Ian Anderson interviews

[JTull 007]

                                              "Do not always sing from me"
                          Interview: Ian Anderson about his band "Jethro Tull" -
                                  Sunday live in Saarbrücken        LINK 
"So many 50th Anniversary tours are gone," says "Jethro Tull" mastermind Ian Anderson on his ongoing
                       since 2018 show with all hits from "Living In the Past" on "Locomotive Breath"
to "Too Old To Rock 'n'Roll, Too Young To Die ", which will be performed live on Sunday in the forecourt
            of the Saarbrücken Congress Hall. Since the founding of the band in 1968, "Jethro Tull"
          has sold over 60 million records, recorded 22 studio albums and completed countless tours.
                                              Christof Graf talked to "Jethro Tull" boss Ian Anderson.

What criteria do you use to select the songs for your concerts?
There are well over 300 "Jethro-Tull" songs - the unpublished ones that appear every now and then
on the remastered boxsets, not counting at all. So we can certainly draw from a large repertoire, which
   I also love very much. And it goes without saying that I choose songs from albums like "This Was",
        "Stand Up", "Benefit" or "Aqualung" just for the anniversary tour, because in the end, people
                                also expect that this is somehow a fixed part of the program ,
                   No artist goes to a stage with the intention of disappointing his audience.

How does this anniversary affect you?
Usually I do not have birthday celebrations like that, but on this special occasion I jump over
        my shadow for once.        What we did in the early days of repertoire is a treasure
                            that I am well aware of including all the memories involved.
That's why I'm looking forward to a nostalgic evening with a lot of music together with my band.
Each of our concerts will be a reflection of my way of composing, which is constantly changing.

Constant change is also said to Bob Dylan, who has played for the 3000 concerts alone on the so-called
                neverending tour since 1988.                    How important are continuity and change?

    Very important. Both are the driving forces for artistic creation as well as for life par excellence,
                                                 because humans simply need both to live.
        The real art is to create a working balance and everyone has to find that for themselves.

How important was it that Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016?
          It's good that someone from the genre of popular arts has gotten him. Apart from Bob Dylan,
                       I can not think of anyone for the number of works and their importance.

For a long time you did not want to give interviews to journalists. What has changed?
                               Hardly anyone asks something that is not yet known about "Jethro Tull".
                  So before I answer the same question to every journalist and that is super boring for me,
                    I first tell him what I have to say. If he still succeeds in interrupting my speech,
                               his time is up, or he manages to engage me in a real conversation.

                                        Some of the albums do not trade as "Jethro Tull"
                  but as the seventh solo album "Homo Erraticus" as an Ian Anderson album.      Why?
    The band meanwhile has countless line-up changes. But "Jethro Tull" is lan Anderson and lan Anderson
               is "Jethro Tull". It's been like that forever.       Everything that has to do with "Jethro Tull",
             at least rock music and can be copyrighted to North America and Europe, I am - lan Anderson.
Over the years there were over 30 musicians, colleagues and friends as well as family members such as
his son on drums, who helped to realize my musical work, which explains the various band structures.
                            Jethro Tull was a celebrity at the time and he was a pioneer in agriculture.
Jethro Tull invented the seed drill that revolutionized agriculture at the beginning of the 18th century.
            What I'm sorry for him is that when you google for him, only me and the band appear.
 
I feel bad about having taken someone's identity. I'd really like to apologize to him for that. I do not have
much fun releasing albums anymore as "Jethro Tull", I'd like to give the true Jethro Tull back some personality.

[maddogfagin]

Retrieved from the archives

The South Florida Sun Sentinel, 24 November 1989

SOLID 'ROCK ISLAND' SHOWS TULL'S IN THE PRESENT
CHAUNCEY MABE, Book Editor

Even when Jethro Tull was at the peak of its popularity in the mid-1970s, with successive No. 1 albums, the British band stood apart from the mainstream of contemporary pop/rock music. It was not just the group's eclectic sound that was different -- no one has melded jazz, folk, blues, classical and hard rock more successfully -- but also its image and lyrical interests.

Take, for instance, the odd name. Jethro Tull is christened after an 18th century agrarian scientist. The group's front-man and songwriter, Ian Anderson, for years affected the costume and persona of a medieval troubadour. His songs -- The Witch's Promise, Songs From the Wood, Living in the Past -- often seem rooted in a distant time. The cover art and titles of a number of albums variously evoke rural life, elfin whimsy, sword and sorcery, Shakespearean conceit.

Consider some of those titles: This Was (1968), A Passion Play (1973), Minstrel in the Gallery (1975), Songs From the Wood (1977), The Broadsword and the Beast (1982), Crest of a Knave (1987).

Despite its remarkable creative resurgence in the past two years, capped by the controversial 1988 Grammy award in the new Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category, this is not a band that troubles itself with musical trends. The crowning irony is that, in the early 1980s, Anderson followed in the steps of the band's namesake by becoming the owner and hands-on manager of a thriving fish farm in his native Scotland.

With all this in mind, it is not hard to surmise that Living in the Past is more than the group's highest charting single, but what amounts to its artistic and philosophic manifesto. Anderson, who will bring the band to Miami's Knight Center tonight in support of its fine new album, Rock Island, dismisses that idea.

"My greatest affinity for history is the last couple of days," Anderson says. "That's as far as my interest in history goes."

Anderson is speaking by phone from his hotel in New York on the day after travel restrictions were lifted in East Germany. "Wouldn't we all have liked to spend last night sitting on the Berlin Wall?" he asks. His conversation displays the depth of his intelligence as he touches upon music theory, politics, religion, sex and yes, contemporary musical trends and the Grammy awards.

"I have tried not to be associated with any period," Anderson says. "People identify what they like in my songs. I rather like to think there is something timeless about what we do. In a song like Whistler, which you mentioned, it's a sort of sci-fi format. We're certainly not talking about now, but it could be a long time ahead or a long time past.

"I don't read fantasy and science fiction much anymore, but that's what I admire about some American science fiction, in contrast to the British variety. The ambiguous time element."

To Tull fans, the Grammy controversy is the least interesting thing about the group. The group won the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal award for Crest of a Knave, upsetting the band everyone expected to win, Metallica. A chorus of boos erupted from the Grammy audience and the choice was lambasted by critics who felt it should have gone to a heavy metal band.

Anderson is neither defensive nor apologetic in discussing the controversy. "It is a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal award," he says. "I don't have a problem with that. I am the guy onstage. I know how hard it is to get an American audience to swallow the acoustic stuff. They want us to go crash-bang-whallop all the time. In Europe we're perceived as more of a progressive rock band.

"We're certainly not gospel or jazz. Our music is heavy riff rock 'n' roll. The sadness to me is that we have a little more depth, a little more emotional and lyrical range. It seems difficult for people to grasp, I don't know why. However, it doesn't bother me at the end of the day to receive an award from six and a half thousand writers, producers and musicians. Those are our peers."

Anderson contends that the publicity attending the Grammy award did not help the band "in the least." The popularity of Jethro Tull is not dependent upon media attention, anyway. Not unlike the Grateful Dead's core group of fans, called Deadheads, Tull has retained a loyal following that enables the group to sell upwards of a million copies of each album and to fill arena-sized venues year in and year out, irrespective of publicity.

Jethro Tull got its start 21 years ago, evolving from a number of other groups scrambling around Blackpool, England. Originally it was primarily a blues band, and it gained a reputation as an exciting concert act distinguished by Anderson's one-legged flute playing and the way he jumped around on stage. The first album, This Was, came out in 1968, followed by Stand Up (1969) and Benefit (1970).

Anderson says blues remain the basis of his music, although his songs do not sound bluesy in the least. "The basic construction, melodically and harmonically, remains American blues," Anderson says. "I pin things on open harmonic chords, not major or minor chords. We grew up listening to that music, the 12-bar sequence that is the basic formula for the original American blues. It's great fun, but you get tired of 12 bars after awhile and start trying to do something more challenging.

"That's the whole British contribution to rock -- beginning with this simple American music and building from it a progressive music."

In 1971, Jethro Tull released its masterpiece, Aqualung, a concept album attacking religious hypocrisy, especially in what one song calls "the bloody Church of England."

"The intent was a reaction to what I was taught by rote in school and taught not to question," Anderson says. "I wasn't trying to make life difficult but the questions I wanted to ask were important even if there were no answers. It is better to have faith in spite of doubt rather than blind faith. Faith in spite of doubt and confusion is well worth having -- I don't have it now, but maybe in my twilight years ... I am quite open to that."

The next two albums, Thick as a Brick and Passion Play both went to No. 1 on U.S. charts. But as the band reached its zenith, Anderson's lyrics became more ambiguous, his music denser and more challenging. Critics turned against the band. With the exception of Songs From the Wood (1977), the band's purest foray into folk, a series of lackluster albums followed.

Tull continued to produce albums and tour throughout the '70s and early '80s, but its time as a top band were clearly past. Anderson suffered a throat infection that nearly ruined his voice, causing some loss of range, in the mid-'80s. In 1987, however, Crest of a Knave showed the band had recaptured its creative vitality.

