A must read interview with Poncho from Rolling Stone by Andy Greene.
Frank "Poncho" Sampedro discusses a multitude of topics including hoping for a "proper" Crazy Horse farewell tour, his 2013 hand injury and Billy Talbot's health.
The group's future plans are unclear, and Poncho says that Crazy Horse almost certainly won't appear at Farm Aid on September 13th in Raleigh, North Carolina. "It's just a huge expense to bring Crazy Horse there," says Poncho. "Neil did tell me that he loves this band, he loves playing with us and he wants to do it as much as he can. He didn't talk about any sort of timeframe, and I'm sure he loves playing with CSNY, too."More on Neil Young Guitarist Poncho Sampedro Wants a Crazy Horse Farewell Tour | Rolling Stone.
On the plane back to America, Poncho did approach Young with his take on what the future should hold. "I said to him, we should get together in the spring, record another Crazy Horse album and do a farewell tour next year,'" says Poncho. "Elliot was saying, 'Great idea!' But Neil's a poker player. He didn't really say anything. He's always thinking about what he's doing today and tomorrow, and right now he has acoustic shows, Pono and he's working on a fiction novel."
...... i thought this Neil quote was interesting,
ReplyDelete"He wrote back and said, 'That's not who we are,'" says Poncho. "'We aren't that band. If we try and pretend to be that band, we'll just lose.' That really hit home to me, and I knew he was right. It was too late to change the tickets and everything after Billy went down, but we were no longer Crazy Horse. This was a different band."
........ Crazy Horse IS special. If it's not Billy, Ponch & Ralph w/Neil, it's not the Horse. And they're not gonna try'n kid us that it is.
... Doesn't matter how may times over the decades that we've seen'm ... the next time (if it comes about) will likely be the last time and .. it ..will ..be ..special. I've been going to hear this Horse since '76 and it'll be hard to accept that we may never experience that again.
...... one more time in America, guys. .... please.
I love the Horse and Billy, but I think Neil is at his worst now when playing with them. He still gives it his all, but he plays without any sense of melody, combining it with thrash without focus. It's brutally boring to me now. I haven't walked out of a show by them, but have been tempted the last two times. I feel that Neil and the Horse radically changed beginning with the Weld tour. At that time I liked it, but thought it was just a phase. Unfortunately, it was just the beginning of their increasing aimless, rambling, drawn out "jamming" that never seems to end.
ReplyDeleteConversely, to my ears the recent Euro tour was fresh in both song selection and musicality. Neil was re-invigorated by the different possibilities (in my opinion).
I'll always love the Horse, and they've provided me with more than enough memories to sustain me for years to come. I just know that their "current style" of music since roughly 1990 isn't to my taste.
Still, I hope they tour together in America at least one more time. I won't be there, but I want them to experience their joy of playing together again, and also want the many dedicated Horse fans to be able to say hello and goodbye to them again. It's a special musical experience cherished by many.
Just think of me as one you never figured...
Crazy Horse has played Farm Aids in the past. Come on, Neil, please bring them to Raleigh!
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Would love to attend a North American show of the current gig, but then again another "Horse" tour wouldn't be bad either!
ReplyDeleteNeil sure seems fired up on those Love to Burn & DBTR recordings...
That's fine, as long you KEEP DOING farewall tours.
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