Shelter

"Petty: The Biography" Review and Interview with Warren Zanes
  Details   Written by Archivist Liberty    Published: 18 November 2015  Like no other author I have read before, Warren Zanes knows exactly what Rock and Roll is about—not the logistical, statistical stuff like what year Elvis was crowned king—but the stuff that only someone who is passionate about music can understand. Anyone who has experienced this intense desire to make their own music will relate to this book on a level deeper than they will relate to most people. The best thing is, Zanes can formulate it into words; he writes in a way that allows everyone to feel Petty’s ambition and passion.
      The first real feeling I had about this book was a sadness—the bittersweet kind. Watching Runnin’ Down a Dream: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (documentary by Peter Bogdanovich), you get the ambition, the get up and go get ‘em attitude of the Heartbreakers.
       But ambition isn’t born out of ambition. There’s a catalyst, and with this biography, you actually get it: You get Petty’s home life and the struggles that pushed him forward into the unknown. That’s what makes it sad, for me. The Bogdanovich documentary is actually what made me a fan of the Heartbreakers. I’m one of the young fans, but I’ve had enough time to read thousands of articles, interviews, reviews, and now to own and operate The Petty Archives. With this huge archive behind me, it was always in the back of my mind how Earl was as a father, how Kitty passed so soon… but Zanes pulls it right up front. It’s more painful when you actually have to face it. Tom Petty is so private that even many of his close friends never knew exactly what was happening, let alone the general public. I never wanted to let my mind wonder at how tough it was or what Tom's marriage was like. I never wanted to believe how heartbreaking it could be. Tom Petty reminds me of this fortune cookie I got last time I ate Chinese… “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” It's the cheesiest saying, but also the truest.
      I’ve always looked up to Tom Petty. I find it funny how he convinced so many of his bandmates and friends to leave college and pursue music. He makes a great leader, because he is truly passionate about his cause. Even I fell for it and started making music, before an injury put a stop to that. The drive that he radiates comes through in his music and how he carries himself, inspiring not only those around him, but anyone who has ever enjoyed a piece of his music. It’s like he’s all stretched out—he’s down to earth and relatable, but has his head up in the clouds searching for something better.
      The best thing about Zanes’ book which I think a lot of people will find refreshing is that it’s not boggled by times and dates. It’s not heavy in that way. It has a smooth flow and a feeling that you’re along for the ride. Almost every in-depth biography or article I’ve read on Tom Petty has some date wrong. Even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum says that both Petty and Mike Campbell were born in 1954… (Yes, I did write them a correction and put it in the suggestion box while I was there).
But Rock and Roll doesn’t care about dates, and I think Zanes understands this. 
Who gives a sh*t what year anything happened? 
…That doesn’t change what it felt like or what it does to people.
      Petty: The Biography is an introspective book about looking back and pushing forward with Tom as a guide. Zanes writes in a way that gives insight into human connection. The book is full of block quotes from key players; the most reflective and contemplative voice of all is Adria Petty. She seems to look on all of it with a clarity which no one else has. Olivia Harrison comes very close, but there is something authoritative in Adria’s words which dictates insight.
      I cried on page 260. Like how Petty’s relationships evolve with his friends and bandmates, my own relationship with Petty evolved while reading this book. Like Tom, I’ve always had that stubbornness and ability to fight any kind of injustice, despite the consequences. Warren Zanes is in this small club of Tom Petty fans who can tell me something about Tom Petty I don’t already know. Everyone has their struggles, but I never knew Petty’s struggles ran so deep. I’m still trying to peel away the blankets off of my own bed of clinical depression. I’ve changed so much in the last year of my life that I’ve been painfully waiting for someone to introduce me to myself. I read in another interview with Zanes’ that he reassured Petty the story of his struggle would be told as a cautionary tale. It breaks my heart to know that Petty understands the feeling of wasting away, likely even more than I understand it; even if it sounds selfish, it helps me to know I’m not alone. Tom Petty has always done that for me, though. Kept me going. Telling me that I don’t have to put up with bullshit if I don't want to.
