A Visit with Scarlet Rivera to Discuss Her New EP and Other Matters of the Heart

Most long-time Dylan fans know Scarlet Rivera for her sizzling violin licks that gave the album Desire its unique sound, and for her on stage persona throughout the Rolling Thunder Revue. I first met her when she came to the Northland to perform at a kickoff concert for Duluth Dylan Fest in 2012. In 2013 she returned for another Dylan Fest and again in 2014 and '15. In the summer of 2016 she joined Eric Andersen for a special concert at Weber Hall. For many here it almost seems as if she’s now family, the sibling who moved away but is still part of us.

April 17 Scarlet released a new collection of songs in an EP titled All of Me. The song's themes reveal the themes of her life, many of which we touched on in this interview here.

EN: You’ve been all over the world since you were last here.

Scarlet Rivera: I had a wonderful time going out with Eric Andersen. Made a lot of wonderful friends in Italy, Switzerland and finished by going to Greece. I did a solo concert in Athens with well known Greek keyboardist Alexandros Hahalis, a long time musician friend.

People say retire and (I say) what do you mean? Are you going to sit in a rocking chair. No, no.

EN: You were born Donna Shea. Where?

Scarlet: That happened in Joliet, Illinois, a nondescript little town in Middle America. What was distinctive about it, and other little towns back then, was how they were supported by government funding to have bands and orchestras and the arts. We had a full orchestra and a full band from grade school through high school. This was not a fancy private school, but was what public schools were like at the time.

EN: Sadly, things have changed. Tell us about your first solo album, Scarlet Rivera.

Scarlet: It’s interesting that several distinguished music critics in recent years—including Waylon Jennings Jr, have gone on and on about how it was ahead of its time and how progressive it was. Shooter Jennings went on for ten minutes about how much he liked my first album. He wanted to know who the guitar player was on that album because he wanted to give a shout out. I said ‘There was no guitar player because it was me.’ Jennings likened the music to Blue Oyster Cult, Frank Zappa and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

When I travel around the country and the world people still come up to me with copies of that first album to sign, in pristine condition.

EN: I like your Broadsword and Serpent Logo. Does it emerge from your Celtic roots?

Scarlet: The broadsword is definitely symbolic. Everything I was painting on my face at the time was symbolic, and the things I painted were all symbols of something.

I guess you would liken my connection with the sword to something akin to Excalibur, which is a magical sword, a sword of nobility, protection and strength. I needed that when I walked out on that stage every night. I had the strength, lived up to the noble level of standing next to Bob, the magic of it, him and I playing together.

EN: So, you’ve now released a new collection of songs, an EP titled All of Me. I’d like to learn more about some of these. First off, tell me about the song "Dust Bowl."

Scarlet: It is a nod to Woody Guthrie, paying homage to Woody Guthrie and the enlightenment that he brought. And how he uplifted the common man in their struggle and their plight, memorialized them in all his songwriting, including the great difficulties of the people who suffered and endured the dust bowl, and the consequences of having to be displaced from their land, homes and farms.

I visited the Guthrie Center just last year in April, a tremendously moving experience. The exhibit on the Dust Bowl itself brought me to tears. I was overwhelmed by being in the Center because I realized I was standing in the line of footsteps from him to Bob Dylan to myself – very big footsteps to be standing in, even to have been a small part.

As you know I’m a real big environmentalist. I care very passionately about these issues, and am very upset about the environmental destruction of our planet through carelessness and greed, what’s happening in the Amazon and what’s happening in the ocean. The battle that’s happening is connected to the dust bowl really, because ultimately--the difference is that what caused the dust bowl, the farmers didn’t know that the practices they were doing were going to be bad. They really did it innocently. Had they known, they never would have done it that way, because the land meant everything to them.

But the people, corporations and industries that are destroying the land today are doing it with full knowledge of what they are doing. It’s short term greed, and they know that they’re causing environmental destruction. It’s right in your face and about as visible as you can get.

Salvation could be fading, Silent Spring draws near, 
Wild voices crying as they disappear.

We hope that we will do something to stop this silent spring.

EN: What is 50/50 about?

Scarlet: It really is about women, what I’d like to see: women across the board, around the world, at the table of power in every country. Not just little PTA meetings, and social clubs. I’d like to see more women presidents, and prime ministers, heads of state, congressmen, heads of corporations. The point of view of women in general, they are the nurturers. The Feminine Principle is one of life, not of grave death to the planet.

Also, to have an equal say about wars, or whether all weapons should be in the hands of anyone. These are areas where if women had 50 percent of the say, the world could change Tomorrow.

EN: My favorite song here in this set was Sacred Wheel… Can you talk about the backstory on that?

Scarlet: That’s one of the songs that led me to want to write lyrics more. And really step up, and step into and overcome any resistance I had to wanting to be the lead singer, or stepping into that zone of singer/songwriter as the lead, because I really didn’t have that much confidence in my voice. I was overruled by feeling that I had a story to tell, and something to say. And that particular story is about someone who passed away suddenly, so the opening line is “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose; the change in life you do not choose.”

And all the heartache of losing something. It’s not just necessarily a person, but all the things we hoped for or worked for and that sometimes don’t work out, this is all--in the end--on the wheel of life….the sacred wheel going round and round...like Joni’s Circle Game.

