Living Color promises to mix tradition and innovation in Brazil and explains the delay for a new album: ‘Life gets in the way’

Just over two years after presentation at the Rock in Riothe Living Color returns to Brazil this Thursday, 10th, for a series of solo shows. At the festival, the band took to the Sunset stage alongside Steve Vai during Rock Day.

“The last time we were there, we did that with the Steve Vai node Hollywood Rock“, he said Vernon Reid in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazilconfusing the festivals — the last edition of the event promoted by the tobacco company took place in 1996. “It was a fun show, and I can’t wait to come back with just our band.”

“Steve Vai he’s a nice guy. He’s obviously an incredible guitarist. Defined an entire era of guitar and has been a friend since we were on tour Experience Hendrix a few years ago. He’s a genius,” he praised.

The guitarist and founder of Living Color drew attention to the period of return to the country: the United States presidential election is scheduled to take place on November 5th. Here, some states are facing the second round of mayoral elections on the 27th. “It’s an interesting time in the world. We’re going to Brazil at an election time, so we’re like: ‘What’s next?'”, he pointed out. the musician.

What to expect from the Living Color show in Brazil

Reid promised new performances in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Brasília: “There are certain things that you will definitely hear, like ‘Cult of Personality’ and ‘Open Letter (To a Landlord)’, butWe wanted to include some tracks that people haven’t heard in a while.”

“Things have changed, however, we’ve been playing songs like ‘Bi’, which hasn’t been on our setlist for quite some time — we’ve been playing it at our shows across the US. We’ve been doing well, it’s a song I’m really proud of,” he continued. . “We started playing ‘Sacred Ground,’ which we haven’t played in a long time either. We’re kind of doing a tighter version. It’s a lot of fun.”

You know, playing the same things over and over makes you want to change it up a little. And we’ve been doing a little tribute to hip hop. We never did that. It’s a very short thing, but we play tracks that Doug Wimbish played with the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It’s a little medley. I don’t want to say much, you’ll see.

The drummer William Calhoun should also”integrate drums with electronic sounds“, second Reid. “There are some organic things and others that are a bit experimental”, he said.

New album

Vernon Reid admitted that “it’s still early” to talk about the sound of the band’s next album Living Color: “We need to dedicate more time to it. We like some of the songs, but we need to figure out if the set adds to a coherent conversation. That’s the thing. We need to work on a few more tracks, we’re really excited. We did something kinda Dr John. I liked. And there are a few more things.”

It’s early [para falar de sonoridade]. I did something with a guitar synthesizer and it’s really interesting. It’s a particular song. There are some heavier things. But everything is supported by a narrative. That’s the thing. All of our records have narratives. This is the part still under construction.

The unreleased album will feature “brand new guitars”, with which Reid seems eager to work: “I have a new guitar from Reverend, from a line called Totem Series. They are the first guitars with Floyd Rose bridges”, he said about the instrument with his signature.

“I’ve always brought my Hamer or PRS guitars to play, and this is the first time in a while that I haven’t leaned on my ’90s guitars, you know? It’s changing how I think in terms of tone. They’ve just been released and they’re very cool guitars. I’ll take them with me, for sure”, he said.

The still unnamed project “will probably come out in 2025”. The reason fans have to wait nearly a decade to hear new tracks is simply life, he explained. Reid: “Yes, life intrudes. We all have kids and other things we’re involved in. We make music with other people, I’m a little involved with a film soundtrack, Corey there are other projects with other guitarists… Everyone is trying to do something. It’s a challenge.”

Reid was part of the soundtracks of documentaries such as Nelson Mandela’s twelve disciples (2005), Camera Obscura: Black photographers and the emergence of a race (2014) and When Claude Got Shot (2021), according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Corey Gloverthe group’s lead singer, has also dedicated himself to side projects. He joined Mike Orlando, Booker King and Taykwuan Jackson to bring the band to life Sonic Universe.

“Our kids are graduating and going to college. My daughter is graduating from college this year. Doug He’s a grandfather. Will [Calhoun] and Coreyeach has two children, and they are either starting to work or going to college. This is the reality”, argued the singer. “The son of Will He’s a great drummer and photographer. These things are also part of our lives.”