This year's energetic Rock Island continues the Tull renaissance. Songs range from the risque rocker Kissing Willie to the ecological disaster of Heavy Water and the human cost of conservation explored in Whaler's Dues.

"Whaling is dreadful, wiping out whole species," Anderson says. "But on the other side, people depended on it for their livelihoods. No one wants to talk about the economic and social effects of environmentalism."

There are only a handful of love songs in Tull's catalog of 217 songs. Anderson says this is partly because he is not "warm or cuddly" and that he is not prone to unveil personal matters in love songs. He does note that the band boasts a number of clever "sex songs," including Kissing Willie. "It's a thinly disguised schoolboy joke, an example of smutty humor. I'm not generally interested in that direction, but I can still enjoy a schoolboy joke. I'm not at all apologetic if people find the occasional song sexist or smutty or whatever."

When Anderson turns his attention to contemporary music, his qualms are focused not on heavy metal, but on MTV and pop/rock as embodied in Richard Marx.

"At the time of Aqualung, people expected songs to mean something. Today, it's all a few well-worn, tried and true phrases along the lines of 'how can I make it through the night,' and the worst, which you hear in song after song, the rhyme of 'make it, fake it, take it.' I am really angry about the songwriting. I may not be a great lyricist, but others are really crappy."

In concert, Tull plays a variety of songs from throughout its career -- rockers and Anderson's lyrical acoustic tunes as well. Anderson knows that the music produced in the Aqualung period remains the best-known, no matter how accomplished the new album may be.

"I have no trouble singing a song like Aqualung, although I've probably sung it 1,000 times. It is still relevant. There are other early songs I wouldn't sing because they aren't relevant or they're naive or badly written.

"No," he says, anticipating the next question: "I'm not going to tell you which songs they are. They may well be someone's favorite."

In spite of the band's resurgence -- Anderson bristles at the word comeback and points out that Tull has been touring throughout its career -- the group's leader has no illusions about the future. "I don't like to single out poor Richard Marx, because he has more hair than I do and he is younger and he is talented. But his songs are a poor pastiche of every proven cliche since the '50s.

"Buy that, and you buy this year's Buick. Buy Jethro Tull and maybe what you buy is an Aston-Martin from the '60s with 100,000 miles on it and maybe 30,000 left before it gives out. But you'll have some remarkably good times driving it. There's a good few sporting days left."

[tullabye]

Interesting read. Love the last paragraph! Ian is one of the very few who could be so eloquent.

[maddogfagin]

Aug 12, 2019 15:52:35 GMT tullabye said:

Interesting read. Love the last paragraph! Ian is one of the very few who could be so eloquent.

Agree - in another day and age he could have been a very able politician as opposed to those of them who shout off without thinking or without any consideration for others'

Love this photo which I found on the hard drive yesterday.

[eridom]

Aug 13, 2019 6:27:45 GMT maddogfagin said:

Aug 12, 2019 15:52:35 GMT tullabye said:

Interesting read. Love the last paragraph! Ian is one of the very few who could be so eloquent.

Agree - in another day and age he could have been a very able politician as opposed to those of them who shout off without thinking or without any consideration for others'

Love this photo which I found on the hard drive yesterday.

Ha...true Ian always thinks before he says something however he is hardly one to be politically correct. He’s certainly had his run ins with the press as well.

[steelmonkey]

Ronald Reagen did not end the cold war. The Russians wanted freer flow of Tull albums and concerts.

[JTull 007]

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is the guest on the Goldmine Magazine Podcast
                                 LINK          44 minutes    34 seconds
    Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is the guest on this episode of the Goldmine Magazine Podcast.
                                          Jethro Tull already passed its 50th birthday,
                         but this year it has been 50 years since the band first started touring the U.S.

Other topics discussed will be Steven Wilson’s remaster of 1979’s Stormwatch album, the value
of the vinyl record format, Tull’s longtime lyrical awareness of the environment and climate change,
a 50th anniversary Jethro Tull coffee table book called The Ballad of Jethro Tull and, of course,
                                                                  Tull’s upcoming U.S. tour. 

[steelmonkey]

In fact, few people know that the so called birthmark on Gorbachov's forehead is really a tattoo of LITP logo.

[JTull 007]

Coming this Wednesday, Sept. 4, we have Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull from 1993

[bunkerfan]

Sept 3, 2019 1:13:33 GMT steelmonkey said:

In fact, few people know that the so called birthmark on Gorbachov's forehead is really a tattoo of LITP logo.

Oh yes, I see what you mean

[steelmonkey]

In one of the interviews back there he describes only two losses in Tull family of close to thirty...I wonder which of the 4 he forgot ( or it may have preceded Allcock demise ).

[JTull 007]

              Music Interview: No Way To Slow Down —   LINK 
             Ian Anderson Marks 50 Years of Jethro Tull in America
                                                                      By Jason M. Rubin
Jethro Tull founder Ian Anderson brings the group’s classics to Medford’s Chevalier Theatre on September 11.

Officially billed as Ian Anderson Presents Jethro Tull, the 50th-anniversary tour makes it clear that for all intents and purposes, Ian Anderson is Jethro Tull. While he does solo projects and concerts under his own name, he also has the sole artistic and legal rights to don the moniker Jethro Tull whenever he sees fit. And given that the band has reached its gold anniversary — Tull actually started in 1968 and the 50th-anniversary tour began in 2018; this is the 50th anniversary of the group coming to America — Anderson has brought out his backing band of the last several years to play both stone-cold classics and deep cuts from Tull’s long and varied recorded history.

Anderson brings the show to the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on September 11 at 8 p.m. The 72-year-old singer-songwriter-flutist-guitarist generously spoke with me for an hour as I asked him questions of yesterday and today. Below are highlights from our conversation.

Arts Fuse: According to the Ministry of Information Tull Tour History website, Tull’s first shows in Boston were held at the Tea Party from February 13-15, 1969. Do you recall anything from those performances?

Ian Anderson: Yes. When we first came over to America, we were made aware there were two important people we needed to win over. One was Bill Graham, who had the Fillmore West in San Francisco and Fillmore East in New York. The other person was in Boston: Don Law, who ran the Tea Party. If you did well in one of those places, the word would travel and it helped you get gigs in other parts of the country. You built a reputation that preceded you. Personally, I hated the Fillmore West. The audiences were completely stoned and we were not the typical hippy dippy band of the time. I still run into Don Law every now and then.

AF: As you think about the long history of the group, the different lineups and styles of music, can you identify a sort of overarching ethos by which Tull has operated?

Anderson: I would be tempted to say that it was to largely avoid the mainstream of popular music and try to find a niche market. I always liked the term “progressive rock” because it implies that you’re pushing the boundaries of what is considered the norm in rock music and bringing together more eclectic influences than black American blues. Elvis Presley wasn’t what I was about. When I heard Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, T-Bone Walker, that is what appealed to me. But I had to do something with it to make it my own. I couldn’t be a white person playing black music; it wouldn’t be authentic. People like Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones didn’t feel that way. It was better for me to find music that I could draw from closer to my northwestern European roots

AF: You’ve always worn a lot of hats in Tull, including, in recent years, that of curator of your catalogue. The bulk of the band’s original recordings have been remixed and remastered into deluxe sets, 1979’s Stormwatch being the latest. As you’ve delved into old tapes, have you regretted any choices you made at the time about which tunes to include or discard for a particular album release?

Anderson: Not necessarily. We were constricted by the limitations of vinyl albums. If you tried to fit more than 20 minutes on a side, you were degrading the quality of the recording. So decisions had to be made on that basis; with CDs, of course, the ceiling has been raised. Listening to the Stormwatch tapes, I found a huge number of tracks I had forgotten about, as well as live tracks. One tune is called “Warm Sporran” and though we never played it live on stage at the time, we’ve learned it for this tour.

AF: The human voice is the most fragile of instruments, and many rock singers of the ’60s and ’70s have trouble replicating their earlier sound. How do you take care of your voice on tour and what accommodations have you had to make to continue to sing?

Anderson: I damaged my vocal cords in 1984, just basically from overuse. Same thing happened to [Foreigner’s] Lou Gramm, who I think is the best rock singer ever. Mick Jagger doesn’t really sing, he just tosses it out; he always sang well within his range, but he doesn’t put stress on his voice. Some people just shout it out, like Bruce Springsteen. But I have tricky melodies to sing, and as I get older I have to work to do what I do. I have to practice every day to keep myself conditioned. I’ve had bronchial infections and now I take preventative medicines to avoid bacteria and viruses. I’m kind of holding my own at the moment. I’m in better shape now than I was four years ago.

AF The anniversary concerts will feature a broad mix of material. With so many recordings to choose from, what were the criteria for selecting songs for the current tour?

