Interview: Steve Nathan, Tim McGraw / Mark Knopfler / Lionel Richie

[nursers]

What a buzz it was to have Steve on the show. As you know, Steve is an incredibly valued member of the Music Player forums, and for very good reasons as you'll see / hear. This is the first of two parts:

 

Audio version

 

Video:

 

And part 2 (video):

 

 

Part 2 (audio)

 

[Joe Muscara]

Oh, what a blast this episode with @Steve Nathan is! I'd love to hear many episodes of his life and career, but these two episodes will have to do.

 

I hope we get to find out what precipitated his move from Muscle Shoals to Nashville in part 2. I have some guesses but I wonder if it was anything specific.

 

Is Lenny LeBlanc any relation to our own @Steve LeBlanc? I know Steve said his dad did some stuff in Muscle Shoals but I can't find any mention of Steve with Lenny so far.

 

Thanks, all!

[nursers]

Hey Joe,

 

Part 2 has a lot in it (will be out in the next 5 days or so) but the move from Muscle Shoals to Nashville we didn't really cover.  Not sure re: Lenny LeBlanc either. We've already said to @SteveNathan that we'd LOVE to have him on again during 2023 for a Part 3 (and 4,5,6)  

 

[Steve Nathan]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:43 PM, Joe Muscara said:

Is Lenny LeBlanc any relation to our own @Steve LeBlanc? I know Steve said his dad did some stuff in Muscle Shoals but I can't find any mention of Steve with Lenny so far.

Hey Joe,

I'm pretty sure there's no relation.  There's also a pretty successful writer/artist named James LeBlanc in Shoals  who's not related to Lenny either. 

I don't think we got into why I left Shoals for Nashville in part 2.  It's a long story, and I'll do my best to shorten it here.  

Shoals success as a place to make records was almost entirely because of the musicians.  Artist all over the world heard the records coming out of there and wanted to go there to make their records.  This was still the case when I got there in the late 70s, but by the late 80s-early 90s, the landscape for pop records had changed dramatically.  The top 10 was now dominated by Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, etc,  records made with Linn Drums and synths, mostly recorded one instrument at a time. The motivators to record with live musicians were waning, especially live musicians known for making the records the current generation only knew as their parents kind of records.  Work got sparse in Shoals, and I started venturing out to other places to earn a living.  There were great studios in Nashville, but also in Atlanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Chicago and I was soon on a merry-go-round of loading gear into my station wagon and driving from session to session.  It was constant, and I'd find myself in Nashville one day, Atlanta the next, back in Nashville, up on Lookout Mountain, down to Birmingham, flying to Chicago, then back to Shoals to load up and head to Atlanta for a few days, then over to Shoals, up to Nashville......................   It was exhausting, and after a couple of years like this I was burning out.  I remember pulling into a gas station around 2 AM one night, and when I got back in the car, I couldn't remember which way to turn. Then I realized, I couldn't remember where I was going, and I couldn't remember where I had just been.  My wife said I needed to pick one of these towns and move there for good.  I loved the work I was doing in Chicago and Atlanta, and two of the producers I worked for regularly made me offers for a permanent position, but they were almost entirely Movie, TV and Jingle accounts.  Nashville was still a place where records were made with a bunch of musicians in the room at the same time, and that's what I loved best, so Nashville it was.  

 

[Moonglow]

Really enjoyed that Steve, thank you for sharing! I wonder if this might bring back some memories:

 

[Steve Nathan]

Funny. I was a toddler when Murphy's was jumping.  We went there a few times to eat and hear Marion Healy (my teacher) but my strongest memory is of a lobster tank! 

[Joe Muscara]

22 hours ago, Steve Nathan said:

It's a long story, and I'll do my best to shorten it here

Thank you, Steve! I've always wondered about that, if it was "the work here is drying up, the work there is good," "I'm ready for a change of scenery," or something else. Turns out, it was a good story.  

[KuruPrionz]

I enjoyed the interview and am looking forward to the next episode. 

I want to share something with Steve and everybody. My friends have kids in their early 20's and the kids are over the moon regarding music. They use streaming services to find everything and anything, new, old whatever. 

I had a conversation with my friend's daughter at Christmas dinner and she and her friends are currently exploring vintage Country - female vocalists. She loves Jazz, Pop, Rap, just about anything if it's good. 

Another friend's daughter was first chair violin in the high school Chamber Orchestra, taught herself keyboards by playing pop music, plays ukulele and I gave her a guitar which she likes as well. One afternoon I went over to visit and around on the side of the back deck I heard an instrumental piece I'd written when my Mom passed on. I took a look and Melissa was playing it on the guitar, figured it out by ear. I showed her a couple of things that make it easier but that lifted me up for days. 

 

So yes, commercial music has gone through death throes and nothing will ever be the same again but the Kids are Alright!!!! 👍

[KuruPrionz]

Well then, I have one thing in common with Steve, I saw Ray Charles live with the full orchestra and the Raylettes near the end of his life and career. 

He came to Fresno twice in a year and I saw both shows. There is LOTS of great music, Ray was up at the top. I've never seen better shows and I've been to quite a few. 

 

Meanwhile, did I miss something? The title mentions Mark Knopfler and Lionel Richie but I don't recall discussion of either of them?

[nursers]

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

Well then, I have one thing in common with Steve, I saw Ray Charles live with the full orchestra and the Raylettes near the end of his life and career. 

He came to Fresno twice in a year and I saw both shows. There is LOTS of great music, Ray was up at the top. I've never seen better shows and I've been to quite a few. 

 

Meanwhile, did I miss something? The title mentions Mark Knopfler and Lionel Richie but I don't recall discussion of either of them?

Indeed - I asked Steve for the three artists he most associated himself with, after we'd recorded. Every guest's title reflects the main artists they've worked with. In this case I managed to not ask about any of them  

[Steve Nathan]

17 hours ago, Dr Nursers said:

Indeed - I asked Steve for the three artists he most associated himself with, after we'd recorded. Every guest's title reflects the main artists they've worked with. In this case I managed to not ask about any of them  

I think I suggested Etta James and Faith Hill too, but we didn't talk about them either 😝  As far as "Most Associated With", McGraw of course, but I also did a lot of records with George Strait, Reba, Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Shenandoah......

[jazzpiano88]

I was listening to Bill Schnee's interview and he delved into a description of a breed of successful session musicians that Steve Nathan so well elucidated in his interview.

 

Namely knowing how to arrange (often on the spot) to achieve the best out of the artist that the artist may not have envisioned.    Neat to hear Bill confirm how important guys like Steve are.   (nowadays, they would have songwriting credit).