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June 14 - 7PM

We mentioned last week that this summer we’re doing a little ongoing thing.

Here’s the second part of that.

Oh nothing. It’s just CHER’S BIRTHDAY that’s all.

National holiday! I mean, it’s not. But it sure as hell should be.

(I defy you to name one other person who could pull off this weave. Rick James doesn’t count.)

Episode 3 – Jobby Jobs! This time the storyslinging is all about music and work, and is brought to you courtesy of actor/storyteller Rory Scholl and writer/journalist Abigail Beshkin.

Rory Scholl – Rock & Roll All Night/KISS
“Jingle writers, if you’re not ready to write jingles, there’s the door.”

Abigail Beshkin – Take It Easy/Eagles
“Where are you that you don’t even recognize the animals?”

Photos of Rory and Abigail by Darren Kaminsky

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This summer, we’re doing a little ongoing thing.

To start it off…well. I’ll just leave this right here.

Bridget chats up Ken Caillat, producer of the legendary Fleetwood Mac album Rumours (and Tusk and Mirage), and author of the book Making Rumours.

“I have an old picture of Stevie and Lindsey sitting on the floor at the airport. He’s playing guitar and she’s singing. Those people don’t exist anymore.”

Chills.

Episode 2 – 80s ballads! In this episode we have Everybody Loves Our Town author Mark Yarm and the man behind The Zebra Shirt of Lonely Children Matthew Trumbull.

Mark Yarm – Tonight, Tonight, Tonight/Genesis
“Tonight Tonight Tonight provided the soundtrack to one of the more nerve wracking experiences of my high school career.”

Matthew Trumbull – Look Away/Chicago 
“As with all the grimmest love stories–it began on a bus.”

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I have always wanted to describe a show that way.

Huge thanks and hugs to Rory Scholl, Abby Beshkin, Maura Johnston for telling incredible stories, and of course, a big, bottomless cup o’ gratitude to Ken Caillat for his stories and unique insight into one of the most iconic albums of all time. I got him to sign mine. Which was immediately framed upon returning home.

We’re live again in June…see you all then!

Soundtrack Series is live tonight at The Gallery at LPR in New York! Stories about songs from Maura Johnston, Abby Beshkin, and Rory Scholl and stories about the making of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours from music producer Ken Caillat! (There are still a few tickets available, grab ‘em here!)

Doors at 7, show at 8, book signing after the show. See you tonight!

Have you ever wanted to know what it was like creating one of the most iconic albums of all time? My guess is you have, but I don’t live in your brain. At least, not today. But ANYWAY, this Thursday, Soundtrack Series welcomes Ken Caillat–producer of Fleetwood Mac’s legendary album Rumours and author of the book Making Rumours. (Advance tickets are on sale now…get ‘em while they’re still the same price as Spork Chops!)

Ken is going to be telling some stories about the making of Rumours, showing pictures, answering questions, signing books, kicking ass and taking names! (OK, maybe not that last part. I think I may have slipped into my high school gym teacher for a second there.) Anyway, Ken was kind enough to already answer some of my questions here! But let’s not kid ourselves. I’m sure I’ll have 64 more to ask him at the show.

Why did the band and production team refer to “Second Hand News” as “Strummer” when you were first working on it?

Initially, the song had no name or lyrics so we’d call them what we felt like. Strummer was, well, a strumming song. You Make Loving Fun was called “Disco Funk”, Dreams was called “Spinners.”

What’s with the sound of glass breaking at the end of “Gold Dust Woman?” How did that come about?

It’s about implying utter chaos and havoc and the end.

Everyone knows that recording this album was very tense and difficult at times. Of all the songs, which would you say was the hardest (or most tense) for all of you?

They were all hard but possibly Go Your Own Way. Actually, I’d have to say The Chain, too, having been another song, then we morphed it into The Chain.

“Songbird” was recorded in the empty Zellerbach Auditorium and not the studio like the rest of the album. What was it about this song that inspired you to record it in an auditorium rather than a smaller studio?

I wanted the piano to be grand sounding and I had recently recorded Joni Mitchell live there and loved the sound of a piano played in a reverberant hall.

If you listen closely to Rumours (especially with headphones), someone whispers “fuck” right before “The Chain.” Who was that, and why was that left in?

That was Lindsey. And it wasn’t in the original vinyl release but because of the low noise floor we noticed it in remastering. We thought it was an honest part of the recording (not staged) and since it was there, we let it stay there for those avid fans.

What song that DIDN’T make the final cut of Rumours was your favorite? In retrospect, do you think it should have been on the album?

There was really only one that didn’t make it and that was Silver Springs, because it was too long. Ultimately, when CDs came with the larger capacity, it was reunited with the rest of the songs.

Our new podcast is here! This is The Soundtrack Series 7 Inch Podcast! Episode 1 features Hip Hop artist Jean Grae and Onion AV Club contributor Maggie Serota, who tell us the stories they connect to “A Horse With No Name” and “In Da Club” and how these songs make each woman remember a time when romance went wrong. Really, really wrong.

Photos by D. Robert Wolcheck

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