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Q:
Tell me about working on the Birdy soundtrack
with Peter Gabriel and Daniel Lanois.
A: Never went back
to do any additional recording for that one. They
just recycled material from Security. Funny thing is that I went to
see the
movie not knowing about the music. First few minutes I thought someone was doing
an immitation of Peter!! As the movie went on I realised it was Peter and was
amazed to see our names in the credits. Lanois was not involved with Security but may have done some work on the soundtrack.
Q:
What is Uncle Funk?
A: Uncle
Funk is a bar band centered around Joe Beesmer, and upholsterer from
Woodstock who also plays guitar and sings. We did
some wonderful gigs
in the late 80's and early 90's around town.
It seemed like the whole town would turn up and leg shake til all hours.
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Paper Mache JM head
by Geoff Parker |
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Jerry on tour with
Marotta
Griesgraber
in Europe 2005
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Q: What
was it like
working with Hector Zazou?
A:
First
of all...Paris!! You can never go wrong with Paris. I believe we spent
one afternoon
together. No real recollection of it. I think there may have been
a track with
Suzanne Vega on it.
Q: What are your recolections about working on the second Peter
Gabriel
solo album compared to later works like Security and So?
A: I'd
have to listen to it. I don't think Peter and Robert were
a good working pair. I enjoyed the recording as well as
the process. The days before drum machines were generally
more inspired for the rhythm section in general.
I still
believe that's the case although I work with machines,
sequences and loops all the time.
All of that said, I really
miss working with Peter and being around his creativity
and generosity. Also the people he attracts, players etc...
Like
I said before, I'd have to listen to the record again.
Maybe I will sometime soon.
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Q: I
remember seeing you play with Jerry ate The
Red Creek in (I think) 1988.
Tony Levin was playing, too. Was that a tour
or a one-off show?
Robbie Dupree: The Red Creek show- I did a small tour
which included shows in Toronto, Winnepeg, Rochester and some
other frozen cities. The shows were part of a promo tour
for my single This is Life released on 4th and Bway records
a division of Island Records. I belive it was 1988.
Q: How did it go playing
with Bill Laswell in 7.2005?
A: It was great playong with Bill and Rande
Fredrix.
We jammed for a few hours and got some interesting stuff out
of it.
Q: How did you meet
Tom Griesgraber and have that develop into
the band MG?
I met Tom when he opened for the T-Lev
Band a few years
ago. I was impressed with his approach and at the time was
looking for people to work with. I had Tom come to Woodstock
to experiment at my studio,
Jersville. The result is "Waking
The Day." In that same period of time
I had met the Walker Brothers, Bill
and Rick, incredible
talented guitar and percussionist from the Santa Cruz area.
They're also part of my future plan. This year the Walkers joined Tom and I at
the Brookdale Lodge in Santa Cruz. What an
experience. We look forward to playing together again this
year.
Q: What ever became of Tim
Cappella, who
played sax in the Peter Gabriel band and
later went on to work with Tina Turner?
A:
One of my closest friends. We grew up together.
I got him on the Peter tour. Haven't heard from him in at
least 15 years.
Q: Tell me about Robert
Burke Warren, who your played with on his album, Lazyeye,
in 2004.
A: Robert is
a talented songwriter and good friend and neighbor.
Lately he's concentrating
on childrens music..."Uncle Rock" Lovely guy and great father.
Q: Tell me about Johhny
Warman, whom you recorded Interperet with
in 1982.
A: Of course. Wonderful English singer
song writer who was signed to Elton John's label 'Rocket
Records' He still remains a good friend and collaborator.
A real fitness fanatic who trained Ringo back to health and does sporting events
with Daly Thompson, England's Olympic Decathlon gold medalist.
Larry Klein back stage on the Lilith
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Q: What
was can you tell me about working with
Mia
Doi Todd on her new CD, "The
Golden State?"
A: That was a fun project done at The
Sound Factory in LA. Produced by my good friend Mitchell Froom we
did all the drum tracks in 2 days. Great enginering by John Paterno.
Q: What was it like working with Robert
Fripp and brian Eno on the album Exposure (1979)?
A: When I worked on the Exposure recording, Eno wasnt
around so it was really just with Robert.
Some of the tracks
I went into the studio and
Robert said play anything! He
didn't play me any music at all but just play some beats,
any beat I like. That
was intersting.
