aaamusic | On 11, Jan 2013

 

A CHAT WITH ROBERT CRAY

 

Acclaimed American blues guitarist and singer Robert Cray has won five Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame. His sixteenth album Nothin’ But Love was released recently. Access All Areas Music interviewer Anthony Weightman chatted to him ahead of his March, 2013 UK tour.

 

Anthony Weightman

Firstly, my very best wishes to you on your forthcoming tour in the UK in March. Could you tell me how things might be a little bit different from previous tours?

Robert Cray

Well, starting off, we’re going to have a new drummer and it’s going to be a whole different feel. So, once again, we’ll have the latest release out.

Anthony Weightman

Going back to your early years, I know The Beatles encouraged you to have an interest in the guitar. I remember the magnetic charm and joyfulness of their music. What are your personal memories of The Beatles in the sixties?

Robert Cray

Well, I really wish I’d had the opportunity to go and see them in Seattle or Washington. But, like all the other kids, we were excited. We all shared an interest. Just that. The excitement of watching them perform on television and seeing the enthusiasm.

Anthony Weightman

Many of your songs are about sensitive issues in relationships: guilt, rejection, jealousy, betrayal etc. Is there any one subject that you’ve found particularly difficult to write a song about, or perhaps even taboo where you feel you’d like to write a song but feel you just can’t do it.

Robert Cray

You know what….I really don’t think there’s been anything that troubles me too much. I’ve touched on a lot of difficult things, political and personal.

Anthony Weightman

Sometimes men and women grow to know each other well and have a very  intense working relationship which is not romantic or sexual. I know some playwrights think it’s quite difficult to dramatically capture the feel of these relationships. In the context of song writing, do you think that’s true?

Robert Cray

Well it all depends on……I think that in music or as a playwright you can dance around the subject. In the field on rhythm and blues people can get right into it.

Anthony Weightman

There are blues purists who see your soulful songs as too slick, polished and remote from the gritty origins of blues. Personally I don’t see the argument, but how do you respond to these critics?

Robert Cray

I mean, it’s a whole different day and age. I’m not Muddy Waters. I enjoy their music and what they did, but I’m Robert Cray and this is 2013. So, it’s a whole different thing. I don’t try to make music how it was. I’m influenced by all the music I grew up with.

Anthony Weightman

I understand that you originally suffered from stage fright with live performances. With some artists it never quite goes away but something in their personality pushes them on to do things which are more and more demanding. Are you a bit like that or has the stage fright now disappeared completely?

Robert Cray

Oh no! It never completely goes away. You find ways of coping. It’s like going out to a masquerade party. You put on a mask. You do what you need to do and become a different person. A lot of people are like that in normal life. People hide who they really are.

Anthony Weightman

I loved that serious topical song I’m Done Cryin’ , from your latest album, about a bitter, unemployed, man fighting to keep his dignity. Do you feel there are related issues we’ve really only just begun to think about? For example, in the UK in 5 years time, the official retirement age rises gradually from 65 to 70. So, do you think we’re soon going to have young unemployed musicians who say to themselves “I could have had a job if that 69 year old hadn’t taken it!”

Robert Cray

Well, you know they’re talking about raising the retirement age here in the States as well. It’s another topic. People have a voice. We’ll be talking about it. It’s important when a man tries to hold onto his dignity. We have to talk.

Anthony Weightman

I also loved the song Great Big Old House. because it’s not only about a house left empty by a family who’ve fallen upon bad times in the recession. It’s also about the love which was once there somehow continuing to haunt the house. So, to me it’s the spiritual feel which makes this a great song. How did you manage to achieve that?

Robert Cray

Oh, I don’t know. I just tried to put myself in the same position. There were a couple of houses in my street in that situation.

Anthony Weightman

I’d like to ask you a question as a parent if I could. Worldwide people were horrified by that dreadful massacre of those poor children in Connecticut last month. Could I ask you for your personal feelings?

Robert Cray

Like everybody else I was horrified. I think it’s ridiculous that so many people can be killed by weapons just like that.

Anthony Weightman

You’ve said in the past that we’re all political beings who need to be aware and go out and vote. Have you ever considered a career in politics?

Robert Cray

No, I couldn’t be a politician. Politics is a strange business. People do all kinds of things. It’s ‘tit for tat’. That’s how the whole thing works. I couldn’t.

Anthony Weightman

There’s an amusing Barry Manilow interview where he talks about potting plants in his conservatory for no more than 10 minutes before he feels he should be getting back to his piano. Does music have that sort of priority and urgency in your home life?

Robert Cray

It’s not always there. Music is in my head all the time, but I do a lot of other things that are part of my life as well.

Anthony Weightman

Is there any particular artist you’d like to work with that you haven’t worked with before?

Robert Cray

I haven’t really thought about that very much. But the next time I can sit and write a decent song…..that’s important to me.

Anthony Weightman

For photo fans, do you have any plans for the photo section of your website which is empty at the moment?

Robert Cray

Yes. Our website has taken a back-seat to our Facebook site, so we need to do some more work on it. Thanks for reminding me!

Anthony Weightman

Robert, thank you very much indeed for your time and I hope to see you in the UK in March.                          

 

Anthony Weightman

 

Sat 2 Mar 13                   Harrogate                     Int Centre                      £39.50/£29.50

Sun 3 Mar 13                  Nottingham                  Concert Hall                 £39.50/£29.50

Mon 4 Mar 13                 Truro                               Hall for Cornwall         £34.50/£29.50

Wed 6 Mar 13                Cardiff                            St. David’s Hall           £39.50/£29.50

Fri 8 Mar 13                   Cambridge                   Corn Exchange            £39.50/£29.50

Sat 9 Mar 13                  Tunbridge Wells          Assembly Hall             £39.50/£29.50

Sun 10 Mar 13               Norwich                        Theatre Royal              £29.50

Mon 11 Mar 13              Gateshead                    The Sage                     £39.50/£29.50

Wed 13 Mar 13             London                         Cadogan Hall               £44.50/£24.50

Thurs 14 Mar 13            Basingstoke                The Anvil                       £39.50/£29.50

Fri 15 Mar 13                Manchester                   Bridgewater Hall         £39.50/£29.50

Sat 16 Mar 13              Sheffield                         City Hall                        £39.50/£29.50

All shows are on sale now.

Ticketmaster 0870 534 4444, Ticketline 0870 444 5556, See Tickets 0871 220 0260 and Gigantic 0115 959 7908