PETER HOOK - QUICK INTERVIEW - TRUTHS OR MYTHS ?

In the last and excellent House of Music (Porto, Portugal) Clubbing i had the opportunity to chat briefly with Peter Hook. Initially i was not certain to get over the management but thanks to the domestic support that I had, I got there. We stayed in the dressing room door to exchange some words until the moment I mentioned him i had 3 / 4 quick questions about his career. I know the question was tricky but when he heard the word career he said, "... Well, you better go in mate" ...

And so, i transcribe below this brief dialogue that i hope can enrich your knowledge about this mythical figure of Manchester, on JoyDivision, New Order and even ..... the Durutti Column:

KING_LEER (KL):

About Ian Curtis and he playing guitar or not:

Peter, Ian played guitar (even slightly) in "Love Will Tear Us Apart. " It was a unique moment?

PETER HOOK (PH):

Yes, he played, as shown in the video. He played only in "Closer", on that track and two or three more, including "Incubation".

KL:

The New Order was perhaps the best example of a band that after losing their lead singer kept a level of success similar to that obtained with Joy Division. How did you choose Ian’s successor?

PH:

Do not forget the Genesis (ed: Yes, yes, but still a rare case).

After Ian’s death it was always our intention and I think it would also be the will of Ian too. As for the singer, the selection process was simple, as we all sang on the tests but you know what really happened? Bernard was the best on playing and singing at the same time so, he “won”.

KL:

Usually i try to find out some stories that hides behind a tune. Something special you wish to tell us about New Order ‘s "Blue Monday"? How a track like this one appears and specially for its duration?

PH:

The initial idea was to play this song at the encore. You know, we did not like encores and "Blue Monday" was created for this purpose, an instrumental tune when returning to the stage. Later, after some tinkering it finally got the sound we all now know (despite the many remixes that are already out there). We never thought it would become a topic of much success.

KL:

True or myth that you and the rest of the band helped to fold and prepare the edition of "The Return of the Durutti Column" on the premises of "Factory Records" at the request of Tony Wilson?

PH:

Yes, it is true. We were "invited" to do that hard work on the record you mention and two more, Durutti Column ‘s "Pieces For An Ideal" and the compilation "A Factory Sample". And, do you know how much Tony Wilson paid us? 50 pence per each 100 layers. Slave labor (laughs!).

KL:

Finally, what are the new bands that you hear nowadays? Manchester continues to be a true motherhood for great musical projects. Just last week we had here the "Hurts".

PH:

Manchester remains the same, it is a great musical city. The "Hurts "..... honestly I do not like them. I listen to "Everything everything"(very good), "Two Door Cinema Club" and "The Stowaways".

THE END

HERSHEL YATOVITZ - " I love my job !"

This was one of the most peculiar interviews I’ve made until now. By the last months of 2009 I’ve tried to contact Hershel and after a couple of e-mails I was lucky enough to get his attention. So, as usual, questions were sent and……….that’s the odd thing, nothing happened until the 2010 4^th of July. It was a Sunday and I was having lunch with family at home. Suddenly the mail “rings” and it was Hershel. He was at the tour bus driving into Portugal from Spain. Chris Isaak would perform the next Monday at Cascais, south Portugal. Hershel was kind enough to reply to my initial questions (the ones you can read bellow) and invite me for the show. So, this is the story and the beginning of a non-stop trip from North to South to see Hershel and Chris in a great performance. I´ve got some miles on the show business but as I confessed to Hershel, it was a special night as I never saw Chris live and his music has a peculiar effect on myself so, I was a little bit nervous but, I was nice to meet them and Hershel is a great soul off and on stage. It was really a pleasure to be there.

I hope you enjoy the interview, even with the gap between questions and answers and that you learn a little more about music with Hershel´s words and find some interesting lines on Chris Isaak´s Wicked Game and the 20^th anniversary of this timeless tune.

King_leer

# 1 - On your new CD:

KING_LEER (KL):

I know you’ve got a CD out now. It's called "Hy Time". Talk to us about it, who's joined you in this project and how do you manage to finish it between the work with Chris last album, the shows and everything else.

HERSHEL YATOVITZ (HY):

HY Time was really fun to make. I picked some of my songs I think are uplifting but cool, and although it might sound corny, I just sort of let the songs tell me what to do each step of the way. I believe a song is finished when it stops "yelling at me" so much, so when they calmed down I knew it was ready for release. Each song has a very different feel; it just felt good that way. I have had a great response to it, and now a second album is in the works. I was blessed with some really great world class players who really kicked up the record many notches. Some live near me in Portland, Oregon, and some live in Los Angeles and sent a few tracks back and forth over the internet. It is so easy now; I can have my favorite session players go into a studio wherever they are and send tracks to me, and I can send guitar or bass tracks to them.

