Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Woops, I got interrupted...specifically, it would be fun to do something
with Bill and Hilary (we DID mix a no-harmonica version of "Chain Gang" in
case a presidential sax opportunity appeared.)...E.L. Doctorow plays the
banjo - I'd love to record him with his daughter, who is a talented
singer/songwriter.  Martin Amis supposedly plays guitar and he's a big
dqydj fan.  Toni Morrison, just cause I'm a big fan, maybe doing a
Patience & Prudence-type duet with Dolly Parton.  Arthur Golden singing
"I'm Turning Japanese."  

I'd also like to expand the spoken word series.  But nobody, absolutely
nobody buys that stuff.   Even though it's REALLY good.
  

    
Or - (thanks for the idea, pk) - how about a duet featuring both Mayors
Brown?

Mayer Browns?

-you know what I mean.
  

    

Bill and Hilary--now that would be a coup. I don't think our
President has much of a singing voice, but I could be wrong.

I'm curious: what have the critics said about "Stranger Than
Fiction" so far? Can we have some quotes?
  

    
Some "get it" and some don't.  A couple of publications have assigned
actual music critics to review it, and they tend to take their jobs a
little too seriously.  Plus, it always amazes me how bizarre reactions can
be.  One critic thought that Norman Mailer's vocal resembled Johnny Cash.
(I actually think Stephen King has a couple of Johnny Cash moments but
Norman Mailer????)
One very nice reviewer said that "Amy Tan managed to be both sexy and
hilarious" on Boots, which is true.  Most of the reviews are pretty
predictable.  They all mention the super-star authors and don't mention
the rest of us, just like in the Remainders.  Many have noticed the heavy
use of kazoos.  Several have mentioned Walter Mayes' wonderful
gender-bending version of "Johnny Get Angry."  Reviews of Steve's vocals
have been kinder since his accident.  To my chagrin, not a soul has
mentioned the production values with which we took such loving care.

One of the nicest reviews came from "Today's Librarian":
"Truly, this collection of songs gives a literary fan an expanded
appreciation of the talents behind the words, if not for the beauty of
their voices, than for the courage it takes to apply your voice to a
medium not typically emplayed...perfect for any library that wants to
expand its reach beyond the traditional."

One snarky guy at the Oxford American raved about all the Southern women
on the CD and slammed everyone else.  Then the magazine started calling me
every day to sell ad space, which I might have been able to afford with a
better review although I know that the editorial and the commercial must
remain separate entities.  Plus in general I love the magazine.  The same
reviewer also thought Tananarive Due's name was made up!  

But mostly the reviews borrow heavily from our press kit and end with the
suggestion that we all keep our day jobs.  Predictable enough, and just
fine with me.
  

    
> To my chagrin, not a soul has
>  mentioned the production values with which we took such loving care.

When you cut these tracks, did everybody on the track play together or did
everybody record his or her piece separately and let it all get mixe
together later?
  

    

From: "Danny" <dannymcbride@earthlink.net>
Subject: Stranger Than Fiction
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 17:56:22 -0700


Dear Kathi:

The only reason I write is so I could play in a band like your project.
<http://dannymcbride.com> http://dannymcbride.com Music AND Words. Click on.

Danny
  

    

Southern women? How did they know who was southern, I ask you.
Some of us are secretly southern.

So how about telling us what charities the CD benefits. I know
all the authors and musicians donated the profits to charity.
  

    
You can't be Southern unless you have read *Southern Ladies and Gentlemen*
by Florence King.
  

    
I'll answer Cynthia's question first.  Ideally, I like to record the
rhythm tracks (bass, drums, guitar or keyboard rhythm parts) first, then
add the vocal, then the overdubs - solos, fills, background vocals etc. -
till it feels finished. This project was done every way you can think of.
Norman Mailer's song was sung a capella into a mic. in NY, then the band
had to construct a song underneath his vocal, back in San Francisco...
probably the most challenging, but also the most fun to work on because of
the learning curve.  The closest to live -everyone playing together- we
got were the songs recorded in Austin (everything but the lead vocal done
all at the same time) and maybe Chain Gang.  One of my favorite
instrumental tracks is "Book By Its Cover" because it has a raucously live
sound...for good reason.
It's the last song we recorded in Austin, after Molly and JJ were done,
and it was a race against time cause we were all afraid the studio was
gonna catch fire again!  But most of the songs were done piece by piece,
some in as many as four studios all together.

Charities that benefit from proceeds are primarily the Special Fund of the
PEN Writers Fund.  This is a pet charity of Amy Tan's, and I let her pick
because she participated in more songs, and more supportively and whole
heartedly, than anyone else.  The PEN special fund exists in order to help
out writers who are forced into financial crisis by health problems.
People can apply to the fund for grants to help them through times of
medical crisis.  Another charity is the one chosen by Jessica Mitford: her
son Ben Treuhaft's "Send A Piana to Havana" campaign. Although I'm
supposed to wait until break-even to start writing checks to the
charities, I usually do so before we even get close - as soon as everyone
who worked for free (and who isn't a featured writer) gets paid something.
We give a hefty 25% royalty (about double the standard amount) to the
charities.  It's important to me that the authors feel their
contribution is for the benefit of an important cause, even though we all
REALLY know that everyone does it mainly for fun.
  

