Monday

ALICIA WITT TOUR AND INTERVIEW



REVISIONARY HISTORY: Drummer/percussionist Brian Pruitt, beloved composer, vocalist and keyboard virtuoso ALICIA WITT and Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell celebrate backstage after Witt's triumphant performance on 22 March at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan as part of her Weekend Tour series.  Blitz Magazine joins Witt below for a behind the scenes look at the tour, along with a bit of conversation and record hunting. Photo by Michael McDowell. C&P 2024 Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. All rights reserved. (Click on above image to enlarge). 

CLEVER MIND:
ON TOUR WITH
ALICIA WITT
By Michael McDowell

Waylon Jennings and Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson were disc jockeys.

Mike Rabon of the Five Americans was an educator and a published author. 

Marga Bult of the vocal supergroup Babe is a registered nurse, who has done extensive research in neurology and psychology.

Queen lead guitarist Brian May holds a doctorate degree in astrophysics. 

One time Columbia recording artist Gayla Peevey has an extensive track record in elementary education, while Blasters front man Phil Alvin has taught mathematics at the college level. 

For the rank and file, it is often challenging to envision artists like these in any such alternative roles. Their first impressions of the artists strictly as musicians tend to resonate to the degree that picturing them as flourishing in any other discipline is often an exercise in futility. 

But artists such as these developed their reputations in part by thinking outside of the box. Most assuredly at center stage among their ranks in that respect is the beloved and extraordinary multimedia visionary, Alicia Roanne Witt. 

Over the past several decades, the Worcester, Massachusetts native has amassed a most impressive track record in film and television. It is at that juncture that the disconnect has been known to avail itself upon occasion amongst casual observers when the subject of music is broached.

In reality, few have brought to the table more impressive credentials than Witt has amassed in order to succeed in all of those disciplines. Deemed prodigious early in life, Witt graduated high school at the age of fourteen. She concurrently completed four years of classical piano study, developing virtuoso level skills in the process. 

As her abilities as a composer and vocalist developed, Witt opted to pursue music with the same fervor, finesse and mastery that fueled her work in film and television. A residency as pianist at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California in the 1990s opened the door for a similar role in a stage production; leading to her her recording debut in 2009. 

In the years that followed, Witt created a most extraordinary musical catalog, highlighted by such magnificent albums and EPs as Live At Rockwood, 15,000 DaysRevisionary HistoryConduit and 2023's game changing Witness. Those triumphs were augmented by such sublime, cut to the heart individual tracks as Fighting For Crumbs, Consolation Prize and Chasing Shadows.

Witt of course has ongoing commitments to television and film. Recent accomplishments include the forthcoming motion picture Longlegs, in which she costars with Nicholas Cage. Noinetheless, she has managed to record and tour prolifically. 

In order to balance such demands at the optimum level, Witt has embarked upon what she refers to as a series of "weekend tours", which enables her to focus on film and television commitments during the midweek. A showcase in Los Angeles kicked off the ambitious project, which will continue throughout June with stops along the way in Saint Louis, Boston, New York City and Seattle. 

As the epitome of the thinkng person's artist, those performances were by definition destined to be among the highiights of the year. It was during Witt's back to back shows on the 21st and 22nd of March in Toronto, Ontario and Ann Arbor, Michigan that Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People caught up for a first hand look. 

Ironically, her  Ann Arbor stop seemed in danger of postponement at the last minute, due to unforseen circumstances. As Witt was turning in a compelling performance before a highly appreciative crowd at Hugh's Room in Toronto, word came in that Southeastern Michigan (a four hour drive from Toronto) was facing a late season major snowstorm. An accumulation of four to seven inches was predicted. 

Thankfully, by late morning on Friday the 22nd, rising temperatures caused the snow to melt, making the roads clear by mid-afternoon. Nonetheless, Witt opted to take a proactive stance by boarding a flight from Toronto to Detroit Metro Airport in nearby Romulus. 

That afternoon, concerns persisted as to whether or not word would get out to ticketholders for the evening's perfomance in a timely manner. Once again, Witt responded proactively with a social media post of her overlooking the city center (which is adjacent to the campus of the University Of Michigan) with the caption, "A beautiful spring day in Ann Arbor". 

Happily, the faithful were lined up outside of The Ark on Main Street more than a half hour prior to showtime. A fixture in the city since 1965, The Ark has played host over the decades to such pioneers as Arlo Guthrie, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Robin McNamara. 

