Archive for January, 2011
Butch Vig
When something rocks, it’s because of the way it feels. It’s not necessarily because of the guitar sound. I have noticed—and I’m sometimes guilty as charged—that Pro Tools has made the process of recording bands much easier. You can take bands that aren’t particularly good and make them sound super-slick. And there’s nothing wrong with […]
Steve Winwood
I don’t think songwriter ever gets easier. It certainly doesn’t get any less interesting. It’s still fascinating and there’s still no easy solution with songwriting. It’s a vast skill or craft or art or whatever it may be. I never think I know how to do it, so I keep a respect for the process […]
Amos Lee: Mission Bell
Amos Lee’s new “Mission Bell” invites you on a personal journey of loss, redemption and hope wrapped in a voice of soft leather.
Buddy Holly’s Final Ed Sullivan Appearance
On January 26, 1958, Buddy Holly and the Crickets made their second and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show—this time earning the well-known wrath of the host. They were scheduled to perform their hit “Oh, Boy!,” but Sullivan told them to substitute it because he felt it was too raucous. You can imagine how […]
Vince Gill
You’ve got all kinds of different elements that make up country music. I mean when I think of country music it’s still to me Hank Williams and three chords—that sensibility more than hook lines and repeating the chorus and signatures for guitarists to play, you know what I mean? It seemed to be a lot […]
Laura Nyro
I think that in music there’s a oneness, there’s a sweetness. Or there can be. What I call music, anyway … the music I like. I go to it for that oneness and that sweetness. If you look at the world, there’s so much separation. There are polarities and wars. But to sense a oneness […]
Don Was
I remember the first day I ever recorded with Dylan. The assistant engineer ran a cassette of the session, and there’s a moment where Bob is standing at the piano trying to tell me what he wants to do next, and I’m arguing with him. I had a preconception about what Bob Dylan should sound […]
Greg Tannen: Maybe the Sun
NYC-based Greg Tannen is one of the hardest-working independent songwriters on the circuit. Garnering praise from Performing Songwriter for each of his three previous CDs, his newest, Maybe the Sun, hits the mark again. Enjoy!
Lamont Dozier
When I got to Motown, I had an idea—I wanted to get rid of this stigma of “race music.” There were some nasty events that happened to me as a child, racial things. I figured that music could bring people together. It was that one common denominator that could get around all obstacles, all hatreds […]
Ani DiFranco
I think it’s important to tell our stories – just to add it to the soup – because I think in the end it’s more flavorful than if there were only a few. Especially for people who can’t see their stories on TV or read them in history books and stand up for themselves. Their […]