Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 9:03 am Post subject: Robben in local newspaper
Great story about, and interview with, Robben, this moring in our local newspaper, the Ventura County Star (Robben's hometown of Ojai, CA, is here in Ventura County). To read it on line (or listen to some audio clips), go to www.venturacountystar.com From there, click on "Entertainment," and then on "Rockin' Robben."
You'll need to log in and give the Star some personal information to actually get to the story, but it's well worth it. Robben talks a bit about touring with Miles and with George Harrison, and about his tour stop tonight at SOhO, just up the road in Santa Barbara. I'll be at tonight's show, and will post a report tomorrow. _________________ - BlueRunner
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 1043 Location: Boulder, CO
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 9:09 am Post subject:
Quote:
Rockin' Robben
The Ojai-based guitar icon, who's gigged with everyone from Miles Davis to George Harrison, plays tonight at SOhO
By Bill Locey
January 15, 2004
Ojai guitar god Robben Ford is playing a virtual home game tonight when he brings his band to the place lacking capitalization skills, SOhO in Santa Barbara.
Ford's repertoire is so extensive it could fill this entire section, but suffice to say that Ford really has played everywhere with everybody.
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This gig will focus on blues tunes off his latest, "Keep On Running," inspired by -- you guessed it -- that old Spencer Davis tune.
Be it frontman or sideman, Ford is at home playing the blues as well as jazz and about everything else. A few names off his extensive resume: Miles Davis, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Little Feat, the Yellowjackets, Tom Scott. ... There's lots more.
Ford had plenty to say, so without further exposition ...
Keeping warm up there in Ojai?
It's cold here, you know? But today is nice.
The SOhO gig ... is a home game for you.
I've only actually played there once before and we had a really good time.
I didn't know what to expect. I'd been there once before to see someone else play at a dinner show before they renovated the place. People were basically just eating and not paying attention. So we weren't really sure what to expect, but we ended up packing the place out.
It was set up for people to listen, and they did and we had a ball.
So who goes to see Robben Ford play?
My audience is pretty broad. There's a pretty wide variety of ages and sizes. I can't tell you exactly who they are but I've appeared in a variety of situations with other people.
We have Deadheads coming out to the show because I worked with Phil Lesh a couple of years ago.
What's your take on the blues biz? Is it bigger, smaller or staying the same?
I think the blues has something that people in general seem to kind of like. Just about anybody can go to a blues festival and hear something they like. It's got a broad appeal but it's not huge in terms of record sales, but people like to come out and hear the blues, even though it's nowhere close to stadium rock; it's healthy.
Where does "Keep On Running" fit in with what came before?
I was a little unsure where I was going to go with it. So we really made a point of bringing in a producer we thought could influence the record in a positive way.
We wanted a producer who had a blues background. Our producer is John Wooler; he's English and he used to head Point Blank Records, which was a blues label. He worked with Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker, and he was also involved in Gary Moore's very successful blues record from a few years ago.
John just knows everybody and has been around and is just a really good guy and he's only like 46. I didn't know him and we met for lunch and we hit it off and found we could've sat there for hours and talked about everything but music.
And something I hadn't really tapped into much in my own music was the British take on the blues. And John comes from that. The people he listened to were John Mayall, Spencer Davis, Fleetwood Mac, Long John Baldry, Cream -- all the English blues artists. I come more out of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and B.B. King.
John relates to a Fleetwood Mac record pretty much the same way he would relate to a Freddie King record. He doesn't have any racial prejudices about what is blues and what is not. So he brought that sort of English flavor to the record, which I really appreciate.
The Fleetwood Mac "Homework" song rocks.
It was originally recorded by Otis Rush. I didn't know the song. John played the Fleetwood Mac version for me and I, at first, didn't take to it, but then we rehearsed it, and it rocked. It was great. John brought in "Keep On Running." I never would've recorded that. He brought in "Badge" by Cream. I said, "OK, let's try it." We ended up recording great versions of all these songs.
What makes you decide to cover a song? And should a cover be better than the original or merely reverential or what?
On this record, I was just open to somebody else's suggestions; I always am. I want people's ideas to flow. When I do a cover, it's either to me a great song or it's just something with a mood or a feel -- something that I feel I can deliver.
I feel good about playing anything, but singing, I need to be a little more careful what I choose. They have to be songs that just get in my head and don't go away, or songs that I really loved at one time, then hear again and find that I still love. If I think I can do it, I'll give it a try. If it works, great; if it doesn't, move on.
I did more covers on this record than I normally do. I usually write a lot more of my music. I wanted this one to be more of a collaborative effort rather than me just writing songs trying to fulfill my singular vision.
Hey, this is supposed to be fun, right?
It sure is. That's how I relate to it.
What's it like going from the sideman to the frontman?
Being the frontman is just a lot more responsibility. There's a lot more pressure.
I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm playing music I'm enjoying. I'm just as happy sitting behind the glass producing something that's going down great. I just add what I have to offer to the situation. I just enjoy being involved making really good music.
Being a frontman oftentimes was the only way I was able to make music consistently that I liked. You work for somebody else, it's fine, it can be great, but it gets harder and harder to find situations you want to invest your life in, playing somebody else's music.
I always had a desire to do something original, you know? Bands are generally this style or that style; they kind of hit a groove and that's how it all sounds. As to my music, I try to keep it a lot more open than that. I feel that it is, anyway. I have literally played classical pieces in my shows.
Someone wouldn't necessarily know it but I'll take a passage from a Ravel suite that I like, and we'll play it. I wouldn't record it because that's going too far, but my music is real open that way.
Tell me a George Harrison story.
