Blog :: Music Industry
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TONY DEKKER TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE WRITERS, HIS LACK OF FEARS AND HOW HE WRITES WITH INTENTION
Releasing the acclaimed national treasure “LOST CHANNELS” in 2009, Toronto band Great Lake Swimmers have sky rocketed in success not just Canadian wide, but across North America & Europe. Tony Dekker’s compelling voice and well-though lyrics have put the likes of Lance Armstrong, Feist, Robert Plant and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (to name a few) on their side.
I was able to catch up with
TONY DEKKER from the GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS in time for their 2 performances at the West End Cultural Center in Winnipeg for Jazz Fest June 29th & 30th.
ITM: Your songs are written with such a vulnerable realness & spiritual sensitivity - How do you feel that your upbringing played a role in your ability to write accessible songs that listeners can relate to?
TD: Growing up in a very rural environment put me in touch with the natural world in a really special way. I think growing up in a small isolated farming community put more emphasis on the rhythms of the natural world. You have to be really in tune with that in order to farm and in order to be a part of a community like that. I think some of that transferred to me. I wasn’t really cut out for running a farm or anything like that - but when it comes down to writing I think maybe that what’s brings up the sort of sensitivity in that way.
ITM: As a songwriter, I know it’s easy to fall into the pattern of the “obvious rhyme.” You seem to avoid this pattern. Is this a conscious thing?
TD: Well yeah, I think I’m most definitely conscious of that and I think I look at the songs as having a poetic aspect - I think you can go the opposite way too and kind of be weighed down by the language. It can get to the point where it’s too literary, or you can stumble over the words if you put too much emphasis on that. For me, I try to find a balance between using more everyday, simple terms, but also trying to get across a more complex point. I think sometimes I talk about it as trying to appeal to the head AND the heart.
ITM: Did you ever imagine that music would take you as far as it has? How has that changed your life?
TD: The essence of it has remained the same. Trying to write good songs. I think that it’s changed my life in that I wouldn’t have been able to travel the world the way I have. I never would have had those kinds of opportunities without doing music. I like to think the basics are the same and that is - that I would be writing songs regardless of whether they allowed me to do these other things or not. But - that being said, I didn’t ever think that my first record - for example - would reach anyone other than my small group of friends and my family.
ITM: How do you manage to stay grounded?
TD: Well, I think it’s important to stay humble. I try to keep in touch with family. I think you need to view it in the way that it’s a real gift to be able to do this.
ITM: What’s your greatest fear?
TD: (laughs) I want to say something like snakes or something. (laughs) I’m not sure! I want to say something like spiders…..or heights…or airplanes or something. (laughs) I don’t know! I’m not scared of much!
ITM: Who are your favorite songwriters?
TD: Well the ultimate for me would be Leonard Cohen - I see him as the great priest of songwriting. I could go on for a long time about favorite songwriters. Townes Van Zandt would be another - I find him hugely inspiring, Hank Williams - I especially like his songwriting. Woody Guthrie - you can trace him WAY back, but definitely at the top of my list though is Leonard Cohen.
ITM: What is your most prized possession?
TD: Collectively, I’d say my vinyl records. That’s the one thing that’s probably not replaceable that I have. It’s the material thing I enjoy the most. Not that I’m super attached to it, but I’d definitely be heartbroken if something happened to it.
ITM: Name your top 5 records.
TD: That’s a tough one! (laughs) I can do my top 5 records of the moment - but of ALL time - Too hard!
Townes Van Zandt - Delta Momma Blues
Travelling Wilburys - 3 disk box set collection
Mississippi John Hurt - The Best of Mississippi John Hurt
Roky Erickson - The Evil One
(laughs) I’m looking at a PILE of records right now.
Michael Hurly - High Fi Snock
By Kerri Woelke
Posted by Into the Music on June 25th 2010 in Music Industry | 0 comments | Permalink
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DEL BARBER talks about his music, growing up in a small town and being anti-Beatles
I was able to catch up with Del Barber in time for the release of his latest and highly anticipated album
“Love Songs For The Last 20”
ITM: How do you feel that your upbringing influenced the style and feel of your music?
DB: Intensely so. I think that because I grew up in St. Norbert, it was like growing up in a small town. We treated it like a small town - It had its own bank, it’s own bakery, dentist - but the city was always encroaching and we kind of felt threatened. Not so much us, b/c we were english - but a long time ago it was a french town, and they felt really threatened. So, the separation between city and rural life was tough to figure out. I find I’m always writing about THAT. In the back of my mind, I always wonder why it seems that rural people and city people don’t see eye to eye, or they have a different world view or something. That fence - I feel like I’ve been walking on it since I was a kid. Always working in the country and always going out in the city, so being two faced almost. It also forced me to be intentional about who I was; Where I chose to spend time and with who. I had country friends and city friends.
