TIME LOVES A HERO PART II

You’re involved in something else along those lines. I stumbled upon a website, Poetry and Song.

Yeah, there was a group of friends--one of them was my wife's cousin, Gary Bays--and his friends and mentors, and actually Dr. Cynthia Selfe, who is up in the Michigan Tech area.

We've also got a house that we just purchased in August, we’re going to move up to in June, kind of far back between the upper peninsula of Michigan and Montana.

Not bad.

Yeah, it’s great. I love the snow and I love summer. I mean I like it all--and then there’s California.

I was gonna say--two interesting spots for a surfer to move to…

Yeah, literally I’ve got people going, “You know it snows up there in Montana...” And I go, “Yeah, well I cross-country ski.” They just couldn’t imagine me away from California [both laugh].

Photo by Michael Weintrob

Then a while later, Cynthia came up with an idea. She said, “Why don’t we put together a project in which you would be involved but we get Randy Freisinger, who's the head of the poetry department here at the school. And let’s talk about the differences between writing poetry and writing lyrics. And let’s see if we can encourage these kids to begin writing, or if they know people who play guitar, to try their hand at writing music. So, that’s how that project came about. I had these two very fine English teachers looking over my writing [laughs].

I chose three songs to describe the process. One was “Eden’s Wall,” another was “Under the Radar,” and last but not least was “Borderline Blues.” Each of which had begun as a poetry session and then I mined out of my poetry some lines to put into a song. So it was a pretty interesting way. It was one in which I really got a chance to investigate what I had done, and how I did it.

I got my son, actually, and a few of his friends, to start writing poetry as well. In fact, I was just down in New Mexico a few days ago doing a session. I called Evan up, he’s graduating from USC this year, and I was reading him a couple things I had written down in this journal that a friend of mine gave me for a birthday. And he said, “Let me read you a couple things.” And so he did. And I was just standing there with my mouth open. This kid is like brilliant. (laughing) Oh shit… It was some really really good stuff. I can’t remember it all but he was talking about this path he’s taking and da da da, and finally says, “So I move ahead, my footsteps behind me” was the closing line. There’s the notch in the bow right there. Really encouraging to hear how creative this guy is. He wants to be a filmmaker, and I suspect that’s what he’ll do, and he’ll be wonderful. I’ve played some music for a couple of his films.

That’s nice. That’s great that you foster that atmosphere for him. I mean, naturally I guess, being a songwriter…

I think it’s the type of thing honestly where he’s going to choose his own path, obviously. But I try to encourage him in the best way possible. I think, let him figure out what’s going on.

I was happy to be involved in a project that would encourage people of like mind. You have a tendency when you’re growing up to think things like “Oh, everybody plays piano; everybody plays guitar.” That’s what this guy was telling me when we were down in New Mexico. And I thought “Well, jeez…” I guess there is some truth to that. You don’t really see yourself as unique until later. That’s a part of being an artist. You’re sitting there going “yeah I’m unique.” And you go “wait a minute that doesn’t sound right.” So you go through that internal battle of, "What right do I have to write something, or to think I’ve got an original idea in my head?" And you slowly circle the wagons on that.

Warren Zevon, we were talking one time down in Los Angeles at a recording studio... oh man, what was it called? That’s the problem when you get old. It’s not even age, it’s been happening forever. I got so many ideas in my head, I think that’s the problem.

[Laughing] Let ‘em out!

I’m over looking for something to read you real quick.

OK. Take your time.

Warren Zevon

Good company…

Very good company. Zevon’s pretty amazing.

It’s too bad we had to lose him.

True. Well, you know, I think in that loss that the gain and spotlight is going to be on him for a while. I hope it’s for a long time. He’s a brilliant guy.

It would be nice.

At any rate, this can say it a lot better. I just want to read one thing. It’s a pretty long article. And it’s about a talk I had with my son, I met him down at USC. And there was some strange Brahms concerto floating over the air. Some guy was playing a tuba in some room. And I was sort of reflecting on when I used to sneak in on the University of Santa Barbara to make use of their piano room while I was living on the beach over there. Anyway…

Music has always been a reference for me in all the shit life throws at you. It has allowed me to take the world head on or soften the sharper edges. Depending upon my mood or muse. I look at my son and reflect that the jewels or barbs we pick up are the result to what big deals in life. How we interpret those gifts, yet the barbs are essential and unavoidable to our repertoire, too. As artists we share them with others, public or with other artists. The very essence of testing our talent manifested in how we perceive what others clearly see but is revealed to us in a unique way. Therein lies crucible and treasure. I envy a start and feel sadness exhilarated by its discovery. I continue mine.

And I just thought that’s kind of the essence of it all. These different paths that we take. That, in my view, fate throws at us, and choices that we utilize, maybe in concert with fate. You know, like driving in to see Lowell. And then deciding that after a few trips down there, that maybe Lowell is the guy I should be concentrating on rather than Frank Zappa. And all the things that follow that--Lowell’s death. I wanted to produce a record with this band more than anything, and then Lowell dies. Well there, you can produce it now. And it’s like, I didn’t want to produce it in that way.

That’s a really nice reflection that you were able to get down there.

Well, I think I’m a relatively good writer. Not that reading a lot makes you a good writer.

I think your work stands for what it is...

There’s definitely a story to be told. I’m certainly going to attempt to write part of it. And it’s not so much a biography of Little Feat as it is my journey; my look through the kaleidoscope--which certainly includes Little Feat. The histories I enjoy and the biographies I enjoy are the ones that include what Arthur Schlessinger, Jr., and his father developed, which is that social fabric. Which, in my case, the social fabric is pretty much what you’re writing about. But the history that surrounds that social fabric is the thing that I would touch upon--whether it’s the war in Viet Nam, what was I doing the night Robert Kennedy was shot, or [Burt] Bacharach played for one of Robert Kennedy’s fund-raising events in Ventura a month before he was assassinated. You know, all those things. I grew up in pretty interesting times.

Please click here to access the continuation of this fascinating in-depth conversation with Little Feat's Bill Payne.

Scott Caffrey
JamBase | New Jersey
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