RockOm

By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

There are only six musicians in the world whose email signature includes the iconic lips and tongue logo of The Rolling Stones. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell is one of those six. As a member of the Rolling Stones for the past twenty-seven years Chuck Leavell has played an integral part in shaping the music of the Stones since joining the band (on suggestion to The Stones by Bill Graham) on the 1982 European tour for the album Tattoo You. He has since gone on to contribute to the songwriting team of Jagger-Richards and in assisting in the arranging of their last umpteen albums since 1983’s album Under Cover.

Chuck Leavell may be a Rolling Stone but he’s getting used to playing a role much more influential and rewarding than being a member of the world’s greatest rock band through his work as a conservationist, environmentalist and founding board member (and Director of Environmental Affairs) of the Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com). In addition, he and his wife Rose Lane were named National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 1999 for their management of Charlane Plantation in Macon, GA. He is also a board member of the U.S. Endowment for Forest Communities and was the keynote speaker at The Presidential Seminar and Fortune Magazine’s Green Summit.

Chuck Leavell is one of the most sought-after keyboard players in all of rock and roll. Before joining the Rolling Stones, Chuck was a member of the Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level. He has performed and recorded with the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, The Black Crowes, Widespread Panic, The Indigo Girls, Blues Traveler, Train, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Seal, Robert Palmer, Chaka Kahn, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Montgomery Gentry, Lee Ann Womack... (ok, you get the drift here - who HASN’T Chuck collaborated with?)  He has recorded and released four solo albums with his latest double disc release being 2008’s Live in Germany. Chuck has also authored several books including an autobiography entitled Between a Rock and a Home Place and a children’s book on environmentalism entitled The Tree Farmer.

Chuck Leavell has carved a legacy for himself that few could ever imagine creating. His contributions to the annuals of music and to the preservation of our world for future generations aren’t fully appreciated at this moment in time. But that’s probably just fine for Chuck Leavell.  After all, as you'll soon learn, he’s got a grandbaby to play with now. One must remember to tend to the truly important things in life.
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RockOm: Thanks, Chuck for allowing RockOm the opportunity to spend some time with you. It’s a great honor. What are your earliest musical memories growing up and what first inspired you and made you aware that you wanted to be a professional musician?

Chuck Leavell: It was my mother that inspired me to play the piano. She played, just for family enjoyment, and I was the youngest of three siblings. So often it was just my mom and me in the house together, especially when I was just a child - five, six, seven years old. I would tug on her skirt and ask her to play and she would usually oblige if she wasn’t too busy. I loved hearing her play and watching her hands going up and down the keyboard. It was a huge thrill for me.

RockOm: Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that music would take you from Alabama to see the world and collaborate with the greatest musicians in the industry?

Chuck Leavell: No. All of that came in due course, but when I started, it was really just for the love of doing it. Although I must say that in my first band when I was 13, The Misfitz, we were doing quite well. We played the YMCA every Friday night and on Saturday mornings we had a TV show called Tuscaloosa Bandstand. Between those two gigs we were bringing down something like $45 each a week, which was pretty substantial for the mid 60’s. So it became an enterprise as well as a joy very early on for me.

RockOm: To say you’re a staunch conservationist is an understatement. You’re an avid environmentalist, preservationist, a board member on the U.S. Endowment for Forest Communities, author of several books, owner and operator of Charlane Plantation, which is a 2200 acre pine forest and farm outside Macon, GA. Now you’ve developed and launched a very exciting and important new project, the Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com) and are the project’s Director of Environmental Affairs. Some social and political leaders have stated recently that conservationism and environmentalism are indeed spiritual matters that the church and religious institutions need to address. Do you agree with their assessment?

Chuck Leavell: I think all of us have to address our environmental challenges. Our churches and spiritual institutions, sure, but also our government, businesses, schools, universities, nongovernmental organizations, non-profits and other groups - and of course as individuals. Theodore Roosevelt said over 100 years ago at a conference on water issues in Memphis, Tennessee that if we don’t address the challenges that face our natural lands we stand little chance of solving other problems. I think he was right then and he’s right now. I do think that now the “sleeping giant” (America) is finally awakening to these challenges. Maybe not everyone, but I think enough of us now see that it’s inevitable we make changes in our lives, our energy sources and energy consumption, our development models and methodologies and so forth if we want to have a beautiful and safe world to live in. I believe we also have to face some realities in population growth. It seems to me that the Europeans and some other countries have made more strides in all these matters than we have. But with the new Administration now in place, I’m confident that we will do better. Hey, I’m a grandparent now and I worry about the world our future generations will have to deal with.

