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Interview: Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard is widely regarded as one of the top stand-up comedians of his generation, with a surreal, stream-of-consciousness style that’s a hit in Britain, America, and pretty much everywhere else in the world.
Izzard started doing comedy during his only year at the University of Sheffield in north-central England. He spent a decade in relative obscurity until a performance at a 1991 AIDS benefit lifted his profile. He went on to win a British Comedy Award for “Top Stand Up Comedian” for his 1993 show Live at the Ambassadors. His U.S. breakthrough came from his show Dress To Kill, which was shown on HBO in 1999 and for which he won two Emmy Awards. He recently became the first solo stand-up comedian to perform at the famed Hollywood Bowl.
Izzard has also acted in many movies (including Velvet Golmine, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, and Across the Universe), starred in in the television show The Riches with Minnie Driver, and provided his voice to the animated films Igor and Cars 2.
Other notable things about Eddie Izzard are that he ran 43 marathons in 51 days for charity, he appeared briefly onstage with his heroes on Monty Python Live at Aspen (and has been referred to by John Cleese as “the lost Python”), he was a huge supporter of the London Olympics, and he is a heterosexual cross-dresser.
This interview was conducted by phone on 11/9/12 for a preview article for Izzard’s stand-up comedy performance at the University of California, Santa Barbara on 11/17/12.
Interview: John McEuen
Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen has been playing music professionally for over forty-five years. A key member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for much of that time, he was the driving force behind their classic 1972 album Will The Circle Be Unbroken, which had the band collaborating with bluegrass and country-western legends like Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Merle Travis. McEuen has also recorded or performed with a staggering array of other artists over the years, and his production credits include the Grammy-winning Steve Martin album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-string Banjo.
John McEuen and his sons Jonathan and Nathan recently released the wonderful album For All the Good, billed as The McEuen Sessions, which has been praised as amongst the best of the elder McEuen’s career. The following was for a preview article for the performance billed as John McEuen and Sons at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara on 11/17/12. It was conducted by phone on 10/27/12.
Photos: Rufus Wainwright
Photos of Rufus Wainwright at Campbell Hall, UC Santa Barbara, 10/9/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Blues Traveler
Photos of Blues Traveler at the Ventura Hillsides Music Festival, 9/22/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Dr John
Photos of Dr. John at the Ventura Hillsides Music Festival, 9/22/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Elvin Bishop
Photos of Elvin Bishop at the Ventura Hillsides Music Festival, 9/22/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Jethro Tull 1977
Photos of Jethro Tull at the Long Beach Arena, 4/9/77 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Ian Anderson
Photos of Ian Anderson at the Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California, 10/18/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Interview: Stephen Perkins
Stephen Perkins is the drummer for the hugely influential alt-rock band Jane’s Addiction, which formed in Los Angeles in 1985.
The band’s first studio album, Nothing’s Shocking, was released in 1988, and consists of songs ranging from the hard rocking “Ocean Size” and “Mountain Song”, to the funk rock “Standing in the Shower… Thinking”, to the dreamy, psychedelic “Summertime Rolls”, to the disturbing “Ted, Just Admit It…” about serial killer Ted Bundy, to the delicate junkie tale “Jane Says”.
In 1990, Jane’s Addiction released the follow-up album Ritual de lo Habitual, with songs including “Stop!”, “No One’s Leaving”, “Ain’t No Right”, “Three Days”, and their biggest hit “Been Caught Stealing”. Unfortunately, tensions between band members led to their break up, but not before the first Lollapalooza, which was created by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for the band.
After the break up, Perkins worked with Farrell in Porno for Pyros, and did guest appearances on Rage Against the Machine’s debut album and Nine Inch Nails’ album The Downward Spiral. Jane’s Addiction has reunited several times, and in 2011 released the album The Great Escape Artist.
This interview with Perkins was for a preview article for the Jane’s Addiction concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl on 10/21/12. It was done by phone on 10/11/12.
Interview: Jason Lytle
The Grandaddy album Sophtware Slump masterfully explored the relationship between technology and alienation, and it is only fitting that it came out in the yearof Y2K. This album, one of the best of the 2000′s decade in my humble opinion, was the work of Jason Lytle, a sonic architect who creates lush, vintage synthesizer-driven futuristic pop music.
