4X7KKWvgURj8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Actually, I'm one person who could relate to that, because I know about getting a crush on someone. I’ve been there, getting a crush on someone without really knowing almost anything about the person. Let’s talk about another song, “Long Drive.”</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Long Drive” is another one that I wrote a few years back. It’s kind of about the rough patches that you go through in life, and everybody struggles in their own way. We tend to turn to things in order to cope or to get our mind off of it. I felt that driving, and just kind of going off somewhere and getting lost, is one of those ways to cope. That’s kind of what the song is about . . . you know, using driving and getting lost as a way to cope. [<i>To hear “Long Drive,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZerSF23KbM&list=PLOO3krw6sfli_-T0yaN_d4X7KKWvgURj8&index=12" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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J<b><i>C:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay, let’s talk about the one of the acoustic singles, “Snowy Day,” you did in 2017 before your second EP. It’s an interesting tune. To me, if I have a snowy day, it means I’m telecommuting and don’t have to drive to my other job. But if you have plans and it’s a snowy day, that day can end up not being your best day. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. “Snowy Day” is kind of a Christmas song, but it’s not really a Christmas song. I think I wrote that one when it was snowing outside, and for some reason that song just came so easily to me. It was such an easy song for me to write. It's crazy, because sometimes some songs are so difficult to finish, and then others just come to you so easily. I'm really thankful that “Snowy Day” was one that just came to me. I wanted to write a fun, little winter song. I love listening to holiday songs, and I love that time of year. I was like, “I want to write my own little holiday winter song, whatever that may be.” So that’s kind of how “Snowy Day” came about . . . it’s just being fun with it, being a little cold outside, and being trapped inside. [<i>To hear “Snowy Day,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5qGAb86psM&list=PLOO3krw6sfli_-T0yaN_d4X7KKWvgURj8&index=6" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay, let’s talk about </i>Take It Or Leave It<i>, the second EP you did in 2018. This is where you start to break away from acoustic songs into studio-produced songs. The song “Fake” definitely sounds like it was produced in the studio. </i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Take It Or Leave It </span><i style="font-size: small;">EP (2018)</i></div>
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, definitely. <i>Take It Or Leave It </i>was a realization that I did want to go into more of a pop direction because the first EP was very pop/country and very acoustic-based. I wanted to expand from there and see what else I could do. “Fake” is inspired by one of my favorite movies of all time, Mean Girls. It’s a very petty song about school drama. I’ve had my own experience with bullying and everything, so that’s how that song came about. [<i>To hear “Fake,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X93OFpb9Wxw" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also on </i>Take It or Leave It<i>, I’ve noticed you’ve written a song, “Over That,” where the narrator has been dumped. On the other hand, there is another song in 2019, “Anymore,” where you’re the one who’s doing the rejection.</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. I think it’s really cool how you can totally write from different perspectives. I wrote “Over That” about a guy I was talking to for a little while and then he kind of ghosted me out of nowhere. I was confused as to why he stopped talking to me. I wrote “Over That” when I was just trying to get my feelings off my chest . . . and that sort of thing.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah.</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Anymore” is a completely different perspective. There’s a line in “Anymore” that says, “I know how it feels on the other end,” which kind of reflects to how I was feeling when I wrote “Over That.” Yeah, it’s definitely crazy how you can be on both ends of the spectrum. “Anymore” is about letting someone down and not wanting to hurt their feelings, but it’s kind of inevitable. [<i>To hear an acoustic version of “Over That,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-cYwbhb5Iw" target="_blank">here </a>and to hear “Anymore”, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii4ei0iRJ84" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I liked the part where it says, “I know how it feels on the other end,” because it shows that a person is very sensitive and thoughtful about it. Most rejections are kind of like, “I want out.” </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. It's definitely not like, “Ew, you’re gross. Bye.”<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m also curious about a song, “Two.” That’s an interesting acoustic one. One of the lyrics is, “I think your mother loves me more than you do.”</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Two” is definitely a very different song. The story is very different too. The song has its own special meaning to me, but a lot of the time I like to leave it up to the listeners’ interpretation and so I like to keep that special for them. It’s a very petty, snarky song. It’s so not like me. I'm such a nice and sensitive person, and I look back on the lyrics and I'm like, “This sounds like nothing that I would actually do in real life.” [<i>To hear “Two,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw7HsNOl3FM&list=PLOO3krw6sfli_-T0yaN_d4X7KKWvgURj8" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">here</a><i>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also, I was wondering if you were singing about yourself in that song, “So Far Away?” </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A lot of people think I wrote “So Far Away” about myself, which I understand, because I definitely relate to the storyline, but I actually wrote it about a girl I found on Instagram. She was moving from her hometown in Pennsylvania to LA to go after her dreams and her passions. I just thought that was so inspiring, so I wrote the song about her. Then I ended up moving from North Carolina to Nashville to pursue my dream, so I definitely see why people would think I wrote it about myself, but I didn’t. [<i>To hear “So Far Away,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFpLW0UVx7Q" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All right. Tell me what made you decide to move from North Carolina to Nashville. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I started going back and forth from North Carolina to Nashville about once a month for about four to five days at a time. I started coming to Nashville when I was twelve and I just fell in love with the city. The more I came here, the more people I met and the more connections I made. So by the time I finished high school, I had built such a strong support system and team here, and I had so many friends that I was ready to move. It's what I’ve been wanting for the longest time, and I just feel like there are so many opportunities here. This city is so loving and accepting, and I just love being here.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You alternate between songs that are acoustic and songs that have a studio production. Is there anything in particular that makes you say, “This song sounds better with my acoustic guitar,” or, “This song should have a band and let’s give it accompaniment”? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well, I think that just has to do with me developing as an artist, especially with the recent songs I’ve written and taken to the studio. I’ve really gravitated more into like the songwriter-pop sort of genre.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was listening to the most recent single of yours that is a studio production, “Dive.” </i></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Dive” single (2019)</span></i></div>
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So “Dive” is my newest release. I co-wrote that song with my producer, Nick Wheeler. He’s the lead guitarist of The All American Rejects, and it’s just been so fun to work with him. “Dive” is a really high-energy anthem song about falling in love and being a little bit nervous to start a relationship but just kind of trusting yourself and falling into it. It’s just a fun, little song about that. [<i>To hear “Dive,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ZGgikgUuI" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, I understand there is an EP coming out of this—a </i>Dive<i> EP. What can we expect from that EP? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are going to be four songs on the EP and we’re planning on releasing them as singles over the next few months and into the new year. New music is definitely on the way. All I listen to in the car are these songs, and every time I listen to them I just get so happy.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are these songs going to be acoustic, or are they more in mold of what “Dive” is, a pop tune? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They’re definitely more pop and produced.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Do you have any plans on touring? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I really, really want to tour, especially since my followers online are from all over the place, all over the world, which is really insane. A lot of people online tell me to come to this place and to come to that place, so one of my main goals as an artist, a songwriter, and a musician is to actually play in person in front of the people who have been supporting me online.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Describe your feelings about the whole process. You started putting things on YouTube. You started putting things on Spotify. What are your feelings about the whole adventure, from what got you to Nashville and now you’re working with The All American Rejects lead guitarist . . .</i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, it’s been really crazy to experience because I have experienced self-doubt and just kind of questioning, “Is this really what I'm meant to do?” It’s just crazy. I'm so lucky to be in this situation and have a platform to influence people and spread positivity in such a creative way, and just using what I love to do and using that for positivity. It just blows my mind every time I get a message from someone online saying that I’ve helped them out of depression and with their anxiety. I’ve definitely dealt with that myself, and I’ve been in that situation before, but I was able to help someone else going through the same thing. It's really helped me not feel like I'm going through it alone. I definitely just want to keep growing, not only as a person, but also as an artist, and I want my music to keep developing and expanding. I don’t want to stop at any point.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> I was reading your website, and you signed up with Suretone Entertainment, the management company that represents Fleetwood Mac. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, so I signed with Suretone Entertainment about a year ago, and they’ve just been so supportive and so sweet. They take such good care of me. It's just such a blessing to have them here in town, and it’s so nice that they’ve got my back and are so supportive. I'm so thankful to have them as part of my team.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So you were in Nashville when you signed up with Suretone Entertainment? </i></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Caroline Dare, 2018</span></i></div>
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. So not this past summer, but the summer before I was at CMA Fest [<i>a four-day country music festival held in Nashville held every June</i>]. My manager saw me play at the Nashville Underground during CMA Fest, and that’s kind of what got him interested in working with me. Shortly after he saw that performance, we started taking a few meetings together and I just felt like he was the right person I needed on my team. That’s kind of how that came about.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And so the </i>Dive<i> EP is the latest thing. Is there any other project? </i></b>.<br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. So as of right now, <i>Dive</i> the EP is the next thing I’ve got coming out, but before that entire EP comes out, we’re releasing some of the songs on that EP as singles. You’ll be able to hear them before the whole EP comes out. That’s kind of what the plan is right now, but I'm still writing and trying to come up with new ideas too.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So we can expect that you’ll be probably pulling singles, some that are just you and your guitar and then others that have a whole studio production? </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm not sure yet. With the direction that I’m going in, I think studio-produced songs will be more common than the acoustic ones. But I love going live on Instagram and Facebook and just playing acoustically too, so that side of me will always be there.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Okay. The last question I'm going to ask is you started at a young age. A lot has happened since you started. What would be your recommendation to someone else who’s around your age group? Someone who also might want to start with music at a young age. </i></b><br />
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CD:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My biggest word of advice would probably be to stay genuine to yourself and don’t get caught up in what you think is really trendy, because I think what makes you unique is so special and makes you stand out from everybody else. I think it’s so important to stay true to that. I mean, that’s what makes you different, and that’s what changes music all of the time is when somebody else is different. So I really, really encourage people to just stay true to themselves.<br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-32947718007640428732019-08-18T05:21:00.000-07:002019-10-13T06:35:33.946-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Goodnight, Texas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Goodnight, Texas, 2018 (Avi Vinocur, left; Patrick Dyer Wolf, right) </span> </div>
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A<i>vi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf are the bandleaders of Goodnight, Texas, a folk rock band. The name, Goodnight, Texas, comes from the midpoint between where Avi and Pat lives. Avi lives in San Francisco, and Pat lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their sound and their approach to writing songs is unique because they embodied a certain time era with each album. </i><br />
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<i>Goodnight, Texas writes about different time eras in their music. Their first album, </i><b>A Long Life of Living</b><i> (2012), contains original music of acoustic songs that are reminiscent of old-timey music from the 1800s. One of the songs, “The Railroad,” was used in a Coors commercial in 2018. On their next album, </i><b>Uncle John Farquhar</b><i> (2014), Goodnight, Texas wrote original songs about the Civil War and Appalachia with music that sounds reminiscent of that period. Their most recent album, Conductor (2018), is written about the early twentieth century and their original songs reflect that era. There are plans to do an album that will contain music that sounds like it takes place in the future. In addition, they have recorded two EPs, </i><b>An Even Longer Life of Living</b><i> (2017), and </i><b>The Senseless Age</b><i> (2019).</i><br />
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<i>Goodnight, Texas plays “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the San Francisco Giants, which they have been doing since 2017. Avi also played with Metallica late 2018, in which Metallica did an acoustic set for their All Within My Hands charitable foundation. Avi played mandolin, guitar, and sang backup during the Metallica show. </i><br />
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<i>This is the first interview in which I’ve interviewed two people at the same time. In our candid conversation, Avi and Pat talk about how the band started and their interest in recreating music from different historical eras. We also discuss how they got to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the San Francisco Giants, how Avi got to play with Metallica, and what their future plans are.</i><br />
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<i>I want to thank Nichole Peters of Jensen Communications for setting up the interview, but most of all, I want to think Avi and Pat. </i><br />
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This question is for either of you and who wants to start: What formed your interest in music?</i></b><br />
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Patrick Dyer Wolf:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have a memory of sitting on the floor in my parents' bedroom and looking up at my dad sitting on the bed playing his acoustic guitar. I think the guitar was an Applause, which is a subset of Ovation (a guitar company). The Applause is not a great guitar.<br />
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I just remember being dumbfounded at what he was doing with those strings. He made me a tape and called it “Pat's Rock Tape,” which was a Dire Straits song, and then there were a bunch of James Taylor songs. I think I was six or seven—that's the memory I have that made me want to play music.<br />
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Avi Vinocur: Well, there is a debate on this, but I got really into piano when I was around six years old. I don't know why. Then I got into guitar after I heard Green Day. I felt like I could do something like that and started playing songs from Dookie. This was in 1994, I think. Then in high school I got really into Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles and started playing a lot of sixties’ songs.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's interesting you're mentioning all these artists, but your band doesn’t sounds like any of them. How did you came up with the sound of Goodnight, Texas?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think we were both interested in how some people like to play characters and have concepts for their act. We had a collection of songs that all sort of felt like they may have existed in a different time period.<br />
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We were covering songs from the 1800s, and we were writing songs but just trying to make them feel like they belong in the 1800s. We used some stories that we heard from that time period.<br />
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We both really love American history, and so writing historical fiction or biographical music seemed to kind of make sense.<br />
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PDW: I remember we had been playing together with just two guitars—a little bit like Simon and Garfunkel. I mean, Garfunkel didn't have a guitar, but at some point Avi got a banjo and I remember thinking, “Oh, that's a whole different tone.”<br />
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And then at some point Avi started playing the mandolin. He can really play a guitar, but then he just transitioned to the mandolin as his lead act.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I got a mandolin from a guitar show. I think the mandolin was from 1918, and right away I wrote twelve songs on it, like within a week. It just felt like this instrument had been built to be playing these songs. I don't know, it just made sense to me in some weird way.<br />
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I had an old mandolin before that and tried to write songs on it, but I didn't really have any luck. But once I got this really old one, it was—<br />
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PDW: It's not like a straight-up bluegrass sound that we're going for or that he is going for. I think it's a little bit darker.<br />
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We’re not trained on traditional bluegrass playing, but we're playing these bluegrass instruments like the mandolin.<br />
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AV: Goodnight, Texas is the midpoint between where we live. Bluegrass and folk is not something we necessarily grew up with. My family is from West Virginia and Maryland, and I had relatives that were mandolin players and fiddle players in my family history, but none that I was close with. But the band's concept came from also just sort of finding out about them.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How did the first album, </i>Long Life of Living<i>, take place? </i></b><br />
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PDW: We recorded most of our stuff at Avi's apartment in San Francisco. We’d sing and play the songs first before we put any drums. We ended up putting the drums on afterwards, and we played a lot of the drums ourselves.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think we sort of started recording the only way we knew how, which was just to play guitar and sing live. So most of the songs on that album are actually a live performance of us playing and singing guitar. And in doing that, we realized we kind of wanted to make it rock out more, and we didn't want to redo everything so we just played over it. I think we ended up with something really kind of dark and heavy, and heaviness has just kind of been in my soul forever.<br />
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PDW: That's the quote.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>A Long Life of Living c</i>over (2012)</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to talk about one song on the album, "The Railroad,” which is a semi-instrumental song. The vocals don’t come until the end of the song. That was also the first song I heard from you guys.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That was just something we kind of worked on for the rhythm and melody. We initially had lyrics for the first half and it was a little bit different, but it just wasn't working quite right, so we decided to trim the first half down slightly and leave the vocals out of it and then put this whole section at the end with the vocals. [<i>To hear “The Railroad,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Kauzk6ZAg" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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I play the drum take for that song, and then I play some guitars and mandolin and banjo over it. Then Pat plays the slide, and our friend Jonathan Kirchner plays bass.<br />
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I think we had different lyrics. Initially the song was about Pittsburgh called "Pittsburgh Grit.”<br />
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PDW: Was it about a handshake?<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was about a really strong, firm handshake, but it just didn't fit, so Pat encouraged me to change the lyrics. We did, and I think we changed them further after that. The line, “Their backs are turned,” was sort of kicking around for a while in my head, and that's kind of how it came together.<br />
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I was really into a lot of traditional and spiritual music like "Rosie,” (<i>an African-American prison song from 1947</i>) and stuff like that. I wanted to try to make something that felt like that kind of song.<br />
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PDW: Maybe like a year ago Avi sent me a voice memo that he found of us working on this song in my parents' dining room just figuring out the structure of it. You can hear my dad in the background yelling about some insurance snafu he was having or something. It was great.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You were mentioning earlier that you came up with real life stories you had heard, or you just like to write historical fiction. Your first single, "Jesse Got Trapped in a Coal Mine” . . . was that Jesse's unfortunate incident something you came up with, or was it based on something?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I wrote that one, but it wasn't a true story. It was kind of similar to some stories that I had heard from my family in West Virginia and Maryland, but it wasn't anything specific. I kind of just went with it.<br />
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But that being said, we've met a lot of people whose families are in coal and who even have members of their family named Jesse. I think we met someone in Nashville whose great-great-grandmother’s husband was killed. Her name was Jessie, and her husband was killed in a mining accident. So it's like it may be true. I definitely made it up, but I think it may have actually happened whether we realize it or not, like a lot of stories. [<i>To hear “Jesse Got Trapped in a Coal Mine,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COob4dyRfHg" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Also from that album is “I’m Going to Work on Maggie's Farm Forever.” Was Bob Dylan's “Maggie Farm” the inspiration behind the song? Is it referring to the same farm that Bob Dylan is referring to?</i></b><br />
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PDW: Yeah. It’s definitely a takeoff of sorts, and I think it's sort of like an alternate ending, an alternate universe take on it, of the chronicle of uprisings or rebellions that have failed or have been squashed and don’t get remembered. It’s kind of like a testament to the suffering and effort that people go through that doesn't really come to anything. [<i>To hear “I’m Going to Work on Maggie’s Farm Forever,” click<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQEHz8xycE" target="_blank"> here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So from there we look into </i>Uncle John Farquhar<i> (2014) album. Tell me how that got started.</i></b><br />
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PDW: <i>Uncle John Farquhar</i> came from the semi-historical semi-idea like a family scrapbook partially remembered and oral tradition that might not be true . . . you know, like the movie, <i>Big Fish</i>. (Big Fish <i>is a 2003 film about a frustrated son trying to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father’s life.</i>)<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Big Fish</i>. I was going to say that.<br />
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PDW: Our album is named after my great-great-great-grandfather, John Farquhar, but the picture on the album is his nephew, Edwin Freer Bogart. We thought that was a funny joke that no one would get except us because it’s a picture from 150 years ago. Nobody is going to know.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Uncle John Farquhar</i> cover (2014)</span></div>
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What if somebody wrote the wrong name on the back of the photograph? Then throughout the future and history everyone thinks that's the person's name, but it might not have been.<br />
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We wrote some of <i>Uncle John Farquhar</i> on the road. We were touring behind our first record a lot and spent a lot more time with our drummer, Alex Nash, and bass player, Bobby Kendall, at the time. We were sort of developing the songs on the road, like we had concepts for how they went and we'd come home and record them.<br />
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And then the songs would get a little more swing or a little more bouncy, and we tried to incorporate that into the album on a few of the songs. In addition to us playing drums, we had a friend play drums on a few songs on <i>Long Life of Living</i>, but Alex Nash played drums on the whole record.<br />
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Bobby Kendall and Scott Padden, our drummer now, both played bass on a few songs on that record too. It was sort of a transitional record for us. We were changing members, but some of the songs we had for a long time. I had the song "Dearest Sarah" since 2006. I just never recorded, but I had written the lyrics, and then I changed the rhythm and the instrumentation of it in 2012, and then I decided I really wanted that to put that one out there.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the sixties, a lot of then-contemporary artists did songs on Vietnam. In the last decade, artists did songs about Iraq. But with "Dearest Sarah,” you went back to the Civil War.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. I mean, I've always been fascinated by that period in American history, and the song is based on a real letter written between Sullivan Ballou and his wife Sarah in Rhode Island. To me, that letter has always been one of the best pieces of American writing.<br />
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Sullivan died in July of 1861 at the First Battle of Bull Run. So that is a true story, and that song is sort of interpreted from his letter. We don't break that one out live super often because it doesn't really fit in some of our bar shows, but it's a pretty depressing and stark song. [<i>To hear “Dearest Sarah,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVuy8XQZays" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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PDW: The actual Uncle John Farquhar was a preacher in Pennsylvania and he went to visit some troops during the Civil War at different battlefields. He gave a sermon on the National Day of Mourning for President Lincoln's death.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes.</i></b><br />
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PDW: We found the text of his speech and put it in the liner notes. So that's another thing that was true from our family perspective. It’s not well-known to history, but we were trying to weave that in with the “Dearest Sarah” story.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In addition to the Civil War, “A Bank Robber’s Nursery Rhyme” sounds like it could fit in the historical decade of the Wild West.</i></b><br />
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PDW: "A Bank Robber's Nursery Rhyme" comes from a riff I had written in college. Maybe eight years before that song was recorded, it was called "Slow Down Hoedown" at the time. We kind of re-imagined that one.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"Slow Down Hoedown" sounds like it would have a different lyrical concept than “A Bank Robber’s Nursery Rhyme.”</i></b><br />
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PDW: There were no lyrics to “Slow Down Hoedown.” It had a different structure, and it kind of slowed down toward the end. But we kept one of the main riffs from “Slow Down Hoedown.” [<i>To hear “A Bank Robber’s Nursery Rhyme,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gHJPZbL6CM" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to talk about the song "Moonshiners.” I’m familiar with it during the seventies era. Burt Reynolds did a lot of films around that time that revolve around moonshine. But I'm sure the era of moonshine in “Moonshiners” is not the seventies.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, the first record sort of took place in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, and this one sort of took place at end of the nineteenth century into the beginning of the twentieth century.<br />
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In "Moonshiners,” as the characters of our songs sort of head south and time passes, they get further and deeper into Appalachia, and I think that's where a lot of that moonshining was going on. It was a sort of isolated mentality that a lot of people felt in those regions in that period. [<i>To hear “Moonshiners,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXZeVpcRJIE" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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What you get is something very different than what Pat and I grew up with, and that's why it fascinates us.<br />
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PDW: I mean, a lot of the people up in the hills were Irish immigrants from Avi's side, and maybe like 80 percent of my side are Irish immigrants. It's just very interesting. People came over to find a new life and escape a terrible condition, and you ended up funneling into a city like a lot of my ancestors did, or you made it up into the hills and found banjos and washtubs or whatever and started making this music that we eventually became fascinated with.<br />
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Over the course of a century, there was a lot of isolationism up there and an interesting culture. I think it was very interesting for us to kind of ponder this when we were making this music.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> I read in Wikipedia that you sang the national anthem.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How did that come about?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We're big baseball fans, and I have the good fortune in San Francisco of knowing a couple of people who work for the Giants. They let us know that if they had a cancellation they would try to get us to do the national anthem. And they did finally in 2017, and we did it.<br />
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We got a good review from the Giants’ sportscaster, Dave Flemming, on the radio and they've asked us back every year since then. [<i>To hear them perform “The Star-Spangled Banner,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-CTSupNDyc" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It would be 2017 when you released your next EP, </i>An Even Longer Life of Living<i>, and 2018 when you got to making your next album </i>Conductor<i>.</i></b><br />
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PDW: Yeah, so <i>Uncle John Farquhar</i> was 2014, and <i>Conductor</i> was 2018, and in the middle I had a son, Damon. So that was one thing I was doing. We actually recorded a lot of the material for <i>Conductor </i>in late 2015, and a series of setbacks just kept us pushing it back.<br />
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We put out EPs in the meantime, so we had that. And it just it finally came together in the spring of 2018, feeling like the right time from all angles.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'll add to that . . . at the beginning of 2016 we sort of lost a lot of parental figures. Pat's father passed away. My grandfather, who was sort of like my father, passed away two weeks after his dad did. A year or so later the following year 2017, Scott, our now drummer—he was our bass player at the time—his mother passed away from cancer. We were thinking to try to put <i>Conductor</i> out at the end of 2016, and then the presidential election happened, and it was like no one had time to think about music right now.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Conductor</i> would have just gotten buried under everything with the election, and it just didn't feel right. The further we got from it, the more we decided to just kind of keep waiting until it felt right, and once the beginning of 2018 came around we were I think we're ready to get angry or something.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Conductor </i>album (2018)</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I mentioned Bob Dylan earlier. On </i>Conductor<i>, the song, “Takin’ Your Word For It,” sounds a little like Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. Were those guys influences for that song?</i></b><br />
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PDW: I wouldn't say no. I think another big influence would probably be the Band.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, the Band was big influences on us with all their songwriting. I got really into <i>Planet Waves</i> by Bob Dylan back then.<br />
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PDW: I felt like we could fit that kind of a sound in with sort of these American tales and it sort of was part of the story and it seemed to blend in and have a little bit of be sort of led by the bass, kind of a funkier bass line. So it seemed to kind of fit. [<i>To hear “Takin’ Your Word For It,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B8wvUMUkC0" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which decade is </i>Conductor<i> (2018) referring to?</i></b><br />
