Oct22

The Surprise of Brett Dennen

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The Surprise of Brett Dennen

Brett Dennen performs in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct. 20th, 2011. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

By TherraCat

Brett Dennen can be deceiving. At first listen the singer/songwriter with the vivid red hair, charmingly reedy voice and sing-along tunes comes across as an exceedingly pleasant talent in a modern music world airbrushed and autotuned to perfection and populated by incessant competitive posturing. He’s refreshing, is Brett Dennen, and his newest album, Loverboy, is easy on the ears and addictive in its sweet complexity. It’s been number one on my playlist for the last few months and with every listen I find more to like about it. So, naturally, I couldn’t wait to see him and his band perform live.

I figured it would be, you know, refreshing.

The Loverboy tour stopped last week at Workplay in Birmingham, Alabama so I jumped into a surf blue PT Cruiser and hurled myself westward to “The ‘Ham” as locals sometimes call the city. Workplay is a great venue in which to see live music so I was pleased. It had been a long week.  I was ready to be refreshed.

Brett took the stage among cheers from a loyal and loving crowd of about 200 people and without greeting or fanfare the 5-piece band launched into the first few songs. Not surprisingly, he was good. Really good. I was happy.

Then, somewhere in the middle of the fourth song Brett Dennen turned into a black woman jazz singer.

The gawkily graceful Dennen, who, as one friend once told me, “is, like, 7 feet tall” (he’s not, but trust me, the dude is tall) showed off his considerable vocal chops as he scatted and sang his way through the number and with eyes closed he displayed an intensity that drew me in.  He did more than just perform the song. He channeled it. I went from refreshed to fascinated in about five seconds. As a singer and songwriter Dennen has been compared in the press to the legendary Van Morrison but I can just about guarantee that Morrison, for all his immense ability, has never transformed into a black female jazz singer in the middle of a song.

This is what I meant by saying Brett Dennen can be deceiving. A casual Californian in every way, Dennen appears to border on being a throwback to a hippie-er time. In reality he possesses a timeless quality that not only infuses his softer offerings (“Frozen In Slow Motion”) but also his rocker side (the superbly engaging “Queen Of The West Side”). He seems to morph from song to song - at different times seeming very young, then old, accessible, remote, shy, then sensual. In all forms he seems prepossessed and completely comfortable with himself. He’s compelling and fun to watch. Where some performers burst onto a stage and throw their charm like a cloak around the audience, Dennen makes you come to him. He draws you in with his sweet songs and small smile and then hits you over the head with his considerable vocal and musical capabilities. His band is no slouch either and together they make for  a really great musicial evening.

Brett in Birmingham. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

For my friends of all ages who do nothing but complain about the Britney Spears, Kanye Wests and Ke$has of the world I have your antidote and his name is Brett Dennen.

Brett Dennen in Birmingham, Alabama. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

Brett Dennen. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

Brett Dennen. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

Brett Dennen. Photo by Therra C. Gwyn

SEE/HEAR Brett Dennen sing “Darling Do Not Fear” from the Birmingham show here.

Oct7

I’m A Believer. After reading Eric Lefcowitz’s “Monkee Business”, you may be too.

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I’m A Believer. After reading Eric Lefcowitz’s “Monkee Business”, you may be too.

posted by Therracat

As anyone who geeks out for a TV series, artist, band, book or genre can attest, you can take a lot of abuse from “non-believers” who don’t share or understand your passion. Fans of the Monkees have certainly gotten their share of slagging over the decades, both from the media and from those who fancy themselves rock and roll purists.

 The popular ’60s show has been named by TIME as one of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time and the Monkees reunion tours have been bankable successes. The lads, now all lads over 60, still draw crowds (and teenagers) to their solo shows, so, for the sake of argument,  lets assume they at least have had staying power, shall we?

