podcastpartner
Rick Rod
Dennis P. McCann
gazatthebop
John Cale founded the influential Velvet Underground with Lou Reed, but that’s history. John Cale’s concert at the Made-festival in Umeå will primarily include new music.
It is the morning after a long day of travel. John Cale came to Umeå late Monday evening and have a day off.
- I will do the usual: finding somewhere to eat and then find a gym. I take care of myself.
The backbone of the evening’s concert will include songs from the U.S., expanded version of Extra Playful which came out last year.
However, nothing will be played from Paris in 1919, his most famous solo album.
- There is so much to choose from. Paris 1919 is a separate part of my career now, more orchestrated. This time I have with me a rock’n'roll band.
The Paris 1919 album included a couple of musicians from Little Feat, how did it happen?
- I was happy with that. It’s easier to hire a band than to pick the individual musicians. They had the ability to improvise, Lowell George was truly amazing.
On the 1970′s Island albums members of Roxy Music played.
- Well, a couple of them. We were on the same record company and we needed to be fast and efficient.
Here is a somewhat surprising statement from a man who produced many of rock history’s most groundbreaking albums:
- I do not like to be in the studio so much. I try to be as efficient as possible and work as fast as I can.
He describes his method with a Muhammad Ali quote:
- I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.
How was it that you produced the Stooges’ first album?
- I needed a job, first. I was fired from a band and really wanted to be a producer.
He says that the record company boss Jac Holzman of Elektra Records liked Marble Index, which he did with Nico. Therefore, he got the job.
Why did you work as a producer on Horses, Patti Smith’s first album?
- I think Patti liked my cheekbones, she was probably in love with me.
John Cale had been in contact with the Fluxus movement when he lived in London in the early 1960′s. He moved to New York where he worked with the Fluxus movement’s prominent figures, especially La Monte Young. Viola was the main instrument.
So he formed the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed.
- The Beatles came along, and everything blew up in New York. I was a child again, I was very excited. Meanwhile, the avant-garde scene was having problems, the crowd was less and less.
He does not listen to Velvet Underground anymore. The big problem, he thinks that the sound on the discs is so bad.
- I know that the Velvet Underground’s very important to many, but there are so many other things fresh is happening.
Over ten years ago John Cale’s version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was included in the animated feature film Shrek.
- It was nothing like I had any influence. I heard it was there, and when I saw the movie I was surprised how well the song fit the scene.
John Cale plays keyboards and guitar on stage.
- Viola? Not this time.
John Cale talks about the difficulty of travelling with musical instruments and other equipment then encountering aviation security.
- It is difficult even if you bring a regular guitar. We bring a lot of electronic equipment, but these people do not even know what a cable is. They should be trained, they should have special rock’n'roll-advisor for those who work in security controls.
John Cale’s next album was due in June, but the release has been postponed until October. Therefore, his tour is also pushed back to this fall, but thankfully two scheduled festival appearances go ahead, one in Belfast last week, and the one in Umeå tonight, Wednesday 9th.
— Dennis P. McCann
Lou Reed
Metallica rocker Lars Ulrich was challenged to a street fight by Lou Reed after the veteran singer lost his temper during a heated studio session for their collaborative album Lulu.
The stars formed an unlikely bond and decided to head into the studio to make a record together last year.
Reed previously claimed he had the time of his life working with frontman Ulrich and the band, and credited the relaxed working environment with boosting their creativity.
But not every session went so smoothly and Ulrich reveals he almost came to blows with Reed after becoming embroiled in an argument.
The rocker refuses to disclose the topic of the discussion, but admits he was secretly dreading having to fight the ageing musician because Reed is skilled in martial arts.
Ulrich tells Spin.com, "I had to point something out about how things were functioning in the outside world, (and) he got hot and bothered. He challenged me to a street fight, which is a pretty daunting proposition because he’s an expert in martial arts, and is never too far from a sword."
But Ulrich had a back up plan if things really did turn ugly: "The good thing about me is I can do the hundred-metre dash faster than most other 48-year-old musicians."
via Lou Reed challenged Lars Ulrich to street fight – Story – Entertainment – 3 News.
