James Lowe - The Electric Prunes Il ritorno delle ‘Prugne Elettriche’ – Italian/English version

James Lowe è il cantante e fondatore della band seminale del garage psichedelico americano degli anni ’60, The Electric Prunes. Lo scorso giugno 2013 si è esibito, per la prima volta in Italia, al Festival Beat di Salsomaggiore Terme insieme ai Fuzztones; qualche giorno dopo ha fatto un’altra data a Messina, dove è stato invece accompagnato dai siciliani The Out Key Hole. Gli abbiamo fatto qualche domanda sugli Electric Prunes e sulla sua permanenza in Italia.

 

 

 

 

                  L’INTERVISTA

 

 

Rossana Morriello (Distorsioni) – Hai suonato quest’anno a giugno al Festival Beat di Salsomaggiore Terme, in un concerto stupendo con i Fuzztones di Rudi Protrudi, com’è  nata questa idea di suonare insieme?

James Lowe (Electric Prunes) – Ho registrato alcune canzoni di Rudi con lui qualche anno fa e lui ha deciso di realizzare una nuova edizione di  "All The Kings Horses”. Mi ha chiesto se volevo unirmi a loro in Italia per una piccola rivisitazione di alcune delle canzoni dell’EP e la possibilità anche di cantare la sua canzone. Non ho potuto resistere. Il suo gruppo ha provato i pezzi e ci siamo incontrati sul campo a Salsomaggiore per una piccola prova. E’ stato fantastico vedere tutti là.

 

Com’è stato il tuo soggiorno al Festival Beat e in Italia? Era la prima volta che suonavi in Italia? Non ci avevi mai suonato con gli Electric Prunes se non sbaglio…

Non avevamo mai suonato in Italia per qualche ragione? Ci ero stato per vacanza ma non avevo mai avuto l’occasione di suonarci. E’ stata un'esperienza fantastica. Bella gente.

 

A Salsomaggiore avete fatto una performance stupenda che si è conclusa con una versione indimenticabile di I Had To Much To Dream (Last Night), il brano degli Electric Prunes (scritto da Annette Tucker e Nancy Mantz) più famoso e più coverizzato negli anni da ogni tipo di band. E’ stato anche un successo internazionale quando è uscito nel 1966. Come avevi vissuto quel successo allora e cosa ne pensi del perdurare della fortuna di quel brano che è oggi considerato un classico del garage anni Sessanta?

La cosa buffa è che quando abbiamo realizzato la canzone pensavamo che sarebbe stato un flop. La gente la ascoltava ma non veniva trasmessa nelle stazioni radio. Pensavano che fosse troppo strana… “bella canzone ma dove potreste suonare una cosa del genere…?”. Ci è voluta un’eternità perché scalasse le classifiche. Ma una volta decollata non si è più fermata e improvvisamente eri diventato famoso per una cosa… quella canzone. Mi piace cantarla perché è un po’ romantica e ha abbastanza interruzioni all’interno per fermare qualsiasi tentativo di ballare! Ha ha. Se siamo sorpresi? Sì, non avevo idea che la gente conoscesse ancora quella canzone dopo così tanto tempo.

 

Hai cominciato alla metà degli anni Sessanta con un gruppo chiamato “The Sanctions” e poi “Jim and the Lords”. Quali erano allora le tue influenze musicali, alla nascita di quel genere musicale di cui siete oggi considerati maestri e fondatori: voglio dire, oggi molti gruppi garage sono stimolati a cominciare a suonare da band come gli Electric Prunes ma che cosa ha stimolato gli Electric Prunes?

Credo che la radio trasmettesse ogni genere di musica a quei tempi. Potevi ascoltare Petula Clark e poi Jimi Hendrix e poi i Fugs. La scena sembrava così mescolata… volevamo cambiare le cose e buttarci qualche curva. Ci piaceva il blues come Lightning Hopkins e Muddy Waters ma anche i dischi pop come Love Is Strange e Be Bop A Lula avevano del sesso nel suono. Come l'aveva Dick Dale e quella chitarra vibrante. Volevamo creare un “posto” in cui questi dischi succedessero. Penso ancora che l’ambiente sia la chiave. Questa è sempre stata la posizione di Phil Spector. Fai in modo che la canzone abbia un posto o suggerisci un posto dove sta succedendo. Ingigantiscilo e dà loro qualcosa per sbirciarci dentro.

