| Weekend
Edition
April 19 / 20, 2008
On
the Red Carpet with the Rolling Stones
Lead
Guitars and Movie Stars, Get Their Tongues Beneath Your Hood
By
PHYLLIS POLLACK
The
New York premiere for the Paramount Classics film, Shine A Light,
the Martin Scorsese concert documentary about the Rolling Stones,
was held on Sunday, March 30, at Clearview’s Ziegfeld Theater
on West 54th.
The
area was heavily secured, as fans stood across the street, hoping
to catch a glimpse of the band from afar. A tented entrance was
constructed the day before the premiere in order to seclude the
proceedings on the red carpet from fans that security kept across
the street.
Predictably,
on the night of the premiere, fans gathered across the street, hoping
to watch the band members, who departed from their vehicles and
directly entered the enclosure covering the private red carpet that
led them into the theater.
Earlier
that day, Scorsese had explained that part of the reason why he
had chosen the Beacon Theater as the venue at which to film the
concert documentary was because he is a native of Manhattan. With
the concert footage having been filmed in New York City on October
29 and November 1, 2006, the Big Apple would serve as a perfect
location for a premiere of the film.
Among
the first arrivals on the red carpet was Steven Bing, one of the
film’s co-producers. Bing had previously bankrolled the Rolling
Stones free concert that was billed as the “Global Warming
Concert,” which was held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center
on February 6, 2003. The Staples performance, which was hosted by
President Clinton, was an effort to create awareness of environmental
issues, and it promoted the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Clinton is briefly seen in Shine A Light, introducing the band’s
performance at New York’s Beacon Theater, and in a scene with
his wife, Hillary. I asked Bing, “First a free concert in
L.A, and now, this film. How good can all of this be?” Bing
looked at me and smiled, and made his way down the red carpet.
Also
present was Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of countless works, including
the Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, which featured
a cameo appearance by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Actresses
Michelle Yeoh and Gina Gershon were also among the evening’s
arrivals. Stones vocalist Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, designer
L’Wren Scott, was there, as were several film executives,
who also arrived to see Scorsese’s work.
Arriving
late were Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony.
A-lister
Leonardo DiCaprio, who had appeared in Scorsese’s film, The
Departed, was present at the event, as was fashion designer Tommy
Hilfiger, who has long expressed his devotion to the band.
As
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts made his way down the carpet,
I asked him what his imminent plans are. Specifically, I asked him
if he is planning to go on the road with another jazz project, such
as his 1992 Charlie Watts Quintet tour, or if he planned on recording
another jazz disc. “That is what people are asking me, but
I don’t know,” he quietly responded, adding, “Because
right now, I haven’t got time at the moment to do it.”
When
I saw Mick Jagger, he looked at me, smiled, and stopped. He enthusiastically
chirped, “Hi, there! Hi, there!!” I immediately knew
he that wanted to have some fun. He looked vivacious, and totally
exuberant. Having picked up on that, I knew that regardless of any
question I would ask him, he would use the opportunity with me to
display his sense of humor that he had intermittently flaunted during
the press conference that I had attended earlier that day.
I decided to go for something serious, just to see how he could
still manage to turn it into some sort of comedy. “Mick,”
I said, starting to ask my question. He looked at me, and in the
most humorous, effected voice, exclaimed, “Oh, oh, oh!”
“Mick,”
I proceeded to ask, “What did you learn from doing this film?”
With perfect timing, he humorously uttered, “Oh! Oh! Oh!!!!!
That Christina Aguilera has a fantastic voice…and lovely…boots!”
Ironically,
one of the very things that is evident during Shine A Light is the
humor with which Jagger sometimes approaches members of the press.
Often, there is simply the absurdity of the moment, or the pointlessness
and stupidity of some of the questions the band is asked by reporters.
Jagger’s tongue-in-cheek humor often says more than what many
people likely even pick up on, adding even more to the irony.
Later
that night, I would ask a question that had come back and forth
in my mind for over fifteen years. But that was still a few minutes
away.
When
I saw Rolling Stones horn player and keyboardist Tim Ries approaching,
I asked him, “Tim, what did you think of the film?”
He responded by telling me, “Well, I haven’t seen it
yet, really. I saw it in Italy this summer, just as they were just
kind of putting it together, and it hadn’t been quite mixed.
But even then, it was amazing. I think it will be pretty intense.
I think it’s going to be amazing. From what I remember in
Italy, just with the visuals, it’s phenomenal.”
I
then asked him, “What are you going to be doing in the next
year or so?” He replied, “My next CD will be coming
out in August. It’s another one my Stones projects.”
“Oh,
really?” I asked him. He then elaborated, “The first
one was called the Rolling Stones Project, and this one is called
Rolling Stones World, I believe, because there are seventy musicians
from around the planet, in nine different languages, and it’s
all Rolling Stones material.”
“I
have The Stones Project, and it’s really an interesting album,”
I responded. “It was released on Concord Records, right?”
“Yes,”
Ries replied.
I
then added, “I must say I really appreciated your solo gig
you played in London last summer, during the Stones tour. The band
was playing the O2 gigs. I really enjoyed that a lot.”
“Great!
Thanks,” Ries replied.
It
was now time for him to leave the red carpet, and make his way into
the theater. “Great, thank you. It was a pleasure!”
Ries concluded.
Rolling
Stones back-up vocalists Blondie Chaplin and Bernard Fowler were
now making their way down the red carpet.
“Bernard
Fowler!” I chimed, to which Fowler responded, “Hi, Phyllis...”
“In
the film, what did you think of the harmonies on “Far Away
Eyes?” I ask him.
“I
haven’t seen it yet,” Bernard told me.
“It’s
amazing,” I replied. “It’s totally awesome.”
“It is?” asked Bernard. “What did you think of
it? You saw it!”
“It’s
absolutely brilliant,” I told him.
“Was
it?” he asked, expressing his anticipation of seeing the film.
“I
loved it,” I raved.
“Okay!”
Fowler proclaimed, looking forward to seeing what Academy Award
winning director Martin Scorsese had created.
“I
saw it last night,” I explained.
“All
right!” said Bernard.
Blondie
Chaplin, one of the Stones back-up singes, who also plays guitar
on some of the songs, says, “Hello” to me.
I
continue by saying, “The sound is just incredible.”
“Was
it?” Bernard asks. “All right!!!”
I
then addressed Chaplin, noting, “Blondie, there is a lot of
great footage in the film of you playing guitar.”
Chaplin
responded, “Oh, it was fun.”
“Have
you seen it yet?” I asked.
“I
saw it the other night at the Imax,” commented Chaplin.
“It
was good. Very good.”
I
looked aside, and I saw Stones bassist Darryl Jones proceeding down
the red carpet.
“Darryl,”
I ask, “Hey, how are you?”
“Great!”
he says, and I can tell he means it.
“What
did you think of the gig at Mozambique?” I ask him, referring
to the Laguna Beach, California benefit gig that he had played with
Lisa Fischer and others musicians in the band, in order to raise
money for people whose nearby homes had been lost in fires. I had
covered that event that also included guitarist Waddy Wachtel.
“The
gig at Mozambique? Oh, I enjoyed that!” Jones exclaimed. “I
loved that. That was great. It was really great. I had a lot of
fun. That was a lot of fun.”
“There
is a lot of footage of you in the film. Have you seen it yet?”
I asked Jones.
“No,”
he said. “I have not. Not this yet, you know…”
“It’s
great, and you look fantastic in it,” I told him. “There
are some really shots of you in the live footage. For part of it,
you’ve got your striped suit jacket on, and your hat, and
you sound utterly fantastic.”
“Oh,
great, great. I’m glad to hear that!” stated Jones.
“I’m very glad to hear that. Oh, well that’s great.
Okay! Well, I guess you’ve seen it, huh?”
“You
really have something to look forward to,” I said.
“Well,
great. I’m very glad to hear it. I’m really glad to
hear that,” Jones acknowledged.
As
Bernard, Blondie and Darryl stand in front of me on the red carpet,
ready to walk into the Ziegfeld to see Shine A Light, I end our
encounter by telling them, “There are the Glimmer Twins, but
you are the Glimmer Triplets!” All three burst into laughter.
“Good one, Phyllis!” exclaimed Bernard.
I responded by saying, “See you back in L.A.”
“All
right, take care!” said Chaplin.
“All
right then!” Darryl said, as the three walk into the theater
together.
Rolling
Stones vocalist Lisa Fischer’s comments to me about her Shine
A Light experience were, “It was very joyous. It means a lot.
It was about survival.”
I
ask her, “Survival, in what way?”
She
responds, “I am so proud of the band, that the band has survived
everything they have. I’m just so grateful to be a part of
it.”
Ron
Wood is now making his appearance on the red carpet. He is telling
another member of the press, “It’s nice to get intimate,
and the Beacon is small. There were more cameramen than audience.
And we just liked to follow Martin Scorsese. If he says something,
you do it.”
When
asked, “What is your favorite Scorsese film?” Wood says,
“Raging Bull.”
This
is not the first time I have interviewed him.
“How
fulfilling was it for your album The Essential Crossexion to finally
come out?” I ask him.
“Love
your eyes,” Woody tells me.
“Thank
you,” I say.
“They’re
unbelievable.”
“Your
solo compilation album took a long time to come out,” I commented.
“I
thought the album was really brilliant,” Ronnie says enthusiastically.
“It was so many styles of music.”
“Yes,”
I responded.
“It’s
hard these days to control an album, you know. They put it out on
the web. You know what I mean?” he laments.
I
again start thinking about a question that I have been living with
for over fifteen years.
I
see Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards walking down the red
carpet.
“Keith,”
I asked, “Will there be another X-Pensive Winos tour?”
“I’m
thinking about it, I’m thinking about it,” Keith says.
“I’m gathering the guys together.”
This
was the answer I had hoped for.
It
was a beautiful evening as the moon hung high over the New York
sky.
Phyllis
Pollack lives in Los Angeles where she is a publicist and
music journalist. She can be reached through her blog
.
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