Joe Bonamassa interviews Ben Folds on 'Live From Nerdville'

Running the latest news here on singer-songwriter/guitar master Joe Bonamassa, who performs via a global livestream from ACL tonight at 6 p.m. Pacific Time...Robert Kinsler

ICYMI: Joe Bonamassa interviews Ben Folds on 'Live From Nerdville'

Genre-defying singer-songwriter and piano legend talks William Shatner, Sara Bareilles and "Being Contrary" to the industry

TWO RENOWNED ARTISTS EXPLORE JAZZ AND BLUES AHEAD OF JOE’S GLOBAL LIVESTREAM FROM ACL LIVE, TONIGHT AT 9PM ET

SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE

TIX FOR ACL LIVE HERE

In this week’s episode of Joe Bonamassa’s hit interview series Live From Nerdville, the guitar virtuoso talks with renowned artist Ben Folds who is currently in Australia! Intros start with their mutual connection, producer Kevin Shirley, before they dive into discussing the one and only William Shatner who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Folds, who notes the iconic actor and singer as “complicated but artistically refreshing,” produced his 2004 solo album Has Been.  “What was Shatner like? Considering that he just turned 90? What an international treasure he is!” – JB BF – "Insane!  Ben Folds continues, "He’s complicated but he’s artistically just refreshing for a musician, because one he’s used to working on quick time frames so that’s really a difference when you work with an actor. He’s like well, the shoot is booked at 8 o’clock, I know my lines, let’s do this take and move on! And that’s really kind of amazing you know? We have deadlines but it creates an atmosphere for an actor, but it’s old school one. So, if I asked him to do something again, he would ask ‘why?’ Or he would do it differently than the last time. So, I would tell him that I need him to do it the same way so I could edit, and he didn’t understand that at all. Which is why it actually was good for me is because it reminded me that you only need that one. So, if you’re prepared for that, and know that you don’t have a second chance, that is the moment of truth! This experience really kept me on my game! I learned so much from him! I hung out a lot with Shatner and we’ve become friends, and, on our birthdays, we call or text each other and I would get a text or call with Shatner saying ‘Bennie, it’s Billie! Happy Birthday!’” They two continue discussing the Shatner project along with the psychology and motivation around trying to find that perfect situation in capturing an artist’s raw moments. Joe, who has also done his fair share of producing, talks about his time with Chicago’s Queen of Guitar Joanna Connor, who scored a #1 album on the Billboard Blues chart with her latest release, 4801 South Indiana Avenue, which was produced by Bonamassa and released on his label Keeping the Blues Alive. Ben gets into his time with the multi-talented showstopper Sara Bareilles and they both share some tips, tricks and secrets they’ve found along the way.  “The main psychology has to do with the self-perception when each artist. Self-perception is also the same reason why some artists will continue to make the same records over and over.” – BF Joe and Ben go on to discuss their different upbringings, the ultimate battles of trying to get record deals, and how being “contrary” to popular music actually helps build an artistic and establish their career. Then, as both men are incredible connoisseurs of their instrumental talents, they round things out with an intriguing comparison of their guitar and piano collections that surely music fans will really enjoy. For more on Bonamassa’s deep discussion with Ben Folds about the pandemic, touring, Joe’s upcoming Blues Power Trio livestream at ACL Live, past performances at Carnegie Hall, the infamous songwriter Nick Lowe “The Basher” and everything in between that you don’t want to miss, catch the entire episode here.  “You have to respect the environment of each venue whether it’s Carnegie or you’re just recording in your house.” – JB

