If you got the chance to interview Gordon Lightfoot. ..

Jesse Joe · 07-08-2006, 07:53 AM

The Rob1956 post, made me think of this question.

If you had the chance to ask Gordon Lightfoot any thing at all, what would your question be, to this musical genius of a songwriter?

[ July 08, 2006, 08:00: Message edited by: Jesse -Joe ]

Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin' · 07-08-2006, 08:10 AM

I would ask him if he still remembered the lyrics to the very first song he ever wrote and ask if he would play it.

Jesse Joe · 07-08-2006, 08:31 AM

Very interesting question Fading Away. I myself dont really know. Id have to think about it. Maybe, Can I be in your entourage, and follow you everywhere, then when there's no touring, work at your mansion in The Bridal Path? :D

[ July 08, 2006, 08:40: Message edited by: Jesse -Joe ]

Borderstone · 07-08-2006, 04:03 PM

Well Jesse,I sort of did this topic three years ago but it bares repeating.

It's a good question and since we have a lot of new people here since then,why not?

My answer's only slightly different,I originally said I'd want his take on what life is about and some other "heady" type things.

Three years later,I realize he'dost likely have about a good an answer as I would. It'd just be an opinion,but still..worth hearing.

On a simpler note,I'd ask why he left Phoenix out of his tour plans this year.

:D

By the way Jesse,you're only 13 posts from being the #1 posting Corfid member.

I've held that "title" for 3 years and even though it wasn't a planned thing (by you or me), I galdly relinquish it to you.

I had my fun! :D Still will!

Auburn Annie · 07-08-2006, 08:23 PM

What song, other than your own, do you wish you had written?

Jesse Joe · 07-09-2006, 06:36 AM

That would be a great question Annie. I know Bob Dylan said of, 'For Lovin Me.' He wish he had written that song...

geodeticman · 07-09-2006, 08:04 AM

I'd ask him, since I am an outdoorsman, share a love of canoeing, trekking, and winter outings:

"Tell me about one or two of your best "got out of that one alive" wilderness trips, or which ones inspired you the most in your music and why?"

And, in the same vane "while your love of the wilderness is clear in your music, could you write some more songs, maybe a theme album (hey, this is wishful thinking...LOL) about the wilderness, canoeing, winter, arctic sea-kayaking you've done?" - he's got to have a treaure trove there.

Anybody who canoes any distance with portaging knows that in years past, Gord's well-known expeditions to clear his head before entering the studio, etc. would know how difficult and rewarding his 600 -800 mile trips by canoe or sea-kayaks would have been.

In extreme Northern latitudes in and around the arctic circle at the outermost reaches of Yukon Territory, and his encounters with Native Canadian residents and Alaskan Innuit and Alluit (sp?) residents would make incredible fodder for songs.

Could he write some songs of all this, or even just allow me take an afternoon of his time sitting on a log by a campfire and listen to what must be myriad tales of the Yukon.

- geo Steve

Jesse Joe · 07-09-2006, 08:48 AM

Borderstone your a good guy. Post don't mean a thing, doesn't make you or me any better than anyone here. Stay well my man...Jesse.

New 12 String Mike · 07-09-2006, 12:15 PM

I suppose my questions would deal with guitar technique. Why he chose this way or that way to play such and such a song? Why he occasionally switches from playing a given song on a six, then tries it on a 12-string?

What in the Hell is that black spot on the back of his current D-18?

Then as things settled down, and we'd gone through the guitar playing and the lyric writing things, I'd love to know his particular way of rubbing the wrong girl right.

Just a guy thing, I guess.

lynnfromgeorgia · 07-10-2006, 04:41 AM

Hi, all! I am a newbie here. Hope y'all don't mind me jumping in. But I would definitely ask Gordon Lightfoot when will he be visiting Georgia again and giving us a great show?? I have never gotten the pleasure of seeing him live and Man! what I would not give ... But I have been a fan since "Sundown" came out. Sure I was young...only about 8 or 9 years old but I have been hooked ever since.

geodeticman · 07-10-2006, 06:04 AM

wELCOME lynnfromgeorgia.

y'all pull up a stump and gather round the fire

Do you like the song Spanish Moss ? GL speaks of Georgia.

