Strawbs, along with guest performers, former Strawbs, and Strawbs-related artists, are celebrating their 50th Anniversary in the United States with a three-day (April 26, 27 and 28, 2019) event at the Strand Theater in Lakewood, New Jersey.
In addition to experiencing one of the very best lineups of the — guitarist, vocalist and solo founding member David Cousins, lead guitarist Dave Lambert, bass player Chas Cronk, drummer Tony Fernandez, and keyboardist and guitarist Dave Bainbridge — audiences will be treated to special guests like Tony Visconti, Annie Haslam, Larry Fast, and many others who will be lending their talents to the weekend.
I spoke with Cousins at his home in the UK just before he popped over to the States for a small tour and the one-of-a-kind show in New Jersey. In addition covering the Strawbs’ 50th Anniversary, we also chatted about the present lineup, past players (including Deep Purple’s Don Airey, Rick Wakeman and his two sons Oliver and Adam, among them), the most recent Strawbs studio album, and other relevant points of interest.
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Hello Mr. Cousins. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.
Absolutely, it’s been a full day for me over here taking press calls…and emailing my tour manager. He just got in touch for me to send him a poster for the shows coming up, so I have been running from room to room a bit (laughs).
Getting ready for that big 50th Anniversary show.
Yes, indeed.
Beyond this show there are other dates you are coming over for as well, right?
Yes, a bunch in the area…and then we are actually committed to more after this jaunt. But for this we are doing a handful in the northeast area there, all serving as a nice bit of a warm-up for that big weekend.
Like plenty of classic British rock bands, you do have a solid foothold in the U.S.. But why Lakewood, New Jersey, of all places? Not that I am knocking the town or the state, I was born, raised and still live in New Jersey.
Well, we’ve been playing the North Eastern United States for a very long, long time, and over the past fifteen to twenty years we became quite friendly with the Mayor of Lakewood, having played that spectacular Strand Theatre there, helping to restore it in fact with our shows. We even were given a Mayoral Citation to the city. And it’s a very convenient location for people flying into Newark Airport or any of the New York airports. We did our fortieth anniversary in London and felt, why not spend the 50th with our American friends?
This is proving to be quite the star-studded event.
Oh yes, we have some amazing players joining us, not that the Strawbs lineup presently isn’t amazing. In fact, I feel this is the best, most integrated line-up we have ever had actually.
Yes, and I want to mention them for sure. But can we talk about some of those special guests? You have keyboardist Larry Fast (Peter Gabriel, Nektar) joining you. When did you first meet him?
Larry and I first met in 1978, playing on a tour together. We got along very well then, and still do. I saw him again about two years ago, again getting along as great as ever, then when I began to put this 50th anniversary together about six months ago I gave him call and asked if he’d fancy doing something with just him and I, a bunch of songs that are very obscure. He said that it sounded like a great challenge and agreed to do it.
Eric Bazilian of The Hooters is coming along too. He and his band mates have always loved our music, and I first played with him at City Winery in New York. Eric claims that the first band The Hooters ever saw live as school kids was the Strawbs and they were fascinated by the fact that we had a Mellotron on stage as well as a dulcimer. He told me that after they saw our show, they knew that they had form a band. He’s performing “What If God Was One Of Us,” the hit he wrote and produced for Joan Osborne, with us and the Terra Nova Orchestra, who will also be there.
Annie Haslam of Renaissance will be along as well, right?
Yes, I know Annie from way back. The Strawbs and Renaissance toured a lot together during the 70s. Though Annie is British, as you know, she has made her home in the states for quite a while now and doesn’t live all that far from Lakewood, actually. So I called her up and asked if she wanted to sing with the orchestra. She said, ‘I’d love to sing Sandy Denny’s “Who Knows Where The Time Goes,”’ which we recorded with Sandy. In reply, I said, ‘Why don’t we get Tony Visconti to write a new arraignment for it.’ I called Tony, he agreed, and Annie was delighted. In fact, Tony will be on hand to conduct the orchestra for that and more.
