EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Deborah Harry
Deborah Harry, photo by Joe Gaffney
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DEBORAH HARRY
Interview by Brian Mc Kenna
I was thrilled to get the assignment to speak with rock, rap and video pioneer, and also a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Debbie Harry about her new album Necessary Evil and her supporting tour. The tour will include a stop in Indy at the Vogue on Saturday, November 24th. When the call came through Ms. Harry was on her tour bus somewhere between Ledyard, CT and Johnson City, NY where she would be playing the 4th of 21 shows in 31 days. Her voice carries a slight morning rasp but she is in very good spirits.
Tags: Deborah HarryBrian: Good morning.
Debbie: Good morning. How are you?
Brian: Honestly, I’m a little tired and trying to wake up.
Debbie: (laughs) Me too.
Brian: How has the first week of the tour been going?
Debbie: Good.
Brian: Your website says you have 21 shows in 31 days. That’s a lot of shows in a short period of time. How do you prepare yourself for a schedule like that?
Debbie: I don’t know. You have to ease into it I guess. I’m a morning person, always have been. So I’m starting to get my nighttime hours and stuff. (laughs)
Brian: What is the biggest difference between touring in the 70’s and touring in the 2000’s?
Debbie: Better equipment makes it a lot easier. I think the early days were kind of like the wild west in that you were blazing a trail and people didn’t treat you as good as they do now. I mean it’s an established business now, so people treat you better now.
Brian: Do you miss playing the small dirty clubs?
Debbie: Not especially. Sometimes it is fun, but it’s more difficult to get a good sound because of the proclivity to play loud even in a small club to get that sound. It’s just not as acoustically good because of the volume and club size.
Brian: Do you remember the venues beforehand when the management is telling you what is booked?
Debbie: Not really. Usually I will remember them when I walk in and see the club.
Brian: Did you know your backing musicians or was this band put together for you exclusively for this tour?
Debbie: I had done a previous tour with 2 of them. The keyboard player and one other. They have all played together before though and groove well. They are all young and into it.
Brian: Is your current show a retrospective of both your solo career and the Blondie-era stuff?
Debbie: Mostly solo stuff and a few Blondie songs.
Brian: You have a great new album out. Am I right in saying this is your most DIY album project of your career?
Debbie: Yeah.
Brian: Would you do it this way again?
Debbie: Yes. I enjoyed doing it this way. Kind of at my own pace. Working with 2 other people was very intimate and enjoyable.
Brian: Didn’t you do the photography for the artwork as well?
Debbie: Yes. I shot the cover. It was pretty easy with digital cameras nowadays.
Brian: You recorded the disc digitally as well. Do you prefer digital recording over analog recording?
Debbie: I like the sound and depth of analog better but it is easier to record digitally. What is really important though is a good performance. If you can capture a good performance it doesn’t matter much if it was recorded digitally or analog.
Brian: Did you consciously decide it was time to write a new album or were the tunes already there and just needed to be polished and recorded?
Debbie: The songs were written specifically for this CD.
Brian: I noticed you wrote and recorded some of the tunes with your longtime friend, collaborator, and Blondie alum Chris Stein. Has the writing process with Chris changed over the years? If so, how?
Debbie: It’s still the same. Chris is still into the same playing music and layering. Then he’ll send me the ideas and I’ll mull them over and put my part on there and then play it back for him. We bounce our ideas back and forth a bit.
Brian: There is a very Robert Fripp-ish feel and sound to a lot of the guitars on the new disc. Was that planned from the start of the album’s writing?
Debbie: All the instruments were played by the 2 writers. That’s actually the producer playing a lot of the guitars. That’s actually just his guitar style. Nice and airy, isn’t it?
Brian: Yes. I like Robert Fripp’s stuff. The guitars on the disc sound great.
Debbie: Thanks.
Brian: It seems you are diving into new waters lyrically. Specifically on the song “Paradise,” but on the others as well. Did you have the lyrical idea for “Paradise” before the music or vice versa? Because the music on “Paradise” really sets the tone well for the lyrics.
Debbie: It’s about suicide.
Brian: A female suicide bomber right?
Debbie: Yes. It is beautiful and haunting but I didn’t write it. I thought it was such a great piece of poetry that depicts our times now.
Brian: Some artists get a bit of fame or money and tend to lose their musical or writing edge because they can no longer relate to where they once were. Your writing has never lightened up like that. Is that ever a conscious effort on your part?
Debbie: That happens to a lot of artists. For me it has always been like a fight for survival to maintain a sense of self in the music. It can be hard to do.
Brian: What is your personal favorite Debbie Harry/Blondie album/song?
Debbie: Oh man I don’t know. It’s hard to choose really. It tends to fluctuate. I’m pretty down with “Rapture” as far as the Blondie stuff. I’m kind of digging “You’re Too Hot” from the solo stuff right now I guess.
Brian: Who and what were your influences when you started in the 70’s?
Debbie: I don’t know if I had anyone in particular. A little bit of everything I guess. Life experience.
Brian: Who or what influences your writing now?
Debbie: Personal experience and trying to make things interesting.
Brian: Who is currently your favorite newer band, album or song?
Debbie: Oh man. Lots. Muse, Smashing Pumpkins, LCD Soundsystem, Lady Sovereign. I always try to mention Heloise and The Savoir Fare. I like her a lot. They are not typical but they are great.
Brian: Hilly Kristal of CBGB’s passed away fairly recently.
Debbie: Yeah.
Brian: How do you feel about the closing of CBGB’s in NYC and also the commercialization or branding of the CBGB’s name?
Debbie: It’s been a commercial brand for sometime so that’s no biggie. Nothing changes much. It just seems like a part of life that had run its course. There will be something else there to replace it maybe.
Brian: How did you get involved with the London musical production of Desperately Seeking Susan?
Debbie: I was approached with the idea. I thought it was an interesting project and the music seemed to fit. It is a good project.
Brian: Being a pretty humble and modest person, does it ever seem surreal realizing you are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Debbie: You know, I never really thought about it much. Until just now anyway. (laughs) It really is kind of isn’t it? (laughs)
Brian: What was it like working on Broadway with Andy Kaufman?
Debbie: He was very focused, hard-working and very sweet. Great guy. Very nice.
Brian: What was it like filming Hairspray?
Debbie: Busy and lots of fun. There were so many different people and personalities on the set each day. It was so much fun.
Brian: You are a total pioneer who seems to have done it all artistically - film, records, tours, Broadway, movie scores, video . . . what is next?
Debbie: I’m going to stay creative, you know. Being creative is vital to life. It’s the secret to full longevity and happiness really.
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Deborah Harry
Saturday, November 24 — Doors @ 6:30pm, Show @ 7:30pm
$27 advance, $30 day of show
The Vogue Nightclub - 6259 N. College Ave. (in the Broad Ripple Village)
Indianapolis, IN 46220 317.259.7029
Nice article…I would like to see more of this type of stuff one here!