tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55848257393474994862024-03-05T14:59:11.715-06:00One Song, Seven QuestionsI ask seven questions about my favorite records to musicians, writers, and others. Genre and era vary widely. Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-77621409281264233712021-11-14T12:38:00.003-06:002022-11-25T15:28:51.339-06:00The Biggest Lie Under The Sun<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana;">Going Down to Sing in Texas (Iris DeMent) -- Chris Donohue</span></span></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's not easy to record a long song that has no chorus or bridge, but simply goes verse to verse to verse. Or at least it's not easy to record such a song and make it engaging for the duration. It takes lyrical and musical excellence. The artist who has done it best might be Bob Dylan, with "Desolation Row" (11:21), "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" (8:51) and "Highlands" (16:31) as three notable examples. Most recently, "Murder Most Foul" clocked in at 16:56.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another song released in 2020 shares with "Murder Most Foul" a few things besides length (though it's "only" 9:21). Iris DeMent's "Going Down to Sing in Texas" also features a prominent piano, a singer with a distinctive voice, and evocative commentary on America. Similar to many of Dylan's long songs, DeMent's recording is backed by an excellent ensemble of musicians that creates an irresistible groove to carry the listener along.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>(Note: I had the YouTube video of "Going Down to Sing in Texas" inserted here, but it has been removed from that platform as well as Spotify, etc. If/when it returns, I will repost it)</i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i> </i><br /></div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;">One of the musicians on "Going Down to Sing in Texas" is bassist Chris Donohue. Chris resume is impressive and worth checking out <a href="https://www.chrisdonohue.me/bio" target="_blank">here</a>. He has played with musicians across various genres, from Emmylou Harris to Robert Plant, Elvis Costello to Pete Seeger to Larry Carlton.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlNhZX3ruRhXCqyIsd6TU8t-mwDCU0_6yWcALXOxQ7auBtVHbgJAliTm77XK3G3lAdhAErlv5tGoKIrlBOQFRl357r6akh1HEx936F4j9ekbF83i5e4UpvOthaAURrkTioeypdpmKGJo/s1600/emmy.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlNhZX3ruRhXCqyIsd6TU8t-mwDCU0_6yWcALXOxQ7auBtVHbgJAliTm77XK3G3lAdhAErlv5tGoKIrlBOQFRl357r6akh1HEx936F4j9ekbF83i5e4UpvOthaAURrkTioeypdpmKGJo/w640-h426/emmy.webp" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Backing Emmylou Harris and Steve Martin (via<a href="https://www.chrisdonohue.me/" target="_blank"> chrisdonohue.me</a>)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Recently, Chris took time to answer my questions about his contributions to "Going Down to Sing in Texas."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>1 - You have Fender, Italia, Fret-King, Epiphone, Guild, and Univox electric basses, a Tyrolean contrabass, and an Eminence double bass. Which bass did you use on "Going Down to Sing in Texas" and why?</b><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Chris Donohue:</b></span> On most of the songs we recorded during those sessions with Iris, I used my late-19th century Tyrolean contrabass (double bass).<br /><br />Many of Iris' piano parts feature a "stride" approach in her left hand, which creates more rhythm and a fuller sound when she is performing solo.<br /><br />When layered with a busy left-hand piano part, the round, dark frequency profile of the double bass can still be heard and "felt" without competing with the more expansive frequency range of the piano's middle to lower registers.<br /><br />My Tyrolean bass is a particularly wonderful instrument to record with as it has a very warm, focused low-end and exceptional clarity in a mix. I'm very lucky to have found it!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><b></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtizGQVvMbeR24Cp7EZa8cO2d1gPDXCjr54LyI_u-yWaMHK82Qo5fgBrrzKmY_7jdVAbmMl2V4W4Dk9-eZ63tgzkTuH4J49DAnC5x1zaLCM_KVoGHRDR_uQlzW_ZaBKt16MezyeWMd-n8/s879/Screenshot+2021-11-13+at+18-38-48+Chris+Donohue+%2528+cbdonohue%2529+%25E2%2580%25A2+Instagram+photos+and+videos.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="879" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtizGQVvMbeR24Cp7EZa8cO2d1gPDXCjr54LyI_u-yWaMHK82Qo5fgBrrzKmY_7jdVAbmMl2V4W4Dk9-eZ63tgzkTuH4J49DAnC5x1zaLCM_KVoGHRDR_uQlzW_ZaBKt16MezyeWMd-n8/s320/Screenshot+2021-11-13+at+18-38-48+Chris+Donohue+%2528+cbdonohue%2529+%25E2%2580%25A2+Instagram+photos+and+videos.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Courtesy of Chris's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cbdonohue/">Instagram page</a></i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br />2 - How did you learn the song? Did Iris send you a demo, play it solo for you and others on the track in the studio, or go Bob Dylan style where she just started playing the piano and you all hopped on for the ride? </b><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span>Iris played the song for us for the first time in the studio that day. I made a quick chord chart that was copied and passed around, and I believe we only played one or two takes before having a listen and settling on the one we all liked the best.<br /><b><br />3 - This song rolls along for nine minutes. Does a song being that long influence how you approach your approach to the bass part?</b><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span></span>I'm always mindful of a song's dynamic arc when considering a bass part prior to recording, but in this case our rhythm section's task was very straightforward: maintain a solid, understated groove from which she could speak her unvarnished truth. <b><br /><br />4 - In addition to being a session musician, you are a producer, music supervisor and songwriter. Did you have any additional responsibilities with "Going Down" or was it strictly a bass-playing gig?</b><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span></span>I was there that day as a bassist and a friend!<b></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br />5 - The proceeds from the recording are going to food banks and the <a href="https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/" target="_blank">Poor People's Campaign</a>. The lyrics are a commentary on the modern America. How important were those aspects to your participation?</b><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span></span>It is always a more meaningful musical experience when we know our projects will help support the well-being of others. Gestures of this type come naturally to Iris - she has a heart as big as the world.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxUi4qqxD4WKyULeSR9SgAl1SaLlGmSy1iO5f9W3BAA9oIDwSiL7Ou5kYWvfuCCdC90mpFDOQX8RR7yJtHReZxbfAaXECfgQc3LxiJjiigtNkYWB3DKsl3_Pc57PjmsT0Ay4y9dxCUtM/s600/iris.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxUi4qqxD4WKyULeSR9SgAl1SaLlGmSy1iO5f9W3BAA9oIDwSiL7Ou5kYWvfuCCdC90mpFDOQX8RR7yJtHReZxbfAaXECfgQc3LxiJjiigtNkYWB3DKsl3_Pc57PjmsT0Ay4y9dxCUtM/w400-h225/iris.webp" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Iris DeMent (<a href="http://irisdement.com">irisdement.com</a>)</i><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><b>6 - It sounds like it was recorded live with all the musicians playing together. Was it, or did you lay down your track individually?</b><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span></span>We recorded the song live in complete takes.<b></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br />7 - "Going Down" sounds deceptively organic as if it spring forth fully formed. But were there other takes where you played a different bass part and/or where Iris took an entirely different approach to the style and tone?</b><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CD:</span> </b></span></span>Experimenting with different bass approaches wasn't necessary - as you suggest, this song was basically complete </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">when she presented it to us in the studio.</span><br /> </div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitN64CSM9w6x-baPQVSJs3yhcF-X6zgK3MUEXez2m3On6VRJQBToDozNNk2LKATamCKedwChDs5E1RsfPqrNOeyAEXUcDStypcD8sbVSk_Ayv6tHa0MIYeXhkFEwgTFSx0UbDbYCNZs8/s533/artist-ap-chris-donohue.webp"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="533" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitN64CSM9w6x-baPQVSJs3yhcF-X6zgK3MUEXez2m3On6VRJQBToDozNNk2LKATamCKedwChDs5E1RsfPqrNOeyAEXUcDStypcD8sbVSk_Ayv6tHa0MIYeXhkFEwgTFSx0UbDbYCNZs8/w400-h400/artist-ap-chris-donohue.webp" width="400" /></a></div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy of SoundBetter.com</i></div></span></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-27076466729169204112021-07-06T20:16:00.000-05:002021-07-06T20:16:13.233-05:00How the Good Shines Through<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #351c75;">SOME GOOD YEARS - The Cowsills</span></span></h1><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I love music documentaries. One of the best I've seen is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2042520/?ref_=tt_mv_close" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"Family Band: The Cowsills Story,"</a> which would be excellent even if the titular act hadn't sold millions of records. It's simply a compelling look at the ups and downs of a large family over the course of three decades or so.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: red;"><img alt="Family Band film poster" border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmTLFSPDn_h4wGXpc8h7ZeqQI-LBMHwy9qV79ryF2LXTuv_I6gXaC9BNK_c4O7VbctqX4yCgwGMEWPopv8_0zGFNn_lAXDjT1MtTpVR63td2MR3pHZ-jeFbzDGWHYDJ0S8hAZmT9wVdk/w210-h320/index.jpg" title="Family Band film poster" width="210" /></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">A short version of the band's history (since the long version is in the film and on <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Wikipedia</a>): four brothers from Rhode Island formed a band in 1965, were later joined by their sister and another brother, and then by their mother (and another brother from time to time in later years). They were managed by their father, which didn't end well. <br /><br />Among other hits, the Cowsills had two singles that made it to #2 on the Top 40: "<a href="https://youtu.be/IUGWEo33fok" target="_blank">The Rain, The Park and Other Things</a>" and "<a href="https://youtu.be/Qt_yKPNORLM" target="_blank">Hair</a>." Famously, the band inspired "The Partridge Family" television series.<br /> <br />There were departures and fallow periods, but Bob, Susan and Paul Cowsill carry the torch to this day, continuing the family tradition of excellent musicianship.<br /><br />Back to the documentary: it ends with a song Bob wrote, "Some Good Years," a look back at personal history with affection, wisdom, and harmonies that evoke the Beach Boys without being derivative. It's an earworm of the best kind.</span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6GjidnTTpls" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bob has generously taken time to answer my questions about "Some Good Years": <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOr9ju2p-RZlWKlwNVcOPkZC0oNFM3DoeVKiJmCHZ0kbhJ5R6Jk3Lr01CvWA36JI5NUG60EflXsq0ADbBq2X9_H36DBF_gtvvokMDtpWdsrGQxAdjhB6ly1QoVWB5ECR7PRDeM53Qqfg/s300/300x300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOr9ju2p-RZlWKlwNVcOPkZC0oNFM3DoeVKiJmCHZ0kbhJ5R6Jk3Lr01CvWA36JI5NUG60EflXsq0ADbBq2X9_H36DBF_gtvvokMDtpWdsrGQxAdjhB6ly1QoVWB5ECR7PRDeM53Qqfg/s0/300x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Some Good Years" is a track from this 1998 LP</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><br clear="none" /><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>1 - Did you record a demo or any alternate versions, or is the finished
record essentially what you heard in your head as you composed the
song? </b></span><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Bob Cowsill: </b></span>I recorded "Some Good Years" along
with two other songs from "Global" ("She Said To Me" and "Is It Any
Wonder?") alone. I played all the instruments except drums and the
keyboard descension part on "Some Good Years," which I asked Gary
Griffin to play because I couldn't. All I had to do was sing it to
Gary and he could reproduce it - very talented. </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"> </div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had no plans other than record some songs I had written because that's what you did with songs. You recorded them - with or without a label or a reason - well actually, the reason being you've written songs, now what? Well, you record them. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was in the middle of these do-it-alone sessions when we (me, Paul, Susan) took a meeting with Dick
Clark and turned down his invitation to join his
cavalcade of stars on a summer tour, and during the post-meeting we were
having I mentioned I have these songs I've been working on and that
triggered us all going into the studio and recording "Global," John
included. I had pretty much finished "Some Good
Years" so we added Paul and Susan and John to the backgrounds already
there and beefed those up, then added John on the drums (I had used a
drum machine to construct the track with). </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" />
<b>2 - The song was recorded and released a few years before the release of
the "Family Band: The Cowsills Story," but it plays over the end
credits so perfectly it sounds as though it was written for the film.
What did inspire the song, originally? <br /></b></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span>I had always loved what I called
"Retirement videos" of athletes. They always had a great song playing
while they showed the best highlights of the player's career. So what I
did was I specifically wrote "Some Good Years" with the idea
of getting it to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his retirement video. The
original lyrics were all about Kareem and his history. I still have
them buried with everything else in my garage so will at some point dig
those out and frame them or something. </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So eventually
I realized pretty much every one has had some good years and even the
bad and harsh parts of someone's life smooth out over time and don't
seem as harsh anymore. </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSJrcCWWmZxxrKcnySbvUlLwzI7fdoY_k_S75OaGbcTQAvUzn1jNVCcD4dxABEJkSClBI1hgIbWKh1c-EGvWcaZKM9_XZlaE97hXS0VIAjVnGf1m9bzsN-J_H63bliQ0bv0viKRyy7-w/s250/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar_Lipofsky.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSJrcCWWmZxxrKcnySbvUlLwzI7fdoY_k_S75OaGbcTQAvUzn1jNVCcD4dxABEJkSClBI1hgIbWKh1c-EGvWcaZKM9_XZlaE97hXS0VIAjVnGf1m9bzsN-J_H63bliQ0bv0viKRyy7-w/s0/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar_Lipofsky.jpg" /></a></div> </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - Did you arrange the harmonies yourself or did everyone pretty much know what to do after all the years of singing together.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span></span>On that particular song I was sort
of loose in the candy field and could do whatever I wanted just working
alone on things so that vocal arrangement was all done (I just kept
using my own voice to build the vocal stacks) by the time Susan,
Paul and John showed up, so I just added their voices to what was
already there. I actually used my wife, Mary, for the girl answer
("they were some good years) and ended up adding Susan to that and
keeping them both in the end.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbwC8UQw1Cs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - In the wonderfully "unplugged" live version from 2008, you and Susan and Paul all look so very happy to be singing this song. What do you recall from this
performance?</span></b></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span></span>We recall how exciting it was to
meet Florence Henderson and sit and visit with her. We're always
happiest when performing and singing because that's what brings this
family together so if we're singing anywhere we're hanging out with
each other and the kids and it's always very rewarding. To be asked to
sing on a TV show like that is so fun and it involved meeting Florence
Henderson and it was all very exciting.<br clear="none" /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" />
<b>5 - You give thanks to DJ Barry Scott in the liner notes to the Global
LP; what's the story with his being the first to play "Some Good Years"
on the radio?</b></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span></span>Barry Scott was wonderful ... is
wonderful. He brought us together for a show in Boston (think late '89
or so) when we really weren't doing much of anything and we all flew in
and played at a place called Zanzibar's. We hadn't played
in years and that was a big deal for us. Bruce Johnston, Paula Abdul
and John Stamos were there and we just enjoyed it so much. So we always
credit Barry Scott for bringing us out there and triggering us getting
back together for a while back then and recording
and all. Barry is a Boston DJ and he played "Some Good Years" even
when it wasn't released or on a label - he just thought it was a great
song. <br /></span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnQpWyspY9TX93u90wjAlEaraUBH7d24_O5AdsH8ACZOAKtbwdnnsaHOsF9t2fGtjdFSf2ddmRBEQtcXqF-TmzDaUPpa1bZ9Qj2kAgStWBp8DPNC9Q8vWqmbXLUNYASnx1scPfguOzmo/s280/Barry-Pic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="280" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnQpWyspY9TX93u90wjAlEaraUBH7d24_O5AdsH8ACZOAKtbwdnnsaHOsF9t2fGtjdFSf2ddmRBEQtcXqF-TmzDaUPpa1bZ9Qj2kAgStWBp8DPNC9Q8vWqmbXLUNYASnx1scPfguOzmo/w200-h181/Barry-Pic.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Barry Scott</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>6 - Your brother Paul plays keyboards on the rest of the LP, but you and
Gary Griffin do on "Some Good Years" (Paul does sing background
vocals). Why was this song different? </b></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span></span>Well, like I was saying, it was just
me at the time when we started those three songs but Paul was going to
provide the sound for "Global" with the Roland D-50.... the Roland D-50
is the keyboard sound of "Global" and Paul immediately took
over keyboards as soon as we started. I was actually thrilled I
wasn't going to play everything - which is fun to do if you're working
alone but now we were at full monty and that wasn't going to be
necessary.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" />
7 -The song is a positive look at one's past; have you always been an optimist or was this a lesson learned along the way?</span></b></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span>
</div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BC: </b></span></span>Both - but I was always impressed as
I got older that things that I thought were horrible or tough in my
past softened over time and didn't seem such a big deal. It's like the
recruit who complains of boot camp and tells everyone how
hard and unforgiving boot camp is and the tortured letters to home and
the "suffering" .... and then later in life you meet these guys and
their attitude is, "Oh yeah boot camp....that wasn't as bad as I thought
at the time." </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="yiv8886312539PlainText"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, it's that kind of natural progression
I think the brain does where we can better understand the harder things
that happened in our past and realize they weren't as bad as we
thought. Every experience has a good side to it and I believe the good
part stays with us while our brain softens the bad
part.<br clear="none" /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> There are some
wonderful legacy videos on YouTube where people have used "Some
Good Years" in exactly the way it was intended, so I always feel extra
good when I see that and am glad they were touched and motivated that
way by the song.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">*** <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><i>The Cowsills launched a <a href="https://linktr.ee/TheCowsills?fbclid=IwAR28Iph2ubjX7dTAKw0BeDiu2CMfXV_JpI8MyM27pp-kj_1HIso9rUX6E_k " rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcast</a> this year...</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaovR5BsxL8jp8lr7qOWYELvJJibozY7V413BJNkgjler4S2GHqu0yfVeM7FnAFcTdJd1Hk-RZIXbr0YaCxBjh1Oi1thvBOAzVprArSczYmL1BWukZcEgo8xj4ZzBZVM_Fku5OTjOBWzY/s1080/201634723_10165290915325285_278799522060772575_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaovR5BsxL8jp8lr7qOWYELvJJibozY7V413BJNkgjler4S2GHqu0yfVeM7FnAFcTdJd1Hk-RZIXbr0YaCxBjh1Oi1thvBOAzVprArSczYmL1BWukZcEgo8xj4ZzBZVM_Fku5OTjOBWzY/s320/201634723_10165290915325285_278799522060772575_n.jpg" /></a></i></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><i>...and you can stay in touch with them at the <a href="http://www.cowsill.com/home.html" target="_blank">Cowsills website</a> and on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheCowsills/" target="_blank"> Facebook</a>.</i><br /></span></span></p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-33970972984038123372020-10-04T14:25:00.002-05:002020-10-04T15:46:14.129-05:00Restless from the cradle<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana;">UNCHAINED - Jude Johnstone </span></h1><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before the internet, there were three main ways to discover new music. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Radio was the primary source due to the amount of time spent listening, but playlists were always limited and geared toward very commercial songs unless you were lucky enough to live near a station that gave DJs a lot of latitude. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Friends and family were useful, but limited in how much they could discover that you didn't already know. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The third way source was record stores. A handful of albums I encountered while browsing LPs struck me so hard at first listen that I still recall the time and place I discovered them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In late 1996 on a cold, grey day I entered a record shop in Washington, DC; the store was playing a CD with a cold, grey cover photo: Johnny Cash's "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unchained_(Johnny_Cash_album)" target="_blank">Unchained</a>." "What is this sound," I asked myself? I loved Cash's classic songs but it been a long time since I'd heard anything new and memorable from the Man in Black. What I was hearing on the speakers was magic. I grabbed a copy, paid, and went home to play the album over and over again. It's still a favorite.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5CRodl-b6YBipQmKSsT_mlhhBObkfDmECtwA1EZScY2C50wvjYaIX1Oseuj_3TAqLlfYLUOsl812_Ot3m9fHGEz_x1nDxS6o207F4sASUVr9WlPEA5AleM6ZOFpzKUapdsIlQ-loPBs/s316/Unchainedcash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Johnny Cash's "Unchained" LP cover" border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5CRodl-b6YBipQmKSsT_mlhhBObkfDmECtwA1EZScY2C50wvjYaIX1Oseuj_3TAqLlfYLUOsl812_Ot3m9fHGEz_x1nDxS6o207F4sASUVr9WlPEA5AleM6ZOFpzKUapdsIlQ-loPBs/w320-h320/Unchainedcash.jpg" title="Cover photo of "Unchained" by Johnny Cash" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><i>"Unchained"</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Somehow, I had missed his comeback album "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recordings_(album)" target="_blank">American Recordings</a>" two years earlier, just Johnny and his guitar soloing on an eclectic collection of superb songs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Unchained," which went on to win the Grammy for Country Album of the Year, likewise featured a diverse set of amazing songs, this time sung with full backing, including members of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many of the songs were written famous musicians - Petty, Beck, Hal David, Chris Cornell, the Carter Family, and three by Cash himself. But the two songs at the heart of this masterpiece were written by lesser-known individuals: "Spiritual," by Josh Haden, and the title track, "Unchained," by Jude Johnstone. Both songs concern human weakness and suffering while pleading for divine assistance. Haden's is a slow burn to a howl, Johnstone's more contemplative, a reckoning of one's shortcomings. Cash, needless to say, embodies both songs with breathtaking emotion. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ccFDISWlx_0" width="320" youtube-src-id="ccFDISWlx_0"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Johnstone has written terrific songs for a number of artists, winning the BMI Songwriter's Award in 1993 for Trish Yearwood's #1 country hit, "<a href="https://youtu.be/prQX2RpQOBc" target="_blank">The Woman Before Me.</a>" Her songs have been used on various television series and she is a talented vocalist and keyboard player, having released eight albums of her own.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3aynqgxvAPJn4mjb5fyQXVdVDnDQfNqq2CklgMo5Lw5-KA590K4n0vt9hI1ysYrfeaYPT5ZxHrnod8km42py29OXuBFT84NSEJgExM0WaAQgQRYJGpW3g1yq-4ImuhAB1bNbaXafbkI/s600/JJ_Chair.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Portrait of Jude Johnstone" border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3aynqgxvAPJn4mjb5fyQXVdVDnDQfNqq2CklgMo5Lw5-KA590K4n0vt9hI1ysYrfeaYPT5ZxHrnod8km42py29OXuBFT84NSEJgExM0WaAQgQRYJGpW3g1yq-4ImuhAB1bNbaXafbkI/w320-h292/JJ_Chair.jpg" title="Jude Johnstone" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Jude Johnstone</i></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I recently reached out to her and truly enjoyed hearing her thoughts about the history and legacy of "Unchained." As you will read, I did have to start out with a confession...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1 - I'll be honest; I hadn't looked at the credits on the Cash's "Unchained" LP since I bought the CD when it came out; over the years I came to think of it as a song that Johnny wrote for himself because the song suits him as perfectly as any song ever has. My apologies! I recently read the credits again and saw your name, thankfully. Did you write it specifically for him or was it something you were already working on?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Jude Johnstone:</span></b> No, no. I write the songs for myself and then sometimes other people record them. I actually wrote Unchained quite awhile before Johnny did it. I just didn’t have a record deal to put my own version out until a few years later. Was still just a label that me and my manager made up to release my own records on. That’s why it came out after John’s recording. He was actually listening to my demo of it when he recorded it, which was a much more raucous, gospel version like the one on my debut CD, "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Coming Of Age</a>." He just heard it like a hymn in his own head. And sung it that way.</span><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />2 - How did you find out that the album itself would be titled after your song, which must have been a thrill?<br /></span></b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br clear="none" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>JJ:</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"> </span><span style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;">I
heard that Johnny Cash was playing a show at the Fox theater in
Bakersfield. I lived on the Central Coast of California about two hours
from there. I had heard that he had recorded a song of mine for his new
project but I didn’t invest in that emotionally 'cause I knew that he
would probably record 20 or 30 songs and the odds of my actually making
the record were probably pretty slim. But I wanted to meet him, so I
called his management and told them he had recorded my song and asked if
I could come and meet him briefly before the show? I got the word that
my name would be on a list, so my husband and I and our two small kids
drove to Bakersfield. My husband was originally from there and his folks
still lived there so we dropped off the 5-year-old, Emma, with her
grandma and took the 4-month-old, Ray, with us. She was still nursing
and hadn’t spent any time away from me so my plan was to have my husband
walk her around in the parking lot outside the club while I dashed in
to meet John. And then we would meet in the balcony afterward where we
were to be seated so I could nurse her to sleep and we could watch the
show. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;">So, I went up to the manager and said, “Hi, I’m Jude Johnstone,
here to meet Johnny; I wrote a song that he’s recorded?” The manager
just looked at me and said “And?”</span></span><div class="jb_0 X_6MGW N_6Fd5"><div><div id="yiv5535508873"><div><div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Worried, I stuttered, “I... I called ahead, I think he’s expecting me..” He
sighed and said, “Wait here.” And disappeared behind the stage. </span></div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
audience was just starting to filter in. The bus was parked directly off
the stage as usual and he came back after a few minutes and said “Okay,
follow me.” He took me across the stage, over the cables and onto the
bus. There was John and June who graciously greeted me. We exchanged
warm hugs and conversation and then June says, “Where’s your husband?”
