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E39: Curtis, Blow Me Your Trumpet (Curtis Watson Interview)
232 Plays9 days ago
Curtis Watson played trumpet on three Counting Crows tracks: Palisades Park, Angel of 14th Street, and the legendary Chelsea (but not Carriage); culminating in a shout out from Adam on "From A-->Z"". He also spent a LOT of time with Adam and the band during their "formative years' (around the time of Satellites).
Another fun and special episode where we get to interview the Crows' (official?) trumpet player---Curtis Watson!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Trumpet Music and Guest Curtis Watson
00:00:18
Speaker
Welcome to Sullivan Street, the Counting Crows podcast, where we have our first, I don't know, that this is the trumpet episode. And in particular, ah Curtis Watson is going to be joining us on the podcast. But before we start talking to him, Chris, how are you doing? And the Crows, by the way, just finished up their U.S. tour yesterday, although this episode won't be out for another month or two, but.
00:00:40
Speaker
I'm good, Eric. um This is ah fun. it's rare It's rare that I get to... ah My wife is a trumpet player, so it's rare that I get to sort of break some stuff down with her. um So this has been fun prepping for for this one.
00:00:52
Speaker
Yeah, and I think um we'll get we'll get positive reaction. Like I met somebody at the concert last time who, when I talked to him about our interview with Matt Malley, he said he loved it because he was always a bass player and we don't, you know, there's not enough interviews with bass players, yeah that sort of thing.
Curtis Watson's Journey and Achievements
00:01:09
Speaker
So Curtis Watson, so best known ah for his trumpet on a few Counting Crows songs. Best known among us. but um Among the people listening to this show. By the way, Grammy award-winning Curtis Watson.
00:01:25
Speaker
Two times. I was just about to say the app. And one was pretty recent, right? 2024 2010. Yes.
00:01:32
Speaker
yeah And it looks like, and I guess they were similar. i was trying to dive into this a little bit. I guess they were similar. They they changed the category names, right? So it was somewhat similar. The most recent, the best regional roots music album ah from an album called New Beginnings.
00:01:48
Speaker
ah but So is is it Zydeco? Is that how you say Right? Zydeco music? Zydeco, yes. And in 2010... also won a Grammy for Zydeco or Cajun music. So great. I do want to hear about that. So two times Grammy award winning. and ah Yeah. So ah welcome to the podcast, Curtis.
00:02:07
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you for having me. So Crows fans, we believe best know you for the big, so just so if, you know, people listening right in the beginning say, oh who is this guy? What do we know?
00:02:20
Speaker
Playing in the beginning of Palisades park, that great introduction. and playing as part of Angels of 14th Street, right? So those those are the two album cuts I think you've been on, right?
00:02:33
Speaker
No, there's ah there's a hidden track on the Unplugged record, Chelsea. Oh, that's you on Chelsea. Yeah. Okay, thank you, because there this this was the confusion. So I think one reason, and but if people don't know, although we did say this when it got released,
00:02:50
Speaker
You are the Curtis that Adam is talking about in his new song. That's correct, right? Yeah, I spoke with him. what I talked with Adam last week, I think was. week
Insights into Curtis's Involvement with Counting Crows
00:03:00
Speaker
before last I was calling. He said, yeah, man, I shot you out on the record. I said, yeah, I heard. oh deal Wait, did you hear it from yourself or did you hear from us? No, actually, I heard i heard from ah ah another friend a mutual friend of mine who was a roommate with him in and l a um okay i just started play a friend of mine that let me know i was like wow that's cool yeah and and and in fact i was really shocked i almost want to say the one it's like the only time in the crows catalog and i've been there since the beginning where i thought they made a mistake and what i'm saying that is when adam says curtis blow me your trumpet i wanted to hear a little trumpet
00:03:40
Speaker
in the background. And then he, and then he says, what, Chris, show me a sign. And I want to be a sign. Yeah. Yeah. And I wanted to hear a little Chris's Chris, uh, uh, Caraba. Yeah. but And it would have been nice to hear a little bit of his vocals. Now, I don't know if there's rights or royalties part of that, but I think that would have been really neat to hear the Curtis side.
00:03:59
Speaker
Um, so that, that's who he's talking about there. So Curtis, the one thing that I think people got confused in one, before we get into your music and how you got involved with the crows and this, uh,
00:04:09
Speaker
uh, comes up with Chris's comment that a lot of people in Chelsea for sure. And also carriage thought that the trumpet player was Andre Carter. And because we know that he was involved with the crows and has played some live music. So I think people didn't know who played what.
00:04:28
Speaker
Yeah. So actually it's been recorded and Andre is like, but that's my best friends. That's okay. Him and I both played with Buckley Zydeco. Um, He's a good guy from D.C., trumpet player, lived in New Orleans. We all lived in New Orleans at the same around the same time, him and I. ah Yeah, so he called.
00:04:46
Speaker
Well, actually, I saw it. I was like, wait a minute. That's me playing, but that's Andre on the video. So it kind of blew my mind because I didn't know they were actually, said, so I called Adam. Like, you could have called me out to do the video, man. I mean, you know, so he's like, yeah, it was just a quick thing. It wasn't really all that YouTube thing and um got Andre to do it. And I was like,
00:05:06
Speaker
That's fine with me. Either way, it's fine because that's my man. you know so Yeah, and I'd have to go into the liner notes but but i because I couldn't remember on on the Chelsea who was actually mentioned. I know for the song Carriage, 95% sure, Andre Carter. i don't know if that song by Counting Crows.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And I'm pretty sure there and yeah he's on the liner notes there. We were trying to think ahead of time. what what Are there any other songs besides those four that are... Chris, did you have a thought about this?
00:05:36
Speaker
No, why that's say i I don't. And that's i was I was looking at the, I was trying to find the liner notes online for CrossFit because I'm not sure, like it it may not be, at least a well mentioned, at least on the, the whatever what's online. I haven't, I didn't go fish out the CD because I actually may not have a CD anymore. I mean, I got rid of so many of my CDs for,
00:05:52
Speaker
No good reason, honestly. um But Curtis, among CrossFit, I mean, that's that that Chelsea is a fan favorite. And so ah that's one reason i want to I want to, okay, so that makes sense to me now. So I almost thought that that was, okay, so you're saying it was Andre in the video, but in the recording of Chelsea.
00:06:10
Speaker
So that goes back. See, that's one interesting piece of trivia now, because if you were only, only in quotes on Palisades Park and Angels, Palisades Park is what, 12, 13 years old, but Chelsea, you had to record, what, like 30 years ago. or something. Oh man, Chelsea. So the thing about Horses Dream of Blues, Chelsea, I actually put horns on four songs.
00:06:31
Speaker
And if you look at the records, Recovering Satellites record, in the liner notes, you'll see that I actually, we actually, myself, Stephen Johnson, and William Terry, we actually put horns on like four different tracks.
00:06:45
Speaker
And the band decided um if we put them on the record, we have to take a band section on tour. So It didn't work out. So, that you know,
00:06:55
Speaker
I actually have those recordings somewhere. i got to find them. But I actually have recordings with us literally playing the horns on those songs. And when you hear them, you'll go, oh, my God, that is so great. They should probably release those like uncut records. They should.
