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RS:
I was happy to see an instrumental track called “Catbox Beach”
on the CD. You played guitar in Animal Logic with Stewart Copeland.
RA: Yeah.
RS: What was the girl singer again...so it was a quartet?
RA: Deborah Holland. Yeah, I did that for I guess the last half of the
band. And we toured around all over the place.
RS: I remember the album was pretty cool.
RA: Yeah. My favorite thing with that band actually was soundchecks
because you’d be sitting around in planes and trains and automobiles
and then you finally get on stage and you pick up your instrument and
we just had the greatest jams but I was so bummed they weren’t
recorded.
RS: That was with Stanley Clark...
RA: Yeah Stanley Clark and Stewart Copeland. We just got up there and
started jamming and it was so amazing. (laughter)
RS: It’s a shame they didn’t release them.
RA: Oh, I know. Those were really, really good. That was some good times
RS: Any other instrumental ideas?
RA: Instrumental direction? Oh, I don’t know. Anything’s possible.
I kind of like not putting parameters on myself and just feeling free.
‘Cause I think the important part of music is the artistic part.
And I think artistic freedoms, sometimes, if you try to rope yourself
in too much, you get bogged down. It can also actually help sometimes
if you if you have real tight, strict parameters that will force you
in to like doing a very stylized record. It’s just different ways
to do it. At this point, I’m sort of writing for my next record
but I don’t know exactly what the formula’s going to be.
RS: On September 16th you’re starting what I heard is the fastest
selling concert tour of all time.
RA: Yeah I know it’s crazy how fast the things go. Yeah, we’re
starting. I guess the first date’s the 16th. We start rehearsals
and there’ll be a fair amount of that to come.
RS: So Paul’s band is with you, Brian Ray, Abe and the keyboardist
Wix?
RA: Yeah, it’s the same band. It’s been a real good vibe since
we’ve been going out. I guess it started 2002. We did Concert For
New York and Abe and I were doing that. I guess the other guys weren’t
on yet. That was sort of our first real gig and that was right after
September 11th. And then we started touring in 2002. It’s been
a really good vibe. And the response and the reviews have been real
good.
RS: How do you share the guitars with Brian Ray. You play lead and he
plays rhythm?
RA: Mostly. The original thing we were looking for was someone to play
bass and rhythm guitar to come in. And so Brian came in to do that,
and sing some backgrounds. He’s also a good lead player too so
he plays a few leads. I sort of play most of the leads. It just works
out somehow. It’s a lot of fun. They’re great parts, I mean
a lot of people are probably in the same boat as I am where you grew
up playing Beatles songs at parties and stuff. So I know ‘em all
pretty well. And a lot of the Wings things. So the parts come pretty
naturally.
RS: You played on Driving Rain. Any favorite tracks you recall
from those sessions?
RA: Yeah, I really like “About You”. That was the very first
track we ever recorded. And I just thought it had a really cool vibe.
I actually played bass on that one. And then overdubbed some guitar
bits. I played bass, Paul played guitar, the original tracking stuff
and then I overdubbed some guitar bits over that. And then I really
liked “Your Loving Flame”. I thought that was a cool song
RS: “Tiny Bubble” was cool too. I know you played a Danelectro
on that.
RA: Oh yeah, it was probably baritone. That’s the Danelectro that
I own. Yeah, there’s a bunch of guitars sitting around. I choose
different things for different songs. The studio is very much that way.
If you want to make a sort of super band-y, sort of monochromatic kind
of record, you’re better off just using like the same gear all
the time.
RS: Paul’s latest live DVD, Live In Red Square just came
out. You played in Russia?
RA: Yeah, the Red Square one, the DVD has...we played St. Petersburg
too and it has some footage from that. So I think the Red Square
was probably 2003? And I think the St. Petersburg was 2004. That
has “Helter Skelter” and some other stuff. I actually haven’t
seen it yet. I saw the Red Square stuff. I got the DVD. I have
to look at it. So I’m excited to see it.
RS: How many DVDs have you done with Paul? The concert for New York
and the Red Square...
RA: We did the Jubilee, the Queen’s jubilee, but I don’t think
there was a DVD of that made. I think it was just a CD. Did that. The
original, Back In The U.S. And there’s a few of those. There’s
Back In The U.S., Back In The World, but it’s sort of similar.
I think Back In The World has a few extra songs that aren’t
on the other one. So it depends how you look at it I guess. So, there’s
two or three primary ones and then a bunch of offshoots.
RS: Being that Paul plays everything on his new solo record, were you
disappointed that you didn’t play on it?
RA: Well actually...we went in. There was two different producers. And
one was David Kahne. So we recorded a lot with David and Paul at Abbey
Road. And then we recorded a little bit with Nigel (Williamson) and
actually...I’m not sure...we did some guitars, Brian and I, on
some of the tunes that made it to the record. So we might actually be
on it. I’m not even sure. But, yeah, the one with Nigel...it basically
sort of turned into two records. And then he decided to release the
one with Nigel producing first. Yeah, it’s either all Paul or primarily
Paul. And then the other record, hopefully that’ll come out some
time in the not too distant future. The other record that we started
with David and Paul. We’ll see what happens with that. That needs
to be finished.
RS: So that one is different tunes and stuff?
RA: Different songs, different producers, different band thing.
