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Category: General
Popdose Exclusive Video Premiere: Ashley Delima, “Stay in America”
A week after the latest government shutdown, the fates of Dreamers, the 800,000 people currently in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), have been reduced to a single chess piece in a showdown between the two established political parties. When you factor in the families, friends, classmates, employers and neighbors of the Dreamers, millions of lives hang in the balance. Ashley Delima, a US-born singer who was raised in Brazil, poured the heartbreak, anger, courage and determination of her own journey into an anthem for all Dreamers entitled “Stay in America” – premiering worldwide here:
Ashley was born in New Jersey but wound up moving back to Brazil to live with her parents. From the age of seven, until she moved home at 17, she was bullied, fell victim to a mugging and assault, and was constantly unsure of her safety in the Brasilia neighborhood where she lived. She longed for the promise of the American Dream and eventually found her way back to New Jersey. Her parents followed, but were not as lucky. Ashley’s mother made it across the Mexican border on a conditional visa; her father was detained and deported soon after his arrival.
Ashley’s mother and aunts cleaned houses for a living. In one house, they routinely dusted the frames of several gold and platinum records on the wall and eventually found the courage to ask the homeowner about them. The homeowner’s son, Marc Swersky, cowrote ‘Trust in Me’, Joe Cocker’s contribution to the blockbuster soundtrack to The Bodyguard. The two-time Grammy winner also wrote and produced for Hillary Duff, Kesha, and Roger Daltrey. The ladies told Marc’s mom about Ashley; she pitched it to her son and Marc agreed to take a listen. “The qualities that stuck out were her charisma, her passion, the fire in her eyes, and her incredible talent when she finally sang for me,” Swersky said.
Delima collaborated with Swersky and his songwriter wife, Brielle Brown, to create a track that combines authentic Brazilian guitars and elements of Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. Swersky opened his black book to invite a dream roster of veteran musicians to bring the song to life, including percussionist Daniel Sadownick (Taylor Swift, Maxwell, Al Green), Demi Lovato’s touring guitarist Vin Landolfi, pianist Alan Markley (Maggie Rogers), and drummer Adam Jackson (Ciara, Destiny’s Child, Bilal). The band cut 80 percent of the music live in studio.
The song has a passionate message, directed at Trump, Congress, and anyone who thinks it’s better to build walls instead of tear them down, “Our beauty is diversity; no labels will define us. We will stand up for our worth, see – your walls will not divide us.” For Delima, the only way the song could truly work is to be as entertaining as it is politically charged. This is where her passionate delivery fuels the chorus to become an earworm hook, instantly memorable and easy to sing along to on the first listen.
POPDOSE: What inspired you to write ‘Stay in America’?
ASHLEY DELIMA: I see so much fear and pain everyday in my community and even in my own family. I’m fed up with all the hate and I believe most people are too. I wanted to write a song to spread a message of unity, hope and understanding. So many people don’t know what’s really going on. I wanted to be a voice for people who don’t feel like they have one. I had a lot of mixed emotions when I sat down to write this song but in the end I knew it needed to be a positive message because although walls may divide us, love will unite us.
Are you a Dreamer yourself?
ASHLEY: I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship since I was born here but a lot of my friends and family are not that lucky. In my community and in the country there are people who want to do the right thing and want to contribute to society. These are doctors, students, engineers; people who pay taxes and love this country. For some, it’s the only country they’ve ever known. These are the people who are in jeopardy of losing their DACA status. They might have to go back to a country they don’t even remember. There has to be a better way. I want to tell these people that they are not the enemy. They, you, we are America. People want to be united not divided.
Ashley’s family pooled their money to pay for the studio and compensate the musicians for their talent. The video, directed by Kristian Kruz, dramatizes both the moment a family is torn apart, and the determination of Dreamers to remain in the only place they know as home. Ashley is releasing the track on all digital platforms today with hopes it will inspire people and, if possible, earn enough money to fund some more songs and attract label interest. For now, she’s bypassing the televised singing contest route to stardom and focusing on building a career the old fashioned way: one song, one concert and one interview at a time. Next up, she is playing a series of showcases in New York City and Ashbury Park, NJ.
“Stay in America” is available to buy on Google Play, iTunes and Amazon, and to stream on Spotify. For tour dates and more music, connect with Ashley on Instagram, facebook and twitter.
Photos by: Jesse Lizotte.
