Meeting Robbie Robertson was a fascinating experience. Read and enjoy!
Robbie Robertson
is hailed by critics, fans, and his fellow songwriters as the man primarily responsible
for creating the vision of The Band, certainly among the most influential
groups that ever existed. Robertson’s magic lay in his ability to capture the essence
of the American spirit and character, filtered through his Canadian background;
an outsider looking in. On his newest project, Music for the Native
Americans, Robertson has gone in the opposite direction. Looking inward to
his own Native American roots (he’s part Mohawk), Robertson, along with a
stellar cast of Native American musicians collectively known as The Red Road Ensemble,
has released the most inspired work since his days with The Band. During a recent
conversation, Robertson was very clearly a man satisfied with the results, and
more than eager to discuss it.
Roy
Abrams: It must have
been fairly revelatory, to say the least, for you to be exploring from within
this time around.
Robbie
Robertson: What the revelation
was, and I didn’t know until we were actually doing it, that we’d be working on
music, and I’d say, wait a minute, I’ve got an idea. And I would hum a melody
or I would make a rhythm sound with my mouth or something and (the other musicians)
would say, “Where did that come from? It sounds familiar to me.” And I’d say,
it does, it sounds familiar to me … from when I was three years old, and I’m
remembering things that were so packed down inside you that you don’t even remember
actually where you took it from. It’s like going to a place that you’ve never
been before; you get there and say, “Wait a minute, I know this place.” It was
like that! This was something that, my whole life I’ve been gathering pieces
for this project along the side of the road; it’s all been leading up to this,
but you don’t know it until you get there.
RA: With all the various Native American
musicians you worked with, were there any moments you felt as if you were
receiving musical, if not downright spiritual, gifts?
RR: Hundreds of them! For instance, we’d
be in the studio , and the women would be lighting sweetgrass and kind of purifying
themselves, purifying the atmosphere; just trying to set it up so you can get
in the zone, you know what I mean? (So) there isn’t a bunch of crap between you
and that place that you want to reach; a direct line into your soul, I guess.
It was giving me chills, the ritual of preparation , and the song hadn’t even
begun yet. I had never seen this in the studio before, and I’ve been in the
studio a lot.
RA: I hear a nod toward Daniel Lanois
and Peter Gabriel on several tracks regarding arrangement and production. You’ve
worked with both men in the past. To what degree have they influenced you?
RR: The “soundiness,” yeah. Well, there’s
two things. I think that Daniel and Peter are both incredibly talented people.
I’ve known Peter for quite a few years now, longer than I’ve known Daniel,
actually, but this was not my introduction to this. My introduction was doing
music for film, working with Martin Scorsese. This “soundiness”──I don’t know what to call it──is also a Canadian thing. If you
listen to records by Jane Siberry, the Cowboy Junkies, Joni Mitchell’s new
record … I don’t know why, but it’s something that appeals to the peoples’ ear
up there. That’s where it comes from for me, and Daniel is into this too, not
because of Peter Gabriel or because of Brian Eno, (but) because of something in
his background in Canada. It’s an odd thing. Not that many people know this
connection.
RA: Two of your children appear on the
record. Has their involvement deepened their awareness of their heritage? Also,
how was it for Dad working with the kids?
RR: They’ve been hearing all their
lives, from my mother, these stories, passing on traditions and stuff like
that, what it was like when she was growing up, so they always had this input.
For once, they had the opportunity to give something back. Because the nature
of this project was so communal, the idea of involving some people in my family
seemed as natural as taking a drink of water. It really felt like the right
thing to do. For me, it was lovely, being able to have that connection.
RA: Who among the newer artists piques
your interest, and how do you view the current state of musical affairs?
RR: I like some of the things that
Trent Reznor does. I like the idea that he’s experimenting, that he’s trying
things. [Pause] Sometimes anger for the sake of anger I find slightly
repelling, but I think that that’s part of the idea. And it’s always been this
way. People in their twenties──I don’t know how old these guys are
in these groups──have this need for rebellion, and
because nobody knows what they’re rebelling against, it just becomes anger for
the sake of anger, and I get a little tired of that, but it’s just because I’m
not in my twenties anymore, so I don’t have as big a use for what they’re
getting at. I’m sure a lot of people who are completely in parallel with them
think, “Yeah! Let’s smash some glass or listen to this music──whatever strikes us first.” But I think there’s some validity
in their music. There’s a lot of new things out that I really like today, but
very rarely do I hear a whole record that I like. I hear a few cuts that I
like. That seems to be the major difference between now and what this music was
at some paramount, in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, when there was just so much
good shit going on, like Stax, all the stuff that was coming in from England,
Van Morrison, Dylan, The Band, Jimi Hendrix. It was like, “God, I’d better come
up with something!” It was a very inspired period, and there’s no
explanation for this, except that it was the voice of a generation, and people
were very united. Now, it’s very dispersed.
RA: Speaking of inspiration, making the
new album must have been quite an inspiring, and galvanizing, experience for
you.
RR: Yeah, it has. In 1994, it’s pretty
silly to say, “Oh, Indians? They’re just supposed to play drums and flutes,
aren’t they?” Things have evolved, whether anybody’s noticed or not. One of the
main reasons I wanted to make this record was to say (that) something’s been
going on all these years, and there’s an evolution in the Native American community,
and nobody’s aware of it. I’m really enjoying the idea of ripping down this
curtain and saying, “Check it out──it’s not what you thought.”
RA: Would you ever consider something
along the lines of what Peter Gabriel has done with WOMAD?
RR: It’s come up. There’s talk of this
right now. In this situation, it’s a bit delicate. It’s not about “let’s take
this baby on the road.” I’d love for people to be able to see what I’ve
experienced. There’s nothing more you can ask out of music than when it just
gives you chills. That’s the reason for doing it; that means it’s making an
emotional connection to you. It’s the whole reason that I care about music; it’s
why I got into at the very beginning.
© Roy Abrams
2021
Originally
published in The Island-Ear, January 30-February 12, 1995 issue
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