00:07:07
Speaker
yeah Well, now I'm very excited. that that way we were want to yeah That's I don't think there's some people, it's not us, but there's some Crows fans that are really into these rarity type of things. And so, yeah, ask Adam if you could do it. Charge a dollar ah track or something. And you'll I'm telling you, people will buy them. They love those rarities.
00:07:25
Speaker
It's already recorded. It's already recorded. We've already done it. it' just just They made the Satellite Lights and Recovering Work and they took all the horns off of it. So I actually have the recording with him singing and the band playing and with the horn section in it. So which ones? You said it was Horse Dreamers? Do you remember which other ones? Oh, man. Recovering the Satellites was... Oh, man. Don't let me lie. I'm old, man.
00:07:51
Speaker
I can't believe I can't remember. I have to go look at some great horse. We through some of the tracks. Miller's Angels? No.
00:08:02
Speaker
Horse Streamers, Recovering the Soundlight. Mercury? That would probably not be. that's crazy. like I would have to hear the... Yeah, go.
00:08:13
Speaker
You might have to text us about that. I wish I'd have thought about this and in the past because I would have Found the CD that I'm actually playing it on. Like, here, this is what it sounds like. I actually do have it in CD.
00:08:27
Speaker
And you said there was a horn section. It was not just Yeah, it was a horn section. Right. We played the horn section. So what does that what what does that actually entail? How many people and what instruments? So it's trumpet, trombone, and tenor sax.
00:08:39
Speaker
Okay. Oh, that's cool. The trombone player was we i mean ah ah Stephen Johnson. who actually started a band called Cool Bone, was a brass band out of New Orleans, and William Terry, who plays sax and ended up playing with Shamar.
00:08:55
Speaker
ah Shamar, what's Shamar's last name? Shamar Williams, Shamar, no. Shamar Trump will play out of New Orleans. or He plays bass with him, and he he doesn't play bass anymore. But however, we were out there for a week, and we recorded the those tracks with them, ah with the Counting Crows.
00:09:10
Speaker
But we're all a band from New Orleans called the Soul Rebel Brass Band. So we were members of Soul Rebels. and And Adam came to to New Orleans looking for some horn sex and some, you know, try to do something different. yeah when ah Henry, his best friend named Henry and DJ, I can't think of DJ, crazy DJ from New Orleans. Well, anyway, they, he took him to see Rebirth Brassman. It's like, oh, that's really cool.
00:09:41
Speaker
Then he brought him to see us. He said, you got to check out this new band. And he just fell in love with the Soul Rubbers. So we end up playing the Beacon Theater with the Counting Crows.
00:09:53
Speaker
ah All three nights were sold out. i was And ah in the bill stated, Counting Crows, Soul Rubber Brass Band, and Dog's Eye View, I think it was.
00:10:04
Speaker
think it was Dog's Eye View. That sounds right. Yeah. Yeah, I think he I even heard Adam mention that. Now, I
Curtis's Creative Process and Collaboration with Counting Crows
00:10:09
Speaker
didn't connect that to you and Andre because I guess I didn't know who was in involved. Because I know he said he's always played with a wide variety of different, or he likes he like playing with different ah types of bands. It doesn't have to be another, you know, 90s rock. Right, right, right.
00:10:25
Speaker
Okay, so they so Adam watched you, and this is pretty early in his career. He only had one album at that point. And he just said, I want to explore, and I want this to be the group. Yeah, he said, hey, I want, you know, we only did like New York, I think.
00:10:41
Speaker
And then we they did the, uh, they opened up for, and watched it for the, uh, Rolling Stones. Oh, right. So everyone left except myself and the drummer that's still with the Soul Rebel Brass Band, Lamar LeBlanc.
00:10:56
Speaker
We, uh, we went, and Steve and Johnson, we went to see them, uh, after we left New York and went over to DC, hung out with them. And, uh, We had a conversation, hey, what do you think about putting some horns on summer some of Count of Crows music? I said, man, I would put horns on anything.
00:11:15
Speaker
so If this pan I'm playing, let's just try it. let's Let's see what happens, you know? So he said, sounds great. What I'll do is I'll fly you guys out and to LA and ah we'll hang out a while we'll make some music.
00:11:27
Speaker
I was like, okay, cool. And he did exactly that. A while later, though, because that would have been 94 then if it was the Stones tour, right? it was That would have been like summer of 94. Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:38
Speaker
But this ties into... Yeah, 94, because we had just did a seven-week tour in Spain. We came from Spain, and we went to New York and did a show with the Counter-Cros, and then ah DC and then home.
00:11:50
Speaker
Yeah. And Chris, this ties into the fact that that recovering to satellites, like recording process took a long time because they were probably experimenting with different things. They're having people fly out and hang out for a week, right? It's not like you just played for an hour and left. Like you were hanging around. We were there for actually I stayed seven days. I think we put the horns on and probably three days.
00:12:10
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. We put horns on three. They were really killing horns, uh, stuff on it. It was nice stuff. Uh, but like I said, at the time, I think the band was ready for having a horn sex. And then you,
00:12:21
Speaker
you know You had Dave Matthews out at the time with the horn, with Leroy. Yep, yep. So – They weren't trying to you know do that thing, I guess. you know Right. That's a good point. In a way, that might have they might have thought that worked against them a little bit, like they were trying to mimic Dave's when that would have been just, yeah. I mean, i would Adam would have been interested no matter what, because he loves different music. Now, how familiar were you with the Crows when they approached you? like Did you know their radio hits? Did you know them at all?
00:12:53
Speaker
No, i I knew the song, Me and Miss. doesn i yeah without a I like this song, man. And so I didn't, I'm not going to lie, didn't know didn't know him, but I knew the song, right?
00:13:05
Speaker
So he's in New Orleans and he shows up at the show and I'm like, at the time, like, hey man, I know you from somewhere, man. Well, he had the standout dreads, right? theyre like Yeah, yeah. So He was killing, he he liked it yeah at the time. I want to say I was not even at the show. i think I was with Buckley's article. I did a hit with Buckley's article that night.
00:13:28
Speaker
Then I saw Adam again. Then he heard us play and then he brought us, you know, to New York to play with him ah on tour. We did that show with him.
00:13:39
Speaker
um After that, that's like I said, he had the conversation. let's Let's do something together. And I was like, hey, I'm all for it. Let's make it happen. So he said, I don't want the whole band. I just want to shoot the trombone and the saxophone. I said, that's fine. He said, he sent me the music.
00:13:56
Speaker
I worked up the parts. I gave it you know to to my guys. Like, check this out. This is we're going to do. We're going to fly over. This is what the song sounds like. Blah, blah, blah. And we went there and we just hit it. Bam. Just like that.
00:14:06
Speaker
Did he give you a lot of direction about what he was looking for? Or was he just kind of you like, hey, just add what you want? No, that's the hardest thing about working with him. he does He doesn't give a shit what you put on. He's just like, hey.
00:14:17
Speaker
So I'm like, man, um what do you want? How do you want that? You know, just, hey, man, just give me something. So I'm giving to him and like, cool. All right, that's cool. And like, you sure? He's like, yeah, man, that's it.
00:14:29
Speaker
was like, okay. The next song, right? We put something on. was great. Okay, cool. I just want you to tape that note right there. And that's that's that's great for me. It was like, so we were like hitting on the money the whole time. i was like, wow.
00:14:41
Speaker
Now, fast forward into Palisades Park. yeah I didn't know what he wanted. I was like, yo, so I was supposed to fly to New York.
