The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: If influential US singer-songwriter and guitarist JJ Cale's career was unsung, his songs were not. JJ Cale's biggest hit under his own name was Crazy Mama in 1971, but his greatest success was as a provider of rock standards for other artistes. Cale, who died on July 26 of a heart attack aged 74, did not crave the spotlight for himself, but was delighted by the way artistes such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and especially Eric Clapton turned his songs into enduring anthems. "I'd probably be selling shoes today if it wasn't for Eric," said Cale in 2006. Clapton was first introduced to Cale's music when he was working with the husband-and-wife duo Delaney & Bonnie. He recorded Cale's After Midnight for his first solo album, Eric Clapton, in 1970, and it reached No.18 in the US singles chart. The song would become a staple in Clapton's live shows, and he made a new recording of it, which gained widespead recognition by being used in a 1988 Michelob beer commercial (and some notoriety too, since this coincided with Clapton seeking treatment for alcoholism). Cale's song Cocaine also became closely identified with Clapton, who had a US top 30 hit with it in 1980. Other Cale songs covered by Clapton included I'll Make Love To You Anytime and Low Down, the latter appearing on his 2009 live album with Steve Winwood alongside both Cocaine and After Midnight. In 2006 Clapton and Cale collaborated on the album The Road To Escondido, a project inspired by Clapton's admiration for Cale's low-key expertise as a record-maker. "I've never really succeeded in getting a record to sound like him and that's what I want," said Clapton. The album won the duo a Grammy in 2008. The raucous southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd played their part in advancing Cale's reputation when they recorded his song Call Me The Breeze for their album Second Helping (1974), a multi-platinum smash. However, Skynyrd's rollicking, multi-guitar barrage bore little resemblance to Cale's loose and laid-back original. It was part of the allure of Cale's music that its superficial simplicity concealed a considerable degree of craftsmanship. As Clapton put it, Cale's music was "a strange hybrid. It's not really blues, it's not really folk or country or rock 'n' roll. It's somewhere in the middle." John Weldon Cale was born in Oklahoma City, and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He later styled himself "JJ" to avoid any confusion with John Cale of the Velvet Underground. He graduated from Tulsa Central high school in 1956, then began playing in local country and rockabilly bands. His musical tastes were broad, ranging from western swing to jazz and rhythm and blues, and he cited Elvis Presley's guitarist Scotty Moore as a big influence on his own playing. At first, he plied his trade as an itinerant guitar player. "If a guy came up and said 'we got a polka band and we're going to play polkas next Saturday night' I'd play polkas," recalled Cale. "I tried to play anything people would hire me to play, because I was a musician." Cale was friendly with a fellow Tulsa musician, Leon Russell, and at his behest moved to Los Angeles, where he found regular work. It was there that Cale made his first recordings of his own songs, cutting three singles for the Liberty label, one of which featured After Midnight as a B side. They were not commercially successful, however. Cale subsequently joined a band called the Leathercoated Minds, who in 1967 recorded an album of psychedelic cover versions called A Trip Down The Sunset Strip. Cale later described this as "terrible". He returned to Oklahoma, and in 1970 he heard Clapton's recording of After Midnight, an experience he likened to "discovering oil in your own backyard". The producer Audie Ashworth invited Cale to Nashville to record an album, which resulted in Naturally (1972). It was released on Russell's Shelter label, and tracks included Call Me The Breeze and a new version of After Midnight, alongside Crazy Mama, the song that gave Cale his first and only substantial hit as himself, going to No.22 on the US singles chart. Naturally laid down a template from which Cale would deviate little over a string of reliably addictive albums recorded over the ensuing decades, which included Really (1973), Okie (1974), Troubadour (1976), Travel Log (1990), Guitar Man (1996), To Tulsa And Back (2004) and Roll On (2009). Cale was credited with creating "the Tulsa sound", though in reality it was uniquely personal to him. It would typically include a sinuous, choogling rhythm and simple melody, sparing embellishments on guitar, pedal steel or keyboards, and lyrics delivered by Cale as though he was having an after-hours chat with a friendly bartender. Cale would often play most of the instruments himself, experimenting tirelessly with different tones and techniques. He was fascinated with new technology, whether it was digital recording, new types of electric guitar pickups or drum machines, which he presciently used on his first album. "As the years went by and technology came in, I used a lot of technology," he said. "I try and manufacture recordings to sound spontaneous. Then, some things are spontaneous." Whatever his secret, Cale's music has proved remarkably durable and influential. Other artistes who covered his songs included the Allman Brothers Band, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and Waylon Jennings, while Neil Young praised Cale's Crazy Mama in his 2012 memoir Waging Heavy Peace. "The song is true, simple, and direct, and the delivery is very natural," Young wrote. "JJ's guitar playing is a huge influence on me. His touch is unspeakable." Cale was more than happy to see what other artistes could make of his music. "I kind of write songs hoping that musicians will take them and make them better and more accessible," he said. He could hardly believe his luck in being able to make a comfortable living writing and recording songs in his own way at his own pace. "When my songs started raking in some funds I thought, 'What's the use of working all the time?' I believe in no work at all if you can get away with it. I'd recommend writing songs. You get all of the money and none of the bother." Earlier this year, the box set Classic Album Selection, featuring five of Cale's seminal albums, was released. Clapton's album Old Sock (2013) included a guest appearance by Cale on his own song, Angel. Cale is survived by his wife and regular musical collaborator, Christine Lakeland. – Guardian News & Media 2013 |
