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The next issue of R2 (formerly Rock N Reel) will be out next week and features a couple of features by myself.

The big one is an interview with none other than Robert Cray. I did a phone interview with him back in August, chatting about his new album. Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Albert Collins and his starring role in National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Here’s a sneak preview:

In 1978, Cray made his film debut in the film National Lampoon’s Animal House, which was directed by John Landis and starred a pre-Blues Brothers John Belushi. Cray was the bass player in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights and appeared in the frat party scene.

“It wasn’t a starring role, but I was in it,” he confirms. “We were just extras. We didn’t get a credit on the film. There were of bunch of us guys who were local musicians, around the Portland, Oregon area and we were asked to be in the film. It was cool.”

The issue also has an interview by me with the equally lovely Bex Marshall, who is a British singer and well worth investigating.

Doug is on a train to Brighton. He’d rather not be, but it’s not long to go now until he gets there. It’s no big deal – just got to meet a client for a drink and have a chat, and then jump on a train home. He’ll probably go in that pub by Brighton station later to watch the second half of the Fulham game. Doug could have gone to the match today, the conversation with the client could be continued over email, but Doug isn’t a fan of email tennis, besides, some things are worth saying, and listening too, over a couple of drinks, and he needs the work. There’s just one problem. Doug hates being in Brighton. He feels his chest tighten as he gets off the train. There’s just something about the place – pisses him right off. Even on a Sunday afternoon. He heads out of the station for the long walk down the hill to the sea, he’ll be headed well past the Wetherspoons and the Walkabout, the casino and the pier, and up to the restaurant / bar where he’ll position himself in the corner on the leather seats. Brighton. Doug spits the word out in his head. It’s full of t***s and weirdos, luminous laces and skinny jeans. He knows he shouldn’t judge but feels the insults flying around inside him. He just doesn’t like the place or the people he crosses in it. He’s never taken to it. Maybe because it’s too alien to his own culture. Maybe a drink will lift the edge off him, but the nearest bar is blaring out some kind of crap as a lesbian with a tattoo on her arm tries to reel him in. Her tattoo is a signature, the sort of thing he’s seen on the end of an email about if you don’t stand up for something you stand for nothing; it’s not the sort of thing you mark on your arm. Doug tries to breathe in some of the sea air, but even that seems poisonous. It’s not like Worthing where his mum lived for a bit. He used to love going down there. Here it feels more polluted, less pure. But that is Brighton for you. He hates it. Full of pricks and dicks. Doug crossed the road and walked past the casino. It would be different in there. High rollers mixed with the average Joe’s. He could sip a drink and swirl the ice around his glass, take a seat at a cash game and hold his own. Get dealt the cowboys and slow play his trips that he’d hit on the flop. Take the pot down. Or sit at the roulette table. Watch the board and follow the pattern. He believed there was one. It was more than pure mathematics and chance. You had to feel it. Wait a while. Lump it on red. Then move on to black jack. Choose the dealer carefully. A connection that gives you the edge. But none of that is for now. He had to meet James. He could see the pub / restaurant ahead and he suddenly became annoyed that he would probably miss all of the first half of the football…. but these things happen. He wasn’t going to let his client down. He was proud of his job. He’d see the second half anyway, at least, and he had a few games lined up in due course. He pulled open the restaurant door and went to the bar. One by U2 was playing. He ordered a pint and paid for it and went for a piss. The song was playing over the toilet speakers, too. Doug takes his pint and sits down. He can see a bored middle aged Doris staring out the window while her husband waffles away, droning on and on. The husband gets up and goes to the bar for a refill. The Doris looks as bored as hell. She tolerates his noise. Doug wonders how it ever got to that. It’s as stale as anything. The trick is to keep it fresh. Don’t take love for granted. Stay loyal. Doug was a loyal person. A faithful husband. A good friend. Beyond the bored Doris are four Yorkshire lads clustered around a table. They’ve come down to Brighton for a session. Maybe a stag do. Maybe a last minute dot com. They’re tucking into their lager. Loud and boisterous. Instinct tells him they are dirty Leeds. Hard f***ers whose dads worked the mines and whose mums counted the pennies and made the meals last. Working class lads. Could be Hull, Wednesday or Sheffield United – you fill up my senses – but Doug just knows they’re Leeds – sitting in here getting lucky with a sunny day today, but the heat wave is long gone – they’d be better off spending their wages in Ayia Napa but here they are paying over the top prices in Brighton and sneering at the pricks and the queens, southern softies who don’t offer gravy on chips, they don’t even come close to knowing what it’s like to be a hard f***er from Yorkshire. Every time the door opens Doug looks up to see if it is his client, and every time he looks up at least one of the Yorkshire lads looks at him looking up, and shifts a little more in his seat, and this goes on for nearly ten minutes and Doug weighs it up, this is how often Doug lives, the anger coiled inside him like a spring waiting to go, and the alcohol hasn’t soothed him yet, he’s all tight, wound up – letting Brighton get to him, so he pinches the bridge of his nose and tunes into the song playing now on the speakers – Lovin You by Minnie Riperton – and Doug tells himself it’s not long with James and the deal will be sealed and that means more work for him in a recession, he needs to be grateful, he’ll pay the bills and run the van and get to the football and have a holiday in the New Year – somewhere hot – and it won’t be long before he leaves here and find himself approaching the station, he’ll choose a homeless man and buy him a coffee before jumping on the train home enjoying some time out of the motor and the Sunday traffic, leaving Brighton behind him. The Yorkshire accents have disappeared now as Doug has control back and the door opens and James walks in and Doug rises to meet him, putting out his hand, anticipating that James will take it.

