Steve Hillage interview: The intergalactic musical evolution of a guitar rocketeer

By Ray Shasho

Steve Hillage Interview

British prog-rock guitarist and songwriter Steve Hillage has been perpetually exploring, inventing, and recording intricate musical composition since the late 60s. Hillage navigated his ingenuity across a spectrum of musical genres including blues, rock, prog-rock, psychedelic-rock, space-rock, ambient, electronica and techno.
Steve Hillage joined his first band called Uriel in 1968; he left the group shortly afterwards to attend University of Kent in Canterbury. Meanwhile, the band renamed themselves Egg after signing with Decca Records. The following year, Hillage reunited with his bandmates under assumed names to record their lone album entitled, Arzachel. The recording featured a seventeen minute psychedelic jam session called, “Metempsychosis.”

In 1971, Hillage formed the progressive/space rock group Khan, which was part of the Canterbury scene. Khan released their only album Space Shanty in’72. The group also toured around the UK supporting their label partner Caravan. A second album was planned but the band split-up. Material for the planned second album was used on Hillage’s first solo-effort called Fish Rising.

In 1973, Steve Hillage joined prog-rock pioneer Kevin Ayers new band Decadence. He played on the bands fourth studio album Bananamour (recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London) and toured throughout Europe for several months. Hillage become a fan of the experimental rock group Gong and eventually joined them in France to participate on their album Flying Teapot (The first installment of The ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ Trilogy).

Steve Hillage became a full-time member of Gong and the classic line-up evolved into … Daevid Allen –guitarist/vocals, Steve Hillage- guitars, Gilli Smyth -vocals, Didier Malherbe -saxophonist/flautist, Tim Blake –keyboards/synthesizers, Mike Howlett -bass guitar and Pierre Moerlen -drums and percussions.
Hillage became notably influential during the most successful period in the bands history. The recordings of The ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ Trilogy” featured Gong’s best known works, Flying Teapot, Angel’s Egg and You.

Steve Hillage, who became the undisputed leader of Gong, left the group in 1975. While still in the band, Hillage launched his critically-acclaimed debut album, Fish Rising. The recording would prove to be pivotal in establishing a successful and long-standing solo career for the progressive rock trailblazer.
Next, Steve Hillage would record a string of musically profound albums. The first entitled simply, L (1976) produced by the genius of Todd Rundgren. The recording also featured many members from Rundgren’s progressive rock group Utopia. The album spotlighted several cover tunes … “Hurdy Gurdy Man” by Donovan and, “It’s All Too Much” penned by George Harrison from The Beatles, Yellow Submarine album of 1969.
Motivation Radio (1977) was Hillage’s third solo release followed by Green (1978) co-produced and engineered by Pink Floyd’s acclaimed drummer Nick Mason.
Subsequent releases by Steve Hillage were Live Herald, Rainbow Dome Musick, For To Next, and For To Next/And Not Or.
Throughout the 80s, Steve Hillage worked as a record producer with such artist as Robyn Hitchcock, Simple Minds, It Bites and Murray Head. Hillage also produced the Up To Our Hips album by British alternative rock band The Charlatans in 1994.

In 1991, former Gong members Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy formed the ambient-techno dance band System 7. The band became part of an underground dance movement around London. They released the self-titled, System 7 album followed with their second release, 777 in 1993 which reached the UK Top 40 album charts.
System 7 also launched spin-off projects called Mirror System and Groovy Intent. System 7 released (10) studio albums, and Mirror System released (2) studio albums. Steve Hillage became an ambient-techno cult hero.
Hillage and Giraudy performed at the ‘Gong Family Unconvention 2006’ at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. The three day event featured the original members of Gong and a setlist consisting of material from The ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ Trilogy. The duo also performed music by The Steve Hillage Band and System 7.

In 2008, the successful ‘Gong Family Unconvention’ was resurrected in London for several shows. The line-up also included original members Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, and Mike Howlett.
In 2009, Gong released 2032, billed as a further installment to the Gong mythology (the central part being The ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ Trilogy). The album was produced and mixed by Steve Hillage.

Steve Hillage will be re-releasing, The Steve Hillage Band Live -The 2006 concert at the ‘Gong Family Unconvention’ in Amsterdam and will be available on DVD and CD on September 12th. It’s the first live performance by The Steve Hillage Band in 25 years!
Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy will be releasing a brand new System 7 EP very soon, and watch out for a new collaboration with Japan’s Rovo.

I had the rare and pleasant opportunity to chat with Steve Hillage by Skype from his home in England. Here’s my interview with guitar virtuoso, songwriter, singer, techno and progressive cult hero, and experimental music trailblazer, STEVE HILLAGE.
Ray Shasho: Steve, how are you?
Steve Hillage: “Pretty good, not amazing, I’ve had problems with my mobile phone company and have been on the phone a lot to change my tariff and it’s been really-really boring, but apart from that everything is fine. The weather is getting better here.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve always appreciated progressive rock music and grew up mesmerized by bands like … Camel, Triumvirat, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, the rock orchestra Synergy, and of course Gong. What artists inspired you into creating your own style of music?
Steve Hillage: “I’ve always said that my number one inspiration has got to be Jimi Hendrix …absolutely by a long way. I was in school in the 60s, so I liked … The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Cream, and all that sort of stuff. When I started to get involved with more complex music, it was what we started doing in school. I roomed with a very interesting keyboard player named Dave Stewart who later had a group called ‘Egg’ and later ‘Hatfield and the North.’ We started working on music at school and getting into things with odd time signatures and things like that, and then we discovered other people were doing it. This was before the term “progressive rock” actually arose. But we discovered that there was sort of a hotbed of musicians doing it in Canterbury. By kind of a coincidence, I went to University in Canterbury and became friendly with bands like Caravan and Soft Machine.”

“I didn’t stay that long at University actually because I felt that music was a far more exciting thing to do, and that’s what ultimately led me into joining Gong, because Daevid Allen was Soft Machine’s original lead guitarist. He had already left before I met the guys, but he was still involved behind the scenes and I got involved in that scene. I introduced Daevid to the people in Canterbury, that’s how he ended up in ‘Hatfield and the North’, and …voila, the rest his history!”
Ray Shasho: Gong has had incredible longevity and developed a cult following, is that because they’re a band of virtuoso musicians?
Steve Hillage: “There have been a lot of different styles in Gong. In its classic period, you had a really amazing collection of strong individuals who had their own style and managed to come up with something that was both musically sophisticated and extremely psychedelic. There haven’t been many psychedelic projects that have had that level of musical technique, so it was pretty special in that respect. So in various later splitting up versions of Gong … you’ve had some aspects that have gone more for the musical techniques like Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, and others … obviously Daevid has stayed more with his own mythology, sort of quirkiness, and his humor. I went more into widescreen, psychedelic, guitar-based stuff. But they’ve all got elements of Gong in them. There are certainly elements of Gong in our dance music project System 7, and there a lot of people in the dance music scene that use to be Gong fans. It’s all one big family in a way … so we call it the “Gong Family.”
Ray Shasho: Wasn’t Bill Bruford in the band for awhile too?
Steve Hillage: “He didn’t last very long. We had a problem about a border crossing between Germany and France where are drummer had something in his pocket that he shouldn’t have. Customs banned him … which was bad for him but even worse for us because we had some gigs and didn’t have a drummer. We were on Virgin Records at the time and Richard Branson said, “I’ve got a great idea, I met Bill Bruford the other day and he’s looking for something to do ...he’d love to do it.”

“So he was on the next plane over. It was amazing working with him, but I think we were a little bit too wacky for his tastes on a personal level. He found us all a bit hard to handle. We did some really good recordings at some of the Buford gigs, around bootlegs, and pretty amazing stuff.”
Ray Shasho: Gong has certainly had an influence on electronica/dance music.
Steve Hillage: “We’ve certainly had an influence on things, but other bands in that era have also had an influence, particularly German groups like ‘Can’ and ‘Kraftwerk’ have had a big influence on modern electronic music as well. When we first heard Kraftwerk, it was still before they got involved with synths (synthesizers & keyboards) so they were still an acoustic band with flute. They developed into using synths after a few years but were originally a live band in the early 70s.”
Ray Shasho: Gong back in its heyday must have been amazing?
Steve Hillage: “It was exhilarating … a bit of a rollercoaster ride and chaotic. It was quite a combustible relationship of strong-minded people. So it kind of fell apart after a few years during the so-called classic line-up … in 1975 actually. There has been all kinds of offshoots and continuation Gongs and different types of Gongs since the classic line-up split up in ’75.”
Ray Shasho: Gong has reformed several times over the past several years as well … how did that come about?
Steve Hillage: “What happened was a group of fans started an annual event called an “Unconvention” and gradually various original Gong members got sucked into this. In 2005, we came along and we did a System 7 set … Daevid wasn’t there but Miquette, Didier Malherbe, Mike Howlett, Gilli Smyth and Tim Blake were there, so we said, let’s have a jam. We hadn’t played together in thirty years or more and it was really fantastic.”

“Then somebody came up with an idea for doing a really big “Unconvention” in Amsterdam at the Melkweg, so we all went and did our individual sets, then did our Gong set at the end. That’s where I decided to do a short Steve Hillage Band set, which is the recording that we’re releasing on DVD and CD. It’s already been out for a couple of years on a short scale, but we’re doing it on a bigger scale now on our own label. And it was that event in Amsterdam in November of 2006 that was very important for us, it was massive and fantastic, because after that we decided to make another Gong album, 2032, and we did a large tour in 2009 spilling over into 2010.”

“Which brings us into present day, right now Daevid is experimenting with a new style of Gong and I’m no longer involved … but I wish him well. There is going to be a tour this autumn. I’m not sure if they’re coming to America … primarily Europe and the UK.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, I watched The Steve Hillage Band live DVD from the ‘Unconvention’ in Amsterdam, and it was an incredible compilation of music played to its perfection, I gave it 5 stars.
Steve Hillage: “Fantastic, thank you very much. We also did some sets like that on the Gong tour. Mike Howlett played on that and was also on Fish Rising and was Gong’s bassist, we also had Chris Taylor who was the drummer of Gong. So we were playing like a live Gong support act, which was like half of the band and then we’d do the main set when the rest of Gong would appear.”

“If we do it again … which we might consider in the next year or two, it would be a standalone Steve Hillage Band, and I think if we did that, we’d need to do some new material as well. I wouldn’t want to do a tour just of the old material. I’m not really one of those artists who does sort of a legacy tour and play a whole hour of one album or something.”
Ray Shasho: I’m going to mention a few albums that you recorded in the past as The Steve Hillage Band and you can jump in with any comments if you see fit. First of all … Fish Rising was one of your best albums; it sort of had a ‘Mahavishnu Orchestra’ /Birds of Fire feel to it.
Steve Hillage: “Fish Rising was a very special album, quite a lot of material was written before I joined Gong … from the aborted second album with my band ‘Khan.’ I’ve kept that material while I was in Gong and it had very unique material, but it’s got a very strong Gong influence. It was all my original material with Canterbury influence in there as well. Yea, it was a very special album for sure. The majority of the set we did in Amsterdam at the Melkweg was material from Fish Rising.”
Another inspiring recording was your 1978 album, Green when you worked with Pink Floyd’s legendary drummer Nick Mason.
Steve Hillage: “We met Nick Mason during the last Gong album that I was involved with called Shamal … in the 70s after Daevid left. It was when I was in the process of leaving Gong so I didn’t have a huge involvement in that, but Nick Mason was the co-producer of that album and I got to know him then. He was just fantastic to work with.”
Ray Shasho: Todd Rundgren produced your second studio album called, L.
Steve Hillage: “It was quite interesting because I had really gotten into his material starting with Something/Anything and I followed his developments with Utopia and A Wizard, a True Star. When he came out with that record “Initiation,” I thought wow … he’s really like vanilla soul. I left Gong and we didn’t know how we were going to proceed, then one of the guy’s with Virgin Records said, “Hey, we’ve been talking with Todd Rundgren and he’s heard of you and into working with you.” I said let’s do that one with Todd! It all came together really rapidly actually and another exhilarating rollercoaster ride.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, was there an album you were ‘especially’ proud of?
Steve Hillage: “To tell you the truth, one of the ones I’m most proud of is one that didn’t appeal so much in America called, Motivation Radio. I thought it was very original and laid the basis for our development into electronics and dance music. There was a track on the Green album called; “Ether Ships” and I sometimes say … that was the first System 7 track.”
Ray Shasho: Talk about how System 7 came into its fruition.
Steve Hillage: “Basically at the end of the 70s, we stopped The Steve Hillage Band; I got into a lot of record producing work, and we just found ourselves sucked into the whole development of electronic dance music in the 80s, and also through my connection with Simple Minds, who were sort of an underground club band. When the big acid house moment came in ’87, ’88, we felt …wow … this is it, we found our new musical home. So the idea was to make a dance music based project but still using some of the sounds of the guitar and synth that we’d feature on Gong and Steve Hillage Band records, and that’s basically what we’re still doing. We’ve been doing that for almost 23 years now. We do a lot of shows and travel around the world, but we’re not exclusively into doing that, we like to do all kinds of other things as well.”

“I like a lot of “world music” as well. I’ve got a lot of experience working with Arab artists, in France in particular, I love it. My specific interest in Arab music started with Miquette, my partner, who I met in 1972, and she played me Umm Kulthum. I started meeting up with French Algerian musicians and that’s how I got involved in producing Arab music. I produced a lot of records for Arab singers … Rachid Taha, Khaled, a Tunisian Egyptian singer Latifa, and another French Algerian singer called Faudel. My biggest Arab music project is called, 1, 2, 3, Soleils. It was a live concert with an orchestra in1998 featuring Rachid Taha, Khaled and Faudel. It was the biggest selling Rai (genre) record of all time.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, what are your very latest projects?
“We’ve got a new System 7 EP coming out, and of course we’re re-releasing, The Steve Hillage Band live from Amsterdam DVD and CD in September. Another project that I’d also like to mention and is really interesting is called, ‘Phoenix Rising.’ It’s collaboration between System 7 and a Japanese psychedelic progressive jam band called Rovo. We work a lot in Japan and are quite successful out there. We’ve been friendly with Rovo for about a decade, and we ended up doing this live tour where we ended up with more of Rovo doing live versions of System 7 tracks, and System 7 doing techno versions of Rovo tracks. So we decided to do an album together. So right now … I’m writing material along with the guys in Japan who are also writing material, and we’re going out to Japan for the whole month of September to make the album. We hope to have the album ready for release next year and ready for promotion in March. Then we want to do a ‘Phoenix Rising’ tour in Europe, and we’d love to be able to get it over to America. I don’t think there’s ever been a more integrated project between techno music and live rock.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, thank you so much for being on the Skype call today, and also for all the incredible music that you’ve given to us over the years. I hope to see you either with The Steve Hillage Band or System 7 one day soon here in Florida.
Steve Hillage: “It’s been nice talking with you and I’m so glad our Skype transmission worked out (all laughing). Jolly good … Take care Ray!”

Steve Hillage will be re-releasing The Steve Hillage Band Live -The 2006 concert at the ‘Gong Family Unconvention’ in Amsterdam available on DVD and CD -September 12th. It’s the first live performance by The Steve Hillage Band in 25 years! -Preorder now at amazon.com.

Steve Hillage Band ‘Gong Family Unconvention’ DVD excerpts at www.stevehillageuncondvd.com
Steve Hillage Band on Facebook www.facebook.com/stevehillageband
Steve Hillage on Myspace www.myspace.com/stevehillage
System 7 official website www.a-wave.com/system7/
Planet Gong www.planetgong.co.uk

Special thanks to 'the great Billy James' of Glass Onyon PR
Official website http://glassonyonpublicity.wordpress.com/

Contact classic rock music reporter Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

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An interview with Annie Haslam,enchanting songstress of Renaissance

By Ray Shasho

Annie Haslam Interview

Since the bands earliest incarnation, the progressive rock ingenuity of Renaissance has been artistically mesmerizing audiences with experimental rock infused by a classical motif. And since 1971, the haunting five-octave range vocalizations for Renaissance have been alluringly characterized by Bolton, Lancashire’s Annie Haslam.
 
