The Fairfield Theatre Company’s Stage One was sold out last
night for the new DVD Chronology to
benefit local npr station WPKN. The
documentary simply splices together footage from the band’s early days to 1983
and then jumps to their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
ceremony in 2002, which drummer Chris Frantz said at the time gave them “a
happy ending.” (So a nice way to fade
out the DVD as well.) It opens with a
microphone test in a New York City kitchen just after Frantz had moved there in
the mid 70s with fellow RISD classmates singer/songwriter David Byrne and
bassist Tina Weymouth, who was also his girlfriend at the time. This tightly knit group lived together at 195
Chrystie Street, a tough neighborhood in the Lower East Side but right around
the corner from the iconic club CBGBs.
They rehearsed nights after working day jobs; creating songs together
that they would take soon take to the stage.
In early gigs, they huddle together on stage and in interviews they are
fiercely protective of each other’s quirks, as Weymouth once described Byrne’s
behavior as “organically shy.”
In 1978 the band opened for the Ramones and the rest is rock
history. At the Q&A afterwards with
Weymouth and Frantz, Weymouth thanked everyone for “patiently sitting through
[their] home movies but these moments in time belonged to most of the audience
as well. Beyond the spirit of
reminiscence, there was a real sense at that time that this artsy pop music was
something that had never been tried before.
In the early scenes, people looked somewhat perplexed by the sound – not
sure how to even move to it yet soon new wave became the most danceable genre
ever. Frantz explained that since they were art students, there was always an
“artistic target” with their music. They
loved pop music but also art so the thought was maybe “pop music can be the
best art ever.” His idea to cover Al
Green’s “Take Me to the River” became the first hit for the Talking Heads. Frantz said he knew they had made it big when
Dick Clark told them on his show, “I like you guys!”
Weymouth found being in the band “very daunting” but “really
loved these boys” so kept at it. (The
original plan was for her to step aside but even Lou Reed commented how it was
a “good gimmick” to have a chick in the band.)
It was her mother that essentially told her “you can do this.” The couple also revisited their side project,
the Tom Tom Club, and how that band kept the Talking Heads going since their
songs were better received internationally.
Plus their influx of world music opened up American fans to receive
global influences. With its digitalized fim
and remastered soundtrack, Chronology
provides a rewarding trip down memory lane or a musical adventure for anyone.
My interview with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth before a Tom Tom Club show last January here.
 |
| Bruce of WPKN working the merch table for the event |