 Oh. Do I have an attitude? Is it showing? When people who obviously didn’t get it would, over the years, question my mad Monkee love I always wanted to snap back, “Shut up. They weren’t made for you. They were made for me.” In truth, the Monkees were likely “made” for girls older than me, those with bras and bumped-up hair, but when they exploded onto the scene I was 6 or 7 and I had a very real sense of what I liked, music-wise. And I liked the Monkees. I put them next to my Hollies and Bee Gees and Rolling Stones albums and plotted grade school ways to get to from England to California, ways that didn’t involve me getting in trouble with my parents or missing too much school. For I was sure that was where I would find them, in sunny SoCal, in that bitchin’ beach house, driving that badass GTO.  I was young and to me, ”The Monkees” was a reality show.  I’d never been to the United States. It looked and sounded like the promised land to me.

Despite a certain amount of teasing and eye-rolling over the years by people who liked to rib me about my devotion to the Monks I still had enough knowledge and music cred in my arsenal to take on any purists in a duel. If I didn’t win, at least I dented the argument that the Monkees didn’t matter.  No more worries on that.  If people give me a problem about my hot Monkee love  I now can just hand them Eric Lefcowitz’s new book

 Author Eric Lefcowitz  (“Rhino History of Rock and Roll: The ‘70s”, “Buy American: Buy This Book”, “Tomorrow Never Knows: The Beatles’ Last Concert”, and more) has taken on the history, making, un-making and re-making of the group once before, in his book “The Monkees Tale”.  So much has happened in Monkee-ville since that book was released fourteen years ago that he’s added some new thoughts directly from Michael Nesmith, brought us up-to-date on the drama (and make no mistake, there IS drama) and added photos and new news to the history of the made for TV band that many refer to as the “pre-fab four” (pre-fab as in “built to order” not pre-Beatles era). “Monkee Business, The Revolutionary Made For TV Band” is a perfect book for those who love the Monkees and/or  those who love the messy, magical, musical 1960s. Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Stephen Stills, Janis Joplin, Neil Diamond,  Frank Zappa, Carole King, they’re all in the book and play a part in the history of  the Monkees, or vice-versa. It’s well–researched glimpse into a true show business phenomenon complete with fabulous photos by legendary photog Henry Diltz .

Eric was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and his new book and in the process, gave me even more info to lob at non-believers.

Therra C. Gwyn: Like a lot of writers I know, you are fluent in several genres. You’ve written about popular music and you have an extensive knowledge of the subject.  What, to you, is the importance of chronicling the life and times of the Monkees, over another band from that time period? Why the Monkees?

Eric Lefcowitz: Not to get too cosmic about it all but I feel the Monkees, in a way, represent all of us. There’s a human element to their story that transcends all the trappings of their fame. They were four eager young guys who happily signed on for the ride and then found out the destination was not quite what they were anticipating. For me, their rebellion is what clinched the deal (in terms of my fascination with the group). It would have been so much easier to just go with the flow. Their effort to express themselves within the confines of their “gilded cage” was an extraordinary development. That DIY-spirit that informs “Headquarters” is so honest and pure. Artistically that album may be miles away from “Sgt. Peppers” but as a statement of purpose I think it’s still quite valid. Both albums were released at the same time and of course the Beatles got the lion’s share of the credit but if you gave me a choice I’d rather listen to “Headquarters.” Within its own context, I think it holds up better. Yes, I said it. The other part of their legacy that sealed the deal for me was “Head.” There is something so wonderfully weird about that movie. It almost dares you to hate it (especially the first few scenes) but the more you watch it the more you begin to detect its genius. The fact that it was totally ignored by the public doesn’t matter now and I’d rather watch “Head” than “Let it Be” any day. Now I’m hardly trying to stoke an argument about which band (Beatles/Monkees) is better–that would be foolhardy. I love them both. But in terms of cultural relevance today, I think the Monkees–the brand and the band–tower over many of the so-called hipster bands of their day. And the reason for that makes for a fascinating story.

