the ten spot. part 3.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1998 -- This morning I did a few errands around the 'hood, then made a
cassette copy of Nikki Matheson's demo (featuring "Patchwork," the song we wrote together) plus a bunch of singer-songwriter fillers to give to John Bell, lead guitarist/vocalist of WSP. In the afternoon
I metro'd up to Montmartre to meet with Patrick & pick up a tape of his "Annie Lennox" song. We had a drink in a café, talked a little about the structure of the piece & about some lyrics he'd worked upfor the chorus. Some of them weren't good English usage, but the ideas are strong & they give me a bit of a departure point for my assignment. From the café it was just a 10-minute walk to the hotel where Widespread was staying, near the Moulin Rouge in Pigalle, so I dropped by there to see if anything was going on.
I ran into Dirk and JoJo Herman, the keyboard player. JoJo invited me up to his room for a smoke & a joke & an interview, but first we stopped at Dirk's for a brief visit. These guys are real down-to-earth people & lots of laughs. At JoJo's room, we got into a discussion about the last days of Max's Kansas City, where JoJo, a New Yorker, played when he was 18 & a student at Columbia. I mentioned Elliott Murphy, who was part of that scene & JoJo's eyes widened. "Omigod," he said, "I used to go see him every Wednesday night there for a year or so. I loved his songs!" I told JoJo that Elliott lived here in town & that I had written about him for RELIX & he replied that Elliott probably wouldn't remember him, he was just this kid who was hanging out there. I put in a call to Elliott & spoke with his wife Françoise, who said that he had just stepped out but would be back later. I gave her my cellphone number, told her I was with a dude who knew Elliott from the Max's days & suggested he might call us back. Dirk popped his head in & offered me a special gift from the band: my choice of a WSP baseball cap or a long-sleeve teeshirt. I went for the shirt; it was a nice gesture. JoJo and WSP drummer Todd Nance, along with a couple of crew guys, were going down to the Left Bank that evening to get some fondue for dinner & then to check out Ravi Coltrane again at La Villa. JoJo invited me to join them. I called down to La Villa & the early show was sold out, but I weaseled us
places at the bar. We wouldn't stay there very long, I explained, because Widespread had their own gig to get to by 10 or 10:30.
The five of us metro'd down to Place St-Michel in the Latin Quarter & embarked on a search for the fondue restaurant that JoJo & some of the guys had found on Monday night. We went down the Rue St-André des Arts & never found the place, but Elliott called & I handed my cellphone to JoJo so he could have a little chat with him. I took us down a side street to visit the lobby of the Hotel Vieux Paris, where Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs & Gregory Corso all used to stay in the late '40s & '50s. Marti & I discovered this little hotel by happenstance on our Paris vacation in 1989, when our Washington, D. C. friend & travel agent Tara Sears booked us there because she thought it was a good location. It has since been upgraded to a three-star hotel, but the managers are always willing to let folks come in to see the black & white photos of the beat writers (Allen Ginsberg with hair!) that decorate the walls of the lobby. I also took the guys down the Cour de Commerce St-André, where Danton published his tracts during the French Revolution & where Dr. Guillotine developed his "humane" snuffing apparatus. We wound up back at Place St-Michel, in a fondue place we had spotted as we came up from the metro, not the same one the boys had been to, but an excellent find nonetheless. I love it when visitors to Paris discover good restaurants for us! I told the lovely blonde waitress that we only had an hour or so before the 9 p.m. Ravi Coltrane gig at La Villa & she quickly set us up with two big cheese fondues & two huge beef fondues as well. The five of us got down to some serious eatin'.
Later at La Villa, which is a small, expensive but beautiful nightclub, JoJo was a little shy about speaking with Ravi, especially about seeing whether he might want to come down to Chesterfield's
after his gig, but that didn't stop me. Shortly before the set was about to start, JoJo pointed out the bass player, a guy named Lonnie Plaxico. I was standing next to the dude, so I chatted him up. "You guys having fun here?" I asked. "Yeah," Lonnie replied with a smile. "We always have fun in Paris." I told him that I was with a bunch of musicians from Georgia, who had been in the other night & who
were playing at a place off the Champs-Elysées called the Chesterfield Café. Real jammy band, I told him. Good original material, cool covers. The other night they had done a killer version of Curtis
Mayfield's "Pusherman." Lonnie laughed & said he used to play in an R & B band that did Curtis stuff. I introduced JoJo & Todd to him, then Ravi & his drummer appeared. We were introduced all around, making small talk, then it was time for Ravi's quintet to hit.
As soon as the drummer began tapping his hi-hat, Todd rolled his eyes & in mock desperation, said, "Fuck, that's it. I'm throwing away my sticks. These jazz drummers are right on it from the git!" Who is that guy, I asked him. Turned out it was the legendary Jeff "Tain" Watts, a veteran of Branford Marsalis's group. He's also played big arena shows in Sting's band. Watts was just smokin' on those drums. We could only hang there for a couple of numbers, but it was a treat to watch the WSP guys checking out Ravi's quintet. Around 10:15 we hopped into cabs & headed for the Chesterfield.
The guys from Oui FM were back for another live broadcast; I said hello to them & to Christophe, who had arrived earlier. I got to speak with Sarah Brown, the taper, to thank her again for helping Marti out last week. Sarah asked when Marti was coming back (as did Laura Bell, J. B.'s wife) & I replied that most likely she'd be here on Friday and Saturday. The band took the stage for another long
musical roadtrip, kicking off with ripping versions of "Radio Child">"Pleas">"Holden Oversoul," later into a great mid-set "Driving Song">"Arlene">"Driving Song," ending with a killer "Chilly Water" &
jam. Three more shows to go.
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1998 -- I phoned my friend Arne Heinen, who does a Grateful Dead radio show in Hamburg. The group would be playing there on April 1 & I had spoken with Dirk about giving an interview with Arne. Dirk gave me contact information for Mercury/Polygram UK, who were handling press relations for Hamburg. "Have your guy call them," Dirk said. "If he has a problem there, I'll take care of him in Hamburg." I spent a little time prepping for my interview with J.
B., scheduled for the afternoon. I did some errands, then metro'd to the hotel. Christophe showed up, then some folks from a French rock magazine called Best, plus Davy Hoyau, a kid out on his first interview, & who is starting his own French rock mag called Whiteline Rock Magazine. We hung out there for awhile, then Sunny Ortiz & J. B. showed up.
The official site for the press event was a bar down the street. After shooting the breeze in the hotel lobby for a half hour or so, we all trekked to the bar. Christophe began an interview with Mike Houser & I stuck my recorder over there, but they were talking all about technical stuff, of no use to my article. We all had a few laughs while the Best photographer was directing Mike, J. B. & Todd in goofy magazine poses. Hey, how about one outside hanging onto a tree with our arms & legs spread out, like The Beatles! The guy was interviewing J. B. & I was talking about cooking with WSP drummer Todd Nance. When he complained earlier that Monet's home & gardens in Giverny were not yet open for the season, I told him about a beautiful book called "Monet's Cooking Journals"
(formerly entitled "Monet's Table"), which has excellent photography & adaptations of the artist's own recipes. That's when Todd & I started on cooking. He loves it all: grilling, barbecuing, smoking his own meats -- the whole enchilada. I recorded our conversation, but I don't know whether I'll be able to work it into my piece.
JoJo was doing a gang-bang interview with some Best guys, plus that Whiteline kid. I took the last interview slot with J. B. I had scribbled a few questions, but soon the interview devolved into just a conversation, not very professional, but often more interesting, especially if I know I already have something usable on tape.
After the press session I went up to JoJo's room to hang for awhile. He was all excited about a tacky Bon Jovi tee shirt he had bought at a stall on the street. It had a glam shot of Jon Bon Jovi, a bottle
shaped & labeled like Jack Daniel's but that read "New Jersey Whiskey -- 40°." Right. Forty percent toxic waste. He was going to wear it Friday night. I said I wanted to get a photo of that! I left JoJo's
room & went down to the club. I had set up an 8 p.m. interview with Felecia & Chris, writers for An Honest Tune, the WSP fanzine. Sunny Ortiz & WSP manager Sam Lanier were having dinner at a booth in the back room, so ordered some crabcakes & a Pepsi & joined them. I took Felecia & Chris to a quiet café down the street & got a good lively interview with them. It's hard not to have some action with this young woman. Felecia is known as "Crazy Felecia" to the guys in the band & Chris is as subdued & chilled out as she is spacey & yakky. Great combination. I pushed back into the crowd at Chesterfield's & settled into a booth with Emily Nesmith & Tom Wilson, a pair of baked
young WSP heads from Athens, GA. They are totally into Widespread & were insisting that Marti & I come stay with them in Athens for the April 18 street party & free concert to celebrate the band's double live CD release. I had a super time partying with them in Paris, so why not? WSP played another long, hot set; this was my eighth show & it never got boring. Among my faves this night were "Diner," "Space Wrangler," "Aunt Avis" & the "Porch Song" closer. The encore smoked: "Blackout Blues." Into a taxi & home to smoke-free clothes & Larry King.
go to the ten spot. part 4.
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the ten spot. part 1.
Email: phildemetrion@yahoo.com