      If there is any book which should be assigned to developing teenage musicians as a textbook… it’s Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes. This is a book anyone could read and find some connection with, whether it’s musical, biographical, or emotional. Because more than anything, it’s about human connection and our incessant search for peace. 
Tom Petty and the Del Fuegos; Warren Zanes (far right).   The Petty Archives Interview with Warren Zanes:
  Liberty:  You write a bit about the past and future of music and the industry. A lot of older music fans tend to be a bit cynical about how the music industry has changed—they don’t seem to like that anyone can make “music” these days on their computer. But I think it’s a hopeful thing. There is no doubt that Tom Petty changed the music industry for the better. He helped make it more people friendly in his battles against injustice. That’s the way I see it—people friendly. I like that independent artists with ambition are able to do more things without the ties of big music corporations (although the corporations still have a lot of hold). What do you think about the future of music for ambitious kids akin to Tom Petty? Warren: That's a good question. While I've watched some changes with skepticism, I do believe that popular music culture still has room for voices from the margins to have an impact on the mainstream. Rock and roll has a beautiful history of giving working class kids a forum in which to grab the world's attention, which doesn't happen with all art forms. Elvis, Buddy Holly, Nirvana, the list is long and extends over decades. In American life, only in sports have we seen this kind of possibility. And that's what we've always been told American life is supposed to be like. Tom Petty's is among those great stories. So, despite the changes in the technology of music-making and in the business, it remains true that the next important moment in music may well come from a kid in some basement who no one gives a shit about until he makes the recording that changes the way we think. As long as that remains a possibility, all is well. And so far, the art has had the governing vote over the business. Even if just barely at times.   Liberty:  Tom Petty has, in my eyes, always been underrated as an artist and an influence. I was thinking about Walk the Line, Ray, I Saw the Light, and other biopics about posthumous musicians. Do you think a biopic will ever be made about Tom Petty and who would you want to play him? Warren: I generally don't like biopics. They often make sacrifices in the storyline in order to create a narrative that will work at the box office. Fair enough, but if you love the artist being portrayed, it can be a rough ride. So, if it had to happen--and the story warrants it, for sure--I suppose I'd want to go back in time (sorry, I'm adding time travel to this answer) and get the young Steve McQueen in the role. He'd have to grow his hair. But he's got the right kind of cool, and that would be the most important thing as a starting basis. But wouldn't we all be sorry if anyone but Tom Petty sang those songs? Liberty: In the Bogdanovich documentary, they mention choosing the name “Heartbreakers” after the song “Heartbreaker.” Do you know if that is the Led Zeppelin song, the Rolling Stones song, or another song with “heartbreaker” in the title? Warren: I don't have an answer for you on that one. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) came out somewhere around 1973, so that's certainly in the air. But the Zeppelin song was the more iconic. Here's what we know for sure: thy didn't name themselves after Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" of 1979! For a few reasons. But, all that aside, my sense--and this is just me--is that the name wasn't the biggest priority in that moment. Denny Cordell helped them with the issue, but the greatest attention was on making that band into the recording band they needed to be. Everyone had put in years working toward that goal. The push forward was the focus.   Liberty: You have interviews from Alan “Bugs” Weidel, Stan Lynch, and others who seemed to come out of the woodwork for this book. Why do you think they decided to talk? Warren: In the case of Bugs, I think it was a matter of him choosing to do this and me having Tom's approval and involvement. And Bugs did an interview that was nothing short of remarkable. In various contexts, far beyond this project, I've done a lot of interviews. And what I've found is that the people who have been interviewed less often provide very open, sometimes even raw conversations. The people who have given thousands of interviews often repeat themselves, and for good and obvious reasons. With Bugs, this was the first time he did an interview. I've always liked him a lot, even if I feel like I don't know him nearly as well those who work with him. And, really, no one was closer to Tom, from the beginning. Bugs is a legend for those who love that band. So this interview was important. We went for a few hours, and he was among the most open.