 

Nel 1966 avete cambiato il nome in Electric Prunes. Nel vostro sito web invitate i lettori a indovinare l’origine del nome e quindi ti chiedo qui com’è stato scelto il nome e chi l’ha scelto?

Abbiamo scelto il nome dopo una lunga seduta nel tentativo di cercare un nome nuovo. Ain’t It Hard doveva essere stampato il lunedì e la Warner ci aveva dato un ultimatum: per quel giorno dovevamo avere il nome. Ci siamo chiusi in sala prove per riflettere. Qualcuno fece un indovinello: “cos’è  viola e va ronzando?”, la cui risposta era una Prugna Elettrica e io sono saltato su dicendo che quello sarebbe stato un nome fantastico. Ci è voluto un po’ ma poi tutti hanno realizzato che era memorabile, se non altro. Sono andato da Dave Hassinger con il nome e lui lo ODIAVA. Minacciava di non presentarlo alla Warner perché era ridicolo. Gli ho detto: “questo è il nome, puoi girarla come vuoi ma questo E’ il nome". Dave è andato alla Warner ed è tornato tutto eccitato dicendo che loro “adoravano” il nome. Ha aggiunto: "per far sembrare che fossi coinvolto ho dovuto dir loro che l’avevo pensato io!".  Così è passato dall’odiare il nome al diventarne l’autore in un giorno! Questo era il problema per il gruppo, anche in altri campi, con Dave. Il nome è sempre appartenuto a noi e noi ne concedevamo l'uso per i dischi. Eravamo i possessori del nostro nome, contrariamente alla credenza popolare.

 

Il cambiamento del nome è stato fatto comunque poco tempo dopo il vostro incontro a Los Angeles con Dave Hassinger, che è diventato il vostro produttore e vi ha lanciato, cominciando con la spot pubblicitario radiofonico per il pedale wah wah della Vox, che è stato una grande opportunità per una band nuova. Quanto è stata realmente importante la figura di Hassinger per gli Electric Prunes e per la realizzazione dei primi due album, oggi considerati due capolavori della musica garage psichedelica?

Tutti hanno bisogno di qualcuno che faccia partire le cose. Dave stava cercando di ottenere un lavoro come produttore di un gruppo, noi stavano cercando di pubblicare un disco. Abbiamo entrambi realizzato il nostro desiderio. Dave ha avuto poco a che fare con l’album “Underground”. Non gli piaceva quel disco e ci lasciò quindi fare quello che volevamo. Il primo disco in cui noi eravamo tutti impegnati a cercare di farlo diventare realtà.  Era l’ingegnere dei Rolling Stones, come potevamo sbagliare? Dave aveva una personalità caustica per cui poteva essere difficile a volte. Non gli piaceva la musica che stavamo facendo e voleva fare musica lecita con noi. La combinazione semplicemente non funzionava più dopo un po’ di tempo. Fu Lenny Pouncher, il nostro manager, a procurarci la pubblicità del pedale wah wah della Vox.

 

Nel 1968 avete realizzato il terzo album, “Mass in Fa Minor", un concept album su base religiosa, molto diverso dalle due uscite precedenti. Com’è nata quest’idea?

L'album “Mass in F Minor” ci è arrivato nel 1967 tramite  il nostro manager, Lenny Pouncher. Lui era anche il manager di David Axelrod, un compositore/produttore per la Capitol Records (Lou Rawls).  David stava componendo una Messa e stava cercando qualcuno che la suonasse. Gli Electric Prunes avevano appena avuto un paio di singoli in classifica, I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) e Get Me To The World On Time. Ci piacevano le cose insolite e io avevo fatto tutto quel latino a scuola ed ero stato un chierichetto… quindi perché no? Lenny ci mise in contatto con David. Pensavamo che l’idea fosse originale e ci avevano avvisato che avremmo potuto mettere la nostra impronta in fase di registrazione. Ricordatevi, eravamo una band garage della San Fernando Valley, non musicisti da studio. Non vedevamo questo come importante per la nostra carriera o un cambiamento di obiettivo per la band. Era solo musica. Quando siamo andati in studio ci hanno dato degli spartiti, il che era una novità per noi perché non leggevamo la musica, ma il nostro bassista, Mark Tulin, la leggeva. Abbiamo fatto il primo lato del disco con Axelrod che ci dirigeva e immagino che fossimo piuttosto lenti perché il produttore voleva far venire un chitarrista e un organista in più per finire il secondo lato. Io ho fatto del mio meglio affinché la voce sembrasse quella di un gruppo di monaci. Prima che ce ne rendessimo conto eravamo alla Capitol per registrare dei corni francesi ed era tutto finito. I nostri effetti sonori e i nostro segno distintivo del fuzz sono stati molto considerati, no?

 

Il brano che apre quell’album, Kyrie Eleison, è stato scelto per la colonna sonora del film “Easy Rider” e usato nella scena del bordello. Ti è piaciuto il film (Bob Dylan ne odiava il finale) e l’uso della vostra canzone? Hai incontrato Peter Fonda e Dennis Hopper in quell’occasione?

Non sapevo che il brano fosse nel film e un amico me lo disse a una sua proiezione da qualche parte. Ne fui sorpreso e non riconobbi  la canzone. Avevo incontrato Peter e Dennis un paio di volte. Non so perché il brano sia finito nel film. Incontrerò i biografi di Dennis Hopper, Satya della Manitou e Robert Rothbard tra qualche giorno. Glielo chiederò! Magari lo sanno.

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES LOWE (THE ELECTRIC PRUNES)

 

James Lowe is the singer and founder of The Electric Prunes, a seminal band of American psychedelic garage of the 60’s. Last June he played, for the first time in Italy, at Festival Beat in Salsomaggiore Terme, together with the Fuzztones, and a couple of days later he played another gig in Messina, where he was backed by The Out Key Hole, a Sicilian band. We asked him some questions about the Electric Prunes and his staying in Italy.

 

Rossana Morriello (Distorsioni) - You played this year in June at Festival Beat in Salsomaggiore Terme, in an astonishing set with the Fuzztones, how did this idea come?

James Lowe - I had recorded a few of Rudi’s songs with him a number of years ago and he decided to release “All The Kings Horses” in a new package. He asked if I would like to join them in Italy for a little run through of some of EP songs and a chance to sing his song as well. I couldn’t resist. His band rehearsed the  songs and we met on Salsomaggiore field for a little run-through. It was great seeing everyone there.

 

What about your staying at Festival Beat and in Italy? It was the first time you played in Italy? You never played in our country with the Electric Prunes if I’m not wrong…

We never played Italy in the 60’s for some reason? I had been there for vacation but had never had the chance to play there. It was a cool experience. Good people.

 

In Salsomaggiore you made an awsome performance which ended with an unforgettable version of I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), the song by The Electric Prunes (written by Annette Tucker and Nancy Mantz) most famous and most covered  through the years by all kind of bands. It was also an international success when it came out in 1966. How did you live that success then and how do you live the endurance of this song life which is now a very classic of Sixties garage music?

The funny thing was when we released the song we thought it was a flop. People would listen but then not play it on the radio stations. They thought it was too weird … “nice song but where would you play something like that ….?” It took forever to climb up the charts. Once it took off there was no stopping it and you suddenly become known for one thing …. That song. I enjoy singing it because it is a bit romantic and it has enough breaks in it to stop all attempts at dancing! Ha ha. Are we surprised? YES I had no idea people still knew this song after such a long time.

 

You began in the mid Sixties with a band called “The Sanctions” and then “Jim and the Lords”, so what were your musical influences then, at the very beginning of that kind of music of which you are now considered the masters and founders, I mean, today many garage bands are challenged to start playing music by bands like the Electric Prunes but what challenged the Electric Prunes?

I think the radio was playing all kinds of music at that time. You would hear Petula Clark and then Jimi Hendrix, then the Fugs. The scene seemed to be so mixed up … we wanted to change things and throw some curves in there. We liked blues like Lightning Hopkins and Muddy Waters but pop records like Love Is Strange and Be Bop A Lula had the sex in the sound as well. So did Dick Dale and that twangy guitar. We wanted to create a “place” for these records to happen in. I still think the environment is the key. This was always Phil Spector’s position. Let the song have a place or suggest a place where it is happening. Get it deep and give them something to peer into.

 

In 1966 you changed the name to Electric Prunes. In your website you hint readers to guess the origin of the  name so I ask you here how the name was chosen and who chose it?

We chose the name after a long session of trying to find a new name. “Ain’t It Hard” was being pressed on Monday and Warner’s gave us an ultimatum that we had to have the name by then. We locked ourselves in the rehearsal room and pondered. A joke was told “what’s purple and goes buzz buzz?”with the answer an Electric Prune and I jumped on it stating that would be a great  name. It took a bit but everyone realized it was memorable, if nothing else. I went to Dave Hassinger with the name and he HATED it. He threatened to not present it to Warner’s because it was so ridiculous. I said, “this is the name, you can handle it any way you want but this IS the name. Dave went to Warner’s and came back all excited and said they “loved” the name. He said in order to look like I am involved I had to tell them I thought it up! So he went from hating the name to authorship in one day! This was the problem for the band in some other areas with Dave, as well.  The name always belonged to us and we allowed use of it for the records. We did own our name, contrary to popular belief.

 

The change of the name came anyway a short time after you met Dave Hassinger, in Los Angeles, who became your producer and launched you, beginning with the radio advertisement for Vox wah wah pedal which is a great opportunity for a new band. How much important was actually the figure of Hassinger for the Electric Prunes and for the realization of the two first albums, now considered two masterpieces of garage psych music ?

Everyone needs someone to kick the thing off. Dave was looking to get a staff producer job, we were looking to break a record. We both got our wish. Dave had little to do with the Underground album. He didn’t like that record and just let us do what we wanted. The first record we were all in there trying to make it happen. He was the Rolling Stones engineer, how could we go wrong? Dave had a caustic personality so he could be trying at times. He didn’t like the music we were making and wanted to do legit music with us. The combo just didn’t fit after awhile. Lenny Poncher, our manager, got us the Vox Wa Wa pedal commercial.

 

In 1968, you realized the third album, “Mass in Fa Minor”, a concept album on a religious basis, much different from the previous two releases. How did the idea come?

The Mass in F Minor album came to us in 1967 thru our manager, Lenny Pouncher. He also managed David Axelrod, a composer/producer for Capitol Records (Lou Rawls). David was composing a Mass and was looking for someone to perform it. The Electric Prunes had just had a couple of chart records I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night and Get Me To The World On Time. We liked odd things and I had taken all that Latin in school and had been an altar boy ... so why not? Lenny hooked us up with David. We thought the idea was unique and were advised we would be able to put our stamp on it in the recording process. Remember, we were a garage band from the San Fernando Valley, not studio musicians. We did not see this as a career move or focus change for the band. It was just music. Once in the studio we were given charts, which was new for us as we didn't read music but our bass player, Mark Tulin did. We got through the first side of the record with Axelrod conducting us and I guess we were pretty slow because the producer wanted to bring in an additional guitar player and organist to finish the second side. I did my best attempt at sounding like a bunch of monks with the vocals. Before we knew it we were in Capitol studios laying down French horns and it was over. Our sound effects and signature fuzz elements were deemed too much, I guess?

 

The song which opens that album, Kyrie Eleison, was chosen for the soundtrack of the movie “Easy Rider” and used in the scene of the brothel.  Did you like the movie (Bob Dylan hated its end) and the use of your song? And did you meet Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper for that occurrence?

I didn’t know the song was in the movie and a friend took me to a showing somewhere of it. I was surprised and didn’t recognize the song. I had met Peter and Dennis a couple of times. I am not sure why the song ended up in there? I am going to meet with Dennis Hopper’s biographers, Satya della Manitou and Robert Rothbard in a few days. I will ask them! Maybe they know?

 

Well, I read somewhere that Hopper and Fonda chose the songs for the soundtrack among their personal collection of records, selecting che songs they thought more suitable…

While recording “Mass in Fa Minor” something happened in  the band which lead finally to you quitting  it and to the break up of the Electric Prunes . Did all members of the band play in the record? Can you tell us what actually happened?

Mark Tulin played bass, Quint played drums, I sang the album and played guitar on a few cuts. Ken Williams played lead guitar on the first side and we were told we were moving too slow in the studio by Dave Hassinger so another guitar player joined us as well as Don Randi on the organ. Our band played this record. I am actually tired of saying it as it always gets twisted around. We DID NOT play on the Kol Nidre record. This was a manufactured band by the producer. I quit because it seemed they had hijacked our idea and were now going to tell us what to play. I read in Newsweek Magazine that Hassinger was planning on doing Madame Butterfly with us. I was out of there. Simply ridiculous.

 

What did you do in all those years after the break up of the Electric Prunes and before the 1999 reunion?

After I left the band I produced and engineered records for Nazz, Todd Rundgren, Van Dyke Parks, Sparks, James Cotton Blues Band, Foghat, Ananda Shankar. I wanted to be in the studio and not in front of the mic.  I later moved to TV commercials and became a director/producer with my own company.

 

Then in 1999 you came back together for a new record, “Artifact”, released in 2001. How was it?

Mark and I got together when David Katznelson from Warner Bros. asked if I would like to remix the EP material from the 60’s for a compilation album. Mark and I were in the studio and we started listening and getting a kick out of some of the old recordings. I had a studio on my ranch and we decided to play some music again. We invited all who could let go of the past and move on with us to play. Quint, Ken Williams, Mark and I made “Artifact.”. This was the reunion album, made with the same techniques we had made the 60’s records.

 

And you also published  two more albums later…

Mark and I wrote what we wanted and created a CD, “California” next. It was a look back at the 60’s we had been through with a little more emphasis on our song structure. Then we came to FEEDBACK, the final piece to the puzzle. This is a base jump for us and represents our movement through the cycle of reformation. We didn’t ever want to just come back playing oldies. We wanted to share some new ideas as well. Since many of our songs were rejected in the 60’s this was a chance to record what we wanted. Getting back together has been a healing experience for us. I am glad we did it.

 

Many people, like me, discovered your music in the Eighties, when a lot of bands, like the Fuzztones, began to bring into light some gems of the Sixties, covering them and sometimes giving personalized versions.  Did you follow the so-called “new-psychedelic” or “new-garage” scene of the Eighties? And what did you think then about this phenomenon?

My son told me this was happening but I ignored it. I thought he must be mistaken. This could not be happening in any way like the original experience. Someone told me we were on the Nugget’s package with a song but I never looked.

 

Yes, I Had Too Much To Dream is, certainly not by chance, the first song of the Nuggets compilation by Lenny Kaye...

What are your projects for the near future? Will you come back to Italy?

My bass player and dear friend Mark Tulin died in 2012 and it flattened me. He and I have seen this thing through since the start. Before Italy I was thinking I may not do anything again after this development. Italy and Sicily was a chance to see if I could play with another band, which I had never done, or whether I had the heart do to it again? The Electric Prunes, Jay Dean, Steve Kara, Walter Garces want to play some more gigs so I am hoping I will get a chance to play Italy once more. I was also taken with the Sicilian band, The Out Keyhole, who backed me in Messina for a gig. These guys can play our stuff too! I hope I get a chance to play with them again. It was a cool experience. The Italian and Sicilian people were gracious and kind, the food was unbelievable and the women …… Well, they just don’t make them any prettier. I hope I can return.

 

We hope too! Thank you  James.

Thanks for asking.