That time with George was an odd time. It was the only (extensive) tour he ever did. He did Bangladesh, but that was only one concert; and I think he did a night in New York City -- one concert. Beyond that, this was the only tour he ever did and he was really terrified.
Ultimately, emotionally and vocally, he wasn't really prepared for it, so it wound up being kind of strange. He was a very energetic cat and great to be around; he had tremendous energy, but it was an odd experience. The expectations were very high. And it was a long show and sometimes we did it twice a day.
The tour wasn't all that well-received by the critics, and in some ways, rightfully so. It's hard to say exactly why, but George -- he wasn't a frontman -- and he didn't know that until he got out there on a two-month tour.
How 'bout Miles Davis? Did he talk to you?
Well, you know ... Miles was a very unusual person. He definitely stayed to himself on the tours, which was fine. He was Miles Davis, so there was no problem there.
He'd fly first-class to the show and we had a tour bus, and we drove. He didn't want to get on a tour bus for a nine-hour drive from Bologna to Bern, Switzerland, so he'd go to the airport and fly.
We'd see him just before we hit the stage and he'd split afterward and we really wouldn't see him. So my experiences with him were largely on stage.
Off the road -- I was living in New York City then -- he would just call me on the phone to chat. He liked to talk on the phone. He'd call and play me this recording over the phone from this little handheld thing he had and say, "You're playing your (butt) off!" He was real complimentary.
But not in person?
The only time I hung out with him -- just me and him in a room -- was once in his hotel room after a show. He had the TV on and he just started watching and just kind of sat there.
Other times, we'd have our little interchanges at the airport. He called a band meeting once and everyone showed up and just kind of sat there and stared at him for a while. I don't remember what we talked about -- it wasn't much; then he went to bed. He was very private, that's for sure.
He was kind of (mad) at first when I left the band, but then when I left, he said, "If you ever want to come back, come back." It was like an open-door policy -- the ultimate compliment.
What was your strangest gig?
Probably Miles Davis. He was the most unpredictable cat. ... The thing with Miles Davis was, it was a lot of people who were thrown together that were not necessarily friends. Everybody just kind of went their own ways. That's one of the main reasons I left, because it actually wasn't fun.
What have you learned about survival on the road?
Well, it's all about attitude and the attitude of who you're working with. You need each other out there, so it's important that you're all friendly and happy to be there. And I've been the guy that wasn't necessarily happy to be there, and stayed kind of to myself, and quite frankly, I'm ashamed of myself for it.
Really, you need each other out there because that is your world. You're with these people all the time and you gotta be there. You gotta show up.
Who do you think is a good guitar player?
I'll tell you someone who is great that you don't hear too much about: Mike Landau. Mike is a great guitar player. He played with James Taylor and Seal lately and he used to work with Joni Mitchell. He's played on a million records and is considered basically a studio guitarist. I also think Eric Johnson is an amazing guitar player.
He's playing at the Ventura Theatre two days after your SOhO gig.
Is that right? I won't be able to be there unfortunately or I would. I think he's a wonderful musician.
What would you say to an aspiring guitar player?
I would say, "Don't listen to guitar players exclusively." Actually, it's better to find some other instrumentalist you're inspired by. I know Eric got into piano and he's an amazing piano player.
It's good to be inspired by some other instrument, like Miles Davis' trumpet for me. Or John Coltrane on tenor saxophone -- big influence on me.
You gotta be open musically and not just to guitar players because you'll always hate your own playing and you'll never develop a personal style. You'll always be trying to sound like somebody else.
The worst curse you can have as a musician is to be hung up on your instrument. You gotta be more open than that and realize that it's really about music. It's not how great a guitarist you are but what kind of beautiful music can we make?
OK, one more easy one. You're a Bay Area guy living in SoCal; when the Giants come to town, whose side are you on?
I would be a Giants fan. I kind of liked the Dodgers years ago, but not anymore. They're not fun. I like Oakland quite frankly, and I like the Angels, too.
Hot tickets
If I had a faster car, a richer girlfriend or even one with a job, here's where else I'd be lurking this week: Jonathan Raffetto Band at the Malibu Inn in Malibu (tonight); GTP & the High Steppers at Wine Lovers in Ventura (tonight); Teresa Russell at J's Tapas in Ventura (Friday and Saturday); Rincon Ramblers at Zoey's in Ventura (Friday); Rick Reeves at Wine Lovers (Saturday); Eric Johnson at the Ventura Theatre (Saturday); Blue Stew at HiCees in Ventura (Sunday); Hippie Mark & the Total Strangers at Zoey's (Sunday); Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill at the First Baptist Church in Ojai (Tuesday); and the Corsican Brothers at Sans Souci in Ventura (Wednesday).
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 3:47 pm Post subject:
I liked the part about the Giants. Being a native San Franciscian it's in my blood to hate the Dodgers (uh-oh, I feel another flame war coming on )
I'm jealous of the So Cal folks. You can't turn around and some heavyweight is getting their ya-ya's out in some local dive cause it's just down the street from where they live. Same in New York. The rest of us have to wait for the tours. At least it's our turn next week. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Posts: 234 Location: Hartlepool, U.K.
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 5:07 am Post subject:
With regard to Robben's comments on being influenced by horn players in the above article, here's an interesting article:
http://people.uncw.edu/russellr/gtr_horn.html _________________ "Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up a little more than a century ago?" - Bernice Fitz-Gibbon 1894-1982
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Great story about, and interview with, Robben, this moring in our local newspaper, the Ventura County Star (Robben's hometown of Ojai, CA, is here in Ventura County). To read it on line (or listen to some audio clips), go to 
)