Regarding Stan, I think that was a crucial interview. When he initially said no, I was certainly disappointed. But I kept at it, finally offering to fly down, come to his door, and limit the conversation to twenty minutes. What he told me was the difference was that I said I'm come right to him, that I didn't treat him like I was doing him a favor in including him. He was gracious, open, vulnerable: everything you would want in an interview. There are certainly points at which he and Tom didn't see things in the same light, and I made every effort to capture the tension between their viewpoints.   Liberty: You worked with Boganovitch on the Runnin’ Down a Dream book that went with the film as an editor. There are things in the film and the film’s companion book which are not elaborated or mentioned in your biography. This biography feels like you’re filling in the gaps—in a good way. Was that part of your intention? To fill in the gaps? Warren: If gaps were filled, that's good. But, no, that wasn't my aim. I wanted a cohesive work that had the elements of character, conflict, and narrative structure. My aim wasn't to be comprehensive, if only because that would have led to a thousand-plus page book. What I wanted was to capture the Tom Petty story and show how that story is the ideal case study if one wants to understand what the age of rock and roll meant in American life. The arc of his experience is remarkable. But I also wanted to show the sacrifices made and the passion involved in creating a band and keeping it together. And, lastly, I wanted to explore how the world of songwriting became his safe place, the world he went into where he knew what to expect and good things happened. As a songwriter, he's in the league of Hank Williams and Buddy Holly, so I had to attempt to capture the life that led him to songwriting and the time he spent in that creative space.   Liberty: There’s a middle ground here too, but did you feel obligated to write this biography or was it something you wanted to do for pleasure? Warren: I wasn't driven by a sense of obligation, no. I was given a remarkable opportunity, one for which I'm very, very grateful, and I have lived my life with Tom Petty's music playing, from age eleven forward. There was a lot of joy in the process. But I think Tom is an important American voice and more needed to be known. For people like me--and there are many, obviously--it deepens our connection to the material we love to know more about the life from which those songs emerged. It's not required, but I think it does something important. I believe Tom's place in the story of American music will grow larger with time. He gets a lot of respect, but I see him getting more. To me, there are acts whose importance will be reevaluated, acts like Sly and the Family Stone and The Band, even James Brown, acts that are revered but will get a still bigger place in the history books in ten, twenty years. Tom Petty is one of them. This book is a part of a much larger, collective project, of increasing our knowledge about the man and his music. But, to your question, I sure as hell got some pleasure out of it as I did the work!   Liberty: As a writer, I’m interested in the process of writing this book. The way it’s laid out is very nice. It skips around a little bit without feeling jumpy at all, which seems to happen a lot in biographies; either they feel too chronological or they jump around, but your writing is perfectly balanced. Did you have this formula from the get-go, or did it evolve as you began the biography? Warren: There's always work involved. Gustave Flaubert said something like, "There's no writing, only rewriting." I take that to mean that the writer has to try things out, play with structure, keep retooling the language, deepen the sense of character, make conflict and narrative development clear. And nobody gets all that in a first draft. I have an editor and an agent who are there if I'm unsure of what direction I want to take something, my sounding boards. And, at many times, I needed only to stop writing, to go listen to the music, and then I knew what to do. But the early drafts and the final version, if related, were distant cousins.   Liberty: What parts of the process of writing Petty: The Biography were the easiest and most difficult for you?  Warren: The most difficult part? Stopping. Tom Petty is a deep man. He is worthy of more documentaries, more compilations, more books. His story continues still and his past remains something worthy of further excavation. So, yeah, it could have gone for years. But when I recognized that I had fulfilled my early goals and had a book that worked, it was time. The easiest part? The interviews with Tom. I'm grateful that I found myself sitting there beside him. He's as smart, as funny, as wise as you'd both hope and imagine. His mind was always a few steps ahead, restless and certainly searching. That he's cool is merely the final wrapping on a remarkable human package.   Petty: The Biography is on sale now and a book any fan of Petty should consider mandatory reading. Official Book Website Warren Zanes Website
Amazon Book Listing

This is really interesting to me. I wonder if the Heartbreakers did have this kind of business meeting at some point in the last few months. And I wonder if Mike did consult with Benmont, Tony D., etc. about taking the FM gig out of some kind of obligation/acknowledgement of the Heartbreakers as an entity themselves. Lastly, I wonder who is going to be the executor so to speak of the band's future plans and releases. Will Warner Brothers just decide what gets released? Will some combo of Mike, Ryan U, Tony, Dana and Benmont actually put together posthumous TP projects and get them to market? Who will be the creative forces and logistic managers of these projects?

I certainly do like Echo.  
I saw a couple of shows on the Echo tour including one of the "pre tour" small venue, extended length shows at Irving Plaza.   It was all standing room on the ground level.  We managed to work our way up right in front of the stage.
.
 

and some of the beer.
 

I wonder.. if I could perhaps get a bargain ticket if I promise to only look at Mike and Stevie and pretend like the rest of the lot isn't there..?

Yeah, right. When they just could have fired him into space. 
On a somewhat more serious note, though.... hasn't LB been in and out of this band more often than some bands plug in and out their guitars? I mean, in total? For a certain period in FM life, a long time ago, LB certainly was an essential addition to the FM vision - I mean, for a short while he WAS the vision (or at least the only one who really saw it, until it materialized in the shape of Tusk). But for most parts, I think he has been, and certainly now he is, somewhat dispensable.
But that's the thing with this band, for me. They are all dispensable. Save perhaps for Mac himself, and Stevie, on a good run. They are their cataloge, their legacy. And that's it. Personally, I'm not sure this band has anything to say anymore, to anyone without an inside stock market connection and a tie. I think they are basically nothing but a very expensive traveling nostalgia pacakge at this point.
That said, it took some time to get used to the idea of MC in this group. And I really hope MC joining them now, could change some of all the above mentioned aspects. Seems to me, that from an artistically credible - and hair do - perspective, these days they need him more than he needs them. But that's me. I hope he will add some new spark and edge to the revue again, anyway.
I am, like Marion, also not at all sure MC would accept this challenge for money reasons. He might do it for "legacy" reasons. After all a FM tour is another mammoth to put on the resume. (And save for the odd chance that Mick and Keef would call, this may be one of his last chances at touring quite this big, playing quite this high profile, commercially.)  He might do it as a favor to Stevie and Mac, of course, as has been noted. Him liking FM music may be a precondition, but him wanting to run som rust off, to go out and play these really big shows again, may also be part of it. 
Who knows. There may be many reasons. What people seem to miss, it seems, from reading about this all over the web - the nays and yays - is that this is a tour gig, right?! He is listed as an official member of FM at their wikipedia entry already, but I was under the impression from early statements that he was hired to handle guitar duties on this upcoming tour period. Anyone who knows for sure? Short term, the distcinction may be pointless. Long term.. I'm personally not sure I am that happy to see MC end up as a steady FM member, tours or even possible (if unlikely) albums to come. I was kinda hoping he'd go in a less polished direction, so to speak. Working with.. well, grittier... people, perhaps more contemporary acts.. And perhaps especially that he would exploring and expanding on his own song writing and lead duties in the studio, with Dirty Knobs or the likes of them.   
At least the addition of MC ensures that I will follow this tour a bit more closely than I normally would've. That's something.

DTT is perfect. Any alteration to it would be messing with a masterpiece. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Surrender" and "Casa Dega" (especially Casa Dega) were good enough to be on that album. "Surrender" and "Casa Dega" would have been an amazing 1-2 punch to start the album. The problem is that Tom wrote probably the greatest 1-2 punch ever in "Refugee" and "Here Comes My Girl". "Surrender" should have been on YGGI as it's a pretty weak album and would have been a much better opener than "When the Time Comes".
Trust me, like I've said before, I love me some "Casa Dega", has amazing 12 string guitar harmonics on it and it just builds beautifully, but I can't replace "Louisiana Rain" for it as the closer because it could fit there or have it be the 1-2 punch of spoke of before because it's just not as good. I think they made the right call as it being a B-Side. If anyone would like to go about the daunting task of re-tracklisting a historical, ground breaking album, give it a shot and Shelter and I will be your A and R menand tell ya if it works or not lol

I can't see it on either of those two albums. Personally, I'd put it on the second side of Damn the Torpedoes, between "You Tell Me" and "What Are You Doin' In My Life?" The transition between those two songs feels a little abrupt to me, and "Nowhere" seems like it'd be a good buffer between them.

I thought Mike said if the Heartbreaker gig didn't work out he'd join the Ramones? Lol. Aye! Oh! Let's go!

i like music

OK, so this is a little embarassing, because A I started this thread and B we've already had some great versions of Mary Jane, but what the heck. Here's our "version". We hadn't done it in a long time, but March was our first concert since Tom passed away, so I just had to do it.
Oh, and our name is not KiSH, as one might assume, but Giftwood. Enjoy! ;-)
 

Marion, if you want to get familiar with Neil Finn's music, I recommend the 7 Worlds Collide dvd. It is out of production but readily available on eBay. Just a really great show with appearances by Eddie Vedder and Johnny Marr.. 

I'm inclined to believe that Mike only did this because Stevie begged him to.  FM wanted to tour and Lindsey didn't want to, so they were stuck.

