The Perennial Troubador Has - Not One - But TWO New Releases to Discuss!
The podcast of this interview appeared at The Vinyl District on November 3, 2023.
There’s something to be said about longevity, especially in an industry as cruel and fickle as music and entertainment. But there are those who have been able to maintain a career through all of the ups, downs, ins and outs; those who have stood the test of time no matter what curveballs have been thrown at them.
Originally hailed by the Village Voice as “the new Dylan'', Steve Forbert now enters what will be his fiftieth year of performing. After a hot breakout with Alive on Arrival it was his 1979 second album - Jackrabbit Slim - which featured his first shot at radio success, “Romeo’s Tune”. His output and touring continued during the early eighties and he even found himself playing the bouquet wielding boyfriend in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” video. Watch out for Captain Lou, Steve.
Over the years, he’s continually released albums (some 23 studio records) and toured for much of the time. Recent days find him in a simultaneously retrospective and forward-looking mode! Late last year, he released his most recent package of originals, Moving Through America. But this year, he has taken the opportunity to revisit one of his favorite albums, 1988’s Streets of This Town, even remixing and moving some sonic furniture around to fit his idea of how it should to contemporary ears.
So, join me and Steve Forbert as we discuss his lengthy musical journey, his latest record, and what it’s like to look back at his own work as a man with a few more miles on the touring odometer and many more experiences to share with those who have stayed loyal to him over the course of his notable musical journey.
Evan Toth:
Thanks so much for doing this. I have been listening to you for a long time and I'm excited about these two releases. We're actually here to talk about two releases today, folks should know. The first is your reissue of Streets of This Town, it's Streets of This Town Revisited, and look at this cool autograph. Somebody put a cool autograph on there for me.
Steve Forbert:
Okay.
Evan Toth:
Thank you. What skyline is this? What is that?
Steve Forbert:
Well, that's Nashville circa 1988.
Evan Toth:
That's right, Nashville. I guess, the big building they built since this album was recorded, I suppose. What's that? They have kind of a...
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, it's called the Batman Building.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
It's a Bell Communications building.
Evan Toth:
That's right. That's what I'm thinking of. So we're here to talk about your re-visitation of that and also your latest called Moving Through America, which is a little bit smaller because it's a compact disc, but it's right here. So tell everybody why now was the time. Now, it's not just a reissue of this album, it's called as I said, it's "Revisited." You can see that in red over there. So that's a selling point. So tell everybody, let's get started by just talking about this album and, what's revisiting? What are we revisiting and what was the process of doing this?
Steve Forbert:
What you have there is a remix from the original 24 tracks. Transferring them off the analog tape to digital and working with a friend of mine, Steve Puntolillo, here in New Jersey to remix the whole album. And we took off some keyboards, a few of them, and we made the whole thing clearer. And what I like to think of is a little more folk rock and straight-ahead Americana. So I don't think it was ever ridiculously frozen in time with some early '80s. It's not like I suddenly sounded like the Thompson Twins or something there. But we just took off some things that were a little bit heavier keys and stuff like that and made it more organic. So there you go.
Evan Toth:
And a remix is pretty big job to do. I know a lot of people do a lot of remasterings, but a remix is, you had to go in there and , I guess, you kind of stripped it down and really built it back up. And so why this album? Was there something about this record through the years that you felt like... I mean, I guess, because you did it, but why in particular this album that you really wanted to change up a little bit?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I think it's the songs are really strong. I love that record. And I think it makes a good overall statement. It's coming out from a time when the songs were written when I was unable to record. I was in kind of a recording limbo. And Gary Tallent was essential in getting us back into the studio and helping me get a new recording contract, which turned out to be with Geffen Records. So like I said, I feel good about the material and I just thought there might be a little bit more of a clear Americana record to expose from those sessions there. So that's what we did.
Evan Toth:
Right. And of course, you were born in Meridian, Mississippi, and you do have some strong Jersey roots. In fact, I'm joining you here in New Jersey myself. I'm up here in northern New Jersey. And when did you kind of begin to make New Jersey your home? Because you were in Nashville for a long time too, right?
