Fat Man In The Bathtub
I saw Little Feat at the Troubadour.
When I was a junior in college, all the music magazines testified about this new album by Little Feat, entitled "Dixie Chicken". So, of course, I bought it. And played it. And if you’d taken a picture of my face upon that first time through you would describe my expression as quizzical. As in HUH? This is what they were raving about? It didn’t sound quite like anything else, kind of like white boys from L.A. got sidetracked on their way to New Orleans. There was no hit single, and if this were the modern era, I probably wouldn’t have given the album another spin, but it being 1973, I played "Dixie Chicken" again and again and AGAIN, because I’D PAID FOR IT!
That’s how it worked. We could only afford a small amount of music. Every record was picked with TLC, no purchase was casual, to buy a bummer was to indict oneself as a lame, uneducated music fan. No one else might have known, but you would, so you gave these records a chance, and more often than not they exposed themselves to you.
But "Dixie Chicken" was a bit beyond that. First I loved "Juliette". Then other tracks started to reveal themselves to me, and then not only did I like "Dixie Chicken", I LOVED IT! I had to go back and buy "Sailin’ Shoes", I was a fan of a band almost no one had ever heard of, never mind had an opinion on.
Moving to L.A. is like arriving in a musical cornucopia. Not only do the street signs and locations make sense, from their placement in your favorite songs, suddenly all your favorite musical acts are AVAILABLE! You can SEE THEM!
I dragged Danny to the gig. He was the only guy at Star Sporting Goods who’d heard of Little Feat.
And this was back when there were tables in the venue, before it was necessary to stand to hear rock and roll, when the music touched not only your body, but your soul. You’d sit tucked into your seat grooving, with your mind bouncing like a pinball through the stratosphere.
I saw Little Feat again. At the Santa Monica Civic a few years later. But that Troubadour gig was the shit. Because it was solely about the music. They didn’t have a new album, it wasn’t like this one gig was going to ignite their career, this was a band of players locking into a groove for their fans.
And Little Feat ultimately had a radio hit. But not only did they not live up to their potential, they never broke through to mainstream consciousness. Everybody knows who Vanilla Ice is, even if they don’t want to listen to Rob Van Winkle’s music…but stop people on the street and ask them their opinion on Lowell George and they’ll say HUH?
RAMBLE ON
Last week I went to lunch with Jerry Greenberg. The oldsters are too rich to survive in today’s work for almost nothing music business, but they’ve still got their stories, a treasure trove.
Jerry was there. When Atlantic signed Zeppelin. He told me the story. About Ahmet getting a phone call from Dusty Springfield telling him that Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were starting a new band and he should sign them, this was even before Robert and Bonzo were involved.
And I’m telling Jerry about when I was in high school and in one week, everybody knew "Whole Lotta Love". It was October ’69. The track hit the airwaves, everybody bought "Led Zeppelin II" and Taylor Swift doesn’t have an iota of the impact. There wasn’t a soul who didn’t know "Whole Lotta Love". That album is all that anybody listened to for a week straight, maybe a month. Zeppelin was instantly the biggest band in the world.
And sure, "Whole Lotta Love" was the breakthrough, a single edit made by Jerry which Peter Grant finally acceded to, but the thing about "II" was you could play it through and through.
My personal favorite was always "Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman)", it tore through my speakers, but even I know the track that followed it was more magical…RAMBLE ON!
It was like you were on a thoroughbred, riding through the English countryside in the early morning mist. Loping along without a thought in your brain other than this song. That’s the magic of great music, its magnetism, it draws you in and won’t let go.
EXPLANATION
You see every Halloween Phish plays an entire classic album. And rumor was it was gonna be Zeppelin, so the Phearless Phoursome dropped some classic Zep into their set the night before, the 30th. But on the holiday, the album they covered was WAITING FOR COLUMBUS!
HUH?
I bet most of you have never heard of this double live album, when two vinyl discs didn’t even add up to the length of one CD.
What do you do when you don’t break through? RECORD YOUR GREATEST HITS!
Well, Little Feat only had one. But they had all that great music in their catalog that so many people had never heard. And they were big in England. And if you think "Waiting For Columbus" took hold in America, you’re rewriting history. Sure, dedicated music fans now knew who the band was, but still most people knew no tracks. Although as years passed, "Dixie Chicken" became a standard. That’s what perseverance will do for you. Concentrate on cutting something great, not what people want, and you might end up with a cut that lasts, one that truly strikes a chord.
Still, it’s not like Little Feat is the Doors, there’s been no mass renaissance. So it’s utterly AMAZING that Phish played this live album in its entirety Sunday night.
But it’s even better than that. They even employed a horn section, just like the original band, featuring Michael Leonhart of Steely Dan’s band. This was no casual effort, this was a tribute to their forgotten heroes, this was musicians who had to get it RIGHT!
And you’d feel more comfortable if Phish Phucked up. But they nailed "Waiting For Columbus" so well it makes you TINGLE! Not only do they get the notes right, they duplicate the ENERGY! Actually, having to cover up for the lack of soul, no one can duplicate Lowell George’s soul, they play with such intensity, such drive, that it’s an aural tsunami that gathers you up and pulls you into the flow.
SPANISH MOON
There was hookers and hustlers, filled up the room
That’s the audience. Not fat cat bankers who buy up all the good seats, talk and leave early. But fans, who need to be there, even if there’s no mainstream buzz, even if no one other than those in attendance care. The music isn’t made for those who don’t care, but those WHO DO!
Forget everybody who doesn’t care. Did you read endless reams of hype on these Phish shows? No, YOU HAD TO KNOW! That’s the modern music business. If you think it’s about hype, you’re probably selling your album below cost on Amazon in order to get a good SoundScan number. Huh? WHO PAYS ATTENTION TO SOUNDSCAN!
Anybody can be famous for a day on YouTube. But can you live in the hearts and minds of your FANS? That’s all you should care about.
I don’t care whether you download the original or Phish’s rendition of "Waiting For Columbus", but just know that when you’re ready there’s a treasure trove of juicy greatness ready to satiate your aural taste buds. That’s the modern music world. It’s not about hits, it’s about LAND MINES! Just ready to explode and change your life when you least expect it!
Great music is supposed to infect you, make you unable to walk away, never mind turn it off. It doesn’t compete with movies or television. The only thing that can equate with great tunes is sex.
So, put on your best look and go down to the show. There you’ll find like-minded people who may not look like the stars on TMZ, who might not have a six-pack, but they know the power of music. Join the band!
Hey lordy, join the band, be a good rascal and join the band