And then, of course, there is the killer Strawbs band. It’s about time we mentioned them.
The current lineup comprises me, lead guitarist Dave Lambert and bass player Chas Cronk, who have been with me since 1974, and drummer Tony Fernandez, who played with Rick Wakeman plenty, and recorded and toured with us in the 1970s. Keyboard and guitar virtuoso Dave Bainbridge of Iona completes the band, a fabulous player, like all the rest of the guys.
The Strawbs are certainly a band who have seen some incredible musicians come in and out of the fold through the years. Could you pick out one constant that has remained through all those changes…beyond, of course, your steady presence?
Two constants stand out for me. First, it is that the front line; me, Dave and Chaz have been together for as long as we have, as I said, since nineteen-seventy-four. There aren’t too many bands still playing today who can claim a front line that goes back that far. Secondly, I feel it is the lyrics to our songs that is another constant. They mean so much to people. So many couples come up to me to tell me one of our songs was the one they walked down the aisle to or fell in love over. Other people tell me our music got them through an illness, they were lying in hospital listening to the Strawbs while getting better or a Strawbs’ song brought them some spiritual awakening. The songs and the front line are two those constants I feel that have seen us enduring.
In those many past lineups, can you pick out any highlights or specific memories, the way the band might have sounded or even felt because of one player or another? Say for instance when Rick Wakeman was in the band?
Actually, Rick was supposed to join us for this 50th weekend, but he had a personal commitment. We are still very good friends to this day. But when he was in the band, it was very much the Strawbs backing a brilliant soloist. We certainly created some great music, and as I say we are still very close, but it felt like less an integrated band when he was in it.
You’ve actually had more than just Mr. Wakeman senior in the band.
Yes, Oliver came in, playing very much like his father, a soloist with us more like a backing band. Like his father, he left us to join Yes. In fact, I think I can boast that I am the only band leader to have two Wakemans leave me to join Yes (laughs). Although in neither instance was it a laughing matter at the time.
I’m sure.
Actually, I am always thrilled when anybody leaves us to go on to something they want to do and enjoys success in doing it.
Adam Wakeman was in for a time as well.
Adam is a different kettle of fish altogether from his father or brother. He plays beautifully and was more integrated within the band.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk about possible new Strawbs’ music. In 2017, you released The Ferryman’s Curse. Are there any plans for future Strawbs releases or possibly solo stuff from you?
I have two up my sleeve at the moment. I have been gathering ideas, taking a look back as well as forward. One album I feel would benefit from having Larry Fast on it, speaking of him as we were. I asked him to get involved, and we will rehearse a bit, and he says he is every interested. The other is an album built around the idea of numbers, not naming tracks, but numbering them; I’m not sure if anybody has done this before. The thing about Strawbs’ music is, it can really run the gambit. We are not just a prog band and not just a hard rock band, though we play both styles. In fact, we began as a bluegrass band. Really, for me, if the songs can stand the test of being played and sung just with acoustic guitars or piano that’s the true test if we have something worth pursuing.
It’s interesting you mention how the band is not one thing or another. I have always been fascinated by how you balance between lots of musical styles.
Yes, as far as I know, we are one of the only bands who can headline a folk festival one week, then headline a prog rock festival a month later, doing the same material. I mean, maybe Jethro Tull skirted that line, but really I think this makes the Strawbs unique.
What do you make of the music business today?
The business is one thing, but to me, it was quite a tragedy when computers took over songwriting; writers today just ‘cut and paste,’ putting a piece here or there to make a song. That technical process took the creativity out of songwriting for me. You hear some brilliantly produced stuff on the radio, but to me, it lacks soul, atmosphere. And the musicians are not able to produce that live. We can and do, in fact, that’s how we record really.
Well, I’m sure fans are very happy you are still going strong and making music the way you always have. So many people are really looking forward to seeing that 50th Anniversary show.
Yes, it will be a good time, fraught with danger, of course. We really don’t have the time to rehearse with everyone the way we’d like. We’ll be flying by the seat of our pants, so it will prove to be both exhilarating and exciting I am sure!
