An Interview with Zucchero

For more than three decades Italian singer/songwriter Adelmo Fornaciari, better known as Zucchero, has bridged the musical boundaries and styles of his native country with those of American blues, rock, and soul to become one of the world’s most celebrated superstars. He’s also one of the world’s most sought-after collaborators, having worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Luciano Pavarotti, and Miles Davis, among many others. In fact, Davis was so taken by one of Zucchero’s early hits, “Dune Mosse,” which he heard on the radio while on his 1988 tour in Italy, that he ultimately recorded his own version, having tracked down a vacationing Zucchero and inviting him to play on the session. 

Now with his latest album, La Sesión Cubana, Zucchero embraces the music of Cuba.

“For many years I felt it would be great to mix my music with a kind of Latino/Cuban vibe,” Zucchero says of the album, which was produced by Don Was (Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson) and recorded in Havana with sixteen of the country’s preeminent musicians, including drummer/percussionist Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez and the late pianist Pucho López. “I chose some of my songs that were already in the Latino direction and then we found other songs that we treated in a Cuban way.” 

The album’s North American release (February 18 on Manhattan Records) will kick off a flurry of live and promotional appearances for Zucchero, including a performance at this year’s SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and an extensive tour. 

Also, in March PBS will air a one-hour presentation, Live in Havana, which highlights an historic free concert Zucchero staged on December 8, 2012 at the Advanced Institute of Arts in Havana before an estimated 80,000 people. The full performance will be available as a DVD accompanying deluxe editions of La Sesión Cubana.

In making your current album, La Sesión Cubana, did you and the musicians you worked with in Havana have to familiarize yourselves much with each other’s musical styles? Did you all complement each other’s playing well?

It was not easy to put together all these things because of bureaucracy and all that stuff, but regarding the musicians they were fantastic. They were very collaborative, always very positive and they enjoyed doing this. They were like old friends. They were very amiable and positive. You had to stop them from playing because otherwise they would’ve played all day. [Laughs]

You’ve worked with Don Was a couple times before. How did you two come together originally?

I always loved Don’s work with a lot of big artists. I like his way to produce. So I called him. He came to Italy to visit me. We had a meeting to talk about music, about working together. I immediately found him a fantastic man, very professional but also very creative. We became very close. This is the third album we’ve done together. I went to Los Angeles at the beginning of the work, for the music. Then he came to Italy when I was singing [the vocals]. He loved Italy, of course. So we did very well together. 

He’s produced some great albums, like with the Stones.

Yeah, exactly, and he knows the best musicians in the world. 

Because recording albums in a studio can be rather regimented, how do you bring the same passion from your live performances into that environment?

The main thing is don’t lose the soul of the track. When I make an album and there is a vibe there I try to keep that vibe in the studio. This is very important. Also, I always think when I’m writing a new album like [it’s] a concert. So, the running order of the album must be—for me—the same as the concert. In fact, when I release an album and then we do a tour, I do all the songs with the same running order of the album; then I start with the hits and the well-known songs. But in the beginning it’s the exact same setlist. That’s why I think the album has to have the same dynamic of the concert. 

Going back to when you were growing up in Italy, how did you come to make your own music and write your own songs? 

I was very young, listening to music in Italy—I don’t know why, but I’ve never been a big fan of Italian pop music—and I started to hear and love [American] black music, soul and rhythm and blues and gospel. In those days Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, they were kind of for a few people, elite; they were not so known in Italy at that time. I fell in love with this music, of this way to sing. I remember I started playing “(Sitting on the) Dock of the Bay” on a very cheap guitar. I found the music I wanted to do. Then after I put together different bands, playing Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears, [along with] all the rhythm and blues standards. When I started to make records I tried to put together rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel with Mediterranean and Italian influences, and this is basically my music now.