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AV: I think this is moving more into the early the Dust Bowl and the beginnings of Prohibition and that period. It does take place further west out in the plains than in the southwest.<br />
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PDW: Yeah, we sort of think of it right at the point when America is starting to become the world power and figuring out what to do with itself as that's happening. Electricity is really becoming a thing. Automobiles are becoming a thing.<br />
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We added electric guitar for the first time on that record.<br />
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AV:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We don't have any electric guitar on the first two records. Pedal steels. [<i>Pedal steel is a musical instrument played like the Hawaiian guitar, but set on a stand with pedals to adjust the tension of the strings.</i>]<br />
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PDW: <i>Conductor </i>is the title, and there is a spiritual want for somebody to rein in all that power America has and to figure out what to do with it. That's like the conductor of an orchestra.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also understand that Avi got to play with Metallica around that time. How did that happen?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, that was the end of last year. I was fortunate enough to know those guys and have worked with them before on a side of things such as a studio tech. They’re aware of our band and they know I play mandolin. They were doing an acoustic show, and they wanted to kind of fill out their sound.<br />
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I had sang with James Hetfield at a benefit show in 2016, and we figured out that we could harmonize pretty well together. So when it came time for Metallica to figure out what they wanted to do for this acoustic show, they asked me to do it, and they asked if I knew a percussionist. Then we got this pedal steel player and keyboard player.<br />
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So the four of us kind of sat in, but I got to sing and play mandolin on the whole set. I played a little guitar too, and it was just a trip. It’s one of the most unbelievable things that's ever happened to me. [<i>To hear Avi perform with Metallica on “The Unforgiven,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24HzSGCc6pQ" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s interesting to know that the music can still be heavy even though there are only acoustic instruments.</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. Heavy is definitely like an attitude and a feel more than a tone—more than any specific guitar tone or type of guitar. They happen to do it with electric guitars and through high-gain amplifiers, but the songs kind of translate any way you do them, and the heaviness still just imbued in it.<br />
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I will say that doing that show with them was one of the most high-energy shows I've ever done, and we were all sitting on stools. I can't even imagine what it's like to play with them and running around with electric guitars.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand you've done a EP, </i>The Senseless Age<i> (2019). </i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Senseless Age</i> (2019)</span></div>
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In my head I sort of think of our albums as part of like the long running story, and the EP is the extraneous almost bonus material. Like side—<br />
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PDW: Side dishes.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, side dishes. But yeah, there is like elements of the sixties and the nineties even in these songs. There’s a song that sounds like it could have gone on <i>A Long Life of Living</i>. It’s a little instrumental one, “For My Mother’s Wedding,” which is one I actually wrote for my mom to walk down the aisle to. [<i>To hear “For My Mother’s Wedding,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoGt1zLAxfw" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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They're five songs, and you put them together and they go together, but they all sort of have an independent feel from one another. "Blood Brothers" is probably one of the heaviest songs we've recorded. I'm really proud of how that turned out. [<i>To hear “Blood Brothers,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WDMAK_Ex6s" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. So I take it you're on the road touring now?</i></b><br />
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PDW: Yeah, we are. We played in Newport, Kentucky, last night, and we're playing in Cleveland tonight. [<i>Note: It was July 28,2019, when I spoke to Goodnight, Texas.]</i><br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are there any other shows that you're planning to do?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We're doing some festivals. We're doing a Mile of Music Festival in Wisconsin. We're doing the Sweet Pea Festival in Bozeman, Montana. We're doing the West Coast in October. Actually, on this run, we're finishing the Midwest and the middle states until the middle of August.<br />
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In October, we're doing the Northwest coast with the Brothers Comatose. Yeah, we got a lot of touring on the docket behind the EP and our next potential record.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Goodnight, Texas (Pat, left; Avi, right) performing in 2018</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What is the potential next record?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It takes place in the year 2145.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wow, it's futuristic.</i></b><br />
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AV: Yeah, it's all synthesizers, and drums have become unpopular. The robots don't like drums . . . so, yeah. We’ve got a bunch of songs that I think go together pretty well, but I don't know. They definitely have a unique sound, but I think they fit in line with what we've also done, and we're getting them together.<br />
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We've got twelve or thirteen partially recorded right now, and we've got a whole bunch more that we've written. We usually take our time. I think it's worth it to take your time and do it right.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For an upcoming band doing a different, original, unique sound like you have, what would your recommendation be?</i></b><br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Definitely listen to Korn.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Korn, okay.</i></b><br />
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AV: No one has ever sounded like Korn. I don't know how they made it work.<br />
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PDW: And, you know, Tom Waits. I think to try to define it in your own mind is like a TV series. Then it’s just seeing what fits on the show, what doesn't make sense with the plot or the setting . . .<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I mean, you're always balancing between what people know and what they haven't heard. If you season a little more of what’s unknown to people, you can be more exciting in that sense.<br />
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J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The last question I'll ask is how would you describe where you started off with the </i>Long Way of Living<i> album to now with </i>The Senseless Age<i>?</i></b><br />
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PDW: I think we've been very fortunate that we have been able to make it happen over this time. We live on opposite sides of the country—the two of us. Scott Padden, who is playing drums, and Adam Nash, who has been playing bass, although he is an incredible guitar player, live in California too. There are logistical hurdles for us to even exist, and we have been very lucky of the good fortune that's been working out in that the Internet has been helping us out just attracting bees to the nectar.<br />
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AV: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We're just trying to see if this whole thing can work. So far it's still working somehow.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Goodnight, Texas in 2018 (Pat, second from left; Avi, third from left)</span></div>
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-13395112828748789342019-08-04T05:38:00.000-07:002019-08-04T05:43:42.482-07:00A Very Candid Conservation with Matt Wayne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Matt Wayne is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. He played in various metal bands until, he met bassist/vocalist JuJu. Together, they performed at gigs and open-mic nights until they formed a band called the Blood Moon Howlers. The name of the group came about in 2015 when they were at a party. There was a blood moon that night, and they went up on the roof and howled at the moon. On their website, their music is described as “whiskey drenched heavy swamp blues rock,” with “flecks of smokey burlesque.” </i><br />
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<i>In 2017, the Blood Moon Howlers released their first EP </i><b>Wasteland</b><i> with Scott Wittenberg on drums. Scott was only filling in temporarily until Brandon Cooke took over drums on a permanent basis. The Blood Moon Howlers also included Evan Hatfield who plays sax and keyboards. The new four piece band can be heard on their latest album, </i><b>Mad Man’s Ruse</b><i> (2019) as well as their EP </i><b>The Hangover Sessions</b><i> (2019), which is a trio of acoustic versions of songs from Mad Man’s Ruse. Also this year, they released a cover of Prince’s “Partyman” in tribute to the thirtieth anniversary of the Nicholson/Keaton Batman movie. “Partyman” is played in the movie when Nicholson’s Joker and his men trash an art museum.</i><br />
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<i>In this candid conversation, we talked about Matt’s beginnings before the Blood Moon Howlers, how the Blood Moon Howlers formed, their multiple recordings and future plans. I want to thank Nichole Peters from Jensen Communications for setting up the interview, but most of all I want to thank Matt.</i><br />
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<i><b>J</b></i><b><i>eff Cramer: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All right, so what sparked your interest in music?</i></b><br />
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Matt Wayne: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let's see, I think I was in a music shop one day with my mom, and we were kind of cruising around. The guitar just caught my eye, so that was sort of it. I used to sit around reading comics when I was a kid, and I would throw on music in the background, and that just slowly turned into a love, you know?<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you got into the guitar, was there any guitarist you admired, like say, “Hey, I want to play like that!”?</i></b><br />
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MW: Yeah, definitely. The first guitar I ever got was a Fender Stratocaster, and that was definitely because of Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen’s first album was one of the first CDs that we had in my house growing up. That was what kind of sparked that whole thing.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was reading in the bio section of your website that you had played in several metal bands before the Blood Moon Howlers.</i></b><br />
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MW: I played with a band called the Changing with a guy named Kalen Chase. He played around with Korn. Joey Jordison from Slipknot was there, and we did that band for about a year or so.<br />
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Then I played with Bruce Bouillet, who played guitar for a heavy metal band called Racer X in the late eighties. Other than that, I just played in garage bands and stuff like that, which were all kind of different variations of metal. When I first started, I was into a lot of power metal, like Iron Maiden and that kind of stuff. As time went on, it got a little bit heavier.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All right. So talk about the Blood Moon Howlers . . . how did that group form? </i></b><br />
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MW: Well, the group started with JuJu and I, the other singer. We started playing together, doing a lot of acoustic stuff. I had been in a bunch of bands, and I wanted to take a step back from being in a band for a while. JuJu and I just started doing a bunch of acoustic cover songs to kind of learn how to sing together.<br />
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We were taking on a lot of gigs—doing open mics and a lot of hired gigs playing covers. It was a time to learn how to sing together, how to perform together, how to write a song together.<br />
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Then we started the Blood Moon Howlers because we wanted to get away from doing strictly acoustic music. We wanted to do a rock-and-roll kind of feeling.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And that’s when other people joined?</i></b><br />
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MW: The first EP, <i>Wasteland</i>, that JuJu and I did as the Blood Moon Howlers was actually with a drummer named Scott Wittenberg, who I had known. We performed around with Scotty for a bit, but he was just kind of filling in as a friend.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Blood Moon Howlers as a trio with Scotty (2017) (Matt left)</span></div>
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Then we met Brandon—our current drummer— at a gig, and he came up to us and said, “Oh, I love your music and stuff.” Then a show came up where Scotty couldn't make it, so we called Brandon and it's just been fun ever since.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the EP </i>Wasteland<i>, one of the songs, "Lady Daydream,” has an interesting structure. When you're singing the verses, it's kind of reggae-like, and then it's more rock in the chorus.</i></b><br />
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MW: One of the things that started the Blood Moon Howlers is the concept of writing music. I always see fliers that bands put out, or people trying to start bands, and every one of them says something like, “Hey, I like these five bands. If you like these five bands, please give me a call. Let's start a band.” It seems that those bands end up just sounding like some knockoff of the bands that they've listed on the flier.<br />
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For our band, what we were hoping to achieve is to work with a lot of people who were like-minded in the sense that we all love a lot of different kinds of music. A lot of times, we're just sort of experimenting with different influences and stuff, so hopefully the music comes out more interesting. [<i>To hear “Lady Daydream,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxm6On33M-w" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Blood Moon Howlers’ first EP <i>Wasteland</i></span></div>
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“Lady Daydream” just sort of came from where we grew up in California—we're around a lot of the Long Beach–reggae thing. It was a big part of our lives, but then we also love a lot of the stoner–desert rock kind of music thing. We just sort of had this idea of what it would be like to fuse those two worlds, and that was our shot at that.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Blood Moon Howlers don’t sound like Fleetwood Mac, but it reminds me of Fleetwood Mac because there’s a combination of male and female lead vocals.</i></b><br />
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MW: Oh, very cool. I mean, I haven't grown up listening to Fleetwood Mac, but I know they're all very great musicians and stuff, so I appreciate that.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And from Fleetwood Mac, we go to Johnny Cash. What made you decide to do Johnny Cash's "Cocaine Blues"?</i></b><br />
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MW: I had been performing a lot of these songs that were just sad songs. I'd been doing a ton sad songs, and they were real slow. It was sort of becoming difficult to perform, because I just ended up feeling a lack of energy.<br />
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And so when I was doing a lot of the cover stuff, I was trying to find songs that were fun to listen to, and I guess that one is definitely a sad song still, but it was a lot more fun to tell a story like that. I mean, if you've heard the Johnny Cash version you know there is a lot of story in that song.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I have. </i></b><br />
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MW: And it was really fun. I had been performing that song for a long time, and when it came time to cover it we were kind of like, “What can we do a little different with it?” So we flipped it into a minor key and just kind of changed the melody around a bit and turned things around a little. It was really from wanting to play some more like fun, bluesy-sounding music. [<i>To hear a live version of “Cocaine Blues,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UIPfWWBHCk" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. The other song that you sing on </i>Wasteland<i>, "Motor Mouth Mission,” has a punk energy to it.</i></b><br />
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MW: Yes. I mean, I was going for like punk–blues—a lot of the chord progressions, a lot of the soloing vibe, and it’s very bluesy, at least from my perspective. Then again, I grew up listening to punk bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, Fugazi . . . stuff like that. So it seemed sort of natural to bring that in a little bit too. [<i>To hear “Motor Mouth Mission,” please click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA-zghEoDSs" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Having talked about various songs on </i>Wasteland<i>, let’s go over the songwriting process you and JuJu go into creating a song.</i></b><br />
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MW: I think there is always a portion of songwriting that I feel is a little bit separate. JuJu and I use a concept that I call “banking” where we just compile ideas. My phone is completely full with guitar riffs, and there are papers all around our house that have lyric ideas.<br />
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Usually we designate some time to come together and start talking about song ideas, and then we just start piecing together all the ideas.<br />
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There is always a portion of it that's very spontaneous, even though it’s coming from a lot of ideas compiled, but it's really awesome to not lose any momentum. So it's kind of nice to have all those backed-up ideas, you know?<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it comes to a song, how do you and JuJu decide who will take lead vocals?</i></b><br />
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MW: There is a couple of different factors. Sometimes, it’s like, “Hey, this is going to be my song,” and then sometimes it's like, “Hey, I wrote the lyrics.” Overall though, I think there is definitely times when one of us will just sound better on the song. It's another fun part of songwriting, which is just this idea of, “Hey, if you're singing really heavy lyrics, it might be kind of cool to explore a different method of delivering those lyrics besides just screaming them or yelling them.” We’ve been doing a lot of messing around with the delivery of lyrics, whether it's singing heavy, singing soft. I guess that also kind of comes into play with deciding who is singing it, or who we feel takes on the character of the song the best.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What model of guitar do you play?</i></b><br />
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MW: Nowadays, I've been pretty much just playing a Fender Telecaster. I got a couple of those. I have this silver, sparkly one, and I've got a very plain-looking Telecaster, but that pretty much shows up on all of our music nowadays.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The band went on to become a four-piece band.</i></b><br />
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MW: We added Evan Hatfield through the process of recording <i>Mad Man's Ruse</i>. Evan plays saxophone, keys and stuff.<br />
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J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The saxophone is an interesting element to bring to the music. How did bringing a saxophone come into play?</i></b><br />
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MW: Oh, that basically comes from my love of the 1970s–era Tom Waits. If you've ever heard his <i>Nighthawks at the Diner</i> album or where it's got that late-night-vibe thing. So that's sort of where my love of that comes from.<br />
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We were performing as a three piece, and both JuJu and I are singing and playing instruments, and then just the drums. But it was nice to have an extra musician to take some of the pressure off of trying to sing lead vocals and play lead guitar, rhythm guitar.<br />
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It was nice to add a different dimension to it as well. It also kind of just fell into our laps a little bit too—our drummer Brandon played in the band Paracosmic with Evan. And we ended up playing a bunch of shows with them, and went on tour with them.<br />
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The whole thing with Evan joining the band happened when we were on tour, and Evan just started playing with us every night. At one point when we were driving around, he said, “So can I stay and play with you guys now or what?” So he threw it up on his Instagram that he was in the band and we figured it was real from there.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Blood Moon Howlers as a four-piece band (2019) (Matt far right)</span></div>
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J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now let’s go to the EP </i>Hangovers Sessions<i>, which is a bit of teaser album for the new album, </i>Mad Man’s Ruse<i>. It contains three acoustic versions of songs that appeared on </i>Mad Man’s Ruse.</b><br />
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MW: So what JuJu and I have done is try to experiment with a song. We grew up in an era with MTV Unplugged and stuff like that, where you got to see bands play. A lot of times the charm of it was that they were a very heavy band.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Hangover Sessions EP (2019)</i></span></div>
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And then you get to see this whole different version of that heavy song brought down to like acoustic or just like a mellower version or whatever. It just sparks the idea that these songs are just some chords, melody, and you can really do a whole lot with them.<br />
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So it's a real fun thing for us that I think we'll probably continue doing in the future when we'll be releasing a version that's maybe heavy blues, and then we'll be releasing ones that are a different take on that same song with an acoustic guitar and broken down like nightclub background music stuff.<br />
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It’s really fun to experiment with a song and see how many different ways it can take you.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of my favorite things in the bar is going to the jukebox and putting on music I like as I drink a beer. Well, the "Drunk and Cold" song feels like a great song to drink a beer to.</i></b><br />
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MW: Awesome. That's the goal with that one for sure. I mean, that's what we love to do too—relax, head out to the bar and hang around, drink a beer, throw on some good music, you know. [<i>To hear “Drunk and Cold,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp9uBMvoquA" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<i>The Hangover Sessions</i> was done after recording <i>Mad Man's Ruse</i>. Then it seemed kind of useless to release a song now without a plan, so we have been working with the PR company and a manager to actually make the release a little bit more than if we were just to throw it up online without anything, you know?<br />
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Besides wanting to have a game plan for the release of <i>Mad Man's Ruse</i>, one thing that sort of postponed the release was adding Evan onto all the tracks. That was also was when we ended up recording <i>The Hangover Sessions</i>.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also understand you did a cover of Prince’s "Partyman" as a single.</i></b><br />
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MW: Yeah, so "Partyman" was kind of a fun one, just because we recorded that all in our home studio. We did that basically for the Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. So the movie turned thirty when we released the song. It was the thirty-year anniversary, and we decided to take the song from that scene where the Joker is going through the art museum . . .<br />
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J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Trashing the art museum, I remember.</i></b><br />
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MW: And that's the song going on in the background. That was always my favorite scene of that movie.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, it’s one of my favorite scenes of that movie.</i></b><br />
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MW: And so we decided to take that song and do something with it, which was interesting because there is not really chord progression in that song. It’s kind of a wild, interesting song. We actually almost took the words and made our own thing with it.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But what’s interesting is Prince’s version fits the scene of the Joker trashing the art museum. In your version of "Partyman,” it feels more like a melancholy piano ballad.</i></b><br />
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MW: Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s an interesting perspective on it. We thought it was maybe bringing a nightclub kind of vibe to it. We're definitely going for different, that’s for sure. Maybe we're shooting for more like Heath Ledger, if he was doing that scene. [<i>To hear “Partyman,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU8sBolO_Y8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Your new album, </i>Mad Man’s Ruse<i>, was released on July 26, 2019. What to expect from the new album?</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">T</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">h</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">e Blood Moon Howlers’ </span><i style="font-size: small;">Mad Man’s Ruse</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (2019)</span></div>
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MW: When we recorded <i>Wasteland</i>, that one was very special to us because it was the first thing that we did. And it was recorded all over the place, which I think is kind of a charm for modern recording—everyone is flying around tracks from studio to studio.<br />
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I think a long time ago, people would hear these recordings that were done all in one studio, so you get kind of this one vibe, whereas nowadays I think where the vibe comes from is actually different home studios and recording in multiple places. It kind of creates something unique.<br />
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This one is not a ton different from that, but it was all done in one studio, and then at the end we added Evan, and that was recorded at Brandon's studio. We ended up redoing some vocals and things like that all over the place.<br />
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Overall, I would say it's a little bit more put together than the last album. It was also an album that we were exploring a lot of blues structures on, where I think in <i>Wasteland</i> we were still kind of working out of a lot more pop structures.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes.</i></b><br />
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MW: Even though <i>Wasteland</i>'s not very pop. It still kind of worked out of that verse-and-chorus kind of setup. On <i>Mad Man’s Ruse</i>, we were working out of a lot of twelve-bar patterns and a lot of sixteen bar and eight bar different classic blues structures. We didn't stick specific to any of that stuff, but we did kind of use it as a tool when we were building the songs.<br />
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So there is a lot of exploration of the blues format, which I think we were able to update with modern guitar tones and . . . I don’t know, just our own take on the whole thing.<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Any songs you want to highlight for this new album?</i></b><br />
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MW:I guess the one we'd want to highlight is "Lose Myself (Bar 9).” [<i>To hear a live acoustic version of “Lose Myself (Bar 9),” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJrT8asUFq8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>] I think that one is probably the band's favorite. It was one of the more last-minute songs on there, and it felt purely collaborative with Brandon. It was one of the first times where Brandon actually suggested a whole section of the song—it’s that whole kind of psychedelic middle crazy section. It’s like Santana's "Soul Sacrifice" or something . . . that whole middle section.<br />
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It was just a very spontaneous addition to the song. Anyway, that is one of the songs that didn't totally follow a blues structure—it’s maybe more like a <i>Wasteland</i>-style pop structure.<br />
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It actually has a chorus and stuff, but then the bridge is sort of inspired by jam bands and stuff like that. I think that was a cool marriage between a heavy rock song with a chorus and everything, and then a sort of complete jam band middle section. I guess that would be a highlight.<br />
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"Drunk and Cold" is another cool song just because the parallel of that being on <i>The Hangover Sessions</i>. Sorry, I’m going to ask JuJu real quick what she thinks about we should be mentioned on the album.<br />
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<i><b>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, she is here? </b></i><br />
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<i>[JuJu can be faintly heard in the background.]</i><br />
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MW: Yeah. I’m going to say for both of us that we want to go with "Mad Man's Ruse" because it's the title of the album. [To hear “Mad Man’s Ruse,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JB6F6ZPMII" target="_blank">here</a>.]<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. So this is the title track?</i></b><br />
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MW: Yeah.<br />
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<b><i>JC: We spoke earlier about the movie </i>Batman<i>, and I understand a song on </i>Mad Man’s Ruse<i> was also contributed to a short indie film titled </i>Sugar Babe.</b><br />
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MW: Yes, we contributed to a short film called <i>Sugar Babe</i>, which is through a friend of ours named Summer Vaughan. She does really, really wonderful stuff. She liked a lot of our music. She approached us with a couple of the songs that we had recorded and kind of gave us like, “Can you guys mix this with that?”<br />
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She gave us the script, and we wrote that song in two days. That was kind of the quickest song we wrote on the album. Then we went and tracked everything—we did all of the tracking in one day. That was actually the first song that Evan played on. [<i>To hear a live acoustic version of “Sugar Babe,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-MakMg4yjU">here.</a></i>]<br />
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J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are there plans to tour behind this album?</i></b><br />
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MW: Absolutely. We have dates being set up as we speak. We have a weekend set up in summer, we have a weekend set up in October, and then we're working on November dates right now.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I understand you’re going to release party for</i> Mad Man’s Ruse<i> tonight. [Note: It was July 20, 2019, when Matt and I spoke.]</i></b><br />
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MW: It's actually tomorrow night, so I'm really excited for it. We got a bunch of good bands playing. They’re real friendly bands that have been real supportive to us throughout our time as the Blood Moon Howlers and stuff. So it's a real close group of people.<br />
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We're doing it at Lucky Strike in Hollywood, and I think it's going to be a pretty epic night. It's going to be a lot of fun.<br />
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Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-22415813646186439942019-07-09T03:16:00.000-07:002019-07-09T03:28:04.577-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Luke Underhill<br />
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<i>This blog has covered artists who have history and/or are veterans in the music industry. This is the first entry on an artist who is starting out and shows a lot of promise in the years to come. Luke Underhill is a singer-songwriter who hails from Chicago. In addition to singing, he plays guitar and piano. He plays with a band and other times, plays solely by himself. Luke has already earned comparisons with John Mayer.</i><br />
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<i>This fresh new talent got his start in 2015 with an independent EP called </i><b>Atlas</b><i>. He then released his first studio EP, </i><b>The Left Side</b><i> (2017), where his fan base on social media started to grow. One of the people listening was hit producer Warren Huart (producer of Aerosmith and The Fray), who helped him make his most recent EP, </i><b>Illuminations</b><i>, which was released in April 2019.</i><br />
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<i>From </i><b>Illuminations</b><i>, Luke has had his first radio single, “Long Way Home.” In addition, </i><b>Illuminations</b><i> has had more than 59K streams on Spotify. Later in 2019, Luke plans to tour behind </i><b>Illuminations</b><i>, bringing his music to a bigger audience.</i><br />
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<i>In this candid conversation, we discuss Luke’s beginnings from </i><b>Atlas </b><i>to </i><b>Illuminations.</b><i> I want to thank Nichole Peters from Jensen Communications for setting up this interview, but most of all I want to thank Luke.</i><br />
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer: How did you become interested in music?</i></b><br />
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Luke Underhill: I honestly think my dad, because we didn't have much music playing in our house, but when we would drive together anything would go. My dad had every Bruce Springsteen CD in his car, so I had no other choice but to listen to it.<br />
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Thank God I loved it, because if I didn't then we wouldn't have gotten along. But there was something about listening to Bruce Springsteen that really kind of captured all that. I got to see him live—I was probably five or six years old when my dad took me to a concert. When I was there, I remember thinking, “I needed to be on stage.”<br />
