INTERVISTE
SHAWN PHILLIPS, AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE GREAT SONGWRITER (Giulio Bianchi)( italian version )
Shawn Phillips is a rock pioneer and one of the most innovative songwriters to come out of the early '70s musical scene, an artist who has created a unique style mixing folk, rock, jazz, blues, country, indian music and psichedelia. A nomad spirit, Shawn started his career accompaining Donovan in an English tour and then settled in Positano (Italy), where he lived and worked for several years. His incredible vocal style, based on an impressive singing rage, more than three octaves from baritone to counter-tenor, as well as his inspired songwriting emerges since his very first works like "1st contribution" and "2nd contribution" to the last CD “No category”. Shawn’s talent still shines up to these days like those who heard him playing in the last european tour have been able to witness. So it’s a real honour for us to publish this exclusive interview that Phillips has kindly given us.
Q - After so many years of career you are still on the road. What has changed in musical scene and also in your approach to music in comparison with the early years of your career?
A - What has changed, is the publics perception of music, due to the manipulation of the corporations that control the music industry, and it's promotional aspects as well today. They are not concerned with talent, creativity, innovation, or intelligence, in the craft. Their only concern is money. Long gone are the days when it was the record companies responsibility to present the most gifted artists they could find, to the public. In fact, today, they deliberately turn a blind eye to that responsibility. In the early 50's, 60's, and 70's, the record companies were looking for artists that were already matured and masters of their craft. As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed in my approach to the creation of music. You must give the mind something to Experience, and touch the heart as well. My CDs are an attempt to create movies in the mind.
Q - You have lived during your childhood and adolescence in many different countries of the world. What has been the importance of this travelling for your growing as musician and lyrics composer?
A - The importance is what the old adage says about "Music Is The Universal Language". There is something in every idiom of music that will reach another culture, that will be understood inherently.
Q - Your style is unique and it is difficoult to place it in a well defined musical current; it trascends rock music introducing in a rock contest jazz, folk and classical influences. Can you try to give us in few worlds a definiton of your music?
A - I am only a mechanic. Everything is written to try to help an individual touch the God Force within them. It is an attempt to raise the consciousness of the listener to another level, even if it is a momentary ascent. Now you define that shit in a few words.
Q - You has been the first (or one of the former ) musician to introduce in the pop music the sitar, an instrument whose wonderful sound caratherized a good part of the rock music of the sixties and early seventies. Can you tell me how did you discover sitar and developped the idea to utilize in a not coventional manner this instrument y, that unfortunately now has come back to be utilized only in the traditional Indian music?
A - I was playing in a club in Toronto, and I had a night off. Someone said I should go see this guy Ravi Shankar. I did, and being very kind, he gave me my initial instruction after the concert. I then did my best to translate the instrument into western music, and because of the difficulty in playing it, not many musicians want to deal with it. So it remains in the Indian domain for the most part.
Q - You have an extraordinary vocal range. Can you tell us how many octaves you have and if this great vocal range is a natural gift or the product of a particular tecnique and training?
A - As I age, my voice has dropped to some degree, but at one time, I had a 5 octave range. I Probably have about 3 now. My vocalisations are driven by my consciousness, and I have never had any vocal training.
Q - your music and expecially to your incredible voice recalls the sound of another great American musician: Tim Buckley. Have you known Tim and were there some reciprocal influences in our musical style?
A - No, I did not know Tim, nor was I aware of his work, until much later in my career. I have no idea if he was aware of my work either. But he was no influence on me.
Q - You was born in Texas, but you soon preferred to move to UK . Moreover, in my opinion, the influence of the american roots music on your style is not so deep as other influences. Have you found more stimulating the British musical scene of that period than the American rock scene?
A - You referred earlier to my travels. Those musical cultures were the influences on me. I played the blues, when I was still in Texas, but soon realised that I was not black, and would never understand the forces that drove the black man/woman to write and play the way they do. I had not lived them, nor was I privy to the historical influences that shaped their consciousness.
Q – Most of the critics consider the period of the early seventies, caratherized by the recording of “Contribution”, “Second contribution“ and “Collaboration“, as the height of your inspiration and innovative research. Are you agree with the critics or do you think that there are in your record production other albums of equal artistic value but too much undervalued?
A - I do not listen to the critics, and they really don't listen to me. When you are in front of the public eye, you are a target. When I left that eye, they stopped aiming at me, so were consequently not aware of the succeeding works. Many of the further works were just as good, if not better than those works you mentioned.