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, I was in Nashville for more than 25 years. And I began seeing a girl up here, my girlfriend even now, Diane, lives near Asbury Park. And I began to see more of her and I moved up here in 2017 myself.
Evan Toth:
There's nothing better to get you to New Jersey than a girl in Asbury Park.
Steve Forbert:
Right. This started way back. I remember she called me after the 9/11 disaster. So that's how long we've been seeing each other.
Evan Toth:
And the album, of course, has some strong Jersey roots. The album, as you mentioned, was originally produced by Gary Tallent, who's known as Bruce Springsteen's bass player in the E Street Band. And Nils Lofgren also makes an appearance on the album, and it was also recorded in Long Branch, New Jersey. So I guess even before then you had a little Jersey experience.
Steve Forbert:
That's true. And I've been coming down to the Jersey Shore from way back Evan, when I lived in the Greenwich Village in the '70s and the early '80s. My idea of getting away from it all was getting in this van I owned and driving down to the shore, which a lot of people understand.
Evan Toth:
Yes, down the shore.
Steve Forbert:
Yeah. So I've been coming down here for decades now.
Evan Toth:
And of course in your catalog, you've got a great tune, "Strange Names, (New Jersey's Got Them)" And when I was doing my show on WFDU for years, I used to play that one a lot and listeners always appreciated it. That's a really fun tune, too. If people don't know it, they should check it out.
Steve Forbert:
Well, thank you. I won't talk too much about it if we're not going to just play it. They'll just have to check it out "Strange Names (North New Jersey's Got 'Em)".
Evan Toth:
That's right, and you didn't make any of the names up. So when people listen to the song, they should realize they're actual names here in New Jersey.
Steve Forbert:
Of course everybody in New Jersey will know that, but people in Arizona might not believe it. I mean, what? Piscataway, what kind of name is that? It's all in there. And of course it rhymes. I'm from Piscataway, I'm going that'a way. Whippany and Parsippany and there you go. Your first verse is done.
Evan Toth:
That's it. Right. There's a great amp tech in Whippany. In fact, I don't know if you've ever been there in your travels?
Steve Forbert:
Yep.
Evan Toth:
You know, Dave's Sound.
Steve Forbert:
Sure. I just picked up a '68 Super Reverb Fender amp from Dave about two months ago.
Evan Toth:
He knows his stuff. And if you need an amp in Whippany, that's where you go.
Steve Forbert:
Yeah. Or pretty much the whole tri-state area.
Evan Toth:
That's true. There aren't too many amp repair techs anymore. It's hard to find them. Everybody just throws everything in the garbage now. And speaking of guitars, the guitar work on this, I enjoy this record, and you're right, you've got some super solid tunes on this. And I do understand why you'd want to revisit this album, but in particular, just listening, the guitar work is excellent. You really got some great electric guitar lead sounds and who did a lot of the lead work on this album for you?
Steve Forbert:
Clay Barnes.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, really cool.
Steve Forbert:
I've known Clay forever. We started playing in bands together when we were both in the seventh grade, which is probably about 1967. And so you see this record was recorded in '87, so that's 20 years later. Clay played all the electric guitar on the Streets of This Town record. And he was also on the next record, which is called The American In Me.
Evan Toth:
Right. Yeah. Great sounds. People, if you're an electric guitar fan, you'll just enjoy a lot of these lead sounds in and of themselves. You captured some great tones.
Steve Forbert:
Well, yeah. And I should add that Clay is in my group now for...we have some dates in late October coming up. One at the Iridium in New York City and a thing on the south shore of Long Island, and then something out in Redding, Pennsylvania. I think this is October 21, 22, and 23. But just check my Facebook page anybody interested. But it's going to be full band shows and this very same person, Clay Barnes, will be on lead guitar.
Evan Toth:
And are you going to be revisiting a lot of the songs from Streets of This Town in those live shows and talking about it a little bit?
Steve Forbert:
Sure.
Evan Toth:
Just talk about, I love to think about... I just spoke to Graham Parker a few weeks ago and I just think about his latest album, and we talked about his long career, and the large catalog of music, and anyone looking at your personal history, they'd see a similar situation. You've got a lot of albums in the background. And how do you grapple with that longevity aspect of your career? Could you maybe, if you were talking to someone that were getting into live music playing or maybe being a songwriter, if you could look at yourself now younger, how do you cultivate a longtime career as a professional musician?