Anderson: Well it’s common sense, really. You want to choose songs that you enjoy performing, that’s the most important thing. You have to pick 20 songs to perform in a concert out of 300 or so that I’ve written. You’ll choose some heavy hitters; I mean, it wouldn’t a Jethro Tull concert if I didn’t play “Aqualung” or “Locomotive Breath.” Those songs are terribly important and the fans love them. And then it’s nice to have few surprises. The musicians in the band— David Goodier on bass, John O’Hara on keyboards, Florian Opahle on guitar, and Scott Hammond on drums—will bring something of their own to the music, but the goal is to recreate the original performances that the people expect. That said, everyone in the band will improvise something in just about every song.

AF: I don’t think Tull has ever gotten the credit they deserve for helping to introduce theatricality to rock concerts. How did you hone your sense of showmanship?

Anderson: At the Marquee Club in London, we played with blues bands who were so staid. In those early days, I tried to liven it up by engaging the audiences. I would walk around the block as the audience was queueing up, carrying a supermarket bag with my flute and harmonicas in it, wearing a shabby overcoat, looking like a homeless person, and I would walk the queue from back to front. It was a staged thing, to get the people wondering who I was. During the show, a good wheeze was that I would visit a machine in the lady’s toilet and get some lady stuff. I would light a cigarette, and then I would toss out a couple of cigarettes to the audience in a bonding moment, and then I would toss a couple of tampons out: the sanitary towels were in a package the same size as a cigarette pack. That’s where the theatricality was born. These days it’s a more high-tech theatricality with mixed-media projections. But at its core was a sense of humor, which was modeled on Monty Python at that time.

Jason M. Rubin has been a professional writer for more than 33 years, the last 18 of which as senior creative associate at Libretto Inc., a Boston-based strategic communications agency where he has won awards for his copywriting. He has written for The Arts Fuse since 2012. Jason’s first novel, The Grave & The Gay, based on a 17th-century English folk ballad, was published in September 2012. His current book, Ancient Tales Newly Told, released in March 2019, combines in a single volume an updated version of his first novel with a new work of historical fiction, King of Kings, depicting the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Jason holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

[JTull 007]

#004 Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull 1993 live !!    LINK   42 minutes 09 seconds
                                                   EPISODE SUMMARY : 
  A never before heard interview with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull from 1993
     
I was a devoted Jethro Tull fan growing up, so I relished every chance I had to speak to founder and leader Ian Anderson.

In this conversation, which took place during the 1993 tour celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary, Anderson,
then 46 years old, talked about Tull’s legacy (“almost an important band”), the best Tull albums
(Stand Up, Songs From The Wood and Crest of a Knave, because they contain "the right balance of serious,
humorous, complex and simple stuff") and an event that brought together 16 of the first 22 members of Tull
                                                                                                  (there have been many more members since). 

Anderson is consistently erudite and witty—very much a reflection of the music he’s made over the past fifty-plus years.
And sometimes, as you’ll see when he gets to talking about Metallica and Guns ’N Roses, he also can be very wrong.

One note: In this interview, he refers to an upcoming Jethro Tull album that the band recorded in 1972 but never released because the recording sessions “foundered in technical disarray.” That record was “Nightcap,” and it is, indeed, a mess.

                                            For more information about Jethro Tull, visit jethrotull.com.

And if you want to listen to the best of Tull, I recommend: “For A Thousand Mothers,” “To Cry You a Song,” “My God,”
               “Dharma for One” and “Cold Wind to Valhalla.” Anderson also has released several solo albums,
             the best of which are “Divinities: Twelve Dances With God” and “The Secret Language of Birds.”

[maddogfagin]

www.bostonglobe.com

Link

Ian Anderson on 50 years of Jethro Tull, tinny Garden acoustics, and never being too old to rock and roll
By Steve Morse Globe correspondent,Updated September 5, 2019, 2 hours ago


Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull(NICK HARRISON)

Ian Anderson, the longtime mastermind behind English rockers Jethro Tull, has a reputation of being tough and prickly in interviews, sometimes bordering on intimidating.

Yet, Anderson came across as rather upbeat and funny during our recent phone chat from his sprawling, 400-acre home in Wiltshire. He even admitted that every morning he gets up and has “a glass of chilled vodka,” though that’s about it for his alcohol consumption. “I’m one of those people who never drink after mid-morning,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not a big drinker.”

He is, though, a big talker. Get him started on a subject and he’ll set sail, but the core truth is that he’s having fun these days and is still a committed optimist at 72 when it comes to performing. He’ll bring his “50 Years of Jethro Tull” show to the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on Wednesday.

“I always like to feel you carry an optimism with you every time you walk out on stage, that this is going to be one of the best shows you’ve played,” he said. “Even if it’s in the upper 10 percent, that’s a good goal to aim for — and that in itself is energizing.”

Astonishingly, 36 different musicians have been in Jethro Tull through the years (including Tony Iommi, later of Black Sabbath), but Anderson has remained the anchor since they broke through in the ’70s with progressive rock albums “Aqualung,” “Thick As a Brick” and “A Passion Play.”

Jethro Tull — the name actually refers to an 18th-century agriculturist — toured as an opening act for Led Zeppelin, then exploded and became a frequent headliner at the old Boston Garden, which is where we’ll pick up our edited conversation:

Q. I saw a number of your Boston Garden shows. What was it like to play there? The acoustics were rough, and I remember Billy Joel once said, “Even hockey sounds bad there.”

A. It wasn’t an easy place to play. But people had no point of comparison and very often had very unrealistic memories of concerts back then. They recall with such apparent clarity how wonderful this was, but the reality was there was a thin, weedy sound and there were these little matchstick figures on the stage. It was an age when people look back on it with memories that are altogether too kind.

Q. Weren’t you also on the forefront of concert video back then?

A. Yes, in 1973 we did it with “A Passion Play.” Not all the way through the show, but there were three big segments of projected video on a screen. Then in ’75 and ’76 we did it again. And we’ve been working with video again in the last 10 years or so. There are times when we stick with videos that have become almost as classic as the song itself. And sometimes that’s OK, but otherwise you have to keep coming up with new stuff and ideas. A lot of time, effort and money go into making it.

Q. I’ve read you’ve played 3,000 concerts in the last 50 years, and you still do 100 a year. That seems phenomenal. What keeps you out there?

A. Typically, it’s been 75 to 100 shows a year. It certainly adds up. I might do three or four shows a week assuming they’re not too far away and I can hop a plane to Europe. So that seems OK and means three nights a week I get to sleep in my own bed and play with the cats and have some form of a life, even if I’m working at home, which sometimes of course I am. But being in my own home is very precious. And next year is filling up fast. There is a harsh reality that I’m not going to do this forever, so why quit when you’re having fun?

Q. I remember your song years ago, “Too Old to Rock ’n’ Roll, Too Young to Die.” Was it a bit prophetic?

A. Yeah, but that’s fine because it’s a kind of anthemic cheering-on of people who stick to their cultural roots. It’s not political. It was written to describe a person who is an old rocker (or biker) and he was wed to that way when I suppose he was an aspiring teenager and a young adult on a motorcycle and in a black leather jacket and he dreamed of being Marlon Brando and James Dean. It was about a culture, about people who have their clothes, their music, and their way of celebrating life on the open road. It’s kind of triumphal in the sense that you have someone who says, “Yeah, what the hell. I know what I like. This is me.”

Q. I want to applaud you for your lyrics through the years. They’re consistently high quality and thought-provoking. Are they something you work extremely hard on?

A. There’s a very easy answer to that. I write very quickly and I record very quickly, too. My band on the other hand, they want to keep every take, and I hate doing that. I’m a destructive editor. I record something, and when I re-record it, it automatically deletes what I don’t want. I’m making very quick judgments about my own performance. I can’t be bothered with too much editing. That’s the way I work. Life is too short.

Q. What’s your feeling about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? It seems incredible that Jethro Tull is not in there yet.

A. I really do believe it’s an American institution about celebrating, glorifying, and recording the history of Americana in terms of music. It should be about American acts. To me that’s what it’s there for. There is a whole bunch of American artists who need to be recognized long before you start thinking about a bunch of rich Brits who have made far too much money out of the US!

Q. There seems to be a prejudice against the English acts sometimes. I remember David Gilmour of Pink Floyd saying they were eligible three or four years before they got in. And that’s Pink Floyd!

A. I really don’t feel any engagement there. American music brought me into music through big band music when I was a child and then the earliest rock ’n’ roll and then blues. So American music got me going, but by the time I was 17 or 18, I couldn’t walk past a mirror without thinking, “Well, I’m not black. I don’t live on the South Side of Chicago, and I never had the experience of being a black in contemporary America.” I was imitating something that wasn’t really mine. I just found that to be very disingenuous. which is why the first Jethro Tull album was called ”This Was,” because it was essentially the time when we were trying to open the door by being a little middle-class white blues band in London, and that was just a means to an end.

Q. Then you changed your style, right?

A. Yes, and about a year or so later the advent of rock became progressive rock in 1969. That term was first coined by the British music press for bands like us and King Crimson, Yes, and the bands that came along a year or two later like Genesis. We were off and running after that new banner. Arguably, Britain did more of that and did it better than anybody else. So that made me feel better. And of course progressive rock these days is still a very real force in music.

IAN ANDERSON’S 50 YEARS OF JETHRO TULL

At the Chevalier Theatre, Medford, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets $79-$165, 781-391-7469, www.chevaliertheatre.com

[steelmonkey]

Combining last two posts I think I might treat myself to a glass of chilled vodka and listen to the interview. Thanks Jim and Graham.

[maddogfagin]

www.ctinsider.com/entertainment/ctpost/article/Ian-Anderson-recalls-writing-Aqualung-14415543.php#photo-18211202

Ian Anderson recalls writing ‘Aqualung’; Jethro Tull at Mohegan Sept. 15
By Joe Amarante Sep. 5, 2019



Uncompromising and authentic as ever, Ian Anderson continues to impress as lead singer, flute player and acoustic guitarist of British rock band Jetro Tull, 50 years after first touring America.

The anniversary tour has been going for a year now, tracing back to the first time the band used the name Jethro Tull in 1968. The current Tull lineup will play Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday, Sept. 15.

Anderson, who turned down a gig at Woodstock because he felt “socially disconnected” with the hippie event, said for a set list now, “You try to present the songs that lyrically are maybe a little different from each other, you try and make sure the songs ... are not in the same key or same tempo because you’re trying to create light and shade and balance and some kind of theatrical balance with your music.”

And then there are the “heavy hitters” that Tull wouldn’t want to leave out, said Anderson, like “Aqualung,” “Locomotive Breath” and “Thick as a Brick.”

“For me, they’re very special songs that mark points in my career that I find (to be) quite pivotal moments, things like ‘Songs From the Wood’ where it’s the title track of something that was much more of a folk-rock adventure musically.”

Asked about gear-shifting classic “Aqualung,” Anderson said it’s the best-known Tull track and has no flute at all. He said it began with him sitting in a Holiday Inn room in 1970 New York City with his guitar.

“It was kind of eureka moment where you just find a passage of notes, very few notes, that just suddenly jump out out at you,” Anderson said. “So I had this ‘Da-da-da-da- DAH-DUM,’ and that led me on through ... an unusual progression of chords to find in rock music or pop music... And at that point, I didn’t have any lyrics and I got Martin Barre over to my room and said, ‘I’ve got this song idea coming and I’ll play you a line.’”

Barre (who is still playing Tull music separately on the road, including in December at The Kate), didn’t get it at first. “And I said, ‘Think about playing this... on electric guitar, Gibson Les Paul, turned up to flat-out volume, full distortion. That’s how I see this song. It’s not an acoustic, gentle track.’”

Back in the UK, his first wife showed him photos she’d taken of transient men in a park and he told her to write down some random thoughts about the images. “And so, out of the things that were written, ... that opening riff was ‘Sitting on a park bench,’ well, that fits that musical idea.”

And the other lyrics fell in line.

“... I didn’t like the bit ‘Snot was running down his nose.’ I find that quite repulsive. ... But when you write something and no one’s ever done it before, and perhaps no one’s ever done it since... you feel that you have contributed something to the world of rock music.”

The tune gave the band a harder edge than necessary for an eccentric group with a flute player and folk, blues and classical elements. (Tull won a Grammy in the hard rock/metal category in 1989, still seen as a strange category choice today.)

“I think if you’re lucky enough as a musician to have something that gives you a little bit of a logo or a trademark, then you’re very lucky,” Anderson said, mentioning the likes of Chuck Berry and Pete Townsend. “To be jumping around the stage and standing on one leg, that was my bit of shtick. And it’s kind of OK. I think, ‘Well, no one else did that.’ Add to that (the) codpiece and tights,” which when it came to Michael Jackson, makes him say, “Sorry, Michael, been there, done that.”

Anderson said the flute was something of a novelty, but it worked and won over his band. “I was by no stretch of the imagination the best flute player in town; I was just the loudest.”

Asked where he got his independent streak, Anderson said it’s just his personality. His career choice in his teens was actually police officer and journalist. He was turned away at the doors of those institutions and thought, “Well, I suppose I’ll have to be an international rock star then,” he said, chuckling.

[maddogfagin]

www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/rock-legend-chats-before-forest-hills-stadium-show/article_4611a063-1ad2-5fdb-8198-23980e665628.html

Rock legend chats before Forest Hills Stadium show
Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2019 10:30 am
by David Russell, associate editor

Jethro Tull lead vocalist and flautist Ian Anderson hopes his upcoming show at Forest Hills Stadium is a better experience than the band’s 1976 concert at Shea Stadium.

Anderson, who was featured with guitarists Robin Trower and Rory Gallagher that day, remembers the constant barrage of planes from LaGuardia interrupting with noise. And he was playing in the middle of the field, which was a long way from the fans to begin with.

The worst part was that right before he walked on the field, he realized he was drenched from head to toe because somebody poured a cup on him and it wasn’t beer.

“Somebody poured a pint of piss over my head,” Anderson said in an interview last Friday.

Ian Anderson’s “50 Years of Jethro Tull” tour takes him back to Queens next week.

He is the last original member of a band that has released 30 albums, selling more than 60 million copies. The changing lineup also has played more than 3,000 concerts in more than 50 countries.

Anderson said American audiences have a reputation of being friendly and hospitable though he did warn his group before an orchestral show at the Beacon Theater that New York crowds “can be a little demonstrative” and not to be put off their game by whistling and comments. “To my surprise they were as good as gold,” he said.

Anderson noted Latin countries have younger crowds while the audiences in the U.S., UK and Germany skew older.

“They’re not quite dead yet but we have the odd paramedic rush into the audience from time to time,” he said.

In the early 1970s, Jethro Tull albums “Thick as a Brick” and “A Passion Play” reached the top of the charts, while “Aqualung,” “War Child,” “Minstrel in the Gallery” and “Songs From the Wood” made it into the Top 10.

Anderson is credited with introducing the flute to rock as a front-line instrument, and he has been the constant in a group that has seen plenty of combinations.

When they perform, there will be images on a video board behind them, some abstract, some literal, some historical.

“There’s something gratifying about working with video,” Anderson said.

Jethro Tull has legions of fans but Anderson said the feedback he gets now comes from merchandising director Tom Lynch.

“He probably only tells me the stuff he thinks I want to hear,” Anderson said.

During the week, the group will also play in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Anderson, who turned 72 last month, said longer trips aren’t necessarily tiring but he does have a sense of longing to spend the night in his own bed.

The rocker said he tries not to take extended breaks, especially as he gets older, because it would be that much tougher to start up again.

More than 40 years ago, Jethro Tull had a song “Too Old to Rock and Roll.” But as Anderson says in the “All Too Frequently Asked Questions” portion of the band’s website, the song is not autobiographical.

“It was an album track which was about the cyclic changes of fashion in culture, pop and rock music,” he wrote. “Quite predictive for 1975 really, given the endless recycling of ’60s and ’70s musical influences which fill the charts these days.”

Fans can look out for a 40th anniversary reissue of the album “Stormwatch” as a deluxe boxed set and “The Ballad of Jethro Tull,” an illustrated, oral history of the band that is the first official Jethro Tull book.

Jethro Tull
When: Sat., Sept. 14, 7 p.m.
Where: Forest Hills Stadium, 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills
Tickets: $39.50-$169.50.
1 [phone],
foresthillsstadium.com

[maddogfagin]

www.bettorsinsider.com/entertainment/2019/09/10/sitting-on-a-parx-bench-ian-anderson-brings-jethro-tulls-50th-anniversary-tour-to-bucks-county-casino

Sitting on a Parx bench? Ian Anderson brings Jethro Tull’s 50th Anniversary Tour to Bucks County casino
While he’s not often thought of in terms of social activism, the flute-playing rock legend has been addressing contemporary issues in his songs for almost a half a century
Chuck Darrow
10 Sep, 2019 at 21:26 PM

Ian Anderson certainly deserves to proclaim, “I told you so.”

After all, the 72-year-old singer-composer who made the flute a rock music lead instrument more than 50 years ago has been sounding alarums about such things as climate change and over-population for almost that long. But when given the opportunity to brag about being way ahead of his time on such matters, the co-founder and guiding light of Jethro Tull co-founder demurred, suggesting it wasn’t necessary.

Nonetheless, during a recent phone call occasioned by his bringing the Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary Tour to Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa. for a sold-out performance, Anderson, who seems to always have plenty to say regardless of the topic, did acknowledge that he’s no Ian-come-lately to such issues.

“You know, my first climate-change song was [written in] 1973,” he said, referring to the Tull classic, “Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of A New Day”). “It was about climate change. However, it was reflecting popular scientific opinion back then that we might be heading towards a new Ice Age cooling.”

And two years earlier, he continued, he composed “Locomotive Breath”and co-wrote (with his ex-wife) “Aqualung,” which remain his two most recognizable and popular songs.

“I was concerned about population growth and globalization as we learned to describe it,” he offered, explaining the meaning of “Locomotive Breath.” “And I was concerned about the plight of homeless people and their impact upon society and our inability to deal with those issues when I co-wrote ‘Aqualung.’”

