INNERVIEWS: MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS EXTRAORDINARY CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY MUSICIANS Anil Prasad ABSTRACT LOGIX BOOKS CARY, NORTH CAROLIna Abstract Logix Books A division of Abstract Logix.com, Inc. 103 Sarabande Drive Cary, North Carolina 27513 USA 919.342.5700 [email protected] www.abstractlogix.com Copyright © 2010 by Anil Prasad ISBN 978-0-578-01518-7 Library of Congress Control Number: Pending Printed in India First Printing, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the written permission of the author. Short excerpts may be used without permission for the purpose of a book review. For Grace, Devin and Mimi CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Foreword by Victor Wooten viii Introduction x Jon Anderson: Harmonic engagement 1 Björk: Channeling thunderstorms 27 Bill Bruford: Storytelling in real time 37 Martin Carthy: Traditional values 51 Stanley Clarke: Back to basics 65 Chuck D: Against the grain 77 Ani DiFranco: Dynamic contrasts 87 v Béla Fleck: Nomadic instincts 99 Michael Hedges: Finding flow 113 Jonas Hellborg: Iconoclastic expressions 125 Leo Kottke: Choice reflections 139 Bill Laswell: Endless infinity 151 John McLaughlin & Zakir Hussain: Remembering Shakti 169 Noa: Universal insights 185 David Sylvian: Leaping into the unknown 201 Tangerine Dream: Sculpting sound 215 David Torn: Mercurial mastery 229 Ralph Towner: Unfolding stories 243 McCoy Tyner: Communicating sensitivity 259 Eberhard Weber: Foreground music 271 Chris Whitley: Melancholic resonance 285 Victor Wooten: Persistence and equality 297 Joe Zawinul: Man of the people 311 Photo Credits 326 Artist Websites 327 About the Author 329 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to Innerviews, both the website and the book, across the years. My wife Grace has been a pillar of strength during the life of the site and the process of creating this volume, not to mention serving as an excellent editor and proofreader. The visionary entrepreneurship of Souvik Dutta, president of Abstract Logix, made this project a reality. I’m thrilled to be a part of his distinguished stable of artists and writers. My friends Craig Peacock and Steve Monroe were there from day one when Innerviews began in the early '90s. Their enthusiasm and encouragement played a major role in propelling my career as a music journalist forward. Barry Cleveland at Guitar Player and Paul Hartman at Dirty Linen gave me tremendous opportunities to cover world-class musicians for their magazines, helping create a network of connections that sustains to this day. A few of those key relationships include Rob Ayling, Lori Hehr, Tina Pelikan, and Mike Wilpizeski— wonderful publicists and label people who saw Innerviews’ potential since the early days and continue to offer access to remarkable artists. Several musicians, including Bill Laswell, David Sylvian, David Torn, McCoy Tyner, and Victor Wooten, have provided significant words of wisdom and support that mean a lot to me. I’m also honored that Victor took time out from his busy schedule to contribute the foreword to this book. In addition, I wish to thank Andy Rinehart for his visual design expertise reflected in the book cover and the site’s look and feel, as well as Arkadyuti Basu, who is responsible for the superb layout of the interior pages. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to all of the extraordinary artists who have spoken to me for being so generous with their time and thoughts. vii FOREWORD As a professional musician, I am asked to do many interviews. Speaking for myself, as well as other public figures, we are often reluctant to grant interviews because we know our words may not be printed as we said them. Publicity is a must, which means interviews are a must, but when our words are misrepresented, it leaves the reader with a misguided impression of the artist, and leaves the artist upset and disappointed. This is a drag for all involved. Back in 1996, I was contacted by a guy with an unusual name asking to interview me for an online magazine—one I’d never heard of. Because I was releasing my first solo CD, I needed all the help I could get. So I reluctantly agreed to be interviewed by Anil Prasad for Innerviews. When I spoke with Anil, I was prepared to answer all of the usual questions like “Who are your influences?” “When did you start playing?” and “What’s in your CD player right now?” But to my surprise, the first question I was asked was about a movie soundtrack I had worked on. It was the first soundtrack I’d ever done and I still don’t know how Anil knew about it—no-one else did. The guy with the funny name had