Paul Krawl & The Kingsnakes Live @ White's wes Matt Besey November 1st 2013

 

 

 

 

Paul Krawl & The Kingsnakes

The Prodigal Son Returns

 

Paul Krawl is one of the many musicians both great and obscure who have witnessed and had a role in defining the era of late sixties blues based rock & roll. He performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in1967 backing up Johnny Winter in a memorable performance. Winter was so enthralled with Krawl and his band that he christened them the Kingsnakes. The name stuck and the incendiary performance at Monterey gave Krawl a legitimacy that any struggling artist would aspire to. At the tender age of fifteen Krawl played up and down the California coastline looking for nirvana and finding it in the communal spirit and shared gigs with Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, Wet Willie and Uriah Heep  … to name a few. Krawl signed with EMI records - Europe and that led to several top flight assignments including backing up the Pointer Sisters and taking part in a Bruce Willis film the Return of Bruno. The Kingsnakes have made a big splash across the Ocean and toured in Europe for last ten years. They are credited as being one of the top R&B and Dance Bands in England, Japan, Russia, as well as in the southern states of America. Currently the Kingsnakes are putting the finishing touches on a new album entitled Woman Troubles.

 

 

 

Did you have a mentor or somebody that taught you the ropes, someone that inspired you?

You’re going to laugh. My next-door neighbor was Buck Owens. He got famous. Bakersfield, California. That’s why I play honky-tonk over the weekends. I was probably 15 years old when I hooked up with Buck Owens and Don Rich. I went over and bugged the shit out of him. Buck lived over in East Bakersfield near the Kern Valley. They have a ranch out there. All the guys got ranches out in that area. He and some of the guys started a thing and they bought a movie house near Chester Lane and they converted it into a studio. That was 1962 or so, the original Buck Owens studio. That’s where I actually recorded a few things in there after everybody had left.  

Did Buck or Don Rich give you lessons or help you figure out chords and leads?         

Yeah, they showed me a few chords. My cousin was the biggest influence on me was my cousin Key Salcido. He was in a band called The Classics. He was real popular in California down there. He was the one who actually got me started on things when I was a kid.  He showed me some stuff. We’d jam over at the house. He’d show me some chords and things. I just took off after that. I just started my own style and everything. I combined Buck Owens with a lot of the different stylists in Bakersfield. They were starting the honky-tonk sound and I just picked that up. I combined it with blues because I was influenced a lot by B.B. King. I just started combining all those styles and then my own style emerged.

 

How would you describe your own style?

 

Oh, it’s a combination of the country rock, blues, blues rock. It’s more like a Texas Fandango combined with a Bakersfield honky tonk, it’s hard to explain it. That’s why my music’s a little bit different yet accessible.

 

 How do you rate yourself as a singer?  Did anybody teach you the art of blues singing or country singing?

 

Actually, I always hired a vocalist, you know, a guitarist, or a bass or piano player that sang better than I did because I never considered myself a lead vocalist. I always considered myself a second voice or a harmony vocalist, you know, a background vocalist. I’m pretty good at harmonies. If somebody quit the band or decided they couldn’t make the gig I would sing the leads.

I’m in between baritone and tenor. It depends on how good my throat is. Sometimes it will crack on me because I’ve been singing for too many days. When I’m singing, I put everything I’ve got into it, you know, it’s real raspy and throaty.

 

I read where you were just a young guy when you started gigging on the California coastline with Country Joe & the Fish, Janis Joplin, Uriah Heep, and other big names. What was that like for you?

 

I was a kid, 15, 16 years old, and I ran away from home basically. Went up there and started doing that. They had a place called the

Big House in Haight Ashbury.  I even lived there. There were a lot of notables that weren’t known at the time like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia. I got to play music with all those people, all of ‘em. It was in that era. I was a little bit younger than some of them but I was immersed in that era and started with that sound. That’s where I got called Frisco Blue because I stayed there and started going back and playing there. I had a couple of blues bands I started. I can’t remember, oh, Young Cats was one of them. I played with William Martin Brown, a little bit, not much. He is the one that wrote the original “Wipe Out.” Remember that song? Then it was picked up and it was recorded by the Surfaris and they made it famous. But William Martin Brown of the Impacts was the one that wrote it. We started a kid’s band and after a while we became the Heaters. The Heaters were pretty well known in California. We had a big following for a while. That’s when we started opening for a lot of bands. We were getting notables at the time. We were fronting like Janis & Big Brother & the Holding Company and Bill Champlin. We were opening for Bill and quite a few bands around the Bay area. We got to front Johnny Winter one time. A band had dropped out and we got to play Monterey Pops.

We had just purchased these transmitters and we were tried them out. We walked out in the audience. You know this was when they first came out and Johnny Winter said, “Look at them Crawlin’ King Snakes out in the audience.” He was playing I’m a Crawlin’ King Snake. They had just released it then. Next day all the papers picked up, “Crawlin’ King Snakes fronted by Johnny Winter. A smash hit.”  So that’s when we changed our name to The Kingsnakes and we’ve had it ever since.