Therra: You outline in the book the many talented people who contributed material to the Monkees success (Carole King, et al). How important do you think famed songwriting duo Boyce and Hart were to their hit-making machine at that time?

Eric: Boyce and Hart were really the unsung heroes of the Monkees. Let’s face it; if the Monkees’ first records stunk they would just be a curio today. But those early Boyce and Hart tracks were amazing. They were absolutely the right guys at the right time. The theme song is a nifty bit of craft work, an instant identifiable ear worm (even little kids know it today) but also ever-so-slightly subversive. The same thing goes for “Last Train to Clarksville.” I heard Bob Dylan talking about that song on his radio show and he said something to the effect that the best way to be subversive was to not let anybody know you’re being subversive. I had no idea that there was an anti-war message built into “Clarksville” when I first heard it but there was something desperate in Micky’s delivery that hinted at it. It’s a classic, as are “Steppin Stone,” “She,” etc, etc. There isn’t a duff track that Boyce and Hart did with the Monkees and it’s a shame they didn’t do more (in my opinion). Also I’ve been lucky enough to meet and talk to Bobby Hart a few times and I have to say he is probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met in show business. Plus, if I recall correctly, he had a swimming pool shaped like a guitar at his house. How cool is that? 

 Therra: Pretty cool. And now I want one. Okay, In “Monkee Business” you touch on the big debate about whether the Monkees should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Do you think they deserve to be there?

 Eric: That they deserve to be there is without question but I feel even discussing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which has left out many, many other worthy bands) plays right into Jann Wenner’s trap. It’s all about the canonization of a certain Baby Boomer mentality that just turns my stomach and Wenner is the epitome of that bullsh*t (if I can say bullsh*t in print)! We should all move on because it isn’t going to happen, at least not while Wenner walks the Earth. I do think all Monkees fans could work to see that Boyce and Hart are inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame, however. That is much more likely to happen and they truly deserve the honor.

 Therra: Finally, if you had to use one word to describe Davy, Micky, Mike and Peter, individually, what would that one-word-per-Monkee be?

 Eric: Davy: Showbiz. Micky: Natural. Peter: Heartfelt. Mike: Seeker

Sep21

‘Scuse Me While I Read This Book

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‘Scuse Me While I Read This Book

Posted by therracat 

 I’m not the kind of person (but have nothing against those who are, mind you) who gets the image of an idol tattooed on my body. I don’t have tat of Jesus, or Buddha, or MLK or Lennon or Che or (in one extreme case I saw on television recently) Weird Al Yankovic. But if I did have a forever drawing of someone on my person, that person, without a doubt, would be Jimi Hendrix. 

 Ah, Jimi. Beautiful, electric Jimi. We hardly knew ye. But with the release of a new book by Steve Roby and Brad Schreiber there’s another delicious chance for devotees or the merely curious to delve into the life of the guitar legend. The book, now out on Da Capo Press/Perseus Books is “BECOMING JIMI HENDRIX: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius.”  I wondered, is there really anything  left “untold” about Jimi Hendrix at this point?  Surprisingly, there is.  Roby and Schreiber take us back into the early days of Hendrix’s troubled and short-lived military career. They give the reader the opportunity to follow him as he learned his craft while traveling and recording on the South’s well known and well worn “Chitlin Circuit”, all the way to the verdant 1960s  Greenwich Village scene where his musical identity was furthered with the help of Keith Richard’s then girlfriend. There’s also much ado about his time in Nashville, which influenced Jimi far more than many of us realized.  We all know where Jimi finally ended up – on the radio, on the stage, in the history books, in our hearts. What many don’t know is how he got there. “Becoming Jimi Hendrix” can help you with that. 

 Rolling Stone liked it and so do I. They gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars. 