EN: You were at that Joni Mitchell 75th birthday. That must have been a special event.

Scarlet: It was spectacular. Probably one of the most spectacular concerts I’ve ever been a part of. It was so meaningful to me because it was in honor to collectively uplift Joni with some of the finest singer/songwriters of our day. The entire purpose was to honor how much Joni’s work and legacy influenced them and it meant to them, and they wanted her to know in her lifetime that she meant that much to them.

EN: She was pretty amazing. How is she doing?

Scarlet: She’s actually doing well. She’s worked extremely hard and she has wonderful caregivers, about the best anyone could hope to have. Wonderful nurses, wonderful therapists. And she’s diligently worked hard with them for several years now. She’s coming back to tremendous strength in every way. She’s a warrior.

EN: Did you get a chance to see any of Bob’s concerts in 2019.

Scarlet: In person? No, I wasn’t able to.

EN: He was incredible.

Scarlet: He always is. I mean, the people who underestimate Bob are like people who underestimate a wily fox. They’ll say with a poison pen, “Oh, this one’s not good,” or whatever. But they will eat their words shortly.

EN: So when I played All of Me, I was expecting some kind of throwback like Bob’s Fallen Angels. It isn’t. It’s one of your own songs. Can you talk about it?

Scarlet: That was the song that really led to this going into full motion. For becoming a real EP. It was the first one I wrote, that led the way to all the other ones after that. It’s kind of a self-declaration of being right here right now, talking about all the mistakes I made in my life, going down crooked highways here and there, but ultimately in the end I walked out of hell with a song to sing and a story to tell.

EN: We’re glad you’re still telling stories.

Scarlet: I actually said I drew my bow, which was, you know, the violin bow, an analogy to an archer drawing his bow and arrow, aiming at something that’s going out to the heart to you and other people, but is also the arrow inward as well.

EN: In the video for Lady Liberty there’s a brief image of a newspaper that has a headline Fallen Angels. A nod to Bob or did that just happen as a coincidence?

Scarlet: A nod. No coincidence.

EN: Any final thoughts?

Scarlet: Bob’s childhood friend. Larry Kegan, whom I remained good friends with till the day he died, always hoped and wanted to see me play with Bob one more time. Before the game is through, if I had a secret hope, it would be amazing if it did happen. It would be a beautiful bookend to my career.

I was not a shy flower on stage. The chemistry was blazing and amazing. You can’t pay somebody to make that happen. There was something profound and unique to our connection. It would be wonderful if fate should allow a reunion, whether for a concert or a song.

On another level I’m not happy with what’s happening on a global level with how we’re all having to be shut in, but I think it’s bringing a lot of inward reflection, on how something so microscopic could lead to such an epic shift. But that shift in the negative can be harnessed to the positive, to wanting a desire for humanity to want to live in peace and harmony with the natural world when we come out of this.

We cannot afford to have the whales and creatures in the ocean to die of plastic. We cannot allow the beautiful parrots and jaguars and all the creatures of the Amazon to be burned and disappear. So I’m hoping people will take a real strong stand for clean air, clean water, clean food and the protection of all the wild creatures.

EN: My biggest concern is the less privileged who will suffer as a result of this time.

Scarlet: I worry about that tremendously. The one percent or small percent have had it figured out that no matter what happens they would be fine. For those who only have a month or two savings, they’re being really hit hard. And I have been doing fundraisers for things like that. I’ve raised over a hundred thousand dollars going to caregivers here and L.A. hospitals, nurses, small business and families.

EN: Those are the kind of stories we need to hear more of. We hear panic in the news generating panic and we don’t hear enough of the other.

Scarlet: I always wish somebody like Oprah would have come out with a Good News channel, with nothing but 24/7 positive news. Because really there is positive news on a global level, always, that never gets covered. There are people inventing wonderful things, wonderful humanitarians, philanthropists. You hear about it one at a time, but it would be great if it were a constant stream. The ratings would be so tremendous the other ones would collapse.

EN: For what it’s worth, we’ve missed you up here in the Northland. We’ll look forward to when you come back.

Scarlet: Minnesota is like a second home to me. I’m so fond of coming there. Love the people, love the culture. I love how proactive people are for the environment and the passion for music and the arts. I can’t wait to come back.

* * * * 

Related Links
Hear samples snippets from All of Me here: https://www.scarletriveramusic.com/
CD and other formats available here on Amazon.
Scarlet's Gallery: https://www.scarletriveramusic.com/gallery.html
Scarlet Rivera: Dream-Weaving Violinist (2012)
Scarlet Rivera Shares "Bob brought a higher part of myself that I didn't know existed."
FB Video clip--Scarlet invites you to hear her new release:
https://www.facebook.com/scarlet.rivera.921/videos/2709975175955398/
Hurricane, Live on TV 1975 
What's the difference between a Single, an EP and and Album?

Louie Kemp To Visit Duluth as Part of His Dylan & Me Book Launch in Two Weeks

RTR luggage tags were designed by Louie Kemp for the tour.