 

 

 

You were really fronting a lot of great bands. Did that get you more notoriety and more gigs because you were sometimes outshining them?

 

Yeah, sometimes we did. That’s one of the reasons we went overseas because they record company didn’t want us to compete with a lot of people so they were doing distribution down there. Johnny Winter had his thing going and Stevie Ray Vaughn Robert had a huge following. Anyway, they had quite a few bands that were all in the same market and they were marketing pretty heavy. They didn’t want to put us in that mix because we’d pretty much cloud their thunder. So you know we had a good act. All of us were veterans by that time so we had a really good sound.

I had Artie Story for bass. Artie Story was a nut. He was a very, very straightforward bass player but always in the pocket. Dutch Johnson was the drummer that I originally used.

 

So you had a lot of great players in the band.

 

Oh yeah, yeah. They were all far better than some of the players nowadays. I grew up with people that developed their own sound, a style of writing your own music. We got to a point where we got really good at making music, you know, but different from everybody else, eclectic

 

 You backed up the Pointer Sisters. What was it like to perform with them?

 

Oh, it was pretty good. A lot of it was just starting to come together through their recordings. They weren’t the Pointer Sisters then. They called themselves the Brownettes. The Pointer Sisters, were very professional. You know they would come in, do their job and get out. But it was great working with them. They’re all professionals. We actually backed them up on stage on a couple of occasions. We backed them up at the Troubador in LA. Mad Hatter I think was the name of the other one. We did a few shows before “The Return of Bruno” came out. That was released in ’88, ’89, around in there.

 

Was there a record company that treated you well and actually gave you the money you had coming?

 

Atco. I liked Atco. Those were great people to work for. It was actually the best one. There was one out of Minneapolis that was a little bitty label Blues Shack but they folded. I was trying to sell through Alligator Records.I know a lot of people at there. I’ve done a lot of work with people at Alligator but mostly out of California and some out of Chicago. You know we played a couple of places on off nights like Legend and the House of Blues - Dan Aykroyd’s House of Blues. He had another place just west of Minneapolis. He came in a couple of times and played when I was sitting in with the Blues Biscuit band over there. That was fun. I used to be a good harp player, not great. I think Bruce is a little better harp player, but he’s just not as versatile or doesn’t know as many songs but Aykroyd was good. They’re fun to play with and if you don’t know that they’re a star, you don’t care that they’re a star because all of you are equal when you’re in a jam session. We were all there to create good music and that’s what it’s all about. But it’s always been about and that’s what sparks the music. Nothing else. I don’t care if I make a lot of money at it or not. Hell, I’m retired and getting my social security so I’m just going to play music until I die. I’ve been doing this since I was seven years old. I can’t think of anything else to do. I’ve made enough money in it to get a good college education. My ma told me to always have a back-up, so you know, I became an engineer. I do industrial engineering and stuff like that. I do emissions control products. And I’ve got a few patents and things like that. One thing that’s good about mathematics and music, they both go hand-in-hand.

 

I think schools made a big mistake by eliminating music programs. That really bothers me and that’s why we go overseas through Music Exchange. That way we get to go into Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Africa, Switzerland, England, France - all the different countries and we go into the grammar schools and high schools and even colleges to show them what we know about music sand the blues out of Chicago or the southern blues, and all that. We show them the differences and how you lay your hands on the guitar and how you approach the music and sing it and it’s a kick.

BB King once told me, “If you’re telling a story, tell it like you’re just talking to somebody. Tell them the story. Do it with feeling, and do it with conviction.” That’s the way I approach and play music. You know I saw B.B. King practice one note, one note, for an hour, just trying to get the bend right, trying to get that sound, that texture, trying to get what he wants to feel out of that note. Sometimes I’ll do that too. I’ll go around and I’ll just practice a note or two notes for a while just to get the feeling out to the audience. Well having said that, when I go out there on stage I don’t try anything fancy yet people seem to notice and take note when I play. It’s a great feeling to know that you’re communicating with your audience.

 

You’ve been on several labels. Did you ever get royalties?

 

Yes, as a matter of fact people out of Minneapolis are really good about payments. The suits out of Chicago and Detroit and New York, you’ve got to watch. LA, they’re okay as long as you’re doing stuff for them. If not, they just drop you. They don’t worry about the royalties or the contracts or anything else. That’s why I’ve always tried to do it myself, as much as possible.

 

You worked with Bruce Willis in a film, and it sounds like you two got along pretty good. Did you jam together?

 

Yes I went to his studio a couple of times. I actually did some of the scores and he bought a couple of them. I did some rearranging and some things like that. I don’t want to say anything bad but there are still some credibility problems on who wrote parts and who did not because when I left there my name was  removed from the writing credits. The suits changed the name of the band that was actually playing and performing so they would not have to pay out $17 grand to the musicians that actually wrote the music. I didn’t have a contract signed so they threatened to sue me for defamation of character and all this other crap.

 

It was in LA - Warner Brothers and Motown Records, a combination of the two. They bought out the Pointer Sisters. You know, I’m still friends with a couple of ‘em, but definitely not with the majority of ‘em. I feel if they’ve got to use somebody that way to get where they need to go then they’ve got a real problem. I don’t.