In this edition of American Masters the spotlight is on Lou Reed, the vocalist and songwriter of American rock band The Velvet Underground. His contributions in music make him a cultural icon and a true American Master. Read more about Lou Reed after the break.
Lou Reed was born in Brooklyn in 1942 and grew up in Freeport, Long Island. He learned to play the guitar in high school while listening to the radio, and became part of a few bands, too. His main influences were rhythm and blues and rock and roll music.
In 1964, Reed moved to New York City and worked as a songwriter for a record company. While working there, his employers saw he had big potential in the music industry and so they had a band come in to record a session with Reed. One of the people in the band was John Cale, a Welsh musician who would be Lou Reed’s band mate in The Velvet Underground.
Lou Reed, together with John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Nico, and Maureen Tucker, formed The Velvet Underground in 1965. Their first record was produced by Andy Warhol.Their songs and lyrics reflected the reality of the time and focused on their political and artistic vision as musicians. Although The Velvet Underground wasn’t a big commercial success, they remain one of the most influential groups from the 1960’s.
After six years with The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed decided to start a solo career. He came out with several albums and tackled various sensitive subjects in his songs. One of his most popular songs as a solo artist, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, came out in 1972 on his David Bowie produced album, Transformer. The song covered taboo topics, but despite that, it was widely played on radio stations. The song became an anthem to those who could relate to the lyrics, the ones who were considered outcasts in society.
Read more via American Masters: Lou Reed – Lomography.
Chelsea Girls
What’s Showing Today? Tuesday, May 1
Featured Screening: Chelsea Girls at Anthology Film Archives
Tonight at Anthology Film Archives the Tenants Association of the Chelsea Hotel presents a very special screening of Chelsea Girls, perhaps Andy Warhol‘s most famous and commercial successful film—and presently, paradoxically, one of his most difficult-to-see properly given its unique double-16mm setup.
Described by Newsweek as “the Iliad of the underground,” Chelsea Girls ran continuously in New York from October 1966 through May 1967, by which time even Variety had started tracking its grosses. Its conceit is at once simple and formally complex: assemble a team of Warhol Superstars and associates and simply film improvised vignettes with them in various rooms of the famed Hotel Chelsea; using the Auricon Super-1200 camera, which shot in 33-minute loads of 16mm film, each vignette was to be presented as a single, unedited take. Warhol and co-director Paul Morrissey selected their 12 favorite reels to be presented (sometimes at random) side-by-side, two at a time, giving the film its present runtime of near 3 1/4 hours. One side is color, the other B&W; and yet the original seed of the idea was to have a dual-screen projection that was “all black” on one side, and “all white” on the other; therefore, one side represents innocence and the other darkness.
The entire shoot was fueled by methamphetamine. It’s performers include Nico, Ingrid Superstar, Mary Woronov, Gerard Malanga, Marie Menken and Mario Montez. Brigid Polk administers herself speed injections and Ondine takes confession. The Velvet Underground provides the soundtrack, not to be confused with the ballad “Chelsea Girls” by ex-VU member Nico, which also provided the title of her debut solo album released the following year. And the only performer to truly live at the hotel is poet, critic and artist René Ricard. Described by no less an authority than Wikipedia as “reclusive and famously mercurial,” he’ll be on hand tonight to discuss the production and his friendship with Warhol, which lasted from 1965 until the artist’s death. Though the Hotel Chelsea hasn’t accepted permanent residents for some time and is apparently closed for renovation at the moment, Ricard is described as a current resident.
via Screen Slate | What's Showing Tuesday? CHELSEA GIRLS at Anthology Film Archives.
Double Six Records Update:
As we announced a few weeks ago we were releasing a Record Store Day vinyl featuring Maria Minerva, Tim Hecker, Leyland Kirby & Alva Noto remixing John Cale’s last EP. A small run of this EP will is available from the Double Six website from the 1st of May £8.99
John Cale • Extra Playful EP: Transitions
VU News