Q: Do you like Joni Mitchell's music?
A: Love her Heijera is a great album.
Also, Hissing Of Summer Lawns. I worked quite a bit
with her ex husband, Larry Klein. |
Q: Who are some artists that have recorded at your studio, Jersville?
A: Tony Levin, Indigo
Girls, John Sebastian, Steve
Hall & Dan
Garcia, Rhett Miller...
Q: What
CD of Jewel's did you play on?
A: The
Jewel record I did up here at Bearsville Studios never
came out.
Q: What David Sylvian albums
are you on except, THE FIRST DAY?
A: No other Sylvian records
unfortunately but one of my all-time favs
is BRILLIANT
TREES. |
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Q: Is it true that you and Tony
Levin plan
to do a CD with Eric
Johnson?
A: Tony and I were going to work
with E Johnson, he
couldn't do it but I did along with Trey
Gunn.
Really Exciting!! I am trying
to talk Eric into
doing a side project with the 3 of us (recording and tour).
Q: Who are some of your favorite painters?
A: Francis
Bacon, Robert Harding, Vincent Van Gogh, Max
Ernst, Francis Bacon, Salvador Dali,
& Marcel
Duchamp.
Q: What kind of drums are you playing?
A: Right now I'm very attached
to my Maple Custom Yamaha Kit. They're about 5 years old and
sound fantastic. I'm also using a Fibes fiberglass snare drum
and an ancient Ayotte deep snare tuned really
low. Nice contrast between the 10" Peter Erskine, the Fibes and the Ayotte.
Q: Did you play on anything other than PRESS TO PLAY with Paul
McCartney?
A: Did a track for the next
record but don't know if it made it on.
Also did a video for
the first single off PTP-a song called Stranglehold.
Q:
What is your current
drum set-up?
Marotta
has one of the most unusual drum kits I’ve ever seen. It
should be installed in the
Rock ‘n
Roll Hall of Fame when
he retires, as a tribute to sound ingenuity.
"I’ve
got the basic kit–a Yamaha kit. I’ve got
Taos congas. I use more than the two congas, but for
this tour I only brought two of them. And then, of course
there’s the Garden Weasel. There’s a thing…it’s
made by Remo…It’s got a head on it, a hole
in it, and a spring attached, and it sounds sort of like
a didgeridoo. I’ve got these shakers–they’re
ceramic with skins and bells. And I have my saxophone."
Definitely
not part of your standard drum kit. Especially that
last item. Being naturally curious, I wanted to know
more. "It’s
a Cann alto. Very old one. It doesn’t play in tune
very well." I opined that it sounded good at soundcheck
and asked how long he’d been playing. Here’s
where his modesty kicked in.
"You
know, I always do this–I don’t really play
that much. I played when I was a kid. I played saxophone
when I was 10. I played it with Peter. I toured with Tears
for Fears, I played it with them. I toured with
the Indigo Girls, and I played it with them. I kind of
tend to try to find someplace in everybody’s show
to do that if they’ll let me. And I haven’t
been playing it in a couple years, and I just broke it
out for this–we’ve worked it into one song.
But this is very different to what I usually do because
there was kind of a sax melody on the record and I don’t
normally do that–I normally do more of an atmospheric
thing."
As
for that night’s performance, at least half the
audience stayed for both shows, which tells you something
right there. Tony played host for the evening, discussing
Peter Gabriel and King
Crimson, and alternating between
funk bass, sensitive electric cello parts, and his famous
Chapman Stick intro on " Elephant
Talk" (on
which he also handled Adrian
Belew’s vocal part).
Marotta worked all of his percussive devices, played
a groovy bit of sax, and traded off with Levin in hosting
duties, showcasing a sharp sense of humor. Gress handled
the material well, alternating arch sensibility with
occasional but restrained flash. And Fast got a standing
ovation for his performance of " Flight
of the Looking Glass" from the 1981 Synergy album, " Audion"–all
on one keyboard. The highlight to both shows, however,
was the sight of the band entering snake-like through
the audience, all playing hand drums. It was an invocation
of a night of memorable music to come.
-by Andrew Williams
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Waking The Day by
Marotta Griesgraber
NEW ALBUM
AVAILABLE NOW!
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