TRIBUTE TO THE BAND
WHO SAID GUYS CAN'T WEAR PINK?

THE BAND IS still alive and kickin' and frankly, it's never really been away. Oh sure, Robbie Robertson departed long ago (1976), but remaining original members Levon Helm (drums and vocals), Rick Danko (bass and vocals) and Garth Hudson (keyboards and horns) continue the legacy this Friday, May 10, at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. (Tragically, the fifth founding member, Richard Manuel, committed suicide in 1986.)

Despite Robertson's departure, bouts with drug and alcohol addiction, solo ventures and periods of inactivity, the remaining members re-emerged triumphantly in 1990. The Band solidified with the addition of permanent members Jim Wieder (guitar), Richard Bell (keyboards) and Randy Ciarlante (percussion and vocals), creating a line-up that has endured for nearly seven years now. With the addition of Ciarlante's high-harmony vocals, The Band regained the group's signature three-part vocal structure integral to their sound.

"We had to change the vocal concept around quite a bit," Ciarlante says via telephone hours prior to a gig in Orlando, Florida, "because replacing Richard Manuel is like trying to replace Michael Jordan. I'm a singer, but I just try to fill the chord out--to get in there somehow and make that blend happen because Rick Danko is really the hook when it comes to the vocals. He's an amazing guy for harmonies--he's got a timbre on his voice that's incredible."

The Band are touring in support of their latest album High On The Hog, released this past February, representing their only second studio album in two decades. Their 1993 comeback effort Jericho received world-wide critical acclaim, and sold surprisingly well. Despite nine of ten songs consisting of cover tunes, the unmistakable Band sound is clearly stamped on High On The Hog. The lack of original material is noticeable, but the performances are uniquely The Band's. Ciarlante makes no excuses for their choice of covers.

"The guys like singing 'em and we like playing 'em," he explains. "We can open up. Every year we're trying to develop a little bit more. The first three or four years, we were just sort of learning the ropes on how The Band was supposed to work and trying not to get too far away from what the boys had back in the '70s. When we did Jericho, I guess we got away from it a bit."

The Band sound simultaneously intense and relaxed with the familiar material of Bob Dylan ("Forever Young"), J.J. Cale ("Crazy Mama"), Blondie Chaplin ("Where I Should Always Be"), and the improbable En Vogue ("Free Your Mind").

"This particular record really got The Band driving the car, so to speak," Ciarlante elaborates. He credits producer Aaron L. Hurwitz for resurrecting their declarative style. "He has a keen ear on how to mix everything to make it sound like the old Band. That's what we're really trying to do. We're looking at this thing as a 15-round fight--we're only in the sixth or seventh round. We're developing musical content as we go. The next record we come out with might have 13 or 14 original songs on it depending on where everybody's head is at. We have quite a few original tracks that are still sitting on the shelf. They're not completed, but the basic tracks are down."

Manuel's haunting vocals are revived on the heartfelt ballad "She Knows," recorded at the Lone Star Cafe in New York City months before his death; unlike Robertson, a Band member for all eternity. High On The Hog is a rustic, earthy sounding album steeped in traditional Americana roots influences: blues, folk, R&B, gospel, country & western, and of course, rock and roll. The album's warm and funky simplicity rekindles memories of The Band's casual and familial approach to recording.

"THE BAND'S"  "NOTORIUS" PINK HOUSE

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The musical stew here is nearly as vibrant and refreshing as The Band's 30-year-old debut platter, Music From Big Pink--an album that singlehandedly spawned the "roots music" or "country rock" revolution which emerged in the late '60s. What they delivered was a new brand of rock and roll in which folk impressions and a foresight of fabled America met the '60s head-on. Their music offered a truly comprehensive North American sound--authentic imagery spiked with unbridled passion and poignancy. Brash performances and understated arrangements reflected the ensemble skill of the original Band.

The Band became one of the most successful and respected touring bands of the early '70s. The Band's faceless solidarity and steadfast desire to be indentified only by its body of work was probably the inspiration for its generic sounding name. Many fans and historians forget that The Band appeared at both Woodstock festivals (although conspicuously absent from the film and soundtracks).

Helm blamed Roberston for The Band's '76 break-up in his candid autobiography, This Wheel's On Fire, contending that Robertson monopolized songwriting credits when the entire band had contributed. Granted, Robertson wrote the bulk of the lyrics, but each member contributed to the formation of the songs, each played an assortment of instruments, and Helm, Danko and Manuel all shared lead vocal duties. If there was one trademark of The Band's sound it was the vocal arrangements. All three voices remained distinctive in the mix, and were not blended together to sound like their counterparts, The Beatles and Beach Boys.

Robertson's solo efforts are mediocre at best, further proof that The Band were truly a communal force. Ciarlante says he, Wieder and Bell don't care about the comparisons with the Robertson-era band.

"That's gonna happen till the end of time," he says matter-of-factly. "Those guys were what they were. Robertson is what he was. I'll tell you the truth, it doesn't really bother us at all. Maybe a few years back it was stifling for us, but we've grown out of that. Levon is our biggest ally. He's built The Band back again."

Ciarlante acknowledges the importance of The Band legacy, but is fully aware of the current line-up's contributions.

"When it comes to the music, Garth Hudson is the leader," he admits. "Rick and Levon are the leaders when it comes to the vocals. And when it comes to making them sound good we're (Bell, Weider and Carlante) the leaders. It's quite a gumbo. The more we play the stronger we get."