 

 Why were you in Europe so long?  

 

We toured off and on for 10 years. We were going back and forth between here and there but we spent all our time in London. We had a flat outside of Piccadilly.

 

Why did you leave?

 

The bass player died, Tim Ingles. We got him from Sister Sledge years ago. He was the one that we used overseas for a while. He was with us most of the time during that period.

 

You’ve had a long career. How many albums did you release?

 

I’ve released two LPs stateside and I’m going to re-release them because the record company took them off the U.S. market and sold them overseas. Then there are five that were released by EMI Europe. Then those were taken over by the overseas company because I wrote them when I lived in Europe. They said that I didn’t have proprietary rights to those songs because they were written and recorded out of the studio. I don’t care. I can always write more but I still have rights to my first two LPs and I’m going to re-release them in the United States. That’s what we’re working on right now. I don’t even know if I can use the Kingsnakes name anymore because the overseas company holds the rights to it. They picked up the Kingsnakes over there. We signed a contract to release LPs over there so they started a new Kingsnakes band overseas. I don’t know who in the hell is running it. But I don’t care. It’s all about the music more than anything else, you know?

 

They co-opted your name, and that sounds kind of ugly.

 

Well, it was pretty ugly. They were getting a lawsuit against me but when Tim died the contract became null and void because all four of us had signed the contract so that left it open for all the bookies for the next 18 months. Our contract closed last year on December 6 so that let us out the contract. Then having said that, that released my first two albums because those were mine. I produced those LPs.

 

They weren’t produced out of Screen Gems or EMI or Cavalcade over there. So we’re just going to go ahead and continue to record music. I’ve got 16 new songs written that I’m going to do. I’m going to release one as a single to see if I can get a bullet out on the radio called “Nobody Else.” It’s a ballad, a slow one. It’s a really cool song. I’m going to get Eric Ericson from here in town to sing it for me. He’s a clone of Neil Diamond. He sounds identical to Neil Diamond when Neil Diamond was young, that clarity in his voice.

 

Do you have any vivid memories of when it all fell into place, where it was a moment in time when it all came together and was just a shining moment for you?

 

Well, you get the warm fuzzies and you get those little spirals going up your back, that good feeling. Yeah, actually we were, (Laughter) this is funny. We got to play in California. We were playing in a place called the Rose Garden and there were several bands that were booked and we didn’t know who was all booked to play. This was a gig with the Heaters. We were considered really good at the time.  Felix Cavaliere and the Young Rascals showed up there and they were so good. I was just awe-inspired, got to talk to them, rubbed shoulders with them and everything. They were one of my favorites. They were from back here from the east coast. That was just good. You know, you get up there and you get to play on the closing. You get to play with all these musicians that are just super at the time. We were trying to improve our style and we just fit really well with what the Rascals were doing, it was like heaven. 

It sounds sort of funny but that was one of my highlights. I’ve got a lot of highlights. I opened for people at the Queen’s Concert - Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. It was at a pre-party, at least I was there, you know, rubbing shoulders with rock’s icons. It’s been a real ride, it really has.

 

Do you have any regrets?

 

Uh, losing all my wives to music, yeah. (Laughter) You get busy with and you think she’s the only one but then there’s always another one coming along. I wrote a song called, “If You Don’t Love Me, Someone Else Will.” Just for that purpose. (Laughter)

 

Do you have any last words for the readers, for the folks that are going to come see you?

 

Stay true to yourself, always. Don’t bend, don’t give up. Just stay true to what you want in life. You’ll be happy, and you’ll never regret anything.

 

 

Paul Krawl and the Kingsnakes are performing at White’s Bar Friday November 1^st with special guest Matt Besey. This will mark their official CD Release Party in Michigan

 

 

Vengeance Makes a Big Splash in the Local Scene

                                                       

 

Vengeance Strikes a Blow Against the Empire

Vengeance is comprised of a core of dedicated musicians who are true believers in the transcendent power of music. For them music is more than its component parts. It is more like an aural landscape that shifts form and content, always growing and changing as the muse strikes. It is no wonder that they were finally noticed and validated by their legion of fans. Vengeance won Review Awards for Best Rock Band, Best Variety Band. Matt Hyatt won the honor of Best Guitarist (heavy praise indeed) and Dave Banks got the nod for Best Keyboardist.  It was a musical coup d’etat. Review was able to chat with leader Adolph Borrego as well as Dave Banks and Matt Hyatt. Adolph is truly a modest soul with a big heart and a keen vision for the future.

 

Adolph: How long has Vengeance been performing?

Vengeance was formed in the late 90's. I had just moved back to Michigan after living in Syracuse, NY for about 6 years. When I got back of course I looked up my old musician friends and Vengeance was formed. I had been in a few bands before leaving Michigan and had had the honor of playing with some of the area's top musicians including extraordinary guitarist Mike Fink and the drummer/sax player/singer Bobby Pyman to name a few.

 

Adolph: Whose in the band?