Steve Forbert:
Well, to me, it's all about the songs. I play guitar because I write songs. I'm not a musician's musician. I don't think of myself that way. I'm a songwriter. I play guitar and sometimes piano helps to facilitate songwriting. But if you've got a strong desire to write songs and keep on doing that through the decades, then that keeps you in the game. That's kept me in the game. It hasn't been my lead guitar playing.
Evan Toth:
Right, right. And also to follow up on your catalog, what's it like having created, and composed, and recorded so many different things? I'm sure there are things you've forgotten about or you'd like to revisit again, obviously, like this, or perhaps something maybe an audience member maybe reminds you of at a gig or something that you hadn't thought of in a while. How do you sort of choose what you want to highlight from the catalog and what to sort of leave on the shelf for a while? Especially in putting together your set lists for your live shows?
Steve Forbert:
Well, obviously there are things I have to do. "Going Down to Laurel" was the first song on the first record. People want to hear that, it's fairly popular. And of course, "Romeo's Tune," you don't want to leave that out.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
And then otherwise it goes all the way up to that record you showed a minute ago, Moving Through America. So, all points in between and they're just things I like to play that are always fun. I always have a lot of fun playing "Big City Cat" and people sometime request "Complications". Or I have fun playing a song called, "So Good to Feel Good Again" from 1995, Mission of the Crossroad Palms. And it's just... I guess you'd say it's the songs that either are requested by the audience or stand the test of time with me enough to make me want to play them.
Evan Toth:
And on this album on, Streets of This Town, one of my favorites is "I Blinked Once." That's the one really ringing in my head after I listened to this album. Could you talk a little bit about that song? I really like it.
Steve Forbert:
Well, it is a song about loss. It's a song about things being very temporary. It ranges from an airplane flying across the sky and then suddenly it's gone, to winning big money at the casino and losing all the money.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
And then it gets more serious. These are all different verses that each encapsulate an example of, "I blinked once and it was gone." And then you've got, I was looking back on the 1970s, Evan, at that point, and then it goes to an old man lying there breathing his last breaths on a worn out cot and talking about a gun he'd shot. I blinked once and he was gone just like that. So, it gets pretty, it's pretty serious there at the end, but it is just a series of examples of things that, poof, disappear on you.
Evan Toth:
Yeah. Before you know it. Is that something, is that a song that you have in your live set currently? Or do you do that one?
Steve Forbert:
Yeah.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, that's a good one. Do you have a song, on this album in particular, that you love?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I like to play... I don't often do it, but I'm pretty fond of "Search Your Heart." And it's unique in that it's got this super long sort of train of thought. We would call it a middle eight, but I think it's really not eight bars, it's 28 bars or so. It's a little out of the ordinary, but that's a favorite.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, it looks like that's the last song on the album. And of course it was... Was this the original master, was by Ted Jensen? The great Ted Jensen who's still mastering things now. He's also famous for mastering most of the Billy Joel catalog. I think he did most of those original masters. But was that the original or the revisited version?
Steve Forbert:
The original was mastered by Greg Calbi, as I recall.
Evan Toth:
Oh, okay. Good. Cool.
Steve Forbert:
Okay. He's got quite a reputation even more now than he did in 1988.
Evan Toth:
Absolutely.
Steve Forbert:
And of course, Ted mastered my first record, which was called Alive on Arrival. And one of his cohorts, George Marino, mastered Jack Rabbit Slim. Then Greg Calbi mastered Little Stevie Orbit. Then Greg Calbi mastered... No, then Ted Jensen mastered the fourth one. I could go on from there.
Evan Toth:
Right. Those are your guys.
Steve Forbert:
It was the Sterling Sound Guys and I wanted to check each one of them out and they're all three excellent. And I've just sort of struck up a dialogue here in the last few years with Ted Jensen who's located in Nashville, and we have that in common. It's in my past. And so yeah, Ted has mastered the new record, which is Moving Through America, and I'm just very happy with his work.
Evan Toth:
How much do you think about sound? In many ways, a lot of your recordings, it's a very straight ahead production. You're very much obviously a songwriter, so a lot of it is vocal, vocal acoustic focused. But how do you think about sound? Do you like the sound of other records or is it something that you're not really crazy about too much?
Steve Forbert:
Well, there are certain records that I think sound good to my ear. One of them is the original Thunderclap Newman, "Something in the Air" which was on there. I think the only Thunderclap Newman record (Hollywood Dream).
Evan Toth:
Yeah, I have it back here.
Steve Forbert:
I'll bet you do.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, I do.
Steve Forbert:
It was produced by Pete Townsend, and I just love the sound of that record. I also liked the sound of George Harrison, "When We Was Fab". That's a good Jeff Lynne production there.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, I love that song.
Steve Forbert:
I like the straight-ahead sound of the Commodores, Sail On. That's just a beautiful straight-ahead meat and potato sounding record. Those are some things that come to mind.
Evan Toth:
Right. And what do you think about the circle of vinyl coming back and here we are all these years later, when this was originally released, I'm sure it had a vinyl issue, but at the time it was released, of course, CDs were coming out and they were the new big thing and here we are holding that record in a new vinyl format. Now, how do you feel about the vinyl resurgence in the 21st century?
Steve Forbert:
Well, it's funny. Now it takes a lot longer. I guess to make records, you have to wait sometimes five or six months-You probably know that, to get your vinyl these days. So you kind of have to plan your release on that, which is the situation now. I guess it's because this resurgence in vinyl caught a lot of people by surprise and they had closed down a lot of these pressing plants for phonograph records. So you don't have as many plants as you used to. I can tell you that we pressed this Moving Through America in the Czech Republic, Evan. So you not only have to wait for them to press it, you have to wait for it to be shipped here.
Evan Toth:
Right. The whole thing takes a while. But are you surprised that there's a modern-day interest for it, or do you love it just as much as vinyl aficionados do also?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I like it. To me, it speaks of paying attention. You don't put a record on...you might put a record on to do the dishes or something, I don't know. But usually if you put an album on, it represents a certain amount of commitment. You're going to sit there and listen to a side of the album probably, and you may turn it over and listen to all of it. Honestly, I'm more of a CD guy because I find my best chance at having time to listen to things is in the freaking car.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
I seem to always be busy in the last few years when I'm at home and I don't play as many records as I used to. Which I used to play a lot of records. And my collection is in the realm of what's behind you there.
Evan Toth:
Yeah, and you've still got it today? You've still got it all at home?
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, I've saved it all and kept it in alphabetical order. So I'm very proud of that. And I'll listen to a side just for love, Quicksilver Messenger Service. I happen to love the sound of the first Steppenwolf record. That's a very honest sounding record with "Born to Be Wild" and other songs on there. Berry Rides Again, a tribute to Chuck Berry. So I like the thing, but I don't mind CDs at all. I'm not disparaging about compact discs, I still buy them.
Evan Toth:
Right. And to segue into compact discs, we are also here to talk a little bit about this new album, Moving Through America. And you've been moving through America for many years, since 1978 or whatever, since I was born. And you're a bit of... Obviously you're a troubadour, and is that sort of the thought here? Or I'm just curious about the title, I guess?
Steve Forbert:
Well, of course it's something I could stand behind it for sure. It's not as if I called the record "Girl from the North Country" or something.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
Moving Through America, that's me. I posted on Facebook today a postcard I collected on the first tour in 1978 when I was promoting Alive on Arrival and going through a lot of things for the first time. Seeing places like Portland, Oregon and towns in Michigan, Lansing, Michigan. But anyway, I collected a bunch of postcards you would get at the truck stops. And there was that one of the cowboys sitting on what was called a jackalope. And I just thought that was hilarious. And then I had my own face transposed onto that postcard of a cowboy sitting on a jackalope. And that was included in the packaging for Jackrabbit Slim, which was the record I made after that tour.
Evan Toth:
Right.
Steve Forbert:
So I mean, yeah, I've been at it a while.
