Johnny Cash – Walking the line of Fiction?

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Comparing the Film ‘Walk the Line’ with the Autobiography ‘Cash’

Whilst never a big Country fan I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by ‘The Man in Black’ Mr Johnny Cash. There were times when it seemed like he must have been granted parole from prison just so he could visit it to make one of his famous recordings. No wonder his fan mail was often from inmates and outsiders who seemed to think he was an inmate too.

In his autobiography ‘Cash’ Johnny writes of their being four of him in effect:
‘Cash’ – the musician and star (and as wife June put it ‘the star and egomaniac)
‘Johnny’ – to friends and aquaintancies
John – To June and very close friends
J.R. – (his initials) to family

It’s not surprising then that when Fox  came to film his early years getting a character to fit all of these was going to literally be a case of ‘Walk the Line’. I settled down to watch the film of that very name this weekend.

All credit to Joaquim Phoenix who has no right to look anything like Cash but makes an incredible job of it. Onstage he has all the right moves and gestures. Musically he also hits all the right notes, quite literally. Reese Witherspoon is the spitting image of the picture in Johnny’s book depicting June Carter at The Grand Ole Opry in 1958 and rightly deserved her Oscar in 2005.

Problems arise with what’s actually depicted and how. Almost anticipating this problem Johnny actually started his 1997 book admitting that no two people see anything alike. He uses the story of a break-in at his Jamaica House to illustrate the point. Not surprisingly then there are cries of ‘This is just Hollywood’, This is not how it was’ especially from Johnny’s daughter Rosanne, who says the film hurts because it’s people she knew and loved and situations she knew but she doesn’t recognize them. A sort of ‘Village of the Damned’ cry of ‘These are not my children’ in reverse you might say.

It’s a reason I’ve never cared to read books about historical figures written long after they were dead. How can anyone really write a biography about Henry VIII five hundred years after he died? We all know the party game: Start a story and pass it on around the table – the more people that pass it on the less semblance it has of the original story.

The best we can ever hope for are small scraps of information. That’s all we can truly trust.
Charles Dickens didn’t always have that beard, Churchill was once a small boy who didn’t smoke cigars, Robert Johnson will always be wearing a fedora hat in our minds eye. If we want to add to that basic information then we have to realise that it’s all subjective and based on how others saw reality.

There’s a lot made in the film of the death of Johnny’s older brother in a sawmill accident, it’s used very much to explain his inner anger and emotion for the rest of the film (the point is made so heavily at the opening that the the director even felt it was safe to drop scenes depicting the funeral and one where the adult Johnny sees his brother in a dream during his troubled first marriage).

Johnny Cash says in his autobiography – “events start slipping and sliding” and Rosanne Cash claimed in an interview that ‘Walk the Line’ is “just a Hollywood Movie” and not how it was.
Reading Johnny’s book gives me the impression he would have said about the movie:
“I guess everyone sees things differently, maybethat was it, maybe it wasn’t”

The film version of Johny Cash? Mesmerizing performances by the main stars and super music (not surprisingly). Whether it’s truth or Hollywood maybe even the real characters couldn’t tell you for sure.

Dana Fuchs – Bonn Harmonie

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According to Dana Fuchs’ bio she was in a black Baptist Church when she received the advice from a ‘beautiful black woman’ to “Let Mama Music take over”.  On Wednesday I was on the recieving end of that advice as a beautiful white woman truly did let the music take her over – and she took the whole audience over too with a mesmerizing vocal tour de force.

After numerous Blues based shows in barely two weeks I really feared this was going to be where for many the money would run out.  Germany playing Italy didn’t help calm my fears either.  Obviously word had got out though. Following Dana’s excellent Harmonie set on Rockpalast last year, and her short but oh so sweet slot ahead of Joe Cocker at Museumsplatz, there was a sizeable crowd packed into the Harmonie and buzzing with anticipation. Looking good, sounding great – Dana Fuchs The flashing twirling lights tell us this is a Rock show, and it’s central figure makes it clear from the word go that tonight she will be taking no prisoners.  ‘Love to Beg’ starts Dana’s new CD and also starts her set.  She may be a fox by name but the lady is a lion by nature.  She constantly stalks from one stage side to the other.  Stopping between songs to wave a shaggy mane of hair from big brown eyes.  She kneels down, sits down, even lays down onstage.  Never for long though.  Seemingly always restless as she roars out tales of love – be it love found, love lost or just misplaced.

Much of the evenings show is made up of new tracks.  No complaints about that though as the new CD is a real corker that might disappoint blues purists, but Thomas Ruf has pulled off a major coup in getting Dana’s signature on a contract and the songs on her first RUF release make for a powerful package. The full tilt rock of ‘Nothings what I cry for’ and ‘Faster than we can’ – the latter already a Fuchs classic in my opinion.  They rock on the CD, but believe me they really ROCK onstage this evening. There are some delightfully quirky numbers on offer too:  ‘Keep on Rollin’ is a ‘Streets of Laredo’ sort of ballad with a latenight barroom rythm perfectly timed by new drummer Tom Curiano.  ‘Superman’ which Dana sings as if she should be holding a mike in one hand and a Jack Daniels in the other is another Fuchs/Diamond classic.  “Superman left us at the voting booth” great stuff. Bassist Walter Laituperissa is on hand to add a sobre melodic counterpoint to the hardrock sound of the band and although I would think it takes a while to adjust to playing beside the Force of Nature that is Dana Fuchs after touring so often with the famously laid back Snowy White, he stands like a rock to do the job at hand – one of those musicians worth their weight of adaptable gold.  Not forgetting Jon Diamond on guitar of course.   Diamond was recovering from food poisoning but put in some delicately crafted solos on his Telecaster. The song/music writing partnership of Fuchs/Diamond has already produced some gems and one of the best is in the set tonight in the form of ‘What You See’, a Stadium Rocker AC/DC style if ever there was one.

