CALE TALKS A GALE ABOUT HIS LEGACY.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer John Cale Not to be confused with J.J. Cale. John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) is a Welsh musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his work in rock music, particularly as a founding member of The Velvet Underground, and he has worked in a variety of carries a lot of music history with him, and it shows. When he clomps into the room, his footsteps practically announce the various projects he has helped bring into existence over the years. The Velvet Underground. The Stooges. Patti Smith. Cale clearly enjoys the interview process. It gives him a chance to talk about his favorite subject: himself. The way he discusses his various collaborations around the globe, you'd think Cale was some sort of high-profile adventurer. But, actually, none of his 20 or so solo albums has entered the charts, and he recently dragged a string quartet string quartet Ensemble consisting of two violins, viola, and cello, or a work written for such an ensemble. Since c. 1775 such works have been perhaps the predominant genre of chamber music. around the country for a series of gigs in hole-in-the-wall clubs. Cale's career has been earmarked by a mixture of luck and talent. As a founding member of the Velvet Underground and producer of influential debut albums from Smith and the Stooges, his place in rock history is assured. At the same time, Cale admits his following is relatively small and concedes his relationship with his audience is tenuous at best. ``A cult audience is one kind of audience,'' Cale said during a recent visit to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``It depends on how many friends you want. Do you want 10 or 20? You have to shake a lot of hands if you want 100 friends. It's a trade-off. When you do albums that are all different, it may be interesting to work that way, but you're creating an instability in your relationship with an audience. It doesn't benefit you in the end. You can't count on the people who showed up for one thing to show up for another.'' That may be one reason behind ``Walking on Locusts'' (Hannibal), Cale's first solo album of new songs in more than a decade. It's a listener-friendly collection of typically off-kilter material, with early Velvets drummer Mo Tucker joining on a few tracks and ex-Talking Head David Byrne playing guitar on one. ``I see myself as starting from scratch,'' the 55-year-old Cale said. ``It's almost obsessive. All the material comes from a different perspective - each song has a different point of view.'' Born in Wales Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. , a child prodigy Noun 1. child prodigy - a prodigy whose talents are recognized at an early age; "Mozart was a child prodigy" infant prodigy, wonder child child, kid, minor, nipper, tiddler, youngster, tike, shaver, small fry, nestling, fry, tyke - a young person of either on piano, Cale studied music in London during the early 1960s, fascinated not by blues or rock but by the electronic experiments of Karl Stockhausen and John Cage Noun 1. John Cage - United States composer of avant-garde music (1912-1992) John Milton Cage Jr., Cage . In '63, he moved to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to work with Cage and played with avant-garde musicians and composers Tony Conrad and La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American composer and musician. Young is commonly seen as the first minimalist composer and one of the four most celebrated leaders of the minimalist school, along with Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, despite in the Dream Syndicate Dream Syndicate was an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California active from 1981 to 1989. The band was associated with the Paisley Underground music movement.
Cale met then-budding songwriter Lou Reed Lou Reed, born Lewis Allen Reed[1] March 2, 1942, is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Reed first found prominence as the guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground (1965-1973). at a party, and they began jamming with guitarist Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. (August 28 1942 – August 30, 1995) was one of the founding members of influential rock group The Velvet Underground, playing lead, rhythm and bass guitar and singing backing vocals. at an apartment on New York's Lower East Side. Dubbing the band the Velvet Underground after the title of a paperback, the Velvets came into the orbit of Andy Warhol, who convinced Reed and Cale to add the icy German chanteuse chan·teuse n. A woman singer, especially a nightclub singer. [French, feminine of chanteur, singer, from chanter, to sing; see chant.] Nico to the lineup. After two albums, Cale, who was playing viola in the band, was pushed out of the group. ``I knew we were going to be important,'' Cale said. ``The minute we had an arrangement of `Venus in Furs,' I realized this was unique. Nobody else could create that space and grandeur with so very few instruments. It took 18 months of rehearsing three hours a day to get to that point. But I had certain criteria of art that I felt had been met.'' Cale appears Wednesday with a five-member band at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. The last time he performed locally was in conjunction with New York's Soldier String Quartet. ``Every room we played on that tour had to be rewired to facilitate a string quartet,'' Cale recalled. ``It wasn't easy playing clubs in Phoenix that usually book punk bands.'' Cale was happy to talk about some of his more well-known assignments, such as his production of ``Horses,'' Smith's acclaimed 1975 poetry-meets-rock debut. ``It was very upsetting for her band to have their instruments taken away from them in the first two days of recording because they were out of tune,'' Cale said. ``But they were so inexperienced.'' As for the Stooges, Cale remembers well the making of the outrageous Detroit punk band's self-titled first effort for Elektra in 1969. ``I had just got kicked out of the Velvet Underground and wanted to be a producer,'' he said. ``Bingo, I get the Stooges. And they're wonderful, turning from threatening to loving in an instant. In the studio, these guys were really together. They just whacked out those songs.'' In later years, Cale collaborated with Reed on ``Songs for Drella,'' a highly rated 1990 musical biography of Warhol. The same year, Cale completed the experimental pop album ``One Way Up'' with producer-musician Brian Eno. Both experiences left Cale with a bitter taste. ``I thought they were really successful collaborations,'' he said. ``I hadn't toured with Lou after `Drella,' and I asked Eno for a committment for five gigs in New York, L.A., London, Berlin and Tokyo, so the album doesn't just come out in a vacuum. He said OK and then later denied saying it. So, again we never toured.'' Currently, Cale is working with author Victor Brockis on an autobiography, with old Warhol crony Gerald Malanga Noun 1. malanga - tropical American aroid having edible tubers that are cooked and eaten like yams or potatoes spoonflower, tannia, Xanthosoma atrovirens, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, yautia as photo editor. Brockis penned ``Transformer,'' a detailed unauthorized biography of Reed. ``We were asked not to cooperate with the writing of that book,'' Cale said. ``When I read it, I couldn't understand where he got this stuff from. It looked like he was talking to guys in the band, but he hadn't been.'' Actually, Cale was a primary source for the Reed bio. ``My idea for my book is to tell how everything that went on in Wales led to this,'' Cale said. ``But I'm not ready to be canonized can·on·ize tr.v. can·on·ized, can·on·iz·ing, can·on·iz·es 1. To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such. 2. To include in the biblical canon. 3. . That was the whole reason for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in (induction of the Velvet Underground earlier this year). What were we actually being recognized for? It's not record sales. As an influence? These people want rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. to be recognized, but it's just another step in the heritage principle. It's building statues to everybody.'' THE FACTS Who: John Cale, with the Red House Painters Red House Painters is an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. They are described, along with American Music Club, as one of the linchpins of the slowcore movement in alternative rock. . Where: El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. When: 8 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets: $17. Information: (213) 480-3232. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) John Cale, left, has collaborated with a numb er of important rockers through the years, including Lou Reed. (2) ``I'm not ready to be canonized,'' says Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground and driving force behind such artists as Patti Smith. |
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