Suburban Metal Dad #708: “Valid Excuse #1”
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The Popdose Interview: Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr
Don’t look now, but with their sixteenth and seventeenth albums, Simple Minds is on a tear. Their 2014 album Big Music earned the band some of their best reviews in decades, and their upcoming album Walk Between Worlds (which will be released February 2) finds the band still exploring new ideas, not content to do what is expected of them. Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr was in France, and yet still volunteered to give 30 minutes of his life to talk to Popdose about the new album, and playing matchmaker with one of the most beloved singers of the Popdose staff.
They told me that the interview window was 4-5PM France time. I take it you’re in France.
I’m in France, yes, and quite enjoying it. I was out doing different promo in the various European countries, but it’s always great to be in France.
Before I forget, I need to tell you that my friend Mike thinks “Theme for Great Cities” is the best driving song ever recorded.
Oh, yeah! Well, nice choice. I can agree with him, because I didn’t write it. It was the keyboard player (Mick MacNeil), so it wouldn’t be too arrogant for me to say that I also love it. I’m trying to think how old that one, it’s got to be 37, 38 years, so, it was one of the first techno tunes, I think, in its own way, and it’s a tune that’s well loved. Some would say it’s one of Simple Minds’ highlights. Of course, being an instrumental, it doesn’t feature me. That might be the reason why.
You and I were first scheduled to chat in 2005, when Black & White 050505 was set for release, and then the entire promotional campaign was scrapped and the US album release was canceled, which is a pity, because it’s a really good record. What do you remember about that?
It’s sad to say, I can remember the campaign being a bit of a…Sanctuary was the [band’s] label at the time, and they folded quite soon after, so it may have had something to do with that. But I was talking to a friend the other night about getting a really, really strong reaction to the [new] record here in terms of media and a lot of stuff, and people talking about the renaissance of Simple Minds, and my friend was saying, “Black and White was a great album!” We’ve also had a couple of albums since then that my colleague was thinking…basically what he was saying was that the whole new movement of Simple Minds started with that Black and White album, and here you are mentioning it. I think it’s got really strong stuff on it, and it’s the start of when we got our mojo back again, and I think that mojo has been going through the various records since. I have good memories of it, especially the last bit, because we came to the States, and Bob Clearmountain mixed it, and he’s a master, so it’s a really good sounding record as well.
It is that, indeed. But let’s talk about the new album, where the band once again pivots sonically from the sound of your previous album (Big Music). How conscious were you of that as you entered the studio?
Well, it’s a thing where you…we came off the last one with a great high with the dates we did, and the reception the record was…we were feeling very buoyant about that. We kept the writing going, and we were feeling energized, so we thought, rather than sitting down and saying, “What’s the plot? What’s the plan?”, we thought, “Okay, let’s just start with the melodies and stuff. The direction will find itself.” It’s good if you have a plot, or a plan, or you’re going for something very specific, but some records, you just have faith that they’ll take their own course. And I think this one moves on from where we were last time. But it has found its own things, and in a way, the challenge, when you’re a band of vintage [chuckles], the challenge is somewhat always the same now. If you were to ask people, “What should I do here?” “It should be classic Simple Minds.” And the simple definition of that is you go back to the past. But at the same time, you say, “And what else?” And they say, “It should be contemporary.” [Laughs] Which means now, of the future. So you’re looking for a record that checks all of those boxes.
I have to ask, though: what happened to Mel (Gaynor, the band’s longtime drummer)? It is odd to see a Simple Minds album that does not include Mel on drums.
Well, there wasn’t one thing that happened. In fact, he actually plays on half the album, maybe more.
He’s not mentioned in the press release. That’s why I asked.
Ah, right. No, Mel did play on about half the album. You know, no great thing to tell you, sometimes you work a long time, and sometimes, you’re a bit closer, or a bit wider apart. If you look at what Mel’s been doing the last year, he’s been putting more energy into his own project, where he’s a vocalist. Don’t ask me why.
[Chuckles]
Exactly. Your reaction is mine. [Writer’s note: I have no idea what Mel Gaynor’s voice sounds like, so this was more a matter of nervous laughter, not affirmation.] We did this acoustic thing halfway through the album, this album, because what we do is…experience has taught us that if the time affords, it’s quite good to break halfway through, because when you do an album, you’re so in deep, you’re so up close, that sometimes you have to maintain perspective. If you can have a break for a few months, and come back to it, you hear it with fresh ears, it’s just good. So this time, what we did was we took that break, and we went into this acoustic thing that had been hanging around for a long time, and we kept prevaricating, and we thought, “Let’s look at that.”