Yes his concerts are great..everyone I've been to

I like Sundown so much its like food and water,

a staple to most GL fans...but not all.....

anyway - welcome again

geo steve

charlene · 07-10-2006, 07:00 AM

Hi Lynne - welcome to corfid!
Always happy to meet someone new - jump in and join in or start your own topic!
We're a pretty good bunch of folks, diverse in all areas but in agreement 100% about our love of all things Lightfoot!
char

Jesse Joe · 07-10-2006, 07:18 AM

Welcome Lynn, Charlene is right when she says jump in anytime. Hope you get the chance to see this musical, magical, super genius, in concert sometime. Welcome again...Jesse.

Rob1956 · 07-10-2006, 04:29 PM

Since Gord's been a star for 40 years, I'd ask him some things not invloved with his music career, since they've mostly been asked. I'd ask him about his troubled relationships with women over the years. I'd cite him some statistics of studies that have been done suggesting that many very creative people tend to be bipolar and if he felt he might be and what effect it may have had on his creative talents over the years.
He might get out of his chair and walk out, but that would be his right. I would assume he's tired of people asking him if it's true the guitar on the cover of Sundown was stolen, or why he regrew his mustache when he had gotten rid of it in the 90's. He's 66 and I think could handle some questions he's rarely asked, but many fans would like to know.

boomergirl · 07-11-2006, 12:19 PM

Well I actually did meet Gordon after his concert in Denver Colorado in 2001. I didn't really ask him anything because I was in SHOCK. I live in the Yukon and so I brought him a t shirt with a canoe on it and when I gave it to him he started telling me about all the wonderful times he had here and the NWT and about all the wildlife he encountered and other interesting stories. It was like it was just yesterday for him, he had such vivid memories. So yes, Goedeticman I am sure he would have lots of tales to tell about the great white north.
I have front row seats in Calgary in October, hope to talk to him again then,
Boomergirl

Jesse Joe · 07-12-2006, 06:19 AM

WOW... Oct 6,Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jubilee Auditorium, {FRONT ROW,} You should have a wonderful evening. Do enjoy...Jesse.

Janice · 07-12-2006, 10:19 PM

I think my question would be:

When you're not writing/recording your own music and you just want to kick back and be entertained by someone else, what CDs end up in your player?

Auburn Annie · 07-13-2006, 07:05 AM

Heh heh heh - if you believe Burton Cummings' speculation, that would be Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" [for those unfamiliar with the reference, Burton Cummings has a short piece he performs, on the "Up Close and Alone" album, which is called "Gordon Lightfoot Does 'Maggie May'" which is an absolute hoot.]

lynnfromgeorgia · 07-14-2006, 01:19 AM

Thanks, y'all, for all the warm welcomes! I feel like kind of a "newbie" GL fan but only because he has been performing for so long (Thank Goodness!). I was born in 1969! But, I grew up listening to him and as I got older I became a bigger and bigger fan. He is a one-of-a-kind, definitely. I could go on and on about his greatness and awesome talent, but... You all know what I mean, right?! Thanks again for the friendly welcomes, I really appreciate it. And y'all let me know if y'all hear about GL coming back to Georgia because I CAN NOT miss him!! I'll be sure to check in on the tour dates. I really do not go to that many concerts anymore but I absolutely would not miss him for the world. Thanks, again.

Jesse Joe · 07-14-2006, 07:37 AM

Auburn Annie, I do own that great CD of Burton Cummings. And I saw him do it, on an afternoon talk show back in the 80's. There he sang it a little longer than on the disc. What did you think, was he close to Lightfoot? He also does Rodney Dangerfield, and maybe more.

Cathy · 07-14-2006, 11:11 AM

I'd ask him when the next album is coming out.

Auburn Annie · 07-15-2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Dixon:
I would ask him this ....

