From Atlantis to Los Angeles' El Rey:
A Conversation with Donovan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/emfrom-atlantis-to-los-an_b_505345.html
Mike Ragogna
Posted: March 19, 2010
Donovan was the Cosmic King of the sixties. His hits are familiar to
many generations, and they include the folky "Catch The Wind" and
"Colours," the psychedelic "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow,"
and the rocking "Season Of The Witch" and "Barabajagal" with the Jeff
Beck Group. He was a contemporary of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and
Bob Dylan (sometimes even referred to as the British version of the
latter). Through the years, he has been an often-covered songwriter,
and also has appeared on the big screen musically in the cult
favorite Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and personally in the films If
It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, The Pied Piper, and Don't Look
Back. But most important, he has appeared as himself in Futurama,
that legendary performance being the single reason for the show's
renewal. Possibly.
Tonight, Donovan--with his family and quite a few of his friends and
admirers--will take the stage at Los Angels' famed El Rey Theatre,
performing a benefit concert for The David Lynch Foundation whose
mission is to introduce "Quiet Time" and its benefits into schools worldwide.
Mike Ragogna: So, you're performing with your family and friends for
a charitable event tonight at The El Rey. What's the purpose of the event?
Donovan Leitch: It's one more in a series for The David Lynch
Foundation. David and I have been traveling the world these last few
years presenting a program that's working so well.
MR: Which program is that?
DL: The meditation that The Beatles and I brought back from India is
now called "Quiet Time," and it's being presented and used in
programs in schools, turning down the stress levels, turning up the
test scores and graduation numbers. It's really doing cool things. We
always knew it was great, but to actually see it in action through
the foundation is wonderful. And this Friday, there'll be a gathering
of friends of my music, and we'll be onstage playing the latest benefit.
MR: Is this an international effort?
DL: Oh, yes. It's been introduced around the world over the last
thirty to thirty-five years.
MR: ...as Transcendental Meditation.
DL: Yes. The medical profession has recognized that TM has the most
instant, de-stressing effect, and not only on students. This is a
program that is now being presented through The David Lynch Foundation.
MR: Isn't David a long-time meditator?
DL: David has been practicing TM for thirty-five years, but didn't
necessarily want to announce it until about six years ago.
MR: What happened then?
DL: He saw 10 million students between the ages of six and eleven on
the ADHD drugs. That was 100 million doses a day, 70 million a week,
280 million a month. He knew from his contact with TM programs in the
medical profession that there already was a way to give mediation to
these kids. So, he announced that he would begin The David Lynch Foundation.
MR: When did you become involved?
DL: I wasn't involved with TM at the time, though I continued
meditating and doing my own promotion of peace through my music.
David saw me and Linda meditating on NBC on Easter two or three years
ago, and he called me and now we're together doing the program.
MR: How is Quiet Time being taught in schools?
DL: The real nitty-gritty info for those now reading can be found at dlf.tv.
MR: What will they see when they go there?
DL: Lots of stuff. (laughs) Various programs. Right now, in Los
Angeles, there is a street kids program for those that dropped out,
were dealing drugs, or selling sex. This program is well-advanced and
moving ahead.
There is a school in Fairfield, Iowa--begun thirty years ago--which
is the model school where all students and all teachers are
meditating. Even the guy that sweeps up at the end of the day and the
parents are using this technique, Quiet Time--ten minutes in the
morning, ten minutes in the afternoon--with amazing results. Imagine
the nervous system turned down to low. The stress disappears, and the
student feels more self-esteem. It's been proven again and again. On
dlf.tv, all the videos and contacts are available.
MR: Does this new concert at The El Rey tie-in to last April's New York show?
DL: Last year, our last presentation was at Radio City where Paul
McCartney and Ringo joined us. They still use the TM that The Beatles
and I brought back from India.
MR: At that concert, you were joined by Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper,
Eddie Vedder, Moby...did they all just learn? Or is this another TM
wave? It seems to happen every decade.
