:: pull my daizy ::

Go Green - Musicians can do their part to maintain a healthy planet

2008-10-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

My article as published in the October 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47.

Go Green

Musicians can do their part to maintain a healthy planet

by Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor

Environmental awareness is no longer reserved for those with an affinity for hemp clothing, Birkenstocks and granola. Participation in recycling programs, usage of reusable bags at grocery stores, conversions to renewable energy options in households, and the number of energy-efficient cars on the road have spiked in recent years, signaling that "going green" isn't just for neo-hippies.

Conservation efforts aren't limited to individuals, either. Many companies and organizations are doing their part to go green, and Local 47 is no exception. Starting Oct. 27, members will be able to view and download paperless monthly dues statements online. Very soon, members will also be able to access new statements and pay dues online – all without producing one scrap of paper waste. (See sidebar on page 7 for more information).

If you're looking to jump on the enviro-friendly bandwagon, there are many ways by which musicians can conserve energy and reduce waste.

Out of Town Gig? Travel Smart

According to a 2007 Gallup poll, Americans spend an average of 46 minutes commuting to and from work each day. This equates to about 200 hours – almost eight full days– spent in traffic every year. A whopping 85 percent burn all this gas sitting by their lonesome in their car or SUV; only 6 percent carpool, and a scant 4 percent take mass transit.

For the traveling musician, these figures can be much higher. It is not uncommon for the typical freelancer to drive up to 100 miles to a single gig. Some musicians have reported driving up to 50,000 miles per year to and from gigs alone. Today, this would cost about $27,000 for a small car and $45,000 for a mid-size SUV annually in fuel costs.

To ease up on CO2 emissions (and on your wallet), take public transportation or buddy up with a musician headed to the same gig whenever possible. If driving your own auto is your only option, consider upgrading to an energy efficient vehicle such as an electric or biodiesel hybrid model. Additionally, simple things as avoiding sudden starts and stops, keeping your tires properly inflated and going easy on the A/C will increase fuel efficiency and lower the CO2 emissions of your vehicle.

Turn Your Studio Eco-Friendly

As musicians know, it takes a lot of energy to maintain a recording studio. Electricity is needed to power computers, equipment and instruments, for lighting, and for maintaining a nice, cool work space with air conditioning.

Energy-efficient lighting is good for the environment and for your electricity bill. CFL bulbs use 30 percent less energy as incandescent bulbs and last around 10,000 hours, saving you about $30 in electricity costs over the bulb's lifetime. LED bulbs can reduce energy consumption by up to 90 percent and last around 100,000 hours. Using ecofriendly lamps and light fixtures can also help reduce greenhouse waste.

Eco-friendly air conditioning is another great way to "greenify" your studio. A single air conditioning unit can omit 1.34 pounds of carbon dioxide every kilowatt hour. By replacing older air conditioning units, you could save several hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Another way to save energy is to add the green power option onto your electric utility bill, which utilizes renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. And, of course the simplest way to save energy is to turn off lights and equipment when not in use. Even electronics that sleep on a standby setting continue to pull a current, so be sure to completely shut down any equipment that won't be used for an extended period of time.

Don't Dump That E-Waste!

Has that old amp or keyboard finally gone kaput? Make sure electronic waste doesn't end up in the landfill; this socalled "e-waste" can contain hazardous components and non-recyclable material that is environmentally unsafe. The City of Los Angeles operates a number of facilities called "S.A.F.E." centers where the public can deposit their unwanted electronics free of charge every weekend. To find one near you visit the City of Los Angeles website at www.lacity.org and enter search keyword "e-waste."

Alternatively, if you have electronics that are still usable that you simply no longer want, post a free listing at LACoMAX, a countywide online materials exchange website, or donate them to charity – many will accept broken, but repairable, electronics as donations.

Green Tours

According to National Geographic's Green Guide, a typical stadium concert releases 500 to 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide – about 50 times more than the average American produces in an entire year. That number does not even take into account fans' transport, which amounts to over 80 percent of a concert's CO2 footprint – nor does it account for the immense amount of garbage produced at each show.

Some bands and concert organizers have taken strides to minimize touring's environmental impact. Festivals such as Lollapalooza and Britain's Glastonbury Festival have switched to biofuel-powered generators. The organizers of last summer's Osheaga Festival in Montreal hired Hydro Quebec to supply their main stage with emission-free geothermal energy.

Advocacy groups such as Reverb engage musicians and fans to promote environmentally responsible music tours. Reverb encourages organizers to offer reusable aluminum canteens rather than plastic water bottles, and to set up "Eco-Villages" with information on how fans can minimize their carbon footprints outside the concert venue. The group also advocates on-site recycling, waste reduction, green bus supplies and cleaners, biodegradable catering products, energy efficiency, a green contract rider, eco-friendly merchandise and green sponsorship. Local 47 musicians who have "greened" their tours with Reverb include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5 and Sheryl Crow.

To go green on your next tour, visit www.ReverbRock.org.

Eco-Smart Fashion

When looking for that perfect outfit for that all-important performance, opt for eco-friendly clothing. Organic, sustainable clothing made of bamboo, recycled fabrics and biopolymers do little to no harm to the environment and are becoming more than just a fad, but a mainstay among designers. Veteran chic designers like Givenchy, Rogan, Bottega and Marc Jacobs all offer ecofriendly styles that make not just a fashion statement, but an environmental one as well.

Make Your Own Instrument

Using readily available materials to make music is commonplace around the world. In tropical climates people play music with gourds, coconuts and bamboo; in other parts of the world, washboards, jugs, spoons and bones are used as musical instruments. Here in the States, AFM percussionist and composer Donald Knaack, known as "the Junkman," exclusively composes for and performs on "junk" and recycled materials, having been introduced to the concept by renowned composer John Cage. New York-based Bash the Trash Environmental Arts raises environmental awareness through art by teaching people to create such homemade instruments as cardboard tube horns and trombones, percussive instruments made from cans, bobby pin finger pianos, and even "Styrocellos."

Recycle Used Guitar Strings

One musician's trash can be another's treasure. The Second String Project based in Connecticut sends minimally used guitar strings to musicians in third world countries who can't afford new ones. Canadian rockers Barenaked Ladies donate their used strings to jewelry company Dream World Designs, where they are recycled into trendy necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Try reusing them yourself in creative ways, such as to hang picture frames, plants or lights – even as a cheese slicer.

As an individual you can make a positive difference for the environment. If every person chooses to make changes in their lives that will benefit the earth, all those small changes will end up having a huge impact on preserving our planet.

The Raconteurs @ the Greek 9/22/08

2008-09-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

As published by LA Record:

Southern flavored ’70s-style rock was the order of the evening when the Raconteurs played the Greek last Monday, the first of their pair of shows at the outdoor hilltop venue. Sitting underneath the stars on the first autumn night of the year with gritty, rootsy blues rock wafting through the air, it felt like we’d been transported to the band’s home base of Nashville — all that was missing was a bonfire. (Though probably not the best idea in the tinder town that is Griffith Park.) Jack White, the undeniable star of the band, has a stage presence so big it’s amazing anyone else can share the same space. Fellow axeman Brendan Benson’s reserved nature served as a perfect complement to White’s blistering guitar, which didn’t spend too much time apart from the pitch shifter and “talking guitar” distortion pedals. The band’s other half — bass- and banjo-wielding Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, both members of garage revivalists the Greenhornes — held their own along with newcomer Mark Watrous taking over on keys and fiddle as member number five on this tour. The band was tight and the sound was perfect — kept at an ear-friendly 95 decibels by decree of the Greek — and though many of the tunes off the band’s latest release Consolers of the Lonely sound pretty much the same, that sameness was well enjoyed when infused with the energy of a live performance. When introducing “Steady, As She Goes,” White jested that the song “was a big hit for us in 1974.” If I hadn’t known better, I wouldn’t have got the joke. The band would be right at home amidst the many blues-tinged rock groups splashed on the cover of Rolling Stone that year.