00:14:52
Speaker
The country shut down. So I end up having to, no, not Palisades Park. Oh, that's Angels, the most recent. Yeah, yeah, Angels, yeah. country shut down. So I end up having to do it here.
00:15:06
Speaker
And so I did it in my own studio. And the engineer was like, man, where did you cut this? I say, 009 Studios. He said, where is that? I say, in my closet at this point, because my whole studio, was moving to a new house and my entire studio was just packed in a garage. But I said, I had a perfect closet. It was a perfect sound.
00:15:25
Speaker
And I did it. He said, the crazy thing is you have so many takes. We didn't know which one to to use. So we were like, it was like, it was all them was so great.
00:15:39
Speaker
So we put this together. said, would have never played that like that. I would never. What you hear is not how I would have ever played it just like that. I mean, it was different. The way it starts is a whole nother solo.
00:15:51
Speaker
And then it goes, boom, boom, boom, boom. That's from a different solo. And then, boom, boom, boom, boom do thats the They slice it all together. i was like, I would have never did that.
00:16:03
Speaker
But it's though. That's really interesting. Did they do the same thing on Palisades where it was spliced? No, no, I played that. I played that. And you know how many he takes it took to play that? Because I wouldn't, once again, no, that's not, I want you to do something different.
00:16:14
Speaker
Like, okay, something different. Like, what? ah and So it's like a school, like a kid trying to learn how to play.
00:16:27
Speaker
When I got in that frame of mind, I said, okay, let's roll with this. And that is, I have a picture of him and Emmyl Glock sitting on the couch sleeping. I'm like like, cause it's like, I wouldn't, they couldn't say what they, it's like, you're not telling me what you want, but you're saying, no, I want you to do it more like this and more like this. Like, get give me a picture. Just give me a picture. do.
00:16:51
Speaker
And once he gave me that, i was like, okay, cool. It makes sense. Wait, the picture of them sleeping was the, No, no. The pitch of them sleep was me saying, man, they tired of me playing this right now. like this So I'm not getting it right, obviously. so So that one, you were in New York. Yeah, I was in York. Now, did they already have that whole song, but just wanted a trumpet? it Because in theory, that song could just start where he starts singing.
The Making of Iconic Tracks and Curtis's Recording Techniques
00:17:16
Speaker
yeah So do did they already have that, but then he thought he wanted an introduction or how did that work? He was playing the introduction on the piano. He said, I want something right here. What what I'm hearing was what I ended up playing in end.
00:17:28
Speaker
But I was playing all kinds of different stuff and like, no, that's too jazzy. No, this, this, this. He said, you're like, ah I said, man, this sounds like you're in a school and you know, boom, boom, boom, boom. You just, you know, you're student. You sound like student players trying to, you know, get attention, you know? So I said, well, okay, let's go with this.
00:17:49
Speaker
ah I started singing a melody. He started singing a melody and I'm like, okay, like, cool. Actually, he did sing me male. I take that back. He sung it to me. This is how he went. but da da da da and da da da da da but Okay, so how many different ways? I can play this many different ways, right?
00:18:08
Speaker
So, okay, you want a jazzy, you want a New Orleans, you want a classical, you want a hard vibrato, whatever. So I just kept doing it over and over and over. He's like, okay, that's see it.
00:18:20
Speaker
I said, you sure? That's it. Okay, cool. I think that that that that's great. that i Don't you think, Chris, said that cat that intro like perfectly captures like the melancholy of of Adam?
00:18:35
Speaker
And I really like what you what you did. Some of that could be mixing or something, but with the vault i don't know with the volume during the- Oh, no, that was me. That was me. That was all me. That's what thought. I could kind of tell that. All to the last. Yeah.
00:18:50
Speaker
And then it kind of peers up. No, I can sense that. So I love that. Yeah, there's a few shit. My wife, actually, the first time she listened it, she's like, is that, did he go from a piccolo to a normal trumpet? like No, I think it's ah like no it's one instrument. It's one instrument, but it changes. It sort of like moves and changes.
00:19:04
Speaker
Did you know that that was going to be the intro to the record too? It's obviously intro to the song, but that's like, you just.
00:19:12
Speaker
No, not at all. Not at all. Adam's just like, I like that C-dub. I like that. That's C-Y. He called me C-Y. C-Y. I like that. That's great. Emma Gluck was like, you nailed it.
00:19:24
Speaker
You nailed it. one Thank you. Wait, are you going explain why he calls you CY or is that an inside? ah ah So no, I'm CY. So my name is Curtis Watson. So I go, I go by CWatt.
00:19:36
Speaker
so he's Oh, CWatt. Sorry. I thought you said CY. Okay. CWatt. All right. All right. So the most interesting trivia here, Chris, for the, for the people that love Crows as much as us, is definitely that the Angels of 14th Street, that that Curtis gave him a number of ideas for that part, and they spliced it together in a new and exciting way.
00:19:57
Speaker
Hopefully they gave you final approval, though, Curtis. Well, they sent it to you and said, man, I say, they say, check it out. sent it to and I say, do you like it? Because I've given you probably 59 takes of this one solo. 59 different times. No, I'm not making this up. he fifteen And 59 different ways too, right? Yeah, it's probably different every time. like, man, don't know what they want. So I'm just going to keep sending this because I'm not in New York.
00:20:23
Speaker
So I'm going to send everything I have. And the engineer was like, oh, man, everything is so amazing. and It took us a few days to figure this out. I said, a few days? It me a few hours was to keep putting these different solos in.
00:20:36
Speaker
Well, everyone had lot of time then. You know what I mean? A few days. What mean what was another day? um But we is that a playable, like, given that they cut it up, is that like a playable solo? Like, could you theoretically, like, repeat? Okay.
00:20:48
Speaker
That's all one line.
00:20:53
Speaker
don't ah oh i would do but but but ah ah but do da they did doooda did it did do do the that's all one line So yeah.
00:21:06
Speaker
Yeah, it's playable. And Chris, that has to be their only song that has a long trumpet solo and a long electric guitar solo. Like it has two solos in there, right? Because it ends with a soloing.
00:21:19
Speaker
um Could we go back to Chelsea? so it was And I know I should know this, but Chelsea was recorded with the rest of Recovering the Satellites, correct? Or no? Yes. So yes.
00:21:31
Speaker
And it didn't make the record. Right. It made the record. It was ah um but it was a hidden track. Right. It was a hidden track on the unplugged. Yeah. But I think i think it's because he that Adam thought it didn't fit into the the recovering.
00:21:47
Speaker
so But that was interesting because you're saying that the other songs, oh, right, the other songs you added, right, right, they re-recorded like Horse Dreamers Without the Horns. But in that case, they didn't re-record Chelsea without the horns. They they just saved it for um a hidden track. that's yeah That's true. so they didn They just muted the horns.
00:22:08
Speaker
The song is still the same. um god None of the song wasn't recorded ah that i can recall that I recall. It's still the same. just took the horns out of it. until left He left Chelsea because he liked the great songs.
00:22:22
Speaker
Somewhere in New York City. Oh, you so you're saying, like, Horse Dreamers, that that recording might be the same recording you were on, but with the horns muted. that's Yeah.
00:22:32
Speaker
Well, I had no idea about that. Not that I'm a historian. um but um so but So with Chelsea, that's interesting. that did did Did Adam... The process of that is, i guess, different than... um So Palisades, of course, your solo was just in the beginning, and Angels, it's after, I think, the second verse.