As far as subject matter of what you write…

It’s my life. I always write about my experiences, my personal experiences or what I think. My life is full of emotion. I’m talking about friendship, I’m talking about love, I’m talking sometimes about politics or religion. I’ll do it with a double meaning sometimes to try to say something with poetry, not just say something. I don’t know how to write something that I didn’t try personally. Even when you travel—even if you are on a train, for example—and you see the landscape and you see the colors of the place, you could find inspiration.

For someone who grew up listening and appreciating black American music, what did it mean to you to have Miles Davis seek you out in 1988? How was it working with him?

I was shocked. A promoter called me up and said, “Miles Davis is in Italy and he was at a restaurant and he heard this song and asked who was singing it. He doesn’t know who you are, but he likes the song and he asked to play on it.” At the time I was not in Italy—I was on holiday—and I received this telephone call, and I thought it was a joke. I didn’t trust and didn’t believe that it was true, but he insisted. So I came to New York and we went to the studio, the Hit Factory, and Miles was… He’s not the kind of guy that’s laughing. He just came in the studio and he talked to me, saying, “I love this song. I love your voice. I have to cry when I am going to play this song because I love it so much.” And he started to play. He did a lot of versions. Then at the end we went to an Italian restaurant and finally he took his glasses off and he became warmer and friendlier. He was great and so unique. 

By that time Miles was rather late in his career, but he remained aware and interested in new musicians, new music, and art. He wasn’t closed off at all.

Yeah, and the choice of the song was because at that time he was travelling a lot around the Mediterranean Sea and wanted to play something that had to do with Mediterranean music, to try to find a new way to do his music. That’s why he did the album Siesta. It probably was the right song at the right moment for him.

La Sesión Cubana is due February 18 on Manhattan Records. For more information on Zucchero, please visit the artist’s official website. 

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Shannon LaBrie: Music is Where I Belong

It wasn’t until she moved to Nashville in her early twenties that Shannon LaBrie made up her mind to pursue a career in music. Far from chasing some starry-eyed or naïve ambition, however, LaBrie was calling on a lifetime to that point spent learning her craft: practicing classical piano since she was a toddler, fostering a four-octave vocal range, and composing original songs. Any idealism she entertained upon her move to Music City, actually, was mitigated by the work she knew it would take to succeed.

That was five years ago, and since then it’s been a steady climb of concert stages and recording studios, of seeking opportunities at every turn and making ends meet in the meanwhile.

Her diligence has paid off with her debut LP, Just Be Honest. The album, which premiered in the Top 10 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart upon its release last February, is a superb work of mostly acoustic, often jazz-and-blues-inspired pop, rendered in a voice rich with such expressive depth it seemingly belongs to someone much, much older. In a way, it does.

“Writing songs and singing and playing, those were tools in me overcoming a lot of trials and grief in my youth,” says LaBrie, 27, who at 14 suffered the loss of her father to cancer while at the same time contending with a chronic, undisclosed illness of her own. “After my dad died I started playing guitar, and I kind of became obsessed with it. As I moved through college it just became more and more apparent that this was just something that I had to do.”

Such existential jolts undoubtedly have a way of impacting one’s own sense of purpose, and LaBrie concedes that hers likely galvanized the determination that has fueled her musical ambitions. “But also I attribute it to growing up with a really great mother and a dad for the short time that I had him,” she adds. “They really gave me a good foundation of belief and trusting and not getting obsessed with, like, ‘What if I fail? What if this doesn’t work out?’ That was never anything that was scary to me as a child, and I would attribute that to my parents a lot.”

Having found her footing within Nashville’s burgeoning independent music scene, LaBrie signed with Zodlounge Records, a boutique production company that afforded her the time and guidance she needed to take her talent to the next level. “You have to be working in a place where you’re able to feel relaxed and comfortable,” she explains, and the contentment she felt in the studio ultimately freed her to concentrate in ways that served the songs well and, as in such sultry moments as “Getting’ Tired” and “Slow Dance,” allowed her gorgeous voice to shine. 

“I could write songs like that the rest of my life,” LaBrie says of the latter. “That’s kind of where my heart is.”  