Evan Toth:
And what do you think people would be surprised about to learn from a musician? Again, back to the many albums that you've produced, and the many things you've released, and the many songs you've written. What do you think people would be surprised to learn about a life on the road as a musician? What are some of your takeaways, your real inspiration from those years of experiences on the road and in front of countless audiences over the years?
Steve Forbert:
It's just a way of life. You're kind of asking a fish what he thinks of water. It's just like that for me. I write the songs, but then that's not good enough. You want to see who responds to them, and you want to know if you have an audience, who is that audience? Most of mine are people that have been with me apparently since you were born. And they often say, they saw me at college, this, that, and the other, and they'll mention certain concert halls, and I remember them. So that's been a lot of it.
So what is it like? The songs tell the stories of what I'm going through through these albums? To me, that's what I'm saying is the process of going through these decades myself and what my observations are. And sometimes it's lighthearted and sometimes it's serious, but hopefully people can relate to that and they see something of value in what the songs say. And then I'd run all over the place and play the songs.
Evan Toth:
Right. I think one of my favorites on the new album is "Buffalo Nickel", which happens to be the first track on here. And a lot of people aren't going to know what a buffalo... I happen to know what a buffalo nickel is, but I'm sure a lot of people don't know what a buffalo nickel is.
Steve Forbert:
Well, I think they were minted between, I'm going to say, something like 1910 and 1938. I'm not sure the exact stretch of buffalo nickels, but as the song says, on one side there's a profile of an Indian, and on the other side is a buffalo. And it's pretty damn ironic. I just got to thinking about it a few years ago, and I wrote a song about the irony of a... Surely everybody knows what a buffalo nickel is? I'm going to hope they do anyway, because I'm saying all this, Evan.
Evan Toth:
Or a copper penny?
Steve Forbert:
A copper penny.
Evan Toth:
Copper penny, right?
Steve Forbert:
Sure. I remember the steel ones from World War II. But anyway, for a while they did. There was copper shortage, got to make those bullet casings for the bullets. But anyway, I digress. So that's the song. It's just pretty doggone ironic that for decades there, the first half of the 20th century, we minted this coin as if we'd been really nice to Indians and really as if the United States government has been really treating Indians wonderfully, and as if everybody had really been nice to the buffalo herds that used to be out there in the Great Plains...but, I guess the millions buffalo. And so there's the song.
Evan Toth:
Yeah. And what else? Tell us a little bit more about putting this album together? Maybe from the recording aspect of it, or what was the approach in the studio? How did you think about producing the album, putting it together?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I would have to answer that question starting with Steve Greenwell, who produced the record in its entirety. He knows that record better than me because he's technically involved in the recording and the mixing. And he's there when I come in and bring the songs, he and I go through the songs together, and that's the process of these records. I bring in songs that I'm even working on, and he allows me to record what I've got, and sort of map out what the rhythm of it is and what the proper key is, and what's going to be the mood of it, the feel of it. So Steve Greenwell produced that record, so he would have as much to say in a different way as I would about those songs. So I'm going to talk about if it was me, I'm just talking about the lyrical content, really.
Evan Toth:
Right, right.
Steve Forbert:
So there's kind of a portrait, to me, of my looking around and moving through America. Some examples of a people, personalities.
Evan Toth:
And your voice still sounds great.
Steve Forbert:
Thank you.
Evan Toth:
Listening, we love the Steve Forbert voice. It's so unique. It's like a well-weathered baseball glove, or a leather jacket, or a delicious bottle of wine. So, have you done anything with your voice or your vocals to just keep them where they are? Or, how have you kept that individual sound over the years?
Steve Forbert:
Well, honestly, it's all I've got to work with anyway, so I was able to keep it. And I don't have the array of vocal stylings that David Bowie could conjure up. I do not. But I quit drinking in '93, and that increased the likelihood that I wouldn't be doing a lot of unnecessary screaming and getting wild and crazy. So that's one part that I would say is just I don't like to be very loud. I don't play loud music, really. I don't like to play loud and I don't like to scream.
Evan Toth:
Right, right. Well, especially as you get older, I'm sure you and your audience too, that you want to absorb the nuances of your tunes in a different way than back in the wild late '70s and early '80s, right?