What we knew Mel wouldn’t work on was an acoustic thing, because Mel’s more a John Bonham type. So we used another drummer [Cherisse Osei], she’s amazing, young kid, just unbelievable. And whereas we thought they were only for the acoustic project, by the end of it, we thought, “No, let’s see where this is going to go.” Charlie (Burchill, Simple Minds’ guitarist) and I, probably since the late ‘80s, when guys started coming and going, we’ve never felt obliged to work with anyone. The only criteria was they were great, and that they were focused. And we hope that everyone we work with is, but if you were to ask, could I see Mel Gaynor turning up again at some point, yeah, I can. But it’s just not the right thing just now.
I had an epiphany about Charlie while listening to this album: he’s the new wave David Gilmour.
I will tell him that. I haven’t seen him since November, we didn’t talk for about a month before Christmas, and I’m due to see him next week. Charlie’s a special one. Dave Gilmour’s certainly a special one. But unlike Dave Gilmour, Charlie has never had that guitar hero status, but I think he merits it.
The thing that draws the two of them together for me is that he can play one note, and you know that it’s him.
It’s funny you should say that, because we’re Pink Floyd fans, we don’t know everything – some of the other prog rock bands, we know everything – Pink Floyd was one where we didn’t know everything, but there was a documentary recently on Floyd, and I was watching it, and Gilmour was in the studio, and unlike you said, he played two notes, and I remember thinking, “Wow. I would write a song based on those two notes.” Ten minutes later, it turns out that they did write a song with those two notes! [Laughs] We’ve also done that with Charlie as well. Sometimes, it’s just a couple of chimes, but within those couple of chimes, there’s a whole scenario, there’s a whole world of inspiration. And some of the songs that Charlie comes up with…the way we work is in tandem with how we used to do it as kids, where he would come up with a little sketch and give it to me, and I would work on it. That little sketch now gets sent by mp3 from Thailand or something. And I’ll wake up and go, “Oh, Charlie’s been up all night.” And the ideas are really well-formed, and expansive. Sometimes, it is just a couple of notes. But very rarely is it something that immediately doesn’t get me excited.
That’s also quite the solo he drops on “Barrowland Star.” How long has he been wanting to do that?
How great is that? No, I had to push him! He kept saying, “No, Jim, it’s too much,” and I’d say, “No, it’s not enough.” You mentioned Gilmour, but I think Charlie’s real guy was Mick Ronson. And I think you can hear that in the “Barrowland Star” solo. That’s a killer solo.
I like the strings at the end of that song, which then open the title track that follows it. I’m surprised that Simple Minds hasn’t used orchestral flourishes more often, because it seems like a natural fit.
Yeah, you know, we have used them, but I would like to use more now, and I think we will use more. We did use them in the past, but I think we’re a little shy. And when you’re shy, sometimes they can just sound like a part of a keyboard, depending on the arranger. We used them before, but I don’t think we gave them the spotlight. However, on these tracks, we’ve done that, like on “Barrowland Star,” that juxtaposition between these cats in battle and now [something] from a different world, a different place, a different source of reference from us, they’re not placed in the beautiful thing. And yet at the same time, you’ve got Charlie, whaling away. It’s a great combination.
The album closes with the song “Sense of Discovery,” where the chorus does a callback to “Alive and Kicking.” Did you have any apprehension about nicking one of your own tunes?
I think it’s with a wry smile. I think people will surely get that, that we’re having fun with it, it’s…it’s a Rosebud moment. [Laughs] It’s holding on to something, this evoking, that’s the thing. It’s not that, and even if it was that, it’s not that. But it certainly evokes that, and I think you have license to do that with your own stuff.
It made me laugh, actually, because what I thought of was, I love the Psychedelic Furs, but when Richard Butler finds a vocal melody he likes, he’ll use it twice on the same album.
Oh, really? [Laughs] Minimalism! [Laughs] I love him, I don’t think I’ve heard much recently, but there have been people who have done that in the past, where…well here’s one: David Bowie went back to Major Tom when he did “Ashes to Ashes.” He referenced his own song, his own character. Let’s see who can be the first to do it with three songs. [Chuckles]
I asked some friends if they had any questions they wanted me to ask you, and one said, “Ask him about Chrissie Hynde,” and I said no, I’m not going to ask him about Chrissie Hynde. And then I re-read the press release, and I see that you’re touring with the Pretenders.