Then there’s “I Remember a Boy,” the album’s breakout song and a heart-wrenching lament of disillusioned love. “It was the first song of many that was extremely honest,” says LaBrie. “I felt like I said exactly what I wanted to say.” 

While she speaks her piece through her music LaBrie says she’s not spilling her guts, so to speak, underscoring what is not only an act of self-preservation but also a means to resonate with listeners. “I like writing songs that everyone can relate to,” she says, “because if I were to write out the gory details I’d feel like people couldn’t relate to it as much. But when you can express an emotion that everyone’s feeling in a broader sense I feel like more people can relate to it.”

As long as LaBrie continues to write songs that embrace and build upon the quality and sophistication of the ones on Just Be Honest, it’s a wish she should have no trouble making come true.  

“This is what I was made to do,” says LaBrie. “It’s in my heart and I just can’t do anything else.”

For more information on Shannon LaBrie, please visit the artist’s official website. Just Be Honest is available now at retail and online outlets.

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Stream New Single 'Diana' From Priscilla Ahn

On “Diana,” singer/songwriter Priscilla Ahn’s silken and sultry voice plays off an exotic, trance-like rhythm to create something uniquely beguiling and immersive. Stream the track, which is the newest single from the artist’s forthcoming third album, This Is Where We Are, due February 25th.

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Download Singer/Songwriter Anna Rose's Cover of Iggy & The Stooges Classic 'Gimme Danger'

Artists who are primarily songwriters in their own right are often uniquely qualified to cover the music of other songwriters, as if their compositional knowledge in turn is manifested as interpretive insight. 

Such is what singer/songwriter Anna Rose achieved first a few years back with Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage,” concentrating its latent, hectic energy down to an intense, primordial urge.

Now she conjures an aching, feral heat on a cover of the Iggy & the Stooges classic, “Gimme Danger,” drawing out the sense of foreboding underscored on the Raw Power original with piercing flashes of almost abstract, searing electric guitar.

With her latest album, Behold a Pale Horse, Anna Rose demonstrates a remarkable capacity to craft substantive, soulful songs which complement her resourcefulness as a vocalist. With “Gimme Danger,” she assimilates her voice to the song—and the result is just as stunning.

Download “Gimme Danger”:

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And We All Enjoyed the Weekend For A Change: Billy Joel is Magnificent in Sold Out Tampa Concert

Considering that the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Friday night was packed to capacity, having sold out even behind the end stage and in the furthest rows toward the rafters, Billy Joel could’ve played it safe by simply grinding out his greatest hits. He has enough of them to choose from, of course, but Joel instead delivered a two-hour set that was heavy on rare or rarely played material. 

Even still, Joel offered up plenty of perfunctory moments—from “New York State of Mind” to “My Life” to “Allentown” to “Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)”—but it was his inclusion of several deep cuts and lesser played hits that made this a concert to remember.

The 64-year-old legend set the tone early on, beginning with the back-to-back salvo of “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” and “Pressure,” the former an unexpected opener, the latter just plain unexpected. Lest there remained any doubt as to what kind of show this was shaping up to be, Joel’s next two songs, “Sleeping with the Television On” and “Vienna,” made it gloriously apparent. 

For a musician who hasn’t produced any new pop music in over two decades—his most recent such album was 1993’s River of Dreams—Joel sounded better than ever, his considerate and often soulful phrasings revealing new insights to his songcraft. Such was most notably the case when, as his crack eight-piece band stood in the shadows, Joel summoned a stunning solo version of “And So it Goes,” his rich vocal-and-piano interplay enriching the song’s melancholic mood.

After closing the main set with the night’s most anticipated yet nonetheless exhilarating sing-along in “Piano Man,” Joel returned for a raucous encore—“Big Shot,” “It's Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “You May Be Right,” “Only the Good Die Young”—properly capping off an all-around magnificent performance that not only defied expectations, but exceeded them as well.