Walter

29^th August 2009

Never Eat Shredded Wheat at: walterotton.co.uk

I’ve got three reviews in the new issue of Clash, which is out now. The first up is Alice Russell, who has a new CD out called ‘Pot Of Gold’. The second is New Zealand’s greatest band Fat Freddy’s Drop and lastly I reviewed a compilation of uber obscure German rare groove and funk entitled ‘D-Funk’.

All were excellent and well worth investigating….

The 51st issue of Blues Matters will be out shortly and I have two interviews in this one. The first is the marvellous Jon Allen, who is a British songwriter with a superb debut CD called ‘Dead Man’s Suit.

The second is with the Canadian duo The Pack A.D. – admittedly this one has been hanging around a while. I think it was done about this time last year, while I spoke to Jon Allen in the spring.

Here’s an excerpt from the Jon Allen interview to wet your musical appetite:

“Dead Mans Suit” is quite a retro album. It has got that early 70s vibe.
Yeah, I was frozen in the 70s and I’m being thawed out in 2009. It’s weird. I suppose that’s the sort of music that gets me going and excited. I naturally gravitated towards it. I was just following my heart. I didn’t have a major label who wanted me to make it sound whatever. We just did what we wanted to do.

The new issue of R2 (formerly Rock N Reel) is out this week. I’ve got a short (but sweet) interview with Jay Tamkin in it.

Jay is a young British blues guitarist who is currently making great waves on the scene. Doubtless we will see much more of him in the future.

To find out more about Jay, visit his website here.

Here’s another interview, which never made it to print. It was a phoner conducted back in January. I have to say, both Inara and Greg were lovely and their record is fantastic….

At first glance, American duo The Bird And The Bee might appear to be just another two dudes who are too cool for school, but one look at their CV will show you how serious they are about music.

Inara George is the daughter of the late, great Lowell George, of Little Feat fame and Greg Kurstin is one of the hottest producers and keyboard players around, having worked on hits for Lily Allen, Beck and Kylie Minogue, among others.

They might not be the likeliest pairing in the world, but together they are creating some of the greatest and sweetest pop music at the moment. The Bird And The Bee have taken the best of 60s pop and bossa nova, and melted them together with modern beats to create a truly unique sound. Lounge music has never sounded so hip and so Californian.

