T Bone Burnett Interview Questions?

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:11 pm

I'm interviewing T Bone Burnett April 29th, and I'm curious what questions people have about his producing and such.

madtho · Post by **madtho** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:18 pm

I've long heard of Burnett, I know he was on the Rolling Thunder Review, I love the Sam Phillips albums, but I had no idea how much he's done! check Wikipedia, whoa.

- I'd like to hear about his faith/music relationship. He's done work for some contemporary christian labels, there's a real gospel feel on his last album and both of the movies I'm most aware of his work on (Cash and O' Brother) are pretty religious. It's not something I'd normally be interested in hearing about, but it definitely seems like a force in his work.

- It's pretty obvious, but arrangement looms large on alot of what I've heard both by him, and produced by him. I want to know more.

thanks
have fun
Tonio K Rules
-mad

SkullChris · Post by **SkullChris** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:32 pm

wut mics duz he use on guitr

red cross · Post by **red cross** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:39 pm

A lengthy discussion on the making of the Plant/Krauss record would be very welcome, thanks!

grumpasaurus · Post by **grumpasaurus** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:31 pm

In discussing _The True/False Identity_ in a 2006 interview with "Sound & Vision," Burnett said:
"I wanted to explore the low end on this record. I told my three drummers, Carla Azar, Jim Keltner, and Jay Bellarose, 'We've already heard every beat, so let's not have any beats. Let's just rumble.'"

T Bone and his engineer, Mike Piersante, have been exploring the breadth of low frequencies over the past years. I'd love to hear more about what brought about that experimentation, what he's found in the low end, and how one directs three drummers.

Also, T Bone is widely known for "roots music" but the highlights of his solo albums have been the moments where Jim Keltner and Marc Ribot have been unleashed. This is particularly notable in the outro of "Tear This Building Down" and "Criminals" from 1992's _The Criminal Under My Own Hat_. Does T Bone describe the sounds he's after to the musicians he recruits? Does he demo the songs before the sessions?

I've heard T Bone does not allow road cases in the studio... how come?

I'm not sure that these are really questions, but hopefully it'll offer some direction. I'm glad Tape Op is getting to pick the brain of such a master.

Archmart · Post by **Archmart** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:52 pm

Hey Hey!

1) After "a self-imposed 14 year hiatus as a recording artist", what was that moment when you knew you were back, when you found, once again, something to say?

2) Why "T-Bone", and what does it mean to you, to have a stage name and another, deeper identity?

3) Can you explain everything?

Thanks,
Archmart

joninc · Post by **joninc** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:46 pm

would love to hear about working with gillian welch - his minimalist mic techniques. his crazy guitar tones. vintage gear freak? how he captures/inspires great performances? (apparently he judges good takes while on the phone - ie: if it catches his ear then the band is really "onto" something)

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:44 am

i am probably the only one, but i would love to hear about that record he made with autolux.

matthewinphilly · Post by **matthewinphilly** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:49 pm

I suppose my questions would be in the producer/artist-relations vien:

I'd love to know more about his work with Elvis Costello on "King of America." I.e., how did his conversations with Costello go in getting Costello to commit to moving away from the slickly-produced stuff he'd been doing before that? Was Costello nervous about having to give up the studio tricks he'd come to rely on?

thanks a ton for this interview and the super-fab mag.

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:58 pm

In video interviews I've seen with Robert Plant and Allison Kraus (on youtube), both commented repeatedly on how amazing the vibe that T-Bone created was, almost a magical environment in which to create a truly stunning, unexpected album.

As a producer, are there any methods, tricks, or techniques you use to create such a vibe?

j_howell · Post by **j_howell** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:21 pm

I think most of the things I'd've said here already have been, but any info on working with Ribot'd be swell. Or for that matter if/how he assembles particular players for a project?

mikeyc · Post by **mikeyc** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:52 am

Please throw in some questions about Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind." Such an all-star cast (Cher, Dweezil Zappa, etc.) must have presented some interesting challenges.

Esmo · Post by **Esmo** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:39 am

I don't have a precise question, but I would like to hear more about his time with Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Tour. I was just listening to the 'Hard Rain' live album. Great stuff.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:10 pm

Would love to hear about the production on Sam Phillips' "Cruel Inventions." I love that record. How, for example, was the piano sound on "Standing Still" created?

joninc · Post by **joninc** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:03 pm

those sam philips records were also masterfully mixed by tchad blake...

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T Bone Burnett Interview Questions?

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