Once inside The Ark, anticipatory levels ran high among the faithful. Many vied for space prior to showtime around the merchandise table, where inventory levels were modest as the result of brisk turnover in Toronto the previous evening. Others jockeyed for position near the stage, with one devotee preparing to take copious notes during the performance.

Witt finally took to the stage shortly after 8:00PM to a hero's welcome. Primarily accompanying herself on the venue's grand piano, she occasionally ventured to center stage to solo over backing tracks.

Accompanying her was renowned Nashville session drummer Brian Pruitt. One of the industry's most in demand percussionists, Pruitt's credits include collaborations with Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, Ronnie Dunn, Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, Cowboy Crush, and Ace and Squeeze cofounder Paul Carrack, among others. 

Pruitt's mastery of the drum kit was most assuredly on full display at The Ark. A  sight reader who is equally at ease with charts, Pruitt's gifts for improv were put to the test near the ninety minute show's midpoint, due to a slight change in the set list. Given the intricate dynamics of Witt's material, Pruitt nonetheless rose to the challenge with the finesse of the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet's Joe Morello, stating his case as much by sitting out at key moments as he did by augmenting the material's occasional flourishes of high drama accordingly.

Indeed, from a technical standpoint, Witt's material is not for the fainthearted. Nonetheless, the faithful (affectionately dubbed Wittys) remained unwaveringly enthralled as she soared through such sublime originals as Witness, Consolation Prize and Conduit. Generous with tales of the road and studio between numbers, Witt augmented those high watermarks with her 2013 tongue in cheek I'm Not Ready For Christmas single (which is slated to be reprised on her forthcoming Christmas album), Someone To Write Me A Song and an inspired interpretation of Billy Joel's She's Always A Woman

For her encore, Witt promised, "an appearance by a special guest". That guest turned out to be her beloved Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Ernest. Named in honor of the renowned author and journalist Ernest Hemingway, Ernest proved to be a sensation in his own right.

After the show, Blitz Magazine joined Witt backstage to discuss plans to get together the following morning for a whirlwind tour of the University Of Michigan campus. With the ever-charismatic Ernest looking on in approval, the meeting was set for Saturday morning at the steps of the campus cornerstone, Angell Hall. 

Blitz Magazine arrived at Angell Hall about ten minutes early the following morning, only to encounter construction that necessitated the closure of that 1924 campus centerpiece for the weekend. In turn, a tour group of prospective students concurrently opted to congregate at the steps while being adressed by a school representative with a bullhorn, thereby rendering the potential for one on one communication marginal, at best. 

"I am almost at Angell Hall", Witt texted. Obviously a bit of improvisation was in order. 

Moments later, Witt pulled up in front of Angell Hall. Blitz Magazine quickly brought her up to speed on the circumstances at hand, concluding with the hasty but hopeful, "I've got an idea".

"I love ideas", Witt said. 

Situated a block up State Street across from Angell Hall was the current site of the long time Ann Arbor fixture, Wazoo Records, which was founded in 1974 by the late Brian Gunderson. Without hesiitation, Witt and Blitz Magazine found themselves bounding up the stairs to Wazoo's second floor headquarters for a bit of record hunting. 

After expressing an interest in expanding her Pete Seeger archives, Witt and Blitz Magazine embarked upon a deep dive into Wazoo's extensive vinyl stock.

While the folk music section did not contain any Pete Seeger releases at the moment, Witt was most pleased to encounter an album of rarities by Seeger's one time Almanac Singers colleague, Woody Guthrie. Duly inspired, Witt made her way through the store's folk, country, jazz and rock sections with equal enthusiasm.

Along the way, Witt found several additional items to her liking. They included a picture disc 45 by Mercury Records superstar Patti Page, as well as Mac Davis' 1974 Stop And Smell The Roses LP for Columbia. 

"Recorded at Fame", Witt noted with regards to Davis' album. 

"That's iconic".

With that, Witt then directed her attention to the jazz section, focusing on a late 1950s budget label collection that included contributions by Big Band era saxophonist Charlie Barnet of Pompton Turnpike fame. After perusing the sleeve notes and credits, Witt then turned the album over and held up the front cover to make a point. 

"This was what labels often did to sell albums", she observed.

"Putting models on the cover". 

Witt then underscored the point by holding up the back cover of the aforementioned Mac Davis album in comparison. Inspired by her academic observations, Blitz Magazine then removed a treasured November 1965 first generation garage rock 45 from the wall display for her consideration. That single, The Man In The Glass by the Underdogs, was the first of that pioneering band's four singles. Inirially released on Hideout Records, this partiular copy of The Man In The Glass was the reissue on the Reprise label. Blitz Magazine shared a bit of that single's history with Witt thusly:

"The flip side, Friday At The Hideout tells the tale of the band's live performances. But The Man In The Glass is basically a poem adapted by Alcoholics Anonymous and set to music".

With that, Witt's eyes grew wide at the prospect of additional academic enlightenment. 

"I'm not familiar with that record", Witt said.

"I need to research it", she added, as she reached for her cell phone to make pertinent notes. 

Ever conscious of time because of Witt's scheduled flight back to Nashville that afternoon, Blitz Magazine then suggested first retreating to a nearby cafe across the street for (in the words of the Monkees) a bit of conversation over Kombucha (Witt) and green tea (Blitz). It was that spirited conversation which provided the following exchange. 

BLITZ:  We spoke earlier of the notion of genre myopia. You espouse to the contrary in that you champion a rich diversity of styles and artists. Whose work impacted you the most at the onset?

WITT: I would say it was the artists from the 1940s and the 1950s. As we talked about at the record store, WNEB, which branded itself as "your kind of music". AM 1230.

BLITZ: A Music Of Your Life format.

WITT: Music Of Your Life, yeah! In Worcester, Massachusetts. That's exactly it. It was what I gravitated to the most, from as early as I can remember. 

The ones I loved and thought were the epitome of music were Duke Ellington, the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart. Artists like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Frank Sinatra. Those were some of my favorites.

I feel as though I grew up in that era because I listened to that music so consistently as a child. Later on, artists like Shawn Colvin. Shawn Colvin was one of my biggest influences as a young woman when I was introduced to her.

BLITZ: Shawn Colvin arguably recorded the best Bob Dylan cover ever.

WITT: Yes! You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. To me a cover song should be a song that improves upon, or at least vastly puts the original on its head. 

This is why I've been drawn to the covers that I have done; a few of them like (Paul Simon's) You Can Call Me Al. 

I love doing She's Always A Woman. As a woman singing that song, it makes you hear it in a whole different way. 

I was telling somebody the other day that I also loved doing a Don Henley cover; The Heart Of The Matter with different re-harmonizations. 

Now Sarah Bareilles is one of my heroes. I love John Mayer. There are so many bands that I love too, like Dawes. And the Lone Bellow, whom I'm going to get to open for at a fund raiser next month. 

There are so many.  And Jimmy Webb, whom I got to open for at my very first gig. 

BLITZ: His MacArthur Park is a masterpiece.

WITT: Yes! These are all my songwriting heroes.

BLITZ: You once mentioned in a podcast that your grandfather, George was also a piano player.

WITT: Yeah! He was an amateur that did it for love and fun. He was self-taught. He loved to gather people around his upright piano at home in Worcester. He played stride piano. Mostly much older songs. He had been a child when they had come out, like songs from the 1910s. 

BLITZ: Presumably the cylinder era artists, like Billy Murray, Henry Burr, Al Jolson. Or even S.H. Dudley, George W. Gaskin or John Philip Sousa, going back to the 1890s. 

WITT: Yeah! (Eddie Cantor's) Ma He's Making Eyes At Me. Wow. Exactly!

BLITZ: On a slightly different tangent, you demonstrated that facet of your creative process last night when you performed your original composition, Consolation Prize. There are so many different elements that factor into such a complex work, that it is almost like you are your own genre. 

You could say, "So and so did this" or "So and so did that". But those elements have never been done altogether in one work. 

Case in point: In Consolation Prize, you are singing. Then suddenly you go off for two bars with seemingly dissonant chords. It is almost like your thought process is, "I'm singing. I'm focusing. I'm trying to tell a tale. But something is pulling me back. Let me regroup and catch myself!"

In the video which accompanied that song, you pulled up pictures of yourself with the others in the pictures blurred out. That was genius! That would have been something that a band like the Residents would have done. But neither they nor others have put all of those elements together like you did. 

That facet of your creative process works on multi-levels. Is that something which is consciously or deliberately done?

WITT: No, I'm not conscious of that! As I shared last night, I feel that when a song comes to me, it's coming from somewhere else. 

