Graham Nash's Wild Tales

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yester year when the only thing better than the sex and drugs was the rock and roll. Graham Nash was present for the creation of much of it and he survived to tell all in a fascinating memoir, Wild Tales.

He opens with a turning point scene in Los Angeles in 1968 at Joni Mitchell’s house with David Crosby and Stephen Stills singing, “In the morning, when you rise/ do you think of me and how you left me crying.” After getting them to run through “You Don’t Have to Cry” again, he joined them, adding a third harmony part that cemented their futures together.

Creating CSN was not easy for him because it meant leaving behind Allan Clarke and their chart topping group famous for its own harmonizing, The Hollies. Nash and Clarke met in the sixth grade in a poor suburb of Manchester, skipped school to buy tickets for Bill Haley and The Comets and waited in the rain outside a hotel to meet The Everly Brothers.

But Nash knew it was time to move (as Crosby did when he left The Byrds and Stills, The Buffalo Springfield) because he wanted to do his own songs and tackle bigger challenges than the Hollies, who were planning an album of Dylan covers.

What follows is an endless series of recording sessions, tours, song writing, benefit concerts, breakups and reunions all told with remarkable insights at a brisk pace in a self-effacing style.

Nash wrestles with a lot of demons from his past (leaving his first wife for Joni, leaving her, a brief fling with Rita Coolidge) and that of his band mates.  David Crosby’s now legendary drug taking starts as comic relief and relentlessly spirals into an abyss that is marked by a jail term and liver failure. Nash’s grim tale is relieved only by his unflagging friendship for the man he calls “my partner and great friend.”

He describes the arrival of Neil Young,  at Ahmet Ertegun’s suggestion, as “tossing a live grenade into a vacuum.” And Crosby notes, “Juggling four bottles of nitroglycerine is fine until you drop one.”  The bottles got dropped more than once but there was usually someone one around to clean up the debris and CSNY’s unusual legal structure that allowed solo work  at any time provided a safety valve.

And when one guy called to say “I’ve got some new songs,” the others jumped on the next plane to hear them. As Nash’s first and last lines of the book read: “It always comes down to the music.”

There are lots of rich details here that put you on board the helicopter going to Woodstock or sailing the Caribbean aboard Crosby’s yacht, The Mayan  and there is a who’s who of rock stars that Nash sang with or shared concert bills.  He offers insights into his song writing process and demonstrates his passion for liberal causes from The No Nukes Concert to a spontaneous trip to Berlin where he sang “Chippin’ Away” as the wall came down.

Nash’s narrative captures the history of his musical era (one that fortunately is still going strong) but his lyrics have always given us the spirit of our times.  Like this from “Wasted on the Way.”

And there’s so much time to make up everywhere you turn

Time we have wasted on the way

So much water moving underneath the bridge

Let the water come and carry us away

Dave Grohl's Musical History Tour

If Dave Grohl is not the hardest-working man in rock music, he is certainly in the top tier. He recently headlined the Concert for Valor in Washington, D.C. shortly after doing a pop-up show at the District’s 9:30 Club for fans who heard about it through the grapevine. He seems to be a fixture on every music awards show as presenter, performer or honoree. And in January he kicks off a year-long tour with The Foo Fighters that starts in South America, swings over to Australia, circles Europe and criss-crosses the U.S. all summer long.

Although never much of a fan of punk rock and its offspring, Grohl’s work has been sneaking up on me as he pays tribute to some of his musical influences. It really hooked me when I watched an episode of his Sonic Highways series on HBO. It is a fascinating multi-media concept that he deserves credit for conceiving and the cable network for backing.

Here’s the pitch: The Foo Fighters want to make a new album that captures the flavor of cities known for their distinctive music styles by visiting each place and recording a track that has been written on the spot based on their interviews and experiences.

For the Nashville episode the journey began by reuniting with Zac Brown and moving into his Southern Ground Studios, an old church where Monument Studios once recorded Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson and Neil Young. Monument was founded by Fred Foster who is credited with discovering Roy Orbison, Ray Price and the Dixie Chicks.