00:22:52
Speaker
But Chelsea, it's throughout the whole song, right? so Or a lot of it. So how did that writing... That process must have been different. I don't know if Adam just had the song and wanted you to play, or if you helped... Yeah, so he recorded the song. He said, I don't know what I want to do. it I want you to play some trumpet on there. I don't know.
00:23:09
Speaker
I just want you to be C-wiped.
00:23:12
Speaker
And Amber Gluck says, just be seen what? I said, okay. Okay, so let's run the track and let's, I don't know, you want I said, don't want a horn section.
00:23:24
Speaker
I just want you. I said, okay. We started playing and I was like, okay, this is cool. Okay, and I'm thinking, how do I want to host this? Do I want to play more notes or less notes?
00:23:36
Speaker
Lengthy notes, singing, you know, vocal sound, whatever. So basically, I just put myself in the mindset of of like love whispers, if that makes any sense.
00:23:48
Speaker
Like love whispers over the how he's he's singing, you know, and I'm just like, i just want to be behind, like, immerging in the ideas of what he's seeing saying, if it's to a female or whatever. I don't know. that's just like I just wanted to give it something in the background. Just flow, not too busy. Excuse me, long notes and stuff like that, so.
00:24:11
Speaker
high notes, whatever. you know yeah It was a vibe. it know was I think it only took one take. If I'm not mistaken, it's probably one or two takes of that. i don't think ah I don't think it was more than... I want to say it was one take, maybe two.
00:24:26
Speaker
Yeah. so It's a beautiful and like a haunting song. and And one they've never really done live. I think Adam used it as an alt once... 25 years ago or something like that.
00:24:37
Speaker
But they've never done, I don't think they've ever done that. Oh, other than that when they did it with an orchestra, right? There was one time where they did it with like a full orchestra in, they did the show with an orchestra, again, also like 20 years ago now.
00:24:48
Speaker
um But I think that's the only other time like Chelsea's been performed live, um which is a bummer because it's a great song. But again, they then they would need you. and Because it's interesting, you know, the band, I think, very rarely uses pre-recorded things. But, you know, when they played Palisades Park, they would,
00:25:06
Speaker
you know, they would hit the tape, right? I mean, it's it's your trumpet that was playing every night live. um Just over, to I'm assuming i there was no trumpet player on stage. So i'm assuming that's how they got that sound. You found a way to put me in the band, but don't put me in the band. Okay, that's cool.
00:25:21
Speaker
and Angels, I'm not sure, Chris. i'd i'd have to i'm That, I'm not sure if they play a tape or if they or or if Charlie does it with a keyboard. He does over with the keyboard. That's what I thought. like I had a feeling of that one. I kind of remember him playing, and it didn't sound like a trumpet. But you're absolutely right, Chris, when when they start with Palisades. For the for for those two songs, i know you talked about them a lot already, but did you also...
00:25:45
Speaker
try to get a, you know, you're joking with Chelsea, it's about the feels or the vibe. but Did you feel anything with, like, did you, I don't know, listen to the songs without the horns a couple of times or look at the lyrics or you just like go with it based upon kind of they say? yeah, so I listened to the song.
00:26:03
Speaker
Okay. um ah I don't really care what he was saying. I was listening to the song and the melody because I've been around Adam a lot, you know, so I know, his compassion when he gets into his vibe and his things, he, I know what he
Performances and Spontaneity in Music with Counting Crows
00:26:18
Speaker
wants. I don't, I don't know how to, I can't explain it, yeah but like, even when I'm playing live with him, he'll just come over and go, yeah. And I'm like, but it able I don't know what it, you know, it's like, it's just, it's just a thing. It's just a vibe we have. it's just like, cool.
00:26:30
Speaker
So like, like, like I said, I just listened his music and like, okay, that's cool. You know, I like this. I'm going to try to figure out where trumpet goes in here. And I have this, this, uh, This thing about me was like, and I don't care what style of music it is.
00:26:45
Speaker
Find a way to fit in. You know, my band director used to tell me that all the time when we when I was young. I went to high school in East St. Louis, Lincoln Senior High. My band director was Ron Carter.
00:26:57
Speaker
Ron Carter, not Ron Carter, the bass player. Ron Carter, the educator. He just passed away probably two years ago, I think now. But he's taught jazz musicians all over the world. But he would always say,
00:27:09
Speaker
I don't care what style of music you play, B flat is B flat in every form of music. Just make it yours and make it become you. And that's what I did.
00:27:20
Speaker
So yeah, i I would just listen to the song, man. Chelsea, I think I just listened to that like in the studio only because i didn't he didn't send that to me. Right.
00:27:35
Speaker
And I was like, oh, OK. Let's roll the tape. Let's roll the tape. Yeah. Did you play, because we because the video is lacking, there's only audio, and we know Andre was there at one point. We just we didn't release it yet. We just talked about Shim Sham last week.
00:27:53
Speaker
were you um There were some Counting Crows at these shows at the Shim Sham Club in New Orleans. Do you know if you were involved with any of those? There was like four or five of them. And the saxophone player that you talked about was there too, I think. I think it's the same one. I don't know. Black guy, tall guy? Oh, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
00:28:08
Speaker
So... I was there, but I, did I play? I can't remember. this noticeci I was bald head at that time too. i Then I grew dreads. Then I went back bald head because It's the law. It's going to go away.
00:28:27
Speaker
I get it. You've seen me. I've been adult many years. so So, yeah, I remember those shows with the Continental. What's the name of the band? The Continentals?
00:28:38
Speaker
The Shim Sham. It was... At Shim Sham. It became One-Eyed Jack, someone told us also some point. Yeah. So I think I only sat in one time.
00:28:49
Speaker
It was during Jazz Fest. It was always during Fest. Yeah, it was always during Jazz Fest. But most of the time, I'm always leaving. Yeah. Because after I play, I'm on tour. I'm going somewhere else. ah A few times, ah had i got a chance to play with him. and one time The one time he did it, I was actually playing with the Soul Rebels.
00:29:04
Speaker
I couldn't play. I couldn't get there to do it. One time, I was with Buckley Zydeco. Yeah. Yeah, but I do remember those over by Jackson Square area. The little SimSham spot over there, man. Yes, yes. I did play with him.
00:29:19
Speaker
Yeah, him, myself, and Emmy one time. Yeah. Was it maybe the first one? but Like 99? Does that sound right? does that so and What year now?
00:29:30
Speaker
there were They were from 1999 to 2003. And three and i I want to say at some point on the 1999 show, he says something and I go, oh, I think he said Curtis's name. What? because Because Andre plays on a bunch of them. So that's why like there's a lot of trumpet on them. so it's hard to, you know.
00:29:46
Speaker
Yeah, because Andre's always, he lived with them. so he say He's there because he lived with them. yeah So, yeah, i was I was probably on tour a lot of those.
00:29:57
Speaker
I was on tour. and And I moved from New Orleans to Atlanta in 95. Gotcha. So that's another reason I probably wasn't there, you know. Yeah. um have Have you played with them? See, one thing that I don't know, and um' Chris is more of the live ah the live show expert.
00:30:14
Speaker
I'm more of the big picture Crows expert, I guess. But did you play with them a lot, either random? Like, have you done random shows where you showed up you know and played a song? or yeah and how many times in, you know, maybe it's been a while, or any any memories or anything want to say about that? San Diego street scene, ah don't don't ask me the year, but...
