G . E . & LeRoy the service of Capitalism . And since that ’ s the foundation of our country , I
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Daryl Hall to David Bowie and Mick Jagger . And one time on “ SNL ,” Al Green was on , and I was so excited because I always studied his music , and Teeny Hodges was always the guitar player on his records , a Memphis guy . And Al was on , and I played something , and he turned around and looked at me and said , “ Man — that ’ s exactly right ! I haven ’ t heard that guitar sound in YEARS !” And that really got me feeling good . |
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guess it ’ s no surprise that it ’ s still around .
IE : What did you learn from LeRoy during this project ? GES : I ’ ve been looking for a great singer for 30 years because I don ’ t sing . I yell into the microphone ( on “ Art ’ s Sick ” on “ Stony Hill ,” for instance ), but I ’ m not a singer . I ’ m a guitar player . And I can do something with that . But LeRoy can really sing , so the combination is like two halves made a whole , in a way . I hope . And we only got to play twice live before the lockdown came . But when I have somebody that can really sing , it makes me play better . I was very fortunate that I got to play with a lot of good bands from
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IE : LeRoy , what ’ s your take on everything happening in society right now ? LeRoy Bell : A lot of the younger generation thinks it ’ s time for a change . But , being an older guy , I ’ ve been talking the same stuff for all my life , it seems like . But it ’ s nice to have some fresh faces and some fresh energy behind the movement to get things done , so I think that there ’ s alot of good out there that ’ s gonna happen . I know it ’ s a really trying time for everybody , but I ’ m one of those believers in the fact that sometimes things have to get worse before they get better . It ’ s a reactionary kind of thing — things got so bad until you finally have to do something about it . So it ’ s a helluva time right |
now , but I think in the long run , it ’ s gonna be better .
IE : But music has always been this unifying , harmonizing force . And collaboration-wise , just about anything goes these days . LRB : Yeah . And it ’ s one saving grace . I ’ m glad that I chose that profession . Well , actually , I never chose music — it chose ME . But that ’ s been my lifeline , just helping me keep my sanity . IE : Were you surprised when you suddenly heard from G . E . and his wife ? LRB : My partner that I ’ ve played in bands with for 20 years now , Kerry Morgan — we play in a band called
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LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends — he got an e-mail from Taylor about coming to do a show out there at this Guild Hall . And I said , “ Why us ? How did we come on their radar ?” And he said , “ I guess she really likes your songs , and she heard you on Spotify or something .” And once I learned that G . E . Smith was her husband , then I really wanted to know , “ Why us ?” So anyway , we ended up playing a rehearsal , just playing some songs and getting to know one another . And in a day or so , we were in the studio together . We just hit it off . It was pretty seamless , really , for having come from two different worlds . But we are close to the same age , and even |