What lyrics proved the most elusive to capture in terms of the intent of the moment ... and which flowed seamlessly and seemingly with little effort.

.... and when the creative need strikes, does he commit it to scraps of paper with a need to review, or does he stay with it until it's either done or discarded ...

Lastly, has he ever started a ballad and never been totally satsified to the point that it's not met his expectations ... and why ....

Mike

He touched a bit on this in the Larry Wayne Clark interview:

You used an interesting turn of phrase, “I had it turned on,” as if referring to a kind of songwriting radar, or what a lot of people call “being in the zone.” Do songs ever come to you really fast, with no effort?

Yeah, and you wonder just how the hell you did it. All of a sudden, there’s the song. I can remember that with a song called “I’m Not Sayin’” probably it goes back so far I don’t know if anybody remembers that one. That’s one of those two-minute songs.
**********************************************

Let’s talk about your actual writing techniques and habits. Do you write with the guitar?
Yes. I take the guitar and I work on stuff, say, while I’m watching a game on TV. And if I get something I’ll throw it down real quick onto my little recording machine, which is just a basic cassette machine with a counter. I store ideas that way and [later] I refer back to the tape. And then at some point I make [an index] sheet so I can find stuff. So what I have is a whole procession of ideas about 10 seconds long maximum. I keep ’em short ’cause it doesn’t take much just to start.

Do words and music tend to come together?
It gets tougher to try and think of how the words should go but, by mouthing [syllables] with the music, I can sometimes come up with something. I get a lot of ideas too when I’m driving, or even in the shower.

Those are two places where a lot of songwriters claim to get inspired — on the road and in the shower. Some say they get ideas mowing the lawn. It almost seems like the white noise inherent to those activities is somehow beneficial.
Well, let me join the crowd! [Laughing.]

Have you traditionally waited until you were coming up to record an album before thinking, “I better get busy and start harvesting these ideas” — is that how you go about it?
Yeah, I’ve been in that spot several times and felt something snap inside myself that tells me it’s time to get to work. I was working on a movie a long time ago way out in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island [note: Lightfoot played a role in the film Harry Tracy, Desperado] and was in a store buying a shirt and I said, “working on this movie’s not for me, I’ve gotta get home and write some songs!” The same thing would happen when I’d be on a canoe trip, trying to paddle a canoe 20 miles a day, after about 18 days sometimes you think, “God, it’d be an awful lot easier to be home writing songs.”

When you do get into the writing do you tend to do it in a binge-like way and spend long hours at it?
I used to do it that way during the stretch when I was single, which lasted about 19 years. I had a long period of time between marriages; that was the time when I was really able to pour it on and work for long stretches. It’s not like that now; I have two young children. I’ve written two albums since I got married again, and that was 11 years ago. I’m not complaining, it’s cool, but that’s just the way it goes. Family — they need your time and you gotta give it to them.

brink- · 07-15-2006, 07:13 PM

thanks Annie, I had never seen that before. Great sluething!

johnfowles · 07-17-2006, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by brink-:
thanks Annie, I had never seen that before. Great sluething!

But.. Deb I just posted on Saturday morning a new topic at:-
http://www.corfid.com/ubb/ultimatebb...c;f=1;t=003972
about three online interviews
and the reason was that I had just reread that particular interview it is entitled
"Gordon Lightfoot "Portrait of a Painter"
by Music Journalist by Larry Wayne Clark "
which is at:-
http://www.larrywayneclark.com/lightfoot.html
John Fowles
My apologies I should in retrospect have posted my message as a reply to this one.Anyway there is more to the interview than the extract that Annie posted above

brink- · 07-17-2006, 11:32 AM

Must have been because when I got on at 18:13 Annie's post was higher on the list of new posts since she posted at 17:07 and you posted at 16:54. So since I go from the top of the new posts to the bottom hers appeared first.
When I got to yours I did read all the interviews you had posted. The one from Larry Wayne Clark was the one I had never seen before. The other two I had read on Val's website a couple years ago. Don't know how I missed the one of LWC.


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