Talkin’ with journalist/musician Jeff Slate about writing Dylan/Beatles liner notes, pandemic webcasts, playing Friday’s Tom Petty tribute, and more.

Talkin’ with journalist/musician Jeff Slate about writing Dylan/Beatles liner notes, pandemic webcasts, playing Friday’s Tom Petty tribute, and more.

Boston Harold Podcast, October 22, 2020 © Harold Lepidus


On today’s Boston Harold Podcast, I welcome author/critic/singer-songwriter Jeff Slate. 




Among his many accomplishments, Jeff Slate has co-authored (with Roy’s sons) the authorized biography of Roy Orbison, interviewed some of the biggest names in music, including Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, the Who’s Pete Townshend, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, and the Monty Python comedy troupe. He’s also written the liner notes for recent box sets by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix.


Mr. Slate is also a recording artist. He’s recorded and performed with his band the Badge, Jeff Slate and friends, and Slick and Slate (with David Bowie sideman Earl Slick.) He’s also performing benefit quarantine concerts online every Thursday at 4 pm from his living room. 


Today, Friday, Mr. Slate will be appearing at the Tom Petty tribute. (Link below)




Mr. Slate and I have been virtual friends for years, through our admiration of Bob Dylan. Last year, at the World of Bob Dylan Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we finally met face to face. 


On October 1, we met again via Zoom. We discussed many of the above subjects, and the set ends with Mr. Slate’s new single, “Heartbreak.”  Here’s the official video: 




Jeff Slate Official Website

Tom Petty Tribute Friday, October 23


Popular posts from this blog

DYLAN’S OUTLAW BLUES ‘24 IN MANSFIELD: HE USED TO BE DISGUSTED ….plus Lukas Nelson, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse. - with FAB PIX!!

Image
DYLAN’S OUTLAW BLUES ‘24 IN MANSFIELD: HE USED TO BE DISGUSTED ….plus Lukas Nelson, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse. with FAB PIX! by Harold Lepidus OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 - XFINITY CENTER, MANSFIELD, MA, JULY 2, 2024 Willie Nelson’s Family (featuring his son Lukas, standing in for his recuperating father) Bob Dylan and his Band Robert Plant & Alison Krauss  Celisse    This concert sort of snuck up on me, just as the surprise announcement that this tour was even happening back in February did. This was only a couple of months after I last saw Dylan during his swing through New England in November. In my haste (a.k.a. panic state), I splurged for a VIP 8th row seat (I’d forgotten how much I paid, until I looked it up just now. Yikes!) It was a little odd walking into the venue and seeing a handful of people wearing t-shirts with, let’s say, “politically charged” slogans which would seem out of place at a Dylan show.  One thing that has emerged over the past few yea
Read more

VIETNAM, WATERGATE, AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: Bob Dylan/The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings

Image
VIETNAM, WATERGATE, AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: Bob Dylan/The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings Mildred (Peggy Maley): “Hey, Johnny! What are you rebelling against?” Johnny (Marlon Brando): “Whadda you got?” —  The Wild One (1953) “Mama wipe the blood from my face/I'm sick and tired of this war/I’ve got a long black feeling and it’s hard to trace” - “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” 1974 live version. “Art is never finished, it is only abandoned,” Leonardo Da Vinci, which can be applied to Dylan’s body of work, as well as this review. (Please forgive any grammatical or syntax errors. I am abandoning the article now, as is.) Bob Dylan and the Band - The 1974 Live Recordings is a 27 CD box set of whatever surviving soundboards exist in the Sony cupboards, from Dylan’s “comeback” trek across North America, then known as “Tour ‘74.” 40 shows in six weeks, sometimes two a day/night - a mix of Dylan with the Band, Dylan solo, and separate sets by the Band. Each of almost all of Dyla
Read more

JEFF SLATE ON INTERVIEWING DYLAN, INTERACTING WITH TOWNSHEND, AND HIS NEW ALBUM (FEATURING HIS DAVE STEWART-PRODUCED SINGLE)

Image
JEFF SLATE ON INTERVIEWING DYLAN, INTERACTING WITH TOWNSHEND, AND HIS NEW ALBUM (FEATURING HIS DAVE STEWART-PRODUCED SINGLE) by Harold Lepidus (Boston Harold Video Podcast, February 28, 2024) Musician/journalist Jeff Slate should be no stranger to anyone reading this. In addition to interviewing just about every major rock musician over the years, from Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page to Chrissie Hynde and Janelle Monae to Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller, he has also written the liner notes for recent box sets by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones. He is the co-author of The Authorized Biography of Roy Orbison, and interviewed Roger McGuinn and Margo Price in Tulsa, OK, at recent Bob Dylan Center-related events. He is also a frequent guest on SiriusXM.  (Courtesy Jeff Slate/Credit Bob Gruen) Slate is a musician in his own right. From his time with his bands The Badge and Mindless Thinkers to his recent solo career, as well as his tribute shows cel
Read more