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David Byrne is most famous for fronting the Talking Heads from the mid 1970's through the 1980's, but has released a steady stream of solo material for over twenty years in addition to being involved with just about every artform you can imagine, including film, dance, writing, visual arts, powerpoint, making buildings into insturments, and designing bike racks and tea cups among other things.
Mr. Byrne will bring his "The Music of David Byrne and Brian Eno" tour to Bonnaroo.
The Talking Heads
The Talking Heads formed in the mid-1970's when Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne and Chris Frantz convinced Tina Weymouth to take up bass playing to fill out their group. Jerry Harrison later completed the permanent roster of the band and the group found a niche in the emerging punk/new wave scene performing at the soon to be famous club CBGB. The Talking Heads related to the punk scene's rebellion against the status quo of highly polished pop music and the outsider status that punk represented, but they also deviated from the punk aesthetic in ways that would help to define New Wave. Instead of piercings, leather, mohawks and sneers, Byrne and company wore button down shirts and carried themselves like the somewhat dorky art students they were. Musically, the Heads always respected the "anyone can do it" DIY sensibility of punk, but at the same time developed increasingly sophisticated musical sensibilities over the years, incorporating funk, Latin and African feels into their music.
The Talking Heads first gained wider exposure with the single "Psycho Killer", which also appeared on their first album "Talking Heads '77". The band then began a collaboration with Brian Eno, who at that point was established as a top producer based on work with David Bowie and others. The three albums that the band collaborated with Eno on - "More Songs About Buildings and Food", "Fear of Music", and "Remain in the Light" - are classic albums that both helped to define "New Wave" and began to evolve beyond that label. "More Songs About Building and Food" produced the band's biggest hit to date with the cover of Al Green's "Take Me To the River", but it was the pronounced influence of African music on "Fear of Music" and "Remain in the Light" that truly began to define the sound that would weave through remainder of Byrne's career. The band took a hiatus begining in 1980, and their first post-Eno album, "Speaking in Tongues" was the most successful in the bands history. The breakthrough single "Burning Down the House" defined their sound for many, and the tour that followed produced the concert documentary "Stop Making Sense", which is considered by many to be the best concert film ever made.
This tour would end up being the band's last, although three albums followed before the group broke up in 1988 (formally announced in 1991). The consistency of the groups output over the years is represented by classic songs such as "And She Was", "Road to Nowwhere", "Wild Wild Life", and "Nothing but Flowers" from this final period.
Solo (music) career David Byrne has been active in solo endeavors from the early 1980's through the present. In the strictest sense of the term "solo album", Byrne has released 6 solo albums, from Rei Momo in 1989 through 2004's Grown Backwords. If you include soundtracks to film, TV and theater and other collaborations with other artists, Byrne has released closer to 20 albums outside of the Talking Heads from the 80's throught the present. This output is bookended by his collaborations with Brian Eno in 1981 ("My Life in the Bush of Ghosts") and 2008 ("Everything that Happens Will Happen Today").
There is extraordinary breadth to Byrne's solo output. In the early 80's he contributed to several plays. In 1987 he received an Oscar for his contributions to the score of the Last Emporer. His first several solo albums focused on Latin and African influences. Byrne's tour following 2004's Grown Backwards included a stop on at Bonnaroo. The set included the Tosca Strings, whom Byrne toured with at the time and two of Byrne's operatic songs from the album. The set was a highlight of the festival for many. More recently he has scored a season of HBO's Big Love and produced a musical about Imelda Marcos with Fatboy Slim. That project, entitled Here Lies Love, was premiered in 2006 but is being prepped for an album release in 2009 featuring vocals by Cyndi Lauper and Santigold among others.
Other Artistic Endeavors
David Byrne's artistic output is not by any means limited to the realm of music. He has been involved in visual arts since his days at RISD and he has contributed album cover design, stage show design and film and video direction to the Talking Heads and his solo projects.