I had a great record collection too. I was into music all the time. So that was also a major part of it.ITM: What type of music did your parents listen to?
DB: They have a great collection of old alternative country stuff - B margin country guys. I’ve been really into that, and I have that collection now, so it’s pretty cool. They listened to The Stones and the big stuff for a while. Never the Beatles though. We never had a single Beatles record. I grew up hating the Beatles. Like, it wasn’t cool to like the Beatles in my house, (laughs) so I never got behind them. It’s interesting, b/c a lot of your friends go through a Beatles phase, but I never had that.
ITM: So – you’re anti – Beatles? Do you want me to quote you on that?
DB: Sure, you can do that. (laughs) I’m kind of anti-Beatles. I’m sure I could spend some time with them, and find some genius, but there’s just so much else.
ITM: What started your initial interest in music?
DB: I think my dad playing guitar. Whenever we would have family gatherings on my dad’s side, they would all sing. There was either physical violence between brothers and sisters, or they were singing. So to me, it was always associated with - ok, we’re getting along again, we’re all singing. It was really strange. Music always meant that things were going well. A kind of great association of happiness.
ITM: Being a modest guy, how does it feel to be getting the recognition and respect you’ve been recently getting?
DB: I dunno, I feel like it’s all Bull-Shit luck. So, I don’t think about it. Or when I do think about it, I get really anxious, b/c theres ATLEAST 10 other singer/songwriters/groups in town that I’m like - I didn’t even apply for Folk fest, I didn’t think I had a chance! It’s funny b/c you spend so much time laboring on this song, your craft, trying to tell your stories, or develop this aesthetic that sounds like where you’re from. You create all these great illusions of grandeur of what music can be. But in the end, I’m doubting. Somehow I always think the worst of all the good things. That sucks, it’s not helpful. So, I guess my answer would be, it’s not modesty. - its self-doubt. But I never doubt when I actually do it. I feel really confident on stage. I’m not shy or reserved on stage. I believe in the songs and feel completely sure of myself, but it’s when you have to process it and compare yourself or you get a lot of press and don’t sell tickets. I dunno. It becomes this big cesspool. My answer is complicated. Sorry. (laughs)
ITM: What is your most treasured posession?
DB: The obvious answer is my guitar – my Gibson J-45, and my dad just gave me a Guild, but sometimes those feel like tools and are associated with a lot of work - work that I LOVE - but sometimes the romance dies with instruments. So – if I didn’t say my guitars, I’d say my canoe. Which was my Grandpa’s and now it’s mine.
ITM: Top 5 Records of all time?
DB: Born In The USA – Bruce Springsteen – I dunno, I just can’t stop!
Sweet Heart of the Rodeo – Byrds
Infamous Angel – Iris Dement
The Evening Call – Greg Brown
Blood On The Tracks – Bob Dylan
I should have added Neil Young in there, but I didn’t. Oh well. (laughs)ITM: Do you try to live by a certain motto, as an artist? How do you keep yourself grounded?
DB: I think the reoccuring theme is - “Don’t Take yourself too seriously” and “Work Hard”.
ITM: Who are your favorite writers?
DB: Townes Van Zandt , Blaze Foley, John Prine, Greg Brown, Springsteen, and Iris Dement. I could go on, but I won’t. There is a lot more female influence in me, but they just…(laughs) aren’t in my top five! (laughs)
Del Barber performs a FREE In-Store teaser to his CD Release, HERE, at INTO THE MUSIC on Wednesday, June 16th at 4:30pm
His Official CD Release is Friday, June 18th at 8pm at The West End Cultural Center.Posted by Into the Music on June 11th 2010 in Music Industry | 0 comments | Permalink
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KATHRYN CALDER from THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS talks about solo albums, life and kleenex boxes
**I caught up with Kathryn Calder from The New Pornographers to talk with her about her upcoming solo album releasing this summer, The New Pornographers newest album Together, life, and unusual percussion, in time for their show next Thursday, June 10th at The Garrick. Make sure to check them out!**
Kathryn Calder on solo albums, The New Pornographers, life and Kleenex boxes….
ITM: I hear you’re putting out your first solo album, Are You My Mother, this summer. How does this feel?
KC: It feels nice! It feels so great to feel creatively in control of something, you know? It’s sort of one of those projects that you start, and then it’s really nice to have it finished. I like it and it’s been 2 years since I finished it, so that’s always a good sign.ITM: Has it been a long time coming?
KC: Yeah, well, I recorded it basically in 2008 and so it’s been done since December 2008. 2009 was a really terrible year for me so I put pretty much everything on hold. My mom was really sick and she passed away and it was really awful. So I finally - once I had gotten through all of that, come 2010 - I started looking around for a label and I figured it was probably time to get this record out there, that I was working on, and that’s pretty much the story behind that.ITM: Can you tell me how your solo music is different than the music you play with The New Pornographers or Immaculate Machine?
KC: Well, it’s just more me! (laughs) I’m not sure how it’s different. Both of those bands are pretty upbeat rock bands and my tendencies are a little bit less upbeat rock. I tend to write slower songs although I do have songs on my upcoming record that aren’t slow. But that’s what I tend to lean towards. (laughs) Yeah, I dunno! I’m not sure!
ITM: Your experience recording Are You My Mother; it sounds as though you were able to create different soundscapes using Kleenex boxes and old trumpets. Did this help with the expression or vulnerability of the record?
KC: Yeah, I hope so! How the record was really made came from a lot of just winging it, you know? There would be a lot of times it would be about one in the morning and I’d be downstairs and we’d try to think of something we could do that wasn’t that….(laughs) loud? You know, practical concerns that come up when you play in a house that’s full of people who are living there. (laughs) So, one o’clock in the morning and you’re like, “Ok, what are we going to do NOW? There’s nothing that’s open”. Of course there are no stores, so we really just needed to look around the house to see what we could use to come up with sounds, so it was DONE. You know, you get on a roll sometimes and you’re not ready to call it quits just because it’s late. So that’s how a lot of it came about; was just these practical logistical issues of us just needing something. I really enjoy doing that kind of thing; using a Kleenex box or turning a filing cabinet into a bass drum. (laughs) I just really like doing that kind of thing ‘cause I think it’s funny. Sounds are just sounds. (laughs) I really just like finding things that are percussive; that maybe aren’t the standard.
ITM: On another note, how has the response been to The New Pornographers newest album, Together?
KC: Oh! I think it’s been really good! From what I’ve heard, seeing the occasional thread, where it seems that people really like it. So, that’s great! It’s always nice; you put so much effort into these records that you make and even though Carl was really the one behind the record, we all contributed and put our hearts into it. It’s nice to get positive feedback. It could have just as easily not been, for whatever reason.ITM: It seems as though you’re touring a lot. Looking at your tour dates I can see that you’re touring fairly non-stop from June ‘til September. How do you find being on the road for that long?
KC: You know, we’ve had some time off over the past year, working on the record, and had a lot of down time. So I think everyone is happy enough to be going on tour again. It’s a different story if it’s 3-4 years down the road and you’re still touring constantly; you haven’t been home for a while and your whole perspective on life is completely uprooted. At this point, we really started getting ready for tour and leaving home around the 29th of April, so it’s been about a month. I think we’re ok for another few months……until we all start having nervous breakdowns. (laughs) I’m just kidding!ITM: I also hear that you are already working on a follow-up to Are You My Mother. Is there a theme surrounding this follow-up record?
KC: Hmm…..I’m not sure. I have a hard time narrowing things down into one theme. Usually when I write songs, even the songs themselves aren’t necessarily always about one thing. When I write songs they seem to be about multiple themes, kind of surrounding each other. That seems to be the theme with this record. It probably reflects, I would think, whether I want it to or not, whatever has happened to me in the past year and a half. I’m sure there is a lot of that on the record that comes out without even trying. (laughs) So, as for a theme; lots of…..life. Ha-ha!ITM: Do you feel that you understand who you are as a musician or do you feel that it’s always changing?
KC: I think I’m getting a better grasp on it, definitely. Every time you make a record or you are on someone else’s record or you do anything that’s creative, you tend to learn a little bit more about what you like. It often comes down to what your taste is because everyone has a different style that is inherently theirs and different tastes that they will gravitate towards and it’s almost impossible to differ from that because it goes against what you like. So every record I do, yeah, I think I find out more about what I like, what I don’t like, what I’m going for. Of course your tastes change as you’re exposed to new things. As they do, then things change.ITM: What is your favorite New Pornographers album and why?