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<b><i>JC:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So Springsteen started it all for you?</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, I got really into poetry when I was young, and I noticed that Bruce wasn't just this guy who would scream into a microphone. He actually had something to say, and he had a great way of saying it. I mean, he has a lot of pretty obscure tunes and weird ones, but even on those songs I'd sit back and actually listen to the lyrics and the content.<br />
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It hit me in a really personal way, so I think that's when I started taking a lot of it seriously.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When did you first start writing music?</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think I wrote my first song when I was thirteen or fourteen. My uncle passed away and I didn't have a person to go to, or to talk about it. I didn't know what to do with my feelings, so I knew a couple of chords on guitar and I just decided to give it a go, and it turned out all right.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>From there you would work on what be your first EP, </i>Atlas.<i> </i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, <i>Atlas</i>. Yeah, I didn't want to record and put out the songs I was writing—like personal songs—so I tried writing about things I saw, like paintings and movies, or books I've read and stuff, because it was just the easiest way for me to do things.<br />
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I think if I wanted to do <i>Atlas</i> over again, I don't think I would change much. I'm really happy with how my first EP turned out.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Luke’s first EP <i>Atlas</i> (2015)</b></span></div>
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My friends are usually the ones who will bring up <i>Atlas </i>in a kind of jesting way. I don't listen to anything from <i>Atlas</i> anymore. I've kind of moved on from that part of my life. I think I've really matured as a songwriter, as a musician, and as a person since then. I wrote all those songs from <i>Atlas </i>when I was seventeen or eighteen. So I don't hate <i>Atlas</i>; I don't dislike it. It's just like I've moved on from it.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then from there you would move on to </i>The Left Side<i>.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That was fun. Working with Mikal Blue [<i>producer of Jason Mraz and OneRepublic</i>] at his studio, Revolver Recordings, was a lot of fun.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Luke's second EP, <i>The Left Side</i>(2017)</b> </span></div>
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the song, "I'll Be Waiting,” on </i>The Left Side<i>, the narrator has been waiting for this girl since the age of eleven. Is it autobiographical, or is it based on someone else?</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I wanted to write about anything but myself. Of course I took different things from my life as inspiration, as kind of fillers. But people really don't believe me when I say this, but I swear it's true . . . I was watching the movie <i>Just Friends </i>with Ryan Reynolds.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, I know that movie.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And I thought it was some crazy situation to be in. Here’s this guy, decades later, who’s still in love with the girl he met when he was a kid. I'm sure I can relate to that and other people could too, so I just kind of tapped into that. It was a young puppy-love thing that never really went away and then turned into actual head-over-heels in love. Writing it was fun. [To hear “I’ll Be Waiting,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMU1WYCdLE" target="_blank">here</a>.]<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, when I heard the lyrics about the eleven-year-old, I remember I waited too long than I should have to talk to some girls, but I have nothing on the narrator. He’s been waiting since he was eleven.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I thought the line flowed well. I can name a couple of my friends who have waited so long to be with their one true love or the girl they've been infatuated with ever since the fifth grade. So I just had to put the point across that way.<br />
<br />
Working with Mikal Blue on <i>The Left Side </i>helped a lot because I got to meet a lot of cool people. They called me “the rookie,” because I was there and I really didn't really belong there, but I was among all these great musicians and artists.<br />
<br />
When I was working on <i>The Left Side</i>, I didn't have any social media.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh really?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I absolutely hate social media, but I know how important it is in this business. And so they kind of introduced me to it. My managers were like, “You have to get Instagram. You have to get Twitter. You have to get Facebook.” So just by doing that, people would then follow me. I was not into YouTube, social media, anything like that until they all sat me down and said, “You have to stop being so stubborn and do this because it does matter,” and they could not have been more right.<br />
<br />
So I'm still learning. I'm still not great with it. I think all the followers and YouTube content of the subscribers and the views and stuff . . . I'd honestly say was kind of luck at first, a lot of luck. But then we learned the different ways to do things, and from <i>The Left Sid</i>e, I got fans. I guess they liked the music.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another tune on </i>The Left Side<i> I want to talk about: “Goodbye, Mary Jane.” Was there a Mary Jane in your life?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh yeah. I just wanted to write a song about a summer fling, and I've never really had a summer fling. People have these seasons in their life and they connect them to different people. I think that's what I really wanted to do: you know, portray that sort of thing.<br />
<br />
I feel like everyone has that person. It's like, “Oh man, remember this? Remember that tree we used to hang under? Remember we used to do this, and we'd have fun doing that?” That’s kind of what it is. I took a little inspiration from <i>The Notebook</i> and <i>Grease</i>.<br />
<br />
Just trying to catch these different little flings that people have that ended up meaning a lot more to them than they originally would have thought. That’s a very relatable scenario in people’s lives.<br />
<br />
I did some acoustic sessions of the songs on <i>The Left Side</i>, and a lot of people like that other side. I think those are my most watched videos on my YouTube, so stripping everything down was a really good choice.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In "Goodbye, Mary Jane,” I’ve heard the acoustic and studio version and was struck by the differences. [To hear the studio version of “Goodbye, Mary Jane,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly8SuvsNvQ0" target="_blank">here</a>, and the acoustic version of “Goodbye, Mary Jane,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnvD3S8JT9s" target="_blank">here</a>.]</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. For all the stripped-down versions of those songs on <i>The Left Side</i>, I wanted to emulate what people would have heard had they been in my bedroom when I was writing them.<br />
<br />
"Goodbye, Mary Jane” was never supposed to be a kind of poppy tune. I wanted it to be slow. I wanted it to show that if you actually listen to the lyrics they're kind of sad, you know?<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I got done with the studio version, and I was so happy with it. Then out of nowhere, I checked in with one of my managers and said, “Hey, I want to release the acoustic version of ‘Goodbye Mary Jane.’”<br />
<br />
She was like, “Why?” I said, “Because people just don't get it.” I want people to see the actual emotion of what I was trying to portray, because I feel like it would hit them in a completely different way. Why not try to make people think a little bit and see how they like it. I think it's my most watched video on YouTube.<br />
<br />
But yeah, the whole point of stripping everything down when I did that is because I wanted to give my fans the impression of what it would have been like to sit in the room with me when I was writing these songs.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You were also getting attention from well-known producer Warren Huart, who produced your latest EP </i>Illuminations<i>.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. That was a lot of fun. I got a call from my manager one day and she said, “Hey, you have a call with Warren Huart. He is really interested in working with you, and I think he be a good fit.”<br />
<br />
So I got a call from him, and right off the bat he was listening to everything I had to say. It was a lot different than any other producer I've worked with. Right off the bat, you kind of have an understanding of what you want, but Warren kept on asking all these questions to get down to what I actually wanted from this EP.<br />
<br />
I'd reference a song, and he would write it down and immediately start playing on his computer. When I notice him doing that, it really spoke a lot to me. It wasn’t until after the phone call that I looked him. I didn't realize he worked with some of my favorite artists: The Fray, Aerosmith, and Augustana.<br />
<br />
I was just freaking out and thinking, “He was the one.” I called my manager back and said, “Okay, I have to work with this guy.” There was no one else I wanted to even meet. He understood me, he understood my art, and he obviously knew where I was coming from. Yeah, he was a lot of fun to work with.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Luke’s third EP, </i>Illuminations<i> (2019</i>)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now let’s talk about a couple of the songs there. Want to start off with "Long Way Home?” </i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, I'll talk about "Long Way Home" first. For the EP, I wanted to write about myself, which is something I didn’t do on the other EPs.<br />
<br />
I've always been a dive-into-the-pool kind of guy—I don't like dipping my toe in. So I got together with this guy in Nashville, Andrew Capra, and we just sat down and talked. He said, “Tell me about your life,” and I said, “Oh, there is really nothing much.” But then we started to really get into the nitty-gritty, and I realized that there is nothing better than that feeling of being a kid again with no care in the world.<br />
<br />
When you’re a kid, you’re just kind of living your life literally step by step and day by day. Andrew and I decided to write about riding my bike home from my friend's house when I was a kid. We wanted to expand on that feeling, and the same feeling I had when I moved away from my small hometown in Illinois to Nashville.<br />
<br />
So it was expanding on all of that, just really trying to be as personal as we could. Everything that you hear in that song is true, and something that I've lived with. I think that song is about as specific as you can get with writing, but I feel like a lot of people do relate to that. [<i>To hear “Long Way Home,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN_T8q9-rrA" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
<br />
I never wanted to be too detailed or too specific, because I want people to relate to my music. But I feel like that was the best way to get them to relate; you never really realize how people will react to a song or to lyrics. I think people connect the most to “Long Way Home.”<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'll say the "Rooftops" song does give me a feeling of being high up on a rooftop.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think that song might have been the most changed. I originally brought Warren the demo. My manager did not like it. It was really just a more experimental with a lot of piano. It was about six minutes long, so that wasn’t going to make it. Then Warren was like, “This has the potential to be a success. We just have to trim it down. We have to really fix it.”<br />
<br />
And so we did. It was over six minutes, and now it’s three minutes, or something like that. Warren said, “Just let me kind of take my mind and run with this one.” I gave him pretty much everything I wanted in it. I just wanted really triumphant strings and stuff, and I think we nailed it up.<br />
<br />
Warren’s favorite band is Queen, and all he ever wants to do is kind of just run with some Brian May [<i>the guitarist for Queen</i>] guitar licks, and that's exactly what I let him do, and he had a ball doing it. I had a blast just sitting there watching him kind of create all this. Yeah, "Rooftops" was fun.<br />
<br />
J<b><i>C: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You guys had lucky timing with </i>Bohemian Rhapsody<i> coming out to theaters, making Queen even more popular around this time than they had been in a while.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I didn't think he would actually go through with all of it, turning this into a Queen tune. I didn't think he'd actually do it. With the success of the <i>Bohemian Rhapsody </i>movie, I feel like people may better understand what we were trying to do with it.<br />
<br />
Lyrically, that song was just a mess before I met Warren. He sat me down and said, “You need this to go here. You need this, this, this.” Warren and I tightened it up, but lyrically it was just free writing on that one.<br />
<br />
Then musically, production-wise, I can't take all the credit. Warren really had fun messing around with it. I think that's what kind of gives it that charming fun part of it. [<i>This author thinks “Rooftops” sounds more Springsteen than Queen. The reader can make their own decision by clicking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4VQOQ4_FEQ" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We’ve mentioned Springsteen and Queen, but there are obviously other music influences for you besides Springsteen.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course. Bruce is my biggest influence because I really had no other choice but to listen to him, and I'm not complaining because he is one of my favorite artists, but my favorite artist of all time is Ben Folds. I don't believe I sound like him. I don't believe I write like him.<br />
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I cannot play like him. If I did, then I would have zero problem playing in front of people. In some way, he does inspire. I take away from him a little bit, and also Ben Rector and Billy Joel.<br />
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If you really want to dig down deep, a lot of stuff I like to listen to is AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I just grew up on that stuff, but I never really paid attention to the people that I grew up listening to. When I'm writing my own stuff, I just want to see where my own heart can take it. But then after I'm done, I'll be like, “Oh yeah, this is definitely a Springsteen tune, or this sounds like whatever.”<br />
<br />
I don't think that's something that people should ignore. I feel like they should use that to their advantage and see where it can take them. But Springsteen and Ben Folds are my numbers one and two.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now I notice you play piano and guitar.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Was there any influences on your piano playing?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Piano wise?<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Probably oh, I have no idea. I just picked up piano one day because there was a piano in the room, and I felt the need to play piano. I never really had a personal hero. Of course, Ben Folds, Elton John, Billy Joel, but I don't play like them. I play it more like if it sounds pretty, it sounds pretty. I'm not a classically trained pianist.<br />
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Performance wise, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Ben Folds . . . I love how crazy they get with all that. I just, It’s not using the piano as a classic instrument, and I’ve always loved that. I like to use it as a percussion instrument. It's a big, thick instrument. It can take a beating. I'm going to beat it up a little bit.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
But guitar wise, I grew up watching Angus Young from AC/DC play, and he’s my guitar hero, because I'm a big guitar buff.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what's the model of guitar that you play?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have a Gibson Midtown Custom, all black. It's absolutely gorgeous, and you can't beat the sound. But I'd have to say my favorite guitar of all time is just the classic SG.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Actually, I just realized there is one song that I also wanted to ask you about that's on </i>Illuminations<i>. It's "Katie's Song"—the narrator says, ‘I'm a mess because of you.’ Yeah, I'm just curious about that one. [To hear “Katie’s Song,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR1usmhsWt8" target="_blank">here</a>.]</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, that one probably came the easiest. Writing that was so easy. I didn't really even have to think at the moment. I was talking to a friend of mine and he kept on asking why I was feeling bad. He said, “There is no reason you should be feeling this way. Everything is going good.”<br />
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I wasn’t feeling down because of a woman or with any kind of relationship. It's just in life in general. There is something in me that always said, “This is going good, but you're going to mess it up.” And just the thought of that, like no matter what's going on in my life, it ruins it.<br />
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It’s like you're in bed with the one you love. Why are you so upset? When I say I'm a mess because of this person, I'm not blaming on this person. They're doing everything right, but I am doing everything wrong right now. I could always put the blame on them because I have no other person to put it on. It's such a shitty feeling. Sorry for swearing.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's fine.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s such a nasty feeling, and I feel like that song really wasn't for anyone but me. "Katie" doesn't really exist. You just need to get some of that stuff out sometimes and realize that you're not doing anything wrong. Sometimes you just feel like a mess and it's something you can't control. “Katie’s Song” is all about insecurity and just trying to get through the night without completely losing yourself.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are you planning on touring behind </i>Illuminations<i>?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah. We have a Midwest run coming up probably toward end of July, beginning of August [<i>2019</i>]. I'm kind of planning it right now. I've done a couple of short runs already. I have some different press trips planned from Atlanta to New York City. A lot of stuff coming up. In this genre you can't rush it because you’ll miss too much, and they move on without you if you go too slow. It's a scary process, but I'm having the time of my life getting ready for this tour.<br />
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Right now, "Long Way Home" has been hitting the radio pretty well. That is more than I ever thought it would be doing on the radio. It’s going to take such a long time to kind of see those results. I'm just more than blessed to have a song on the radio.<br />
<br />
But it would be nice to be picked up by things like a commercial or TV, movie. I feel like a lot of these songs could fit in well with different scenarios, and that would be more than awesome. But could not be more happy with how "Long Way Home" is doing, and the rest of the album is getting a lot of attention just because of that song.<br />
<br />
I never expected "Katie's Song" to be anything more than just a last song of the EP, but that one has about as much play as "Long Way Home.”<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You know I listen to </i>Illuminations<i> on Spotify. I didn’t listen to the way you set the album; I listen to it by ranks of Spotify popularity. “Long Way Home” is first, and "Katie's Song” is second, which is a different order than what the song list is on </i>Illuminations<i>.</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I didn't expect that. That’s probably the most personal song I'll ever write, and it is my favorite one on the album. It’s really cool to know that people are actually checking that out.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Along with touring, do you plan on continue with any more EPs or songs?</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, absolutely. Right now, I'm itching to get back into the studio because I have so much more in my pocket to get out there. I want to go back to the studio. I want to release some new music. I think it's going to sound a little different, but awesome to me. It's a different feel all around for this next project I'm working on.<br />
<br />
On the next thing I work on, I don't expect it to sound anything like what came before it because that one season in my life and I'm moving onto the next. <i>Atlas</i> was a season before, then I moved on to <i>The Left Side</i>, which was a different season, and that was enough, so on and so forth.<br />
<br />
For now I'm focusing on the tour, and that's why I'm itching. I want to get more people hearing the songs. Honestly, if you hear them live, I think you'll like them even more as I do. There’s a little bit different arrangements, and I have some more fun with it. And of course, anyone who loves music knows that you can't beat a live concert.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I love music and I’m a huge concert buff.</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not to toot my own horn, but I think I put on a pretty good show. I mean, I grew up watching people like Bruce Springsteen. I have to bring that authenticity.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You started in 2015 with </i>Atlas<i>, and </i>Illuminations<i> is in 2019. What has been your feelings about it?</i></b><br />
<br />
LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I've never been more happy. When I did <i>Atlas</i>, I didn't really expect much to happen at all. I didn't really have any confidence. After I did it I was like, “Okay, I'm done. Whatever.” But after <i>Illuminations</i>, everything was just so bright. The future was just like kind of in my head at that point, and I knew great things were going to come.<br />
<br />
Going from <i>Atlas</i> to <i>Illuminations</i>, I couldn't be more proud of myself, because I seriously did not think anything would come after <i>Atlas</i>, but I was okay with it. I knew when I was writing <i>Illuminations</i> that it would be something special and be something big for me.<br />
<br />
And now more people know my name. People know my songs. At the last show I played, people were singing along, and that's a dream come true. They never did that when I released <i>Atlas</i>. I just knew that this was different, and I'm glad I was right.<br />
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<b><i>JC: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We’ve mentioned Springsteen a lot. The music industry was a lot different back then when he was recording. What would your recommendations be for people who are in a world when we no longer go to Tower Records and stream on Spotify or YouTube?</i></b><br />
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LH: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s an uphill battle, and it will never be easy. Making music has become a lot easier with technology, and being able to get it out there has become a lot easier.<br />
<br />
There is always going to be a fan base for what you want to do. There is always going to be someone out there who loves what you do, but the hardest part is continuing to do it because there’s a steady stream of people doing it.<br />
<br />
I would say to someone who wants to go into this industry that if it’s truly what you want to do, there should absolutely be nothing holding you back. This is because of all the opportunities that we have now being in this day and age. There should be absolutely nothing stopping you from doing what you love.<br />
<br />
I mean, it's going to be hard. Nothing worth fighting for is going to be easy, but it's not work. It's not going to be a huge challenge if you enjoy doing it. Every time I've failed, I gain experience from it.<br />
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I think the best advice is to not let anyone tell you no. Don’t let anyone tell you that you're not good enough, because that happened to me a lot, and that is just a bunch of crap. You have to keep pursuing it if it's truly what you're meant to do.<br />
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-18240142931036157632018-07-12T17:07:00.000-07:002018-07-14T10:24:11.620-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Shawn Phillips<br />
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Shawn Phillips with guitar (1971)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shawn Phillips got off
to a start where he recorded two albums for Landsdowne: “I’m A Loner” (1964) and “Shawn”</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(1965). These albums would lead to a
collaboration with folk music legend Donovan shortly after. Throughout the ’60s,
Shawn co-wrote and performed some of Donovan’s well-known songs, such as
“Sunshine Superman,” “Guinevere,</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">” and “Season of the Witch.” In addition, he
would get a chance to provide backing vocals for the Beatles’ “Lovely Rita.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Following the ’70s,
Shawn would have a record contract with jazz legend Herb Alpert’s A&M Records</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Several of his albums include “Collaboration”
(1970), “Second Collaboration” (1970), “Bright White” (1973), and “Do You
Wonder”</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(1974). Also during in the
’70s, Shawn would play at the legendary Isle of Wight Music Festival. In
addition, he was briefly considered for the role of Jesus in the Broadway
production of “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jesus Christ Superstar</span></i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The contract with
A&M came to an end in the late ’70s. From there, Shawn, without a record
label, would record sporadically. He would also find a second career as an
emergency medical technician and firefighter.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Through a Kickstarter
campaign, Shawn released his latest album, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Continuance” </span>(2018). The album continues Shawn’s musical talent.
In addition, it continues themes of the essence of life and greed (there’s a
Bernie Sanders quote in the album). As of the time of this writing, Shawn is
busy touring in support of “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Continuance</span>.”
In addition, filmmaker Alex Wroten is making a documentary about him.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In this candid
conversation, we discuss Shawn’s musical career, his collaboration with
Donovan, his performance at the Isle of Wight, the near “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jesus Christ Superstar”</span></i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experience, and his other career as a
firefighter and emergency medical technician. In addition, we talk about his
latest album, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Continuance,”</span>
and the documentary being made about him. I want to thank Billy James from
Glass Onyon PR for setting up the interview with Shawn. But most of all, I want
to thank Shawn for the interview. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jeff
Cramer:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What
brought your interest into music?<o:p></o:p></b></i></div>
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Shawn Phillips:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father bought me an old Stella guitar when
I was six years old. And I started from there. For about the first year, I just
drove him absolutely nuts with E minor and A minor. And then the playing
started to evolve, and I just continued to evolve since then. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All right. How did playing with your Stella
lead to the two albums you did for Landsdowne. How did that happen?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the original reason for me going to
England was that I was – England was going to be a stopover for my way on to
India, because I wanted to study sitar. And I was only in England for a month. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I went to a party, and I was playing some tunes that I
played, and a man named Denis Preston was at that party. He was the head of
Landsdowne Recording. The CBS Studios there in London. He said, “Do you wanna
make some albums?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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I said, “Yes, as long as there is no time clause on the
contract that I have to stay in England.” And he said, “Oh, that’s not a
problem.” So we got in there and we recorded, originally, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shawn</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m a Loner</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">I’m a Loner</span></i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> album cover (1964)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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They were later re-released on the Columbia label, I
believe, under different names. But I met Don(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Note: Shawn will refer to Donovan as Don</i>), and that’s how I kind of got
stuck in England. But I was on my way to India to study sitar. And that’s kind
of what turned out.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How did you meet Donovan?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in London and I needed strings. I went
to a music store called Ivor Mairants’<span style="color: red;"> </span>Music
Store. And Don was buying strings and supplies, and then we met up and we
got to talking. And he’d heard of me through Pete Townshend. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How did you know Pete Townshend?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I’d actually never met Pete. He heard
me playing on one of the two Landsdowne albums and he said, “God, this guy
really plays a 12-string. He’s the best 12-string player I’ve ever heard.”
That’s the only instrument I was playing at the time, was my red Gibson
12-string.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OK, back to meeting Donovan…<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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SP:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Don and I got
talking and he said, “Hey, you wanna go smoke a joint and have something to
eat?” And I said, “Sure.” So off we went, and that’s how the friendship began. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It also led to a lot of music collaboration.
What did you bring to Donovan’s music? <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically, the way we wrote together is that
I would sit in the room and I would play the guitar. Don would make up lyrics.
And that’s the way – especially, “Season of the Witch.” I mean, I completely
wrote the music on that. And then for things like “Guinevere,”
stuff like that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Don had a set of chords. And basically, what I would do is I
would play sitar and do an arrangement with the sitar while he played those
chords. But, occasionally, he did one of my songs. He did a little song called
“Little Tin Soldier.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Shawn (sitting on floor) with Donovan (year unknown)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“Season of the Witch” is the one I wrote the music to
completely. I kind of put the funk feel to “Sunshine Superman.” He had the
chords, but I kind of funked it out there and made it a little more funky. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now this is something all
Beatles fans will want to know. How did you get singing backup vocals on
“Lovely Rita”?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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SP:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was friends
with Don. Don was friends with Paul. Paul invited us over to the house. And
about two days later, Don was talking to Paul and Paul said, “Why don’t you
guys come by the studio?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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And Don said, “I can’t, but Shawn can come hang out. He’s
got a friend you’ll like. He’s name is Stephen Saunders.” And Paul said, “Sure,
tell them to come by whenever they want.” So I showed up at the studio with
Stephen, and it was as simple as that. Have you seen the picture of me in the
studio with those guys and Dave Crosby?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No, I didn’t see it. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, there’s a picture on Facebook of some
guy named Mark – I can’t remember his name now. He found the picture. And he
posted this picture on Facebook. And I’m standing, smiling, behind Stephen. And
John Lennon is leaning around the corner of the door. Paul McCartney was in the
background, and David Crosby is standing up at the front of the picture. David
and I were going into the booth to sing vocals on “Lovely Rita.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">Shawn (far top left) doing backup vocals for “Lovely
Rita.” (1967)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">From the time you were playing
with Donovan, what brought you to go back to the studio and start recording solo
albums in the ’70s?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, our relationship kind of came to an end
at a point after he did the last tour in the States. And I had a lot of
material that I was writing and I wanted to get it recorded. I came back from
the States and I went back to England. And I was there for about three or four
months. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The home office informed me that my work permit had expired
and that I needed to leave England for three months. This was in 1967. So I
talked to my friend, Casy Deiss, whom I wrote a song about. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And I talked to Casy and Casy said, “Oh, well go down to
Positano and find a guy named Julio<span style="color: red;">.</span> Julio will
help you find a place to stay.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the taxi ride from Naples to Positano, the cab driver
stopped at the top of Positano where the statue of the Madonna is. I took one
look at this thing and I just went, “That’s it. I ain’t moving no more.” So I
settled in there and I just started writing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And then about 1969, I guess, Jonathan Weston, who was my
manager – my English manager at the time – he said, “You need to start
working.” And I said, “Well, I got an idea for a trilogy of albums that I wanna
make.” And he went back to England, to London, and he spoke to Dick James, who
had a big publishing company at the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And Dick said, “Okay, I’ll put the money up for it.” And the
money he put up at that time was $25,000. And we made the trilogy. And we sent
the trilogy around and, finally, an A&R man in New York – a guy named Jerry
Love – he listened to it and the afternoon that he listened to it, he flew to
Los Angeles to give the album to Jerry Moss, [co-]founder of A&M. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And Moss said, “We gotta sign this guy.” So everybody at
A&M was all gung-ho to release the trilogy. And then there was one guy in
the accounting department, Bob Fead, who said, “Oh, this is not feasible.
Nobody has ever released a trio of albums before. We need to take this apart
and just release one album.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, they did. And they took all the songs that were off of
what were on the original thing. Because the trilogy consisted of music, spoken
word, and the last of the third disk was spoken word and a fairy tale <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>that
I had written called “The Beginning of the End of the Story.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not gonna say the end of it, because if anybody ever
hears it, I don’t want the end – the end comes as a big surprise. But that was
the three things. And they took all the songs and they put them on one album,
which they called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Contribution</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,</span> and that’s what came out on
A&M.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Contribution </span></i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album cover (1970)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So the whole trilogy was put on one album
then?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, only the songs. [Not] the spoken word
things, the poetry, the instrumentals of the semi-classical music. The first
disc was songs, the second disc was semi-classical music I had written and a
couple of spoken words, and the third disc was, again, some spoken word things
and the fairy tale. But you need to understand that the fairy tale was played
by specifically picked members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Patrick John Scott was the man who did the arrangements. I
sang the melody lines that I wanted to hear to John, and he incorporated them
into a 27-minute piece of music that I narrated to. And one of the highlights
of this was the person that played the harpsichord on the fairy tale was the
world-renowned Wanda Landowska. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So they all came out. And, to this day, the fairy tale is
still sitting in a vault at Interscope Records. At Universal Records. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Note: A&M Records was bought by
Interscope and Universal</i>.] So it’s never been released. They picked the
songs because they had a commercial appeal. They didn’t pick the spoken word,
or the poetry, or the instrumentals. They didn’t think any of those had
anything. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The instrumental things were an instrumental piece I did on
12-string, and then there was a sitar piece that I composed. And that was some
of the instrumentals. But those things have never been released. I actually
have – somebody just recently brought me a CD of the remainder of the trilogy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s a guy named Alex Wroten. Alex is making a
feature-length documentary on my history in the music industry. And he’s dug
stuff up that I’ve even forgotten that I did – for years. But, anyway, that’s
what happened with the trilogy. And it came out, it did pretty good. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But the very first ad that A&M ever put out was – the
very first ad, the name you saw on the ad was not Shawn Phillips. The first
name you saw on the ad was – the caption on the ad said, “Not since Norman
Greenbaum has there been –” You know, blah, blah, blah. Because, at the time,
they were pushing Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky.” Anyway, that was
about the only advertising that was done on A&M for that. But it did okay.
And it got a little bit of radio play, so they got me in the studio to do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Second Contribution</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Second Contribution </span></i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album (1970)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay. This was jazz legend Herb Alpert’s
label. Did you find that being at A&M – that was run by a musician – gave
you certain creative freedom in what you were doing?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absolutely. They gave me complete creative
freedom. But there was one guy there – he’s passed as well now. A man named Bill.
I loved Bill. He was a good friend. But Bill would take me into his office and
he would sit behind his desk with his feet up on the desk, and he’d point his
finger at me and go, “This is a business.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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And I’m going, “Bill, no. For you, it’s a business. It’s not
a business for me. It’s a craft. It’s an art form. I’m trying to make music. I
don’t care if somebody who doesn’t wanna think doesn’t wanna listen to it. I
don’t care about that. I just wanna make the greatest quality music I can. And
I do that not by sticking to a specific genre of music or a specific formula.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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And it never has been a business for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">During that time, you had played the
legendary Isle of Wight concert. How did that happen? <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been at another festival. We were
almost done there and somebody said, “Oh, there’s a huge festival going on at
the Isle of Wight. And I know a guy with a private plane that’s gonna go
there.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the people that was hanging out with us was a lady horn<span style="color: red;"> </span>player from Sly and the Family Stone. She played
trumpet. She said she was frightened to death of flying. There were about six
of us that were gonna go on this private aircraft. She didn’t wanna go and she
made up the sixth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I said, “Listen, you need to understand the science behind
flying, okay? It’s fine. There’s huge science. There’s no problem.” And we got
on the aircraft, we flew there, and I held her hand the entire trip there.
Anyway, we get there and we’re all hanging out backstage. And I knew a couple
of people that got me backstage. And we were all hanging out and I was – you
can imagine the situation. How much hashish was going around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeah. I can imagine.</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh boy. I mean, I was so stoned, I could
hardly walk. And in the middle of the afternoon, one of the stage guys – one of
the stage managers – came to me and they said, “There’s been a cancellation and
we need somebody to do a 45-minute set. Can you do a 45-minute set?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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And I said, “Shit, yeah. I can do that.” So I got up – and
that’s how I played there. I can’t even remember what I played, but I remember
– what I do remember from that is I got a double standing ovation from 657,000
people. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Shawn at Isle of Wight (1970)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That’s great.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[Laughs]
</i>And that’s kind of an experience you don’t forget. And the other experience
that I remember that is as clear as this moment in my mind was, after I did my
set, I walked out and Free was gonna play.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Free walked out and it was about 5:00
going on to 6:00. And I remember the sky was absolutely golden-orange with the
sun setting behind the stage. And Free started playing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[singing]</i> “All right now. Baby it’s all right now.” And I’m looking
at this from the middle of the crowd, and, all of a sudden, this enormous,
100,000-cubic-meter hot air balloon – purple and orange – rose up from behind
the stage. That’s the other thing I vividly remember about Isle of Wight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Another experience I want to talk about
around that time is that I understand you were originally cast for “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jesus Christ Superstar</span>.” <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was on tour in Philadelphia. And my
manager, Jonathan Weston, at that time, gave me a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC Superstar</i>, and I said, “What are you giving me this for? I know
about this.” And Jonathan said, “Well, they want you to learn ‘In the Garden of
Gethsemane.’” <o:p></o:p></div>
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So they got me a record player. I spent about 45 minutes to
an hour. I learned the song. I was put on an airplane to New York and they put
me in a black, darkened Broadway theater. There was a line of about 80 people
outside the stage door of this theater. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And I was into the front of the line, they put me in there.
I had made friends with both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (<i>the show's composers</i>) when I was in
England. I knew both of them. I’m on the stage. The audience is blacked out.
And the piano player starts playing and I start singing it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I get a little less than halfway through the tune when a
voice comes out of the audience. And it says, “That’s fine. You can stop now.
Thank you. And you can send everybody else home now.” I knew the voice. I said,
“Andrew, is that you?” And he said, “Yeah, hi, man. How you doing?” But it was
Andrew. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He came up on the stage and he said, “Okay, dude. You’re it.
You’re gonna be JC Superstar.” And I said, “Oh, okay.” And they took me
downstairs, they took my picture, they put that picture in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Time</i> magazine, and then I went back on tour. I finished the tour,
went back to New York to start rehearsals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, I was rehearsing with all the original cast. And one of
the original cast was a guy named Carl Anderson, a black man that played Judas.
Carl and I became instant friends. When we sang the Jesus-Judas duet, everybody
in the cast said it was just absolutely electric. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I mean, we were half an inch out of each other’s faces. We
were screaming at each other. It was really amazing. And then, about three
weeks into the rehearsal – oh, and I have to interject here. Carl Anderson has
passed, okay? He’s died. But I have to tell you that Carl Anderson – if anybody
wants to hear his records or find him – Carl Anderson is the only singer – the
only male singer in the world – that ever made me weep when I listened to him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Okay, anyway, three weeks into it, I come in for rehearsal,
the stage manager says, “Sorry, we’re not gonna be using you anymore.” I said,
“What are you talking about?” He said, “Well, basically, I’ve been told to ask
you to return the costume and all this stuff. And they’re gonna call somebody
else in.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jonathan and I were flabbergasted. “What’s going on?” What
happened was, we found out that the show's producer Robert Stigwood – number one, Jonathan Weston was my
manager, number two, Dick James was my publisher, number three, A&M was my
record company, and number four, CMA was my booking agency. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Robert Stigwood found out he would not be able to make any
money off of me, so they fired me. That’s why I was fired as JC Superstar,
because Robert Stigwood couldn’t get a finger in the pie – or any other pie,
for that matter. If you know what I’m saying.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay. I want to talk about some of the songs
you recorded in A&M. You mentioned a while back about Casy Deiss finding
you a place in Italy. There’s a song called “Ballad of Casy Deiss.” How did
that song come about?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been there in Positano just about two
and a half years, Casy was living in a village outside – I’m trying to remember
the name of it. I can’t remember the name of it. Anyway, he and his wife,
Diana, were living outside of Rome. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He went out to chop some wood and he had a double-bladed
axe. He had the wood under one arm and the axe over his shoulder when he was
walking home. And lightning was generated from the ground and went through the
axe and it killed Casy. They found him in the door. And she was pregnant when
this happened. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So that’s how “The Ballad of Casy Deiss” came about. It’s an
absolutely true story. And if you listen carefully to every single one of my
songs, I never write from imagination. [I] write from experience. I think
that’s one of the things that give the songs some credence sometimes. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To hear “Ballad of Casy Deiss” click <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhqFt3lXJLQ" target="_blank">here</a></span>.</i>]<o:p></o:p></div>
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My difficulty is finding chord structures and melody lines
that nobody has ever used or heard before. That is the singular most difficult
thing for a singer-songwriter to do – or composer – is to write a melody line
that no one has ever heard. And when it comes to writing lyrics, the thing is –
<o:p></o:p></div>
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When you write a song, you have to – each line in that song
has to have many different implications into some facet of our lives, or your
life, or our lives. Because whatever is happening in my life is happening in
your life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Okay. Each line needs to have multiple implications as what
is going on in life. I have a different way of writing than other people. When
I write a song, once I have written – I have three things, three criteria with
which I write. They are anger, wonder, and technique. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anger is you look at the world around you, and if you’re
satisfied with what you see, then you’re just probably fucking certifiable, man.
Wonder is to be attentive to every blade of grass and every drop of rain that
falls on a flower. And then technique, the third criteria, is keeping the
balance between the anger and the wonder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And when I write the first line to a song, I do not leave
the room until I have written the last line. And the reason I do that is
because once you start on that, once you have a subject that you’re interested
in, once you start writing on that, you create a specific train of thought. If
you say, “Oh, I’m hungry. I’m gonna go have some lunch,” and you go have lunch
and you destroy your energy output with the digestion of your food.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And when you come back, you will never find that original
train of thought again. And that’s why I write the way I write. It’s also the
same way with the composition of music. Once I’ve started a piece, I don’t
finish until I think I have something where I can now add onto and elaborate
on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well, I can’t pronounce the very long title.
It’s actually my favorite vocal moment from you. It’s “She Was Waiting.” Tell
me the story about that song. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">She
was waiting for her mother at the station in Torino and you know we love you
baby but it’s getting too heavy to laugh.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay. If I had said, “in E minor –” If I
added those three things in E minor, it would, in fact, have been the longest
song title ever created. But Hoagy Carmichael beat me. I can’t remember the
name of his tune, but he beat me by one word on the longest song title ever
created. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s the deal. Here’s what happened. The reason that song
came about. At the time just before that song was written, I was in a
relationship with an English actress named Francesca Annis. A lot of people
don’t know her name or anything, but she was in the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dune</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard her from.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, she played Paul Atreides’ mother in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dune</i>. Anyway, I was in a relationship
with Francesca and we were living together in my little house. And there was a
15-year-old girl – teenager – named Letizia who would come to our house. She
would sleep on our couch. We would feed her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We were like a small community of expats from England, the
US, France, Germany, Italy – all different expats. And we had a little community
going. Anyway, she’d stay with us, then she’d go to somebody else – one of our
friends – and they’d let her sleep there and they’d feed her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And there came a moment when we didn’t have the money to
support this child. So what we did is we pulled what little money we had, and
we bought her an express train ticket from Naples to Torino, where she came
from, and we put her on the train at 7:35 in the morning. At a quarter to 12
that night, we’re all hanging out at the Bar Internazionale in Positano, and
the phone rings. I take the phone. It’s Letizia. She’s calling from Torino. She
is in absolute tears. She said in Italian, “My mother is not here. I don’t know
what to do. What do you think I should do?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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We talked for a minute, and all of a sudden, Letizia says,
“My mother is here.” So, “She was waiting for her mother at the station in
Torino and you know we love you baby but it’s getting too heavy to laugh.”
That’s the story behind that song. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To
hear a live version of “She Was Waiting…(aka Woman),” click <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtNEFJ3uyS4" target="_blank">here</a></span>.]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You would stay in Italy a bit. What would
bring you back out of Italy?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An earthquake. That’s in 1980 on October 6th.
There was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the southern region of Italy. It was
centered at Santa Maria di Castellabate, which is right on the other side of
the mountain from Positano. And, basically, what went down is it shook once.
But it shook so hard that it cracked the foundations of my house. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After I moved out, they did what they could to repair it.
But I had very heavy speakers and a lot of equipment in the studio and the
house, and they were afraid it might collapse. That kind of called the end to
that in Positano, and I moved back to Los Angeles. So I’m moving out of the
frying pan and into the fire. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You would not record as frequently in the ’80s
as you did in the ’70s.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s ’cause I had the money. A&M didn’t
want to renew the contracts, basically, because I wasn’t writing what they
wanted me to write. And I was just writing what I wanted and I was trying to
get as farther out as possible. Even from the very beginning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, after A&M, it was kind of
fly-by-night to where somebody would put the money out for a new CD. One of the
guys – at that point, I had a manager named Clancy Grass. And Clancy put the
money up for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beyond Here Be Dragons</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in the meanwhile, I had made an album with a guy – which
was a big mistake – in Quebec, named Michel Le Francois, who wanted to make an
album with me. But when I got up there, he wouldn’t let anybody else play on
the album except himself. He wanted my basic guitar and voice, and he wanted to
do everything else. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, as soon as I found out that that was gonna be the
case, the relationship went downhill from there. And I had the tunes and we did
them and all, but he really wouldn’t let me do – that was an album called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Truth if it Kills</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t do any music at all from 1994 until the year 2000.
I mean, I was six years completely out of it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I also understand you became an emergency
medical technician and a firefighter. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is correct. The firefighting I can’t do
anymore. Mandatory retirement at 60 for firefighters. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Note: Shawn is 75 years old</i>.]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Arlo Hennings, who would become my manager later on, said,
“You can’t just quit. You sold 9 to 12 million records. You’ve got people out
there who really love your work. You can’t just quit.” And I went, “Oh yeah, I
can. Because I really like what I’m doing now.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is real. Emergency medical is real. There’s no
superficiality, no bullshit going on like goes on in the music business. This
is real life and death that I’m dealing with here. And that, also, and the
firefighting.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And he said, “Well, if I can put something together, will
you do it?” So he put together a tour of South Africa, and I did it. And that’s
when I met Juliette, my wife. Juliette came back to the States in 2000. In
2001, we got married.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk about your latest
album, </i>Continuance<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SP:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1972, I was
the opening act for Yes<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>in
Holland. The sound guy was a young sound kid named Sjoerd Koppert. And, one
night, Sjoerd comes up in the elevator. He’s dripping wet and he’s freezing in
the hotel. It’s a brand spanking new hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam. No
barriers in the parking lot. Nothing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s brand new asphalt and all that stuff. Sjoerd comes up
in the elevator. He’s dripping wet, and freezing. “Sjoerd, what’s the matter,
man?” He says, “I just took the gear truck in the canal in front of the hotel.”
Okay. So we go through the logistics of getting this truck out of the water.
Sjoerd, he’s very upset. He’s destroyed. I take him to a café and we get
something to eat. I spend two hours calming him down. I said, “Look, you gotta
understand, they can’t bring somebody in to do this overnight. Nobody’s gonna
fire you. It’s okay. And it’s winter here. It’s black ice on the parking lot.
And you need to understand that shit happens. Okay? That’s exactly what
happened to you. And the truck just slid in the canal. So quit worrying about
it. It’s not going to make any difference.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This man never forgot that for the next 44 years. He got in
touch with me on Messenger in 2015. And he said, “I was very impressed with
what you did as your work. And I am managing a studio in Carpinteria,
California, called Rose Lane Studios. I think it’s time you and I did a project
together. The studio is yours from June through July.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I started a Kickstarter thing. I got the money that I
needed to pay the musicians and to cover the costs of – there’s a lot of costs
involved in making an album – and I got it made. And that’s how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> came about. And I would say
I spent two and a half years writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i>.
Because these are not simple songs. Every single thing on this CD is,
musically, pretty complicated. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN48LKbesft3zgItEbJPmEVSVDGrOjGCNmcUNzGLB68A-40mGo37anS7qbtjw8UnZKH1LY0aSKH-fPs3K7aoF6uv4MEK6yGs0HPe1gYaO_AhsbJnTqrkvnLX5DHRYfhwglETWSV5VmcFP1/s1600/Continuance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN48LKbesft3zgItEbJPmEVSVDGrOjGCNmcUNzGLB68A-40mGo37anS7qbtjw8UnZKH1LY0aSKH-fPs3K7aoF6uv4MEK6yGs0HPe1gYaO_AhsbJnTqrkvnLX5DHRYfhwglETWSV5VmcFP1/s1600/Continuance.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Continuance </span></i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">album cover (2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your latest album, “Continuance,” I noticed
there seems to be a theme with that one. The beginning song is “Life,” and it’s
at the very ending you sort of get back to that theme again of life.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah. The thing I wanted to get across is,
basically, no matter what happens, life is going to go on. That’s all there is
to it. No matter what happens in politics or anything else. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s a song called “Song for a Thief.” I mentioned Arlo
Hennings, my manager. He’s my ex-manager who stole a very large amount of money
– well, not large in terms of Taylor Swift kind of income. For us, it was a lot
of money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He stole it. He broke his fiduciary trust with me by putting
it in his bank and keeping it. And, anyways, that’s the “Song for a Thief.”
There’s the Bernie Sanders bite in “Furious Desperation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes. That’s what I was gonna ask you about.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, Bernie Sanders. Because that’s
absolutely right. That’s really what’s going on. We are rapidly descending into
an abyss of a global situation in which there are those that have everything
and those that have nothing. And they are trying their very best right now to
bring that situation into reality. [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To
hear Bernie and Shawn on “Furious Desperation,” click <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUITPxT_HHQ" target="_blank">here</a></span>.]</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And until we put – listen, you gotta understand where I’m
coming from here. We have had incredible advances in the last – just the single
last century. We have made the most extraordinary advances in technology. You
and I can see and talk to each other in real time, if we wanted to, right now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s all the electronics, the technology, the media. The
advances in medicine are astounding. We have people actually living in space as
you and I speak. You have technology in armed, nuclear submarines. A submarine
is the highest technology on this planet. There’s no question about that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And all of this advancement, this incredible advancement,
has come from the human mind. Okay. You’re gonna tell me that that same human
mind cannot come up with an economic system that is equitable for the species
on this planet? That’s
complete and total bullshit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need to change that. We need to stand up and say, “No,
this is enough. You cannot – just because you are extremely wealthy, just
because you are one of the 6,000 people in the world that are the wealthiest
people in the world, that does not give you the right or the privilege to
dictate what the direction our society – as humans on this planet – is going to
take.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They do not have that right just because they have money.
And that’s what we need to address. More than anything else. If you look at any
single problem in the world, you can boil it down to money. Okay? And that’s
really kind of what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> is
about. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But,
at the same time, there’s this spiritual aspect of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> that says, “Look, if you’re out there looking for
happiness, money ain’t gonna buy that happiness.” It might make you
comfortable, but it’s not going to make you happy. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only thing that’s going to make you happy is for you to
be individual, within your own sphere of being, to find the joy that is
inherent within you. When we are born, we are not born as predators. Babies,
infants, are helpless. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We are completely helpless as infants. What we are born with
– we are born into a space of ecstatic wonder. That’s what we are born into.
Look at the face of a three- or four-year-old. Everything is wonder. We outrun
that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our society has built this ship up until it says, “Oh, you
can’t live in a state of wonder. You’re not supposed to live in a state of joy
or a state of wonder.” That’s absolutely just wrong. It’s just so wrong. All my
songs, in one way or another, try to get that across. That’s what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> is about. And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> is the word itself: “Let us
continue.” That’s what it’s about. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay. What are your plans now that you’ve
recorded “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Continuance”</span>? <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m driving up to Quebec. I have a full
month’s tour in Quebec from June to September. My son, Liam, will stay with me
for about six weeks, then his mom will come and get him and drive him back to
get him ready for school. <o:p></o:p></div>
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id="Picture_x0020_9" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="ShawnandLiam"
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz3wm7pnHKpvnYnDYsvh0FdrAcGXSXP34PwjbWrr7g55-oEcExzUxGpfC_CWiEQGYgYPFjXK849gpVrfJN4f4Wb8DHviPoAisWHAGIea-Ld1LIQocsi-mu64LPMnF9TZ14nL_m5igC2rJ/s1600/ShawnandLiam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1552" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz3wm7pnHKpvnYnDYsvh0FdrAcGXSXP34PwjbWrr7g55-oEcExzUxGpfC_CWiEQGYgYPFjXK849gpVrfJN4f4Wb8DHviPoAisWHAGIea-Ld1LIQocsi-mu64LPMnF9TZ14nL_m5igC2rJ/s400/ShawnandLiam.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 8pt;">Shawn and son Liam (year unknown)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I’ll stay there till September the 30th. I’m trying to
put concerts together in Buffalo at The Tralf, Ann Arbor – The Ark, then a club
called Space in Evanston, Illinois. And then I’m going to go over to Minnesota.
I’m going to play a club called Crossings in Zumbrota. And I’m going to see if
I can’t book a theater gig in Minneapolis. I also have to play a private
concert for a woman named Judy. Judy put $2,500 into the Kickstarter thing.
Anybody who put that kind of money gets a private concert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That’s good.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SP: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that’s it. And then, after that – you know
what? I’m gonna tell you the truth. I’m 75. I could continue touring for a long
time, but I can’t continue touring the way I’m doing it now. I tour alone. I
have 300 kilos of equipment that has to be unloaded and loaded, set up, torn
down, and loaded back into the van every other night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">Shawn on tour (July 2, 2018)</span></div>
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And then I do all the driving. I do everything. I can’t
continue to do this. So I think what I’m going to do, is after this tour, I
think I’m gonna hang it up. The fact is, everybody thinks, “Oh, Shawn Phillips.
He’s big rock and roll.” I’m not any of those things. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I haven’t ever thought in terms like that – myself like
that. And I don’t really have any money. Unless I have – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance </i>suddenly took off and sold millions of records, then I
would continue to tour. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, in 1996, I let my membership in the Grammys expire. I
have renewed my membership in the Grammys. I am submitting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Continuance</i> to the Grammys for consideration for CD of the year.