RockOm: As a “Carolina boy” I grew up enjoying time in the woods, the countryside and mountains and understand it when you said that, “There's nothing like being next to nature and the feeling of spirituality that comes with that."  When you’re out walking Charlane Plantation is there a “natural music” that you hear in the woods, the fields? How have you used your time in mother nature to help you be a better musician?

Chuck Leavell: I like to say that walking in my woods or any beautiful natural setting is, for me, like being in church. I think one can feel a connection to all things when in nature - a connection to wildlife, to plant life, to the Earth itself and even to the universe and beyond. Maybe that sounds a bit extreme or over the top, but it’s true, at least for me. I have a feeling of calm, connection, reverence and spirituality in nature. And yes, sometimes it inspires musical ideas.

RockOm: Why do you think music cuts so easily through cultural, social and religious barriers and has the ability to bring people together unlike any other medium?

Chuck Leavell: It’s simply THE universal language. We can all respond to it. It’s a means of cutting through words - although, of course lyrics can be equally important as melody and rhythm and getting to feeling. It can also be an expression of our culture. Food and music do a lot to define our heritage, who we are, our respective cultures. I think it’s also that music expresses emotions of all kinds: joy, sadness, loneliness, longing, fear, defiance, love and other emotions. It allows us to communicate in a way that sometimes spoken languages can’t.

RockOm: You’ve recorded some righteous gospel tunes and worked with spirited artists on many occasions including Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and the late George Harrison, all of whom have openly expressed their spirituality. Can you mention some other songs or artists you’ve written or worked on or with that have a quality that you would call spiritual but aren’t religious at all?

Chuck Leavell: Well, certainly the ones you’ve mentioned were very spiritual, and it was an honor to work with them. My friend Randall Bramblett, who worked with me in Sea Level and who I still work with from time to time is a very interesting spiritual person without necessarily being religious. His music and especially his lyrics reflect that. He goes deep into social issues, moral issues, love, forgiveness, conflict and more. I think he’s one of the greatest songwriters in our country now and much overlooked. I just did a CD with Bonnie Bramblett, a gospel record. I love gospel music, and gospel has been a huge influence on my playing. When you think about it, most rock piano comes from the church; Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha and others all started playing in church settings. It’s a stylistic thing, but also a certain feel, a groove. I can think of some bands that have inspired me that come from a spiritual place like The Mahavishnu Orchestra, for instance. Very spiritual. Ravi Shankar is another example in a completely different genre. Keith Jarrett moves me in that way. McCoy Tyner. So do players no longer with us like John Coltrane and Miles Davis.  U2 writes about social issues that get into a degree of spirituality, I think. Joni Mitchell strikes me as spiritual in some of her songs.  Certainly not all music has to be “spiritual”, but I think a lot of those that attempt to be spiritual through their songs and interpretations can be moving and inspiring. It’s part of the magic of music.

RockOm: Would it be fair to say that music is something spiritual for you and if so, can you elaborate, as much as you’re comfortable doing so?

Chuck Leavell: For me, music is sometimes a spiritual exercise, but also an intellectual one, as well as a physical one. I think it’s possible sometimes to reach new heights musically if you are somehow inspired spiritually. As a musician, sometimes when I take a risk, trying to do something that perhaps I have not practiced enough to be confident in doing, yet am willing to try at a certain moment when a certain “spirit” is within me, the spirit seems to take over and make it possible. I guess in part spirituality gives you faith in yourself to go beyond what you may be comfortable trying. It’s sort of like calling on a universal connection that exists between all of us and gaining strength from that to try things you may have some fear or trepidation trying. It’s perhaps a bit like when the adrenaline takes over in an accident and gives someone extraordinary strength to lift a heavy object or perform some other physical feat that you would normally say is impossible or beyond your normal means in order to save a child, or a loved one. Spirituality gives us hope, power, possibility that may not have existed a moment before.

RockOm: What moves you as a songwriter and musician into that space where inspiration flows easiest? How do you best create music?

Chuck Leavell: Well, I have to first of all admit that I am not a prolific songwriter. I enjoy writing, but for whatever reasons, I am more of a player than a writer. As far as inspiration goes, it can come from just about any source. I suppose a good example for me was my Southscape CD. I wanted to pay tribute to my southern heritage. To do a project that expressed musically what the South means to me - the places, the people, even the food. So songs like “Cherokee Wind” pays homage to the Native American influence and heritage of the South. “Tomato Jam” is a nod to a sweet yet spicy condiment that is southern. In “Altamaha”, I try to paint a picture of that very important river in Georgia. I guess I like having a purpose to write music but sometimes things just pop out of the fingers or out of the mind. I’m not so good with lyrics but once in a great while I’ll write them. However, I don’t have near the confidence in my lyrics as I do in my playing.

