GOGO TALKS WITH DAN BERN
BOULDER (COLORADO), MARCH 7, 2003.
Hey Dan, could you spend a couple of words on your two new EP’s?
Stai manzo, Bertocchini!
The "Swastika" EP is pretty political... It includes "Talkin’ Al Kida Blues" and "My Little Swastika" and "Jail". Also, "Friends" and "Lithuania".
The other EP is called "World Cup". It includes five songs written and recorded last June in Europa and it goes with the book of same name.
A book?
Yeah. It’s a kind of travel diary of the June trip thru Europe with Brian Schey: songs, stories, flashes of insight...
And what about your new album?
It’s called "Fleeting days": thirteen songs, all with band, some new and some old - never before released though. "Soul" is the last song. It was written at Carlo Carlini's house in Sesto. It's a very different record from "New American Language"... I think it's a lot more "up".
But who is this man they call Carlo Carlini???
I have been trying to figure that out for several years, and I'm still not sure, so I continue to return, and continue my investigations. So far, he seems to be a combination of Albert Einstein, Charles Bukowski, Bob Dylan and Butch Hancock. But he has a nicer wife than all of them.
Will you be in Italy in May, as planned last year? With the band?
Yes, we'll be there. Not for the big caravan tour that Carlo had been thinking about, but for a few gigs across the country. We can't wait.
Meanwhile, tonight is our first show of a four-month tour that will include a month in Europe.
What do you like about Italy?
What DON'T I like about Italy?!! I love the people, the food, the wine, the trains, the pace of life, the passion, the churches, the paintings... the shoes!!!
Is the story taking place in the "Via Gioberti song" a true story? I mean the Vatican experience...
Yes, all true. They wouldn't let me in in shorts. So I came back in trousers. Then they wouldn't let me in with cut off sleeves. So I bought a soccer shirt. Then the tour guide guy made me stop listening to his tour... It made me decide not to become Catholic.
What do you like about travelling all the time?
It gets you out of the house.
And what do you hate about it?
It takes you out of the house. Sometimes I need to be at home and play tennis, ride my bike, cook spaghetti, write songs, paint pictures.
Travelling and playing is great and exciting and I'm sure if someone told me I couldn't do it anymore I'd feel terribly deprived; but lots of times I wonder "why am I doing this?".
What cds are you currently listening to?
The new White Stripes record, "Elephant". "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by the Flaming Lips. And the new Supergrass.
Who’s gonna win the oscar for best picture?
I have no idea. I so seldom get to see movies. When we're on the road, the only movies I see every now and then are some bad porn in the hotel rooms. So far, this year, the best is probably "Naughty Nurses".
Wanna read more about Dan? Go see Gogo's review of Dan's cd “Fifty Eggs” (“Buscadero Magazine”), an article Gogo wrote about a show in Sesto Calende (also featuring Victoria Williams, Michelle Shocked and David Todoran) and a review of a great concert in London (“Jam” Magazine) [also here (at the bottom of the page)].
They are all in Italian.
GOGO TALKS WITH ELLIOTT MURPHY
PARIS (FRANCE), MARCH 9, 2003.
You seem to be living a great moment in your career...
Yes, and I am very grateful for all the wonderful attention being given to my music these days. You know, I've been through good times and bad times in the thirty years of my career and so now I really try to enjoy myself when life is sweet. Dolce Vita!!! The response of the public at my shows the past five years has been so stimulating and I enjoy performing more than ever and Olivier and I are more solid then ever in our playing and singing and arrangement. And lots of songs seem to be coming out of me or through me or whatever. Keith Richards once told me that he believed the songs were always out there and we just serve as the messengers.
So you got a new album in the works...
We have recorded about 16 basic tracks so far and I hope to do a total of 25 songs for a double album. Maybe there will be 2 or 3 covers but all the rest will be my original songs - some cowritten with Olivier. I continue to work at Franklin Studios in Le Havre where the weather is terrible but the people are great and there are few distractions. For now I'm calling the album "Too Much" but that will change. Some of these songs we've been playing in concert for a while, like "Temple Bar" and "Moan" - and I hope to add more as the year goes on.
Will you fulfil my dream and include a song with only piano, harmonica and vocals?
Yes, LoLo I think I will... But I thought your dreams would involve the House Of Models or something.
I've got one song called "Everybody Got Lucky" that I've been playing on the piano for a long time now and will do it just that way you suggested. Thanks for reminding me.
Who’s going to win the oscar for best picture?
Well, if it was up to me I would probably vote for "Gangs Of New York" even though it wasn't perfect but it’s a hometown movie and Daniel Day-Lewis was just incredible.
Who’s going to win the war?
If this war goes ahead I fear there will be no winners. I have a song on a new French EP/CD called "Ground Zero" which is about my reaction to 9/11 and to all the posters people put up on the site asking if anyone had seen their relatives, friends, lovers, etc... I was touched by the human tragedy not the political one. Now, I don't know where we're going...
Did you see the film "24 Hour Party People"? If so, what did you think of it?
No, I did not see that. It sounds like my life in the 70's although it was more like 48 Hour Party Zombies...
Is your son, Gaspard, still playing "Smoke on the water" and listening to metal bands?
Gaspard is playing so well these days and every time Olivier comes by he teaches him a new riff. The latest was the Chuck Berry intro for "Carol" but he's also playing a bit of "Layla" and... "Diamonds By The Yard"!
I hope he'll be out on the road with me in 2 or 3 years because I miss him so much when I'm away.
What cds are you currently listening to?
Well, I'm listening to that Dylan "Live 75" that finally came out and I hate to say it but I've been downloading some stuff from the Internet - of course, I send in all royalties due. Songs by John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Percy Faith, Leonard Cohen and some Cajun stuff.
I've also been listening to Carla Bruni's new album because I love her eyes and she writes pretty good lyrics. What else? Oh yeah, the Harry Smith "Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume 4" and Elvis’ "30 #1 Hits" and a live John Hiatt bootleg from last year.
Any plans for Italy? With Carlo? In Sesto?
We're coming to Italy May 7 - 11 with the trio which includes the great Danny Montgomery on drums. And hopefully we’ll be back this July for some festivals Carlo is organizing along with Paride from Roots Music.
What’s good about being on the road so much?
Oh, I don't know... The sense of movement, living your life at 160kph and staying in a new hotel every night and eating sandwiches until you can't stand to look at another one... Seriously, what's good about being on the road so much is the magic of the shows, the generosity of the public, the deliverance of the music, the royal camaraderie with my musicians... And all the pretty girls.
And what’s the bad side of the road?
Dealing with strange sound systems, packing and unpacking my bags, changing strings, not getting enough sleep, the way my hand falls asleep during the first three songs, losing my temper, bad hotels, no bananas in the dressing room, missing my family...
What would you be if you were not a songwriter?
A porno star.
Wanna read more about Elliott? Go see Gogo's 1997 chat with Elliott in Elliott's home (home-studio, actually...), before recording his contributions on some songs later included in the Apple Pirates debut album. They were drinking Françoise’s coffee, staring at a framed Federico Fellini letter on the wall and talking about what happened about twelve hours earlier: his jam with Bruce Springsteen!
It’s in Italian.