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Robert Randolph: Shot of Love

June 22nd, 2010 | No Comments

Robert Randolph

As Robert Randolph & The Family Band approach their first decade together, all evidence is their game is tighter than ever. Boldly emerging from the gospel community, Randolph – easily the greatest innovator on his weapon of choice, pedal steel guitar, since Red Rhodes reshaped the instrument with Michael Nesmith in the ’70s – has always hummed with abundant spirit and Holy Ghost energy. This has never been clearer or more finely etched than third studio album, We Walk This Road (released June 21 on Warner Bros.). Produced with a sure hand and great sonic curiosity by T-Bone Burnett, this set nails the Sly & The Family Stone vibe Randolph has been hovering near for years. Less slick and more sharply drawn than 2006′s Colorblind, the new album mingles the voices of the past with a decidedly modern edge. This is gospel music for people who like life to be rowdy and lil’ freaky.

JamBase got to sit down with Randolph to discuss tackling Dylan, the roots of this album in the last Presidential election and more.

JamBase: We Walk This Road is your most together studio work to date. This feels like a classic album rather than a bunch of songs thrown together. There’s a through-line and intelligence to the sequencing, song choices, etc.

Robert Randolph: That’s what we set out to do with T-Bone, just come together and make this sort of thematic record of all sorts of inspirational songs and a lot of very cool sounds, and lyrically just trying to uplift people. And then going back and going back and finding all these old gospel and blues songs – which is really the roots of what I do anyway coming from the church – and taking them and making them into this new sort of Robert Randolph sound with new lyrics that relate to today.

JamBase: For many, gospel music is something of the past and not exactly relevant to today. I think it has the potential to be modern and relevant but often isn’t.

Robert Randolph: In one of the first conversations I had with T-Bone we talked about really digging into these songs, because this is all the same stuff that made Zeppelin become Zeppelin, Dylan become Dylan. They listened to all these old recordings and realized they needed to dive into these things because this is where the roots of American music come from. Whether it’s rewriting or rearranging these old songs, it’s just putting your own music stamp on this but using the bones of it.

For instance, take “Dry Bones” off the record – “Them bones, them bones, them dry bones.” It’s really just an old field recording we took and just looped to it and had like a 30-minute jam. There was a lot of stuff going on all over the place, but we started to think about what they were really talking about with “them dry bones,” and we figured out some new lyrics that addressed the bones of a thousand generations laughing in our messed up midst. And this was before BP blew up in the Gulf!

Randolph and The Family Band

A lot of older material is heard but not actually comprehended. By inserting a contemporary twist you make this stuff live.

Of course! And that’s what we set out to do [with this album]; make this music relevant to everybody. And regardless of what songs are recorded, when we play live this song will some sort of 12-minute anyway!

You’ve never obeyed rules about time limits or staying within any one genre throughout your career.

That’s what happens, and really the magic of playing shows. When these things happen, the crowd is smiling and the next minute the bass or guitar does something else that sparks something else emotionally. And that’s the vibe we went after on this album, by way of exploring the bones and roots of gospel music and try to find a way for this music to relate to people today.

You made some great choices of the material. A lot of people, including the man himself, shy away from Dylan’s Christian period, but you guys murder “Shot of Love.”

Thanks! What was strange about that was one day we were sitting in the studio with T-Bone trying to find just one big, strong song we could just lay down the guitar heavy on and deliver a message. And I finally said, “There’s got to be a Dylan song that nobody did before that I can do what Hendrix did to ‘Watchtower.’” And T-Bone was like, “Yeah, everybody tries that but there’s only one Hendrix. But let’s see.” We chose this one because it had this powerful message in there, and we all sat around and jammed to it.

We started this record coming out of the Bush Administration. Every break we’d watch the 2008 Presidential debates because T-Bone is a big Obama fan, and one of the other guys was a McCain fan. So, we’d sit there just watching & watching and we just realized how screwed up everything is! All the messages on this record, particularly “Shot of Love,” well, we ALL need a shot of love right now. People are hurting with all the lying that’s been going on. The song “Keep On Talking” (“Keep on talking, I’m not listening”) was written as a direct result of that campaign. We were sort of afraid that the song might not age well with all the negative stuff in it, but there’s still plenty more liars and crooks.

Oh, I don’t think we’ve even begun to turn over the rocks in this country [laughs]!

Robert Randolph by Rod Snyder

Oh yeah. We really wanted to make a strong statement without pissing too many people off and hopefully uplifting most of them.