I do get some time off and I have a nicely equipped Pro Tools Studio at home where I work when I'm not out with Chris and the guys. I do production, mixing, and session tracking on guitar and bass for bands, singer/songwriters, etc. there. I have some overseas clients; we just send the files over the internet. It is a great time we live in with all of the options available. So it is easy to work on my own projects as well, it just takes some time to complete them since I work a lot with Isaak and others. I just completed the theme song and some others for a new film called Trooper, and the other artists on the soundtrack are Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, I'm happy about that.

# 2 - On your teaching experience:

(KL):

I know you were a teacher before joining Silvertone. Is there a real advantage/difference between being a musician with college studies or not? Is it just a question of skills, you either have it or you don't?

(HY):

I think there are big differences, but there are pros and cons to either. I studied privately and then taught for years and wound up teaching Jazz at Stanford University, working with some very studied musicians and I wondered, "how did I wind up getting to work with these guys?” When you get down to it, it just depends on what type of work you want to do. Since I developed my ear playing lots of different styles in live performance settings without written music (other than occasional chord charts) I can 'fake' songs I have never heard before fairly well, and learn most anything I need to by ear. If I had gone through a traditional college education it would be much easier to learn complex written pieces, but my on-the-spot instincts might not be as well developed. And my whole musical path would also be very different since all of the influences you pick up in your daily life as a musician and the gigs you get create your path. I wish I had some of the literary knowledge I would have gotten if I had a degree, but then I'm sure I would be a completely different person artistically.

Regarding "either you have it or you don't", I believe there is always some qualities people shine at, and others not so much, so it's just a matter of finding your place in the world and being realistic about where your strengths truly lie. Beyond that, whatever makes you happy! I don't recommend choosing to be a musician as a career unless you just can't help yourself. In my opinion finding some joy in what you do every step of the way is essential. But music is a great hobby as well.

# 3 - On Working with Chris Isaak

(KL):

You work with Chris since 1995. You've travelled around the world with him playing and also acting on his TV series. As far as i know he is a very talented guy and above all (taking from his interviews) he has a great quality. He's very committed to his projects and his band mates. How it's really the day to day work with him? Does he writes almost all the songs or they are worked among all of you?

(HY):

Chris is a great guy with a vibrant personality, like the rest of the guys in the band. We generally get along quite well and laugh a lot, I'm happy to report! Chris writes the song melodies, chords and lyrics and the rest of us make up our parts on our respective instruments. Once in a while he will work with a producer out of town and use local musicians, so there are a few songs with other players on a couple of the records, but most of it is the band.

# 4 - On Wicked Game:

(KL):

I believe this song is making 20 years now. You're not in the band at the time. How many times did you played it? Have a clue?

Honest question for an honest answer: What's the sensation on playing it in so many shows? How does a musician feels about this. I know it's his job, he' a professional but honestly, do you get tired?

(HY):

Somehow I never get tired of playing it, or any of the other "must play" hits, I don't know why! I have recorded multiple versions and played it live, I don't know; let's say 200 times a year for 15 years? That is terrifying, thanks a lot, Luis! I guess I like it because there is always room for growth, and there is room for making a song 'my own' a little bit by playing it differently as I feel it. A song like Wicked Game is not suited for a lot of improvisation of course, but I do play it differently than the original, and a little differently every night. Other songs, well, we have a lot of room to be creative and have a great time interacting with each other. I am really glad I get to be in a real band, playing totally live music with no backing tracks. We get to really have a fresh and different show every night and still play some of the songs our fans really want to hear. When it is all live then every moment there is the possibility of magic or disaster, and that's where the human connection occurs between the audience and the artists.

# 5 - On Episodes:

(KL):

Tell us what was the strangest episode you had while on Tour with Chris Isaak?

(HY):

Oh, it seems like every day something crazy happens, sometimes truly absurd, I'm afraid to start... Well here's one: I have played in such extreme conditions, severe heat, rain, you name it. But one show in Vail, Colorado, USA really pushed the limit. It was supposed to be an outdoor celebration in the sun for the end of ski season, but a full on blizzard came through, pounding us with snow. The interesting thing about snow is that it does not care if there is a roof over the stage; it moves sideways covering everything and making the stage very slippery. We were the slipping snowman rock band with a crew of shovelers and sweepers on stage, hoping our numb fingers would land in the right place. A woman came on stage to dance and slipped towards the edge of the stage. I reached out my guitar and she grabbed it by the neck and I pulled her back up. And we don't stop our show for anything, so we played a long show. I played with gloves for a song, but my favorite part was watching the explosions each time a drum was hit. And the crowd was used to the snow and rocked out with us all the way. Another day at the office, I love my job!

THE END

Hershel's photo on this article by Mike Lloyd.

