November 5, 2025 • 52 mins
On the second season premiere of In Service Of true rock star Lenny Kravitz and his longtime guitarist Craig Ross join hosts Steve Baltin and Sage Bava to discuss the 30th anniversary of his breakthrough album "Circus," his love of gospel music. recording in the Bahamas versus New York versus Paris, why he will never tire of the studio and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey to Steve Balton, Welcome to the new season of
In service of And it doesn't get any freaking cooler
than Lenny Kravitz, says Bob, and I are thrilled to
talk to him, as well as his longtime guitarist and
now engineer Craig Ross, about the thirtieth anniversary of Circus,
about touring, about his places in the Bahamas, Paris, New York.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I mean, as I said, it just doesn't get cooler
than Lenny Kravittz. So I hope you enjoyed this one
as much as we did. Cool so have you? You know,
(00:54):
it's funny when you revisited album, you know, it's just
up talk about this so many artists. I just was
talking with John Fogerty last week about legacy, you know,
and obviously he's got a few decades on you guys,
because it's been sixty years since he wrote that stuff.
But you know, when you go back to this stuff,
it changes so much. So are you having fun reincorporating
(01:19):
Circus into the live show where like we're visiting other
tracks maybe that you haven't done in a while, because
you know, again I imagine in a weird way, this
is almost a new album to you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, the music is always changing,
even you know, even though you know it, you recorded it,
you wrote it, you know, just because your perception changes
and your sensibility has change. But it's like a familiar
(01:57):
piece of your past, like a photograph. And so it's
a record that I'm very fond of. And right now
we're just playing one song from that album. We're going
to be incorporating some more on the upcoming legs, but
(02:18):
as of right now, we're just playing one. So what's
the one you're doing? Be on the seventh Sky?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Interesting? You know, it's funny though, because when.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
You say and can't gick up my mind, we'll come later. Yeah,
that's going to come in the next shows.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Oh cool. What I was gonna say is, you know,
it's interesting because you say, you know, it's a record
you're very fond of. One of the things John and
I were talking about is, you know, when you look
at songs without perspective, it's almost like someone else wrote them,
Because Lenny, you and I have talked so much about
songwriting being channeling in a way, so it's kind of
like someone else wrote it. So then when you look
at it thirty years later, it's kind of like, you know,
(02:56):
it's almost was written by someone else. So, like Fogerty
was telling me, he was just very pleasantly surprised at
how well his songs held up. He's like, if I
can say that, still be humble. I'm like, dude, you
wrote the greatest fucking songs of all time. You can
say whatever you want right right, So for you, have
you been surprised by how the song's held up.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I don't know if I'm surprised. I'm thankful. That was
part of my intention when making the album. So when
I make the albums, I have no preconceived ideas. I
channel the music. It comes to me. I'm the antenna.
(03:38):
But as far as the recordings go, the technical aspect,
I was making that music that way from Let Love
Rule on up purposely because I knew that when I
put the record on ten twenty thirty forty years later,
I don't want it to sound dated. And that was
(03:59):
a intention. Why I was thinking that, I don't know,
but that's what I was thinking. So that's why I
recorded in a very classical sense, a very pure sense. Uh,
you know, real instruments for the most part. Uh and uh,
(04:21):
that's that was the That was the blueprint, you know,
and to use my hands, you know, for us to
play these instruments, to hear the personality on the records.
Are you there? Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, I was sorry. I was like I was, I
was waiting for stage to step in. But I can
you keep going for a second?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Uh, I'd love to ask. Sorry, I'm just on my
little phone here. But You've always been so beloved for
being so vibrantly in service of the music, and I'm curious,
has then changed you view being in service of the
music after these years of creating or has that core
(05:07):
just been unwavering in your perspective on the creative process.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Absolutely unwavering and even more so, more gratitude, more respect
for it all. You know, the fact that I'm still
in a place where I'm I'm hungry, I'm motivated, I'm inspired.
(05:35):
I'm doing this because I have to do it, and
that's all there is to it. You know. Recording and
making music is just part of our day. You know.
Craig and I both live in the Bahamas and that's
where our main studio is. And just like you get
up to you know, meditate, train, go out in the garden,
(05:57):
pick your food, do whatever is that we do in
the day, you know, living this simple island life. Going
into the studio is a part of the day. It's
just a part of life. And so we're still in
that place, thank god. You know, I don't think I
(06:17):
would know what to do if I didn't have that,
you know. And I do see people that grow out
of it, you know, they just don't want to put
the time in, or they're jaeted, or they're over it,
or they just don't want to spend as much time
in the studio as they used to. And I can
understand that. But we're you know, we're still the same.
(06:43):
And every day that I walk in that studio, I'm
in awe of wow, who what what can happen? You know,
you go in there you have nothing, and you come
out with something a form of expression. And so I'm
(07:07):
still so into that.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Yeah, it's still inspiring, right, and we're always learning stuff.
It's something that's always growing.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Well to me, that goes back to you know, you're
saying that you're always learning and so always inspiring. I remember,
and I think you know, Lem told you this back
in our interviewed BB King when he was like seventy one,
I was like twenty seven, and I was so nervous.
I was like, what am I going to ask this
guy who's been asked a million times? Nicest guy. But
one thing he talked about was learning to play the clarinet,
(07:42):
And I said, why are you learning the clarinet at
seventy one? And he said, because every day you don't
learn something is a day wasted. And I think if
you stay in service up then it's always there's always
that past, the passion for knowledge. I mean Fogard, he's
eighty and he was telling me he still practices his
guitar every day. Well that's great, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I mean, you know the one thing you know, when
I'm on the road, which I am now, you know,
I don't get to play all the instruments because I
you know, obviously I have a band, and that's I
can't play all the instruments live, So I don't get
to do that when I'm on the road. So when
I get home, it's all about just getting back in
the studio, getting on the drums, getting on the keyboards,
(08:27):
getting on the bass, getting on the guitar. Craig's always playing.
Craig always has a guitar with him. Craig is also
now for the last you know, a couple albums our engineer,
so and we're always looking for new ways to do things.
(08:51):
And I think when you're when you have the student mentality,
I mean, that's what keeps you going. As I said before,
this is for life, you know, this is not for business.
This is for pure pleasure.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So interesting for both of you, talk about what you've
learned this year, like your biggest lesson this.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Year this year, are your biggest or you.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Know, in the last couple of years, one thing that's
really stood out to you, you know, as far as
the music goes, I mean music or life. I mean,
because it applies to all aspects. I mean, I imagine things
you learn in life definitely make music more fun for
you as well.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
You know, I think for me, just realizing that I've
been on the right path, because I think artists Crosbie.
For myself, you know, I can question myself a lot.
You know, what am I doing and trying to figure
(09:59):
it out? And I'm still here And the only thing
I can tell you that I've done to remain in
this place is to just be myself and to not
question and to really just follow the inspiration. And I
(10:25):
think I've become more secure in that as I see
how the music has continued to live and breathe through
these beautiful people that support the music and come to
the live shows by the records. It's been a beautiful
(10:45):
thing to experience and to learn, and it's getting better.
I would have to say that this tour of this
album of Blue Electric Light, I've had the most fun
of any tour, and I think that's just because of
(11:06):
all that I've gone through and where I am.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
I know Craig Well, I mean as far as learning something,
it's just coming to the realization or the awareness that
you know you're you're on a path. Things don't do.
Things just continue. It's like, you know, we've been at
this for so long now, but it still seems every
(11:31):
day something new is happening, or you know, we're expanding
in some way. So it's just like just going back
to even what BB King said, it's it doesn't stop,
like your age number or whatever doesn't dictate that somehow
you've got to stop doing what you're doing or expanding
(11:55):
and that's you know something in the last couple of years.
