Production Journal - Friday, October 21
One reason that Big Star’s story has endured and inspired fans since the band’s inception in the early 1970’s is the abundance of reviews and articles that rock writers have continued to produce the world over. Big Star resonated with the critics who were disenchanted with overblown and megalomaniacal early 1970s rock stars. They felt the soul had gone out of rock-n-roll and Big Star was the band with heart who could bring it back to it’s roots.
An important writer on and from this period is Lenny Kaye, New York legend and rock critic for such publications as Fusion, Crawdaddy, Melody Maker, Creem and Rolling Stone. He is also well known as a long-time guitarist and collaborator with Patti Smith, has produced for many other artists and has been nominated for three Grammy awards in the liner notes category.
And last week we got to pick his brain! Lenny joined 140 other writers for the world’s first and only Rock Writers Convention held in Memphis, Tennessee in 1973. The premise of the event was to organize and elevate a rag tag bunch of rock scribes from home and abroad, but it ended up being three-day booze fest! The convention was sponsored by Big Star’s studio and label, Ardent Records, and the band played one of their best, most energetic live shows ever during the event. The performance buoyed the group and brought Big Star together as a cohesive trio, ready to finish up their second album, Radio City.
Lenny had some great insights into the nature of the music industry and what makes a cult band. But, of course, you’ll have to see the movie to hear the whole story! Stay tuned to our blog and Facebook page for more rock writers’ profiles and sneak peeks into the production of the film, the Big Star Story.