All photos © Donald Gibson

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Stream New Jenny Lewis Song, “Completely Not Me,” From Upcoming Second Volume of 'Girls' Soundtrack

Jenny Lewis is back with a new solo recording, the tribal and trippy-sounding “Completely Not Me,” which features on the upcoming, second-volume soundtrack to the Lena Dunham HBO hit series, Girls.

The former Rilo Kiley frontwoman has kept busy in recent years touring with the Postal Service (the reunited indie outfit featuring Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello) as well as having recorded an album with longtime love Johnathan Rice (2010’s I’m Having Fun Now) in the suitably named duo Jenny and Johnny. Lewis’ last solo album, Acid Tongue, was released in 2008.

“Completely Not Me” is currently available as a free download with all pre-orders of Girls Volume 2: All Adventurous Women Do…, which is slated for release February 11 on Atlantic Records.

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Download Irresistible Debut Single by Eternal Lips, 'Dream Hesitate,' Featuring Sharon Van Etten

With its lucent lo-fi rhythm and melodic-pop impulses, “Dream Hesitate,” the debut single by Eternal Lips, is pretty hard to resist. Sympathetic harmonies courtesy of singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten add even further, more intoxicating distinctions.

The brainchild of veteran Brooklyn artist Grey Gersten, Eternal Lips is slated to release an eponymous EP next month (February 25) on New Mirage Records. Download “Dream Hesitate”:

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The Beatles U.S. Catalog Readied For iTunes Release

Photo © Apple Corps Ltd.

With the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ maiden American voyage fast approaching, the Fab Four’s music is sure to enjoy an all new retail resurgence—including an exclusive digital release of their thirteen U.S. albums on iTunes. The entire catalog, from 1964’s Meet the Beatles through 1970’s Hey Jude, is currently available for pre-order from the online Apple music outlet. 

Both physical and digital versions of the catalog will be released on January 21.

Photo © Apple Corps Ltd.

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An Interview with Von Grey's Annika von Grey

Von Grey: (from left to right: Annika, Petra, Kathryn, and Fiona)

Establishing a style and sticking with it may work for emerging musicians looking to build a loyal following but it can prove stifling for the artists themselves. At least that’s the belief which seems to guide Atlanta’s own Von Grey, who made their debut in 2012 with a critically-hailed eponymous EP of acoustic, string-rich pop and modern folk. In fact, even as they saw the five-song set edge into the iTunes Top 10 on the strength of the vibrant lead single, “Coming For You,” and the visibility afforded by high-profile appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Conan, the group’s members—siblings Annika (violin, banjo, guitar, keys), Kathryn (cello, bass pedals, mandolin, keys), Fiona (guitar, violin, percussion), and Petra von Grey (keys, lap steel guitar, electronic percussion), each classically trained—were already plotting a new direction. 

“We played violins and cellos and stuff like that,” Annika explains, “so it was natural for us to gravitate toward more acoustic music genre-wise just because that’s where we had our foundation instrumentally.” 

For their follow-up they composed edgier, more adventurous music with electronic elements and fuller arrangements. “We have a huge range of influences sonically that we pull from,” Annika says, underscoring not only the eclecticism but also the ambition that distinguishes Awakening, Von Grey’s sophomore EP, due out January 21. “Trying to incorporate textures that are a little bit more synthetic is something that we’ve been interested in for a long time.” 

Was there any reluctance within the group about working in these new electronic textures in the sense that you risk alienating listeners who connected with the more acoustic sound on your debut?

A little bit, because I do think when some people have a first impression that can really be the foundation for every later impression. We wanted to make sure that we still sound like we’re being true to ourselves, which we are. But when we’re in the process of writing and recording and getting things to be in a solidified state, we try to make sure that the last thing we’re thinking about is how others will respond to it and more just being selfish and trying to make sure that what we’re creating is a pure and true representation of who we are as artists and what we want to express. 