A favourite musician of Dana’s is Otis Redding and a long time favourite song is ‘Loving you too long’. “Finally” Dana admitted onstage, “I had the courage to record it”. It makes a break from the rock and proves not just a great vehicle for Dana’s vocal abilities but also for John Diamonds Telecaster as he lays down a magical solo. I can imagine Cocker singing this – but not better than Dana Fuchs does. Any doubts about the power Dana has in her voice were dispelled when her microphone transmitter gave up trying to stay with it’s energetic owner and crashed to the floor “Sch**ss Technik!” as someone called out.  Unphased she sang ‘sans microphone’ and still carried her voice up to the balcony.  With everything plugged in and working the band could rip the roof off of a tank – as with the rocket fuelled encore ‘Helter Skelter’. My ‘Rock n Roll Church of Love’ is how Dana Fuchs describes her concerts.  It’s not about selling us Buddha, Jesus or Scientology though.  To Dana it’s not WHO you believe in that counts, but that you believe in something.  It’s a creed that has helped her survive the suicide of a sister and the terminal illness of a brother.  The former was inspiration for sister Donna on one of Dana’s finest moments to date, the hauntingly melodic ‘Songbird’ which was played this evening and dedicated as always to a sister who shared Dana’s dream of singing to the world.   On tonights evidence the World will be eating out of Dana’s hands very soon. ‘Talent will Out’ as they say.  Just sit back and let ‘Mama Music’ take over.

Dana Fuchs singing ‘Moment Away’ her moving tribute to the 9/11 victims

Blues for Gary – Henrik Freischlader

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It’s shortly after 6pm and I’ve just put Henrik Freischlader firmly on the spot. Henrik got started in the Blues World after being inspired by Gary Moore. We’d just spoken of Moore’s tragic passing and I asked who would the present generation of music fans look to for similar inspiration, “besides yourself of course”. He immediately blanched at the suggestion “Oh no, not me” he laughed emphatically.

Fast forward a little over three hours and Freischlader is at the end of a blinding show with his band. On stageright he plugs in his cherry Gibson Les Paul on the back of which are the words ‘To Hendrik – with love Gary Moore’. He dedicates the next number to the late genial Irish guitar God. A blindingly evocative rendition of Roy Buchanans ‘The Messiah’ follows that, like the guitar, has ‘Gary Moore’ veneered into its very core. Outside of setting fire to the headstock and sending it via runners to Athens I don’t know how much plainer it can be that Henrik Freischlader is a torch carrier for the Jimi, Rory, Gary school of Rock Blues.

If you’re not from Germany you might be saying now ‘Henrik who?’ So it’s maybe good that the cover of Freischladers new CD makes much of a guest spot by Joe Bonamassa from a marketing perpective. ‘Jolting Joes’ presence might well make a difference to sales of the CD but it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to the actual music on it because the musicianship from Henrik and band is top notc,h as it is on the Harmonie stage tonight.
Henrik Freischlader

Last years show here got a tentative thumbs up from me due to the sound quality. This years show gets five stars on all fronts from the moment Freischlader switches on his guitar, steps up to play, and nothing comes out. “What’s that then?” He exclaims. “I know it was working just now when I soundchecked – So ein Ding!”. You just can’t help but like the mans affable approach. It’s all started by the flick of another switch and the Fender Strat roars into life. “We have to finish very early, so I’ll leave out the talking and just play!” he announces to loud cheers. “Or I could just keep on playing” to even louder cheers.

The new CD title track ‘Still Frame Replay’ is an early favourite, along with ‘The Bridge’ and Peter Green’s ‘She’s Gone’. Etta James is a big influence on Freischlader and a soulful version of her ‘Rather Go Blind’ continues the quieter vain. As does ‘I’ve got it Good’ before getting back to Rocking with ‘Right Way’ and ‘Longer Days’ from the new disc, the latter in particular shows the band is as tight as a camels you know what in a sandstorm. The main set finishes with a lengthy but mesmerising interplay between Freischlader’s guitar and Moritz Fuhrhop’s Hammond organ. Top marks to the whole band in fact – This is early days on the tour but every man jack of them is bang on the beat.This being Sunday there’s only time for one encore before the 9.30pm (!) curfew. It’s been a great show, but as the song says ‘You ain’t seen nuthin yet!’ and we were in for a musical treat.

First up was a new Hendrix cover. Well, not so new if you’re familiar with Aynsley Lister in fact because it’s a frantic version of Jimi’s ‘Cross Town Traffic’ played with such enthusiasm that ‘ooh ooh’s and Ah Aah’s soon echo from every corner of the crowded hall. Then it was time for silence, a red guitar, a dedication and the lighting of a musical torch as the first gentle notes of ‘Messiah’ wafted into the hot humid air. Henrik Freischlader – A man with a cap, a plan, and whether he likes it or not – a mission.