In addition to the development of their children, members of the American group are “dealing with the death” of their parents. “My parents are still alive, but they’re old, they’re getting there, you know? These are some of the reasons why it took a long time,” he pondered, before adding that “businesses are also changing in a really crazy way.”

THE Living Color went through different formations over the years of existence and even a breakup, still in 1995. Today, the group consists of Reid, Glover, Calhoun and wimbishwho met in 2000.

The Covid-19 pandemic also played a role in postponing the new album: “The pandemic has slowed everything down. We are acting as — and we hope — if there wasn’t going to be another pandemic. We want to put this behind us. We are tired. How would we react to a new disease? People went into strange denials, fantasies. Many people lost their lives because of it.”

Narrative

The launch of the successor to shade (2017) depends on creating a narrative around which the fresh compositions will revolve. Reid revealed some of the themes he has been thinking about most — and which may give clues as to what will be included in the new songs.

“We are so divided, it’s a narrative. Is the United States a country in decline? Or is the United States a great country with great days ahead? Are we progressing or regressing? This question doesn’t just apply to the United States. Let’s allow that nostalgia rules?”, he said.

Think about nostalgia. Young people who are trying to find their own way are confronted by nostalgia for things they have never experienced. There is comfort in the past. But, you know, the past is a different country than we remember. And that’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about even in relation to songs. I’m changing the past I remember. Am I improving or worsening the past. This is part of what happens when people want to go back to the 70s or the 90s. The idea of ​​people talking about the 90s the way I would talk about the 70s is surreal to me, because I remember the 90s so well .

The guitarist explained: “People say things like, ‘Oh yeah, grunge’. And I’m like, ‘Wow’. They get a particular feeling when they say that word. You know, there was a time when these bands — they came out in Seattle, in Portland… And the term ‘grunge’ was thrown at them. Grunge wasn’t how they defined themselves. And now, you know, this is the weird thing: who has the right to name things? goes viral?”

“People really want their ideas, their TikTok videos, to become the thing that everyone talks about. That’s the evolution of the cult of personality,” he added, referencing one of TikTok’s biggest hits. Living Color — “Cult of Personality”.

In music, Glover sings: “I sell the things you need to be / I’m the smiling face on your TV / I’m the cult of personality / I exploit you, you still love me / I told you one and one makes three.”

There are series, like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zonewhich deal with the unintended consequences of our desire. We want things to change instantly. We want to inject diabetes medicine and suddenly become thinner, right? We want a friend who will never betray us. There was a collapse of human relations. Companies and parties are trying to take advantage of this. People are spending a lot of time to create something that will hold their attention for 20 seconds. It’s a type of digital slavery.

“So maybe that can be part of the conversation,” he summarized. “I haven’t put all my thoughts together on this yet, but this is so impactful — and it’s going to impact everything. There are already apps that make music…”

35 years of Vivid

In 2023, the Living Color celebrated 35 years since the release of their debut album Vivid (1988), with hits like “Glamour Boys” and “Open Letter (To a Landlord)”. “I have no idea how I feel about this. I think I feel good about being alive, you know?” Reid.

I started the band in 1984, the same year Apple launched the computer [Macintosh 128k]right? We go through so many changes and so many people, even before we Corey and Muzz [Skillings]. It’s one of the greatest stories of my life. I’m proud of that. It’s a strange and wonderful thing.

The 1988 release, responsible for raising the Living Color to fame, led Reid to also reflect on the combination of the traditional and the innovative, an issue that should appear on the next album: “I see many young people worried and sad. They wonder where the future is. You have been left to deal with a lot of confusion. It is important to have new ideas, new interactions, new ways of organizing society”.

The guitarist added: “Traditional models have gotten us to where we are now. Tradition already has its place. But I think it’s really important that people of your generation question the whole thing. Parents and grandparents won’t be happy about it, but it needs to be done”.

I want to make music that has emotion and intellectual impact. For a song to work, it doesn’t have to be something big — it needs to be about something that means something, whether it’s personal, political, or emotional. This is the challenge: talking about what scares us, what makes us happy, or a mixture of the two.