It's exciting that you know every day you could still
wake up and try to figure out something new.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
The connection between music and memory is so fascinating. And
I'd love to hear how revisiting, re experiencing this music,
both the album and the bonus tracks now has initiated
memories to come back and both shared between you both
(12:31):
and individually. And how that now your new lens looking
upon that old perspective, maybe surprise surprises you or kind
of teaches you something now that you've integrated.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well, first of all, the statement you made about memories
and music my whole life is so funny. When we
talk about the past, it's always okay, wait a minute,
what album was that? Okay, it was that album, So
then it takes me to that album, that time, that sound,
the people that I that I was around, where I
(13:12):
was living. But my whole life is based on albums.
If you ask me something about a certain year, okay,
oh that was Mama said, Okay, we were living in
the law, we were doing that. So that's all I've
got is is the music and those albums to mark
(13:32):
time for me. Obviously, people, my daughter family experience, of course,
but it all breaks down to the music because that's
been the constant thing. So when I think of Circus
immediately I think, well, there's there was three locations that
album was made. It was made in New York, well
(13:53):
in Jersey, at this at Waterfront Studios, where we made
the first few records of that. Yeah, it was it
was was turning into the end of that because I
built my own studio the next year after that to
make five Uh. We also rented a chateau. We rented
a big chateau out about two hours outside of Paris
(14:16):
and set up all of our equipment in this gigantic, cold.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
H.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
You know place. And we also worked in the Bahamas.
So those were our three. Those were our three locations
at that time, and they were all quite different but
beautiful experiences, you know, being able to be on the
island working at Compass Point, uh, which is the first
(14:50):
time we worked there, where so many legendary records were made,
and also of course in the country where my mother's
family is from. That was beautiful, and and then being
outside of Paris. But I'm trying to think and also well,
(15:16):
one of the distinct memories at that time, which was
very which was very difficult. My mother was you know,
had cancer and was going through that whole journey. She
actually came out to the Bahamas and member and stayed
with us for a little bit. Yeah yeah, and spent
(15:38):
a little time with us. But they're all very beautiful
and intense memories.
Speaker 6 (15:47):
It was like a big period of discovery.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
In a way, right.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
I mean in the end, we're back in the Bahamas
recording a lot, with Paris recording a lot, And that
was the beginning of all that, like branching out from just.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Being in one place and true because this was this
was before I lived in Paris, before I had my house,
It's before we moved to the Bahamas. Yeah. Yeah, so
it was sort of setting the yeah, for what our
future life is going to be. That's interesting.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
When you were setting the template, so to speak, did
you have any idea like did you feel instantly the
connections with these places that you would end up there
or was it something you know that took time to develop.
Because I'm a big believer hound in how environment affects
writing and reported.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, well, I mean the Bahamas, I've always been spending
time here because of my family going down there for
you know, holidays and for summers. But I think being
down there and recording down there was so I don't know,
(17:13):
the process was so vibrant. I mean we're in the
middle of nature, the ocean, you know, floating on this
rock in the middle of the ocean, and the music
just comes so easily there even to this day. I
mean I feel that when I get home and I
(17:34):
sort of knock the dust off of me from being
out in the world, and I take off my shoes
and you know, I don't wear shoes even if I'm
down there for six months, I don't see a pair
of shoes for six months. You know. I walk in
the dirt, I walk in the grass, and once you
ground yourself in a place like that, the music comes
(17:59):
so oh easily. This vortex just sort of opens up
and it's just flying at you. I can't even make
it through a night of sleep, you know, really without
being awakened at three, four or five in the morning
with a song in my head. So yeah, the Bahamas
(18:21):
always has been really rich, and and you know, I
have my house in Paris and we have our sister
studio there in the house and.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
We're done that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Yeah, completely different vibe, you know, because we're in a
dark box. We don't have windows in that studio, whereas
in the Bahamas we're in the middle of the bush
on the beach and we can see the bush in
the sky from the studio because there's a lot of
glass in there. But they're both completely different dynamics. But
(18:59):
as Craig said, we get a lot of work done
in both of those places, and it's the place where
we keep our equipment because we're very specific about our
equipment and how that works and our speakers and how
the room is tuned. So, yeah, that was the beginning
(19:21):
of us creating our atmospheres, you know, where we were
going to make.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You look back on it, then, do you see that
you know, as you say, the two environments are very different.
Do you see the music you create there as like,
can you go back and say, okay, I can see
how this because obviously Bahamas is very you know, like
you say, it's very nature based, and then you're in Paris,
which is like such a much more of a fast
(19:49):
paced life, even though there's all this great history there,
still very fast paced place, and like you say, it's
in dark. So do you feel when you look back
at the music, like the two have very differ different effects.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Well, it's funny because both of those are on the album,
including New York. So, but it's funny. I was we
had an interview yesterday and I kept asking Craig this
song was recorded in the castle, right, It's like, Nope,
that was done in Jerious. Oh no, this song was
done in the castle, right, No, that was done. I
couldn't even remember where in each place I thought had
(20:26):
a very specific sound. But the album sort of blends,
you know, sonically blends to where you can't really tell
what we recorded where. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Interesting, I love that though. It's funny because there's so
many artists I've talked to who like literally will tell
the story of like they're in a place and they'll
hear their own music and they're like, oh, that's cool,
and then they're like a minute later they're like, oh shit,
that's me. So is it like sometimes where everything just
blurs together in a way As to the sound, Yeah,
(21:02):
as to like the like you were saying, you don't
remember where it's recorded, you know, so like the memories
kind of blur together.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, of a certain album, because each album of ours
has a completely different sound, and it's really interesting even
if we record it at the same place. Once we
make a record, that sound that we made is gone,
(21:33):
which is really strange because I understand it. We're in
different studios, but we don't seem to have the ability
to repeat ourselves. You know, black and White in the
new studio in the Bahamas, black and White America was
made there raised vibration and blue electric white, and they
(21:55):
sound like a bunch of strut yeah, and a bunch
of the struct tracks, and all of them sound like
completely different studios right and sounds. So I don't know
how we do that, but that's what happens. That's so
fascinating to same equipment, same place, same people.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Your connection to soul and nature and humanity has inspired
so many, so so many people over the years, and
I'm one of them.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
As you talk.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
About creating your sound for different records, the sound always
changes and you don't know how you get there. But
are there rituals that you always do during the process,
no matter where you are, what country, what place, that
really locks you into what that new sound is going
to be for that specific time.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
The only ritual for me is to be still, to
be quiet, and wait. I learned very early in to
not force it. When something doesn't come out, it's because
it's not meant to come out yet, it's not developed.
(23:16):
And so my ritual is too, as I said, get grounded,
get quiet, and wait. And once the first thing comes
out of the sky and you begin to work on it,
you then get into this thing where the music starts
(23:39):
to flow. Right. So usually when we start an album,
we'll only have one or two ideas. You know, well,
we'll have nothing, but then we might get one or
two and then we begin to work on the one
or two and then it just all starts to come.
So the tool is to just do nothing and wait.
(24:03):
You know, I'm not I'm not that. I don't dictate this.
I have no idea what I'm going to do each
time I go in, no idea, and nor do I
really care. And it's always nice to be surprised what
comes out of you. You know, Sometimes things come out
(24:24):
and I think to myself, of this groove or this sound,
that's not what I was thinking or what I wanted
or the matter. Go the direction that you're given, and
it always works. Out.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
Yes, basically about trusting the process. Even if you don't
necessarily know where it is you're going, You're going to
end up somewhere, and as long as you stick with it,
it becomes something that's you know, that's viable.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting to going back to what
you were saying though about the sound being different, and
every time you know where you're saying the same room,
same country, same equipment, But what's different every time is yal.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Yes, you're different and you and then your approach is
different because you're thinking of different ways to manipulate the sounds,
manipulate the room, and try new things. So I don't
have the desire to look back, you know, I don't
have to. Once I've done something that marks that expression
(25:36):
that time, I'm ready to move on. Well, so obvious question.
