All posts by Rick Cornell
Rick Cornell ·
12 Mar 2010, 8:17 PM ·
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It’s not a stretch to describe Bill Kirchen as one of the music world’s Zeligs. There he is back in his Ann Arbor, Mich., childhood in a school picture with Bob Seger and James “Iggy Pop” Osterberg, Jr. That’s him, Fender Telecaster in hand, in the team photos for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and for proto-new wavers (found in that big tent’s roots-revival corner) the Missing Moonlighters. Shots of Doug Sahm, Emmylou Harris, and Elvis Costello in a studio or on a stage would reveal Kirchen, guitar still smoking, nearby. Spot him backing Nick Lowe as an Impossible Bird, and then spot Lowe backing Kirchen on the latter’s 2007-released Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods, a genre-hopping gem. You can even catch his name in a George Pelecanos book.
Of course, the difference between Zelig and Kirchen is that Woody Allen’s fictitious chameleon was a passive bystander. Kirchen, while as unassuming as they come, is always right in the middle of the action. And with a new record due in May and a busy touring schedule, he clearly intends to stay there for as long as possible.
A standard Q&A phone call quickly turned into a roaming conversation between two music geeks—one just happened to be the King of Dieselbilly, a gent once described by Lowe as “a devastating culmination of the elegant and funky,” and one of the best guitarists in the land (the other decidedly none of those things). Below are just a few of the things Kirchen had to say. Continue reading »
Interviews and Long Cuts, You Should Do This
Rick Cornell ·
23 Feb 2010, 12:28 PM ·
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First of all, if there were courses like this when I was in college, I would have been a much better scholar. Duke’s “Sampling Soul,” a spring semester offering co-taught by African and African American Studies professor and author Mark Anthony Neal and producer/ hip-hop artist 9th Wonder, examines soul music’s continued relevance and resonance in popular culture. The closest I came as a student at the State University of New York at Albany in the early ‘80s was a music class where we discussed the pop-jazz significance of “Just the Way You Are.” That’s a couple worlds away from digging into “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”—although it is worth noting that Hugh McCracken, who contributed acoustic guitar to “Just the Way You Are,” played on records by Aretha Franklin and other soul stars. (See? I was paying attention.)
Anyway, this week’s “Sampling Soul” class is subtitled “Sampling Motown,” and it features guest speaker Harry Weinger, vice president of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises. It’s also open to the public. So clear your calendar on tonight and hit the lecture hall at Duke’s Nasher Museum of Art at 6:30 p.m. to get a good seat for Weinger’s 7 p.m. talk.
In his 30 years in the entertainment business, Weinger has tackled a lot, but you could argue that his greatest accomplishment is documenting every single released during Motown’s glory days for the 12-volume Complete Motown Singles series. (Among his other projects: the Star Time James Brown box set—for which Weinger won a Grammy for his liner notes—and the Hitsville USA box, a warm-up of sorts for the Complete Singles effort.) So, yes, this is a gentleman with some insight into the output of Berry Gordy’s hit factory. Want to earn brownie points? Sit in the front and ask why Marvin Gaye’s version of “Grapevine” was released after Gladys Knight’s even though Gaye’s take was recorded first.
News flashes, You Should Do This 9th Wonder, Harry Weinger, Mark Anthony Neal, Nasher Museum
Rick Cornell ·
12 Feb 2010, 7:34 PM ·
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Wanda Jackson.
It was a good year for the future Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson. Yup, in 1952, still in her early teens, she won a talent contest, which led to her own radio show on a local station and, subsequently, an offer from bandleader Hank Thompson to perform with his Brazos Valley Boys.
And 2009 was none too shabby either. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Rosanne Cash handling the induction speech honors. She had a street named after her in her home city, and she was the subject of a documentary, which is currently airing only on the Smithsonian Channel. And she finished recording an album, produced by Jack White, which is set to drop toward the end of 2010.
Of course, the nearly 60 years in between were hardly idle. There were shared bills with Elvis Presley, a couple decades’ worth of memorable rockabilly and country sides recorded for Capitol (including her signature song, “Let’s Have a Party”), some national hits, and countless tour miles. Her focus shifted to gospel music in the ’70s, and she did inspirational concerts with her husband and manager, Wendell Goodman. But a tour with Rosie Flores in the mid ’90s found Jackson rockin’ in the U.S. again.
