Post by Gerrald Bostock on May 4, 2014 12:47:12 GMT
Ian Anderson to perform at Cambridge Corn Exchange
Written by MARTIN HUTCHINSON
Ian Anderson Band
www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Whats-on-leisure/Choice/Ian-Anderson-to-perform-at-Cambridge-Corn-Exchange-20140504060006.htm
.
MARTIN HUTCHINSON meets the Jethro Tull frontman and prog rock God
The honour of being a Prog God was bestowed upon Ian Anderson at the 2013 Progressive Music Awards.
“I take it with a pinch of salt really, but that’s not to say that I’m ungrateful for the award,” he explains. “It’s only for 12 months, then someone else takes it on.”
It’s not the only award Ian has received in his long and illustrious career; he’s also got an MBE and a Queen’s Award for Industry no less: “I quite like the idea of peer group awards and it would be churlish to refuse these things, and in perspective, it’s a nod and a wink from your contemporaries.”
After founding Jethro Tull in 1968, Ian’s unique brand of folk-influenced progressive rock garnered him hit albums including Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and Heavy Horses, but in recent years, he’s toured and recorded more and more under his own name.
“For so many years, I’ve been the frontman of a band that’s had 28 members and I like to do projects so that I don’t have to do a ‘best of’ Jethro Tull,” he admits.
The flute-playing musician has now put together what he calls a ‘folk-prog-metal’ concept album that he’ll showcase at Cambridge Corn Exchange.
“It’s called Homo Erraticus – and you’re the first person I’ve told the title to,” he says. “It’s going to be entertaining and theatrical, and it contains elements that could be classed as topical – things we are seeing in the news.”
He continues, laughing: “There’s some pontification of issues, but it’s not weighty or political, it’s got to be entertaining and fun – after all, I’m not Gavin Esler.”
In 2012, he released and toured his Thick as a Brick 2 album to great acclaim, and this time he’ll be using the same musicians: keyboard player John O’Hara, guitarist Florian Opthale, David Goodier on bass, Scott Harrison on drums and Ryan O’Donnell.
“The first half of the show will be the whole of the new album,” says Ian. “Along with a video which is almost like a virtual opening act, it then morphs into the actual concert.”
He smiles: “I enjoy bringing music to life in presentations.”
It also features heavier, less acoustic guitar work and more of Anderson’s trademark flute.
He says: “It’s not an end to the acoustic and gentler moments but more of an emphasis on the louder aggressive flute style which marked me out from the earliest days of Jethro Tull.”
:: Ian Anderson, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Friday, May 9 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £26 - £32.50 from (01223) 357851 / cornex.co.uk.
Read more: www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Whats-on-leisure/Choice/Ian-Anderson-to-perform-at-Cambridge-Corn-Exchange-20140504060006.htm#ixzz30kaRd6V4
Written by MARTIN HUTCHINSON
Ian Anderson Band
www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Whats-on-leisure/Choice/Ian-Anderson-to-perform-at-Cambridge-Corn-Exchange-20140504060006.htm
.
MARTIN HUTCHINSON meets the Jethro Tull frontman and prog rock God
The honour of being a Prog God was bestowed upon Ian Anderson at the 2013 Progressive Music Awards.
“I take it with a pinch of salt really, but that’s not to say that I’m ungrateful for the award,” he explains. “It’s only for 12 months, then someone else takes it on.”
It’s not the only award Ian has received in his long and illustrious career; he’s also got an MBE and a Queen’s Award for Industry no less: “I quite like the idea of peer group awards and it would be churlish to refuse these things, and in perspective, it’s a nod and a wink from your contemporaries.”
After founding Jethro Tull in 1968, Ian’s unique brand of folk-influenced progressive rock garnered him hit albums including Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and Heavy Horses, but in recent years, he’s toured and recorded more and more under his own name.
“For so many years, I’ve been the frontman of a band that’s had 28 members and I like to do projects so that I don’t have to do a ‘best of’ Jethro Tull,” he admits.
The flute-playing musician has now put together what he calls a ‘folk-prog-metal’ concept album that he’ll showcase at Cambridge Corn Exchange.
“It’s called Homo Erraticus – and you’re the first person I’ve told the title to,” he says. “It’s going to be entertaining and theatrical, and it contains elements that could be classed as topical – things we are seeing in the news.”
He continues, laughing: “There’s some pontification of issues, but it’s not weighty or political, it’s got to be entertaining and fun – after all, I’m not Gavin Esler.”
In 2012, he released and toured his Thick as a Brick 2 album to great acclaim, and this time he’ll be using the same musicians: keyboard player John O’Hara, guitarist Florian Opthale, David Goodier on bass, Scott Harrison on drums and Ryan O’Donnell.
“The first half of the show will be the whole of the new album,” says Ian. “Along with a video which is almost like a virtual opening act, it then morphs into the actual concert.”
He smiles: “I enjoy bringing music to life in presentations.”
It also features heavier, less acoustic guitar work and more of Anderson’s trademark flute.
He says: “It’s not an end to the acoustic and gentler moments but more of an emphasis on the louder aggressive flute style which marked me out from the earliest days of Jethro Tull.”
:: Ian Anderson, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Friday, May 9 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £26 - £32.50 from (01223) 357851 / cornex.co.uk.
Read more: www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Whats-on-leisure/Choice/Ian-Anderson-to-perform-at-Cambridge-Corn-Exchange-20140504060006.htm#ixzz30kaRd6V4