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, I saw Neil Young and Crazy Horse doing Russ Never Sleeps at Madison Square Garden. That was pretty loud. I wouldn't want to go to concerts that loud often.
Evan Toth:
Right, right, right. Do you have a favorite tune on the new album? A favorite song or two that you really are proud of when you listen to it, or maybe when you revisit it in your live shows?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I do like "Buffalo Nickel" a lot. The title song Moving Through America is about a trip I took, I guess it was around 2017. I went out to the Midwest and places like Reynoldsburg, Ohio and Fort Wayne, Indiana, on up through Michigan to Milwaukee, and Madison, Wisconsin, I should say. And it's a true story. I did a few shows with Leo Kottke during that tour, but that song is just an account of that. I wrote that all, just wrote it down, because I was looking at these towns, and those are things you notice about... Fort Wayne, Indiana is a railroad junction town, and it really is. And Madison, Wisconsin has, it's a college town of course, and there's a lot of drinking going on up there in Wisconsin. And Madison is a town just loaded with the neon signs advertising alcohol.
Evan Toth:
Especially on football days.
Steve Forbert:
Sure. And when you're not drinking, you've quit drinking, you tend to notice these signs more than ever because they're all just kind of saying, "Hey..."
Evan Toth:
"Come on in. The water's fine."
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, yeah. Madison, Wisconsin is a town of neon signs and glowing signs of neon selling liquor, beer, and wine. Cocktail from the '50s with an olive in a glass/an all day long suggestion that keeps flashing as you pass. Yeah.
Evan Toth:
Right, right. Yes. The fictitious romance of alcohol.
Steve Forbert:
Yeah.
Evan Toth:
Yeah. Well, cool. So you've got these two... I mean, it must be exciting to have two significant projects under your belt here as you go out on the road for the fall and winter, I suppose? What's the plan? I know you mentioned just a little bit earlier, a few of the gigs coming up, and of course people should check out your website and Facebook as you mentioned, but are there any shows coming up that you're excited about, or you excited to bring this to the audiences, or what's the feeling?
Steve Forbert:
Well, I should say thanks to Blue Rose music, Joe Polleto and Michelle Garramone, who helped me get these releases out. They're dealing with the actual pressing and getting those records I mentioned from the Czech Republic, and making it happen like that. But I'm going to be doing shows in New England early next year, and I'm going to be playing everywhere, from Elkton, Maryland soon to... Like I'm saying, Plymouth, Rhode Island, or it's Plymouth, Massachusetts. Anyway, Plymouth Rock.
Evan Toth:
Plymouth Rock, wherever Plymouth Rock is.
Steve Forbert:
Yeah, I've been there before. It's the Spire Theater and it's in Massachusetts. So I'm going to go to Texas in November and play. I can tell you I'm going to play Fort Worth, and Austin, and Houston, and Baton Rouge, and finally New Orleans. I mean, I haven't played New Orleans in about 15 years.
Evan Toth:
Wow.
Steve Forbert:
So that's set. And I'm going to Florida in January, I think, or maybe February. But I'm going to do four shows down there, so I'll be all over the place. I'm going to do a Midwest tour next year, too. And I'm looking ahead to, believe it or not, autumn of 2024, going over to England for a couple of weeks. So I'll be getting around and certainly moving through America. I'm going to start in Minneapolis, and go to Madison, and Milwaukee, and Chicago, and worked my way to Columbus, Ohio. So all of these things are coming up.
Evan Toth:
Well, listen, with all that travel under your belt for 40 plus years and all these current travels, being a lifelong New Jersey resident, I'm honored that you, after seeing all of the world many times over, you are settled here in New Jersey.
Steve Forbert:
Well, thank you. Yeah, it works really good. A lot of my work is around here. This is a very tuned-in part of the country. It still is. It has been since those old days of WMMR and WIOQ in Philadelphia, and of course WNEW in New York City. And that's been a large part of the attraction for me. It's just the network of tuned into the music.
Evan Toth:
Well, Steve Forbert, I thank you very much for your time. I wish you the best of luck with both of the albums that you've got to talk about this season. And stay safe there on the road, and we'll see you around.
Steve Forbert:
Okay, thank you, Evan. My pleasure.