—Linda Rapka

Ratatat @ the Henry Fonda 9/10/08

2008-09-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

As published by LA RECORD:

"Bodies in motion" can best describe the packed house as New York’s energetic electronic/synth instrumental powerhouse Ratatat took over the stage on night two of their double-play at the Henry Fonda. Guitarist Mike Stroud and bassist/synthman Evan Mast have amassed a formidable following over the past few years by driving massive guitar riffs and fuzzy bass lines over synth-based, tape-looped beats. Incrementally adding band members to each tour, an all-time high of four musicians shared the stage, with additional bodies appearing behind drums and extra synths. Once again the lineup included human perpetual motion machine Jacob Morris, whose upper extremities (massive-fro topped head included) have been flailing about with wild intensity throughout entire Ratatat sets the past several tours. The extra manpower on stage added a valuable element to the duo’s already amazing live shows, which only show to profit from the use of real instruments over pre-recorded sounds. The energy of the four musicians seemed to rub off on the crowd, which jumped up and down in a collective human blob up until the very last note, expelling the occasional unified outburst when familiar songs from previous albums such as “Wildcat,” “Lex” and “Loud Pipes” were played. The visual portion of the show included background projections of the music videos for each track, featuring new ones off the band’s fifth, more dance-oriented release (third album proper not counting Ratatat’s two hip-hop remix albums), “LP3.” Notable new videos included “Miranda,” mixing scenes from a hackneyed Schwarzenegger flick with visuals of people catching on fire and exploding and flying hundreds of feet into the air all in perfect synch with the music, and “Flynn” showing the ridiculous Paul Simon 1986 music video “You Can Call Me Al” featuring none other than Chevy Chase.

-Linda Rapka

ILCA 2008 Media Contest Awards

2008-09-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Just received a letter from the International Labor Communications Association informing me that I won a few awards in their 2008 media contest, one of which for a piece I wrote about New Orleans musicians when I attended the ILCA Media Contest in that fair city last year, which you can read here.

Though I didn't fare quite as well as last year, it's still nice to be recognized for my work! (Click on the links below the awards to see the winning entries.)

BEST NEWS STORY
THIRD AWARD
Linda Rapka
"New Orleans Musicians Weather the Storm"
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions

BEST DESIGN
THIRD AWARD
Linda Rapka
April 2007 "Jazz Appreciation Month"
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: newspapers, Local Unions

BEST PHOTOGRAPH
HONORABLE MENTION
"Thousands Rally for WGA" - Linda Rapka
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions

(awards cited from ilcaonline.org)

Eric Idle's "Not the Messiah" @ the Hollywood Bowl

2008-09-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Eric Idle Still a Very Naughty Boy

Monty Python legend teams up again with John Du Prez
for first-ever comic oratorio 'Not the Messiah'

by Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor

For something indeed completely different, Monty Python star Eric Idle and longtime collaborator John Du Prez presented the first-ever comic oratorio, "Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)," which made its West Coast premiere at the Hollywood Bowl Aug. 1 and Aug. 2.

Making an unlikely pair of Handel's holy oratorio "Messiah" and '70s cult Python film "Life of Brian," the satire on classic oratorio form features Idle as narrator and self-proclaimed "bariton-ish" vocalist joined onstage by Du Prez and soprano Shannon Mercer, mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell, tenor William Ferguson and baritone Theodore Baerg, as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Chorale, Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band – along with the occasional singing sheep, kilted bagpiper and keyboard-operated leaf blower.

Idle and Du Prez began their collaboration 30 years ago with "Life of Brian." In the wake of the success of the hit musical "Spamalot," the pair comes full circle with their new madcap musical satire, which premiered in 2007 and has since traveled the globe.

"Not the Messiah" revives the story of Brian Cohen, a Jewish boy born a few mangers down from Jesus who is mistaken for the Messiah. The original spoof of the New Testament caused an uproar when it was released for its lampooning of organized religion. "Not the Messiah" adds another layer with a jab against the current U.S. administration: this time around Brian joins not the anti-Roman People's Front of Judea, but a mob of ancient power-seeking Republicans.

The score consists mainly of new material composed by Du Prez, though there were no shortage of Python references. The show commenced with Sousa's "The Liberty Bell (the familiar theme to "Monty Python's Flying Circus"), gave a wink wink, nudge nudge to the classic "Lumberjack Song" and nodded to a line in the team's first film "The Meaning of Life" with the tune "O God You are So Big," ending appropriately with a fireworks and bagpipes singalong to "Life of Brian's" unforgettable closing number sung by Idle as he lay hanging upon a crucifix, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

The rest of the score is a formidable pastiche of practically every musical genre under the sun: doo-wop, gospel, Baroque, pop, country and western, Broadway, Welsh hymns, hip hop, Greek chorus and mariachi, with Idle consistently throwing surprising tidbits into the mix. "Hail to the Shoe!", a spoof of Handel's "Hallelujah," has Idle beatboxing like a rap star, and "Individuals" takes an unexpected turn when he appears onstage in full-on Bob Dylan regalia replete with acoustic guitar, harmonica, and indiscernible mumbled speech.

With Brian and Judith's duet simulating an orgasm gone Baroque and the revealing of Brian's mum's not-so-chaste past, "Not the Messiah" proves at times to be a bit naughty. And while some of the pop culture references seem outdated and irrelevant, the timely allegorical warning against the unrestrained tyranny of a Republican-run government during one of the most heated Presidential campaigns in U.S. history makes up for it.

The jumbling of religion, politics and sex with comedy in "Not the Messiah" covers all the bases of contentious subject matter in a sure attempt by Idle to get the sparks of controversy flying, as so often happened in his Python days – proving he's still quite a very naughty boy himself.

Originally published by Professional Musicians, Local 47 Overture, September 2008 (download PDF).

Interview w/ Indian Jewelry (District Weekly)

2008-08-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

PHOTO by DANNY KERSCHEN

My second interview with Indian Jewelry, this time for The District Weekly:

Known for deeply affecting live performances dug deeper by tribal percussion, overdriven amplifiers, strobe lights set for seizure and any number of guest musicians, Texas-based electronic-noise outfit Indian Jewelry is a band that leaves marks—even if they don’t show right away. Latest album Free Gold! (out in May on We Are Free) put new power through their fundamental mechanics — Suicide, Spacemen, “Sister Ray,” maybe Sun Ra in high orbit — and a show last year in their ex-home base Los Angeles had a capacity crowd just one stubbed toe shy of complete feralization. With founding husband-and-wife team Erika Thrasher (keys/guitar/vocals) and Tex Kerschen (keys/guitar/vocals) and new members Mary Sharpe (drums/guitar) and the mysterious Domokos, the band is gearing up for an upcoming coast-to-coast tour before heading to Europe this fall.

Describe what exactly Indian Jewelry does.
Tex Kerschen: We’re mind blowers. We come around to kick the door open.
Erika Thrasher: I just think of it as this wall of sound, with beautiful tones and harmonic sounds and whatnot. I think that you can hear all kinds of things in it. That’s what I like when I go see a band—to be able to hear other things in it so it sounds different every time you hear it. People describe our sound in all different kinds of ways.

One reviewer described the band’s sound as ‘the type of music that you would be greeted with upon your arrival to hell.’
E: People say things like, ‘God, you’re gonna destroy and melt my brain and my ears!’ But I don’t see it that way at all.

You’re known as a bit of a nomadic band.
E: We just spent most of June and July in New York. We try to keep moving around. We’ve been here on and off for the past year. We’ve spent a couple months touring and were just in New York for about a month. We were in Chicago right before that. Houston’s definitely our home base and always has been.

I’d have never guessed you were a Houston native; you don’t have any semblance of a Texas drawl.
E: Houston kind of wipes that out. It’s a major city. Of course, it’ll come on whenever I get together with my grandma.

The band is known to have different special guest musicians join you onstage in the various cities you tour.
T: It’s just like the Wu-Tang Clan—you don’t know if Raekwon’s gonna show up or who’s gonna be on the stage. Economics prohibit us from taking out four or five tour buses for everybody. It helps keep us from being too precious, too.
Does being married add complications or make things easier for the band?
E: It makes things easier because it becomes like joint forces that are working constantly at the same goal. In other bands I’ve been in, it’s been a little less emotionally charged at practices. But being married is definitely an advantage. With scheduling and whatever, we can just move around together, so it makes it a lot easier.

What happens when there’s a disagreement concerning musical differences?
E: That happens all the time! But that’s going to happen with everybody at some point. With us it probably gets a little overdramatic and I do feel kind of sorry for the people who are around us at the time.