DL: Some of them already meditated, this has been going on for some
time. A lot of creative artists meditate. Howard Stern joined us last
year about the benefits he's received, (Jerry) Seinfeld was on stage
too. This is a smaller version in Los Angeles, but it'll have no less
of an impact because it looks like it will be broadcast. A couple of
ex-Guns N' Roses will be there, a couple of young artists like Poe,
they'll be there. And they've all (got) tunes of one of my songs,
which is rather delightful to join me on.
MR: And during the concert, you'll be singing with your family, right?
DL: For the first time, three of us will be on stage. I've been
onstage with my daughter Astrella, and I've been singing around
campfires with my son Donno (Donovan). But for the first time, the
three of us will be onstage at The El Rey, so that's quite a first.
MR: Will you be performing Donovan songs exclusively or will other
songs make the cut?
DL: Well, actually, I'll be doing the Buffy Sainte-Marie song
"Universal Soldier." I always like to do that. It's a fine song. It
still means the same thing now as it did then in the sixties. Though
I'll be doing my catalog, there will be other artists performing
their own (material) for about forty minutes before I come on. But
during the concert, I'll not only be doing the well-known songs, but
I'm bringing forward some songs that my fans haven't heard or maybe
they missed, plus a couple of new ones. The backing band will be
Jerry Vivino and the boys from the Conan O'Brien band. Danny Saber
will appear, Carla Olsen who's a female guitar player of great note,
and actually there are some surprises that I'm not supposed to know about.
MR: Where so many artists reach a certain level of success and seem
to fade away, you remain an icon of an era.
DL: Yeah, yeah, I didn't go away. (laughs) Essentially, my music has
always been experimental and breaking the rules, and my music has
been taken to the hearts of not only one generation, but each
succeeding generation who sees in it a way to look at their lives--in
one sense, melancholy and reflective, but in another sense, positive
and moving ahead. My music has that. By the way, from the age of 18
or 19, I found that I was committed to communicating.
MR: And over the years, you must have collected your fair share of plaques.
DL: One of them, which was very touching to me, came from the French
Republic. I was made an Officer of Arts & Letters. Now, this is a
very high honor in a country that recognizes literature.
MR: That's understandable since your poetry, as well as that of your
contemporaries, literally changed the way everyone looked at the world.
DL: The poetry in the music is so important. You've got to understand
that when my generation arrived, we were called "folk" singers--like
Dylan and me and Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell who were
composers--we actually wished to marry the poetic lyric with popular
song. The Beatles came from a city steeped in literature, influenced
by the Irish migrations--Lennon and McCartney are Irish names. So,
when The Beatles met Donovan and Dylan, what happened was popular
music would now be infused with meaningful lyrics through the
marriage. When it happened, it was immediately established that there
would be a much clearer understanding of the world's problems because
we were the singers that the world listened to. And all these years
later? I'm still here! (laughs) It does not matter that the years
pass, it seems. I have new works, and I have works that have surfaced
that have been buried.
MR: Are you being internet savvy in promoting your music?
DL: My website has occupied my time because I've fully embraced the
social web, yeah.
MR: I never got to compile your material during my various label
jobs, but I know much of your catalog. In your music, there's a side
of you that often is pretty funny, though most people don't think of
you that way.
DL: I have a very poetic understanding, but as Jimmy Page said, "I
like Donovan because he has a sense of humor as well."
MR: I especially remember albums like Cosmic Wheels.
D: The seventies material returned to me, so I'm now transferring it
at the highest rates from analog. And Cosmic Wheels sounds real
cosmic, man. Actually, it was bouncing off the speakers with an
enormous sound. I just couldn't believe it. There are 400 master
tapes that are being transferred with at least 46 songs and
recordings that I'd forgotten I'd written or even recorded. This is
amazing to find such things, and it's very exciting.
MR: Are you currently working on any new material?
DL: I've just created two new songs--would you believe it--with David
Lynch producing the audio. It was unplanned, impromptu. And you know,
David does make music for his films.
