OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 75
Withher
mother,Beverly,
andsister
Kimberly
“MichaelStipecameoutofnowhereasa friend.Hehelpedwatch
overus.If I neededanythingformykids,thereisn’tanythingI
couldn’taskhimfor.If I hadanemergencywithmykidsoranything,
hewouldbethere.Hewasliketheirgodfather.Spiritually,I mean.
“I’vehada goodupbringing.I havea goodsenseofresponsibility,
butI wasprettydevastateda fewyearsagoandI wasalsoina rough
situationfinancially.I wasrun-down,andI hada lotofpeoplehelp
me.I acceptedit – I’llbethefirsttogive[to] anyoneI canhelp,but
I learnedalsotoaccepthelp.I acceptedhelpfromoldfriends,I
acceptedhelpfromnewfriends,untilI feltstable.ThesedaysI’m
backonmyowntwofeet.It wastoughtoacceptit attimes,butnowit
makesmehappy,becauseI knowI’mdoingreallywellandthenI feel
likeallthosepeoplewerejustifiedingivingme a helping hand.”
MANCHESTER,
TENNESSEE, 2004
S
TEPPINGontothewhitecoveredstageinManchester,
Tennessee,afterthedregsofanafternoonthunderstormat
Bonnaroo,PattiSmithis dressedexactlyasshewasonthe
coverofHorses, exceptnowthewhiteshirtsarebyBelgiandesigner
AnnDemeulemeester– whobasedanentirecollectionontheartist–
andtheskinnytieis replacedbya longblackribbon.Despitethehigh
humidityandsoaringtemperatures,Smithlooksremarkablycoolas
shemovesgracefullyaboutthestage,clutchingatthecrossthatshe
wearsatherneck.Shelookshappierthanshehasina longtime,
beamingasshelooksoutatthefans,raisingherhandsandwiggling
herfingersatthemina ratherroyalsalute,asthebandstartsthe first
chordsof“Trampin’”,thetitletrackfromherlatestalbum.
Trampin’is Smith’sfirstrecordforColumbia– homeofBobDylan
andBruceSpringsteen– andincludesa numberofsongson
motherhood.Ostensibly,thesesongshonourSmith’smother,
Beverly,whodiedin2002.Lookingtoexplainhermother’s influence,
Smithidentifiesa keymomentearlyoninhercareer.
“Iwasconcernedwiththestateofourculture,”she
explainslater.“ItseemsalmostfunnynowthatI
shouldhavebeensoworriedaboutit.ButI loved
rock’n’rollsomuch.I’dseenitsentirehistoryinmy
lifetime,startingasa smallchilddancingtoLittle
Richardrecords.I hadthisfearthatit wasgonnadie.
Mymotherusedtotellmeabouthowshewassure
hererawouldneverdie,thatBennyGoodmanand
ArtieShawwouldgoonforever.She’dsay,‘Youhave
tounderstand,Patti,thatthesethingscomeandgo.
Somethingnewwillcomealong.’I washorrifiedby
thatthought!I didn’twantrock’n’rolltodie,andmy
motherhadputtheideainmyheadthatthiswas
inevitable.Sowhenwelostallthesepeople,andI
didn’tseea newregimethatwasgoingtotakeme
higherthantheoldone,I washauntedbymy
mother’swords.That’swhenI becameconvinced
thatsomeonehadtoencouragenewenergy.”
Smith is quick to locate a thread running from that LYNN
GOLDSMITH/CORBIS/VCG
VIA
GETTY
IMAGES;
ROGER KISBY/GETTY IMAGES
“SHE SAID,‘WE’VEALREADYWON...’”
KevinShieldson2008’sTheCoralSea
“S
HEcuratedMeltdown[in 2005] andit was
alsoRobertMapplethorpe’sanniversary,
andshehadwrittena poem,TheCoral
Sea, abouthim,andshesaidI’dliketodo
something.ShereallylikedLoveless. You
know,CatPowerwasalsoinvolved.It wasme,Pattiand
Chan[Marshall] together.Theycametomystudioand
wegotchattingandPattiwasreallyinspiring.Shesaid,
‘We’vealreadywon,we’redoingthis.’Sheshowedme
thebook,explainedhowshelikedtogooffontangents
andwereallyconnected.I reallybelievedin her.
“I’dstoppedusingthetremoloarmin 1997.I’d
purposelystartedusingenvelopefilterswhenI played
with Primal Scream [Shields wasatouring member of
thebandbetween 1996 and 2006 andplayedon
2002’sXTRMNTRand2002’sEvilHeat]. Butoneofthe
coolestthingsthathappenedwithTheCoralSeawas
thatPattiinspiredmetostartplayingguitaragainlike
I usedto.Wetalkedaboutit forthreeorfourhours;
wedidn’tevenrehearse.ThenI prepareda bunchof
guitars,gotit allreadytogoandjustwaslike,‘OK.’
Thenwedidit onstage,in 2005.It wastotally
improvised.Thena yearlater,wedidmore.The
secondonewaswaymorechaotic.I drowned
Pattiout,I wentwayoverboard.I wastoonoisy,and
thatgavemea kickin theass.Butit wasintense,
focusedintoa moment,andthenwegot a double
CD album out ofit.”MICHAEL BONNER
momentonwards,uptothepresentday– a needto
speakoutthatcontinuestodriveherwork.Other
ongsonTrampin’suchas“Gandhi”and“Radio
Baghdad”arepolitical,charged-up– revolutionary
even,amplifyingherclaimthatindividualscan
makea difference,anideashearticulatedmost
uccinctlyon“PeopleHaveThePower”.
“IthinkthatwhenI wasa kidI wasverymuchlike
his,”shesays.“I’mmorelikeI waswhenI wasunder
- WelivedinGermantown,rightnearPhiladelphia,
andI wasalwaysinterestedinourfoundingfathers.
alwaysfindthecontributionsofindividualsa
beautifulthing.Wearewellawarethatournumbers
anmakehugechange,butI findit fascinatinghow
anindividualcaninspire so many people or make
sucha change.”
“Sometimes when I talk about certain things,
WithKevin
Shieldsin New
Yo rk , 2 0 0 8