And I explain that he is out in the parking lot with the baby so I can
meet them. June says, completely seriously, “Babies love me. Do you want
me to go out in the parking lot and find them? I can take the baby so
he can come meet John.” For a half a second, I imagined how PRICELESS
this scene would be and said, “No, that’s quite all right.” After a few
minutes, it was time for Johnny to go on so I went up into the balcony,
as planned, nursed my daughter to sleep and settled down to watch the
show. </span></div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">About halfway through the set, Johnny says, “I wanna introduce you
to my California songwriter friend Jude Johnstone!" And the spotlight
starts searching for me! I have a sleeping baby on my breast! In a
moment, I quickly pull her off me praying she doesn’t wake up. Just
then, the light finds me and I stand halfway up, wave to the audience
and sit back down again. Then Johnny says, “I wanna play you Jude’s
song. It’s called UNCHAINED. It’s the title track of my new album.”</span></div></div></div><div style="color: #313131; word-spacing: 1px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3 - Your version, released five years after Cash's, has more of a bluesy, gospel feel with Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar. You've mentioned that you had someone else play piano on the record. Since you are a very good pianist yourself, what did you want that person to bring to the performance?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">JJ: </span></b>Yes, Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Warnes are singing the backup vocals on my recording and Bonnie is on the slide guitar. (Producer) Garth Fundis and I had John Hobbs play the piano on it cause the song has a real churchy, gospel feel on the piano that you have to be really well versed in that style to play. And he just killed it like we knew he would.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0TYAIm1lMSunXK6jpILlIU" width="300"></iframe> </span></span></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>4 - "Old man swearing at the sidewalk and I am overcome." That image and emotion really sticks with me. Was it based on an actual person you saw or is it fictional?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">JJ:</span></b> Yes, it was an actual person. I was just walking on Hollywood and Vine to my publisher Bug Music’s office, back when I lived in Hollywood (1979-92). The old man was just a typical sight on the corner of a city like Los Angeles, and he was swearing and carrying on about the government and what have you and it just occurred to me that there wasn’t that much of a difference between HIS lost and MY lost, on a spiritual level. So I started the song way back then. And I didn’t finish it till about '92, when my friend Valerie Carter came up to Cambria, where we had moved to, to visit me. I played her the start of it and she said, “You gotta finish this thing.” So I did. She did a really sweet version of it herself with me accompanying her, that was never released before John did it. I still have a copy of it, of course. </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3mTvi59swbQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="3mTvi59swbQ"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>5 - You conduct <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">songwriting workshops</a>. Do you use "Unchained" while teaching and, if so, what lessons can it teach aspiring writers?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">JJ:</span></b> Hmm, workshops. I mainly listen to what the students are working on and I might get out something of mine to illustrate a point but mostly I focus on their work and how to make it the best that it can be. Now in college lectures, I like to stretch out more, tell some stories, like the Cash story or a Bonnie Raitt or Dr. John story, and answer questions they have about how I got a certain song to this one or that one cause they are usually interested in that. And sometimes a lesson on initiative and courage. <br /><br /><b>6 - You have a 1926 Mason & Hamlin parlor grand piano. Is that what you wrote "Unchained" on?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">JJ: </span></b>No, I got that piano sometime later. It was given to me by my cello player Bob Liepman’s mom, Nanette, when she moved into an assisted living place. She had a boyfriend who liked to dabble on the piano occasionally so I traded my Baldwin upright, just a sort of schoolhouse piano I had for years, (which I did write Unchained on and many others) for him to tinker on, in exchange for this priceless 1926 Mason & Hamlin parlor grand that is a songwriter’s dream. My kids called it ‘the great piano trade of ‘04.’</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><br /></span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xv2vMKbW1-cRzT9zyj4HYE2FtFcV-ncOH6MsJejtn_JVvdhU_9kmxj1gFq6kD8G62dPKvsF2_l_86xKabXKlGHHZoFEDpT5pMvlA52zJhyphenhyphenECNJ30QULIhxa2kAdeoU-3T9AVhIm9TIw/s600/Cambria-Parlor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xv2vMKbW1-cRzT9zyj4HYE2FtFcV-ncOH6MsJejtn_JVvdhU_9kmxj1gFq6kD8G62dPKvsF2_l_86xKabXKlGHHZoFEDpT5pMvlA52zJhyphenhyphenECNJ30QULIhxa2kAdeoU-3T9AVhIm9TIw/s600/Cambria-Parlor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXfXN8wgRIg_FS509q3BnEVu1iJHyAx6Pnv1AYdwOQ4adGaD0biIgT36RlTp_Ma1s_YRVnpPFdrJsM8fch5QXzrRxFkVKSIkgGj30TM-MiJ0Wi_SeSjKpqzi6fQkEmU4qONSPj9wyTXw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jude's piano" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="320" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXfXN8wgRIg_FS509q3BnEVu1iJHyAx6Pnv1AYdwOQ4adGaD0biIgT36RlTp_Ma1s_YRVnpPFdrJsM8fch5QXzrRxFkVKSIkgGj30TM-MiJ0Wi_SeSjKpqzi6fQkEmU4qONSPj9wyTXw/w400-h266/image.jpeg" title="Jude Johnstone's 1926 piano" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;">Jude's piano</span></i></div><br clear="none" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: arial;" /><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>7 - For years I thought Cash sang "Oh, have I seen an angel OR have I seen a ghost" and was a little saddened when I realized that he actually sings "OH have I seen a ghost." So when I listened to your version, I was pleased to hear you sang "or." Do you believe you have ever seen an angel or a ghost - and which it was?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">JJ:</span></b> I believe that grace comes to us in the form of human beings when you least expect it, as in the ‘old man swearin’ at the sidewalk.’ I believe he was put there for me to see; perhaps an angel, perhaps a ghost. In either case, to teach me or startle me in some way. To shake me out of my sleep at the time. Which he did.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>More Jude at her <a href="https://judejohnstone.com" target="_blank">official website</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0EyWCgIdCSiO8GST2JMWTw" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jjohnstone222" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jude.johnstone.7" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </i></span></span></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-71308036708771672902020-09-21T14:26:00.000-05:002020-09-21T14:26:27.822-05:00And Your Voice Like Chimes<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">SAD EYED LADY OF THE LOWLANDS - Emma Swift</span></h1><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are two types of people: those who think Bob Dylan can't sing worth a damn and those who know that he's a fantastic vocalist. Needless to say, I am in the latter camp.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;">I think both camps will agree, however, that Nashvillian-by-way-of Australia Emma Swift can sing very well. She</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has referred to herself as </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the anti-Paul McCartney -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> able to “take a sad song and make it sadder.” Her most recent project is ambitious: an album of Bob Dylan covers, cleverly titled "Blonde on the Tracks."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-4GY3CFXle7Ku7iDy75SJD8tlqLIa9vz3WO3nHie_AiPgRVGTJBO7kSxntv1cHLYNDO79KLevHWJddfQ1J94nFGAEIP1P5Wbnv3z1KcVLu9AzAXL7iQ0wfeWJv1MtPD_WSmrwWS0rso/s700/Emma+Sw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-4GY3CFXle7Ku7iDy75SJD8tlqLIa9vz3WO3nHie_AiPgRVGTJBO7kSxntv1cHLYNDO79KLevHWJddfQ1J94nFGAEIP1P5Wbnv3z1KcVLu9AzAXL7iQ0wfeWJv1MtPD_WSmrwWS0rso/s320/Emma+Sw.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is perhaps the most challenging song that she covers. There are people who think that some of Dylan's lyrics (such as those in "Sad Eyed Lady") are nonsense, they're nothing more than words that sound good when strung together. Again, I strongly disagree with this take (though I think there is nothing wrong with lyrics that are pleasing to the ear and have no deeper meaning). Covering a song like Sad Eyed Lady, with its opaque phrases, is not as straightforward as singing a Dylan love song along the lines of "Make You Feel My Love," which is much more direct and - perhaps not coincidentally - notably covered by Adele, Garth Brooks, and Billy Joel.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oh, and "Sad Eyed Lady" is a very long song, the original version on Blonde On Blonde clocking in at 11:22.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0c1NJPCN6nA" width="320" youtube-src-id="0c1NJPCN6nA"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Sad Eyed Lady" has been covered by some amazing artists: Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Steve Howe, Old Crow Medicine Show. While each version is pleasant enough, none of them have worked for me. I never felt these singers were emotionally connected to the lyrics. Emma's version is the first one that's really resonated.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">H<span>ead over to Bandcamp to hear (and/or buy) <a href="https://emmaswift.bandcamp.com/album/blonde-on-the-tracks" target="_blank">Blonde on the Tracks</a> if you haven't already. The album has been generating tremendous buzz since its release, a tribute not only to Emma's artistry but to her hard work as an independent artist, wearing as many hats as needed to get her album produced, publicized, played, sold, shipped, and so on.</span> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She kindly took time to answer my questions about "Sad Eyed Lady."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y6 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - What is it about Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands that compelled you to include it on Blonde on the Tracks, when there are many hundreds of Bob Dylan songs from which to pick? </span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y6 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y7 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1ya pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>EMMA SWIFT: </b></span>There are hundreds of songs, but there’s only one "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." It felt right. It felt honest. It felt essential. When the world gets me down, that song is like going back to the womb. It restores me back to my factory settings. </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1ya pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1yb pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1yf pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 - This is a song dense with poetic imagery which is anything but straightforward or linear. Did you try to figure out what phrases like "The kings of Tyrus with their convict list" meant specifically to you or was it a more intuitive, open ended process of letting the words flow through you while singing? </span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1yf pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y10 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y11 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y12 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span>Everything I do is based on intuition. I’m a Pisces rising, it’s in my astrological DNA. </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y12 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y12 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgl0g_stZASthCtG6-pFxaCTEO-YnqXnvh4PjqKjS7vdFpHHioMbtan7y_tijYZcKUIkrqhI-LIySvXaD49EOEjec-2Oqy-F6OBEuf0DSl-DFR7JdeaxiyyS0Cfksl-iucYdVeERiMRs/s738/Screenshot+2020-09-21+140235.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgl0g_stZASthCtG6-pFxaCTEO-YnqXnvh4PjqKjS7vdFpHHioMbtan7y_tijYZcKUIkrqhI-LIySvXaD49EOEjec-2Oqy-F6OBEuf0DSl-DFR7JdeaxiyyS0Cfksl-iucYdVeERiMRs/s320/Screenshot+2020-09-21+140235.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y12 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div>3 - Maybe it's not hard for you as a professional singer, but how do you get Dylan's very distinctive phrasing out of your mind and sing the words in your own voice? </span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y15 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y16 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y1a pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span></span>I love Dylan’s phrasing, but I’m not a mimic. It’s not in my skill set. Some folks are extraordinarily gifted in this way, but I am quite limited. I can only really sing in my own style. So I didn’t have to work hard to get his voice out of my head, the hard work would have been trying to sound more like him. </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y1a pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y1b pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y1f pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - This is a famously long song and your version is nearly 12 minutes long. Do you have to approach it differently vocally from a typical 3-4 minute cut to pace yourself in the studio, or was it not a concern as you could cut and paste various takes? </span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y1f pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y20 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y24 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span></span>I don’t really think of Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands being a long song, I think of it more like a meditation or a soliloquy. I approached it the same way I approach the recording of any song I do: with tenderness, depth of feeling, vulnerability, nervousness, fear and wonder. </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y24 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y24 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ejmLQiMMRVA" width="320" youtube-src-id="ejmLQiMMRVA"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Another song from "Blonde on the Tracks"</span></span></div></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y24 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y25 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y27 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">5 - Were you familiar with any other cover version of the song (such as Joan Baez's) and did they influence your take at all? </span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y27 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y28 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y2d pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span></span>When I made the album I had to work hard to erase all knowledge of Dylan covers from my mind. There are so many, and the feeling that I might just be needlessly adding to the pile was a worry that my shadow self definitely liked to remind me of from time to time. Negative self-talk and hyper-awareness of what everyone else has done or is doing are the enemy of my creative life force and are to be avoided at all costs! </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y2d pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y2e pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y30 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">6 - Did you try doing Sad Eyed Lady at any different tempos/keys/arrangements,</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or did you go into the recording knowing exactly how you wanted it to sound? </span></span></b></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y30 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y30 pg-1ff2 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span></span>I never go into anything in life knowing exactly how it is going to turn out, I’m just not that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">kind of soul! Recording music is fun because a studio session can go in all kinds of directions once you’re in there and the band are bouncing off each other. We didn’t do much experimentation, we just played the song. The beauty in Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands had already been masterfully laid out by Dylan more than 40 years before, we just had to play it through and see what happened. </span></span></div><div class="t pg-1m0 pg-1x1 pg-1h2 pg-1y31 pg-1ff1 pg-1fs0 pg-1fc0 pg-1sc0 pg-1ls0 pg-1ws0"> </div><p></p><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h2 pg-2yb pg-2ff2 pg-2fs0 pg-2fc0 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"><b><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - How did you decide where to place it on the album, between "Simple Twist of Fate" and "The Man in Me" as track #5? </span></span></b></div><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h2 pg-2yb pg-2ff2 pg-2fs0 pg-2fc0 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h3 pg-2yc pg-2ff3 pg-2fs1 pg-2fc1 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"> </div><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h3 pg-2ye pg-2ff3 pg-2fs1 pg-2fc1 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>ES: </b></span></span>It’s the centrepiece of the record, so I put it in the middle. I wanted it to be unavoidable. Something to unclog the arteries and the tear ducts. </span></span></div><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h3 pg-2ye pg-2ff3 pg-2fs1 pg-2fc1 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="t pg-2m0 pg-2x1 pg-2h3 pg-2ye pg-2ff3 pg-2fs1 pg-2fc1 pg-2sc0 pg-2ls0 pg-2ws0"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Emma is a great <a href="https://twitter.com/emmaswiftsings" target="_blank">Twitter follow</a>. Also find her at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7NPeg-DPmehgB8j8Qat4g" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/emmaswift" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/emmaswiftsings/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmaswiftsings" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://emmaswift.com">emmaswift.com</a></i></span></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-29151351835692716212020-09-08T09:58:00.000-05:002020-09-08T09:58:37.241-05:00Let The World All Think What They Will<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial;">NO ONE HAS TO KNOW (from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel") </span></h3><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial;">Lyricist Tom Mizer</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">I interviewed the funny, frank and insightful Thomas Mizer about "No One has to Know," one of the songs he and composer Curtis Moore have written for the Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Even if you aren't a fan of the show (though why wouldn't you be?), you have to be impressed by the production values. The art department, costumers, hair stylists and others recreate the late '50s and early '60s in amazing detail. Perhaps the most difficult challenge in this regard is the creation of original songs, which falls to Mizer and Moore. <br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The producers could have used existing songs from that era - say a Johnny Mathis hit - but chose to use new music instead. When a character in the series is a historical figure, such as comedian Lenny Bruce, their actual material can be used. When a character is fictional, such as the titular Mrs. Maisel, the writers have to come up with an original act authentic enough to make us believe it would have been fresh and funny fifty years ago.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">So it is with Shy Baldwin, the popular singer who plays a key role in the third season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." While he calls to mind a few vocalists from that era, he is not just a copy or an homage, he is a unique and complex fictional character. How do you write a song that not only sounds like it's from that time, but also is good enough to have been a hit? On top of that tall order, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">you also have to use it to advance a major plot point?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wGcgi07HniA" width="320" youtube-src-id="wGcgi07HniA"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>"No One Has to Know"</i></b><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The show's creator and executive producer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, wisely turned to Mizer and Moore, the award-winning duo who write songs for stage and screen. Thomas is the lyricist, Curtis the composer. Their efforts for the series have been recognized this year with an</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics” Emmy nomination for another Shy Baldwin song, “One Less Angel.” Let's wish them luck when the award is handed out this month.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">To me, one of the most powerful moments in "Maisel" is when Shy pulls up a stool in the middle of his show and slows things down with a beautifully aching ballad filled with subtext. Getting to talk to Thomas about this song proved to be a very rewarding peek behind the creative curtain.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Note: While "Maisel" is not a show that relies on surprising twists and reveals, some plot points from the most recent season are discussed below, so be forewarned if you have yet to watch it.</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Another note: All of these great photos were provided by Thomas Mizer.</i><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTuGpeVuYTx-Sc6oshT3TrBkKNlVs_v9TmicPNAL504o8276btirdCIFccR05HPkrFzNXJIF_MmWxXaoD7mIOkWs6oCqFAYskx06sZ-IvsuEoGWusexIENBm2QmvZlC1G8kt76AkDjB4/s2048/Thomas+Mizer+headshot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Composer Thomas Mizer" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTuGpeVuYTx-Sc6oshT3TrBkKNlVs_v9TmicPNAL504o8276btirdCIFccR05HPkrFzNXJIF_MmWxXaoD7mIOkWs6oCqFAYskx06sZ-IvsuEoGWusexIENBm2QmvZlC1G8kt76AkDjB4/w266-h400/Thomas+Mizer+headshot.jpeg" title="Thomas Mizer" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Mizer<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>1 - When I asked if I could interview you
about "No One has to Know," you mentioned that this song is very
personal to you. How so?</b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: red;">Tom Mizer: </span></b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;">The
song means a lot to me for many, many reasons—professionally and personally—but
I think there are two in particular that stand out.</span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;">First,
Shy’s situation is incredible compelling to me. To seemingly have it all as a
famous star and yet not be allowed to speak your heart, your truth, except
through the disguise of a “pop song” breaks my heart. As a gay man, I can’t
help but think of my privilege living in this era where I can have what was
unthinkable to Shy; I’m married for goodness sake. I think of the real men and
women of his era, particularly those of color, who raised their voices and
paved the way for me to live my life without having to hide myself behind coded
language in a song.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">But
also, those lyrics are me. I was, how shall I say it, not particularly
successful in romance as a young man. I would pine for love, be friends with
people I couldn’t admit I was infatuated with, but assume it could never be. I
tried to be <u>that</u> Tom when I wrote the lyrics. That lost romantic is/was
me. I think maybe we’ve all been there, gay or straight, and it brings back
that hopeful/hopeless feeling.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>2 - Given how important this song is to Shy
Baldwin's storyline, did you work from a script or were you just given a
general directive about what role "No One" needed to play?</b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b>The
crazy truth is the very first seeds of the song were written BEFORE we knew Shy’s
storyline. Amy Sherman-Palladino had asked us to write some songs for Shy and
the Silver Belles and, in those first conversations, she gave us a very clear
set of musical inspirations but no story inspirations.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We
were initially just trying to see if we could find the right voice for Shy, if
we could write songs that would create a believable musical world for him to
help build his character. But, at the same time, I made a very calculated guess
that Shy might have a forbidden love during the season, whether interracial or
gay, and we wrote an early draft of “No One Has to Know” hoping it would be
useful down the line. We included that half-demo with the first round of
examples we sent Amy. She said to stick a pin in “No One” and we’d talk more
about it later in the season.</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Once
we did have the talk, we of course learned about what Shy’s story was and where
this song would happen, so we finished it and shaped it to truly fit the
moment. It was a gift and a challenge to have music be the climax of Shy’s
story and we worked very hard to make sure it threaded the needle between being
dramatically satisfying for the character and yet still believable as a
romantic “hit.”</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In
the end, I don’t think we ever saw a single, full script of the show! But we
absolutely collaborated and talked and worked with Amy and Dan to make the