MR: Yes, I'm a fan of his use of atmospherics and minor keys.
DL: Well, he has this studio and we've been hanging out and we've
made two recordings. We're uploading one of them this week to
iTunes--just one, very simply saying here's a new Donovan work. But
the donovan.ie website is seriously online now, and that's been
launched this past January with a concert from Munich which was on
for a month (as a) webcast. The material that I'm recording now, I'm
very excited about, and there'll be more new material coming.
MR: Who's handling the transfers?
DL: There's a company called FX in London that's doing McCartney and
I, and they're doing the highest rate transfers. My goodness, it
sounds great. Of course, Abbey Road has some extraordinary outtakes.
We were all worried there about Abbey Road for a little bit, you know.
MR: It seemed like the whole world was.
DL: Paul bought it.
MR: Nice.
DL: Why not? Somebody's got to do it!
MR: (applause) So, about the songs...
DL: The idea of the meaningful lyric. Translated, of course, it means
the conscious responsibility of a poetic pop song that is addressed
to millions. This is the extraordinary connection that we intended.
There's no way that you can look at a Donovan or a Beatles or a Dylan
or others of the kind and say we didn't really want to do it or it
was a mistake or a good bit of luck. We stood up and actually
intended to communicate, there was no other way we could live our
lives. And to have established such a communication, then the
internet and the social web comes along...there's a confirmation to
us all. Communications around the world are definitely on the wings of music.
MR: Although it seems that conscious music has taken a back seat to
"functional" music, like for workouts or as background ambiance.
DL: Yeah, yeah, I know that. But at the same time, the meaningful
lyric or that which addresses issues of today is still here and will
always be here. I just recorded with Matt of Guns N' Roses, and he's
got a thing called Global Sound Lab which is going to make
recordings. But each one is a charity record for a different part of
the world.
MR: I don't think that's ever been done before.
DL: Basically, it's too late to call this new band "entertainers"
because they're already booking the tour in tents and festivals, and
the issues are in the songs. But they're not serious issues in one
sense, they're entertainment. In the other sense, we've got to help
each other!
MR: Sometimes, it's almost like you have to dress-up the issue in
order to educate.
DL: No, no, the understanding always was the supposedly naïve,
harmless 45rpm single would come and go as an entertainment, but it
would carry a message.
MR: When you look back at songs like "Barabajagal," "Wear Your Love
Like Heaven," and "Atlantis," what is the difference between Donovan
then and Donovan now?
DL: Nothing. I still felt the same edge when I wrote the new song "I
Am A Shaman." Leonard Cohen said there's only one song he ever wrote.
What he meant was when we set our theme when we're young, we continue
that theme and make variations. I still feel as edgy and pushy and
punchy and gentle and poetic as I ever felt.
--
Donovan's website: donovan.ie
The David Lynch Foundation websites:
http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/
http://www.dlfprojects.org/
--
ABOUT TONIGHT'S CONCERT...
WHO: Donovan And Friends
WHAT: A Benefit Concert for The David Lynch Foundation
WHERE: The El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles.
WHEN:
7:30 pm - Doors open.
8:30 pm - Bruce Nathan (Every Boy) on vox Billy Masters (Suzanne
Vega) on guitar Adam Topol (Jack Johnson) on drums Chris Joyner
(Sheryl Crow/Wallflowers) on keys Jeff McElroy on bass
9:00 pm - Blessed the Strange
9:35 pm - Jack Maness (Sublime)
10:00 pm - Donovan & Friends - Donovan will be joined by daughter,
Astrella Celeste, Jerry Vivino, Scott Healy & Rick Reed (from the
Conan O'Brien Late Night Band).
