What
do you think of the younger generation who are listening and touched by
your music as well as Simon and Garfunkel?
I am deeply touched, perhaps more than you know, words fail.
You
have expressed your admiration for Bach and even recorded "Feuilles-Oh/Do
Space Men Pass Dead Souls on Their Way to the Moon?" Have you ever
considered recording a classical album?
Not
really. But The Animals' Christmas is kind of, to me.
You
have recorded a number of beautiful standards throughout your career,
i.e., "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "Since I Don't Have
You", to name just two. Will you consider recording an album of standards?
I
have a real appetite for just such a project.
In
the studio, have you ever recorded vocals for a song straight-through,
without interruption, which was subsequently released on an album?
Good
question; I believe the vocals on the first two S&G albums are sung
without interruption. Probably, not since.
What
is your favorite key to sing in?
I
seem to go to G a lot ("Bright Eyes") and D ("Bridge
Over Troubled Water").
There
are a number of songs you have recorded that have not been released on
your solo albums (i.e., "We'll Never Say Goodbye," "Is
This Love," "Fingerpaint," "Second Avenue," "The
Romance"). Have you considered compiling a CD of rarities? Do you
have a favorite?
A
timely question; I am planning to make a new collection, partially related
to your question. My current favorite "one-off" of mine is
a version I did last year of John Bucchino's "Grateful" for
the Julie Andrews Collection of books for young readers.
What
artist(s) have you been listening to recently?
Rufus
Wainwright, Edie Brickell, Bruce Hornsby, Maia Sharp, Yusef Islam.
When
you record your vocals, do you record concurrently with the band.
For
the last few years I start my records by singing with the core of the
band (drum, bass, guitars, keyboard) from my vocal isolation booth with
my earphones. From there, I lead the tempo, phrasing, dynamics, and
the story. The band track is a keeper but I will replace my singing
(90%) for tone quality sake.
You
have recognized The Beatles tune "Here, There and Everywhere"
as an exceptional ballad. Will you ever record it?
To
me, the song is so stunningly sublime that I am just intimidated to
touch it.
During
a recent concert, one of the most sublime moments during the show was
your performance of "The Thread," a stand out tune from "Everything
Waits To Be Noticed." Its musical and lyrical sophistication ranks
along the best of Paul Simon's work. Is the last verse, "Out of the
uptown flood your face appears somehow in a passing car wearing a tiny
scar," in reference to Theresa Russell's character leaving the Waldorf
Astoria in the final scene of "Bad Timing?"
Yes
it is. We shot that scene four days after Laurie Bird died... the thread
of Park Avenue memories...
Why
(1958) after the title of "Someone Else?"
Jimmy
(editors note: Webb) wrote it as a young teenager and wanted it distinguished
from later mature work.
What
is your favorite aspect of being a father?
The
beauty of it all. The growth of the heart muscle, its exhilaration with
all the constant love.
Your
college major and a song like "Watermark" point to your particular
interest in the fine arts. What are your personal tastes in art? What
particular artists, painting, styles are your favorite?
Among
painters, I love Peter Breugel the Elder, of course Ver Meer, Rembrandt,
Corot, Monet, Matisse, Klimt...
What
are your recollections of the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967?
At
one point in the afternoon I went back to the motel. When I returned
to the place of the show, that balmy, Pacific evening, amid the blossom
of the hippie season of unbuttoning button-down America, the Jefferson
Airplane were on playing "acidy" rock to their giant rear
screen "acidy" light show. BACKS TO THE AUDIENCE. I was enchanted
then.
Many
of your fans love to read your poems that are posted on your website.
Do you plan to continue to share your gift of writing on your site?
Yes.
How do you determine
your book selection? It is quite diverse and intellectual.
In the wide world
of wonder I have been a little tuned to western literature particularly.
I now have my personal standards wherein I place the good and very good
writers. I am fiction, non-fiction. Word of a credible mouth. Got to
have the weight, thinking stuff--the fluffiest I'll go is Jeeves. Beauty
in the writing - Flaubert, Tolstoy.
Do you still ride
a motorcycle? If so, where?
Just west of the
Nice, France airport, in Antibes by the water, Isabel and Pascal run
a small bike renting shop. I go to the Midi, the Ardeche, the Alps.
I can't ride to Tuscany because I'm just coming to it on my walk...
don't want to get ahead of myself.
Would you consider
performing an all Art Garfunkel concert, i.e., where you sing songs only
from your solo career?
Yes, very definitely.
I recently roughed out my set list.
Was there any time
while you were laying down the vocals for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
that you thought: "This is going to be a classic?"
Not a classic,
but more like: "This is emerging as a wonderful side, one of those
bigger records." I loved building the track.
Were you surprised
by the huge success of "Bright Eyes" in Britain? Any anecdotes
or tidbits you can recall from the recording studio?
Hits are always
a surprise. Given the odds, you never really expect them. I remember
recording "Bright Eyes" in London with the very talented Mike
Batt, and the great Goddard Lieberson behind the glass (co-producing).
Mike was the writer and Goddard was something else, a world class Manhattanite
Artist/CEO of our Columbia Records. I sang that night a little heady
from excellent company, wanting to impress.
On occasion, you
have performed with orchestras in addition to your touring band. Why did
you decide to work with an orchestra?
I feel like I
am the ideal artist for this... the songs I sing profit from orchestration,
because some of them were very orchestral to begin with.
You appear to truly
love performing live, both alone and recently with Paul (editor's note:
Simon). Did you enjoy touring with Paul again?
The tour was somewhere
between sensational and deeply satisfying. We gelled nicely.
Will you continue
to tour as a solo artist? Are you pleased with your live shows?
Yes, definitely.
You are always moving from freshman to sophomore. There is always a
next thing to get good at. Right now, I am trying to master stage performing.
I want to be a very cool hour-and-a-half attraction. I want to do what
I do better, to keep refining what I do. That's a personal devotion.
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