Renaissance has performed on the most distinguished stages around the world including Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
The group originated in 1969 with former Yardbirds bandmates Jim McCarty and Keith Relf. In an interview I did with McCarty last year, he talked about the evolution of the band. McCarty said,

“We started Renaissance and did a couple of albums with Keith and his sister Jane, John Hawken, and Louis Cennamo. In Renaissance, we sort of put in bits of Beethoven. We put an awful lot of work into it and set it all up in my house when I lived in Surrey. We rehearsed every day and just planned on getting this hour set together. We’d go and play without stopping and finally had a whole set. Then we played it around London and people just loved it. We were one of the first prog-rock bands.”

Read the entire interview with Jim McCarty here … www.examiner.com/article/yardbirds-exalted-drummer-songwriter-speaks-with-examiner-ray-shasho

The first incarnation released the self-titled debut album Renaissance (1969) and Illusion (1971). Renaissance became colonists for the genre and catalyst for subsequent progressive rock music artists.

By 1971, Jim McCarty and Keith Relf had left the band to begin other projects. McCarty formed a classically provoked progressive rock band called ‘Illusion’ with former Renaissance-mates, Jane Relf, John Hawken, and Louis Cennamo. Keith Relf formed ‘Armageddon’ in 1974 with Renaissance bassist Cennamo, Bobby Caldwell (Captain Beyond, Johnny Winter) and Martin Pugh (Steamhammer). Keith Relf died in 1976 at his home by electrocution, he was 33 years old.

Also in ’71, Jane Relf was replaced with folk singer Anne-Marie “Binky” Cullum. John Tout replaced Hawken on keyboards; Michael Dunford became their guitarist, Jon Camp the bassist, and Terence Sullivan the drummer. Cullum’s vocals would prove to be short-lived; she left the band and was replaced with the awe-inspiring voice of Annie Haslam.

In 1972, the debut album for the new Renaissance lineup entitled, Prologue was released. The album’s lyrics were written by Jim McCarty, Michael Dunford, and lyricists Betty Thatcher during a transitional period for the band. Mick Parsons was to be their guitarist but sadly died in a car accident. Rob Hendry replaced him on the album. Hendry was replaced for the Prologue tour by Peter Finberg. After Finberg left, Dunford returned and became their guitarist permanently.

The classic line-up of Haslam, Dunford, Tout, Camp, and Sullivan would prove to be the quintessence of Renaissance.

In 1973, Renaissance released, Ashes are Burning. Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash played electric guitar on the title cut. The album featured musical collaborations with an orchestra, which the band embraced on many of their future classics. The album featured several celebrated compositions, “Carpet of the Sun,” the intricate but surreal, “Ashes are Burning,” and the profound, “Can You Understand?”

The band released Turn of the Cards in 1974. The album spotlighted “Mother Russia,” a heartfelt tribute to Nobel Prize writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The lyrics penned by Michael Dunford and Betty Thatcher were based on Solzhenitsyn’s novel about Soviet repression, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

The following year, Scheherazade and Other Stories was released. The album was brilliantly arranged and considered by many to be their masterpiece. Side two entitled, “Song of Scheherazade” was based on stories from, One Thousand and One Nights (the Arabian Nights).

In 1976, Renaissance followed Scheherazade and Other Stories with a double live album, Live at Carnegie Hall. The live album was succeeded by their next release, Novella (1977).

In 1977, Annie Haslam released her first solo-effort the critically-acclaimed, Annie in Wonderland. The album was produced by her former fiancée and good friend Roy Wood (The Move, Electric Light Orchestra).
Renaissance charted their highest commercially successful single in 1978 with, “Northern Lights” (#10 in Britain) from the album, A Song for All Seasons (#58 in the U.S.).

The band changed their musical direction while transformations occurred within the music industry. Subsequent releases, Azure d’Or, Camera Camera, and their final album Time-Line, diverted the band from their progressive rock roots towards a pop music motif, in search of commercial success. The group disbanded in 1987.

Annie Haslam released her self-titled album in 1989 and began touring as The Annie Haslam Band. She also moved to North America that year.

In 1993, Annie Haslam was diagnosed with breast cancer, and music played a huge factor in the recovery process. Haslam says, "Surviving breast cancer became another milestone in my life, awakening my senses to my reality and showing me the true meaning of what I am here to do".....sing, paint and make people laugh!"

In 1995, Haslam recorded the album, Blessing in Disguise which grasped her emotions while being treated during a time of uncertainty and anguish.
With her health under control, Haslam collaborated with guitarist Steve Howe of YES on the song, “Turn of the Century.”

In 1998, Annie Haslam recorded, The Dawn of Ananda album.

In 2000, Annie released a Christmas CD entitled, It Snows in Heaven Too which received rave reviews.
Also in 2000, Renaissance partially reformed and recorded the album, Tuscany which led to a successful tour and the recording of a double “live” CD set entitled, In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2001.

In 2002, Annie Haslam released a “live” CD called, One Enchanted Evening.

In 2009, Renaissance triumphantly returned to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Successful tours of North America and Japan featuring Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, and musicians from the 2001 incarnation would follow including a release of a three-track EP of new songs called, The Mystic and The Muse.

In 2012-2013, Renaissance is touring and performing their two-part concert featuring their masterpiece albums, Turn of the Cards and Scheherazade and Other Stories in their entirety.

The band headlined the sold-out North East Art Rock Festival in June of 2012.

Renaissance features the incredible duo of Annie Haslam –vocals and Michael Dunford –guitars, with Rave Tesar –keyboards and David J. Keyes –bass (Both former members of Renaissance and the Annie Haslam Band), also spotlighting Frank Pagano –drums and Jason Hart -keyboards.

Renaissance will be performing at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Fl on Saturday, October 6th. To purchase tickets visit www.rutheckerdhall.com or call 727-791-7400.


NOTE: This show has been rescheduled for April 25th 2013.

A limited edition live in concert DVD and (2) CD set of their 2011 tour was released on August 14th and available to purchase on amazon.com.
Today, Annie Haslam is not only an accomplished singer and songwriter, but also an artist and fashion designer. She hopes to introduce a line of clothing that illustrates her art. Many of her art works are for sale on her website at www.anniehaslam.com

Renaissance is currently working on a brand new studio album entitled, Grandine II Vento. Annie Haslam charmingly performed a live excerpt from the album over the phone for me. She performed a piece from a track they wrote in tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci. The piece was powerful, poetic, beautiful, inspiring, and almost reduced me to tears (good thing Annie stopped singing when she did). The early preview convinced me that the new album will be awe-inspiring. Watch for a release date sometime in January.

I had a wonderful opportunity to chat with Annie Haslam from her home in Pennsylvania last week. I found Annie to be extremely charming, profound, metaphysical … and hilarious!

Here’s my interview with legendary Renaissance songstress, songwriter, artist, fashion designer, and cancer survivor … ANNIE HASLAM.
Ray Shasho: Hello Annie! It’s been a very strange week for interviews … none of them have started as scheduled. (Laughing)
Annie Haslam: “Mercury is in Retrograde.”
Ray Shasho: I knew there had to be a logical explanation for all the befuddlement. You’re still living in Bucks County Pennsylvania, what persuaded you on settling down there?
Annie Haslam: “Bucks County is lovely … I love it here. I married a man from North Wales, Pennsylvania in 1991, and when we split up I really didn’t want to go back to England. I was the only member of Renaissance that said they didn’t want to live in America and I was the only one that ended up here. I just decided that there was nothing for me and I had my own band here at the time and so I stayed. It’s the best decision that I ever made. I believe my ex-husband came into my life to save it because I had breast cancer after we were married and was immediately taken care of so well. I don’t know whether I would have had such speedy medical attention in England to be quite honest.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve heard that healthcare is basically free in England but people may have to wait in line for lengthy periods at a time for surgery or any other kind of procedure. Is that true?
Annie Haslam: “Exactly. The dental situation over there is pretty horrific. I think the majority of dentists are private now and not as many take on national health patients, which is free or very-very cheap, and that’s difficult over there.”