Grandaddy released three other stellar studio albums and various EPs in addition to Sophtware Slump, and broke up in the mid-2000′s, although they recently reunited for a short tour. Lytle (the first syllable is pronounced “light”) went on to release the Grandaddy-esque solo album Yours Truly, The Commuter in 2009, and just released his second solo album called Dept. of Disappearance.
The following interview was for a preview article for Lytle’s concert at SOhO in Santa Barbara, California on 10/21/12. It was done by phone on 10/10/12. (Jeff Hawe photo)
Interview: Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson is the frontman / singer / songwriter / flautist / acoustic guitarist for the band Jethro Tull. Jethro Tull’s first album, the bluesy This Was, came out in 1968, and their music rapidly developed with 1969′s Stand Up incorporating elements of English folk music and 1970′s Benefit embracing hard rock.
Next up was Jethro Tull’s classic album Aqualung, released in 1971 and regarded by many to be the band’s best. This included such Jethro Tull mainstays as the title track, “Locomotive Breath”, and “Crosseyed Mary”.
Jethro Tull followed with two concept albums, both of which reached No. 1 in the U.S. concert charts: 1972′s Thick as a Brick, and 1973′s A Passion Play, the latter including the not-universally-loved Winnie-the-Pooh-on-acid piece “The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles”.
Jethro Tull released many more albums, notable ones including the compilation Living in the Past (1972), War Child (1974), Minstrel in the Gallery (1975), Songs from the Wood (1977), and Crest of a Knave (1987) which somewhat controversially beat out Metallica for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance. Also well worth checking out is Nightcap (1994), which has a different take on the material that ended up in A Passion Play.
Anderson recently decided to explore different possible life trajectories for the ficticious lad Gerald Bostock who had supposedly written the lyrics to the original Thick as a Brick album, resulting in the album Thick as a Brick 2. This interview was for a preview article for Anderson’s performance of both Thick as a Brick albums at the Chumash Casino on 10/18/12. It was done by phone on 10/9/12.
Concert Review: Peter Gabriel, Back to Front Tour
Review of Peter Gabriel at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 10/9/12.
Concert Preview: David Byrne and St. Vincent
Preview of David Byrne and St. Vincent at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, 10/11/12.
Interview: Jimmy Carter
The Blind Boys of Alabama started singing together in 1939, at a school for the blind in a little town in Alabama called Talladega. They had their first professional performance in 1944, and have been going strong with their heavenly Gospel music ever since, although only one original member, Jimmy Carter, still regularly tours with the group. They have received many accolades, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Grammys and the National Endowment for the Arts, and have performed for three Presidents.
The following interview was for a preview article for the Dr. John/Blind Boys of Alabama show called Spirituals to Funk at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on 10/15/12. This was done by phone on 10/4/12. (Erika Goldring photo)
Photos: Bonnie and Friends
Photos of Bonnie Bramlett, Rosemary Butler, Tata Vega, and Carl Graves at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 9/28/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett
Photos of Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett from Little Feat at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 9/28/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Interview: John Kadlecik
John Kadlecik (pronounced Kad-le-sik) is the lead guitarist for Furthur, the band which is keeping the music of the Grateful Dead alive thanks to original Dead band members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, and Kadlecik’s Jerry Garcia-inspired guitar explorations.
Before joining Furthur, Kadlecik played in Dark Star Orchestra, which was notable – and quite popular – for covering full Grateful Dead setlists from throughout that band’s history. And before that, Kadlecik was a member of various bands including Uncle John’s Band, Wingnut, and Hairball Willie, the latter of which I can personally attest to having put on a great show in Ames, Iowa back in the early 1990′s.
The following interview was for a preview article for Furthur’s return to the Santa Barbara Bowl on 10/7/12. It was conducted by phone on 9/18/12. (L. Paul Mann photo, from Furthur’s concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl on 9/20/10)
Concert Review: Mavis Staples and Bonnie Raitt
Review of Mavis Staples and Bonnie Raitt at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 9/23/12.
Photos: Gotye
Photos of Gotye at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 9/8/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Chairlift
Photos of Chairlift at the Santa Barbara Bowl, opening for Gotye, 9/8/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Toto
Toto at the Chumash Casino, 9/13/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Concert Review: Def Leppard and Poison
Review of Def Leppard and Poison at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 9/15/12.
Interview: Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett’s soulful voice has graced an amazing number of recordings and concert stages over the years, making her a true American treasure. As a teenager, she was the first white Ikette to back Ike and Tina Turner. Later, with her then-husband Delaney Bramlett they formed the band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, which struck a chord in the late-60′s and early-70′s with its mix of rock, Gospel, soul, and blues music. The “Friends” in this band included such notables as Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Duane and Gregg Allman, and others.
Bramlett has also performed and/or recorded with the likes of John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Little Feat, Stephen Stills, The Allman Brother Band (earning her the title of “Allman Sister”), Emmylou Harris, and many others. She released several solo albums in the 1970′s, and then more in the 2000′s, with her latest release being the 2008 album Beautiful.
Plus, Bramlett is a noted songwriter, having co-written “Superstar” which was a mega-hit for The Carpenters, and Eric Clapton’s single “Let It Rain”. A recent composition, “Ain’t Gonna Let You Go”, appeared on Bonnie Raitt’s latest album Slipstream.
And if that’s not enough, Bramlett is also an actress, most notably in her recurring role on the TV show Roseanne.
The following interview was for a preview article for the Bonnie & Friends performance at the Lobero Theatre on 9/28/12, as part of a fundraiser for The Rhythmic Arts Project (TRAP), an educational program that integrates percussion as a medium to address reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as life skills for children and adults with intellectual and developmental differences. The interview was conducted by phone on 9/4/12.
Photos: Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Neil Young and Crazy Horse at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Two Gallants
Two Gallants at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Reggie Watts
Reggie Watts at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Fitz and the Tantrums at Outside Lands
Fitz and the Tantrums at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Beck
Beck at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Interview: Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin first received acclaim in L.A. roots rockers The Blasters, for which has was the primary songwriter, and whose revved up take on rhythm and blues won favor in the early-80′s punk rock scene and beyond. After a short stint with country-punkers The Knitters and punk-rockers X, Alvin launched his highly-regarded solo career which continues to this day. Alvin’s latest album, Eleven Eleven, came out in 2011.
This interview was for a preview article for the show by Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones on 9/19/12 at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, as part of the tenth anniversary celebration of the Tales from the Tavern series. The interview was done by phone on 8/30/12. (Brian Blouser photo)
Photos: Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven at Zoey’s Cafe, Ventura, 9/10/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Concert Review: Black Mountain and Two Gallants
Review of Black Mountain and Two Gallants at SOhO, Santa Barbara, 8/31/12.
Concert Review: Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur
Review of Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur at the Lobero Theatre, with openers Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, 8/25/12.
Interview: Victor Krummenacher
Victor Krummenacher is a founding member and bass player for the eclectic alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven. Their first album Telephone Free Landslide Victory came out in 1985, and includes such classic songs as “The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon”, “Where the Hell is Bill?”, the Black Flag cover “Wasted”, and “Take the Skinheads Bowling”. They released four more acclaimed albums before burning out, the independently-released II & III and self-titled Camper Van Beethoven, and the major-label albums Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Key Lime Pie. The band reformed at the end of the end of the 1990′s, and has released several more albums, with a new one coming out in January 2013. Krummenacher has also been in the bands Monks of Doom and Cracker.
This phone interview took place on 8/24/12, and was for a preview article for Camper Van Beethoven’s 9/10/12 concert in Ventura, California.
Concert Review: Huey Lewis and Joe Cocker
Review of Huey Lewis and the News, and Joe Cocker at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 8/19/12.
Photos: Steve Aoki at the Sunset Strip Music Festival
Steve Aoki at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, 8/18/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Black Label Society
Black Label Society at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, 8/18/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Offspring
Offspring at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, 8/18/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Bad Religion
Bad Religion at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, 8/18/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
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