One of the reasons why Anderson likely isn’t thought of as a social commentator may be his penchant for addressing topics in metaphorical ways (e.g. “Locomotive Breath,” which depicts unchecked population growth as a runaway train hurtling down the tracks). That, he insisted, is by design.

“I think you can do so in very obvious ways, as John Lennon and Yoko Ono did most famously when they recorded the song ‘Imagine.’ It's a fine song that a huge number of people have an enormous amount of love for, but it's a naive and optimistic song in very simple language.

“However, it is not a favorite song of mine. I much prefer the angry John Lennon and the more-surreal John Lennon [‘Strawberry Fields Forever’] and ‘I Am the Walrus,’ where his passion for an artistic and less-literal form of music and lyrics is easier on my ear than the creamy, sweet, syrupy notions of ‘Imagine.’”

Not that he believes “Imagine” had any real impact on society beyond its status as a beloved piece of music.

“I think that people sometimes think that he was part of something that changed the world. But I don’t think it made a…bit of difference. You know, you can write Utopian songs like that and people smile and groove along with it. But I don't think it made any difference.”

That, he suggested, is how his songs are different.

“I was always much more interested in reflecting the world around me, the good and the bad, and never thought of myself as having a career path that would be trying to change things. I felt that I was more a reflector of change and trying to put it in succinct terms that were applicable to the lyrics of rock music.”

Although Jethro Tull was founded (in 1968) as a pretty straightforward blues-rock band, Anderson subsequently incorporated various modes--among them British folk, jazz, classical and Middle Eastern—into his composing. That, he reasoned, is how the band became known as a “progressive rock” act.

“Blues and early jazz are part of my DNA,” he said. “And they were, even in my late teenage years, [incorporated] into my way of thinking about stuff.

“But I try to avoid sounding as if I'm a somehow trying to purvey the black- American experience, which, obviously, is not something I can do. Other bands didn't, worry about copying B.B. King or Muddy Waters or whoever. So there are a bunch of British blues bands who were perfectly happy to imitate black American music.

“But I felt embarrassed about it and I couldn't escape the reality of walking past a shop window and seeing my reflection. I was…pale, white, skinny, middle-class. And to try to play [what is] essentially black American folk music, which is what blues is, felt to me a dreadful sham. So I looked to influences that were closer to home, which, of course, was some British folk music along with folk music from Europe, as well as classical music, which, more than anything else, you would think of as being European.

“That's what I suppose we were able to evolve into in those early years. And not just us, but King Crimson and a whole bunch of other bands that, perhaps, had a low boredom threshold. We weren't content just to sort of be playing convenient pop music with very organized, simplistic ideas musically and lyrically.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves. And in doing that, I think, [it resulted in] the huge amount of great music from Yes and Genesis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.”

Anderson added that in 1969, this approach to rock was dubbed “progressive rock” in the British music media. To this day, it’s a banner he proudly carries.

“It has its place, and I'm happy it's a sub-genre that, I think, is still undeniably welcomed music at its core; music that's never gone away. And music that continues to inspire young musicians today.”

Parx Casino, 2999 Street Rd., Bensalem, Pa.; 8 p.m. Friday. Sold out.

[maddogfagin]

www.hollywoodsoapbox.com/interiew-jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-on-his-influences-his-songwriting-his-mouth-organ/

INTERVIEW: Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson on his influences, his songwriting, his mouth organ
September 11, 2019

Singer, songwriter and flutist Ian Anderson recently celebrated 50 years as the frontman of Jethro Tull, the progressive rock ‘n’ roll band that broke the rules and gathered tons of fans who prefer their music a little offbeat and diverse. Anderson has invited the world to celebrate this golden anniversary by touring Jethro Tull’s music around the globe. He makes a stop Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York.

“It doesn’t seem like 50 years,” Anderson said in a phone interview earlier this year. “It’s 72 hours since I last played [these songs], so it doesn’t feel like 50 years. … It doesn’t really feel as historical perhaps as it would if I was listening to an early record release of the Rolling Stones or something that is defined in my world by reference to what else was going on in my life at that time and what was going on in the world at that time. It’s with some thought as to that reality that I try to present some of the music that we play on stage because it is trying to set a tone. It is making reference to the times in which Jethro Tull became known and what else was going on in the world — the Vietnam War, for example, the space race, the Cold War years, the cultural changes that came about, the beginnings of big rock festivals and free love.”

The late ’60s, when Jethro Tull formed, was a time seemingly all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, but Anderson said most of that image is a fabrication. “Having been on tour with Led Zeppelin, I can assure you a lot of it is just made up,” he said with a laugh. “They were perfect gentlemen most of the time.”

This particular tour is focusing mostly on the first part of Jethro Tull’s existence, stretching back to the very beginning when the band’s name came to the members in January of 1968.

“In the next 10 years, an awful lot happened,” he said. “It was during that decade that Jethro Tull became known from Japan to India to Russia to all of the Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War years and of course throughout Europe and into the U.S.A., too. So that’s the period where I think most fans got to know about Jethro Tull — the older fans who will have kind of grown up with that music in that era, but even younger fans, people who weren’t born then, who were hearing the music today for perhaps the first time.”

Anderson said it’s difficult to include all of the gems on stage. A two-hour concert can be a lot of things, but it cannot be a full career retrospective. So he needs to make some tough choices.

“You can’t cover the whole thing,” Anderson said. “There’s just way, way too much material, so … probably 80 percent of the music is from that period really between 1969 through ’86, ’87. Most of it falls into that category, but we do include a few things from the very first album as well, which gives me the opportunity to pick up the mouth organ. People to like to refer to it as a harp, which I always found slightly annoying and irritating. The blues harp, or they refer to it as a harmonica, but to me it’s the mouth organ because where I grew up in Scotland, people would play that quirky little instrument, which was called a mouthy. Mouthy as in mouth, mouth organ, so I will still to this day refer to it as my mouth organ.”

A variety of instruments — some of them seemingly out of place in a rock band — has been a hallmark of the Jethro Tull sound. Anderson is known the world over for his flute playing and various time signatures. This uniqueness can be heard on the band’s “Locomotive Breath,” “Bungle in the Jungle,” “Aqualung” and “Thick as a Brick,” among others.

“It always interested me I think as a songwriter to work with other instruments because it does help in that creative process,” Anderson said. “The acoustic guitar is far and away the most common instrument I would use to write a song, but if I sit down with a balalaika or a mandolin, something different is going to come out. If I write songs using keyboards, which I did quite a bit in the ’80s, something different will come out. That’s from a songwriter’s perspective a good way not to just keep repeating yourself doing the things that you always do if you’re overly familiar with a certain instrument.”

He added: “Sometimes just focusing on a monophonic melody, then that makes you consider it in a different way, so that’s why I did it. And I think that was the case probably from early days but particularly toward the end of ’68 when I was working on the songs for our second album, Stand Up. That was when I began to actually not amass but gather around a few other instruments that would perhaps go on to serve me well over the years. Yeah, it’s part of the songwriting experience.”

Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, Anderson was a listener of music rather than a player of tunes. In particular, he loved folk music and church music.

“Those were my musical influences and my only influences, but then a curious thing happened in the ’50s, which was the advent of a new relatively easy-to-play and understand music form which was called skiffle,” he said. “And that was in a way bringing back to European shores the music that had been exported a couple hundred years before from Europe, particularly from Scotland and Ireland, but also in the parts of mainland Europe and found its home in the Appalachians as bluegrass. And that then got reimported back into the UK and became known as skiffle, and it was essentially Americanized folk music that had its roots, its origins in Scottish and Irish and European traditional music. And because it was very simple to play, you could pick it up and just learn three or four chords, and you could do it — the same approach that, of course, during the ’70s emerged as punk music. It was the same idea. You didn’t have to be a musician. You just had to know where to put your fingers and play three or four chords and sing enthusiastically, which is what skiffle was about.”

At the age of 12, Anderson moved away from Edinburgh and farther south into the UK because his parents decided too relocate. At age 17 or 18, he began playing music with a bit more finesse, and he quickly became intrigued by American jazz and blues.

“That was the driving force, and then it became a reality when I left art college eventually to try my hand at being a professional musician, which by then was ’67,” Anderson said. “And I swapped my guitar for a flute, which was a pretty good move.”

At the time, he was receiving parental and outside advice that he should stick with school, receive a college degree and attain a proper job. He was told, time and time again, that he could play music in his spare time.

“I think the impatience though of that creative urge that you have, particularly if like many of my peers you had been to art school, then you already had a taste of that creative world in your mid- to late-teens, and you couldn’t wait to get out there and do something,” he said. “And music was so immediate. That’s why I think it appealed to so many art school students of the day, whether they became members of Pink Floyd or the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. You just have to almost look at the great bands of the UK and the ’60s and ’70s. It seemed like all of us went to art school. That’s where we got bitten by that musical and creative bug.”

He said there was a risk of falling flat on his face and being penniless in a few years, so he needed to weigh his decision carefully.