Their first self-titled album in January 2007 on Blue Note Records created a real buzz, and several EPs and collaborations with other artists later, they are back with a new CD Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future.

Their first CD has a strong bossa-nova feel, but with Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future they have expanded their shaken-not-stirred James Bond-esque sound even further.

Inara’s sweeter-than-sugar voice continues to soar, enveloped in Greg’s arrangements, but despite their credentials, Greg says he can’t tell which songs will become hits.

“I can never tell,” he insists. “It always amazes me. It’s always the last song I would have thought would be a hit. It’s so difficult to know. I really don’t have a clue as to which song will be well received.”

The brilliantly titled ‘Love Letter To Japan’ has already been released as a single from their second CD to great acclaim.

“We didn’t see ‘Love Letter To Japan’ coming at all,” says Inara. “We weren’t even sure it was going to be on the record. “

It is unlikely to be the last single from the record, which also boasts ‘Diamond Dave’, a tribute to the legend that is Mr David Lee Roth.

“I love Dave,” says Inara. “It’s weird that I know someone’s full career, but as I kid I thought he was pretty cool. His solo stuff was so over the top and theatrical. After he reunited with Van Halen, I thought it was appropriate to give him an ode to David Lee Roth,” she laughs.

“I think he really liked it,” she adds. “We wanted him to be in a video with us, but he couldn’t make it, so instead he sent us a yellow top hat that he wore on the last tour with Van Halen and an autographed photo of him wearing the hat.”

Two of the record’s songs ‘Polite Dance Song’ and ‘Birthday’ have both appeared on EPs. Sadly, their cover of the Bee Gees’ classic ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, that appeared on the soundtrack to the film Sex In The City didn’t make the cut for the new album.

“We have played that sung live since the beginning, even before we had finished the first record,” says Inara. “We had audiences of 50 people and it was an interesting cover to do. I had to think about how to sing it. I think The Bee Gees actually went higher in terms of the male register than I do as a female. Their range was amazing. I think once you have covered a song a number of times it becomes your own. At some point, you just jump in.”

Greg and Inara first met while working on her debut CD All Rise in 2006 and bonded over their love of jazz standards, and they have been writing and performing ever since.

“I was just playing keyboards and piano on that record,” recalls Greg. “My friend Mike Andrews, who was the producer of that record, introduced us. “

“I think we were excited about what we came up with together,’ says Inara. “What’s great about this is that things have been defined as time goes on, like dressing up for shows or the photo shoots. We’ve made decisions as questions were proposed to us. It all happened naturally. “

In between releasing two albums, three EPs and the odd extra track on iTunes, Inara and Greg have also found time individually to work with other artists.

Last year, she sang one of her father’s songs ‘Trouble’ on the Little Feat album Join The Band and Inara also released An Invitation with Van Dyke Parks.

“It was amazing working with him,” she says. He is a very eccentric person, very loveable, very knowledgeable and extremely funny. It’s an entire experience just to spend time with him. I’ve known him my whole life.

“He was some amazing stories of people he’s worked with. People in the music business really respect him and I can understand why. He takes things really seriously and he understands music in a way that not many people do. “

And Greg also found time to work with the shy, retiring Lily Allen on her second album It’s Not Me, It’s You, which has also just been released. Ms Allen may be a regular in the tabloids, but he was full of praise for her, having first worked with Lily on her first album Allright, Still.

Looking back to when he first met Lily, Greg said: “I had been working in England, producing different things, and I knew her A&R person. He said he had this girl and did I want to listen to her. It was before it got crazy with her on MySpace. I met her and we tried to write a song together. I liked what we did. She came over to LA after that it all happened to her.

“I think she’s great,” said Greg. “As far as pop artists go, she is definitely one of my favourites. Lyrically, she has such an interesting point of view. There are a lot of artists who play really good pop songs and sing them, but she has just such an individual way of doing things. I don’t know anyone quite like her. I think she’s a great singer too. She is definitely recognisable and she has opened up a door for a lot of other people.”

