Al Kooper, the Details, and a 'tongue' sandwich
by Jonathan Perry
The million-dollar question is just how Details singer-guitarist Dave Aaronoff snared legendary keyboard player Al Kooper's services for his group's new album, "The Devil's In The Details"? When I rattle off Kooper's history - playing with people named Dylan, the Stones, forming Blood, Sweat & Tears, producing Lynyrd Skynyrd - it reads aloud like a rock royalty resume. Saying that there's some distance from Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" to Aaronoff's "All The Gory Details" is something of an understatement. The author of the latter lets out a laugh.
"I was working for Al for awhile," Aaronoff says. "I was his marketing director, which meant that every day I would go to the market and pick up his groceries." The job wasn't as easy as it sounds, Aaronoff claims: "Let's just say that Al's very picky about his tongue sandwiches." When Aaronoff - who for years played guitar with the pub-rocking local outfit the Shods and also toured as keyboard player with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones - told his employer he was planning to book some studio time to record, Kooper volunteered to sit in.
"It was very cool - he just offered up his services," recalls Aaronoff, whose outfit plays a CD-release party tomorrow night at the Middle East Upstairs. "In the five hours he was (in the studio) he showed me some things that would probably take a lifetime to learn on my own. He's such a natural musician that he knew exactly what I was looking for and nailed it." As a bandleader, did Aaronoff feel any trepidation about offering guidance, or (gulp) nixing Kooper's musical ideas? "No, if there was something I felt strongly about, he would happily play it. He had no ego in the studio. But I also like to see what people come up with on their own - especially a guy like him."
Kooper's additions strengthen a disc that has a lot going for it, from the Jam-style opener, "Alisa O'Neal" to the delirious Shoes-y power-pop of "Get Some Kicks" to the tale of spurned romance that drives the Elvis Costello-ish ballad "Thank You." It's a vivacious, tightly played album of crisp hooks and arrangements. This year's model of the Details also includes Jay Buckley (keys) and Deb Klein (bass), as well as a couple of new additions - drummer Adam Goodwin (ex-Permafrost) and guitarist Corin Ashley, who also leads and plays bass in his own band, the Pills (for whom Aaronoff now also plays lead guitar).
Aaronoff's membership in the Pills is the latest in what's fast becoming his own impressive, and instructive, rock resume. "With the Shods, I probably learned the most about every aspect of playing music," he says. "The Bosstones certainly taught me a lot about performing. I got to see what things were like on their level of success, which was a great opportunity." Performing different roles, he adds, "gives me the opportunity to try something I wouldn't have done before. I always feel my job is to find the best thing for the song under the circumstances."
December 26, 2002
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