00:30:36
Speaker
I happened to be in town with Buckley Zydeco. We were in the same festival. We played the night before whatever, I think. And I think we played the date same day earlier. And I just grabbed my horn and said, I'm going over and hang out with Adam. em It's like, yo, I'm going to play.
00:30:49
Speaker
So i was like, come on. All right, let's go. That was random. In Canada, I showed up in Canada, random. Let's play. um It was weird. It's like, where did I play with them? Canada, San Diego, L.A.,
00:31:07
Speaker
In Vegas, I didn't play because we were on stage at the same time. ah Two different venues. Anyway, I didn't do that. But I remember hanging out in Vegas with them because I think that was the beginning of the 1990 second record tour, I think.
00:31:23
Speaker
Not for sure. I just remember them all drinking.
00:31:30
Speaker
What's the champagne? What's the not Moet? The Brute? No. No. He loved the crystal. It's like buckets of crystal, right? And it's like, hey, Curtis, get your crystal. I said, man, no, man, you got a Bud Light. I don't do that. I'm not a champagne guy.
00:31:46
Speaker
I'm strictly beer. Give me a Bud Light or a Heineken or something like that, but I prefer Bud Light, you know? so So the funniest thing is like ah Tom, Lally, he's like, yo, ah Curtis, Curtis, go get to me Bud Light.
00:31:59
Speaker
Come here. He needs a Bud Light. So the fans of Trippin was just like, he's drinking Bud Light. They're drinking Chris Stahls. Like, hey, this my thing. and'm I'm not one of those guys.
00:32:10
Speaker
so It was fun, though. We had a great time. I played with him in Atlanta of quite a few times.
00:32:17
Speaker
The last performance I remember, it was him. It was the Counting Crows in Third Eye. No, what's the name the girl? It's Just a Real World. What's his name? Oh, ah Matchbox, to Rob Thomas or Matchbox 20?
00:32:31
Speaker
Yeah, that was that was a great show. I had a great time playing that show with him. ah My daughter has a boyfriend now. She's well They're grown now, since then.
00:32:44
Speaker
is a He came, I wanted to take him. myself I said, I want you to see something. Come with me. He's like, where we going? said, we're going to a show. It's a rock show. He's like, a rock show? said, yeah, you enjoy it.
00:32:55
Speaker
Man, he hung out. He had the time of his life. you know Adam was taking care of him. guys saying Karen, but every time we come to a line, I will play. My children would come with me, and sit on the steps and the you remember stage when they had, we'd have the steps going up.
00:33:11
Speaker
No, I might've missed some of those years. it's had a little stage with, I don't know if that was in a, what? They always use the same place for everywhere. But so my children were so afraid they sat on the stage and I'm playing and the crowd's going crazy.
00:33:24
Speaker
And they're like, what's going on? They were small, you know? like Yeah. So ah boy every time that you're around, you should, you know, it almost makes me think that he should whip out Chelsea because you're there. But maybe one of these days you could convince him to play it again for good old time's sake or something. Never happens. That's the craziest thing. i was like, why not? You know, but Anna begins. He wants me to play on the beginning. Anna begins.
00:33:48
Speaker
So, yes, we've heard a version of that, Chris, because maybe it was Andre. But on the Shim Sham with the it's great with trumpet. Did you ever bring it up to him, Curtis? I will ask. Did you ever say to him, should we whip out Chelsea?
00:34:00
Speaker
Yeah, he was like, no, we're not going to put that in the lineup. At least you asked. I know he has certain of doing things. It's funny that you the next time, let him know there's some other people also, that there's a lot of people out there. It's not just you. yeah it's it's And you know, the funny thing about that song is that it's also a song that...
00:34:20
Speaker
the The hardcore fans would love, but I think even fans that hadn't heard it before, I think it's easy to love that song the first you know first time, too. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
00:34:30
Speaker
You said something which we got the feeling is true, even though um we've only talked to a couple of former band members, but Adam likes working with people on stage that...
00:34:45
Speaker
like that if you're As you said, like you're on the same whatever vibe or something that he knows that he can trust you. and you can write you you kind of You don't have to rehearse some of these things. You just can feel each other on stage.
00:34:58
Speaker
so Yeah, there's no rehearsal. There's no rehearsal. It's just he comes over and he says, just look me right in my eyes. and he just Are you ready? I'm like, Okay. and okay So it was just, yeah, it just matched energy. look You know what I'm saying? Yeah. make Making musical, magical energy at this, you know.
00:35:22
Speaker
So it's it's pretty cool. Oh, that's cool. did um Well, I guess I did have one other ah question or two about the crews, but but let's step back a second and talk about a little bit of your background, just if anybody's curious.
Curtis's Musical Journey and Broader Reflections
00:35:34
Speaker
One thing I didn't know, which I guess you just mentioned, is that you grew up in around St. Louis.
00:35:38
Speaker
Yeah, so, yeah, I grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Okay. I went to the same high school as Miles Davis. oh So he was my hero, by the way.
00:35:49
Speaker
just I love Miles Davis' music. And um ah graduated from high school and I went to Texas Southern University, where majored in music there.
00:36:01
Speaker
And later on, actually dropped out as a senior and moved to New Orleans to start playing professional with the Never Brothers children. One of my fraternity brothers was a nephew of Cyril Neville.
00:36:15
Speaker
So I moved to New Orleans and I started playing with the Neville Brothers children in band called Death Generation. And I ended up playing, when I started with Olympia Brass Band, Olympia Brass Band, young Olympia Brass Band was named the band and we became Soul Rebel Brass Band.
00:36:33
Speaker
And from that, that's when I So then I started playing with Buckwheat Zydeco, but before that I was already introduced to Adam in Soul Rubber Brass Band, and that's when I, in New Orleans, when I lived in New Orleans.
00:36:45
Speaker
Then I left New Orleans and moved here in 95. Kind of stopped playing the Soul Rubber and just did the rest of my career with Buckwheat Zydeco and hanging out with the Crows and I've actually recorded it live too.
00:36:59
Speaker
They're Adam, yeah. That was weird, but it was great. They flew me out to do that. It's like, all right. Everybody wants trumpet now. It's like, cool. You've recorded a couple songs with the band live. you Yeah. yeah often off off to Off to check that out.
00:37:12
Speaker
If someone had to describe... like It seems like even though you've won your Grammys with Zydeco and Creole Music, it seems like... I don't know. Would you... If someone... you know Would you just...
00:37:25
Speaker
define yourself as just a trumpet player that plays everything or do you have like a, do you think you're, cause I don't even know your background in training or you, you know, uh, primarily a jazz trained or is it just a little bit of everything or. Yeah. So, so the, the the thing is i was trained, uh, classical and jazz.
00:37:45
Speaker
So I play a lot of jazz in my younger years, my younger years, my, uh, I went to Allstate in high school. I was in the this featured trumpet player, the number two trumpet player in the state of Illinois.
00:37:57
Speaker
um And then i went to high school I went to college and I was in the marching band, but I really loved classical music. So I played concertos. I would play in the chamber orchestras. I did a lot of different stuff.
00:38:10
Speaker
and And then on my look I actually played soca music with some of the biggest artists in the world, you know, when I lived in Houston Tech. So I was like i were like, I don't care what it is, I just want to play.
