ii, eg ip ee eae are ve iuthouae? TSE Pt, ke a ee ee A ee Bale it : ate Va a ies be, | ws : THE COLLEGE NEWS ~ Friday, March 3, 1967 Out and "Plays It” at the Point; Page Eight Eric Andersen Sells ash iinet ot 3 ' by Cindy Ayers '68 _ AS Marcia Ringel and I sat in . the audience at the Main Point Saturday, February 25, the full significance of what we were plan- ning struck us. We. stared at the gaunt young singer with cheek- bones so high they almost hit his eyebrows and cheeks so coolly hollow they looked like shadows, Not to mention his great shaggy hair. ‘*How. can we--do-it???-we mut- tered feverishly. ‘‘Do we dare?” But we had little -choice--the Editor of the NEWS was counting on.us, and besides we’d bragged to so many of our friends already ' that we couldn’t back down now. So when the 10:00 show ended, we knew it was about to happen *-our interview with Eric Ander- sen was imminent. Nervously we crept downstairs, where entertainers at the Point spend their intermissions. ‘The place was empty. As we stood there almost in relief, we heard voices from a small room toward the back and realized that that was where we should be. Fearing that he might be resting or naked, we stood uncertainly in the middle of the floor, whimpering ‘‘Hello’’ and wishing that we were some- where else, Gathering her last flakes of courage, Marcia called tremulously, ‘‘Mr. Andersen?’ (calling ‘‘Eric”? seemed too inti- mate and shouting ‘‘Eric Ander- sen”? was OUT of the question.) He heard us, told us to come in, and-we knew that escape was no longer possible, When I first found out that Marcia and I were todo this inter- view, the questions I planned on asking were (1) Did you get my letter? and (2) Who is this Debby Green who played the guitar on your second album? After that, I just hoped we would be able to think of enough questions to fill the time, Finding questions turned out to be hardly the problem, The difficulty was finding enough time to get in all we had to ask and all he had to say. Anyone who has heard his records and then saw the show this weekend would un- derstand why the topic that dom- inated the interview was thefolk- rock trend; in music and more particularly in Eric Andersen. We were especially interested in the statement he made during the show to introduce one of his newer songs, more rock than folk; ‘I know what you’re thinking,’’ he said, ‘‘he’s sold out, he’s gone over!”? So we.asked him why he said it--did he feel guilty? Had people been accusing him of defecting? The truth is that he doesn’t feel guilty-at all, although he knows there are staunch tra- ditionalists who will refuse tolis- ten to anything but pure folk (and these days they’ll have a hard time finding that) and this makes him Andersen that it did give a deeper, richer sound and was, on many songs, more expressive. People seem to want a balance.of oldand new, but he said that it’s hard to decide what songs to do when you’re limited to about six ineach set. We asked how he felt when he had finished a show--tired, glad it was over...? He said that normally he wants to keep playing because he just “gets . into the groove of a show’? when he has to quit, The discussion of folk-rock led to the album he cut this summer and which Vanguard is just re- leasing, called ‘**Bout Changes ‘and Things, Take II.”* This record was made for release in Britain, and is composed of the same songs found on his second American album, ‘** ? Bout Changes and Things.” He seemed a little worried about the reaction of the public to this record, fearing that his fans would feel cheated or misled. The main difference be- tween the two albums is that ‘Take II’? is the folk-rock new band version of the previous al- bum and was not originally de- signed for sale in America, He does, however, have a fourth and brand new album coming out Can Alley.” This’ wi last Vanguard record after which he will switch to a new label-- perhaps Columbia or R.C,A, Vic- tor, although he has not yet per- manently decided. When questioned about his con- cert program, Eric told us that he hopes to extend it soon, and adelphia, ~When I saw him at the Point inOctober, it was announced that he would be doing a concert at Philadelphia’s Town Hall in December. But December came and the concert didn’t. I asked him why and he said, .‘‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to fill the hall,?? His theory is, if you’re going to do a big concert, do-it, if you. can’t, don’t try. Not only is it depressing to the performer him- self to play to a half-filled house, but you’re also, he feels, cheating the contractor and wasting the time and efforts of the promoter, (And it’s not too good for his own reputation, either.) ‘‘Besides,’® he said, ‘‘I hate Town Hall. It’s a graveyard.” He said that if he does do a concert in Philadelphia, ‘he’d rather do it at the Academy of Music than at Town Hall, It’s more alive. We asked Mr. Andersen if he had ever had any formal guitar lessons, ‘‘No,’’ -he said, ‘‘I taught myself when I was about 13.7 He used as models old 45’s -- calypso, Elvis Presley. In fact, one of the songs on his second album, ‘‘That’s Alright Ma- ma’? was an old Elvis song. He seldom uses songs written by other people -- on this second album there are two which he learned from someone else, on his first album, ‘‘Today is the Highway’’, he has adapted.a song 7 nate $9-O-9-96-99-5465-4469.646654.6545346005 ss Cbs rewuvwvu we $44464646464464646464444444) 4443) 4144 44 in kid) : photo by Susan Nosco Friend of author, Eric and author pose for photographer who is completely overcome by the majesty and glory of his presence. from another arrangement -- and doesn’t write songs specifically for other singers, although Judy Collins has recorded his ‘‘ Thirsty Boots’ and, he informed us, Peter Paul, and Mary are planning to use another of his on an album soon. Our moment ofglory wasdraw- - ing to a close as we heard the first part of the show (Robby Robinson) ending above us. Em- barrassed, but determined not to let the chance go by, I handed him the record jacket from * ‘Bout Changes and Things?’ which I had been clutching on my knees under a Mozart record I was taking to a friend, mumbled, “I hate to be a teeny-bopper, but could you, I mean would you....? and gave him my pen, ‘The real reason is out,’? he said, ‘‘Autographs, ha! Little did I. know the trué reason.” But he must havelikedsigning it, because he then took my friend’s Mozart record and signed ‘‘Mo- zart’’ and, after some thought, added, ‘‘Alias Eric (Flash) An- dersen,’?' when I suggested ‘*Wolfgang’’, he laughed, added a Sings of Frustration, Violets, and That's Alright — “Ww, handed back the records, and the interview was over. Stumbling upstairs, blinded by the radiance of the miracle (‘we DID it’?) we ran into our photographer who had justarrived and, since Eric was right behind us, she asked him if he would mind if she took a few pictures. He didn’t, and so she did -- with him sitting between Marcia and me with his. very arms around our very shoulders, and Marcia’s very glasses on his very face for a few minutes -- while our very dates coldly stalked out the door and sulked in the car. It was really ending at last. The best part was that he proved to be engaging off stage as on-- he’s not protesting. His only *protest song’’, “16-year Grudge’’, he laughingly introduc- ed as ‘fa song of teenage frus- tration and deep social signif- icance.”? One of his best-known songs, ‘‘Violets of Dawn’’, with its poetic beauty is far more his style. He makes contact with people; no matter. what the style he gets through to them. And his striking good looks are even more so in person (my contact lenses melted). Just before we left, ‘‘Hey,’’ he said, ‘“Younever asked me the major influences on my life!” Realizing our unfor- givable error, we hastened toask. ‘¢Pat Boone,’’ he replied. { LA 5-0443 Parvin’s Pharmacy James P. 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