And if anything happens with that, well, that would be great. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
If I even get a mention – if I even get a nomination – that
would be fantastic. Short of that happening, I don’t think there’s much else
gonna go on. I can tell you that even though I might not be on the road, I will
never quit writing. It’s a gift that I cannot negate, nor should I. I just
can’t do it the way I’ve been doing it all these years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As far as I know, I’m thinking about writing a book. When I
write the book, I will be writing in conjunction with a professor in Indiana. A
man named Sam. He’s putting the different chapters together on how the book
should be written. And I think I’ll spend the time writing the book we wanna
put out. Then there’s the documentary about me by Alex Wroten I mentioned
earlier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">JC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds like a lot on your
plate. Thank you for taking the time out to speak with me</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
SP:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay. I just
wanna say thank you for the interview. And I wish all your readers hope, love,
and clarity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Shawn in Alex Wroten’s documentary (year unknown)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br />Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-606574201195231642017-10-27T15:33:00.000-07:002017-10-27T15:33:45.091-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Anthony Phillips<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<i>In 1967, guitarist Anthony
Phillips founded the original rock/progressive group Genesis with singer Peter
Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford at
Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England. He recorded their first two albums,
</i><b>From Genesis to Revelation </b>(<i>1969</i>) <i>and </i><b>Trespass </b><i>(1970). He would leave shortly after </i><b>Trespass</b>.<b> </b><i>(Phil Collins had not joined
the band by the time Phillips left).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>For a few years, Phillips
wasn’t active in the rock music scene, but in that time, he learned more
instruments—keyboards, bass, and drums—and studied classical music. He and Mike
Rutherford worked on <b>Geese and the Ghost
</b>(1977), Phillips’s first solo album. <b>Geese
and the Ghost </b>also featured vocals from Phil Collins. Phillips’s music was
a mixture of various musical genres: progressive rock, experimental, pop, and
classical oriented. Phillips recorded over thirty-one albums from 1978 to 2012.
</i><b>Harvest of the Heart </b><i>(2014) is a five-CD anthology of his solo
career.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>In addition to his
active solo music career, Phillips expanded his musical horizons and composed
music for nature documentary films as well as library music. According to
writer Nate Patrin, library music “(a.k.a. production or stock)” is defined as
“music recorded in a multitude of contexts and styles by work-for-hire
musicians, owned by music-library labels, and lent out to commercial
enterprises in TV, radio, and film.”</i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 107%;">” <span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Jeff/Downloads/Anthony_NEW_130075_EDIT_130075%20(2).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a> </span></b></span></span></span><i>In October 2017, Phillips rereleased </i><b>Slow Dance</b><i>, a classical-oriented piece album with bonus tracks and a 5.1 remix. He
just rereleased his pop album, </i><b>Invisible
Men </b><i>(1982).</i></div>
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<i>In this candid
conversation, we look at Anthony Philips’s time in Genesis, his solo career,
his forays into film and library music, and his current reissues. I want to
thank Billy James from Glass Onyon PR for setting up the interview, but most of
all, I want to thank Anthony for his time.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer: What encouraged you to get interested in music?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>Anthony Phillips:</b>
Gosh, well, I think it’s because there were other guys I knew who were learning
to play the guitar, and people are always looking for something to kind of
excel at, right? I was sort of okay at sports, but I’m not quite good at
football or cricket. So, I thought, “Well, guitar is a nice thing to do.” The
Shadows were around, and they were doing appealing instrumentals, but I think
the big thing was the Beatles. I mean, the Beatles exploded with all this kind
of raucous color but also melodic as well. There was so much energy and melody
like I’d never heard before. It was mind-boggling. I had always loved hymns. We
weren’t a particularly a religious family or anything, but I love melody. I
think it was a culmination of other guys playing the guitar and then the
Beatles. Then all of that came off in their wake, you know, like the Rolling
Stones and whatnot. It was a great time to be around because the sixties was a
time of enormous change and innovation. I consider myself very lucky to have
been learning at the time when there were so many great musicians whose careers
have carried on. People kept saying, “Oh, the Beatles have only got two or
three years.” How wrong they were.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: How did it build up to Genesis?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Well, I was
in a cover band with three other guys doing the Beatles’ “Slow Down.” Peter
Gabriel and Tony Banks were in another band. Genesis wasn’t really a band as in
everybody was singing and playing their
live instruments together. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>We
got together as a group of songwriters, really. I was writing stuff, and Peter
Gabriel and Tony Banks were doing stuff together. We sort of came together when
Mike [<i>Rutherford</i>] and I were doing
some demos and asked Tony to cover our keyboards. Then Tony said, “We can get
Peter to do some vocals.” Jonathan King produced us. King is very much a pop
producer. We did a couple of singles with him, which weren’t personally my favorite,
but he did let us do an album, the very first album, <i>From Genesis to Revelation (</i>1969). We were still in high school
and
we didn’t have much arrangement skill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From Genesis to
Revelation (Anthony, bottom left)—1969</span></i></div>
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We didn’t have much control over the album, and the whole
thing ended up being unhappy. [<i>To hear Genesis’
“The Silent Sun,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO_JTvPar4c" target="_blank">here</a><i>.</i>] After we graduated high school, we were at a crossroads, questioning,
“Should we give this one up? We’ve had a couple of singles and an album, or do
we try and go from songwriters to actually playing our instruments properly on
stage and take the band route?” It was a close decision, and it very nearly
didn’t happen. Mike and I had done a fair bit of live playing at parties and
stuff, but the others hadn’t really. Strangely enough, it was such a shame that
Peter Gabriel was not a natural performer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Oh, really?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> He is very
shy. Lots of shy people try to be themselves on stage, but it won’t work
because they’re very shy and don’t command the audience. Peter’s persona was
partly developed because of the fact that Mike Rutherford and I spent time
tuning our twelve-string guitars. So, Peter started making up wild stories and
built that whole sort of persona. Peter’s imagination is pretty vivid, and the whole
audience was spellbound with his rather bizarre stories (<i>laughs</i>). It gave us time to get our twelve-strings in tune.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Genesis was finding its footing by the time you guys recorded </i>Trespass<i>, but that was the last album you recorded with
the band. In your words, why did you leave Genesis?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Well, it was
stage fright. I’d had glandular fever before I went on the road, which
physically had knocked me back without realizing it. It’s this thing that stays
in your system for a long time, and it can affect your nervous system as well,
which I didn’t know at the time. I kept getting sick while we were on the road,
and it wasn’t just colds. I was very weak all the time and it was the glandular
fever. I was quite a natural, keen performer, but I just started getting stage
fright. In other words, your sort of look at your hands playing the guitar and
you’re thinking, “Hang on, how am I doing that?” Going on stage had started to
become a major challenge and eventually I just thought it wasn’t really for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">Genesis (1970) with Anthony Phillips
(on left)</span></div>
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Looking back, stage fright was just an unfortunate act that happened
to me and loads of other artists. Also we had too many composers in the group. I
think you can only have so many strong minds working together; otherwise, you
get too many people trying to have their share of the cake. And then you get a
lot of anger. While that wasn’t the reason I left, it may well have contributed
possibly to some of the background, because we did have four very strong minds
and personalities, and that’s a lot. If you think of all the famous songwriting
partnerships, they’ve nearly always been two. But we had four guys. I think
that’s quite rare. It’s no wonder that there were regular departures from the
group where people perhaps didn’t feel that they were getting their full share
of the cake, or that their vision was diluted. I think it probably would have
come to a head anyway for all those reasons. <i>[To hear “The Knife” by Genesis, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBYPPjLJO5U" target="_blank">here</a><i>.]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>JC: After you left Genesis, you went down another path altogether. You
went on a solo career and started to learn how to play other instruments.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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AP: Yeah, it was quite a passage. I was a bit of a lost soul for a while. Despite
the best efforts of one or two of the masters at high school who thought I had melodic skill or had tried
to teach me classical music, I just couldn’t really hear it.Partly
I think I wasn’t hearing the right kind of stuff. When I left, I starting to
play some more popular classical stuff—it was more melodic, arresting . . . you
know, the New World Symphony. It was a revelation for me because I had always
thought of classical music as being rather dry, arid, and rather formal.
Suddenly, here was music bursting with color and melody. I was absolutely
determined to have those skills for writing classical music, having that color
under my fingers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And so I embarked on a bit of a road. It was a sort of
circuitous route because I couldn’t read music, so I started with a piano
teacher to just learn the rudiments. This can be very difficult for someone who
can play reasonably well by ear because then you have to train your eyes to
work and not let your ear anticipate where you’re going. I was terribly frustrated.
I would throw the music across the room quite a lot. I spent a couple years
with a piano teacher. I could play classical guitar, so I had that sort of
string to my bow—pardon the pun—but I also studied orchestration, harmony . . .
all that kind of stuff at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I think I studied that
stuff for three or four years, and I taught as well. It <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>was
the sort of starting gates for <i>The</i> <i>Geese and the Ghost</i>, and I was armed with
a few more skills than I had before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: The album, </i>The</b> <b>Geese
and the Ghost</b>, <b><i>was originally supposed to be a collaboration between you and Mike
Rutherford before it become a solo album?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> It was really
Mike and I. I think the problem with the group of Genesis was that Gabriel had
left and the whole thing was kind of rocky. Nobody knew at that point that Phil
Collins had the potential to be a megastar who would lead at the front. I mean,
he only became a singer by default because they couldn’t find anyone else to
follow Peter. There was a hiatus where we needed to decide what to do. Mike and
I did the album, and Steve Hackett (<i>who
replaced Phillips in Genesis)</i> did his own solo album, <i>Voyage of the Acolyte</i> (1975). But once Genesis got back together,
they very much wanted a united front and didn’t want to have a lot of people
doing solo albums, which sort of made sense. <i>The Geese and the Ghost </i>had a lot of Mike on it, but I can
understand a group relaunching itself. It’s gonna be confusing and side
tracking to have a lot of solo projects going on. So, <i>The</i> <i>Geese and the Ghost
(1977) </i>became an Anthony Phillips solo album. <i>[To hear “God If I Saw Her Now” with Phil Collins on vocals, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTyxsrZd5mc" target="_blank">here</a><i>.]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Geese and the Ghost </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%;">album (1977)</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: I think that album does show the beginning of your solo career.
While it obviously has Genesis elements, it also has instrumentals that would
become part of your solo career.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> A lot of my
career was really fashioned by need and, you know, a lot of the time. One has
to remember that before you had your home studio, you very much did what the
record company wanted; otherwise, you wouldn’t record a record. There was no
way of actually recording music unless you did what the record company said. It’s
different now, because you can do it all at home on a relatively small budget. I
was lucky in my career to record things I wanted. I was able to introduce a few
orchestral elements and hopefully combine classical elements to match classical
instruments with rock ones but in an integrated way. It wasn’t the sort of rock
band on one side of the stage and the rather prim orchestra on the other. I was
trying a combination of sounds, some of which were orchestral sounds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: I noticed that you have a lot of solo albums. Are there any that you would like to discuss? I
mean, we’d be here all day (</i>laughs<i>)
if we discussed every one of them. Are there any albums that you’d like to talk
about in particular that hold a special memory?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> The two rock
albums, <i>Wise After The Event</i> (1978)
and <i>Sides </i>(1979). Rupert Hine was the
producer, I think, and mixed in the results. It was great fun working with the
brilliant [<i>bassist</i>] John Perry and [<i>drummer</i>] Michael Giles—it was a
privilege to work with them. I think you sort of have to fast track into <i>Slow Dance </i>(1990) where I finally had
the chance to work on a large scale again. It was a wonderful outlet for larger-scale
pieces, which I had written over the previous ten years that I hadn’t been able
to record. I threw my heart and soul into them. If I had to choose, it’d
probably be <i>The</i> <i>Geese and the Ghost</i> because of the youthfulness (it was my first),
and <i>Slow Dance</i> because it was something
that came at the end of a period in this sort of semi-wilderness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Now, </i>Slow Dance<i> (1990) was
an interesting concept in itself because the album is the piece. It’s a
two-part instrumental. <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Slow Dance </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">cover<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Well, I think
it was a bit of guesswork to be honest. I wanted to do an album and I had an <i>X</i> amount of material already. I got a
new synth, which was quite cutting edge at the time; it’s called the Emax. I
assembled the body of music of different sections that I thought were strong, and
then thought, “Well, how can we combine these and try and make them work
together?” Obviously, some couldn’t work together, so that was a challenge, but
it was exciting because I was fairly convinced that some of the basic ideas
were creditable. The challenge was really to make it kind of hang together. I worked
on sections for a quite a long period of time. I mean, it’s much easier to do
an album or a song. (<i>To hear a live
version of the “Slow Dance” opening, click </i><a href="https://youtu.be/Ye_MWwdwoNY" target="_blank">here</a><i>.)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>JC: What made you decide to reissue the whole </i>Slow Dance<i>?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> I’m with a new
record company called Cherry Red Records, which is located in England, and <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>they
wanted to rerelease albums I did. This is always a moot point for me. There are
some die-hard fans who are going to go out and buy these no matter what they do
to them, and therefore, going out and buying an album again with this specific
record company’s stamp on it. I don’t think it’s right. So, I was determined to
try to provide something extra. The re-releases have had a various amount of augmentation
at either end, and nearly all have had extra CD material. A lot of the albums have
been remastered. There’s also a lot of extra bibliographical material so
there’s lots to read about. I think about five or six of the albums are in 5.1,
which obviously isn’t cheap. I don’t imagine that many people have the original
albums, so I hope gradually more will buy the reissued albums, and that they
will appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: I understand you’ve also done library music (“production or stock
music”). Can you talk about composing that?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Initially, I
was very privileged to work on a lot of programs that were brought back from
South America, from Amazonas, the southern part of the Amazon, by a wonderful
man who’s sadly not with us anymore. The film footage <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>could
be very varied—anything from an animal stalking or some beautiful sunset. It
was quite taxing and the money wasn’t brilliant. Some of the producers were
very demanding and I just sort of stumbled onto library music. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Library music is very much a library of photos. You have a
great photo and you can use it over and over again. This is equivalent in
music, but as I said for reasons of budget, time, etc., the trick is to try to
write something that is quite timeless. The discipline is that you can’t really
change very much. You have a piece of music that has a sort of rough length of
between two or three minutes, and while it has some change and development, it
can’t go from a quiet twelve-string section to a loud piece with saxophones and
stuff. You’ve got to work to create and develop it, augment it slightly, but be
careful not to take any strange U-turns. I have always enjoyed it a lot because
it’s a bit like doing an album but without some of the great pressure that you
get with doing albums. And, of course, the other thing is the potential
financial reward if you do create some tracks that get used repeatedly over and
over again. The results are substantial. I’ve been very lucky. There are too
many library companies in competition, but I was very lucky. The company I was working
with got taken over by a series of bigger companies. We ended up by being part
of Universal. I’ve used the income I have made from some of my library music to
help fund some of the solo projects, particularly some of the 5.1 reissue work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Talk about the compilation of your solo work, </i>Harvest of the
Heart<i>.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> I didn’t
choose the material; the material was chosen by the record company. I think I
suggested one track that I thought was a better choice, but aside from that, it
was the record company’s choice. I said, “You know, I’ll leave it up to you
guys.” When the record company finds an artist with a big catalogue, they often
do a boxset, but my worry was that we probably had too much material on it. My
compilation was five CDs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Harvest of the Heart
(2014) </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%;">album cover</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: (</i>Laughs<i>)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Looking back,
it might have been better to have had a double CDs or perhaps three CDS, but
the record company knows more than I do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Are you working on any new solo projects? I mean, I know about the
reissue of </i>Slow Dance<i> . . . <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Well, yes. <i>Invisible Men </i>(1982) is the next one to
come up. (<b><i>Invisible Men </i></b><i>was
released shortly after this interview took place.)</i> Funnily enough, it was a
sort of a controversial album at the time because it was pop songs. I felt a
little bit awkward about it because I didn’t feel that sort of poppy pop songs,
but record companies were like, “We need a hit, otherwise, we won’t record you.”
So, we have a nice bonus CD with proper outtakes, sometimes an instrumental, and
some other songs. I hope we’ve provided something that’s worthwhile buying, not
just something that repeats itself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the moment, I’m involved in quite a lot of different
things. I’m prepping up a new acoustic album. I’ve also done a lot of library
music and I’m involved in writing a piano duet for . . . I’m not allowed to say,
but it is for someone who’s very famous in the classical world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Invisible Men</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 107%;">album cover</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: What is your secret to keep going?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b>AP:</b> Well, I
didn’t really have a choice but to keep going. In ’91 or ’92, I had my Virgin Records
deal. Then Virgin got taken over by EMI, and EMI got rid of any artist who wasn’t
making a
lot of money <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>and
that included me. It was around that time that a lot of the library music
kicked in. You know, necessity is the mother of invention. One of the areas
particularly perturbing is if somebody asked me to remix a library track of something
I had recorded five or six years ago; I’ve got very little chance of doing it
properly because I have to go back to an earlier computer. There are so many things
that don’t read or aren’t compatible with each other. Things are moving very fast,
and there is often incompatibility between them. So, there’s a bit of a
minefield. People who are inventing and putting out new computer stuff seem to
think there were no previous computers. None of the new computer stuff is compatible with
old computers.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span>I
think that’s a real danger. You know, I guess the older you get, it’s gonna be
harder to keep up, but I’m still enjoying trying to keep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nate Patrin, “The Strange World of Library Music,” Pitchfork, May 14, 2014,
accessed October 25, 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-7377175924410225402017-09-23T09:32:00.000-07:002017-09-23T09:42:01.768-07:00A Very Candid Look at Divorce Court<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRTX1Q0UmtXkHte3wGolv1tyWjY8FemIadVoHrh-1Z7zqEZZ9tBkDC5Vc6vDB6t7fOMEW7L4SNtXpkfN1ckjnWRmx9cZ127wvoQ8dZgYhejp7MSWTSN2nPuEFVfRpGNXViLYeoJhbKkEx/s1600/div-ct.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="128" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRTX1Q0UmtXkHte3wGolv1tyWjY8FemIadVoHrh-1Z7zqEZZ9tBkDC5Vc6vDB6t7fOMEW7L4SNtXpkfN1ckjnWRmx9cZ127wvoQ8dZgYhejp7MSWTSN2nPuEFVfRpGNXViLYeoJhbKkEx/s320/div-ct.gif" width="220" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<i>There have been many soap operas, daytime talk shows, and reality shows, but none of them are quite like the original <b> Divorce Court</b>, which ran from 1985 to 1992 (this is not referring to the current reality show, <b>Divorce Court</b>, that airs on Fox.) When I was a senior in high school, I was allowed to leave campus when there was no class. With no Internet at the time, I went home in-between classes and watched TV. Even though the show aired during the daytime, many of the stories were risqué and probably wouldn’t have been aired on television if they had been acted out as opposed to discussed in court. The show brought up issues such as divorce, adultery, and abuse, but it also had to come up with wild, original ideas to keep things interesting and fresh. For example, on one episode, a man claimed he was under amnesia when he got married. On another episode, a couple had a German shepherd who had a trust, and on another episode, a woman gave up her son for adoption, then later found him and married him (without telling him of their biological relationship). In each show, actors played the spouses and the witnesses. The honorable Judge William B. Keene (a retired real life Judge) would preside over the cases and solve them in thirty minutes. Every episode would end with Judge Keene giving a sermon on love gone bad before rendering his verdict.
<br /><br />
For reasons I can’t explain, I was hooked. The plots were outrageous. The acting wasn’t Oscar caliber, but that just added to the spirit of the show. I continued watching the show as a freshman in college until the show went off the air in 1992. The show went back in 1999 as a reality show (meaning no actors) with Judge Lynn Toler, but it wasn’t the same and I didn’t watch it. I forgot about the show until one day I randomly typed “Divorce Court Judge William Keene” into YouTube and discovered a handful of episodes of the <b>Divorce Court</b> (Judge Keene era) I grew up with. (Any of those episodes on YouTube will give you a taste of what <b>Divorce Court</b> is like.) After reliving memories of watching <b>Divorce Court</b> in my youth, I felt obliged to write this next blog entry on a show that provided much entertainment and enjoyment.
<br /><br />
Unlike previous blog entries, this is not an interview of a single person. Instead, it is a story about a show with a cast of five people to tell this story. I would like to thank each and every one of them, as there would be no blog entry without them. The cast is:
<br /><br />
Lee Gutenberg (1985–1988): lighting director; one-time actor/husband<br />
Ellen Snortland(1985–1988): actress/lawyer<br />
Joan McCall (1985): writer, 25 episodes<br />
Pamela Hill (1989–1990): court reporter/stenographer<br />
Glenda Chism Tamblyn (1990-1991): actress/lawyer<br />
<br />
The cast is going to tell the story of the show’s beginning and end . . . and it is not the final story to tell. Not everyone was willing to talk about their time on <b>Divorce Court</b>. (The first actress I contacted through her business did not want to talk to me.) Some actors leave their appearance on the show off their résumé. But for all those people who would rather not remember their time on the show there are just as many people who are willing and eager to tell their story about their experiences. My hope is that people will feel comfortable talking to me after reading this blog and add more layers to the story of <b>Divorce Court</b>. If you appeared on the show or were affiliated with the show in any capacity and have a story to contribute, please contact me <a href="mailto:jc080673@gmail.com"> here </a>. For now, this is the 1.0 version of the <b>Divorce Court</b> story.
<br /><br />
The first <b>Divorce Court</b> series began in 1957 and ran until 1967. It was then revived in 1985. Despite the fact that show was a soap opera and aimed at that specific audience, the show had some high names involved. <b>Divorce Court</b> was executive produced by Donald Kushner (producer of <B>Tron</B>) and Peter Locke (producer of <B>The Hills Have Eyes</B>, both the original (1977) and the remake (2006)). Kushner and Locke produced several films together, the most famous being <B>Teen Wolf</B> starring Michael J. Fox. Despite the many <b>Divorce Court</b> episodes they produced, the Kushner-Locke Company website does not mention any involvement with the show.<br /><br />
In reference to working with Kushner and Locke, Joan McCall, a writer for the show, responded:</i><br />
<br />
Joan McCall: Working for them was okay. Let’s just say they were very strong. They wanted what they wanted when they wanted it. I understand it, because they were under their time pressures, but they were also less caring than they could have been. At one point during the whole thing, I had to sue them to get them to pay me for the time that I worked. They started badmouthing me, and they could not get any of the writers or any of the people I worked with to agree with them, so they had to give up. So that’s why I think of them as little bit strong and a little bit negative. But I really don’t hold any grudges against them.
<br />
<br />
<i>Other producers on the show include Esquire Jauchem, who founded the Boston Repertory Theatre, and the late Richard Glatzer, who wrote and directed <b>Still Alice</b>, a film that received critical acclaim, including Julianne Moore winning an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2014.</i>
<br />
<br />
Lee Gutenberg: Yes, I remember Richard. He was a real nice guy and we would speak often. Esquire was a good friend of Donald Kushner and a very nice guy. I seem to remember that he invented a lighting effect for stage productions. He might have also done lighting designs for night clubs.<br />
<br />
<i>But despite those big names behind the camera, there was one key ingredient that was needed in front of the camera: Judge William B. Keene. Judge Keene was a retired judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was originally issued to the trial of Charles Manson. Unlike many judges in TV and film, Judge Keene rarely use his gavel to keep order. When he had to scold someone, he never resorted to Judge Judy-type of verbal putdowns. His reprimands were to the point and stern. Judge Keene had a real life integrity that no amount of soap opera material could drown out. The cast had nothing but good things to say about Keene.</i><br />
<br />
LG: He’s a really good guy. He was being paid a lot of money for the show and then he was retired. He wasn’t practicing, so you know, he was good. He brought on as much integrity as he could bring on for a show like that. That’s just the way he was.
<br />
<br />
Ellen Snortland: He was just a straight-shooting guy, and I think the likability factor was strong. People just trusted him and liked him.<br />
<br />
Pamela Hill: Bill Keene—very cool, nice, down-to-earth guy. I remember him being a nice gentleman. He was very professional, and he just seemed very staunch, which I’m sure that’s why he’s a judge. I don’t remember any drama.
<br />
<br />
Glenda Chism Tamblyn: Judge Keene was a delightful person to be around. I remember Judge Keene to be a very patient fellow, but he did have his limits. I only shot one show a day, but he was there all day. They allowed about two hours to shoot an episode, so they would shoot maybe four episodes a day. I never saw him storm off the set or speak harshly to anyone. One afternoon, we sat in his dressing room area and ate lunch together. I think it was then that I learned that he had been the original trial judge for the Charles Manson case. He is just as soft-spoken in person as he is on the bench. It was always fun to see him laugh or crack up on set.
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">The Honorable
Judge William B. Keene<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<i>The show initially had real lawyers who were playing lawyers and only actors played the spouses and witnesses. Jim Peck, a game show commentator of shows like <b>The Joker’s Wild</b>, played the courtroom reporter from 1985 to 1989.</i>
<br />
<br />
LG: For the first three seasons, there were only real attorneys. They would Taft-Hartley them, meaning, they got them the SAG (<i>SAG stands for the Screen Actors Guild, a union for actors in movie and television</i>) card and they were able to qualify for things like healthcare, as well as SAG minimum wages at the time.