00:38:22
Speaker
If I can fit my horn in the crack of it, going to put it in there. And then I'm going to play. So like I said, my background was basically, I learned classical and then I started jazz. and But my father's a gospel singer, so I was already raised in music. He sings quartet gospel music.
00:38:39
Speaker
Uh-huh. My whole life, my father's been a vocalist. He's singing with Reverend Curtis Watts. My father's a pastor, although heathen. He's a pastor.
00:38:51
Speaker
Well, I think he comes up when i was I was trying to search for things on YouTube. Reverend Curtis Watson comes up. That's my father. really? Yep. That's my father. That's my father. Yeah, man. That's my father. think I... Yeah, I saw that too, actually. Yeah.
00:39:06
Speaker
Do you have... You know, this is totally changing the subject. Do you have... thought Because I've heard other musicians talk about this. You might not have an opinion, but you went to Texas Southern, historically black college. I think you're wearing a shirt now of ah African-American fraternity, right?
00:39:21
Speaker
Do you any thoughts on... Because sometimes you hear, and I think it's maybe overblown or whatever, about... about young African-Americans, you know, keeping some of these traditions alive and especially in trumpet is, are things better than me or, you know, are things, you know, is is there just as many, is there just as much interest in this? Or do you think it's, you know, sometimes you hear it not, you know, and I guess in every group about, Oh, everybody only cares about hip hop and electronic music. No one's keeping that. You know, I don't know how much of that is overhyped or whatever. Yeah. I think, I think ah there are a lot of children now that wants to be
00:39:58
Speaker
want to go to HBCU schools to be a part of the marching band. Yes. ah My opinion about the marching band, my opinion about the the school systems in America right now, public schools, you can you had great teachers that were really teaching.
00:40:14
Speaker
Then they started taking music out of these curriculums, man, and they started destroying the upbringing of these children. So you can't, you know, for us learning an instrument in an early age, right?
00:40:25
Speaker
So now... You get in a band, you're probably in that what, eighth grade, ninth grade? I mean, but I shouldn't say that's bad, because I literally started playing trumpet in the 10th grade.
00:40:36
Speaker
That's crazy. and But I would practice seven hours a day on the weekends. you know so But I'm going back to my point. It's like the the musicianship of the children that want to just play marching band is different from the musicianship of the children that want to play jazz, funk.
00:40:55
Speaker
are ah blues or whatever. It's just a whole different thing. um And that is not being taught in in schools anymore. you know you you You have a few jazz programs.
00:41:08
Speaker
You have a few um classical ah bands, but they're playing the music, but they're not playing the music, if that makes any sense. They're just really flopping over just the so because it's a part of the curriculum of the band. wreck Okay, we're going to play this march. They're just playing it, playing it. They're not really playing it.
00:41:30
Speaker
They're just playing in the notes, if that you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah. But when it's trying to crank it out... Yeah, they wanna, cause my son is one, my son plays trumpet. He's, he screams to the stratosphere, you know, but then I say, he's like, I don't all that. He don't do that. I'm not doing that. I just wanna.
00:41:48
Speaker
you don't do that man i'm not as well
00:41:53
Speaker
was like It's funny. Yeah. du Yeah. It almost reminds me there was something, you i mean, something years ago, it was, I forget where I was. might've been overseas, but like, it was something like very American, like swing dancing. Maybe it will I think it was like swing dancing or something like that, but there was something. And the people keeping the tradition alive were like these, this like group of like a hundred Norwegians.
00:42:13
Speaker
Like they thought it was like this great part of America. Yeah. And then they were doing it and promoting it and I'm like, yeah, I don't know anybody in the U.S. who's doing this. i Maybe it wasn't swing dancing, but something like that. No, it is, man. Oh, man. Listen.
00:42:24
Speaker
And well, does they may not be doing it now. But and where was I? i was Is it Salt Lake City? No, no, no, no, no. no It's on the East Coast, West Coast. There is this venue that has this big ballroom and the floors has springs in it.
00:42:42
Speaker
Like we're playing Zydeco and people are like, boom, how the hell did they get that high?
00:42:47
Speaker
Right. It's blowing my mind. where Is that Portland? I want to say it's Portland, Portland, Oregon. But it is its it has this big ballroom and the ballroom has springs in the floor.
00:42:58
Speaker
And I'm like, how in the world are they getting this high off the floor? So, yeah, they still have like the swing dance. bands play there, but we would have to be a Zydeco band playing at this venue.
00:43:09
Speaker
And it's still an underground thing, you know, it's not as popular the anymore because we have so many popular forms of music in America now. or Our roots music is kind of getting washed away. But the roots music is the stuff where you really learn how to play.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah. The popular music is the stuff you're just... you know, just send it because especially rap, some of the rap, you get the same metrics, but different words or the same message. It's like, it's enough of that. Give me something different, you know? yeah Um, I think music has made a, a huge change and now, now it's going back to lyrical content.
00:43:47
Speaker
So now you can storytellers back into music and, and then you're getting like, Oh, R and B music is coming back. Um, The rock bands are just like either they're banging out or it's something in the middle where it's not the same as rock. is It's more like a soul rock, I guess. I don't know to say it. You know, where it's like real passionate lyrical content music where it's like, you know, he didn't have to kill my dog.
00:44:16
Speaker
in the backyard.
00:44:19
Speaker
Well, is it it's an interesting time because it's like, you know, on the one hand, in certain ways, we're further away from some of the
Preservation of Music and Future Endeavors with Counting Crows
00:44:26
Speaker
roots music. But on the other hand, The internet, which has been a great, obviously killer of a lot of music in a lot of ways, it also makes it easier to access that stuff. So for the people that do want to get deep, they can get back to the origin source. like i mean I think about like some of the records I found when I was younger. you know Someone would talk about it. I'd have to go to a record store and find it.
00:44:47
Speaker
And then you'd listen to that one, and that would get you back. But there's multiple steps. And it's a lot easier now to get like... all the way down. Like if you got into a bit of Zydeco music, you could probably go all the way down the rabbit hole now in a way that 20 years ago would have been very, very difficult. You can listen to be an expert in listening to to everything now.
00:45:08
Speaker
That's the, that's the, that's the, uh, was talking to a friend yesterday in the cigar lounge and I was, we were having a conversation about AI and he's like, we have to resolve this. You have to emerge into something different. We can stay the same.
00:45:22
Speaker
I said, you're absolutely right. And the one thing about moving forward with the technologies, like you just stated, you can go back and you can find all this old music now, whereas I didn't throw away my records.
00:45:35
Speaker
I still have cassette tapes. I think I have a few eight track tapes somewhere. You know, my wife called me a hoarder. But this stuff, I'm like, you know what? it's not I'm not throwing this away. I still have CDs and boxes out there. I'm not throwing my CDs away, you know, because I i have a CD player in my truck.
00:45:51
Speaker
Yeah, me too. Put it in there, you know, and jam out, you dig? So this this this great thing about the internet was just so great. Like I stated before, if someone could find old records, like they may have, it may be one or two or 10 copies of that particular style of music left Throw it on the internet.
00:46:09
Speaker
Now we can find it. We can find this bluegrass, this rootsy music, this ah ah West Virginia banjo playing music and all that good stuff, man. you know and and um'm I'm a person that believes there's always something good in music.
