Tom Waits in the NY Times

Tom Waits talks about 'artistic creation' and 'the creative impulse' in the New York Times.

‘I like the idea that there are things coming in through the window and through you and then down to the piano and out the window on the other side.’

Waits tribute to Merle Haggard

Tom Waits has written a tribute to Merle Haggard, who died on april 6th, in Rolling Stone.

Surprise: Waits sings about alcohol

The Huffington Post examined the most talked about drugs in 15.000 rock 'n' roll songs and found alcohol was the most discussed substance. Tom Waits not only leads in mentions of alcohol, but also leads other artists with over 60 songs mentioning drugs or alcohol.

Greg Cohen on Tom Waits: ‘I hope we can do something this year’

In an interview with Bob Baker Fish, published by Cyclic Defrost, bassist Greg Cohen talks briefly about working with Tom Waits. And he hints about a possible new collaboration:

‘We are looking for a new project now. I hope we can do something this year.’ 

Cohen talks more extensive about his earlier work with Waits in an interview with Paul Leslie. The Waits part starts around the 5:13 mark.




(hat tip Jeremy)

Paul Charles on Tom Waits

The Irish Times carried a nice piece on Asgard agent Paul Charles, last week. Charles represents Tom Waits in the UK, if I am correct.

 “Oh, he [Tom Waits]’s totally brilliant. He’s a great storyteller on and off the stage, which is why he’s such a great interviewee. I mean, where does fact and fiction start and finish? His imagination is amazing; he’s there in the story, making you cry one minute and laugh the next.”

Tom Waits A photo session with Mitchell Rose - Review

I got a hardcover copy of the new Tom Waits picture book A photo session with Mitchell Rose today and I must say I'm impressed. With only 17 pictures, it might seem expensive, but they are all great shots.

'I didn't know at the time that my first Rolling Stone Magazine assignment photographing Tom Waits would be one of the most memorable photo sessions of my career. Arriving at the Tropicana Hotel in West Hollywood in 1977 where Tom Waits lived in a little bungalow in the back...a very crowded and congested space. I didn't know much about Tom at the time but not before too long I knew that this was not going to be easy to pull off.'

Despite the tattoos, drinks, cigarettes and strippers, every single one of the pictures seems to capture some sort of innocence and spontaneity that is lacking in some shots in the Corbijn book, for example. A great collection and a nice addition to any fan's collection, if you ask me.



UPDATE (Sept. 1): author Mitchell Rose will be making some slight changes to the book for the first edition (rearranging the pictures and adding a photo of the Tropicana Motor Hotel) and adjusting the price of the book: ($275, $110, & $50). Later editions might include a shot from the original shooting used for a standup poster.

 

 


The press release:

Iconic Images: TOM WAITS - A PHOTO SESSION WITH MITCHELL ROSE
Now available in three formats exclusively at MitchellRosePhotos.com
Images of Waits shot at historic Tropicana Motor Hotel in West Hollywood CA

Never-before-seen images of seminal music artist, Tom Waits, has just been released by Hollywood-based photographer, Mitchell Rose. The book is available in three sizes, two collectible hardcover editions in 13" x 19" and 11" x 14" formats and a soft cover 8.5" x 11" book.

Rose quickly became one of a cadre of go-to photographers in the burgeoning days of West Coast rock. These images from Rose's first assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine in 1977, were shot in and around the historic Tropicana Motor Hotel in West Hollywood, CA.

Waits was a post-beat, pre-rock musical experimentalist and artist who never achieved mainstream success but became increasingly important in the development of many genres of music to come. He lived a hedonistic rock and roll lifestyle that he often referred to in his later work, garnering critical praise and becoming more influential as he developed. His diverse artistry found him working with artists as diverse as Bonnie Raitt and jazz-drummer Shelly Manne, working on film soundtracks, producing other artists and acting for Frances Ford Coppola and Terry Gilliam. The images in Rose's book capture the artist in one of his most formative periods.

A generation of rock music personalities called the Tropicana home. From Jim Morrison in the late '60s, and Waits and fellow Denverite Chuck E. Weiss in the '70s, many musicians and an ever-changing assortment of rock promoters, groupies and wannabes had lived, worked and hung out at the Tropicana, and at Duke's famed Coffee Shop next door.

Photographer Mitchell Rose began shooting in New York City, experimenting with the mechanics of the art and its various tools, cameras and film. He moved to Hollywood in the early '70s and opened his Sunset Blvd. studio in 1975. A classic entertainment chronicler, Rose has done it all, concentrating on live and reportorial photography in addition to his studio work. His subjects have included Paul Newman, Muhammad Ali, Waits and David Bowie for clients ranging from Disney Studios, and Rolling Stone Magazine to album covers for major record companies. He is currently building his second home in Loreto, B.C.S. with plans to publish the best of his Baja images in a series of books.

TOM WAITS - A PHOTO SESSION WITH MITCHELL ROSE is available exclusively at www.MitchellRosePhotos.com. The large coffee table edition is $350 $275, the smaller $150 $110, and the soft cover edition $50. Prices include tax and shipping to all U.S. destinations. Additional charges for international shipping and handling will accrue.

Tom Waits pulls out of Death Car project?

According to Danish newspaper Metroxpress, Tom Waits has pulled out of the Death Car project.

Death Car is (was?) a collaboration between Tom Waits and director Robert Wilson for the Danish Royal Theatre based on the story of Bonnie and Clyde. The play was set to premiere on November 7, 2014 in Copenhagen but now that Tom Waits' agent has informed that he feels ‘he can not complete the project as planned’ (according to Metroxpress), it is not clear what will happen.