The original line up of Vengeance was me on rhythm guitar and vocals, Pat Cherry on drums, Rodney Trumble on Lead guitar and Ron Arrington on Bass. We played all over the place strictly as a cover band and we had a set list of material that was more deep cut or album cut kind of stuff that none of the other local bands were doing. We have always wanted to be a bit different.

 

Adolph: How has the band evolved?

 As most bands do, we have gone through our share of personnel changes and as a result Pat and I are the only two original and founding members left. Throughout 2012 our lineup was Pat and I, Terry Kasper on Bass, Matt Hyatt on Lead Guitar, Dave Banks on Keys and the little lady with the big dynamite voice Dani Vitany on vocals. These are some of the most talented musicians I've ever played music with.

What was your reaction to winning Best Rock Band and Best Variety Band?

Adolph: Complete surprise mixed with a sense of pride.

I would be remiss if I didn't give credit where it's due. If it were not for this lineup we would not have won the awards we won at the Review awards ceremony. Dani has since moved on to bigger and better things with the newly formed rocking country band Ten Hands Tall. We wish Dani and THT the best of luck and want to Thank Dani for the time she put in with us.

Matt:

Both times it was a moment of confusion, then shock and wondering "did they screw up?  Real soon after that I guess it kind of felt like I dunked a basketball for the first time -- and for a short guy that's a pretty awesome feeling.

 

 yattHyattWe were surprised just to win the best variety band award and had even said if we went home with just that, then it was more than we expected and we were content.  Then Dave won, then I won and then we won Best Rock Band and I think we were all completely elated.

  

Matt what was your reaction to getting best guitarist?

When they called my name for best rock guitarist I was speechless.  I have such a passion for music and this is just a wonderful byproduct.  I am humbled and honored by our fans and supporters for their faithfulness and support

 

Matt were you inspired by anyone in particular. Did you take lessons, have a mentor?

 

I was first inspired to play guitar when I fell in love with Led Zeppelin. I was 10 years old.  I started taking lessons at various places and eventually took lessons from Jim Pagel out at Bay Music.  I took lessons with him for two years.  Since then I had times where I hardly even played until I married my current wife Gaymarie Hyatt who has supported me at every step of my music career

 

 Adolph: How do you describe your music?

Vengeance has gone through a number of musical tastes and flavors in our shows and we are a unique blend of everything from Rock to Blues, to R & B, to Country. Our ages range from middle thirties to late fifties so we have a boat load of experience and a very diverse ear and love of music. Our influences range from George Jones and George Strait to George Thorogood and the Georgia Satellites. Seriously though we all love a very broad range of music and we all believe that the music is not in our instruments, it's in our hearts and in our souls.

 

Adolph: You must have a loyal following. Did they get the word out?

Yes, the word definitely got due to our wives and girlfriends as well as many many loyal friends.

The band wishes to thank everyone that voted for us and we want everyone to know that it is not lost on us what this means. We were up against the best bands around and we are humbled and honored to have won. A special shout out to our wives and girlfriends for their undying support and encouragement

Adolph: You are from Birch Run - does it have a growing music/arts scene?

 It really appears to. With the talent that has come from such a small town there must be something in the water. We perform around the Clio, Montrose, Saginaw, Flint area. We've played at Bob's Bar in Fosters, Bus Stop in Birch Run, Backwoods in Burt, Cloverleaf in Clio, Prime Event Center in Bay City, Dow Event Center as the Spirit hockey games band and a number of Eagles and VFW Halls.

 

Dave: what was your visceral response to winning Best Keyboardist

 I just couldn't comprehend it...I sat there for the longest time trying to figure out if I should be so bold as to really go up.  Pat finally nudged me and said "you better get your butt up there or they're going to give it away!"  Just looking around as I'm walking up thinking about how crazy talented this room of people is and here I am going up for an award -- and also that most of those same people are thinking "who?!?!?"  Then I think, "holy crap...they want a speech of some sort."  I went blank after that.

 

 Dave:  Did you have a mentor.

Definitely - my cousin Terry.  Amazing piano player in whatever style was called for.  He started showing me how to really play with chords and use blues scales, and also to pick out parts by ear.  I appreciate those tips a ton.  Later on I learned a ridiculous amount by playing dueling pianos with Jeff Lehman out of Warren.  He clued me in to really playing the whole keyboard to fill up the sound.  Also showed me what

 

songs most people want to hear on a night out.

 

 Dave:  What are your plans for the future?

We're absolutely in a time of change and evolving.  With Dani moving on to another band - who are freaking awesome by the way - we are feeling our way to the best mix for us and also the places we play.  It’s been trying, but it’s also been an energy shot coming up with different songs that work with who we are now

 

Adolph:

Our future is always evolving because of the broad spectrum of music we all enjoy. We plan on being around for a long long time.

  

 

Brian d'Arcy James Performs for Field of Hope:Celebrating 25 Years

                                                           

Brian d’Arcy James

Spontaneity and Discipline

 The Spaces In-between

 

Brian James was born into a family with a golden touch and the tenacity of good genes. James is one of the good guys who still believe in the ethics of hard work. He developed his craft and was mindful of how one’s strength can become an Achilles heel. He is able to sit still and relish a quiet moment despite his urge to climb the next mountain, especially if it is incredibly steep. There is this hunger that pushes him forward to the next gig, the next big chance. James tends to grab the hardest to that which is there then not there and shrugs it off as the life of a working actor. He attended Northwestern University, the alma mater of Charleton Heston. James even sang a song for him during his induction at the 1997 Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show presided by President Clinton.  The song, More I Cannot Wish You was Heston’s wedding song, and as the camera scanned the audience it rested briefly on his face, tears streaming down his cheeks. A magic moment filled with love and humanity for this aging star. James now resides in New York, close to the action though he still pilgrimages home to mecca…to Saginaw, a violent, misunderstood receptacle for all the misdeeds of its forefathers. It seems fitting that a wild and woolly outpost for humanity like Saginaw could nurture the talents of great musicians, actors, singers and poets such as Brian D’Arcy James. I can hear his eyes rolling now…

 

 

When did you first realize you enjoyed music and dance and acting?

 

My grandmother was always interested in music and dance. She was a tap dancer growing up. She would always encourage me to  look at things she saw things on television, if they were watching Singin’ In the Rain or Lawrence Welk. She’d always say, “Hey, look at that guy dancing” or “Look at them singing.” I think she noticed something in me because I was a bit of a ham growing up, so I think that was the first seeds of it. My uncle Brian Kelly went on to be an actor in Hollywood. He was in the television show “Flipper.” 

 

 I heard about that.

 

Yeah, he played the dad. So I had an uncle who was a legitimate television star and that was another familial connection to acting and the arts in general. So I guess then the most immediate influence was my older sister who started getting involved in theater in high school. I was a couple of years behind her but I would watch her do her thing…she became so passionate about it. She just fell in love with being in shows at school. I did, too. My parents were always exposing us to the theater. They’d take us down to the Fisher Theater in Detroit and we would see traveling shows, national tours of Broadway shows. My first memory is seeing “Annie” down at the Fisher Theater. It probably opened a couple of years before. I knew that score very well because we listened to it in the car all the time because my parents would always play one of their eight-track cassettes, so I was always surrounded by it through my family, whether they were stories of my grandmother or watching television with my uncle, or I was watching my sister doing theater. It was there to be explored, if one had an inkling to explore it, and I certainly did. I studied acting at Northwestern University and hat’s when I really fell in love with the idea of being an artist, being an actor, and pursuing it as a career.

 

I have read about you performing at Pit and Balcony when you were still a teenager. First of all, how did you pass the audition, second how did the audience receive you, and what did you do? Did you dance in the show, too?

 

It was a local production of Annie with Jim Gaertner as the director, and he cast me in it. I was young, 16. Yeah, I had to sing and dance, and you know to be totally honest, I didn’t think too much about it. I knew that I wanted to give it a shot, and I knew that I felt comfortable doing it. I didn’t really think about getting it, and so when I did get it, it was like, “oh, okay… careful what you wish for - now you gotta do this thing.” It really was a tremendous experience because, you know, not only was I doing a show, but I was doing a show with people from the community, as opposed to students from my school. So I met a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds, you know, professional people who loved the theater who are also doing community theater. All of a sudden I was afforded this chance to kind of have a whole new community of people to kind of be with who were sharing the same goal. As for how people reacted, I have no idea. The show didn’t close on my account, so I think I must have been doing something right. 

 

You did, this was pretty early on too. Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Midland Theater.

 

I was a junior in high school. This is another great, defining experience. I owe this to my father. I remember seeing an article that had been lying on my bed one night when I got home, and it was a Saginaw News article about this production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat that was going to be in Midland, and it was going to be directed by this guy named Dean Badolato who was a Broadway dancer and had a connection to the Midland Center for the Arts. My father tore it out and put it on my bed and said, “You should check this out. You should audition for it.” That’s the kind of great parents I had. They were aware of my interests, and they had their eyes open for me, as well as encouraging me, so I’m very grateful for that. The second thing that was also remarkable and potent for the experience was the director, after having done the show, he did a follow-up article in the Saginaw News. I remember reading this quote which really had a severe impact on me. The question was posed, “What do you think about this guy who’s playing Joseph? Does he show any promise? Does he have any talent?” He said, “Yeah, this kid, Brian James, does show talent. If he wanted to, he could have a career in this business.” It was the first time that anybody who was a dyed-in-the wool professional made a comment like that on record. It was a very strong moment for me to have this guy’s stamp of approval.  It gave me confidence to consider continuing to move down the road, so that was another great experience.

 

 

You mentioned Brian Kelly from Flipper. Did he ever show you the ropes or teach you a little about Hollywood and movies?