What’s next on the horizon?
T: The upcoming tour is three months long, so it’s looming very heavily. But beyond that we’ve got tons of stuff. We’re trying to become more of an integrated services provider, kind of branch off into a bunch of different things—movies, Erika’s fashion line. We’ve got lots of plans. Some are more manifest and others more latent. This time around we don’t have any kind of commercial agenda. We’re just out there to keep the record straight.

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Interview w/ Dr. Dog

2008-08-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

Illustration by Darryl Blood

My interview with Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog as published by LA Record:

Dr. Dog is a band out of Philly making music like the Beatles would if they had started recording again in the new millennium. The tightknit outfit has a similarly tightknit group of friends, all of whom share special nicknames within the realm of the band. Scott McMicken (singer/songwriter/guitarist), aka ‘Taxi,’ speaks now with Linda Rapka, proud to now be known in the world of Dr. Dog as ‘Timber.’

Why does every member of Dr. Dog have a nickname starting with the letter T?
Scott McMicken (singer/songwriter/guitarist): You know how whenever you get a bunch of dudes together, everyone has a nickname? It’s kind of in the spirit of that—only it was intentionally made a little bit more obtuse. The key thing has to do with the self-referential, self-indulgent world of Dr. Dog that we involve ourselves with, which is by and large irrelevant to the outside world.

It seems quite a difficult task to limit your nickname to just Ts.
It’s with everything we do. Give yourselves some parameters to work with. That is my obsession. It becomes more a reflection with a sense of honesty and a sense of connection and a sense of purpose that needs no particular type of space to manifest itself. It’s almost easier to see the truth and that aspect of yourself with the more parameters that you give yourself.

What does your nickname ‘Taxi’ mean?
I liked it because when people are like, ‘Oh, I need a taxi’ and a taxi comes around and takes ’em where they gotta go. It’s just kind of like a quiet little helper. The other slight formula that applies to the nickname thing—this is another sort of thing that I see as very prevalent in the Dr. Dog world—you allow yourself a general spirit of openness and playfulness to things, and without being too scathing or self-critical or too full of self-doubt you can let in any kind of absurd idea and then start to add significance or meaning to it whereas it didn’t really come from a point of that. Once we started giving the first couple of people nicknames that start with ‘T,’ we ran with it. Since then I’ve taken the ‘T’ to become a very significant letter and found a lot of ways of making the letter ‘T’ seem significant within the Dr. Dog world. That’s part of the fun in being in control of some processes.

The ‘T’ is actually a tool of empowerment.
This is really the one aspect of my life — this band — that I have total control over. We all do. We can do whatever we want. We can say whatever we want, and we can apply whatever rules we like to the whole thing, and that’s something that I’m really thankful about having in my life. I think that’s why I’m a musician—to sort of give myself that context. But the ‘T’ thing — beyond starting off as an arbitrary sort of thing — the name is supposed to either sound like your name, or then you can sort of pick some word that in a more intangible way represents some aspect of your character or something you might relate with. It’s also just sort of a door prize, like ‘Oh, you like us?’ Or ‘Oh, you wanna join the band? Is this a cool thing for you? Well, we need that, so join us.’

Can I have a nickname?
Absolutely. Being Linda… ‘Tender’ kind of sounds like ‘linder.’ There’s not a whole lot of obvious ones in terms of phonetics. ‘Timber.’ It’s a word obviously used for wood, and they make paper out of wood. And as a journalist you use paper. So that works. Nice. You’re gonna take this with you to your grave.

Do you have a dog?
I think the band name stuck particularly well because we all are dog lovers and have dogs and always have had dogs and dogs are always around. And when you have that kind of respect too, it’s like, why not give a dog a doctorate? My dog—I can’t believe that kind of creature she is. She’s a legitimately inspiring living creature. She deserves a doctorate.

You are often compared to bands of the sixties — especially the Beatles.
It’s not a very conscious thing, but it’s just one layer behind consciousness. I can’t speak for other artists or anything, but I just get the feel that in my extension to other avenues of creativity that I draw from, the one major criteria that I look for in everything that I enjoy comes from some sense of honesty. Some sense of true awareness of the personality behind what I’m witnessing. That’s what brings out aspects of yourself. It’s like this mirror to look into. Fundamentally what I’m looking for is sort of the influencelessness of what I like. However, the aesthetics that go into everything in people’s choices with any parameters, especially with pop music—it’s like you’ve got that 4/4 beat, the 3/4 beat, you’ve got about three minutes and 10 instruments to choose from—obviously the influences come into large play with people’s aesthetic choices and sensibilities and of course what people choose to gravitate toward says a lot about who they are. You draw from the things you connect with most, so influences I find to be as telling and informative about a person as the honesty and originality that they put forth from their heart. So it is just kind of one layer back. Especially in this day and age everything is this stew, and any spoonful can contain any ten different ingredients and it’s all really delicious. That’s just the kind of world we live in. Specifically with this record I was definitely more conscious of trying to piece together elements in my head that I wanted to add to this—in part because going into the record there wasn’t a really strong vision. Within about a week the vision was just like—bursting. In true spirit of the way we work, we just start throwing stuff out and then start reacting to it, and then when we find what works, we inject it with as much meaning and significance as we possibly can. A lot of the inspiriation for the record for me is from us being the engineers and producers of our own record, and I wanted to challenge myself in that side of things. We’ve always recorded with very minimal means because we’ve never really had a whole lot of money or equipment. But slowly, slowly, slowly, as we started borrowing from people, we put together a studio that I felt like could do whatever it was we wanted to do—whatever that may be. I really just wanted to try to bridge the gap sonically. I wanted to try to make a record that sounded like if you go back in time and take the minds out of a studio in 1963 and bring them into a contemporary studio, so that you still had the same fundamental sensibilities and sensitivity and maturity that existed much more naturally in those days because of those limitations—and this again comes back to the value and importance of limitations—but with the technology now. It’s not so much I want to make a record that sounds like it was made in 1963, but I wanted to make a record that sounded like people who were making good records in 1963 would be making now if they were still making records.

What were you most hoping to accomplish with the record?
I wanted to make music that was dance music. But my immediate association with dance music is something that I really don’t appreciate at all. Not club scene, not like indie rock with a disco beat or anything like that, but kind of pulse… dance music not so much for the function of dancing but more as like its really reliable foundations. You get that beat going and in a few seconds you’ve established that this is the place to be and nothing is really going to change all that much. Here you are in the world of this song and there’s that reliable current about it, which is ultimately what makes good dance music. You can sort of let go for a minute, give in to the music, and turn your mind off a little bit. That’s the importance of mindlessness with certain music. It’s for the mind, but it’s for the body, and like David Byrne said, it hits the body way before it hits the mind. That’s the first experience of music, and then beyond that your mind sort of kicks in and attaches it with your emotional experiences or whatever else you associate with the sounds you’re hearing. So I wanted that really steady, steady, steady unchanging beat, but I wanted to combine that not with something that was full of the dancehall, but with something that was very organic and rural and very dissociated from any social implications of dance music. I just pictured being this band that was in the middle. A combination of something very earthbound with something very…. like plastic and dirt together or something. All my sensibilities—just trying to make a little puzzle where you can find the pieces to make a picture. That rural kind of visceral—like this-is-humanity-at-its-essence kind of pop music for me is Tom Waits. The best dance music to me to this day is still forty years old—Motown and oldies and R&B music is the most concise and intelligent and well-stated pop music that I can really find. Those two things really don’t have a ton to do with one another, but in my head I wanted to try and marry my feelings about those things to an extent. I’m not sure I necessarily did it but it was a good aesthetic palette to draw from and switch on and off depending on the moment. It’s definitely something that as a band we’ll try to pursue more.

