Jutta wrote:Hello,
has somebody happened to listen to the latest BBC-interview, that was announced by Bart and would be so kind to sum up, what Chris said about the Fireflies? Maybe it´s too early, but do they have any concrete plans? I´m a bit curious.
Not that I´m expecting a big surprise. Stony Road was a surprise and so it was with Blue Guitars as well. Now I think it will be not that spectacular, but maybe like the way Chris played a song from Blue Guitars on a TV Show last year together with Tommy Willies and Sylvin Marc (you can still see the video on the ndr-homepage). It looked so simple - three men on the stage, two guitars, a banjo and just the Blues. But it was amazing, what they brought about with this modest equipment.
That was exactly what I want from the Fireflies now and I hope the band will be successful in any way.
Thanks for a reply!
Jutta
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Hi Jutta,
I've listened to this interview on BBC radio (still listed on Bart's front page!) and Chris Rea assured the interviewer (and the listeners alike) that he will continue playing music, except to small audiences and not so frequently as previously. It's all because of his doctors, who advised him to cut back on performing on long lasting tours, such as the "Farewell Tour." Chris pointed out to tremendous "logistic difficulties" each time he would go on the road, sending trucks with equipment and bringing the entire band with him, to all those far away places...
He referred to, what he called "the DCC" (difficult creative conditions), which he wanted to overcome, thus: he opened his own studio as well as set his own recording company. Chris said that he always wanted to do that, so (after many years) owing to his present (sound) financial situation, he was able to carry on his plans. He didn't spend all his money, he noticed, therefore he is financially secured. He made a point about his health condition which allows him to get off the drugs (and he said laughing "not the rock and roll drugs, you know..."), but medication prescribed to him by his doctors, when he is not touring and taking a few days off.
This is exactly what the new living plans are calling for, according to Chris.
Chris Rea recalled that "doing his old pop songs (at the "Farewell" tour) in a new blues version, was certainly a lot of fun, especially since he wrote all these songs long time ago, because they sounded so differently." But, from now on, he will play just gospel blues with his new band "the Memphis Fireflies."
That's about (more or less) what Chris had said in this interview.
And finally, one personal note: I have this feeling (and I certainly hope so) that Chris will still be traveling to different places (once to Muenchen/Munich and the next time to Amsterdam, for instance) with a small group of musicians, perhaps with only a banjo/harmonica player, a bassist and a drummer, so:
"they (could still) flew them in from a Hamburg strip,
taste of Duesseldorf still on their lips.
And on the bus there would be this friend of his (with whom)
he (Chris) would sit upfront and share a cigarette.
This friend would say (to Chris): do you remember, do you recall,
and Chris would answer: yeah, I remember, I remember it all...."
Take care,
Chris