Tom Waits: a friend of The Viper Room

Tom Waits is one of the names on a list of people 'already interviewed or planned to be to interviewed' for the film Fallout Entertainment is trying to make, Friends of the Viper Room.

A day in Vienna: 1978 documentary on YouTube

A nice 30 minute documentary called A day in Vienna was posted on YouTube. Embedding was disabled, but you can find it here.

More details about the Bonnie and Clyde play

In an article in the Financial Times, director Robert Wilson mentions the collaboration with Tom Waits for the Bonnie and Clyde musical.

FT: How are you spending the summer? 

Robert Wilson: "I will be developing with participants 12 of my own projects for the future. For example: Bonnie and Clyde, a new production with music by Tom Waits to be premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark ..."

The project also get a short mention in an interview with Wilson in the summer issue of Fairweather magazine:

Fairweather: What future projects are you working on or dreaming about?

Robert Wilson: I am planning to do Bonnie and Clyde with Tom Waits.

N.A.S.A. collaboration telephone call

Remember N.A.S.A.'s 2009 track 'Spacious thoughts' in which rapper Kool Keith joined up with Tom Waits? Now a documentary is release about the making of N.A.S.A.'s debut album Spirit of Apollo.

Spinner.com posted the clip below online, with an animated orb (with the voice of Waits) speaking on the phone with N.A.S.A. co-founder Sam Spiegel about the track.

From Spinner:

'It was great getting to know Tom and his family. His lovely wife Kathleen was part of our writing process, which took place deep in Northern California in a log cabin', Spiegel tells Spinner. 'We also ended up recording more stuff via the phone once I got back in L.A., and later Tom would end up calling me with inspiration and random thoughts for contributions and ideas for the film." 

The full-length documentary 'N.A.S.A. The Spirit of Apollo', is due out March 26.

Corbijn book premiere

Books &Foam is organising a "world premiere" of the Anton Corbijn / Tom Waits picture book in Amsterdam (NL) on May 5th.

From the Books &Foam website:

Anton Corbijn will be present to sign copies of the limited edition photo book ahead of its May 8th worldwide release. There will be an exhibition of unique material on display; giving an insight into the book's creative process and how this collaboration came to fruition. As well as this, music of Tom Waits will be performed by Orkater / The Sadists.

WHFS interview, part 2

The second part of the WHFS interview, recorded on 6 September 1975, was posted online.


 

1975 Nighthawks interview

A nice clip was posted on Youtube: Tom Waits talking about the release of 'Nighthawks at the diner', reportedly in an interview with DJ Don 'Cerphe' Colwell at the WHFS studios (Bethesda, Maryland USA). Recorded on 06 September 1975. I don't think this had surfaced before (but I could be wrong).

 No actual video footage, but a nice part of the interview with Tom breaking out into his 'Emotional weather report' rap.

 

Waits-Corbijn book website

You might want to know the Anton Corbijn/Tom Waits picture book has its own website: www.waits-corbijn.com.

Uncut cover

Tom Waits figures on March's Uncut cover. I haven't been able to lay my hands on a copy yet, but under the title The birth of a boho legend, the British magazine promises us 10 pages on "the untold story of classic debut Closing time, by Waits' closest collaborators".

The accompanying cd is called The heart of Saturday night, but that is the only Waits reference.

El mundo según Tom Waits

Spanish radio show La madeja (RTVE) dedicated an hour to the world of Tom Waits last Sunday. Nothing you haven't heard before, but don't let that stop you.

 Listen to the show El mundo según Tom Waits here or download it (mp3 - 108 MB) here.

The Corbijn picture book

I mentioned this first way back in August 2009, but now it seems as if the Anton Corbijn book with Tom Waits pictures might actually be published in the near future.

TomWaits.com says the linen slipcase book (limited to 6,600 copies), is scheduled for a May 8th release in US and Europe by German publisher Schirmer-Mosel.

The book ($199.99 / €158,36) can be pre-ordered at Schirmer-Mosel or the Tom Waits store.

Tom Waits 101

On the occasion of Tom Waits' birthday last week, Ultimate Classic Rock looks back on his career: Tom Waits 101: a guide to his music (with some quotes from yours truly).

Bad as me reviews

I'll be posting links to online reviews of the upcoming album Bad as me in this entry. So, if you ee anything, feel free to mail me or leave a link in the comments below.

UPDATE (Nov. 2): A somewhat belated update, but with two nice audio clips: the Fresh Air interview on NPR and the Triple J interview.

• NPR: The Fresh Air interview (audio clip)
• Triple J (audio clip)
• Uncut (which has Tom Waits in the cover this month and includes a 'Tom Waits Juke Box' cd)
• BBC Radio 4 (audio clip)
• Detroit Free Press
• Bohemian.com
• Berlingske Tidende (Danish)
  
• Pitchfork
• NY Times: A Grizzled Troubadour Dusts Off His Bowler
• Der Standard: Die Klagelaute sterbender Elefanten (German)
• CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi: radiointerview from Oct. 18th (download the podcast on iTunes) 
• The Australian: Tom Waits is on the road again, metaphorically speaking
• La Repubblica: 'Altman? Uno sceriffo sul set mi mandò a quel paese' (Italian)
• Wall Street Journal: The storyteller's secret
• LA Times blog: Tom Waits recalls Captain Beefheart
• Lisa Thatcher
• Ventox
• The American songwriter
• Mojo: A great bunck of guys (scanned image)
• Q: The thinking artist's thinking artist returns: maverick genius intact (scanned image)
• Louder than war
• Spin.com
• Uncut: Album of the month (scanned image c/o jerseyraindog)
• Chicago Tribune: Album review: Tom Waits, 'Bad as Me'