As Jackson talks from her home in Oklahoma City, she’s excited about the release of a 7” featuring two songs from the upcoming record (an atmospheric, horn-dotted take on Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and a right-in-her-wheelhouse version of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates’ enduring “Shakin’ All Over”), and she’s preparing to leave for a brief tour that will finish in Raleigh on Valentine’s Day. But the Independent got to talk to her before she got out of town. Continue reading »
Interviews and Long Cuts, You Should Do This Berkeley Cafe, Wanda Jackson
Rick Cornell ·
9 Feb 2010, 5:55 PM ·
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...am on the Internet, just not into it.
There were warning signs from the start. The first two Web sites encountered during a little table-setting—the Vapor Records site and Richman’s MySpace page—delivered direct hits to my optimism. “Please note that Jonathan Richman does not have any direct involvement with the Vapor Records Web site and does not participate in the Internet on any level,” offered the former in polite parentheses. And the latter helpfully (and equally as politely, although the host did raise his or her voice twice) pointed out, “Please be aware that I am NOT Jonathan Richman nor has he anything to do with this here site—it’s strictly unofficial and fan run. Just as—to my knowledge—EVERY internet site dedicated to Mr. Richman is.”
Thus, I wasn’t surprised when his manager told me that Richman hasn’t done print interviews for years, engaging in only the occasional TV or radio spot. And with that, a rather crucial component of “Five Words with Jonathan Richman” went missing. But the show must go on though.
Please be aware that I am NOT Jonathan Richman nor did he have anything to do with these here responses. Continue reading »
Interviews and Long Cuts, You Should Do This Cat's Cradle, Jonathan Richman
Rick Cornell ·
5 Nov 2009, 6:49 PM ·
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That Bangle Girl and That Oh-OK Boy
I’m not lobbying for the position of song-choice consultant for Matthew “Sid” Sweet and Susanna “Susie” Hoffs if the pair decides to release a third volume of their Under the Covers series, following ’06’s Volume 1 and the new Volume 2 (both on Shout Factory). However, I would serve with honor and incurable geekitude. OK, so maybe I am lobbying.
Past the jump are the 10 songs at the top of my Volume 3 wish list. Volume 1 stuck to the ‘60s, whereas Volume 2 was all about the ‘70s. My list reflects the hope that a third volume would be willing to revisit the ‘60s and ‘70s as well as dip into the ‘80s and ‘90s. I did limit myself in one way though: I didn’t choose any artists that are covered on the first two volumes, a who’s who that ranges from The Beatles and Bob Dylan to The Velvet Underground and The Zombies. Continue reading »
In the Studio, You Should Do This Sid & Susie, The ArtsCenter
Rick Cornell ·
15 Oct 2009, 4:00 PM ·
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Having kids can inspire you to do crazy, amazing things. In the case of power-popping dads Chuck Folds, Steve Williard and Eddie Walker—musicians with over 50 combined years of North Carolina music scene experience—it inspired the parent-friendly kids music (vice versa also accepted) trio Big Bang Boom.
First, Chuck reveals the key to making kids music:
No secret, just make good music. Kids aren’t as dumb as I think most kid’s music musicians think they are. You can make the production and arrangement of the song (instrumentation, sounds, etc.) fit for contemporary pop radio. You can make the melody worthy of adult radio (as long as not too harsh of a melody). And just keep the words appealing to parents and kids. No problem. My inspiration for that is Bugs Bunny cartoons. We all know now as adults that clearly they are geared toward grown-ups but can appeal to kids with just enough of the slapstick.
If Big Bang Boom can make itself jump, can it do the same for kids?
And then, eerie parallels between kids music shows and adult music shows:
I accidentally bumped a little girl with the headstock of my bass—wasn’t bad, but she was a little upset—at a Big Bang Boom show. I intentionally hit a drunk frat kid with the headstock of my bass at a frat party a couple years ago. He wasn’t upset. Actually, he didn’t know it happened.
Playing for kids is very similar to playing for adults at a party: You have to make sure cables are out of the way, tell them what is going to happen, and make sure nothing gets too out of hand.
Big Bang Boom will play a 4:30 p.m. show at Durham’s Broad Street Café this Sunday, October 18. It’s a free show, but you can show your appreciation when the tip jar gets passed. Helmets optional.