What do you like about the new record?
Because of the intangible life that the whole thing took on—the parallels that it started to draw between what was going on in my head in the studio to what I am as a man in my life, who I am to my girlfriend, to my best friend, who I am to this neighborhood I live in, or this state or this country or to my family, all those sort of larger things that go on in life—it all just came into one. Everything seemed to be relating in the same ways, and that’s another reason why I’m really happy with the outcome of this album. Because not only do I now have an album that I’m really proud of for us as a band, but I feel as though it definitely helped me to be a better person in a way. And a smarter person. None of it’s this epic scale—like overnight shift in perspective or anything. It’s all kind of subtle things. But it’s because of the subtlety that I trust it more because I know that nothing happens overnight. Not for a band, and not for a human being. To feel those small few changes is just a good sign that you’re kind of growing up a little bit. I definitely feel like the album gave me a little kick out of that. And I didn’t expect that. I don’t expect that out of being in a band necessarily. I do expect it being a songwriter. I don’t have those kind of high standards. I don’t need it to fulfill me on this existential level or anything. It’s just super fun. So for that to happen I’m just really thankful.

One of your former band members went off to become a lawyer. Was there ever a question of whether or not music was the right pursuit for anyone else in the band?
Those are the ones that are not in the band anymore. Those of us who are still in the band—we never had a difficult time confronting that fact. The five of us that are in the band now are pretty secure and know why it is we do this and that will overshadow some of the sacrifices that you make to do it. Because ultimately it’s your dream come true.

Interview w/ Colin Blunstone (the Zombies)

2008-07-17T12:14:00.001-07:00

My interview with Colin Blunstone of the Zombies as published by LA Record:

By the time the Zombies’ 1968 song ‘Time of the Season’ became a staggeringly huge radio hit, the band had already broken up. In March, surviving founding members Colin Blunstone (vocals), Rod Argent (keys), Chris White (bass) and Hugh Grundy (drums) celebrated the 40th anniversary of the their only proper LP, "Odessey and Oracle" — now regarded by critics and music fans alike as one of the best albums of all time — with a double-disc live recording. Blunstone speaks now with Linda Rapka.

The Zombies just released the double-CD "Odessey and Oracle: 40th Anniversary Live Concert." How’d the idea of performing the entire album come about?
We realized it was forty years since the album was released, and it just seemed a good idea to celebrate the anniversary. We did three nights and all sold out, so we thought it also might be a good idea to record it. We DVD’d it as well. The CD has just come out in the UK. The DVD will be a bit later.

What’s it like to have respected peers and droves of fans sell out three nights of live performances for an album initially regarded as a failure?
It’s intriguing, isn’t it? First of all, it’s just very exiting. Whenever an album gets that kind of a response — even when you have to wait quite a long time! — it’s exciting; it makes you feel like your work has some worth. In some ways it’s intensified because it’s taken such a long time. It kind of validates what we were doing, like, ‘Yeah, we were on to something!’ At the time I really felt it was a strong album. I think that’s probably part of the reason the band finished — we’d only released one or two singles, but they went nowhere, and that was that. The band did finish before the album was even released. That does seem a bit premature. Maybe we should have waited a bit longer.

What do you think would have happened had the band not split?
Going on from a scene of ‘what if,’ it does intrigue me sometimes because I felt that at that time Rod and Chris were at the height of their songwriting capabilities. I would have been intrigued to have seen what we could have done next. But it doesn’t make any sense to think like that really. I think it makes much more sense to concentrate on what’s going on at the moment.

Is it true that up until just recently you were unaware ‘Odyssey’ was spelled wrong on the album?
I knew it was spelled wrong, but I thought it was spelled wrong on purpose. The cover was printed by an artist called Terry Quirk. We had a release date and the printing presses were ready to go with the artwork when suddenly he realized he’d spelled it wrong. Obviously, it wasn’t done on the computer in the ‘60s; it was a painting. Rod Argent and Chris White decided to concoct a story about how it was done on purpose, a play on the word ‘ode.’ They decided they would even tell the other members of the band this so it would sound more authentic. So I believed it until two or three years ago when I was doing a radio interview with Rod and he said it was a mistake and they tried to cover it up. I thought, ‘I don’t believe you’ve kept that secret for about 37 years!’ I thought it was really funny. Terry Quirk’s a wonderful artist, but he’s not a very good speller.

In the sixties "Odessey and Oracle" went virtually unrecognized until an entire year after its release, when ‘Time of the Season’ became a massive radio hit in the States—after the band had already broken up. After this success, why didn’t the band regroup?
Everybody had decided that it was time to move on and try new projects. Once we had split Rod and Chris were really committed to their new band Argent, and although the Zombies did have that huge hit ‘Time of the Season’ and we were offered a lot of money to come to the States and tour, it was never even a conversation. We were all involved in new projects. Everyone thought the time had passed.

There’s talk that the Zombies may do some live performances of "Odessey" here.
All I can say is that discussions are ongoing. There’s also talk of us doing a few more nights in the U.K. as well next year. It’s just because it was so successful and there’s a demand. To start with, we were only thinking of doing one night, and it spread to three. It’s not something that we really ever thought about touring in the full sense, but we’ve been offered a very big venue in London and four other dates around the country, and I would imagine that if we did it in the U.S., it would only five or six concerts at the most.

You once said your dream band would be made up of all bass players. Who would be in this ultimate bass lover’s band?
I don’t remember saying that! But I’m a huge fan of Sting so I’d expect to pick him if he wouldn’t mind being in my band.

Meet 'The Wrecking Crew' - interview w/ Denny Tedesco

2008-05-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

My interview as published in the June 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47.

L.A. Studio Musicians of the '60s Profiled in New Documentary

Session players behind Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' featured in Denny Tedesco film

by Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor

You may not know their names, but there's no mistaking their music.

The soundtrack of the late 1950s and 1960s was largely recorded by a group of Los Angeles studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. The Beach Boys, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, Elvis Presley, the Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Mamas & the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, the Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks are but a small few of the hundreds of popular artists for whom the Crew recorded, though more often than not were left uncredited on the album sleeve.

Typically knocking out several tracks in a single three-hour session, the musicians – who also comprised Phil Spector's famed Wall of Sound – played on anything from rock tunes to TV and film scores to jazz arrangements and even cartoon soundtracks, able to churn out any style of music with unmatched skill. Hopping from studio to studio, the musicians during their heyday sometimes played up to four dates per day.

Denny Tedesco, son of one of the most recorded guitarist in history, late Wrecking Crew member Tommy Tedesco, tells the surprisingly little-known tale of this group of musicians who recorded the unmistakable soundtrack of the '60s in his documentary, "The Wrecking Crew." He speaks about his labor of love and the film's upcoming L.A. premiere.

How did these musicians come to be known as "The Wrecking Crew"?
It's become something of folklore almost. The legend goes they were called the Wrecking Crew 'cause the older guys, the traditional studio guys from the '40s and '50s, weren't taking the rock dates 'cause it was beneath them, so they said these guys were gonna wreck the business.

The Wrecking Crew is an unparalleled phenomenon in recording history. How did this one group of musicians come to play so many different sessions together?
When they're breaking in the early '50s and early '60s, rock 'n' roll was still in its infancy, as were recording techniques. You didn't have ProTools, DVs, CD players, computers to help you learn how to play music or even record music. In those days you had to be all in one room together as a band, together 'til the end, everybody flawless.

What inspired you to make the film?
I started the documentary when I knew my father was going to pass away, in 1995, when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I knew he didn't have much time and I figured we've already lost a lot of these musicians – Ray Pohlman was gone, Steve Douglas was gone. I felt if I don't record this, nobody's going to. There were so many stories I used to hear, the laughter from all these musicians. It was always fun listening to these guys. So I decided I'd put together a roundtable discussion to start things off, and in 1996 brought together Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, my father and Plas Johnson. I was influenced by "Broadway Danny Rose," the Woody Allen movie where they sit around that coffee shop and just talk about Danny Rose. It was like you were a voyeur to this conversation, and that's what I wanted this to be. Unfortunately my father passed away before he saw anything cut.

When was the main period of recording for the Crew?
It was a time period from the late '50s early '60s to almost the late '60s, where things started turning in a different direction. Group albums became popular at that time, so now you didn't want so many studio musicians on some of these albums. The highlight year for record dates was probably 1967 or '68 in that area. There were 400 dates, contracts that we could find. If you take weekends and holidays off, you must be doing three or four dates a day.

How did you get the rights to the music?
The record companies have been amazing. Warner Bros. was one of the companies I first met, and they said, "We're not gonna mess with you. It's not a documentary about a chicken coop. It's about our business and these people. We want this to be out there." This isn't like a kiss-and-tell book, this is a positive look at something that is not always so positive.