songs as good as possible and serve the story to the best of our ability.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG9sl9rmhCvuDnBhrvmLBnUp15PVeJDTsY5Tph9ITCe_CQliJbmYSQv5AOPBFEGEd5SGr8_5vOS5soXTh0o_SE7w_y_6J35qESgWLlsYhh5a8SQaHIhLIXIh22k6xEekw_rNxrur3mdw/s2048/301+Maisel+Curtis+Silver+Belles+Shy+Tom+copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Set of Mrs. Maisel with Shy Baldwin" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG9sl9rmhCvuDnBhrvmLBnUp15PVeJDTsY5Tph9ITCe_CQliJbmYSQv5AOPBFEGEd5SGr8_5vOS5soXTh0o_SE7w_y_6J35qESgWLlsYhh5a8SQaHIhLIXIh22k6xEekw_rNxrur3mdw/w640-h480/301+Maisel+Curtis+Silver+Belles+Shy+Tom+copy.jpeg" title="Mizer and Moore, Shy Baldwin, The Belles" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtis Moore, The Belles, LeRoy McClain, Thomas Mizer<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;">3 - Do you and Curtis stay in your lanes, so
to speak, or did you have any role on the music and/or he on the lyrics?</b></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b>We
absolutely have our specialties, particularly because I don’t play an
instrument and I have marginal singing skills. But there aren’t boundaries in
our collaboration. Curtis is a very smart editor of my lyrics, asks amazing
questions, and often comes up with just the right words when I’m searching for
them. I think he would say the same about my contributions to the music. I do
know he will often ask me to “sing” what I heard when I wrote a lyric, mainly
so he can hear my rhythms, and there are many blackmail-worthy voice recordings
that exist of me doing just that.</span></span></p><p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXEDU4zRewyQ90fMEFexIZLGzEjIWGTf0MuxaI_QiNC7yl_SLzT_LYR7IF3pe4May5It3EPe7SV8075MMM-CgKbI8IeDsEpk_zHMxRdGr5_GLAsRHbc8vyNLS2R7dutnkOf-s5STCgz4/s1828/Screen+Shot+2020-08-31+at+2.51.48+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=""No One Has to Know" sheet music" border="0" data-original-height="1828" data-original-width="1414" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXEDU4zRewyQ90fMEFexIZLGzEjIWGTf0MuxaI_QiNC7yl_SLzT_LYR7IF3pe4May5It3EPe7SV8075MMM-CgKbI8IeDsEpk_zHMxRdGr5_GLAsRHbc8vyNLS2R7dutnkOf-s5STCgz4/w495-h640/Screen+Shot+2020-08-31+at+2.51.48+PM.png" title=""No One Has to Know" by Mizer and Moore" width="495" /></a></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>4 - Doing a song that sounds like it's from
1960 means it needed to ha</b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>ve specific musical characteristics. It's not as
obvious how to do this with the lyrics - what was your approach?</b></span></span>
</p><p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b>That’s
a really interesting question! And very true. Writing lyrics for a specific era
isn’t as obvious a template as music and, honestly, it’s not exactly about
being period perfect.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We
spent a lot of time listening to hours and hours of music from the era, just so
the feel of it would be in our bones. Lyrically, that research manifested
itself differently in different songs. For “One Less Angel,” I had noticed a
thread of “mythical meets the everyday” in a lot of songs from the era and so
that influenced the subject matter. (I also spent serious time researching to
make sure the grammatical “error” in that hook was period and colloquial. Take
that, my college English professors!)</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For “No
One,” I tried to capture the syntax of those just pre-rock romantic songs—elegant
American songbook era songs—that have very tight structures but find poetry in
the simplest of words. Although those songs are related to golden-age music
theater (which plays into my theater background), there were no Sondheim three
syllable rhymes allowed!</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In
the end, it’s a gut check. Curtis and I listen and listen to feel if a word or
a phrase takes us out of the moment. If you question a lyric, even if it would
technically have been said in the era, then it has to be changed. There’s no place
in a song for a footnote justifying the choice. You don’t want anything to ruin
the illusion of the drama.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>5 - Were you involved with the recording of
the vocal by Darius de Haas, giving him guidance or feedback?</b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;">One
of the best and most unexpected parts of working on </span><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;">Maisel</i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13pt;"> was that we
were involved in the whole process from writing to recording to filming. Curtis
got to arrange and conduct some of the songs and we were there for every studio
session collaborating and honing the work. So many details changed in the
studio, as we played with the singers and musicians.</span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Darius
is a dream and actually someone we’d known from the theater world. It was such
a bonus to find out he was the singer we’d be working with! The amazing thing
to watch and be a part of, though, was the relationship that developed between
Darius and LeRoy McClain, the actor who plays Shy. LeRoy was in the booth with
Darius during recording. Darius was on set with LeRoy during filming. They
became very close and worked tirelessly together to make the performance
seamless.</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For “No
One” in particular, they talked in the recording booth about where Shy was
mentally and they charted out when in the song he is aware of the audience and
when he is singing for himself. On set, they spent time talking about how
having broken ribs (Shy has just been beaten up) might affect the singing and
how Shy would have to hold himself to get breath. My getting to have a creative
voice with people like LeRoy and Darius, who cared as much as I did about
making the moment the best it could be, made the experience very special.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWJ6V0r23NLQkYHw_sWnZ-BCu4NvzVc55-EryOnNbKF9sg4giBB5OT5OnAHviNFLv_fqXC34CPK7hOl29QQi08BtTxqvqEMF3MOWpHviVWMnhdxY0JjUn5tWwYqgpda3OtUp1w8EvPwM/s2048/306+Amy+and+Shy+in+spotlight+copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Set of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWJ6V0r23NLQkYHw_sWnZ-BCu4NvzVc55-EryOnNbKF9sg4giBB5OT5OnAHviNFLv_fqXC34CPK7hOl29QQi08BtTxqvqEMF3MOWpHviVWMnhdxY0JjUn5tWwYqgpda3OtUp1w8EvPwM/w480-h640/306+Amy+and+Shy+in+spotlight+copy.jpeg" title=""No One Has to Know" being filmed" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the set for the "No One Has to Know" scene</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b><br />6 - When you watched the finished episode and
saw Shy performing the song during a "stool set," how did it hit you?</b></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b>Honestly,
watching it on screen the first time was more nerve-wracking than anything
else, praying that we hadn’t screwed up the whole story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Award-winning show canceled because of bad
song!”</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The
more emotional time was being on set when it was filmed. I was hiding in the
back of the theater in Miami, nervous about the big moment happening. Curtis
had already left for a prior commitment when the schedule got changed so I was
alone. I was probably pacing.</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Amy
found me and barked at me to stop hiding and come join her by the camera. So I
was standing right there, right by Amy’s side at the camera, as they filmed
those takes of LeRoy giving his heart and soul to the song. It was so intimate
and perfect. Amy leaned over during one take and whispered, “You did this.” Now,
I know it wasn’t just me; there were so many people on set and beyond who had
made it happen, but it was such a generous, kind thing to say. I’m so grateful
to her. I may have ruined the next take with some very discreet crying. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>7 - If you could have any singer, living or
dead, perform their version of "No One has to Know," who would it be?</b></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: red;">TM: </span></b>A
bunch of big-voiced, emotional singers leap to mind. Billy Porter. Barbra
Streisand. Adele. But the alpha and omega of our search for Shy’s voice were
Johnny Mathis and Sam Cooke. They are radically different performers and having
that huge range to work within allowed us to make Shy his own person. So I’d
love to hear what each of them would do with the song, one bringing his silky
need, the other bringing his soul-deep pain. Mr. Mathis is still with us and still
singing beautifully, so maybe…?</span></span></p><p class="Default" style="margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <i>For more, please check out the<a href="https://www.mizerandmoore.com" target="_blank"> Mizer and Moore website</a> and find them on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/MizerAndMoore" target="_blank">@MizerAndMoore</a> </i></span></span><o:p></o:p></p><br /></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-59219747935494606792020-08-22T14:43:00.002-05:002023-04-05T17:26:57.984-05:00Somewhere Angels in Heaven are Crying<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana;">RAIN ON ME - The Clams</span></h1><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Village Voice's influential <a href="https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/22/pazz-jop-top-10-albums-by-year-1971-2016/" target="_blank">Pazz & Jop</a> was an annual poll of music critics compiled by Robert Christgau. In the 1984 edition, three acts from the Twin Cities appeared in the top ten:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxhTb3aIoj0Z1mSm26to1FrcexPbIIuNYBm2QbZxXvMbalL3-LmOJ6a6XepvoZ0s4nWQBswwNcA6UAf5SPk1Vo7JhUovtFojcsEi-l6N8l988NmQiMKy2SkuCuQog4dLRR-apsaE9enw/s545/top+ten+p+and+J.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="545" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxhTb3aIoj0Z1mSm26to1FrcexPbIIuNYBm2QbZxXvMbalL3-LmOJ6a6XepvoZ0s4nWQBswwNcA6UAf5SPk1Vo7JhUovtFojcsEi-l6N8l988NmQiMKy2SkuCuQog4dLRR-apsaE9enw/w349-h250/top+ten+p+and+J.png" width="349" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Mi<span style="font-size: small;">nneapolis music was at its commercial and critical peak. 1985 saw the debut of The Clams, a hard rocki</span>ng band inspired by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. Singer/guitarist Cindy Lawson's ad in a couple of alt-weeklies looking for women who wanted to play bluesy rock caught the attention of lead guitarist Roxie Terry, bass player Patsy Joe, and drummer Karen Gratz. Soon, they were playing at the Uptown Bar, 7th St Entry, and other popular local venues.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJztUmd3JZ3m40uVLCPMZSqBaysGmWeeZVTpJRfSlAyfD7AlQRWfJilZ7P6ohTmp1HEfQGzBbmjT4acNmXE1pFQ2jEyo60YEreFsA8t7ixjtxdxmLvjEgMe1MZWEQcsuakD3tZHf-dI4/s600/Clams+headshots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJztUmd3JZ3m40uVLCPMZSqBaysGmWeeZVTpJRfSlAyfD7AlQRWfJilZ7P6ohTmp1HEfQGzBbmjT4acNmXE1pFQ2jEyo60YEreFsA8t7ixjtxdxmLvjEgMe1MZWEQcsuakD3tZHf-dI4/s0/Clams+headshots.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While The Clams didn't go on to major commercial success, they were a popular live act. They released an LP in 1988, "Exile on Lake Street" - five years before <a href="https://www.lizphairofficial.com/" target="_blank">Liz Phair's</a> seminal "Exile in Guyville" album and 16 years before the band <a href="http://www.lakestreetdive.com/" target="_blank">Lake Street Dive</a> named itself after the same Minneapolis street.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMS8u5iWZoV7PkV5WMTWeaHalnt4KQKUgEKl6PWkAr8Bi_actxlOplUenrVdtt9OiRmudSp4YlaHaF_JA8mBqihomJK6sq9XlH8HlcWjNidWuTMARmrDCCSsklCeW9yCNvQD1jkV8EX0/s609/exile+lake+street.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="599" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMS8u5iWZoV7PkV5WMTWeaHalnt4KQKUgEKl6PWkAr8Bi_actxlOplUenrVdtt9OiRmudSp4YlaHaF_JA8mBqihomJK6sq9XlH8HlcWjNidWuTMARmrDCCSsklCeW9yCNvQD1jkV8EX0/w306-h313/exile+lake+street.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eAoSaMQiiinqEMVzoxJ4Ffk8B6BN0MAJW2flA3dl9G9ErTrblcoaYoGJ-teQbi8I46D_9s-r45zVMkj_mDOuFMhL8nG_ZsUfEn7WW9xR0aaurNN3w0oLTHDZ7rvUgzlqc3nwYKuy_e0/s300/exile+label.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="282" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eAoSaMQiiinqEMVzoxJ4Ffk8B6BN0MAJW2flA3dl9G9ErTrblcoaYoGJ-teQbi8I46D_9s-r45zVMkj_mDOuFMhL8nG_ZsUfEn7WW9xR0aaurNN3w0oLTHDZ7rvUgzlqc3nwYKuy_e0/w283-h300/exile+label.jpg" width="283" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Their most memorable live show took place not in a dive bar or rock club, but in prison. Located 25 miles east of Minneapolis, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Correctional_Facility_%E2%80%93_Stillwater" target="_blank">state correctional facility in Stillwater</a> opened in 1914 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1987, The Clams put on a concert there for the inmates. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Before you read the interview with Cindy Lawson below, head on over to Vimeo (<b><a href="https://vimeo.com/371905966" target="_blank">Rain on Me - The Clams</a></b>) where you can see the band perform a number of songs at the prison.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLLWYdmRCqfMTNwdy4ZlWQ538Mf2dJWHU1D2zfn5aBGTzo4SVoyrX_PhnKI89K039xFRBwG5USTCVXo3gzzcFuZwy2Hotwh1IlSwJlSVOfWk6nbx7eoPzV3IIXs57ibO5r0aPBoQzMIA/s716/rain+on.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="716" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLLWYdmRCqfMTNwdy4ZlWQ538Mf2dJWHU1D2zfn5aBGTzo4SVoyrX_PhnKI89K039xFRBwG5USTCVXo3gzzcFuZwy2Hotwh1IlSwJlSVOfWk6nbx7eoPzV3IIXs57ibO5r0aPBoQzMIA/w410-h344/rain+on.png" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Clams at Stillwater Prison<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />1 - How did The Clams end up playing a gig at Stillwater prison and - <span style="color: black;">since we don't get to see the audience in the video - what was the atmosphere like?</span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Cindy Lawson</b> </span><span style="color: black;">- I don't know if they still do this, but back then the inmates would do a 'carnival' annually in the summer to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. Bands played inside an auditorium, then in the courtyard they had a dunk tank (which of course we went in!) and food trucks. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;">I believe we learned about this gig from a band we knew, <a href="https://vimeo.com/372390761" target="_blank">Big Mambo</a>, whose drummer was Tom Cook. We went in a week or two before to do a video interview with the two gents who were in charge of the bands. I think I have a copy of that somewhere-we were unbelievably silly (as we always were) so I look back and appreciate their patience with us!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The audience (the inmates) were extremely well behaved. There wasn't any shouting or dancing-so unlike a bar gig! They were very appreciative and applauded like crazy after each song and then quieted down. I'm sure there was a mandate set forth that in order for them to have fun privileges like bands and carnivals they needed to be on their best behavior. We never felt scared or worried about any of it. None of them really came up afterwards to talk to us-the only ones we communicated with (besides the prison personnel) were the two inmates I mentioned before.</span></span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ-GEa2aMwYuoFR0wDT8gFQDVeA_9GtTKrnYuSWcgxam59OWb_t5HfL_kQVr2IcWohg1p4HEwIMKWe7KxnvnxA1GT96_uHbjtCGopS8AmfZH5HLD_USLjjH1bvuEAbSzyZHFLr_dFZPk/s1000/Stillwater+Cellblock+with+One+Offender+Worker_tcm1089-293467.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="664" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ-GEa2aMwYuoFR0wDT8gFQDVeA_9GtTKrnYuSWcgxam59OWb_t5HfL_kQVr2IcWohg1p4HEwIMKWe7KxnvnxA1GT96_uHbjtCGopS8AmfZH5HLD_USLjjH1bvuEAbSzyZHFLr_dFZPk/w340-h512/Stillwater+Cellblock+with+One+Offender+Worker_tcm1089-293467.jpg" title="Inside Stillwater Prison" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Inside Stillwater Prison</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 - Did your mom really tell you, "When skies are cloudy, somewhere angels in heaven are crying?" </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="color: #1d2228;"> - Yes, I think that was one of hers. Along with "Don't eat raisins in the dark." 😁 But she never said "Powder your nose and kick some ass" that I attributed to her on our EP. That one's mine. 🤓</span><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - Your intro quotes the Blues Brothers line, "We like both kinds of music, country and western." You also performed Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues" (appropriately) at this show. Did you listen to much country music at the time or was this simply a Stones inspired bluesy song?</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="color: #1d2228;"> - </span>We listened to real country-Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash. That music is universal. </span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgselgitAV04RmR2Gg5qpqk-tQGrC4hpyR0WrmMDS_Gdi2_V7af0BCiSTcWDDxwp0J86SaFR0kfK4__OvyaLys8mudFF1utP2O9M7ypCpZ_AXUA-O9tj8Jyfb9ero7qDbtqS_NXIIzXxlo/s960/Clams+Xmas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="595" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgselgitAV04RmR2Gg5qpqk-tQGrC4hpyR0WrmMDS_Gdi2_V7af0BCiSTcWDDxwp0J86SaFR0kfK4__OvyaLys8mudFF1utP2O9M7ypCpZ_AXUA-O9tj8Jyfb9ero7qDbtqS_NXIIzXxlo/s640/Clams+Xmas.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: verdana;"><b>4 - Do you still have that guitar? Or the Rickenbacker (which I like a lot) that you also played at this concert? </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="color: #1d2228;"> - </span>I don't have the Squier anymore. My first boyfriend (and all-time best friend, Nic Santiago) gave it to me as a birthday present. The Rickenbacker sadly disappeared at some point during the '90s. I tried to find it but never could. I have a hunch who the thief was, but could never prove it, and if he really wanted a guitar that bad, so be it. I only hope he played it and didn't sell it for drugs.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">5 - Have you ever run into an ex-con who said," I remember you from that show when I was in the Big House," so to speak?</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="color: #1d2228;"> - </span>I haven't, but I remember one of the two inmates who were in contact with us contacted Roxie when he got out just to say hello. And someone from the prison sent her a special leather belt they had made. She had a lot of fans! </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnC0qOOK9QI8XUUtu4z5ieKEq0yfwUUOE-t_u05XuzS1y4hhcKL3_KWH554Y47r5Yi1M1bW0alyqhuzHLjjk-5788VWoFlx8gKKnvtG6MZpw03jneZYP2-c3-D9NrLLeUlBQmrLBWRa4/s1500/Stillwater+Aerial+Photo+by+Pioneer+Press+Photographer+John+Autey_tcm1089-293464.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnC0qOOK9QI8XUUtu4z5ieKEq0yfwUUOE-t_u05XuzS1y4hhcKL3_KWH554Y47r5Yi1M1bW0alyqhuzHLjjk-5788VWoFlx8gKKnvtG6MZpw03jneZYP2-c3-D9NrLLeUlBQmrLBWRa4/s640/Stillwater+Aerial+Photo+by+Pioneer+Press+Photographer+John+Autey_tcm1089-293464.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">6 - You say in the clip that you and Roxie just wrote "Rain on Me." Was one of you more the lyricist and the other more the music, or was it 50/50 in all respects?</span></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="color: #1d2228;"> - </span>She definitely wrote the music and I wrote the words. I didn't start writing melodies on guitar until later. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br clear="none" /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - Any other thoughts or feelings that seeing this clip now evokes?</span></b></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><span style="color: #cc0000;">CL</span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"> - </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;">Well, thank you so much! This is delightful! I miss those ladies and I certainly miss that time in my life. I still see Karen and Patty (who lives in Lake Tahoe) often. We were so young and had so much fun. It's sad that one never appreciates the time they are in until it's long gone. And we certainly didn't archive things very well. I have no idea how some of our videos end up on the web and then are mysteriously taken down. </span> </span></p><p></p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0Minneapolis, MN, USA44.977753 -93.265010816.667519163821154 -128.4212608 73.287986836178845 -58.1087608tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-70841590558298514572020-04-08T16:24:00.004-05:002020-08-14T21:00:59.915-05:00James James Morrison's mother seems to have been mislayed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">JAMES JAMES MORRISON MORRISON </span>- <span face="" style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Chad Mitchell Trio</span></h3>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As a boy at summer camp, I learned a fun song about a little boy with a funny name who, in a role reversal with his mother, warned her about the dangers of wandering too far from home. The song, "James James Morrison Morrison," as I later discovered, was recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio in 1963. Mitchell himself composed the tune and used the words of a poem by A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are not familiar with the CMT (as I will abbreviate them), you should be, as they were a talented group that sprung from the folk music scene in the late 1950s. Their combination of musicality, humor, and a political point of view is unique and compelling.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While adept at various types of traditional folk songs, the trio really made their mark with satirical topical songs. Their targets included the KKK, segregation, and the John Birch Society (a far right anti-Communist organization).</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The CMT also had a knack for finding great young songwriters and singing their songs - among others, Tom Paxton (whose "Ramblin' Boy" and "Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" I also learned at camp) and Bob Dylan. In fact, they were the first act to release "Blowin' in the Wind," a few months before Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary released theirs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/06/WhenWeWereVeryYoung.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/06/WhenWeWereVeryYoung.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The British writer A. A. Milne wrote a book of children's poetry titled "When We Were Very Young"</span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> i</span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">n 1924, four years after the birth of his son Christopher Robin. One of the poems within, "Disobedience," provided the words that Chad Mitchell would use four decades later to create "James James Morrison Morrison."</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see the track listing for "James James Morrison Morrison" below on the back cover of the CMT's "At The Bitter End" album (The Bitter End is a club in NYC where this LP was recorded live). The essay on the back cover also mentions the song and is a good snapshot of the act in 1963.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is that recording:</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OKDKlfw4YiQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="OKDKlfw4YiQ"></iframe><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If this song is new to you, I hope you love it as much as I do. Sing it, share it, teach it. It's a great song for group singing.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm happy to report that Chad Mitchell himself kindly took time recently to answer my questions about "James James Morrison Morrison."</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>1 - Did you know A. A. Milne's poem "Disobedience" from reading it as a child or how did you come across it?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">CHAD MITCHELL: </span></b> In the eighth grade, our teacher, Gail Johnson, used to read "Disobedience" to us all the time. I had never read any of A. A. Milne's works but that piece remained with me through the years.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2 - What inspired you to set it to music?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">CM:</span></b> Since "Disobedience" had remained with me for so long, I felt it was a perfect vehicle for performance. So, since I didn't play an instrument, I hummed and hummed until a melody finally came out.<br /> <br /><b>3 - Do you recall the reaction of the other trio members, your management and live audiences when you first played it for them?</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">CM:</span></b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our manager at the time didn't have input to our repertoire, but the other Trio members and our musical director, Milt Okun, and our accompanist, Jim McGuinn, all loved the idea.<br /><br /><i>Editor's note: Jim McGuinn, later known as Roger McGuinn, founded the legendary rock band The Byrds a few years later.</i><br /><b><br />4 - I learned this song at summer camp. Did you hear of it being popular at other camps, schools, and so on?</b></span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">CM:</span></b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> No, I didn't but I'm really pleased it got that kind of exposure.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>5 - A. A. Milne died a few years before you recorded this song. Were you involved at all in getting permission to use his words or was that handled by management?</b></span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">CM:</span></b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> I had very little to do with our licensing at that time, so I really don't know what happened. I do know that sometime after the release of our "At the Bitter End" album on which "Disobedience" appeared, the Disney Co. sent me a letter advising that they controlled Milne's works. Since the horse was out of the barn, I think they put it in their publishing company and gave me a percentage of the writing royalties.<br /><br /><b>6 - Did you ever hear from any of Milne's relatives, friends or associates as to what they thought about your adaptation?</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">CM:</span></b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> No, I've never been contacted by his family or friends.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7 - Are there any other memories, stories or thoughts about "James James Morrison Morrison" you'd like to share?</b></span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">CM: </span></b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Someone told me that Gail Johnson was made aware of our rendition and that it brought tears to her eyes. I hope that was a positive response. It remained in our performing repertoire and always delighted the audience.</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> Another thing that comes to mind is about a very special gift that was given to my wife, Christine, and me when our daughter, Anne-Claire, was born. <br /><br />I was Director of Entertainment for The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. back in the '80s and the company's graphic designer, Shirley Davis, presented us with a calligraphy on which she had inscribed the entire version of "Disobedience." Being the expert graphic artist she was, she framed the poem with a musical staff on which she faithfully notated the whole melody in gold leaf. Needless to say, we were dumbstruck by her skill and generosity. It has hung in a prominent place in our home ever since.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> Read more about Chad's music at <a href="http://chadmitchelltrio.com/">chadmitchelltrio.com</a></i></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-22994720199152099972017-11-06T09:56:00.002-06:002020-08-27T12:12:00.822-05:00No one knew the circumstance but they say it happened pretty quick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: #351c75;">LILY, ROSEMARY AND THE JACK OF HEARTS</span><span face="" style="color: #351c75;"> (Bob Dylan) -- Gregg Inhofer</span></h3>