And of course, record labels, record labels back in the day,
you know, when you had those hits, you know, when
you're coming up, they didn't want you to repeat what
just happened because they know that that just worked. So
(25:58):
can you do another one of those? It's like, no,
can't do it, it's gone, you know, nor would I
try because now you're extremely late you're extremely off track,
you know, to try to chase something that already was
and had its time.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
So I was gonna say, it's interesting, obvious question, but
you know, I have to ask, when you look at
those artists who you know, have done the thirty forty
fifty year careers, who have been able to continually evolve
and move on and do different things, who are those
artists that you admire because you know, when when you
look at it, it's funny this comes up a lot
(26:39):
with people talking about you know, genres or where you fit.
And when I started to think about it and start
talking to people about it, the greatest artists of all
time never fit the fucking genre. They're always, you know,
completely evolving, whether Joni going from you know, folk to
jazz or Miles or you know, of course Bowie doing
god knows whatever album but it was brilliant.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Well those are those are great examples. I mean Bowie
who changed every album, changed everything about himself, Jonie Ah Fearless,
Prince Uh, the Stones, I mean, whomever, Pink, Floyd, Neil Young,
(27:29):
you know, there's this. I mean, there's so many artists
that have been blessed to have that time I'm trying
to think who now, I mean, who's who's been around
for god, who's in the stones category now? Not many?
I mean Robert Plant obviously, Who's you know, gone on
to keep evolving and doing his thing is a great
(27:55):
example as well.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, and it's funny because Plants, of course, is you know,
literally gone from Zeppelin's doing an album with country artists.
So is there that one style for you that you've
always wanted to try that would just be you know,
and again maybe it's not something you know, like as
you say, it's not conscious that leads you there, But
is there one thing that's always called you that's just
so different? Like it's funny. I remember Neil Young, who
(28:23):
I love, and I think it's a testament to Neil
Young's genius. Who I've been a few times that you know,
he's made some terrible albums, but it's because he's always tried.
He's always just been like, fucking I'm doing whatever I want.
And even if you know, no one likes the synth
albums of the eighties.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
For me, but that's beautiful, you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Yeah, because again he's tried something.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I mean, when you go back to the past, and
you think about like an Arefa or Real Charles. Sometimes
they were putting out two three albums in a year.
Let's throw out the rhythm and you know the Rhythmond
Blues one, the country one, this one, that one, the
pop you know that, the fruitter one, whatever. Just like
(29:09):
people were just experimenting and trying to find, you know,
a sound, a groove, and that's part of the process
as well as far as us. I mean, what are
we going to stay?
Speaker 6 (29:28):
No, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Just like even back to Neil Young, like when you say,
maybe he made some terrible records. But the funny thing
is sometimes you go back to some of those quote
unquote questionable ones, maybe twenty years later, and you listen
to it and you're like, wait a minute, maybe this
isn't really that bad. It was at the time it
(29:49):
didn't fit at all, but there is something to this,
you know, so.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Going wherever it is you feel you want to go.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
I think it's one of the secrets of longevity.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Absolutely, It's like being a great artist. So is there
that Like now I'm just curious because now it's just fun,
Like you know, I'm thinking of like, you know, you
obviously experiment with different sounds on her but it's funny,
like of the bonus tracks I loved hold on Steple
titles that listen everything all the way through. I loved Confused,
So will we ever hear? Just like the hardcore blues album.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Never thought about that? Huh did we ever think about that?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
No? But I mean I never, I don't.
Speaker 6 (30:42):
Know, you know, there's a little something on everything.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Kind of you know, but uh, I never thought like
like like a direction of theme, like Okay, I'll make
the mo you know. What. I have thought of though,
doing a very traditional spiritual album, like gospel, like old school,
(31:14):
you know. But there are elements of that on one
of the records we have coming out soon. So but
I've thought of doing a full out gospel record, very southern,
very backwoods, you know. Just I love I've always loved that,
(31:37):
and it's a lot of the music that my grandmother
used to play and has always been inspiring, and it's
the root of rock and roll and blues and so forth.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
I feel like there's such a deep, profound spirituality to
all of your music, and God is Love just makes
me from the first note just have a big exhale.
Do you mind sharing this story of writing that song.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
No thank you, I'm glad. I love that song and
I've been talking about putting that in the show for
the years, and I'm going to the It's just that
tune is a vibe. It's just a vibe. And yeah,
(32:34):
it's hard to explain, but it's how I feel. And
you know, I'm a person who is extremely grateful for
life and all the gifts that I've been given. And
(32:57):
you know, my allegiance is to God. And I know
that everything I am and everything that I do and
everything I have, it is God. And so that was
one of those you know, I write a lot of
songs to God, songs that people may not even realize
they think they might think it's a love song. It
(33:19):
is a love song, but they might think it's you know,
to a person, whether it's in my life today off
of love, huh yeah? Or God is love? Or I
belong to you? Are you going to go my way?
(33:40):
You know? So it's it's a it's a theme that
that is always there. But I love that you love
that track.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Yeah, I mean the melody paired with those lyrics, it
just cuts right through the from from the first note.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
And the drum sound it just sounds like it's all
slowed down, and then the melotron, you know, keyboard on there, it's, uh,
it's a vibe thank you though. So it's funny then.
Is that one of those songs where you know, you
(34:24):
can't even really say exactly where it came from?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Where? Did you know?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
It just came like all the other ones? You know? Yeah,
and Henry Hurst was a big part of of that track.
I mean, the the engineering on on on that track
is superb.
Speaker 6 (34:47):
The whole record, that record in particular.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yeah, Alice Baker, who does young Blood?
Speaker 3 (35:11):
That you are a fan? Is that correct? I'm a
fan of young Blood. Yeah, yeah, that's my buddy, all right.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Because I'm interviewing in at four o'clock for a cover story,
so well, yeah, I love that dude. I interviewed him
for the first time six years ago.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Yeah, we we have a couple of surprises coming your way.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Nice so very quickly were you how'd you guys get
to be friends?
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Well, he is part of the family through his girlfriend,
who is part of my family for thirty some odd years,
and so we met and I always just liked him
(36:02):
as a human being. It's just such a great guy, funny, smart,
so much energy. And then I started listening to his
music and I saw it. I said, you know, this
guy's really got something and he's going for it and
he's you know, helping to bring rock and roll back
(36:27):
and also a great performer. And so then we just
talked about getting the other for years, last couple of years,
and finally he came down to the Bahamas and we
made a little magic.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Well, you know, it's interesting for both of you, guys,
Lenny and Craig. How much does that inspire you to
be around new musicians, Like it's funny you're playing I know,
Ocean City as well, and Lenny, you and I talked
about that a few months ago, the last time we talked,
you know. And when you get to do a fest
that you're around all levels of musicians, I think on
the same day you're playing Green Days headline, but then
(37:06):
there's a new artist opening is the Escabar I just
found who's amazing, And I imagine it's inspiring just to
be around all levels of musicianship, but especially those young
artists who are really hungry because you pick up on
that and they're excited to learn, and they're excited to
talk to you, and they're excited to you know, sort
of gauge everything, and you're seeing it a little bit
through their eyes.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It is wonderful, and it's wonderful also to you know,
I never saw myself in this place because I'm just
always looking at my life. But when you've been around
you know, people have heard your music, they've been inspired
by your music. And when they come up to you
and tell you how they feel about your expression and
(37:51):
what they learned from it and how it's inspired them,
that's just such an amazing bl lesson.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
It's always great to see how other people work, and
especially when it chives with you know, what we do.
It kind of like Birth's new ideas.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Yeah, and we have completely different methods of you know,
the way we work, completely different. But it took us
a day to sort of figure it out. Okay, this
is the way you work, this is the way we work.