 I often prefer to let writers talk about their books rather than talk about them myself. By the time a book is researched, written, re-written, edited and released authors are so intimate with the subject matter it’s as much a part of their DNA as hair and eye colour. I slightly know co-author Brad Schreiber.  Among the many things this tireless author/journalist/career multi-tasker does is sponsor The Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Non-Fiction, a yearly literary award given in memory and honor of his mother. In 2008 I entered the literary contest, my first, and won 3rd place for Humorous Non Fiction. I was thrilled to place in any capacity and Brad was so nice, encouraging and in the single conversation we had I recognized him as a generous and energetic spirit. I was really jazzed to be in touch again to ask him about this new work chronicling a man and talent the likes of we’ll not see again anytime soon. We get to see Halley’s comet, with its  75-79 year trek around the sun more often than we see than a talent like Hendrix. 


 Therra C. Gwyn: You have a varied catalog of books you’ve written and I could talk about those all day, but I’m especially interested right now in why you decided to write a book about guitar great (some say god) Jimi Hendrix. He’s been written about fairly exhaustively, although he is still a mystery to many. What can you and co-author Roby add to what is already out there? 

Brad Schreiber: For starters, we learned that Jimi and fellow band member Billy Cox were arrested at a lunch counter civil rights demonstration in Nashville. There is a strong strand on Jimi’s racial identity that has never been fully explored in other work. Also, we have many great stories about his life on the road and his split identity between Harlem and Greenwich Village in New York City. 

Therra:  Why do you think it took England to recognize Jimi’s genius? Why didn’t America catch on faster? 

 Brad: Jimi had not fully realized his singing and songwriting potential until he got to England. Also, the English newspapers reached more readers than a New York Times of 1966. And manager Chas Chandler knew that England would love both his technique and his blues acumen. 
 

Therra: You write in your book about Jimi’s early days touring in the South. How do you think this shaped the performer he was to become in a few short years? 

 Brad: Jimi said himself that playing in Nashville really improved his technique because the competition was so fierce. Touring with DJ Gorgeous George also taught Jimi how to deliver an engaging stage show while playing guitar. 

Therra: Tell me a little about your sources for this book. 

Brad:  Steve Roby interviewed over 100 people as sources. I came in on the last dozen or so but loved talking to Richie Havens and Jimi’s younger brother Leon, who lives here in LA. Most importantly, Steve has exclusive info from Lithofayne Pridgon, Jimi’s girlfriend when he lived in Harlem. Much of what she told us has never been published before. 

  Therra: Are you aware of the book by James Wright (former roadie for Hendrix) that makes the claim that Michael Jeffery, Jimi’s manager, murdered the star? He claims that Jeffery confessed this to him in a drunken moment a year after Jimi’s death. Any thoughts on this? 

Brad:  I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a conspiracy scientist. There is strong forensic evidence he was murdered, as his lungs were filled with red wine, something he could not have accomplished by himself. I believe Jeffery and others forced the wine and sedatives down his throat because Jeffery knew Jimi wanted to end their association. The presiding doctor in London who first examined Jimi’s body confirmed the lungs were filled with wine and also suggested foul play. 
 

Therra: When is ”Becoming Jimi Hendrix” going to be released and how can fans get a copy? 

Brad: It’s available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk right now and in stores the first week of September (2010). I have tour schedule, videos, informational posts and pictures at:www.redroom.com/author/brad-schreiber 

 Therra: Thanks much, Brad! 

 Brad: Many thanks, Therra, for letting me spout off about a great musician/composer and compassionate man who was taken from us too soon.

Jul29

Great “Gospel”

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Great “Gospel”

The much lauded "Gospel At Colonus" is on tour this summer.

