First Back to Schoolin' Interview

During the course of their official existence, Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham are notorious for their extreme reticence in being interviewed by "journalists". This is a stance taken by the band within the first couple years of their existence when the negative press they receive (principally in relation to album and concert reviews) proves to be so pervasive, and often so unnecessarily nasty, that they feel the need to withhold comment in order to limit the damage. Having learned this lesson early on, they make the wise decision to maintain complete control over whom it is that interviews them in order to get a fair and necessary advantage. Only a handful of music writers are afforded the privilege of interviewing them during their hey-day in the 1970's.

My first official interview discussing my book, Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music, has recently taken place and I am privileged to have been interviewed by Stephen Mitchell, a man who is not only an extremely experienced and expert interviewer, but one who asks intelligent and appropriate questions. The members of Led Zeppelin would have been pleased to have been interviewees under Mr. Mitchell's probing and informed questioning. The only disappointment is the (understandably necessary) short duration of the interview. I could have continued much longer.

Stephen Mitchell

In 1980, Stephen founded an entertainment industry think tank in the guise of a repertory company for film and television labeled The New Hollywood Studio System. In 1985, Stephen pioneered a unique application of product integration in branded entertainment with his cable TV series (Interview). In 2006, Stephen authored a protocol for the management and marketing of business executives. He is currently producing a documentary on the Ferrari GTO, one of which he owned for several years.

Check out Stephen Mitchell's blog site below:

http://emcpb.blogspot.com/

The Latest Review for Back to Scoolin'!

"Writer/Producer Sonya Alexander has worked for some of the most high-profile companies in the film and television industry. She was trained to become a literary agent at the William Morris Agency and The Agency, where she read scripts and scouted for new, talented writers. She has written many articles about celebrities in the entertainment industry for such publications and websites as UGO.com, Black Filmmaker Magazine, ScriptWriter Magazine, and Essence Magazine, as well as for political site AllVoices.com. Over the years, Sonya has built strong, longstanding relationships with many Hollywood actors, writers, directors and producers. She is very pleased to be in the process of publishing her first book, "Echoes of Colonization: Creole Culture in Louisiana and Haiti." She resides in New York."

The preceding profile is taken from the Examiner.com web-site where Sonya contributes articles, also maintaining a Zeppelin-specific site called Led Zeppelin Examiner. Her very generous review of Back to Schoolin' appeared recently, and is reproduced below:

Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music by Kevin Courtright - A Review

• August 21st, 2010 10:36 pm ET

Back to Schoolin' cover

Photo: amazon.com

"Many music fans appreciate the greatness that was and is Led Zeppelin, but some don't truly understand the complexities and layers of the loudest, biggest, baddest rock band ever. Composer Kevin Courtright grew to appreciate the band at a young age and decided to share his wealth of Zep knowledge with the rest of the world by writing Back to Schoolin':What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music. In the beginning of the book, Courtright states that when he takes "an interest in something, he becomes obsessed with it." In the 350-plus pages of this book, he turns his obsession into a streamlined analysis of the formula of Led Zeppelin's magic.

The book has three sections, Part 1 focusing on the musical diversity of Zep, how lyrics elevated their material, their originality and the duality of the band, its "light and shade," simplicity and complexity. Part 2 delves into various aspects of Zeppelin's aesthetics; mysterious, symbolic album covers, each member's rock star persona, and the band's palpable chemistry. Part 3 explores their business acumen and the elements that kept them on top, as well as the groundbreaking group's legacy.

While the book is encyclopedic in content, a must for neo-Zeppelinites, it could use a few ingredients to make it jump off the page. Where are key photos of Zeppelin? Any Zeppelin newbie should definitely be shown the progression of the band's signature look, as well as die-hard fans given a peak of never-before-seen shots. Also, there should be more anecdotes and direct quotes from the Zeppelin members, which would liven up the book. Zep set the precedent for decadent living in the 70s and broke the mold for rock star glamour, let the reader get a sense of that excitement by using a little more humor and personal accounts from the members of the group or those associated with them.

Overall, an informative read that just needs to be a bit sexier. After all, Led Zeppelin was and is the poster child for sex appeal, so why not make any account of them just as titillating? This book is a good schoolin' on the nuts and bolts of the band, though, and is a good investment for the aspiring Zeppelin pupil."

I want to thank Sonya for her generous review!