done his homework. I was immediately impressed. The interview got better and better as it went along. Anil asked insightful questions that allowed me to speak about music and life as I see them. He listened intently to my answers and seemed to really care about viii what I was saying. That made me feel comfortable and allowed me to open up and feel free with my replies. When I was sent the article, I was amazed that such care had been taken to write my answers as I expressed them, not as he wanted them to be. He wanted to make sure the reader completely understood me. The interview was titled “If people were more like music…” I liked that. “This is not your typical interviewer,” I thought. I was happy about that too. I liked this guy, but I thought that it was possibly a fluke. Maybe it was luck and he’d only done one good interview. I went to his website and read more of his work. I was stunned. I quickly found out that Anil is at the top of his field. He is an artist who interviews other artists. To me, Anil is like a great musician. The way he expresses himself through his own art—his writing—causes readers to feel inspired, as if we’ve learned about ourselves, as well as the subject of the interview. After reading Anil’s work, we readers find ourselves better off than when we started. Anil executes beautifully what we musicians are continually trying to do. I could go on telling you about Mr. Prasad—telling you why the first interview I did with him is still my favorite to date, why other interviewers should take note of the guy with the strange name, and why you should definitely read his work. But I don’t have to do that. I know you will find out for yourself as you thumb through the pages of this book. Enjoy, Victor L. Wooten ix INTRODUCTION When the Innerviews website first launched in 1994, it was purely an experimental endeavor. I was writing for various print newspapers and magazines for five years and decided to teach myself how to create a simple webpage by coding a few of my interviews into HTML. For the hell of it, I uploaded them to a personal web account and advertised their existence on several music newsgroups. I thought perhaps a few dozen people might be interested in reading some of the pieces on this new frontier. Little did I know what would unfold soon after. Hundreds of people flocked to the interviews in the first few days, and that turned into thousands in the weeks that followed. Soon my inbox was filled with messages from people worldwide radiating positivity about the work and asking when I’d post more. It didn’t take long to realize I was onto something. I started coding like crazy and posted several dozen of my articles and packaged them together as Innerviews. A large and devoted following for the pieces emerged, and soon, what was once an outpost for my print interviews turned into a magnet for artists, labels and publicists seeking coverage exclusive to the site. Innerviews’ focus on artists with expansive creative mindsets was clearly speaking to an underserved demographic in the world of music journalism: the thinking listener for whom music isn’t just aural wallpaper or a lifestyle accompaniment, but rather a living, breathing, essential part x of everyday existence. After receiving thousands of pieces of feedback over the years, I’m thrilled to conclude that Innerviews’ readers are just like me. If you’re holding this book in your hands, chances are you accept that while music is a self-standing statement, you also have a desire to gain some insight into the thoughts, processes and perceptions that drive an artist’s work. You also share my belief that those capable of making such profound music are probably people who have worthy ideas to offer in myriad other areas as well. People like us are not obsessed with celebrity. Rather, we see relationships between what the musicians do and what we do, regardless of our occupation and other interests. Their art, and therefore their thinking, have influenced us deeply and we have a thirst for knowledge on how their principles and perspectives can be applied to other areas of our lives. This viewpoint means we’re rarely going to find what we want in typical music magazines. With a handful of exceptions, depth has all but disappeared from mainstream music journalism. Further, a preoccupation with meaningless trivia, soulless sales data and writing that’s more about the writer than the artists seems to dominate. The art of getting musicians to delve deep into their souls to discuss topics that really matter to them is infrequently practiced these days. Most artists who agree to an Innerviews conversation understand what they’re getting into.