Speaking truth is always a little uncomfortable, but if you can do it in a way that makes people want to raise their hands and get into it and actually work on this stuff, well that’s the way to do it, not just sit there and bitch and moan.

Look at Wall Street and BP, and then you look at this Tea Party stuff. Geez, where we going in this country?

We can’t seem to join hands and do things together as a country like we used to. You don’t pick your neighbors; you just happen to live near each other. But, you can pick the relationship you have with your neighbors.

We can do that, and we’re really trying to tell people that in this record. Don’t forget the word ‘gospel’ means the good word. So, we’re ALWAYS trying to spread the good word. And the fact that we were able to tie all these different themes together, with segues from these old songs going into brand new ones, we’ve made Robert Randolph and the Family Band songs we’ll be playing for the next 40 years. It’s cool!

I like that you tap Prince on this album [a cover of "Walk Don't Walk" from Diamonds & Pearls]. People know all the songs about sex and dancing but spirituality and social conscience are reoccurring themes in his music, too.

By me knowing him and talking to him and being around him, I know he’s a real spiritual dude. His spirituality is in his music and his lyrics in songs like “The Cross.” We actually did a version of that one with the Blind Boys of Alabama that didn’t make it onto a record and we thought about doing it again for this one. But then Lenny Waronker, the guy who signed Prince and did a bunch of records with him, came by towards the end of this record and suggested “Walk Don’t Walk” as a way to tie this whole record together. I heard it one time and said, “Let’s go! Let’s record this NOW!” We just knew we could do this whole Family Band version of this song.

T-Bone is the man. He’s just all about capturing the recording and getting the message across. And he told us, “I guarantee you just by me telling people we’re recording together that people are going to want to come down.” Next thing you know Jim Keltner saying, “Hey, let me play on some tracks.” You got Robbie Robertson coming down just to sit in the studio, and Bob Dylan calling in on the phone. You got Robert Plant, Elton John and Leon Russell just hanging out playing piano. And all this stuff came out of inviting people to just come and hang, having an event they were welcome to. They knew we’d have great things to eat, and they just wanted to be part of it in some way.

That fits in with the general spirit of the record, which sort of says, “We’re all in this together. We’re all on the same block. WE walk this road. Not YOU walk this road. It’s WE.”

Robert Randolph

We walk this road together. We ARE all in this together. That’s basically what it is.

One of the best stories of this record was capturing our version of Blind Willie Johnson’s original version of “If I Had My Way.” T-Bone had given me this CD with all these old songs and he had this one on it. One day we took a shot at it and it turned into this 40-minute jam, guitars everywhere and this, that and the other thing. At one point we even had two different songs; one was a country song and the other was very different. I wasn’t sure it was gonna work, so we left it alone for 5 or 6 months. Then, Ben Harper comes in and we start jamming on guitars. We had a cool little thing already but he says, “Let me hear something you don’t have finished yet.” I put on “If I Had My Way,” and he said, “Is this like the Blind Willie Johnson thing?” and he went right into the vocal booth and started singing those choruses – “If I had my way, I’d tear the building down.” And everybody was like, “Well, well, let’s dive into this thing now!” It became this great, soulful song where we swapped out this story of Sampson & Delilah for the one of Daniel in the lion’s den. T-Bone and I went into the lounge with the Daniel lyrical concept while Ben was knocking out the choruses, and it turned out to be a great night.

You’re coming up on 10 years with the Family Band, and now more than ever, you’re one of the few modern equivalents to Sly & The Family Stone.

Don’t forget, Sly came out of the church, too. But I’d only barely heard Sly & The Family Stone, and then I saw an interview with Sly back in 2002 that made me think, “Well, we’re doing the same thing!” He said they were using all the sounds they grew up with in church but Sly said he just had more of a whacky, rock ‘n’ roll mind to tie all this stuff together. And I thought, “That’s me, too,” without even really trying to be like that. It’s just one of those natural things with me going from sitting in church and then going out to play those early shows at the Lakeside Lounge and Mercury Lounge in New York and places all over Boston and Philly. I realized this was a whole different universe to Planet Church. There’s people out here that want a good message, that want to be inspired and uplifted, and that will always be in us.

Robert Randolph & The Family Band Tour Dates :: Robert Randolph & The Family Band News :: Robert Randolph & The Family Band Concert Reviews

JamBase | In The Spirit
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Stockholm Syndrome | 03.05 & 03.06 | S.F.