Live Actions: New Bills, News flashes Big Bang Boom
Rick Cornell ·
25 Sep 2009, 5:47 PM ·
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Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn co-captain the Baseball Project, a four-piece that brings its diamond-centric songs (not to mention some non-national-pastime-themed works of McCaughey and Wynn) to Cat’s Cradle on Saturday night. We asked the pair to name their five favorite ballplayers and five favorite baseball songs. And because there wasn’t a game on, they agreed. Continue reading »
Interviews and Long Cuts, You Should Do This Baseball Project, Cat's Cradle, Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn
Rick Cornell ·
23 Sep 2009, 4:48 PM ·
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As the members of Arrogance assembled for their semi-annual-or-so rockanalia that returned to the Cat’s Cradle last Saturday night, we couldn’t help but notice that the gathering had even more juice than usual. It’s been 40 years since Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland bonded on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus, establishing the roots of Arrogance. That alone marks a pretty significant anniversary. To make the show even more special, original members Jim Glasgow and Mike Greer planned to guest with former Arrogance percussionist Ogie Shaw.
In an effort to wrap some kind of Now-and-Then perspective around the proceedings, the Independent Weekly caught up with Dixon as well as fellow eternal rock stars Rod Abernathy, Scott Davison and Marty Stout (we weren’t able to get in touch with Kirkland) and asked them about the gig. Then we revisited the questions, asking the four guys to imagine it was the mid ‘70s instead of the tail end of the ‘00s. It ended up going something like this…
And, hey, if you made it to the show, tell us how the memories served you. Continue reading »
Interviews and Long Cuts Arrogance, Cat's Cradle
Rick Cornell ·
27 Aug 2009, 3:21 PM ·
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Charlie Poole, at home in North Carolina
Speaking of Charlie Poole: On August 15, the same day that Tompkins Square released its two-disc Red Fox Chasers anthology, Loudon Wainwright III released his latest, titled High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. On the two-disc set, Wainwright—with help from the likes of David Mansfield, Geoff Muldaur, and Chris Thile, as well as various Wainwrights and Roches—tackles songs from Poole’s repertoire and contributes nine new songs centered on the life of the rambling and roving Poole and the times that couldn’t contain him. Among other things, this project adds to the already-abundant off-the-beaten-path promise of this fall’s Rich & Loud show in Greensboro. For those not on a first-nickname basis with the duo, that’s Richard Thompson, who’s been known to dig back, oh, 400 or 500 years for a tune, and Wainwright.
And Danville, Va.,’s Kinney Rorrer is again in the thick of things again. Wainwright’s Web site highlights Rorrer’s Poole bio, Rambling Blues, as a chief inspiration, and Rorrer showed Wainwright and High Wide & Handsome producer Dick Connette around Poole’s Spray, N.C., stomping grounds as they geared up for recording. Click here to download “Milwaukee Blues,” an outtake from the new set.
In the Studio, News flashes Charlie Poole, Red Fox Chasers
Rick Cornell ·
14 Aug 2009, 4:50 PM ·
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Charlie Poole and his North Carolina Ramblers weren’t the only musicians in the Tar Heel State to put their stamp on handed-down ballads and to create their own misty mountain hops in the hardscrabble late 1920s and early 1930s. That said, it’s hard not to cite the music made by Poole and his two cohorts—a banjo, fiddle, and guitar chasing Poole’s “vinegary bark” (borrowing a lively phrase from roots music scholar/deejay/musician Kinney Rorrer, grandnephew of Rambler fiddler Posey Rorer) around a single microphone—as the inspiration for the proto-country sounds that immediately followed.
That was the premise of the three-disc “You Ain’t Talkin’ to Me”: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music, released by Sony/ Legacy in 2005. That compilation made its point by including, in addition to a generous helping from Poole’s catalog, turn-of-the-century recordings of songs later interpreted by Poole and sides cut by groups that followed in the Ramblers’ wake. One outfit in that latter group was the Red Fox Chasers, whose 1928 recording of “May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?” was included on “You Ain’t Talkin’ to Me” alongside Poole’s version, itself a sizable hit three years earlier. Continue reading »
News flashes Charlie Poole, Red Fox Chasers, Tompkins Square
