Omaha Rainbow : Issue 20

O'BSESSIONS WITH JOHN STEWART - by Peter O'Brien

You again.

Yes, can we continue the interview?

We might as well.  I'm just watching TV with the sound off.

Is that Elvis on the stereo?

Yeah, singing 'Peace in the Valley,' a classic.  That reminds me.  A couple of months ago, John and I went to see John's old drummer, Pete Thomas, play in Santa Monica for Elvis Costello.  We were walking in just as their bus arrived, so we said hello to Pete and he introduced us to Elvis Costello.  He had on a weird coat that looked like a reject from the Sgt. Pepper wardrobe department, and he was swigging a bottle of Blue Nun wine.  As I shook his hand I thought, "All my life I dreamed of meeting Elvis, but I never thought it would be like this."

Speaking of Elvis Costello, he's quite good, isn't he?  I notice he's getting rave reviews here in the States and his albums are top sellers.  You must havs snjoyed his show.

Trash.  Pure garbage.  Pretentious, banal and mock angry.  The sound was terrible and every song sounded the same.  The audience loved him though, they gave him a standing ovation for adjusting his microphone.  Drugs are wonderful.  Speaking of that, I had a strange flash that night.  I walked out of the show after about six songs, and I noticed another guy leaving too, apparently in similar dismay.  It was Timothy Leary, the old drug guru.  I thought, "Is it even too weird for him, too ?"  Anyway, to answer your question, other than the problems I just mentioned, yes, I loved the show.

How did Leary look?

Very strange.

How so?

He looked normal.  I thought he'd be orange or something.

Well, speaking of John Stewart, let's get to the point, shall we?  Do you mind if I turn on the tape recorder so we can start the interview?

No, no...go ahead.  Is it on?

Testing...yes.  Now, we established you last time as a friend of John's and a professional Bystander To The Stars.  What's new with John?

Well, you came at the right time.  John has just finished his new album, working under unbelievable pressure, and I have a message for our fellow Stewart freaks.

And that is?

The message is : Clean your guns, the battle's starting.  To paraphrase George Smith Patton, Jr., I think our boy Stewart has the right product at the right time in history to fulfill his destiny.  Or something.

Could you explain?

Yes, his new album is a triumph - commercial enough (which it HAD to be) to sell like mad and pure Stewarty enough to please even traditional maniacs like Andy Fergus and Peter O'Brien.  Very seriously, over the past three months I've seen the metamorphosis of an artist.  It was an amazing performance against very difficult odds.  He just finished up last and already the response is coming in.

How so?

Well, first and foremost, on February 5th, John took the album into RSO and they apparently flipped over it.  And those guys, you know, control the ballgame.  They call balls and strikes.  I get the feeling that RSO is suddenly realising they have a potential goldmine on their hands with John.  Also, those of us who have heard the album and people who have worked on it love it.  I mean, you've got people like Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and Dave Guard using words like "classic" and "genius."  And you've got me using words like metamorphosis, which I can't even pronounce.

Dave Guard?  Where did he come from?

I'll tell you in a minute.  Let's stay with the album.  But before we do, can I take this opportunity to say hello to Arnie Moore?

John's old buddy and legendary bandmember?

Yeah, I saw him a couple of weeks ago, and he'd read the last 'Rainbow' and was mad I didn't mention him.  Can I say hi to him now?

Sure, go ahead.

Hi, Arnie.

THE PHONERINGS

Keep it running, I'll be right back.  (HE ANSWERS)  Hello...yeah, I'm doing an interview now, I can't talk ...you forgot again? Man, you gotta remember these things...all right, got a pencil?..okay, it's "Never goin'-back"...yeah, yeah, I'll wait...you got that?  Okay..."to-Nashville-anymore."  Yeah, that's it...right Nashville has an 'e' at the end...and so does anymore.  No, no, anymore is one word.  Right.  Can you remember that?  Man, study it, okay ?  Listen to the damn albums!  I mean, it's pretty ridiculous...look, I gotta go, okay?  Yeah, talk to you. (HE HANGS UP)

Who was that?

Oh...just some guy.  Where were we?

John's new album.  Tell us about the songs on it.

As of today, here's the order of them : Gold; Lost Her in the Sun; Out of Nowhere; Somewhere Down the Line; Midnight Wind.  And the second side is Over the Hill; Spinning of the World; Runaway Fool; Easy Fever; Hard Time Town.

What's the album title?

It's uh...well, it's "Bombs Away Dream Babies."

What is it really?

No, that's actually it.  No kidding.  The working title has been "Out of Nowhere" but then Dave Guard reared his unbelievable head and, voila, it was "Bombs Away."  It certainly is different.  I had a few suggestions of my own - "Johnny Sings for Swingers," "Johnny Under Paris Skies" and "Let It Bleed."  But Dave's idea caught on.

Dave Guard again?  Where did he come from?

I'll tell you in a minute.  Let's get back to the music.  There have been some great developments that you should know about. First, some history.  "Fire In the Wind" was a commercial disappointment.  Apparently RSO had to make the choice of spending money either for promoting the album or buying a Baby Ruth, and they chose the candy bar.  John got lost over there in the Bee Gees-Pepper-Grease breakout.  He got stranded out in left field (which is an American phrase that in England might mean something like having to spend a week in Scotland) and it left him only a year older, poorer and still a "cult" performer. He was still writing and performing as well as ever, but he was up against it.  Then, enter Lindsey Buckingham...

Lindsey Buckingham.

There's an echo in there.  Yes, without knowing it, John and Lindsey had been mutually admiring each other's work, although they had never met.  I found that Lindsey was, like many of us, an absolute Kingston Trio freak and a tremendous Stewart fan. He can tell you what guitar John played on a given song.  Much of the Fleetwood Mac sound is based on the Trio.  The heavy rhythm guitar up front with the lead guitar being played through the melody like a banjo.  In fact, Lindsey plays lead guitar the same way you play a banjo, and he based it on John's Trio playing.  And I remember back in 1976 John listening to Mac's huge album and telling me he could hear banjo licks being played on a guitar all through the album.  He'd say, "Listen to that, it's like the Trio."

And what would you say?

I'd say, "Can I have another beer?"

Does Lindsey play on the new album?

Oh yeah.  In a sense, he kind of co-produced it with John.  He plays guitar on a lot of the songs and you'll hear him singing quite a bit.  Oh, I must point out here that for a while Fleetwood Mac was recording next door to where John was.  And one night we went in to hear part of their new album.  They put up a song of Lindsey's called 'Down the Road' or something like that.  Anyway, it was absolutely devestating.  The first song of the '80s.  It was like nothing John or I had ever heard.  Just an ass-kicker.  I felt like I did the first time I heard 'Satisfaction' in '65.  Just a tremendous song, something you have to hear.

You mentioned Stevie Nicks.

Right.  Well, Stevie had also been raised on The Kingston Trio.  In fact, she told John, "If I knew how many hundreds of hours Lindsey made me sit and listen to your albums."

And what did John say?

He said something real stupid, like, "How many?"  Anyway, Stevie heard John's basic cut of 'Midnight Wind,' called it a "classic" and said she'd like to sing on it.  Which she did.  Needless to say, the folks at RSO didn't feel too badly about having her on the album.  In fact, she's going back in the studio with John this weekend to do a back-up on 'Gold.'

That's very exciting.

Yeah, but I'll tell you what was most exciting for me.  It was watching John develop the album, watching him gain in confidence and imagination as the work progressed.  It was a high just being around the studio, and naturally he felt it stronger than anyone.  There were a couple of nights in there when he picked up his new white electric guitar and added some tracks that just soared.  It was incredible.  You could feel it growing every day.  In fact, there'll be some guitar cuts on the album you'll think were done by Lindsey, but most of them are John's.  I don't want to oversell the album or build you up too much, but it's probably the best stuff he's done since "Bloodlines," especially the first side.  It's a different Stewart in a way, but the guts and the feel are all there.  It's contemporary and commercial but still uniquely him.

What are your favourite cuts?

Well, I like everything, and I think 'Gold' and 'Midnight Wind' will get the most attention, but I think the 'sleeper,' for me at least, is 'Somewhere Down the Line,' a song in which the old and the new Stewart meet very pleasingly.  It may yet turn out to be my favourite.  Two of the songs are familiar to long time fans - 'Spinning of the World' is from the Trio's 1967 farewell album - a favourite song of Lindsey's and 'Runaway Fool' is a new rendition of the "Phoenix Concerts" album cut.  In all, the whole stance and attitude of the album is aggresive and positive.  It has the feel of an artist who knows he's made a breakthrough.  Now, we can only hope it all translates into the kind of huge commercial success the album deserves.  I think it will.  I think the time has finally come.  At the very least it reconfirms Stewart's position as a very special writer and performer, and a talent with a tremendous future.