March 10th, 2010 | No Comments

Words by: Kayceman | Images by: Susan J. Weiand

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

It’s amazing how little has changed in six years. In 2004, I was in Europe with Stockholm Syndrome (read about it here). I was documenting the band’s first tour, carrying amps and selling t-shirts. While it was a great time to be around the band, watching them learn the material and wrestle their way into a hierarchy of sorts, it was not a cool time to be an American overseas. When Obama took office it became a little easier to wear your American pride outside our borders, but inside the confines of our 50 states, it’s still a shit-storm. We may have voted for change, but not much has changed.

Rock & roll is comfort food in times like these, and this band dishes it out in plentiful portions. Whether magnifying our demons on songs like “American Fork” and “Empire One” or helping us forget the pain for a minute with “Bouncing Very Well” or an uber-funky, Clav-heavy “Couldn’t Get It Right” (that sounded like it might drop into “Superstition” at one point), the power of a great song or inspired jam can medicate.

Few of us have known leaner times than today and there are few artists alive who channel struggle, pain and frustration as well as Jerry Joseph. Regardless of what configuration we find him in (Jackmormons, solo, Denmark Veseys, etc.), Jerry always charts a path to open hearts. But, he is never more affective than with Stockholm. Backed by bassist Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), drummer Wally Ingram (David Lindley, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne), keyboardist Danny Louis (Gov’t Mule) and the inimitable Eric McFadden on guitar, there are not many bands that can match the intensity and sheer power of SS.

Jerry Joseph :: 03.05 :: San Francisco

Mixing songs from the band’s 2004 debut, Holy Happy Hour, with new tracks off the soon-to-be-released sophomore album and Jerry’s solo work, Stockholm Syndrome also decimated a few huge covers on their first night in San Francisco. Coming out of a sprawling “Kind Of Place,” a Jerry song with a huge sing-along hook that should have charted on the radio years ago, the band closed set one with the late Vic Chesnutt‘s “Flirted With You All My Life.” A song about death by a man who recently took his own life, there is no heavier subject matter, and they paid homage by taking it into very dark terrain. But what was so remarkable about this song was the transition from pitch black despair into something with a slight reggae influence and upbeat conclusion. Together it was a musical reminder that there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if we have to cross over to find it.

The other bust-out cover came mid-way through the second set with Dylan‘s “Where Are You Tonight?” Beefed up on testosterone and delivered in classic Jerry style, they latched onto the original’s gospel roots and turned it into a rock burner. Even folks familiar with the song were scratching their heads for the first few minutes. You could almost read their minds: “I know this song… but what is it?”

More than any specific song, what makes this band so fun is watching them lock horns. Each member is a true Alpha Dog and if they don’t take some space, they won’t get any. This is what makes Danny Louis such an asset. The original keyboard player, German star Danny Dziuk, was more passive, Louis is not and he knows when to really lean in. The same could be said for McFadden. A more talented guitarist you will not find, and though he is at times overshadowed by Jerry’s massive stage presence (not to mention his often overlooked guitar work), McFadden is a powder keg ready to explode. His solos are always over-the-top, but it’s when he and Jerry rub against each other, harmonizing their guitars and weaving notes, as they did on “Ray Of Heaven” and “Conscious Contact,” that the sparks really fly.

McFadden & Schools :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

Alas, one would be remiss to not make prominent mention of Dave Schools. Playing a bit more of a traditional bass role than in Widespread Panic, Schools utilizes a four-string here to devastating effect. From heavily dubbed out sections that would set Jerry up for surprisingly strong white-boy reggae (not easy, and Jerry does it better than just about anyone) to expansive bass solos, mean power rock and spot-on vocal harmonies, Schools is the not-so-secret weapon of Stockholm Syndrome.

It can be a dicey situation with Jerry Joseph as the bandleader. He can’t do it any other way. He has to be the frontman, and the more confident and loose he is, the better the performance. But this is not the Jackmormons and every player needs room to shine or they’ll grow bored (or worse, they might get angry). Finding that balance is the key to Stockholm Syndrome’s success, and longevity.

During second set standout “Shinning Path,” I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if this band was the full-time priority for all five members. An older Jerry song about the brutal Communist Party of Peru, the band gave Jerry as much rope as he wanted, and he tied a knot around The Independent, pulling us deep into his world. A slow building, explosive rocker, when Jerry screamed, “You said that you’d die for me,” while McFadden blazed a solo and Schools dumped heavy bass over the top, it was everything rock fans dream about.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Set I: Red Lightning, Couldn’t Get It Right, These Grey Days, Sing Bird, In Your Cups, Kind Of Place, Flirted With You All My Life

Set II: Ray Of Heaven, Purple Hearts, Shining Path, Where Are You Tonight?, Friendly Fire, Bouncing Very Well, Conscious Contact

E: Wisconsin Death Trip

Continue reading for Dennis Cook’s review of the second night…

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: Susan J. Weiand

Stockholm Syndrome/These United States :: 03.06.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

The best rock shows tend to carry a sense of ritual about them. It’s all fine and well for a band to play appealing songs good and loud, but if the instigators have deeper intentions – even if they’re primarily subconscious – then a gig becomes an experience, perhaps first felt in a visceral manner but followed by psychic aftershocks that keep one pondering what occurred. More simply, if musicians build a metaphorical bonfire, bang a drum and wag their talking stick in our faces we respond to the shaman’s call.