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<span face=""><span face="">"Blood on the Tracks" is one of the most acclaimed albums in rock history. Bob Dylan's 1975 masterpiece is also one of his most commercially successful records, topping the charts and going double platinum. BOTT was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GreggInhofer" target="_blank">Gregg Inhofer</a> plays keyboards on five of the ten tracks, but you won't find his name on any release of the album. The same holds for the four other Minneapolis musicians who also backed Dylan on those songs. Guitarist Kevin Odegard co-wrote a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Twist-Fate-Making-Tracks/dp/0306814137" target="_blank">fascinating book</a> about the experience.</span><br />
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<span face="">The short version: Dylan had recorded the ten songs for BOTT in New York City and the album was set for a release in time for Christmas, 1974. But Dylan wasn't satisfied, so his brother suggested that he re-record some songs while in Minnesota for the holidays and delay the release. </span><br />
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<span face="">Backing musicians were quickly rounded up and, after two days of recording, produced the final versions of "Tangled Up in Blue," "You're a Big Girl Now," "Idiot Wind," "If You See Her, Say Hello," and the song I cover in my Q+A with Gregg Inhofer, "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts."</span><br />
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<span face="">Since the record jackets had been already been printed, it was too late to add the Minneapolis musicians to the credits, something which has never been rectified. </span><br />
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<span face="">"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is a long title for a very long song. It is cinematic in scope, telling the tale of a love triangle in the Old West in 15 verses. The characters and setting are so vividly depicted that, unsurprisingly, there have been two screenplays based on LR&TJOH (neither has been produced).</span><br />
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<span face="">The musical setting for this complex story is relatively simple, an uptempo folk song propelled by the talented Minneapolis musicians, including Inhofer on organ.</span><br />
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<span face="">To hear what they added to the song, listen to the rejected <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/44YGapY6fh3jpwoZC4OUZh" target="_blank">New York version</a>, done in a slower and stripped down style a</span>nd then listen to the Minneapolis version, the one used on BOTT:</div></div></div>
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<span face="">Dylan has only played LR&TKOJ live once, back in 1976. </span><br />
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<span face="">Gregg Inhofer is an accomplished musician, a member of the Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame, a singer-songwriter and pianist whose work ranges from jazz to rock to R&B. He recently fielded my seven questions about his experience working on BOTT.</span><br />
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<b><span face="">1 - What was your connection to </span><span face=""><a href="http://kevinodegard.com/" target="_blank">Kevin Odegard</a> at the time</span></b><span face=""><b> and thus to these sessions?</b><br /><b><span style="color: red;"><br />Gregg Inhofer</span></b>: At the time, I was working in Kevin’s band doing his originals. Kevin’s manager was David Zimmerman, Bob’s brother. When the whole session thing came up, it was decided to use the studio rhythm section which was <a href="http://www.petersonbilly.com/index.php/about" target="_blank">Billy Peterson</a> & Bill Berg. When the subject of a keyboard player came up, I was the first name on their minds since I worked with Kevin.<br /><br /><b>2 - How well did you know any of Dylan's previous repertoire?</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">GI:</span></b> I wasn't that well versed in Dylan’s work. I was aware of the mainstream stuff & had deep respect for him as a lyricist & the voice of a generation. I would hear whole albums at parties but I never bought one.<br /><br /><b>3 - In your band at the time, This Oneness, you were one of the vocalists. Did you learn anything about singing from observing Dylan during these sessions?</b></span><br />
<span face=""><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">GI: </span></b><span face="">Yes, I was also working with This Oneness. No, I didn't learn any vocal tips from him during the sessions. He didn't care that much about vocals. It was the words. </span><br />
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<span face="">Funny though, years later when we did the Pantages show, I had to sing a couple songs from BOTT. In learning his vocals I thought, oh I see what he was maybe going to go for if he gave a shit….but he didn't really.</span><br />
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<span face=""><br /><b>4- Did Dylan give you any direction or feedback on your organ part for Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts? You had been playing progressive rock/jazz fusion with This Oneness. Was it challenging to adapt to playing a three-chord song with a very straightforward time signature?</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">GI: </span></b><span face="">He did not give any feedback for this song. I found the 3 chords rather boring but not in a disrespectful way. I amused myself by turning the Leslie on and off.<br /><br /><b>5 - I've read how the musicians on "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" were tired after a long night of recording when they started taping that song -- and they kept thinking it was building to an end but verse after verse kept coming. On LR&TJOH did you have any idea what the song was about or how long it was going to be?</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">GI: </span></b><span face="">We had no idea. It just kept going and going. I learned one of my most important lessons from this song though. </span></div>
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<span face="">We were listening to playback & I was watching <a href="https://youtu.be/VeaTfaVPUdw" target="_blank">Bill Berg</a>. He was over by the speaker talking with Bob. It was a simple train beat but Bill was explaining that he could play it Doopa dappa Doopa dapper Doopa dapper Doopa dapper or dappa dooba dapper dooba dapper dooba dapper dooba. </span><br />
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<span face="">Now, he was a well versed jazz drummer & what I saw was Bill as a giant reservoir of talent with a little spigot on the end. Bill was giving that spigot to Bob to open or close as he saw fit. It was a moment for me. It changed how I approached the song the next time we recorded it & subsequently the rest of the sessions & all sessions the rest of my life. My philosophy became, I’d rather have someone say, "wow, what a great session" than "what a crappy session but listen to that keyboard player."<br /><br /><b>6 - In 2004, you and the other Minneapolis musicians who played on BOTT performed all the songs from the album at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis. What was that experience like?</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">GI: </span></b><span face="">I said a little about it earlier. It was a great time. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Weissberg" target="_blank">Eric Weissberg</a> from Deliverance was there. A great guy. </span></div>
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<span face="">I said to him, Eric, there’s a question I've been wanting to ask you for 20 years. </span><span face="">He said, why didn't you call me? </span><span face="">Because I didn't have your number. There were a number of expletives thrown from both sides. </span><br />
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<span face="">It was an honor to play with all the people there. </span><span face="">One of my top ten musical moments.</span></div>
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<span face=""><b>7 - Notoriously, you and the rest of the Minneapolis musicians were not credited on the record, never received gold records, etc., just union scale. In 2002, you wondered “what might have happened if we got credit?" Has anything changed in the years since you said that?</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">GI: </span></b><span face="">Oh, I try to take a pragmatic approach. All roads lead to now & I’m quite content with my life now. I still think about suing Sony, they bought Columbia, just to give myself some closure. </span></div>
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<span face="">Yeah, if we had gotten credit it could have changed my whole career. I have to take responsibility for not speaking up when the second pressing came out & we weren't on it as promised. Shoulda woulda coulda.</span><br />
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<span face=""><b><i>If you'd like to hear more about Gregg's musical career, you can watch him here: </i></b></span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-65265260301528703292017-09-25T08:10:00.001-05:002020-04-04T16:55:01.175-05:00Wanna Buy Five Copies For My Mother<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dennis Locorriere of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show</span></h3>
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<a href="http://www.dennislocorriere.com/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Dennis Locorriere</a>,<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> a founding member of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, took time recently to answer my seven questions about one of the funnest songs ever to grace the Top Ten, "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." He is currently touring worldwide, fronting "DR HOOK starring Dennis Locorriere."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Hook_%26_the_Medicine_Show" target="_blank">Dr. Hook</a> (the "& the Medicine Show" was jettisoned in 1975) is one of the most underrated bands of the '70s and early '80s. They're the kind of act that, when you hear one of their songs, you start thinking about their other hits and before you know it you have a longer list than you expected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They broke through with 1972's "Sylvia's Mother" (which peaked at #5) before scoring a #6 hit with "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It took three years before their next hit, a cover of Sam Cooke's "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olQNes_mq8I" target="_blank">Only 16</a>," a #6 hit, followed shortly thereafter by "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF0_947VPNA" target="_blank">A Little Bit More</a>" at #11.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1978 brought "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_n_NgGWpR4" target="_blank">Sharing the Night Together</a>" (#6); 1979 delivered "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" (#6 - they must have the record for most #6 singles) and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3poFyK54xbc" target="_blank">Better Love Next Time</a>" (#12); and in 1980 they scored another #5 in with "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6WutGHAFZM" target="_blank">Sexy Eyes</a>." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ten Top 40 hits from 1972-1982 -- six of which reached #5 or #6 -- is an impressive run. Maybe <u>too</u> successful as a pop act, because despite being comprised of very talented singers and musicians who put on highly entertaining live shows, Dr. Hook doesn't get as much credit as some of its peers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I get it. They had hit singles but their albums never broke through, they sang a lot of what McCartney called "Silly Love Songs," and they always looked like they were having way too much fun to be "artistes." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That said, I've never met anyone who doesn't like "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," Dr. Hook's only hit that wasn't a love song, one with more of a country rock feel and which showcases the band's innate and solid sense of humor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">TCotRS was written by renaissance man<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Silverstein" target="_blank"> Shel Silverstein</a>, who also wrote Johnny Cash's "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHPuY88Ry4" target="_blank">A Boy Named Sue</a>," but is probably best remembered today for children's books like "A Light in the Attic" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To find out what Dennis Locorriere has to say about Silverstein, "Rolling Stone," and Dr. Hook, read on...</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b>1 - You sang lead on virtually every Dr. Hook hit record, with the exception of "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." Was it because your voice was, essentially, <u id="yiv9893805709m_4329743322860767259yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1505761104665_17720" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">too</u> good, given the loose feel of this song? Or were you needed to do the harmonies and backing vocals?</b></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Dennis Locorriere:</b></span><span style="color: #454545;"> I've always seen The Cover of Rolling Stone as an ensemble piece. </span></span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was appropriate. </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After all, it was the whole band who was begging to be on the cover.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">The first voice you hear is mine, saying "Hey, sugar! Tell 'em who we are." Then Ray kicks it off perfectly in the first verse, </span><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">making the band's case for immortality.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Second verse is sung by George in his low, ominous tones, extolling the virtues of someone named Cocaine Katy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">From there the song is sung pretty much in harmony and ends with me talking again. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I can see it now, man...awwww, beautiful!"</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><b>2 - How did you come up with the hilarious guitar solo (I've read that you played it on the record, though not in concert)?</b></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL:</span></b><span style="color: #454545;"> I literally closed my eyes and dove in, not considering the notes I was playing at all. What came out was what we used. I couldn't have played it again if I'd wanted to. I felt sorry for the poor guitar players out there who may have tried to duplicate it!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span id="yiv9893805709m_4329743322860767259yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1505761104665_8366" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">3 - </span>Shel Silverstein called the band at a hotel and asked if you wanted to get on the cover of <i style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Rolling Stone</i>. When you first heard him play the song, did you think his plan would work?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You never know what's gonna 'work' in this business. What we did know was that it was a brilliantly funny, cleverly written song and we wanted it in our repertoire.</span></span></div>
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<span id="yiv9893805709m_4329743322860767259yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1505761104665_11426" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>4 - Why didn't Shel record the song himself? </b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shel always said he didn't need or want the attention and passed a lot of songs, TV appearances and the like on to us. The band had just gotten some attention with our first big record, Sylvia's Mother (also written by Shel!) and I suppose he thought this song could only help. He was right!</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>5 - You and the rest of the band look like you're having a great time on every live performance of CotRS I've seen. Was your humorous patter leading into the live versions off the cuff, or did you have a couple of standard lines you liked to work with, given how many times you must have performed that song?</b></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">The things I said on the record were off the cuff. I just rambled until we found something we thought might work. </span><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Didn't take all that long as I recall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In concert, we just played the song without any commentary. The lyrics spoke for themselves.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><b>6 - The image of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show in CotRS, on the first few albums and on stage was, "this band knows how to party!" However, you look and sound great now, tour the world performing with your band, and seem younger than your years. Good genes, or was that image more an act than a reality?</b></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">When you first go on the road you think you should have a party every night because you're sure the good times can't possibly last very long. Once it becomes evident that this is your job, and not a hobby, you have some choices to make. I was never one to seriously over indulge,</span><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506301983425_6493" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"> believe it or not. We had a shambolic stage persona that worked for us for awhile, but, truthfully, we weren't 'always stoned' any more than Bowie was really 'from Mars.'</span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506301983425_6494" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As far as seeming younger than my years these days, I thank you for the compliment. I feel terrific. Guess we'll see how long that goes on.</span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506301983425_6495" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>7 - When the song was released, Rolling Stone sent 16-year old Cameron Crowe to profile the band. When you watched his film, "Almost Famous," which is based on Crowe's experiences back then, did that bring back any memories?</b></span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506301983425_6492" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tho I haven't seen him since those very early days I have fond memories of Cameron. He was a sharp kid and you were left with the feeling he was gonna go on to bigger things.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">The last time I had contact with him was by post, after Almost Famous was released. He told me he had tried to reach me and wanted me to be a consultant on the film. I was sad we hadn't connected because the film is great - very accurate as far as the behind the scenes stuff goes. </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1506301983425_6502" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">I also would have loved to work with Cameron, the man. But I was still very flattered that he'd even considered me after so many years. </span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Judging by <a href="https://twitter.com/DrHookOfficial" target="_blank">his tweets</a>, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dennis is one of the hardest working men in show business, touring with his band and making the media rounds. I'll leave you with this entertaining interview Dennis did a couple of years ago on Australian TV:</span></i></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-33475518144888571532016-11-02T11:22:00.001-05:002020-08-22T20:00:28.025-05:00Everything I've done was wrong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">FEEL LIKE GOING HOME (Charlie Rich) - Peter Guralnick</span></h2>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">What's the greatest record you've never heard?</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Well, that's obviously an unanswerable question. If you're like me, however, every few years or so you'll hear something that blows you away and you wonder how the record could have existed without your knowledge. It's always a thrill when this happens.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I came across "Feel Like Going Home" by Charlie Rich and had the experience mentioned above. Rich is someone whose pop hits I knew and liked, and I also love what I've heard from his early days at the legendary Sun Records. "<a href="https://youtu.be/wzRzyKHWV84" target="_blank">You Can Have Her</a>" for Smash Records is a favorite. But FLGH was new to me.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">No, one can't know all songs by all artists, but FLGH was too damn good for me never to have stumbled into it, to never had recommended to me.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">What I heard was this demo version:</span><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">
Rich's first commercial release of FLGH was as the B-Side to his monster hit, "<a href="https://youtu.be/GhqbESuc2v8">The Most Beautiful Girl in the World</a>."</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">A couple of decades later he included another version on what turned out to be his final album, "Pictures and Paintings."</span></div><div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Digging into the story behind the song, I found a good one. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><br />Renowned rock writer <a href="http://www.peterguralnick.com/">Peter Guralnick</a> met Charlie Rich while working on a book that profiled various blues and rock musicians, including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jerry Lee Lewis. Charlie, one of his subjects, had yet to hit the big time with "<a href="https://youtu.be/O3iEFfA4TmI">Behind Closed Doors</a>." <br /><br /> The <a href="http://www.peterguralnick.com/feellikegoinghome">book</a>, published in 1971, took its name from a song by Waters, "<a href="http://www.peterguralnick.com/feellikegoinghome">Feel Like Going Home</a>." Charlie, inspired by the feeling he got from reading the book, wrote a song with the same title.<br /><br /> And, to come full circle, Peter executive produced "Pictures and Paintings," including Charlie's final recording of FLGH. </span><span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">You can watch Peter recounting this experience <a href="https://youtu.be/s4rQOZQjXwE" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">He kindly shared the following insights and opinions with me:</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>1 - I
assume, perhaps incorrectly, that Charlie is playing the evocative piano part
himself on the demo version. What can you tell us about Charlie's piano
playing, given that he's best known as a singer?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Peter Guralnick:</b></span> I
think you can pick up on Charlie’s playing from what you hear on the demo –
it’s kind of jagged, hesitant, with lots of blue notes played in between the
cracks, but with a swelling, gospel-inflected orchestral sound, too. I’m not
sure who exactly you could compare him to. Ray Charles and Miles Davis were
among his great musical heroes, Stan Kenton, Thelonious Monk, and the hard
boppers, too. In many ways he believed that less is more, and much of his
playing is spare. More than anything, though, he was inclined to sing and play behind
the beat – but he always caught up.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>2 -
FLGH was initially a b-side and didn't make it onto an album until many years
later. Do you know if Charlie ever sang it in concert? Not that YouTube
has everything, but I found no live version there. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>PG: </b></span>He didn't play it often. I know he dedicated it once to President Nixon – not sure
what exactly he meant by that (kind of like his song, “<a href="https://youtu.be/Y3OdeC1jsvk" target="_blank">Peace On You</a>”), a couple
of times he dedicated it to me, though never with the impact of that first time
he played it at Max’s Kansas City. But it was such a personal song, it was a <i>quiet</i> song, and conveyed such a sense of
intimate, non-anthemic emotion that it wasn’t all that suitable for arena or
stadium performances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>3 -
You produced what turned out to be Charlie's last album, "Pictures and Paintings."