“One day we’re not going to need these bodies anyway; we’re all going to be little light beings floating around.”
Ray Shasho: (Laughing) Very true.
Renaissance will be performing in Clearwater, Fl at the Capitol Theatre on October 6th and we’re all looking forward to a great show.
Annie Haslam: “I can’t wait to get to Florida. I really wish we’d have some time to stay there but we’re going to be traveling and playing and no time to look around or even see Disney World. But we’re looking forward to it very much.”
Ray Shasho: You’re an animal lover and an advocate for animal rights … as I am. What kind of furry friends share your household?
Annie Haslam: “All my pets are adopted, I’ve got three inside cats, a Himalayan (Joey) he’s seventeen, a short-haired black domestic that’s twenty, then I’ve got Lilly, she’s a gorgeous Siamese and about seventeen, I got her from Alison Steele the deejay. Outside, I’ve got seven feral cats; they’re all fixed, they’ve all got houses outside, and all have got names. Then I’ve got a couple of foxes and they leave the cats alone because they’re just interested in the food. I know I probably shouldn’t be feeding the foxes … but so, I don’t know.”

“It’s a very difficult situation with animals because we’ve taken away their homes with all these developments and people just can’t stand them and tell them to get off their property. And it’s really not their fault, especially with the Canadian Geese, its awful what they did to the Geese.”
Ray Shasho: The show that we are going to see on this tour is basically from your latest live 2-set CD and DVD. Renaissance will be performing Turn of the Cards and Scheherazade and Other Stories in their entirety.
Annie Haslam: “For all the places that we haven’t played we’ll be doing that show. The selections are just fantastic and we have a new band, Michael Dunford and two of the players that use to be in my band …and their just phenomenal. I think the sound and the mix on the new CD/DVD set is also really great.”
Ray Shasho: Annie, besides being an incredible vocalist and a gifted artist, you’re also a fashion designer?
Annie Haslam: “My dream is to wear my art. A local lady Pamela Ptak is a dress designer and is just fantastic, she’s local but was down in Virginia and saw us performing. We were performing the “Mystic and The Muse.” You know that was the first time ever in the history of Renaissance that we got a standing ovation for a new song, and we had it every night we played it. Anyway, after watching that song Pamela approached me and said I’d like to do a dress for you and then you can have it for the show. So I took it a step further and told her that what I’ve always wanted to do was to print one of my paintings on some silk and make it into a dress. She knew a lady in Philadelphia who is also a designer and she’s done that with her paintings and so that’s what we’ve organized. She got the woman to print out the Muse … a painting of the Muse, and she’s made a top for it. We have to remake the dress for the tour but it came out just brilliant. But I would like to have a clothing line with all my artwork.”
Ray Shasho: Being artistic opens the doors for so many possibilities.
Annie Haslam: “I find it difficult to paint at the same time when I’m singing … and not literally. (All laughing) Can you imagine me being on stage painting and singing?”

“But it would be very difficult for me to start painting tomorrow because I’ve got all these other things to do concerning finishing up the recording, so it’s very difficult to shift gears because they’re both so intense. But I’ll never say never again. I’ve said that I never wanted to be in the band again, but I think I’m doing it for more reasons now … I’m doing it because I think people need it, and need to hear this new music … the new album is phenomenal.”
Ray Shasho: How is the new album coming along by the way?
Annie Haslam: “It’s coming great, next Sunday I go back in; we have a few keyboard overdubs and then I’ve got three lead vocals to finish off next week, and on the 22nd we’re starting to mix. But we probably won’t be releasing it until January; the election is going to take up a lot of space on this planet and most people are going to be dealing with that and I think we’ll get lost in it. We need our own space.”
Ray Shasho: Progressive rock is intelligent music; I’ve always compared it to a religious experience.
Annie Haslam: “Although a lot of it I don’t understand. I loved Yes and the early Genesis, some of the newer bands I find difficult to grasp. Too many changes and not enough melody …I’m into strong melody. I like Magenta; they’re a Welsh progressive rock band and are just wonderful.”
Ray Shasho: So many British musicians have become famous after going to Art School. You also attended Art School?
Annie Haslam: “I went to Art School in the late 60s at Redruth in Cornwall to be a fashion designer. That was the first thing that I really wanted to do. I studied photography, typography, fabric design, fabric printing. I enrolled for a class on watercolors …I went to one class and tried one painting and thought …I don’t like this … because it dried before I’d done it (Laughing).”

“During my solo career … I traveled to Japan and Brazil with my own band but was getting to the point when it was too much without proper management. I couldn’t do it anymore, so I felt it was time to move on to something else. I was very scared and didn’t know what was going to happen, and then a voice in my head said its time to start oil painting now. So I went out and bought everything that I needed. I bought a book on oil painting and don’t know why because I don’t read. I read one page and thought … I can’t be bothered with this (Laughing).”

“So, I didn’t do anything for about three months and just kept looking at the easel. I had converted my sunroom into a studio. Then all of a sudden … I woke up! That was the day I picked a Tiger Lily and painted it. I didn’t read the book so I just made up my own style of painting. It felt like someone was holding my hand. After that, I started painting planets … not intentionally … and I painted five or six a day … it was like I left the floodgates open.”
Ray Shasho: Annie, your voice continues to amaze me, you sound remarkable. How do you keep your voice finely tuned the way you do?
Annie Haslam: “I don’t practice … don’t smoke … I do like wine and French Champagne. When I’m touring I try not to drink because it can affect your voice. My attitude is my state of mind. I’m a big believer in asking for help from your angels, and I’ve got no doubt about that whatsoever. I usually do a ritual before going on stage to give us all strength … and we just do it.”

“There are a few really big names out there whose voices are shot because they carried on working nonstop, and most of them sing from their throat and they don’t sing from their diaphragm. If you sing from your throat, your voice is going to go eventually … there’s no doubt. I sing from my diaphragm. I haven’t been singing constantly for the past few years, other people have carried on constantly … so their voices are shot.”
Ray Shasho: Renaissance has always projected somewhat of a mystical presence in the music and on stage. Are you much like your music, metaphysically speaking?
Annie Haslam: “I have a friend that worked at Windsor Castle, and I ended up having lunch at Windsor Castle with the Admiral, Sir Patrick Palmer and his wife, who was the Governor at the castle at that time, I was asked to put together a concert to raise money for St. George’s Chapel. It never happened but everything that was going on around it was quite amazing, particularly lunch at the Norman Tower which is haunted. I’ve always been drawn to Medieval England since I was a kid in school growing up; I just absolutely loved the middle ages. I always felt like I was at home when I was in the castle, and I got to go in areas around the castle where the public couldn’t go because my friend worked there … it was amazing. I had a past life analysis done on me and was told that in a previous lifetime, I was … Mary Queen of Scots, and in another lifetime … Anna of Bohemia, Richard II’s wife.”
Ray Shasho: The music scene can certainly use more of Renaissance these days.
Annie Haslam: “I think it’s a good time for us. The new album is really quite remarkable. There’s a piece that’s twelve minutes long about Leonardo Da Vinci. Michael Dunford and myself wrote it and it’s called, 
“Symphony of Life” and just gorgeous. I’m so thrilled; I can’t wait for people to hear it. It starts off with Leonardo getting up in the morning and he’s an old man, he goes to the window and pulls back the velvet curtains and the light comes in. It’s all about the light coming and he connected with the light.”
During this time … Annie searched diligently for a recorded excerpt of the new song, “Symphony of Life” to give me a sneak preview. She found the music but without her vocals. So she decided to sing me an excerpt from the track live. It was a rare and heartwarming treat nevertheless.
Annie Haslam singing, “Symphony of Life” over the phone to me from the new album Grandine II Vento.
Annie Haslam: “When I was in the studio the other day listening to this, I got all choked up. Leonardo came to me and said, thank you Annie. I just knew it was him …and I cried my eyes out.”
Ray Shasho: Annie, the song is magnificent!
Annie Haslam: “I’ve always loved Leonardo’s work … we have so many things in common, he was a vegetarian, he was a singer, a musician, an inventor, he bought caged animals and set them free and he was called the Renaissance man. And so they call me the Renaissance woman. It’s so obvious that we should have done this before but it wasn’t the right time.”

“When I went to see the movie The Da Vinci Code, the guy who did the music for the trailer … who also wrote it in Latin, contacted me and wanted to do an album with me and another singer. I did the demo but my voice was overpowering hers. He got back to me and said, “I’m sorry, but your voice is too strong for the other singer.” I was so devastated because it seemed like something was going to happen that was connected to Leonardo Da Vinci. I was very upset … but I had to let it go.”