Yeah!
I feel like there’s a Fleetwood Mac joke to be had here.
Yes, well, I was talking to someone who said, “Didn’t you get into trouble the last time you toured with her?” Which was how we met. But I’m kind of delighted about that, we all are. We’re all such fans of hers, and of course, I know her in a different context, and thankfully, my admiration for her has never waned at any point. It’d be great, and not easy, to follow them (in concert), either. She’s the real deal, and all of those great songs.
A favorite of many of the writers at our web site is the late, great Kirsty MacColl, who sang backing vocals on your song “Speed Your Love to Me.” I would love to hear a good Kirsty MacColl story.
We knew Kirsty kind of before anyone else knew her, because when we first went to London, we used to stay in this hotel called the Columbia, and all the bands that stayed in there – the hicks – when they went to London, the record companies would put them up in this place. It’s kind of cheap and stuff, and people would hang around, and we first met Kirsty, she was kind of a chirpy little thing. She didn’t take any…she was cute as a button and smarter than anyone, and didn’t take any bullshit. And we would be coming back from the studio, and she liked Simple Minds, and she would say, “Oh, I can sing,” and we’d be like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” We never quite took her seriously, and then one night, a couple of nights, she came down to the studio, she had sort of – what’s the word I would use – inveigled her way in [Writer’s note: Yes, I did in fact have to look that word up to figure out how to spell it], and we just happened to be looking for a backing vocalist that night, and within half an hour, she had taken over the studio. She was a much better singer than any of us, and knew how to arrange stuff and all that. And even more pleasingly, as a result of that night, her and Steve Lillywhite, the producer of the album at the time (1984’s Sparkle in the Rain), got together and became man and wife. We were friends with Kirsty for the rest [of her life], and as a result obviously devastated when the horrific incident happened, and we miss her dearly.
I have it on good authority – which is to say, Wikipedia – that you run one of the best hotels in Sicily. How did that come to be?
I don’t run it, thank God for that – it’s run professionally. If I ran it, it wouldn’t exist. [Laughs] It would be a disaster. Just around the start of 2000, for about a year, we definitely thought that the sun could be setting on Simple Minds. Everything seemed like getting blood out of a stone. I didn’t see much energy, I didn’t see much of anything, and we weren’t quite sure what to do. Ever since I went to art school and took a trip to Italy, I loved the place. It had become a big part of my life, and I thought, “I’m just going to go to Sicily.” I must have been in my Hemingway phase, that I’ll be a fisherman or something. I thought, I’m going to get down there, and I had friends there, and then I got charmed with the idea of this little bed and breakfast place available, and I got charmed with the idea of that. Then there was a piece of land available, it was on a hill with this most amazing view, and before I knew it, I bought the land, and had planning permission to make this structure, which initially was a lot smaller than what it’s ended up. And the rest is kind of mysterious, but here we are all these years later, and people seem to really like it.
I saw you on the tour when you had the Call as your opening act, so it made perfect sense to me when you covered “Let the Day Begin” on Big Music. I actually think your cover is better than the original, because you found the rafter-shaking anthem buried in that song.
Well, thank you. We certainly gave it the Simple Minds treatment, but no, no one beats Michael [Been, the Call’s frontman and songwriter]. I was listening last week to some of the other songs, and it was such a great thing for us to tour with him, because back in those days, when you toured, usually the opening act was a sort of baby band, and the main act would be the experienced guys. But Michael, he was older than us! He had such an old head on his shoulders, he became a bit of a guru to us. I think we toured with them twice, and especially the States. A lot of the States was unknown to us, and it was an honor to work with Michael.
I talked to Midge Ure a few years ago, and I pitched him the idea of a package tour that included Simple Minds, Ultravox, Tears for Fears, OMD, and Thomas Dolby. Midge is totally on board. Are you?
Well, I don’t decide those things. I’m a bit wary of package tours, but looking at the records from all the people that you mentioned…[Writer’s note: at this point, Jim is interrupted by the label rep, who gives us the ‘wrap it up’ sign.]
Are there any plans to tour the States? My wife has never seen you in concert, and she would like to fix that without having to travel to the UK.