Every picture tells a story, they say. For me, the two most telling photos about Louie Kemp and his new book Dylan & Me are the one from Herzl Camp where the two met when they were just kids, and any of the shots from three decades later when Bob was best man at Louie's wedding here in Duluth.

On August 15 Louie Kemp will be sharing more stories and photos here in a special evening featuring music and a book signing as part of the John Bushey Memorial Lecture Series. It's being billed as an Encore for the memorial lectures usually held in conjunction with Duluth Dylan Fest each May.

Herzl Camp with Larry, Bobby and Louie center stage.

"He was twelve years old and he had a guitar. He would go around telling everybody that he was going to be a rock-and-roll star. I was eleven and I believed him.” -- Louis Kemp

The full title of the book is Dylan & Me: 50 Years of Adventures. The event will take place at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum on the evening of Thursday, August 15. Hosted by the Duluth Dylan Fest committee, the John Bushey Memorial Encore Lecture with Louie Kemp will give Northlanders the opportunity to hear first-hand never-before-heard stories about Bob Dylan.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. there will be a reception featuring music by Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo with guest guitarist Dave Bennett at 5:30 p.m.  What makes this a cool deal is that Gene LaFond used to perform with the late Larry Kegan who was also a buddy of Bobby Zimmerman from Herzl Camp days. There's a sense of reunion taking place because Larry and Geno were there at the beginning portion of the Rolling Thunder Revue of which Louie was the producer.

The release of Martin Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue documentary in June was the perfect kickoff for Louie's book release. Both Larry Kegan and Louie briefly fill the screen at different moments. In one scene Bob Dylan and Larry are in the back of a van singing a Hank Williams song, Larry the big guy in the red shirt. If you had X-ray vision you could see Gene LaFond on the other side of the wall, driving the van as the two old friends sing together.

Best man (Left) at Louie's wedding, 1983.

Louie Kemp's Dylan & Me promises to deliver stories not shared in the multitude of other Dylan bios. One chapter is devoted to the night he and Bob attended the Winter Dance Party at the Duluth Armory just days before "the music died."

The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Q&A period and book signing.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to see the William Pagel Archives’ Bob Dylan Exhibit featuring original handwritten lyrics, personal letters and other rare documents. Pagel was recently in the news when he acquired the house Abe and Beatty Zimmerman called home where Bob grew up in Hibbing. About ten years ago Pagel purchased the Zimmerman's Duluth home where Bob lived till he was six.

The Kemp name is well-known in Duluth. Louie's grandfather had a Lake Superior fishing operation the grew to be one of the largest and most successful in the country. Louie left college shortly before graduating college to take over the family business, expanding it into Alaska. His 350-foot mothership, the M/V Bering Trader, was the largest-capacity seafood processor in Alaskan waters in its day. An ancillary enterprise, the Louis Kemp Seafood Company, created the thriving market for imitation King Crab in the United States. (Ask me about my crab quiche sometime. It's yummy.)

All this to say Louie Kemp, whose roots were here, is returning August to share stories from his years of friendship with Bob, and the public is invited.

EdNote: The William Pagel Archives exhibit is free to the public, on display till August 15. Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is located at 902 East First Street in the former Christian Science church building across from St. Lukes Hospital.

How the Rolling Thunder Revue Was Different from Any Other Dylan Road Tour

Ok, let's face it. There was never anything quite like the Rolling Thunder Revue (RTR) before or since. A cross between a traveling three-ring circus and a true magical mystery tour, the RTR produced a robust quantity of music and memories for everyone who was part of it and all who experienced it.

With the release of Martin Scorsese's film on the RTR this week, much has been written about it already. Anticipation had been exceedingly high and, like the Tour itself, its apparently a film as unusual as the spirit of the RTR. Fake interviews with people who weren't there, as if they had been? Is this a cross between Zelig and Magical Realism?

While the atmosphere is heated, it seems a good time to add two cents' worth of additional insight from an angle not being fully noted. Much has already been made of the return of Joan Baez after a ten year hiatus. Their performances together were electric, as the film reveals.

The madcap manner in which the tour unfolded has also been remarked upon, including the small venues that enabled a far more intimate experience for the audiences who gathered to see and experience this adventure.

A third feature of this road show was how comprehensively it was filmed. For this reason Martin Scorsese had more than enough material to work with -- maybe too much, though some would say there's never too much Bob--as he reviewed, edited and assembled this production. No, he was not there to direct cameramen during the tour as with The Last Waltz, but he did have a clear line of sight on what was possible to achieve with more than 100 hours of film footage.

Designed by Louis Kemp, official luggage tag of the RTR.

A fourth feature of the RTR that is most unusual is how it varied in who the players were depending on when or where you saw it. When you buy tickets to a concert that is part of an ongoing tour, you pretty much expect the band today to be the same as what audiences saw in Toronto last week. But no, this traveling circus had different musicians and different setlists throughout. (Of course Dylan went on to make this a signature feature of his shows in later years, mixing up setlists, tempos and even lyrics at times.)

A fifth feature of this tour was the flavor a young Scarlet Rivera brought to the mix. Her sizzling violin was something altogether new, like a special seasoning or secret sauce on a meal at a high class Michelin-star restaurant. That Dylan discovered her almost by accident in Greenwich Village--Scarlet calls it fate--and inserted her into the mix that produced his deceptively powerful album Desire, is a much longer tale, a portion of which you can read here from the mouth of Scarlet herself.

Herzl Camp in Wisconsin. Bobby Zimmerman flanked
left and right by buddies Larry Kegan and Louis Kemp.

Sixth,  I've not seen anyone note that two friends from Bob's Camp Herzl days were there for a portion of the tour. I think it says a lot about Dylan's character that is not often remarked upon. His early friendships weren't discarded when destiny swept him up to lofty heights on fame's wheezy waxen wings.

This seems unusual. Bob was 12 when they met. Enduring friendships developed. 22 years later Louis Kemp became producer/organizer of the Rolling Thunder Revue, playing an instrumental role on several levels. (Eight years later Bob would be best man at Louis' wedding here in Duluth.)

Louis Kemp (R) with Scarlet Rivera

Young Larry Kegan and Bob--Herzl Camp days.

Another of Bob's close friends from camp, Larry Kegan, also participated in the first week of the RTR beginning in Massachusetts. At age 16 Larry had been hurt  in a diving accident, which left him in a wheelchair for life. Music was an important component of his life, and Larry was a valued friend so that Dylan invited Larry to attend Bob's shows for a week at a time several times a year for the next 15 years.

Thus it was that Gene LaFond, who was a good friend of Larry's who also performed with him, had the privilege of being there for the first half dozen shows of the RTR beginning in Worcester, Mass. Gene drove the handicap van with Larry in the back. Bob rode back there for one section of the trip and they were all singing together.

How he got to be there at the launch of the RTR carnival went like this. "Larry Kegan, Bob's good friend, told me, 'There's this circus going on out there. Let's go,'" LaFond told me this week. "It was the first time I met Bob."

Gene sketched out details about how "the film crew was rolling constantly. Costumes every night... and a wide range of incredible talent. It was magical," he said. "They were having so much fun doing it. It was just exciting. They were really having a good time and it showed."

As a result of this experience on the tour "Rambling Jack and Scarlet became friends of mine over the years since," LaFond said.

If you follow through and acquire the full set of CDs from the RTR, you'll hear Larry singing "Your Cheating Heart" with Bob on disc 14, track 8.

LaFond shared how the RTR went from town to town  invading small venues. He also described his own experience. "It was incredible... Meeting everybody backstage... we (Larry and I) had access to everyone and everything. The people were so nice to us. People didn't know who we were but they knew we were Bob's friends and were really nice to us."

As for Louis, there were a lot of moving parts to manage. "That's where I met him," Gene says, "I didn't see him all too much, he had a lot on his plate. But I've known him over the years."

The past few years Louis has been assembling his own account of the lifelong friendship he's had with Bob. The soon to be published Dylan & Me will have a lot of Dylan fans sifting for new insights and stories. The RTR will be a portion of it.

Related Links
Rolling Stone story about Louis Kemp's book Dylan & Me. 
Randy Lewis in LA Times: Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue: A user’s guide
Reuters story about the Scorsese film, by Alex Dobuzinskis

This brief blog entry could easily have been titled, "Five Reasons RTR Was Different from Any Other Road Show Ever" but then... if

More Bob Dylan Books To Ask For On Your Next Birthday

"Another Way of Seeing"

Assuming you're a regular user of Amazon.com--and I realize there are some who are boycotting--then you're likely receiving periodic emails like this one that I received this morning:

Hello Ed Newman,
Amazon has new recommendations for you based on your browsing history.

Usually they are on point, though on occasion they will include one of my own books in the list for some reason. This morning's list featured eight new books about one of our favorite topics, most released within the past year.

What interests me is how many different ways people have written about the Nobel Prize winner. Each author must have an angle that differentiates him or her from all the other Bob books. As for the readers of Dylan, most are looking for new ideas and insights, not rehashed material from the already substantial inventory. Here are the titles Amazon suggested for me, plus one more that I know a few people are looking forward to this fall.

Dylan by Schatzberg
This is the guy who did the photo shoot from which the Blonde On Blonde cover germinated. The book includes key Dylan interviews, a new one with the author and lots more.

Might make a good companion to Daniel Kramer's year of documenting Dylan during those iconic Sixties. (cf. the two images in this blog post about the current exhibit in Duluth featuring a portion of the Bill Pagel Archives, "Which One is the Real Bob Dylan.")

Bob Dylan's Poetics: How the Songs Work 
The author Timothy Hampton teaches lit at UC-Berkeley, another college prof who finds studying Dylan to be Prof-itable. (That is, worthwhile studying and writing about.)

A Voice From On High: The Prophetic Oracles Of Bob Dylan
As the title suggests, this book takes a deeper look at the spiritual heart of many Dylan songs. To say that author Phil Mason goes to great lengths to bring light to this facet of Dylan's work is an understatement. At 700 pages it appears to be a pretty thorough undertaking. One of the contributors to the book was Scott Marshall, author of Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life.

Bittersweet: Love Songs Of Bob Dylan
This book by Donna George, released last August, is about the romantic side of Bob Dylan. Many of his muses are well known. The idea of a woman's take on Bob's love songs is intriguing.