Sometimes I have to sit down, wrestle with it and cognitively figure out what comes next and how to finish it. A lot of the time, a bunch of it just comes at once. 

I enjoy writing both ways, though. When I have writing sessions with Nashville writers, there is a lot of using both the creative brain and the architect kind of approach to craft a song.

BLITZ: A Hollywood-based producer relocated to Nashville some years ago. His pastor once said of him, "He found out the hard way that he came to Nashville to die and die big time". He was creative and thought outside of the box. But they wanted structure. Does that resonate with you?

WITT: I love Nashville. I find it super inspiring and creative. But I am a fiercely independent artist. 

I recognize that I am also in a blessed situation, in that I have other means of making income. So in a sense, I have been able to afford to put my music out and not have as much reliance upon whether I make a living at it. 

Now, my music career is becoming as significant both ways. Creatively, as well as being able to come out on the road and have that be a source of income. That is just so extraordinary to me. Such a gift. One I've always dreamed of, really. 

But I am not a part of the Nashville machine, as it were. At the time that I moved to Nashville, I didn't do it to launch a music career. 

I was in love with the city. I have some friends there that were as close as I've ever felt to people. The closest I've ever felt to having a community was in Nashville. 

As for publishing, I don't even have a manager at this point. I am completely self-managed. I do have a booking agent who is based here in Ann Arbor, though!

BLITZ: That speaks well of your efficiency. Such an attribute on the surface may seem to be anathema to the creative process. Nonetheless, you made it an asset in the most positive sense of the term. Not many who think creatively have excelled at the nuts and bolts of it all. But you have.

WITT: Thank you! You have to be that if you want to be a self-managed, independent artist. 

I will say that I look forward to drawing in more team members who can join me on this vision and give me more of a chace to focus on the creative. It does take up some brain space with all of the nuts and bolts. 

The team is growing in a very organic way, and I love that. I have met some people in Nashville that I think will be able to help me as I grow in that area. 

BLITZ: Would you ever consider aligning yourself with the so-called machine? And if so, at what cost? From their perspective, you often have to play their game to an extent.

WITT: The thing is, I don't have to, because I am putting my music out, and I am touring. It's an unusual situation that I find myself in. So when people come into my life and we decide to work together, it's a mutually beneficial scenario. 

That I think is something that all artists ought to remember. Even when they are just starting with their music. You have to put yourself first. You have to know what it is that you are in it for. What is your purpose? Why are you making music? 

If you're doing it to be rich and famous, that's probably not going to happen. Also, it's probably not a good reason to be making music! 

As the one creating, channeling and performing, it is a method of connecting people unlike any other. All of those who are on the business side of things need the artists, as much as the artists need that infrastructure. 

I think it's essential to keep a vision of joy about it. Keep track of that it is really all about the music. 

There are people who are part of the business side of things in Nashville, who are still in it for the right reasons. The more we as artists seek out those people, the more those are going to be the ones who are the successful business folks.

I might be a little naive about that, but it's part of my religion! We have to believe that we are doing it for the right reasons.

BLITZ: One of the last survivng country music legends, Bill Anderson is an example of that.

WITT: I believe that my friend, Mandy Barnett is friends with him, if I'm not mistaken.

BLITZ: On your recent Witness album, there are great examples of how you write on multi-layered levels. You might mean one thing. But then someone else might say, "I got this out of it" instead. 

During last night's show, you introduced Witness by saying something to the effect of, "You're my witness for standing up for me, and I'm your witness by saying you're the greatest". 

But that song, however subtle it may be - and the video backs it up - also bespeaks the Gospel. To that effect, in the beginning of the video, you have your hands raised as though you were at a worship service in a church. 

You then take a "You're my rock, You're my fortress" approach in the lyrics, which parallels the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Was that a part of the creative process?

WITT: Thank you! It wasn't a part of the creative process. But I've definitely found that my connection to God deepened exponentially at the time that Witness was written. 

The sentence, "Will you be my Witness?" as well as the melody of the music, came to me like a mantra while I was going through my own challenge. My test, really. That fact that the song evokes that for you is no coincidence. But it wasn't intentional.

That song took a while to write, though. I had written a lot of lyrics. But I wanted it to feel like others could listen to it and put their own definition and their own challenges on it, and also their own experiences of being someone else's witness; all of that. It could be an anthem for anyone. 

At the same time, I needed for every word to also be true of my particular experience, but not be too specific where someone else could not put their own experience to it. 

