These days, he may have little interest in getting the old band back together, but he arguably remains their most active and public custodian - one one-man show at a time. In his post-Byrds life, McGuinn deepened in profound ways - not only in diving deeper into the folk tradition and honing his storytelling acumen, but focusing on his Christian ministry alongside his wife, Camilla. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and on-ramp to their eventual plunge into psychedelia. 20.įeaturing 400 pages of more than 500 illuminating photographs and an oral history courtesy of surviving Byrds McGuinn, Chris Hillman and David Crosby, the book is a definitive account of the band's genesis, commercial breakthroughs with "Mr. "I love taking things apart and trying to put them back together."įortunately for all of us, McGuinn isn't all that different from the man we learn about in The Byrds: 1964-1967, a lavish new coffee-table book that hit shelves on Sept. "I take LEDs and put them in a little box with a switch on it and make them blink, just for fun," he tells. From the road, McGuinn explains that his engineer grandfather got him interested in all things that light up and whir. On top of that, he remains a lifelong enthusiast for all things engineering, aviation, gadgets and science fiction. On his website, he releases free-to-download interpretations of songs from the folk, gospel, sea-shanty, and calypso traditions, among others - under the umbrella of his "Folk Den Project." Therein, the 80-year-old former Byrd clarifies, contextualizes and canonizes his life story, perhaps working it out for himself just as much as he is for his audiences.Īnd as far as the folk canon that galvanized and mobilized him in the first place, he's far from finished with his decades-long analysis. This is wholly apparent in his one-man show currently criss-crossing the East Coast. And that maximum-curious mind is still humming. He wrote immortal odes to celestial voyages and alternate dimensions, and threw down incendiary "out" solos that would make John Coltrane proud. He electrified his beloved folk music to make it jangle and chime. A new coffee-table book about the early history of the band, The Byrds: 1964-1967, is available now.ĭecades ago, he helped codify the Rickenbacker 360/12 as a rock 'n' roll armament. This week, spoke with Roger McGuinn, a founding member of the Byrds and folk-rock pioneer who, at 80, remains active as a solo act. Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |