By Ray Shasho
BLONDIE was simply spectacular on Saturday night for
the Second Annual Firefly Gala in Bradenton, Florida. The concert began
promptly at 9:45p.m.under the stars on a beautiful tropical evening. The event
raised an estimated $112,000 for The Forty Carrots Family Center, a nonprofit organization in
Sarasota, Florida dedicated to strengthening families through educational
programs for parents, children, and professionals in the field. The event was
sponsored by The Dart Foundation.
Formed in 1974, Blondie amassed a huge Punk following at New
York’s famed CBGB. The band later became known
for their eclectic musical styles that included New Wave, Disco,
Pop, Reggae and Rap. The band has sold over 40 million records worldwide. Blondie
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Blondie hadn’t performed together for months, but based
on crowd reaction at the packed mobile- amphitheater, you’d think you were
reliving one of those incredible CBGB shows all over again. The band played a
magnificent performance to a rapturous Bradenton gathering at the Concession.
Debbie Harry continues to be totally hip, enticing
the audience throughout the evening with coolness, glamour and vivaciousness. Her voluptuous voice is stronger than ever and
punkish struts even more apparent. An audience of donors and sponsors quickly
became an audience of Debbie Harry and Blondie music fanatics.
Blondie played all the crowd pleasers on Saturday evening
including “Union City Blues,” “Dreaming,” “Maria,” “Hanging On The Telephone,”
“The Tide Is High” (their cover of the 1967 Paragons tune) and “Call Me” (the
band’s biggest selling single from the movie American Gigolo). An explosive one-two punch materialized when
Blondie performed the most dynamic and favored tune of the night, “Rapture”
including a deviation of the Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To
Party!) and followed by the stalker inspired, “One Way Or Another” from their
album Parallel Lines. Blondie also
showcased new music from their critically-acclaimed release Panic Of Girls including, “Mother,” and “What
I heard.” Blondie’s encore for the evening was the #1 Hit, “Heart Of Glass” a
tune inspired by the German electronic group Kraftwerk.
Original bandmates, guitar virtuoso Chris Stein, and
accomplished drummer Clem Burke, were both on stage playing with vengeance on
Saturday night. Tommy Kessler traded guitar licks with Chris Stein and was also
spotlighted featuring an array of incredible rifts. Bassist Leigh Foxx and
keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen complete an amazing group of talented musicians.
At 8p.m Saturday evening I was escorted onto guitarist
Chris Stein’s tour bus for a quick
interview.
Fun
fact about Chris …. He’s a huge wrestling fan from way
back and has met everyone from Andre the Giant to Vince McMahon.
Here’s my chat with legendary
songwriter/guitarist/photographer/ cofounder of Blondie CHRIS STEIN.
Ray
Shasho: Thanks for
meeting with me today Chris, looking forward to a great show. I know you’re
probably asked this a lot but who were some of your influences growing up?
Chris
Stein:
“Hendrix
was a big influence and I was a big Stones freak. And more of a Motown fan
prior to the British stuff. And I wasn’t a big Elvis freak when I was a kid. I
liked Dylan; I remember seeing Dylan on Steve Allen when I was a kid and that
was a big moment, but never made an impression on me until later.”
“But speaking of Elvis… when we went to Graceland it
was awesome and not what you might expect… it’s kind of retro at worst. Some of
it is a little weird but overall not as bad as one is led to believe. It’s kind
of cool in a way.”
Ray
Shasho: You met
Debbie Harry when you were in the Stilettos?
Chris
Stein: “Yea, we’re going to have our fortieth anniversary
next year.”
Ray Shasho: Congrats! Chris you’re an excellent
photographer, although sad, I liked your pictures featuring the last days of
CBGB.
Chris Stein: “Yea, I’m going to start putting stuff
out when I get back, putting things together for the Morrison Hotel people.
Maybe in April I’ll get something on their website. The digital world is so
seductive… I should do more film.”
Ray Shasho: Are you collaborating musically with anyone
these days?
Chris Stein: “Just the guys in the band. I listen to
a lot of music … a lot of strange stuff.”
Ray Shasho: What kind of music are you listening to
these days?
Chris Stein: “A lot of Latin music … ‘Systema Solar’
they’re a great Colombian band. I like Overground Raggaeton. Modern Latin
styles too. I was doing the research on old style Colombian music and it
sounded a lot like Captain Beefheart or something …very funky.”
Ray Shasho: When you wrote “Heart of Glass” were you
specifically aiming for the explosive Disco market?
