Saturday, December 29, 2018

"White Lace & Promises" Celebrates the Words and Music of Paul Williams

Andrew Curry's Portland-based label Curry Cuts has previously released the stellar tribute albums Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute To Lite Rock, Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion and Songs. Bond Songs:The Music Of 007. All of these excellent compilations feature a group of talented indie rock and pop artists focusing their talents on a specific musical genre. For the latest Curry Cuts project, Andrew decided to pay tribute to the music of singer-songwriter-actor Paul Williams, with White Lace & Promises: The Songs Of Paul Williams. He graciously took some time out of his schedule to talk with me about the album.

Q: Past projects from Curry Cuts have focused on the music from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the themes from the James Bond films. Why did you select the work of Paul Williams for this album? Are you a fan of his work?

A: Paul was one of those pop culture fixtures when I was growing up in the ‘70s, and I was always fascinated by him. I mean, he was everywhere. I used to see him telling funny stories on talk shows, or singing on variety shows, or acting in movies. I was always struck by how famous he seemed to be, especially since he hardly fit the mold of a conventionally handsome movie star. It was only years later, when I paid a little more attention to songs and songwriters, that I discovered how many era-defining hits he had been a part of writing. All of those gigantic Carpenters hits. All the Muppet songs that he helped write. It was a real eye-opener for me. And it was then when I realized that I was a big fan of his music, not just his talk show persona.

Q: You have a stock company of talented performers (including Eytan Mirsky, Cliff Hillis and Minky Starshine) who’ve appeared on multiple Curry Cuts releases, and appear again on White Lace & Promises. There are a few new faces this time around, such as Sitcom Neighbor and The New Empire. Do the artists featured on your projects seek you out, or do you have a wish list of people you want to work with?

A: I had never thought of it as a stock company, but I suppose it really is. Cliff Hillis has been on all four of my compilations. Minky Starshine, Eytan Mirsky, Lisa Mychols, The Corner Laughers, The Davenports, and Brandon Schott have each appeared on three. Plenty of others have appeared on two of them. I always like working with people whose original music I love, so it’s no surprise that I gravitate towards those folks again and again. But I’m conscious of wanting to work with new people on each project I do. To use the examples that you did, Sitcom Neighbor put out one of my very favorite records of 2017, so I knew I wanted them involved. The New Empire is one of Fernando Perdomo’s many projects, and he’s a longtime favorite of mine, so I was happy when he expressed an interest. I do get approached by musicians interested in appearing on my projects, but I generally go into the planning process with a list of people to invite.

Q: The song selection on White Lace & Promises is excellent, and effectively demonstrates the depth and eclectic nature of Paul Williams’ musical output throughout his long career. I was thrilled to see two songs from Phantom of the Paradise (a film that Williams starred in, and for which he composed the score) on the disc. Did you have a tough time picking out which songs to include on the album?

A: There were so many to choose from! I didn’t want to lean too heavily on his work with the Carpenters or the Muppets, but I’m also well aware that those two acts are how many people got to know Paul in the first place. So leaving off any of those songs just felt arbitrary. But what that meant is that a record I originally envisioned as having 10-12 tracks quickly become one with 23. And I still didn’t get some on there that I wanted, like his recent work with Daft Punk or the songs he did for Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas. But that’s the peril of all the records I put out: the instinct to put more and more songs on there. At a certain point, you just have to say, “That’s going to have to be enough.”

Q: The music of a gifted singer-songwriter like Paul Williams lends itself to a variety of interpretations. On White Lace & Promises, I enjoyed hearing the beautifully done cover of “You & Me Against The World” by Lisa Mychols, and I also dug Ballzy Tomorrow’s energized version of “To Put Up With You.” Were there any different takes on songs contributed to the project that surprised you when you first listened to them?

A: Those two tracks are both so fantastic. I was thrilled that XNYMFO and Indy Neidell were able to take a song like “Dangerous Business” from the notorious (and, frankly, undeserved) flop, Ishtar, and turn it into a fully realized track. I mean, the Ishtar soundtrack isn’t just floating around out there. So they had to piece it all together from clips they found on YouTube and the like. That’s just one example, though. The joy of putting these things together is that I could tell you similar stories about virtually every song on the records I’ve put out. The musicians I work with are just so creative.

Q: Unlike your previous releases, White Lace & Promises focuses on the work of one particular artist. I have to ask: Is Paul Williams aware of the project, and has he heard the album? 

A: He is aware of it! In fact, he reached out to me via email a few weeks back to thank me for putting it together. It was the nicest note, and it was entirely unexpected, as I had not written to him first. And then, he tweeted out the first review that we got! It was a legitimate thrill. In putting this record together, I’ve gotten to communicate with a few people who have met or worked with Paul, and to a person, they all say that he’s one of the most genuinely friendly and caring people they’ve met. My very limited dealings with him bear that out. As for whether he’s heard the record, I know for a fact that he’s heard several of the tracks. I sent him the full record a week or two back. I’m waiting for the right time to ask if he’s gotten the chance to hear it all and what he thinks.

Q: Congratulations on the release of another fantastic record. Can you give us any hints about what’s coming up next from Curry Cuts?

A: You know, I had the ‘80s compilation in mind well before the release of my Lite Rock tribute. The Paul Williams idea was swimming around before I even started work on my James Bond record. In other words, my next ideas are always brewing well before I commence working on them. Which is why it’s sort of curious to me that, as of this moment, I don’t even have a vague notion for what might be next. Which is okay. I never want to force anything. But I know that once inspiration hits, I’ll jump right back in. Here’s hoping that I can convince more great musicians to sign up with me!

I'd like to thank Andrew for taking the time to discuss White Lace & Promises with me. For more coverage on the album, you can read my review of the disc at the arts and entertainment website CultureSonar, by following this link:https://www.culturesonar.com/white-lace-promises-evergreen-covers-of-paul-williams/. To learn more about the Curry Cuts albums, or to order any of their releases, you can head over to: https://currycuts.bandcamp.com.

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