I can tell you, hand on heart, I’m embarrassed, ashamed, that we haven’t been there such few times this last decade. All I can tell you is that it’s been very close a couple of times this past year. You’re not a million miles wrong with a package tour. We certainly need a band of a similar stature, because to really make it worthwhile, we all want to play to as many people as possible. [A US tour] got very close a couple of times, and they didn’t pan out. But I’m really sure it’ll be sooner rather than later. And if so, no one will be happier than me and secondly, I can guarantee your wife that Simple Minds will be in great form.
What are your thoughts on Molly Ringwald’s cover of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”?
She did it her way, you know? I can’t tell you how many people have covered that, and she did it her way, so kudos for that.
Very diplomatic of you. Okay, one question from fellow Popdose writer and archivist extraordinaire Will Harris: did Johnny and the Self-Abusers have any other songs that rivaled “Saints and Sinners”?
Well, I think “Dead Vandal,” because it was a Double-A [single]. “Saints and Sinner was the most appealing title, but I think “Dead Vandals” was as good as [“Saints and Sinners] in its own way. We didn’t think anyone outside of the south side of Glasgow would ever hear of Johnny and the Self-Abusers. I think it’s just that name. Well, let’s face it: it’s been downhill all the way since then.
Okay, last one: Simple Minds were the musical guests of one of the most notoriously off-the-rails episodes of “Saturday Night Live,” hosted by Madonna. What do you remember about that show?
You know, I really regret, now, not taking more time to really consider what it was we were taking part in, because of course we knew “Saturday Night Live, and I remember thinking, “This is ‘Saturday Night Live’!” And we should have been thinking, “This is ‘Saturday Night Live’!” I remember it was a colossal hang, because everyone comes down to hang out. I think that week, that month, Once Upon a Time was coming out, we were so rushed everywhere, it was all a bit of a blur. But [Madonna], at the time, was a big fan of Chrissie Hynde, and I was with Chrissie then, of course, and she was in London, they were in London a few times, her and Sean [Penn] working on stuff, they would come over, and I always thought Sean was cool.
I never thought that I was going to be able to get through all of those questions. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.
Ah, thanks for your enthusiasm.
You guys and Duran Duran basically scored my entire high school life, so I want to thank you for getting me through that…
[Starts singing] “Bop ba da, ba dop bop ba da, this is planet Earth.”
Soul Serenade: Hugh Masekela, “Grazing in the Grass”
Hugh Masekela died this week. The South African trumpeter had a big instrumental hit with “Grazing in the Grass” in 1968 and the Friends of Distinction followed-up the next year with a vocal version of Philemon Hou’s song and it was also a hit. But that one hit was hardly the whole story.
Masekela was born in a town called Witbank. Although he played piano as a child he found inspiration in a Kirk Douglas film called Young Man With a Horn (based on the life of jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke) and turned to the trumpet at the age of 14. Masekela attended St. Peter’s Secondary School where the chaplain was Archbishop Trevor Huddleston. Apartheid was the law of the land in those days but Huddleston was opposed to the system of segregation and repression. He gave Masekela his first trumpet and when Masekela identified other students who were interested in music they called their first band the Huddleston Jazz Band in recognition of his Huddleston’s support. There were several other bands along the way and in 1956 Masekela joined Alfred Herbert’s African Jazz Revue.
From an early age Masekela was determined to raise his voice in opposition to apartheid and his music was informed and inspired by the struggles and sorrows of black South Africans. And his was an effective voice, reaching those who were living under the boot of the apartheid rulers. In 1959, Masekela cast his lot with pianist Dollar Brand (who later became Abdullah Ibrahim) to form a group called the Jazz Epistles. They were the first African jazz group to ever record an album and they played to huge crowds in South Africa’s biggest cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
On March 21, 1960, one of the cruelest incidents in the cruel history of apartheid took place when 69 protesters were shot dead by government troops in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. When the government cracked down on further protest, banning gatherings of more than ten people, Masekela left the country. Fortunately, he had become friends with international musicians like Yehudi Menuhin and John Dankworth and they got Masekela into the Guildhall School of Music in London.
While he was in exile, Masekela visited the United States and became friends with Harry Belafonte. Eventually, he moved to New York to study classical trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music. Along the way, Masekela married musician Miriam Makeba but their marriage only lasted for two years.
Masekela’s first American hit came in 1967 with his version of Jimmy Webb’s “Up, Up and Away.” The next year “Grazing in the Grass” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and sold four million copies. Masekela appeared at the storied Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and in the subsequent film. That’s him playing trumpet on the Byrds 1967 hit “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.”
Masekela remained in exile but he continued to record and tour with jazz groups through the 1970s. In 1987 he released an album called Tomorrow. Included on that album was a song called “Bring Him Back Home,” a plea for the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. The song became an anthem of the anti-apartheid movement and was, of course, banned by the South African government.
Also in the 1980s, Masekela set up a mobile studio in Botswana, just over the South African border. The studio allowed Masekela to begin to reconnect with South African musicians and to get reacquainted with the Zulu musical style known as mbaqanga. In 1985, Masekela founded the Botswana International School of Music which gave local musicians of all ages the opportunity to play together. As if all of that wasn’t enough, Masekela spent time touring as part of Paul Simon’s Graceland tour which featured a number of other South African musicians, and he helped to develop the music for the Broadway play Sarafina!
In the early ’90s, Masekela returned to South Africa. The 2003 film Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony featured Masekela. The following year his autobiography, Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela was published. Masekela stayed busy in the new century, recording a number of albums between 2002-2016. His most recent release was No Borders which was released two years ago. Also in 2016, Masekela reunited with Ibrahim and the other members of the Jazz Epistles for a concert to commemorate the 40th anniversary of anti-apartheid student demonstrations in Johannesburg. It was their first performance together in 60 years.
“The Father of South African Jazz” died of prostate cancer on January 23 leaving behind a long and legendary career as a musician and an activist.
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Forty-Eight
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Forty Eight
There is never a shortage of conversation; never a lull or dull moment for Jon and Rob as they go right for the jugular: this time, the self-serving circus known as the Golden Globes – especially “Oprah for President”; a joyful and spirited conversation about when record labels meant something to the music fan/buyer; an assessment on The Rockin’ Bricks’ anthology; the debut album from Death Of Lovers; the XTC documentary “This Is Pop”, “In Our Heads” and an incredible amount more!
With Jon and Rob, you don’t need to do anything else with your evening but to sit back, relax and leave the driving to them.
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Forty Seven
Popdose Exclusive Premiere: Jacobs Run, “Sleepwalking”
Australian band Jacobs Run embraces a sound that’s semi-throwback insofar as it’s what you’d expect a rock band to sound like. At a time when rock is an endangered species (having been surpassed by hip-hop as the top US genre last year), it’s refreshing to hear a band that goes all-in on being a traditional rock band.
Today, I’m super stoked to premiere the band’s latest video for their track “Sleepwalking.” Before you take a listen at the bottom of this piece, get to know Jacobs Run and their sound via their vocalist and guitarist Michael Jacobs.
1. If you had to compare your sound to three artists or bands, what would they be?
That’s a tough question as I think our sound is the result of listening and being influenced by so much music and so many artists across the past few decades. If I had to choose three, I’d say early Church meets Snow Patrol at a 1990’s Eros Ramazzotti concert.
2. You’ve said that your debut album “just happened.” Did that spontaneity take the pressure off or change your usual music-making process?
We were initially only going to record two or three songs as demos. Once we began recording I just kept writing songs and we ended up recording an album’s worth of material.
So, we never really embarked on a mission to complete an entire album in a set period of time and so I never really felt pressure to write songs. I think without that pressure things just happened organically and it became a very creative time.
3. The video for “Sleepwalking” is really trippy. What was the inspiration behind it and how does it relate to the song?
The video was conceptualized by Scott Kingman who we’d met on a photo shoot. We loved his work and his vibe and asked if he would be interested in shooting a music video for the song. He presented the concept to us and we loved it.
As the songwriter, I think he really nailed the meaning and feel of the song — a person caught in a trance-like endless loop who can’t shake the feeling of lost opportunity but who is hanging on to that last thread of hope — and that’s what keeps them going.
The video seems to get inside that person’s head as it churns and turns. We love the end result.
4. Your sound has a distinct rock element that’s refreshingly different in the era of autotuned pop. How do you typically write and arrange these catchy tracks?
Thank you. It’s probably because we are influenced by so many artists across the past few decades, and each member brings their own influences into the fold.
I don’t have a typical method of writing songs although I can say that I write the majority of them on a 12-string acoustic. Sometimes a song starts as a guitar riff, hook or a melody and grows from there. Sometimes a song comes together very quickly where the chords, melody and lyrical theme occur simultaneously.
5. Can you talk a little bit about the Italian and European influence in your music?
Peter, Fabian and I come from Italian backgrounds. Growing up with that background, attending family functions etc we were exposed very early on to Italian and European music — both modern and traditional.
When I traveled there and I heard the local music, I fell in love with it — artists such as Eros Ramazzotti and Zucchero. Very orchestral and emotional with lush, beautiful production. It definitely has had a big influence.
6. Is there one song in history that you wish you’d written or recorded?
Wow, difficult to answer – so many great songs. I’ll pick two: “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol and “Am I Wrong” from Love Spit Love.
7. What’s coming up next for you?
We’re planning a USA promo trip around March to support the release of “Sleepwalking,” and looking forward to hitting the road for some live shows mid year.
Check out the video for Jacobs Run’s “Sleepwalking” below!
Album Review: Big Star, “Live at Lafayette’s Music Room”
Dear God, this is amazing. Not because it’s Big Star – let’s make one thing clear from the outset: I don’t like live albums as a rule of thumb; I never have. Among the host of reasons, bands always sound out of tune; play too fast; the sound is never on par with the recorded versions, but mostly because live albums always take away the joy of seeing a band. I never liked having concerts replicated in my living room.
However, now that I’m older, I do make exceptions. And yes, because this is Big Star, I’ll make a concession – granted, I didn’t think much of the live album Ryko put out in the early ’90’s. But this… this is something special. Start with the fact that this gig was performed BEFORE the now-famous appearance for the Rock Writer’s Convention (held in the same room four months later); this live show has the Chilton/Stephens/Hummel line-up working out in a performance setting the songs that would become the legendary Radio City album a year later. It is important to note that this set was first issued as disc 4 of the Keep An Eye On The Sky boxed set, but now, Live At Lafayette’s Music Room is available as a stand-alone release. The sound quality is stunning – you really feel like you’re in that room, watching this powerhouse trio – kudos must go to Adam Hill and Michael Graves for the work done to give it this clarity and richness.
Opening with an inspired and joyful “When My Baby’s Beside Me”, they go into “My Life Is Right”, which is beautifully delivered by Chilton in the absence of Chris Bell, who had quit by this time and had originally sung lead. Unlike the later studio version, “She’s A Mover” is performed here by Big Star – the way it, frankly, should have been done (neither Jody Stephens or Andy Hummel were on the recorded track) and is shit-hot. “Way Out West”, “…El Goodo” and “In The Street” are also dead on, considering the band were minus a second guitar. “Back Of A Car” explodes and “Thirteen” is sweet and touching; inducing chills with the harmonies. “The India Song” is another breezy and happy moment, countered next by Chilton taking Bell’s spot as vocalist on “Try Again”. This version has a certain emotional warmth and a sense of hope, which contrasts with the pain conveyed in Bell’s original studio reading and the subtlety of the harmonies cannot be understated and Chilton’s simple slide guitar work is exquisite.
“Watch The Sunrise”, while being mired in audience noise, still manages to put across its infectious, positive message and “Don’t Lie To Me” has the same big, ballsy sound, even with the band as trio, as it did on #1 Record while it becomes a heavy, boogie jam (!). I’ve heard a couple of renditions of Big Star doing “Hot Burrito #2”, but this is easily the best of them – however, the real treasure of this whole collection comes next. Later recorded by Chris Bell (and released after his death), “I Got Kinda Lost” was one of the songs that Big Star were working on as one of the possibilities for a second album when Bell left; aside from a not-great-quality “rehearsal” version, here is the band actually doing it and doing with a great deal of fluidity and I hate doing the “what if”‘s but there you go… And if that wasn’t enough, this live set also has a band version of another Bell track that would be recorded by the late guitarist, the heart-rending “There Was A Light” (there’s a demo version, but this takes the song to another level). Staples of the Big Star live set, even into the future, T. Rex’s “Baby Strange”, The Kinks’ “Come On Now” and Todd Rundgren’s “Slut” are here – and again, sound better than the later editions I’ve heard. The texture of “ST 100/6”, with Chilton’s very nuanced guitar and a very different additional verse/rearrangement, is a standout and the set closes with what would become the opener for Radio City, “O My Soul” – the band’s ultimate groove and most “Memphis” track. You can hear this live version was ready to be birthed not too long after.