<br />
<br />
ES: A friend of mine was casting. Neil Elliot was a friend of mine from the acting cooperative community called Mastery of Acting and he knew I was a lawyer and also an actress. So he thought, "Oh boy, double-hitter." That’s how I got involved.
<br />
<br />
It turned out to be a good fit because I have a strong sense of the absurd and my background is in theater. I loved live television.
<br />
<br />
<i>The lawyers would argue their case and Judge Keene would make his decision. Nobody on the show knew his decision until the ending.</i>
<br />
<br />
JMC: We didn’t write what he said, and we didn’t write his verdict. Judge Keene always got to do that himself. I guess he was just deciding from everything presented to him. He had his own license to make his own judgment about them.
<br />
<br />
LG: He wanted to have the final say. Each act was timed—someone up in the booth was timing it—so the length of his judgment, the verdict, varied. Sometimes it would be three and a half minutes. Sometimes it would only be one minute and twenty-five seconds. No one influenced him on that. <br />
<br />
ES: We really didn't know what the outcome was going to be. Sometimes it would be a big surprise. Although most of the time, especially the lawyers, would see that one party was gonna prevail. It wasn't rocket science.<br />
<br />
<i>As for the actors who were playing the spouses and witnesses . . .</i><br/><br/>
LG: The show employed more SAG actors in the few weeks that we did the show than anyone else in Hollywood. All of the actors were SAG actors. They got SAG minimum. <I>Divorce Court</I> got a lot of people who were either breaking out, or people who were at the end of their career. I think SAG minimum at that time was $525, I'm not sure. You showed up, you got paid, and you walked away. It’s what they call a “strip show,” meaning, it’s just done really quickly. There wasn’t a lot of acting involved. The only thing you had to do is walk from your table to the witness stand, say a few lines and go back to your seat. <br/><br/>
<i>
The show ran like a well-oiled machine. There were five shows a week, each to air from Monday to Friday, so the shows had to be made constantly. Scripts had to be written, cases had to be filmed, and Judge Keene had to rendered his verdict.</i>
<br/><br/>
JMC: Our head writer would do research and come up with all of these cases that were actual cases tried in court. We would have the basis story, but we wouldn’t have many of the details because the details weren’t recorded, or if they were, we didn’t have them. We knew how the process worked, and we knew how they argued, so we built a whole scenario out of whatever we were given. Sometimes it was a page. I was used to turning out a lot of work for the soaps. I was just given a script to do, and when that was done, I’d get another one.
<br/><br/>
They just give you the page and you go back to your little cubicle. I had a little office all by myself, and I would just sit there all day and write. This was before computers. I was doing it on the typewriter. I don’t know if you’ve ever done that, but it is really brutal sitting hunched over the typewriter all the time, but I managed. In a few months, I managed to do twenty-five scripts.
<br/><br/>
LG: We also had no postproduction the time that I worked there, which means that everything was edited on tape. It was the closest thing to live TV I’d ever done. Everything was question and answer. If an actor had given an wrong answer, they would roll back the tape to the question. The first assistant director would countdown and give the people on the set time for the tape to come up to speed, and the actor got the right answer this time, so it seemed flawless. The music, audio, everything was done live. There was no postproduction except when they sent a tape out to for the broadcast standards to be applied. <br/><br/>
We had a rehearsal before every show. I think the first cast got to the stage at five a.m., rehearsed at six, and then at seven-thirty or eight we ran the first show. Then we’d take another hour-and-a-half break while they rehearsed the next show on the set. Then we’d go back and tape that. Then we’d take a lunch. Then we’d do another show. While we were eating lunch, they’d be rehearsing the next show. If everything went smoothly, we were sometimes doing shows every three hours. That’s fast. We did approximately 120 to 180 shows in a season. I worked on over seven hundred episodes, but I was only there until 1988.<br/><br/>
ES: To tell you the truth, I can't remember any of those cases. Sometimes I would do five in a row. We didn't learn the lines. We didn't memorize the cases. We just kind of got out there and did it. It was down-and-dirty TV, which I loved. It's fun.
<br/><br/>
<i>Despite the fast pace of knocking out episodes, that doesn’t mean there weren’t issues along the way. </i><br/><Br/>
LG: Other times some shows would go four hours. People would not read the script. Some of the actors would come unprepared. They’d come high. You know, some of them just weren’t doing things right. They’d goof up their lines. <br/><Br/>
<i>Lee remembers an episode where he had to play the spouse.</i>
<br/><br/>
LG: During the run-through, one of the actors that showed up was a Hungarian actor. He was a little person, you know, slight in stature, and he couldn’t even say his lines or read them. They were faced with the aspect of sending everyone home and recasting, which would cost them. A producer came up to me and said, “Do you want to be in a show?” I said, “No, I'm not an actor.” Well, I had a doctor’s appointment earlier in the week and discovered I needed some expensive tests performed that would cost me about $1,000 in deductible. This was 1988 money. So I said, “Would I get paid if I went on?”
<br/><br/>
The producer said, “Sure.” With everything it would cover my medical expenses. I thought I’d be a witness or something; I didn’t know what was going on. Then the producer said, “You’re playing the husband. Here’s the script. I guess you read that.” I had forty-five minutes to read the script. I was thrown into wardrobe. They didn’t have anything that fit me. Most of the clothes I was wearing were held together with duct tape. It was really just a big joke. I mean, there are gag reels of the judge stopping in the middle of a scene, taking out a light meter (<i>a light meter is an instrument that measures light. In TV, a light meter can determine the optimum light level for a scene.</i>), and throwing it in front of my face. I never thought they would air it. I could hear the director over the earphones and people were yelling, “Do you still think that you can do it?” After everything was said and done, I received about $1,800 in residuals and initial pay and stuff.
<br/><br/>
<i>After the initial three seasons (1985–1988), actors were brought in to play lawyers to cut down costs.</i>
<br/><br/>
LG: It was just getting harder and harder to find real attorneys who would give up their time for $1,000 a day when they could make or break that.
<br/><br/>
ES: As long as I was being cast, I was down for it. On a rotating basis, I was cast. I was a recurring person, so they would not have made me a regular because then they would have had to pay me more, right? [<i>Laughs</i>]. But they were very, very, very frugal, which is a nice way to put it. <br/><br/>
Oh, here's a quote from Judge Keene. [<i>Laughs</i>]. He says, "I think the actors were better." He commented that sometimes the lawyers were very stiff in front of the cameras. <br/><br/>
<i>Judge Keene would be the one constant on the show. There was a high turnover of the writers and production crew. </i>
<br/><br/>
JMC: [<i>Back in 1985</i>] I only worked for about seven months, and I did those twenty-five episodes in about seven months. Then we went on hiatus. It was a whole big thing because they wanted me to be the head writer, and I agreed to it, and then the head writer wanted to come back. She had a job that fell through at Disney and she wanted to come back. [<i>Laughter</i>]. I didn’t really go back after that whole thing started.
<br/><br/>
LG: I had the medical story. The results of those tests I took resulted in me being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I basically got out of that whole business. I did a few pilots [<i>pilot means a television show’s first episode</i>] a couple of months later, but I just had to get out mainly due to physical needs. It was a really bad thing, but one of the better things that happened to me because I can’t see myself being in that industry today.
<br/><br/>
<i>By 1989, the initial people who worked on <b>Divorce Court</b>—the producers, production crew, and the lawyers—were gone. The show continued with Judge Keene, but there were new additions. Martha Smith, best known for playing Babs in <B>Animal House</B>, was the courtroom reporter, taking over for Jim Peck. Soap actors were now playing the lawyers. More scenes would take place outside of the courtroom. The show’s ratings had declined, so this was a revamp to compete with other daytime television. Click <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-09/entertainment/ca-174_1_divorce-court">here</a> to read the 1989 LA Times article that describes how <b>Divorce Court</b> was rebranding. Pamela Hill was a reporter and stenographer during the 1989 season. She talks about her time on the show.</i>
<br/><br>
Pamela Hill: I had moved out here [<i>to Los Angeles</i>] and had signed up to do some extra work. I was acting and modeling back home. I got a call from one of the casting people. They said that they needed someone for the show court reporter and stenographer. I was only out here for about four months, so I went down to the interview and thought, “Oh my god. This is happening so fast.” It seemed a little bit more involved than the extra work. I thought, “Wow.” I remember sitting there and I put my hair up like a court reporter. I pretended I was typing on the stenograph machine—I think that’s what it’s called. I was just pretending even though nothing was there. I was just being very honest and kind of just showing that I could do that. I think they got a kick out of that, and then they said, “Are you dependable?” I said, “Yes, I am. I’m a Capricorn,” and then they laughed. <br/><br/>
Martha was having success from other shows, especially <I>Animal House</I>. She was funny and a very vivacious and lovely gal. There is a man named Craig Stepp whom I actually reconnected with. He was a lawyer on the show. He did a lot of commercials and television shows. There was another guy who played a lawyer, Stephen Parr; I think he was on <I>All My Children</I>. I remember Jill Whelan who played the Captain’s daughter on <I>The Love Boat</I>. It was fascinating to me to see a lot of the guest stars on the show, or people playing lawyers were people I had watched on either soap operas or on TV commercials.<br/><br>
I do remember there were really long days. We shot at least a good ten- to twelve-hour day, give or take. I remember there were some pictures [<i>laughs</i>]. One of those pictures had myself and a couple people from the show who were just so tired that, we would be lying [<I>laughs</I>] out on the jury audience chairs just to kind of take a cat nap. I just remember we were conked out because the days were long. They shot Monday all week, Monday through Friday. When I was on in ’89, I think I started shooting in the beginning of September for at least a good two months, and it was five days a week.
<br/><br/>
It was filmed in Valencia. At the time I didn’t have a car, but I was very fortunate that one of the guys—I think his name was Joe—was grand enough to pick me up from west LA and give me a ride every morning to Valencia, which was very nice because not having a car made it a little bit hard. I believe Joe was one of the camera operators. One morning Joe didn’t show up. So, I’m like, “Oh, my god. What am I going to do?” It’s Valencia. It’s quite far from LA. It’s probably at least a good hour or hour and a half away, and I didn’t know what to do. My roommate wasn’t available to take me, and I didn’t have a car. This was years ago and there wasn’t Uber. I only had so much left in my bank account—at the time I had traveler’s checks, [<i>laughter</i>] and I didn’t have a lot left, but when you’ve got to get to Valencia, you’re going to grab something and call a cab. I don’t think I’d ever called a cab before, so long story short, I grabbed my traveler’s check stash and called a cab. When we arrived, the cab driver told me it was $60, so I gave him what I had. I’m like, “Here, take this. This is all I have. I hope it it’s enough.” I honestly don’t remember, but I think it was enough. I was always early to set, but that day I was probably just more on time. I don’t think I ever told anyone on set that I had to take a cab to get there, but someone had found out. During one of the wrap parties, they gave me a remote control car—a kind of funny gag gift—that I think I still have in storage.
<br/><br/>
<i>Still struggling in the ratings, <b>Divorce Court</b> had to cut costs even lower. Once the biggest employer of the Screen Actors Guild, the show was now hiring nonunion actors to play not only spouses and witnesses but also lawyers. Glenda Chism Tamblyn was one of the actors who played an attorney on the Florida shoot (1990-1991).</i><br/><br/>
Glenda Chism Tamblyn: One of my agents, Patti Thomas, went into casting. She and Mel Johnson were the casting directors for <I>Divorce Court</I>. Mel cast <I>Swamp Thing</I> and I think <I>Superboy</I> at Universal, and maybe one of the Nickelodeon shows. <br/><br/>
At the time I was cast in <I>Divorce Court</I>, I was working at Universal Studios Florida in the post production live actor show (now known as Harry Potter World). Patti called me in to read. I got a callback and then was cast. In the beginning, I don't think they were considering having recurring attorneys. In fact, I recall Patti telling me that they had auditioned practically every actor in central Florida and only saw a few people who would make good attorneys. I was very excited and petrified to learn they were going to use the attorneys on more than one show. I ended up shooting nine altogether, which was one more than anyone else. <br/><br/>
I think there were maybe eight or nine of us actor-attorneys at the end. They started out with more, but a couple of people dropped out because of the issues with SAG. The <I>Divorce Court</I> shoot was non-union. I was in Actors Equity at the time and should have passed, but I was determined to do the shoot for the experience. <I>Divorce Court</I> was shot on the stage at Disney-MGM and the first day I drove onto the lot, there were protestors with signs at the entrance. SAG was so ticked off; they ran away to a Right to Work (for less) State. Florida was serious about attracting production into the state, especially into Orlando. I don't remember that the picketing lasted very long, maybe for a week. Summer was starting with a vengeance in Florida at that time. I believe we shot either in late May into June or throughout June. The directors used aliases for fear of work repercussions with the unions. They wanted the attorneys to use their real names, but I'm too much of a stage performer to do that; plus, I really wanted to hedge my bets with SAG and I thought my pseudonym, Ann Montgomery, sounded much more lawyerly. I did have to "explain" myself when I got my SAG card for playing Macaulay Culkin’s mother in <I>My Girl</I>! Judge Keene got into trouble with SAG for being on the non-union shoot, but the production company paid his fine. I think it was in the neighborhood of $10,000. <br/><br/>
<i>Some of the actors who were playing spouses or witnesses would also play spouses or witnesses in other court cases.</i><br/><br/>
GCT: Yes, they had a two-show limit for the actors to play major characters.
<br/><br/>
<i>Along with Judge Keene, a few other things stayed consistent on the show. For example, no one knew what his ruling would be on the show.</i><br/><br/>
GCT: I am a bit foggy on whether or not we got the rulings in the scripts, but the uncertainty could come from the fact that the judge could rule any which way he wanted to regardless of what the script called for. If he felt the case wasn't strong enough or proven, then he had perfect leeway to rule as he saw fit. I think there might have been a few scripts where no one knew how the judge would rule, but I couldn't say for certain. As for the objections and all the lawyer speak, that was most certainly in the script. There was one episode—I think it was the last one we shot—that the producer wasn't too happy with, and so he gave it to me and my "client" who was someone I worked with at Universal Studios Florida, and together we all sat down at the table and reworked the ending. I think we still lost the case, but it was really fun, not to mention challenging, to be able to have such input. <br/><br/>
<i>As with any show, there are always a few hiccups.</i>
<br/><br/>
GCT: I remember one episode in particular that sucked. Oh, my gosh, that thing was horrible! It was either the first one they shot or one of the first ones. I don't think I knew any of the actors in the original episode. The central Florida talent pool was very small at that time—some would say “shallow” [<I>laughs</i>]—and from going to auditions and classes to working, I had a passing knowledge of most of the heavier hitters in the area at least by name. None of those actors were in that particular show, and I don't recall who played the attorney. The production crew kept things close to the vest, but that was just one enchilada too big to hide! The episode was so bad that they had to reshoot it before they could air it in 1990. As for the storyline, the one line that sticks out for me is a witness declaring someone being a slave and someone being the "massa.” <br/><br/>
<i>The Florida Judge Keene <b>Divorce Court</b> only lasted one season.</i>
<br/><br/>
GCT: The end of the run was bittersweet. All of the attorneys that I knew were aware of when our last day would be, as the show had definite start and end dates from the beginning. Since Bruce McKay, (<i>the producer of the Florida <b>Divorce Court</b> shoot</i>) liked me, they scheduled one of my episodes to be the very last one shot. I seem to recall they scheduled the whole day's shoots with their favorite attorneys. It felt very much like coming to the end of the run of a play with the inevitable closing date looming on the calendar. At least with live theater there's always a chance—albeit slim—of extending another weekend. That's just not the case in film and TV. If there is an extension, it's a costly thing that nobody is happy about. I always knew that I would be shooting eight episodes, two a week. Then they gave me the additional ninth episode because of the reshoot.<br/><br/>
<i>The show would have an end of season party, but it would end with some tragedy.</i>
<br/><br/>
GCT: The wrap party that evening was at Disney somewhere near the edge of the MGM property. They had set up an area with finger foods and an open bar. It started around five or six and went until around eight. Then we were off on our own to roam about the park. A few of us stuck together and then went our separate ways for a bit, but then rendezvoused at another bar on the property. I saw two of the attorneys, one of whom was Dan Parson. He was the other attorney who worked at Universal Studios Florida in the Horror Makeup Show. We would often get together and yack about <b>Divorce Court</b> at work. The funny thing about Dan was that he was a straight-laced Church of Christ guy, no smoking or drinking. But at the <b>Divorce Court</b> wrap party, he was knocking back drinks and bummed cigarettes off me. As a disclaimer, I am not a smoker, but back then I allowed myself one pack a year, and I only smoked one with Toni whenever we hung out behind the sound stages. I still had a couple of my "allowance" left. Dan and "Buttonhead" (the crew's nickname for another attorney who lived near Dan) were hanging out at the bar, and by that time Dan was really toasted. He was hanging on me and saying how he was gonna go to California—he was born there, so he called it "home"—to pursue his career. I wrote it off as so much drunken bluster, but evidently he had been talking about it a lot with coworkers. <BR/><BR/>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyTextIndent3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsFiiBqeZAYXQsmiit8a4Emrc5RVa9ZjcF-zm9kNx1NOuqEg8hyphenhyphen9s7YtcfCXc0I_IYzslvCjCYas-FEDZpaoFq8C_x7Yz3CC9c70WEoimphMv8YFKtbkC7tlKNnVwStrZzwH5ro18sr1X/s1600/DivorceCourt-castwKeene+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsFiiBqeZAYXQsmiit8a4Emrc5RVa9ZjcF-zm9kNx1NOuqEg8hyphenhyphen9s7YtcfCXc0I_IYzslvCjCYas-FEDZpaoFq8C_x7Yz3CC9c70WEoimphMv8YFKtbkC7tlKNnVwStrZzwH5ro18sr1X/s320/DivorceCourt-castwKeene+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a><BR/>
<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Divorce Court wrap party
(Glenda (2nd to the left, middle row); Judge Keene (4th left, top row); Dan Parson (top row, far right) (1991)</H4></div></SPAN><BR/><BR/>
I left the bar not too long after arriving, ran into Bruce and spoke a little bit, and then I went on home. That was a Wednesday; I had the next day off, so I didn't get back to Universal Studios Florida until Friday. Not long after I got to work, the call went out that Dan was missing from makeup and he had missed the day before too. My knees went out from underneath me, and I told the gang that Dan had been really drunk the last time I saw him. I called Buttonhead, who went over to Dan’s house but Dan wasn't home and his car was missing. I thought that maybe he was on his way out west, so I called Bruce in Los Angeles and told him the situation. Bruce hadn't heard from him but told me that he would keep us informed if he did. On Sunday morning, a body was spotted by a hot-air balloonist, floating in a drainage ditch at Disney. Sure enough, it was Dan. Apparently, he had tried to drive home, got lost in the backroad swampy area, ran his car off the road into a ditch, and drowned. It was very, very sad. The funny thing about Dan was how competitive he was. After the first week, some of the hotshot actors decided to see who could shoot his episode the fastest. I don't think I knew about this until several shoots into the season. Dan ended up having the fastest time, and when I asked him about it, he confided that it was because he kept index cards in his pocket and would look down at them when the cameras weren't on him. Cheater!
<br/><br/><i>The show continued for one more season without Judge Keene. A different judge sat on with nonunion actors playing lawyers, spouses, and witnesses. It wasn’t the same without Keene. The eighties’ era of <B>Divorce Court</B> was over.</i><br/> <BR/>
LG: Judge Keene would call me and say, “You know, we were so close with everybody, but you’re the only one who ever calls me.” He’d ask me what the producers were up to. Nobody on the show. He wouldn’t know anything that was going on. That’s just the nature of that business, you know? I have another friend who had that same thing happen and he said the same thing. He said, “After all of these relationships I don’t hear from anybody.” That’s the sad part. <br/><br/>
<i>Reflecting back . . .</i> <br/><br/>
PH: It was really cool. I got a write-up article in my local paper in Cincinnati and I still have it framed. It says, “Making it in LA,” and I’m in my dress in the court with the steno in front of me. I got my SAG card from <I>Divorce Court</I>. Until this day, I still get a residual, and sometimes it’s for a dime [<i>laughs</i>].<br/><br/>
ES: Ahead of its time. Heteronormative marriage was what we did, right? And so women got cast [<i>laughs</i>]. I would guess the show was one of the biggest employers of women in the Screen Actors Guild. And [<i>laughs</i>] I still have people stare at me in grocery stores and think they know me from something. I'll say, "Well, did you watch <I>Divorce Court</I>?" And they'll go, "Yes!"<br/><br/>
GCT: My feelings about the show "evolved,” naturally! I still don't consider it Emmy-worthy TV, but it does/did serve a purpose. As an actor, I'm always in favor of anything that puts a performer to work just so long as there isn't any underhanded exploitation. Reasonable hours, fair pay, professional treatment on set and off . . . those were all present on the <I>Divorce Court</I> set, and I am very thankful for that. I thought some of the episodes were a bit on the cheesy side, but then we all knew it was "made for TV,” and a certain amount of cheese was needed. In fact, the more seriously you took the cheese, the better! Afternoon audiences really dug that stuff. <br/><br/>
Those four weeks on <I>Divorce Court</I> were some of the best of my life, personally and professionally. I met some of the most wonderful people in the area and we remained friends for a long time afterwards. Crews disperse, so it was very hard to keep track of those folks, but they were so much fun. I really came to appreciate and sit in awe of their skill.<br/><br/>
Technically speaking, my confidence as an actor grew by leaps and bounds. Memorizing lines became easier and easier. I was much more able to work in front of a camera without self-consciousness. The skills that grew from shooting that show have stood me well. Oddly enough, I had to leave the Divorce Court credit off my résumé for a very long time. I had been told by agents and others in the business out here that I wouldn't be taken seriously with that credit. It's hard to believe, since most actors hardly ever get the experience of a recurring role on a four-camera floor shoot. It just goes to prove the number-one rule of Hollywood: nobody knows anything.
Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-91381571011246211192017-06-04T14:37:00.000-07:002017-06-04T14:48:22.598-07:00A Very Candid Conversation with Bobby Kimball<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIj2qoQATdhd2Q0-6wKzatj1qKdYOWVoXUjsrX2HoMWS7Ne9cD9RoeBxw6d4GsQDu7qUVb-NMlgIpjiJQjhoX3EHj_MPlsoC_lypywRotCtln3BVPqzrBmPIKzljMwfbQxeoXQQEAychcU/s1600/BobbyRosanna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIj2qoQATdhd2Q0-6wKzatj1qKdYOWVoXUjsrX2HoMWS7Ne9cD9RoeBxw6d4GsQDu7qUVb-NMlgIpjiJQjhoX3EHj_MPlsoC_lypywRotCtln3BVPqzrBmPIKzljMwfbQxeoXQQEAychcU/s400/BobbyRosanna.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Bobby Kimball on the “Rosanna”
video (1982)</span></i></div>
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<i>Bobby Kimball was the original
singer(he doesn’t play any instrument) </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>for Toto. Those familiar with Toto’s hits
“Hold the Line,” “Rosanna,” and “Africa”</i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>will recognize Bobby’s high vocals. Bobby
began his career with Toto in 1977. From 1977 to 1984, Bobby recorded four
albums with Toto. Toto’s self-titled album (1978) contained the hits “Hold the
Line” and “Georgy Porgy” and went double platinum. Their second album </i><b>Hydra</b> <i>(1979) went gold. The third album </i><b>Hold Back </b><i>(1981) didn’t do as
well as the previous two albums. However, Toto rebounded with </i><b>Toto IV </b><i>(1982), which
earned six Grammy awards </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>and went triple platinum. </i><b>Toto IV</b><i> contains Toto’s biggest hits, “Rosanna” and “Africa.” Despite the
success of Toto, the original lineup eventually broke up. Bassist David Hungate left in 1982 and Bobby left in
1984.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>After leaving Toto, Bobby </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>joined the Far Corporation in 1984 (created
by German producer Frank Fabian, who was known in later years for creating
Milli Vanilli). Far Corporation had a hit of their cover of the Led Zeppelin
classic “Stairway to Heaven” which made it to #8 in the UK charts and #85 in
the US charts. (Interesting
trivia: Far Corporation is the only band that has had a hit single with
“Stairway to Heaven,” because Led Zeppelin never released it as a single.) </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>Bobby kept himself busy with session and
solo work until he was asked to come back to Toto in 1998.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Bobby played with Toto
for ten years until guitarist Steve Lukather decided to end the band in 2008.