What was his motivation to record another version of FLGH? </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b style="color: red;">PG: </b>He
wanted to record it again, because he felt the B-side version was more Billy
Sherrill than him. Charlie was the one who re-conceived of it as a gospel song,
with a black choir and in his original conception (I’m not sure how this would
have worked out) with Arthur Fiedler leading the Boston Pops section of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra behind him. He had trouble singing it in the original
key, and it was Scott Billington, the producer, who suggested the key change,
which created a change in mood, too, that substituted a kind of upbeat sense of
salvation for the original, haunting feel. If I had to choose, I’d choose the
demo (I think most people would), but Charlie absolutely loved the new version,
too, he loved the voices and the new, more hopeful mood.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">4 - If
you believe in Rock and Roll Heaven, who up there is singing this song with
Elvis Presley and Ray Charles and Sam Cooke as Charlie smiles and sways along?</b></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b style="color: red;">PG: </b>Billie
Holiday? Louis Armstrong? Miles on trumpet? A still earth-bound Willie Nelson.
Bobby Charles. But not together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>5 -
One of my favorite records is Johnny Cash's "<a href="https://youtu.be/F7_kpLa3fyI" target="_blank">Spiritual</a>," which has a
lot in common with FLGH. Breathtaking vocal by an iconic singer who started at
Sun Records, a song that pulls off the feat of sounding like its an old
traditional tune without sounding derivative, lyrical pleading for relief from
life's pain. Maybe I'm a sucker for these types of records. Can you
recommend a few hidden gems along these lines?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b style="color: red;">PG: </b>“<a href="https://youtu.be/68swYUZwwbQ" target="_blank">She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye</a>” and “<a href="https://youtu.be/7MC6MAqp14A" target="_blank">Over the Rainbow</a>” by Jerry Lee Lewis. Nick
Lowe and Geraint Watkins – “<a href="https://youtu.be/wBbeZ7LMIgo" target="_blank">Only a Rose</a>.” </span><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">“It </span><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Tears Me Up” – Dan Penn.</span>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>6 - A
perhaps unfair question I tend to ask people is what's their favorite cover
version of a song. I don't think any measure up to Charlie's recordings, but
some very talented folks have sung it - Tom Jones with Mark Knopfler; J Mascis
of Dinosaur Jr.; Rita Coolidge; the Notting Hillbillies (Knopfler again);
Walkabouts; and others. Which do you like best and why? </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b style="color: red;">PG: </b>If
we’re going to talk covers I’m going to go with <a href="https://youtu.be/PjzY5i3jDbc" target="_blank">Bobby “Blue” Bland’s version</a> of
Charlie’s “<a href="https://youtu.be/xN0C-p77W1M" target="_blank">Who Will the Next Fool Be</a>,” which I think equals the original in an
entirely different and individual way, and <a href="https://youtu.be/dqXWtI9iVBk" target="_blank">Jerry Lee Lewis’ version</a> of<span face="" style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue", "segoe ui", helvetica, arial, "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></span><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">the same song, which ends with Jerry Lee whistling the outro, and then spontaneously declaring, “Can you imagine a cat in khaki pants walking down the street, whistling?” as the song fades. </span><span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Not to mention
Dennis Brennan’s beautiful version of “Feel Like Going Home,” with Duke Levine
backing him up.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b>7 -
You've been called a "national resource" for your writing about
music. What I don't know is if you can play guitar or piano. Do you? And, if
so, do you ever sit down and belt out "Feel Like Going Home"?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><b style="color: red;">PG: </b>Don’t
play – my brother and sister do. So does my son, Jake. We all belted out “Down
By the Old Mill Stream” last Saturday for my father’s 100<sup>th</sup>
birthday, with accompaniment by two mandolins (one of them my father’s) and a
ukulele, played by Jake, Mike, and Josh (Budo).</span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-25321938908602318732016-10-03T18:43:00.002-05:002020-08-22T19:54:08.321-05:00Who Can Turn The World On With Her Smile?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"LOVE IS ALL AROUND" (The Mary Tyler Moore Show Theme Song) </span><span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">-- Sonny Curtis</span></h3>
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<span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Singer, songwriter and guitarist Sonny Curtis played with Buddy Holly, wrote the rock anthem <a href="https://youtu.be/4hw846vx_uk" target="_blank">"I Fought The Law"</a> and is a member of the <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/crickets" target="_blank">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>. <br />
<br />
Oh, and he also wrote one of the most iconic and beloved television theme songs ever. Yes, I am biased because I was a kid growing up in Minneapolis (where the sitcom was set) when the series originally aired; watching the opening credits now is as familiar and comforting as viewing a home movie... but I dare you to play this video and not sing along:<br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sonny was kind enough to answer my questions about "Love is All Around" via email:</span><br />
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - I've read about how you got word one day that a sitcom needed a theme song, so you came up with one quickly and then went over and played it for the producers, who bought it immediately. When they recorded the version used for the series, did you just record your voice and guitar or were you also involved in the arrangement with the strings and brass, etc?</span></b><br />
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<div class="yiv5054470033MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1475512642172_10358" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;">
<span face="" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1475512642172_10357" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">Sonny Curtis:</span></b> </span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My friend Doug Gilmore worked for the Williams/Price Agency, who managed Mary Tyler Moore. He called one day about 11 AM and told me about the plan for a sitcom with Mary. During his lunch break, he dropped off a small synopsis that described Mary's character and what the show was about. I wrote the song in about two hours, called him and said, "who do I sing this to?" He sent me to James L. Brooks, the show's executive producer. I sang him the song and he liked it.<br /><br />I was not involved in the arrangement. Pat Williams arranged the song and I sang on it at the session.</span></div></div>
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b><b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474469258476_20955" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">2 - </span>Why did they tweak the song after the first season</span></b><b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">?</span></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474469258476_20721" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The lyrics for the first season started with "How Will You Make It On Your Own," etc. After the first season, James L. Brooks called and said, "She's obviously made it, so we need to up date the lyrics." I did a complete rewrite and we recorded it again with a different arrangement, also by Pat Williams. I played the acoustic guitar lick on that version and overdubbed my lead vocal. </span> <b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">3 - Did your success with "Love is All Around" land you any more theme song work?</span></b></div>
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474469258476_20546" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrote two other TV themes: Szysznyk and Evening Shade. Whether the MTM theme had anything to do with it, I don't know. Although, because I sang the MTM theme, I got a lot of work singing jingles.</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474469258476_20545" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">4 - </span>If the producers hadn't been interested in the song, what do you think you would have done with it?</span></b></div>
<div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474397410643_16499" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474397410643_16499" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know. I guess I would have tried to pitch it to some artist. Without it's exposure on the show, though, I wonder if it would have had commercial value. I guess we'll never know. </span> <span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">5 - "LIAA" has been covered by everyone from Joan Jett to Sammy Davis, Jr. to Minneapolis' own Husker Du. Do you have a favorite cover version?</span></b></div>
<div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474397410643_16497" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474397410643_16497" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I like them all. One thing, it provided me with the opportunity to meet and hang out with Sammy Davis, Jr. for a while, which I'm proud of. He called and invited me to his palatial hotel suite to go over the song and the music with him. It was a real pleasant experience.<br /><br />I guess if you pinned me down, I'd have to say Joan Jett's is my favorite. <br /><br />I actually like the version we did for the show. Not because I sang it, but I think the arrangement is perfect.</span> </div><div id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474397410643_16497" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">6 - Do you have a theory about why this particular song struck such a chord with viewers and listeners and has endured for all these years?</span></b></div>
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<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474429082865_9306" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the timing was great. It was sort of at the beginning of Gloria Steinem's feminism movement and I think the show was a touchstone for that period. Mary, Rhoda, Phyllis, Lou, Ted and the rest of the cast were fantastic. It had terrific writers and outstanding production. I think great synergy was created by doing it in front of a live audience.<br /><br />The show has enormous staying power, thus the song has great staying power. Whatever the reason, I'm very proud that I was fortunate (and lucky) enough to be associated with such a wonderful part of television history.</span> </div><div dir="ltr" id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474429082865_9306" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">
<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="yiv5054470033yui_3_16_0_1_1474469258476_20725" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">7 - </span>What is your favorite television theme song or one you wish you had written?</span></b></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: red;">SC: </span></b></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a great fan of music and I probably shouldn't go down this road. There are so many good ones written by magnificent composers. I'm sure I'll leave out quite a few, but I'll give you an example of some of my favorites. I love the themes from M*A*S*H, Cheers, and the first Bob Newhart Show. And way high on my list is Welcome Back, Kotter , written and performed by one of my all time favorites, John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful. </span> </div></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Many thanks to the talented and humble Sonny Curtis for the interview. Check out his official website <a href="http://www.sonnycurtis.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-14744521906447246502016-06-06T18:27:00.002-05:002020-09-09T19:51:55.021-05:00Pluck a Heartstring, Duck for Cover <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;">I don't think anyone can deny that it's a challenge to keep up with the amount of new music being produced. The democratization of production and distribution that the digital revolution created means there is more music than ever, which is a good thing. But separating the wheat from the chaff has never been harder.</span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;">I first heard of Bad Bad Hats last fall, when I read about them in Minneapolis' <i>City Pages</i>, which named the band the <a href="http://www.citypages.com/music/picked-to-click-2015-no-1-bad-bad-hats-7824309" target="_blank">"2015 Pick to Click."</a> Old fashioned press sometimes still pays dividends in this day of social media.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;">Being a good Minnesotan, I liked Bad Bad Hats before I'd heard the first note of "It Hurts" because I could see that it was shot on a hockey rink. Then, once the drums, bass and guitar laid down a simple but catchy jangle, I was intrigued. And, upon hearing Kerry Alexander's voice (and background vocals), I was hooked.</span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;">That's Chris Hoge on drums and Noah Boswell on bass.</span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="color: #351c75;">You can learn more about the band and their music (as well as find all their social media links at <a href="http://afternoonrecords.com/bad-bad-hats" target="_blank">Afternoon Records</a> or at <a href="http://badbadhats.com/">badbadhats.com</a>. And here's something from their Bandcamp page: </span><br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4088248078/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;">&amp;lt;a href="http://badbadhats.bandcamp.com/album/it-hurts-ep-2"&amp;gt;It Hurts - EP by Bad Bad Hats&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</iframe><br /></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">"It Hurts" is the title track of a 2013 EP; last year BBH released an album, "Psychic Reader." </span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Ian Anderson of Afternoon Records kindly took my questions to the band. Here's what they had to say...</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">1 - IH is available as a free download (thank you). What is the thinking behind giving away your music?</b><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1465251728514_6381" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1465251728514_6388" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background-color: white;"><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b> Our friend and label guy, Ian, convinced us that free was the way to go. I was skeptical, because I think music as an art form is painfully undervalued and we put a lot of time and energy and creativity into our work. But ultimately, it's about being heard. We hope to remove any obstacles between the listener and our music. And we've found the people who really connect with us end up purchasing a CD or vinyl at the shows anyway. </span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>2 - What was the hardest part about shooting the video for IH? I was impressed that you three are directly on the ice, with no carpet or other material beneath your feet. No broomball shoes, though Kerry and Noah seem to have matching footwear.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">It was definitely a chilly experience. And I remember being somewhat concerned about slipping and breaking something. Occasionally, I'd have to take myself and my guitar to a warm place to defrost. But the shoot didn't take very long. And it was very fun to be in that space. And we got cheeseburgers after.</span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>3 - Kerry is the band's primary songwriter. Was that the case for "It Hurts" and what inspired it?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">I wrote "It Hurts" when I was studying abroad in Paris. One night, I was up really late working on a paper for one of my classes. I texted my friend to see if she was still up and working on our stupid paper. She was as behind on it as me, so I texted her "well, the night is young." And she responded "it's so young, it hurts." I don't know why that resonated with me so much, but I jotted it down immediately and wrote the song the next day. Haha!</span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>4 - What was the most amusing/wonderful/rage-inducing thing a reviewer or fan said about IH?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Huh! Specific comments aren't really coming to mind. I guess I'll just say that one of the most rewarding things has been seeing young people cover "It Hurts." I'm happy that it's a song that people want to sing along to. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">When I was working on songs in Paris, I only had my guitar and kazoo. It was just something portable that I could be creative with. I'm not sure that I expected it to be on the final version, but I think it fits. </span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>6 - Listening to IH now, is there anything you would change (and/or do so when playing it live)?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">If I did it all again today, I'm sure there are things I would do differently. Different vocal inflections. Maybe electric guitar. But I'm happy with how it sounds and I think it speaks to that era of our band. </span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><b>7 - Bob Mould started Husker Du at Macalester College when I was a student there. Information Society, who had a #3 hit in 1988 with "Pure Energy," formed in Dupre hall. Will Sheff of Okkervil River is another alum. You guys met at Macalester. Randomness or is there something magical in the dining hall water?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">BBH:</span></b><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Haha! There might be something in the chocolate milk. It is a very cool place that attracts very cool people. When I was growing up in the South, I didn't know that many people who were making music or in bands. But when I got to Macalester, I instantly met all kinds of creative people. And when a few bands started to see glimmers of success (a spot on The Current's <i>Local Show</i> or a cool opening slot at 7th Street Entry), it inspired the rest of us. I knew it was possible to break into the greater scene if I just kept writing and playing and working hard. </span><span face=""verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-80115610085480360042016-05-03T13:22:00.003-05:002016-05-03T13:22:58.117-05:00When I Call Out Your Name<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue;">LOVE HAS NO PRIDE (Linda Ronstadt) - John Boylan, Producer</span></h3>
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Very few singers have come close to the commercial and artistic success in as many genres as Linda Ronstadt has achieved. The combination of amazing voice and excellent taste in songwriters served her well from 1967's "Different Drum" until her forced retirement due to the effects of Parkinson's disease a few years ago.<br />
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Country, pop, folk, rock, new wave, operetta, Mexican canciones, standards, duets, trios, and so on - there seems to be nothing that Linda Ronstadt can't sing well.<br />
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"Love Has No Pride" was only a minor hit from her first gold album, coming just a year before her rise to superstardom with 1974's "Heart Like a Wheel" LP. But the song's popularity has endured and even grown in the years since.<br />
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Ronstadt's voice breaks my heart every time I hear "Love Has No Pride." To get an idea of just how powerful her performance is, I urge you to go on Spotify and listen to a bunch of other versions of this song. There are many very nice versions from superb singers like Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Billy Bragg, Lynn Anderson, Paul Young and others. But none of them hold a candle to Ronstadt's.<br />
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Another thing that stands out while listening to all of these versions is just how perfect the arrangement is on Ronstadt's. The other records are either fairly simple (and effective) or somewhat generic. Ronstadt's version starts with electric piano and an unusual sounding pedal steel guitar, then the drums roll in and then... The Voice. The accompaniment and the vocal are able to build from quiet and tender passages to a powerful climax, without ever going over the top.<br />
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The man responsible for producing this masterpiece is John Boylan. John also managed Ronstadt and put together a backing band that later made musical history as The Eagles. <br />
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He also co-produced Boston's self-titled debut LP, which remains the best selling first album in history. Among others, he produced hits for the Charlie Daniels Band, the Little River Band, the Muppets, the Simpsons, various soundtracks, and is a Grammy winner.<br />
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John continues to produce, still does some work with Ronstadt, and teaches college courses in music production in southern California. He was kind enough to respond to my questions about "Love Has No Pride."<br />
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12968" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>1 - You, JD Souther and Peter Asher were all producers on the album "Love Has No Pride comes from, 1973's "Don't Cry Now." How did you end up producing this track?</b></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12964" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">John Boylan:</span></b> I started the album in late ’72, but we had to stop to go on a very long tour with Neil Young. My contract with Linda ended with that tour, so I wasn’t involved with finishing the album. “Love Has No Pride,” was one of the early tracks we recorded before the tour. The song came from two friends of mine – Libby Titus, who was my classmate at Bard College in the '60s, and Eric Kaz, whose band I produced in the '60s.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12955" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>2 - Bonnie Raitt had released the original version of LHNP a year earlier. What did you feel Linda could bring to the song to make it her own?</b></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12915" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>JB:</b></span> I loved Bonnie’s version because she’s such an amazing singer, but her version was somewhat stripped-down and not Top 40 Radio-friendly. I thought Linda could bring her own style to the song in a more radio-friendly arrangement.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>3 - You played electric piano on LHNP. Did you lay that down separately or were at least some of the parts recorded "live" as a band?</b></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12957" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></b> The arrangement is based around that piano part, which I worked out the night before the session. We cut it live minus the strings and background vocals. All the instruments played at the same time, and Linda sang as well, although we did touch up her vocal by overdubbing a few lines later. The string section, arranged by Jimmie Haskell, was also added later.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>4 - Are there any alternate takes, or did you have a clear idea of what arrangement you were going for?</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></b> No alternate takes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>5 - LHNP was only a minor hit at the time, topping out at #51, but has endured as one of the most popular songs in Linda's extensive catalog. Why do you think this is?</b></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12949" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>JB:</b></span> Two reasons – it’s a great song and Linda sang the hell out of it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>6 - Legendary pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow contributes a lot to the sound of LHNP. What was it like working with him?</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>JB:</b></span> Pete was a wonderful musician, with the most original sound on steel I ever heard. Even Buddy Emmons, arguably the best steel player ever, said that Pete was a unique player. I worked with him a lot and enjoyed every session.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1462295774063_12929" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><b>7 - It's fairly well known that you and Linda were a couple at one point, and I'm not sure what the status of your relationship was when you recorded LHNP. How did that inform or influence such a heartbreaking performance?</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>JB:</b></span> Not relevant at all. We had not been a couple for over two years when we made that record.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><i>To read more about John, check out his music company's site <a href="http://www.greateasternmusic.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-22563725149579738262015-12-15T10:57:00.000-06:002016-10-03T17:42:40.406-05:00It Is Not Real, It Does Not Grow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #20124d;">"TATTOO SONG (Daisy on my Toe)" -- Mason Williams</span></h2>
Many summer camps and Girl Scout troops know this song:<br />
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What they often don't seem to know is who wrote it. In fact, most assume it's a folk song, handed down over so many years that no one remembers where it originated. It's time to correct that misconception.<br />
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In fact, "Tattoo Song" debuted in 1965 on a best-selling album by the Smothers Brothers, "Mom Always Liked You Best." Like most of the duo's cuts, it combined humor and music.<br />
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So who wrote it? A man who has been awarded an Emmy and two Grammys. A man who is an accomplished guitarist, comedian, artist, poet and author. His name is Mason Williams, and he is best known for ""Classical Gas," a huge hit in 1968 whose popularity has never waned in the decades since its release. <br />
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Williams received his two Grammy Awards for composing and performing "Classical Gas." At the time, he was head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a groundbreaking, controversial and popular television variety show. For this work, he landed his Emmy,<br />
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A few years earlier, just before he wrote "Tattoo Song," Williams released an album called "Them Poems," a collection of humorous short pieces he sung or recited before a live audience. That same year, the Kingston Trio ("Tom Dooley," "Charlie and the MTA,") included a few of these tunes on their live album:<br />
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"Tattoo Song" is seemingly just one of many short comedic songs written by Williams at a time when he was busy with a a variety of successful creative endeavors, one which could have gently faded into the past. Instead, it has taken on a life of its own, inspiring countless numbers of camp counselors to get a daisy tattooed on her or his toe. <br />
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I caught up with Williams recently to quiz him about a song for which he gets so little credit.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Did you or someone you know have a daisy tattoo...</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">Mason Williams: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e43f7b;"><b>No.</b></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...or did something else inspire the lyrics?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e43f7b;"><b>Song to sing after getting tattoo.</b></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Did you write the song specifically for the Smothers Brothers? </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <b style="color: #e43f7b;">No</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>On the recording, the brothers do their usual comedic banter before they play the actual song. Given that you were later the head writer for their television series, were you involved in writing this banter or just the song itself?</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <b style="color: #e43f7b;">Could be either, don't remember.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It appears you've never recorded a version of the song. Was it ever part of your live act?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e43f7b;"><b>No</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>You've written a lot of terrific music. And thoughts on why this particular tune took on a new life as a popular song for Girl Scouts and summer camp kids?</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <b style="color: #e43f7b;">Surprise to me! Not sure how / why it caught on.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You and the artist Ed Ruscha were roommates in Los Angeles in 1964; your website says you composed Tattoo Song on 9/12/64. Was there much creative interaction/inspiration between you two or were you both off in your own artistic worlds? </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">MW:</span></b> <b style="color: #e43f7b;">We went on <a href="http://www.aldenprojects.com/2015/09/double-standard-ed-ruscha-mason.html" target="_blank">DADA dates</a>.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When you wrote the song, did you foresee the day when having a tattoo would be as mainstream as it has become? </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b><span style="color: red;">MW: </span></b><b style="color: #e43f7b;">Nope, tattoos were basically the realm of sailors & criminals.</b></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-84290332419253113272015-09-18T11:12:00.001-05:002020-09-09T19:56:03.799-05:00Talking Baseball Every Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue;">"GLEEMAN AND THE GEEK" THEME -- John Bonnes</span></h3>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">I've posted about theme songs for television ("<a href="http://onesongsevenquestions.blogspot.com/search/label/Gangstagrass" target="_blank">Justified</a>") and film ("<a href="http://onesongsevenquestions.blogspot.com/2015/02/days-upon-days.html" target="_blank">We'll Never Have Paris</a>"), but never for a podcast. Until now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Gleeman and the Geek</strong> are not the next Sonny & Cher or Hall & Oates or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. They are not musicians at all. <strong>John Bonnes</strong> and <strong>Aaron Gleeman</strong>, among the first bloggers to cover the Minnesota Twins baseball team, are the voices behind a very popular Twins podcast. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I'm not a big believer in the importance of "chemistry" in the clubhouse, but it's everything in a podcast. And GATG have more chemistry than anyone this side of Walter White. Whether recoring at KFAN studios or at a local tap room, they bring insight and humor in equal measure.</span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">YMMV. But <a href="http://www.citypages.com/best-of/2014/sports-and-recreation/best-sports-podcast-7365668" target="_blank">City Pages agreed</a> with me when they did their "Best Of" issue last year.</span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Check out their podcast if only to listen to the theme song before John answers seven questions about it below: <a href="http://gleemangeek.libsyn.com/" target="_blank"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">Gleeman And The Geek Podcast</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">As any good theme song should do, the GATG theme sets the right tone every week at the top of the podcast. It's catchy, to the point and lively; the guitar and vocals are fun; and the drums during the outro are the perfect lead-in to John's signature "...aaaaaaand welcome!" Starting without this sequence would be like beginning a ball game without "...and the home of the brave - play ball!" </span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>1 - Why did you want to have a theme song for the podcast?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color: red;"><strong>John Bonnes:</strong></span> For the first couple, we didn't, I don't think. But when listening to a podcast it really helps to have some music at the beginning, so we put out a plea and it was answered.</span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>2 - Who wrote and performed the GATG theme?</strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> The <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7A7l3ZALpSZQW10Sjg4QTkyYmltMlhKWE9pVkpwNE9QaU4w/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">original</a> was by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/james-richter-2" target="_blank">James Richter</a>. It was super simple and we used it over and over, and you can still hear the gist of it at the end of our podcast, because he did a "footer" sound bit for it, too. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>James Richter - Not how I imagined him based on his singing</i></td></tr>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">And then, a few months in, another band, <a href="http://www.jerryrodes.com/About_.html" target="_blank">Jerry Rodes</a>, did one. So we went back and forth between them for them for a long time. At some point, we needed to pick one for <a href="http://www.kfan.com/main.html" target="_blank">KFAN</a>, and we went with the Jerry Rodes one, and so then we stuck with that one during the offseason, too. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>3 - How long did you have to practice to perfect your Angela Lansbury voice for your (excellent) <a href="http://gleemangeek.libsyn.com/episode-153-all-star-break" target="_blank">reworking of "Beauty and the Beast"?</a></strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> :-) I was actually going to have my kid sing it, but she sounded too good, and I wanted it to sound kinda stupid, so I recorded it as over-the-top as I could. Not too many people know about that song, I don't think. I don't think we've played it on the podcast more than once or twice. Aaron hates it. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>4 - Do I recall correctly that (besides the two versions we've discussed) there was at least one other alternate version?</strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> This question made me look some up. </span><br />