Chris Stein: “No … it was supposed to be Kraftwerk but
it just fit into the mold.”
Ray Shasho: So the band is headed to the Hard Rock in
Hollywood, Florida after tonight’s show?
Chris Stein: “Just for the weekend. We haven’t played
together for five or six months, but we sound okay, we remembered all the music.”
Ray Shasho: What was the origin of “Rapture”? I read
somewhere that the melody was devised from a Turkish tune?
Chris Stein: “No-no. We loved Chic and the music that
was going on at the time. We heard the first Rap thing in 1977 and it was very
exciting ...so that was it you know.”
Ray Shasho: You guys are actually classified as
pioneers for the genre of Rap music.
Chris Stein: “Yea, a couple of guys from Wu-Tang Clan
told us that it (“Rapture”) was the first Rap song they ever heard … which is
kind of mind-boggling. Frankie Crocker broke it on WBLS nationwide.
Ray Shasho: Anything you’d
like to promote Chris?
Chris Stein: “China
Mieville’s new book, he’s our buddy; this is his new book called ‘Railsea’
coming out in May. It’s a Steampunk Sci-Fi Fantasy thing. He’s a great writer.”
Ray Shasho: What’s the story about?
Chris Stein: “The world is all dirt (he doesn’t
mention any oceans) and covered with these rails, and the trains go everywhere
in this complex system of rails and if you step on the ground where the rails
are the animals come and eat you immediately. So then there are these islands
where the people live on. I’ve been waiting for him to do a Moby-Dick reference
and this book has Moby-Dick references in it.”
Ray Shasho: You grew up on Brooklyn?
Chris Stein: “I went to the same high school as Woody
Allen, I grew up in Flatbush. There was this local gangster called Junior
Sirico and his brother Carmine Sirico. He was like ten years older than me and
use to hang out at the local pool hall …. Anyway, he’s ‘Paulie Walnuts’ of The
Sopranos. I never knew it but I just found out that it was him.”
Ray Shasho: Where’s Debbie Harry originally from?
Chris Stein: “Florida and
New Jersey. Her parents came from Florida but she’s adopted so we don’t know
for sure.”
Ray Shasho: Do you like a lot of the Pop/Dance music
that’s around today?
Chris Stein: “Don’t you like “Pumped Up Kicks” and all
that stuff … it’s a great song! I like that and “Moves Like Jagger” …. they’re
really good songs. But I like the fact that everything is dance music. We love
Beirut; they’re one of our favorite bands too.”
Ray Shasho: I’m looking forward to tonight’s concert.
Chris Stein: “Well, we really haven’t played for
months …so if anybody screws up… (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: Are you planning another full-scale tour
soon?
Chris Stein: “We do great on Europe and UK tours.
We’re playing to 30,000 people in the UK and then come back here and play to a
thousand drunks in a casino.”
Ray Shasho: Congrats on
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There was a bit of a spat during the ceremony
wasn’t there?
Chris Stein: “Frankie
started pissing and moaning that he wasn’t going to play and he decided it was
the right moment in front of 200 million people. People were saying … how much
did you pay him for doing that? We thought the Sex Pistols were going to be the
big thing. So he just started bitching on TV, he would have had to call
somebody if he really wanted to play. I hadn’t talked with him in twenty years.
We had already rehearsed.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the bands you followed
when you were part of the Punk and New Wave scene?
Chris Stein: “The Ramones, Richard Hell. Television
when Richard Hell was still with them was really an amazing thing, it was
exciting. The Ramones influenced so
many people … the T-Shirts are there everywhere you go. For me the first two
Stones albums are completely punk. I just heard “Satisfaction” the other day
and I thought … that song sounds so punk.”
Ray Shasho: Chris thanks for chatting with me today,
I’m looking forward to a great show.
Chris Stein: “Thanks Ray.”
Special thanks to Minta Getzen, the Forty Carrots Family Center, and the Dart Foundation.
Blondie official
website www.blondie.net
Forty Carrots official
website www.fortycarrots.org
Chris Stein IMDb www.imdb.com/name/nm0825421/
COMING UP NEXT An interview with IAN ANDERSON of Jethro Tull
Contact
author/columnist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
Download Ray Shasho’s
new book ‘Check the Gs’ on Kindle or
Nook E-Book format at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com for ONLY .99 CENTS!
Ray
Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the
USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music,
television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and
comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. ~~Pacific Book Review
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