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A Conversation with Swan Dive (continued)
PM: Which moves me to ask--Bill, you've been doing a lot of journalism all along, but certainly a lot in the last couple of years, and then there was The Sterling Huck Letters, that was quite an accomplishment. And I'll talk more about that in the setup. But is there another book in the works at the moment, or one considered?
BD: Yeah, actually, I just delivered a manuscript for a second book of songwriter interviews called In Their Own Words. It'll come out later this summer.
PM: And what's your first book of interviews called?
BD: Behind the Muse. This new one has a different publisher, a slightly bigger one, which hopefully will get the book out to more people.
PM: And who's the publisher of the first one?
BD: The first one was Tiny Ripple, and this one is a company called Praeger. This book has people like David Bowie, Steely Dan, and Fleetwood Mac.
PM: And so there's no problem reprinting those interviews because you did them for Performing Songwriter with whom you're really tight?
BD: Yeah. I mean, Lydia has been very kind and understanding about that. She doesn't have any sort of ownership problems. Of course I talked to her before I went ahead and starting putting the book together, just to make sure.
PM: But she had no qualms whatsoever?
BD: No.
PM: What a pal. Who have the recent interviews been? I know a couple, but I'd like the readers to know.
BD: I interviewed Diana Krall this week. And I interviewed Todd Rundgren for a second time for this new book. He and I really got deep, and we spent like an hour and a half on the phone. I've always thought he's just a genius, so it was great to talk about his background, and go into particular songs.
PM: Did he rant hard about the music business and where it's going?
BD: He doesn't rant so much anymore. I mean, he's kind of past ranting. He's just sort of turned his back because he really feels like it's a foregone conclusion that the music business will collapse.
PM: Will collapse?
BD: Yeah. I mean, he's very certain that record companies will go the way of the dinosaur and that the RIAA is just going to collapse.
PM: And he's kind of Nostradamic about it.
BD: Yeah, yeah.
PM: He says, "I told them years ago." Well, he did.
BD: If you read interviews with him from '92, '93, he was talking about how important it would be for online delivery of music.
PM: Are you kidding?
MF: I remember that. I remember that.
BD: I mean, he really was a prophet, and nobody paid much attention. Because the internet was so young then, it just seemed unfathomable, but Todd could see it in the future. And I don't think he gets due credit for that. He was way ahead.
PM: Unbelievable.
BD: Yeah. And I also interviewed Eugene Record. He was the lead singer and songwriter for a group called the Chi-lites, best known for "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh, Girl." But I think he's incredibly underappreciated. I mean, to me he is as important as someone like Curtis Mayfield or Bill Withers.
PM: Really?
BD: He's the complete songwriter, singer, arranger, producer. This guy has got it going on. And in fact, I would say, "Buy any one of the Chi-lites' records"--they've all been reissued on Brunswick--"and you'll be amazed."
PM: I'm going to do just that.
MF: He's really incredible. His vocals--and that mic he told you about, that special microphone.
BD: Yeah, he's a really deep guy.
PM: A special microphone?
BD: I mean, he worked with Bruce Swedien, who's an engineer who went on to work on Michael Jackson's Thriller and records like that. I had always sort of known of Bruce Swedien, but Eugene was close to him, and told me that Bruce was a guy who invented his own microphones, and would modify equipment and stuff. And he told me about this particular microphone that he used on all the Chi-lites sessions. And when you listen to the Chi-lites' records--like Stevie Wonder records and Marvin Gaye records from that period--they sound so present and full and fresh, even today. To my ears, they sound better than records that are made today.
PM: Yeah.
BD: I think Eugene Record is one of those guys the world needs to know about. And he's not hurting, because he made smart publishing moves. And even Beyonce's later single, "Crazy In Love," samples a Chi-lites song, so he's doing well. continue
