Ray Lamontagne Interview
Singer-songwriter, Ray Lamontagne who wrote “Trouble”, one of Taylor Hicks’s Idol tunes (and one of his best performances, in my opinion), was recently interviewed by WCLZ radio out of Portland, ME. When the interviewer asked him about Taylor, here is what he had to say:
“I haven’t heard it [Taylor’s version of “Trouble”] I have met Taylor Hicks before. He’s come to several shows early on…he was very kind.”
The interviewer says, “that must have been cool.”
Lamontagne responds, “Well, you know he was just a guy…now he is Taylor Hicks…now he’s famous. Before he wasn’t famous…but he was just a very kind fan. So that’s how I met him and I didn’t put the two together for a long time until somebody recently showed me a picture, and then I was like ‘oh I know who he is, he’s the guy who came backstage and would sing Sam Cooke songs to me…drunk.'”
The interviewer laughs and says, “This is the kind of celebrity dirt I want to get into now.” Lamontagne says, “…Is he a celebrity already? C’mon, you have to earn it…C’mon now…”
The interviewer says “I don’t watch American Idol” and Lamontagne adds, “I don’t either”. But then he quickly says, “But I’m happy for him, and I hope he sells a katrillion, zillion records.”
The interviewer interjects, “It’s probably good for you, because…100 million people heard the song…” But Lamontagne is unimpressed, “Yeah, but….you know how that works…nobody cares who wrote the song…I don’t think anyone knows who sings…I’m sure no one cares.”
I can understand an independent artist like Ray Lamontagne hating AI. It probably represents everything he dislikes about mass produced muzak. I get that. And the fact that Lamontagne is a bit dismissive of the way Taylor finally managed to “get his voice heard”–well, that’s to be expected, I suppose. But downplaying the importance of getting his song performed in front of millions of people? He’s got to be kidding. I’ll bet Taylor is responsible for introducing many AI viewers to Ray Lamontagne’s music–it’s one reason Taylor performed the song in the first place.
KT Tunstall acknowledged Katharine McPhee’s contribution to moving a few units of her album, after Katharine performed her “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” on Idol. Tunstall offered to buy Katharine a pizza if they ever crossed paths. Heh.
You can listen for yourself. Download Ray’s remarks about Taylor. Or, Download the entire interview, which features Lamontagne performing a few songs from his upcoming album. thanks dave
Proud of Our Troops Drive
Some Soul Patrollers are heading a drive called “Proud Of Our Troops” that hopes to send copies of Taylor’s single “Do I Make you Proud/Takin’ it to the Streets” to the troops overseas. If you are interested in participating, you can check it out here.