Throughout Donovan's set, he will be also be joined by special
guests, Lanny Cordola & Matt Sorum (of Guns N' Roses and Velvet
Revolver), Peter Noone (Herman's Hermit), Amrita Sen, Danny Saber
(Black Grape/Alice Cooper), Poe, and Carla Olson (Textones)
Grape/Alice Cooper), Poe, and Carla Olson (Textones)
11:30 pm - The Paris Escovedo Project11:30 pm - The Paris Escovedo Project
(Psst...for all you frustrated Mello Yello fans whose favorite
beverage lost the soda war to Mountain Dew, rumor has it that Donovan
will be the voice of the re-launch of a new incarnation of the drink.
It's very hush-hush, so ix-nay on the Ello-yay...)
And remember, as Donovan once sang, "First there is a mountain, then
there is no mountain, then there's one." But you knew that.
--------
Donovan and Friends at David Lynch Benefit 3/19/10
March 22, 2010
Sean Arenas & Deborah Rose
When most people think of Transcendental Meditation they think of the
Beatles, who studied the renowned technique of relaxation from the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in 1968. However, meditating right
next to them was the 60s Irish folk singer Donovan Leech. Still as
passionate about it today, the legendary singer headlined the benefit
concert "Donovan & Friends" on Friday, March 19 at the EL Rey Theater
in Hollywood to raise money for the David Lynch Foundation for
Transcendental Meditation, founded by the acclaimed director.
Lynch established the Foundation in 2005 to fund programs teaching
the stress-reducing benefits of meditation to at-risk populations;
such as inner city students, American Indians, firefighters, and
prison guards. Donovan heads up the musical wing of the Foundation,
in an effort to help educate a new generation about the meditation
technique. Since it's inception, the Foundation has sponsored
100,000 scholarships to their programs and their goal is to fund 1
million recipients.
The audience saw a short film on the Foundation's accomplishments,
with testimonials from at-risk kids stating how Transcendental
Meditation has had a positive effect on their lives. Throughout the
evening, hosts Adam Gaynor of Matchbox 20 and actor Mathew St.
Patrick from the television show Six Feet Under, introduced several
opening bands, with music ranging from sultry blues to
reggae/ska. However, it was clear that the packed house was there to
enjoy the legendary music of Donovan, many for the very first time.
Vice President of the Foundation, Bob Roth, introduced David
Lynch. Lynch thanked everyone for coming to the event and then said,
"Fly back with me through time," as he showed a brief video montage
of Donovan's songs before announcing him to the crowd.
Watching Donovan take the stage with his long hair, wearing a purple
60s Nehru style shirt and love beads was like returning to the peace
and love era. Playing his usual Kelly green guitar, he was backed by
several musicians. He still had his signature, quivering vocal
styling, as he opened his set with his groovy hit "Sunshine
Superman," and then his daughter came on stage and shared vocals on
the ethereal sounding "Wear Your Love like Heaven." She also sang
with him on the captivating "Season of the Witch," which also
featured a guitar solo by Lawrence Juber, a former member of Wings.
Referring back to the cause of the evening, Donovan talked about how
he and The Beatles brought back the lost art of meditation from
India. "When we were headed west, a great man came down from the
east." He continued, "Change begins within" and "It's all about
slowing down," leading into his song 'Slow Down World."
He also sang the poignant anti-war song "Universal Soldier," written
by Buffy St. Marie, lamenting on how it is still relevant
today. After doing a couple of lesser-known songs with various guest
musicians, he played the beautiful "Catch the Wind," again
accompanied by his daughter and Juber. He included a rousing bluesy
rock number, as well as a lovely lullaby before going into the
crowd-pleasing, "Mellow Yellow," joined by several vocalists,
including his son. He ended his hour and a half set with the gritty,
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" and returned for an encore with his anthem, "Atlantis."
Afterwards, the hosts returned to the stage telling the audience that
they could continue to donate to the Foundation by texting the
numbers 27138 and typing the word Lynch. They also auctioned off a
lunch with Mathew St. Patrick for $750, an afternoon with David Lynch
for $2000, and 5 hours with Donovan for $4500.
The funds raised from the benefit will help the foundation get one
step closer to reaching their goal of helping 1 million people have
better lives.
.
0 comments:
Post a Comment