Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google
-
0:00 - 0:05(Talks at Google - Peter Gabriel -
October 2nd, 2012) -
0:05 - 0:14[Applause]
-
0:15 - 0:16Hi there,
-
0:18 - 0:27[Introducing] Peter Gabriel, Google -
Google, Peter Gabriel. -
0:28 - 0:31[Applause]
-
0:31 - 0:35So this is another Talks at Google event
and we're very, very pleased -
0:35 - 0:36to welcome musician, artist and activist
Peter Gabriel today. -
0:36 - 0:40We are going to have the great chance
to ask him questions -
0:40 - 0:42about his current tour
and the 25th anniversary of "So" -
0:42 - 0:45which is going to be released
actually at the end of October, -
0:45 - 0:46on October 22nd,
-
0:46 - 0:49and we'll have also some chance
for the audience to ask him questions as well. -
0:49 - 0:51So why don't we get started?
-
0:51 - 0:52You 're here on tour,
in the middle of the tour. -
0:52 - 0:56And what was the story behind the tour?
How did it come to be? -
0:57 - 1:00[Peter Gabriel]
Well, there were a number of things, -
1:00 - 1:02I mean I have never really
done a retro tour before -
1:02 - 1:06and I was pretty resistant, you know.
-
1:07 - 1:10I know Robert Plant quite well
and we were chiding each other -
Not Syncedon who was going to succumb
to the big money first. -
Not SyncedAnyway, I went to see the Beach Boys
do Pet Sounds -
Not Syncedwhich I always used to love.
-
Not SyncedAnd that convinced me that
to see one of the records you enjoy -
Not Syncedfrom start to finish
was an actually good thing. -
Not SyncedAnd that coincided
with some nice offers, -
Not Syncedso that was an easy decision.
-
Not SyncedI'm actually going to
take a sabbatical year -
Not Syncedwith my family.
-
Not SyncedWe've got a teacher coming out with us
-
Not Syncedand so it helps underwrite
that sabbatical year as well. -
Not SyncedThere were a number of reasons but,
-
Not SyncedI decided to bring back the band
that originally toured that record -
Not Syncedand so that's been fun
and we're actually having a great time. -
Not SyncedWe do the evening in three parts.
-
Not SyncedThe first part is based on the idea
that the process is often as interesting -
Not Syncedif not more interesting
than the final product. -
Not SyncedSo we start off with an unfinished song
-
Not Syncedand then we do sort of rehearsal mode
with the house lights on, -
Not Syncedthat's the starter.
-
Not SyncedThen the main course is a few songs,
-
Not Syncedmore electronic
or electric versions of things -
Not Syncedand then the last chunk,
if you can get through all that -
Not Syncedyou get your dessert
which is the "So" album. -
Not SyncedSo that's how it works.
-
Not Synced[Interviewer]
Specifically about the "SO" album, -
Not Syncedyou're playing,
the actual tour is called "Back to front" -
Not Syncedand that seems to be the sort of
the format you just discussed -
Not Syncedbut playing "So",
the track order that you have now -
Not SyncedThat wasn't the original track order,
correct? -
Not SyncedWell, this is an interesting diversion
about technology, -
Not Syncedbecause although I'm a big fan of vinyl
-
Not SyncedI was also a great fan of
the digital world -
Not Syncedbecause suddenly we could get
more dynamics in the music -
Not Syncedand there were restrictions
in the vinyl world. -
Not SyncedFor example, the track
"In your eyes" -
Not SyncedI always wanted to go
at the end of the record -
Not SyncedBut it has a good bass line there.
-
Not SyncedTo get a fat bass line
on a full vinyl record, -
Not Syncedyou can't put it near the end.