It was written together with Matt Wynn, a friend of mine. We had worked together in Nashville. We also wrote One Last Drink together.

One Last Drink was written quite easily. But Witness took multiple writing sessions. It was so emotional for me to find exactly the right words and melody. 

BLITZ: You took a courageous and commendable stand when you introduced One Last Drink during last night's show. Not everyone can emerge victorious from such circumstances and proclaim it through a public forum. 

To that effect, there is an attribute that you personify. You are a champion of relentless optimism. In other words, no matter how bad things may get, as Frank Sinatra said, "Each time I find myself laying flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race!" What gets you through that process?

WITT: That's right! Well, I suppose there's a deepened sense of faith. There's a deepened sense of purpose. 

And what I describe in Witness. The last line of it: "Yeah, you're my Witness. And I'm your Witness, too". To observe that when you yourself go through something that is challenging and you come out the other side stronger, it also deepens your relationships with those who are in your innermost circle. 

I am infinitely closer to those friends now then I was before I went through what I did. The trust that I put in them means that it's true that they know more than what anyone else will ever know about it. 

But I too know more about what their story is and what they've gone through than most people do. It's brought us closer. Now they know that I am forever their witness! 

It's not even the experience being similar. It's the trust you build, and the closeness. Like an army! 

When I sing that song now; in fact, when I sing any song now to an audience, I feel a similar trust and connection to all of those in the room. 

Also, the bond that my listeners have made with one another is extraordinary. The meet and greets that I do before my shows are way more than just taking pictures and signing things. It's really like reunions or meetings of people who are finding a connection to these songs. But then they find a connection to one another. It's life long and deep. That's the greatest honor!

All of those things help to galvanize me. To gain the strength. Sometimes, you don't have any control over what might come at you. But you do have control over how you process that.

BLITZ: Conversely, in the Book of Job, his three friends were judgemental of him, even though he was not guilty of any wrongdoing. 

WITT: There is a lot of that in certain social media accounts. Also, I perceive there to be an almost counter culture of that, which is rising up against that world of judgement. 

There is a world of positivity. Boosting people up instead of breaking them down. I believe, when I see people at the shows that I do, I see them amplifying each other through the connections they are making.

I see it on my social media pages as well, through the positivity I try to put out there. It's relentless optimism!

BLITZ: You would have loved standing outside in line at The Ark last night, before the venue opened its doors. There was a family in the line; parents with their elementary school aged children. They were talking about the history of The Ark, which goes back to 1965. They spoke of seeing artists like the Byrds and Pete Seeger there. 

And another fan asked the crowd, "Are there any Hallmark fans here?" They were celebrating the art. The faithful. There was nothing negative at all. It espoused Rick Nelson's classic observation, "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself".

WITT: Ha! That goes back to what I was talking about as an artist. You need to know what it is you want to say as an artist. Then I think the right team will find you. 

So often, among artists of all types, as well as people who are on the business end of working with artists, there is a sense of, "You have to know what genre you are. You have to write your song this way". There is a lot of nickel and diming. 

BLITZ: To that effect, is there room in the creative process for the likes of label heads like Warner Brothers' Mo Ostin, Atlantic's Ahmet Ertegun or Roulette's Morris Levy? 

WITT: Sure! I think as long as the purpose is to get that music out to the widest audience, yeah. Label heads have worked miracles. 

As we all know, sometimes the song that gets on the radio is what brings people to your music in the first place. That might not be the greatest song you've written. But if it introduces you to an audience, that's an amazing thing. 

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Blitz Magazine's web site is lovingly dedicated
to the memory of my beloved Princess,
Audrey J. McDowell
(19 June 1960 - 30 October 2014)






Questions? Comments? E-Mail Blitz Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell (above) at BlitzMcD@aol.com. Or write us at P.O. Box 626, Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127 - 0626 USA.

Blitz Magazine's web site is also dedicated to the memory of some of the finest people to ever walk the face of this earth, who are greatly missed and whose contributions to Blitz are immeasurable: Kenneth E. McDowell (1914-1966), Virginia J. McDowell (1919-2004), Stella O. Brockway (1916-2001), Anna Sawchuk (1885-1978), Michael Cichonsky (1888-1973), Catherine Cichonsky (1896-1962) and Boris "Lash" Loupishansky (1916-1960).

From all of us at Blitz Magazine, may you and yours have a blessed day. Jesus is Lord!