THURSDAY,MAY9,2002
ENTERTAINMENT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 9B
Veteran musician keeps on going
944 Mass.
832-8228
The Associated Press
NEW YORK—At age 50, with an amazing three-decade rock 'n' roll resume under his guitar strap, Nils Lofgren feels like he's 17 again.
Which, as Lofgren explains, is both a blessing and a curse.
"I'm kind of a pirate, with no industry or radio support whatsoever," he says by phone from his part-time home in Maryland. "I'm back in the streets, like when I ran away to Greenwich Village as a teen-ager."
Ah, the commercial curse. And now the more spiritual blessing ...
"Passion — thank God, you can't fake that," Lofgren says. "I've just grown up to love and value great music."
Lofgren is rock 'n' roll's Kevin Bacon—just a few degrees of separation from some of the finest music of the last 30 years.
He played with Neil Young and Crazy Horse in the 70s. He joined Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in the 80s. And he toured with Ringo Starr in the 90s.
"I understand," Lofgren says without a hint of bitterness. "I'm not young and pretty with a brand new marketable look. I don't begrudge anybody that."
He's played on albums by Branford Marsalis and Rod Stewart, and co-written songs with Lou Reed — not that it carries much weight with the major labels.
To promote his latest album, "Breakaway Angel," Lofgren has even created a Web site — a big step for a guy who doesn't have e-mail.
The album, with cover art from Hunter S. Thompson's accomplice Ralph Steadman.
features another collection of vintage Lofgren tunes. (Lofgren recently released another album, "Tuff Stuff," that features instruments he wrote for NFL announcer John Madden's annual "All-Madden Team" program.)
The music on "Breakaway Angel" ranges from a lengthy instrumental jam in "Puttin' Out Fires" to a cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream" to a dreamy "Heaven's Answer to Blue."
The songs reflect Lofgren's live shows, which is no surprise — 11 of the 14 vocals were done live in the studio, with some songs completed in a single take, he says.
"One of the nice things about not having a record company is not arguing with them for months about the album," Lofgren says. "These songs had a great feel. ... I rehearse enough to sing and play live in the studio."
One of his collaborations with Reed, "Driftin' Man," appears on the album.
Lofgren says that partnership began while the pair watched a Monday Night Football game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys back in the late 70s. They decided Lofgren would write the music and Reed the lyrics. Lofgren sent along a cassette of 13 tunes, but didn't hear back from Reed for more than a month.
And then his phone rang at 5 a.m. It was Reed.
"He informed me that he'd been up for three days and nights, that he loved the tape, he'd completed 13 sets of lyrics, and would be happy to dictate them to me," Lofgren recalls. "I got a cup of coffee and a pencil."
It was far from Lofgren's first brush with greatness. As a teen, after dropping out of high
school, he snuck backstage to visit with Neil Young after a show in Washington. D.C.
Lofgren was planning a California trip with his band, Grin, and was looking for any bit of advice.
"He was very friendly and nice, got me a cheeseburger and a Coke — I was underage," Lofgren recalls. "Knowing I was going to Los Angeles, he told me to look him up when I got there."
A year later, Lofgren was playing piano and singing on Young's "After the Gold Rush." Grin released four albums that won critical praise before Lofgren launched his solo career in 1975.
He spent 20 years with "tunnel vision, no life but music, and no regrets." Now, with his wife, Amy, and stepson, Dylan, he leads a more balanced life—although music remains a priority.
"I'm trying to find my own way, with dignity," he says. "To keep my focus on being passionate about the music. I'm just a little bit wiser, a little more set in my ways."
Over the course of his career, Lofgren has glided effortlessly from front man to sideman. On the last Springsteen tour, he played before arena rock crowds — and often stole the show, at least for one song, with his brilliant solo on the Boss" "Younstown."
The crowds are smaller for Lofgren's solo gigs, but he works to ensure the intensity never flags.
"I take great pride in walking into any bar, anywhere, and making it a special night for the audience," he says. "That's my job."
Reviews bring attention to debut album
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — When Norah Jones was 11, her mother took her to a big-band jazz concert at the University of North Texas campus near their home. The college boys were cute, but Jones was transfixed by the one woman on stage.
"She had this blond ponytail and she looked so cool up there with all those guys," Jones said. "The music was really cool and it just seemed like an interesting world."
Barely a dozen years later, Jones is the cool one. She was drawn into that interesting world, and her debut disc, Come Away With Me, is attracting attention for its self-assured, sultry pop. She sounds a little like fellow Southernner Shelby Lynne — if Lynne were aiming to please a jazz audience.