Decoding Dylan: Making Sense of the Songs That Changed Modern Culture
Here's yet another book that interests me, only because I'm into the decoding as well, even though there are some extremely vocal critics of this kind of thing. Jim Curtis sees many of the songs as "collages, ingeniously combining themes and images from American popular culture and European high culture." There's still a sense in which even when you can't understand a Dylan song, you can still "get it."

Bob Dylan in Hell: Songs in Dialogue with Dante – part I
The title makes me think of Sir Christopher Ricks' Bob Dylan's Visions of Sin. The author Luca Crossi proposes that the themes in Dylan's lyrics emanate from the same depths as Dante's Inferno, and that Dante--himself a poet--is just as relevant today as when he penned his famous work. This, too, looks like a book worth exploring.

May Your Song Always Be Sung
This book by Joel-Isaiah McIntyre has 98 pages and that University press look for a cover, but one of my favorite early reads was similarly unpretentious and a rewarding read.

Bob Dylan: His Life in Pictures
Harry Shapiro's book has 256 pages and over 300 images. I think we get the picture.

Dylan & Me
This book, by Louis Kemp, has been long awaited by many. Louis met Bob at Herzl Camp when Louis was 11 and the Zimmerman kid was 12. Louis says even then Bob said he was going to be famous some day, "And I believed him."
Having been writing about Dylan and his "encounter" with Buddy Holly at the Duluth Armory I often wondered who Dylan went to that concert with, since I couldn't imagine him going by himself. Sure enough, that night is a chapter in this book.
Oh, and for what it's worth, Louis Kemp was an instrumental player in the Rolling Thunder Revue traveling caravan. No, he didn't play an instrument. He was producer... a factoid that dovetails nicely with the upcoming release of Martin Scorsese's Rolling Thunder film in less than two weeks.
The book should be out in early September.



BONUS TRACK
A Rolling Thunder Revue Soundtrack

A Half Century Down the Road with Singer/Songwriter Eric Andersen

There must have been something in the water back there in the Village scene. When the times began a-changin' in the roiling Sixties, new sounds and new songs sprang forth from a new generation of songwriters, spawned at an oasis in the midst of a massive jungle of concrete and steel called New York City.

This is where Eric Andersen's career began.

In two weeks, on Saturday July 23, Andersen will be making his first visit to Duluth to perform with Scarlet Rivera at Weber Auditorium in what is being billed as the Rolling Thunder Reunion. The two first performed together in the kickoff of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue at Gerde's Folk City back in 1975.  Eric and Scarlet will be accompanied by Steve Addabbo and Cheryl Prashker among others. Lonnie Knight is slated to warm up the evening for the headliners.

Andersen has produced 25 albums of original songs and performed throughout Europe, North America and Japan. This story of his Stages album shows the caliber of artists whom he's worked with over the throughout his career. From Wikipedia:

Stages is an album by folk rock musician Eric Andersen. The album was recorded in late 1972 and early 1973, as the intended follow-up to Andersen's successful Blue River album, but before it could be released, the master tapes were somehow lost in the Columbia vaults. It wasn't until 1990 that the tapes were discovered, at which time the album was finally released. In addition to the original 1972–73 recordings, Andersen included three newly recorded songs. Guest musicians from the 1972–73 sessions included Leon Russell on organ, piano and guitar, Rick Danko on bass and background vocals, and Garth Hudson on accordion, with Dan Fogelberg and Joan Baez supplying background vocals. Shawn Colvin was a guest vocalist on the 1990 sessions.

In addition to being a gifted musician and singer/songwriter, he is also a respected artist amongst his peers. It's a privilege to share his thoughts, insights and memories here.

EN: You've performed with so many familiar names over the years, opening for The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul & Mary, Ramblin' Jack back in the 60's to being part of the original Rolling Thunder Revue when Dylan kicked off his traveling circus show at Gerdes Folk City. And this was only the beginning. Who have been the musicians you've been closest with over the past five decades?

Eric Andersen: I've been blessed to have worked with many great players over fifty years. Amos Garrett the highly inventive and original Canadian telecaster guitarist I discovered in the Village who played on "More Hits From Tin Can Alley." Howie Epstein from the Tom Petty Band. We worked on my album "Memory of The Future" together in 1991. Robert Aaron. Multi-instrumentalist who has worked many of my albums. He produced "The Street Was Always There" and "Waves" my Village singer-songwriter covers. Norbert Putnam, bass player and producer of "Blue River" and "Stages: The Lost Album."

Andy Newmark, drummer with Sly Stone, Brian Ferry and John Lennon, who drummed on my album "Ghosts Upon The Road." Steve Addabbo who produced "Ghosts Upon The Road" and engineers many of my recent recordings and plays in my band sometimes. John Leventhal, the great, inventive guitar stylist who played on "Ghosts Upon The Road."

Mississippi drummer and slide guitarist Sam Carr and Kenny Brown who played on "You Can't Relive the Past." Rick Danko the bass player and singer from the Band. We did two trio albums together and toured in the nineties with the great Norwegian singer and guitarist Jonas Fjeld.

Larry Campbell. He is a polymath multi-instrumentalist. We did many shows including Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble together and he recorded on my album "Dance of Love and Death." I also worked with Lenny Kaye from Patti Smith's band, both live and in the studio for the same album. He played on the title track.

Michele Gazich, Italian poet, recording artist, and violinist extraordinaire who performs in my band and recordings of my Cologne Concert, Camus's "Shadow and Light" and my forthcoming album "Mingle With the Universe: The Worlds of Lord Byron." Cheryl Prashker, percussionist nonpareil who played on my new Byron album coming out in the fall of 2016. There were many over the fifty years. I had great harmony and live sessions with Joni Mitchell and Lou Reed. Recently at a show in LA I performed with two fantastic musicians who had never played together before, the great violinist Scarlet Rivera and guitarist Steve Postell who works with Jennifer Warnes and David Crosby.

Eric and Scarlet.

EN: When performing you no doubt strive to give your audiences something memorable to cherish. Still, it seems like some moments are especially magical. How does that magic happen?

EA: It's something you can't try and do. You allow or create a space to let the audience come to you to fill the vacuum. Then often a true spell begins. I learned this from listening to old Mississippi blues singers at the Gaslight Café in the Village in the sixties. It has to do with loud and soft; dynamics -- and a subtle but powerful groove.

EN: Your story about how a folk festival crowd cheered at the news that Beatles manager Brian Epstein died is quite revealing of the animosity that existed between the folk and rock worlds. You were standing with John Denver who shared your shock at this behavior. What were the causes of this great divide between the two camps?

EA: I was hurt. I guess it caused a lasting fissure between me and the traditional Sixties folk community. Brian was my manager and it was a huge loss both personally and professionally.

EN: What was that first Rolling Thunder (Dylan) concert at Gerdes like?

EA: The Gerdes Rolling Thunder "debut" was a ramshackle spontaneous event like performing backstage behind a circus tent. I brought Patti Smith along with me as my date.

EN: Your song "Thirsty Boots" ended up being recorded by John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Judy Collins, Dylan and many others. How does it feel to write a song that runs like a grass fire through the playlists of other performers?

EA: They all did great jobs on the song. It's a pretty high honor to have your song recorded by such musical legends and luminaries.

EN: It's interesting that you're bringing Steve Addabbo, since Steve is the one who helped engineer Dylan's Bootleg #10: Another Self Portrait, which has Thirsty Boots on it. How long have you known Steve and how much performing have you done together?

EA: I've know Addabbo since 1988. He's one of those talented, close-friend types you like to have around because they can be trusted personally and musically. He's given a lot to our musical worlds. I like his new album a lot.

EN: Do you have a process for writing songs? Or do they just come to you? My guess is that both things occur, but I'm just surmising as a writer myself.

EA: I keep notebooks in my pocket like Kerouac did. Sometimes an idea pops into my head to revisit later. Other times I just sit down, lean over, and write. Good or for bad something always happens and something comes out of it. I usually write lyrics first to an imaginary beat in my head. The best is when the words and music come together at the same time.

* * * *
Follow Eric here at www.ericandersen.com 
Concert and Ticket Information HERE

Photos of Eric Andersen top and bottom by Paolo Brillo.
Photos of Eric with guitar and Eric with Scarlet in L.A. by Carol Rothman.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.

Scarlet Rivera Shares From the Heart: Bob Dylan “brought out a higher part of myself that I didn’t know existed.”

In preparation for this year’s Dylan Fest, the Armory Arts & Music Center is presenting A Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan. One of the highlights will be a return visit to the Northland by Scarlet Rivera, the violinist who brought Dylan’s Desire album to life and provided an especially mesmerizing zest to Dylan’s road show, The Rolling Thunder Revue.

Many people do not realize what a world-renowned performer Scarlet is. In addition to doing a pair of road tours with Bob Dylan, she has multiple CD's as a composer in numerous styles including instrumental, New Age, Celtic and world music. Besides performing in the US, Europe and Japan with her Celtic group she has also recorded or performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Tracy Chapman, Indigo Girls, Kori Linae Carothers, and Keb Mo among others. She’s been a soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and the Carnival of Venice, Italy and continues to be an active recording artist, performer and composer. She has just completed a California tour with Cindy Cashdollar and Sylvia Tyson.
Most inspiring of all is that she is just a good-hearted person. I for one look forward to her return to our region. If you can't make it to Saturday's May 17 event at Sacred Heart downtown Duluth, she will also be performing May 23 at The Green Door in Beaver Bay with Gene LaFond.

EN: What are your favorite Dylan albums and songs?
Scarlet Rivera: My favorite Dylan albums / short list of songs.
Freewheelin’
Bringing it all Back Home
Shot of Love
Oh Mercy
Desire - gotta be one, too!

Love Minus Zero
You're a Big Girl Now
Every Grain of Sand
Where Teardrops Fall
Series of Dreams
Gates of Eden

EN: You keep coming back. What attracts you so strongly to our Northland?
Scarlet: I sense the deep history from the early immigrants and visionaries who built industries from the fur traders of the 1820's, to commercial fishing, lumber, breweries grain and flour mills to steel companies and ship building. Music and culture also flourished in Duluth in the many elegant old theater and opera houses. I read about the Spalding Hotel with stunning architecture and interior design, a dear friend of mine is from the Spalding family...and how the Flame Restaurant with strolling musicians after being a fixture for 50 years was demolished and the same location is now the Great Lakes Aquarium which I visited. I also love the people and the rugged natural beauty of the Northland, and finally will have a chance to greater see and experience this year... I plan to go to International Wolf Center and the North American Bear Center, as I am a big animal advocate and environmentalist.

EN: Did you meet Geno on the Rolling Thunder Revue? What was he like at that time? 
Scarlet: Larry Kegan and Geno drove in Larry's van with his helper to the Rolling Thunder Revue. After the afternoon rehearsal Bob found me and said, I have a friend I want you to meet. So he and I took a walk outside to a big van and hopped inside. Bob introduced me to Larry Kegan as an old friend, and his friend Geno. Larry was a paraplegic from a diving accident, but Bob did not prep me on his condition before we met, as I think he felt I would 'see' and understand Larry for the free spirit and great person he was, and not the condition. We all talked for a while but the most animated talker was Larry... and Bob let him take center stage. Geno was not as gregarious, a bit more shy, but so was I. From that day onward, Larry, Geno and I remained the best of friends, and I went to visit and perform with them whenever they invited me.

EN: How was your life changed by Bob Dylan?
Scarlet: To properly understand the answer I would need to give you the context surrounding my life at the time we met. Although what I seemed to project on stage was this powerful commanding persona, off stage I was beyond painfully shy... to the point of clinically withdrawn. A raven with a broken wing, remote like a lone wolf... a bit of a tortured soul... in many ways a broken little girl shattered into a million pieces (which would take years to put together.) I believe he saw right through me, troubles and all, which is probably why he embraced me more, knowing this kind of pain may bring something unique to my playing... and I guess the consensus from listeners says that it did.

There was a silent understanding between us. His deep understanding and acceptance was like an anchor that comforted me amidst a raging sea.

Travelling and performing Bob Dylan’s music live with him lifted me to a place that brought out a higher part of myself I didn’t know existed, but that would be a part of me that I would carry into everything I have done since. In fact, what I gained from Bob has grown greater and deeper with the passing years. I have been deeply grateful for how much he lifted me up and embraced not only my playing but me personally.... and I say it’s effect is growing with time because while it would still take many more years to put the shattered pieces together again, it was Bob’s kindness and appreciation that eventually helped me fix that broken wing and put the pieces together. When I listen back and see photos and videos of what we did together, it is undeniable how powerful and magical it was.

I’ve gone on to work with many different songwriters and artists over the years, and I feel I bring a piece of what I created on Desire and the Rolling Thunder Revue to each situation. It is the wellspring that I perpetually draw new inspiration from. While I work with musicians of all ages, it seems many young musicians have sought me out. An example is I was hired by a young rock group in Japan to be on their record and when I played live with them in Tokyo to thousands of their fans, we performed Hurricane together! I felt Bob would be pleased to see me perform Hurricane to a new young audience in Japan.

In short, although there will never be an end to this question, is that nearly every musical situation or relationship I’ve had leads back home to Bob Dylan as the source. It is an endless wellspring of inspiration, warmest feelings and a gratitude I repay in my way by continuing to be the truest musician and artist I can be.

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EdNote: Thank you, Scarlet, for returning once again to share your talent and spirit with us here in the North Country. Your list of "favorite albums" very much overlaps with my own. Keep making your music and the world will be a better place.

Addendum: This blog entry and others like it have the aim of raising awareness for the upcoming Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan concert which will kick off the 2014 North Country Dylan Celebration in Duluth and Hibbing. Sacred Heart Music Center, May 17, 2014. For tickets to this great event visit dulutharmory.org/events.

If you wish to help, visit the Salute Facebook page and share with your friends by clicking the Invite button. 

A Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan is a presentation of the Armory Arts and Music Center and Magic Marc Productions.

Scarlet Rivera, Dream-Weaving Violinist from Dylan’s Desire

In preparation for this year’s Dylan Fest, the Armory Arts & Music Center is presenting a concert featuring famed violinist Scarlet Rivera with Gene LaFond & The Wild Unknown on the Weber Hall Music stage at UMD. The May 18 concert is called Desire In Duluth because Scarlet's mesmerizing violin contributed significantly to Dylan's sound in his Desire album. Scarlet's career in music has spanned many genres, from rock to jazz (she performed with Duke Ellington's orchestra at Carnegie Hall) to world music and even Celtic sounds.

A couple weeks ago I had a chance to catch up with Ms. Rivera who said she always loves coming to Minnesota. Her life is an example of how, as Bruce Barton has noted, small things can have great consequences, a notion that can inspire us all. I especially appreciated her transparent warmth and down-to-earth authenticity.

EN: How did you first become interested in violin?
Scarlet Rivera: In grade school we had an orchestra… fortunately those were the days when schools had orchestras, and I was lucky enough to have that. Plus my parents wanted to give my sister and I lessons and I chose piano. After a year I decided I wasn’t all that crazy about piano so I chose violin, and that was a fit.

