“There are three reasons I signed on to Rusty Bladen’s Neil Young Tribute night,” relates Robert Reynolds, a Grammy-winning musician who now calls Madison (well, Brooksburg) home. “First is my deep and abiding love of the entire Neil Young catalog of music. The more I dive into Neil’s five-decade career, the greater my fanship becomes.
“The second reason I’m excited about this show,” happening May 17th at the Ohio Theater, “is Rusty’s singing voice, and the powerful way he interprets and respects Neil’s songs. In fact, the first time I ever heard Rusty sing was at the annual Obscure Neil Young night at Thomas Family Winery, about 8 years ago. He just blew me away with the quality and character of his voice. He wasn’t imitating Neil Young, but he was capturing the essence. It’s amazing, really.
“And the third reason to join this project is the absolute honor it represents for me and Mark Bear to be the rhythm section for this iconic music. I’ll be on bass and Mark on drums, and we’ll be the foundation for what is arguably some of the greatest American rock music of our time. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”
Before I dug into the details of this Neil Young event with Rusty, I took a minute to catch up on his music career since the last time we chatted. “Well, I’m actually seeking out and playing more what I’d call quality gigs these days,” explained Rusty. “Bigger showcases and more festivals, things like that. It gives me more free time to spend with my family.
“The other thing I’ve been up to is recording a new EP with 4 brand new original songs which will be releasing in July. There’s one titled ‘Dark Days’, which is actually a happy tune. ‘Meth & Moonshine’ I wrote with James Buckwalter. ‘Float’ is about floating down the river with the one you love. And ‘Ode to Radio’ I wrote with Robert, about the bygone days of music radio.
“But as I was planning my summer of shows, I noticed so many bands and venues were featuring tribute music. And as it happens, I’ve been thinking about doing a Neil Young tribute for decades. I actually first learned to play guitar with Neil’s music. I bought his songbook at the music store, it was about 2 inches thick, and I just plowed through all those great favorites, learning them all.
“So I decided there was no time like the present, and I started organizing this show. I got Robert and Mark Bear to agree to do bass and drums, Dave Tuttle came on to play steel guitar, and my son Jackson will be on keyboards. One cool thing I’ve discovered during rehearsals is Mark has an amazing singing voice I didn’t know about. He’ll be singing some backup and harmony.
“As far as the set list, I would say it’s a mix of Neil’s hits, of which there were so many, plus a number of his deeper cuts that I think are special but may not have gotten as much air play. Interestingly, he only ever had 1 number one hit, with Heart of Gold. We’re gonna start with his early acoustic stuff and work our way through to the later grunge era of his later years.
“Honestly, we could do another show like this, all Neil Young music, and not have a single repeat song. That just goes to show the depth and enduring quality of his music. Oh, I want to mention our sponsors who make this kind of special show possible. Steinhardts, Crawdaddy Music, MadLove and The Auxier Family. Their support gives me the confidence to go ahead and book a show like this and hire professional sound and lighting. I can’t thank them enough.
“It’s going to be a multimedia experience too, with projected images up on the Ohio Theater screen behind the band. Photos of Neil and images that support the themes of the songs. It should be a really great trip down memory lane, and I know from rehearsals that the music is going to be very impactful and moving. Tickets are available at MadTixEvents.com.”
HOT TIP OF THE WEEK:
The Lighthouse is open folks! Something going on every night from Wednesday through Saturday. Get on down there and get your “float” on! Speaking of Wednesday, I’m seeing FOUR live music events on the midweek hump day. It’s getting so you can have the full Indiana’s Music City experience during the week now too, not just weekends. And speaking of weekends, I spy something different and fun at Mad Paddle Saturday night. A show called “EMO Nights Taylor Swift Version” is happening there at 8PM, and it’s really cool to see the level of genre diversity creeping into our music scene. Y’all get your friendship bracelets on and head over to that show, it should be a hoot. See on the streets of Madison friends!
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