During Bobby’s time with Toto, he recorded three studio albums: </i><b>Mindfields </b><i>(1998), </i><b>Through the Looking
Glass </b><i>(2002) and </i><b>Falling in Between </b><i>(2006). In addition, Toto released two live albums: </i><b>Livefields </b><i>(1999) and </i><b>Falling in
Between Live </b><i>(2007). Also, during the time Bobby was back with
Toto, he released his first album </i><b>All
I Ever Needed </b><i>(1999).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>After Toto, from 2010–2016,
Bobby was constantly on the road, either with a new group or solo. Most
recently, in April 2017, he released his second solo </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>album </i><b>We’re Not in Kansas Anymore</b><i>.
Not surprisingly, the music is similar to his work with Toto, but what’s more
remarkable is that Bobby has still retained his trademark high vocals and shows
signs of little wear and tear.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In this candid
conversation, we talk about Bobby’s time in Toto and the Far Corporation. In
addition, we talk about his new album </i><b>We’re Not in Kansas Anymore</b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><i>and his secret on how his vocal chords stay
in shape. One mystery we clear up is if Toto’s song “Rosanna” is really about
the actress Rosanna Arquette. Many people believe that the song is about Arquette,
as Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro had dated Arquette in the past. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I want to thank Billy
James of Glass Onyon PR for setting up the interview, but most of all I want to
thank Bobby.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Jeff Cramer: What got you
into singing?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bobby Kimball:<i> </i> What got me in singing? When I was just five
years old, I started playing the piano, and my mother taught me a lot of
chords. And this black guy in this little three-thousand-person town (<i>Note: Bobby grew up in Vinton, Louisiana) </i>that
I lived in taught me rhythm. When I played in the piano, I also started singing
because my oldest brother was like a white Ray Charles. He was very, very good
as a singer and piano player, so I thought it was a good idea to sing, so I
did. I was eight years old when I played with my first band.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>How did you come across Toto?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> In 1974, I moved from Louisiana to Los
Angeles. I was playing with a great band in 1974 (I started that band when I was eight), <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>but
I got a call from a very good friend of mine—Jon Smith. I played in two bands
with him in Louisiana. Jon was from Louisiana in Lafayette, and he was a great
saxophone player.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway,
when the singers left the band Three Dog Night, the bass player, drummer, and
guitar player called Jon to join a new band they were starting. At the first
rehearsal, they’d asked Jon if he knew any singers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Jon called me and said, “Would you come and sing with
some guys from Three Dog Night?” I said, “Try and stop me.” Three Dog Night was
my favorite band at the time. So I moved to Los Angeles, we rehearsed, and the
band was called S.S. Fools. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I got here, we rehearsed for about two months in the
studio. While we were rehearsing, David
Paich and Jeff Porcaro—the two guys who organized the band Toto—loved those
guys from Three Dog Night, and they came to about one-third of our rehearsals. We
rehearsed for about two months. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was how I met those guys. And we became pretty good
friends. The manager of S.S. Fools was also the manager of Three Dog Night, and
the singers left Three Dog Night because they were losing a lot of money from
the manager. Those guys in S. S. Fools hired the same manager.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>The ones that they lost money in?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> Yes, exactly, and the same thing started happening. They
were losing money because of that same manager. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>Fifteen
months later,
I left S.S. Fools. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>About
three months later, I got a phone call from David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, the
two guys who put Toto together. They asked me to come and sing with the band.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Okay.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> I told ’em, “No problem. I love the
musicians.” So that’s where I got with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVyrWDoFyieorY8rfbU0BOVUDUBxmRBxOWb_atJI3GoVSXfZ7jrsnfytCim79LpffKzWfPJ_k0OZQN_O3SLJs4n1JQe7N1yfiGJjlmnZ2TRewWkXLpGxaXjBVzLWwNo2I052MKdO_t_dA/s1600/Toto+1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVyrWDoFyieorY8rfbU0BOVUDUBxmRBxOWb_atJI3GoVSXfZ7jrsnfytCim79LpffKzWfPJ_k0OZQN_O3SLJs4n1JQe7N1yfiGJjlmnZ2TRewWkXLpGxaXjBVzLWwNo2I052MKdO_t_dA/s320/Toto+1978.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Toto 1978 (Bobby far
left</span></i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>In the beginning, you’re doing the lead vocals
on the single “Hold the Line”(1978).</i></b><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> David Paich, the keyboard player, wrote
that song. But I sang the lead vocals and most of the background vocals on
that. It was the first single. It’s still very fun to do [<i>To hear “Hold the Line,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htgr3pvBr-I" target="_blank">here</a>.]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>You played on three more albums after Toto’s
debut album, </i>Toto<i> </i>(1978)<i>. Now, particularly, we get to the high
point of </i>Toto IV(1982)<i>. I guess one question that many people have:
Was “Rosanna” really about Rosanna Arquette?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> Well, actually, I don’t think the song
was written about her, because she kind of came around and she started living
with the second keyboard player, Steve Porcaro, about two weeks after I did the
lead vocal on “Rosanna.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Oh, then I guess it’s not about her, since
the song “Rosanna” was about a breakup. You know, the chorus, “Not quite a year
since she went away, Rosanna left!”</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> Yes. She would go on television—the <i>Johnny Carson Show</i> <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>and
several other things. She was an actress. The thing is, when she would say that
the song was written about her, I never denied that. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t want to do that because she was a nice person. For the
<i>Toto IV</i> tour, we were on the bus for
quite a while, and she was on the bus with Steve Porcaro. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Okay. So, they were together when the song
was written. Interesting.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> It was very great to know her. [<i>To hear “Rosanna,” click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmOLtTGvsbM" target="_blank">here</a><i>.</i>]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b>Toto
IV (<i>1982) was the biggest album. It went
triple platinum. It even out-sold the debut album, which went double platinum.
Even the band’s second album </i>Hydra (1979) <i>went gold. And yet after all this success (three great selling albums
out of four albums), the original lineup never continued. Why was it the last
for you? Why was the last for David Hungate, the bass player?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqevs-Hh1u-sz8eay4RKlTyyKEeXyrsSNqZcuE8Tq2C9yBV54ixcZck_ah-r93t7cG9S6mPg6zNzf1KRaHKARpc3VY1BLEYp7vxeko54LoItmY6h523QXEBCBM9JDV3jC1UwA_5aZfqTk/s1600/Totogrammys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="300" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqevs-Hh1u-sz8eay4RKlTyyKEeXyrsSNqZcuE8Tq2C9yBV54ixcZck_ah-r93t7cG9S6mPg6zNzf1KRaHKARpc3VY1BLEYp7vxeko54LoItmY6h523QXEBCBM9JDV3jC1UwA_5aZfqTk/s400/Totogrammys.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Toto winning grammys in
1983 (Bobby 3<sup>rd</sup> to right)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> Well, Hungate left right after we
recorded the <i>Toto IV</i> album. He moved
to Nashville. I think his wife is the one who got him to stop touring. However,
about the middle of the fifth Toto album, <i>Isolation
(</i>1984), I had sung three of the songs and did most of the background
vocals. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wrote one of the songs with David Paich. Anyhow, there was
a problem and they asked me to leave the band. They hired a good friend of
mine, Fergie Frederiksen, to replace me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fergie had played with a band in Louisiana that I had helped
originally put together called the Levee Band. That band first broke up when I
left that band to come to LA, but they got back together about three months
later; they had some new players and Fergie was the new singer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toto hired Fergie to sing with Toto for that fifth album, <i>Isolation</i>. He just went into the studio
and copied the vocals on the songs that I’d sung. He was great, and he was a
really nice guy. But he’s dead. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did several benefit concerts for his family while he was
dying. And that was really, really good because he was there. Before he died,
he was at some of those concerts and it was super nice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as for me, I moved to Germany after I left Toto in 1984.<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>What did you do in Germany?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> There was a guy named Frank Farian, one
of the most famous producers over there. He called me about three days after I
left Toto and asked me to come to Germany. I moved to Frankfurt. That was great
for me because my mother’s father was born in Frankfurt. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wanted to go abroad and concentrate on how great Frankfurt
was. Anyhow, I did a
Self-titled album <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>with
a group called Far Corporation. That was
the first time I met one of the drummers who would later be with Toto for a
long time, Simon Phillips. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Bobby in Far Corporation
(2<sup>nd</sup> to right)—1985<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Yes.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> Simon was playing drums on Far
Corporation’s album. It was fantastic to meet him. [<i>Far Corporation’s first single was a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway
to Heaven.” Click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ItB3_LZuI" target="_blank">here</a><i> to watch Bobby deliver an impressive Robert
Plant impression. He sings the last quarter of the song starting “As we wind
down the road . . .” starting at 4:47.</i>]<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Okay. You eventually came back and played with
Toto. How did that happen?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> In 1998, they called me back after they
had hired three other singers. Fergie Frederickson, who replaced me, was only
with the band for a little less than a year. Then they hired Joseph Williams. Joseph
went to school with some of those guys in Toto, and they hired him. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joseph was with the band for a couple of years, then they fired
him. Then they hired another guy<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>and he was with the band for almost a year.
Then they called me in 1998. So, I needed to come back and sing with the band. I
sang with them for ten years. So, I was with ’em, altogether for eighteen years:
eight years first; ten years second. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>What happened at the end of those ten years?
Why did you—?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BK:<i> </i> When I got back with the band, I wrote the
lyrics on eight of the eleven songs on <i>Falling
in Between.</i> [<i>To hear “Falling in
Between” performed live, click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6t8JtOvSaU" target="_blank">here</a><i>.</i>]<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Toto 2006 (Bobby,
sitting, far left)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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We were
on a two-and-a-half-year tour. Mike Porcaro, was our second bass player when
David Hungate left. He also was (<i>original Toto drummer</i>) Jeff Porcaro’s brother.
Mike Porcaro, halfway through the <i>Falling
in Between</i> tour, walked into our dressing room and told us that we were
going to have to get a substitute bass player, ’cause he couldn’t hardly stand
up any more. He couldn’t hold his bass. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He had Gehrig’s disease, ALS. Not long after that—a couple
weeks after—David Paich, the main keyboard player, told us we had to get a
substitute keyboardist because his sister—his only living relative—needed a
double-lung transplant, and he had to come back to LA and get it for her. He
couldn’t do it while he was on the road. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Okay. </i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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BK:<i> </i> In 2008, at the end of that tour, Steve
Lukather decided he wanted to end. By that point, the only original members in the
band were me and Steve Lukather. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had a substitute drummer, Simon Phillips because Jeff Porcaro
died. We had a substitute bass player and a substitute keyboard player. In
2008, when we finished the tour, Steve Lukather decided that he wanted to form
a solo band. There were only two original members on that stage. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, Steve quit the band, and the band kind of fell apart. I
started touring all over the world. I played with musicians that I met while I
was touring all over the world with Toto. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When an agent would call me or email me about doing a tour
or concerts, I would contact some of the best musicians I had ever met while I
was touring with Toto. I would contact the musicians and tell them, “Put a band
together. Here’s the set list.” And they would, and they were always great.
I’ve been out of the band since 2008, but it hasn’t been a problem for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: I know what you mean
about great musicians, ’cause I certainly heard a lot on your recent solo
album. Why don’t we talk about your latest album, </i>We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
[<i>2017</i>]<i>?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Cover for <b>We’re Not in Kansas Anymore (2017)</b></span></i></div>
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BK:<i> </i> My solo album . . . I really, really
love it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>How did you get started on that?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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BK:<i> </i> John Zaika is the guy who wrote the
tracks. He got the tracks recorded and everything, and I was on the road most
of the time. He was in Dallas for a while recording with a friend of his, so he
went out to LA, and when I got back home, he asked me to come and do the
vocals. I changed a lot of the lyrics. On the other solo album I did, <i>All I Ever Needed </i>(1999), <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>I wrote all of the lyrics, the melody, and
John wrote the music. John’s absolutely brilliant and a great friend of mine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Well, John captures the classic Toto sound
in those album tracks.</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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BK:<i> </i> Yeah, he did some brilliant stuff.<i> [Laughs] </i>Well, those songs were super
fun. [<i>Click </i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djwupHI4a3E" target="_blank">here</a><i> to hear some official video clips of Bobby singing from his latest
album</i>.]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Mm-hmm. One thing I was mentioning before:
your vocals . . . you’re still hitting all the high notes. How did you keep
your vocals in great shape? I’ve watched other vocalists go through wear and
tear, but you’ve managed to keep yours in great shape. How do you do it?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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BK:<i> </i> Well, I sing a lot. About three years
ago, I was having a little bit of a problem with my voice. I am a part-owner of
a hearing aid company in this town, Rhina, in Germany. The doctor—the eye, ear,
nose, and throat doctor—is super, super doctor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He checked my ears and my voice and everything, and we drove
about thirty minutes to this town called Münster to a hospital. There is a
specialist vocal doctor there. Well, I sat on this little thing and he sat
right across from me, and there was a machine to the right. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There was a little device that was connected to the machine;
it was about the size of a fountain pen. He told me, “Open your mouth as wide
as you can. Stick your tongue out as far as you can.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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He put that device around my left vocal cord, moved it up
and down, and he put it on my right vocal cord, moved it up and down. When he
took it out of my mouth, he said, “Sing a high note.” Oh man. I said <i>[makes high-pitched noise]</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>[Laughs] The hair on my neck just stood up
from hearing you, Bobby!</i></b><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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BK:<i> </i> That doctor was fantastic. If I ever
have any more problems, I will go back to him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Do you have any plans to tour behind your
new album?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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BK:<i> </i> Oh yes, actually. This guy from Belgium
has booked me a ton of concerts, and I will also be doing some – four or five of
the songs – from <i>We’re Not in Kansas
Anymore </i>and <i>All I Ever Needed, </i>the
first solo CD I did with John. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;"> </span></span>I’m gonna do some of those songs because I
absolutely love ’em, and I wrote the album.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
Belgium guy booked me a ton of tours, and I’m gonna be on the road with an
orchestra and this fantastic conductor who is a friend of mine. It is going to
be absolutely super fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b><i> </i> <b><i>Since you’ve been a veteran at it for many
years and you’re still hitting the high notes, what would be your recommendation
for anyone who wants to go out and sing?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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BK:<i> </i> <i>[Laughs]
</i>If they want to sing, and they can sing, I would say they absolutely should
do it because it is so fun and so fantastic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 110%;">Bobby Kimball singing
(exact year not known)</span></i></div>
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Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7795047558873074778.post-40379265842326645042017-02-19T14:22:00.002-08:002017-02-20T07:24:35.181-08:00A Very Candid Conversation with Richie Furay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Richie Furay started
his music career as a guitarist and singer with the rock band Buffalo
Springfield in 1966. Buffalo Springfield became the launching pad for music
legends Stephen Stills and Neil Young. (Buffalo Springfield was Stills and
Young’s first major band.) Buffalo Springfield is best known for the song “For
What It’s Worth.” They recorded three albums: </i><b>Buffalo Springfield</b><i> (1966), </i><b>Buffalo Springfield Again </b><i>(1967), and </i><b>Last Time Around </b><i>(1968). The
band didn’t last long and broke up in 1968 due to many lineup changes (nine members
were in and out of Buffalo Springfield), drug-related arrests, and personal
tensions. Despite their short run as a band, Buffalo Springfield was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.</i></div>
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<i>After Buffalo
Springfield’s breakup, Richie and Springfield bandmate Jimmy Messina formed
Poco, a country rock band, in 1968. During Richie’s time with Poco (1968–1973),
the band released several records. Although Poco was well received by audiences
and critics, they weren’t matching the sales and success of Stephen Stills, who
had found success with his trio Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Neil Young, who
had a successful solo career. In addition, Poco bassist Randy Meisner left
after the first album to join the Eagles. (The next Poco bassist, Timothy B.
Schmit, replaced Mesiner in the Eagles in 1977.) Likewise, Messina left Poco
and formed a successful duo with Kenny Loggins known as Loggins and Messina. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Disheartened by Poco’s
inability to attain success, Richie left Poco in 1974 and formed a trio named
Souther–Hillman–Furay Band (SHF). J.D. Souther was a songwriter who had
co-written songs for the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, and Chris Hillman was an
original member of the Byrds. The band never took off, but a significant change
occurred in Richie’s life. While working with Souther and Hillman, Richie met
Al Perkins (a guitarist for SHF), who was a Christian. At that time, Richie was
having marital problems. Perkins introduced Richie to Christ, and through
Christ, Richie repaired his marriage and accepted the fact that his musical
career wasn’t as successful as his peers.
<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>SHF recorded two
albums: their self-titled album </i><b>The
Souther–Hillman–Furay Band</b><i> (1974) and
</i><b>Trouble in Paradise (1974)</b>. <i>Despite the talents of the three men, the
trio never formed a chemistry, thus SHF fell apart. Richie recorded several
solo albums through 1976 and 1982. These albums contained themes of Richie’s
newfound faith, and in 1983, Richie became a pastor at Calvary Chapel in
Broomfield, Colorado. He still is a pastor today. (The website for Calvary
Chapel church can be found </i><a href="http://www.calvarybroomfield.org/">here</a><i>.)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>During his time as a
pastor, Richie had reunions with his first two bands, Poco and Buffalo
Springfield. Poco reunited in 1988 with a gold record </i><b>Legacy</b><i>. Although </i><b>Legacy</b><i> went gold and had a top 20 hit, “Call It Love,” Richie did not stay
long with the band. Richie was unhappy with the video “Call It Love” (directed
by future </i><b>Transformers</b><i> film director Michael Bay), particularly
with the provocative scenes between the men and women actors. He left Poco as a
result. He reunited with Stills at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when Buffalo
Springfield was inducted in 1997, and then he reunited with both Stills and
Young at a Bridge School benefit tour in 2010. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>In this candid
conversation, we cover Richie’s time with Buffalo Springfield, Poco, the
Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, and his solo career. Richie was referred to me by
Santos (my interview with Santos can be read </i><a href="http://jeffcramer.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-very-candid-conversation-with-santos.html" target="_blank">here</a><i>.) Like my interview with Santos, this
interview with Richie is about a great musician who was trying to reach the top
but instead found Christ. I want to thank Santos for referring me to Richie,
but most of all, I want to thank Richie himself.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><i>Jeff Cramer: So, what prompted your interest in music?</i></b></div>
<br />
Richie Furay: Oh, my gosh, it's just one of those things that happened in my life. I'm not even sure. I didn't really have a musical family.<br />
<br />
My mom sung in the church choir, but my dad wasn't musical. I remember when he gave her a tape recorder one year for Christmas; I confiscated the thing and just sat in front of the radio all the time taping all this music.<br />
<br />
As I got a little older, music just began to saturate my heart and my life. It seemed that music was the direction I was going to pursue.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: How did you get started with Buffalo Springfield?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: [<i>Laughs</i>]. I was in Otterbein College in Ohio. In college, I joined an a cappella [<i>a cappella is singing without instrumental accommodation</i>] choir. At one point, we went on tour, and during the tour, we made a stop in New York City. We had a Saturday night off. One of my friends decided, "Hey, why don’t we go down into Greenwich Village and sing." I laughed and said, “Yeah, right. Okay. Where are we gonna sing, the street corner?" And he said, "Oh, we'll sing in some clubs."<br />
<br />
My friend—I'm telling you, man, he could sell anybody anything. My friend talked his way into getting three club managers to let us sing at their club. We sang during the time that they were turning over the audiences. [<i>Laughs</i>]. But we still thought it was a big deal to sing in those clubs.<br />
<br />
After performing, a bug really caught me. I said, "Man, I’m coming back here in the summertime, and I'm gonna get into the music business somehow. I'm gonna get into doing folk music." Folk music was happening in Greenwich Village and it was a big thing.<br />
<br />
When I went to New York the next summer, I talked my two friends into coming with me. Stephen Stills was working in one of the little clubs that my friends and I played in. That's where I met Stephen and we became really good friends.<br />
<br />
A guy named Ed E. Miller put a band together for us, and it was a group like the Serendipity Singers or the New Christy Minstrels [<i>early folk bands of the sixties</i>]. It was a group of nine—there was stand-up bass, the banjo, as many guitars as you could get, and two girls.<br />
<br />
The group was together for about six months. We did an off-Broadway play for two weeks, so it was a quick run. [<i>Laughs</i>]. We did a record for Roulette Records, and we did a supper club [<i>a club that provides dinner and entertainment</i>] tour of Texas.<br />
<br />
After that, the group broke up. Steve went off to California with part of the band, and I went to work at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, Connecticut.<br />
<br />
A friend of mine, Gram Parsons [<i>Parsons was a pioneer in the country rock field</i>], brought me the Byrds' first record while I was working at Pratt & Whitney. I said, "Man, I've got to get a hold of Steve. I've got to find out what's going on, because I've got to get back into music."<br />
<br />
So, I got a hold of Steve, and Steve said, "Hey, come to California. I've got a band together. All I need is another singer and we're ready to go." I said, "I'll be there." So, I quit my job at Pratt & Whitney and went to California sometime in 1966.<br />
<br />
Of course, the band was just me and Steve at the time. No one else was there. That was the beginning of the Buffalo Springfield.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Buffalo Springfield’s first album (self-titled album, 1966) contains their most well–known song, "For What It's Worth.” However, the song seems like an anomaly on that album, as all the other songs are folk rock and “For What It’s Worth” isn’t.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Well, actually, "For What It's Worth" wasn't even on the very first record.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Really?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: There was a song called "Baby, Don't Scold Me,” but that song got taken off the record and was replaced by “For What It’s Worth.” We were sharing our new songs for our second album with Ahmet Ertegun, who was the president of Atlantic Records. Ertegun and the band were in a little house in Topanga. I think it was Steve's house.<br />
<br />
The first album didn't really do what Atlantic Records had wanted it to do or thought that it was gonna do. They thought it was gonna really make a mark right out of the box. So, we played all of our songs—a lot of them appeared on the second record. At the end of the day, Stephen said, "Well, I've got one more: ‘For What It's Worth.’"<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Yes.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: And that was the song. Ahmet said, "We've got to record that song now." We recorded it, and after recording, Atlantic Records took "Baby, Don't Scold Me" off the record and put "For What It's Worth" on the record. The song went to number seven in the country and left its mark in the world of musical history for sure. [<i>Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY" target="_blank">here</a> to see a 1967 presentation of “For What It’s Worth.”</i>]<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Buffalo Springfield (Richie, bottom left) 1967</span></i></div>
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<b><i>JC: The music direction changed dramatically on Buffalo Springfield’s second album </i>Buffalo Springfield Again<i>. One reviewer described Buffalo Springfield’s first album and second album as if you started from the very first Beatles’ album (where all four worked as a group) to an album like</i> Sgt. Pepper’s<i> or </i>The White Album<i> (where everyone was going in their own direction and not cohesive as a group). [</i>Laughs<i>].</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Well, Jeff, that was actually what was happening. The only record that we really made as a group was the first one.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Right.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: On the second album [1967], there were a few songs that were recorded by everyone, but mostly people were going off in their own way. Neil Young was doing his thing and Stephen Stills was doing his thing. And while we were recording <i>Buffalo Springfield Again</i>, I actually had an opportunity to start my solo recording career as well.<br />
<br />
By the third album [1968], it was really every man for himself. [<i>Laughs</i>].<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Was there any song on Buffalo Springfield’s third album where all the group members played together?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: A couple of songs . . . I can't remember. I would have to go back and look at the album. I'm sorry, but I don't think too much about it. There were a couple of songs that everybody played on. Then there were quite a few more on the third record that [<i>bassist</i>] Jimmy Messina and I put together so that we could at least release the third record. That third record would have never gotten released had Jimmy and I not contributed a few more songs. So, we got the third record out.<br />
<br />
The third album was pretty much a lot of individual effort. There's no doubt about it. It was a shame. The band had a lot of potential, but there were nine people in and out of the band in two years. It was just really hard to keep the band together.<br />
<br />
Neil, of course, had different aspirations. For me, Buffalo Springfield was Stephen's band. He was the heart and soul of the band. A lot of people think it was Neil's band, but it was Stephen's band all the way. He was definitely the heart and soul.<br />
<br />
I told Stephen one day, "Listen, man, as long as you're here, I'm here," even though there were so many people in and out of the band. But at the end of the day, when Stephen decided it was time to move on and do some other things, that was when I decided, "Okay, well, that's it. It was a fun run."<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Immediately you started Poco after the breakup of Buffalo Springfield.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Yep. I had already gotten my feet wet from live concerts and making records, so I didn't want to quit. I was ready to keep on going.<br />
<br />
