DO IT FOR ENJOYMENT – DO IT AND SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF IT
A CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM PARKER
βNo snow in London,β reported Graham Parker. βWe just got endless streams of storms. The last one came from a confluence of cold and warm air from North America. It got together on the Atlantic and they exported it over here, and it beat the shit out of us.βΒ When I tell him that it is the gift from us that keeps on giving, he laughs and says βThank you.β Thus starts my conversation with the legendary Graham Parker.
βAdmittingly, I wasnβt 17 when I started,β said Parker. βI was going on 25 when I got a record deal. I had a lot of experience under my belt, not from playing music, but experience in life. I travelled a bit, and you knowβ¦β
In 1976, Parker finally released his solo album, Howlin Wind, with the band The Rumour. Since then, he has released well over 20 albums, many of them classics, including Squeezing Out Sparks, The Up Elevator, The Mona Lisaβs Sister and his most recent album, Last Chance To Learn The Twist, an album with his new band The Goldtops. He also has a new EP out, Sun Valley. βThe people from Big Stir records have been sending out tasters, or singles, whatever you call them these days, and they said, single number four, how about βSince You Left Me Babyβ, or βSun Valleyβ. I checked with this guy, Robert, who recorded one of our shows. We had just done six dates with The Goldtops and The Ladybugs. He had recorded me before, with The Rumour, as a matter of fact, so I knew it would be good quality, and I asked him to mix a couple of tracks, βSince You Left Me Babyβ and the cover version of βThatβs Lifeβ. Since βSince You Left Me Babyβ is such a live track, it is such a great track to do live, letβs use βSun Valley” from the album, and put two live tracks with it. They worked out to be good compliments for the album track.β
SUN VALLEY ALBUM REVIEW
When the new EP was released, I was a little surprised to hear Graham Parker and The Goldtops (with The Ladybugs) performing Frank Sinatraβs βThatβs Lifeβ. A great song, but not one that one expects Graham Parker to record. βI heard it as a kid, really,β recalled Parker. βMy friend and I were doing night school classes, rather halfheartedly, for the job we worked at, it was in a provincial town, near where I grew up called Guildford in county Surrey. We would go to this pub for a few beers, we were about 17, probably too young to actually be drinking, but no one bothered to check in those days. βThatβs Lifeβ was on the jukebox, I knew it vaguely. I put my money in and listened to it over and over again in this pub. I think I had a rash idea then that one day, if I became a professional musician, I would do this song. We are talking about 1966/67 when I was thinking about this absurd idea. But I eventually got around to it. You know Wesley Stace, formerly John Wesly Harding, he has these things at the City Winery in New York City, and he has various artists, and he picked a couple of my songs to do on a mixed classic night, and he said βwe need one more classicβ, and I said βletβs do βThatβs Lifeββ. He said, βno I meant one of your classicsβ, and I said βI donβt have any classics, this is a classic.β Since then I have been doing it solo, it works fine solo, and I thought it would be a great one to do with the Goldtops and The Ladybugs. Simple as that, really.β
The Goldtops is an excellent band. And one that sounds great with Parker and the new songs he is writing. To date, they have recorded two albums with Parker, 2023βs Last Chance To Learn The Twist and 2018βs Cloud Symbols. βThe band came together for Cloud Symbols. I had this song. Judd Apatow asked me for new songs, and I sent him one, βLove Comesβ and I love it, and he asked how I would record it? I asked Martin Belmont (of The Rumour) who could handle this tune? So, he picked them out and we went into the studio to record the song, and recorded an entire album, eventually. It is the same crew (Geraint Watkins on keyboards, Simon Edwards on bass) but now we have a different drummer because Roy Dodds got a dose of COVID, and he had a bad case of it, so when we went into the studio for the new album, he wasnβt well enough, he thought he would have the energy, but he didnβt. So, I asked Martin, βI need a new drummer.β So he suggested βJim Russell, he can play all your stuff greatβ. I donβt argue with Martin, he knows all of the musicians, he has worked with way more than me in London, so we got Jim.β
Working with a band allows Parker to continue his writing. Although he has performed solo live, he tends to record with a band. The songs he writes are with the band in mind.
βI just write the songs, but as I write them, I canβt help but think of the musicianship. When I am writing, I have keyboards in mind, I can hear bass patterns, drum patterns. I can hear the whole thing. As I am writing, I am always bearing in mind the musicianship that can be applied to these songs. The songs tell me what to do. These songs were written for The Goldtops.β
LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST ALBUM REVIEW
The Last Chance To Learn The Twist also features female backing vocals, something Parker has never used in his music. βI kept hearing girls’ voices, which I have never done, I have had horn sections, but it was a great touch adding the girls. Iβll do it again, because I can always hear backing singers, but I donβt usually bother with it. Itβs a no brainer. I just donβt know why it hasnβt popped into my head lots of times before. I suppose it has, but I start doing the backing vocals, because I can do the parts I want, but it is not the same. It is a real kick to have these great singers do it.β
Parker, an accomplished writer and performer, has always had great titles for his albums. His most recent, The Last Chance To Learn The Twist, may be his best. Parker has had many years making music, as a professional musician, and he cannot help but point out the differences in the world of music today, compared to when he first started.
βIt used to be about record sales, and you didnβt need to be a big star to make a living. We had actual sales, my records never sold in large amounts, but you could make a living. It is a different time now, where you canβt make a living, most people it is just a struggle to get through the pile. There is so much music out there, and it is so very formulated what radio chooses. You could write something that should be a hit record but it wonβt get a chance because the upper echelon of radio stations, they wonβt let any people in. But the healthy thing is, there seem to be a million indie stations and alternative stations that play those records. I have had such great response and play from those stations.
βYou just carry on, whatever comes. Everything is inevitable. Streaming was inevitable, CDs were inevitable with the digital age and kind of wiped albums off the board for a bit. We are stuck with a very difficult situation with thousands of streams and you make $120.00 instead of $200,000 you could have made with sales. I wouldnβt want to be starting in the industry now. Good luck, maybe you will get lucky, because it is not easy.β
But it isnβt all doom and gloom, and Parker offered some solid advice for new artists starting out.
βDo it for enjoyment, do it and see what comes out of it. If they are singer/songwriters and they have inspiration and feel strongly about what they are doing, do it your own way. Donβt take any advice or any ideas. Just follow it. Just get on with it and do what you can.
ArtistΒ Links
Photo Credits: Dion Ogust
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: THE SPEED OF SOUND – “TRICKLEDOWN”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS – SUN VALLEY
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GRAHAM PARKER & THE GOLDTOPS – LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST
