April 1, 2001

MASS MoCA Pays Tribute to Classic Talking Heads Album

(April 1, 2001 -- North Adams, MA) Two decades after its release, Remain in Light is still same as it ever was, the seminal album of the legendary Talking Heads, densely layered and danceable with lyrics that are equally intense and infectious. Same As It Ever Was on Saturday, April 28 at MASS MoCA is a concert bringing together guitar innovator Vernon Reid from Living Colour, vocalist Nona Hendryx from the original Talking Heads recording, and critically acclaimed spoken word artist Carl Hancock Rux to pay musical tribute to this groundbreaking album. Danny Kapilian who produced the show for MASS MoCA, is known for his widely praised events celebrating the music of Joni Mitchell at New York's Summer Stage and three events at BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music) for Miles Davis, Prince, and Jimi Hendrix.

Though their previous album Fear of Music produced by Brian Eno provided a bit of foreshadowing, Talking Heads fans could hardly have guessed what was in store for them with the release of Remain in Light in 1980. A visionary work of innovation and inspiration, it's widely considered to be one of the finest albums of the 1980s. Abandoning traditional song form and chord progressions, the songs on Remain in Light were built around layers of overdubbed keyboard, guitar and percussion parts that wove around each other. For Remain in Light The Talking Heads added several sidemen, including back up vocalists and a horn section, leaving David Byrne, Chris Franz, and Tina Weymouth free to explore their dense amalgam of African percussion, funk bass and keyboards, pop songs, and electronics.

Vernon Reid, the architect of Living Colour, one of the world's most inventive and socially conscious rock bands, first picked up the guitar at the age of 15 inspired by Carlos Santana. Grammy-nominated Reid is a songwriter, energetic guitar player, and a master at fusing elements of rock, blues, jazz, and funk. He has also composed music for the Marlies Yearby Dance Company, for the films Fresh Kill and Johnny Mnemonic, and for choreographer Ralph Lemon. He has worked towards breaking down stereotypes through his music and by co-founding the Black Rock Coalition. Reid has collaborated with such greats as B.B. King, The Ramones, Tracy Chapman, Mick Jagger, and his own inspiration, Carlos Santana.

Grammy-nominated Nona Hendryx was one of the musicians on the original Remain in Light twenty years ago. From the groundbreaking group LaBelle with Sarah Dash and Patti LaBelle to the music she has composed for plays including Blue and Oak and Ivy, Hendryx is known for provocative songs full of political and empowering messages. Hendryx is the featured vocalist on the soundtrack of Denzel Washington's film The Seige, she has collaborated with hip-hop, reggae artist Bounty Killer, and is featured on Billy Crawford's Urgently in Love and Showtime's TV series Linc's.

Poet/performer Carl Hancock Rux uses his smooth sensuous baritone voice to deliver his thought-provoking verse. Rux has been selected by The New York Times as "one of 30 artists under the age of 30 most likely to influence culture over the next 30 years'. He has been featured on the cover of The Village Voice as "One of Eight Writers on the Verge of Impacting the Literary Landscape" and is frequently compared to Jim Morrison and Gil Scott Heron.

Rolling Stone says his debut album, Rux Revue, "digs into deep issues like lust, love, death, poverty, and artistic integrity - but it also explores the inescapable connection between music and poetry, going places few artists have gone before." According to The San Francisco Guardian, "His intonation, his impeccable sense of rhythm, his prodigious grasp of language are astounding."

Same as It Ever Was concert is sponsored by Berkshire Gas.

Tickets to Same as It Ever Was are $20. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office at 87 Marshall St. in North Adams from 11 am until 5 pm every day but Tuesdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours. Dinner will be available before and during the show.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located at 87 Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings. MASS MoCA focuses on the work of visual and performing artists charting new territory.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org