Please visit the examiner.com site. And especially visit Sonya's Led Zeppelin Examiner site:

http://www.examiner.com/led-zeppelin-in-national/sonya-alexander

Dave Lewis, Led Zeppelin expert and author, reviews Back to Schoolin'

I'm very pleased to announce that Back to Schoolin' has been reviewed most generously by world-renowned Zeppelin expert and author, Dave Lewis:
"Similar in feel to the recent Led Zeppelin Philosophy volume, Kevin Courtright's Back to Schoolin' offers a wealth of in depth Zep analysis. His own leanings as a musician aids his understanding of the musical diversity of the band. There are microscopic dissections on every aspect of the Zep spectrum: lyrical symbolism, live performance, improvisation, production techniques, session appearances, business practice, album artwork and artistic integrity -- all these subjects are stripped back with intimate detail. The rather dry tone of this type of research work may not be for everyone, but as the title implies, dedicated scholars of Led Zeppelin and those anxious to learn more on the philosophy of the band, will find much to glean from Kevin Courtright's admirable mass of Zepp cornucopia."
This review is contained in the latest issue of his magazine, Tight But Loose. Most Zeppelin fans know the name Dave Lewis, but a few words are in order.
Dave, who grew up and lives in England, is a Zeppelin fan since the early 70's. He has the honor of having seen the band some 12 or 13 times, including such milestone concerts as the 5 night season at Earls Court in London, in May 1975 (all 5 shows!), as well as both shows as headliners at the Knebworth Festival in August 1979. Dave is author of the books Led Zeppelin: The Concert File (with Simon Pallett); Led Zeppelin: A Celebration; Led Zeppelin: The Tight but Loose Files: Celebration II; Led Zeppelin: The Compete Guide To Their Music; Then As It Was - Led Zeppelin At Knebworth; and the forth-coming Led Zeppelin - Feather in the Wind: Over Europe 1980 (due out later this year.) Some of these books indeed serve as valuable well of information for me when writing Back to Schoolin'. I highly recommend subscribing to Dave's Tight But Loose magazine. It is well worth it! (go to: www.tblweb.com )
Any consideration of one's work is always appreciated, but positive considerations are highly rewarding. I want to thank Dave for his kind words!

Back to Schoolin' Award Nomination

I'm honored that Back to Schoolin' is nominated for an award by the ARSC, The Association for Recorded Sound Collections. They give out awards annually for excellence in historical recorded sound research. I am currently unaware of how they know of my book, but am certainly pleased to be recognized. Again, this is a nomination, not an award. But, it's an honor just to be nominated. Hmmm...I'd swear I've heard that somewhere before.

Subject: Association of Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence

Dear Kevin

I am very pleased to inform you that your book, Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music, has been nominated for the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.

Our judges will choose a short list of finalists, and ultimately, one winner in each category. Finalists will be announced at ARSC's national conference in New Orleans in May. Our goal, quite simply, is to recognize and draw attention to the finest work being published on the subject of recorded sound.

Further information about ARSC and the awards, including a list of past winners, is available at: http://www.facebook.com/l/b339f;www.arsc-audio.org and http://www.facebook.com/l/b339f;www.arsc-audio.org/awards/index.html.

The First Review

By Steve Sauer, www.LedZeppelinNews.com
Tuesday, December 15, 2009

On the ninth day of Zeppelin, my true love gave to me:
A how-to guide to Led Zeppelin's complete existence

Have you ever wondered just how Led Zeppelin ever happened? Whether life is directed by free will, or by the determined hand of an interested higher power, or by a never-ending random collision of molecules, the four-man and one-time-only collaboration known as Led Zeppelin did take place. The group did what it did, achieved what it achieved, and essentially played no more since 1980. Even with the realization that the circumstances that allowed Led Zeppelin to flourish at the time it did can never be repeated as, simply, times have changed, there is a lot to be learned from everything this band did over time, everything the band was about.

Kevin Courtright is perhaps the first person ever to approach Led Zeppelin's achievements as a finite list of lessons that can be passed on to hopeful musicians of the present and future. If there was ever another publication that attempts what "Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music" accomplishes in about 400 pages, it hasn't landed on my shelf. This book isn't another unnecessary biography of the band. He leaves recasting the history to those who've already written it. What Courtright tells here, in a very logical and neatly structured organization of topics, is exactly what musicians can and should glean from knowing anything and everything about the band.