Just don't call 'em The Band, says Robbie. Call 'em The Band, period. And let's hope they play for 30 more years.

The Band performed Friday, May 10, at the Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress St. Special guest John Wesley Harding opened.

THE BAND
THE BAND:THE HOUSE:THE BIOS

Originally rising to prominence as Bob Dylan's backing group, the quintet known simply and authoritatively as the Band later emerged as one of rock music's most seminal acts. Crafting highly literate, austerely luminous songs probing the mythology of the American experience (the great irony of their work, given the Canadian origins of all but one of their members), their music fused the rural beauty of old-time country and blues with the spirit of rock 'n' roll to forge a uniquely evocative aesthetic far removed from the work of their contemporaries.

The Band comprised guitarist J.R. "Robbie" Robertson, pianist Richard Manuel, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko and drummer Levon Helm; Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter, and Manuel, Danko and Helm shared vocal duties. The group slowly came together under the tutelage of American rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, who first hired the Arkansas-born Helm before relocating to Toronto at the close of the 1950s, where he gradually recruited the other four musicians to round out his backing unit, dubbed the Hawks.

After scoring a 1963 hit with a cover of "Bo Diddley," they left Hawkins to tour on their own, performing on the American club circuit under names including Levon & the Hawks, the Crackers a nd the Canadian Squires while honing a loud, gritty repertoire heavily influenced by R&B, soul and gospel.

Upon recording two songs in New York, "Go Go Liza Jane" and "The Stones I Throw," Levon & the Hawks returned to Canada; while performing a club date they were spotted by fledgling blues singer John Hammond Jr., who recruited them to play on his 1964 debut single "I Wish You Would." Through Hammond, they were introduced to Dylan, who enlisted Robertson and Helm to play in his newly-electrified backing group for a controversial August, 1965 Forest Hills performance; Dylan and Helm soon had a falling out, but the rest of the group, with replacement drummer Mickey Jones, subsequently signed on for Dylan's landmark 1965-1966 world tour, sparking a longstanding collaboration that resulted in some of the most brilliant music in the rock canon.

In 1966, Dylan was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. During his recovery period he sought refuge in the secluded upstate New York area of Woodstock, and the Hawks (newly reunited with Helm) soon joined him there, taking up residence in a large house nicknamed Big Pink. A period of intense writing and recording followed, with the much-bootlegged results officially appearing in 1975 under the title The Basement Tapes; here the Hawks, soon to rechristen themselves the Band, began to develop the lyrical, pastoral style of their finest work, and they ultimately began crafting material independently of Dylan.

Finally, in 1968 the Band's debut LP Music From Big Pink appeared to widespread critical acclaim, with songs like "The Weight" and "This Wheel's on Fire" emerging as instant classics. Upon moving to Hollywood, the Band began recording their second LP, a self-titled masterpiece issued in 1969; a commercial success as well as a critical favorite, both "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek" became FM radio favorites, and established Robertson among the greatest songwriting talents of his generation.

The Band's first headlining tour followed, with life on the road subsequently becoming the subject of 1970's Stage Fright, which sacrificed the focus on history and myth so prevalent on the first two records in favor of a more contemporary vantage point. Cahoots followed a year later, and featured a guest appearance by Van Morrison on the track "4% Pantomime;" Rock of Ages, a two-record live set arranged by Allan Toussaint, was issued in 1972. For 1973's Moondog Matinee, an affectionate tribute to the formative days of rock 'n' roll named in honor of influential disc jockey Alan Freed's radio show, the Band dipped into their past to resurrect favorite chestnuts like "The Great Pretender" and "A Change Is Gonna Come."

They soon reunited with Dylan, backing him on 1974's studio LP Planet Waves as well as on the massive tour later documented on the Before the Flood live set. In 1975, the Band released Northern Lights--Southern Cross, their first collection of new material in four years; after Robertson produced Neil Diamond's 1976 effort Beautiful Noise, the group reconvened for Islands, issued in 1977.

Prior to Islands' release, the Band announced their break-up, with a celebratory final concert to follow at San Francisco's Winterland on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Director Martin Scorsese filmed the event, named The Last Waltz; a star-studded group of friends and admirers including Dylan, Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Muddy Waters also took the stage, yielding a three-LP set released in 1977. In the wake of the Band's demise, Helm pursued both acting and musical careers, while Danko quickly resurfaced with a 1977 self-titled solo LP; Hudson turned to session work, Manuel appeared to retire, and Robertson maintained a low profile, scoring several subsequent Scorsese films and starring in the 1980 feature Carny.

In 1983, the Band regrouped; only Robertson refused to take part in the proceedings, and was replaced by guitarist Jimmy Weider. The group spent the next several years on the road before tragedy struck when, on the night of March 4, 1986, Manuel committed suicide after a concert in Winter Park, Florida. In 1987 Robertson finally issued his eponymous solo debut; its lead track, "Fallen Angel," was a heartfelt tribute to Manuel, but while both Danko and Hudson made guest appearances on the record, Robertson again refused to rejoin when the remaining trio continued touring throughout the late '80s. In 1993 the Band issued Jericho, their first LP in 16 years; High on the Hog followed in 1996, and two years later they celebrated their 30th anniversary with Jubilation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All-Music Guide

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