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">I think the alternate version that you're talking about might be the original version by Richter. Long time listeners will recognize it for sure. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br />But there also was another alternate "sexy" version which we only played a couple of times. I've tried to find who created it, but I can't find any record of it. I still do have the clip of it.<br /> <br />There is also a 2nd version that James Richter also did in a completely different style - the secret "John Mayer" version.</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://aarongleeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/gleeman-and-the-geek-episode-90.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://aarongleeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/gleeman-and-the-geek-episode-90.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Gleeman and the Geek" recording a podcast</i><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>5 - Didn't Gleeman have some teenage girl in New Zealand working on a new theme song (and I assume she wasn't Lorde)?</strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> Yeah. I'm kind of forgetting the details. I think she did send something. But she didn't really know anything about baseball and so some of the words sounded like a foreigner trying to use baseball slang, so I think Aaron asked for a couple of changes and then we never heard back. But I could be making a lot of that up. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>6 - Was there any thought about calling yourselves "The Geek and Gleeman"?</strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> No. Gleeman and the Geek flows a lot better. We sometimes joke about that. </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>7 - What is your favorite podcast theme song, aside from your own?</strong> </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">JB:</span></strong> I don't listen to a ton of podcasts. My favorite custom one is a groovy one for the <a href="http://www.talktocontact.com/" target="_blank">Talk to Contact</a>. "Twin brothers talking Twins baseball....." </span></div>
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<span face="Verdana, sans-serif">I also LOVED the song <a href="https://youtu.be/w-NshzYK9y0" target="_blank">"Panama" by Van Halen</a> in my youth, so I love it when <a href="http://www.thesportive.com/" target="_blank">The Sportive</a> uses that to kick off their show. And <a href="http://nojuicepodcast.com/" target="_blank">No Juice</a> has that great instrumental that was used for some sports show in my youth. I think that is a great beginning.</span></div>
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<br />
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">You can find</span> GATG on Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/TwinsGeek" target="_blank"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">@twinsgeek</span></a><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman" target="_blank"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">@aarongleeman</span></a><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/gleemanandgeek" target="_blank"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">@gleemanandgeek</span></a><br />
<br /><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">John manages and sometimes writes for</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"> </span><a href="http://twinsdaily.com/"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">twinsdaily.com</span></a><span face="Verdana, sans-serif">, a popular site he co-founded in 2012.</span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-69864584889639350212015-05-08T19:39:00.001-05:002020-09-09T20:10:51.442-05:00She Hadn't Even Begun To Sully<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">BILLIONS OF EYES - Lady Lamb</span></h3>
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Songs are like people. Some you just never take a shine to. Some grow on you over time. Some infatuate initially before fading quickly as you tire of the very thing that attracted you in the first place.<br />
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And then there is true love at first sight... or first listen. You immediately know it's a great match and as time passes the bond only grows deeper and deeper.<br />
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"Billions of Eyes" was love at first stream for me. If you haven't heard the song yet, take a listen:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don't want to oversell. I'm not claiming BofE is a genre-defining song that will go down in history with "She Loves You" or "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But it's a very good recording that really resonates with me, for whatever reason. Lady Lamb's voice, the sound of her guitar, the energy, the lyrics that flow like a stream of consciousness yet reveal themselves to be anything but random.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Take this little snippet:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I could tell the story of howMy great grandmothers' sister was deemed a saint<br />
how they exhumed her body after years of being buried<br />
and they found she hadn't even begun to sully<br />
so they moved her again, straight into the Vatican </blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Initially, I assumed LL was just spinning a colorful yarn... but it turns out it's a true story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I first heard BofE on a recent music sampler from Landmark Theatres. There are other good songs on the sampler, but Lady Lamb's track grabbed me by the ears and made me listen to it over and over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Who is Lady Lamb? She's otherwise known as Aly Spaltro, a singer/songwriter/musician from Maine who is now based out of Brooklyn. Initially known as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, she wrote and recorded songs after hours at the video store where she worked, self-releasing her music from 2007-2012. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ba Da Bing Records released her album "Ripely Pine" in 2013. And earlier this year, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.momandpopmusic.com/" target="_blank">Mom and Pop Music</a> released "Always," which includes BofE. Lady Lamb is on tour now, but she took time out to answer a few questions (below).</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.ladylambjams.com/" target="_blank"><em>Lady Lamb's website</em></a></div>
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<em><a href="https://twitter.com/ladylambjams" target="_blank">@ladylambjams</a></em></div>
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<a href="https://instagram.com/ladylambjams/" target="_blank"><em>instagram.com/ladylambjams/</em></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ladylambjams" target="_blank"><em>facebook.com/ladylambjams</em></a></div>
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>1 - Which came first, the words or the music - or did they evolve together as you wrote "Billions of Eyes"?</em></span><br />
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Lady Lamb:</strong></span> The words came first, with the drum beat to follow. </span><br />
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<span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>2 - The mesmerizing official video for BofE says "Made by Aly Spaltro." What was it like to come up with the concept, gather the home movies and other materials that you used, and put it all together?</em> </span></span><br />
<span class="im"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">LL:</span></strong> I decided to make the lyric video with only two days before the song was coming out, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. My dad had just started digitizing old home videos from the early 90s so it was perfect timing that I was able to incorporate those into the video. I had also been collecting cutouts from my own magazine collection, and was able to incorporate some cutouts mailed in to me by fans. I love to edit and make movies, so it was a really fun project, and busy weekend!</span><br />
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<span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>3 - How did you -- and this song in particular -- end up being chosen by Landmark Theaters for their recent free music sampler?</em></span></span><br />
<span class="im"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: red;"><strong>LL: </strong></span><span style="color: black;">H</span></span>onestly, I’m not sure exactly why it was chosen, but I’m certainly glad it was!</span><br />
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<span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>4 - The song refers to the small joy of barely making it aboard a train in time. Do you have any memorable close calls, good or bad, when it comes to making a train?</em></span></span><br />
<span class="im"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">LL: </span></strong></span>Living in NY, this happens to me all the time, maybe 1 in 5 times I board the subway. The close calls always bring about a small, nice acknowledgement by strangers and I love that.</span><br />
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<span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>5 - How did you create the jangly guitar tone used on this record?</em></span></span><br />
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span> </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">LL: </span></strong></span>The majority of the guitars in the final version of the song were recorded in my bedroom using a Fender Jazzmaster and some mild effects of reverb and treble.</span><br />
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<span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>6 - BofE's lyrics have a poetic quality and could be described as impressionistic. Are you ever surprised at people's interpretations of the song or any of its lyrics?</em></span></span><br />
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span> </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">LL: </span></strong></span>Most people I talk to really connect to the line about just wanting to fall into a pile of warm laundry when they are tired or frustrated. I really appreciate how many people get that line and agree!</span><span class="im"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><br />
<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>7 - You're on tour now. When we hear BofE live do you think you'll tend to stick fairly close to the recorded version?</em></span></span><br />
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span> </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><span style="color: red;">LL: </span></strong></span>We stick pretty close to my recorded version, but the song is full of energy and we bring that live.</span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-17831646982726574872015-03-28T11:57:00.006-05:002020-08-22T19:49:02.248-05:00SHOUT A HIP-HOORAY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;"><strong>We're</strong> <strong>Going to Win, Twins - Mary Jane Alm</strong></span></span></h2>
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">If you grew up in the Upper Midwest, these words should be familiar:</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">We're gonna win, Twins</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">We're gonna score</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">We're gonna win, Twins</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Watch that baseball soar.</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Crack out a home run</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Shout a hip-hooray</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Cheer for the Minnesota Twins today.</span></i><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">This song has been around since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota and became the <a href="http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=min" target="_blank">Twins</a> in 1961. It's played when the team takes the field for home games. It was (and maybe still is) used to kick off radio coverage of Twins games.</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The song was initially intended not for the baseball team but for one of its sponsors, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamm's_Brewery" target="_blank">Hamm's Beer</a>:</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sing out for Hamm's beer,</span></i><br />
<i><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sing out the name,</span></i><br />
<em><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sing out for Hamm's beer,</span></em><br />
<em><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Of sky blue waters fame</span></em><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">I can't determine if that version ever aired. I'm assuming not, since the Campbell Mithun advertising agency sold the tune to the Twins for a dollar. </span><a href="https://youtu.be/gVqFHQ-8RPo" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Ray Charles</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> (not the </span><a href="https://youtu.be/2_CG3NGe3Bs" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">one you're thinking of</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">) revised the words to the tune </span><a href="http://www.pangaea.org/authors_pangaea/wilson.htm" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Dick Wilson</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> had composed. The Ray Charles Singers (not the </span><a href="https://youtu.be/x9A7h_vGp6c" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Raelettes</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">) sang the fight song and it blasted from AM radios every summer for the next few decades.</span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<em><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Side note: Hamm's didn't need the tune, since it already had a very catchy "From the Land of Sky Blue Waters" song that was featured for many years in popular commercials like this one:</span></em><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Twins have updated the theme song a couple of times. The best known version, the one played as players take the field, is sung by two men and two women, and I didn't realize until recently that one of those voices belonged to <strong>Mary Jane Alm</strong>. She was and is one of Minnesota's best known and beloved vocalists. The Mary Jane Alm Band and its leader never broke out nationally, but regional fame eventually led to Alm's induction to the </span><a href="http://mnmusichalloffame.org/Inductees.html" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Minnesota Music Hall of Fame</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> in 2013. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.maryjanealm.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>maryjanealm.com</strong></span></a></td></tr>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">I was able to catch up with Mary Jane Alm and quiz her about her experience as a vocalist on "We're Gonna Win Twins." </span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>1 - Are you even a baseball/Twins fan?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Mary Jane Alm:</span></strong> I am a longtime Minnesota Twins fan. I grew up in southern Minnesota and my dad took my brothers and I to the big city to see the Twins many times growing up. We started going to games when the Twins played at Met Stadium.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>2 - How did you get the gig singing on "We're Going to Win, Twins"?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA:</span></strong> I was one of the first call session singers back in the '80s and '90s along with the other singers on this song, <a href="http://www.minnetonka.k12.mn.us/Schools/MinnetonkaHighSchool/Vantage/winterconference/Pages/Kathy-Mueller.aspx" target="_blank">Kathy Mueller</a>, <a href="http://www.ipr.edu/why-ipr/faculty?tab=scott-scooter-nelson" target="_blank">Scott (Scooter) Nelson</a> and <a href="http://www.ultimasongs.com/SMbio.htm" target="_blank">Steve McLoone</a>. We got hired for all the biggest radio and television spots that were produced in the Twin Cities... And this was one of them.</span><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Scott "Scooter" Nelson of the Mary Jane Alm Band</span></td></tr>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>3 - The Twin's bought the song for $1. I'm hoping you got more. Not to pry into your finances, but was it a flat fee or do you get residuals... or free entry to Twins games... or anything?</strong></span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA: </span></strong>I can't quite remember how much money I made but I do know that it was a flat fee... No residuals, no free baseball games or Twins memorabilia.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>4 - Have you ever sung the song since the recording?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA: </span></strong>The four of us got to sing the Twins song and the National Anthem at a baseball game following the release of the song. We did get great seats to see the game that day and got to meet some of the players.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>5 - Did you help with the musical or vocal arrangement or were you hired strictly to sing your part?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA: </span></strong>We were hired strictly as singers... We had nothing to do with the writing or arranging.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>6 - How familiar were you with the original, 1961 version of the song?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA: </span></strong>I was very familiar with the original theme song. Everyone who grew up in Minnesota knew the song by heart!!</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>7 - You actually have twin sons, right? Was that karma?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MJA: </span></strong>I do have twin sons. They just turned 20 and are both completely awesome!! Karma? Maybe... wouldn't it be great if they did another remake and my musician son played on it??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>Thanks, Mary Jane. Let's end this post with one more version of the Twins theme song, this time from another Minnesota musical institution, the<a href="http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/39619792.html" target="_blank"> Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band</a>:</em></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-30438397755274344202015-03-02T00:57:00.001-06:002015-03-05T12:19:25.156-06:00Though the Road Buckles Under<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue;"> STAY WITH ME - Jerome Moross (1913-1983)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Stay with Me" has been in the news lately. No, I don't mean the </span><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/sam-smith--tom-petty-settlement-20150126" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">song by Sam Smith</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that inadvertently rips off Tom Petty's "</span><a href="http://youtu.be/nvlTJrNJ5lA" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Won't Back Down</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," but the song of the same title that Bob Dylan sings on his new album, "Shadows in the Night." This "Stay with Me" was also released as a single and Dylan closed many of his concerts last year with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the most important songwriter of the last fifty years puts out an album of standards, the songs he selects receive a rarified stamp of approval. While some of the tracks on "Shadows" are quite well known (Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening"), others are underappreciated gems. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Stay with Me" falls into the latter category. A spiritual song that's less about religion and more about human hope and fear, it brings to mind "</span><a href="http://youtu.be/i9SHUSuRh0M" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You'll Never Walk Alone</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">" and "</span><a href="http://youtu.be/w7PXX239qxI" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucky Old Sun</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," standards which Johnny Cash sang on his American Recording series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like Cash's covers, Dylan's version of "Stay with Me" is stripped down to an elegant arrangement, sans any orchestration, and makes evocative use of the miles on the singer's voice. Seldom has Dylan sounded so appealingly vulnerable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So where did this song come from? Like all the other songs on "Shadows in the Night," it was sung by Frank Sinatra. In June, 1965, a month before Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" turned pop music on its ear, Sinatra released an album that included "Stay with Me," which he had recorded as the theme song for "The Cardinal" in 1963.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056907/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cardinal</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">," directed by Otto Preminger, was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Picture. It tells the story of an American priest who overcomes various crises as he rises in the Church hierarchy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film features an outstanding score by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Moross" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jerome Moss</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, who also composed the music for the theme song; the song's lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh ("Witchcraft," "The Best is Yet to Come").</span></div>
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<a href="https://media2.wnyc.org/i/620/372/c/80/1/moross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://media2.wnyc.org/i/620/372/c/80/1/moross.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/29/MPW-14837" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/29/MPW-14837" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moross, an accomplished composer, is best known for his scores for "The Big Country" and "Wagon Train," but he was also an innovator who wrote for Broadway and classical ensembles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moross's daughter, Susanna Moross Tarjan, put together a </span><a href="http://www.jeromemoross.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fantastic site for her father's centennial</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. She took the time to answer my questions about "Stay with Me" and I'm happy to share her thoughts with you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>1 - What did your father think of rock singers/songwriters like Bob Dylan?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Susanna Moross Tarjan:</strong></span> I have no idea what my father thought about Bob Dylan, or even if he did. Remember, he died in 1983 and had been quite sick for some time. I'm not sure how aware he was of all that. However, he did not like "Rock and Roll." He also didn't like Moog synthesizers, which were popular at that time. I think he'd be amazed at what synthesizers sound like today, and MP3. He didn't even know about CDs, which changed everything for me as far as getting his music "out there."</span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">2 -</span> What do you think of Dylan's version of "Stay with Me"?</span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">SMT</span><span style="color: red;">:</span></strong> I find Dylan's version of "Stay With Me" very moving. The song clearly arouses some spiritual feelings in him which he conveys. I think it has a different quality than any other song on the album.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>3 - As far as I can tell, "Stay with Me" is the only song your father wrote with Songwriting Hall of Fame lyricist Carolyn Leigh. What do you know about that collaboration?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">SMT</span><span style="color: red;">:</span></strong> I don't know how that came about. I would guess that it came via the film company. The recording came about because Frank Sinatra was a friend of hers and she asked him to do it as a favor to her. I'm so glad he did. It's such a beautiful recording. For people who haven't heard it, it's on YouTube.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>4 - "The Cardinal" was unusual in that your father, who composed the score for the film in addition to co-writing the theme song, went on location with the production from start to finish. Was "Stay With Me" part of that journey?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">SMT</span><span style="color: red;">:</span></strong> "Stay With Me" came after the film and score were done. It was unusual for the composer to go along with the production company. My father acted as the traveling music department. But he loved it. He had a lot of interesting experiences, including trying to find "Horst-Wessel" songs in Vienna that he needed for a Nazi marching scene. Of course no one had ever heard of them but finally his driver helped him. He and my mother had a great expenses paid trip to Europe and she had never been before. This was long before the days of deregulation and cheap fares.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>5 - Did your father ever play "Stay with Me," or sing it at home, or talk about it in his later years, or was it simply one of many things he composed before moving on to other projects?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>(see answer to #6)</em></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">SMT</span><span style="color: red;">: </span></strong> I wasn't living at home then so I don't know how often he played it. He certainly liked the song and I know he loved Frank Sinatra's version. However, like with other works, he moved on to other projects.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: none;"><strong><span style="color: red;">SMT</span><span style="color: red;">:</span></strong> "Stay With Me" is reflective of his work in that it is a beautiful melody. He never gave up writing tonal music even though it wasn't in fashion during his prime years. He believed there was always another tune to be written.</span></span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-75336060581556401352015-02-08T21:30:00.003-06:002020-08-22T19:38:29.223-05:00Days Upon Days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue;">"We'll Never Have Paris" Soundtrack - Alexis + Sam</span></h2>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">I recently had the chance to see a romantic comedy, "</span><a href="http://wellneverhaveparismovie.com/" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">We'll Never Have Paris</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">," which featured a very enjoyable soundtrack consisting of two major elements: vintage French pop songs and a score which struck all the right notes (pun intended).</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Before I say more about WNHP, let me opine that there are, generally speaking, three kinds of film scores:</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">1 - Big and bold and unforgettable: Star Wars, Gone With the Wind, Psycho. This style works best with certain types of films: epics and action and horror.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">2 - Annoying music that calls attention to itself and distracts you from the story taking place on screen. Scores that underline every emotion to tell you <u>FEEL SAD! LAUGH! JUMP</u>! I tend to block these from my memory, but I seem to recall "Amistad" being an example of such.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">3 - Scores that you don't notice because they do such an artistic job of organically fitting the plot, characters, cinematography and editing. They subtly tie things together and draw out emotional nuances without you being consciously aware of it - unless you direct your focus on the music itself.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The score to WNHP belongs to that third category, which is fitting for a breezy love story. After I got home from the screening, I looked up the credits and found that the score had been written and recorded by </span><a href="http://alexisandsammusic.com/" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Alexis Marsh and Samuel Jones</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">, a duo based here in Los Angeles.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexis on tambourine</td></tr>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">They were kind enough to answer the seven questions I sent them.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>1 - How did you two get chosen to do the score for the film?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Alexis + Sam: </span></strong>In 2011 we were referred by Evan Schroedek, a fantastic editor, to Jocelyn for her first feature, "I Am I." Sam scored one of Evan's USC projects, and we kept in touch with him after graduation. One day we got an email saying he was working on a film he thought we'd be good for so we sent him a folder of music and waited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was about 3 or 4 months till we got a call from one of the producers, Cora Olsen, asking if we'd like to see a cut of "I Am I." We watched it; Alexis cried her head off; we wanted to write the music for the film. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We met with the Present Pictures folks - Cora Olsen, Jen Dubin - as well as Jocelyn Towne, the director, and her husband, Simon Helberg, an executive producer and actor in the film. A week later we got their call letting us know they'd like us to be on the team. We were in the Home Depot parking lot at the time. So damn excited. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Anyway, we spent the fall of 2011 working on the score to "I Am I" with that same group. It was our first feature. We loved the film; we loved the people. So when they started working on "We'll Never Have Paris" we hoped they'd call us for that score. Jocelyn texted us in the fall of 2013 on the way back from the shoot in Paris to see if we were interested and available. </span></div>