“Are you prepared to take the risk?” he remembers asking himself. “Do you really believe that you have or can develop the talent? And do you want to burn your bridges and not be able to get back there? Or do you keep some options open and stick with it at least long enough to get a pretty good indication that you do have a reasonable shot at some success in the world of music or in acting or in writing or whatever your creative pursuit might be? You’ve got to be careful, and it’s a little nerve-wracking when you leave home and set off into the new dawn and not really having any certainty that it’s going to work out. Of course, it is a little nerve-wracking, but after a few months I thought, well, if I don’t do something really stupidly wrong, there could be a living in this. It could be at least be a job if not a career.”

Anderson’s songs over the years have become rock standards, always with that unique instrumentation and timing. He never intended for any one song to become a hit; they simply developed organically, and he found there was an audience for them.

“I think if you start to write songs with a view to creating popular, well-received, approved material, that’s probably likely to be a bit of a mistake,” Anderson said. “I know there are people who can do that and have done it and make tons of money, but I always thought that it’s better just to write a song that gives you a lot of personal satisfaction and gives you a musical challenge, maybe even an intellectual challenge. It’s something you really want to get your teeth into, and if you start worrying about how other people are going to accept it or like it or how much money it’s going to make for you, then I think you’re setting yourself considerable restraints and preconditions.”

On a few occasions, Anderson did try to get some radio play for some of his tunes. That, of course, is to be expected. One of the first that fit that category was “Living in the Past.”

“I set about doing that as almost a bit of a joke to our manager who asked me to go away and write a hit single and come back the next day,” Anderson said. “So to humor him, I said, ‘Sure, just give me a couple of hours. I’ll get that done.’ So I came back and said, ‘Yeah, I’ve written a song.’ ‘What’s it called,’ he said. I said, ‘It’s called ‘Living in the Past,’ which is about as untrendy a title as I could think of, and it’s in 5-4 time signature. You’ll love it.’ But, of course, I was just kidding.”

The band released the tune a few weeks later, and Anderson was pleasantly surprised that the unconventional song rose to #3 on the UK charts. “Obviously I had done something almost accidentally right in coming up with something catchy that at least had the integrity of being perhaps one of two songs in 5-4 signature which graced the singles charts in my country,” he said. “Sometimes you can do something, and it’s a little bit offbeat, a little bit unusual, but it strikes that chord with people.”

Another song that fits into this conversation is “Bungle in the Jungle,” which Anderson said was not written as a hit single, but something that was simple, charming and repetitive.

“It made it into the more commercial world, but I have to say it’s not something I would want to make a habit of,” Anderson said. “I’m not really that kind of a writer. I think you’ve got to be a little bit selfish as a songwriter and do what really captures your imagination and not really worry about how other people are going to like it.”

These past two years, as the 50th anniversary tour makes its way around the globe, Anderson has been in a place of reflection and nostalgia. He has often thought back to those early days with Jethro Tull, and he has appreciated how the songs continue to touch the lives of many, many fans.

In his recollections he never used the word retirement — not even once.

“When I decided to do this series of tours, which was back in June of 2017, when I took that decision that that’s what I would do in 2018 and possibly beyond, that was not something that I really expected I was going to enjoy,” he admitted. “You get captivated by the possibilities, and it became quite fulfilling to embark upon this tour April of last year. And here we are almost a year later, and we’ll roll on pretty much until the end of this year with concerts in places that we haven’t played so far. So there’s a whole bunch of shows in various countries of the world where we’re going to do the 50th anniversary tour. … Well, of course, we didn’t visit your country until 1969, which is my feeble excuse for calling it a 50th anniversary tour in North America, but also in countries like Germany and elsewhere. Of course, we didn’t go there in 1968. In ‘68, we were mostly playing simply in the UK. In fact, in ’68, as far as I recall we only had one foreign trip, which was to Denmark, so everywhere else came really in ‘69, ‘70, ‘71. I don’t think we went to Italy until ‘71, so I can theoretically quite legitimately play my 50th anniversary tour in various parts of the world for a few years to come, but somehow I don’t think I’ll be doing that.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / [e-mail]

Jethro Tull, featuring Ian Anderson, will bring their 50th anniversary show Saturday, Sept. 14 to Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. 

[nonrabbit]

Enjoyed that Graham thanks for posting. I emailed some extracts from it to my son who's just starting out in the business.

[rredmond]

Sept 12, 2019 11:20:28 GMT nonrabbit said:

Enjoyed that Graham thanks for posting. I emailed some extracts from it to my son who's just starting out in the business.

Ooooo, please post links and stuff, so we can promote and reshare his stuff.
Can't hurt. Good luck to him!!!

[nonrabbit]

Sept 12, 2019 12:35:20 GMT rredmond said:

Sept 12, 2019 11:20:28 GMT nonrabbit said:

Enjoyed that Graham thanks for posting. I emailed some extracts from it to my son who's just starting out in the business.

Ooooo, please post links and stuff, so we can promote and reshare his stuff.
Can't hurt. Good luck to him!!!

I wish I could Ron but he's composing at the moment and keeping new material underwraps - so to speak
Mind you I don't think we've have a EDM Thread!
Thanks for the good luck wishes

[maddogfagin]

medford.wickedlocal.com/news/20190913/ian-anderson-talks-about-theater-internet-and-jethro-tull

Ian Anderson talks about theater, the internet and Jethro Tull
By Joe Viglione Posted Sep 13, 2019 at 12:49 PM

Jethro Tull with leader/vocalist Ian Anderson hit with “Hymn 43” on radio in the Boston area though, strangely, it topped out at #91 on the Billboard charts. But along with that airplay and concerts back in the day, those shows courtesy of promoter Don Law, the group had fantastic word-of-mouth (as did Led Zeppelin) in the high schools of the time.

An Anderson interview that ran on Newton’s WNTN - AM in the 1970s (yes, the station that had Howard Stern as a young disc jockey) was totally inspiring. It was this writer’s mission to share some words with the founder of the eclectic blues/folk/progressive/pop ensemble. I’ve been fortunate enough to have two discussions with Mr. Anderson, the second on July 12, 2019 in advance of the Sep. 11, 2019 date scheduled for the Chevalier theater in Medford.

The interview:

We’re speaking with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull about his work and the upcoming show at the recently reactivated Chevalier Theater in Medford, Massachusetts where the band is performing on September 11, 2019.

Hello Ian.

Ian: Hello there to you.

JV: As of September 2019, Jethro Tull will be added to the list of great names playing The Chevalier - Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, even a speech by John F. Kennedy... Welcome to Medford.

Ian: Very exciting, and I suppose I could throw in a few more venues where it’s fairly obvious we’ve shared a stage with the good and the great of history. Like playing in Ephesus (Istanbul, Turkey), a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater where famously St. Paul the Apostle addressed the crowds to try and persuade them of the virtues of Christianity, and...having performed there, sharing the stage there with St. Paul, I have to say, we actually got a better reception than he did, he kinda got booed offstage so we did better than that in 1991 when we played there.

Lots of places I’ve played, they’re very special...whether it’s a little theater somewhere or some grand ancient monument I do try to...upon the history and the feeling of the other people who walked out on the stage there to do whatever it is they do and take their life in their hands to go out there and try and entertain and win approval of an audience.

So you have to take that example. Never assume that it is going to be easy. Never assume that everybody in the crowd is actually a dyed in the wool fan. I think you always got to have that feeling that you’ve got to go out there and win them over just like the first time you ever...the first time I ever stepped foot in the USA when I came in the, the early part of 1969, because you have no idea what to expect. We could only go out there and do our best, keep our fingers crossed and hope that we didn’t make fools of ourselves.

JV: 69′ was that around the Boston Tea Party time?

Ian: Indeed. The Boston Tea Party was one of the very first shows we played. We opened up in New York and then went up to Boston where our equipment failed to make it. It was a scary show because we had to borrow equipment locally and it wasn’t necessarily what we were used to. But, yeah, you kind of got used to the difficulty along the way when you’re a lowly opening act. And the Boston Tea Party, run by one of the USA’s great promoters, Don Law, that’s a very memorable part of Jethro Tull’s early success. So between Bill Graham’s shows at the Fillmore East and Don Law in Boston, these were the early shows that got Jethro Tull talked about, and then we suddenly found out that promoters in the mid-west and on the west coast were talking about Jethro Tull too. So that early success through Bill Graham and Don Law was very important in getting the early word about Jethro Tull out there on the big stage of America.

JV: I worked for Don for about 18 years so he has my respect, and saw many a Jethro Tull show that he put on. The beauty of the Chevalier is that it was dormant for so many years, so it is great to see you in this venue because it is historic, beautiful but there was nothing happening there - after all those great acts so this is very special, Jethro Tull coming to this little area.

Ian: It’s very important that theaters like that, when they get a new lease of life, that they can build up a loyalty from an audience that - perhaps - has not had the opportunity to enjoy them. So, we can only hope that our concert and other concerts at the Chevalier Theater will bring in an audience who will be loyal to the theater. Because that’s the great advantage of having a great venue - is that people will choose to come there to see a whole bunch of other acts. It’s not just about you, it’s about the theater - it’s about what that represents and becomes in terms of being a cultural and socially important part of any given neighborhood.

Just as the Fillmore East had its day and its huge loyalty; just like the Isle of Wight Festival even to this day still has loyalty and fans who will go there regardless of whose on, it’s very important to keep that spirit alive and regeneration of old theaters from the great period of theater building in the 20s and 30s, that’s a very important thing to support, for the acts who played there and for the audiences who buy the ticket.

JV: There’s a trend in Massachusetts that more cities and towns are booking concerts away from Boston. These little movie theaters have been reactivated like the Chevalier. Are you seeing this around the country and around the world?

Ian: Oh we’ve seen it in quite often in different parts of the USA. There are theaters of that era which have struggled to keep their doors open - some of them, regretfully, have ended up closing, some of them have had support from the community, from those who would help to fund it and open their doors to performing arts centers, and managed to make ends meet, which is great to see.

But it’s kinda happened in the U.K. as well - we have some great, classic venues that most of which I have to say have not closed their doors. They were the ones I played in 1969 when we started playing the English theater venue circuit and pretty much all of them are still around today - all those great classic venues, they’re still there. In some cases they’ve been revamped and improved, in some cases they are in need of a little coat of paint and and a little plumbing attention in the toilet backstage but, they’re all still there, very few of them have closed their doors.

JV: We have one, just the next town over, the Regent (in Arlington, Massachusetts) which in the mid-60s would only play movies. But when I was in school, they had Little Anthony and the Imperials (circa 1964) - just out of the blue - and then in the 2000s they went to Bollywood, and now they’re doing concerts again. It’s great to go in and see in a smaller venue, Big Brother and The Holding Company.

Ian: Sure.

JV: It’s really nice that you can go and talk to David Getz (of Big Brother) in person. It’s a great feeling.

Ian: Yeah, and one of the good things about playing - why I have always enjoyed playing theaters - I’m much happier playing to 1500 people in a theatrical context because it’s a little bit more, for me, suitable to the kind of music we do. I have a proscenium stage, there are wings to retreat into, you can make a theatrical presence and - above all - you can’t reach out and touch everyone in the audience but it’s certainly more of an intimate and direct experience than playing in Madison Square Gardens, or indeed, in the old Boston Gardens which was the kind of venue where you really didn’t feel connected to the audience at all.

JV: The Rolling Stones just played (July 7, 2019) at Gillette Stadium this past Sunday (July 7, 2019); I was at home reviewing their Bridges to Bremen DVD...it was a lot more fun for me not to be with 60,000 people.

Ian: Well, of course there are people who love that experience and being with a whole lot of other people and...enjoying things in a mass experience but I think a lot of us folks who actually really do like the feeling of being something a little more special.

Back in the early 70s when Jethro Tull was playing arenas and then in stadiums...like Shea Stadium, for example, in New York, then it wasn’t exclusive. I was still playing theaters whenever I could. And telling our manager, please, I want to play in 2000 seat theaters, I don’t want to play in the sports arenas or in football stadiums. I’ve always enjoyed playing theaters, and outside of the USA, most of the time that’s what we’ve done. But, of course there are some times we find ourselves standing outdoors in the summer as I will be several times in Europe this year -- staring at a large crowd at some festival somewhere. Which, it’s OK once in awhile; it’s OK, but not every week let alone every night, that would drive me nuts. I like my theaters.

Joe V: The Jethro Tull website is amazing. I’m always looking for a clean and easy to read website. It reads like a virtual newspaper, was that the intent?

Ian: Well, it was set up really to be an informational website not only for the fans but also for the media. So it’s always been constructed and revamped along those lines. It’s not a...it’s certainly not a piece of social media where I invite comment or communication with fans because...I’m a bit of a loner, I don’t really enjoy communicating one to one with people, I do that through my music.

I have no interest in entering into spirited or, indeed, unpleasant communication with those who use social media to vent their villainous spleens and use, to raise usually a very unpleasant language.

You know I’m afraid your President sets a very poor example in using social media to attack people in very unpleasant terms and I think, unfortunately, that does encourage others to do the same...and so I think whether you are just a member of the public or you are POTUS himself or, perhaps, herself, then I think you should behave in a statesmanly manner regardless of whether you are a true statesman or a member of the public communicating with somebody else.

I think it’s important to have some manners and some decorum, and that’s the way I try to be, and I never let our website become a voice box for my more controversial feelings and opinions which I tend most of the time to keep to myself.

JV: Well, I agree with you, but what I like about the site is that it’s a resource - it has information that I can use as someone who appreciates Tull.

Ian: Yeah, and that’s really the part that I think is important for media; I always said that there’s so much on there that you can draw upon - and you’re welcome to copy and past it because most of it is stuff I’ve written.

So, 95 percent of what is on our website comes from me tapping at the keyboard of a computer. That,...is in itself one big set of information and recollections and stuff that I have written. I’m very happy if people copy and paste and utilize that material and download photographs and images which will help them with their journalistic aspirations.

When I set out, when I was a teenager and thought seriously about being a journalist, we didn’t have that sort of stuff we could draw upon; we had to find things out the hard way back then. So journalism, back then, was a much harder trade than it is in today’s world of copy and paste.

JV: That’s so good to hear because I’m nervous about using anyone’s photos in my stories, but we can use them from the Jethro Tull website?

Ian: Absolutely, you can download a whole bunch of stuff there with my great approval and with my compliments, and indeed you can copy and paste anything you find there. It’s there for you and other professionals in the media as well as the rank and file public. I sign endless photographs that I know, I recognize all too well, because they’ve downloaded them from our website.

I’m more than happy when people do that because that’s what they are there for.

Indeed, many of them are there because they have areas of lighter tone for me to be able to sign those photographs or prints with a black Sharpie. I’ve made many a mistake in my early years coming up with album covers that had nowhere where you could actually sign them...to be legible...so...

Joe V: Are we talking about Stand Up?

Ian: Well that’s a tricky one, yes, Stand Up’s particularly difficult, and there have been a few others where it would be difficult to write on and find a clear space. Like the Thick as a Brick album, for example. Aqualung has got some clear space to sign on, but there have been a few that weren’t terribly good from that perspective - and quite often when you’re doing merchandising, it’s very tempting to just stay in the world of black T Shirts, because as I keep telling the guy who does our merch designs... leave me a little space to sign my name. I have endless boxes of black T Shirts, Jethro Tull t-shirts in our warehouse that are impossible to sign.

JV: The entire Stand Up album is on YouTube for free. There’s advertising on it. I’m wondering if the advertising revenue compensates for the lack of monies the internet offers, compared to radio and TV?

Ian: Well the problem with all of that is, you can chase YouTube and have things taken down, but as fast as you do it they get put up by somebody else using a different address. It is - it’s the world we live in. It doesn’t bother me as much as it must bother young artists who are struggling to make a living and who don’t realize that the income they can derive from recorded work, audio and video is going to be virtually nothing compared to the glory days of record sales back in the 70s and 80s - that’s just not possible anymore for artists.

It’s only the absolute...the crème de la crème in commercial terms - people like Ed Sheeran - who will make a lot of money out of streaming and downloads, and perhaps some associated advertising from the people, those who put things up on YouTube and elsewhere. But trying to monetize stuff, the cost of doing it, the cost of administering all of that is, in manpower and fee terms, greater than your income, in most cases. So I don’t think...really it pays to do...it’s only if something is thoroughly objectionable...or something really deeply unpleasant that I would probably go to the trouble to have things taken down.

A week later, they pop up again. Just like people who go on and alter your Wikipedia entry in scurrilous fashion, tossing in something that is either completely wrong or just meant to be a little joke. It’s necessary for me once a year to go through my Wikipedia entries and make sure that they haven’t been doctored for somebody’s amusement. These things happen, unfortunately.

[maddogfagin]

www.theday.com/local-news/20190915/jethro-tulls-ian-anderson-speaks-freely-before-tonights-sun-concert

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson speaks freely before tonight’s Sun concert


(Travis Latam)
Published September 15. 2019 12:01AM
By Rick Koster Day staff writer
[e-mail] rickkoster

Who knows how many interviews Ian Anderson has done over the course of his half-century career? As the flute-brandishing front man, hyper-literate poet-in-residence and deftly complex structural architect of Jethro Tull, Anderson oversaw the creation of such genre-spanning and -spawning (and hugely-selling) progressive rock records like "Aqualung," "Thick as a Brick," "A Passion Play," "Heavy Horses," "Songs from the Wood," "A Minstrel in the Gallery," "Crest of a Knave" and many more.

What question(s) could a journalist possibly ask that Anderson hasn't heard before? Particularly since multiple press phoners have been ongoing with the artist in preparation for the multi-date "Jethro Tull the 50th Anniversary Tour by Ian Anderson," which lands tonight in the Mohegan Sun Arena?

