UW-Madison treasure and Grammy-nominated musician Ben Sidran is preparing to raise the curtain on his new book and he's doing it the best way musicians know how: by hitting the stage!As part of his Sifting and Winnowing Tour, Sidran is stopping at Memorial Union on May 3rd.
Although this show is already sold out, you can get a feel for the show by reading some responses from a Q&A session with audience members in Los Angeles:
Q: Brett Hawkins BBA'86, MBA '88 of Venice, Cali.: "Where are you from?"
A: Ben Sidran '67: "I was born in Chicago, raised in Racine and never left until I went to the University of Wisconsin in 1961. Though of course I travel all the time, I still live in Madison because I love the city, I love being so close to the university, and I love the diversity of ideas and people."
Q: Roger Marheine '73, MA'76 of Pasadena, Cali.: "Can you talk about the Jewish influence on the blues?"
A: Ben: "Simple answer: there is little to none.
"The blues grew out of a form of call and response, with roots in the shouts and slave chants of the 19th century. Harmonically, the blues grew from a style of church forms, and Jews had nothing to do with it.
And lyrically, the blues is about one person. If you listen to most popular songs, they're very generic and may be about a person, but that person could be you, me, or anybody. The blues are about the person singing, and it is their story and theoretically unique to that person.
The blues is absolutely indigenous to America and the African-American culture. I could tell you about the Jewish executives who recorded the blues (laughs) — but as far as form, I don't believe it's Jewish at all."
Q: Lester Lennon '73 of Altadena, Cali.: "When I listen to Bob Dylan, I always think his is the best interpretation except for one song that was interpreted by a black musician out of the blues style: Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along the Watchtower.' Your thoughts?"
A: Ben: "Absolutely, Jimi brought the theater to that song. He built the watchtower for you. You could see it, you could feel the wind blowing.
"Dylan was a huge fan of rhythm and blues. He talks in his autobiography about being a kid, lying in bed and listening to WLAC out Nashville on his transistor radio in the 50's. That station carried all the way to Hibbing, Minnesota — and I could hear them in Madison, too!
"At the University of Wisconsin back in '61, I used to go play these little gigs with Steve Miller (x'67) and we would drive in our VW van and listen to the same Nashville station, music that was steeped in rhythm and blues. Even Dylan's vocal style, I think, is really part Irish sea shanties ... and part rhythm and blues. It's where he came from."
Story by the LA Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association