-
Not SyncedYou have to have it nearer the beginning,
-
Not SyncedSo, it went on the start of side two
just because there wasn't enough room -
Not Synced
for the needle to vibrate
as it got close to the center. -
Not Syncedso, then, when CDs came along,
I was able to take that track -
Not Syncedand put it back on the end
where it always should have been. -
Not SyncedAnd on this release that's coming up,
it's a couple of variations. -
Not SyncedAs I understand, there's the CD itself
rereleased and remastered -
Not Syncedand that's the third time
you remastered that ... -
Not SyncedYes, as long as people keep buying it
we'll remaster it (audience laughs) -
Not SyncedAnd then, it's going to be
a comprehensive boxed set -
Not Syncedthat's got both CDs,
material that hasn't been released yet -
Not Syncedand also a DVD with some concert footage,
and you've been sitting on this, -
Not Syncedthis has been in the stores...
-
Not Synced(Peter) Yeah, we'll throw
any old shit in there. -
Not SyncedHey, it was old, get it in.
-
Not SyncedNo, but there were a couple of things
we were waiting for the right day, -
Not SyncedYou know, you always get more interested
in the latest thing -
Not Syncedso we'd sort of forgotten about that.
-
Not SyncedAlso we shot the film, the show,
25, 26 years ago -
Not SyncedScorcese had been producing
-
Not Syncedand he had got
this wonderful cinematographer doing it -
Not Syncedand we hadn't realised quite what we had,
So we went back to the film, -
Not SyncedI mean tons of film cans
had to be carefully resurrected -
Not Syncedand then we took
all the data off the film -
Not Syncedand then
had a much better resolution version -
Not Syncedof that concert
that we had done previously. -
Not Synced(Interviewer) And the actual
production of "So" -
Not Syncedand also some of the videos
documenting that... -
Not SyncedOver what time period
did that actually happen? -
Not SyncedFrom when you thought about
the album you did originally -
Not Syncedto getting it out the door?
-
Not Synced(Peter) So on this latest thing...?
-
Not Synced(Interviewer) The original.
-
Not SyncedI think that just sort of happened
as things came up. -
Not SyncedThere wasn't really
a brillant master plan. -
Not SyncedYou know, when we finish this
then what else do we need to do? -
Not SyncedWe were trying film things,
-
Not SyncedI mean, again, if you have the opportunity
to have two gigs in the same place -
Not Syncedthen it makes filming a lot easier
'cause you can do the set up, -
Not Syncedand all the mistakes you make
on the first day -
Not Syncedyou can try and sort out
on the second day. -
Not SyncedAnd we did that in Greece as well.
-
Not SyncedSo, when you're approaching songwriting,
-
Not Syncedmaybe at the time
you're approaching songwriting, -
Not SyncedWith regards to "So",
-
Not Synceddid you have a list of songs
and then say, "OK, right, -
Not SyncedI'm going to select
these musicians to start working with" -
Not Syncedor were you writing
and recording at the same time? -
Not SyncedI'm always writing lyrics
until the day it's released, really. -
Not SyncedI'm slow with those,
but there were a few ideas. -
Not SyncedIn fact, I had forgotten this
but Manu and Tony said -
Not Syncedthat Sledgehammer was an afterthought.
-
Not SyncedThere was a taxi,
waiting to take Manu back to Paris -
Not Syncedand we had an hour left.
-
Not SyncedI think I said, I've got this new idea
that maybe we could just put a demo down -
Not Syncedand that was it.
-
Not SyncedI mean we carried on working on it
cause it felt great, -
Not Syncedbut it was quite an after thought.
-
Not SyncedAnd then Sledgehammer
also took on a life of its own -
Not Syncedwhen it came to the video
which you worked with Arvin on and others -
Not SyncedMy son, first, straightaway said,
-
Not Synced"The chickens! That looks
just like Wallace and Grommit!" -
Not SyncedHow did that come to be?
-
Not SyncedActually, the man who did the chickens was
the man who created Wallace and Grommit. -
Not SyncedAnd I was working
with this brilliant director -
Not SyncedSteven R. Johnson
and he brought in the Quay Brothers -
Not Syncedwho is a fantastic sort of
dark East European looking animation. -
Not SyncedAnd I saw they've now got
a big thing at MOMA in New York. -
Not SyncedAnd I bought an AARDman animation
who were from down the road in Bristol. -
Not SyncedSteven and I had a couple of weeks
just bashing through ideas -
Not Syncedand then we bought in the others.