That's great.  Can we get to Dave Guard for a minute?

You could never get to Dave Guard for a minute.

Well, how would you describe Dave?

Have you got an hour?  I don't think I could give an easy description.

Well, could you say something general about him?

Okay, how about this: Dave Guard Is The Most Bizarre Person Who Ever Lived On This Or Any Other Planet.

Really?

I think God goes to Dave for advice.  And then He has to have Dave explain it to Him slowly.

He's that unusual?

Yes, really.  I seriously have to say that Dave is a beautiful guy - and I'm not being hipster affable.  He is a gentle, brilliant, funny and incredibly gifted man.  I have never met a more verbally adroit person.  Most people know him as the founder of The Kingston Trio and - irony of ironies - the man whose departure from the group gave us John Stewart.  But here's a guy who hasn't scratched the surface.  Did I tell you about the First and Last Annual Kingston Trio Reunion Party?

No, tell us.

All right, I will.  Three weeks ago my wife and I and John and Buffy drove up to Santa Barbara with Dave in his Van to see Nick Reynolds and his family.  One of us was semi-nervous being in that company and got pretty drunk.

How drunk did you get?

Real drunk.  Gallo burgundy, a dollar a gallon, I think.  Anyway, John and Dave had their guitars and hauled them out.  Dave proceeded to sing a couple of numbers that were just great - beautiful, spirited, soft...everything you could ask for.  In fact, his music and style reminds me a bit of John Phillips' solo stuff.  Guard is a talent walking around waiting to happen.  He and John are an interesting combination.  Stewart is giving Dave's music a harder edge and beat, a "hook" as they say in the business, and Dave has contributed an indefinable feel, a mystical touch almost, to John's work.  He was in the studio for nearly all of John's mixing work and, as John said, he was a pleasure to have around, a reassuring presence.  Dave dominates a room just by sitting in it.

Kind of an older Elvis Costello?

I'll do the jokes.  Here's another time warp experience for you.  Here I was, in awe of John and Dave, often listening to John ask Guard about old Trio recordings and stories.  John, in this case, was the kid, a fan like me, sitting in awe of his old hero, Dave Guard.

Well, wait aminute.  Aren't you anybody's hero?

Just one guy - Andy Fergus in Scotland.  He idolizes me.  It's embarrassing, but what can you do?  Speaking of Fergus, John put a message for Andy in the fade of 'Midnight Wind,' which you should be able to hear.  It's not finally mixed yet, but I think you should be able to pick it up.  If it gets mixed out, I'll feel very foolish and explain it next time.

Well, speaking of Fergus, we're coming up short of tape here, and we'll have to conclude this interview.

Wait a minute!  We've got a million more things to talk about.  Dave trying to get a recording contract - the possible reunion of Dave, John and Nick for an album - John's pet alligator- Buffy's songwriting - TomWaits and the Snake - what happened to Bob Shane - The missing 1976 John Stewart album - what "Bombs Away Dream Babies" means - the "other" backup singers on the new album - a message to O'Brien to put some damn headlines and endings on Rainbow stories - "Bloodlines" being 36th on an all-time best albums list and the Los Angeles reaction - the possibility of "Bombs Away" bringing John to England soon - and, finally, the story everybody asked to hear, Fergus Gets Hit With a Firecracker.  Can't we go on?

Sorry, it'll have to wait til next time.

(THE PHONE RINGS)

Oh no, not again.  (HE GOES TO PHONE)  What?  Oh, I'm sorry...no speak English...wrong number, yes?  (HE HANGS UP)

Who was that?

Fergus.  Sometimes I think the introduction of telephones and indoor plumbing in the same century was too much for Scotland to take.

Well, thank you very much.  See you next time.

Wait...don't go...you want to hear my tapes?..how about a couple of card tricks ?..I can recite Gunga Din by heart...what if...

(The tape ran out at this point, fortunately.  The interview will be picked up at this point in the next issue with a recitalof Gunga Din.  However, Tom De Lisle has asked the readers of Omaha Rainbow - partly in an attempt to determine if there are any - to write observations to him if they have any questions or observations concerning John Stewart or the above topics.  However, requests for copies of his tapes will necessarily be totally ignored.  He can be contacted by mail at: 25368 Malibu Road, No.B; Malibu, California, USA, 90265.  He stresses that he wishes mail only and that anyone physically showing up, especially the aforementioned Fergus, will be shot on sight.)