Led Zeppelin's story begins as two sets of virtuoso musicians who were strangers to one another met and promptly started checking things off the to-do list of the one who brought them together. Now already, I've hit upon several things that need to be analyzed further. Inherent within this statement are a lot of facts. The group consisted of four people; that's one. All four people were virtuoso musicians. Two knew each other, and two others knew each other, but neither half knew the other. One person, the founder, had preexisting notions of what could be achieved in this group setting. Only with the entire assemblage of all four could those things be tackled. And once that congregation was formed, their success in meeting or exceeding those goals was almost immediate.

The above paragraph is only my crude way of pinpointing some of the important lessons that can be observed without overlooking a single intertwined detail. Courtright's technique, which is much better undertaken than mine, is to dissect every aspect of the Led Zeppelin story in a unique and sensible format. The topics of his 32 distinct chapters spanning about 400 pages range from the band's collective and individual musical diversity, the art of improvisation, their use of dynamics, their use of tempos, and other areas not about the music but the presentation of it.

Lest we believe there is little to be learned from the procedure of titling an album, Courtright begs us to think again. He explains how the look of the albums resulted from a concerted focus on symbolism and mysterious imagery, preferred over group photos; how the creation of demand came about as a combination of perfectly timed tours and rare media interaction; the contributing ingredients to Led Zeppelin's success in the music business; and just why the band's influence is so lasting.

For each one of the 32 subject areas covered in this book, Courtright details Led Zeppelin's methods, what their achievements meant to him as an impressionable youth first turned on to their music, and how this can -- or in some instances cannot -- relate to any budding musical career in today's climate. I say "cannot" because, as Courtright allows: "[J]ust know that the tactics used by [Peter] Grant and Zeppelin are innovative and successful for them in that time, and any lack of compatibility with today is only indicative of how corrupt, controlled and crushing the industry has become. However, I maintain that with a 'grass-roots' movement of like-minded musicians, utilizing today's technology which does in fact afford some level of autonomy, the trend can potentially be turned back to an at least reasonably equitable state for today's artists."

This book is not a template for success in the music world. Billy Squier, Whitesnake, Kingdom Come and Bonham may have all had their time on the charts, but none was able to do what Led Zeppelin did or enjoy anything close to that kind of lasting power. It simply cannot be repeated intentionally. Still, if the idea that the band's existence can be summed up in a logical way across 400 pages appeals to the aspiring young musician you just know could be the next Jimmy Page, this is the right book for that person. This book will ensure that person seeks out the next Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham.

Basically, if you learned something from reading last month's Web gem of eight lessons in creativity and productivity as gleaned from Led Zeppelin, you ain't seen nothing yet. Kevin Courtright is gonna send you back to schoolin'.

Rocking the Classics: Led Zeppelin and Eclecticism, Part 2B - Classical

Our look at Led Zeppelin's connection to Classical music picks up with Jimmy Page. He expresses his desire to pursue a classically-oriented, heavily orchestrated approach to some of his music in a 1976 Circus Magazine interview. Page: (Speaking of what he anticipates for the future of Rock at that time) "I feel that young musicians will emerge again, but through a level of really good writing, of depth and intellect, like the classical...I think it will be the actual writing that will count, it will be back to composition like in classical music or the jazz of someone like Ellington." As for his own approach: "I'm very interested myself in scoring orchestral music...there's so much more that can be done with an orchestra...I'm working on a few things at the moment which first I'll doodle up with banks of guitars...A complete guitar orchestra isn't a joke idea at all...I've got one piece which is a perfect vehicle to explore those areas with banks of guitars, which would be orchestration as such and if that is successful it could possibly be arranged differently for an orchestra." Unfortunately, this piece never materializes, but Page has stated that this guitar orchestra approach has seen fruition in songs such as "Stairway to Heaven", "Ten Years Gone" and "Achilles Last Stand". And thus, Page's Classical sensibilities have found flowering in Zeppelin's music.

Not surprisingly, John Paul Jones is the most classically influenced Zeppelin member. In his formative years, he is exposed to the full gamut of the Classics. His training entails mastering of reading, writing, arranging and orchestrating music. In his 1960's, pre-Zep career as a session musician, Jones' abilities are highlighted in his string arrangements for The Rolling Stones "She's a Rainbow", and the Page-era Yardbirds track "Little Games", both from 1967. Jones himself speaks of his Classical leanings in a 1977 Guitar Player interview: "I always get the feeling I'd like to write a symphony. I like all music. I like classical music a lot -- Ravel, Bach, of course, Mozart I could never stand, though to play it on the piano is great fun. If Bach had ever come across the bass guitar, he would have loved it." During his Zeppelin tenure, Jones' Classical background comes through in a couple of ways. In 1977 performances of his "No Quarter" showpiece, snippets of Rachmaninoff music find display during his unaccompanied piano solo. And the Jones/Plant original "All My Love" contains the most Classically oriented, and beautiful passage in the entire Zeppelin canon. In the middle, instrumental section, Jones unleashes a magnificent piece of keyboard orchestration with significant use of counterpoint.