-
Not SyncedAnd it was a really exciting
creative brainstorming. -
Not SyncedThat's always been one of the things
I most enjoy about what I do -
Not Syncedis working with people
from different backgrounds, -
Not Syncedoften smarter than I am
and just cooking something up. -
Not SyncedSo that was a great experience,
but quite painful too -
Not Synced'cause we did everything
the old fashioned way -
Not Syncedframe by frame.
-
Not SyncedSo when you see a sky
moving across my face -
Not Syncedthat has been painted
frame by frame -
Not Syncedand the skin gets very raw.
-
Not SyncedAnd when you're under glass
with a lot of raw fish, -
Not Syncedon day one, that's fun, but day two ...
at least you put the blame on the fish. -
Not SyncedAnd that video I think
is actually the most played video -
Not Syncedever on MTV.
-
Not SyncedI mean, granted,
they don't play -
Not Syncedquite as many videos these days,
but still the fact...(laughter) -
Not Syncedbut that's a huge accomplishment.
-
Not SyncedHaving been relatively young at that age,
-
Not SyncedIt was so different
from anything that was out there. -
Not SyncedAnd it set a standard for an experience
-
Not Syncedthat was getting you
into the mind of the writer -
Not Syncedand the artist in a different way.
-
Not SyncedAn entertainment value that
wasn't just for the sake of entertainment -
Not Syncedbut also telling a story.
-
Not SyncedYeah, I think that
what was great about videos then -
Not Syncedis that there were
people who wanted to watch them -
Not Syncedand there was a budget
and there were no rules. -
Not SyncedSo you could do
what the hell you wanted -
Not Syncedand there was no one there
to say "No, this is the way we do it." -
Not SyncedBack to songwriting, I want to ask
-
Not SyncedMike Rutherford made the comment once
that you're a frustrated drummer. -
Not SyncedYou started as a drummer in school.
-
Not SyncedDo you think you think more rhythmically,
originally, about a song, -
Not Syncedor do you think more melodically?
-
Not SyncedI think both. There are some things
that are just based on melody, -
Not Syncedbut groove is
what drove me into music. -
Not SyncedI think drummers,
they seem to be in command -
Not Syncedof this really loud thing
and it looks like a lot of fun. -
Not SyncedAnd that's what I wanted to be.
-
Not SyncedI was very enthusiastic.
Not very good. -
Not SyncedAnd it was fine
in the early days of Genesis -
Not Syncedbecause we had guys
who were good solid drummers -
Not Syncedbut they weren't that creative.
-
Not SyncedThen when we got Phil,
-
Not Syncedunfortunately he was
a way better drummer than I was. -
Not SyncedBut I used to still have
some bits of my drum kit onstage -
Not Syncedand I would find my bass drum
full of carpet. -
Not SyncedGradually these things
were getting reduced, -
Not Syncedso that was a subtle way of saying
that maybe I wasn't the best timekeeper. -
Not SyncedHowever, being a major drum fan
-
Not SyncedI worked with some of
the best drummers in the world, I think. -
Not SyncedAnd one of those is Stewart Copeland
who is also a lousy timekeeper. -
Not Synced[Interviewer]
Just don't tell that to Stewqrt Copeland. -
Not SyncedNo, I've told him, he'll say it himself,
because he races. -
Not SyncedBut the energy he puts into his drumming
and the attack on that is fantastic. -
Not SyncedHe does that brilliantly.
-
Not Synced[Interviewer] On that album
he played high-hat -
Not SyncedWell, this is the thing;
-
Not SyncedI had so many wonderful drummers
I could cut out bits and pieces -
Not Syncedand get a bit of a high-hat from Stewart,
a kick from Manu and whatever it was... -
Not SyncedBut I'm a bit obsessive
as you might guess from this. -
Not SyncedThe groove has to be right.
