This is the second part of an interview with Willy DeVille. Part one was published yesterday.
I used to really like the work of Tom Waits back in the late seventies and early eighties, that sort of trash can jazzy/blues, and I was thinking there were similarities in your music, maybe not style, but intent.
Yeah? Maybe it's something about the band and how we work together; when we set up on stage it's not with the audience in mind, but so that we can see each other, and look around and have fun… if we're not having fun, nobody else is going to have fun are they. So we want to be in contact with each other all the time.
Tom's music is like that too, there's that quality of being really tight, but so tight that you're loose.
I want to tell you something about Tom. Back in 1980 I was banned in Boston. I had done something or other foolish, and this guy, a booking agent who if you pissed off could guarantee you'd never work Boston, said "Willy DeVille will never work Boston again." Well Tom was playing in Cambridge Mass. and we were traveling with him. Tom refused to go on, not only if we weren’t allowed to play, but also if we didn't get equal billing. He really put his balls to the wall for us. This agent guy was making this huge fuss about it, but Tom just said "Willy gets equal billing or I don't play." So they gave us equal billing.
Can you do me a favour, I want you to say thank you to Tom from me in what you're writing. I want that out there. A lot of people don't understand where Tom's coming from, with some of his stuff, but I think when you’re an artist you just aren't going to be satisfied with doing the same stuff over and over again. You want to do something new to surprise people with. Whether they like it or hate it…
One of the first teachers I had always talked about making people have an opinion, you don't want anybody being ambivalent about your work
You had a good teacher
The last thing you want to hear is that your work is "nice".
Yeah that's for sure. You know and that's what people have got to understand about anybody who's serious about this stuff, it may sound selfish, but we can't keep doing the same stuff over and over again. We need to keep trying different things.
The curse of originality
Article comments
1 - Elvira Black
Terrific piece, Richard! Willy sounds like an incredible guy.
2 - BJ Drwenski
Great article Richard....it was just what a Montana woman starving for more Willy info needed!
3 - Sue Few
Just read your interview with Willy - great! I interviewed him at the beginning of this year, on the telephone, and I had to stop the interview early on for a moment because I FORGOT in was an interview, I felt as tho I was talking to an old friend...Willy understood, "You are..." which made me feel more comfortable and able to continue. He is smart, generous and kind & fun! - had so many interesting things to talk about - mainly his music and what he wants to do next. Your interview brought out the best in him.....thank you!
Sue Few