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Idelic Keeps On Keeping On | Greetings from Laurel Canyon. . . Memorial Day weekend is here. Does this mean summer or June gloom?
It’s coming up on a year that I’ve started doing radio shows and it only seemed obvious to use this week’s holiday as the inspiration for a playlist. Fact is, every day is Memorial Day on my turntable! It’s all about paying tribute the great artists and songs of the past while celebrating the new. By mix’s end it was really about just “keeping on keeping on!’
I did start my week thinking on a commemorative tip. I noted recent anniversaries of departures and arrivals; Miles Davis, Sonny Boy Williamson, Ian Cutis, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Guitar Watson.
Ultimately, I felt these angels sitting on my shoulder whispering “play us some new cats!” So indeed, this week’s hour is loaded with new releases from Midlake, Dead Weather, First Aid Kit, Luther Russell, School of Seven Bells, LCD Soundsystem, Toro Y Moi, The Cults and Flying Lotus.
A few weeks back Jon Sidel spun Jonneine Zapata's 'Good Looking' on what's become my favorite TVD feature, the brilliant 'Idelic Hour' which broadcasts here each Friday at the close of the week.
For the better part of the weekend I was singing to myself, "I'm good looking/you're good looking/What are we gonna do...?"
Well, it’s a wrap as they used to say in Hollywood. I sure have had a good time jawing with you about all this stuff that has happened to me at one point or another.
I had no idea when I came out to California when I was just 17 years old what would happen—I was scared shitless and I had only 1 phone number of this girl I used to know and 80 bucks in my pocket. I was determined to make something out of myself and I really wanted to be a rock star. Sometimes it seemed so futile and I had no idea how we could break through all the shit it would take to become famous—the industry was so aloof and impossible to reach. The bands and records we saw in record shops seemed to be made by gods not humans and it seemed impossible for us to ever get included in that world.
Well, we kept at it, and the more they said no, we said yes, and with each set back and defeat we got stronger, we refused to give up no matter how bleak and unrealistic it seemed. Even my own parents were dubious as to the success of what we were trying to do. But we loved music, we loved it to its core, it was the only thing that mattered to us, it was our food and our air, without it we would die.
It was hard place—California in the mid 1970’s—no one gave a shit about us, we were totally insignificant to everyone, we were thrown out of every record store and not one single record company would take our call, except for one, Gregg Shaw at Bomp Records….the same company that will now release my 13th studio album!
We are a living testament to what can happen if you don’t give up, if you follow your dreams no matter how ridiculous they may seem to others, no matter how hard it may be to keep going in the face of all opposition, no matter what the powers to be may have to say….my advice to you my friends, is to keep on rocking!
Thank you for listening in to the musings of your pal… —Paul Collins, NYC, May 26, 2010
How can you walk around the streets of Memphis and not write a soul song? It’s almost as if the oxygen there has been permanently bonded to sharp horn stabs floating in the air. As Canastamade our way down I-40 and crossed the Arkansas-Tennessee border, it was as if the ghosts of soul past and present jumped in the car and started humming in our ears.
Our good friend Rachel Hurley (aka Rachelandthecity) had set up an in-studio performance/webcast at Ardent Studios, as well as a show at the Hi-Tone for the evening. We hadn’t played Memphis before, and weren’t sure exactly what to expect. The strong musical history of Memphis was definitely well known by the band, so we were excited to see famous landmarks. But it didn’t truly speak to us till we walked through the hallways of Ardent Studios. Hanging on the walls were gold records by the like of Al Green, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the MGs , and The Bar-Kays.
The owner and founder of Ardent, John Fry, was soon introduced to us and immediately he made you feel like you were best buds from back in the day. He showed us some the classic equipment used on some of those gold albums, including a vintage vinyl mastering console. For techies, it was like the gold star-backstage pass. We soon found out that it wasn’t just Mr. Fry who made you feel at ease and comfortable, but the people and surroundings of Memphis itself. There’s something to this soul thing.
The next day we were treated to a personal tour of the Stax Museum by John. He had done work on so many of the these artists these great albums, and had the personal insight you couldn’t get from reading biographies. Each exhibits brought together live recordings and videotape from Stax’s top artists. Something about the combination of the mood of the town and people, along with music we were hearing connected everything flawlessly.
I have always been a fan of the Memphis horns, but I was blown away by the work ethic and creativity these guys had. They would hang around the studio day and night, and whoever happened to be recording would ultimately need horns at some point. They were the gold stamp on many of the best soul albums from the 70’s. You couldn’t help but be inspired, and the entire band knew when we returned to Chicago, priority 1 was writing a soul song.
Our next song writing session found us working something upbeat. Something that made you feel like summertime and nodding your head to the groove. We eventually came up with the name “Summer Soul Song” that was pretty literal in the mood of the tune. That song went through so many incarnations, but didn’t really capture what we felt.
During one of our retreats we revisited the tune and started experimenting with different variation. A smooth flowing organ and pulsing hammer-on guitar lick soon set the tone for that mood we sought so hard to capture in Memphis. Studio time brought the appearance of our much needed horns, and that gave us “Reading the Map Upside Down”. Listen, and you can’t help but let your head rock back and forth with a sly smile. Thanks Memphis!!
Enter to win Canasta's 'The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather' on CD by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but who's counting?)
To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.