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<strong><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">2 - "Days upon Days," the song you wrote for the film - did</span></strong><strong><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> you worry about how it would fit with all the older French pop songs used elsewhere in the film?</span></strong></div>
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<a href="http://www.nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/WNHP_OneSheet_NerdistWatermark-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/WNHP_OneSheet_NerdistWatermark-1.jpg" width="270" /></a><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>"Days Upon Days," was a song we had written and produced before we started work on "We'll Never Have Paris." They needed a song to play in the background for the Brooklyn pizza restaurant scene, and it just seemed to fit.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">There are a couple versions of that song - one using synthesizers for the lead and rhythm lines, and the other using gritty guitars. It was fun to work within those two sounds. They wanted the rock guitar version. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">I think there was a bit of worry about the song being good enough to sit with those classic French pop tunes. Not because it wasn't French - just did it pale in comparison to such fantastic recordings/compositions/<wbr></wbr>performances? But that kind of thinking will destroy you so we focused on making the best recording we could and let it be what it was. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>3 - Will there be a soundtrack album, given that most films' scores are not released (especially on CD/vinyl) due to the current economics of the music industry?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>We are currently working out the details for a soundtrack of our work on the film: the score cues, "Days Upon Days." A record would be a dream though it'll most likely be an iTunes release only. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>4 - Did you use any scores from other films as inspiration for this one?</strong></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>In our initial conversations about the film with the directors, Jocelyn and Simon, the reference that kept coming up was Henry Mancini - his score for "The Pink Panther" ("A Shot in the Dark," the "Inspector Clouseau Theme"), the "Baby Elephant Walk" from "Hatari!," "A Profound Gas" from "Peter Gunn."</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Those brilliant melodies create such a sense of character without picture. That was a big inspiration. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Rolfe Kent's score for "Sideways" was a great reference for how jazz could be used in a contemporary film - tricky to balance that style without hitting elements on screen too hard ('over-scoring' being the word we try to avoid in potential criticisms of our scores). </span><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">We were fascinated to see how it could just play under dialogue, for entire scenes at times, without distracting from what was happening in the film. That film and score just work together, and tied into Miles' (Paul Giamatti) character/story perfectly. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">And finally, our favorite reference: Eric Dolphy's "Out To Lunch" for Quinn's unravelling scenes. That was really a dream come true for Sam - to have that in the vocabulary. Simon and Jocelyn both have incredible taste in music so finding the sound was a great education in how all these references could come together - to try to do our own version of that.<br /></span>
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<strong><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">5 - Where did you fit in the process - did you start composing after the film was far along in editing or were you involved earlier?</span></strong><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>We started working out some themes and a few sketches of cues toward the end of the editing process when they had a rough cut that was close enough to work with, but the bulk of it was in the month between picture lock and final mix. </span></div>
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<strong><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">6 - What is your process like, working as a team, and was this score pretty typical in that regard?</span></strong></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>Our work begins with a lot of discussion about the tone, palette, and concept of the score, followed by the two of us writing separately - each coming up with a number of themes or sketches that we perform, record, and produce to present to the director(s) & producer(s). </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Once we have an idea of what is working for the team (which melodies, instruments, or sounds they like), there is a process of sending things back and forth, adding or subtracting elements, altering forms and arrangements, etc. so that each cue becomes a collaboration that works with the picture. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Simon and Jocelyn came to our studio on a weekly basis for about a month, going over the latest reel, talking about what was working, suggesting various ideas/experiments for what wasn't working yet. About a week before the final mix, we had some of our favorite jazz musicians come in and play over the cues as well as a small string section for a few cues toward the end of the film.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louis Cole</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Stout</td></tr>
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<strong><span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">7 - The two main male characters have a bit of a musical rivalry going on, piano versus violin. Did that inform or affect your work in any way?</span></strong></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">A+S: </span></strong>Quinn's being a jazz piano player certainly set out a precedent for having piano featured in the score. We loved what they did with Guillame's character - the Mozart jokes, the Boulez reference, the way he plays violin for Devon's grandparents. He's a fraction of the story compared to the larger history that Devon and Quinn have so there weren't many opportunities to bring that piano/violin tension through literally with the score.</span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-58653499735781645502015-01-07T18:11:00.001-06:002015-01-07T18:11:56.851-06:00A Big Mac on my Breath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: blue;">JUNK FOOD JUNKIE - LARRY GROCE</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day after Christmas, I took my guitar to </span><a href="http://www.mccabes.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">McCabe's in Santa Monica</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for repairs. While perusing the musical equipment for fun, I saw this on the wall beneath some mandolins:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My photo's a bit blurry, but what is shows is a framed copy of Larry Groce's #9 single from 1976, "Junk Food Junkie," along with a note stating that the single had been recorded at McCabe's, which in addition to selling and repairing guitars also hosts intimate concerts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That piqued my curiosity - why was it recorded there? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But before we get to that, let me ask you a question:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How many people write and record a Top Ten single AND put out two platinum record and six gold records of children's music for Disney AND serve as artistic director/host/co-founder of one of the country's best live music shows for thirty years?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably just one person, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Groce" target="_blank">Larry Groce</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Top Ten single is "Junk Food Junkie," obviously.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Disney records include the Grammy nominee <a href="http://youtu.be/losYzfEF08E" target="_blank">"Winnie-the-Pooh for President"</a> as well as four volumes of "Children's Favorite Songs."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The live music series is NPR's "<a href="http://www.mountainstage.org/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Mountain Stage</a>," which has been presenting an impressive variety of top notch musicians since 1983. I assume you're familiar with this radio institution, but if not, please click the hyperlink and dig in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's Larry performing "Junk Food Junkie" on "Mountain Stage." Then we get the answer to "why was the single recorded at McCabe's" and more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>1 - Why did you record this at McCabes instead of in a studio or some other performing space? </strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>LARRY GROCE:</strong></span> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">McCabe's recorded my performance there without telling me. When we (me and my manager at the time) found out about the recording we asked to hear it and get a copy. A little later we decided to make the performance into a recording. A studio version wouldn't have worked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>2 - These days, are you more Mr. Natural or more Junk Food Junkie?<br /> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> Still half and half. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>3 - Where did <a href="http://www.peteralsop.com/song/junk-food-junkie" target="_blank">Peter Alsop</a>, who was the first person to record JFJ, hear your song?<br /> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> Peter was a friend. I don't think his recording was released before my original independent version in 1975 on my former manager/producer's label. The Warner-Curb release wasn't until 1976. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>4 - I read that <a href="http://www.berklee.edu/people/berke-mckelvey" target="_blank">Berke McKelvey</a> played fretless bass on the track; true?<br /> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> I don't think Berke played on that recording. The bass and drums were overdubbed and I forget who played them - I wasn't at that overdub session. I was playing solo at McCabe's when it was recorded. However, Berke did play with me most of the time back then. He plays with Chandler Travis now and teaches at Berklee. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>5 - Why do you think that satirical songs have seemingly disappeared from pop culture?<br /> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> I don't think satire and novelty material has disappeared, it just switched from sound recordings to YouTube videos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>6 - Did you watch the Jackson Five sing JFJ with McKenzie Phillips on their television show?<br /> </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> I didn't see it live but got a video of it. A lot of people supposedly performed the song in different ways: Dinah Shore on her TV show, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. (of the Fifth Dimension) in their club act, Judy Collins with the Boston Pops and several more. I'd liked to have seen how they all did it, it's such an odd song.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x3667l" width="480"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3667l_the-jacksons-mckenzie-phillips-junk_music" target="_blank">The Jacksons & Mckenzie Phillips - Junk Food...</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/choucoune92" target="_blank">choucoune92</a></i>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>7 - What do you recall of your appearance on the Tonight Show?</strong></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">LG:</span></strong> I just remember that it was a high pressure show and they acted like it was the most important thing in the world so don't screw up. <br /><br /> I had met Dick Cavett on the Merv Griffin show and remembered reading in his bio that the first time he walked on stage at the Tonight Show he could see himself walking onto the TV at his aunt's house in Nebraska. It was like that. I was nervous but got through it. <br /><br /> Joan Rivers was guest host. My teenage sister had flown out from Dallas to see it and we got a laugh when Joan, who had never met me and did not meet me that day, either, opened the show saying that everyone on the show were her good friends. Welcome to show business. </span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-47655244706141708032014-12-03T19:11:00.001-06:002020-08-22T19:28:56.363-05:00Where No Doctor Can Relieve Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"If I Should Fall From Grace With God" - The Pogues' James Fearnley</span></h3>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While on a long drive recently, I stumbled across a compelling interview on NPR. The fascinating fellow telling tales of rock and roll turned out to be James Fearnley, accordion player for and founding member of The Pogues. It turns out that earlier this year his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Everybody-Story-Pogues/dp/1556529503" target="_blank">"Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues"</a> was published. Believe me, if you heard the interview, you wanted to get the book as soon as possible.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't recall the first time I heard the Pogues, but very few people I knew were aware of the band. They were much bigger in the UK than they were in America. But I was drawn to their unique blend of rock, celtic, punk and world music. Their recordings from the late 1980s and early '90s have held up very well as a result of following their own muse and incorporating traditional elements, rather than chasing whatever sound was au courant.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I reached out to James and he kindly agreed to answer my questions. The hard part was picking which song would be the subject. "Fairytale of NY" gradually became a favorite of the musically hip here in the US; it's a Christmas song and this is the holiday season; and I find the song completely amazing even after many hundreds of listens. But it felt like well-trod ground.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So I chose "If I Should Fall From Grace With God," the single that followed "Fairytale," for its mix of infectuous music and dark lyrics. Take a listen; the Q+A follows.</span></div>
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<i>IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD - THE POGUES</i></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>1 - Do you recall your impression of "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" in whatever state it was in when Shane (McGowan) first played it for you?</i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<a href="http://pogues.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3326&g2_serialNumber=3" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://pogues.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3326&g2_serialNumber=3" width="320" /></span></a><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>James Fearnley:</b></span><span style="color: #222222;"> It was during rehearsals in January 1987 that I first heard ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, along with ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’, both of which he would probably have written anyway, but each earmarked for inclusion in the soundtrack for Alex Cox’s film, ‘Straight To Hell’, which had been shot, in Spain, the previous summer. </span></span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Both songs, musically speaking - the way we went about them anyway - relied on a kind of propulsive, swampy (aptly enough for the choruses of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, with their images of rivers and mud), Mississipi Delta shuffle, with elements of Cajun music, even though the band hadn’t actually visited the South at that time. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Both songs seemed fairly complete by the time Shane introduced them to us, structurally. I had always enjoyed the powerful statement of a melody which could basically stand alone, reiterated in the middle, and as a finale to the song, following the sort of template the Pogues, in conjunction with Shane’s songwriting, had developed in the course of the previous couple of years, and as early as ‘Streams of Whiskey’ and ‘The Dark Streets of London’. </span></div>
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<span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve written about the opening melody of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ in ‘Here Comes Everybody’, and how it bore similarities, for me, to ‘The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond’. I remember adoring the melody - it’s pentatonic scale expansive and ancient, and carrying with it the theme, as in ’The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond’, of the proximity of death. I wouldn’t have acknowledged, at the time, the narrator’s beseeching ‘Let me go, let me go’, to have been particularly significant, as such appeals became more urgent a couple of years later.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>2 - You played a variety of instruments on the IISFFGWG album - grand piano on "Fairytale of New York," a mandolin, a dulcimer which you hammered with teaspoons, etc. Did you play anything in addition to accordion on the title track?</i> <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b><span style="color: #222222;">Recording studios have always been a toy box for me, particularly during the recording of 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, with Steve Lillywhite in May 1987, and particularly on ‘Fiesta’, when it came to replicating gunshots by means of my mouth, among other things. A few years before, I’d spent quite a long period listening to Spike Jones and His City Slickers. I used to know the drummer from a band called the Vibrators. We’d get the saucepans and lids out from my kitchen, and a couple of spoons each, and 'play' along with dance bands from the 1930s - Ray Noble and Al Bowlly were favourites. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh5G5OdfvrSDDny89PO0-gVXFnLp9U9IfM5EcTGG8ff3i35vD_EKQ8LNbTt_LQBc6UZGnO_OSkUmzFrOQEBQRQ-H39DUNFqBLb7Ogs1Qq2ETGPFRZ1YNKTJB_xaFNjYMUuBBAAxzhIieLbncghTB8pbnzYRz4huVa0rYOAnsK0R3J7ZzPF8ONgX2DZt3tI2=" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/files/2014/05/460x440_jamesfearnley.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When it came time to record the demos for a large part of what turned out to be the album 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ (’The Terry Woods Solo Album’, which, for ‘contractual reasons’ had to be kept secret), for ‘Fiesta’ there were metal ashtrays and other similar percussion instruments around the penthouse studio at Abbey Road. Otherwise, I remember sawing away at a cello on ‘Turkish Song of the Damned’, and being summoned to the studio by Lillywhite to add a bit of ‘sizzle’ to ‘Bottle of Smoke’, by means of a cymbal laid flat on the floor and beating out triplets on it with sticks. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/files/2014/05/460x440_jamesfearnley.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></a><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">I think the hammered dulcimer came later, once I’d realised there was an instrument that sounded better than laying a mandolin on my lap, damping off the strings I didn’t want by means of cardboard stuck between them, and laying into it with teaspoons. The break in ‘Haunted’ (to Philip Chevron’s chagrin, because I rather think he would have liked the opportunity to play a guitar solo), </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">which we recorded a year earlier,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> is done that way.</span></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>3 - Why did the band choose to name the album after this track?</i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b>Frank Murray, our manager, was vexed that we hadn’t come up with an album title. ‘Red Roses For Me’ had come so immediately and simply. I wonder if Shane knew all along what he wanted the title of our first album to be. ‘Rum Sodomy and the Lash’ became obvious, from Andrew Ranken’s navy stories - though I’m glad the album wasn’t called ‘Dance of the Flaming Arseholes’, which was one of Andrew’s most memorable stories. ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ proved to be not so easy. Nothing ever spontaneously raised its head. Murray, with his back against some sort of wall, burst into our rehearsal, wanting an album title. Shane just shouted back "‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’!” to make him go away.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>4 - IISFFGWG was used in a <a href="http://youtu.be/FedJKZuqFfg" target="_blank">2010 Subaru commercial</a> about hockey moms. Could you ever have envisioned this back in 1988?</i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b>No. Neither could Iggy Pop have envisioned ‘Lust for Life’ in a commercial for Royal Caribbean cruises.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>5 - An earlier, slower version of IISFFGWG was released on the soundtrack for "Straight to Hell" in 1987. Why did the band decide to revisit/redo the song?</i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b>There’s no gripping story to this. The song, with ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’, was recorded for the ‘Straight to Hell’ soundtrack. There was some foot-dragging on our part, vis à vis our relationship with Stiff Records, and we were eager to record. After our summer holidays in the Tabernas Desert outside Almerìa there was a lot of energy in the band, musically. ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ and ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’ were part of that energy. ‘Rake at the Gates of Hell’ should have been a contender for the record had it not been for the malevolence of the lyrics. Shame.</span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>6 - How disappointed were you, or not, when IISFFGWG peaked at #58 in the UK after the previous single, "Fairytale of NY," was a #2 hit? </i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b>‘Fairytale of New York’ hit a nerve that was always going to remain hidden from ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, I suppose. Christmas in the United Kingdom (in perpetuity, it seems) was ready for ‘Fairytale of New York’. Easter not so much for ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’. (I think I’m right in saying that the single of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ was released around Easter 1988.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJ0RbxYQQmRhJfnJhe-5JU5EQoLxf5v2DUC-uSbndzX6204at6vQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;">JF: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All performances of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ have tended to run into one collective one. It has been a favourite of mine to play, since we first started playing it. It provides me one of the first opportunities in the set to throw the bass end of the accordion skyward and drag the keyboard end down towards me for the last chord. If there’s any performance or series of performances I particularly remember, they were for the video we recorded at the Town and Country in Kentish Town during the week of St Patrick’s Day 1988. Philip Chevron was masterful in front of the cameras. I had no idea what to do and learned a lot from him. Not much of a memory, it’s true, since it forms part of that residency we had, and in our stamping ground, in our home town, at the end of a tour of the UK, not long after coming back from the other side of the world after our first tour of Australia. It was good to be back at home.</span></span></div>
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<span face="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>For other interviews James has done, see the links at<a href="http://jamesfearnley.com/audio-visua/" target="_blank"> this page</a> on his website.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"One Tin Soldier" - Written by Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"Listen children to a story that was written long ago..."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know the song. Maybe you learned it at summer camp. Maybe you remember it from the movie "Billy Jack." Or maybe you've heard it on the radio repeatedly. But you know it. "One Tin Soldier" is a song that endures. After 45 years, it's seemingly as popular as ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What makes a great song? A memorable melody, a message that resonates, and the ability to be interpreted in any number of versions. As you will see and hear in the videos linked in this post, OTS works as a pop song, a bluegrass number, as comic fodder, and in genres from country to alternative rock. And that's barely scratching the surface of what one can find on YouTube.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OTS was written in 1969 by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who produced it as a single for the Canadian band The Original Caste. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That version was a Top 40 hit, but the song became even better known when the band Coven recorded it for the soundtrack of the cult classic film, "Billy Jack." </span>C<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">oven's version of OTS was named the Number One Most Requested Song in 1971 <u>and</u> 1973 by American Radio Broadcasters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Skeeter Davis recorded OTS in 1972, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This animated version comes from <i>The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I got in touch with Dennis Lambert, who kindly agreed to answer my questions about the writing of OTS. It would take a full post just to cover the highlights of his composing and producing career, so let me share just a few highlights: 12 Grammy nominations, 80 Top 100 hits, writing or co-writing songs such as "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got" (Four Tops), "We Built This City" (Starship), "Nightshift" (Commodores), producing "Rhinestone Cowboy" (Glen Campbell), "Baby Come Back" (Player), "Rock and Roll Heaven" (Righteous Brothers) and so on. Click the link beneath his picture for a full bio.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dennis Lambert <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/lambertsongs" style="background: rgb(245, 248, 250); color: #8899a6; font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px; outline: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none !important;">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="text-decoration: underline !important;">lambertsongs</span></a><br />