Let's blend it and get it to where everybody's happy,
everybody's comfortable, everybody can do what they do, you know,
(38:44):
and feel at home. And once we found that, which
as I said, took one took one full day, then
we just began grooving, and what I was most impressed
about was his ear. Going back to young Blood, he
has a very very good ear and sense of melody.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
So GW questions, do let's stage for but one? Who
is that one artist then that you would just love
to work with just for fun, just now again, either
someone you're friends with or because again you've worked with
so many artists on all levels. You know, whether it's
an up and becoming artist or whether it's like opening
for the Stones.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
I don't know the moment. I kind of let things
happen organically, you know, if I meet somebody, if it
just feels right. So I don't have anybody like on
a list of like like, oh who I'd like to
work with, but we'll.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
See, yeah, yeah, best when it just kind of happens.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
We also went in the studio with Steve Lacy, which
was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Hmm, all right, then my second question, and then I'll
like I said, let's sage with his off. But it's
funny you just said when people come to you and
they say you've heard your music, this promps my new
favorite question. I was doing a story on the Doors
sixteenth anniversary and I was interviewing, of all people, a
paleontologist who was telling me this amazing story of listening
(40:20):
to Riders on the Storm while excavating dinosaur bones of
Patagonia and how we would hire these gauchos who would
drag the dinosaur bones by horse while listening to Riders
on the Storm. And I was telling John Danisboy and
Robbie Figure about it, and they were like, that's the
coolest thing ever, because it's like literally Raiders of the
Lost Ark shit. So you always do hear these stories.
(40:42):
What's there your most fun or craziest place you've heard
of your music being played, or the most meaningful story
you've heard from someone together. There's so many stories of like,
you know, we made a baby to this, or we
got married to this, or we you know whatever it is,
you know.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
I mean, there's a lot of that. There's a lot
of you know, people's experiences, relationships or you know, hard
times and this song got me through this or that.
I mean, I got letters from soldiers you know that
(41:21):
were on the front line of active wars, you know,
and explaining to me how they would listen to the
albums to give them a sense of of calm and
(41:41):
and hope when you know they were having these these
off moments where they weren't in the middle of it.
Those are those are quite intense. People said telling you that,
you know, their mother had a fatal illness, you know,
(42:02):
and that they beat it and this song believes say,
which comes up a lot, you know, they'll say that
helped them get them through it. I don't take those
things lightly. It's because the music is it's not just
(42:22):
my music, it's their music. I don't own the music.
It came to me, you know. And so when you
hear these stories, it's just all you can do is
have gratitude that something you were a part of was
able to touch somebody's life, especially if something so deep
(42:46):
as those situations.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
It's just remarkable the amount of music that you have
that has played a role and as the soundtrack to
people's lives. I'm curious now in twenty twenty five, looking
at a song like rock and Roll is Dead and
working with young Blood and these kind of artists that are,
you know, still on their journey of their earlier days.
(43:25):
How are you feeling about where we are in music,
where we are in rock and roll? What are you
hopeful for for the future of music. What are you
trepredacious about?
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, I'm very hopeful because there's been so many years
now where I've seen all these young kids on Instagram
playing guitar, playing bass, playing saxophone, you know, singing whatever
it is, drums, and you know, there were so many
years where everybody had their heads stuck in a computer.
(43:58):
And that's fine, nothing wrong with that. But to see
all these kids coming up and developing from like the
age of five, yeah, you know, and we and a
lot of these kids we've met or had come on
stage with us or you know, and to see how
committed they are to the art form and how committed
(44:21):
they are to the process, because nobody wants to work
hard for anything anymore. Everybody wants instant gratification. You know.
They want to they want to be good today, they
want to be famous today. And that's not what it's about.
It's about learning your craft. You know. Denzel said something
(44:41):
really good the other day. He said, back in back
in the day when I was coming up, you actually
had to be good at what you did. You had
to study, you had to be good. You know. Now
you can do almost anything. It can be ridiculous, it
can be stupid, it can be whatever, and as long
(45:03):
as you have followers, you know, you can be quote
unquote famous or whatever that is. So I'm very happy
to see people going through the process, putting the work in,
having the patience to build that foundation, which is what
(45:28):
you need to be a real musician. And that's also
been a reaction to all those years of just computerized
and sampled music, you know, and again there's nothing wrong
with that. There's great music made that way, great music,
but there's nothing like putting your hands on an instrument,
(45:52):
because then it sounds like you, you know, coming up listening
to records. As a teenager, I could listen to records
and I could tell you who the drummer is, who
the bass player is, who the guitarist is, because I
can hear their sound. They are the only ones that
can make that instrument sound that way. And so anyway,
(46:15):
I'm going on and on about this, but I love
seeing that process being respected. So I think there's gonna
be a lot of great music coming out in the
next you know, five to ten years, a lot of
great music, and it will be done in a new way.
Of course, you can't take technology from this era and
(46:39):
this day out of that, but it'll be a really
interesting blend of what's going on now. And you know,
real musicianship.
Speaker 5 (46:56):
One of the good things about the technology we have now,
like just Instagram or YouTube or whatever, is if you're
coming up now, you're exposed to so many things. Whereas
I don't know, ten fifteen years ago, you probably weren't.
In In our day, it's about going to a record
(47:18):
store or whatever you could see on TV. But now
a kid can go it's good time travel all the
way to nineteen twenty something if they want to find
out certain kind of music, and so they're what they
have at their fingertips now is amazing, and just what
(47:39):
they can make out of all that variety is kind
of exciting.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Cool. We'll keep you guys. I was just gonna say
for each of you, you know, when you go back
and take certain like we've talked about the fact records change,
music changes, you know, and I mean, Letty, I think
you and I talked about the story I did on
the Coltrane and Love Supreme and how much that record
changes for everybody. So for you guys, when you listen
to circus. What do you take from and now thirty
(48:08):
years later.
Speaker 5 (48:11):
What do you take from the Craig. I think there
was a lot of freedom. That's kind of what I
hear back from that record.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
It was like.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
We were able to go in a lot of different
directions and we were exploring space. Space says, which is
why we were in a castle or why we were
in New York or ended up in the Bahamas. So
I think it was just kind of like.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
An opening of I mean, all the music has been free,
We've always been free, but you have to remember this
came after Are You Going to Go My Way? Which
changed everything, and I think that the label and people
(49:03):
expected more of that record, and we just turned in
went another direction, which was beautiful that we did not
fall for that. Yeah, you know, and you've got these
songs on this record that you know have nothing to
do with you know, what was going on commercially, But
(49:26):
we never did that, right, you know, But we just
kept going down that road of being free and trusting
the inspiration that comes to you.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
Right now, I'm hereous to you because this is some
recently and I'm always interested in this. What you guys
look back on, is there one album for each of
you the kind of was just most influential, you know.
Of course there's a million great albums, was there that
one that when you go back and listen to your
work you kind of hear you know, because again, so
(50:04):
much of music being so conscious, you go through, you
listen to it and you're like, oh, I hear that
in there now, whether it's pet Sounds or a Love
Supreme or whatever it is for each of you. So
that one album that you kind of just has always
been with you your whole life.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Wow, one, Well, who would you say for you?
Speaker 5 (50:23):
I could say Sergeant Pepper only because when I was
a kid, that's pretty much the only record I had,
So I listened to that thing for years on end.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
So well, that's a hard one for me. But I
guess if I had to pick one, it would be
Stevie Wonder inter Visions. That was the first record that
I began to listen to all the tracks separately, first
album I took a part in my mind. And it's
(50:59):
so a spiritual album. I've always said that album to me,
sounds like Stevie was sitting in the palm of God's hand,
you know. And so that record always takes me to
that place.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Yeah, dude, you should have been a journalist. I never
get jealous of other people's writing, but that one makes
me jealous. That's cool. What don't you guys want to
have that we didn't ask about.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
I'm good, you're you're the journalist, my brother.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
I think we covered everything as usual, so yeah, now,
I mean it's really fun, you know, speaking of the
stuff you do with's am now and I recommend what
you guys play if you get there early to check
out the Escobar because I just love, as you know,
discovering new music.
