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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, July 25, 2013
Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Index Bittersweet ballet .................................... 20 39th annual Philippine Weekend ............ 21 Spoofing on ‘Dallas’ ................................ 22 Jo Koy vs. Seinfeld.................................... 23 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz ............ 24 We have a winner!.................................... 25 Scott Cox and his young pup .................. 27 Calendar .............................................. 29-31
Destination: Bakersfield Gill pays the highest compliment to Buck, Hag BY JENNIFER SELF Californian lifestyles editor jself@bakersfield.com
B
akersfield doesn’t see much of Vince Gill in the flesh, but his spirit took up permanent residence in the city the first time he heard a Buck Owens song. Later that musical kinship would extend to Merle Haggard, who, like Owens, was a star practitioner of the Bakersfield Sound, the take-no-prisoners brand of country that is widely admired though rarely emulated by today’s pop-oriented chartclimbers. But then Gill, one of the most respected vocalists and musicians working today, is not a Nashville creation; he’s an artist, and tradition means something to him. He proves the point on “Bakersfield,” a collaboration with steel-guitar virtuoso Paul Franklin that hits stores Tuesday. The 10-song homage to Owens and Haggard — Gill diplomatically includes five selections from each — is a musical valentine to his heroes and the city that shaped them. Still, did anyone suspect Gill was this passionate about Bakersfield? “I didn’t know that the love ran that deep,” said Toni-Marie, a KUZZ disc jockey who recently interviewed Gill and Franklin about the album, which the radio station will play in its entirety at 8 p.m. Friday, with an encore presentation at noon Sunday. “I know that a lot of the artists from the Vince Gill era are influenced by the Bakersfield Sound, but he wasn’t at the top of my mind to do a tribute album to that sound.” As it turns out, the Bakersfield duo wasn’t just an inspiration but the seminal influence for Gill during his formative years as a young guitar slinger in Oklahoma City. “My history with Buck Owens is so deep and so long and so much a part of being grounded in my childhood,” Gill said in a statement released by his record label, MCA Nashville. “As for Merle, his songs are so compelling and truthful; for me he’s the greatest living country singer and songwriter ever.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALISON AUERBACH
Vince Gill handled vocals and lead guitar, while Paul Franklin played steel on “Bakersfield.”
Gill in Bakersfield Vince Gill will perform a concert at Rabobank Theater on Oct. 25, according to his publicist, Alison Auerbach. Details on ticket prices and on-sale dates will be announced next week.
KUZZ gets up close and personal with Gill BY JENNIFER SELF Californian lifestyles editor jself@bakersfield.com
‘Bakersfield’ Available Tuesday; prices vary
But covering the material of one’s heroes is a high-wire act; veer too much this way and fall into imitation, too much that way and the song is unrecognizable. “The album is very much borrowed from and inspired by the originals,” said Gill, who calls “Bakersfield” as much a guitar
record as a showcase for his vocals. “But it’s done in our own way — the way we chose to play and sing it. There was no point in doing a note-for-note.” Gill and Franklin, who’ve known each other for 30 years, were shrewd to include several lesser-known cuts — especially by Owens — thereby toning down the comparisons. And though it would be impossible to improve on classics like Haggard’s “Fightin’ Side of Me” — they don’t — the re-appraisal finds shades and Please see GILL / 28
Setting aside an hour of radio time to play a new album that pays respects to the man who founded the station seems like the most obvious decision in the history of no-brainers. Not so, said the disc jockey who scored an interview with Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, who will release the musical equivalent of a bear hug — titled “Bakersfield,” no less — on Tuesday. “This is a very special feature we’re working on. It doesn’t happen very often,” said Toni-Marie,
KUZZ interview with Vince Gill and Paul Franklin When: 8 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday Where: KUZZ (55 AM and 107.9 FM)
KUZZ DJ and music director, who prefers to use only her first name, as she does on the air. “I can’t tell you the last time we did something like this.” But then it’s not every day that an artist of Gill’s caliber uses his prodigious talents to pay homPlease see KUZZ / 28