“When I got home two days later, I was so inspired that I did a painting called Leonardo Da Vinci. After I painted it, I noticed this blob of white that turned into a dragonfly, and I didn’t do it on purpose. Apparently, Leonardo Da Vinci painted 65 different kinds of dragonflies … so I know that he’s with me.”
Ray Shasho: Annie, there’s no doubt that the new Renaissance album will be sensational, especially after receiving a very special sneak preview today. I can’t wait for the release sometime in January. Thank you so very much for spending time with me today, and especially for the awe-inspiring music that Renaissance has given to all of us over the years … and into the future.
Annie Haslam: “Thank you Ray, I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon. Bye-bye!”

Renaissance will be performing at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Fl on Saturday, October 6th. To purchase tickets visit www.rutheckerdhall.com or call 727-791-7400.

NOTE: This show has been rescheduled for April 25th 2013.

Renaissance official website www.nlightsweb.com (Concert tour schedule, music, and latest news)
Annie Haslam official website www.anniehaslam.com (New paintings by Annie and her animal rescue site)
Very special thanks to Howard Wuelfing of Howlin Wuelf Media.

Contact classic rock music reporter Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
Coming up ... interviews with Steve Hillage(Gong) and Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship)

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com -Support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 


  ~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.

© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

 

Johnny Winter: Rock ‘n’ roll was a disguise; I really wanted to play the blues

   Interview with blues
  
   legend Johnny Winter



          


By Ray Shasho


Johnny Winter proclaimed in a recent interview with Classic Rock Music Reporter Ray Shasho, that playing rock and roll was basically a front to appease audiences. His heart was saying no to rock and roll while his soul was saying yes to the blues. Winter abandoned rock ‘n’ roll to resurrect the blues.

Johnny Winter is acknowledged worldwide as a legendary blues artist, but he also holds the title of American rock ‘n’ roll hero. Winter wore both hats equivalently on stage. Only Johnny Winter could scream ROCK ‘N’ ROLL! …. a battle cry to a generation of rebellion youths in front of sold-out arenas and stadiums, with his kind of intensity and emotional reverberation. No other audience could reciprocate to those words more passionately than at a Johnny Winter concert. And who more revered than Johnny Winter (except for the man himself) could follow up his ROCK ‘N’ ROLL battle cry with perhaps one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs in history, “Johnny B. Goode.”

Johnny Winter was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. In 1969, Winter signed with Columbia Records in one of the largest solo deals of the time. Winter was enticed to join his first band after listening to local deejay J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper of “Chantilly Lace fame”) spinning 50s rock ‘n’ roll music over the airwaves. But it was the blues that would become his essence, and his admiration for legendary American blues artists like Robert Johnson, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters to name just a few.
Winters first album was entitled, The Progressive Blues Experiment originally issued by Austin’s Sonobeat Records in 1968, and rereleased by Columbia Records in 1969. Winter’s self-titled second album with Columbia was also released that year, the album included covers by Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’ Hopkins and B.B. King. Winter’s successful debut album set the stage for an appearance at the famed Woodstock Festival in New York. Winter was not included in the Woodstock movie or initial soundtrack because of contractual issues between Steve Paul (Johnny’s former manager) and festival organizers.

Johnny Winter’s next album, Second Winter, featured some of his predominant concert setlist material, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” and Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.” In 1970 Winter formed a new band featuring several members of The McCoys (“Hang On Sloopy”) including legendary guitarist and songwriter Rick Derringer. Steve Paul was also The McCoys manager and responsible for bringing them together. The band released, Live Johnny Winter And spotlighting Derringer’s penned, “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.” It was during this time that Winter fell under the spell of Heroin addiction.
In 1973, Johnny Winter returned to the music scene with his fifth studio album, Still Alive and Well followed by Saints and Sinners (1974) and Captured Live (1976).

In 1977, Chess Records, long-time record label for legendary blues guitarist and vocalist Muddy Waters, dissolved. Johnny Winter revitalized Waters by inviting him into the studio to record what would be recognized as Muddy Waters comeback album. Winter produced and played on the Chicago-style electric blues album entitled, Hard Again. It was Muddy Waters first album released on Blue Sky Records, a label created by Steve Paul for Columbia. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording.
Johnny Winter continued to produce and play on several studio albums and a best-selling Live album with his good friend Muddy Waters … I’m Ready (1978), Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live (1979) and King Bee (1981) Waters final release. Two of those albums won Grammy Awards. The string of Johnny Winter albums initiated for Muddy Waters produced the most lucrative period in the career of the legendary bluesman. Muddy Waters died in 1983.

Since 1984, Johnny Winter focused solely on blues oriented-material in the recording studio.
Most recently, Winter headlined the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Swedish Rock Fest and Europe’s Rockplast. Winter performed with The Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater for their 40th Anniversary of the bands inception. He’s also performed at the 2007 and 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festivals.
In 2008, The Gibson Guitar Company released the Johnny Winter signature Firebird guitar in a ceremony presented by Slash (Guns N’ Roses guitarist) in Nashville.

Johnny Winter continues to earn the title of one the hardest working performers in the music business by consistently touring worldwide. His latest release is befittingly entitled “Roots.” It’s the heyday of Winter with back to basics blues. I give it (5) stars. The album features compositions by some of Johnny’s favorite blues artists and includes guest performances by … Vince Gill, Warren Haynes, John Popper, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, selected by Johnny’s producer/manager and guitarist Paul Nelson.
Producer Paul Nelson told me that this may be the first in a series of Johnny Winter traditional blues CD’s featuring incredible guest artists.

Johnny Winter’s latest tour kicked off in late July and ends in Paris April 2013. The tour is billed as the ‘Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest’ and ‘Hippiefest’ depending on the city. The concert headlines Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Leslie West (Mountain) and Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown). Hippiefest arrives at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Fl on Saturday, August 25th at 7p.m. Purchase tickets at www.rutheckerdhall.com
The Johnny Winter band is: Johnny Winter (guitar and vocals), Paul Nelson (guitar), Scott Spray (bass), and Vito Liuzzi (drums).
I had the rare opportunity to chat with Johnny Winter and his producer/manager Paul Nelson on Wednesday. We talked about “Roots,” the upcoming tour, Johnny’s lifesaving rehabilitation from prescription drugs, a healthier Johnny, and the future of the blues.