Q – In the recording sessions of some of your albums you had the privilege to obtain the collaboration of the members of the Traffic, one of my favorite rock bands of every time. How was the experince to play with these extraordinary sessionmen and did they bring some footsteps of the Traffic sound in your albums?
A - At the time, it wasn't a big deal. We were all friends, and trying to make music together. They gave me a helping hand.
Q - The rock scene of the sixties and seventies was been very conditioned by the use of drugs: What is your opinion about the unanimous exaltation of the drugs in that period and do you think that the drugs in have improved or damaged the creativity of that generation of musicians?
A - Anything that opens the doors of perception, and creativity, is permissable, as far as I am concerned. Misuse of such substances, can surely be damaging though. Creativity is the crystal focusing of perceptions to express them.
Q - Your records of the seventies (for example “Transcendance” 1978 are jet characterized by very complex , ambitious and innovative arrangements also based on a mixture between typical rock instruments as guitars with a symphony orchestra. How you found many difficulties to reproduce in studio these complex textures at that times in which studio tecnology was not so developped as nowadays?
A - Nothing has changed. You simply need the money, whether you are using samples, or live orchestra. It takes as long to do the samples, as it does to record the live musicians. However, with live musicians, you need even more money.
Q - In spite of your rather reserved attitude you had the opportunity to meet and frequent some of the most famous exponents of the pop music star system as the Beatles an Elton John. What was your impression about the fab. Four an Elton John as musicians but also as guys out of the stage?
A - The guys behind the Beatles were always down to earth with me, and treated me as an equal. So did Reggie, until he became Elton. Then again, I'm not gay.
Q - In the seventies you lived in Italy for some years. What opinion did you make about the Italian rock scene during your permanence in this country and have you had some relationship with the exponents of this scene?
A - There were, and are some great Italian artists, and I met a few of them, and became friends. What struck me the most however, is the musicality of their work. They seem to understand that the singular most difficult thing to do in music, is to create a melody that no one has ever heard before
Q - After having passed a long period in Italy, nowdays you are living in South Africa. What’s the reason of this choice and don’t you think that your decison to live so far form the hearth of music business have damaged your musical career?
A - I live in South Africa, because my wife is South African, and she wishes to be closer to her parents. And the damage done to my career, is not my location, it's my ability. The music business today does not want truly professional, matured artists, that are innovative in their creativity. It presents a threat to the lessor common denominator artists that line the coffers of the industry. There is not a single record company in the world that would sign me today, even though I make music that is more creative, and intelligent than 90% of the people in the industry. The consciousness of the music buying public has undergone a massive change since the earlier years of the business. To be truthful, the media in general has brought the publics attention span to about 1 minute these days. America is leading the world in teaching how to celebrate stupidity, and sadly, many countries are buying into it, because of the profit margins involved.
Q - What is the situation of “pop” music in South Africa? I remeber that the South African music had obtained its glory moment after the recording of “Graceland” by Paul Simon, but that this phoenomenon was soon forgotten by the media.
A - That's all there is here, is "Pop". There are some phenomenal South African artists, but they are fighting the same battle. South African radio is controlled by corporations as it is anywhere. And those corporations are fed by the major record companies to play the lowest common denominator, because it makes the most money.
Q - can you tell me something about the models of guitar that you utilize and in particular about the legendary double neck guitar (it is true that the only owners of this kind of guitar were you and Ozzy Osborne?)
A - I have 9 guitars with me now. A Gibson "Dove", A Washburn 6 string, an Ovation nylon string, an Epiphone 6 string, (circa 1940's), A Fender Stratocaster, (1967), a Gibson "Chet Atkins Special", nylon string, that has been modified to trigger midi, a Paul Champagne nylon classical guitar, a Gibson Standard double neck 6, and 12 string, and the infamous double neck, that consists of a 1964 Gibson Les Paul, and a 1968 Fender Stratocaster, melded together. As far as I know, the only other one is in Ozzy's possession.
Q - Can you make a short presentation of your last CD “No category”and of the musicians that helped you to record it?
A - "No Category", is exactly what it says. There are several different styles of music on it. Due to the time limitations on a CD, there was a lot of material that we recorded that didn't make it onto the CD. We recorded 18 basic tracks in 6 days. We played everything live. Not once was a computer used for anything. Because of the lack of money, we had to use the best samples we could find, for the orchestral, and brass parts. The players are Ralph Humphries on drums, Leland Sklar on bass, Mike Miller on guitar, Peter Robinson on keyboards, and brass arrangements, and Paul Buckmaster doing the orchestral arrangements. These people are the singular most sought after session musicians in the entire world. There were no charts, and everything was improvised by the players as it happened. It took one month and a half to complete the CD, from start to mastering.
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