00:46:25
Speaker
You got to get something from It just happened to me yesterday. i I watched this movie. I hate to say the movie is quite weak. I thought there's this kind of arthouse movie by Chris Pine called Pullman. And it's really had some potential, but it it was not a good movie. But near the in the credits, they played this like song called Los Angeles Blues by Peggy Lee. was like, never heard of this before. and it would I guess it was composed and written by Quincy Adam. It had sax. It's a fantastic song from yeah decades ago.
00:46:54
Speaker
And I would have never known. But you're right, Chris. You watched the movie. The credit, I'm like, this is a really well-written song. And right away, I went to YouTube and played it. so Yeah. You can find it now. That's great. Did you choose Texas Southern in part because of the band in particular?
00:47:12
Speaker
ah okay No. Actually, no. So here's the crazy thing. Because I made Allstate, 21 schools in state of Illinois,
00:47:24
Speaker
had given me full free rides. And Howard University begged for me. That's what was thinking. i bet i was like, I bet you got a lot of scholarship offers. Yeah, I got a lot. Then I wanted to go to Fam Mute because I saw, as when I was, I think I was in so my junior high school year, my band went to Florida. We played at Epco Center and Disney World down there, our jazz band.
00:47:48
Speaker
But we stopped in Atlanta to go to this the first MEAC SWAT game, HBCU football game, and it was Gremlin and FAMU. ah One of my band directors had in high school went to Gremlin. I didn't want to go to Gremlin.
00:48:00
Speaker
I saw FAMU, it blew my mind. I said, want to go to FAMU so bad. And then I saw Tennessee State. I like, Tennessee State Jazz Program is so great. I want to go to Tennessee State, so great. Both of those schools decided they were not going to bring any out-of-state students in.
00:48:14
Speaker
So Texas Southern, since a few of my friends were already there, was like, man, you should go to TSU with me. And I was like, ah I don't know. So I ended up going to Texas Southern and Howard University begged two years for me. They like literally like, hey, if you come with us now, they were going to some country.
00:48:38
Speaker
and they wanted me to record with them. This is 1985, I went to college. 1986, they were still asking my mom to talk to me about transferring.
00:48:51
Speaker
So this this person has died and gone, so you don'll have to worry about me calling his name. But I'm not gonna call his name, but at Texas Southern, they sent my mother $750 check stating, we need him to come back.
00:49:03
Speaker
We don't need you to put this on the school. He just needs to, hey, whatever you got to do to get him back to Houston, Texas. So that's exactly what happened. They sent her $750 to buy whatever she wanted to buy with it. So it didn't have anything to do with me. You're like, mom, come in on this at least. Yeah. And it's in the 80s. So that's you know that's about you know whatever, five grand now or something. Yeah. um Right. he's Exactly.
00:49:30
Speaker
No, it is interesting. competitive my my ah so My wife is a ah trumpet player and and there was like compet in like colleges, she was a pretty good drum player. And like, they'd be like, oh yeah these people want me to go here, but I didn't want i wanted to get out of she's originally from upstate New York. it's like, I wanted to get out of upstate New York. That's how.
00:49:44
Speaker
um And so they're the music programs, right? If you've got the talent, it's not. um Yeah, yeah. Not quite like college football, but it sounds like closer than you think. listen, um I tell all my friends, put your child in the band. You want them to go to school on a scholarship? Put them in the band. Just tell them, just just hit the damn bass drum.
00:50:02
Speaker
Get a scholarship, bro. I'm serious. You don't have to be the first trumpet player. A lot of kids think, you know, I have to be so great to be in the band. No, they need second and third trumpet players as well. They don't need everybody to play first, right? You know, so it's money there for you.
00:50:16
Speaker
You know, you have children. Put them in the band program, you know, that'll make you, you that it work out for you. Yeah. But I knew I was going to be destined to be professing because when I was a Texas seller, man, I literally wanted to be on Arsenio Hall show so bad.
00:50:31
Speaker
Like, so I'm so serious. I was standing front of the windows and like play my horn, like Miles Davis. I'm like, yeah, ah next coming to the stage, Curtis Watson from, you know, but like Arsenio, I'm on Arsenio.
00:50:42
Speaker
I really put that in my head and, um, so and so i So I was doing this Miles Davis stuff back in those days, though, with the foot pedals and all. And we had a competition. I'll never forget. It was Huntsville, Texas.
00:50:59
Speaker
Yeah, Huntsville, Texas. And I was in a combo. I was dealing with marching band stuff. So I was playing a combo. And the combo went up. We played a few songs for Miles Davis.
00:51:10
Speaker
And I was there. Like, when I was there, i was pouring. no and I was there. yeah So I'm there all the way there.
00:51:21
Speaker
I'm literally sitting on the stage playing my horn like Miles Davis. The crowd goes crazy. The judge comes up to me.
00:51:31
Speaker
He says, in all my competitions, you know, judging, I've never seen nothing like you all before. So said what are you guys doing? I looked right in his eyes and I said, man, we're just high.
00:51:45
Speaker
We're just high. I'm going to be like...
00:51:49
Speaker
I was in college, man. You know, of course, it's good times, though. I walked away and saw it said, well, I guess I'm destined to be in this life for real. <unk> That's great. Well, that, do you know, by the way, that the Crows have a documentary coming out soon on HBO? I think the early thing, i think that, I'm hearing them around Christmas time.
00:52:09
Speaker
Somewhere in the fall, yeah. Yeah, somewhere in the fall. They already had a couple um previews in New York about it, but. For us. And it's mostly about the August and recovering years. So Chris saw it. I'm not saying you're in it. I don't think you are. But if you're interested in that time period and they're, you know, you... But now we've got new recordings to hear that we haven't... Well, that's what I was going to get at because... Hopefully, yeah, they'll put the horns on there. They should have I've been... like i I don't listen to all his interviews, but I know Adam's interviewed a lot but about these famous recovering satellites, lost tracks, and and it was in a fire and remastered.
00:52:45
Speaker
Does he know that you have these recordings? Oh, you know what? I don't. I don't think Adam knows. He might not know. have to go looking... Now you're about to make me go and look in this garage for these CDs and see if I can find... But that's a pretty big deal. interesting. Yeah. and you So when you said, yeah, he did lose, I forgot about that.
00:53:05
Speaker
No, that yeah. and then And then they lost them and then they found some things, but not others. Because everybody... Because, you know, that's the... I mean, we love all their albums for different reasons, but that's like the Critical Darling album, I guess, right? It did...
00:53:18
Speaker
really well and was different and it's the one that he hears a lot of demand for for different pressings and different re-releases. Well, they worked on it so much. There's stuff like this that, again, I think that we knew that they'd worked on it for a long time, but we didn't know, again, that there's full...
00:53:34
Speaker
horn versions of some of these songs. like ah Yeah. Yeah. We literally drop horns on some things. So yeah, if he is going to re-release some tracks, maybe, you know, you can add yours as some bonus tracks or something, or at least he might like to hear them. Now I'm going to call. I'm like, Hey, I heard that you're about to drop a little...
00:53:52
Speaker
A small movie. What's going on? Yeah, ask about that. and Because he might think that those recordings are gone. And you might have the only copy of them, right? if because if the if the Yeah. and this you know i'm I'm trying to think. oh They should have.
00:54:05
Speaker
I don't know they're. Yeah, this should be the whole songs, man. Wait a minute, man. Hold on. I may have those.