Yeah, right. When they just could have fired him into space. 
On a somewhat more serious note, though.... hasn't LB been in and out of this band more often than some bands plug in and out their guitars? I mean, in total? For a certain period in FM life, a long time ago, LB certainly was an essential addition to the FM vision - I mean, for a short while he WAS the vision (or at least the only one who really saw it, until it materialized in the shape of Tusk). But for most parts, I think he has been, and certainly now he is, somewhat dispensable.
But that's the thing with this band, for me. They are all dispensable. Save perhaps for Mac himself, and Stevie, on a good run. They are their cataloge, their legacy. And that's it. Personally, I'm not sure this band has anything to say anymore, to anyone without an inside stock market connection and a tie. I think they are basically nothing but a very expensive traveling nostalgia pacakge at this point.
That said, it took some time to get used to the idea of MC in this group. And I really hope MC joining them now, could change some of all the above mentioned aspects. Seems to me, that from an artistically credible - and hair do - perspective, these days they need him more than he needs them. But that's me. I hope he will add some new spark and edge to the revue again, anyway.
I am, like Marion, also not at all sure MC would accept this challenge for money reasons. He might do it for "legacy" reasons. After all a FM tour is another mammoth to put on the resume. (And save for the odd chance that Mick and Keef would call, this may be one of his last chances at touring quite this big, playing quite this high profile, commercially.)  He might do it as a favor to Stevie and Mac, of course, as has been noted. Him liking FM music may be a precondition, but him wanting to run som rust off, to go out and play these really big shows again, may also be part of it. 
Who knows. There may be many reasons. What people seem to miss, it seems, from reading about this all over the web - the nays and yays - is that this is a tour gig, right?! He is listed as an official member of FM at their wikipedia entry already, but I was under the impression from early statements that he was hired to handle guitar duties on this upcoming tour period. Anyone who knows for sure? Short term, the distcinction may be pointless. Long term.. I'm personally not sure I am that happy to see MC end up as a steady FM member, tours or even possible (if unlikely) albums to come. I was kinda hoping he'd go in a less polished direction, so to speak. Working with.. well, grittier... people, perhaps more contemporary acts.. And perhaps especially that he would exploring and expanding on his own song writing and lead duties in the studio, with Dirty Knobs or the likes of them.   
At least the addition of MC ensures that I will follow this tour a bit more closely than I normally would've. That's something.

Something else, with a great touch:
 
 

And, like we saw in the tribute thread recently, the same session also produced this:
 
 

This beauty is labeled his "new single"... Great job, I say! Amazing song!
 

Lindsey Buckingham
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/11/lindsey-buckingham-formerly-of-fleetwood-mac-rocks-biggest-jerk-or-misunderstood-genius/?noredirect=on&ref=yfp&utm_term=.9aec5aa84b6e

Hmmm, well this is interesting! I definitely did not see this coming, and I wonder how this came together because I can't see MC seeking this out actively. Knowing how close he and Stevie are, and their respective personalities (Stevie is a clear alpha and MC more laid back), I wonder if it was a case of Stevie asking him for a personal favor, and MC going along with it. It will certainly be a unique and new challenge for MC, which he will no doubt ace, and I'm curious to see it play out. I can't see him becoming a permanent member of Fleetwood Mac, if that's even a thing at this point. (They don't really record new albums, and they only tour sporadically.) This could definitely be a one-and-done situation, with the Dirty Knobs finally free to take a bigger role, hopefully with an actual album release, sometime later. That's all just my idle speculation anyway. In the meantime, best of luck to you, MC!

And, like we saw in the tribute thread recently, the same session also produced this:
 
 

Oh man

You may as well get off the internet entirely. Even then it's not a sure thing.
 
Maybe if you stopped talking in riddles, I could formulate an actual response to this.

I wouldn't trust any online crap with my data.

It would be fun to make the first bid , knowing you wouldn't have to come through with the money and some one with money will actually get it.  But to go to work the next day and say " yeah I bid $50k on Dylan's guitar but someone bid over me " lol. 

According to Rolling Stone, one of TP's final interviews appears in the forthcoming Elvis doc:
The new two-part HBO documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher (which premieres April 14th) aims to finally restore the King to his proper place in the rock pantheon as a creative pioneer on par with Chuck Berry, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Directed by Thom Zimny and produced by Jon Landau and Priscilla Presley, it tells Elvis' life story through his music, utilizing a treasure trove of unseen video, photographs and new interviews with his friends, collaborators and fans, including Bruce Springsteen and, in one of his final interviews, Tom Petty. "I wanted to attack and shatter the shorthand version of Elvis Presley's life story – that after the Army there was just bad films, bad recordings, bad tours and then his life was over," says Zimny. "This was a man driven by music, even at his darkest times."