Playing with David Bowie, Paul Simon, and Mariah Carey.... writing countless songs, King Crimson... Adrian Belew is an artist you should get to know
DM) You've guested on dozens of albums. Which were your most
memorable?
AB) I have an affinity for nearly all the records I've made
and all the remarkable people involved. A few highlights: Paul Simon's Graceland (there were
no lyrics recorded yet so Paul sang them quietly in my ear to
demonstrate the melodies); the four days I spent making the next
NINE INCH NAILS record; and singing a duet with David Bowie on
my solo record YOUNG LIONS.
DM) Since you've started your own studio, how do you feel it's changed the way you make music?
AB) It's given me the freedom to try anything, which interests
me, which in turn has made me a more complete recording artist.
When you work on something every day, as my engineer Ken Latchney and I do, there's a terrific accumulation of material and a sense
of knowledge being acquired. Having my own studio has made me
super-productive. A dream come true.
DM) Of all the bands you've been in, which one does your current album most
resemble?
AB) If you mean by "current album" the new unreleased
solo record I'm currently working on, it sounds like a trio version
of the aggressive side of King Crimson. But if you mean SALAD
DAYS, it doesn't resemble any band I was ever in, but perhaps
one I wish I could have been in. Guess which one.
DM) Do you still practice guitar?
AB) In the conventional sense of playing scales or doing exercises,
I've never practiced guitar. But fortunately I love the feeling of playing, so every day I
end up with a guitar in hand sooner
or later.
DM) You cover the Beatles a lot; when did you first start listening to them?
AB) I missed their first week on Ed Sullivan's show, but after seeing them the second week, I went into the bathroom and cut my hair in bangs! You have to be inspired by something! The Beatles became
my inadvertent teachers. I studied their records inside and out.
Robert Fripp once told me I knew more about The Beatles' music
than any other American. From The Beatles I learned the crafts
of songwriting, lyricism, arranging, and record production and
taught myself to play guitar, bass, drums, piano, even cello.
DM) What was the first Beatles song you heard?
AB) There was a radio on top of a hallway closet by my bedroom. It was always on but I never paid much
attention to it. One day I walked by, and it blurted out, "She was just seventeen..." I was stunned.
DM) I was just telling a friend how you performed on so many
popular songs that we've heard on the radio. One example was "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. Does it ever get
frustrating when you work on a song everybody knows but people
don't realize you were on it?
AB) No, that doesn't bother me. Who knows, I may have a hit of my own someday. If not, at least I've done just about everything
else.
DM) What was the songwriting process for "Fantasy"
by Mariah Carey?
AB) You know, the music business is a funny ol' business.
I didn't even know I was on that record until a fan at a Crimson
concert asked me to autograph it. As it turns out, my playing was sampled from the song "Genius of Love", which I
co-wrote with the Tom Tom Club in 1981. In fact, I've never met Mariah Carey;
but I love the money she sends.
DM) You were born Robert Steven Belew. Why did you switch to Adrian?
AB) In 1974 I moved to Nashville to join a band called Sweetheart.
They already had one "Steve" and since no one knew
me, I took the opportunity to choose a new name. I had always preferred the name Adrian. As far back as my high school years, I had pencils
monogrammed with the name Adrian.
DM) What can your long-time fans expect from your upcoming "Salad Days" album?
AB) Fresh acoustic versions of the best of my songs du jour.
With a side of quartet and a dash of "musique concrete." "Salad Days" underlines the singer/songwriter side. I chose to redo some of my better songs, not only to offer them a second chance, but also to give the listeners a peek inside what the songs
sound like when I first write them at the guitar or piano.
The production is spare and the instrumentation all acoustic:
string bass, acoustic drums, vocals, etc. The song selection ranges from all periods of my solo works, as well as three King
Crimson songs. There are two tracks recorded live in Buenos Aires. Even
though some of the songs may be familiar to some people, the
new setting gives you the sense of hearing something for the first time. For anyone unfamiliar with my writing, it's a proper
crash course.