Speaker 3 (51:59):
I will check it out. Thank you for that.
Hey to Steve Balton, Welcome to the new season of
In service of And it doesn't get any freaking cooler
than Lenny Kravitz, says Bob, and I are thrilled to
talk to him, as well as his longtime guitarist and
now engineer Craig Ross, about the thirtieth anniversary of Circus,
about touring, about his places in the Bahamas, Paris, New York.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I mean, as I said, it just doesn't get cooler
than Lenny Kravittz. So I hope you enjoyed this one
as much as we did. Cool so have you? You know,
(00:54):
it's funny when you revisited album, you know, it's just
up talk about this so many artists. I just was
talking with John Fogerty last week about legacy, you know,
and obviously he's got a few decades on you guys,
because it's been sixty years since he wrote that stuff.
But you know, when you go back to this stuff,
it changes so much. So are you having fun reincorporating
(01:19):
Circus into the live show where like we're visiting other
tracks maybe that you haven't done in a while, because
you know, again I imagine in a weird way, this
is almost a new album to you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, the music is always changing,
even you know, even though you know it, you recorded it,
you wrote it, you know, just because your perception changes
and your sensibility has change. But it's like a familiar
(01:57):
piece of your past, like a photograph. And so it's
a record that I'm very fond of. And right now
we're just playing one song from that album. We're going
to be incorporating some more on the upcoming legs, but
(02:18):
as of right now, we're just playing one. So what's
the one you're doing? Be on the seventh Sky?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Interesting? You know, it's funny though, because when.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
You say and can't gick up my mind, we'll come later. Yeah,
that's going to come in the next shows.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Oh cool. What I was gonna say is, you know,
it's interesting because you say, you know, it's a record
you're very fond of. One of the things John and
I were talking about is, you know, when you look
at songs without perspective, it's almost like someone else wrote them,
Because Lenny, you and I have talked so much about
songwriting being channeling in a way, so it's kind of
like someone else wrote it. So then when you look
at it thirty years later, it's kind of like, you know,
(02:56):
it's almost was written by someone else. So, like Fogerty
was telling me, he was just very pleasantly surprised at
how well his songs held up. He's like, if I
can say that, still be humble. I'm like, dude, you
wrote the greatest fucking songs of all time. You can
say whatever you want right right, So for you, have
you been surprised by how the song's held up.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I don't know if I'm surprised. I'm thankful. That was
part of my intention when making the album. So when
I make the albums, I have no preconceived ideas. I
channel the music. It comes to me. I'm the antenna.
(03:38):
But as far as the recordings go, the technical aspect,
I was making that music that way from Let Love
Rule on up purposely because I knew that when I
put the record on ten twenty thirty forty years later,
I don't want it to sound dated. And that was
(03:59):
a intention. Why I was thinking that, I don't know,
but that's what I was thinking. So that's why I
recorded in a very classical sense, a very pure sense. Uh,
you know, real instruments for the most part. Uh and uh,
(04:21):
that's that was the That was the blueprint, you know,
and to use my hands, you know, for us to
play these instruments, to hear the personality on the records.
Are you there? Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, I was sorry. I was like I was, I
was waiting for stage to step in. But I can
you keep going for a second?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Uh, I'd love to ask. Sorry, I'm just on my
little phone here. But You've always been so beloved for
being so vibrantly in service of the music, and I'm curious,
has then changed you view being in service of the
music after these years of creating or has that core
(05:07):
just been unwavering in your perspective on the creative process.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Absolutely unwavering and even more so, more gratitude, more respect
for it all. You know, the fact that I'm still
in a place where I'm I'm hungry, I'm motivated, I'm inspired.
(05:35):
I'm doing this because I have to do it, and
that's all there is to it. You know. Recording and
making music is just part of our day. You know.
Craig and I both live in the Bahamas and that's
where our main studio is. And just like you get
up to you know, meditate, train, go out in the garden,
(05:57):
pick your food, do whatever is that we do in
the day, you know, living this simple island life. Going
into the studio is a part of the day. It's
just a part of life. And so we're still in
that place, thank god. You know, I don't think I
(06:17):
would know what to do if I didn't have that,
you know. And I do see people that grow out
of it, you know, they just don't want to put
the time in, or they're jaeted, or they're over it,
or they just don't want to spend as much time
in the studio as they used to. And I can
understand that. But we're you know, we're still the same.
(06:43):
And every day that I walk in that studio, I'm
in awe of wow, who what what can happen? You know,
you go in there you have nothing, and you come
out with something a form of expression. And so I'm
(07:07):
still so into that.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Yeah, it's still inspiring, right, and we're always learning stuff.
It's something that's always growing.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Well to me, that goes back to you know, you're
saying that you're always learning and so always inspiring. I remember,
and I think you know, Lem told you this back
in our interviewed BB King when he was like seventy one,
I was like twenty seven, and I was so nervous.
I was like, what am I going to ask this
guy who's been asked a million times? Nicest guy. But
one thing he talked about was learning to play the clarinet,
(07:42):
And I said, why are you learning the clarinet at
seventy one? And he said, because every day you don't
learn something is a day wasted. And I think if
you stay in service up then it's always there's always
that past, the passion for knowledge. I mean Fogard, he's
eighty and he was telling me he still practices his
guitar every day. Well that's great, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I mean, you know the one thing you know, when
I'm on the road, which I am now, you know,
I don't get to play all the instruments because I
you know, obviously I have a band, and that's I
can't play all the instruments live, So I don't get
to do that when I'm on the road. So when
I get home, it's all about just getting back in
the studio, getting on the drums, getting on the keyboards,
(08:27):
getting on the bass, getting on the guitar. Craig's always playing.
Craig always has a guitar with him. Craig is also
now for the last you know, a couple albums our engineer,
so and we're always looking for new ways to do things.
(08:51):
And I think when you're when you have the student mentality,
I mean, that's what keeps you going. As I said before,
this is for life, you know, this is not for business.
This is for pure pleasure.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So interesting for both of you, talk about what you've
learned this year, like your biggest lesson this.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Year this year, are your biggest or you.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Know, in the last couple of years, one thing that's
really stood out to you, you know, as far as
the music goes, I mean music or life. I mean,
because it applies to all aspects. I mean, I imagine things
you learn in life definitely make music more fun for
you as well.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
You know, I think for me, just realizing that I've
been on the right path, because I think artists Crosbie.
For myself, you know, I can question myself a lot.
You know, what am I doing and trying to figure
(09:59):
it out? And I'm still here And the only thing
I can tell you that I've done to remain in
this place is to just be myself and to not
question and to really just follow the inspiration. And I
(10:25):
think I've become more secure in that as I see
how the music has continued to live and breathe through
these beautiful people that support the music and come to
the live shows by the records. It's been a beautiful
(10:45):
thing to experience and to learn, and it's getting better.
I would have to say that this tour of this
album of Blue Electric Light, I've had the most fun
of any tour, and I think that's just because of
(11:06):
all that I've gone through and where I am.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
I know Craig Well, I mean as far as learning something,
it's just coming to the realization or the awareness that
you know you're you're on a path. Things don't do.
Things just continue. It's like, you know, we've been at
this for so long now, but it still seems every
(11:31):
day something new is happening, or you know, we're expanding
in some way. So it's just like just going back
to even what BB King said, it's it doesn't stop,
like your age number or whatever doesn't dictate that somehow
you've got to stop doing what you're doing or expanding
(11:55):
and that's you know something in the last couple of years.