There are no lulls; no lackluster moments in this show. For a band that was not known to have performed all too often in those original years, they certainly had and brought the goods. Chilton was truly a dynamic singer and at moments, an unbelievable guitarist. Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens were a water-tight rhythm section that played with power, timing and a lot of soul in what they were doing. And to be able to capture that in a recorded live set is both a miracle and a blessing. This album is, quite simply, a vital and critical document of musical history. And for that I am grateful.
This wonderful release is available on compact disc, a two-record set or download. It should be noted, when you purchase the physical versions, you’ll find a download code for an interview with Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel, recorded during the summer of 1972, which you will not want to miss.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – ESSENTIAL LISTENING
Live At Lafayette’s Music Room is currently available
Suburban Metal Dad #707: “Unburdened Jerks”
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No Concessions: “The Alienist”
Back in the day I used to read books before they became movies. I would have read The Alienist, Caleb Carr’s 1994 page turner, anyway–A Silence of the Lambs-type serial killer story set in 1896 New York had its hooks in me from its very description, and I was amply rewarded. A year or so later, for a story I was writing, I had the opportunity to visit Hollywood’s legendary Western Costume, a repository for filmdom finery. I got to see some of the lovely creations for the adaptation, which was to be directed by Philip Kaufman. It was due in 1997.
Twenty-one years later, it’s here. Not as a movie, much less a movie from the director of The Right Stuff, but as a ten-part TV miniseries, which begins airing tonight on TNT. The network, known for lengthy blocks of CW reruns and dropping two-hour films into commercial-clotted three-hour slots, is hoping to grab some of that Peak TV action, and I’m pleased to report that after viewing the first two episodes The Alienist is in good hands. But after years of “creative differences,” etc., the material’s peak may have passed.
The miniseries, too, had some backstage drama, when director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) departed, leaving behind one script and an executive producer credit. Whatever seams that left don’t show–Carr also contributed to the writing, as did Oscar nominee Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove) and others. The first two episodes are directed by Jakob Verbruggen, a veteran of Black Mirror and London Spy, both fine credentials for the spooky, sooty world of The Alienist. The very best thing about The Alienist, the show, is that the book has leapt off the page and onto your screen (biggest possible, give your phone a rest)–the estimated $50 million budget is all up there. Shot-in-Budapest productions set in the present day always give themselves away when they attempt American locales. Here, however, the time and place, judiciously augmented by quality digital effects, are perfectly rendered, and so far as I know the actors are attired in the same detailed wear I saw in the Clinton era.
A bit threadbare is the storyline. What distinguished the book was Carr’s immense research; the “beats” has already been set by Lambs author Thomas Harris, and he didn’t freshen the template, in the way that the film Seven (1995) did. In a reverse of my favored pattern, I watched the first season of the excellent Netflix adaptation of Mindhunter, shepherded by Seven director David Fincher, before I read the book, and after reading it you realize how incalculable the debt “mindhunter” John E. Douglas and his FBI cohorts are owed by the entire serial murder genre. Early on in The Alienist there’s a direct quote to their 20th century profiling methodology, as a disturbed child is examined by the eerily empathetic Dr. Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl), whose practice of “alienism” is used (and sometimes abused) by the New York police department in their crime solving. It’s amusing (and a twist on the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes, whom Carr revisited in a subsequent novel), but a reminder that this ground is well-trodden.
The Alienist begins with the discovery of a badly mutilated corpse, that of a boy prostitute who dressed as a girl. Summoned to investigate by police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (the Ragtime-like interweaving of real-life figures is one of the novel’s charms), Kreizler determines that the murder is part of a pattern. With the wary patronage of Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty), who doesn’t entirely trust his psychological probing, the alienist forms his own investigative unit, whose primary members are John Moore (Luke Evans), a louche journalist extremely familiar with brothels, and Sarah Howard (Dakota Fanning), an NYPD secretary eager for Clarice Starling-like “advancement” in her field.
As a movie, The Alienist would likely have been cramped. As a TV miniseries, it comes at the right time–changing standards mean the sordid details of child murder and prostitution can be more frankly presented than even just a few years ago. Visually, there’s plenty to raise the hackles, as the chillingly crepuscular cinematography alights on many a thing that goes bump in the night. Thus far, the look outpaces the dialogue, which is more functional than scintillating. But the tautly coiled Bruhl, the devil-may-care Evans, and the pallidly beautiful Fanning are adeptly cast, and should be good company unless the show peters out, a common problem with Peak TV and its many binge-y hours. For now, though, The Alienist is just what the doctor ordered, if you need a serial killing fix.