INTERVIEW WITH BRAZILIAN ONLINE JOURNAL ROCKPRESS.COMIf you'd like to read this interview in Portuguese, follow this link:
http://www.rockpress.com.br/modules.php?name=News&file=a
rticle&sid=1387Q: Somebody once said you wrote better pop songs about girls than anybody of your generation, and now you are creating beautiful songs about men and women's relationships. Could you comment that?
A: First of all, thanks for listening, and for using the word "beautiful" to describe what I do.. I've been making records forever now, it's true.. When I did the first one I was into tight, concise song structures, as a reflection of my love for '60s R&B and Rock and Roll. Each time I write a batch of songs for a record I deal with whatever I'm hearing in my head and whatever I've been feeling, and of course those things change over time...
Q: Your first albums are full of classics, true pop gems. How was your composition method for songs like "Something's Gonna Happen", "There She Goes Again" and -- my favorite one -- "Whenever You're on My Mind"?
A: Again, I grew up loving '50s and '60s Rock and R&B, and my songwriting sense is rooted in that stuff. When I wrote my early songs I was buzzing with enthusiasm about life and was eager to express myself and try to make my presence felt in the world. I used what I picked up listening to people like Leiber and Stoller, Buddy Holly, et al., to make my songs clear and accessible.. I still try and do that, but again, my style has evolved over the years..
Q: By the way, what the word "pop" means to you?
A: To me "pop" is short for "popular", and it's music with hooks, recurring musical and lyrical statements designed to stick in a person's mind..
Q: Were the Beatles your first and main influence? Tell me a little about your all-time favorite artists and albums.
A: I was born in 1953 and my Dad and cousins were Rock and Roll fans. The radio and records were on all the time and I loved the music right from the start. My cousin Chuck was like an older brother to me; he and I started fooling around with guitars in the summer of '63, a few months before The Beatles hit in the US. We played stuff like "Wild Weekend", "Bulldog" by The Fireballs, Duane Eddy stuff, etc.. I was ready for The Beatles when they came along though, and am still a fan..
Q: You were Buddy Holly in the movie "La Bamba" and a school bandleader in "Peggy Sue Got Married". Also, you started your career in the Broadway musical "Beatlemania", as a John Lennon understudy. How was that acting experience?
A: Being in "Beatlemania" was a turning point in my life 'cause it brought me to New York for the first time. I got tired of the regimentation of the show really quickly. There wasn't really any acting involved in "Beatlemania", just singing and playing and bouncing around, but it was supposed to be exactly the same every show.. Yecch... I actually did some acting in "La Bamba" and it was fun and exciting. Appearing in films wasn't something I'd planned on or pursued, they were just nice opportunities that came my way because of the attention our records were getting...
Q:You wrote a book called "Hollywood Rock", a guide about rock'n'roll in the movies. When did you have this idea? Are you a big movie fan?
A: I did that during a sort of downtime, career-wise. A friend who's a book packager asked me to work on it with him.. Over the years I've been asked to write things occasionally, like an obituary for James Jamerson in Rolling Stone, and an Encyclopedia Britannia piece about Buddy Holly. I have a lot of knowledge and understanding about the history of Rock and Roll. And yes, I am a movie fan; I had more time to watch before 1997 when my daughter was born.. I think my favorite movies of all time are the 2 hour version of "Greed" with Erich Von Stroheim, and another silent film, "The Wind" with Lillian Gish. Those are a couple of mind-blowers..
Q: Talking about the '80s, some people think it won't end. Here in Brazil there are lots of parties and concerts that the only music is things like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode... What can you say about that decade?
A: My favorite period of '80s music is right at the beginning of the decade, with records like "London Calling", The Specials' 1st album, The B-52s first two records, et al. That stuff was forward-looking and smart and also paid homage to what had gone before, and I decided to try that myself.. I also loved a lot of R&B and dance music from that period, like D Train, Solar Records stuff, etc.. And Prince.. Once we got going in the New York clubs, starting in 1981, we were a huge success, and I was always interested in what the club DJs were playing. But mostly I got kind of turned off as the decade wore on, after Linn drum machines came along. I thought those things sounded like a sack of shit, and they put all the great studio drummers out of work. I still don't like those mechanical-sounding '80s grooves, but there are some '80s records that I like.. U2 was great then, and still. I was friendly with those guys back in the very early days.
A: Back on the beginning of the '80s, some critics used to classify you as an American Elvis Costello. What you used to think about that? And what's your opinion nowadays?
Q: I like him, but I think we have dissimilar agendas. We don't look alike or sound alike; we both wear glasses and are around the same age, but so what?.. Actually, I always think, when I see us compared to each other, that the person doing the comparing doesn't know my stuff or can't listen very well. Oh, and here's what I mean by "dissimilar agendas": I'm a Rock muso, a lead guitar player and percussionist, etc. What you always hear on my records is a guitar-dominated soundscape; that's a big part of my deal. Also, if I had to label my stuff I'd call it true Americana: My Dad's parents came up from the South, I grew up in the industrial Midwest (Detroit area) and have spent my adult life on the East Coast. I've spent my working life traveling on US highways and backroads, all over the country. That's a big part of the story I'm telling... Anyway, Elvis Costello is great but he hasn't influenced me, and we're coming from different places..
Q: You have influenced lots of power pop bands of the late '80s and '90s, like the Gin Blossoms and the Cavedogs... even Bette Midler recorded a song of yours, "You're My Favourite Waste of Time". How do you see that?
A: I remember reading an interview with Pete Townshend back in 1967 where he coined the term "Power Pop". He was describing "Pictures of Lily". There's a kind of sweetness and vulnerability in the song but, when you hear the record, the performance is violent, explosive, etc. Maybe that tension is what "Power Pop" is supposed to be about, I don't know... Anyway, I'm always happy to get acknowledgment from my fellow Rock artistes. With the Gin Blossoms things turned out really nicely. Jesse Valenzuela sought me out after their first record was a big success; we became friends and I ended up co-writing one of their hit singles..-
Q: One question about the music in the 21st century. What do you think about downloading songs from the internet? Do you have an iPod?
A: It makes me really sad that record stores are disappearing off the face of the earth. A good record store is like a gathering place for people and culture, etc.. I'm sorry to say, though, that I'm part of the problem: as soon as it was possible for me to sit at the computer and download a song, or order a record online, I started doing it. I also sometimes buy old records on eBay, and yes, I have an iPod. I'm selective about what I put in my iPod; right now it only has about 450 of my absolute favorite songs in it: lots of Bessie Smith, Hank Williams, old R&R.. Anyway, I've just started making a point of buying from a good record store that we have locally. I don't want to see the place go dark....
Q: Any new bands and artists you like? For you, what's the most important thing happening in the today's music scene?
A: The last new thing that I've been excited about is "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. I also loved the Gnarls Barkley record. I just checked out a couple by the Arcade Fire and was pretty enthralled by that.. I can't single out any one thing that's "most important".. For me, diversity is good. I like stuff from all eras, all genres..
Q: How was the invitation to play some gigs with DKT/MC5? And what can you say about that experience?
A: I have a lot of empathy and respect for those guys, and I saw the band back in its heyday.. There's a great clip of them on YouTube, doing "Motor City's Burning" on German TV; any Rock and Roll fan just has to bow down to that.. Wayne and I got friendly back in 1981 when we both lived in the East Village; we like each other, and there's mutual respect, etc. I got a really gigantic buzz from playing their music and felt at home doing it. It was unusual for me to get into that headspace, and be in somebody else's movie, but I loved it..
Q: You came to Brazil with DKT/MC5, playing in Sao Paulo. What are your memories about that concert and that trip?
A: We were pretty busy most of the time with promo, rehearsal, etc. So it was only on the last day that we got to walk around and see the city at eye level. I loved being there. I noticed at all the newsstands I saw in Sao Paulo, the paperbacks for sale were almost all classic literature, like Dostoevsky, Herman Hesse, etc. And right in the middle of all that was "Please Kill Me".. That must've been a big book in Brazil that summer.. The production people who took care of us were really sweet. All in all I'd call it a great experience..
Q: You released a great album in 2003, "What's in the Bag". How would you define that work?
A: Thanks for acknowledging that one.. I don't think it was released outside the US. That record and the one before it ("#447" from 1999) are my two favorite records of mine. My daughter and son were born in '97 and '99. I feel that right around that time my instincts sharpened. Texturally the records are different from my earlier ones, with lots of standup bass, vibraphone, etc. But it's still R&R, I think. I'm proud of the songs, and the musicianship, from people like Tony Scherr (Sex Mob, Norah Jones), Bill Ware (Jazz Passengers), Greg Leisz (w/ Bill Frisell, Beck, et, al.), and myself and Diego Voglino on drums..
Q: When can we expect the next album? What about new projects?
A: I wrote the theme song for a movie that's in production right now, called "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story". It's a comedy about a fictitious Rock star. It'll be great, hopefully, and should come out towards the end of the year. I've been recording but it's going a bit slowly; I really can't predict about that, but I'd like to have a record done by the end of the year. I've got one tune called "Sunday Blues", another called "Someone Told Me" about miscommunication, and a handful of others. Musically I'm picking up where "What's In The Bag" left off..
Q: Are you touring? Alone or with a band?
A: I play about 30-40 shows each year, mostly up and down the US Eastern Seaboard. I play solo about half the time; I love being able to get up there by myself and put some energy in a room that people can feel.. I also have a great band with Diego Voglino on drums, the bass is usually either Graham Maby or Jeff Hill. I've got a date at the end of April where the second guitarist will be Ben Monder, who's some sort of genius.. I'd love to play in Brazil again some time...
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