The retro lounge sound of The Bird And The Bee is also matched by their image. In all three videos they have shot, Inara and Greg have sported a series of suitably stylish outfits.

“I only have two suits that I wear in the videos and both were freebies,” Greg laughs. “I just wear the same dark suit in every photo. I don’t know. Inara definitely has more variety than I do. “

“I like to look through old photos and think about ways of incorporating ideas from the past,” says Inara. “I have some amazing fashion photos from the 60s and 70s. It’s fun to recreate them and do your own take on them. Photo shoots can be really harrowing, unless you have a real focus. Sometimes getting dressed up makes it more fun, otherwise we’re just standing in front of a brick wall trying to look cool.”

Sadly, Lowell George passed away when Inara was quite young, but what does she think the man behind such songs as ‘Rock And Roll Doctor’ and ‘Fatman In The Bathtub’ would make of The Bird And The Bee.

‘I think he’d like it,’ says Inara. ‘Van Dyke Parks really loves The Bird And The Bee. All of his peers have really enjoyed it. In his time, the Bee Gees were the least hip thing ever, but now we look back at them in a different way. “ JH

So how did I interview one of the world’s biggest stars? That’s a very good question, and one I’m still trying to figure out, but I really did speak to Steve Martin. Yes the Steve Martin. And what is more, you can read all about it in the October issue of Maverick, which will be out on Sept 17th…

The legendary writer/performer also happens to be one exceedingly good banjo player and he has an excellent new album out, called ‘The Crow’.

The interview was offered to me during the summer, with the proviso that it had to be about his music. Martin called me direct from his California home in August and we had a good 40 minute chat. Despite reading several other interviews, which stated how little Martin likes to talk, he was actually charm itself and a true Southern gentleman!

Here’s a little excerpt from the transcript:

You’re very well established as a screenwriter and as a book writer, how does it feel as a songwriter getting people like Vince Gill and Dolly Parton to sing your songs.

As a screenwriter, you are watching something happening and you think that’s not the way it’s supposed to be – it’s supposed to be more like this, but having these two extremely talented people take my songs, it was better than I ever thought it could be. I’m watching people who are professionals in their field take raw material and turn it into magic. I couldn’t ask for anything more than have people of this calibre sing these songs.

The September issue of Maverick will be out on August 20. My contribution to this issue was an interview with Norwegian singer Steff Nevers

You can see the video for his song ‘One Beer A Day’ here.

And here’s an excerpt from the article..

“I think I represent Norway in a good way. It is possible to sing country music and be authentic. It is achievable. There are a lot of Norwegians who sing in English and it can sound flat. It gives you a bit extra if you have the correct pronunciation.”

The 50th issue of Blues Matters is almost upon us. I haven’t got all the details as yet, but my interviews with Delta Spirit and Jersey Budd are definitely in there.

Jersey is a great bloke and funded his new album through Bandstocks, which allows fans to buy shares in the record.

You can see the video for Jersey’s song ‘She Came Back’ here.

Here’s a bit from the interview:

What’s the best gig you’ve been to?
It would have to be Kasabian at Earls Court. The lads were on fire that night and it just blew me away. What topped it off was the massive game of 30-a-side football we had afterwards with England versus Rest of the World. Noel Gallagher was in goal for the Rest of the World.

My review of the classic Daredevil series ‘Born Again’ is now live at Den Of Geek. You can read it here.

For those who don’t know, it was written by the great Frank Miller, who later went on to create Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns and many others.

Miller takes Matt Murdock through hell after his ex-girlfriend sells his secret identity for a drugs fix. It’s hard to imagine they got away with this back in the mid 1980s, but they did – and it’s an incredible read.

My good chum Tom Fenwick also has an excellent write-up of the latest Captain America collection. Please check it out here.