EN: What’s the backstory on how you came to play with Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue?
Scarlet: It’s in many books… and in some places it’s right and some books not. It happened through fate, honestly. These kinds of things don’t just happen. We were destined to meet one way or another. I was literally walking down the street with a violin case. I was going to a rehearsal on the Lower East Side. He was driving by. Many books say he was riding a limousine, but Dylan fans would know he wouldn’t be that ostentatious. He would not want to be seen. He was blending in, in a normal old car. He rolled down the window and asked if I could play. He struck up a conversation and I started talking to him. He asked another musical question and I started pondering who this is. After a while he said, “I really have to hear you play.”

After I finished talking to him and decided to get in the car we went to his loft/studio a few blocks away. He played many songs on guitar and he played a number of songs on piano and asked me just to play along. He didn’t tell me what key, he didn’t give me any charts and none of the songs were known songs at the time. Only unreleased songs. He liked what he was hearing and started to smile. At the end of that he asked if would go to along to a club to hear a friend of his play. I said, “For sure.”

The club was The Bottom Line, and his friend that was playing was the Muddy Water Band. At one point he went up on the stage and played a song with the Muddy Water Band, and at the end of that song he said, “Now I would like my violinist to come up.” So he was pretty much announcing to me that I had been hired. So I went up and played a song with the Muddy Water Band and they all seemed to like it as well. After the show we all hung out till dawn with the band and a couple days later he called me and told me to show up at Columbia Studios [where we recorded Desire.]

EN: How long were you with the Rolling Thunder Revue?
Scarlet: The whole length of it all the way through the second part, which went into the Western states, ending in Colorado. The core band stayed the same throughout. People were added at various places. That was an incredibly exciting tour to be on. It wasn’t just any old tour. (laughing) This was the tour to be on.

EN: Any highlights?
Scarlet: The whole thing was a highlight. Every night was an incredible unfolding of amazing music and interactions that I knew would never happen again. You took your cues from Bob. For example, Isis changed enormously from the album cut to live. You had to go with it. The live performances became really exciting and fiery and fast. I would follow whichever direction it went.

EN: You later landed a role as soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. How did that happen?
Scarlet: That happened with fate as well. I met the grand-daughter of Duke Ellington socially. We were at a little gathering, a small girl’s party, and I brought my violin to play. I didn’t even know who she was actually, but later my friend who invited me to the party introduced her as Gaye Ellington, daughter of Mercer, who was the conductor and leader of the band after Duke Ellington. Toward the end of the party she wanted me to meet her dad, Mercer Ellington, and she did the very next day. There was another band member in the room and he had me do some improv and talked to me about jazz and had me play a few other little things and asked what I was doing on April whatever-it-was. I said it looks like I’m free on that day, and he asked, “Would you like to play Carnegie Hall with us?” That was the first thing I did with him. I did solo in Carnegie Hall, in “The Black, Brown and Beige Suite,” which hadn’t been performed in forty years. That’s historic. Then I played the Kennedy Center in Washington. I also played the festival of Venice with him. He brought a Gospel choir.

EN: You have about ten albums. What’s your favorite?
Scarlet: My favorite is Behind the Crimson Veil. It’s instrumental, and the most highly developed compositionally and yet it’s inspiring. It takes you on a little journey. It’s got elements of classical, world music and jazz. I think it’s a very deep album.

EN: Best selling?
Scarlet: Probably my Celtic Dreams. I had no clue that I was going to end up composing so much Celtic music but I did, and it’s something I ended up loving to do.

EN: What was it like to play in Hibbing two years ago? I hear it was a great concert.
Scarlet: Oh fantastic. I really loved the festival. I can see that it’s a well-loved festival. I was amazed to see how many people from all over came to it and what a tribute it is to what the town does.

EN: In a Village Voice interview you agreed that the word “haunting” was a suitable adjective for your sound in Hurricane. What adjectives would you use to describe yourself and your music today?
Scarlet: That’s a tough one. I play many different styles. The one thing I hear from other people is that I have a signature sound, whether playing rock or blues or recording on somebody else’s track, they can identify that it’s me.

EN: If you hadn’t had a career in music, what would you have done with your life?
Scarlet: I probably would have been in the environmental movement. I would have gotten a degree in that area in some way. I love nature and do a lot of things that relate to conservation… keeping rivers clean…. Keeping species from going extinct. I really liked playing the River Festival in Minnesota last year, protecting the Kinni River.

I am doing it in my own small way. I’m currently on the Board of Directors of Hollywood Beautification Team, which plants thousands of trees and paints murals in schools in S. California. I’m also a hands-on volunteer with an Exotic Animal sanctuary housing big cats, wolves, bears as well as involved with the Aquarium of the Pacific.

EN: You were also featured in a recent book Sea Voices by Elizabeth Laul Healey featuring top marine scientists, activists, celebrities, musicians who raise awareness about ocean conservation. When did you last see Bob?
Scarlet: Not recent… over the years I have seen him many times.

EN: You live in L.a. now. What do you like about Los Angeles?
Scarlet: It has a lot happening culturally. It’s a vibrant center for music. A lot of stuff being recorded here. There are films being made. It’s pretty much a place for culture and entertainment.


Don't wait till it's too late. Get your tickets today for Desire In Duluth at Ticketworks.

Portions of this interview originally appeared in Duluth's alternative newspaper, the Reader Weekly
Photos courtesy Scarlet Rivera. Portrait of Young Scarlet by Ennyman.