While maybe not a full blown pagan revival meeting, Stockholm Syndrome with testifying openers These United States, flirted with this sort of ontological rising tide. For sure, both bands proffer some of the sturdiest, thickest rock out there right now, but both also actively engage in questions of spirit, humanity, politics and ethics. No teenybopper tripe here, and while some of the headier notions got caught in a snarl of guitars, volcanic bass and the sweat ‘n’ heat of the moment, there was no denying we collectively surfed the edge of a deep wave. Sometimes the music held us high, staring out over an ocean, and at others pulled us down into the salt and seaweed to gasp a little.

From their reaction inspiring name through their coiled group energy and increasingly tricked out catalog, These United States long to connect – for good or bad – with any audience they face. Largely unknown to the heavily Panic slanted crowd at The Independent, TUS nevertheless delivered a raggedly right performance that leapt with such joy and happy intensity that I stood dumbfounded at the mostly motionless people around me – dear lord, how can you NOT move to this!?! Watching lead singer/frontman Jesse Elliott leap into the yawning divide between the stage and hangers-back, there was no doubting their dedication to bridging such spaces. From their foundation up, TUS is about connections, all of them – love, hate, envy, history, etc. – just so long as truthful feeling is involved. And their strong playing and cool variety in interpreting their earlier tunes shows the density of shared intentions has grown very strong with this lineup. There’s more than a touch of mid-70s Dylan to them, and their interpretation of Bob’s “Meet Me In The Morning” this night would have put a smile on Dylan’s pancake white face during the Rolling Thunder days. As with every other time I’ve seen TUS, it seemed like they left everything they had in them on the stage. To withhold from one’s calling would be a sin and these boys aren’t sinners in any but the most playful ways.

Dave Schools :: 03.05 :: San Francisco

There are a lot of “what if’s” in rock history. What if Blind Faith hadn’t been undone by ego and friction and managed to make a second or a third album? What if Robbie Robertson hadn’t pirated The Band’s fortunes and instead shared the wealth and creative control with his comrades? There are too many such seemingly brilliant combinations of talents that imploded despite the best hopes of all involved. Which brings us to Stockholm Syndrome, a supergroup of sorts, at least within the cloistered jam community. Jerry Joseph (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Schools (bass, vocals), Wally Ingram (drums), Eric McFadden (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Danny Louis (keyboards) all have their fingers in multiple pies, some high profile (Schools’ enduring role in Widespread Panic, Louis’ anchor role in Gov’t Mule), some cultily adored (Jerry J, McFadden), some relentlessly busy (Ingram’s in-demand studio talents and hired killer status for big name acts as well as collaborator with great lesser-knowns). But, every damn time they assemble as Stockholm Syndrome we I start wishing they’d quit their day jobs and really see what Stockholm can do. It’s usually a few songs into the first set that this feeling hits me, hard, and right on time it whacked my solar plexus as Joseph roared, “I’m a killer, baby, that’s what killers do!” with McFadden prodding his ass like the devil with a new pitchfork and a luxurious, furious undercurrent of Schools, Louis and Ingram creating a rumble you felt in the meat of you.

This is not small-ball rock ‘n’ roll. Stockholm not only aspires to but achieves the dense, intermingled thickness of ’70s progenitors like Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy but with Jerry’s politically and psychologically intense lyrics (which provide the lion’s share of the words thrown out) transforming them into a totally different animal than these classic rock stepping stones. And here’s where that shamanic/cosmic thing comes in. Combined with music that’s not just reaching out but actively snatching one up and slapping them around a bit, the lyrics hold a deep, dark, truthful mirror up. It’s for society in the larger sense, but also for us, personally. Slamming down drinks and numbing the working week’s disappointments, I still couldn’t escape the feeling I’d been psychically depantsed by Joseph refrains like, “It’s good to be alone,” “We see what we want to see,” and other nitty gritty couplets that hit close to home for dreamers and lovers that struggle to do either in the world as it is today.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.05 :: San Francisco, CA