00:54:14
Speaker
What were using? No, we weren't using emails in those days. Of course not. Yeah, when that had been recorded, would we say, like 94 or something? 95, 96, yeah. Yeah, 95, 96. And maybe on cassette tapes.
00:54:26
Speaker
Oh. Some homework for you, Curtis. I still have those cassettes. I know exactly what my cassette tapes are, too. Yeah, so after we talked, I don't know what else you're doing on a Sunday, but maybe over the next couple weeks you can look into this. And, you know, maybe i could maybe it'd be great if we can get you and Adam talking about these. I think he'd be happy to hear them. I'd like to see if he wouldn't mind me just, and you know,
00:54:46
Speaker
giving you all a sample what the horns say. I mean, i I wouldn't give it without his permission. but Yeah, we could always, you know, either you or hit he or we could always upload them. i mean they I mean, they have a YouTube channel. Maybe he wants to put it there. I don't know.
00:55:01
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. So, you know, it's funny. I was looking at, even though because partly because the crews don't release a lot, even though I guess officially what we said, horns are on four songs. that um But, you know, to each of the last albums, you know, I guess three of the last four albums had a Right. Because Hard Candy and then not on Saturday nights, but somewhere. Right. Had the Palisades and then the most recent. So hopefully ah if the Crows record another album, Curtis, we want at least one trumpet song on it. So hopefully that trend continues.
00:55:31
Speaker
Yeah. i I kind of think something is in the making, because when I spoke with last week, he was like, so, hey, man, are you still playing around? said, no, not really. So you sure? said, oh, me start practicing. Something to come up.
00:55:43
Speaker
yeah right i'll get a call yeah something's gonna happen i know yeah well that's great chris did you have any other questions for him about the crows or you think we know thank you for taking the time that children i'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you guys was just trying to figure out when i was gonna have good time oh that's fine we have uh yeah no no no problem and i'm i'm glad we could go down nostalgia lane a little bit and also learn a little more about ah your background. And and I think ah for a lot of listeners, they're going to be really ah interested to know that you played on the recorded version of Chelsea. that that's yeah That's some important trivia.
00:56:20
Speaker
Do you have anything you want to ah plug? um You know, I You know, I don't want to know, not at this time. Okay. we're like no So I just like to say, we'll continue to, for everyone that's listening, continue to support live entertainment, you know, ah local and national.
00:56:41
Speaker
Just continue to support it because there are people out here working really hard to bring you one song and you don't know how long it takes to put together a song to make magic in one song. That's hours and hours of practicing your instrument or singing, you're working on your vocals.
00:56:57
Speaker
It's a lot of work put into the music that so many people love. So always go out and support that if you will. That would be great. My spiel, you know, bless somebody, you know? Yeah. And also, I guess they they can pick up some of the Buckwheat Zydeco albums. Yeah, yeah. We can pick up a couple of Buckwheat Zydeco. The new beginnings is Buckwheat Zydeco's son.
00:57:20
Speaker
That's the record we won the Grammy on. ah And the the record before that was... Not Trouble. What's that record? Yeah. Now you want to make me on Brandy and see what it was. I don't feel like I'm a Brandy. I think I wrote that down. Now I'm, oh yeah, that one I didn't write the name of it. But then I did see that Neville Brothers album. You were very involved too. You got a lot credit on that one. Family Groove something. Family Groove, yeah. I wrote the horns on that. Although my Lion Brother, they said he did it. But it like I wrote it.
00:57:52
Speaker
No, I thought you got a lot of credit for that. so Yeah. And I wrote with Cyril Neville too. I thought, yeah, I've done so many. play with a lot of people. i don't think people know. like I tour with CeeLo.
00:58:03
Speaker
okay ah I tour with Neo. Right. I tour with the Count of Crows, of course. When I play with the Count of Crows, I will play with live. When they do the live Count of Crows tour, they're like, hey, Curtis, come on play a horn for us. and A lot of people don't know, most of the live band were all trumpet players.
00:58:21
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. They were all trumpet. Ed and Ed played trumpet.
00:58:27
Speaker
I had no idea. That's a Yeah, we man, we would sit about hours and talk about trumpet, man. Cool guys. So did... um
00:58:41
Speaker
What's the rock band, man?
00:58:44
Speaker
um California. California Dreamin'. You haven't thought of the Mamas and the Tapas or Band of Plan? No, the three is three of them. Like, it's the bass player...
00:58:58
Speaker
Guitar, bass, guitar, drums, four.
00:59:03
Speaker
The drum is real tall. how ah We hung out. Oh, my God. How am I going blank for this? Red Hot Chili Peppers. Oh, no. Oh, the Californication. Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah. yeah so Yeah, so Red Hot Chili Peppers. ah What's the drummer name? thats Chad. Smith. Is that right? Yeah.
00:59:20
Speaker
smith but right Yeah, Chad, we hung out a lot at jazz festival. Him, Adam, myself, we hung out and the bass player, he's a damn, his dad is a jazz trumpet player.
00:59:35
Speaker
He was a trumpet player, yeah. So it was good to hang out with these guys. Most were trumpet players and became rock stars. i was like, man, I must have missed some in school. and i And I both know, even though I don't listen to new music as much or, you know, in the last, I both know CeeLo and N.E.O. know all them. I used to like this Independent. I thought that was a good song. so Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:59:58
Speaker
He's a great writer. He's a great writer. Oh, yeah, yeah. You ever heard of Russell Gunn trumpet player? No, that one I don't know. He has a big band here called the Royal Crunk Jazz Orchestra, ah which is really great. He played with Wynton Marsalis with Blood on the Fields. He played with Bradford Marsalis, Buckside LaFont.
01:00:15
Speaker
so He's another great trumpet player from East St. Louis. ah He has a big band here. From time to time, I play with that. He's asking me to do to do some recording right now. i like, yeah, oh, man, I'm not going to be able to play all those high notes right now.
01:00:30
Speaker
Give me a few months, you so, yeah. Well, and congrats on, um you know, like Adam, I guess like any musician, you kind of this is not something you suddenly get into when you're 55. So you have to know early. You both have to have some talent. You have to have hard work. And you kind of have to have this, whether it's um delusional or not, you have to have this idea that it's going to work.
01:00:51
Speaker
and to think it's destiny, even if it's not really destiny, but actors are like that. Comedians, they all, you all have to have that. So ah congrats on, on getting a career out of it. So that's great. Thank you. And I definitely had a career.
01:01:03
Speaker
yeah can believe it's It's been an awesome career. I would say that, you know, it's, old artists say like whether it's two or two thousand we're gonna rock it like it's twenty twenty thousand well thank you we wish you best we hope that you get a chance to play with the crows sometime and uh and hope that uh thanks for the inside information and we hope to hear you on a on a future album too so thank you man you guys have a great sunday enjoying the rest of sunday sunshiny out here in atlanta i don't know you guys are in la right uh yeah yeah he's in la i'm in new york but it's also sunshining here so
01:01:38
Speaker
Wow, that's great. That's great. Because each side, we're going to have to, in a couple of months, we're going be shelving us. Well, he's going be shelving us now, and I'll be putting on a coat. It won't get that cold.
01:01:49
Speaker
Well, I'm going to end the podcast now and then stick on a little bit. We've got one other thing to wrap up with you. But thank you to the listeners enjoying and being with us down here on Sullivan Street.
01:02:00
Speaker
Almost everything.
01:02:12
Speaker
I'm just