INTERVIEW: Drumming alongside David Byrne’s creativity
Photo:
From left, Gustavo Di Dalva, Jacquelene Acevedo, Daniel Freedman, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan and Tim Keiper star in David Byrne’s American Utopia. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy / Provided by BBB with permission.
For the past four years, percussionist Tim Keiper has had a front-row seat to the creativity of both David Byrne and a company of fellow musicians who, on a nightly basis, bring to life the one-of-a-kind theatrical spectacle known as David Byrne’s American Utopia. The concert-theater piece is currently running on Broadway at the St. James Theatre; these performances, which run through April, are part of the show’s second leg in Midtown Manhattan. And Keiper has been there since the beginning.
“We’re having so much fun on stage,” the New Jersey native said in a recent phone interview. “This group of people, we know each other so well now, and we’ve been doing the show for almost four years. And it’s just a really tight-knit group of people. … It’s been the same group of people since the beginning performing every show, which is now hundreds of shows. It’s a really special connection up there, and even though we’re performing the same show, there’s lots of moments to be spontaneous in how we interact with each other. It keeps things fresh and keeps things really fun.”
Over the course of 100 minutes, Byrne, known for his stellar solo work and his time with the Talking Heads, leads a rock-and-spoken-word dissection of what the United States may one day become. He has fun with hip-shaking songs and classic tunes from his songbook, but he also speaks poignantly about the need to register to vote, the possibilities of the human brain and social issues worthy of a protest song. It’s an evening of enlightenment and entertainment, a simultaneous push-and-pull between enjoyment and education.
Keiper became attached to the project thanks to the show’s music director, Mauro Refosco, who is also a percussionist on stage.
“I knew him [Refosoco] just from playing around the New York City club scene,” Keiper said. “I don’t think we had played together much, but we had crossed paths in the various groups that we played in. It was actually pretty simple and surprising. One day he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to go on tour with David Byrne for a year and play with six drummers? You’ll have to learn a tiny bit of choreography,’ which turned out to be a lot of choreography, but that’s how it happened. I was thrilled that he asked me to be part of this.”
That initial request turned into a successful tour, two Broadway engagements, a Spike Lee-directed film and plenty of acclaim. It’s something of a full-circle moment for Keiper, who grew up watching MTV and enjoying the Talking Heads’ surreal, experimental music videos.
“I actually moved to New York City and was exposed to music from all over the world and started studying Brazilian music and West African music and trying to figure out how to incorporate those influences into my own music,” he said. “David was pioneering that in his career with his record label Luaka Bop, so I followed his whole career. He was the one doing that and leading the way.”
In the early days, Keiper didn’t quite know what to make of American Utopia, which is staged and choreographed by Annie-B Parson. He knew he had to play percussion. He knew he had to learn some choreography. But there were many unknowns, and it was only until Bryne started rehearsing and exploring with the company did the full picture begin to materialize.
“All of the drummers had a background in Brazilian music,” Keiper said. “Half the drummers are Brazilian, and the other half have studied and played that music, which has a tradition of carrying the drums and moving around and doing choreography. So that aspect I sort of had an idea about, but overall it’s this combination of all these different mediums. Of course, everybody is up there unified playing the same song, but since everyone is free to move around stage, there’s all this activity happening. It’s almost like everyone can have their own story with different things that are happening on different parts of the stage at the exact same time. It’s almost like you get these stories within stories from everything that is happening on stage.”
At times, this wonderfully skilled chaos feels like a performance piece best suited for the Museum of Modern Art, something out of the days of the Judson Dance Theater era. One knows that art is being created and experiments are being conducted, and thankfully the audience at the St. James has a seat in the laboratory.
“It’s such a unique combination,” he said. “It’s an open situation where people can contribute ideas, and everyone is always working to improve things. So over the course of these years playing together, everything has evolved at the same time.”
Keiper added: “The drummers really get to shine and do what they do. It’s this open situation, and also David has this way of letting everyone be themselves and figure out who they are. That definitely applies to the drummers, as everyone gets to develop their parts and be the best version of themselves. The drums are very well-respected in the show, and David loves the drums. It’s really cool to see his reaction to the parts that get developed. We can always tell if he’s digging it because you can see it in his gestures and how he’s dancing and stuff like that. He’s always reacting to the drums, for sure.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
David Byrne’s American Utopia, featuring Tim Keiper, continues at the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