| Posted: Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda shares his passion for art and music. MIKE Shinoda loves to make art. His passion for the subject was evident during the recent telephone interview from Los Angeles, and the Linkin Park rapper spoke so passionately about artwork, writing songs and his music that one couldn't help but feel inspired. Linkin Park – also made up of vocalist Chester Bennington, guitarist Brad Delson, bass guitarist Dave Farrell, drummer Rob Bourdon and turntablist Joe Hahn – has been around since 1996, and besides its unique nu metal and rap rock hybrid, the band is also known for its meaningful lyrics. Singles such as In The End, Crawling and Numb are favourites among young listeners who relate to the angst and anxiety featured in the songs and Shinoda, the principal songwriter for the band, is largely responsible for connecting with the youth and giving them a chance to express themselves through the band's music. "I'm writing new Linkin Park material, but I'm always writing so that's not news," said Shinoda, 36, who is involved in various solo side projects, including the notable solo act Fort Minor which produced the hit song Where'd You Go?. Shinoda has also produced records for underground hip hop group Styles of Beyond and rapper Ghostface Killah, besides collaborating with hip hop heavyweight Jay Z. Shinoda revealed that the songwriting process has become easier for him now as compared to when the band first started. "For me, it's evolved over the time. I used to force ideas together, but now it's about clearing my head, trying to pull things together for specific things that I want to do." Unlike most songwriters who have at least a vague idea of the direction their song is taking, Shinoda prefers to find out what the song means at the end of his writing sessions. "I am the opposite of the guy who knows how the song is going to end," he said jokingly. The musician revealed that he practises automatic writing – a method introduced to him by renowned record producer Rick Rubin, with whom Shinoda co-produced Linkin Park's 2007 album Minutes To Midnight, 2010 album A Thousand Suns and their latest release Living Things. "He opened our minds to automatic writing and we would just go into the recording booth without any ideas. Even if the words are gibberish and don't make any sense, we just go through with it and see if we can pull something out of it in the end." What used to initially be an embarrassing process was made easier after Shinoda learned that famous songwriters also follow the method and that even the The Beatles' hit song Yesterday got its opening verse that way. "I heard that Paul McCartney initially recorded it as 'Scrambled eggs, my baby how I love your legs' instead of 'Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away'," he said with a laugh. When not making music – which is not often – Shinoda said that he fills his time doing something that he's loved to do since he was young. "I grew up painting and drawing and that's something that I've come back to (in recent years). It's an outlet (to be creative) when I'm not making music." Shinoda graduated from the Art Center College of Design of Pasadena in 1998, and was the youngest person in his class at the time. He credits his years in the college for preparing him for being in a band as it taught him how take and form constructive criticism – which Linkin Park is often subjected to. "In college, we had to put up our projects in front of the class and everyone would tell you why it's horrible. At that time it felt like abuse but the intention was not to get beaten down. We had to learn how to constructively give and take criticism and eventually, it was easier for us to tackle difficult topics more clearly." Shinoda, who thought that he'd grow up to be a painter, dabbles in art and has several ongoing art projects with various organisations. However, Shinoda said that despite sharing his creativity and artwork with millions of people around the world, at the end of the day, he creates the work for himself. "Art is subjective, you know. If you've grown up as an artiste you'd realise that you don't always connect with the audience. You say something and they think it's something else. "First and foremost, you have to do it for yourself. If you're doing art for other people, then you're putting your happiness in someone else's hands." Unlike artistes like Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson who love to portray their art through fashion, Shinoda prefers to let his work speak for itself. "I don't need to wear certain type of clothes for people to know that I'm an artist. In fact, the way that my band has been is actually kind of awesome for me right now. I can still go to the supermarket (unnoticed)," he said. Shinoda clarified that neither he nor his band members go to extreme lengths to not get recognised in public, although he feels that the anonymity sometimes allows them to focus on the more important things in life. "Our focus is 100% on the shows. We spend most of the time writing and preparing for our shows." "Chester is the one who gets prepared the most. If we're in the same hotel and he's one floor above me and 10 rooms away, I can still hear him singing. He gets ready for the show in the afternoon when the performance only starts at night." Fans will get to see all the hard work Shinoda and his band members put into their performances when they perform in Kuala Lumpur later this month. Shinoda is looking forward to returning to Malaysia after Linkin Park's first performance here over a decade ago. The band played to over 25,000 fans at Stadium Merdeka in October 2003, while Fort Minor's concert in Malaysia took place in February 2005. "It's been super long since we've been to KL and we're excited to go back there. The fans have not heard a lot of our music from our last albums – they would've seen them online but not live and that's a big difference. We cannot wait to see them all again."
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| Posted: Harry Connick Jr's latest release is an unfiltered musical trip down a winding back road. IT took Harry Connick Jr two long years before his new album finally came into fruition. "It was a long, long, time!" he admits of his Every Man Should Know album, which is available now in record stores here. "Most of our records don't take that long, plus I recorded this in many different cities, some of it in New York, Nashville, New Orleans and Los Angeles. You know, I have done records in a day before, where you go and record the whole thing and go home. This one was a much bigger project and the musicians were in different areas, so this was a two-year deal," wrote Connick, 45, in a recent e-mail interview. The multi-talented artiste describes the 12 songs for the new Every Man Should Know collection as having, "no rules, no limits." "With my previous albums, there were themes. I wanted to do all ballads or all New Orleans funk music, or whatever it was. But on this one, I decided I was just going to write a bunch of tunes and wherever it goes, it goes," he noted. "All of my earlier recordings have also been limit pushers, self-imposed challenges that led me to small, but important personal victories. This effort is no different, except for one thing – I don't recall ever reaching quite as deeply – or confidently – into my inhibition pool." Connick's career has seen several highlights, including his early work on the When Harry Met Sally in 1989, the career consolidating To See You in 1997 and the expansive New Orleans tribute on Oh, My Nola in 2007. On this new album, Connick collaborates once again with longtime New Orleans-raised friends Branford Marsalis (soprano sax on Let Me Stay) and Wynton Marsalis (trumpet on Being Alone). Incidentally, while still in school, Connick began taking classes at the New Orleans Centre for the Creative Arts with pianist Ellis Marsalis, their father. All the songs in the Every Man Should Know album are written by Connick, something he's proud of. The range of these songs touches on love and loss, celebration and sorrow, tragedy and hope. The title track Every Man Should Know was inspired by real life. "I was building a workbench with a carpenter friend and my lack of knowledge about carpentry left me feeling so inadequate," revealed Connick. "It led me to think about other things that every man should know, like how to change a tyre. Then, I began thinking about what everybody should know how to do, and that's to love." Asked if he is providing advice to menfolk with his album title, Connick lets out big "no." "I would never give anybody advice! I don't know what I am doing … I know what works for me and this song is just my take on it," he said. "There is a line in the song 'able men will keep the world turning for the rest of us making our way'. I am just glad there are people who can fly airplanes, people who can run countries, and people who are journalists. Everyone has got their own thing. That's how the world goes around." If you remember, Connick's musical break came from the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally. The 1989 movie, starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, became a hit, fuelling double platinum album sales for Connick's soundtrack, which also garnered him his first Grammy award. Since then, he has continued to churn out bestsellers, besides dabbling in acting. Connick's next movie role is Dolphin Tale 2, which is set for release next September. Prior to Dolphin Tale, Connick last appeared in the romantic comedy New In Town with Renee Zellweger. He will next be seen in the starring role of When Angels Sing along with Connie Britton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson. "I love doing both. Acting is like taking a line and repeating it a hundred times and finding new things every time. Broadway acting is a whole different deal. It's like taking 50 songs, creating a story and telling the entire story. They all have different fulfilments for me. If I had to pick, it would be singing but they are all so different and so stimulating that it's hard to choose." When he's writing a tune, Connick is extremely focused and switches off from the outside world. "I can't hear anything, like my phone would ring and not only do I not want to answer it, I can't. You go so deeply into that part of your brain that is creative. It's almost like you are going into a cave. I am not me. I am not the guy you are talking to now … I am in a zone," he explained. He says this is his best record yet, though there are many he is proud of. "The purpose of those records was very different. I have done jazz trio records, this is not that, but as far as a songwriting record, this is the best one I have done so far." Despite all his fame and fortune on stage and screen, Connick is a regular guy who likes walking in the woods, going on his boat, fishing, watching horror movies and sports. The heartthrob is kept grounded by his wife, former Victoria Secret model Jill Goodacre, and their three daughters. "I couldn't live without them. My children and my family are number one."
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