How did you line up the other interviews?
One of the first star talents to come on board was Cher. She was 16 when she worked with these guys as a backup singer for Phil Spector's groups. She knew them as the older guys – they were all in their late 20s and 30s, and she was just a kid. Then Dick Clark gave me an interview. Then I got Julius Wechter and Lew McCreary. Julius was a great percussion player and Lew was a great trombonist. That was a rush in time because I knew Julius was sick. I didn't know Lou was sick. They both passed away about six months later.

If someone has a favorite song from the '60s, chances are good they'll hear it in this film.
It's probably one of the biggest soundtracks in movies because there are so many songs. When putting it together I would meet with people – I won't mention names – but someone came up with the idea that since there were so many songs, we should get "sound-alikes." I said, are you kidding?! The whole point is about the sound. These people were the sound! The other thing people would say was, "Well could you narrow it down to 20 songs?" I said no. You don't have the music, you don't have the doc, 'cause it's really about the quantity of music this group of people in Los Angeles at the time did. They went from Sinatra to the Chipmunks, from Zappa to the Beach Boys – it was all over the place. They didn't have technically "a sound." They could play with anybody.

How did the musicians feel about being largely uncredited on the several hit records they played on?
These guys didn't complain. They weren't whiners. They enjoyed what they did. They got paid for what they did. My father used to tell his students, "You pick up the guitar because you love to play guitar. You don't start because you want to make a living of it. If you get paid for it, it's a bonus. If you make a living at it, you're in a small minority – congratulations."

With documentaries like "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," it seems like there's a strong public interest in what goes on behind the scenes.
I was thrilled that it came out, but I was more thrilled that it was successful, because it's basically the same kind of behind-the-scenes story. Mine's a different slant on it, but it does show that the public is interested and wants to know. There is a curtain, and us as humans it's natural that we want to learn something new.

What was it like to be growing up, hearing all these songs on the radio and knowing that was your dad playing on most of them?
Most of the time I never knew it was my dad on the radio. These guys were doing three to four dates a day, they didn't even know they were on some of these songs! There's certain songs, like the Beach Boys where you know Hal was playing all the time, but my father wouldn't know. You figure these guys did two, three, four dates a day for a while, and sometimes the groups weren't there, it was just laying down the tracks. Don't forget, there were hundreds of hits, but there were thousands of bombs.

I didn't realize the impact he and his friends were making. I don't think they had an idea of the impact of what was going to happen 40, 50 years later, the fact that people are still listening to these songs. When you go 50 years before them in 1960, you're talking 1910. Were they listening to songs from 1910? It never happened.

How was it trying to find a balance telling your father's story and the story of the Wrecking Crew as a whole?
It was a big problem. When I started the film, I was never going to focus on my father, and I surely wasn't going to be part of this. It was about this group of musicians. A friend of mine looked at our first 30-minute cut a few years ago and said, 'It's a History Channel documentary.' That killed me. But he was right. The way I made that transition was by going, Here's a story about my father and his extended family, the Wrecking Crew. Because you can't have one and not the other.
It's about having the story and not just the facts, which is what you did with this film.

I think unconsciously I was trying not to let go. I didn't want Dad to leave and this was my way of holding on.

The film took 12 years to complete.
If I'd finished this in two years, five years or eight years, even 10, it would not have been as good because not just what I got later, but understanding the story more.

The film has been a success at festival screenings earlier this year.
We started at South by Southwest (SXSW) and it coincided with the music festival.Then we were invited to Nashville as the closing film. That was an honor in itself, but then we sold out two screens before the festival even opened, the first time in the history of the festival. We had the greatest time. All these Nashville greats like guitarist Brett Mason as well as transplants like drummer Ed Green, and bassist Bob Babbitt from the Funk Brothers, were there. As well as another guitar hero of mine, Peter Frampton. They were so enthusiastic and supportive, it was amazing. Some of the musicians were saying, "I've gotta have my kids see this." And that's a thrill.

Don Randi, who's been very supportive, came out to play after the festival with Al Kooper, Mike Deasy, Lyle Ritz and Al Delory. They played some of the hits that they recorded on, and the audience went nuts! There were probably about 700 people in the room.

What I've noticed about the film is the fact its working on two levels. Musicians understand it from the inside. They understand what it takes to be a musician, and you've got the music lovers, who are blown away – "Wow, that's what happened?!"

Where was the very first public screening?
There was an event at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and they asked if come down with Hal Blaine, so we showed a 30 minute teaser. It was a packed audience of 150 people, and they gave us a standing ovation. It was a great feeling of love in the room. The MC started asking Hal questions, and Hal started crying. I thought he was joking, but I looked behind his sunglasses and saw tears. Hal said, 'When I saw all my friends up there, it brought back a lot of memories to me.' Which is a sweet, beautiful comment. So I felt, OK, if I made Hal happy and if I could make these musicians happy by telling the truth, then I've done my job. They were honest with me, so I wanted to be sure I was honest to them with this story.

It was quite the labor of love.
I used to hate that term. But it's true. I had to finance it myself. It might have taken 12 years to actually make it, but it took a lifetime to understand it.

The Los Angeles premiere of "The Wrecking Crew" will take place during Grand Performances at a free outdoor screening at California Plaza in downtown L.A. Saturday, June 28 at 8 p.m. For more information about the documentary and the musicians, visit www.wreckingcrew.tv.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A few songs recorded by the Wrecking Crew:

The 5th Dimension
"Let the Sunshine In/Aquarius"
"Stoned Soul Picnic"
"Up-Up and Away"
"One Less Bell to Answer"

The Association
"Windy"
"Never My Love"

The Beach Boys
"California Girls"
"Don't Worry Baby"
"Fun Fun Fun"
"God Only Knows"
"Good Vibrations"
"I Get Around"
"Sloop John B"

The Byrds
"Mr. Tamborine Man"

Glen Campbell
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
"Gentle on My Mind"
"Wichita Lineman"

Captain & Tennille
"Love Will Keep Us Together"

The Carpenters
"Close to You"
"We've Only Just Begun"

Cher
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves"
"Half-Breed"

The Chipmunks
"Chipmunks Theme"

Nat King Cole
"Ramblin' Rose"

Sam Cooke
"Twistin' the Night Away"
"You Send Me"

The Crystals
"Then He Kissed Me"
"Da Doo Ron Ron"
"He's a Rebel"

Bobby Day
"Rockin' Robin"

Defenders
"Taco Wagon"

Shelly Fabares
"Johnny Angel"

Richard Harris
"MacArthur Park"

Jan & Dean
"Dead Man's Curve
Surf City"
"Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)"
"Balboa Blue"

Gary Lewis and the Playboys
"Everybody Loves a Clown"
"Sure Gonna Miss Her"
"This Diamond Ring"

Barry McGuire
"Eve of Destruction"

The Mamas & the Papas
"California Dreamin'"
"Dedicated to the One I Love"
"Monday, Monday"

Henry Mancini
"The Pink Panther Theme"

The Marketts
"Out of Limits"
"Surfer's Stomp"

Dean Martin
"Everybody Loves Somebody"

Scott McKenzie
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"

The Monkees
"Mary Mary"

Chris Montez
"Let's Dance"

Ricky Nelson
"Fools Rush In"

Wayne Newton
"Danke Schoen"

Jack Nitzsche
"The Lonely Surfer"

Harry Nilsson
"Everybody's Talkin'"

The Partridge Family
"Come on Get Happy"

Elvis Presley
"A Little Less Conversation"
"Viva Las Vegas"

Paul Revere & the Raiders
"Indian Reservation"

The Righteous Brothers
"Unchained Melody"
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

Rip Chords
"Hey Little Cobra"

Johnny Rivers
"Poor Side of Town"

Tommy Roe
"Dizzy"

The Ronnetts
"Be My Baby"
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Routers
"Let's Go"

The Sandpipers
"Guantanamera"

Lalo Schifrin
"Mission: Impossible"

Simon and Garfunkel
"Mrs. Robinson"

Frank Sinatra
"Strangers in the Night"
"That's Life"

Nancy Sinatra
"These Boots are Made for Walkin'"
"Drummer Man"