    
The other 75% (assuming we ever break even and there are actual proceeds
to worry about) goes into new project development.
  

    

I like to think of a bunch of writers croaking away valiently to
provide talented young music students in Havana with well-tuned
pianos.

Do the Remainders sound anything like the CD when they play live?
When I recorded "Busted" it was magic. The guy who was mixing the
tracks took my best bits (and somtimes they were very tiny bits)
and put them together so seamlessly that I now have a mostly
undeserved reputation for being able to sing Country Western.
  

    
The process by which we "put vocals together" involved a computer program
called Pro-Tools.  And actually, Mary, as I remember you only did a couple
of takes - so your vocal wasn't as processed as you imply.  We take all
the vocal takes, put them into the magic computer, and listen to each take
of each line, grabbing the best of each.  So every line in your song,
you really sang. (There was no pitch-fixing or tempo fixing required for
your song, and there were both required for some, and no I'm not saying
whose.)

The Rock Bottom Remainders sound similar vocally to the songs on the CD -
but I have to say not as good instrumentally.  We had real pros playing
the
back-up tracks on the CD, so it would be easier to listen to, and less
time-consuming to produce.  What the Remainders have going is a genuinely
spirited and funny rock & roll SHOW, which is really different from
musical chops.  
And the band -the Remainders- works best when people don't take themselves
too seriously.

The best critique I ever had of the Remainders was from none other than
Bruce Springsteen, after he played "Gloria" with us at the Hollywood Bowl.
"Your band's not too bad," he said.
"Aw c'mon Bruce, it's pretty ba -"
"It's not too good either.  Don't let it  get any bettor or it'll ruin the
whole thing."

Words of wisdom from the Boss, and I've taken them to heart.
  

    

Great advice from the Master!

Besides producing CDs, you've put out a joke book about musicians.
Tell us how that came about and share a few of the jokes with us
(I found them hilarious!).
  

    
The Great Rock & Roll Joke Book (by Dave Marsh and Kathi Kamen Goldmark,
with a forward by Roy Blount Jr. and illustrations by Gretchen
Schields)...
published by St. Martins Press in '97, it is hard to find but still
available on Amazon.com and other online book selling services.

Warning:  This is not literature !!!!

But it does contain some of the classic rock & roll musician jokes such
as:

What's the difference between an accordion and a trampoline?

  -You take your shoes off before jumping on a trampoline.


How many feminist singer-songwriters does it take to change a lightbulb?

  -One.  And it's NOT FUNNY.


What do you say to a Deadhead in a three piece suit?

  -"Will the Defendant please rise?"


What does a guitar player use for birth control?

  -His personality.


...you get the idea.  It was a lot of fun to do, and would probably
have sold a
lot more copies on the counter of Guitar Center than it did in bookstores.

My favorite part is Roy's intro.
  

    

Buy this book before it gets impossible to find. It is one of the
funniest collection of jokes I have ever read!

(unless, of course, you're a drummer . . . .)

Given Kathi's wonderful sense of humor, I think the joke book
makes a good place to call a halt to the formal part of this
interview.

Kathi, I've loved having a chance to ask you all those questions
I've been storing up for years. Thank you for be so articulate
so easy to interview, and so entertaining.

This topic will stay open so readers can keep up the conversation
with Kathi for a while if they wish.
  

    
Thanks, Mary.  It's been fun! How about one final chorus of "Busted..."
  

    

"The bills are all due, and the babies need shoes.
I'm busted.
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound and . . .
  

    
I'M BUSTED...Come on everybody...kazoo solo!
  

    
Brrrzzzzz, brrrrzzzzzz, brrrrrrzzzz...
  

    

Brrrzzz, brrzzzzzz, brzzzz, brzzzzzzzz
  

    

Ah'm BUSTED
  

    

This just in:

If anyone would like to see how my musician pals and I try to put our
beliefs into action, or even join us on the bandstand, we are officially
reviving the monthly San Francisco jams starting September 26th.

KATHI'S ALL-STAR JAM
on the 4th Sunday of the month

at the CoCo Club, 139 8th Street, San FRancisco (between Mission & Howard)
7-11 PM

September 26
October 24
November 28

No cover, but we REALLY need your support to keep these going, so come on
by and sing/play/listen with us!
  

    
Yum! The All-Star Jam is reputed to be a wonderful thang, folks.
  

    
It's always been wonderful when I've been there!
  

    
Wow! I maight actually be able to make it. Wednesday night was always
(and still is) impossible for me.