A Day In The Life of A Great American Guitarist (Marc Ford) PART TWO

A Day In the Life of A Great American Guitarist Part Two
10/15/07

      Marc Ford Visits The Classic City 

             “The long forgotten you 
              Has got a hold on me.” 
                              "Currents"
                                --Marc Ford

…A Return To The Classic City For The Marc Ford Jubilee…

Emotion plays a vital role in music. Certain songs fit moods and circumstance which allow the listener to revel or protect themselves from the slings and arrows of time. On the drive into Athens Saturday, I listened to Ben Harper’s There Will Be A Light where Marc Ford’s guitar work runs through every song like a soulful compass. Ford’s emotive guitar playing unlocks something in one’s cellular tissue that puts the listener into a hypnotic zone while hearing a song. There remains a high correlation between heart-rending soul and any recording featuring Marc Ford.

Ford knows when to play in a song…he’s not some guy who tries to show off the fast licks to impress you. His six string work always pertains to exactly what the song needs. Sometimes only his guitar work dictates what sort of mood the song contains. If the lyrical message is clear, Ford’s guitar work on the composition adds the fatal snakebite. For instance, listen to Ford’s solo on The Black Crowes’ “Sometime Salvation” for pure emotion. His two CDs—It’s About Time and Weary And Wired—find songwriting as his prime motivation even though he’s best known for his guitar mastery.

I was unable to attend Marc’s Macon show Friday night. We spoke that day and I gave him the name of a local music guru—a mutual friend, Kirk West—from Macon, who Marc invited to the show. Once I got everything settled into my hotel room at the Holiday Inn on Broad Street, I walked two blocks to the Georgia Theatre to meet Doc Ford.

The last time I saw Marc Ford play in Athens, Georgia, was his very first gig with The Black Crowes at the 40 Watt—they were dubbed that evening as the Roach Clips in March of 92. One month later, I watched Ford play his second gig with the Crowes at the NORML rally in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. Many events turned in those 15 years…

As I walk past the Georgia Bar (I walked through and didn’t see one soul I knew…the times they do change) up to the Theatre—the first person I see is Marc by his van, changing shirts talking to his old Black Crowe guitar tech Benji Shanks whose band, Captain Soularcat, will open up for Marc tonight. Marc sees me, and he gets that mischievous glint in his eye, and says after he gives me a hug,

“James, I ate 10 Krispy Kreme donuts today.”
“You know that’s not the record,” I retorted, baiting his humorous response.
“Yeah, but that’s my personal best…”

Marc’s donut outing circulated as the joke within the band that afternoon. I gave Marc 7 CDs I burned for him to listen to some which included—Chris Whitley, various old blues & country songs, obscure Neil Young, Tom Waits and John Coltrane. In the next few minutes Elijah, Coy (shooting video tonight), Dennis and Muddy give thanks for the review from last week.

The band arrived in Athens around 2PM. While out walking around downtown, Marc spotted two street musicians playing and he invited them to play with the band that night. Marc told me before the show about his split-second decision, “I was walking down the street and I heard this voice, and I went ‘oh my god’. So I went back and checked them out. I asked them if they would jam. It’s a spur of the moment thing. God tells you to do something—you do it. I started paying attention to that gift.”

I enjoyed the soundcheck. As they rehearsed songs with these two local musicians (Kashana and Rachel), I kept an eye on the Kentucky-LSU triple overtime shootout on the bar TV, while the hometown Georgia Bulldogs struggled against Vanderbilt. The drunk in part one, Brian, redeemed himself (after identifying me) by being an honest fan--explaining his excitement last week to see Marc Ford. Ford’s music moved the fellow, and that was good enough for me even though he violates personal space when trying to communicate. Cheers man. Several other loyal fans spoke kind words on the Ford coverage and to them I raise a glass. These grassroots music fans want their favorite artists to vie for coverage against the MTV crowd darlings. Also, good to see Phillip L and his new bride “Holly”…

After the show, the band travels back to Atlanta for The Echo Project show. Marc flies home to California Monday. This Echo Project show remains Marc’s last until early November when he plays with MOFRO in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Then the band travels to Spain and Italy. “Yeah Spain and Italy,” Marc said to me as he wrote up the evening’s setlist on his laptop hooked up to a portable printer. “Those Italian dates haven’t been finalized yet and that’s typical Italian style. They do things on their own time.”

I asked Marc what he’d been doing after those shows in November. “Well, I’ll take a break. I’ll take December off. Except there might be a couple of shows, and I’ll need to get to New York. I might go out and do some acoustic shows. I want to get this house band set up at Compound Studios and sell records online. We’ll have a house band. We’ll try and raise some money to get it started. We’ll pull together some stuff of mine people have never heard.”

Marc also explained a lark project he’s working with John Rice (Napoleon Dynamite) called Jefferson Steelflex & the Neptune Society. “This guy, Jefferson Steelflex is kind of a burned out 60’s acid rocker who never really made it, but he doesn’t know that. It’s a band with a concept behind it and we’re gonna put up a website. I’m in the Neptunes. Steelflex never shows up for the gigs. We play all the time, but Jefferson never makes it to gigs. He’s a total fuck up. So, we might put up a MySpace site with old pictures of him. He’s doing great. He just misses every gig.”

I mentioned Swampland’s intention is to keep artists like him in the light instead of depending on the corporate media outlets deciding who gets coverage. We all know many great artists never receive proper exposure. “Y’know, I’ve been thinking," Marc told me, “This Ryan Adams kid put out all these records in two years, so there you go. I’ll just start putting out records under different names. The fans will know what it is.  With record companies taking 90% on every dollar, you don't have to sell too many records to figure that one out.”

When I asked Marc what these last five weeks of touring taught him, he replied: “I learned that people really, really need live music entertainment. There have been older cats come up to me with almost tears in their eyes, saying Thank you.”

We talked about some dark, underbelly issues floating around. Soon Marc let me hear some of the songs he’d been recording in motels all over the country. The first was an amazing song called “Dream #26”. This tune, like all those he played me, stands as a solo version with only Marc singing and playing acoustic guitar. “Dream #26” proves moving, with a verse that went something like, “Easy like Sunday/Doin our thing/Like hanging out on guitar strings/Some have troubles on their back/Some have names/Some you can’t track”. A sad, but redemptive mood lingers on this timeless song. I mentioned these acoustic solo songs should be his next record. Ford’s guitar playing ranks with any six-string slinger out there, but his songwriting ability still remains overlooked. In time, this will change. Along with his incandescent solo works Marc’s history with The Black Crowes, Ben Harper, Ryan Bingham and Burning Tree remain testimony on his musical contribution to any sound.

“Here’s my Willie Nelson song,” Marc told me as he hit PLAY on the stereo for a tune called “All Over You”. Other acoustic, blues-country based songs he played me included “Badge of Dissention”, “Cool Heads” and “Just A Girl”. In two days, he played me about an album’s worth of songs. As Marc printed out the setlist, I asked his son Elijah, when he returned to the greenroom, how he enjoyed going out on the road with his father: “I want to do it again. It’s very encouraging. I was here when these songs were conceived…so maybe I’m biased.”

Marc played a song with Captain Soularcat during their set. I ran into a couple old friends and remembered all my memories of my Athens when word came in The Bulldogs won. A live event always brings one’s personal circumstances at the moment into clear focus. That’s why live sporting events and musical performances contain the same rush of the unknown…you don’t know what’s coming or the outcome until it begins…

When the Marc Ford Band hit the stage, a loyal crowd braced for a real fest. Marc seemed focused even though he told me didn’t feel that great, but he attributed it to his donut intake from earlier in the day. However, his personal circumstance only enhanced his professional sound. Marc seemed intent on making sure the folks got their money’s worth. I’ve never seen Marc Ford ham it up onstage. His message is always the music. He really pulled out some astounding licks…even more than the Atlanta show last week, but these remain licks within the song—no gratuitous show-off nonsense. Marc’s control, focus and soul lifted all the other band members to a higher level. Ford’s songs always contain a high degree of subtle tones and raw feeling.

They played “Dirty Girl”, “It’ll Be Over Soon”, “Don’t Come Around”, Ryan Bingham’s “The Other Side”, “Smoke Signals”, “Medicine Time”, “1000 Ways” and “Currents”. These songs gain strength as time passes. Marc’s vocals sound strong. His onstage presence commands respect as he plays notes few musicians could replicate.

Then Marc invited the Athens street musicians Kashana (guitar vocals) and Rachel (percussion, vocals) onstage as they played soulful, grooving versions of “Smiling At Ya”, “Future Too”, “Shining Again”, “Death” and “Greazy Chicken”. Dennis’ drumming sounds spot on with an ability to shift to a reggae beat on a one-count. Muddy’s deep bass keeps the band’s sound steady and true. He also proves a solid keyboardist. Elijah holds his own among these hard-boiled veterans. At this point, sky’s the limit for Elijah. Old Coy snapped some photos and remains a comrade I’d seek out. Captain Soularcat’s Benji Shanks joined the band for a rendition of Neil Young’s dark “Vampire Blues” and a rollicking version of Robert Johnson’s “Steady Rolling Man”. I think everyone in the crowd broke a sweat…

After the show, I helped load some gear and went upstairs to say goodnight. Marc gathered his belongings, and prepared to make a fast trip to Fairburn and play one last early show. The Georgia Theatre was cleared out and everyone was ready to go. We stood in the room, resigned to the hour, and I made mention it was good to see him. He sounded great and I looked forward to hearing more songs. We’d get back in touch in a few weeks. We walked outside in the cool early morning air. The usual Athens  street vendors were out selling hot dogs. I paid for six and we all ate standing outside the Theatre. Marc slapped me on the back. As I turned to go, I told him,
“Well, be particular out there…”
“Okay James--thanks. Good to see you. We'll talk soon.”
“I got to get back to the typewriter and you to the next gig.”
“Yeah, duty calls…”

PART THREE

James Calemine

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