KC: Hmm…..am I ALLOWED to say that?! (laughs) I love them ALL for various reasons. I’m not sure….each one of them has a real soft spot for me. Mass Romantic, it being the first New Pornographers record, I remember hearing it about 9 years ago. I heard it for the first time and I remember being like, “WOW! This is an amazing record!” I had NO idea it was going to be so good! Same with Electric Version. Twin Cinema was the first record that I was on so that has a special spot in my heart because of the experience. And then Challengers, I felt a part of it a little bit more. Twin Cinema, I was more of a background singer and Challengers I had a song I was singing vocal lead on. The New record, I was around for quite a bit of it and I got to do things other than playing just keyboards and piano. I got to play other things. Like playing wine glasses on a song. (laughs) I definitely felt like I had a lot more creative confidence to say, “Hey, I think it’d be super cool if we did THIS”, instead of being like, “Hey, I’m the new girl. I’ll just hang out and do what I’m told!” So, in a long, drawn out story, I don’t really know what my favorite record is! I have a soft spot for Challengers because I think it’s a really excellent record. It’s full of some of the slower songs that I really love and Carl (Newman) writes really great melodies that tend to shine on some of the slower songs.ITM: You started your career really early in life, earlier than most get the opportunity. What advice would you give someone who decides to step into music so young?
KC: I guess I would say; if you’re young and starting out, just worry about what YOU want to do. Make the music that you want to make. Find people that you like to play with and don’t worry about the rest of it. All of that will come later. If you know already what you want and what you like, even thought that will change, than maybe you won’t be so under the influence of people that are older, who are trying to tug you in different directions. I remember feeling that, at a young age, that I didn’t know what I wanted and people would come in and say, “you should do or try this”, and they were things that I kind of felt not super comfortable with because they weren’t the things I wanted; not the kind of music I wanted to play. If you already know what you like or what you want, it’s easier to stick to your guns. And that’s important.
On Music, books and possessions
ITM: Do you have any books you’re reading right now?
KC: I just finished reading a book called The Enchantress Of Florence (Salman Rushdie). It’s kind of a fairy tale fable style. He seems to write in that way. It’s really hard to find books you really like. I’m always like, “Where am I going to find another one!”ITM: Who are your favorite songwriters?
KC: Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, James Mercer from the Shins, St Vincent, Serge Gainsbourg, even though…..even though WHAT?! Even though nothing. He’s great.ITM: What are three artists or albums you’re loving right now?
KC: St. Vincent – Actor; Animal Collective; Jorge Ben – Brazilian singer. Great voice. I keep coming back to Brazilian music. It’s so interesting.
ITM: What’s your most prized possession?
KC: Aside from my…..boyfriend? I know, he’s not really a possession! Um…my brain? Wear a helmet. Don’t drink and drive. I dunno! I don’t know if I have a prized ‘thing’. When I was in Mexico I bought this really beautiful blanket with multi-colored, embroidered animals on it. I bought it and I love it. But the problem is that I love it SO much that I don’t know what to do with it. Currently, it’s folded up in a Tupperware container in my closet. It’s sad. It’s safe there. It’s a funny thing of human nature; you love something so much that you don’t want to wreck it. So, you just hide it! Why wouldn’t I just USE it! Use it and love it!ITM: When’s the last time you felt the happiest?
KC: I usually feel pretty happy when I’m on stage. The most recent one was at Sasquatch Music Festival. And I’m always happy when I’m eating ice cream. Although temporarily. Unless you eat too much then you just feel awful. (laughs)ITM: Who is your hero?
KC: Musically, David Bowie. I think he re-invented himself a lot and is kind of a genius.
Personally, my Mother. She was a really tough lady; super kind and really wonderful. When she was going through her illness, which is really one of the worst illnesses you can inflict on anybody - Have you heard of Lou Gehrig’s disease? She died of that - it was really heartbreaking because she was such a great person. No one deserves to die in that sort of a way but she handled it with a grace. That’d be a hero to me.ITM: If you could have any job other than performing, what would it be?
KC: THAT…..I would LOVE to know! (laughs) If I knew the answer to that question! You never know with this business, how things are going to go! In a lot of ways, other people have a leg up on me because they know what they want to do with their lives. THIS is what I want to do with my life. But, I don’t have control over whether I get to do this for a living or not. It’s out of my hands. All I can do is make records and hope for the best. If it doesn’t work, I have NO idea!ITM: What are the top 5 albums you’d choose if you could only listen to those 5 for the rest of your life?
KC: OH, MAN! Time to get out the iTunes folder! (laughs) I would pick: The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow; Abba - Greatest Hits (laughs). This is one of those things you have to be really…..this is my WHOLE LIFE we’re talking! (laughs) Arcade Fire – Funeral; The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds; David Bowie – Hunky Dory.
Posted by Into the Music on June 4th 2010 in Music Industry | 0 comments | Permalink
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Donate money to help w/ medical expenses for Nerves/Plimsouls frontman Peter Case!