It's exciting that you know every day you could still
wake up and try to figure out something new.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
The connection between music and memory is so fascinating. And
I'd love to hear how revisiting, re experiencing this music,
both the album and the bonus tracks now has initiated
memories to come back and both shared between you both
(12:31):
and individually. And how that now your new lens looking
upon that old perspective, maybe surprise surprises you or kind
of teaches you something now that you've integrated.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well, first of all, the statement you made about memories
and music my whole life is so funny. When we
talk about the past, it's always okay, wait a minute,
what album was that? Okay, it was that album, So
then it takes me to that album, that time, that sound,
the people that I that I was around, where I
(13:12):
was living. But my whole life is based on albums.
If you ask me something about a certain year, okay,
oh that was Mama said, Okay, we were living in
the law, we were doing that. So that's all I've
got is is the music and those albums to mark
(13:32):
time for me. Obviously, people, my daughter family experience, of course,
but it all breaks down to the music because that's
been the constant thing. So when I think of Circus
immediately I think, well, there's there was three locations that
album was made. It was made in New York, well
(13:53):
in Jersey, at this at Waterfront Studios, where we made
the first few records of that. Yeah, it was it
was was turning into the end of that because I
built my own studio the next year after that to
make five Uh. We also rented a chateau. We rented
a big chateau out about two hours outside of Paris
(14:16):
and set up all of our equipment in this gigantic, cold.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
H.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
You know place. And we also worked in the Bahamas.
So those were our three. Those were our three locations
at that time, and they were all quite different but
beautiful experiences, you know, being able to be on the
island working at Compass Point, uh, which is the first
(14:50):
time we worked there, where so many legendary records were made,
and also of course in the country where my mother's
family is from. That was beautiful, and and then being
outside of Paris. But I'm trying to think and also well,
(15:16):
one of the distinct memories at that time, which was
very which was very difficult. My mother was you know,
had cancer and was going through that whole journey. She
actually came out to the Bahamas and member and stayed
with us for a little bit. Yeah yeah, and spent
(15:38):
a little time with us. But they're all very beautiful
and intense memories.
Speaker 6 (15:47):
It was like a big period of discovery.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
In a way, right.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
I mean in the end, we're back in the Bahamas
recording a lot, with Paris recording a lot, And that
was the beginning of all that, like branching out from just.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Being in one place and true because this was this
was before I lived in Paris, before I had my house,
It's before we moved to the Bahamas. Yeah. Yeah, so
it was sort of setting the yeah, for what our
future life is going to be. That's interesting.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
When you were setting the template, so to speak, did
you have any idea like did you feel instantly the
connections with these places that you would end up there
or was it something you know that took time to develop.
Because I'm a big believer hound in how environment affects
writing and reported.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, well, I mean the Bahamas, I've always been spending
time here because of my family going down there for
you know, holidays and for summers. But I think being
down there and recording down there was so I don't know,
(17:13):
the process was so vibrant. I mean we're in the
middle of nature, the ocean, you know, floating on this
rock in the middle of the ocean, and the music
just comes so easily there even to this day. I
mean I feel that when I get home and I
(17:34):
sort of knock the dust off of me from being
out in the world, and I take off my shoes
and you know, I don't wear shoes even if I'm
down there for six months, I don't see a pair
of shoes for six months. You know. I walk in
the dirt, I walk in the grass, and once you
ground yourself in a place like that, the music comes
(17:59):
so oh easily. This vortex just sort of opens up
and it's just flying at you. I can't even make
it through a night of sleep, you know, really without
being awakened at three, four or five in the morning
with a song in my head. So yeah, the Bahamas
(18:21):
always has been really rich, and and you know, I
have my house in Paris and we have our sister
studio there in the house and.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
We're done that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Yeah, completely different vibe, you know, because we're in a
dark box. We don't have windows in that studio, whereas
in the Bahamas we're in the middle of the bush
on the beach and we can see the bush in
the sky from the studio because there's a lot of
glass in there. But they're both completely different dynamics. But
(18:59):
as Craig said, we get a lot of work done
in both of those places, and it's the place where
we keep our equipment because we're very specific about our
equipment and how that works and our speakers and how
the room is tuned. So, yeah, that was the beginning
(19:21):
of us creating our atmospheres, you know, where we were
going to make.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You look back on it, then, do you see that
you know, as you say, the two environments are very different.
Do you see the music you create there as like,
can you go back and say, okay, I can see
how this because obviously Bahamas is very you know, like
you say, it's very nature based, and then you're in Paris,
which is like such a much more of a fast
(19:49):
paced life, even though there's all this great history there,
still very fast paced place, and like you say, it's
in dark. So do you feel when you look back
at the music, like the two have very differ different effects.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Well, it's funny because both of those are on the album,
including New York. So, but it's funny. I was we
had an interview yesterday and I kept asking Craig this
song was recorded in the castle, right, It's like, Nope,
that was done in Jerious. Oh no, this song was
done in the castle, right, No, that was done. I
couldn't even remember where in each place I thought had
(20:26):
a very specific sound. But the album sort of blends,
you know, sonically blends to where you can't really tell
what we recorded where. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Interesting, I love that though. It's funny because there's so
many artists I've talked to who like literally will tell
the story of like they're in a place and they'll
hear their own music and they're like, oh, that's cool,
and then they're like a minute later they're like, oh shit,
that's me. So is it like sometimes where everything just
blurs together in a way As to the sound, Yeah,
(21:02):
as to like the like you were saying, you don't
remember where it's recorded, you know, so like the memories
kind of blur together.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, of a certain album, because each album of ours
has a completely different sound, and it's really interesting even
if we record it at the same place. Once we
make a record, that sound that we made is gone,
(21:33):
which is really strange because I understand it. We're in
different studios, but we don't seem to have the ability
to repeat ourselves. You know, black and White in the
new studio in the Bahamas, black and White America was
made there raised vibration and blue electric white, and they
(21:55):
sound like a bunch of strut yeah, and a bunch
of the struct tracks, and all of them sound like
completely different studios right and sounds. So I don't know
how we do that, but that's what happens. That's so
fascinating to same equipment, same place, same people.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Your connection to soul and nature and humanity has inspired
so many, so so many people over the years, and
I'm one of them.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
As you talk.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
About creating your sound for different records, the sound always
changes and you don't know how you get there. But
are there rituals that you always do during the process,
no matter where you are, what country, what place, that
really locks you into what that new sound is going
to be for that specific time.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
The only ritual for me is to be still, to
be quiet, and wait. I learned very early in to
not force it. When something doesn't come out, it's because
it's not meant to come out yet, it's not developed.
(23:16):
And so my ritual is too, as I said, get grounded,
get quiet, and wait. And once the first thing comes
out of the sky and you begin to work on it,
you then get into this thing where the music starts
(23:39):
to flow. Right. So usually when we start an album,
we'll only have one or two ideas. You know, well,
we'll have nothing, but then we might get one or
two and then we begin to work on the one
or two and then it just all starts to come.
So the tool is to just do nothing and wait.
(24:03):
You know, I'm not I'm not that. I don't dictate this.
I have no idea what I'm going to do each
time I go in, no idea, and nor do I
really care. And it's always nice to be surprised what
comes out of you. You know, Sometimes things come out
(24:24):
and I think to myself, of this groove or this sound,
that's not what I was thinking or what I wanted
or the matter. Go the direction that you're given, and
it always works. Out.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
Yes, basically about trusting the process. Even if you don't
necessarily know where it is you're going, You're going to
end up somewhere, and as long as you stick with it,
it becomes something that's you know, that's viable.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting to going back to what
you were saying though about the sound being different, and
every time you know where you're saying the same room,
same country, same equipment, But what's different every time is yal.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Yes, you're different and you and then your approach is
different because you're thinking of different ways to manipulate the sounds,
manipulate the room, and try new things. So I don't
have the desire to look back, you know, I don't
have to. Once I've done something that marks that expression
(25:36):
that time, I'm ready to move on. Well, so obvious question.