Some sections are strong and uplifting, but even that is hard won in Stockholm’s scheme of things. The work of life, the labor of being better than our past and emerging into the best we can be, floats in their themes and stories, which sometimes offer us “crayons from our childhood/ a 64-pack set” but more often hand us a gun or torch. Personally, I freakin’ love it and welcome any chance to dive deep in this shallow world. It’s clear they won’t be satisfied in the shallows based on the new material played at this show, all of which is promising and worthy of further inspection. It’s hard to get a distinct sense of Stockholm’s catalog or where it’s going because they play together so rarely, but for guys who only gather occasionally they sure exhibit a TON of chemistry that largely overcomes the rough edges. Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, this feels like their “working band,” a project that reconnects them to the roots of their inspirations AND is a total blast to play in. None of these guys is known for oodles of smiles in their other bands, yet they can’t seem to stop grinning in Stockholm Syndrome. That alone is a powerful sign that they should invest whatever time they can in this band. Plying one’s craft with genuine pleasure is the surest way to guarantee positive end results.

The steaming, churning engine inside them was firing on all cylinders by the end of the first set with a blistering takedown of “Crime & Punishment” and especially “American Fork.” Wasting little time with a break – who could deny them a smoke after a set that left one feeling pleasantly wrecked like after good sex – they attacked the second set with enormous vigor, with the highlights, perhaps predictably, being shattering, faith affirming versions of Joseph’s signature tunes “The Jacob Ladder” and “Road To Damascus.” Now, nothing surrounding these two was any slouch, and it’s intriguing how the songs are starting to mingle and morph with this quintet. If nothing else, the relatively intimate Independent allowed one the rare opportunity to perch mere feet over Dave Schools’ shoulder and just let his technically brilliant, he-man-as-hell bass work vibrate your balls and make you feel alive. The man oozes rock power and his presence as much as his playing informs this band in totally positive ways.

Stumbling out onto Divisadero Street, I once again entertained the question that’s followed me from every Stockholm show: What if these guys made this band their priority? My gut says the possibilities are pretty limitless and that they’ve only just scratched the surface. The collective confidence and sheer talent of these five men is staggering and incredibly exciting. I just hope we get to see it come to its full fruition one day.

Stockholm Syndrome :: 03.06.10 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA

Set I: Tight > Empire One > Easter, Tarantula Hawk, Miranda, Crime & Punishment, American Fork

Set II: Apollo > The Jacob Ladder > Emma’s Pissed, That Which Is Coming, Spy > Road to Damascus, Light Is Like Water
E: Lick The Tears

Continue reading for more pics…

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U2, Boss, Clapton, Simon, Wonder: MSG Shows for R&R Hall of Fame

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with Two Huge Concerts

U2, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Metallica, Paul Simon
Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Crosby, Stills Nash & Friends and Eric Clapton
Along with Special Guests Set to Perform in Concert at Madison Square Garden

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Music’s biggest stars – Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, U2, Paul Simon, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends, Simon & Garfunkel – will come together on October 29 and 30 at Madison Square Garden for two unique concerts celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The shows will be packed with guest stars and unique collaborations designed to tell the story of rock and roll.

Each night will feature entirely different lineups, with artists performing their own songs and the music that inspired them – tracing the history of genres ranging from soul to hard rock. All proceeds raised will go towards creating a permanent endowment for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and Museum. “Twenty-five years ago a group led by legendary Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun created this foundation to recognize and celebrate the music and careers of artists whose music helped shape and define our generation,” said Jann Wenner, Founder and Chairman of Rolling Stone and Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “These once-in-a-lifetime concerts are designed to celebrate the artists and their music.”

A creative team of Tom Hanks and his producing partner Gary Goetzman, Wenner, singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, Academy AwardÂ®-winning screenwriter, director Cameron Crowe and several others will work with the artists to curate the show through the live performances and filmed segments. Joel Gallen, the producer/director behind the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies and the MTV Movie Awards (1995-2006), will direct the show and oversee the 25th Anniversary Celebration along with the creative consultants.

Tickets will be available for purchase with an American Express Card through ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000, from 9 a.m. Monday, July 27, through Sunday, August 2 at 9 p.m. Tickets will be on sale to the general public beginning Monday, August 3 at 9 a.m.

Performing on October 29 will be:

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Simon & Garfunkel

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends

Paul Simon

Stevie Wonder

Performing on October 30 will be:

Eric Clapton

Aretha Franklin

Metallica

U2