Jimmy Messina was the most recent member of Buffalo Springfield, (Buffalo Springfield went through nine people; Messina was number nine of nine) and we struck up a really nice friendship. Jimmy is a very talented guy. He’s very talented in the technical aspects of recording and he helped me out quite a bit.<br />
<br />
So, Jimmy and I started Poco. Jimmy had played bass in Buffalo Springfield, he would now play guitar in Poco. As we were finishing up the last Buffalo Springfield record, we had the idea of the kind of band that we wanted. We wanted to cross over or do a bridge between country music and rock and roll music. There were a few people that were attempting to do that. The Byrds were doing it at that time and we wanted to continue that.<br />
<br />
Rusty Young had played steel guitar [<i>a guitar where one hand plucks the strings and the other hand changes the pitch with a steel bar or handle</i>] on my song "Kind Woman" that was on the Buffalo Springfield <i>Last Time Around</i> record [<i>Buffalo Springfield’s third album</i>]. So, Jimmy and I asked Rusty if he would like to join the band because he fit right in the niche of what we wanted to do.<br />
<br />
We were looking for singers as well. Rusty said, "Well, I've got a great drummer back in Denver. His name is George Grantham. He’s a wonderful singer and great drummer. Maybe we could see if he would like to join the band." And of course, George joined.<br />
<br />
Then we started auditioning bass players. Actually, on the same day, I think we auditioned Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Oh, really? I didn't know they both auditioned from the beginning.</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
RF: At the very beginning, Randy was our first bass player. He lasted right up through the recording of the first record, <i>Pickin' Up the Pieces</i>, and then he left the band. Then Timothy joined the band after that.<br />
<br />
Initially, Poco had Jimmy Messina, Rusty Young, myself, George Grantham, and Randy Meisner. Then it began to take on all the different changes that it went through when Paul Cotton took Jimmy Messina's place [1971] and Timothy took Randy's place [1969].<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Poco 1969 (Richie, 2nd to right)</span></div>
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<b><i>JC: Like your previous band, each album from Poco was different from the next album [</i>laughs<i>]. </i>Pickin' Up the Pieces<i>, Poco’s first album, is very country-like.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Kind of . . . I mean, that was the motivation behind the record. “Pickin' Up the Pieces" (the song), "Consequently So Long," and different songs like that had the steel guitar.<br />
<br />
But there were some other elements. We were still trying to maintain and hold onto an original rock-and-roll sound that we were trying to establish at the same time. We were a rock-and-roll band that wanted to cross over into country. "Pickin’ Up the Pieces" was the song that was basically leading the way on that. [<i>To hear “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8oK0fbNWm8" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
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<b><i>JC: On your second album (self-titled 1970), there's a Grateful Dead-like jam of one of the songs from your first album, </i>Pickin’ Up the Pieces<i>.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: "Nobody's Fool" was on the first album, and then we redid the song as "Nobody's Fool/El Tonto de Nadie, Regresa" on the second album. That was basically to say, "Hey, listen, we have two great soloists," as far as instrumental soloists go in the band, Rusty Young and Jimmy Messina. It was really very popular during that time to do those extended instrumental jams. We just said, "Yeah, we'll do that. We can do that too." Poco was a very versatile band. When you listen to that jam, it has a lot of jazz flavor on it too.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: That’s what I mean. There was a mix of country and rock on the first album. By the second, there was jazz.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Yeah. I think every artist doesn't want to do the same thing over. You want to think that you're progressing. You want to think that you can take the gifts that you've been given and use them or create something that's new and fresh.<br />
<br />
I think you have to do something that's fresh with every album. If you just keep doing the same thing, it’s not going to be fresh. And so, that was one of the reasons.<br />
<br />
After the second album, we did a live album [1971]. Around the time the live album was released was the time that Paul Cotton was coming into the band to replace Jimmy Messina. As a band, we thought, "Okay, we need to reestablish our rock-and-roll roots." Paul certainly added to that. I can't remember the album after—<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: That was the one I was about to ask you about, </i>From the Inside<i>.</i></b><br />
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RF: Oh,<i> From the Inside</i>. Yeah, that was the next one. [<i>Laughs</i>].<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: I was going to ask you about that album, because I know it's been mentioned that you really did not like the production on that album. [</i>Laughs<i>].</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Well, I think it was new for all of us. That was the first record that we did that Jimmy didn't produce as an in-house producer, an in-group producer. Steve Cropper [<i>the record’s producer</i>] came from a little different musical background than we did.<br />
<br />
I certainly think that Steve did a good job, but I think maybe there were some things that were going on that he didn't relate to. Steve was just cutting his teeth on a lot of production at the time.<br />
<br />
Great guy, man. As a matter of fact, I just put a song on my Facebook page two days ago, called "Starlight," which was on one of my first solo records. Steve played on that, and it was really fun to have him play on it.<br />
<br />
Steve was a great guy, but I think there was a little bit of a disconnect. Also, there were a lot of things going on in my life at that time, and I wasn't really connected in the process as much as I would have like to have been.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>JC: From what I read, you were starting to have some thoughts about leaving Poco around the time you were making the album </i>A Good Feelin’ to Know<i> [1972]. Although, you would stay on for one more album, </i>Crazy Eyes<i> [1973]. So, what began the change in thinking, "Maybe Poco isn't for me"?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Well, I had seen a lot of my friends having more success. Stephen in Crosby, Stills & Nash. The Eagles were starting to come along at that time. And Randy [<i>who first joined Poco</i>] was in the Eagles and they were starting to make some noise.<br />
<br />
With <i>A Good Feelin’ to Know</i>, we were looking for a producer who could help us. We had great FM air play. FM was the underground radio at the time, but there was the AM radio that we didn't have, which was the format that really lifted you or put you into a genre of acceptability.<br />
<br />
We were looking for a commercial producer. We didn't want to go back and do another record with Steve. We wanted to find someone who was more in-tune to hit records. My first choice at that time was Richie Podolor. He produced Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf. But Richie didn't work out. We recorded a couple of demos with him and took them to CBS, but CBS said no. I don't know why they said no.<br />
<br />
It was suggested that we listen to some of Jack Richardson's production—he produced Canadian rock band the Guess Who. We really liked a lot of what Jack was doing, so we hired him.<br />
<br />
Jack came out and listened to us as we were rehearsing at one time. We all just said, "Yep, let's do it. Let's get together. We relate to him. He's a great guy. He's easy to work with."<br />
<br />
So, we started <i>Good Feelin' to Know</i>. When we recorded <i>Good Feelin' to Know</i>, everybody thought, from the production right on down the line, “This is it. The title track is the song that's going to be the AM hit that's going to give us the opportunity to move along.” [<i>A live version of “Good Feelin' to Know” can be heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYuHvvBd5H0" target="_blank">here</a></i>.]<br />
<br />
And when it didn't happen, it was very discouraging to me. I just thought, "Well, if this record's not gonna do it, then there's not one that's gonna do it." At that time, I decided that I was going to pull out and try to find another avenue to pursue my career.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>JC: What did you do right after Poco?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Right after Poco I got together with Chris Hillman (from the Byrds) and J.D. Souther (who was already starting to make a name for himself, as he was co-writing some songs with the Eagles.) With the encouragement of a record executive named David Geffen, we put together the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band [<i>SHF</i>].<br />
<br />
On paper, the band looked great. You've got three great songwriters. Well, I won't say ‘great’—I don't want to put myself in the category of great. You have three songwriters. [<i>Laughs</i>]. Chris Hillman, J.D. Souther, and myself.<br />
<br />
We had a really tremendous band with Paul Harris (keyboards), Al Perkins (guitarist), and Jim Gordon (drums). On paper, it looked like this band was a can’t-miss. This had to be another Crosby, Stills & Nash. But there's never gonna be another one of those no matter what anybody thinks.<br />
<br />
Crosby, Stills & Nash got together because they were close friends, they were working together, and it just evolved. We were put together on paper. Like I say, what always looks good on paper doesn't always translate out into real time. And it didn't.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Richie (far right) on 1974 self-titled album</span></div>
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<br />
With Chris and J.D., we didn't necessarily gel as a working unit. They're both dear friends of mine today. I love them both. I've worked with Chris quite a bit. I've had J.D. sing on some of my solo records. There's nothing that would keep us apart other than the fact that it just didn't work for us in that format. [<i>To hear SHF’s “Fallin’ In Love” click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSLYDGAS2o" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Okay. So, after that band broke up, what did you do next?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: [<i>Laughs</i>]. What did I do next? [<i>Laughs</i>]. Well, there was a guy in the band [<i>SHF</i>]. His name was Al Perkins, and I didn't want Al in the band.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Oh.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: I thought that Al was gonna be a detriment to the band. Chris Hillman is the one who brought him in because he had worked with him previously, and he was insistent on the fact that Al was the guy that we needed. Al played not only guitar, but he played steel guitar, he played Dobro [<i>a wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar</i>], he played banjo—he was a multi-instrumentalist. He was a great player and a great guy.<br />
<br />
But Al had a little . . . what do I want to say? He had . . . not a stigma, but he was a Christian. At that time, I didn't want to have a Christian in the band.<br />
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<b><i>JC: Wow.</i></b><br />
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RF: I thought Al was going to stop SHF from the success that I was looking for at that time.<br />
<br />
Why would that make a difference? You know what, looking back on it, I know now that Jesus draws a dividing line. I thought having Al in the band was going to cause us to flounder and flop. He had a little fish sticker on his guitar that said "Jesus is Lord." And I just said, "No, I don't want this guy in the band."<br />
<br />
Jeff, Al could have been anything. He could have been a womanizer. He could have been a drunk. He could have been a drug addict. He could have been anything. But he was a Christian.<br />
<br />
And that's the reason that I didn't want him in the band, because Jesus does draw a line. Back in the day, it wasn't necessarily very popular to make a bold stand for Christianity. But Al ended up leading me to the Lord and became [<i>laughs</i>] a very dear friend of mine. But in the beginning, I didn't want him in the band.<br />
<br />
Then things started to change in my life. My wife and I started to have some marital problems, and it really threw me for a loop. And I just decided, "You know what? I have to decide what's the most important thing in my life right now. Do I really want to be this rock-and-roll star?"<br />
<br />
Yes, I've seen Stephen's name up in lights. I've seen Neil's name up in lights. I've seen Randy Meisner's name up in lights with the Eagles. Jimmy Messina had taken off with Kenny Loggins and became a big star. I was thinking, "What about me? I'm just as talented as these guys are." I don't have an ego or nothing like that, but [<i>laughs</i>] I was kind of feeling sorry for myself.<br />
<br />
I decided SHF was going to be the way to go, but then we had this other thing going on with a Christian in the band who wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was very out front with his little sticker on his guitar and unashamed of his faith. And I was thinking, "Oh man, this just isn't gonna work out."<br />
<br />
Then the rug was pulled out from under me, and my wife [Nancy] said, "You know, I'm out of the marriage. I don't want to be married any longer." I thought, "Good lord, man, what's going on? Everything's falling apart in my life."<br />
<br />
I had to reassess what was important to me. Did I want to put my family back together, or did I want to keep on continuing this rat race of trying to put together a rock-and-roll band that was gonna be a star that would burn out in time?<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Obviously, you decided to reassess your life at that point. What happened from there?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Well, I did reassess and there was a series of circumstances. Nancy and I separated for seven months after being married for seven years. There was a lot of deep soul-searching in those seven months while the Lord was working in both my life and Nancy's life.<br />
<br />
Nancy and I did begin to talk. I thought at one point in time when she came up to visit that we were just gonna get together again and try to make it work, but she was not ready at that time.<br />
<br />
Through time and through circumstances, Nancy and I began to talk, and we said, "Hey, we can give this another try." This happened between the second SHF record and<i> I've Got a Reason </i>[<i>Richie’s first solo record</i>] that we started working on our marriage and came back together. We will be married fifty years on March 4th.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: In addition, Al Perkins would introduce you to Calvary Chapel. The chapel would become a big part of your life as well.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: Right. Al took me to a church in southern California called Calvary Chapel. Al just took me down there, and all of a sudden I started meeting all these young guys. I guess they were familiar with my music and they probably thought more highly of me than they [<i>laughs</i>] should have at the time. But I was looking up to them because they had this walk with the Lord. I was just trying to get my life back together.<br />
<br />
I made a lot of good friends out there at Calvary, and I made changes in my life as to the direction that I wanted to go and what I was gonna do. The fact is, Jeff, I thought I was gonna put together the rock-and-roll band for God. That was really what I thought after Nancy and I got back together. I thought that was my purpose in life. I was gonna make Christian rock records.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Yes.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: First of all, I had to get everything else together. I had to get my family together first, because if that wasn't gonna work, then it didn't matter. It no longer mattered if I saw my name or my group's name at the Hollywood Bowl or Carnegie Hall. That didn't matter anymore. What really mattered was my family. I had this gift. When God gives you a gift, it's something that he doesn't want you to bury. He wants you to use it.<br />
<br />
At that time, I was trying to figure out how all this was gonna fit together. First of all, I had to get my family back together, so when that happened, I met a friend at Calvary Chapel. His name was Tom Stipe. Tom and I started writing music together. We actually wrote quite a few songs on my first solo record, <i>I've Got a Reason</i>, the first album that I did apart from a band.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>I’ve Got a Reason</b> (1976) album cover</span></i></div>
<br />
That record kind of tells a lot of story of the struggles that I was going through—trying to work out my relationship with Nancy, how our life was gonna evolve . . . <i>I've Got a Reason</i> were the struggles I was having at that time, and trusting in the Lord to put together my marriage, which everybody said was pretty much over and done with. David Geffen came to me and said, "You're not gonna give me one of those Jesus records, are you?" And I said, " I think you're gonna enjoy this music, man." [<i>To hear “Look at the Sun” from Richie’s first record, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Ml91-rlws" target="_blank">here</a>.</i>]<br />
<br />
It was interesting. On that record, the name of Jesus isn't mentioned one time. Yet, when it came out, the Christian community rejected it because of that fact.<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Oh.</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: It wasn't because of music. It was because of the fact that the I never said Jesus’ name. So, it wasn't Jesus enough for them, or it wasn't quote-Christian-unquote for them.<br />
<br />
But the secular world caught on right away and they rejected it too. Even though it came on the charts at good numbers and was getting support, I couldn't get the support of the record company to go for it because they were afraid. "What are we gonna do with this guy, a man who is now an outspoken person for Jesus Christ?"<br />
<br />
So, the secular world rejected it as well. There I was, caught between a rock and a hard place, not knowing which way to go and what to do. But there was the record out there.<br />
<br />
That was the beginning of the solo career and the beginning of some other things. Nancy and me starting to get our life back together and our marriage back together. It was an interesting time in 1976. [<i>Laughs</i>].<br />
<br />
<b><i>JC: Did you do any more solo albums after that?</i></b><br />
<br />
RF: I followed that up with an album called <i>Dance a Little Light</i>, which was another record that was on Asylum [<i>David Geffen’s record label.</i>] At that time, I was kind of required to give Asylum more products after leaving SHF, so I did<i> Dance a Little Light</i>.<br />
<br />
I thought really a very fine record. It was not as directly faith-based as <i>I've Got a Reason</i> was. David Geffen had left Asylum at the time, and another guy had taken over, and we did not have a rapport.<br />
<br />
I played a concert in Los Angeles, in support of <i>Dance a Little Light</i>, at a place called the Roxy. The record company was coming down and I was hoping they were gonna say, "Well, you know what, it's been a good run, but we're gonna cut you loose. We're gonna let you go."<br />
<br />
Well, that was not the fact. I blew them away, because I had a great band. I've always had great live bands. I blew them away at the Roxy, and they said, "When are you gonna do the next record?"<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>JC: [</i>Laughs<i>]</i></b>.<br />
<br />
RF: And it's like, "Oh man, I've given you two, and you've done nothing at all with them." I was so disheartened, but I went back at the encouragement of another friend and recorded another solo record called <i>I Still Have Dreams</i>. We had a top 40 record with that, but Asylum still neglected to get behind it. At that time, I was throwing up my hands, saying, "What in the world do I do now?"<br />
<br />
Then I thought about doing a record for a Christian record company called Myrrh. I gave them a record called <i>Seasons of Change</i>. They re-released my first record, <i>I've Got a Reason</i>, while I put together the songs and the recording for<i> Seasons of Change</i>.<br />
<br />
But for some reason, I just couldn't get it going with anybody, so that's when I began to really throw up my hands. After I gave them <i>Seasons of Change</i>, nothing happened with that as far as in the Christian community.<br />
<br />
I was still striving, man. I was still trying to get that recognition record, that recognition in a group setting somewhere, whether it be a secular setting or a Christian setting. It was like I was out in no-man’s-land. I’d created a lot of good music that nobody had even heard of because the record companies at first didn't know what to do with me. First Asylum and now Myrrh.<br />
<br />
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Basically, that was
when I stopped making music for a while. I said, "Lord, what will you have
me to do?" I started a little Calvary Chapel affiliate church in Boulder,
Colorado. <i>[Laughs.]</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Is
that when you also became a pastor?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: Yep. That’s
another interesting little <i>[laughs]</i> sideline, because a lot of people
think, "Well, if you haven't gone to seminary, then you can't really be an
official pastor." But that's not how it worked with Calvary Chapel. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I would go out and
do some things with some friends of mine who were Calvary Chapel pastors and
were on the radio. I would sing a few songs before they came out and preached
their message to the radio audience. We started a little home Bible study in
Boulder, and then we started an affiliation of Calvary Chapel church. <br />
<br />
After about eight years, music came back around. What goes around comes around.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Right.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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RF: In 1988, Rusty
Young had gotten in touch with me and wanted to know if I would like to do a
Poco reunion. I said, "Sure, that would be fun. But who's gonna be the
bass player?" Was it going to be Randy? Was it going to be Timothy? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then I thought,
“Who’s going to be the guitar player?” I thought the way to do that project
would have been to bring both of them into it. <br />
<br />
I think Timothy had just been asked to rejoin the Eagles at that time, so he
opted out of it. I don't remember what happened with Jimmy and Paul, but I
really wanted to see both of them because they both contributed so much to the
band that it would have been nice. It got whittled down to where it was gonna
be Randy and Jimmy. <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Poco, 1989 (Richie, 2<sup>nd</sup>
to right)</i></span></div>
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<br />
That became a struggle. Quite frankly, I had just become a pastor and there
were some struggles. There were some songs that I really did not relate to or
believe in and thought that if I was a part of those songs that I was endorsing
them. And I didn't want to endorse them. <br />
<br />
One thing led to another, and I finally agreed to do a six-week tour, I believe.
After that six-week tour, I abandoned the whole thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Why
did you abandon the whole thing? <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: There wasn’t a
mutual respect. I will admit that I was feeling like, “I’m out here in no-man’s-land
with these guys." I had talked with them about the mutual respect that I
felt, and they needed to show me the same respect that I showed them. It was
hard for me to continue. The fact is, I had seen the video for “Call It Love”
and did not like it. I was very, very, very specific about what I did not like
about the video to the band, the management, and the record company. I was told
by the record company and by my manager at that time, who was Allen Kovac, that
they would not release that video until it had been approved by the band. <br />
<br />
Poco was going down to Nashville to play at the RCA national convention. I was
told that the video had already been released. I basically pulled a Neil Young.
I went up to my room, got my bags packed, rescheduled to play, and I was on my
way to the airport and out of town. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Okay.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: I mean, if
words don't mean anything, then actions will definitely speak. It was a sad
situation. It was something that could have been avoided in so many different
ways if there would have just been mutual respect. But there wasn't mutual
respect. They thought I was being too—what do you want to call it— “stuffy
Christian” or whatever. I really wasn't. But there were things that just didn't
sit with me that I felt I could condone and stand up there and feel good about.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Back at Calvary
Chapel, the people at Calvary Chapel were looking for some songs for what they
call a worship album. I was asked if I had any songs. I said, "Sure, man,
we've got some songs." I had been writing some songs with my friend Scott
Sellen. Scott and I started playing the songs for Calvary. The people in charge
of the record said, "Well, you've got enough songs for your own record. Why
don't you just make your own Christian record?" So, we thought,
"Okay, we'll make our own worship record." <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That actually got
me back into making music again. I recorded the album, <i>In My Father's House </i>[1997],
and that one led to another one called <i>I Am Sure </i>[2005]. Those are what I
like to call “devotional records.” I don't want to say, "Okay, these are
Christian rock records," or whatever. They're just devotional. They're not
all worship records. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There are some
songs on there that you wouldn't think of doing at a worship service, but there
are songs on there that you would do at a worship service. They’re just
devotional. They're for people who love the Lord and want to draw close to him.
<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You
would later reunite with Buffalo Springfield at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1997. I think I read that you did a Bridge School benefit with Stills and Young
as well.</i></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
RF: Yeah. That was probably
about five years ago.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><i>Richie
(center, singing) at Bridge School Benefit, 2010</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Neil called and asked what I would think about
doing a little reunion. So, we did. You know what? It was fun. It was the
second time that we had tried to do a reunion.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We tried to do a
reunion in the eighties, prior to the Poco reunion. It was a nightmare. It was
a train wreck. It was really bad. I was a little hesitant in committing to
doing this project with Stephen and Neil. But, boy, when we got together, it
was no work at all. It was just easy. It was just fun. We did the music, and it
was great. We were actually supposed to do a tour. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Really?
<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: A thirty-day
tour. After we did the Bridge School, we did seven other shows, and the next
year we were gonna do a thirty-day tour. But Neil, once again, decided that he
wasn't into it anymore. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah.
<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: And that was it
for that. But it was fun. I think everybody who participated in it had a fun
time. Now, we've lost Rick Rosas (our bass player at reunion). Joe Vitale (reunion
drummer) and Rick did such a wonderful job. <br />
<br />
That was a good fun time. I would have liked to have done the tour. It was fun.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>What
about getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Buffalo?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: Yeah, that was quite
an honor. It was certainly a humbling experience to be inducted. But I tell you
what . . . it is a . . . <i>[laughs]</i>.
How do I want to say it? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Yeah.</i></b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: It's kind of
like a bittersweet thing, because I think it's very political how one gets in
there. Yes, I do think Buffalo Springfield was deserving, but they got in there
because Neil is very close to Jann Wenner [<i>owner of </i>Rolling Stone<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span><i>magazine</i>]. Obviously, Springfield has made a mark,
Neil has made a mark, Stephen's made a mark, and so they are very deserving. In
my estimation, Poco doesn’t get any recognition for the pioneering job that we
did, and I think that's a shame. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>Well,
bands such as Chicago (who was inducted in 2016) and Journey (who is being
inducted in 2017) were ignored by </i>Rolling Stone<i> and the critics, but
they were successful with fans and the mass public. Eventually, both bands had
to be put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [</i>Laughs<i>].</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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RF: Yeah. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC:</i></b> <b><i>You’re
still at Calvary Chapel as a pastor. Talk about what goes on daily for you as a
pastor.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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RF: Well, Chuck
Smith, who started Calvary Chapel, really taught us to do book by book, verse
by verse. That’s what we've continued to do in Colorado.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have a small
Calvary. There are big Calvaries, there are small Calvaries, there's medium-sized
Calvaries. We're a small Calvary. As to why, the Lord knows what we can handle,
so that's what he gives us. We’ve been a church since 1982 in Colorado. <br />
<br />
We aren't really a traditional church, but we have our worship. We have a
message. We pick a book that we're gonna go through from chapter one through
the last chapter of the book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have outreaches
as far as some missionary outreaches. It's just like . . . we're a church, man,
just like <i>[laughs]</i> every church would be. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>JC: Any plans to
get back into music?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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RF: I've never
planned anything. I think it's best that way. As far as a musical career, I'm
writing songs again right now. We'll just see what happens with those. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm gonna be seventy-three
in May. It's not like I'm looking to build a career of any kind. I mean, the
fact that we're even talking, there must be some significance to my life that
you would even want to talk to me about what I'm doing. So, I'm not trying to
become anything or do anything. I just watch it go and just enjoy life as it
comes my way, man. I have four daughters. As I’ve said before, Nancy and I have
been married for fifty years come March 4th. I have twelve grandchildren. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I've been blessed. I
have been blessed more than any one guy should be blessed. I'm just very
grateful for the way the Lord has worked in my life. The Bible says, "If you
delight yourself in the Lord, he'll give you the desires of your heart” <i>[Psalm
37:4]. </i><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span> I have the desires of my heart and can't even
imagine anything else that I could desire. <span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Richie at
Calvary Chapel, 2011</span></i></div>
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Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757173496232007482noreply@blogger.com2