Well, as one of rock's wittiest and most eloquent stars, Anderson has anticipated this problem. Publicists provide prospective interviewers with a comprehensive list of questions/answers that Anderson has already dealt with myriad times. This is indeed helpful and gives the writer advance opportunity to think of at least a few unharvested topics prior to the conversation. The current lineup, for example, includes guitarist Florian Opahle, drummer Scott Hammond, bassist David Goodier and keyboardist John O'Hara.

On the appointed date in late August, the phone rings and, yes, that mellifluous baritone voice — far more John Barrymore than any Cockney Rock Dude — says, "Hi, this is Ian Anderson. Apologies for being (five minutes) late, but you're the last one of the day's schedule, so we have a few minutes ..."

The problem is, as the writer finds out, Anderson doesn't really require questions anymore. He just starts ... talking. He speaks fast but in a pleasant tone of voice, and the filibuster begins in response to the journalist's polite "How are you doing, Ian?"

"I'm fine," he assures. The journalist is hoping to immediately ask about the difficulty in choosing an anniversary tour setlist that representatively reflects the many stages of Tull's history — but Anderson is already expounding on health and, in general, the process of aging in society. He says, "I hate this idea that people are pushed, through cultural and economic pressure, to retire at 65. Older people have appreciably more to give in terms of productivity, and there's the issue of their dignity, as well. I'm 72 years old and still working and fortunate to be in a line of work that enables me to do that. If I was a British Airways pilot, I'd have been given my notice. It's strange. I think we can provide quite a bit of guidance and advice to younger people ..."

Anderson has the well-reasoned logic of a veteran debater, as well as the inclination to pounce on a topic and wrestle it to the ground. The reporter is hopefully wondering how and if this line of thought might suddenly hopscotch into an explanation of Jethro Tull's incredibly creative and innovative approach to arena show staging.

"Mr. Anderson," it would be fun to say, "what about the time you had a silent telephone on a footstool at the lip of the stage for the entire 'Passion Play' concert — something audience members couldn't ever quite NOT notice, which was of course the whole idea — and only, as you'd finished the encore and the house lights went up and people were getting up to leave, only THEN did the phone ring! Loudly over the PA. We were all frozen in shock. And you picked up the reciever, nodded your head and, leaning into the still-live vocal mic, extended the phone towards the crowd and said, 'It's for you!' Who came up with that?"

Unfortunately, Anderson is now expressing hope that the younger generation will "manage our resources — planetary and food supply but also the forces of government because we have so many extremes today. There's Trumpism, of course, and now we have something equally calculated over here (with Boris Johnson): pushy, braggy and devoted to the creation of unnecessary divisions as a means to an end ... well, I have to be careful what I say about Trump or I won't get the visa for that leg of the tour. Same with Putin for when we tour Russia next year ..."

With that, in much the same fashion that, onstage and performing complex compositions like "Velvet Green" or "Living in the Past," Anderson deftly segues between delivering polysyllabic lyrics and blasting into rabid-hare flute runes, the musician smoothly downshifts without a moment's break.

"There IS one Republican I'd have liked to see as President; unfortunately, he died," Anderson says. "His name was Tony Snow. He was a press guy for both Bush administrations and much loved on both sides of the aisle, back when that was still possible. He was a dear friend and, like me, a flute player. That's how we met. He was a dyed-in-the-wool ideological Republican, which has become a very different thing, and he was utterly genuine and a humanitarian ... We argued a lot about a lot of things, but it was in a good spirited way with mutual respect and the sense that we both might learn something ..."

The fact of the matter is that, while there have been no great truths or revelations about Jethro Tull in the "conversation," Anderson IS damned entertaining and intriguing to listen to. It occurs to the reporter than Anderson would have been an excellent teacher or even a politician, which, if just a few musical questions could be dispensed with, might be a fun avenue to pursue —

— but while that thought is percolating, Anderson has somehow managed to seque onto the topic of religion and spirituality. Now, this is in fact something significantly related to many of the themes of both "A Passion Play" and "Aqualung" and other Tull recordings. Anderson is explaining that, while he adheres to the ethical and moral teachings of Christianity, he himself is not a quote/unquote believer.

"I like the idea of not being sure — the mystery, if you will — and there's something very intriguing about not having the total faith but rather a fascination with the possibilty," Anderson says. "I might be a three or even a six in terms of belief — NOT a zero or ten, based on rather pragmatic signs and reality and research into spiritually, and speaking intelligently with people committed one way or another. In a lot of ways, (Jethro Tull's music) is a conduit to people who might not go into the doors of a church but are curious and want to consider the spiritual."

Ah, that IS a bit of a musical allusion, and Anderson follows by explaining he's happy to do benefit concerts for certain of British cathedrals that are on the verge of bankruptcy. (Note: An early Tull album is called "Benefit," though Anderson has long dismissed it as being a remnant of the band's blues-riff origins a la Cream and not reflective of the identity they'd forge. Still, a connection is a connection.)

"I've played two benefits because they're in tremendous trouble," Anderson elaborated. "And, though I don't have the Faith with a capital F, I'm happy to help pay the heating bills because I DO have a sneaking suspicion ..."

Anderson, in fact, is active in a variety of charities and, as he speaks, alludes to a few including the Polyphony Foundation (helping young classical musicians); Shatil (an organization supporting a just, democratic and shared soceity in Israel); Population Matters (helping women across the globe make informed choices); and Scotland's Oak and Furrows Wildlife Fund. He's clearly passionate about all these things.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Anderson cheerily says, "Well, listen. Did you have a musical question before I go off to supper with my children and grandchildren?"

There are several questions, if fact — the same ones as from the start of the interview. But it HAS been interesting. Somewhat randomly, Anderson is asked if there was a particular text of British folklore — "The Golden Bough," perhaps — that inspired the acoustic/medieval tones of the "Songs From the Wood," "Heavy Horses," "Stormwatch" trilogy.

"Not really, nothing like that," Anderson says, and then somehow twists the answer to "A Passion Play," describing it as a "tongue-in-cheek look at the stereotypes of Good and Bad, and that we should be able to look at the concept of the afterlife with a bit of a smile on our faces, be it good OR bad ... That we should be pleased with where we are without worrying about trying for a speedy boarding pass to the beyond or VIP access at the Pearly Gates." He laughs. "I think I'll just amble up and say, 'Any chance for a room at the inn?' And St. Peter will say, 'Nope. No room right now.' And that's OK."

As he's saying goodbye, Anderson does have a quick thought. "I hope you'll come to the show," he says. "We'll do a nice variety and have a fond, nostalgic look back — but we'll definitely set it in the culture of the day so as to appeal to a variety of generations."

If you go
What: Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary Tour
When: 8 tonight
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena
How much: $35-$55
For more information: 1-800-745-3000

[JTull 007]

                          Image by Telyfoto      LINK 
     The Big Interview with Dan Rather on AXS TV soon ...

[maddogfagin]

Interview: Will Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Work With Martin Barre Again?
2,341 views•Oct 28, 2019

Rock History Music
40.1K subscribers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZDx-1qQDVo

[rredmond]

I know it isn't realistic to hope, but still...

[stevep]

Thanks for posting Ian Anderson's interview regarding Martin Barre, Maddogfagin.
Must admit that I found some of IA's comments quite bizarre. He noted that Martin is not really "up" with technology, he does not read his emails, etc. so it would be difficult to tour and do other work with him.

Yet Martin has arranged tours to the USA, Europe and Australia in the past year and for some of the concerts his band has consisted of 8 people. He has also released a new album fairly recently as well.
The song selection for his Tull 50th anniversary concerts have covered most of Tulls history and he has two ex band members on stage. The band sounds really good and they all look like they are enjoying themselves on the clips I have seen. He can't be that difficult to work with...

[maddogfagin]

Oct 31, 2019 19:20:23 GMT stevep said:

Thanks for posting Ian Anderson's interview regarding Martin Barre, Maddogfagin.
Must admit that I found some of IA's comments quite bizarre. He noted that Martin is not really "up" with technology, he does not read his emails, etc. so it would be difficult to tour and do other work with him.

Yet Martin has arranged tours to the USA, Europe and Australia in the past year and for some of the concerts his band has consisted of 8 people. He has also released a new album fairly recently as well.
The song selection for his Tull 50th anniversary concerts have covered most of Tulls history and he has two ex band members on stage. The band sounds really good and they all look like they are enjoying themselves on the clips I have seen. He can't be that difficult to work with...

I guess we'll never know the exact reason(s) why Martin and Ian split, but it does seem from where I am that it is quite acrimonious and non repairable. Whether it was to do with royalties (my own thoughts as to the reason) or some other personal clashes will remain unknown I suppose but one thing is for sure, I don't see them ever being on the same stage together ever again - I do hope I'm wrong on that.

[JTull 007]

               LINK       Whole Lotta Ian Anderson # 36 Podcast
In November,   we welcome Ian Anderson back to the Rock Republic and asked him a little bit
in advance for you.   Ian Anderson tells us in an exclusive ROCK ANTENNA Hamburg interview
 what we can expect from the concerts,    how long he should go on and what he thinks about
            the future, world politics,     Brexit and the climate.     Have fun listening!