http://www.tuneworks.net/</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dennis is also the subject of an award-winning 2009 feature documentary </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">titled "Of All The Things." </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">"It’s the most unlikely comeback of the year. Dennis Lambert was one of the most successful and diverse songwriter/producers of the 70’s and 80’s. Today, he’s a 60-year-old family man selling real estate in Florida. But it turns out his obscure 1972 solo album Bags and Things is huge – in the Philippines. A Filipino concert promoter has been begging Dennis to tour for decades, and in 2007 he finally agreed. </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 16.799999237060547px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Of All the Things </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">is a hilarious, touching and winning pop/rock/country/R&B documentary that follows Dennis on his whirlwind tour as he rediscovers his passion for music – a two-week adventure that takes him from the comforts of Boca Raton to a sold-out show at Manila’s famous Araneta Coliseum for thousands of fans he never knew he had. Some lives deserve and encore, indeed." -- collider.com</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've yet to see this film, but after reading that synopsis, it's at the top of my list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Without Further ado, here's my Q&A with Dennis:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>1 - Did you know what the treasure was going to be when you started writing or was it something that evolved?</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">Dennis Lambert:</span></b> I had a general idea that we would attempt to tell a story about the futility of war and use a fable-like device for its style. The specific “treasure” was a revelation somewhere in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>2 - Wikipedia claims that the chord progression of OTS's verses is based on Pachelbel's Canon. True? If so, intentional?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b> It is not an uncommon chord progression and I would think there are many songs that have a similar feeling using parts of Pachelbel’s Canon. It was not intentional on my part to use that piece.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>3 - Did you write OTS specifically for the band The Original Caste or was it something you had in your back pocket when you started working with them?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b>We wrote it for them specifically having signed them to our label, TA Records. Since they were a folk-rock based band, it was a good fit, assuming they would like the song. Needless to say, they did.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 - Many famous songwriting teams consist of a lyricist and a composer. But you and Brian Potter both did words and music. What was the process like when you wrote OTS?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b>A lot of songwriting teams from the '60s era forward consisted of people who would sit in a room together and hammer out a song. While generally speaking, someone did more of one thing than the other (I play piano, Brian Potter does not), there were contributions from both of us across the musical and lyrical spectrum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>5 - I really like your own version of OTS, performed at Joe's Pub in 2008. Why did you choose to do the song in a slower, more soulful and understated manner than in the versions by The Original Caste, Coven, Cher, etc?</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b>I feel like the song deserves to be heard in a more plaintive and intimate way. The story is important if you can pick up on the nuances. Doing it more slowly and “naked” is a way for that to really come across.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>6 - I won't ask you to pick a favorite version of OTS, but what was the most interesting/surprising version you've heard - or maybe one that's under appreciated?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b>Roseanne Barr’s ridiculous version made me roar with laughter. The Original Caste’s version is still my favorite.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7 - A number of anti-war songs songs got radio play during the Vietnam War, many of which have faded into obscurity. Why do you think OTS has endured?</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">DL: </span></b>Because it’s fabulous??? Ha Ha…just kidding. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that most of the fans were between 6-16 in 1970 (they are now 50-66) when they saw Billy Jack and heard the song for the first time. It became and remains a major campfire song, spiritual hymn albeit a lite one, and a favorite of that generation of young people, particularly girls.</span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-45848085671100393432014-04-14T23:11:00.001-05:002014-04-14T23:23:22.657-05:00Get Funky, Sweat a Little Bit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://secretstashrecords.com/product/twincitiesfunk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;"><b>Click here to check out the album's website</b></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I recently stumbled across this amazing anthology from Minneapolis based record label <a href="http://secretstashrecords.com/about/" target="_blank">Secret Stash</a>, somehow having missed its release in 2012. What caught my eye were the tracks from the Prophets of Peace, a band that was based in my south Minneapolis neighborhood. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They were older than me and my friends; when we were just learning how to play our drums and guitars and horns, I was always impressed and intimidated when I could jam with someone whose brother was in that band... or who had played with a Prophet. But I hadn't thought about the band in years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So this album was a true find. Even better, its grooves (pun intended) contain a wealth of musical history that I didn't know about my hometown in the era BP (Before Prince). The music is excellent and the packaging is even better. Take a look at the fantastic "newspaper" that Secret Stash produced for TCF&S by clicking on the following:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="http://secretstashrecords.com/news/TwinCitiesFunkAndSoulNewspaperWeb.pdf" target="_blank"><b>TwinCitiesFunkAndSoulNewspaper</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This project was obviously a labor of love, given all the time and work that went into researching and writing the "newspaper," tracking down and clearing various recordings from 40-50 years ago, and putting the whole shebang out on vinyl and CD. The music itself is priceless, but overall music sales continue to shrink as more people prefer to simply stream content - and issuing an anthology of relatively obscure music is not a way to get rich. </span><br />
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<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">1. All Day Long - The Valdons</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">2. Sock-A-Poo-Poo '69 (Part 1) - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">3. Work Your Flapper (Part 1) - Jackie Harris & The Champions</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">4. She's A Whole Lot's A Woman - Mojo And His 'Chi 4'</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">5. Ridin' High - Dave Brady And The Stars</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">6. I Ain't Gonna Cheat on You No More - Wee Willie Walker</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">7. Save Me - Wanda Davis</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">8. Get Funky, Sweet a Little Bit - Jackie Harris & The Exciters</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">9. There Goes My Used to Be - Wee Willie Walker</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">10. Take Care - Wanda Davis</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">11. Sweet Smell Of Perfume - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">12. Baby, Baby I Need You - Dave Brady And The Stars</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">13. Love Me, Leave Me - The Valdons</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">14. Dipstick - Willie and The Bumblebees</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">15. Rusty McDusty - Morris Wilson</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">16. Thieves In The Funkhouse - Band of Thieves</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">17. You Can Be - Prophets of Peace</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">18. Saxophone Disco - Morris Wilson</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">19. Honey From The Bee - Willie and The Bumblebees</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowOdd" style="vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">20. The Maxx - Prophets of Peace</td></tr>
<tr class="listRowEven" style="background-color: #eef1f6; vertical-align: middle;"><td style="font-size: small;">21. Get Up - The Lewis Connection</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I tip my hat to everyone involved in putting out this album. The rest of Secret Stashes' catalog looks interesting and I'm eager to check it all out. In the meantime, </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Secret Stash's Eric Foss, the man behind TCF&S, has some answer for my seven questions:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 - What was the inspiration or catalyst for producing TCF&S - and did the concept evolve between the initial idea and the final product?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Eric Foss:</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #351c75;">The idea started when we got hipped to a record by a band called the Lewis Connection (though it’s misspelled on the album jacket). We met with the band leader and he gave me a copy of the record. He wanted to a deal for the record, but part of what makes that record so </span></span><span style="color: #351c75;">collectible<span style="font-size: small;"> is also what makes it tough to deal with. Prince plays guitar on a couple tracks. It’s really what would sell the record. But The Purple One is well-known around these parts for being one of the most litigious people you could ever come across. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">I think that is what honestly first started the conversation about a compilation. Even still, it took us at least 6 months before we knew what the goal for a finished project was. </span><span style="color: #222222;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<b>The Lewis Connection - "Get Up"</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 - Were there any tracks you really wanted to use but were unable to find or couldn't clear the rights for, etc?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">EF:</span></b><span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75;">Yes, they will remain nameless at this point because A) we may end up licensing them for something else, and B) some of that left a few people feeling very disappointed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;">I remember one track in particular was a real letdown for us. The guys in the band wanted a shit ton of money for the license. I had to tell them we </span>couldn't</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #351c75;"> do it. Then they called me like a day after we approved the test pressings and said they’d go with my original offer (which was like a tiny fraction of what they said they wanted). It was a real bummer.</span><span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3 - You had an album release party in September, 2012, featuring performances from a number of the musicians from TCF&S. What was that like?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">EF: </span></b><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;">Life-changing. Basically that show was supposed to be a onetime thing, but I was getting non-stop offers to bring the show to different festivals and events around the Twin Cities. The problem was, I knew it had a short shelf life. A very short shelf life. We (I say we because I wound up drumming for most of that stuff) </span>weren't<span style="font-size: small;"> writing and recording new material, and frankly didn't have the ability to that well if we wanted.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: small;">I saw very serious excitement for what we were doing, but saw that within a year, no one would really care anymore. How many times can you put on the same show in the same town? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: small;">Anyhow, I say it was life-changing, because after identifying the limitations of what we were doing, I started a new band with one of the singers called Sonny Knight & The Lakers. For years I swore I wouldn't work “new” records at Secret Stash. But now here I am just weeks away from the debut of the first Sonny Knight & The Lakers LP. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4 - Secret Stash released TCF&S on collectible vinyl and CD, but why is it not available to buy as a download?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">EF: </span></b><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;">A couple guys thought they could do digital themselves. I wound up giving them some names and phone numbers of people who could help with that. For something like this, to me it’s all or none. I </span>wasn't<span style="font-size: small;"> going to put the record on iTunes with a few tracks missing. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">EF: </span></b><span style="color: #351c75;">Getting know and play with the artists.</span><span style="color: red;"> <u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<b>Prophets of Peace - "You Can Be"</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6 - What was the most challenging aspect of producing TCF&S?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">EF: </span></b><span style="color: #351c75;">Woof…. Clearing the rights and organizing the live events. Also, I wound up laying out that newspaper that’s tucked inside the LP myself. I had literally never used Indesign a day in my life when I decided to do that. That shit sucked. Will (GM at SSR) and I had about 7-10 days of very little sleep leading up the deadlines for print materials. </span><span style="color: red;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7 - For anyone who loves this anthology, what would you recommend be the next album they listen to from the Secret Stash catalog?<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">EF: </span></b><span style="color: #351c75;">Hands down, it’s the new Sonny Knight And The Lakers album. This band got started by covering material off the TCFS comp. It’s really where the roots of our sound lies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>http://sonnyknight.com/</b></span></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-51973317689277768302014-03-22T17:50:00.000-05:002015-10-08T20:45:59.048-05:00Where has your father gone?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Vdova - The Nightingale Trio</span></h2>
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The term "World Music" is so broad that it borders on silly. Generally, anything that isn't English language pop or Western classical music can be and has been categorized as such. Cuban jazz, Algerian rai, Polynesian drumming, Brazilian salsa, J-pop, klezmer, Celtic, Cajun... the list is endless.</div>
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Whether or not it makes sense to combine all these diverse and rich genres under one heading is debatable. There's no denying, however, that expanding your musical horizons beyond the Top 40 opens up worlds of rhythm, melody, harmony and instrumentation you never even knew existed.</div>
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Nowadays it's easy to explore this cornucopia. You can wander down a million musical rabbit holes online and listen to any type of song, any time, any where.</div>
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It hasn't alway been thus. A generation ago, if you lived in an area that had a public radio station, you occasionally might have heard World Music. Your library may have had a few records. Or perhaps you'd read a review somewhere that opened your eyes and ears.</div>
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I don't recall how I came across the following album, which I bought on cassette... </div>
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...but it was one of of the most strikingly distinct things I had ever heard. While the acapella woman's voices had echoes of familiar religious music, the tone and (especially) the harmonies were strange. Strange and beautiful. I loved it immediately.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Myst%C3%A8re_des_Voix_Bulgares_(album)" target="_blank">"Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares" </a>("The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices") is a collection of folk songs by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_State_Television_Female_Vocal_Choir" target="_blank">Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir.</a> The album was released in the US in 1987 and three years later the group's second album won a Grammy.</div>
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Fast forward to this year, when I was deep in one of the musical rabbit holes I mentioned above. I came across a video shot under frozen Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. That alone was enough to enticement me. <br />
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To my delight, the music was as wonderful as the setting.</div>
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It turns out the Nightingale Trio is a unique act, one inspired by the folk songs of the Balkans and Eastern Europe (such as "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgare"). While remaining true to the music's traditions, the trio also brings a unique approach to this type of singing.<br />
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Sarah Larsson, Nila Bala, and Rachel LaViola met at Yale as members of the Women's Slavic Chorus. Now based in Minneapolis, San Jose, and Dallas, respectively, they continue to perform together.<br />
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You can learn more about the three of them and their music at <a href="http://www.nightingaletrio.com/" target="_blank">nightingaletrio</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/TheNightingaleTrio" target="_blank">facebook.com/TheNightingaleTrio</a> and <a href="http://www.thenightingaletrio.bandcamp.com/">thenightingaletrio.bandcamp.com</a><br />
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I had the chance to ask Sarah and Nila about recording "Vdova."<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>1 - As a teenager, I enjoyed exploring underneath/behind Minnehaha Falls, which may or may not have been permitted. What was it like singing in this unique environment and why was it chosen?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b>Sarah Larsson</b>: Why we chose that spot: We had already filmed another video with Trent Waterman from North Shore Sessions, and we loved his work. We contacted him about filming another video, with our thought being, “Something haunting, beautiful, still—like winter.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">His first suggestion was the Falls! Since I live in Minneapolis, I had actually explored back there before, and knew it would be magical. Actually, the first time I climbed back there, I was by myself, and I couldn’t help but sing. The cavern makes a beautiful acoustic space.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>2 - The trio includes a Minnesotan, a Texan and a Californian. Did the cold winter air affect your voices, particularly for the two of you coming from warmer climes?</i></span></div>
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<b>SL</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Totally! You can’t tell in the video, but I was moments away from drooling almost the entire time. Trent, the videographer, took off his gloves to do the filming, and we were completely impressed at his fortitude. In the cave, the air was a little warmer than the air outside, but we still happened to be singing in Minnesota during the coldest weekend on record — the “polar vortex”, if you remember!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b>Nila Bala</b>:</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Cold weather is definitely something we have to watch out for. We like to keep warm water or tea close by, and cough drops to counteract the cold. Since we didn't have to do <i>too</i> many takes for Vdova, our voices survived the adventure!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>3 - "Vdova" is a sad song about a woman learning that her husband has been killed, his body scattered by ravens. Since most of your listeners are unlikely to understand Ukrainian, how much is your song choice dictated by "sounds amazing" and how much by "great lyrics"?</i></span></div>
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<b>NB</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I think its hard to separate the "sounds amazing" from the "great lyrics," since the meaning of the song drives the sound and the way it is rendered. It is important for us to know the meanings of the songs, so we can imbibe the songs with that feeling, even if our listeners may not understand Ukrainian. </span><br />
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<b>SL</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Most of our first impressions about songs are based on the harmonies and aesthetics, sound-wise. Pretty often, we find out about the meaning of a song in a general way at first, and don’t get literal translations until we are already performing the songs and meet a native speaker. Other times, we learn the songs directly from a master-singer, who tells us all the song’s background right away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">For this one, we knew it was a widow’s song from the start, and we hope that the sorrow in the song comes through just through the feeling in the tune. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">In any case, so so many of the songs are about the stark, real, often-desperate calling-out of women in the old country. Other songs say, “Mother, oh please do not marry me off; I will forever miss my friends and my little garden.” Somehow, we love these sorrowful stories, too. Other songs, of course, are as joyful as can be.</span><br />
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<b>SL</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Yes, our style is very different. Traditional folk Ukrainian is a bit more brash, and “forward”, to use the language of vocal production. It varies a lot region to region, but here is an example that is pretty typical of what we have heard: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAfBO9vMwt4" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAfBO9vMwt4</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Our style is different, but we have grown into our style through being really focused on listening in to each other, and letting our harmonies ring. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Ukraine is, admittedly, one of the nations whose music we know least about. We’ve studied with master singers from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Russia, but not yet Ukraine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Also, it’s interesting to note that we each have very different singing backgrounds. Nila was trained in classical South Indian music, and also performed in touring Broadway shows as a child. Rachel has no formal music training, but is also a phenomenal country and bluegrass singer. I had most of my vocal training in a classical Western women’s choir, and I’ve also studied music of several West and East African traditions. We all come together!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b>NB</b>: </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We try our best to sing Slavic music as authentically as we can--meaning the pronunciation, the vocal placement, and the tone. However, we are not fluent in the languages we sing in, nor is it the only type of music we enjoy, so you are likely to notice some differences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">If you listen to traditional Ukrainian women's groups, you might find that they have an even louder, fuller, tone, with a heavier vibrato than we use. However, even within Ukrainian voices you will likely notice differences, since every vocal group makes different stylistic choices.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>5 - The three of you live in different places, so singing together live is not always an option. Do you ever rehearse a song like "Vdova" via Skype or other digital technology?</i></span></div>
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<b>NB</b>: <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">For now, electronic rehearsals are not a good option given the feedback and delays that occur. We tend to learn our parts very well on our own, and then come together before our tours to put our songs together.</span></div>
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<b>SL</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We have tried to use Google hangouts, but the problem is that the program mutes your microphone while anyone else is talking! So no, that doesn’t work for us. What we do instead is have our hangouts to plan tours and repertoire, and then we all go home and learn our parts on our own. We convene for an afternoon before our gigs start for each tour and put everything together. We’re constantly emailing back and forth with new music ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>6 - The video was produced for the North Shore Sessions. What are they and how did the Nightingale Trio get involved?</i></span></div>
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SL: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">North Shore Sessions is an awesome project based in Minnesota, that films local and touring bands playing in interesting spaces. Most of the videos they film are taken in one single shot without cuts, so they have a great live feel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I learned about it because Trent Waterman filmed videos of several musician friends here in town (The Hummingbirds: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AREG8tX04bU" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AREG8tX04bU</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> and Lynn O’Brien: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzs1UgXACpA" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzs1UgXACpA</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">). Trent is also a good friend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">There are a lot of amazing local artists in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Trent does all of his filming just out of his own artistic passion for good music and for film.</span><br />
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<b>SL</b>: <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We did about 5 takes of this song, but I think this version is maybe the 3rd or 4th one. It took us a moment to get into singing mode after climbing up an ice covered waterfall (!), and then we needed a bit of time to get the sound right. Fun detail: we recruited some strangers who were also exploring that day to guard the entrance to the cave, so no one would walk into the shot. </span><br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5584825739347499486.post-33052659914954190302014-03-10T18:37:00.004-05:002020-08-22T19:20:38.007-05:00I Want To Feel What You Feel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span face="" style="color: purple; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Love Belongs Right Here" - Mary Hopkin</span></h2>
<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the first artists the Beatles signed when they launched Apple Records in 1968 was a young Welsh singer named </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Hopkin" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Mary Hopkin</b></a><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The first commercial single the label released, </span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Apple #2, was Hopkin's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVdOQvx379Y" target="_blank">"Those Were The Days."</a> Produced by Paul McCartney, the record became a huge international hit and made Hopkin a star. </span><br /><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopkin's next single was a McCartney original,</span> "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q27u5YvgEdU" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Goodbye</a><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">," a #2 hit in the UK and #13 in the U.S. Prime Paul, its catchy melody is a perfect match for Hopkin's lilting vocals.</span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span face="" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><i>(Apple single #1, by the way, was a private pressing of Frank Sinatra (!) singing a revised "The Lady is a Tramp" for Ringo's wife, Maureen.)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WZqtwwo_0qc" width="320" youtube-src-id="WZqtwwo_0qc"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: #b2b2b2;"><i>Goodbye</i></span></span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Credit: Morgan Visconti</i></td></tr>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Hopkin has been involved in various music and theatrical projects in the years since, from the </span><i style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Blade Runner</i><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> soundtrack to the theme song for a Billy Connolly TV series, working with myriad artists from David Bowie to Dolly Parton to the Chieftains. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.maryhopkin.com/images/Mary-Hopkin-Jessica-Lee-Morgan-Morgan-Visconti.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://www.maryhopkin.com/images/Mary-Hopkin-Jessica-Lee-Morgan-Morgan-Visconti.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Credit: Morgan Visconit</i></td></tr>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopkin's children, </span><a href="http://www.jessicaleemorgan.com/" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Jessica Lee Morgan</a><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.morganvisconti.com/" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Morgan Visconti</a><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, share her musical talents and she has collaborated with both.</span><br />
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<a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67656000/jpg/_67656229_eurovision_song_contest_1970_-_mary_hopkin_1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67656000/jpg/_67656229_eurovision_song_contest_1970_-_mary_hopkin_1.jpg" width="400" /></a><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My impression, right or wrong, is that she has never seemed commercially motivated, that she is driven instead by a love of singing. Hopkin doesn't do much press or perform publicly often, but she's no recluse - she tweets regularly (</span><i style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/themaryhopkin" target="_blank">@themaryhopkin</a></i><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">) and has a nice website (</span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.maryhopkin.com/"><i>www.maryhopkin.com</i></a></span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">). And she continues to grace us with new recordings.</span><br />
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<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Her most recent album,</span><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> "Painting by Numbers," concludes with a powerful yet intimate song, "Love Belongs Right Here": </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5p01It-ho4" width="320" youtube-src-id="J5p01It-ho4"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> I sent Hopkin seven questions about LBRH. She quite kindly responds:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>1 - You wrote LBRH with your longtime guitarist <a href="http://www.craigandwilloughby.com/BANDW.HTM" target="_blank">Brian Willoughby</a> for a solo album he released in 1998. What was that process like?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Mary Hopkin:</b></span> Brian had already written a lovely 8-bar melody on guitar, which we used for the verses. Once we'd worked out the chords for the rest of the song, I wrote the remaining melody and lyrics.</div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>2 - The only instruments on the track are two guitars, one electric and one acoustic. Is that Brian and/or you?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>MH:</b></span> I wish! Brian played all the guitar parts - beautifully. I just played the keyboard pad.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>3 - On LBRH (as well as the rest of "Painting by Numbers") your voice is as beautiful and distinctive as it was when you signed with Apple records in 1968. What's your secret?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>MH:</b> </span>Thank you - it must be neglect! I prefer my voice now, though - my range has improved and it seems to reflect more of what I'm feeling.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>4 - Have you ever tried singing LBRH in Welsh?</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">MH:</span></b> No, but there is a translation and it has been sung by the lovely Welsh singer, Heather Jones.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>5 - Did you do anything special to get in the right mood to record the vocal for LBRH or do you just start singing and the emotion comes easily?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>MH:</b> </span>What are you suggesting? Have you heard the lyrics? :-) No, no foreplay necessary - I'm a professional :-)<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>6 - Was it easy to keep the arrangement simple or were you ever tempted to add strings, bass, percussion, etc?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>MH:</b></span> Brian's whole album (Black and White) was beautifully understated - in fact, he didn't use the electric guitar part on his album version. A big arrangement would have affected the intimacy of the song - although we did think of pitching it to Celine Dion :-)</div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>7 - Why did you decide to end the album with LBRH?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>MH:</b></span> I chose it as the last track because it's the only song that is not a demo, but a finished recording. I also like the way the slow fade leads the listener gently into silence.<br />
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10155265926876994952noreply@blogger.com4