The Australian Independent
Music homepage that Leaping Larry L should see most of (maybe!?).
Gerry Hale's Uncle Bill :- 199-?-
Peters, Glenn, 1999, 'Uncle Bill', Beat Magazine, Issue 683, p46
Recently, Paul Kelly recorded the bluegrass album, Smoke, with local bluegrassers, Gerry Hale's Uncle Bill. It was a project that opened doors for both parties, especially Uncle Bill, who have been given the opportunity to spread the bluegrass gospel to stunned audiences all over the country. 160 beat per minute on mandolin and banjo? Wow! Glenn Peters spoke to Gerry Hale about the Smoke project, the consequent tour and the big old daddy of them all, Bill Monroe.
Beat: How long have you been touring with Paul Kelly?
Hale: "We have just done this month. This is the first time we have done a block of work. We have done one off things with in Byron Bay and a few other things. They were one offs so we didn't get to establish a good stage set up and didn't really get the sound worked out. There is quite a lot of choreography or as Kelly calls it, "the dance." There is a lot of movement going on. He's taken to it very well. It's something new for him to be playing in a real acoustic band. He has to physically get out of the way when we have to sing and we have to make space for him. There's a lot of physical stuff that the band takes for granted. You can't stand still and do what you do."
"For many years he has played the stand up acoustic how but this is a whole new dynamic. Most acoustic acts are not really acoustic because they are plugged in, that is they have a lead coming out of their instruments you would get a very different sound to the sound we get. Its the old fashioned way of doing it. Before they had pickups theyused microphones. We enjoyed the physical work. Its harder in many ways. You can't reach down and turn up your guitar because there is no volume knob."
Beat: You can hear the wood.
Hale: "Yes, its the warmth you are hearing. You are hearing the sound after its left the instrument, going down a good quality microphone. You are hearing a hifi sound. Its how you are supposed to hear it. If you've got a really expensive Martin guitar or a mandolin, some of the mandolins cost thousand of dollars, you pay that because you want the sound from it. If you are using a pickup you are eliminating half of the instrument's quality. You are taking the sound before its left the instrument."
Beat: The Smoke album seemed to make Paul Kelly sound younger, fresher?
Hale: "I think its opened doors. We have both opened doors for each other. He has obviously opened a big door for us because he has drawn attention to us wanting to record with us. Its a fantastic opportunity. If you said to me a year ago, "who would you want to record with?" I would have said Paul Kelly. He has the songs, the voice and he is a good guitar player. Its just like a dream. On the otherside, we have opened a door for paul, a musical door. Not only from the writing and the sound of the music, but the stage act. He is having a great time because its a totally different thing. Paul had to step into the band not understanding how we work but ready to give it a shot. Its working great. It was a challenge and he cracked it."
Beat: Do you think it affected his songwriting?
Hale: "There is only a couple of brand new songs. There are more songs now in the set that are not on the record but most of the songs he draws from things he has already written. he is not that kind of writer. I get the feeling he writes songs and looks at them later. I don't think he writes specifically for a certain job. The songs he has brought to us are songs that have been kicking around for a while or half an idea that he has knocked into a format for us to play. Steve Earle was quoted to say that he wanted to write a bluegrass album and that he wanted to write classic bluegrass songs that will be sang in carparks in Kentucky after he is dead and gone. I don't thing (think) Paul is like that. He just writes songs. We gave him a road sign. We played a few of his songs on our album and he heard that and he heard his songs on our album and he heard that and he heard his songs played in a way he had never heard before. Before this came along I was actually thinking of doing a complete album of Paul Kelly."
Beat: You have a great understanding of his work? Your recording of his song Special Treatment, has almost become one of your own.
Hale: "I think we put a stamp on it. Its a very powerful song. I imagine he would have written that about the time that phrase was thrown around. You don't hear it anymore. He is a great listener. That is why he is such a good song writer."
Beat: And musically its great for those blue grass vocal harmonies.
Hale: "Yeah, they work great. I think the first time Paul heard us sing it was at the Standard in Fitzroy. He came up to me and said how much he like(d?) how we played it. I was walking on air."
"The thing people really like about it is that its raw and untreated. Its a form of folk music. If you the Chieftains you get the same sort of buzz. They have done collaborations with Van Morrison and Tom Jones. The secret is that its music that would sound as good in your front room than anywhere else. Its home entertainment. It very friendly, not overly loud. Sometimes an audience can be chatty and lose a bit. We only had a couple of nights like that on the tour. Its funny because when they were like that, the reaction was bigger because they were in a party mood. There is a lot going on. There is a lot to watch because its interesting to see how we make the sound."
Beat: There are a lot of notes.
Hale: "Yes, there is a lot of notes. Half way through a gig in Byron Bay, there was a very crowd. It was fine. They were in holiday mode and they were partying. Half of them wouldn't shut up. They were at the bar, yakking away. Halfway through the gig, Paul did a solo spot. Now the audience usually shuts up when he steps on stage. They were even talking through his stuff. When he came on with him he said, "Okay guys, we are going to crank into the final set." We really steam rolled, speed wise. All the tempos were really up. We generated an energy on the stage. The crowd went nuts at the end. It was the biggest noise we have ever heard. They went crazy. Instead of getting louder, we just played faster. It didn't get louder, it got hotter. I think we did 45 minutes of encores that night. You sacrifice a bit of taste but really get the audience's attention with speed."
Beat: Love the photo of Bill Monroe on your press release.
Hale: "That was probably one of the last pictures taken of him. A friend of mine was in America at, I think, his 86th birthday and just said, "Mr Monroe, may I take a picture?" and that was the picture. Its an amazing picture."
Beat: I recently got into Monroe. I love the tear jerking gospel stuff.
Hale: "You have to get used to the fact that in the 1940's and 50's, the vocal sound he has, an extraordinary voice, very high and very pure. Some people think he sounds like a chipmonk or something. He has a beautiful voice. It just soars. Its a nasal sound. The singing sound would have come around because of the lack of PA systems. That style is very penetrating. You can sing in a bar or a club and your voice projects across the room if you sing from your nose. Its like the guys in the market if you listen to them they sing through their nose. They also talk through their noses so its pretty natural for them to sing like that. Its an acquired taste."
back to the
Main page
Melbou
rne Non Incendiary rock
or Melbour
ne Incendiary rock
Non
Melbourne Incendiary rock
Non
Melbourne Non Incendiary rock