Sonny and Cher
"The Beat Goes On"
"I Got You Babe"

T-Bones
"No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)"

Nino Tempo & April Stevens
"Deep Purple"

The Tijuana Brass
"The Lonely Bull"
"Spanish Flea"
"Taste of Honey"
"Whipped Cream"
"Zorba the Greek"

Ike and Tina Turner
"River Deep Mountain High"

Ritchie Valens
"Donna"

Bobby Vee
"The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"

The Ventures
"Hawaii 5-O"

Mason Williams
"Classical Gas"

Roger Williams
"Born Free"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Wrecking Crew & Friends

Drums/Percussion
Hal Blaine
Jim Gordon
Johnny Guerin*
Earl Palmer
Jessie Sailes
Ed "Sharky" Hall*

Percussion
Frank Capp
Gary Coleman
Gene Estes*
Victor Feldman*
Emil Richards
Milton Holland*
Julius Wechter*

Guitar
Al Casey*
Dennis Budimir
Billy Strange
James Burton
Glen Campbell
Mike Deasy
Barney Kessel*
Jerry Cole
Lou Morell*
Don Peake
Bill Pitman
Louie Shelton
Tommy Tedesco*
Howard Roberts*
Ben Benay*
David Cohen

Bass
Jimmy Bond
Chuck Berghofer
Carol Kaye
Larry Knechtel
Joe Osborn
Ray Pohlman*
Lyle Ritz
Bob West*
Arthur Wright

Piano
Leon Russell
Larry Knechtel
Al DeLory
Don Randi
Ray Johnson
Lincoln Mayorga
Mike Melvoin
Mike Rubini

Sax/Horns
Gene Cipriano
Steve Douglas*
Jim Horn
Bill Green*
Plas Johnson
Jackie Kelso
Jay Migliori*
Nino Tempo

Trombone
Louis Blackburn*
Lew McCreary*

Trumpet
Ollie Mitchell
Tony Terran
Roy Caton
Bill Peterson

* deceased member

Interview w/ Clinic - "More of a Nunny State"

2008-05-22T16:38:00.001-07:00

My interview with Ade Blackburn of CLINIC as published in LA Record:

With the band's fifth full-length release, "Do It!" [Domino], Liverpudlian quartet Clinic – whose dark, avant garage-tinged rock is visually accentuated by the band’s penchant for adorning surgical masks and scrubs – the band has stopped trying to induce fear, opting instead for spreading Beach Boy-like love with a high-energy, booty-shaking summer LP. On the heel of Clinic's final European date before heading across the pond, Ade Blackburn (keys/melodica/vocals) spoke from Sheffield to Linda Rapka.

What came first – the band name or the surgical masks and scrubs?
The band name. We had that for quite a while. With the San Francisco bands Crime and the Residents, I like the way there was a visual side to what they did, but it wasn't something too serious. It was like a tacky pun on the band name. I liked something a bit more ridiculous like that.

Do you think that distracts the audience from the music or in a way makes them focus more on the music?
It kind of makes you think of the thing as a whole rather than as individuals – I've never liked the idea that you've got the lead singer out front, and it's a standard rock band. I don't think the image is an essential element, it’s more of an addition to it – it's just something else visually there. It wouldn't really make too much difference whether you played in costume or not, the main thing is still the music.

The last time I saw you live you weren't wearing your regular gear – you looked like monks or Freemasons or something.
That must have been the brown outfits with the stovepipe hats. It was kind of a mixture of a few things. I like that kind of Masonic bit of a twist to it. I like the idea that you're meant to be secretive but you’re playing in front of people, so it's a contradiction.

You guys have been offered by record labels to have a "band stylist."
I just thought that would be quite an enjoyable thing to do yourself.

Any new surprising outfits for the next tour?
Yeah, we've got some 'cause we thought this was a more brighter, almost tropical LP so we got Hawaiian shirts, which is a new addition. It's a bit of an homage to the Beach Boys.

The title of the new album, "Do It!", is pretty suggestive.
It was kind of meant to be humorous, something cheeky. I like the way you can read quite a few different things into it, and obviously the suggestive one is quite a good one. I think the main thing with it was, I don't know if you remember there was a prankster political movement in the '60s called The Yippies...

The Youth International Party – Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krassner...
Yeah. One of their slogans is "Do It!" which was all-encompassing, intensive, trying to get people not to be apathetic with politics. It just is, I suppose, quite funny now when people will just take things, whatever is pushed on them, so I thought it was a kind of sly reference to a time when people would stand up for things more. Here in the U.K. it's become more of a "nunny" state where you can't breathe almost without there being some petty law being cut down. Basically people's civil liberties are disappearing. I think it's happening everywhere.

The new album sounds more garage-rocky than previous releases. It reminds me of a lot of the raw '60s garage tunes on Nuggets.
Something which I really like about those kinds of records is that there's a lot of humor, but not in a working sense, something where it's more playful.

All your stuff is experimental and abstract, but also really danceable at the same time. It sounds like you think a lot about the enjoyment of the audience.
That's why we sort of don't have self-indulgent, really long instrumental pieces. No guitar solos! "Do It!" was really a fun album for us to record. Now so much music seems really serious and a bit too earnest.

What's your impression of L.A. audiences?
Los Angeles has actually been, I'd say, the best place each time when we play in America, which I suppose is a cliché thing to say, but the people have always been really supportive with us. The Troubadour is an ideal venue for us as well.

I read an interview with Brian where he said the "Walking With Thee" LP was "like a horror film ... trying to induce fear." What is "Do It!" trying to induce?
We saw it as sort of a summer album. I think if anything it's just something to sit back and enjoy. It's definitely not meant to have any scary side to it.

What made you decide to produce this one yourself when previous albums have been produced by other people?
If you want to sort of experiment and try for other things, if you're in a conventional studio you're always aware of time, so you're more likely to play it safe. Because we wanted to mess around with sounds, it meant if something didn't work out than it didn't matter at all, you know, so you gave yourself the luxury of being able to make a lot of mistakes or go down blind alleys but then it didn’t matter. It could be a good thing. Something that you thought had no potential could turn out to be, which happened with one thing, you put more kind of oddball things right next to each other.

Clinic always uses really interesting instruments – the melodica, and that fantastic sounding one on "Walking With Thee."
Oh yeah, the philicorda. It's an organ keyboard. It's just something that we’ve always been on the lookout for, it's something that takes it outside of a standard guitar band. Things like that we found at sales in Liverpool, as you say garage sales and that. I think a lot of people aren't interested in it so you can pick things up like that really, really cheaply as well. It's creative to put songs together but I think it's creative as well finding different instruments. If you're not used to playing an instrument sometimes you can come up with melody ideas more so than with the ones technically you're really proficient. None of us has ever been interested in taking lessons. I think it's how it combines as a whole, you know, rather than if you can play an instrument with too much reference or if you went to school and how fast you can play notes.

That rings especially here in Los Angeles, the land of Musicians Institute graduates.
Yeah, it's like that with 10-minute guitar solos, isn't it? I mean, if you go into guitar shops you can hear them whenever you feel like it.

Does the band still record only analog?
Yeah. This is the second album we've recorded ourselves and it was all going onto tape and we used kind of vintage effects and equipment and everything. I suppose it's a way you can get sounds which aren't typical of what's happening now. I think it just makes it sound natural as well. I think so many things now are so manipulated in studios that it comes out sounding really plastic and artificial. It seems to me the most exciting when you hear something – is where you can imagine where it's made by humans, and actually played in a room.

You guys are big fans of free jazz, sixties garage, and also punk – you've got a lot of eclectic influences from all over the place...
I've always listened to music from all kinds of different genres. You get really good things in each genre, so with your influences there's no reason to limit yourself to one particular style.

What's up next for the band?
The next thing we do will probably be almost like Glen Campbell. More '70s. Very light.

Are there any new bands within the last couple of years that you're into?
There's a kind of newish band from Liverpool called Mogstar, they've been touring with Portishead. They're really quite inventive, almost like space rock but with a kind of Liverpool influence as well.

I'm sure you all have quite extensive record collections. Any gems you particularly love?
I always forget what I've got. I think the last couple of CDs that I've bought was a Swell Maps CD. I think they're underrated. I think they had quite a strong sense of pop as well in what they did. The other thing was Charlie Mingus, "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady," I thought that was really good. But it's getting harder to buy records now.

