So Thomas, how did the idea for this project
first come about? Was it to tie in with Kate's 20th year
releasing records?
The idea came one morning last June when I
was listening to the b-sides from the "This Woman's
Work" collection. I realized that even though many
people know some of the more popular songs by Kate, there are
so many songs that are absolutely phenomenal in their
composition and performance that I started thinking to myself
"I want my friends to know about this music, its too
beautiful not to share this." The song in particular
that started everything was "Not This Time". I kept
thinking I've got to get one of my friends to record this,
its such a great song. Other songs by Kate like The Empty
Bull Ring and The Saxophone Song were also a big part of the
inspiration. Now, just about a week earlier a friend had
asked me when I was going to pursue my music dream, and I
honestly thought he was ridiculous. So while listening to
these rare Kate Bush songs, and thinking about how I wanted
to help get them some more attention, the idea came to make a
Kate Bush tribute record. I mean, it seems way past time
doesn't it? As for Kate's 20th year releasing records, no,
that was purely coincidental.
Who are Brown Star records?
Brown Star Records is basically everyone
who has worked on and contributed to this project, what we
happily call the Brown Star Collective. Musicians and artists
and friends who support the work and the idea of this tribute
record. For example, I have a friend who helps with the
business and financial end of things, and another friend who
helps with editing text, and another friend who helps with
design, because we all have different talents, skills and
limitations. Brown Star is the label I created to put out
this record, I didn't want to make this great record and then
let it sit forever waiting for distribution and/or a label to
pick it up. That is of course the ideal though, but we'll all
do it ourselves if we have to. This has always been a
"do-it-yourself" kind of project, and there is a
high level of commitment from everybody.
What is your background in music?
Other than a failed attempt at guitar in
elementary school, I was in school-based choral groups
throughout high school and college. As well as a traumatic
history in musical theater and dance! You know, back in the
day... Now I host an event here in Chicago called "Hoot
Night" at a venue called Schuba's on a semi-monthly
basis. This is an event where a theme is decided for the
night and different musicians from around town perform 2
songs related to the chosen theme. Some of the more notable
performers at the Hoot Nights have been Syd Straw, Robbie
Fulks, The Texas Rubies, Verbow, The Aluminum Group, and
various members of Poi Dog Pondering and The Waco Bros.
Tell me about the artists you have lined
up....are they friends of yours?
My
Scarlet Life |
 The Aluminum Group
|
The
Moviegoers
|
Well, I like to think so, at
least I tell everyone they're my friends! I'm grateful to be
connected to some of the most exciting and talented musicians
and club owners in Chicago's vibrant music scene. Most of the
artists are people I've been fortunate enough to work with or
people whose musical performances have really touched me.
Many of them are close friends though, who just happen to be
some of the most talented people I'm ever likely to meet,
people like Nora O'Connor, The Moviegoers, and Catherine
Smitko. Some of the other amazingly talented artists on the
album include Susan Voelz, My Scarlet Life, and The Aluminum
Group, all of whom are based in Chicago. Not surprisingly, we
didn't have to look beyond our own backyard to find artists
eager to celebrate Kate's work.
Were they all Kate fans, did they choose the
tracks themselves, or was this in some cases your decision?
What a great question. Many of the artists
are well studied Kate fans. On the other hand, when
everything started many of the artists said "we'd love
to participate" but again, and quite honestly, some of
them had limited knowledge of the multitude of choices
available to them. Thus, one of the purposes of the project.
We didn't want to remake The Whole Story or Hounds of Love. I
had hoped to stretch the artists to new understandings of
Kate's body of work, which I'm quite pleased to say I think
we've done, and I'm sure that anybody who has ever played a
Kate Bush song can tell you that they are all challenging
pieces. At the end of the day, all the artists chose their
own songs, but for many of the artists I would make a tape
for them with about 4 or 5 suggested songs that I thought
would be interesting for them to hear. We would discuss it
and process why this one or why that one. A good example is
what happened with The Plunging Necklines. I had an idea for
a piece that I thought they would be brilliant on and so I
asked them to try it out, it worked perfectly for them, then
they went and built this amazing thing out of it. You will
not believe what they've done. I think that the strongest
influence on song selection had to do with the way a song
emotionally resonated within a performer. We did choose to
avoid certain tracks that have been recently covered by other
people, such as the ones your Web page mentions; "This
Woman's Work" and "Why Should I Love You".
Both of which had considerable interest from some artists.
Do you have a full track listing yet?
No, at this time we have only a partial
one. We do have 12 songs recorded and are hoping to have 16
tracks. We are waiting on the last 4 recordings to be
delivered. Once everything is set I'll let you know all the
songs and who they were performed by.
Where have the recordings been taking place?
Everyone got to choose their own place to
record. At first we thought we should do all the recording at
one place, but the logistics of that would have been a
nightmare. There are great studios here in Chicago, and many
musicians have good working relationships with different
studios. It's actually been easier for everyone and more cost
effective to let the artists create in a space they're
comfortable with. This also allowed for some independence in
the recording process. So for many of the recordings, I was
present, but some of the artists worked quite privately, not
letting anyone hear their song until it was mixed and
finished. This worked out for the best in every instance.
Have EMI Publishing given you their full
support?
Ha ha, I hope so...no one has called
telling me to scrap the last year of my life yet, so I'll
call that support. Someone at EMI is aware of the project, I
know I left a voice mail for someone...but nothing is on
paper with them yet.
Tell me about some of the arrangements you
have lined up....
There is an orchestral arrangement of one
of Kate's most beloved songs being worked up right now. Its
not finished so I want to wait on discussing it any further.
Production wise I will say that we are very excited to have
worked with Dave Trumfio on 3 tracks. He is from the band the
Pulsars, but is most known for his role as a producer for the
Waco Bros., Tsunami, the Mekons, Sally Timms, Jesus Lizard,
Yum Yum, Barbara Manning, Number One Cup, the Coctails,
Butterglory, the Aluminum Group, Stuart Moxham (from the
Young Marble Giants) and most recently Billy Bragg and Wilco.
Any of the songs radically different from
Kate's versions?
Most are yes, 3 in particular stand out
though; Home for Christmas, There Goes A Tenner, and Running
Up That Hill. Home For Christmas is performed by legendary
bluesman Diamond
Jim Greene. He took the
soft-shoe jazzy feel of the song and transformed it into an
old time jook-joint blues number that is wondrously beyond
description. From what I understand he plays an old 1920's
National Steel guitar. It's purely delirious. You're just
gonna have to wait for There Goes A Tenner by the J Davis
Trio, I've been calling it "There Goes A Tenner: Chicago
Style at The End Of The Century", and as for Running Up
That Hill...well, that being such a sacred song to so many
people, I think I want to wait a bit on that one and save it
for part 2 of this interview, perhaps after the release. I
will say though that the "Deal with God" takes on a
whole new meaning...it's awesome!
What was the most difficult part of the
project to co-ordinate?
Financially I was in no place to put
together a project like this. I'm a regular worker who
struggles like most people just to get the rent paid.
Amazingly, once I talked to some people about what my vision
was, the money was found. We don't have a huge budget, but
enough to get it done...I hope. I'm very grateful to the
people who believed in me enough to provide the financial
resources. As soon as that happened, things started moving
and it became a serious project. Other than that, there have
been peaks and valleys all the way through, more peaks than
valleys fortunately. For example one of the earliest and most
exciting participants had to step out. My friends in the
ska-punk band The Blue Meanies (Thick Records) were slated to
take a crack at Ran Tan Waltz or Sat In Your Lap. Anyone who
knows the Blue Meanies knows what an exciting combination
that would be. But alas, timing, touring and other changes
within the band prevented this from becoming a reality. It
was mostly sad on a personal level for me, as they're like
family, and they gave me so much support, guidance and
inspiration from the get-go. They did things like introduce
me to their manager and offer me access to the people at
their record label, so I was able to ask the whole array of
questions I had as a first-time producer. Props to them for
being just the best ska band in the world! Perhaps they'll
record something of Kate's in the future and put it out
themselves...We can hope.
