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The)' don't play a lot of records, and not a lot of
people hear them, but the hope is that you can
get played there and kind of build a career out of
there. Widespread gets played on there, people
who don’t get played on the regular formats,
which I tliink is very exciting. It gives people a
chance to be heard. It’s not going to sell a million
records... but people arc at least getting a chance
to hear it; otherwise this record wouldn’t get
heard. Most stations won’t pick you up until you
already have a hit. Unless you’re established,
j. u don’t have r> way to get heard.
FLAGPOLE: You've stayed close to your roots?
BRAMBLETT: I think so; I'm still drawing on
those same influences and the same musical
influences, which are basically folk. R.kB and a
little gospel, blues. The stuff we were hearing on
WLAC. Otherwise you had Top 40 music com
ing out of Jacksonville. We were just in love with
Ja .ics Brown and Otis, like “This is the sliit. We
don't have to go any further to Find the real
stuff.” That’s what we imitated.
Just like the English guys and Enc Clapton
and all were listening to the same stuff, except
more blues. They w’ere deeper into blues. We
really didn’t have access to the blues like they
did. You couldn’t find those records in the stores,
and you sure didn't hear it on the radio. The
only thing I'd find is like Leadbclly records;
sometimes I’d pick stuff up. but Jesup was pretty
limited in what you could hear. I'd find Ray
Charles, of course - people who were selling
records. For some reason the English guys, I
guess in the big cities in England they had better
collections of blues records, were into that.
We happened to be into more Motown and
Philadelphia stuff and Muscle Shoals and
Memphis stuff. That's what we loved. But it’s
funny that we listened to a lot of the same
music... and somehow’ they identified with it,
too. It’s funny, when I talk to Steve Winwood
and others that we were both loving that same
kind of thing. That’s w’herc our inspiration came
from a lot of times, and our music is built on that
same stuff. It’s just a different basis for a lot of
people coming out of the alternative thing.
FLAGPOLE: You have collaborated with some of
the same people over a long period of time,
Da’is Causey, for instance.
BRAMBLETT: Because we’ve played togcdicr and
write songs together and kind of arrange them
together, and his parts arc so important in the
songs, and of course he helps w’rite lyrics and
music and everything, so he was an integral part
from the very beginning. To try to do it without
him would be very difficult, because he know-s
how the song's supposed to sound. The guitar
parts arc parts of the song that you wouldn’t
want to do without.
FLAGPOLE: Well, Randall, the assumption start
ing out is dtat you'll either fail or become a star.
You've done neither, but at the same time you’ve
made a life in music.
BRAMBLETT: You know, it’s amazing, because if
you look back on it. it’s been almost 30. well, it
has been 28 years of making - except for one
break I took in the middle for a few years when I
was about 40 - I’ve been able to make a living,
which is amazing. Not a lot of people can do
that. It hasn't always been — barely struggling by
a lot of time — but still I’vc been able to hang in
there and pretty much continue writing and
doing stuff diat I feel pretty’ proud of.
FLAGPOLE: What do you do when you’re tour
ing with Steve Winwood?
BRAMBLETT: Keyboards and sax, mostly sax.
Sing some, but mosdy sax. He usually plays key
boards himself.
FLAGPOLE: Obviously there’s no bad competi
tiveness over playing keyboards.
BRAMBLETT: Oh, no. He’s got it locked. He’s the
man. So I got pulled back into it and started writ
ing more and more and ended up shopping this
new record that we cut. We shopped it for a year
to a lot of big labels. They all said no, we’re onlv
signing modern rock or alternative music or
whatever: young people. I had run it bv
Capricorn one time, and they said yes, we like it.
We like it a lot. But they didn’t take it. I called
them back again right before we were going to
sign w’ith this little label in Austin, and I said,
“It’s your last chance. I’m about to sign with this
little label,” and they said they’d do it. I said,
“Why’d you wait so long?” They said, “Well,
we’ve always liked it.” They were moving from
Nashville to Atlanta and had a lot going on.
I feel really good about being with them,
because they’re not... if you know about big
labels these days, you’re liable to get dropped.
Even if you do your second album you’re liable
to get dropped if you don’t sell a million copies.
So it’s a very high-pressure deal, and it’s not
geared toward developing an artist. I don’t
know: I’m just glad to be w-ithrthern at this point.
FLAGPOLE: Your lyrics arc about being on the
road and loss and love and lost love. Tncy don't
sound as though they’d be coming from your
present lifestyle.
BRAMBLETT: No, but it all comes out of experi
ence. My life right now is good, but there's
always that well of loneliness and loss that I iden
tify w’ith. I have a hard time just writing happy
songs, you know. It’s not about total desperation,
although some of those songs arc pretty dark.
There’s not a lot of hope in some of those songs,
but usually there's a glimmer there.