Posted by Therracat 

 It may be one of the coldest places in the USA much of the year, but the temperature will soar this summer in Minnesota when “ The Gospel At Colonus” explodes into St. Paul’s Ordway Center the first week of August.  First produced in NYC in the early 1980s with a pre-Miss Daisy Morgan Freeman in the original cast, this durable  roof-raiser is a classic begat by a classic.  I could make this post short and sweet, telling you everything you need to know by simply writing, “Go. For God’s sake, go!”  but that might not suffice if you’re not familiar with the great “Gospel”.  Better to take a moment to give you a few of many reasons to spend your valuable time and entertainment dollars.  “Gospel At Colonus” is the Sophocles classic “Oedipus at Colonus” re-told in an African American church through the blues and rhythm of gospel music, to great rousing effect. This latest production, stopping in St. Paul for 6 days,  features the incomparable Blind Boys of Alabama, the aptly named Soul Stirrers and the glowing talent of one of  Georgia’s gems, powerhouse vocalist Bernardine Mitchell. I’ve worked with Bernardine several times and thanks to her talent, it wasn’t work.  I always felt lucky to be within listening distance when she was performing. Atlanta has long had a love affair with this divine diva. Go see “Gospel” and fall in love too.      

“ The Gospel At Colonus”  was conceived,  adapted and directed by writer/director, Lee Breuer. Breuer is an integral member of the ever-fine Mabou Mines, probably one of the most creative companies I’ve ever come across and certainly the most wildly inventive group of artists I’ve had the chance to work with. I was lucky enough to be  PR and Marketing Director at Theatrical Outfit when then interim Artistic Director Sharon Levy brought them to Atlanta to serve up “Shaggy Dog Animation” for both a small and appreciative and larger not-quite-ready-for-the-avant-garde-stuff-y’all, Deep South, public. It was one of the last stage plays RuPaul did before becoming a household name. In true fact, he might not have become a star in way he did without “Shaggy  Dog”, for it was during that happily creative cacophony that Sharon put Ru and the future songwriter and producer of “Supermodel of the World” ( Jimmy Harry) in the same room. They didn’t know each other previous, Ru having already gone to NYC and Jimmy having not yet left Minneapolis. Sharon brought them, all of us at The Outfit and a whole cast of true characters together for a memorable, wonderful time. “Shaggy Dog Animation” deserves its own separate post chronicling  the madness, magic and music that was the process and production. Stay tuned.    

Sharon soon left us behind and by no small coincidence  is also the producer of this current tour. She now heads her own  New York City-based production company, Dovetail, and continues to spread the gospel (no pun intended) of creativity and the promise of new works across the globe. She is  the woman I directly credit for a mantra I hold dear today and that is “Say yes to art”. Don’t worry if  your “yes” makes no sense in a logical world, say yes anyway and see where the spark takes you.  I can’t count how many times an artist would come to Sharon during the formative stages of a production and propose something that many theatre heads would have nixed, either for financial, time, or artistic constraints - or, as sometimes happens, reasons connected to ego. What mattered to Sharon was always the art – where it could go, what it could do, who it could touch.  She almost always said yes. She was many an artist’s best friend in this way.  Those were the early days of my career and I’m not sure I knew what a visionary she was then. I’m glad I know now. Thanks for the mantra, Sharon.    

 Okay…so back to the beauty of ”Gospel At Colonus”. The music that will have you on your feet is composed, arranged and directed by the wholly talented Bob Telson, probably best known for his Academy Award nominated score for “Bagdad Café“. He’s a multiple award  nominee (Grammy, Tony) and his musical landscape is vast, including classical, gospel, rock and roll, theatre and being band mates with artists as varied as Phillip Glass and Tito Puente. Telson’s gift for lifting music and audiences up is well showcased here. Step back non-believers, reviewers often gush about this musical, using words like “dazzling”, “special”, “brilliant”. Writer and critic Stephen Fried once wrote in Philadelphia magazine about how a friend entreated him to see ” The Gospel At Colonus”. “I can’t really explain what to you what it’s like,” his friend told him, “but if you don’t come up here and see it you are making a  terrible, terrible mistake.”  That was 1985. It still holds true today.    

    

 Don’t make a mistake.  See “Gospel” at the Ordway August 5- 11th or at the Edinburgh International Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, August 21-23.