And the most fun part?
Making those tapes of Kate songs for people
was great fun, knowing that you were about to turn someone
onto great songs like L'Amour Looks Something Like You or I'm
Still Waiting, which they may never have heard, was really
exciting. That, along with going to see the artists on the CD
play their Kate Bush song live during a show for the first
time. I clearly remember The Moviegoers playing an acoustic
version of Hounds of Love at a show and just being moved to
tears. Then 2 weeks later I got to hear them do their
electric version at another show and I was just out of my
mind! There was another time when Nora O'Connor performed at
a club, and for the first time in public she played her Kate
song, you could've heard a pin drop, it was simply gorgeous.
I must also say that being in the studio is a complete
mind-blowing experience. Talk about fun? What a rush! I can't
wait to get back in there and do some more work.
When do you see the release coming out?
We are hoping for a late spring release.
Everything takes longer than you expect though, doesn't it?
I've been advised to say summer '98, then if its in the
spring it will be considered early, and if we fall behind and
go into the summer, no one will know the difference. Except
anyone reading this interview. Working independently really
allows you flexibility with your creative schedule, which I
like.
Any special launch events in mind?
What we'd like to do is have the CD release
party follow in the tradition of one of the Hoot Nights. Have
the artists come up and play 2 Kate Bush songs, the one they
played on the album, and another one which isn't on the CD.
There are many options for us. Perhaps we won't be able to
get everyone there in one night, so we might have to have 2
or 3 record release parties with 3 performers each doing 5
songs; alternating with 2 of Kate's and 3 of their own. Who
knows how it will turn out. But if your coming to Chicago,
please stop by won't you? We've gotten support from 3 of the
most popular rock clubs in town; Lounge Ax, Schuba's and the
Metro. There are people on staff at all of these venues who
are really great and very excited for the whole project.
How do you think it will be available to
people? Mail order? Retail outlets?
Although we do have some interest from
distributors, distribution hasn't been worked out yet. We're
still working on formulating our sales pitch to different
distributors. Nothing is concrete, so I will say that at
least at the beginning mail order is still definitely an
option at this time. How about I let you know when I find out
and then perhaps you can tack that information onto the
bottom of this interview as an addendum of sorts? I also hope
to contact some of the fanzines and provide them with
ordering information when I have it.
Just out of interest, what are your
favourite Kate Bush tracks?
That's an easy question. I had what was
called my list of the magnificent seven, which has recently
been changed to the great eight. The intense emotion and
spirit in these songs absolutely devastate me, and they seem
to have a sense of drama and majesty to them which I find
very appealing. These include (in NO particular order): Not
This Time, The Infant Kiss, Night Of The Swallow, Under The
Ivy, Houdini, Lily, Jig Of Life, You Want Alchemy.
Honourable mentions include Passing Through
Air, The Saxophone Song, Ne T'En Fui Pas, I'm Still Waiting,
December Will Be Magic Again, Hounds Of Love, Deeper
Understanding, Warm and Soothing, The Morning Fog, The Kick
Inside, The Empty Bull Ring, Suspended In Gaffa, oh God I
could go on and on...but we all have our favorites don't we?
Well, we'll all be really looking forward to
hearing the fruits of your hard work, thanks for talking to
us!
It's been my pleasure Seán, and its been
my absolute privilege to help create this tribute to one of
the world's most fascinating and inspiring artists. Thanks
for your interest. I do hope you like it...
CLICK
HERE TO GO TO PART TWO OF THE INTERVIEW
