{"id":13228,"date":"2012-04-26T15:41:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T19:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/?p=13228"},"modified":"2012-06-25T20:53:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-26T00:53:54","slug":"qa-with-nick-lowe-elder-statesman-of-pure-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/qa-with-nick-lowe-elder-statesman-of-pure-pop\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A With Nick Lowe, Elder Statesman of Pure Pop"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Dan Burn-Forti<\/p><\/div>\n

Nick Lowe\u2019s 45-year career as a singer-songwriter, record producer, and all-around musical instigator is a one-man Village Green Preservation Society, to quote the Kinks\u2019 1968 mission statement. After brief spell in a Cream-influenced psychedelic rock band, Kippington Lodge<\/strong>, Lowe and his fellow UK mates, including future standouts in the late-\u201970s new wave scene, got an early start on “preserving the old ways\u201d in the Americana roots-rock band, Brinsley Schwarz<\/strong>. A big push to launch the band in the States flamed spectacularly, and in the US their records would be left for music nerds to dig out of the far reaches of used record bins for the next decade.<\/p>\n

In 1976, following the demise of the Brinsleys, he hooked up with veteran Welsh musician and producer Dave Edmunds<\/strong> and carved out a role for himself “protecting the new ways,\u201d as house producer for fledgling punk\/new wave label Stiff Records<\/strong>. His \u201cSo It Goes\u201d b\/w \u201cHeart of the City\u201d was the first single on Stiff, and it heralded the artist\u2019s devil-may-care approach to writing subversive takes on AM Top 40 hits of the \u201860s and early \u201870s. His solo output at this time peaked with his second album, Labour of Lust<\/em>, on which he was backed by Edmunds and fellow members of Rockpile. The single from that album, \u201cCruel to Be Kind,\u201d with the shaggy video including scenes from his wedding to Carlene Carter<\/strong>, is the most vibrant expression of the new wave era\u2019s cheerful sense of fatalism. He must have been a good fit for the June Carter-Johnny Cash<\/strong> clan.<\/p>\n

As a producer, Lowe made his mark helping Elvis Costello & The Attractions<\/strong> craft a diverse, high-octane run of 5 straight albums in 5 years, including their unexpectedly sincere take on one of Lowe\u2019s Brinsley Schwarz-era hippie goofs, \u201c(What\u2019s So Funny \u2018Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.\u201d Known as “The Basher,” for his no-nonsense approach to both work and play, Lowe wasn\u2019t messing around, although frequently it just seemed that way.<\/p>\n

By the mid-\u201980s, despite a few minor hits and continued successful production work, Lowe was losing his way. His records lost their snap. The jokes were growing stale. The snappiest of that run, 1990\u2019s aptly named Party of One<\/em>, was nevertheless the end of the line for Nick the Knife.<\/p>\n

I suppose with my advancing age I\u2019m not quite so interested in tricks in the studio, sort of wham-bam-thank-you-m’am.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A few years later, financially secure thanks to a Curtis Stigers cover of \u201c(What\u2019s So Funny \u2018Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding\u201d being included on the soundtrack to Whitney Houston\u2019s schlock smash, The Bodyguard<\/em>, a mature Nick emerged. He was done chasing pop stardom, done with dick jokes. He embraced his pop classicism on albums like Dig My Mood<\/em>, The Convincer<\/em>, and At My Age<\/em>. His latest album, The Old Magic<\/em>, goes even further in this vein, skirting the raunch of rock \u2018n roll, soul, and country music for something more akin to early \u201860s dinner club pop balladeering. The new album has been a tougher sell for me than his last few gems, but Lowe\u2019s craftsmanship and comfort in his own skin are impressive. Over the phone, Lowe was as warm, open, and engaging as his music might suggest. He made a couple of mentions of the thrill of meeting and playing with one of his own heroes, the recently deceased Levon Helm, and his new musical friends, Wilco. A thrill\u2019s a thrill, whether it\u2019s the thrill of looking backward or the thrill of looking ahead.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> I was looking at your tour schedule and was saddened to see that this coming Saturday you were supposed to play a Midnight Ramble show with Levon Helm. I know you\u2019d appeared with him on Elvis Costello\u2019s Spectacle, which I didn\u2019t get to see. Had you met Levon before, say in the Brinsley Schwarz days?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Yes, I sure did. The Brinsleys had a house just outside of London., where we all used to live together. One day some people phoned up and said the Band, who were doing a big show at Wembley, in 1972 or \u201873, needed a place to rehearse. These people said, \u201cCan they come out to your house and rehearse?\u201d<\/p>\n

They hadn\u2019t played for a while. We just couldn\u2019t believe it, we were such big fans. Anyway, they all turned up, they played on our equipment, you know, ran once through what they were going to do on the show, and off they went again. I might have said, \u201cHello.\u201d It was a huge thrill.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> When you played with Levon on Spectacle was that the only time you\u2019d performed with him?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> No, we did a Ramble. I got to play with him a bit more; we did some old rock \u2018n roll numbers. He\u2019s just one of the greatest rock \u2018n roll drummers. Yeah, that sounds really silly to say that, but it\u2019s so rare to hear drummers that can play rock \u2018n roll properly. I got to play some old rock \u2018n roll numbers with him, and that was a real great thrill for me.<\/p>\n