As with the Jazz connection, Classical music is a rare but welcome excursion for Zeppelin. But it is firmly entrenched in their musical DNA. And these Jazz and Classical touches go a long way in mitigating against the oft-repeated misnomer "Heavy Metal" in describing Zeppelin and their music.

Writing Led

Authoring a book is an experience with excitements and frustrations, successes and failures, self-congratulations and self-condemnations. But through the course of this roller-coaster ride, a sense of unmitigated determination must prevail; a pre-ordained belief that one's work is necessary, important, even...destined!

When choosing Led Zeppelin as my subject, inspiration is an intrinsic driving force. Their triumphs, their tragedies, their experiences and wealth of knowledge, all inform my own progressively developing musical path. Sharing this with others becomes an obligation, and a duty. However, inherent to any endeavor of teaching others (whether in a personalized or depersonalized setting) is a responsibility to be as thorough and accurate as possible as regards the information proliferated. No matter how much one has learned about a given subject, more can be known, and details must be clarified. A certain amount of subjective analysis is inescapable, but shoddy research and sloppy recall is not. But, perhaps most important of all, is an emphasis on implementation, so that what one learns is seen as demonstrable (where applicable.) This serves to authenticate what one teaches. It's one thing to regurgitate ones learning; it is quite another to demonstrate it from one's experience. Thus, the tri-fold tools of inspiration, information and implementation form a balanced triangle of teaching.

So, what of the hind-sight evaluation of my first book-writing experience? Though the process is rife with those previously stated highs and lows, I am convinced of this one thing: Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music, is one more step in the generational passing down of musical knowledge and experience which is begun with Jubal (Gen. 4:21) and culminates with the song of the redeemed (Rev. 5:9-13). Since music ultimately transcends our empirical experience(s), Back to Schoolin' is, despite its author's many faults and lack of qualifiers, indeed necessary, important and destined.

Whole Lotta Love

Led Zeppelin

"Back to Schoolin'" by Kevin Courtright

Led Zeppelin. As with most things in life, these words hold different meaning(s) to everyone who reads them. For some, that meaning may be simply "The premiere rock band of the 1970's"; for others "Four excellent musicians whose music defines a generation"; for yet others "The very apex of rock and roll excess and debauchery." As for me, though the meanings above have at one time or another spilled from my lips, I never could have imagined that the meaning "The first and most important music teachers I've been privileged to have", would find utterance.
..
"Converting" to the music of Zeppelin as a teenager in approximately 1978, I am certainly ignorant of the fact that my quickly growing obsession with the band from that point on actually entails a subconscious absorption of information concerning music and the music business that will one day manifest in my own burgeoning musical career. This manifestation is at once subtle, and obvious. The subtlety reveals itself to me when, after repeated listenings of a particular piece I've written, I come to discover particular shadings, colorings or other such elements have subconsciously found their way into my work which I first hear in Zeppelin's. The more obvious manifestations are when conscious "borrowings" from Zeppelin are employed in my music--a practice that any Zeppelin fan knows is common within Zeppelin's own music. This same scenario finds manifestation in my approach to the presentation of my music (album covers, album titles, etc.), as well as the business approach I utilize with my music. So, whether it is the music itself, the presentation of that music, or the marketing strategy within the confines of the music business, I am indebted to Zeppelin in a multiplicity of ways.
..
Once I fully realize this indebtedness, I become eager to share what I've learned. The most practical way to do this is to write it down in book form. Thus, Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music, is my expression of musical indebtedness to Zeppelin, with the express purpose of passing on a wealth of information and wisdom that I have been pleased to receive over the years to whomever may be teachable enough to likewise reap the benefits. This book is testament to the wonders of both a band of extraordinary power and purpose, as well as the less-than-obvious way in which they have impacted one musician. My gratitude knows no bounds.

http://www.amazon.com/Back-Schoolin-Zeppelin-Taught-About/dp/1615790454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259189109&sr=8-1