The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
ROCKTALK GIG GUIDE
● One of the all-time great singer-songwriters is tuning up for a Courier Country gig next week.
Graham Nash, a key member of 60s legends The Hollies and folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, is playing Perth’s Southern Fried Festival on July 28.
Throughout his epic career, the Salford-raised Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s musical output has alternated between personal songs such as Our House, Teach Your Children and Wasted On The Way and socio-political critiques via the likes of Military Madness, Chicago and Immigration Man.
Graham has lived in America since 1968 and, inevitably, he has plenty to say on the USA’s current “disturbing” state.
“I’m a human being and I react to what happens to me, particularly right now with the Donald Trump administration,” he declares.
“It’s completely chaotic and they’re taking America down a certain road, but to me that road leads backwards not forwards. Quite frankly, I think we deserve better.”
The naturalised US citizen admits he avoids social media. “It’s a constant Twitter bombardment from Trump and having gone through Watergate all those years ago this feels very different,” he explains.
“The Trump administration have divided America on fear – fear of someone who doesn’t look like you or isn’t the same colour or religion as you – and has given voice to the white nationalists and the right wing but we’ve seen this story before.
“Remember we’ve been through two world wars. We’ve seen the rise of demagogues, the Stalins and the Pol Pots of this world. That’s where Donald Trump would love to head. He’d love to be king of the world with nobody questioning his decisions.”
There are insightful moments aplenty on Over The Years... a new retrospective covering Graham’s solo career, collaborations with David Crosby and the pair’s various projects with Stephen Stills and Neil Young.
“I’m the archivist in our band and I’ve got every tape that we ever recorded in a bank vault,” he says.
“I figured out what 15 songs are my fans’ favourite songs of mine and put those on there in a nice musical journey.
“To make it different I added 15 of my original demos, and 12 have never been heard before.
“It’s fascinating for people who love our music to see the transition from the very simple demo to the actual record, particularly something like Teach Your Children that I recorded in very early 1969 and it’s just me with an acoustic guitar. When Stephen heard that song he said he thought it was really nice but added, ‘Don’t ever play it like that again.’
“I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘No, no, no, it needs this.’ And he put together that beautiful right hand picking pattern that is so identifiable and turned it into a big hit record.
“The demos all sounded pretty good to me, particularly Just A Song Before I Go where I do the solo on harmonica. I’d forgotten that I’d done that, so that was quite pleasant to re-hear.
“The only one we had to do some work with was Wind On The Water. The voice wasn’t quite loud enough and I found the original multi-track I’d done and remixed it with my friend Joel Bernstein, my fellow producer.”
Now 76, Graham’s refocused on gigs that combine his classic songs with storytelling following a bitter rift with his lifelong friend Crosby.
“I have to put myself in the same emotional state I was in when I wrote them,” he says.
“So whether it’s a love song or whether I’m angry I sing them with the same passion I did all those times. I’ve played Our House a thousand times and I still believe it.
“Basically I know what it is that people love about those songs and I try and retain the essence of that. They also like to know where the songs come from so I tell them.”
For festival tickets go to www.horsecross.co.uk
● Upcoming indie outfit Neon Waltz play Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys tonight. The Caithness rockers’ only non-festival summer gig has support from The Nickajack Men and The Decrees. Tickets £7 at Ticketweb.
● Classy alt-rockers Ohrio are on home turf tomorrow to launch their Drowning EP. The anthemic four-piece are headlining at Church, where they’ll be joined by Plasmas, Ark Royal and Blind Unicorn. Tickets £6 via the Ward Road venue’s Facebook page.
● Perth’s Counter Culture Collective tonight includes Minches, The Purple Felts, Seamus Leavey and Swaine. Green Room admission’s £5.
● Church has a diverse Monday session with The Weight Of Atlas, Black Blood, Cinema Paradiso and Sonorous. Tickets £6 from Grouchos / £7 at the door.
● Number 57 has Chain Gang tomorrow at 5.30pm and Junkyard Dogs on Sunday at 7pm.
● Covers outfit Cherry Bombz play Downfield’s Admiral Bar tonight, Arbroath’s St Thomas Bar (tomorrow) and The Tavern (Sunday).