Relevant links:

http://www.hershelyatovitz.com/

http://chrisisaak.online.fr/english/us-band.htm

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum - The Producer - PART V

With this post ends my contribution to better understand the work behind the last Kasabian’s record release. After the 2008 magnificent “Only By the Night” by Kings of Leon, in 2009 my choice was this West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Now that 2010 is ending there’s undoubtedly some good records to explore. I hope you all liked it and what better to finish this study with the great Dan The Automator? Wish you all a Merry Xmas and a great 2011.

King_leer (KL):

We all know about your past work and if you take a look at some of the last Kasabian’s record reviews, almost everyone tries to point it out the tune that your presence is more – how shell i say – noticed. For instance at the NME’s review Hamish MacBain fires with “Take Aim”. Meanwhile, Serge Pizzorno tells in a interview that the sound on “Underdog” it’s a “...21^st century sounding tune. It’s one of the reasons we got Dan The Automator in to produce it.

So Dan, for you what is the track that you most identify with you and your background as a musician, producer, etc.

Dan The Automator (DTA):

actually I look more at the overall work as opposed to one song because it is the variety that makes up the style, but if I were to choose 1 I would probably say vlad

(KL):

What’s your role in the creative process as a producer in this record. For instance i’ve talked with the producers from the Kings of Leon record and you can figure that the band has a major important role on it, while by the other way, when talking to Stephen Street on the last/first Pete Doherty solo album i could also state that the producer had a major role on the final result.

Since Serge - although i don’t know him personally writes almost all the songs and i believe he follows up all of the creative process with great commitment. Tell us a little bit about this relation and how was is in “the field”.

(DTA):

Every song has different needs, some involve removing stuff must involve adding drums the goal is always to make the most of what everyone has to offer to make the best record possible. Sometimes it is listening to what serge wants to achieve and sometimes it is showing him a new place to take it.

There’s additional guitars, strings, piano, effects, percussion, samples, etc in this record.

Since the strings were recorded in other sessions, the other instruments were recorded stand alone or along with the band, like a live session.

the process is additive and things got recorded and added as needed.

(KL):

What was the strangest effect you used on a track from this record? What was the track that took you more time to produce - any special reason?

(DTA):

Varieties of tape echoes and other old esoteric gear was used to created some of the ambiance probably the oddest was the use of various old English farming tools.

(KL):

Finally, on you and your projects:

There’s something you said in the past that I really understand and have the same opinion:

“ I’ve followed people that don’t pay much attention to categorise music…..for me This will sound good is ok”. Is this the secret for you to work in a wide spectrum of different music styles?

(DTA):

I like a wide variety of music and appreciate the different strengths in the various genres. So when I make music any and everything can be a part of it. It is also probably why I am comfortable working in different musical styles.

(KL):

What are your next projects?

(DTA):

Working on a new record with a new girl (Pillow Fight).

Doing songs in this new movie called scott pilgrim.

I’m doing also one Asian pop record .

Finally, I’m setting up a world class Dj program/show series in San Francisco to showcase the top musical djs and further link them to musical band type situations. the first of the series will feature Dj Qbert.

Also will work in a couple other records but, too early to talk about.

THE END

Relevant links: http://www.myspace.com/dantheautomator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_the_Automator

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum - The Mastering process - PART IV

Howie Weinberg is a master on the mastering process. Worked on – as he stated – between 2,000 to 3,000 records since the early 80’s. From James Brown to U2 and Nirvana to Public Enemy, Glasvegas, and Gorillaz . In fact, Howie received in 1996 a TEC award for “best record production/single-track” for his work on the “Feel Good Inc,” masterpiece. He’s with Masterdisk since 1977.

His recent work with Kasabian was the reason for this quick phone conversation a little while ago. So, let’s read what the Master has to tell us about this record:

On Kasabian’s record:

King_leer (KL):

Who made the call for Kasabian’s new record?

Howie Weinberg (WB):

In fact it was Dan. Dan is the client as well as Sony, the label. We have a very close work relationship. I have a amazing studio set-up and that’s all. We work together for 10 years now in all kind of projects.

(KL):

When you are mastering (i believe) the producer or band members will ear the final result and then close the subject. How did it go with Kasabian’s record ? Who was following the process with you? It was Dan, the band or both? What kind of communication was in place between you and the producer/band?

(WB):

Dan and I knew very well what to do and what the band wanted. Although, the band had a great input, they were very proactive also. We sat down and start promptly the work. We had a very good mix.

On You

(KL):

Can you pick from all your discography the most difficult records you have worked in - technically speaking?

(WB):

Well, this is not a easy one but, here it goes:

Nevermind - Nirvana

Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Pop – U2

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy

Relevant links: http://masterdisk.com/engineers/engineer.php?id=26&page=b

THE END