WANT TO HEAR MORE? Check out the full interview on Joe’s YouTube: youtube.com/c/JoeBonamassaTV/videos ABOUT LIVE FROM NERDVILLE: “Live From Nerdville” is a new interview show hosted by Joe Bonamassa featuring music legends and industry pioneers. Recent episodes have included Neal Schon of Journey, John Oates of Hall & Oates, Glenn Hughes, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Walter Trout, Steve Lukather of Toto, Bob Lefsetz, esteemed singer-songwriter Dion and more! In each 45 min episode, Joe and his special guest share their personal stories, discuss music, showcase gear, and talk life in the industry and more. With a new episode every Wednesday, fans can watch live on Joe’s Facebook and YouTube pages. All episodes are available on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, Google, Apple, iTunes, etc. Now in its second season, “Live From Nerdville” is currently booking guests for season three. For more information, please contact Cory at Big Hassle Media (cory@bighassle.com). ABOUT BEN FOLDS: Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of our generation, a genre-defying icon whose expansive body of work spans legendary pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple critically acclaimed solo albums, and an array of collaborative records. Folds’ most recent album, 2015’s So There, blended new pop songs with his “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” and soared to #1 on Billboard’s “Classical Albums” and “Classical Crossover” charts upon release. Folds has spent more than a decade performing with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras and currently serves as the first-ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.  Along with frequent touring, both solo rock and orchestral, Folds published his first book, A Dream About Lightning Bugs (Ballantine Books), in 2019. A collection of interrelated essays, anecdotes, and lessons about art, life, and music, the inventive memoir proved a New York Times best-seller amid widespread critical applause around the world. In addition to curating and hosting Lightning Bugs: Conversations With Ben Folds, Folds has spent much of the past year presenting live and taped virtual streams and recently began performing limited live shows in Australia, where he was on tour when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in early 2020. The always-active artist has also begun preparations for a new TV series and hopes to perform a number of solo piano and orchestral tour dates upon his scheduled return to the US later this year. A member of the prestigious Sony Artisans of Imagery, Folds is an avid photographer who has served as an assignment photo editor for National Geographic and whose distinctive work was featured in an original mini-documentary by the Kennedy Center’s Digital Project  Folds remains an outspoken champion for arts education and music therapy funding in US public schools, with more than half a decade serving as an active member of the distinguished Artist Committee of Americans For The Arts (AFTA) as well as Board Member of AFTA’s Arts Action Fund. Folds recently served as Chairman of the Arts Action Fund’s ArtsVote2020 national initiative encouraging voter engagement in the 2020 US elections, and continually advocates for improving public policies for the arts and arts education.

Sights and Sounds: Ringo Starr to be honored with the 'Lifetime of Peace & Love Award' by the David Lynch Foundation

Here is the latest noteworthy release to land in my inbox. The Jan. 20 concert at the El Rey Theatre looks pretty exciting with the likes of Peter Frampton, Ben Folds, Ben Harper, Joe Walsh and Betty LaVette slated to perform too!

RINGO STARR TO BE HONORED WITH
THE “LIFETIME OF PEACE & LOVE AWARD”

BY THE DAVID LYNCH FOUNDATION

Ringo, Along With Rick Rubin, Dixie Chicks, and More
to Launch “DLF LIVE” in 2014

New Initiative Brings Meditation and Creatives Together
For Special, One-Night-Only Events!

To Raise Funds to Teach 1 Million Veterans,
At-risk Youth Transcendental Meditation

The David Lynch Foundation will celebrate the life and work of Ringo Starr and honor him with the “Lifetime of Peace & Love Award”during the global launch of its new performance arts events division, entitled DLF LIVE. The celebration will be held in Los Angeles on January 20 and feature a star studded celebration of Starr’s music. The launch of DLF Live will continue on February 27 when the Foundation honors Rick Rubin with the “Lifetime of Harmony Award” with a rare live performance by the Dixie Chicks and many more.   Detailed lineups are listed below for both of these shows; PRESS HERE to purchase tickets to these events. 

Since its launch almost ten years ago, the David Lynch Foundation – founded by the iconic filmmaker David Lynch – has already provided scholarships to teach Transcendental Meditation to more than 300,000 at-risk youth in underserved schools, veterans with post-traumatic stress (PTS), women who are survivors of domestic violence, and homeless and incarcerated individuals.  DLF Live’s mission is to create incredible, one-night-only experiences with some of the biggest, most lauded creatives of our time, to help raise money to bring evidence-based, stress-reducing meditation to these one million at-risk adults and youth across the globe.  

Says David Lynch, "We want to generate the electricity of peace through music—and it’s a thrill to know that the super-creative, enthusiastic musicians of our world are with us to achieve this goal."

Transcendental Meditation was first brought to the public eye in 1968 when the Beatles, Donovan, the Beach Boys and others famously traveled to India to study with TM founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Since then, the benefits of the technique for reducing stress and promoting creativity and health have been verified by more than 340 scientific studies, which have been conducted at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA and other top medical schools, and published in over 100 peer-reviewed journals (see www.DoctorsonTM.org).  

The DLF LIVE events will introduce music lovers around the world to the healing properties of meditation, and demonstrate how all populations can benefit from this timeless practice. 

From a recent benefit show featuring Jack White, Jakob Dylan, Brendan Benson and more last month in Nashville, to exclusive ticket giveaways for tours by TM practitioners Russell Brand and Jerry Seinfeld, to all of the unbelievable forthcoming endeavors this year, DLF LIVE’s events bring the best in talent together with the highest in consciousness to create something very life-changing indeed.

LEARN MORE HERE:  http://www.dlflive.org

For exclusive meet and greets, tickets, and to donate, PRESS HERE!

