03x05 - How the Music Is Made

[bunniefuu]

♪ [GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

♪ [CLAPPING RHYTHMICALLY] ♪

♪ [MORE INSTRUMENTS JOIN] ♪

JOHN LURIE: We're in New York.
We're here to do the music.

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

But I wanted to show you
'cause we...

I think we do music different
than anybody elsewhere.

I write the stuff,

but I bring it in,
and we rehearse it.

And...

'Cause the musicians are great,

and we use their idiosyncrasies,
and what they're great with.

And I've been playing with some
of these guys for 35, 40 years.

[NO AUDIO]

And... it's much nicer now
than it was.

I mean,
they all show up on time.

They're all there on time
for rehearsal.

And then, they've learnt
how to use a calendar.

They're just basically
more responsible.

And there's no noodling.

It used to be,
when they were young,

you finish a song
and then they're all like...

[BABBLES]

You know, in between the songs,

and you just have to,
"Shut up, shut up!"

I mean, you-- I'd have
to yell "shut up" 40 times

between each take,
you know, so...

And now,
as soon as things finish,

they all sit there patiently
waiting for the next thing.

And it’s just
so much more pleasant.

I love these guys.

As well-- I mean,
I probably had enough

existing music that I own
to use in the show, but that...

Like, this is
a great opportunity to have,

'cause I never thought
it would--

After the illness started,
I didn't think

I'd ever gonna be able
to do this again.

So it's great for me,

and, um, I bought this guitar
that I love.

Spending probably
too much money to do it,

but it's gonna be exciting.

[NO AUDIO]

JOHN: I wanted to show you.
I mean, it's interesting to see

how much easier it is
to use these guys

now that they're older.

And my advice to you is
if you're starting a band...

is to hire musicians
who are 60 years old or older.

♪ [MUSIC CONTINUES] ♪

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

We're going
to the rehearsal studio

in New York City,
where the musicians live.

We're a tiny bit late,
but our driver is excellent.

JOHN: Tell your confession
to the camera.

Well, um... [CHUCKLES]

Years ago, in the dark,

-you remem-- [CHUCKLES]
-[JOHN LAUGHS]

Okay. I was--
I was switching around--

-[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
-We were in the dark!

Well, Frisbee football.
John did fake me out.

It's just like whenever
you block a Black guy's shot

in basketball, they always yell,
"Foul!" Even though--

-[CALVIN WESTON LAUGHS]
-Yeah, every time.

White guy can't block
a Black guy's shot, like ever.

[CALVIN CHUCKLES]

You know I still got
that drum kit.

JOHN: Let's talk
about something important.

Do you know how much my socks
are itching me right now?

The g*n.

JOHN: I know I'm not going...
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

[LAUGHS] You remember?
Guy came home and said,

-"You're sitting on my steps."
-Yeah.

CALVIN: And then Dad
came home and said,
"Hey Cal, hold this for me..."

Oh, that, that, that.

-I thought you meant
the other g*n.
-Yeah, that's the same night.

No, not that g*n.

-[LAUGHS] No, not that g*n.
-JOHN: Oh, okay. Oh!

-[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER PHONE]
-NESRIN WOLF: Okay.
We'll see you in a second.

Hey, John. Remember
when you were a celebrity

and used to pick out
spaces like that?

-I used to go over
to places like that.
-[LAUGHS]

We can't get in.
Aren't you worried?

-Really?
-We can't get in.

-Can't get in there.
-Aren't you worried?

No.

♪ [PLAYING UP-TEMPO RHYTHM] ♪

So, we were doing this...

I was doing
this film score and...

I liked the director,
I liked him.

But he liked to go to nightclubs

more than he actually
liked to work on the movie,

and they fired him.

And then they brought in
this guy to clean everything up.

One of those guys
who cleans up a lot of movies.

He says, "I want to--"
He wants to get it done.

Doesn't care
if it's sh*t or what.

But he didn't like the director.

So when he heard the director
wanted a ska score,

he said,
"I don't want any ska music."

So...

But the score
was 90 percent written,

and it was kind of good,
and I liked the director,

so we wanted to do
what we had already

to give him what he wanted.

And, uh...
So all the musicians were told

to not say the word "ska."

♪ [SKA MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

-♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪
-So we played stuff.

[CHUCKLING]
It sounded like that.

And all the musicians
were sort of--

He said,
"What kind of music is this?"

And the musicians just
kind of went like...

And I said,
"Oh, that's hoopoe music."

-"Oh," he said.
-[SCATTERED LAUGHTER
IN BACKGROUND]

as*h*le.

-Hope he sees this.
-[ALL LAUGHING]

JOHN: This one could be
somebody else.

I don't know which you--

♪ ["NESRIN WALKING BACKWARDS"
PLAYING OVER SPEAKER] ♪

You think a horn
could play that?

Trombone.

Trumpet? Trombone?

-Trombone.
-Trombone? Yeah,
that's what I thought.

♪ [HUMS MELODY] ♪

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
-STEVEN BERNSTEIN:
Could be a 'bone part.

♪ [PLAYING HARMONY ON GUITARS] ♪

Can you turn it around?

-Like how-- how ought--
-So it's like...

♪ [PLAYS NOTES] ♪

No, so it's...

♪ [PLAYS NOTES] ♪

-Going, da... You know?
-Oh, I see.

♪ [CONTINUE PLAYING
GUITAR HARMONY] ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Yeah, I like it, I like it,
I like it. You got it?

♪ [BAND PLAYING
"NESRIN WALKING BACKWARDS"] ♪

I have my own TV show.
I'm a disaster.

-One, two, three, and four.
-♪ [MUSIC PLAYS QUIETLY
OVER SPEAKER] ♪

-One, two, three, and four.
-♪ [PLAYS REPEATING NOTES] ♪

-One, two, and three, and four.
-One, two, and three, and four.

-One, two...
-♪ [PLAYS PIANO CHORD] ♪

-One, two, and three, and four.
-One, two, and three, and four.

♪ [BAND PLAYING
"PAINTING WITH JOHN
NEW OPENING"] ♪

-STEVEN: Bring the horn?
-Yeah.

STEVEN: Let's get the baritone.
One, two, three, and four.

♪ [TROMBONES PLAY] ♪

-[JOHN GROANS]
-♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

It makes me want...
It makes me wanna die.

Let's just do it like...
♪ [HUMS NOTES] ♪

That's it.
♪ [HUMS NOTES] ♪

-♪ [HUMS] ♪
-♪ [BAND PLAYS NOTES] ♪

And probably not even in tempo,
right? Just like--

JOHN: No, not in tempo.
That's a good--

Is there anything salvageable
from the end of it?

-Uh...
-JOHN: Was all that...

Who wrote that?
I didn't write that.

-You've obviously
misunderstood me.
-[LAUGHS]

♪ [MUSIC CONTINUES] ♪

JOHN: [SINGING]
♪ Bah-dee ♪

♪ Bah ♪

ALL: ♪ Bah-dee... ♪

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

-Yeah. And then
the last two beats...
-Last two beats, yeah.

And you can-- You don't have
to stop it suddenly.

KENNY WOLLESEN:
Do you want me to play it

just chord notes or something?
Or you just want sound?

-I want you to make a lot
of noise. I don't know.
-STEVEN: Racket. Racket.

-Just a whole, like, random...
-STEVEN: Racket. Racket.

JOHN: You can actually
play a rhythm?

I thought you just hit it
and it just goes...

[IMITATES CYMBAL]
Like that.

I mean, you can if you want,
but whatever.

JOHN: Let me know
what it does then.

But maybe I don't wanna hear
what it does.

-So... [HUMS]
-You want it to be loud, right?

JOHN: Again,
not throwing it out of here.

[LAUGHS]

STEVEN: Marc, play the tape
from the beginning and just--

JOHN: No, no, no.
It can play right from here.

-We just got another part.
-[INSTRUMENT RATTLES]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

STEVEN: Play it right from
what we did last time.

♪ [BAND PLAYS "JOHN g*n WALK"] ♪

[THUNDER SHEET CRASHES]

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

Did you see that?
It's this kind.

-[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
-[INSTRUMENT RATTLES]

Oh, my God. These are so cool!

[RATTLES]

And look,
they all make different sounds.

[RATTLES]

Hey. Look,
they all make different sounds.

[RATTLING]

[HIGHER PITCHED RATTLING]

Wow.

So cool.

-Oh.
-[BEADS CLATTER]

♪ [MELLOW GUITAR
MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

♪ [PLAYS UPBEAT MELODY] ♪

♪ [HOLDS FINAL NOTE] ♪

ART BARON: Yeah.

-Yep.
-ART: That's it, man.

Cool. Good. You're very good.
You're very professional.

-ART: Thank you.
-JOHN: You play with Buddy Rich?

I did for two-- three weeks.

JOHN: Did he ever yell at you?

-All the time.
-[ALL LAUGH]

♪ [GUITAR NOTES
PLAYING OVER SPEAKER] ♪

Help me out, fellas.

♪ [BOTH HUMMING MELODY] ♪

No. ♪ [HUMS MELODY] ♪

♪ [BOTH HUMMING MELODY] ♪

-Oh, yeah.
-STEVEN: You're welcome.

♪ [BAND PLAYS "GB-14"] ♪

♪ [SAXOPHONE PLAYING] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

♪ [BAND PLAYING
"DETECTIVE ERIK MUSPATERRE"] ♪

-Are you gonna remember?
-CALVIN: Yeah, I'll remember it.

-You're recording it?
-CALVIN: Yeah.

This is great. That, that.
Do-- That, that! Go ahead.

♪ [CALVIN RESUMES
PLAYING ON DRUMS] ♪

♪ [HORN SECTION PLAYING ALONE] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

I mean that, it sounds...
How it was written, it was like

-two separate fighting things.
-CALVIN: Right.

But this is now sounding like
they're your backup horns,

which is not bad. But--

DOUG WIESELMAN:
Michael was doing...

-With Bernstein?
-STEVEN: I think I just did...

-Slide goes with you, too?
-Can't remember.

JOHN: No, no, no. At the end
of this one, you go...

You're supposed to...
♪ [HUMS] ♪

And you kept
putting it in there?

-It's not in there.
-JOHN: No, it's not in there.

But that's--
So now you've left holes.

-[CHUCKLES]
-Doug wrote this one.

JOHN: No, no, no, but we're...

We could give them
more notes is what I'm saying.

-DOUG: Let's just--
-Hey, what's your...

What's the first phrase
when you come in?

♪ [BAND MEMBERS HUM MELODY] ♪

Well, why don't they play
your f*cking phrase, too?

Why don't they play...
♪ [HUMS MELODY] ♪

♪ [REPEATS MELODY] ♪

-STEVEN: So, the same thing--
-JOHN: Yeah, they play

at least for the first--
at least for that first bit.

-Sorry.
-No, it's okay. So...

This is jitterbug fascist.
And that's what's happened here.

And now you just left
the notes out, right?

No, no. We--
This is what we came up with.

[LAUGHS]

♪ [BAND PLAYING
"DETECTIVE ERIK MUSPATERRE"] ♪

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

John Lurie's
favorite instrument.

It's a slide trumpet.

He dedicated a painting to it.

Slide trumpet. Bad.

That's what it says
on the painting.

"It's a slide trumpet, bad."

"This is a slide trumpet.
This is bad."

[LAUGHS]

♪ ["JOHN AND CALVIN
WAH WAH" PLAYING] ♪

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

♪ ["THE EMPEROR OF CAMELDOM"
PLAYING QUIETLY OVER SPEAKER] ♪

Just one part.

-JOHN: No, it's two parts.
-I made it with this part.

♪ [PLAYS NOTES] ♪

JOHN: That's the bass.

Yeah, but don't let it
ring like that. Just...

♪ [PLUCKS SHORT NOTES] ♪

JOHN: Yeah.
Well, that's too much.

-♪ [PLAYS MELODY] ♪
-STEVEN: Okay.

STEVEN: And the low--
The high, is it this one?

DOUG: Yeah, so it's kinda quiet.

♪ [ALL PLAYING
"THE EMPEROR OF CAMELDOM"] ♪

Slow it down a bit, Doug.

-Do we have a tempo yet on this?
-STEVEN: Yes.

-What's the tempo?
-STEVEN: Ninety.

-Plain 90?
-It's a... Yeah.

♪ [BAND PLAYS
"THE EMPEROR OF CAMELDOM"] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONTINUES] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

-[PHONE RINGING]
-Ay, yi, yi.

-It's amazing how...
-[PHONE RINGING]

...the phone
doesn't ring all day

and then as soon
as you start to work on music,

then it rings.

-[PHONE RINGING]
-Hello.

It's Sunday night at 11 o'clock.

Who is-- Yes, yes,
this is John Lurie.

Who is this?

[CHUCKLES] Oh.
So, I won a free cruise?

For me and my wife?

What-- Would it be--
How about if it's wives, plural?

Yes, because I may have
more than one.

No, seriously, I had--
This amazing thing happened.

I was feeling
really somewhat optimistic,

but also depressed
and lonely at the same time.

Do you ever feel like that?

And I got this email
with a photograph

from this Russian woman,
who was just beautiful,

and she wrote
the sweetest email

and she was looking to meet
a man like me.

So I responded.

And she wrote back
this lovely email

with more photographs
and I was quite taken.

And then I felt bad.
There's all these other

lonely Russian women
that I didn't write to.

I only wrote to her.
So I thought I should write

to all of them, just to be nice.

♪ [BAND PLAYING
"FLEA'S NIGHTMARE"] ♪

JOHN: [CHUCKLES] I know. I know.

But it could be wonderful.
I mean, if they get along.

♪ [MUSIC FADES] ♪

So, the cruise might be
a nice thing.

Yeah, but-- No, I'm not worried
about money 'cause...

I mean, my luck
has been really good

on the internet lately
where I...

This Nigerian prince...

♪ [BAND PLAYING "THE SNAKE
THAT PROTECTS TEETH"] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

And then we'll be all set

And we're all gonna go
on your cruise

if you're okay with, like,
if I have 34 wives.

Yeah, yes.
What's your name again?

Rodney, yeah.

Could you give me
your home number?

Well, why not? I have--
You have my home number.

Well, I don't know.
It feels weird.

All right. Well, call me back
at this number.

But not too early.
I get up late.

Thanks, Rodney.

I hope-- I hope your luck goes
like mine has gone lately.

I love you, too. Goodbye.

♪ ["THE FIRST AND ROYAL QUEEN"
BY THE LOUNGE LIZARDS PLAYING] ♪

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