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And then there are interviews that ask nothing about the art and everything about his personal life in the most intimate details. "I want to hang up," he says. "It makes me sick. Nobody cares about that, this type of thing—when do we get to talk about the music? They want to know about piercings, underwear, women. What is this? They tell me, "We're trying to please our readers.' Well, there you go. I try to be a gentleman and do my thing and I say to myself, "These people don't understand.' I try to say something about the music and lead them somewhere positive in the interview. When I was reading about bands, I didn't care about my favorite artists' tattoos or girlfriends. Tell me who produced the record, how they got that sound, how the arrangements came about, because I was into the music. I read all the liner notes on records, what studio they used, which engineer. That's what mattered to me. It's a different world now." It's been three years since Kravitz released his last record, simply titled Lenny. During that period he spent time on tour, then took some personal time for family. "I took care of my grandfather and daughter," he says. "I had a great year and a half with my granddad. I had to pay attention to those who needed me." It was also a time of reflection, and the experiences resulted in the creation of his latest release, Baptism, which he describes as marking a musical and spiritual rebirth. "I'm connecting myself closer to God," he says, "and obviously it affects my whole life, my music, my family life, the kind of person I am. It's a metamorphosis. It's been going on a long time, this spiritual thing, since I was a kid. It's been evolving; there were ups and downs, periods of being more and less in tune. Now it's time to be hot or cold and not in between. I'm learning a lot of personal stuff, how my past affected me, how to be more at peace with myself. Those issues are addressed on the record in songs like 'What Did I Do With My Life?' and "Destiny.'" For the most part, he played all of the instruments on the album, a work ethic he's had since his 1989 debut, Let Love Rule. It is, he says, the way in which he's most comfortable making records and, equally unconventionally, he also avoids demos. "For me, the first time I do it is always the best," he says. "When you cut a demo, even though it can sound like sh-t, you just don't get that same vibe when you're in the studio. You're trying to live up to the demo and it's not as cool. I did them once or twice and never made a demo again." Whether it's starting from scratch or working in a seemingly isolated environment, Kravitz admits that his modus operandi "is probably strange, but if you come to my studio you will find the engineer [Henry Hirsch] and me and some people hanging out. For me, it's like solitude. It's quiet, people are in the room sometimes; a couple of friends will come by and sit while I work, but for the most part it's just me and we like it that way. I have everything set up and pre-miked in the room and if I have an idea, I play it, listen to it, and dial it in. Give me a guitar, a bass, I'll go to the piano, I'm constantly running around, and you've got a song. I know when to stop. At least, I think I do! You might have a different opinion! The record is piano, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, drums. Strings on a couple of songs. I kept it really open; less is more. We built walls of acoustic, electric and piano, which I thought made a full sound." Kravitz' remarkable focus has enabled him to retain control of his career as a musician and producer. His approach to his craft, however, hasn't really changed over the years. "If you asked Henry, he's been watching me for almost 20 years and he might say I'm more calm as a person, more focused, and not as all over the place as I used to be," he says, "but I think he'd say it's pretty much the same process." His discipline—acquired from a lifetime of work in various genres and branches of music—allows him to make the transition from almost a one-man band to bandleader. "In live situations I'm a team player," he says. "I work with 10 other people onstage, so I've got to make it work, be efficient with it, and get the best results. I sang with the California Boys Choir and the Los Angeles Philharmonic when I was young. We did operas and things like that. I was part of that whole thing of where they're putting together 100 people to make it work. So I learned from watching that. I don't think I'm a tough boss. What I think makes me a good boss is that I listen to people, I allow people to express themselves, I give them a lot of room. I'm into making everybody happy with the experience, so I'm not a tyrant." Kravitz developed a sense of what works, onstage and on album, at an early age. "It's just my tastes from listening to great records growing up and understanding why they're great," he says. "Take Al Green. You listen to him, tracks like "Let's Stay Together,' you know why it works. You know why the drums are working, why the bass is working. You just know. Or Earth, Wind and Fire, which is far more complex with more parts—eight melodies going on, horn melodies, guitar melodies, vocals—all at one time, and you understand why it locks. The result is the result. James Brown—listen to those grooves. If you changed something about it, it wouldn't work. A simple bass line or guitar line—when it locks, it just locks, and you know it. It's a feeling." by Elianne Halbersberg Insidecx.com |