-
Not SyncedWe work quite hard trying to find
-
Not Syncedgrooves that aren't the regular ones
you're hearing on the radio. -
Not Synced[Interviewer] With having this band
back on stage together, -
Not Syncedare there some moments
when you look around and it's déjà vu? -
Not SyncedYeah, and we all look exactly the same
as we did twenty-five years ago. -
Not SyncedActually, a couple of the guys do,
I wish I could say that. -
Not SyncedIt's a bit like family get-togethers,
-
Not Syncedbecause you end up with
the same bunch of folk -
Not Synceddoing exactly the same thing
as you always did, -
Not Syncedwith all the pleasures and problems
that went along the first time. -
Not SyncedSo, it feels very familiar
but I'm enjoying it a lot. -
Not Synced[Interviewer] And as far as the way
in which the songs evolve -
Not Syncedwhen you're on tour,
-
Not Syncedthere's that section that's defined as
'let's play with these more' -
Not Syncedbut do you also come back
and rearrange the songs a little bit? -
Not SyncedAre they the same songs
-
Not Syncedyou started out with
at the beginning of the tour -
Not Syncedthat you wind up with at the end?
-
Not SyncedWell, we try to get them right
so we are tweaking, -
Not Syncedevery sound check
we're trying to find a few weaknesses -
Not Syncedand nail them.
-
Not SyncedWe never used to play
all those tracks together -
Not Syncedpartly because two of them
were a bitch to get right. -
Not SyncedWe couldn't get them working.
-
Not SyncedSo I think we're
closing in on them anyway. -
Not SyncedYou do want to keep changing it.
-
Not SyncedHowever, I keep forgetting
-
Not Syncedbecause we did start off
rehearsing some other stuff as well. -
Not SyncedNow we've got things
beginning to feel like a real show -
Not Syncedand working properly,
-
Not Syncedthen when you do change the numbers over
-
Not Syncedthat means also
that you need to re-program the lights -
Not Syncedand all that stuff.
-
Not SyncedI think we will be doing that,
getting some flexibility, -
Not Syncedbut gently.
-
Not Synced[Interviewer] In a tour like this
I know that you've always -
Not Syncedput a lot of energy and time
to make a concert a full experience, -
Not Syncednot just 'OK, here's some nice lights
and here are the songs' -
Not Syncedplayed the best they can be
-
Not Syncedbut also the experience of the songs,
in a way. -
Not SyncedHow much time goes into
prepping for a tour like this? -
Not SyncedIt's a fair bit,
I've got some very smart people. -
Not SyncedIn fact, there was an idea,
originally 25-26 years ago -
Not Syncedwhen I was just doing videos
-
Not Syncedand I saw the cameras on these booms
that were being manually operated. -
Not SyncedI thought the way they moved
was really cool. -
Not SyncedSo we replaced the cameras with lights
-
Not Syncedand now we've got lights
with little cameras on them as well. -
Not SyncedBut they're still manually operated.
-
Not SyncedI'm working on another show after this
which will be more robotic, I think. -
Not SyncedBut this one, I'm really enjoying
the manual element. -
Not SyncedIt feels quite futuristic
and retro simultaneously. -
Not Synced[Interviewer] And speaking of robots,
you've always been -
Not Syncedin Silicon-Valley-speak,
and early-adopter of technology, -
Not Syncedwith CDRoms
- Title:
- Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google
- Description:
-
Peter Gabriel stops by Google to discuss his recent work, including the new "Back to Front" tour, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of "So." From the latest at Witness to his thoughts about bringing back the original "So" band, Peter covers a wide variety of subjects. This talk was recorded on October 2nd, 2012.
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. His 1986 album, So, is his most commercially successful, and the album's biggest hit, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song is the most played music video in the history of the station.
More recently, Gabriel has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. Gabriel has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1987, six Grammy Awards, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2007 he was honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his "influence on generations of music makers." Gabriel was also awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2009, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
- Video Language:
- English, British
- Team:
- Music Captioning
- Project:
- On and Around Music
- Duration:
- 43:07
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google | ||
Lisa Miller edited English subtitles for Peter Gabriel: "Back to Front", Talks at Google |