Byrne is an excellent writer and his journal is always a great read. Among other things, Byrne's journal is a fascinating travelogue when he is on tour, always accompanied by beautiful and intriguing photography. Byrne also offers an account of what it is like to bicycle in the various cities of the world. Finally, Byrne's journal is a window into his unique way of seeing the word, and he occasionaly offers his take on current events, whether they be politics or the state of the music industry. If you subscribe to RSS feeds, I suggest that you wouldn't regret signing up for Mr. Byrne's.
As a (visual) artist, he is represented by Pace/McGill and has staged numerous instilations and shows over the years. I won't attempt to comment on this aspect of his work due to ignorance, but more information is available at Byrne's site for his art projects linked below. A few of Byrne's more recent and interesting projects include: -Envisioning Emotional Epistimological Information- a PowerPoint presentation set to music and released in 2003. Byrne uses the Microsoft software program to explore how meaning is constructed in the modern world. -Playing the Building - Byrne has worked on two projects which involved turning old buildings into huge, acoustic musical instruments, most recently in NYC in 2007. -Bike Racks - Byrne is an avid cyclist and has contributed to a project for creative bike racks in New York City
The Music of Brian Eno and David Byrne Tour
"When there is something new to say to an audience, then we'll tour again. Besides new songs, when the only way to say that thing is through a live performance...making. That's what we'll be doing. Then its what we have to do is...to be touring. Do you understand what I'm saying?" -David Byrne
So what will we see at Bonnaroo? Byrne's current tour has specifically focuses on the 5+ albums of material that he has collaborated with Brian Eno on (both solo and with the Talking Heads). In addition, Byrne seems to have resurrected some of the flair for staging and presentation from the Stop Making Sense era, with matching cream colored outfits for the performers against a spare backdrop and three dancers with choreagraphed routines for many of the songs in the show.
There are links to youtubes from the tour and an excellent little write-up from the New Yorker at the bottom of this write-up.
Band Members[/i] David Byrne – voice and guitar Mark De Gli Antoni – keyboards Paul Frazier – bass Mauro Refosco – percussion Graham Hawthorne – drums
Design[/i] Matching outfits. Three dancers with choreagraphed routines involving Mr. Byrne and the backup dancers for seven songs. It looks like the backdrop/lights are a bit more fancy than the last tour. Minimalist stage set-up remeniscent of Stop Making Sense. See the New Yorker article linked below for more.
Discography[/i]
As far as I can tell, Byrne's setlists on this tour have drawn exclusively (with one exception) from collaborations with Brian Eno, which I will detail below. More specifically, 90% of the show comes from three albums 1979's Fear of Music, 1980's Remain in the Light, and 2008's Everything that Happens Will Happen Today:
More Songs About Building and Food The Talking Heads first collaboration with Eno from 1978. The most famous single is the Al Green cover "Take Me to the River", which is also the only song from this album that I have seen in setlists for this tour. Of course with Al Green present on the farm, the possibilities boggle the mind.
Fear of Music This album has been sampled from more regularly, with Life During Wartime, Air, I Zimbra and Heaven all making appearances in the setlist. This album also includes Cities, which Phish has covered.
Remain in the Light This album is also part of the backbone of the show with the album's incredible first five tracks all appearing in the show: Born Under Punches, Crosseyed and Painless, The Great Curve, Once in a Lifetime and Houses in Motion.
In my opinion, your life is not complete if you have not heard this album. From the tweaky digitized solo on Born Under Punches (play this song for someone not familiar with it and ask them when it was made. They will guess a lot closer to 2009 than 1980) to the dazed displacement of Once in A Lifetime to the ponderings of Seen and Not Seen, this is one of the greatest albums for my money. Byrne and Eno were obsessed with the music of Fela Kuti during the time they were recording this. Phish's superb "Halloween costume" cover of the entire album from 2006 is widely thought to have impacted the band and had a significant influence on Phish's 1997 "porno-funk" peak. For the record I am guessing Phish will leave Crosseyed and Painless for Byrne's set, because it is a basic component of his show.