On January 15, 2009, three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter-guitarist Peter Case underwent emergency open-heart surgery. The surgery was successful and he is now on a long program of recovery. Peter is not ill and is expected to make a full recovery … but the medical bills associated with this necessary surgery and recovery are and will continue to be very high. And, like all too many talented working artists, Peter does not have medical insurance.Hidden Love Medical Relief is an effort by Peter’s friends, fans and fellow artists to help alleviate the burden of these mounting medical bills so that Peter can recover, get back and focus on what he does best – writing and performing his songs.
I am a big fan of the Nerves and Plimsouls, and I donated money to this myself. You can contribute via: http://www.hiddenlovemedicalrelief.com
Posted by Into the Music on October 26th 2009 in Music Industry | 1 comments | Permalink
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The King of Pop, Sky “Sunlight” Saxon of The Seeds, has died at age 63.
It is a sad day here at Into the Music.
The King of Pop, Sky “Sunlight” Saxon of The Seeds, has died at age 63.
Quintessential garage-psych band The Seeds were formed in 1965, and their first two albums, The Seeds and A Web of Sound (both 1966) are considered the classics (we have LP reissues of the first two Seeds albums in the store right now), although I personally like Future (1967), which featured songs that The Seeds performed in the obligatory AIP Richard Rush film Psych-Out (the Strawberry Alarm Clock also appear). See a clip of the Seeds in the film HERE:
In the 70s, Saxon joined a religious sect and started communicating with extraterrestrials. But he performed consistently, fronting different bands throughout the 70s and 80s. I remember seeing him and his rotating backup band (billed as The Seeds but none of them were original members) in Austin, TX a few years ago. Although he looked craggy and ancient, he had more game than any of the 20-something guys in the bar, and every woman there wanted a piece of him - several of whom joined him on stage for a public makeout session! I remember being drunk and tying my jacket around my neck like a cape to imitate Sky Saxon’s inimitable performance on the TV sitcom “The Mothers in Law” (see them performing their hit “Pushin’ Too Hard” on the show HERE:
They sang Pushin’ Too Hard at the beginning of their set and again at the end (which seems to be common practice for bands of a certain age), and although it was a bit of a shamble, it was great to see Sky Saxon still jumping around like a kid. But no more…he died in an Austin hospital yesterday with some kind of internal infection. He was just too cool to live.Michael Jackson supposedly died yesterday too, although I haven’t been able to find any information about it in the papers or online.
Posted by Kier-la Janisse on June 26th 2009 in Music Industry | 0 comments | Permalink
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AIN’T IT HARD: THE HEAVY METAL KIDS’ GARY HOLTON
I first heard of Gary Holton when I was asked to write a review of Stephen Frears’ early film BLOODY KIDS (1979) for my friend Zack’s epic tome about the history of punk on film (forthcoming from Fantagraphics!). I had been wanting to see the film ever since seeing a poster for it on another friend’s bathroom wall – it was impossible to find, having been made for broadcast on the BBC and never really released commercially. It played at festivals briefly a few years after production, but beyond that it disappeared for a couple decades (thankfully it’s now available on PAL DVD).
It was one of these great, snarling British juvenile delinquent films, like Alan Clarke’s controversial SCUM (1977/79), and predates Penelope Spheeris’ THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (1985), which it’s been compared to. Two kids get up to no good, one ends up stabbed and in hospital while the other flees the cops and is taken under the wing of an older no-gooder, played by the aforementioned Gary Holton. When I first saw the film I was struck by how Holton looked like a cross between Johnny Thunders and Ron Wood, and by the punk swagger that I suspected had to be real. I looked him up and found out about The Heavy Metal Kids (later shortened to just The Kids) – a mid-70s proto-punk/glam band fronted by Holton. The Heavy Metal Kids are a surprisingly early version of the hair bands that would come to prominence in the 80s – they had the sonic power of The Sweet, but without the bubblegum affiliations and teen magazine cover spots.
Although they frequently played with UK punks The Adverts, Holton’s version of punk was more like the NYC bohemian aesthetic of Patti Smith or The Dolls; the British punk aesthetic was its own, and Holton’s character even takes a shot at the UK punks in THE BLOODY KIDS, calling them “Christmas Tree” punks for their multi-coloured hair and deliberately provocative fashion. It’s been said that John Lydon would appear at Heavy Metal Kids shows as a loud and persistent heckler, but that he was secretly a fan of the band.