DLF LIVE LAUNCH EVENTS:

January 20^th, 2014 @ the El Rey Theatre

DLF Live will celebrate David Lynch’s birthday while honoring:

RINGO STARR

with the

LIFETIME OF PEACE & LOVE AWARD

with

MUSICAL DIRECTOR DON WAS

Peter Frampton, Ben Folds, Joe Walsh, Brendon Benson, Ben Harper, Bettye LaVette, Dave Stewart, plus more guest artists!

February 27^th, 2014 @ the Beverly Wilshire Hotel

DLF Live will honor legendary music producer

RICK RUBIN

with the

LIFETIME OF HARMONY AWARD

Featuring

DIXIE CHICKS

Damien Rice, Jake Bugg, and surprise guest artists!

http://www.dlflive.org

@davidlynchfoundation

https://www.facebook.com/DavidLynchFoundation

William Shatner riveting at rare gig in San Juan Capistrano

My William Shatner review was originally posted on The Orange County Register Web site on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013.

Backed by a primo prog-rock outfit featuring former members of Yes, the live version of his latest opus, Ponder the Mystery, held a capacity crowd rapt at the Coach House.

At 82, William Shatner shows no indication of retiring from his wide-ranging career as actor, director, comedian, product pitchman, talk-show host, author, sci-fi convention attraction, pop culture icon – and now prog-rocker.

Next at the Coach House: Dread Zeppelin, Oct. 31, $15; DSB (a Journey tribute) with Alter Ego, Fleetwood Max and Hemispheres, Nov. 1, $15; Lisa Marie Presley, Nov. 2, $20; Cowboy Mouth, Nov. 3, $15; Buddy Guy, Nov. 7, $75

Call: 949-496-8930

Online: thecoachhouse.com, ticketfly.com

Friday night (Oct. 25) the Emmy winner made the final stop of a short trek promoting his recently released fourth album, Ponder the Mystery, bringing his latest musical venture to the Coach House for a rare club experience as unique and entertaining as its charismatic captain. A capacity crowd filled the San Juan Capistrano venue early and was rewarded with an engaged Shatner supported by celebrated progressive rock band Circa, featuring two former members of Yes, guitarist Billy Sherwood and keyboardist Tony Kaye, plus bassist Ricky Tierney and drummer Scott Connor.

On record, an array of guests helps flesh out this latest opus, from guitar virtuosos Steve Vai and Al Di Meola to Foreigner’s Mick Jones and the Doors’ Robby Krieger, plus a slew of keys masters, including Edgar Winter, the late George Duke and another Yes man, Rick Wakeman. But here, with backing boiled down to just the Circa quartet, the group and its star storyteller delivered a magnetic 90-minute version of Mystery, capped by a 20-minute encore more focused on the group’s skills.

Although seated and using a workbook to guide him through lines and cues, Shatner's exaggerated spoken-word style – which has been lampooned over the years as much as praised, gaining considerable credibility with 2004’s Ben Folds collaboration Has Been – here blended with dazzling near-symphonic compositions penned by Sherwood, who also produced the new disc.

As Priceline’s pitchman noted early in the night, his current creation is about a guy who regains his joy of life over the course of an hour while sitting on the beach at sunset. That sounds like a fairly simple concept, yet it provided room for lengthy essaying in verses dealing with loss, the beauty and mystery of nature, mortality and personal redemption.

From the opening lyrics – "Where it's gone, I don't know, I'm missing something, give it back," his protagonist grappling with the realization of a life gone wrong – to the final Mystery track, the more hopeful "Alive," there were countless moments for Capt. James T. Kirk to employ his distinctive baritone while the band provided tuneful elements. Sherwood often added his strong tenor voice to choruses or played artful electric guitar solos that lighted the way for Shatner's lyrical trajectory.

Billy Sherwood

"Manhunt" was one of several songs that fused melodic rock reminiscent of Asia with sharply imagistic storytelling. It certainly heightened the atmosphere that the audience, while cheering mightily after each selection, was otherwise quiet and tuned in during the songs themselves.

The title piece benefitted from rich harmonies by Sherwood and Tierney, as well as some of the headliner’s most dramatic poetry, his evocative lines placed amid Circa’s fills and counterpoint vocals. Even more beautiful was "Sunset," treated to a jazz-tinged backdrop and Kaye's textured orchestrations.

In all, it was a most unusual yet rewarding encounter, a contemplative piece of prog-rock theater that proves Shatner continues to go where no man has gone before.

Photos: Kelly A. Swift, for the Register

Make sure to check out this video I found on YouTube of the performance of "Manhunt," as well as Mr. Shatner's notes about the genesis of the project: