Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 12 Nov 2010 12:17 pm |
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Here is an iterview With Ritchie Furay about the reunion concert:
Buffalo Springfield Again: Richie Furay on the Seminal ’60s Band
Ben Corbett
They may not have been around long, but man, what an impact. Together a mere two years, and with only three albums to their credit, the Buffalo Springfield will go down in history as the shortest-lived, most dysfunctional band that left the biggest imprint on American popular song. With a core lineup of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, Buffalo Springfield is best known for pioneering the country-rock sound in LA’s music scene. Launching with a six-week run as the Whiskey A Go Go house band between May—June 1966, a quick rise to fame morphed into a blur of ego, drug scandals, and personnel changes, finally leading to the band’s dissolution in April 1968. But not before sewing iconic anthems like “Mr. Soul” and the politically charged “For What It’s Worth” into the weave of 1960s psychedelia.
Despite the vague rumors over the years, and many high hopes, the thought of a serious Buffalo Springfield reunion seemed impossible. The deaths of bassist Bruce Palmer in 2004 and drummer Dewey Martin in 2009 made the idea seem even that much more remote. So when the announcement went out that Buffalo Springfield would be performing at Neil Young’s Bridge School benefit in 2010, the news immediately went viral and the shows practically sold out in nanoseconds. With longtime Young conspirator Rick Rosas playing bass, and CSN alum Joe Vitale on drums, by all accounts, this historical performance exceeded any and all expectations.
Back in 1968, while Stills and Young left Buffalo Springfield to enjoy a stint with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young followed by successful solo careers, singer-songwriter Richie Furay spun into other directions, teaming up with Jim Messina to form Poco, followed by the Souther Hillman Furay Band in 1974. The Buffalo Springfield reunion was as much a surprise for Furay as anyone. Now a pastor near Boulder, Colorado, and still rockin’ 42 years after helping to form one of the quintessential 1960s rock ‘n’ roll bands, Furay talks about the Buffalo Springfield, the Bridge School reunion, and life after the ’60s.
Crawdaddy!: So we’re all curious. How did the reunion shows go from your end?
Richie Furay: We had a great time, and from what I can tell, after not playing on the same stage together for 42 years, things came together pretty well. We did three rehearsals and we had two run-throughs for an hour per set. You know for me, we sounded better than we did anytime we played together in the past, with the exception of maybe when we played the six weeks at the Whiskey A Go Go.
Crawdaddy!: How did the whole thing fall together?
Richie Furay: Supposedly, Stephen called Neil and suggested “Why don’t we get together and do something at the Bridge School Benefit?” So Neil ended up calling me and asking me if I was interested. Neil told me we could do it next year—that we don’t have to do it this year. But I’m thinking, “Hey, if we’re gonna do it, we’d better do it now.” Because who knows what tomorrow holds for anybody?
Crawdaddy!: Did the Buffalo Springfield ever try to regroup before this? It seems like Neil was always hinting around at the possibility.
Furay: We tried to do this in the ’80s, but we didn’t even get past square one. You know, all of us were together then—it was Bruce and Dewey, Neil and Stephen, and I. The first day we got together, and then we got together a couple days later, but when we tried to get together the third time, it never got off the ground. I’m not sure what happened. It just didn’t click. It didn’t happen.
Crawdaddy!: Why do you think it worked out this time?
Furay: Because there were no agendas—although I don’t know if there were any agendas back in the ’80s. Everybody just wanted to play and do this for a good cause, the Bridge School Benefit. It just happened naturally. I mean, you couldn’t have planned it any better. It almost goes along with the way we got together years ago. I can’t say it was an accident, because I think it was an act of fate.
Crawdaddy!: Was there talk of doing anything else together?
Furay: Yeah, there was. I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe we didn’t do a couple of other things. We were pretty high when we got done and everybody said, “Hey, let’s just settle down and take a deep breath and see how everyone feels after a couple of weeks, and we’ll see if we want to pursue anything else.” So I sent Neil and Stephen a note last week, and both of them were really very positive about the whole experience. So we’ll just have to wait and see.
Crawdaddy!: Can you describe the performance for people who didn’t make it?
Furay: Well, the Bridge School benefit is always all acoustic. But even though it was acoustic, there was an electric feel to it. Everything just sounded really good. We did “Kind Woman” and “On the Way Home.” We did “Rock & Roll Woman.” We did “Bluebird.” We did “I Am A Child.” We did “A Child’s Claim to Fame.” We did “Burned.” We did “For What It’s Worth.” We got songs from all three of our albums. Neil is such a gracious host, man. He was just superb.
Crawdaddy!: How did you choose the setlist?
Furay: I think we probably had 15, 16, 17 songs that we had spoken on the phone back and forth about doing, and when we got together we just sorted ‘em out. We realized the time was short and that there was going to be a minimal amount of rehearsal time. And so basically we said, “This one feels good and this one feels good,” and those were the ones that ended up being in the show.
