| Am I Alone in This? Bill Bottrell in the January 2001 New Settler |
|
|
BILL: Somebody saying: "I heard from a friend in Mendocino that you do this thing and it's really good, and I have a festival in the Sierras that I want you to perform for. . . " That hasn't been happening, so I stay here and do what I do. When I hear Chocolate Albion, I hear a shorter version of early Dylan going on and on . . . BILL: Yes. It is very Dylanesque. Probably my most powerful influence was 'Times They Are A' Changing'. I was twelve years old at the time. And I learned every song, and I have played that album for thirty years. I'm not closed to putting it out. But I've done the global music industry, and it's a terrible . . . Terrible how? What was wreaked on you? |
BILL: It wasn't me. It's what I saw done to young artists _ kids _ optimistic, who loved music and were full of exuberance and ambition for themselves. To watch their optimism stripped away and their ambition become part of this machine . . . [long pause] What did it do to Sheryl Crow, for instance? She was what, and then became who? BILL: Well, success didn't make her any happier-but that's quite a common thing. I'd rather talk about somebody else. Rusted Root is a band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They're a band that plays a pagan, world music. I love their music and they had sold 40,000 albums off their stage. They played four cities on the east coast. Went in a circle. They were happy and |