Holton was also no stranger to excess – he won a $500 bet by bedding 26 women in as many days, and as with many 70s rockers, he was a heavy drinker and indiscriminate with drugs, resulting in many near-fatal overdoses (in 1977, his 19-year old girlfriend wasn’t so lucky, choking to death on her own vomit in his arms). He was kicked out of The Kids after one too many drug scandals, a hilarious account of which appears on the unofficial Gary Holton website: “The band broke into Gary’s hotel room and found him naked and comatose in bed with a bottle of brandy in his hand. Keith Boyce recalled: “We covered his dick with some Uriah Heep stickers, wound toilet paper around his head and put some ladies’ silver stiletto’s on him. Then we carried him on the mattress down in the lift and left him in the lobby on a big round table.” Discovered by hotel chambermaids the following morning, Holton was arrested. The Kids didn’t actually tell him he was no longer their singer, but Gary got took the hint.”
Post-Kids, Holton’s career took some strange turns: when Bon Scott died he turned down an offer to become the new frontman for AC/DC, in favour of recording a cover of Kenny Rogers’ “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” with Casino Steele of the Hollywood Brats, he wrote the theme song to the 80s British kids show “Murphy’s Mob”, and is probably most well known for appearing on the British comedy show “Auf Wiedersehn, Pet” (Holton had cast by the show’s co-creator Franc Roddam, who also directed QUADROPHENIA, in which Holton also had a small part). It was while filming “Auf Wiedersehn, Pet” that Holton finally OD’d for good, falling asleep at a friend’s house and never waking up. He was found by his girlfriend at the time, and the cause of death was listed as a lethal combination of alcohol, morphine, valium and cannabis.
The Heavy Metal Kids reformed in recent years (see www.heavymetalkids.com), and Gary Holton is still a much-beloved shambolic mess among music and pop culture fans the world over. Now that the HEAVY METAL KIDS’ classic albums have been re-issued (only on CD, but used copies on vinyl come in now and again), I recommend checking them out. They should have had a much longer life the first time around.
Drawing of Gary Holton and Casino Steele by the Stones’ Ron Wood:
Posted by Kier-la Janisse on March 20th 2009 in Music Industry | 0 comments | Permalink
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DANNY KIRWAN: DRUNK MUPPET
When people talk about Fleetwood Mac, they’re either of the Peter Green camp or the Buckingham-Nicks camp; a clearly demarcated line exists them. But as methodical, rocking blues guitar gave way to elaborate harmonies and vocal stylings there existed a limbo in between, where some of the lesser-known band members got to shine a bit – although the period from 1970-1975 never seems to get much ink. But like a good medievalist, I always find my fascination in the murky middle between the classical era and the Renaissance.
With a constant rotating line of guitarists (the “curse” of Peter Green, some held) it’s easy for the Mac’s axe-players to get lost in the historical shuffle. Still, I’m surprised that teen prodigy Danny Kirwan, one of three guitarists in the classic lineup (the others being Peter Green and future “Child of God” Jeremy Spencer) gets virtually no props from fans or critics.
Kirwan was easily as good a guitar player as Green, and shared songwriting duties with him – on the UK version of Then Play On (1968), their song credits are almost equal in number. Unfortunately two of Danny’s songs were dropped for the US pressing, to accommodate the longer version of the Green-penned hit Oh Well.
Check out the video for Oh Well from the 1969 BBC Sessions below. Kirwan and Green are duelling guitars for the most part, but the solo is Danny’s and his hair is shaking like a muppet on fire. When I saw this video it was love at first sight.
And here’s the Mac doing Like it This Way, with Danny on lead vocal and guitar.
When Green split the band in 1970 after a prolonged period of alienation (likely initiated by an unintentional acid trip when someone spiked his drink at a concert in Munich), Kirwan carried much of the songwriting for the first post-Green album Kiln House (1970), and two successors Future Games (1971) and Bare Trees (1972). His musical interests were more varied than Green’s, and his love of California pop, rag melodies and swirling arrangements facilitated an important step toward what Fleetwood Mac would become by the mid-1970s. Many of the Mac songs chosen to be singles were Kirwan compositions. Unfortunately few of these made waves on the charts, including Kiln House’s moody psych-piece Dragonfly - which even Peter Green thought should have been a hit. In retrospect I can’t imagine how anyone thought this would have been a hit – it’s a like a druggy freakout with no hooks whatsoever. Still, a classic Mac song.
The downside to Kirwan’s immense talent was that he was a nervous, shifty person, and had a serious drink problem, even at his young age. When Bob Welch joined the band to replace Jeremy Spencer, the two of them – although by all accounts they respected eachother musically – went head to head on many occasions. As Danny’s drink problem progressed, his ‘eccentricity’ turned to flat-out neurosis and self-destructive behaviour, and an argument with Bob Welch before a gig ended up with a busted guitar and Danny sitting out the set. Mick Fleetwood was given the miserable task of having to fire Kirwan for unprofessional behaviour. Kirwan, who apparently had no idea he had been so seriously alienating himself from the band, was reportedly shocked at the proclamation.
Assisted by ex-Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis, Danny embarked a triptych of solo albums, Second Chapter (1975), Midnight in San Juan (1976) and Hello There Big Boy! (1979), but none were commercially successful. My favourite is the first of these, reissued recently by Repertoire in a limited edition of 2500 copies. Although I’ve read disparaging remarks about this album (most notably on the official Fleetwood Mac website, where it is called “none too impressive”), I call bullshit on that. The album is easily as solid as any other post-Fleetwood solo efforts with the exception of perhaps Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna (1981). Bob Welch had some success with French Kiss in 1977, but for my money Second Chapter is a better album, if slightly inconsistent, with influences ranging from Nilsson and Paul Williams to calypso, celtic and novelty songs. The standout track is easily Ram Jam City - a densely layered barn-burner (and also the name of a now out-of-print CD put out in 2000 that features demos for Kirwan’s solo work )
Here’s an instrumental version of Ram Jam City from these sessions:
It’s actually striking how much Kirwin and later Mac member Lindsay Buckingham sound alike, and somehow this comes through on Second Chapter more clearly than on earlier Fleetwood Mac songs where Danny had vocal duties. Further proof that once out from under the shadow of Peter Green, Kirwan was instrumental in re-shaping the sound of the band. This CD has not left my walkman since I bought it – I highly recommend buying it HERE.
Here’s an abstract fan-video for Windy Autumn Day (from Midnight in San Juan):
Sadly, Danny’s drinking problem never let up, and by the time he was working on Hello There Big Boy!, he was a wreck. Short-term Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Weston (who had been thrown out of the band for having an affair with Mick Fleetwood’s wife) was called in to rescue the guitar-playing, although Danny followed through on vocals. But the one-time prodigy found himself too shaky to play.
Danny Kirwan has been homeless since the early 80s, living in and out of men’s shelters in London. Whenever tracked down by the media on occasion, he has shown little interest in talking about his past, and has not been involved with music since the late 70s. One tabloid that followed him around for a day issued a story with the headline: ‘21 PINTS A DAY AND I’M ALL RIGHT, MAC`. His family has had to rally around to make sure he gets the royalties due him - which exist almost exclusively to support his drink habit.
Danny’s fate as one in a long line of rock casualties is all the more reason to give him the credit he deserves for his role in the band. In many Fleetwood Mac biographies Kirwan is glossed over as though he was a session musician for hire – but the available video footage shows otherwise. It’s obvious from watching archival footage that Kirwan was not only a dynamic member of the band, but a pivotal creative partner to Peter Green, and the artistic glue of the band for the two years following Green’s departure.
And he’s also hands-down the best-looking.
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A video collage on Youtube made by a fan with some great pictures of Danny:
Posted by Kier-la Janisse on January 30th 2009 in Music Industry, Record reviews | 3 comments | Permalink
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For The Love Of God Turn Down The Drums , I’m Thinking Here!
When Greg asked me to write this week’s “blog” I figured I had a topic, halfway into it I discovered I’m not a writer. Thank God this isn’t how I earn a living. Bear with me, over the last few years I’ve been enjoying new music less & less, not the quality of performances, it’s the sound , I prefer the way drums sound on older stuff, how they sound like drums & have tone etc. Current drums sounds sound like a big solid thing being hit by big solid things & they are far too prominent in the mix. Stuff from the mid 60s into the mid 70s,sit nicely in the “mix”, just check out any Led Zeppelin or better still check out psychedelic period Beatles, to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Maybe my next entry will be legendary, but as they say
“You have to learn to walk before you can fly”. One more thing, Chelsea, I’ll be by between 8:45 and
9:15 for my bagel & coffee, see you then.
Posted by Garry Watson on September 25th 2008 in Music Industry | 1 comments | Permalink
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In the Valley of the Shadow of Box Sets
Recently, I acquired what, to my ears and eyes, is a very beautiful thing—the Australian Split Enz box set, Enz to Enz. Including remastered versions of all nine studio albums, plus two compilations, The Beginning of the Enz and The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes, the set is gorgeously packaged and all I could really hope for in the world of Split Enz.
Now, before you stop reading because you could care less about Split Enz, let me say now that the point of this blog is not to celebrate or defend Split Enz. Oh, I would be more than happy to do so, but perhaps in a later posting. What the point of this actually is, is the mysterious fate of box sets.