You must scour record shops when on tour.
That's what we do a lot of the time, going to record shops. You've got Rhino in Los Angeles and Amoeba in San Francisco. There are some really good indie shops in America.

How would you describe your sound?
When making music I suppose you're always trying to make it so it's hard to categorize, so I don’t think I could sum it up 'cause that's the opposite of how I look at it. I write the melodies and the lyrics, but as a band then we would say add the musical parts and the rhythms to that, so it's still quite wide open from even though there are a lot of songs that just go over one chord, it's really open to what rhythms you can attach to it. It's collaborative but it's got a base to it with the melody.

Clinic has been together for about 10 years.
Yeah. That's quite unusual nowadays, isn't it? The equivalent of the seven-year itch of playing in a band is probably when you do your third album, so if you get past that point then everyone is aware of everybody else's strong points or foibles and quirks, so I think everyone knows when to give each other space or everyone takes different roles on within it. That's how you keep it fresh without being claustrophobic.

All of your records seem to draw from a particular influence you've immersed yourselves in at the time.
That goes back to what we were talking about using new instruments for each album. That way it's always, you're always aiming to do something different each time.

I hear you're a fan of my favorite author, Richard Brautigan, who unfortunately nobody else seems to know of.
I like Richard Brautigan because that had a real sense of the ridiculous to it. He'd start a paragraph and it'd be really everyday, very normal and suddenly it'd switch into something completely surreal. I like the sort of childlike view that he tends to write from. To me I think a straightforward sort of narrative lyric on the second or third listen can start to wear a bit thin, but I think if you’ve got something that's more implied or you can read something else into it, I think that can give it more longevity.

Any other influences? Films?
Probably my favorite director, who's not really fit into any art typecast, would be Woody Allen, just cause I think again where it's got humor in it, it really nails some kind of strong kind of philosophical points and observations with relationships. I just think he's so intelligent.

What's your one guilty pleasure?
Top Noodles. Do you have Top Noodles in America?

Top Ramen noodles?
Yeah. They're absolute rubbish.

CLINIC WITH SHEARWATER ON TUE., MAY 20, AT THE TROUBADOUR, 9018 SANTA MONICA BLVD., WEST HOLLYWOOD. 8 PM / $20 / ALL AGES. TROUBADOUR.COM. DO IT! IS OUT NOW ON DOMINO. VISIT CLINIC AT CLINICVOOT.ORG.

Interview w/ Indian Jewelry - "Hang With us When We're on Fire"

2008-04-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

My interview with Indian Jewelry as published in LA Record:

Indian Jewelry returned to their Houston hometown after many much-missed months in Los Angeles, though they left behind a closing set at the last Fuck Yeah Fest that will be a secret cherished memory for all those who chose to expose themselves to it. They have a new album coming out on We Are Free and will be playing a rare L.A. show this week. They speak now to Linda Rapka.

In your last L.A. RECORD interview, Tex said he was one the rare few to walk past a street lamp and make it go out.
Erika Thrasher (keys/guitar/vocals): He definitely brings on that type of current. He has a certain magical power.
Tex Kerschen (keys/guitar/vocals): It’s like walking around with your own personalized monogramed black cloud. But that doesn’t happen anymore. It’s all about positive thinking, like H.R. from Bad Brains. That’s a wild blast from the past. I’m all about the future.

It happens to me, like, all the time, and it really freaks me out.
E: Better get right then.

Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of this strange and useless mystical power?
T: Read War and Peace. To get anything out of this world you have to read War and Peace.

You just played SXSW. In three words, how would you describe the experience?
T: Here’s two: Corporate Walkathon. Or: Hung With Friends. There’s five.
E: We played at a children’s museum at this party at 3:30 in the morning. It was sponsored by Red Bull. Everybody was so messed up and they were puking all over the floor. It was a really odd setting. It was super, super crowded. Of course we just got there really late and played this crazy set with the Clip’d Beaks.

You were living in L.A. for a while. How did you end up back in Houston?
E: After L.A. we moved to Chicago and now we’ve been back in Houston for about nine months. We’re still mobile though.
T: We got kinda stranded here after we were in L.A. We were in an economic rut and had to work in a refinery for while. We don’t like things to get too easy for us. It’s like going back home. Or getting sent back to prison on a bunch of trumped-up charges. It’s home and it’s something. It’s a hidden spot in the eye of the world. It’s like a water fountain that dispenses poison.

How’s that different from L.A.?
T: L.A.’s a kind of widespread feel-goodery. An epidemic of feel-goodery.

What intrigues you about the nomadic lifestyle?
E: It’s not so much that—we’ve just made a lot of friends and when we have an interesting opportunity come up, we can’t pass it up. Maybe this next tour will lead us in a different direction.

The band is known to actively add and subtract musicians in the various cities you tour. That’s kind of a unique thing for a band to do.
T: Not really. The old R&B bands used to it. Chuck Berry. Bo Diddley. Jerry Lee Lewis. Little Richard. We’re also more like a rap band than a rock back. We have a humongous posse.

How did the core members meet?
T: The way bands meet, you know? We came together. Everything comes through something.
E: Through playing in various bands and coming together at the right time.
T: We’ve all known each other… well, the many of us in the black hole of the whole thing were in various bands and decided we were gonna have a more strict policy of who were gonna play with. It’s a band, but it’s not a band. It’s also kindred spirits. Even the core members of us have bands that are arguably better. Brandon, our guitar player, has the Electric Set and Terrible Eagle.

That record was released on your label.
T: The record is fucking jamming. It’s breathtakingly good. We had nothing to do with it but being complete fucking fans. Pink Cloud’s another band. The pack of people we work with are real songwriter and bandleaders in their own regard and only hang with us when we’re on fire.

Fans and critics have both noted the dark aspects of your music—one reviewer described it as "either the soundtrack for the insane or the type of music that you would be greeted with upon your arrival to hell."
E: I just see it as this really beautiful music and people always comment to me like it’s the darkest thing they’ve ever heard, or it’s really good drug music. As far as what I’m putting into it, that’s not my intention exactly, but maybe it just comes out that way. I think people are probably just getting out of it what they need.
T: Descriptions are descriptions. Things from the outside. We’re handicapped because we only see it from the inside. We play lots of music, but it’s just the music we like. We just try to increase the peace, but not in some sloganeer manner. You can’t set out to do one thing if you want to go the distance. And we goin’ on all way.

Tell us what’s happening with the new album Free Gold!
E: It’s coming out in May. We finished recording here in Houston. We were holed up in our house and had everybody come in. We figured we’d do it ourselves because that would give us more time. The way we like to do things, it’s easier to record ourselves.
T: We initially made it to be morning music without being too reductive. You haven’t heard it so it’s kind of unfair for you. You can’t parse my lines for bullshit. It’s all new stuff. In the past it’s all been done and done and reconstituted. The new album’s supposed to be about love but it’s much sadder than that. It’s about things we love, people we love, places we miss, people we miss. People we don’t tell we love. It’s a love record but it seems to be kind of a weeper.

On the Now We Are Free website there’s a rather garrulous letter signed by a self-proclaimed historian, one Mr. Ted Sands, who is unhappy that Indian Jewelry shares its name with a band that was active from 1971-1985.
T: We didn’t do our research very well. We thought it was kind of a distinct band name, and then six million Native American bands popped out of the ether. You can’t argue with history. He sent us some letters—we don’t know if they were cease and desist letters because they were just written in a convoluted kind of language so it was hard to make sense of what he wanted. There’s nothing legal about it—we’re not in violation of any law. The Internet has unearthed a lot of strange worms.
E: We kinda were changing our name for a while. At almost any show we played we changed our name. We finally decided upon Indian Jewelry when we were driving a lot from L.A. to Houston, back and forth, driving along the 140. There were all these signs along the highway for Indian jewelry! Indian jewelry! So it was literally a sign. It just seemed right.
T: We’d been working the angle do to something that had allusions to American Indians. Most of us that are into the idea of any justice and into American history are interested in the idea of indigenous people. In my life, I went to Palestine for a couple years—the country, not the city in Texas, though I’ve been there too—and I had a discussion with good friend of mine—a WWII vet—about looking in your own backyard first to look at injustice, and so I thought I should not be taking but giving love. Like giving the land back. And I’ll take a boat back to Ireland or wherever.

Does being married to one of your bandmates complicate the band situation or make it easier?
E: Wow, how did you know we’re married? I thought it was like super secret.

Word gets around.
E: It hasn’t changed anything because nothing’s really changed. We’ve been together for a long time. We can get a lot done; we’re both pretty focused on the band and dedicated to it, which makes it easier. But, as in any kind of situation, we probably have the same amount of tension as any band.
T: We’ve been together for almost ten years. I think it dictates the dynamic in some ways. We’re kind of stuck together. We can’t just break up. We decided we’d work together for better or for bad.

What do you think it would actually be like to party with Jandek?
T: We could find out if we wanted to. I thought it was kind of a fun thing at the time. He’s from here. He manages an adult entertainment complex. Not in that kind of way, but like a Bennigan’s. Or at least he used to. Now he’s a full time rep for Cool Whip. Since we wrote that song we’ve met people who’ve played with him. I bet he’s just like anybody else.

Nick Lowe/Robyn Hitchcock @ the El Rey 4/11/08 (review)

2008-04-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

As published by LA Record:

When I heard that Robyn Hitchcock was coming back to town as co-headliner with Nick Lowe at the El Rey, the first thing I did was cash in on my fabulous L.A. RECORD connections to score tickets. The second thing I did was miss his entire set. I arrived at 10 pm, which on a Friday night by L.A. standards is pretty damn prompt, to find that not only had Robyn come and gone, but I'd already even missed Nick Lowe's first couple of tunes. Not being all that familiar with Lowe's stuff – except of course for his standards "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" – I disappointedly resigned myself to sit through his set and try to enjoy myself. After listening to him play a couple of tunes of just him and acoustic guitar, I was sure that was not going to happen. But as the evening wore on, I found myself increasingly entranced by the 50-something Englishman's simple yet heartfelt melodies and story-like lyrics of life and love. Though sponsored by Indie 103, it felt like more of a KCRW crowd, the audience comprising faux-hipsters in their late twenties who allowed their parents to tag along, all singing to every song, completely enamored with Lowe. The highlight for me was the encore, when both Lowe and Hitchcock took the stage together and performed a number of surprising old covers, including the little-known 1963 tune "Hungry For Love" by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly and the Beatles' "If I Fell." (LL)

Interview - "Michael Giacchino Squeaks Out a Winner With 'Ratatouille'"

2008-02-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

My interview as published in the March 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47:

Giacchino Squeaks Out a Winner With 'Ratatouille'

Earning a Grammy win and Oscar nod for his score to last year's Disney/Pixar animated hit, composer Michael Giacchino describes recording in Los Angeles with "the best musicians in the world."

By Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor

If you are a fan of animated films, hit TV series or popular video games, chances are you know the work of composer Michael Giacchino.

His colorful and energetic score for "Ratatouille," an animated feature about a Parisian rat-turned-master chef, earned Giacchino a Grammy as well as his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, an honor shared with two fellow Local 47 members (first-time nominee Marco Beltrami for "3:10 to Yuma" and seven-time nominee James Newton Howard for "Michael Clayton"). The film was director Brad Bird's follow-up to "The Incredibles" for which Giacchino wrote an equally formidable score, earning him two Grammy nominations and the L.A. Film Critics Association Award for Best Music Score.

His path to TV and film began with video games. In 1997 Giacchino was approached by the newly formed DreamWorks Studios to score the PlayStation video game based on Steven Spielberg's box-office hit "Jurassic Park: The Lost World." Spielberg liked the music so much he wanted it to be fully orchestrated instead of synthesized. A longtime fan of the Local 47 musicians whom he'd listened to on film soundtracks during his formative years, Giacchino has since become one of the leading advocates for using Los Angeles musicians on scoring projects.

Giacchino's work scoring video games over the next several years, including Spielberg's popular "Medal of Honor" video game series, led to his involvement in the ABC television shows "Alias" and "Lost" created by writer/director J.J. Abrams – the producers of the show contacted the composer because they were fans of the games he had worked on. He soon came to the attention of Brad Bird and other directors and his film-scoring career took flight, establishing him as one of the most sought-after composers in Hollywood.

Michael Giacchino spoke with the Overture the day after the Oscars about his recent accolades and what it's like to work in Los Angeles with whom he calls "the best musicians in the world."

First off, congratulations – "Ratatouille" fared very well in the award department, earning a Grammy as well as your first Academy Award nomination.
Thank you. I wasn't able to attend the Grammys because we were recording at Warner Bros., and I was with a bunch of the orchestra members that played on "Ratatouille" when we found out that we won the Grammy. That was a lot more fun than actually having been there. I went on the loudspeaker and said, "Hey guys, you just won a Grammy!" I was in the middle of writing and getting ready to score "Speed Racer" when I heard "Ratatouille" was nominated for an Academy Award. I had so much on my mind – I think my parents had a lot more fun with that than I did. It's probably good that you don't have too much time to think about these things. At the Oscars, a lot of my friends in my band were playing in the pit orchestra, so that was fun. You know, most of the time I'm stuck holed up somewhere writing, so the only sociable part of my job is when I'm with them, and it's great.

What influences do you draw from when composing a film score?
I have a very eclectic taste. I listen to anything and everything. I always have, even while growing up. I love jazz and classical music, and the fusion of both. The idea of a jazz orchestra is great. But I'm comfortable keeping 'em separate or doing both – I'm comfortable doing new things. And I know the guys here [in Los Angeles] will just get it. I don't have to worry about the thing I'm trying to do working or not as far as the musicians, because they'll know exactly how to do it. I've been a lot luckier than most composers being able to do it here.

It sounds like you really enjoy working with Local 47 musicians.
It's the greatest. Los Angeles is my first choice no matter what. I grew up loving that idea of a town that creates entertainment, and when I came out here I wanted to be a part of that process. It's been a part of my charter to be part of that, and it's an identity that Los Angeles has in particular that no one else does. It's true that the world is getting smaller and you can go anywhere to record, but you've got the best people in the world here. I could not have taken "Ratatouille" or "The Incredibles" to just any place – those scores go from jazz to classical and are all over the map, and these guys just know how to do it. A lot of the musicians I grew up listening to, and I'm awestruck every time! To be able to work with people I listened to as a 10-year-old kid with headphones – Frank Morocco, Abe Laboriel, Tony Mason – there's just no one else like them in the world.

You spent the better part of your childhood making 8mm stop-motion animated films using your brother's ping pong table as a sound stage for miniature movie sets.
One of my favorite things to do was find records in my dad's collection and put music to them and make the music work with the film. This started my whole interest in film scores.

What was one of your favorite self-made childhood films?
There's one that my brother starred in. He's upstairs supposed to be doing homework and imagines himself to be Luke Skywalker.

You're currently working on "Speed Racer," the live-action big-budget version of the 1960s animated Japanese series, set to open in May.
As a kid I was obsessed with "Speed Racer," so this was a dream job. Plus the Wachowski brothers were directing it. They have a very specific, original take on filmmaking. A lot of other people would not have done this justice. I'm just so picky about these things, but for them I was like, "Absolutely!" We scored for two weeks straight in February.

You actually finished recording a day early.
That's how good the musicians are – we finished early. I'm not one to sit there and be laboring over a cue. It's more of a feeling – if it's right, it's right, and we'll move on. I know we were losing a day of work, but I think it's good to show the studio that we can get work done early and efficiently. Part of the reason big studios leave [Los Angeles] is that it's so expensive, so it's important to take a more responsible approach to the process so the studios see that you can do work in Los Angeles without it being unreasonably expensive. And the musicians were great about it. I told them, "It's your own fault for being so good!"

You have another remake project lined up after this – "Star Trek."
We're going to start working on that around October. I'm doing "Star Trek" because J.J. Abrams is directing it and I would follow him everywhere. He's one of my favorite filmmakers. It's relationships that guide a lot of these things. These are guys I don't have to question whether it's going to be good or if their intentions are proper – it's always gonna be great.

For updates on Michael Giacchino's latest projects, visit his website: www.michaelgiacchino.com.

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