The extended interviews for this segment, called Congregation, include Emmy Lou Harris, Steve Earle, Tony Joe White and Dolly Parton.

The clips of those performers as they arrived on the music scene are priceless, especially Dolly’s first song on the Porter Waggoner Show in 1967, “This Dumb Blonde Ain’t Nobody’s Fool.”  Just as eye-popping are the clips of early Willie Nelson with short, slick hair in sweaters and turtlenecks doing what seems like an Andy Williams/Perry Como impression.

The production values are on a level that us former documentary makers can only dream about. A forty-five playing on a jukebox resolves into a concert poster and then a live performance. Whitney Houston’s mega hit of “I Will Always Love You” is followed by Dolly’s story about how Elvis wanted the song but she would not give up the publishing rights to Col. Tom Parker so it never happened.

The theme of rebellion is also part of Grohl’s attraction to Zac Brown who forced Sony Records to withdraw The Lost Trailers version of his debut single, “Chicken Fried.”

“I’m drawn to outsiders,” Grohl adds.

Grohl is a low-profile interviewer, letting his subjects have the air-time although he can’t resist joining the Zac Brown Band in a live performance at the Country Music Awards. His reverence for the roots of American music has led to a major contribution to preserving its history.  And his ability to synthesize each week’s experience into a fresh and memorable song is a real kicker.

The “Sonic Highways” CD is in stores. The video series is available on demand for HBO subscribers on HBOgo.

Bob Dylan Redux (Again!)

Before there were music phenomenons like Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber, there was Bob Dylan. But wait. He is still here. Most likely he’ll be going your way and then mine real soon. Tuesday he is coming to Washington, DC, his 29^th visit to the area in the last 26 years, in what many call the Never Ending Tour.

Dylan’s on stage visibility today is in sharp contrast to the disappearing act  he did in the late 60’s after his motorcycle accident. That period, when he holed up with The Band in Woodstock, NY, is back in the news with the release of yet another version of The Basement Tapes. This six-CD set comes with a title like a PBS documentary: “The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11” and a $93 price tag. The 139 songs were recorded back in 1967, released as a double album in 1975 and have been bootlegged for years as the “secret” sessions have been analyzed by critics and fans for years. Greil Marcus devoted a 2011 book to the recording sessions, Old Weird America.

The questions raised about the sessions have often overshadowed the music. Was Dylan hiding out to lick his wounds after the turbulence created by the switch from acoustic to electric in 1966? Were they designed as a ploy in a battle with record labels? Was he trying to reinvent himself? Or return to his roots? Or just goofing around with the boys?

As always with Dylan (and with other great bodies of work like The Talmud or The Bible) there are more questions than answers and an army of interpreters ready to jump on the train and ride it as far as possible.

John Howells writing his dissertation for punkhart.com. called this Dylan’s “greatest body of work.” Sasha Frere-Jones, in The New Yorker (Nov. 3), wrote, “Better to approach it as a toolbox than as a serial listening experience…For every moment of revelation there are five throwaways.” He noted that the 1975 album showed that Robbie Robertson (who produced it), “with some exceptions knew which the good songs were.”

Football has its fantasy leagues, baseball has the hot stove league and Dylan keeps dishing out old audio recordings for us to dissect and debate. For holiday shoppers, it is a perfect marketing tool. For music mavens it is the gift that keeps on giving as they chart the tributaries of the Americana music catalog.

And finally, this revival gives well-deserved credit to the boys from Canada who represented the power behind the throne. Robbie Robertson co-wrote “Tears of Rage” and Rick Danko co-wrote “This Wheel’s On Fire.” They went into these sessions as “The Hawks” and after Levon Helm joined them, emerged with “Music From Big Pink” and the start of a Hall of Fame career.

James Brown: Super(music)man

One of my favorite uses of faint praise to damn a mediocre performance is “He don’t stop no show.”  That could never be used against James Brown as the new documentary, “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown,” demonstrates on HBO.

From the first time he slides onto the stage by wiggling one patent leather shoe back and forth, you are reminded that this is the man who created it all. As the film unfolds, it becomes clear how the threads of the blues, R & B, soul, jazz, funk and rock are all tied together by the cord connected to his microphone and by the life he led.