And of course, record labels, record labels back in the day,
you know, when you had those hits, you know, when
you're coming up, they didn't want you to repeat what
just happened because they know that that just worked. So
(25:58):
can you do another one of those? It's like, no,
can't do it, it's gone, you know, nor would I
try because now you're extremely late you're extremely off track,
you know, to try to chase something that already was
and had its time.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
So I was gonna say, it's interesting, obvious question, but
you know, I have to ask, when you look at
those artists who you know, have done the thirty forty
fifty year careers, who have been able to continually evolve
and move on and do different things, who are those
artists that you admire because you know, when when you
look at it, it's funny this comes up a lot
(26:39):
with people talking about you know, genres or where you fit.
And when I started to think about it and start
talking to people about it, the greatest artists of all
time never fit the fucking genre. They're always, you know,
completely evolving, whether Joni going from you know, folk to
jazz or Miles or you know, of course Bowie doing
god knows whatever album but it was brilliant.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Well those are those are great examples. I mean Bowie
who changed every album, changed everything about himself, Jonie Ah Fearless,
Prince Uh, the Stones, I mean, whomever, Pink, Floyd, Neil Young,
(27:29):
you know, there's this. I mean, there's so many artists
that have been blessed to have that time I'm trying
to think who now, I mean, who's who's been around
for god, who's in the stones category now? Not many?
I mean Robert Plant obviously, Who's you know, gone on
to keep evolving and doing his thing is a great
(27:55):
example as well.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, and it's funny because Plants, of course, is you know,
literally gone from Zeppelin's doing an album with country artists.
So is there that one style for you that you've
always wanted to try that would just be you know,
and again maybe it's not something you know, like as
you say, it's not conscious that leads you there, But
is there one thing that's always called you that's just
so different? Like it's funny. I remember Neil Young, who
(28:23):
I love, and I think it's a testament to Neil
Young's genius. Who I've been a few times that you know,
he's made some terrible albums, but it's because he's always tried.
He's always just been like, fucking I'm doing whatever I want.
And even if you know, no one likes the synth
albums of the eighties.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
For me, but that's beautiful, you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Yeah, because again he's tried something.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I mean, when you go back to the past, and
you think about like an Arefa or Real Charles. Sometimes
they were putting out two three albums in a year.
Let's throw out the rhythm and you know the Rhythmond
Blues one, the country one, this one, that one, the
pop you know that, the fruitter one, whatever. Just like
(29:09):
people were just experimenting and trying to find, you know,
a sound, a groove, and that's part of the process
as well as far as us. I mean, what are
we going to stay?
Speaker 6 (29:28):
No, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Just like even back to Neil Young, like when you say,
maybe he made some terrible records. But the funny thing
is sometimes you go back to some of those quote
unquote questionable ones, maybe twenty years later, and you listen
to it and you're like, wait a minute, maybe this
isn't really that bad. It was at the time it
(29:49):
didn't fit at all, but there is something to this,
you know, so.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Going wherever it is you feel you want to go.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
I think it's one of the secrets of longevity.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Absolutely, It's like being a great artist. So is there
that Like now I'm just curious because now it's just fun,
Like you know, I'm thinking of like, you know, you
obviously experiment with different sounds on her but it's funny,
like of the bonus tracks I loved hold on Steple
titles that listen everything all the way through. I loved Confused,
So will we ever hear? Just like the hardcore blues album.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Never thought about that? Huh did we ever think about that?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
No? But I mean I never, I don't.
Speaker 6 (30:42):
Know, you know, there's a little something on everything.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Kind of you know, but uh, I never thought like
like like a direction of theme, like Okay, I'll make
the mo you know. What. I have thought of though,
doing a very traditional spiritual album, like gospel, like old school,
(31:14):
you know. But there are elements of that on one
of the records we have coming out soon. So but
I've thought of doing a full out gospel record, very southern,
very backwoods, you know. Just I love I've always loved that,
(31:37):
and it's a lot of the music that my grandmother
used to play and has always been inspiring, and it's
the root of rock and roll and blues and so forth.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
I feel like there's such a deep, profound spirituality to
all of your music, and God is Love just makes
me from the first note just have a big exhale.
Do you mind sharing this story of writing that song.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
No thank you, I'm glad. I love that song and
I've been talking about putting that in the show for
the years, and I'm going to the It's just that
tune is a vibe. It's just a vibe. And yeah,
(32:34):
it's hard to explain, but it's how I feel. And
you know, I'm a person who is extremely grateful for
life and all the gifts that I've been given. And
(32:57):
you know, my allegiance is to God. And I know
that everything I am and everything that I do and
everything I have, it is God. And so that was
one of those you know, I write a lot of
songs to God, songs that people may not even realize
they think they might think it's a love song. It
(33:19):
is a love song, but they might think it's you know,
to a person, whether it's in my life today off
of love, huh yeah? Or God is love? Or I
belong to you? Are you going to go my way?
(33:40):
You know? So it's it's a it's a theme that
that is always there. But I love that you love
that track.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Yeah, I mean the melody paired with those lyrics, it
just cuts right through the from from the first note.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
And the drum sound it just sounds like it's all
slowed down, and then the melotron, you know, keyboard on there, it's, uh,
it's a vibe thank you though. So it's funny then.
Is that one of those songs where you know, you
(34:24):
can't even really say exactly where it came from?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Where? Did you know?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
It just came like all the other ones? You know? Yeah,
and Henry Hurst was a big part of of that track.
I mean, the the engineering on on on that track
is superb.
Speaker 6 (34:47):
The whole record, that record in particular.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yeah, Alice Baker, who does young Blood?
Speaker 3 (35:11):
That you are a fan? Is that correct? I'm a
fan of young Blood. Yeah, yeah, that's my buddy, all right.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Because I'm interviewing in at four o'clock for a cover story,
so well, yeah, I love that dude. I interviewed him
for the first time six years ago.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Yeah, we we have a couple of surprises coming your way.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Nice so very quickly were you how'd you guys get
to be friends?
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Well, he is part of the family through his girlfriend,
who is part of my family for thirty some odd years,
and so we met and I always just liked him
(36:02):
as a human being. It's just such a great guy, funny, smart,
so much energy. And then I started listening to his
music and I saw it. I said, you know, this
guy's really got something and he's going for it and
he's you know, helping to bring rock and roll back
(36:27):
and also a great performer. And so then we just
talked about getting the other for years, last couple of years,
and finally he came down to the Bahamas and we
made a little magic.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Well, you know, it's interesting for both of you, guys,
Lenny and Craig. How much does that inspire you to
be around new musicians, Like it's funny you're playing I know,
Ocean City as well, and Lenny, you and I talked
about that a few months ago, the last time we talked,
you know. And when you get to do a fest
that you're around all levels of musicians, I think on
the same day you're playing Green Days headline, but then
(37:06):
there's a new artist opening is the Escabar I just
found who's amazing, And I imagine it's inspiring just to
be around all levels of musicianship, but especially those young
artists who are really hungry because you pick up on
that and they're excited to learn, and they're excited to
talk to you, and they're excited to you know, sort
of gauge everything, and you're seeing it a little bit
through their eyes.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It is wonderful, and it's wonderful also to you know,
I never saw myself in this place because I'm just
always looking at my life. But when you've been around
you know, people have heard your music, they've been inspired
by your music. And when they come up to you
and tell you how they feel about your expression and
(37:51):
what they learned from it and how it's inspired them,
that's just such an amazing bl lesson.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
It's always great to see how other people work, and
especially when it chives with you know, what we do.
It kind of like Birth's new ideas.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Yeah, and we have completely different methods of you know,
the way we work, completely different. But it took us
a day to sort of figure it out. Okay, this
is the way you work, this is the way we work.
Let's blend it and get it to where everybody's happy,
everybody's comfortable, everybody can do what they do, you know,
(38:44):
and feel at home. And once we found that, which
as I said, took one took one full day, then
we just began grooving, and what I was most impressed
about was his ear. Going back to young Blood, he
has a very very good ear and sense of melody.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
So GW questions, do let's stage for but one? Who
is that one artist then that you would just love
to work with just for fun, just now again, either
someone you're friends with or because again you've worked with
so many artists on all levels. You know, whether it's
an up and becoming artist or whether it's like opening
for the Stones.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
I don't know the moment. I kind of let things
happen organically, you know, if I meet somebody, if it
just feels right. So I don't have anybody like on
a list of like like, oh who I'd like to
work with, but we'll.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
See, yeah, yeah, best when it just kind of happens.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
We also went in the studio with Steve Lacy, which
was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Hmm, all right, then my second question, and then I'll
like I said, let's sage with his off. But it's
funny you just said when people come to you and
they say you've heard your music, this promps my new
favorite question. I was doing a story on the Doors
sixteenth anniversary and I was interviewing, of all people, a
paleontologist who was telling me this amazing story of listening
(40:20):
to Riders on the Storm while excavating dinosaur bones of
Patagonia and how we would hire these gauchos who would
drag the dinosaur bones by horse while listening to Riders
on the Storm. And I was telling John Danisboy and
Robbie Figure about it, and they were like, that's the
coolest thing ever, because it's like literally Raiders of the
Lost Ark shit. So you always do hear these stories.
(40:42):
What's there your most fun or craziest place you've heard
of your music being played, or the most meaningful story
you've heard from someone together. There's so many stories of like,
you know, we made a baby to this, or we
got married to this, or we you know whatever it is,
you know.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
I mean, there's a lot of that. There's a lot
of you know, people's experiences, relationships or you know, hard
times and this song got me through this or that.
I mean, I got letters from soldiers you know that
(41:21):
were on the front line of active wars, you know,
and explaining to me how they would listen to the
albums to give them a sense of of calm and
(41:41):
and hope when you know they were having these these
off moments where they weren't in the middle of it.
Those are those are quite intense. People said telling you that,
you know, their mother had a fatal illness, you know,
(42:02):
and that they beat it and this song believes say,
which comes up a lot, you know, they'll say that
helped them get them through it. I don't take those
things lightly. It's because the music is it's not just
(42:22):
my music, it's their music. I don't own the music.
It came to me, you know. And so when you
hear these stories, it's just all you can do is
have gratitude that something you were a part of was
able to touch somebody's life, especially if something so deep
(42:46):
as those situations.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
It's just remarkable the amount of music that you have
that has played a role and as the soundtrack to
people's lives. I'm curious now in twenty twenty five, looking
at a song like rock and Roll is Dead and
working with young Blood and these kind of artists that are,
you know, still on their journey of their earlier days.
(43:25):
How are you feeling about where we are in music,
where we are in rock and roll? What are you
hopeful for for the future of music. What are you
trepredacious about?
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, I'm very hopeful because there's been so many years
now where I've seen all these young kids on Instagram
playing guitar, playing bass, playing saxophone, you know, singing whatever
it is, drums, and you know, there were so many
years where everybody had their heads stuck in a computer.
(43:58):
And that's fine, nothing wrong with that. But to see
all these kids coming up and developing from like the
age of five, yeah, you know, and we and a
lot of these kids we've met or had come on
stage with us or you know, and to see how
committed they are to the art form and how committed
(44:21):
they are to the process, because nobody wants to work
hard for anything anymore. Everybody wants instant gratification. You know.
They want to they want to be good today, they
want to be famous today. And that's not what it's about.
It's about learning your craft. You know. Denzel said something
(44:41):
really good the other day. He said, back in back
in the day when I was coming up, you actually
had to be good at what you did. You had
to study, you had to be good. You know. Now
you can do almost anything. It can be ridiculous, it
can be stupid, it can be whatever, and as long
(45:03):
as you have followers, you know, you can be quote
unquote famous or whatever that is. So I'm very happy
to see people going through the process, putting the work in,
having the patience to build that foundation, which is what
(45:28):
you need to be a real musician. And that's also
been a reaction to all those years of just computerized
and sampled music, you know, and again there's nothing wrong
with that. There's great music made that way, great music,
but there's nothing like putting your hands on an instrument,
(45:52):
because then it sounds like you, you know, coming up listening
to records. As a teenager, I could listen to records
and I could tell you who the drummer is, who
the bass player is, who the guitarist is, because I
can hear their sound. They are the only ones that
can make that instrument sound that way. And so anyway,
(46:15):
I'm going on and on about this, but I love
seeing that process being respected. So I think there's gonna
be a lot of great music coming out in the
next you know, five to ten years, a lot of
great music, and it will be done in a new way.
Of course, you can't take technology from this era and
(46:39):
this day out of that, but it'll be a really
interesting blend of what's going on now. And you know,
real musicianship.
Speaker 5 (46:56):
One of the good things about the technology we have now,
like just Instagram or YouTube or whatever, is if you're
coming up now, you're exposed to so many things. Whereas
I don't know, ten fifteen years ago, you probably weren't.
In In our day, it's about going to a record
(47:18):
store or whatever you could see on TV. But now
a kid can go it's good time travel all the
way to nineteen twenty something if they want to find
out certain kind of music, and so they're what they
have at their fingertips now is amazing, and just what
(47:39):
they can make out of all that variety is kind
of exciting.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Cool. We'll keep you guys. I was just gonna say
for each of you, you know, when you go back
and take certain like we've talked about the fact records change,
music changes, you know, and I mean, Letty, I think
you and I talked about the story I did on
the Coltrane and Love Supreme and how much that record
changes for everybody. So for you guys, when you listen
to circus. What do you take from and now thirty
(48:08):
years later.
Speaker 5 (48:11):
What do you take from the Craig. I think there
was a lot of freedom. That's kind of what I
hear back from that record.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
It was like.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
We were able to go in a lot of different
directions and we were exploring space. Space says, which is
why we were in a castle or why we were
in New York or ended up in the Bahamas. So
I think it was just kind of like.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
An opening of I mean, all the music has been free,
We've always been free, but you have to remember this
came after Are You Going to Go My Way? Which
changed everything, and I think that the label and people
(49:03):
expected more of that record, and we just turned in
went another direction, which was beautiful that we did not
fall for that. Yeah, you know, and you've got these
songs on this record that you know have nothing to
do with you know, what was going on commercially, But
(49:26):
we never did that, right, you know, But we just
kept going down that road of being free and trusting
the inspiration that comes to you.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
Right now, I'm hereous to you because this is some
recently and I'm always interested in this. What you guys
look back on, is there one album for each of
you the kind of was just most influential, you know.
Of course there's a million great albums, was there that
one that when you go back and listen to your
work you kind of hear you know, because again, so
(50:04):
much of music being so conscious, you go through, you
listen to it and you're like, oh, I hear that
in there now, whether it's pet Sounds or a Love
Supreme or whatever it is for each of you. So
that one album that you kind of just has always
been with you your whole life.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Wow, one, Well, who would you say for you?
Speaker 5 (50:23):
I could say Sergeant Pepper only because when I was
a kid, that's pretty much the only record I had,
So I listened to that thing for years on end.
Speaker 3 (50:34):
So well, that's a hard one for me. But I
guess if I had to pick one, it would be
Stevie Wonder inter Visions. That was the first record that
I began to listen to all the tracks separately, first
album I took a part in my mind. And it's
(50:59):
so a spiritual album. I've always said that album to me,
sounds like Stevie was sitting in the palm of God's hand,
you know. And so that record always takes me to
that place.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Yeah, dude, you should have been a journalist. I never
get jealous of other people's writing, but that one makes
me jealous. That's cool. What don't you guys want to
have that we didn't ask about.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
I'm good, you're you're the journalist, my brother.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
I think we covered everything as usual, so yeah, now,
I mean it's really fun, you know, speaking of the
stuff you do with's am now and I recommend what
you guys play if you get there early to check
out the Escobar because I just love, as you know,
discovering new music.
Speaker 3 (51:59):
I will check it out. Thank you for that.
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