Are the new sonic directions on the EP also reflective of a new or expanded knowledge of the recording studio? Is that something you all are learning to embrace as well?

We’re starting to really understand and appreciate the power of production, because it can transform a song. We go in with pretty solid ideas of what kind of parts we want to be added to it or just what kind of textures or what vibe we want the songs to embody in their finished state. We’re not at the point right now [though] where we’re completely self-producing.… We’re not completely well-versed in that side of things. It’s something that we’re definitely trying to develop so eventually maybe we can be independent in a studio environment, but right now we’re still collaborating with producers and engineers to make sure that we’re working with people that truly have a grasp and a really deep knowledge of what they’re doing in the studio. We don’t want to take chances just experimenting with things we don’t know very well. 

Is songwriting something that you all have to set time aside for, or are you always aware and receptive to ideas?

We’re always trying to make sure that we’re in a somewhat creative mode, so if we happen to in our mind hear a melody that we like we’ll be able to remember it and make sure we don’t waste ideas. Fiona and I are always thinking about songwriting, but it is something that now we usually set aside time [to do]. For us, when we have a very focused environment and we’re able to kind of be secluded, it’s when the best songs come about. We get rough, little melodic riffs and stuff when we’re just out and about, but it’s usually a pretty concentrated and focused time when we actually solidify the songs. With this EP, we wrote all those songs within a two-or-three-month period. 

As the group’s lyricist, primarily, is there any apprehension on your part about revealing too much of yourself in what you write? Is that something you run into, or is it just something you work around?

It is something I’ve become increasingly mindful about. Writing lyrics, it’s hard to do that in a way that’s very calculated. You need to make sure you’re being open in a stream-of-consciousness style, and then later you can organize those thoughts and try to figure out exactly what they’re about. Sometimes, when you find that out, it’s something you’re not eager to let everybody else know if it’s a song about something very personal, but as someone that’s writing lyrics for the band the only way that I’ll be able to emote when I’m singing—or that everybody in the band will be able to feel really attached to it—is if it’s something that is kind of genuine and that forces you to feel a little bit uncomfortable. It’s something that I’ve tried to embrace rather than run away from. 


Plus, in a part of your mind you almost have to acknowledge that if you’re writing about someone else or about your response to someone else then you may have to consider that person’s feelings if he or she recognizes themselves in your song. It can be a dicey proposition. 

I try to make sure that when I’m writing—I don’t know if I always accomplish it—I’m doing it in a way that feels human and relatable. It’s not that it’s just my own personal, selfish experience or that I’m exploiting somebody else’s emotions. It’s more taking those feelings as inspiration and trying to write in a way that is all-encompassing, because I do think it’s rare to come across an emotion that no one else has experienced before. So, trying to write about in a way that allows others to partake in the feeling is kind of the goal I try to pursue. 

To what do you attribute the group's work ethic? You all seem completely committed to the idea that whatever success comes your way is something that you have to work for. That is not always the case with people.

From a very young age we were taught that hard work is paramount to success. We started with classical music and we were home-schooled from a pretty young age, so time management was something that was a very important thing for us to learn. We practiced every day and it became something that our parents weren’t forcing us to do. We enjoyed scheduling our time, making sure we were really honing in on what we were passionate about; making sure we understood the gravity of taking something and trying to make it professional...; and making sure that we can also feel a sense of pride in what we’re doing and feel like we’re responsible for it. 

That has helped a lot, especially recently when we’d be touring and then trying to fit in songwriting time and recording things and just trying to present ourselves throughout all that in a way that seems professional…. Creating art is a big responsibility, even if it’s just a personal responsibility for yourself. We want to make sure that we’re not taking anything for granted and that we know we’re surrounded by excellence all the time, so there’s always something to aspire to as far as knowing your instrument and craft. All of those things have really helped us to stay grounded and [to] remember that you always have to work to get what you want. 

Awakening, featuring the new single, “Come On,” is scheduled for release January 21. For additional information, please visit Von Grey’s official site.

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