Director Alex Gibney does a masterful job of using Brown’s performances and hit songs as a soundtrack to his life and our times.  Brown croons “Georgia” as the narration reveals his hardscrabble early life  when both parents abandoned him and he was sent to live with an aunt who ran a whorehouse.

Later “It’s A Man’s World” underpins the story of how Brown flew to Jackson, Mississippi to perform after James Meredith was shot. He sings “If I Ruled The World,” as the film tells how his show in Boston after Martin Luther King was assassinated was broadcast live on public television and kept the city calm. “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” is credited with changing the consciousness of an entire generation of young people.

While Brown is the star, the rich anecdotes from Bobby Byrd and the backing musicians (Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis, Clyde Stubblefield, Fred Wesley, Melvin Parker, John Jabo Stark) and his Cape Man, Danny Ray, offer insights into the man and his music.

Ellis talks about how Brown came in with a song idea but all he did was grunt. “My job was to take those grunts and make music.”  The result was “Cold Sweat.”  Melvin Parker talks about pulling a gun on Brown to keep him from hitting Maceo in the mouth. They all talk about how tightfisted he was but recalled fondly how his ruthless discipline (he would flash fines for missed notes live on stage) made them into the amazing band they became.

The historic footage from “The Tammy Show,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show” and “Soul Train” is worth the price of admission (or the monthly HBO fee).  As is the duet he does with Hubert Humphrey at a campaign rally in 1968 or the performance at the Nixon inaugural ball.

At one point, Brown talked about shining shoes as a kid for pennies in front of a radio station in Augusta, Georgia. “Now I own it.” For Brown it was about the show and the business.

Neil Young By The Book

   

  

News of Farm Aid’s annual concert this weekend prompted another look at Neil Young’s autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace,  and its collection of musical insights, shout outs to his friends and progress reports on his various causes. It’s got a wealth of anecdotes about his collaborations, his family and friends.

Young’s musical Mt. Rushmore status gives him literary license to write (and ramble) all he wants. It’s also given him the wealth to own ranches, yachts, model trains and vintage Cadillacs and to support causes from The Bridge School to electric cars.

All of which led me back to an old Kris Kristofferson song, "The Pilgrim—Chapter 33:"

He’s a walking contradiction

Partly truth and partly fiction

Then sometimes it is best to stop trying to figure out what makes very creative people tick and just enjoy their insights (and music).

For example, in talking about his friendship with Bruce and Bob, he notes that they don’t talk very often, but notes, “It is a silent fraternity of sorts, occupying this space in people’s souls with our music.”

“Dylan’s words are part of the landscape, like country names on a map.”

On musicians writing memoirs: “Writing is very convenient, has a low expense and is a

great way to pass the time. I highly recommend it to any old rocker who is out of cash and doesn’t know what to do next.”

On saving the album as an art form: “I think it has a future and a past. The album cover and liner notes reached out to the music lover, filling them with images and helping to illuminate the story behind the music, the feeling from the artist.”

“Rock and roll is no cakewalk. It was and is a shrewd and unforgiving business if you made some bad decisions about our representation when you were young.”

For the most part, Neil has avoided most of those traps although his creative control battles have become their own legends. The stories of how his best and worst albums were created will send you deep into your vinyl archives.

And back to the words of the Pilgrim:

He’s a poet…He’s a prophet…He’s a pilgrim…He’s a preacher…

Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.

For a good time: Call The Neverly Brothers

Eric Brace, singer, songwriter and founder of Last Train Home came to his old stomping grounds this month during an acoustic tour with partner Peter Cooper and  guitarist Thomm Jutz.

Their sound might be called New Nashville: a little bit country, a little bit bluegrass, a rocking beat and head-snapping lyrics. Whether they are mourning the loss of love, the twist of bad fortune or mocking stuffed shirts, they are sharing intimate moments. The tiny Jammin Java café in Vienna, Virginia was the perfect place to share that kind of music.

Mostly they were just having a good time poking fun at each other, their years of laboring in relative obscurity in Nashville (hence the nickname of “Neverly Brothers”)  and about making music, especially with the old masters.