RS: Paul is planning to play some Beatles rarities on the tour. Do you
ever get with him on that and say hey, ‘how about playing a cool
instro version of “Junk” or maybe the Beatles rarities “Beautiful
Dreamer” and “Catswalk” or “Once Upon A Long Ago”
or other rarities?
RA: You talking about the live? Yeah, I’ve made suggestions. The
first tour we did I said, ‘hey, you know it’d be really great
to play “Getting Better” and we ended up doing it. “Helter
Skelter”. I’ve been working on that one since the Super Bowl
2002. (laughter) And finally he agreed to do it and it’s been going
over really well. So, yeah definitely.
RS: Are you part of what I call the L.A. pop mafia? You, Jason Falkner,
Parthenon Huxley, Baby Lemonade, The Wondermints. The past ten years
have been a great time for the West Coast pop scene.
RA: I have no idea. I do my thing. I have my friends. I play the music
I make. I’m not one to really jump in to categories or try to be
on a bandwagon. I always like to mix it up. So I wouldn’t necessarily
consider myself part of that scene but Parthenon’s a very dear
friend of mine, Jason’s a friend. I know the guys in Baby Lemonade.
The Wondermints...actually Probyn (Gregory), who’s in The Wondermints
and plays with Brian Wilson, played the flugelhorn, on the first track,
“Hurt Myself”, on my record. It’s all good. It’s
all L.A. musician friends, I suppose.
RS: And I know you played on Ricky Martin’s “La Vida Loca”.
Did you do the studio track with him?
RA: Right, I came up with the guitar bit. I did that, actually recorded
in my house. I’ve played on a lot of records.
RS: Any stand out studio work?
RA: Elton John was cool. I did Songs From The West Coast, some
of those tunes. Perry Farrell was cool. Courtney Love, actually was
an interesting thing. I kind of like some of the tunes we did. Yeah,
what else? Just a bunch of stuff. Wallflowers, Dido, Little Richard.
Yeah, that’s been really cool, just playing on records and learning
a lot. It’s been quite a learning experience how to get good sounds
in the studio and sort of what you’re up against. The fun of creating.
Sinead O’Connor, that was pretty fun.
RS: It was really cool when Paul and the band played the Super Bowl
last January. I wasn’t expecting it to be that cool, kicking off
with “Drive My Car”.
RA: Yeah, it was really cool. It’s just amazing how organized that
stuff is. I mean I guess it’s really high dollar TV, prime time
stuff, so they gotta be super organized. But it was cool to be just
part of it. It’s a one off, as opposed to doing a tour. It’s
a very different experience. It was nice just being there. We didn’t
actually stay in Jacksonville, where the thing was. We stayed on Amelia
Island, I think it was called. Which is really nice. It’s got this
old, sort of prehistoric vibe to it. Like the trees and everything.
You could almost imagine dinosaurs sort of roaming around there. (laughter)
I guess it’s an ancient tropical forest. That stuff.
RS: I know you cited Mick Ronson as one of your key guitar influences.
Any other key influences?
RA: Yeah, I love Mick Ronson. He came from such an inventive musical
place. He arranged the strings on “Life On Mars” and he played
great and he had a great live sound. I really liked Steve Hackett in
early Genesis. Pete Townshend was a huge influence. Hendrix and Frank
Zappa. The Mothers Of Invention were a huge influence, early stuff.
RS: Suzy Creamcheese, Mothermania, that kind of stuff?
RA: Yeah, exactly. ‘Cause Zappa’s guitar playing at the time
was really great ‘cause it wasn’t super fast yet. It was sort
of more, based on...who was his influence? Johnny Guitar Watson or Wah
Wah Watson, I think Johnny Guitar Watson. I’ve listened to so many
players. I’ve listened to jazz players. I really like a lot of
classical music like Debussy, I adore that music. And Gershwin and Rachmaninoff.
I like to take from all sources and sort of mix it up.
RS: So getting back to McCartney. You mentioned “Helter Skelter”.
Are there going to be any more Beatles rarities?
RA: You mean on the next tour? I don’t know. Once we get in there
and start rehearsing we’ll figure it out, for sure ‘cause
we don’t really know after you try stuff and see. And Paul has
this sort of impulsive feelings about it.
RS: It must be a challenge to come up with a set list with all those
great songs he’s done.
RA: Well that’s the thing. That’s the beauty of it. We keep
changing it. Every leg of every tour has been different. It keeps migrating
to new songs. Like other ones get replaced and new ones come in. This
will definitely be some songs that have certainly not been played in
the U.S. and I’m sure some of them probably won’t have been
played anywhere.
RS: He’s got dozens of unreleased things and b-sides...
RA: He’s probably not as likely to do that. Because there’s
the super fans and then there’s the people that know the bigger
hits. So I don’t think he would do a show just for super fans.
Anyway we’ll see.
RS: Any more plans for you down the road. I guess you’ll be happy
to have your new solo CD come out.
RA: This record is coming out the 13th of September I believe in the
stores.
RS: I think you’re going to make a lot of people happy with this
record Rusty. You did an excellent job.
RA: It’s been my pleasure man.
RS: And it’s been great to hear your work with Paul. Keep him rockin’!
RA: It seems to work with what he does, I think. It’s been a good
vibe with everybody.
Thanks to Rusty Anderson @ www.rustyanderson.com
- Surfdog Records and Melissa Dragich @ Mad Ink PR
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