Burning Down the House from Speaking in Tongues You already know this song. This is the only non-Eno collaboration that has been appearing on the setlist as an encore. The Stop Making Sense version is a showstopper, but youtube simply doesn't do it justice. You have to watch it in the context of the show. Go watch Stop Making Sense on a decent TV/soundsystem right now.
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts I am told that this album is revolutionary for its use of samples, "found" recordings, and place in the history of electronic music, but I frankly don't know too much about that. I do think it is a good listen. You won't hear Byrne contribute vocals or "songs", but you will hear plenty of Talking Headsy bass, guitars and rythms. This is probably as good a place as any to mention that if you consider yourself a fan of the electric bass, the Byrne-Eno collaborations really highlight the instrument at its best. Only one song from this album (Help Me Somebody) is appearing in the show as far as I can tell, but from what I can see on youtube, it apears to be a doozy.
My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) from the Catherine Wheel This song from a score Byrne completed for a Twyla Thorp dance peice in 1981 was apparantly a collaboration with Eno and was later performed by the Talking Heads. I actually wasn't familiar with this one, but it is available on iTunes and is a good song that would fit right in on the more recent release. This has been paired with the newer song "My Big Nurse" in setlists on the current tour.
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today This is the most recent collaboration between Byrne and Eno. The album was produced over several years, and came about when Byrne worked on contributing vocals and melodies to pre-existing Eno tracks. This album is what the setlists lean most heavily on, with the majority of the songs appearing at times. There is also a song called "Never Thought" that Byrne mentioned would be available on a special edition that has made appearances in the sets. I can't find a place to get it yet. See the links below for a full stream.
Personally, this one took a while to grow on me, but I have kind of fallen in love with it while listening in preparation for writing this. Initially, the music seemed simpler and less complex than what I am used to for Byrne, but as I have approached it differently, I have been able to get into it more. It is the hymnal/gospel qualities and the open, hopeful vibe of the lyrics that I am finding appealing. This generally seems mellower than I am used to for Byrne, but as I have looked into the way the whole show is structured, I am confident that it will be a hell of a show and can't wait to see Mr. Byrne belt these songs out in person.
You write too many words. What does the music sound like?
Genre:
Talking Heads: New Wave/Art Rock/Pop influenced by Punk, Funk, World, Dance
Byrne solo: all over the map, more World influence, musicals, scores etc. Pop music for grown-ups.
This album/tour: The latest album has an electronic-folk feel to it. Collaborations with Eno in general are very African influenced and on the cutting edge of electronic music, but neither of those descriptions really apply to the latest album. Rhythmic acousitic-electronic hymns.
Similar Bonnaroo Artists:
Hmmmm. Couple of different directions you could go here... at the top of the bill, Elvis Costello and Bruce are both close in age, get played as "classic rock" etc. Elvis was considered "New Wave" like the Talking Heads. Byrne covers Al Green's "Take Me To the River". Phish covers a couple of Byrne's tunes. Further down the bill, I see a lot of similarities between the eccentric singer-songwriter sensibilities of Andrew Bird and Byrne (non-traditional lyrical subjects, emphasis on minutae, the sublimnity of the banal). Of Montreal might actually sound more like the Talking Heads than anyone else on the bill. Of course the stellar line-up of African musicians bring to mind the African/world influence of the Eno collaborations and some of Byrne's other solo stuff.
There are lots of cool things on the internet regarding this tour. First off, you stream the entire album (Everything That Happens Will Happen Today), including some promo videos, at the album’s website. (link)
I highly recommend that you check out the songs there, and of course please buy it if you like it. Byrne and Eno are self-distributing and Byrne is very fan-friendly and outspoken regarding copyright issues, so please support him if you enjoy the music. Also, I have linked to youtubes below to give an idea of the show and some songs, but this stream is much more representative of the music than crappy youtube audio.
