Something So Strong

Hot licks for a cold night: JD McPherson and band rocking the Ale House,
Troy, NY, March 3, 2014. Photo by Jeremy Clowe.

March is in like a lion! Last night JD McPherson was back in town, for a return engagement at Troy's Ale House (where they first played last July). Once again, we had a blast listening to his classic rhythm and blues sound in this charming, intimate venue (awesome chicken wings), and enjoyed chatting with the band afterwards.

I was particularly interested to find out from the pub's staff that McPherson's drummer, Jason Smay, is originally from my hometown of Rochester, New York. It turns out that Smay used to play with one of my favorite bands from the area, The Frantic Flattops, and I can see how jamming with those rockabilly greats would serve him well in his current gig (amazing how he can simultaneously shake a maraca and pound the drum skins, while keeping perfect rhythm). 

The band was on their way to Rochester from Troy, and this afternoon I was able to hear a live streaming of an interview McPherson gave to WBER, the station where I used to DJ in the mid-90s. Hopefully JD and the boys will be back in the area soon—I wouldn't mind a chance to interview the band myself (signed, sealed, signified).

Speaking of interviews, I just posted an uncut version of an interview I conducted with Neil Finn, one of my long-time musical heroes. I have been a fan of this beloved New Zealand singer/songwriter since I first heard his band, Crowded House back in the mid-80s. Coincidentally, this morning my alarm went off to the sounds of their hit, "Something So Strong" playing on the radio— not a bad way to start the day.

My video interview was conducted at Wilco's Solid Sound Festival, held at Mass MoCA, where Finn had performed with his side project, The Pajama Club back in June 2011. An honor to interview Finn, I enjoyed learning more about his new band and musical family, which includes sons Liam and Elwood, who are embarking on successful music careers of their own (I have some nice footage of Liam playing in the museum galleries during the festival—I hope to share soon).

This past month, Neil Finn has continued his creative journey with the release of his third solo album, Dizzy Heights. Our local station WEXT has been playing the album's first single, "Flying In The Face of Love," and it's sounding good... as always. 

Inspiring to hear artists keeping it real... and strong... after all these years.

Related Links:

http://neilfinn.com

www.pajamaclubmusic.com

www.jdmcpherson.com

"JD McPherson: Giving The Drummer His Due," Rochester City Newspaper, July 3, 2013

Paul Is Live!

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy performing with
A-ha in Chicago, IL. May 13, 2010.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Yesterday music journalist David Weiss posted an interview with my favorite songwriter of all time, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, on his New York-based music website sonicscoop.com. For those who don't know, Paul was the co-founder and guitarist of the band A-ha, as well as the writer behind some of the most beautiful songs ever, including Hunting High and Low, Dark Is The Night, Shadowside, and even more with his other band, Savoy. 

Since A-ha's farewell concert in December 2010, I have been dying to know what he's been up to. There has been the occasional news, such as a collaboration with singer Jimmy Gnecco for the movie soundtrack song, Weathervane, but it's mostly been quiet... this article is very welcome, as it gives us a personal tour of the songwriter's New York City studio in SoHo, and professional discussion about the gear he uses to bring his songs to life.


Some highlights from the article:


"Most of the stuff I write needs a certain atmosphere to work at all, so I’m very sensitive to achieving that for an instrument or vocal — I have to have that thing that gives me shivers. If I don’t feel it, we’ll work on something else. Obviously the performance is the most important thing, but you can help it along."

“When you grow up, all you want to do is what you love to do,” says the soft-spoken Savoy. “The first time I started a demo studio in NYC, it was all tape machines – now it’s much more doable to make a great-sounding album. The technology now gives me more time to work on the things that I find to be more important.”

I also appreciated hearing him talk about finding "breathing space" to create, as the computer allows him to become more selective about the musical tools that take up his home studio space: “It works a lot better. I like to experiment, but if you have too many things, you don’t get around to it. Synths with 15,000 presets becomes like Lord of the Rings – it’s endless.”

And... a comment about hit songs: “A song may have been catchy or on the radio, but if it doesn’t move me, it’s not something I’ll take a lot of time trying to emulate. In A-ha, we always decided that if a song gives us the vibe, then that’s what we go for – it will give everyone else the same vibe. There’s nothing more complicated than that. That’s why we thought every song we ever did would be a hit.”

Amen. 


Here's a short clip of me interviewing Paul back in 2005. Here, I am asking him about the 1986 A-ha song, I've Been Losing You. The songwriter was reading a lot of Franz Kafka and Fyodor Dostoyevsky at the time, and it seems that some of that dark tone rubbed off... musically, the simultaneous recording of the band's more commercial-friendly hit, "Cry Wolf," influenced some of the rhythms (I had no idea):

More about the documentary soon...

Related Link:

"Paul Savoy of A-ha: Inside His SoHo Song Incubator," www.sonicscoop.com, April 1, 2012

Strange Effect on Me (and I Like It)

With Diego Garcia and cellist Daniel Bansi at the Linda,
Albany, New York, 1/27/12. Photo by Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserved.

Happy Saturday. We had a great time last night checking out Diego Garcia perform at the Linda Norris Auditorium in Albany, New York. It has been awhile since I have been at the venue, and they have really turned it into a nice, intimate venue-- worked great for Diego's music... his band was top-notch, with a cellist and talented guitar player creating some sweet sounds from nylon strings-- I wonder about the band's influences, which seemed to incorporate the romantic troubadour spirit of latino music, 60s pop, and some modern indie styles as well.

In addition to material from his beautiful album Laura, he squeezed in a couple of covers, including a version of the rare Kinks' song, "Strange Effect." Well, it had a quite an effect on us... Sarah thought we should consider it for a wedding song. We met Diego after the show, and he offered to record a version for us-- not sure how serious he was about that, but that would be amazing!

I actually had the chance to meet Ray Davies of the Kinks a couple years ago, following his own show in Albany. Certainly he ranks up there as one of the all-time great songwriters in pop music, and has influenced many of the bands I love.

With Ray Davies at the Egg, Albany, New York, 11/24/09
Photo by Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

So hearing all this great songwriting and musicianship gets me inspired, and I wonder about my own potential. I have picked up the guitar here and there, but I really would need to devote more time to practicing, before I could reach the level of Zeke Zima, Diego's guitarist last night. In their review, The Albany Times Union said that he "wove his fretboard work around Garcia’s passionate songs like lacework." Too true. It's amazing when all these elements come together so seemlessly--songwriting, musicianship, and performing-- how could one resist the desire to dance to such a spirit. I know I have the soul and passion that could be directed towards music-- just need to spend time with it... as with anything I guess. 

Eat your heart out, Diego!