Two of my favorite things in this world are good music and good beer. Somehow they've always gone hand-in-hand with me, so I thought I'd spend a little bit of time explaining what I like in both. The making of each to me is an art form and both are necessary to a good outlook on life and general happiness. They both seem better while you're sharing them with others, and each enhances the other.
I really like the fact that Elton John decided to pluck Leon Russell out of relative obscurity and do an album and tour of duets together. Leon's always been one of my favorite session guys, and I always liked his solo work. He's one of the most overlooked sidemen in the second half of the last century. When Joe Cocker's band broke up days before a big tour, Cocker called Russell who got together a very good band and with very few rehearsals pulled off one of the most memorable tours of Joe Cocker's career. This was documented nicely in the film entitled Mad Dogs and Englishmen and also made a fine album as well. Leon is also a very good songwriter, with many of his songs covered by others, probably most notably George Benson performing This Masquerade.
Leon's feet are failing him these days and needs a cane to walk from his chair onstage to the piano, but his vocal range and playing ability haven't suffered as much. If your not familiar with Leon Russell, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Delta Lady or Leon Russell and the Shelter People.
Like I said before, Leon is legendary for all his work as as a sideman. Here's a recording of Leon at his home studio. Sitting in are for sure Eric Clapton, and probably Leon's then wife Mary Russell, Carl Radle, along with Jim Gordon or maybe Jamie Oldaker on drums. Those are all guesses outside of Clapton.
I mentioned Eric Clapton on an earlier post, about how he battled alcohol and drugs for years. He managed to overcome both and had been living a sober life for many years. It was in 1993 when he began work to found the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. The facility is dedicated toward teaching ways to be abstinent towards drugs and alcohol and other addictive tendencies and changing the lifestyle that leads to that kind of behavior. Clapton's auctioned off his collection of guitars and has mounted a series of benefit concerts call the Crossroads Guitar Festival. He further augments funding through the sale of DVDs and other merchandise.
Clapton always manages to select and have perform some of the greatest guitarists alive. He said that his criteria for selecting the artists are simply to pick the performers he himself really wants to see. Being asked by one of the world's best received guitarists is too much for most people to say no to.
One year after beginning work on the Crossroads Centre, Martin Scorsese shot an Eric Clapton concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The music consisted of nothing but blues music, because that's what Clapton always felt most comfortable playing. Scorsese grew up loving blues as well, so he felt it was a natural collaboration. The documentary was made for PBS and was never released elsewhere. There were two nights of music, and Scorsese used the first to make sure everything was mic'd and mixed perfectly. He never used that first night's recording in the finished documentary. This is that first night with a couple of additional rehearsal tracks as well:
I once had a job as an electrical field engineer. I'd travel from city to city installing newspaper printing presses. The hours were long and you'd spend months away from home. I'd have to work with people that I hardly knew, or had just met on the job. I'd spend many hours at work with these strangers with not a lot to talk about. Many days after work a co-worker nicknamed Skeeter or Pork Chop would ask if you wanted to go someplace to have a beer, and sometimes I'd say yes and wind up at Bud's Country Lounge or some other smelly dive drinking a Pabst and wishing I wasn't there. Most times I'd say no thanks and find myself talking to the hotel bartender, who nearly always was my best friend in town. I'd usually have more in common with him than Skeeter. I know why musicians drink too much while on tour. It's boring as hell out there. Most days seem just like the other. You can only watch so much television. If I made more money I'd have tossed the tv out the window too. I'm glad that job didn't last too long.
Eric Clapton used to get so drunk that he would have to lay on his back while performing onstage. I remember stories about more than a couple of musician who during a set would go offstage or behind an amplifier and get sick. Not what you'd call inspiring performances. Too much beer and other libations can spoil a show for everyone present.
Sometimes a band will have a drink or two in the dressing room just to steady any nerves they may have before taking the stage and it really can work wonders. Sometimes a band will enjoy themselves a bit too much and the alcohol winds up affecting their performance, but not to the extent that they have to perform from a supine position. Here's an example of such a show. Los Lobos at the Jam on the River music festival in Philadelphia on May 24th of 1998. This is an enjoyable show and the drinks started to become apparent midway or so into the show. Enjoy.
