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Garland Jeffreys

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o,,.Uten in my recording I am able to go in that place where it is very rich. I talk aboutthe Coney Island winter, the story I am painting, in terms of the people's lives, and thedaitysfruggtes we are going through, maybe that is more importantto me..."

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Continuing an output that would seeGarland releasing five records in fiveyears, he added 'Rock 'n' Roll Adult'(1982) and'Guts For Love'(1983) to thetally. Wth early releases that were thevisions of youth and young manhoodand 'Rock'n'RollAdult' speaking for itself,'Guts For Love'focus turned inward, Thealbum is one of those gem albums thatget lost in the shuffle. The effort showedthe artists thoughts on personal parts ofour lives, peering into relationships andturning his eye on fidelity to your partnerand learning to love only the one you'rewith. "Don't Call Me Buckwheat'saw a1992 release date, the words and musicfor the album a reaction to hate heard ata Shea Stadium ball game, the summer'sidyll broken by the harsh words of anotherwhen Garland stood to get a hotdog andheard "Hey buckwheat, sit down!". Thepower ofthe pen rose above the occasionand produced an album that took a lookat the racial complexities that exist inAmerica, 'Don't Call Me Buckwheat'.

For Garland Jeffreys, bringing hismusic to fans has never taken a hiatuswith continual touring and recordingsseeing a hits package release in 1992with 'Matador and More...', 'WildlifeDictionary' (1997) and tl'm Alive' (2007).'The King of ln Between' is a perfectlycrafied piece captured under theguidance Garland and co-producer LarryCampbell that shows a man who is theline of years put in with the same cleareye and lively step of the youths he sawas peers on his 'Ghost Writer' releasein '1977. Album opener "Coney lsland\Mnte/' enters as if it had always

been right there. The music walks infrom the next room, its volume raisingbut never leaving behind the persistentriff that pushes forward without break.The simple pattern creates a mightymomentum, Garland's words lookingout the window of a subway car ridingits twenty-stops from departure todestination, the passing of life feeinglike stops of the train. 'Roller CoasterTown' steps a ska beat a little furtherinto Garland's life as he heads back intoBrooklyn to see old friends "travelingthrough the Coney lsland of my mind'stating he was born a thousand yardsfrom amusement park's big gun, theCyclone. Time traveling past birth,Garland revisits the Harlem of his father,crossing the avenues of Malcolm X andDr. King. His songs have always had aNew York City stamp on theirthemes andcharacters and 'The King of ln Between'shares goals, though the life inside thesongs is very aware that nothing lastsforever. The blues shudders under twotracks with an eye on mortality, with"God's Waiting Room" sitting patiently onthe bench and tapping its foot to acousticcountry blues and "'Til John Lee HookerCalls Me", sweating out an electric bluesriff while Garland shrugs the ticking clockoff his shoulder, knowing that life endsbut it will not be today. Making sure hedoes not forget the one that brought himto the dance, two open, unabashed loveletter to his roots appear in his original,"Rock and Roll Music" and his version ofthe David Essex composition, and 1973hit, "Rock On", where the productionachieves a low end that will rumble yourspine in a good way.

"Streetwise" walks into the room soundinglike the progeny of Curtis Mayfield's"Superfly" and Bobby Womack's "Across110th Street". The song stands GarlandJeffreys in the center, gathering the past,present and future into its gravitationalpull. The voice of his father and "allmy relatives are gone to their peacefulresting place' herald the passing of atorch between the generations, Garlandrealizing that "l been left here to carryon, do what's right, leave a smile on yourface". The song walks from the past tothe present and in to visions of the future,where Garland becomes the father whosees the future footsteps of his daughter,Savannah, heading towards danger.

The message goes beyond blood,talking to the masses and sightingcredentials of time put in with the words"black president on the white houselawn, I remember when there weretwo black jockeys there when I wasborn". The message, more committedbecause of how the cracks in the citysidewalk are widening, is simple andto the point, "You gotta be streetwise".

Garland Jeffreys: On "Streetwise",we were fooling around with it, gettingthe pieces together and Steve Jordan(drummer) stops the conversation andannounces from the drum kit, 'this isit'. He counts it off and we laid down atwelve minute version of the song. I liketo record tracks longer so I can edit it.We wound up keeping it as a six minutesong. ln beginning of the song my familyhas passed away, my mom, my dad, myuncles, all my relatives have gone andI am looking back. These are thingsthat were going on when I was puttingthe songs together without me knowingit. Coming up with stuff that is inside ofme and coming out of me. lt is not anacademic exercise; it is very muchtapping that aura, tapping that route,for me. Often in my recording I am ableto go in that place where it is very rich.I talk about the Coney lsland winter,the story I am painting, in terms of thepeople's lives, and the daily struggles weare going through, maybe that is moreimportant to me. I remember being a kid,I remember riding those Coney lslandrides, I remember the ticket stub beingpunched, remember the woman thatwould wait for me at a certain part of thebeach. She would have a nickel and putit in the sand for me to find".

It is Garland Jeffreys vivid memories anddescriptions that have created songsfor his career to be so long lasting andhis music so pertinent. He has a way ofobserving without judgment, becominga witness to events. Album art is a liftlelost these days but there are clues onthe physical packaging of 'The King ofln Between'. ln Garland's own words, instark white letters printed on a midnightblack background, is the seven linesnippet, 'ln between the cracks, lnbetween the lies and facts, ln betweenthe secrets and the lies, The other sideof the tracks, Between the mansions andthe shacks, between the whites and theblacks, The king of in between'.

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