RockOm: Your style of playing the piano and your contributions to Rock ’n Roll are historic and are still evolving, placing you right there alongside the greats in the industry. How do you maintain the humbleness you’re been noted for?  What keeps you grounded and your name out of negative press when many of your peers have had such difficult times adjusting to fame and fortune?

Chuck Leavell: I’m not sure I really know the answer to that. I certainly don’t think I have any special gift that makes me in any way better than anyone else. I am just so grateful for the life I’ve been able to lead, for what talents I’ve been offered. I’m so blessed to get to play music with others, to have a wonderful family, to be able to work in nature and hopefully to appreciate it and help the health of our natural lands, our wildlife and all the bio-diversity that exists in our world. My parents were certainly an influence on me. My dad told me things like, “You make your own luck” and “there is an art to everything.” My mom was such a loving individual and had deep faith. She was also an inspiration in that she had one of the worst cases of rheumatoid arthritis you could imagine, yet hardly ever complained. She lived through a tremendous amount of pain and suffering because of it, yet was grateful for her life, her opportunities, her family, her friends. When I think of any of the problems or challenges I face, I think of her and I think of what she taught all three of her children... to be grateful for what you have, to try and overcome obstacles, to try and make a positive difference in the world, to love your fellow man, to be willing to forgive wrongdoings and to get beyond things like hate, revenge and vengeance. Carrying around excess baggage can drag you down. Not that we need forget things that happen but it’s more about moving forward and trying to help induce positive change.

RockOm: After almost 30 years as a member of The Rolling Stones is it still exciting when you get the call that it’s time to record and tour again?

Chuck Leavell: Absolutely! I love working with the Stones, love all the individuals involved - not just the band, but all the folks that are attached to it. It’s quite a large family and most of the members have been there a long time. It gets in your blood. It’s part of me, of us. I wish we would work more often, record more, try different approaches to touring. But it’s all up to the guys that are in charge, mainly Mick, Keith and Charlie. We’ve been off now since August of 2007, almost two years. We haven’t played in the U.S. Since February of 2006, three years. It’s great for me and all the others to have different things to do, different settings to play music in, but the Stones are, well THE STONES!

RockOm: Who would you most like to collaborate with musically if you had the opportunity?

Chuck Leavell: There are a lot of artists I admire and would love to play with - some established, some new. I like the works of Joni Mitchell, Sting, Ben Harper, U2, Macy Gray, Alison Krauss, Bob Dylan and others. I’ve enjoyed working in the Country genre from time to time. I have worked with Montgomery-Gentry, Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, and David Nail. I like Taylor Swift’s voice and have never worked with her. I’m sure there are lots of others. Send me a list and I’ll tell you!!

RockOm: What’s next for you? Any projects in the near future that you care to mention?

Chuck Leavell: My next CD will be a tribute to pioneering piano players. Mostly from the 40’s and 50’s, but I’m trying not to be too restrictive. I don’t really want to go past the 50’s era, though. There have been a lot of tributes to guitar players of the era, but very little has been done to pay homage to these piano players such as Little Brother Montgomery, Lee Roy Carr, Amos Milburn, early Ray Charles, Cow Cow Davenport and the like. I want to concentrate mainly on blues players, but maybe a little stride and boogie will edge their way in. I’ve started research for it and I believe it will be a fun project. I don’t know what the Stones have in mind. They have had some meetings, but I don’t think any decisions have been made yet. Of course if the call comes, I want to be there. I mentioned the Bonnie Bramblett sessions and have one coming up with Montgomery-Gentry. I love doing session work and hope there will be more coming my way this year. I’ve started a new book called Smart, Strong and Sustainable that will deal with growth and development issues. And of course I’ll be working quite a bit on The Mother Nature Network project. I’ll certainly be working on Charlane Plantation as much as possible, too. I love working on our land. I’m also involved in some interesting Boards... the U. S. Endowment for Forests and Communities, The American Forest Foundation, The Georgia Land Conservation Council, The Dell Re-Generation Board and some others. These are all wonderful opportunities, and I hope to do them justice.

