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| Phosphorescent Harvest 29 April 2014 |
Chris
Robinson Brotherhood are about to release their third set of genuine boogie rock Phosphorescent Harvest 29
April..
In
full disclosure I've only had the chance to hear a handful of tracks and if
"Beggar's Moon" & "Shore Power" are any indication of
things to come, all signs say Yes Please!
I like this from the CRB website:
I like this from the CRB website:
"Momentarily content with dusting
the globe and turning the sun out at its scattered dances, the BROTHERHOOD
reconvened with producer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Devendra Banhart, Papercuts) to
materialize a new set of sounds unseen to lean on ceilings, a music of the
spheres not content to just envelop rafters. The writing partnership and
dialogue between Robinson and Casal has never been as closely woven as it is on
PHOSPHORESCENT HARVEST, almost akin to the conversation you hear murmuring out
of the mouths of the moon and the stars as they glide the celestial track. This
isn't a range they ride alone though, and as strong as the songwriting gets
does too the rest of the band's willingness to seek company in chaos' warm
embrace, discovering that in familiar forms there can glow a vastness."
Chris
is backed by Neal Casal, George Sluppick, Adam MacDougall, Mark Dutton and are
touring as well in what seems an all year thing. In Germany? Not that I can
tell so far, fingers crossed.
When
I have the chance to listen to Phosphorescent Harvest in it's full glory I will
be back to these pages with my thoughts. Until then please check out my
conversation with Neal Casal, one of my favorite singer-songwriter/musicians,
from 9 October 2013 in a piece I call Neal Casal Keeps On Truckin'...
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Neal Casal (photo by Claudia Craig)
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The
first time I listened to one of Neal Casal's solo records, I believe it was
"The Sun Rises Here", I thought I'd discovered an unknown treasure
and let me just quickly say this, man was I wrong.
It's
almost embarrassing. He had been making music his whole life. His first studio
album "Fade Away Diamond Time" was released in 1995. From there on
you can find an album almost every year.
Neal
Casal was one third of Hazy Malaze and also joined Ryan Adams & The
Cardinals in 2005. Mr. Casal contributes his guitar work on a bunch of other
records like Tift Merrit's "Tambourine" or Mark Olson's "Many
Colored Kite". His most recent work collaboration is with the Chris
Robinson Brotherhood that have already released "Big Moon Ritual" and
"The Magic Door" in 2012.
I
had the great opportunity to steal some of Neal Casal's precious time. Here is
what we've talked about.
What
project(s) are you currently working on?
I'm working on a new Chris Robinson Brotherhood record
that we're all really excited about. We've grown tremendously as a band in the
few years we've been together and this new record really shows it. It will be
released in the spring of 2014, and we'll do a long tour to support it.
I've also made a record with Todd Snider and Dave Schools
called The Hard Working Americans which will be released early next year. It's
a record of cover songs, recorded at Bob Weir's studio in northern California.
Another project I'm really excited about, sounds great. I got to tour playing
guitar for Iris Dement earlier this year, and I've also worked a lot with Phil
Lesh at his new club in California.
The
list of artists and musicians you have played with is very impressive. Who
would you be proud of adding to it and why?
I’d really like to produce a record for my friend Lauren
Barth. She's an excellent songwriter from California who really needs more
recognition. I'm hoping that can happen this winter.
You
have successfully released solo records, you've worked with bands...which of
the two suits you better?
I really love doing both. It's all part of the same
process for me. I just want to be involved with good music whether it's mine or
someone else's.
Ideally I'd like to erase the line between my solo work
and the bands I'm in. I just want it to feel like one long, really good song,
and that we're in one, big, awesome band.
Would
you consider yourself a perfectionist?
I don't think in terms of perfection, I'm not sure if
it’s is even possible for me. I just try to do my very best and keep my
standards as high as possible every time I pick up an instrument. Whatever the
result is beyond that is up to someone else, I’m not even capable of judging
it. I think that perfection can only be
evaluated many years after a piece of work has been finished. I think history
decides what's perfect and what isn't. It's not up to us in the moment of
creation.
Musically
spoken, after everything you have done up until this point, have you achieved your
goals or was there ever one?
The only goal I've ever had was to create a life that was
centered in music. I'm amazed that I've been able to do that for so many years.
As for the records I've made and songs I've written, I've definitely not
achieved any kind of goal.
Actually, the longer I go into music, the further the goal
posts seem to move from me. I still have a very long way to go before I can
even consider the concept of satisfaction. I have my doubts that will ever
happen, but it's probably better that way. Just gotta keep on truckin' and not
look back.
How
is your relationship to social media? Is it a necessity?
Social media isn’t a necessity, but it’s certainly a
reality. I don’t think there’s any way to avoid it at this point in our lives.
If we use it for useful things, it's fine.
My relationship with it is a very easy one. I only post items when I
feel they have some real value. I don’t listen to what others tell me i “should
be doing”, or what i “need to do”, in regards to gaining more fans. I just do
what feels right for my energy level. I let people know about my shows and what
I’m up to. But i don't sit on Instagram and post photos of every sandwich I eat
and try to make it look exciting. I'm just not cut out for that kind of thing.
So, i keep my relationship with social media very simple. I'm sure that i move
too slow for most people, and the social media experts would insist that I'm
doing it all wrong. But I don't care about all of that. I like social media
though, I’m really glad it came along, I think it was inevitable that this kind
of thing would happen. There is such an overwhelming amount of information in
the world at this point, there had to be a new way of moving it all around.
The
internet fuckin' rules dude!
You
always talk about photography of just being a hobby. Is it still after you've
published "A View Of Other Windows"?
Photography isn't a hobby for me. I actually take it
quite seriously and pursue it almost every day of my life. It’s just that it’s
not my main mode of making a living, so I’m not really a
"professional" photographer in that sense. I don’t pursue it
monetarily, but artistically, it’s just as important as music to me. I post my
new photos on my blog almost every week, I'm totally into it. I finally bought
a digital camera and have been enjoying it so much. I'm taking more photos than
ever right now, and I've found that working with digital hasn't changed my work
one bit. In fact, it's made it even better. My compositional sense remains the
same whether I'm working with film or digital. I was pleased to discover this.
It's not about the tools, it's about how you see the world.
When
do we get a chance again to see you live over here?
Not really sure right now. Would love to come back to
Europe, it’s been a long time since I’ve toured there. I miss the friends I
made there over the years.
What
music are you currently listening to?
Little Wings – ‘Last’
Blank Tapes – ‘Vacation’
Allah Las
Chris Cohen – ‘Overgrown Path’
Val Mccallum – ‘At The End Of The Day’
Debashish Bhattacharya – ‘Live In Calcutta’
Mountain Bus
Tangerine Dream – ‘Phaedra’
Bob Dylan – ‘Another Self Portrait’
Crystal Syphon – ‘Family Evil’
Dolphins Into The Future – ‘On Seafaring Isolation’
Lenny Breau – ‘The Hallmark Sessions’
Strawbs – ‘Dragonfly’
Name
3 things on your bucket list.
Buy New Socks, Try DMT & Get barreled.
Name
3 songs that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Farmer Dave Scher – ‘Surf Out Sunset’
Bob Martin – ‘Three Mill Town’
Roy Harper – ‘When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease’
Worst
venue you've ever played in.
This place in northern Holland around 1998, i forgot the
name but remember the smell.
Name
1 nasty habit you can't live without.
Surfing
Who's
better: Nick Cave or Lyle Lovett
Nick Lowe
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