When I was proudly unveiling the set to the rest of the Into the Music staff, our intrepid owner Greg made the point that box sets are the place where good CDs go to die. OK, I don’t remember his exact words, but the point is the same. This got me to thinking – is he right? Will Enz to Enz become just another pretty trinket on my already overstuffed shelves of pretty trinkets? Something to gather dust and be forgotten, just like my juicer and inspirational meditation guides?
I was determined this would not be the case. Over the course of the weekend after I purchased the set, my boyfriend and I worked our way through most of it. I felt vindicated. I would not fall prey to apathy and be too lazy to open the set when I wanted to hear Mental Notes! The box would not merely become a part of the landscape of our living room, seen but not truly appreciated!
That was about a month ago. This afternoon, I took the set down from the top of the TV stand, wiped the dust from its formerly pristine, shining cover and realized we didn’t make it through the whole set. There are still three discs to listen to, one of which I’ve never even heard before. Having it in my hands made me excited again, this thing of beauty that promises so many musical delights. But then I think about my Velvet Underground set and how I walk by it multiple times every single day, but when was the last time I actually listened to White Light/White Heat? Or even registered the set’s presence in my collection? Or my Cheap Trick set? Will my recently acquired Nick Drake Fruit Tree box suffer the same sad fate?! Will I never listen to Bryter Later again?!
What mysterious alchemic reaction takes place when CDs are bundled together in a lovely package that renders them seemingly invisible? And how can I break the cycle of the box set graveyard?
Posted by Barb Stewart on September 21st 2008 in Music Industry | 3 comments | Permalink
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Welcome to the site
In recent years the record industry has been turned on its collective ear by the rise (and rise) of peer-to-peer file sharing. In the wake of mp3s, massive downloads and iPods has come a shift in how folks acquire their music. In place of picking up a CD at your local music store, people now download from a peer-to-peer server (legally or illegally) or (hopefully) buy from the bands themselves. Or perhaps you rip music from your own CDs or pick up one of those fancy new USB turntables and digitize your Vinyl. The net effect of all this is that people seem to be turning away from buying new or used CDs from stores. We’ve already seen the impact as a few major retailers have closed their doors, not only A&B here in Winnipeg but also the Sam The Record Man chain in Canada and Tower Records in the U.S.
If this seems like the death knell for CD and Record stores in general, think again. While the CD format has taken a hit as of late, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. This reminds me of what happened to the LP market in the early ‘90s. For many, the writing was on the wall for LPs as it now appears to be for CDs. There was a widely held perception that LPs had actually disappeared, there were no new releases and some thought you’d never be able to purchase a turntable or stylus again. For the Vinyl faithful, LPs have never gone away and now we are witnessing a modest but solid revival of the 12” and 7” Vinyl formats. It’s far too early to write off CDs. It continues to be the most widely held format among music collectors. And the operative word here is Collector. For myself, the idea of a file on my computer (or iPod) fails to get me excited. I still see value in music as an artifact, the tangible LP or CD (or insert your own format of choice) up on the wall. It’s about holding the item in your hand, pouring over the lyrics or sleeve notes, lending it to a friend. And I’ll take the sound quality of either CDs or LPs to a compressed MP3 any day.
The future of music retail may not rest with the major retailers. Corporate stores are still based on profits and paying returns to their investors. It could be that once those profits hit a certain threshold we may see even more of these stores close. Independent retailers such as Into The Music hold a different place in the hierarchy. We are more connected to the independent music buyer and depend less on the sort of blockbuster marketplace that needs the biggest sellers to sell a lot of units. The excitement around here is when the new Nick Cave comes out or a new collection of rare records hits the shelves (every Monday in our LP “New This Week” section, in fact).
So in launching our website, our main goal is to reach out locally, to connect with Winnipegers to let them know about the unique service we provide, the kind of stock we put out on a regular basis, the staff who work here and links to all things related to Record and CD collecting in the city. Check the links section for info on all sorts of local resources, from venue websites and what’s going on in town to where to purchase tickets to shows and where to pickup a good turntable. And don’t forget to check the staff page for all-time Top 20 lists and current faves.
In future posts, look forward to a wide ranging free for all from myself and all the staff at ITM. We’ll rant about our favorite new releases and all-time favorites. There will be concert reviews, industry slagging, record industry opinion pieces and articles taken from outer web sources to see what kind of feedback and comments we can get from you. Whatever it is, we hope you’ll join in and let us know what you think.
Posted by Greg Tonn on September 8th 2008 in ITM News, Music Industry | 3 comments | Permalink
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