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RTH:<\/strong> Growing up, a lot of your work was the soundtrack to my teenage years: the stuff you did with the Rockpile gang, the various Stiff singles, and the albums with Elvis Costello. From that period do you have a favorite recording experience?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Oh, well there are many, but the thing is you have to go for the first one that occurs to you. I would think that one of the – well, there are two, I suppose, but they\u2019re similar, they\u2019re both with Elvis. We used to record in a very, very funky, old studio, because it was so cheap. For a while everyone recorded hits there: \u201cSultans of Swing,\u201d \u201cRoxanne\u201d… It was a tiny, tiny funny little place, but it had a great sound.<\/p>\n

The experience that comes to mind would be \u201cWatching the Detectives.\u201d We just couldn\u2019t believe that we\u2019d made a record like that in that room. It was almost like none of us had anything to do with it, you know, we just turned up and out came this incredible record. And I still can\u2019t quite believe it when I hear it on the radio.<\/p>\n

Also \u201cAlison.\u201d We did \u201cAlison\u201d in the same studio. The recording of \u201cAlison\u201d is a rough mix. Sometimes, especially in the old days, you\u2019d do a rough mix at the end of a session. You\u2019d just throw up a quick rough mix and you\u2019d take it away and listen to it. \u201cAlison\u201d was one of those, just a rough mix at the end of a session. We could never get anywhere close to that whenever we tried another mix. We\u2019d mix it again and it sounded like a different song. It was a real mystery.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> Sticking on the production theme, on your new album, \u00a0The Old Magic<\/em>, and your previous 4 albums, took a real turn for you, with a natural, restrained production that works great. I was thinking, compared with your earlier, dynamic, sometimes crazy productions do you still feel there\u2019s a common thread in your production work when you put together a record.<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> I do, actually, yes, I do. I suppose with my advancing age I\u2019m not quite so interested in tricks in the studio, sort of wham-bam-thank-you-m’am. But I still like a natural feel and sound, like a human being. I know that, unfortunately, the general public don\u2019t really like records like these. They like something that sounds like it\u2019s not going to have too many surprises. That homemade, handmade feel. Luckily, many people do like this, but I\u2019m afraid we\u2019re in the minority.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> You\u2019ve crossed paths with Wilco a lot in the last year: you showed up with them on Austin City Limits, the \u201cSensitive Man\u201d video, and you\u2019ve got the Autumn Defense opening some shows. Is there a possibility of you doing something with Wilco in the future, like an album?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Well, who knows? I certainly did make some new friends touring with them. They\u2019re very nice fellows, really great musicians, music lovers…and their audience are very musically literate. I didn\u2019t know how it was going to go opening for them, you know, a guy on an acoustic guitar. Their audience liked what I did.<\/p>\n

As to us doing something in the future, there are plans, vague plans. It\u2019s all rather up in the air at the moment because we\u2019re both touring so much. I would be very, very happy. If nothing else they\u2019re very agreeable people just to hang around with. I\u2019d enjoy that.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> I\u2019ve read a lot of interviews with you, listened to many interviews, and everyone wants to ask about your legendary former in-laws, but I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ve heard stories about your own parents. Were they musical? Did they support your early musical efforts?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Yeah, my Mom was very instrumental in getting me interested in music when I was a kid. She was a pretty good singer, and she also taught me to play the guitar, but very rudimentary, just a couple of chords. We used to sing together and play together. She taught me to sing harmonies. We played old Lonnie Donegan stuff, who was so inspirational to my generation of musicians.<\/p>\n

In other ways she had good records: Sinatra and Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee. Show music: South Pacific, My Fair Lady, that sort of thing. I loved all that music. Also, most importantly, she had 2 – I don\u2019t know where she got them – she had 2 Tennessee Ernie Ford records. When I heard that stuff I really thought that was special, and I still do.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> You\u2019re a relatively new father; your son is 7. What kind of music dad do you think you are? Are you force-feeding him stuff? Steeling yourself for the day you come home and find him listening to Pink Floyd?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Oh, there\u2019s much worse stuff than Pink Floyd. Ah, he\u2019s definitely musical, he definitely is. He\u2019s got a drum kit and can catch a groove. He\u2019s a very good singer. He listens to the stuff that me and his Mom listen to: rock \u2018n roll, gospel, early \u201860s pop records. He listens to quite a wide range of stuff, actually. But he finds his own stuff, stuff he thinks is great that I can\u2019t listen to. Real modern pop music. He loves it, and that\u2019s good enough. Kids aren\u2019t supposed to love all their parents\u2019 records, but he does like the stuff we like.<\/p>\n

RTH:<\/strong> So as I said, I\u2019ve grown up with your music and a cool thing that I appreciate with your career – and it\u2019s more than just longevity – is I feel you have grown up with me. You\u2019re still kind of setting the pace ahead of me. I can still listen to your music for guidance and comfort. I wonder if there\u2019s an artist from your youth who you feel is still here for you today, as you\u2019ve matured?<\/p>\n

NICK LOWE:<\/strong> Ah, that\u2019s a great question. Well, Otis Redding comes to mind. Sam Cooke. And Merle Haggard, he\u2019s always, always there.<\/p>\n

Nick Lowe & Band appear at the Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, on Sunday, April 29, at 7:30 pm with Tift Merritt.<\/a><\/em> (This piece courtesy of\u00a0Phawker.com<\/a>.)<\/p>