Here’s my interview with legendary blues & rock ‘n’ roll guitarist/ singer/ songwriter/ JOHNNY WINTER and Johnny’s manager/producer/guitarist/songwriter/Paul Nelson.
Ray Shasho: Greetings from Florida … thank you both for being on the call today.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “Our pleasure Ray … we’re going to be down in Florida pretty soon with the Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest.”
Ray Shasho: We’re actually calling the show Hippiefest in Clearwater.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “I guess Hippiefest is an occurrence that happens every year, but I don’t think anybody really wanted to be called a Hippie, so somebody decided to change the name to Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest.”
Ray Shasho: Paul, the latest release, “Roots” is just that … back to the heyday of Johnny Winter. It’s a great album … the Blues needed this album.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “Thank you, that’s what I was trying to achieve for him as a producer and it was an honor for me to get that job. But there is resurgence, maybe not a huge resurgence, but certainly an appreciation for it. To bring these songs back and be part of Johnny’s comeback with all those guest artists contributing, and Johnny contributing what made him tick … it was a great thing.”
“Now we’re going to do Roots 2 … this could be an ongoing series, it’s is a serious deal.”
Ray Shasho: Have you thought about the guest lineup of artists for Roots 2 yet?
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “Eric Johnson couldn’t make it for the last one so he’s definitely on the list, Billy Gibbons said yes; working on Eric Clapton, Dr. John couldn’t make it because he was in the studio, Gregg Allman was in the hospital at the time, we’ve got Mark Kopfler working on “Okey Dokey Stomp.” Nobody is saying no …so that’s great.”
Ray Shasho: I know an incredible guitarist up in Montreal who would probably love to play on it, by the name of Frank Marino.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “We just talked about that the other day, we’d love to have him on it, and we’re actually working on that. You’re the second or third person who has mentioned Frank, and it just makes sense because he’s a huge Johnny fan. I was a big fan of Frank’s as a guitar player myself. Frank Marino, Tommy Bolin, Jeff Beck … I was more of a blues-fusion guy. If Johnny knew the kind of music that I use to play, it would probably scare him.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve followed Johnny Winter’s career since his first album with Columbia Records and have always thought of Johnny as 50 percent rock ‘n’ roll and 50 percent the blues. Do you think he’d consider a pure rock ‘n’ roll album with guest artists as well?
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “He’s told me this many times before … at the height of his rock period, when he was playing to sold out arenas etc …he really felt like he was selling himself short. He really and sincerely did not want to be part of that. It was his manager’s idea and the sign of the times. He realizes now how important it was for him, but he felt like he sold out to the blues. But because who he was in a rock band and listened to so many blues artists, he actually helped the blues during that period more than any other blues artist, because he cited Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and all those guys. But sure … I’d love to see him do that and an acoustic album as well.”
“Johnny is doing so great now; the Letterman show was great, the DVD, the Roots album, and he’s really having one hell of a comeback. So, it’s opened so many possibilities for him now that he’s back on his game and it’s really nice to see. Playing guitar with him is an honor, helping his career is an honor, and it’s just great to see him enjoying himself and back to where he should have been ten years ago.”
Ray Shasho: I covered Johnny’s last appearance in Clearwater at the Capitol Theatre and the thing I noticed immediately was how much weight he had gained ... but in a healthier way!
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “It’s natural weight, not fake weight from drugs and alcohol. And also now you’ll see … he’s standing, which is like a miracle. He’s the only guy I know as he’s getting older he’s getting younger because he’s getting back to where he should be.”
Ray Shasho: He’s gone from rushing back and forth … almost a blur on the stage, while screaming ROCK ‘N’ ROLL at the audience, compared to last year’s performance where he’s sitting down in a chair on stage for the entire show.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “With blues players it can be part of the ambience to sit down on stage, but to be in that shape before his time …it just shouldn’t be. Old management let that happen. In blues years he’s still a young guy. I’m just trying to give him back how any musician would have wanted to be treated if they got into that condition and didn’t know what to do.”
Ray Shasho: When did you and Johnny first meet?
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “About eight years ago we were at the Carriage House, I was recording for the World Wrestling people and he was in the next room recording I’m a Bluesman. He sent his management in and had me meet him. He said, “Hey you sound pretty good, I like the way you play, I’m looking for a couple of songs for my new record, do you want to write some?” I said, okay. The next day, I wrote and recorded three tunes for his album and he loved it. Then he asked me if I wanted to play on his album. I said, okay. Then he asked why don’t you come tour with me … I said, okay. So a friendship developed and we understood each other musically.”
Ray Shasho: Paul, you were obviously meant to come into Johnny’s life and save your hero.
Johnny’s manager, producer, guitarist Paul Nelson: “It was very hard to watch. The stuff that’s described in interviews and in books is just the tip of a very big iceberg. I saw stuff that I didn’t think could happen to people. Just very bad …it’s a movie.”
JOHNNY WINTER got on the phone next.
Ray Shasho: I remember when they use to say that James Brown was the hardest working man in show business … I’ve got to say without a doubt these days its Johnny Winter. I chat with a lot of legendary musicians who tell me that they want to slow down when it comes to touring at this point in their lives, and those long tours are over for them. How do you consistently tour every year the way you do?
Johnny Winter: “It’s fun … I like to play. Touring gets a little hard but playing never does.”
Ray Shasho: Paul says you’d never do another rock n’ roll album again, I was thinking maybe a traditional rock album with special guest artists like you did on Roots.
Johnny Winter: “The only rock ‘n’ roll I ever liked was, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis … I‘d never want to do a whole rock and roll record. I like the blues too much.”
Ray Shasho: Paul and I also imagined Johnny Winter experimenting with a little fusion.
Johnny Winter: “(Laughing) Never happen … I don’t like fusion.”
Ray Shasho: You helped out one of your idols, Muddy Waters, by inviting him into the studio after his record label Chess Records went out of business. You produced and played on a series of blues albums with Muddy and not only rejuvenated Waters career, but also rejuvenated the blues.
Johnny Winter: “Yea, that was great, I just loved doing that. Muddy was just one of the coolest people that I ever met. I loved him as a person, loved his music, and I really miss him. They’ll never be another one like him.”
Ray Shasho: Blues artists were usually perceived as hanging out and jamming all night while drinking Jack Daniels.
Johnny Winter: “Muddy Waters drank Champagne, he couldn’t drink Whiskey anymore. His doctor told him he had to stop drinking Whiskey. He drank so much Whiskey that his eyes were bleeding, so he stopped.”
Ray Shasho: Johnny … got a good story about Muddy Waters?
Johnny Winter: “He said the real reason we made the album Hard Again was because the music was so good it made his pee- pee hard again (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: You developed a thumb picking style for playing the guitar by watching Chet Atkins; did you ever get a chance to play with him?
Johnny Winter: I love Chet and his music … never got a chance to meet him. My first guitar teacher also played with a thumb pick and got me into doing that.
Ray Shasho: Are you particular about what slides you use when you’re performing on stage?
Johnny Winter: “I’ve always used the same metal slide for years and years.” (Dunlop recently manufactured the Johnny Winter Signature Texas Slide)
Ray Shasho: I watched an interview that you did talking about the early days of experimenting with various types of slides.
Johnny Winter: “Yea, stuff that just didn’t work very good. I tried my wristwatch and screwed up the crystal, and then I tried lipstick holders and test tubes.
Ray Shasho: You and Brother Edgar are both gifted musicians, were you guys ever musically competitive?
Johnny Winter: “No, we always worked good together. He always liked jazz more and I never really understood jazz. He wasn’t particularly a blues fan but probably wanted to. But we’ve played together for years.”
Ray Shasho: Johnny, you’ve performed and collaborated with so many important artists over the years. Here’s your “Field of Dreams” moment, if you had a wish, what artist past or present would you like to jam or collaborate with?
Johnny Winter: “Robert Johnson.”
Ray Shasho: Is Robert Johnson the father of the blues?
Johnny Winter: “Son House and Charlie Patton were around before Robert … but Robert was better.”
Ray Shasho: Ever since I can remember … there has always been a mystique encompassing Robert Johnson’s life, especially the “Crossroads” urban legend. What are your thoughts about the “Crossroads” claim?
Johnny Winter: “I just don’t believe it … I don’t think you can sell your soul to the devil. Tommy Johnson, the blues artist that Canned Heat (“Canned Heat Blues”) got their name from, said he really did sell his soul to the devil.”
Ray Shasho: Has he ever tried to make a deal with you Johnny?
Johnny Winter: “No, I’d never do that … I believe in God, I’m a Christian.”
Ray Shasho: What do you remember most about Woodstock?
Johnny Winter: “All I remember is that it was a mess … rainy and muddy and nobody knew what was going on, I remember it just being really confusing. We left as soon as we got through playing.”
Ray Shasho: Gregg Rolie told me he stuck around to watch Sly and The Family Stone play. And speaking of Sly Stone, you performed on his latest album… I’m Back! Family and Friends. How’s Sly doing?
Johnny Winter: “I never saw him. But I don’t think he’s doing that well he’s still smoking crack. It’s a real shame.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve got the new “Live in Tokyo” DVD in HD out now, and your book Raisin’ Cain is an incredible story. Johnny, thank you so much for being on the call today, but especially for all the incredible music you gave to us over the years.
Johnny Winter: “I loved every minute of it. See you Ray.”

HIPPIEFEST headlines a fantastic lineup of rock and blues legendary artists featuring- Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Leslie West and Kim Simmonds. Purchase tickets for the August 25th show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Fl online at www.rutheckerdhall.com

Johnny Winter official website www.johnnywinter.net
Paul Nelson official website www.paulnelsonguitar.com
Order Johnny Winter’s latest release “ROOTS” at amazon.com or www.johnnywinter.net
Buy the Authorized and Definitive Biography of Johnny Winter at www.johnnywinterbook.com

Very special thanks to John Lappen of Bullseye Management and Jeff Albright of The Albright Entertainment Group.

Coming up… interviews with Annie Haslam of Renaissance and Gong guitarist Steve Hillage

Contact Classic Rock Music Reporter Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Order Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com
-Support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 

 ~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.


© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

 

Lou Gramm Foreigner legendary vocalist embraces a second chance at life

 
 Lou Gramm Interview




By Ray Shasho

Lou Gramm will forever be recognized as the golden voice of Foreigner. Not for the current imitation band led by its only original member Mick Jones, but recognized for fronting Foreigner, one of the most popular and successful rock ‘n’ roll bands in history.

Unfortunately, the music industry decided long ago that it was acceptable to market an existing trademark without its key players involved as long as someone in the band controlled the rights to the name. Believe it or not people still show up to watch a mock group playing all the bands greatest hits, and it’s really no different than watching a bar band playing a bunch of cover tunes. Co-founder and guitarist Mick Jones fell ill in 2011 missing several gigs while on tour. Jones assigned a replacement guitarist while he recuperated leaving the touring band without a single original member. The band of musicians calling themselves Foreigner is actually making more money per concert than the real band. If the key players are no longer in the band … change the name, then the rest of us won’t feel like we are being musically violated.

A perfect example of a band “doing the right thing” is Jefferson Starship.

With that said, Foreigner the band’s debut album in 1977 sold more than four million copies, and since its inception the group remains a mainstay on classic rock radio stations around the world. The album spawned the Top 20 hits “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice,” and “Long, Long Way From Home.” Foreigner’s second album Double Vision surpassed their debut album by selling over five million copies and generated the hits “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” and “Blue Morning, Blue Day.”

Head Games Foreigner’s third release in 1979 produced the hits “Dirty White Boy” and the title track, “Head Games.” The bands next album Foreigner 4 released in 1981, continued to churn out the hits with “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Break It Up,” and one of Gramm’s most beautiful and heartfelt sung tunes, “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” Foreigner 4 was a #1 selling album.

Agent Provocateur released in 1984 spawned the hits, “That Was Yesterday” and their biggest contribution to date, “I Want to Know What Love Is” another Mick Jones composition impeccably sung by Lou Gramm. In ‘87 Foreigner released Inside Information adding several more hits to their repertoire, “Say You Will” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.”

Foreigner has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Rochester native Lou Gramm released his first solo effort, Ready or Not in 1987. The critically-acclaimed album produced the hit, “Midnight Blue” (Peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100) his highest charting solo hit.
Displeased with the direction Jones was taking the band; Gramm left Foreigner to form Shadow King with an old bandmate, bassist Bruce Turgon from Black Sheep. The band also featured guitarist Vivian Campbell (Def Leopard) and drummer Kevin Valentine (Donnie Iris and the Cruisers, Cinderella). The band released their only album Shadow King in 1991.

Lou Gramm returned to Foreigner in 1992.

In 1997, Lou Gramm was diagnosed with a dangerous brain tumor called craniopharyngioma. After seeing several specialists, doctors told him that the tumor was inoperable. Miraculously, Gramm witnessed a segment on the television show 20/20 that reported about a doctor who performed a procedure on inoperable tumors using laser surgery. Gramm flew to Boston that very same week and was operated on immediately. The procedure lasted eighteen hours but saved the life of the legendary rocker, although the recovery would be long and arduous.

After the surgery, Gramm was administered steroids resulting in excessive weight gain, low stamina, and short and long term memory loss. During his recuperation faze, Gramm was still under contract and continued to work with Foreigner during a vigorous touring schedule until 2002.

The partnership between Gramm and Jones became distraught and finally ended.

Meanwhile, Gramm worked vigilantly to reclaim his former self before the surgery. In 2009, his new band The Lou Gramm Band released their self-titled first album to rave reviews. The album is one of the best Christian rock albums ever; it’s the heyday of Foreigner with a metaphysical directive.
The Lou Gramm Band features his brother Ben on drums, Don Mancuso on guitars, A.D. Zimmer on bass and Andy Knoll on keyboards. The band is currently on tour and arrives at The Youkey Theatre in Lakeland, Fl on November 17th. Lou Gramm will be performing his greatest hits from Foreigner. Tickets go on sale August 17th at 10a.m. Purchase tickets at www.thelakelandcenter.com

I caught up with Lou Gramm while preparing for various concert dates in Canada.
We talked about the incredible rock ‘n’ roll days of Foreigner(great stories), transformation into Christianity, the surgery that saved his life, the debacle of the music industry, what happens when rock stars retire, and muscle cars.

Here’s my interview with singer, songwriter, musician, and legendary voice of Foreigner … LOU GRAMM.
Ray Shasho: Lou, thank you for being on the call today. How’s the weather in Canada?
Lou Gramm: “It’s beautiful like in the low 70s, low humidity and crystal clear skies.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve been down around the Tampa Bay area quite often over the years. You played The Club in Treasure Island most recently, and in 2007 performed at Ribfest in St. Pete with the Edgar Winter Band.
Lou Gramm: “I have twelve year old twins. Every year … my wife and I and the twins vacation in Destin.”
Ray Shasho: Do you take the twins on the road with you sometimes?
Lou Gramm: “Yea, sometimes over the summer or if they have a spring vacation or something like that they’ll come out for one show. They’ll come up and sing on stage with me too, they’ve sang, “Hot Blooded” and several other songs depending on what the show is.”
Ray Shasho: Lou, you look great and your voice sounds as good as ever. How are you taking care of yourself these days?
Lou Gramm: “I feel terrific and a lot of that weight from the steroids has come off now, so I feel a little lighter on my feet. There’s no exercise or dieting that will do anything to lose the weight you put on from steroids. I’ve been exercising for about twenty five years, but after the operation for a couple of years, they didn’t want me to do anything. Slowly, I started to get back into my regiment and I’m exercising with a trainer now five days a week. I’m on a pretty specific diet and just the good Lord. I was 145 pounds most of my adult life, and then a year after my operation I gained 100 pounds. I was throwing out everything that I couldn’t wear anymore.”
Ray Shasho: Did getting back on the road again after the surgery help with the rehabilitation process?
Lou Gramm: “It did … but the surgery was in March and in August I was in Japan. I don’t think that helped. My doctor told me that he didn’t want me to do much of anything for the first year. But Foreigner and the management had already booked shows and dammit … we were going to play them. And I have no memory of any of those things. When I came back, I had to write out just about all the lyrics to every song with a black marker and tape it on the floor. My long and short term memory was affected and simple versus that I’ve sung for many years just wouldn’t come to me, I had to glance at my notes.”
Ray Shasho: Lou, did you get any symptoms before the illness?
Lou Gramm: “I did but it wasn’t like months before I could see it coming. I got short and long term memory lapses, couldn’t remember my mom and dad’s telephone number that they’ve had for 23 years. I’d see people and know who they were but the name wouldn’t come to me. I was getting killer headaches periodically; I’d been clean and sober for almost five years when that happened so I knew it wasn’t hangover stuff. Then I had an MRI and they found a tumor in the center frontal lobe that was the size of a large egg and it had tentacles wrapped around my optical nerve and my pituitary. I saw a specialist at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York and he sent me to a brain tumor specialist in Manhattan that was supposed to be one of the best in the country, and they both sent me home and told me that the tumor was inoperable.”
“So I was pretty much starting to put my affairs in order. I just happened to be watching TV and there was a segment on 20/20 about Dr. Black at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who pioneered a new type of laser surgery and operated on tumors that were deemed inoperable. That was a Monday and at the end of the segment they gave his nurse receptionist’s phone number for his office, Tuesday morning about 8:00 I was on the phone, Wednesday I was flying to Boston, and Thursday at 5:30 in the morning I was on the operating table. They said if I waited any longer there could be irreparable damage. When they were wheeling me down to the operating room for my surgery, I was praying to God and I said Lord let your will be done, if you mean to take me … I’m ready. I was on the operating table for over eighteen hours. What they didn’t tell me was that the recovery would be long and arduous. That was in 1997. I didn’t start feeling like myself until 2004.”
Ray Shasho: Lou that’s an incredible story, there needs to be a book written about your experience.
Lou Gramm: “I’m at the end of chapters in writing the book. I’m actually doing it with a co-author.”
Ray Shasho: I heard an interview that you did that said you may be winding down your career. Is that true or are you thinking of jumpstarting it?
Lou Gramm: “I’m touring but only going out on weekends now. I don’t think that I’d want to do a bus tour for ten or twelve months. I’m 62 years old. I don’t think that I could do four or five shows a week and don’t think my voice has the flexibility of a young man anymore. I could still hit the notes but not every night …like when you do three or four in a row. I just want to make sure that when I perform people hear me at my best.”
Ray Shasho: I have a tough time accepting this, and I’m probably in denial, but we’re all witnessing the final years for all the great rock ‘n’ roll legends. In five years or so, many of them will probably retire. What are your plans for retirement?
Lou Gramm: “I have a studio in my hometown of Rochester, New York and I want to stay in the business, writing songs for other artists and producing. I want to spend more time with my family and really put more time into my hobby which is 60s and 70s muscle cars.”
Ray Shasho: Awesome hobby man, do you restore and collect them?
Lou Gramm: “I try to find the ones that are in real good shape, not do-over’s, I like to find them original and the way they were, like somebody that took real good care of a car. And that’s basically what all my cars are and I just fix the little things … set them up with some rally wheels and big tires, and then drive over to what we call cruise nights. That’s where at a certain restaurant or whatever on a certain night, these guys with muscle cars and classic cars meet, there could be a couple hundred of them, and they’re cooking hots & hamburgers and just hanging out.”
"But I have a ’65 Olds 442 with 47,000 original miles on it, a ’68 Camaro 396/ 375 Super Sport black on black with 18,000 original miles on it, I have a ’67 Chevelle 396/350 automatic with air and I bought that one in Lakeland, Florida. I also have a 1987 Buick Turbo-T and I bought that brand new. About three years ago I sold five cars, my collection was much bigger but it was getting to be too much for me to keep them all maintained. So I sold off the five and kept my favorites. I took the money from the cars that I sold and put it in my kid’s college fund.”
Ray Shasho: I could talk about muscle cars all day, but back to music. (Laughing) I really enjoyed your latest release, The Lou Gramm Band –CD (Released 2009). I think it’s one of the best Christian rock albums that I’ve ever heard. It’s the heyday of Foreigner with a metaphysical directive. Are you planning on releasing another album?
Lou Gramm: “I’m very proud of that album; unfortunately we signed with an independent label and found out months later that because the album wasn’t in the record stores and at radio stations, that it was a one-man operation. But I would like to take my time and put out one more album, maybe a nontraditional album. I’m just now starting to work on songs.”
Ray Shasho: I talked with a lot of artists who still carry a grudge against record companies from back in the 60s and 70s. They’d say things like they ripped us off or they were tyrants etc. My feeling is maybe they did do some unscrupulous acts back in the day, but they also promoted the hell of them and made them all rock stars. There aren’t many people that will do that today; you’re basically on your own.
Lou Gramm: “There is nowhere to go with a new album. You have these classic rock stations where you here Journey and Foreigner, then the oldies stations where you’d here groups like Dion & the Belmonts, and then you have rock radio where you hear only the new bands. What I can’t figure out is at what point do they put you into the classic rock category, because once you’re there, there’s nowhere to go with your new album. Rock radio won’t play it and even classic rock radio won’t play it because they’ll only play your old hits. So you could have a great new album out but you’ve got nowhere to go with it.”
Ray Shasho: When Ronnie Montrose was coming to town back in October, I had finished doing an interview with him and his wife Leighsa asked me to recommend a good radio station to set up an interview. I told her I would ask around for her. No one around Tampa wanted to do it, so I contacted a classic rock station in Fort Myers. They told me that they didn’t play Montrose music and turned down the offer. Just about every classic rock station plays The Edgar Winter Group (Ronnie was the original guitarist). Hmmm, I wonder if they’re regretting that decision now.
Lou Gramm: “Wow … that’s crazy. When we’d do interviews on classic rock radio, we’ll go up there and they’ll play some of the older big hits, and we’ll ask beforehand if they would play one of our new songs. They’d say, “Sure no problem okay.” So we’d talk for fifteen or twenty minutes about the good old days and the concert that was coming up, then they’d play about 15 seconds of the new song and quickly fade it out and say… “Well thanks for coming in today.” They’d play like half of verse and fade it out … just horrible.”
Ray Shasho: Lou when did you become a born again Christian?
Lou Gramm: “Foreigner had reached a peak of success and all the trappings of success were part of our lives … including long tours, alcohol and drugs, all that stuff. One particular day, I had a nightmarish night and just knew that I didn’t want that to be part of my life anymore. I just fell on my knees and asked the Lord to get me out of this Hell. So basically I gave my heart to the Lord and called a good friend of mine who escorted me to Minneapolis and spent thirty days at Hazelden. It’s a wonderful and spiritual place, a place to get a real education about the beguiles of drug and alcohol addiction, and I’ve got over twenty years of sobriety.”
Ray Shasho: Lou, do you have a good road story from your Foreigner days?
Lou Gramm: “We had just played a show in West Virginia and the next show was in Michigan or something like that. We had a long-long ride so right after the show we got on our bus and we were driving all night. Somewhere around two or three in the morning, we pulled off the highway into this gas station that had a 7- Eleven attached to it. While the bus driver was filling up the tank, most of us got off and went inside the 7-Eleven for some snacks and refreshments. Mick was asleep in his bunk and he had a curtain across his bunk. We all came back on the bus and the tour manager Kevin, which was Mick’s younger brother, did a head count and the curtain was still closed across Mick’s bunk, so he assumed he was in there and then off we went.”
“We drove another four and half hours and were only about an hour and a half from our destination when Kevin Jones the tour manager got a call from his mother in England. It turned out, while we were walking back to the bus, Mick had gone out of his bunk, pulled the curtain across it, got out the door and walked behind the bus … we were walking in front of the bus. So we had taken off and were already four and half hours down the highway, Mick was still in the 7-Eleven with no money, no cell phone, in sandals, sweatpants and a hoodie, and he ended up calling his mother collect in England and told her what happened. Then she called Kevin.”
“The guy that worked behind the 7-Eleven counter would tell everyone that walked in, “Hey, do you know who this is …its Mick Jones from Foreigner and his bandmates left him here without any money. Mick tried to get the guy at 7-Eleven to give him some money to put in the pay phone and promised when he came back he’d pay him back double, even give him a hundred dollars but the guy didn’t believe him.”
“So, it was really an eight hour juncture that Mick was just hanging around in a 7-Eleven with no money and doing nothing. When we finally picked him up, he got on the bus and gave us all dirty looks, got back into his bunk and drew the curtains. Then we turned around and didn’t head for the hotel, we went straight to the gig and had about a half an hour to get dressed and get on stage.”
Ray Shasho: Do you still talk with Mick Jones at all?
Lou Gramm: “No, we left on really bad terms.”
Ray Shasho: I still have a hard time understanding how a group can continue using the trademark when there’s only one original member in the band.
Lou Gramm: “He owns the name. Last July they discovered that he had a tumor in his throat and also discovered that he had a major artery blocked to his heart. So he came off the road, they removed the tumor and did the bypass. Meanwhile the band got a substitute guitar player, has kept on playing all the way into December, and they’re playing again, they call themselves Foreigner and he hasn’t been with them in a year. And they’re making almost twice the money that we did per show.”
“A friend of mine went to see them in Las Vegas and they came on stage and people were cheering. He did see a few people stand up, get out of their seats, and leave because they knew it wasn’t Foreigner, but the rest of the crowd had no idea or didn’t care.”
“I watched on one of the cable channels, the new Foreigner play a couple songs and then they’d cut to an interview … and the new singer, well guess he’s not new anymore, he’s been with them for ten years now, is talking with the interviewer about his memories when they wrote, “Juke Box Hero” together … can you believe that?”
Ray Shasho: Hopefully people will learn to do their homework when conducting an interview or purchasing tickets to a concert these days. Lou thank you so much for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music that you’ve given to us over the years. We’re all looking forward to your concert at The Lakeland Center on November 17th.
Lou Gramm: “Thanks Ray I enjoyed it, look forward to chatting with you again soon.”

Lou Gramm, the original frontman for Foreigner performs on November 17th at the Youkey Theatre in Lakeland, Fl. Tickets go on sale August 17th at 10a.m. Purchase tickets at www.thelakelandcenter.com

Lou Gramm official website http://www.lou-gramm.com/
Order The Lou Gramm Band’s latest CD at amazon.com -I give it (5) stars! I think it’s one of the best Christian rock albums that I’ve ever heard. It’s the heyday of Foreigner with a metaphysical directive.

Special thanks to Jerrod Wilkins of Gold Mountain Entertainment
Official website www.gmemusic.com

Contact classic rock music reporter Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

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