With little radio airplay but some rapturous reviews, her disc has sold more than 160,000 copies and made Billboard's Top 40 albums, unusual for a release on the jazz-oriented Blue Note label.
"There's been so much overproduced junk out there for so long that when something like this comes out that's very pure, very direct and with a voice that will break your heart, people react to it," said Bruce Lundvall, Blue Note's president.
Jones listened to Bon Jovi and Nirvana growing up. But thanks to her mom's extensive music collection, she was also exposed to Billie Holliday, Etta James, Ray Charles and Bill Evans.
"Music came naturally to me," she said. "I knew that just from being in music classes my whole life; I would just sort of get it the first or second time. I've been very lucky."
Jones started singing publicly at age 16 in the Dallas area, and studied jazz piano for two years at North Texas.
She always wanted to make it in New York City, however, and headed north after her sophomore year. Jones waited and took whatever gigs she could find, earning $10 an hour to sing over chattering patrons in dreary bars.
Armed with a three-song tape of her work, Jones made a contact with a Blue Note accountant who set up an appointment with Lundvall.
The story has become instant legend at Blue Note. Lundvall was wearily expecting another Diana Krall sound-alike, but was blown away by what he heard. After blurting out one question, asking Jones where she was from, "I said, 'You're going to be signed to Blue Note Records.'"
Only once before, for singer Rachelle Ferrell a decade earlier, had he offered a contract to someone on the spot.
"I was just totally captivated by the voice."
he recalled. "It just drew you right in. My first impression was she didn't sound like anyone else, she has this wonderfully seductive voice and she plays a great piano."
Jones set to work recording her debut, but Lundvall rejected the first attempt. The music sounded too cluttered, and emphasized the guitar instead of Jones' voice.
He sent Jones back into the studio, this time with veteran producer Arif Mardin. The result was a disc that left more room for the music to breathe, emphasizing the piano with a few other instrumental touches.
Jones was moving beyond jazz in the music she and her band were writing and performing. Jazz inflections remained a part of her work, but it's safe to assume few Blue Note artists ever cut a cover of Hank Williams' 'Cold Heart.'
"I started putting my own songs in and my songs didn't sound like jazz songs," she said. "They sounded like country songs."
That was her Texas upbringing talking. Jones said label executives, thinking they had signed a jazz artist, were taken aback by her change in direction. Lundvall said it was the production of her first recordings, not the music itself, that he had objected to.
Meredith Vieira named 'Millionaire' host
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Deciding against regular early wake-up calls at CBS, Meredith Vieira will stay on ABC's The View for five more years and be host of the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The former 60 Minutes newswoman was considered a potential successor to Bryant Gumbel at The Early Show and parlayed that interest into a handsome payday.
Terms were not disclosed. One source close to the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Vieira could earn about $5 million a year, a jump from her reported $500,000 salary from doing The View alone.
Vieira, was reluctant to take on the early-morning hours. The View airs live at 1 a.m.
Eastern and "Millionaire" episodes will tape once a week in the afternoon.
"The View fits my lifestyle and will continue to," Vieira said on Tuesday.
Davies said he was interested in Vieira after the prime-time host, Regis Philbin, turned the job down. But he said there was resistance among ABC executives and he then approached Rosie O'Donnell, who also turned it down.
The syndicated, half-hour Millionaire game begins next fall. It will be faster-paced with harder questions and eliminate the fastest-finger qualification round, said executive producer Michael Davies.
But after CBS expressed interest in Vieira and ABC knew it would have to pay to keep her, any resistance melted away. Asked if CBS' courtship helped her get the Millionaire job, Vieira said, "I don't know and I don't care."
Davies praised her sense of humor and ability to relate to everyone. "Millionaire is about real people, being real, and that goes for the host as well," he said.
Vieira, nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her role on The View, announced her decision on the air on Tuesday, with co-hosts Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Star Jones and Lisa Ling looking on.
Red Lyon Tavern
"I love the show," Vieira said. "I loved it from the very beginning. I think it's fun and smart and good family entertainment."
ABC was able to make the complicated deal because it produces The View and owns Buena Vista Television, producer of the syndicated Millionaire.
842-0722
9th & Illinois across from Burrito King, where we've always been
"We Stand Behind Our Work, and WE CARE!" DOMESTIC & FOREIGN COMPLETE CAR CARE