Crawdaddy!: Was it challenging to play some of those songs after so many years?
Furay: Some of the songs we played I actually play with my band. I do a medley of “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” and “Do I Have to Come Right Out And Say It.” And I also play “Go And Say Goodbye”, which Stephen wrote. So I was familiar with some of the songs. The only thing that I really needed to catch up on was “I Am A Child”, from the third album. We were well past wherever we were at that time. So I had to learn that, but it fell together really quickly.
Crawdaddy!: What caused the Buffalo Springfield breakup 42 years ago?
Furay: We had immigration problems. There were three Canadians in the band. Bruce, Dewey, and Neil were all Canadian, and Bruce had problems maintaining while he was here, and he ended up getting deported. We’d be all ready to go play and we’d have to bring someone else in and teach him the songs. And then Neil was trying to decide whether he wanted to be in a band or to be a solo artist, so he was gone, and then we had to bring in someone else in the band. So we were going two steps forward and three steps back. We just couldn’t get enough momentum, and after two years it was just like, okay, we’re done here. When the Springfield broke up, Jimmy Messina and I started Poco with Rusty Young, Randy Meisner, and George Grantham. Stephen went off with Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Neil put together his solo act.
Crawdaddy!: After 42 years, why a Buffalo Springfield reunion now?
Furay: You know, I’ve been telling people for the last 15 or 20 years, “It’s not gonna happen, it’ll never happen, don’t even think about it happening.” I always knew it was pretty much in Neil’s hands. If he thought it was something important to do, we would do it. You know, he wrote a song a couple of years ago called “Buffalo Springfield Again.” And so, it just seemed like the right time, and everybody was up for it, and we did it, and I think we made the statement that it was the right time. So many of these quote-unquote “reunions” don’t come off right. They never live up to the hype. They never live up to what the band was remembered as being. But I think we proved to everybody that this isn’t true for us. In the comments that I’ve read on the internet, everybody said it was really, really good. From that perspective, it was well worth the wait. I’m really happy that we did it.
Crawdaddy!: You released an album a few years ago that featured appearances by Stephen and Neil.
Furay: I released a CD called Heartbeat of Love, and I actually have Stephen and Neil and Jeff Hanna, Timothy B. Schmidt and Kenny Loggins and Mark Bowman, Rusty Young and Paul Cotton from Poco. I’ve got a list of my friends who are actually on the project. If we didn’t have ProTools and the digital recording capabilities, we wouldn’t have been able to get the job done. It was really a lot of fun to make. I’m proud of it.
Crawdaddy!: There were both new songs and old songs on the album right?
Furay: There were two old songs. I recorded “Kind Woman” from Springfield and “Let’s Dance Tonight” from Poco, but everything else was brand new.
Crawdaddy!: It sounds like everyone you ever played with throughout your career appeared on the album.
Furay: I didn’t go into it planning it that way. I went out to Nashville to record the album, and as I was listening to it, I thought, “Wow, Tim would really sound good on this. I wonder if he’d be interested.” So I gave him a call. Basically I heard things in my head and said, “I’m gonna call them and see if they want to do this.” Timothy and Stephen and Neil were the first three guys that I called. I was really having trouble finding a part that I thought I could put Neil on. He recorded guitar and voice and sang with Kenny Loggins, actually on “Kind Woman.” I couldn’t get him on it 40 years ago, so I figured we’ll give it another try, and it worked out really well.
Crawdaddy!: Are you writing or recording anything now?
Furay: Right now I’m working on a project with my daughter who plays in my band. I’ve got about six songs recorded with her right now, and then after I finish these up, I’m working on another project with a guy named John Macy, who has a studio in Denver. He recorded the Richie Furay Band Alive record. He’s just a good guy, and I’m very comfortable working with him.
Crawdaddy!: What about live performances?
Furay: My band goes out and plays quite a bit. We play more on the East Coast and the West Coast than we do around here, but we play around here as much as we can. One of my priorities is to make sure that we get to play. And, you know, if anything happens with this recent project with Stephen and Neil, obviously I’m open to it. I want to see what they have in mind, and if there’s something that’s going to happen from that, it can only be a positive thing in helping more people become aware that hey, this guy hasn’t retired. He’s still out there.
Crawdaddy!: Richie, if there’s a legacy that Buffalo Springfield has given to the culture, what is it?
Furay: The Buffalo Springfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being together only two years and having one hit. But what’s significant is what came out of that. Besides the success that Steve and Neil have gone on to individually, so many different bands came out of that. Poco came out of that. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young came out of that. And then, who came out of those bands? Loggins & Messina. Pure Prairie League. The Eagles. I mean, the whole country-rock scene. We opened the doors for many people. We laid the groundwork for so much of American popular music. I think that’s a pretty important legacy. |
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