 

We were always in contact. I would see my uncle practically every summer. We had a cottage up in Gaylord and the family would always get together there, and my uncles and aunts would come together and we would spend the summer there. As for showing me the ropes, it wasn’t necessarily first-hand knowledge, but I do remember getting some very sage advice from him about, you know, pursuing this business. His wisdom was, “Don’t do it” (Laughter). He communicated that to me clearly pretty early on. Now mind you, he was working with a fish at the time, so I think that had something to do with it. What’s the old quote? “Never work with children or animals.” And I think he was doing both at the same time. Anyway after that, his experience was as a producer, he produced “Blade Runner,” and “Cities of the Wild.” I always wanted to hear the stories of how things were going and what was happening. Even after I started my professional career I’d end up in Los Angeles and I’d always see him there. It was always great to see him on his own turf, you know, in his own backyard where he lived. It was his world there and the life that he was living in California. It takes the mystique away, and that’s another great thing about having somebody who’s in the business is that it’s not a mystery. You can see that it’s just plain old-fashioned hard work and just getting up every day and doing your job. That’s important to realize, to see…nobody’s going to hand it to you. You’ve got to work.

 

 I read about an experience you had at Northwestern University. You starred in a production of Hair

Yes I did a production of “Hair” at Northwestern and this was my sophomore year at college. The director of that show, Dominic Missimi, was a wonderful director and a great man and on the faculty of the Theater School of Northwestern. He was asked to take the production that we were in in college and remount it as a special production for the 20^th anniversary of the production of “Hair.” Essentially that show that I did in college, the commercial producer who owned the rights to “Hair,” a guy by the name of Michael Butler, who lived in Oak Brook and still does, Oak Brook, Illinois, he heard about this Northwestern production. He saw it, and he loved it. He said, “This is what I want to do for the 20^th anniversary production in

Chicago, so those were the blueprints for the professional production. Now that didn’t necessarily mean that I was a shoe-in to do it. I had to audition just like everybody else. Thankfully it was a big break for me and I was cast in the professional production of that show my junior year of college. That was a great connection of my education at Northwestern giving me the opportunity to pursue something professionally.

 

Does it annoy you when you’re not working?

 

Yeah, I get annoyed. It depends on how long the stretch is. It’s a nice thing to be able to kind of cleanse the pallet and not do something for a while. You know, I will say that I’m a little more selective in what I do now. I have a little bit of a, at least I feel that I’ve earned the right. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong about that, but I’m taking a little bit more of a judicious approach to the things that I do. Sure, there are stretches of time when I’m not doing something consistently. It does become a little bit annoying, but what you should try to do in those moments is a) enjoy it because, you know, hopefully it’s not going to last too long, and I’ll be pining for the next time I have a few minutes. Then b) I try to be productive in that time as well to do other things. Like, you know I’m working on a couple of screen plays, and I’m pursuing the rights to produce a piece as a Broadway musical, so I’m trying to stretch to different areas that don’t necessarily rely on my acting skills exclusively. That’s kind of how I try to bide my time when I’m not working.

 

It must have been difficult to do Shrek

 

It was challenging for sure because, in a physical way, in a way that I’ve never been challenged before because of the makeup and the costume. I had to be ready for it, so I like a challenge like that. I enjoy that aspect of it. That’s right, after a year you think, “Okay, let me be practical about this.” I would have loved doing it as long as the run lasted but it really did take it out of me, and I just thought if I had another opportunity to do a really fantastic play the timing was just right enough for me to say, “this might be my time to bow out.”

 

Did your athleticism help you with the Shrek dance and all that other stuff?

 

Yeah, you do have to be ready to do anything, and you do have to stay in shape. Your body is your instrument, so you kind of have to think that way. There are times when I’m more aware of that than at other times, just in terms of my ability to stay in shape, you know, like everybody else and just try to do the right thing. Of course, I’m getting older, so like, “All right. It’s not a bad idea to try to stay in shape.” You know most actors are pretty aware of the fact that they have to be in tune with themselves.

 

 You had a lot of Broadway experience; “Blood Brothers,” “Sweet Smell of Success,” “Giant,” “Titanic.” Each of them were big, big ticket items. Was there a particular show that you liked more than the others?

 

Every show is different, has a different character. I have a sense of it in my memory in terms of how I felt about each one. You mentioned “Blood Brothers.” That was a big one because it was my first Broadway show. I remember the first night. The show was already up and running, so I was coming into the show as a replacement in the cast of one of the guys who left to go do another show… which is very common. So I was inserted into this machine of a Broadway show. I remember getting ready to make my first entrance for the opening number and wondering to myself, “What is this going to be like?” I was nervous and my adrenalin was pumping. I was ready to do it. I was excited to do it, but the thing that immediately struck me when I stepped out and started doing what I had to do for the first number, is that it was no different than any other kind of theatrical experience that I had before in terms of all the training that I had had, all of the experiences I had had stepping on a stage from Pit and Balcony to Midland to Northwestern to Chicago to regional theater, it’s all the same equation. Now obviously it’s different because it’s Broadway, and there’s a different expectation and there are probably different ticket prices, but the job was exactly the same. I found great comfort in knowing that, “Wow, I’ve been doing this for 15 years already.” It was a great sense of comfort. It made me feel like, “Wow, I’m where I should be. This is where I belong.” In your mind, you think, “Wow, Broadway, there’s something different about it.” Don’t get me wrong. There is something about in that it represents a kind of pinnacle of what you can expect from a theatrical experience. But on the other hand, it requires the same thing, putting on a costume, stepping out on the stage, and knowing your lines and knowing where to stand.

 

 

Speaking about what you’ve learned through the years, and I know you’ve learned a lot for sure, are there maybe some principles that you hold dear, that you really learned from, such as “Less Is More?”

 

Um-hm. Yeah, that’s true. You know, it’s a constant lesson that I’m learning. It’s one thing to hear it and think that you understand it, and then occasionally you’ll have moments when you can employ it and feel like, “Oh, I understand now what that means and the doing of it,” but that’s the experience of things. If you get those experiences, when you can actually experiment with ideas like that, that’s what I think makes you a better actor. I think “Less is More” is a great thing, especially when you, like me, are making the transition from stage work, which was predominantly my career and then moving into television and film work. You have to learn how to kind of really pull back and use yourself in a different way. Overall I think on a larger scale, what I’m constantly learning is you have to be true to who you are in each particular day that you’re living because this week you’re different than last week, and this month is different from last month, and this year is different from last year. I guess what I mean by that is your ideas change, your life changes, your perspective changes, and maybe even your interests change,

how you spend your time and how you feel about how you spend your time changes. I think it’s important to check in on that and be honest with what you’re getting out of what you do. I’m speaking obviously about what I do for a living, but I think it’s probably true for everybody. You know, you can do something for a long time and then you can wake up and say, “Why am I doing this?” I think those moments are good because it’s kind of like a tune-up for a car. You have to kind of get everything back in line and say, “Okay, what am I connecting to now? What makes me passionate? What do I care about? What do I want to say as an artist?” I’m in a place like that right now. I’m trying to be honest with who I am and what I’m doing and why I’m doing it, and I’m trying to keep myself in line with how I’m going to best communicate those things as an artist.

 

You’ve worked with a lot of actors. You must feel the same way sometimes when the director’s a bully or a creep in some way, or the production is bad, and then you can join together and talk about it. Does it ever so happen that in times of trouble on the set, on the stage, you help each other out

 

Yeah, I think it’s more in just conversing with other actors and you know, you’ve mentioned some really tremendous people. I’ve had the real luxury of working with really quite great actors who I look up to who have had these incredible careers and a wealth of experience. What I’m always struck by is that actors are actors. No matter how successful they are, if they’re going to go out and do a job, they have to act. It’s not like they do anything differently.

They just have been doing it for a longer period of time and might be more celebrated. It doesn’t take away from the fact that you have to collaborate with people. Inevitably even the greats, you know, have bad experiences where they just can’t believe how poorly they are being treated or how uninteresting a production can be. What I do say is that I do take comfort in knowing that everybody just wants to do a good job. When things get thwarted in that pursuit, I think it’s just as shocking and as jarring and as disappointing to anybody who cares about what they do. So yeah, I take great comfort in knowing that the greats that I’ve known have expressed, everybody’s got their hard-knocks stories.

 

 How do you handle that hurry up and wait kind of problem

 

Well, that’s definitely part and parcel of television and film. It doesn’t happen too much in the theater. The theater is kind of a constant flow. It’s a low, intense burn that just continues which is really a wonderful thing. You start working on something and you have a continuum that pushes you forward. Television and film are much different in that you have little spurts of activity and then, as you say, a lot of down-time where you just hurry up to wait. A great lesson that I learned just doing “Smash” and watching Debra Messing work is that there is a lot of pressure, especially when you’re starting something off, particularly with a pilot, because everybody wants to get it right, everybody wants to control the amount of money that’s being spent, which means they have to control the amount of time that they’re spending on a particular shoot, and so there’s a lot of people working furiously and feverishly to kind of, what’s called the set-up of the shot. It takes a lot of people. It’s an incredible amount of work from the crew to set up every single shot, angles, lights, wires, set pieces, set decorations, costumes, all those things. In between each take, you’ve got a lot of people working really, really hard. My point is that once it becomes time for the actor to do his job, it’s easy to carry all of that chaos, all of that frenetic energy and have it infest you at the time when everything stops. Everything stops and it’s your job to pretend like nothing has been happening yet you’re in this vacuum where you continue your scene or you continue to do your job as an actor. What I saw Debra doing, which I loved witnessing, was just her ability to separate herself and create this moat between all of that noise and hubbub and give herself a few minutes to breath a bit, and then create this whole new space, this vacuum in which she could do her job easily and not carry all of that stuff with 150 people mulling around. I don’t know if that makes sense to you. I’m trying to describe what it is. That was a great lesson, especially in the high-speed world of network television. There was this seasoned professional just taking control of her job and doing it in a really graceful way. It’s separating from the din and letting yourself be productive within a space that is peaceful.

 

 

You’ve done all kinds of things  from drama, TV, film, and theater. What’s your preference, you prefer what medium to the other?

