Jordie Lane To Play Gram Parsons On Stage
News posted Tuesday, June 5 2012 at 03:00 PM.
Related: Jordie Lane, Gram Parsons, Clare Reynolds.
Melbourne songwriter Jordie Lane has already gotten closer to his hero, alt-country pioneer Gram Parsons, than most people will ever manage. Lane set up in the same Joshua Tree, California hotel room where Parsons died at age 26 – after overdosing on morphine and tequila – to record most of his second album, last year’s Blood Thinner.
In a way, though, that was merely preparation for Lane’s latest act of Parsons worship. Next month he will star as the man himself in the Australian premiere of Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons. Acting opposite Brisbane songwriter Clare Reynolds in the role of Parsons collaborator Emmylou Harris – and with a band behind them – Lane will “enact the story of Gram’s life, punctuated by his heartfelt songs including ‘Love Hurts’, That’s Alright, Mama’, ‘Streets of Baltimore’ and over a dozen more hits,” according to the press release.
Billed as a “a theatrical concert about the original cosmic cowboy” and taking its title from Parsons’ posthumous 1974 album, Grievous Angel is coming to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre for a 10-date run (July 20-29) after tours of Canada and the U.S. East Coast. It’s directed and co-written by Michael Bate, the last man to ever record an interview with the troubled Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers legend. It takes inspiration from that March 1973 conversation, six months before Parsons died.
“All the Gram Parsons books, films and tributes have been told from the outside looking in. We never heard Gram’s voice, his version of events,” says Bate. “So I decided to … tell the story through Gram’s own bloodshot eyes. Some of the script is based on the interview from ’73, some is an imagining of events in Gram’s life.”
As for Lane, pictured above singing at Joshua Tree, he says: “Gram Parsons has been a huge influence over my journey as a musician. He inspired me to not let genre stereotypes get in the way of making good music. It’s a great honour and privilege to be playing him on stage.”
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Off with that beard then!
Remember the heady days of last decade when musical artists would go out and perform multiple show dates of their own music, instead of dramatised musicals and/or recreations of deceased americans?
Those were the day's, weren't they!
Total overkill.
Kilogram Parsons
although, the death scene could be quite interesting. What, with all the ice cube insertion...
This is the sort of move that will either make him a superstar or wreck his career.
Can't he rest in peace for fuck's sake? What's the deal with them spinning it to be this deep production exploring his life through his eyes etc. it's a tribute show, that is all. Tribute shows are never worth admission.
Have a look at Doug's review and subsequent comments for Blood Thinner. I'm guessing Jordie doesn't pop in here very often.
Yeah i just read that, totally get where he's coming from - the fact is he's Australian, when you're an artist you don't just ditch your country and then go and tap into some other culture, you're just asking for people to question your integrity.
Tell that to the MelBeats!!!
(Actually quite good value - well worth the tenner I paid)
As long as this ends with Jordie Lane's corpse being burned in the desert, then I have no problem with it.
lol
They should instead have developed a Hologram Parsons
Firstly, too many lols in this thread to mention.
Secondly, if any of my friends are actually keen to see this, text me (or PM me but I don't really check that much anymore).
Err to clarify, I mean ''keen to see this for $0.'' Because y'know, I wouldn't want to be unhip and actually pay for the tickets, would I?
(That's a hypothetical question. Yes I probably would. Gram Parsons is a legend, in the true sense of the word).
''Look how much effort I put into expressing my disdain for someone!''
Was that made by the same person who runs the Marieke Hardy hate blog?
bravo, dedication.
link: http://pumpolito.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/jordie-lane-comics/
looks like it's by the dude who played bass with Weddings, Parties, Anything. Can't tell if he's taking the piss or if it's an in-joke of some kind.
I'm impressed.
Pumpy is the best, caused some consternation amongst some friends on Facebook how decided to debate it on my wall. Pumpy is Pumpy that is all, never was one to not express his feelings about something. He also did a blog about being a bouncer at venue where the patrons hated having a bouncer and cheered when he was sacked.
I did go to the Gram Parsons Tribute at the Caravan Music Club that had everyone in Jordie Lane's musical peer group except Jordie, who is over in the USA a the moment.