Here is a very informative one page article on the tour from the New Yorker: New Yorker article
Here is a recent setlist (courtesy of talking-heads.net) from the March 9, 2009 Dusseldorf show. The setlists have only varied slightly over the course of this tour so far, so right now I would expect something very much like this. Click on any song for a youtube link, mostly from the current tour. Links in parentheses are other versions of the song. Most of these are just to give an idea, please don't judge the music from bad youtube audio!
Here is a link to Byrne's Bonnaroo 2004 set (link). Here is his journal entry on the show (link).
Byrne appears in collaborations with other artists. Most recently, he shares tracks with Chuck D. (link) and Chali 2na (link) on the recent NASA release The Spirit of Apollo and shares a track with the Dirty Projectors on The Dark is the Night compilation.
This is a really weird Patton Oswalt video. Most people would probably consider it a waste of six minutes, but I think its oddly charming (link)
David Byrne interviewing himself as a Stop Making Sense promo is one of the greatest short films ever made and is the most appropriate way for me to conclude.
Nice job! I caught his ACL set in September, then the tour when it came through DC in the fall. He's definitely a do-not-miss in my book and one of the friends I'm camping with is a MEGA fan.
Updated with some more links. I think I'm done with this one and going to work on my next one (Badu-I don't think I will be able to spend as much time on that one).
Post by NothingButFlowers on Apr 3, 2009 13:09:20 GMT -5
Excellent write-up.
I don't think you mentioned True Stories though. www.imdb.com/title/tt0092117/ He refers to it in the interview clip. (It's what he says is like 60 Minutes on acid.) Oh, and the song "Radio Head" from the movie is where the band got its name. I love the movie, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea.
Wow, that's awesome Mark de Gli Antoni is playing keyboards in David Byrne's band. He was the keyboard/keyboard sampler player for Soul Coughing. Cool to see another Soul Coughing alum on the farm.
Post by ellisintransit on Apr 29, 2009 15:14:40 GMT -5
As excited as I am for Mr. Byrne's performance (since I had to miss him in '04) I nearly passed out when I saw Mark De Gli Antoni's name too. Soul Coughing was one of my all-time favorite bands. Might not be a big deal for a lot of people but that really got me pumped.
With Adrian Belew residing near Nashville and playing in Chattanooga shortly before the 'Roo, I am really hopeful that he will return to the farm for a cameo. He did it in '04 for Primus, so I guess I can be hopeful right? Adrian Belew is my hero.
Your write-up was awesome and I am totally pumped for this show. Thanks.
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
Here is a note from DB about a new live EP for a good cause and some thoughts on the tour:
Some time ago Amnesty International asked if I might do "something" for that organization this year- (in previous years I had done one of my tour dates as a benefit for them). Amnesty has such an amazing and consistent track record of speaking out and helping to illuminate courageous people who might otherwise not be heard from so the answer was "yes."
It was decided to record some songs from my current tour for them to be sold as a download with the proceeds going to Amnesty. As there are no physical costs with digital distribution this means more of the sales percentage actually goes to where it's supposed to. So, thank you for supporting a great organization and I hope you like these recordings too.
The tour isn't over yet. It has been exhilarating for all the musicians, singers, dancers and the crew as well- so we all voted to keep rolling on through summer 09. On these live shows I decided to use the connection of Brian Eno- as a collaborator, producer or musician- as the thread that links some material from the past with a group of songs done last year. Most of the time music listeners are blissfully unaware of the contributions of a record producer, and sometimes even of which musicians who play on a record as well...so the Eno linking device might not be as self evident as I imagine. However, the device also allowed me to include a fair number of songs in the live set that people are somewhat familiar with, which wasn't exactly accidental.
For me, there is are rhythmic and structural links between the older material and the new- though there are lyrical and melodic differences too that I, at least, can hear. Those musical parallels help the live show maintain some kind of musical thematic unity- they help the show from becoming a random hodge podge of songs. I've even heard someone say to us backstage that they felt the show tells a story. They didn't elaborate as to what kind of story.