 

Well, I think my favorite will always be the thing that I spent the most time doing, which is the theater. It’s what I studied; it’s what got me interested in acting. It’s what I know best. It’s what I know best in terms of how to employ my skills. However I’ve been doing it for quite a while, and it’s been great these last couple of years to start the ball rolling down to television and film because it’s a different way of working. I think it’s great to be in a business where you can all of a sudden, after 20 years of doing something, to get a chance to kind of find a different flavor at the ice cream store and try that for a while. You’re doing the same thing. You’re just using different muscles. I’m really interested in exploring what it takes to be a good film actor, to be a good television actor. It’s a combination. Then again the third part is that I would love to be able to see something come to fruition that I’ve created, not relying on the words that someone’s written for me, but kind of creating the thing that I want to say. I’ve done a few things like that that no one has ever seen. It’s always a great, an enormous pleasure and pride in kind of creating my own things.

 

I understand we are both fans of Todd Rundgren.

 

Yeah, he’s pretty great. He wrote a Broadway show that was performed at the Public Theater, you know, the Public Theater in New York. It doesn’t surprise me because he has such a wide array of talents and interests musically. I’m sure you probably know this as well. He’s quite an accomplished producer.

So he’s able to talk, communicate, interpret and help create. He’s just kind of wildly talented, and I’ve always loved his music.

 

Let’s talk about the concert at Field Neurosciences Institute in Saginaw. What set list did you use or what songs did you use for your debut?  

 

Well, I did a lot of songs that I love, pop songs from the ‘70s and the ‘80s, Steve Winwood, Squeeze, Billy Joel, other artists like Harry Connick, Jr, Rufus Wainwright and things like that, so when I was talking to the folks at FNI about this upcoming concert, they had a really great idea which is…follow up with this FNI show using the same premise for my concert in New York - to just sing songs that I like. They thought it would be a good idea, and I totally agree with just pushing the parameters out a little bit and use “Under The Influence” as the title of the concert. It would be songs that everybody loves, that everybody grew up listening to that are in the pop medium. I’m exploring all kinds of options in terms of what the set list will be for the FNI concert. I think that I’ll use some of the songs that I did for my 54 Below Concert in New York Concert and then I’ll add other songs from the ‘60s and even the ‘50s. So it will open up the door to pop sounds from the late ‘70s and ‘80s. I think it was wise for them to think of changing that same idea and just kind of opening up the door a little bit to a wider array of possibilities.

 

 

How can your strength also be an Achilles’ heel?

 

That’s a good question. Um, I think it goes back to what I was talking about a little bit before in terms of, oh I don’t know, maybe just being too narrow-minded about things and our focus is of the utmost importance, and focus is necessary.  I do think, however, that, and I’m lucky because I have a family, and it’s great to be able to look away. I mean, to quote my grandmother, “a watched pot never boils.” It’s good to be able to kind of have other things to do. I think when you’re so dedicated to something and you really spend a lot of time trying to achieve your goals, sometimes it can be at the risk of, you know, putting other things aside that would perhaps be just as helpful to you, you know, like living a life or having a hobby or, you know, taking a walk in the woods. It’s kind of a general answer, but I think maybe that’s what pops up in my head when you ask how your strengths can be perhaps a weakness.

 

 

You’ve performed for Field Neurosciences for years and you have chosen it as a charity of yours, Fields of Hope. Is Alzheimer’s disease a particular focus for your charitable work, or is it just neurosciences generally?

 

Well, it’s not so much Alzheimer’s per se. I think what they’re doing in just terms of general education and their exploration of neurosciences in general and head injury and recovery. It’s more of a general sense of what we can do with the brain and how we deal with the brain. I think it’s a fascinating thing, and the fact that it’s happening in Saginaw with Dr. Malcolm Field and him being such a renowned leader in that field is such a feather in the cap of our community.  So I’m really happy to associate myself with that aspect of it, but you know I have a family tie to it again. My grandfather, my grandfather, Dr. John W. James, my dad’s dad, he was on the board of St. Mary’s. He was an OB/GYN there, and he knew Dr. Field, so there’s a family history that goes, that is connected to, I know it’s different from St. Mary’s, but at least in the medical field there are a lot of people who work at FNI who had relationships with my grandfather, professional relationships, so that is another source of pride for me. I feel like I’ve been adopted by them. I can’t say that this is something that I have sought and found a home. I feel like they’ve been kind to really adopt me and by virtue of me doing these concerts for FNI, I’ve learned a lot. So I feel as long as they will invite me, I will come because I get a great feel of satisfaction coming home and acknowledging that this is where I came from and this is where my home is and where my heart is and also being able to do something that is positive for the community hopefully and being a part of that. It’s a no-brainer.

To be totally honest, I feel like I don’t want to wear out my welcome. (Laughter) If they ask, I’ll keep coming back. If they feel like, “Do you still want to come?”  Then I’ll be there.

 

 

Field of Hope: Celebrating 25 Years. Proceeds will help provide fellowships for student who will work with the Field Neurosciences Institute research staff. The event is scheduled for September 13, 2013 at The Temple Theatre featuring Brian d’Arcy James. For more information call 989-497-3117 or call the Temple Theatre 989-754-7469.