Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2013 12:03:09 GMT -5
From East Life regarding the Ely Cathedral gig
www.eastlife.co.uk/cambridgeshire/ely/events-cambs/ian-anderson-interview
Known throughout the world of rock music as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is set to perform hits past and present at Ely Cathedral this month. Eastlife catches up with the legend. ian anderson jethro tull ely cathedral
How did you get the name Jethro Tull?
Our agent set up with the name Jethro Tull (an eighteenth century English agricultural pioneer who invented the seed drill). That was the band name during the week in which London’s famous Marquee Club offered us the Thursday night residency. So it stuck.
In 1973, Jethro Tull disbanded following bad reviews. Why?
Our then manager decided to respond to a bad review in the pop newspaper ‘Melody Maker’. He cut a deal with the editor for a front page involving the band’s supposed decision to quit. We knew nothing about it until we read it in the paper ourselves. We were furious. So no comeback tours for us, thank you very much. We haven’t yet been away!
Are you, like the song, “Living in the Past”?
I am not one for reminiscing so prefer to live in the present. However, some of our audience obviously like the nostalgia bits so the older material is perhaps a trip down memory lane. For us it’s about playing something fresh, since that’s when we probably last played it on stage so our style of music is a little bit timeless and not rooted in a particular fashion.
Pop and Rock music have changed a great deal over the last 30 years. How do you view these changes?
The really big changes were back in the mid-to-late sixties and the early seventies. The introduction of musical influences from many diverse cultures and historical periods provided for a richly creative environment which Tull were a part of. Nowadays the trend has become more technological, what with sampling and synthesizing influencing music making at an affordable price. But everything goes around in circles, nothing really changes and nothing is really new.
You are now one of the old men of rock – over 50 years of age. How long do you plan to go on performing and recording?
Well as long as possible if it remains a challenge and my health permits. I suppose fear of boredom in old age is my greatest concern but then there is writing and other creative indulgences to consider.
Do you listen to new bands? Any favourites?
My favourite music to listen to is that of Muddy Waters and Beethoven. I still receive unsolicited demo tapes from would-be musicians as well as from professional performers, so I listen to a lot of “new” stuff too. But I have never been a great listener of other people’s work even when I first started out.
Jethro Tull is one of the legends of Rock. Why do you think the band has lasted so long?
Loyal and committed fans ensure that the greats like Zeppelin and The Stones won’t fade away. Tull is just a lesser version of those rock giants whose music will go on to help define the future. So I guess we wouldn’t last with out the loyalty of our fans, they keep us in work and pocket money.
Tufty the snowman
The shows that you have planned at Ely Cathedral and St John the Evangelist Church are billed as Christmas Shows. Is that just because they fall in December?
For a few years, I have done charity shows in various churches and cathedrals in the UK to celebrate both Christmas and cultural traditions of the Christian religion. The aim is to provide the building with 100 per cent ticket income and to cover the costs of the production myself. We will play a selection of winter material not only from the catalogue of my work but from Classical and Folk music too and will also feature material from a couple of our guests. This year we have Adrian Edmondson joining us at Ely and Oxford.
ian anderson jethro tullThere should be quite a reverential atmosphere at these dates. I would assume that this would particularly appeal to you?
The trick is to keep it loose and friendly without becoming flippant to the traditions of the church service. We throw in a few readings, a prayer and try to secure the service for the choir and organist. So it’s upbeat and somewhere between carol service and a concert.
Jethro Tull seems to be in constant evolution. What can we expect from the next album?
Heavy rock as I have been associated with acoustic music over the years so thought it time to get down and dirty with my flute while I still have the energy.
You have said recently that you are currently on “a creative and emotional roll”. Could you expand on the emotional roll a little?
I am increasingly testy and easily annoyed, important rocket fuel for the creative soul. Where would Shakespeare have been without jealousy, anger and rage? Not nice emotions but those we have to deal with on a personal level.
How does it feel knowing that your art has made a lot of other people, maybe less deserving, rich?
That’s just part of the way it all works. Managers to musicians have a chance to make a living out of the music I write and play so it’s nice to be a part of a symbiotic relationship in which hundreds of folk participate.
Finally, you play over dozens of concerts a year. This would have certainly broken lesser bands. How have you survived?
Except for coffee and the odd glass of single malt I have inhabited a drug-free zone since birth. The stage is my gym so two hours of play at night works wonders. Old musicians, like young soldiers may die with their boots on. I would rather go the way of Eric Morecambe than fizzle in decay.
Ian Anderson plays the Christmas Jethro Tull at Ely Cathedral on the 20 December. For tickets call Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349 or alternatively email: box.office@cathedral.ely.anglican.org.
www.eastlife.co.uk/cambridgeshire/ely/events-cambs/ian-anderson-interview
Known throughout the world of rock music as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is set to perform hits past and present at Ely Cathedral this month. Eastlife catches up with the legend. ian anderson jethro tull ely cathedral
How did you get the name Jethro Tull?
Our agent set up with the name Jethro Tull (an eighteenth century English agricultural pioneer who invented the seed drill). That was the band name during the week in which London’s famous Marquee Club offered us the Thursday night residency. So it stuck.
In 1973, Jethro Tull disbanded following bad reviews. Why?
Our then manager decided to respond to a bad review in the pop newspaper ‘Melody Maker’. He cut a deal with the editor for a front page involving the band’s supposed decision to quit. We knew nothing about it until we read it in the paper ourselves. We were furious. So no comeback tours for us, thank you very much. We haven’t yet been away!
Are you, like the song, “Living in the Past”?
I am not one for reminiscing so prefer to live in the present. However, some of our audience obviously like the nostalgia bits so the older material is perhaps a trip down memory lane. For us it’s about playing something fresh, since that’s when we probably last played it on stage so our style of music is a little bit timeless and not rooted in a particular fashion.
Pop and Rock music have changed a great deal over the last 30 years. How do you view these changes?
The really big changes were back in the mid-to-late sixties and the early seventies. The introduction of musical influences from many diverse cultures and historical periods provided for a richly creative environment which Tull were a part of. Nowadays the trend has become more technological, what with sampling and synthesizing influencing music making at an affordable price. But everything goes around in circles, nothing really changes and nothing is really new.
You are now one of the old men of rock – over 50 years of age. How long do you plan to go on performing and recording?
Well as long as possible if it remains a challenge and my health permits. I suppose fear of boredom in old age is my greatest concern but then there is writing and other creative indulgences to consider.
Do you listen to new bands? Any favourites?
My favourite music to listen to is that of Muddy Waters and Beethoven. I still receive unsolicited demo tapes from would-be musicians as well as from professional performers, so I listen to a lot of “new” stuff too. But I have never been a great listener of other people’s work even when I first started out.
Jethro Tull is one of the legends of Rock. Why do you think the band has lasted so long?
Loyal and committed fans ensure that the greats like Zeppelin and The Stones won’t fade away. Tull is just a lesser version of those rock giants whose music will go on to help define the future. So I guess we wouldn’t last with out the loyalty of our fans, they keep us in work and pocket money.
Tufty the snowman
The shows that you have planned at Ely Cathedral and St John the Evangelist Church are billed as Christmas Shows. Is that just because they fall in December?
For a few years, I have done charity shows in various churches and cathedrals in the UK to celebrate both Christmas and cultural traditions of the Christian religion. The aim is to provide the building with 100 per cent ticket income and to cover the costs of the production myself. We will play a selection of winter material not only from the catalogue of my work but from Classical and Folk music too and will also feature material from a couple of our guests. This year we have Adrian Edmondson joining us at Ely and Oxford.
ian anderson jethro tullThere should be quite a reverential atmosphere at these dates. I would assume that this would particularly appeal to you?
The trick is to keep it loose and friendly without becoming flippant to the traditions of the church service. We throw in a few readings, a prayer and try to secure the service for the choir and organist. So it’s upbeat and somewhere between carol service and a concert.
Jethro Tull seems to be in constant evolution. What can we expect from the next album?
Heavy rock as I have been associated with acoustic music over the years so thought it time to get down and dirty with my flute while I still have the energy.
You have said recently that you are currently on “a creative and emotional roll”. Could you expand on the emotional roll a little?
I am increasingly testy and easily annoyed, important rocket fuel for the creative soul. Where would Shakespeare have been without jealousy, anger and rage? Not nice emotions but those we have to deal with on a personal level.
How does it feel knowing that your art has made a lot of other people, maybe less deserving, rich?
That’s just part of the way it all works. Managers to musicians have a chance to make a living out of the music I write and play so it’s nice to be a part of a symbiotic relationship in which hundreds of folk participate.
Finally, you play over dozens of concerts a year. This would have certainly broken lesser bands. How have you survived?
Except for coffee and the odd glass of single malt I have inhabited a drug-free zone since birth. The stage is my gym so two hours of play at night works wonders. Old musicians, like young soldiers may die with their boots on. I would rather go the way of Eric Morecambe than fizzle in decay.
Ian Anderson plays the Christmas Jethro Tull at Ely Cathedral on the 20 December. For tickets call Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349 or alternatively email: box.office@cathedral.ely.anglican.org.
