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to think my show is an act of resistance as well as a way of making a<br />
living, and something I like doing and all the rest of it.<br />
But you are right. People will be able to hear it properly by coming<br />
to the show. P.A. systems are so much better now than they were<br />
20 years ago. With our sound system and engineers, it’ll sound good<br />
even in a crappy basketball arena.<br />
MBR: You are a bass player…<br />
RW: Yes, I am!<br />
MBR: I think sometimes people forget about that. Do you enjoy<br />
playing bass, or is it just a means to an end for you?<br />
RW: I love it. It’s only quite recently that I sort of accepted that about<br />
myself. Nigel kept telling me during the recording, “You gotta play the<br />
bass, man, because you are really good at it.” I would always be a little<br />
skeptical, but while I was working on the album I started embracing<br />
what I had to offer. While there are people that are much better players<br />
than I am, nevertheless, my choices of notes and where I put them are<br />
different from anyone else. And I like that. It’s fun. I don’t play all the<br />
bass on the album. A lot of it is Gus Seyffert, so you can really hear<br />
when it’s me.<br />
MBR: It has taken you close to two decades to write a new<br />
album. Is it hard for you to put pen to paper or find the<br />
motivation to write music? You seem full of ideas.<br />
RW: It’s not that hard, but I am not the kind of writer that feels<br />
compelled to work on it all the time, either. I will think about going into<br />
the studio and then go play a few racks of pool instead! [laughs] I have<br />
to wait until something moves me or I have a feeling about something.<br />
Funnily enough, I can write prose. I am working on a memoir and I will<br />
sit down and write and really enjoy myself. I am thinking of devoting<br />
some real time to writing a book when this tour is over. I have written<br />
quite a lot already, and I think I have a voice and a style. And I would<br />
was on the lookout, because I had left my passport and money out,<br />
when suddenly I saw a kid steal my shoes. I tried to get out of the<br />
water as fast as I could, but, vrooom, he very quickly disappeared into<br />
the crowd. So, I ran after him with no shoes, when I spotted this cop.<br />
Back in those days, they had special police whose job was basically to<br />
look out for tourists. I told him what happened, and we started looking<br />
around and by some miracle, I spotted the kid.<br />
You could see by the look in his eye that he was thinking of running,<br />
but he didn’t because he probably knew the cop and the cop knew<br />
him. So, we got him and he was already wearing my shoes! The<br />
cop and kid began to jabber at each other in Arabic, until the kid<br />
rather reluctantly took off my rather beaten-up loafers and, as I say<br />
in the story, “placed them on the neutral ground between us.” They<br />
jabbered a little more and then the cop let him go. I was completely<br />
indignant, in my snotty, middle class, Cambridge way. I was looking<br />
for jurisprudence! I was looking for retribution! The kid stole my shoes!<br />
Then, for the first time, the cop spoke to me in English. With pity, he<br />
looked me in the eyes, and simply said softly, “He is poor.”<br />
I finish the story by saying, “If we’re all really lucky, when we are<br />
young, we will run into our cop. And maybe, for the first time in our<br />
lives, we will begin to learn about love.” I can remember that moment<br />
as if it were yesterday. Not because I can remember it, but because<br />
I know I internalized that feeling. And that was such an amazing<br />
lesson, because I had come from somewhere where they threatened<br />
you with being sent to borstal [British reform school] if you stole<br />
anything. Instead this particular policeman had compassion and some<br />
understanding for his people.<br />
MBR: In a recent interview, Chuck D. of Public Enemy, and<br />
asked him to tell me something I should know, but probably<br />
don’t. He said he thought many of the problems in the world<br />
would be solved if people traveled more and met folks outside<br />
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH<br />
like to get my story out, because there is a lot that people don’t know.<br />
MBR: Tell me a memory from the book that relates to your new<br />
album.<br />
RW: I will tell you a story. There are three short stories that I have<br />
written about a time I visited Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, back<br />
in 1962 when I was 19 years old. Here’s one. I was there with my<br />
friend Willa, and sort of living on beach. I decided to go for a swim,<br />
so I left all my important bits in the sand while I went into the water. I<br />
of their communities. What is something you think I should<br />
know?<br />
RW: I don’t know if I can top that. That is so real, so right and good. I<br />
have learned about hospitality from traveling abroad. It’s no surprise<br />
that in Greece, for instance, that the word for “stranger” and “guest”<br />
are the same. Knowing how the other half lives is so fundamental. It’s<br />
hard to bomb the shit out of people after you have met them. <strong>ST</strong><br />
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