FLAGPOLE: Your never having become a star
has kept you free to continue trying to grow
and create...
BRAMBLETT: I've been blesscl not to be so suc
cessful? In a way you're right. The only thing is
you have to deal with total discouragement all
the time, like, maybe my stuff is not even
worm... if it’s not being picked up on by any
body, maybe it’s not worth doing On the othc r
hand, what you end up with is, this is what I
know how to do. Maybe it’s not any good. If it
was good, maybe so many people would pick up
on it. So it might not be any good But you’ve
still got to do it.
NOTES FROM A FAILED INTERVIEW
I’m not sure where Randall Bramblett got the idea during my inter
view with him that I favor “alternative music." Perhaps because I didn’t
distinctly announce my admiration for 'Ihe Band’s Music From Big
p ink or my beloved collection of Mississippi John Hurt albums,
Bramblett assumed that I ;was ignorant of any music prior to 1980. Or
maybe it was my silly haircut. Either way, Bramblett immediately latched
onto the “alternative” concept early in our interview, dropping the term
often liito his responses, as though any opinion I would have on, say, the
Allman Brothers, would be clouded by my youth.
Bramblett is a talented musician with a rich history who has put
his life back on track after an excessive immersion in — and self-
imposed exile from — the music business. At the time he seemed
to be an amiable guy who is taking tht first steps towards
reviving his musical career. Just so you know I was paying
attention, here’s my record of our converstion — a brief
chronology of his life in music, along with a few choice
observations:
1960s
• 1966: King David and the Slaves
• Began playing while I was still in liigh school to the end of
college (UNC)
•Jesup was flatlands. die swamp was beautiful. We’d
go hunting, boating, fishing around die Okcfcnokce.
• We all loved soul; w*c all had an allegiance of “No
w'liitc music.’ We just wanted to be black; we thought
diat was die coolest tiling you could be. Of course, Eric
Clapton and Steve Winwood were doing die same diing in
Britain at diat time, aldiough dicy were more into blues, and we
were into soul.
• Played soudicm frat college circuit doing covers. Started writing own
songs as senior in college.
1970s
• Early 70s came to Adicns and met Davis, playing with locals, play dicir
own traditional-typo songs mixed widi free form, experimental, atonal
stuff. “We d just start, with no due about what we d do.”
• ’72 — Goose Creek Symphony. Played sax.
• ’74 — Cowboy. Macon group that later became Gregg Allman's touring
band for two tours. “I got to play Carnegie Hall."
• ’74/75 - Records two solo records with Polydor. First one in New York
City with session players. “The session guys were really cool. They saw
me as some hick from the South, :.ut they thought I was refreshing.
Working with them was one of the greatest experiences in my life.”
• Aftenvards. joined Sea Level, featuring Chuck Lcvcll, who has played
keys for Rolling Stones for 12 years. “Jazzier side of Allman Bros. Jazzy,
funky Southern rock.”
• Five or six records, lasted up to the beginning of the ’80s
• “We took it to excess; we got burnt out. Capricorn folded at die time...
everyone was taking it to the max. getting burnt out. W: were too stupid,
too fucked up. I lost my focus, my perspective, my ability to be creative.
I diought I couldn’t write without chemical hdp.”
• “I can’t afford to get high now. I crossed the line. I can’t go back.”
1980s
82 — toured with Levon Helm (of The Band — two tours) and
Musde Shoals All Stars. Haved horn and keyboards.
• Briefly in movie Corny (starring Robbie Robertson). Played
in strip club band with Davis in movie. Did some of the
soundtrack.
• Moved to New Orleans, started over, got married, worked
at an indoor plant company, watering plants for seme
friends. “I needed to do that, get my feet on the ground.”
• ’87/*88 - Came back to Athens. “Realized I needed to move
on, make a living.” Returned to Athens for social work
degree.
Began writing own songs again, for fun. not business.
Haid to waitc sober, without that net. Never expected
to release the songs.
• 88 - Steve Wimvood calls halfway into college
work. Stops college, tours with Winwood, records on liis
Refugees of the Heart album in ’91.
1990s
• ’94 - Hays sax and keyboard on Traffic tour, opening for Grateful
Dead. ‘ Raying with Steve (Winwood) gave me back my confidence.”
• Two years recording See Through Me, three or so days at a time, whenev
er people could get off work.
• Bramblett lias lived on music, no day job, ever since touring with
Winwood in ’88.
• “Not expecting to have it do much but help me build a career, do
another album. I'd like to make a living by making records. I’d like to
meet good producers, writers musicians. I want to expand what I know,
who I work with.”
• Show with Widespread in Memphis in October.
• “I’m starting a new life after losing it. I feel like it’s a privilege this time.”
-JOHN BRITT
AUGUST 12, 1998
Back-To-School
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