Here are some excerpts from The Comeback Album:

(Ponzi Scheme)

Lost my sunbeam in a ponzi scheme

Don’t ask me how that works

Should have read the fine print

Devil’s in the details

I’m really not a fine print guy

She’s the one in the wrong here

I got the run around

Took my love and everything that wasn’t bolted down

Rust and rubber, hard concrete, that ‘s the view from under the bus.

(She Can’t Be Herself)

She’s unabashed and unconcerned and needing to be free

And she can’t be herself when she’s with me

(Nobody Knows)

The best laid plans are a stick in the craw

You pledge allegiance to whatever you allege

I pledge allegiance to the luck of the draw…

All I know is nobody knows

Nobody, nobody knows.

Throughout the evening, as I listened to their ditties about mundane events and ordinary people (who offered big lessons in life) on songs like Grandma’s Batman Tattoo or Big Steve, I was reminded of Steve Goodman and Arlo Guthrie.

As Cooper and Brace carve their own musical paths, they pay tribute to their influences, doing strong covers of Tom T. Hall’s I Flew Over Our House, The Seldom Scene’s signature take on Herb Pedersen’s Wait A Minute and Johnny Cash’s Lay Me Down.

Cooper’s tenor and Brace’s baritone match beautifully and Jutz’s guitar mastery, amplified through an exterior mike, completed the effect of having a studio full of musicians.

On the CD itself, Jutz is joined by pedal steel legend, Lloyd Green, session man supreme who has played on 115 number one hits.  Green’s magical music is also showcased on Brace & Cooper’s “Master Sessions” CD which also features the late dobro virtuoso Mike Auldridge.

Red Beet Records is Brace and Cooper’s label in East Nashville and one hopes it will help grow their music business to the point of a new nickname: Foreverly Brothers.

(Boxcars)

Every dream is a boxcar

I’ve got a freight train

Every wish is an open road

And I’ll drive forever.

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Still Teaching

The Marrakesh Express stopped in Northern Virginia last night and a sold-out crowd at Wolf Trap got on board for a ride back to the sweet music spots of the 1960’s and 70’s.

Graham Nash established a tone of intimacy with his anecdotes about Joni Mitchell and the lyrics from I Used To Be A King:

It’s all right. I’m okay now. How are you?...

Someone is going to take my heart

But no one’s going to break my heart again.

Nash was the master of ceremonies, presiding in bare feet on an oriental carpet, introducing songs, extolling his band mates and announcing that his son had twin boys earlier that day.

Stephen Stills was the jokester, noting how the song, Tree Top Flyer, about the brave men who delivered medical supplies from Mexico to California, had been dated by the changes in Colorado law. “There are probably so many lobbyists in this audience,” he added, “We should set a lobster trap.”

And the silver-maned David Crosby said that while many people thought the group at this stage, “should be creeping off to die, we just didn’t feel like it.”

Despite the passage of time, CSN, can still deliver their timeless lyrics and mesmerizing harmonies. Graham and David had the crowd holding its breath as they performed Guinevere and Helplessly Hoping.  Stephen Stills brought it to its feet with some whip-cracking guitar solos on Southern Cross and Bluebird.

There were a couple of pleasant surprises. Nash’s new songs that paid tribute to Levon Helm (Back Home) and a protest rant against China’s oppression in Tibet (Burning for the Buddha) were as good as his classics. And they have not lost a step when it comes to political passion with I Don’t Want Lies, and Military Madness.

The backing musicians could deliver a wall of sound on cue and second guitarist (and co-lyricist) Shane Fontayne was a standout.  But the charm of this evening was the feel of a living room concert in (Our House), thumbing through the music sheets in guitar cases to find songs everyone knew and liked.

And we shook the windows as we sang word-for-word on For What It’s Worth and Love the One You’re With.

The third surprise was how many young people were on hand (much more than for the usual favorite boomer bands) and how many were with parents.  Then it dawned on me: This was the Teach Your Children Tour, which was why they saved that for the encore.

Four decades later, Crosby Stills and Nash still get it: The past is just a good bye.

And they continue to feed us on their dreams.