|
The Denver Post
Gov't Mule guitarist on successor to FM, listening "with our eyes"
Friday, February 11, 2005 - Satellite radio:
I think satellite radio is the way of the future, and not just because
my wife, Stefani Scamardo, hosts a show on Sirius satellite radio
called Jam On (Channel 17). We were both fans before then.
Remember when cable TV first came into play? A lot of people complained
and said, "Why should I pay for TV - I have free TV?" Well, we saw what
happened, albeit gradually. The difference with satellite radio is
young people (but not just young people) today want it all. No one's
going to settle for less once they experience it, and it's so cheap.
For someone like me who thinks that commercial radio has become
disgusting and that satellite radio will be what FM once was but more -
it's an obvious choice. Books: Not current, but my
most recent favorite book is "A Confederacy of Dunces." Too bad John
Kennedy Toole killed himself after writing such a masterpiece. Such a
unique interpretation of life in New Orleans as seen through one
slightly skewed person's eyes, Toole also deals with his bizarre
relationship with his mother. Music: Ray Charles' "The
Birth of Soul," a three-CD set spanning Ray's years at Atlantic
Records, includes what are arguably his best recordings. Midway through
Disc 2, the sound changes from mono to stereo. A true genius, and one
of my all-time favorites, Ray influenced everyone that came after him,
whether they knew it or not. Music videos: You know,
when MTV first started, it was alternative. Eventually some of the
music played on early MTV became popular, MTV was sold, everything
changed and changed and changed. Is it a coincidence that the first
video on MTV was called "Video Killed the Radio Star"? Music has always
been more appealing when the ones performing it were sexy or physically
attractive, but some of the greatest talents in history were far from
beautiful. One wonders whether some of these people could even be
signed today. The way we're going, the next step is to sign
models and teach them to play and sing (a concept that may already
exist in Hollywood). The reason there are no talents like Aretha
Franklin, Janis Joplin, Charles and even someone as sexy as Otis
Redding these days is because we listen with our eyes and not our ears. Photography:
"Jim Marshall: Proof" is a book of the legendary photographer's amazing
photos, mostly shot during the '60s and '70s. He's got everyone, from
rockers Jim Morrison, Joplin, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Grateful
Dead, to blues and jazz greats T-Bone Walker, Charles, Ben Webster and
Thelonius Monk to filmmakers Woody Allen and Elia Kazan, labor leader
Cesár Chavez and the leader of the Free Speech Movement, Mario Savio.
This collection is filled with familiar photos, including shots that
would become album covers for Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane and the
Allman Brothers Band. Gov't Mule plays the Fillmore Auditorium on Saturday ($25 via Ticketmaster) and the Fox Theatre in Boulder on Sunday ($35 via www.foxtheatre.com).
Warren Haynes, perhaps the most wanted man in jam-band rock - as
guitarist for the Allman Brothers, the Dead and his own band, Gov't
Mule - muses on popular culture. |