To learn more about Chuck Leavell please follow these links:

The Mother Nature Network: www.mnn.com

Chuck Leavell’s Homepage on the web: www.chuckleavell.com

Chuck Leavell’s MySpace page: myspace.com/chuckleavell

Chuck Leavell at Amazon.com

RockOm July 2008 Featured Article

In yoga centers and practitioners' MP3 players worldwide stream the melodies and voice of artist Krishna Das. Krishna Das' legendary history began with befriending spiritual teacher Ram Dass and soon thereafter becoming a disciple of Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba). Today he records albums and tours the world leading kirtan (devotional music) and has sung for and with many of the world's foremost spiritual teachers and musical artists. KD recently shared with RockOm's Trevor Harden about his rock'n' roll past and the influence of his guru.

RockOm - In the yogic tradition, there are several pathways to connecting with or serving God. You've chosen the devotional path, which is carried out through song. From Krishna Das kirtan sessions to Sunday morning church services, why do you believe music is such a powerful agent in connecting us with the divine?

Krishna Das - That's a good question. Music is a way people can get out of their minds, get out of their thoughts. It's something they can do themselves with their body and with their voice. It's something they can give themselves to without any artificiality; it just moves you. The rhythms of music and the sound and all those things helps people get out of their heads. I saw the new Rolling Stones movie at the IMAX that Martin Scorsese directed and they played some stuff from way back, stuff from their early albums from when I was in college listening. I broke out crying because those songs were so important to me at that time. They helped me so much to get through hard periods. It was so powerful for me. Our emotions are able to move into the flow of music in a way that's very beautiful. With chanting, there's music involved but also something else which is called the Divine Names in the East - the names of God or the names of that place in us that's ok, the place that we forget a lot. By melting the music in with these sounds, we not only get that ability to move out of our minds, but we also move into something that's more lasting in our own hearts - in our own self. No matter how much that music of the Stones helped me when I was young, it didn't give me something lasting. I'm not trying to put music down in any way, but the spiritual aspect of music doesn't necessarily come from the music itself. It can come from the person who's doing the music. It can come from what's in the music, what's put into the music by that person. The intention of the musician is very important.

RO - You mentioned the Stones; were there other artists or albums when you were a young man or teenager that also spoke to you?

KD - The blues. Mississippi Delta blues, country blues. When I heard that music, I fell over. I grew up on Long Island in the '50s and '60s. The '50s were a very superficial time - Eisenhower was the president; it was a weird time. Everybody was repressed, nobody talked about anything. And then I ran into the blues and I could not believe it - the power, the presence, the wisdom and the intensity of the experience of these musicians like Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, Skip James, and Robert Johnson. I couldn't believe how real this stuff was and how it cut through the nonsense of what I was living with every day. That music really changed my life, absolutely. And in some ways, what I do - I'm really still just a blues singer. It's big blues, but it's blues.

RO - It is well noted that your time in India brought you to the feet of Neem Karoli Baba. What, if anything, did your guru have to say about music?

KD - Not much other than, "Sing!" He wasn't a teacher. He didn't do a lot of intellectual talking. He didn't explain a lot of stuff but he guided each of us to finding our own way to help ourselves. He always asked me to sing - he asked all of us to sing - and the chanting became very important to me so I just kept up with it. Once again, he talked about the Name, the repetition of the Name. It is like calling out when you're in love with somebody, your heart is always calling them - calling their name and bringing their face and their presence to your mind. It's the same thing. Through this music, we're calling that Love - the essence of all that Love - to bring into ourselves, to bring it into our moment, into our lives. That's what the practice is about.

RO - You're currently on tour throughout the Eastern U.S., including June 28th at Charleston's Jivamukti Yoga and June 30th at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse. What have you learned over your years of touring and leading different kinds of people in different parts of the world in devotional singing?

KD - Get enough sleep! [laughs] For me, it's like being with family. No matter how many people are there, no matter where I am, no matter what language they talk it always feels like family to me. It's a wonderful feeling. I've found that everybody's the same, everybody wants the same thing. Everybody wants some relief from the intensity of the stuff that happens every day to us. We want to find a way to live with that. Everybody wants that love, everybody wants to find that place no matter where they are on this earth. You can see that a lot of us don't know how to go about doing that and that, instead of helping us find a way to deal with it, our very actions make more stuff to deal with. That's the same across the board everywhere. I've learned that everybody's the same.

RO - And you feel that through your sessions with these people it's helping them through this process a little?

KD - It's certainly helping me. I don't know about them. I would hope so, but I know it's helping me.

Krishna Das is currently on tour in Georgia, South and North Carolina and a few states in the Midwest, among others. Check out his tour schedule as well as much more information at www.krishnadas.com.

www.krishnadas.com

Top photo by Carla Cummings.
Second photo by Meg Carlough.

Article edited by Andrew Hoogheem.