Paul A. Fournier
Jun-21-2011, 20:42 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | Hi Nancy! Thanks for your request for additional details about my amazing meeting with Paul Simon and Senator Dodd in Senator Dodd´s office on May 27, 2011 here in Washington, DC. I should have taken detailed notes right after these 30 minutes were over, but I still recall quite a bit, of course. Here are some more details in addition to what I posted earlier in this thread.
I remember telling Paul that many of my favorite songs of his were his more obscure songs, like "Song About The Moon" and "How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns." When Senator Dodd heard the second title, he said "great title!" Paul responded, "that one is from One Trick Pony." Paul then told me that for this tour he tried to think of what "obsure" songs the fans would like to hear and then he decided to include "Peace Like A River." He said it´s recently been covered by an indie band. I replied that also I believe Amos Lee had played it at BAM. I then told him that I monitor online International forums (including this one!) that discuss his work and many people were thrilled that he had chosen to play that song on this tour.
Further along the lines of this current tour´s setlist, I mentioned how great it is that he is playing so many songs from his new CD this time. I metioned how on the Surprise tour, he only played 3 or 4 songs from that CD. He replied, "those songs were too hard to play live!" I said, "yes, I can understand with all the electronic instruments on there."
I told him that I started listening to his music when I was about 12 years Old when I first saw the Concert in Central Park on HBO. He said that 12 years old is a particular age when our minds are wide open to accepting new things, new music, etc. He then referred to an article he had recently read about rock musicians approaching 70. Apparently, this article talked about how many of these artists had great influences when they were around 12 or so which allowed them to blossom with their own work, for example, Elvis or Buddy Holly influencing the Beatles, and the like.
After we finished looking through the deluxe box set, I told Paul that, after giving it serious consideration, I really think that SBOSW is my favorite of all of his albums. He replied that he feels the same saying "I think it´s my best piece of work." He then said that he feels it is as good as Graceland or ROTS.
Senator Dodd had commented something along the lines of how creating an album is like artwork - putting in little sounds here and there that add so much to the overall sound of the track. I agreed, mentioning how I think Getting Ready For Christmas Day is such a great track, and I think the sampling adds so much to give it a great overall sound. Paul then recommended that I listen to the original CD that the sample came from. He told me the title and said it´s listed in the album credits.
I´m sure we covered other items in our 30 minute chat - but those are some things that come to mind right now. I posted the photo we took in Senator Dodd´s office on the "pictures" section of this site, as well as one from the Constitution Hall show that my friend took.
One last thing I would like to mention for now is that I did a brief interview with ABC news about my experience on stage with Paul before I went to Senator Dodd´s office. The interviewer told me that he had requested an interview with Paul for later in the day. When I got back from meeting Paul and Senator Dodd, I received an e-mail from the interviewer saying that Paul had declined the interview with him, but through his agent Paul issued this statement: "These golden moments don´t happen often, when they do, it´s best to just let them speak for themselves."
This was without a doubt a golden moment for me as well! I was so thrilled to hear that Paul also really enjoyed the experience. I so happy that I can share some details here about all of this with my fellow fans. Thanks very much for giving me that opportunity which means so much to me. :)
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nancy
Jun-22-2011, 00:04 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| Thanks so much for telling us more about that experience. OMG....can you even believe that it happened. Thank heavens for youtube and our forums. To be able to share the experiences with you is fantastic. |
mog
Jun-22-2011, 12:51 GMT
Unknown
 | He thinks that this is his best piece of work ever ? Maybe too soon to tell, Paul ! I personally doubt it, but ´qui vivra verra´ ! |
