Pioneering keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison cut his teeth in the seminal proto-punk band The Modern Lovers in the 1970s and ’80s before leaving an indelible mark on music history with Talking Heads (19. Widely considered one of the most influential bands of the late 20th century, Talking Heads defied genre classification, seamlessly blending punk, funk, art rock, and world music.
Harrison’s audacious experimentation, coupled with the band’s sonic alchemy, helped shape new wave and post-punk movements, paving the way for alternative and indie rock’s future. Bands like LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Beck, Foals, The Weeknd, and the Bay Area’s own Primus all cite Talking Heads as a major inspiration.
With their undeniable impact on rock and pop history, Harrison, alongside his Talking Heads bandmates David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
After the dissolution of Talking Heads (1975-’91), Harrison produced albums from acts such as Violent Femmes, Crash Test Dummies, The String Cheese Incident and many more, and dabbled in podcasting, but largely stepped away from live performance between 1996 and 2021. It seemed like a quiet farewell, a musician putting down his instruments after an illustrious career. Was Harrison putting down his hat?
Fortunately, the answer was no. A 2021 reunion at the Peach Music Festival with renowned Talking Heads touring member Adrian Belew rekindled a creative spark. Their performance of material from Talking Heads’ landmark 1980 album “Remain in Light” was so electrifying that Harrison and Belew decided to extend the experience into a full-fledged tour.
Let it be known, this tour isn’t just a nostalgia trip. It’s a celebration of a pivotal era in Talking Heads history, performed by the original architects of the sound. Joining Harrison and Belew are powerhouse musicians Julie Slick on bass and Yahuba Garcia-Torres on percussion, ensuring a faithful and potent live experience.
The tour will be stopping at the Quarry in Santa Cruz Aug. 16 for a ticketed performance, and at S.F.’s China Basin Park for a free show on Aug. 17, bringing Bay Area audiences powerhouse renditions of Talking Heads classics like “Once In A Lifetime,” “Psycho Killer,” and “Take Me To The River,” plus solo career selections.
Harrison, who lives in Marin County, sat down with us to discuss this “Remain” rewind, and to let us in on some little known Talking Heads’ tidbits.
Q: Tell me about the inspiration for this tour. What prompted this return to the stage?
A: Well, I miss playing live to start with, but, for a number of years, Adrian and I would run into each other in various places and somehow, we would always come back to what an amazing show had been captured in Rome in 1980. We wanted to use that as a blueprint. Then, when I found the band Turkuaz, it was like I found the final piece. I said to Adrian, “Instead of you and I forming a band, you and I can join this band.” So far, it’s been a great deal of fun.
Q: Considering that “Remain in Light” was heavily influenced by electronic music and African polyrhythms, how do you feel about the prevalent rise of those genres in mainstream music? Do you carry being ahead of your time as a badge of honor?
A: Yes, I think so. I’m particularly proud of the tour we did after “Remain in Light,” because of the way we recorded it. We recorded all these layers of music, but we knew we couldn’t play them all simultaneously live. That was really the push to put together a bigger band. And, of course, we started opening up the influences of various world music into more mainstream rock and roll, not that it was exactly “mainstream.” Then, a lot of rock bands came along and copied us, having background singers, percussion, adding things like that. I think The Police actually stole some of our singers at some point, because people were recognizing that a bigger band on stage just has this power to it.
Q: Your show at China Basin Park is a free show, which is a nice full circle moment to the free concerts Talking Heads did at UC Berkeley’s Lower Sproul Plaza back in 1978. Do you remember those concerts?
A: Of course, yeah, I remember that. I remember one time we were driving across, actually no, into Sproul plaza, because we had to unload our equipment, and some kids were looking at us funny like, “You’re not supposed to be on the sidewalk up here.” So you know what we did? We quoted “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” and Johnny Ramone, “We’re not students, we’re The Ramones.”
Q: Has your relationship to the music and the songs changed or evolved at all, or do those keys feel the same under your fingers as they always have?
A: Well, I was certainly a bit of a faster player than I am now. It did take some time to get in shape to play again, but it’s all worked out really well, and the musicians in this band are really great. To play this music though, you have to have a lot of discipline. You can’t overplay and you have to make room for other people’s parts and really listen. You have to make sure that what you’re playing isn’t covering up what somebody else is playing.
Q: How do you accomplish that? How do you, as a musician and a performer, internalize that mindset of being a team player?
A: Well, that’s exactly why I’m enjoying this tour, it’s a true group effort. It’s not just about Adrian and me. It’s about really showcasing the talent and the variety of tonalities that this band can handle. For instance, Chris (Brouwers), who plays trumpet, has found a way to mimic Jon Hassell’s trumpet playing on “Houses in Motion,” and we were never able to pull that off in Talking Heads. We also have a horn section, and Talking Heads only ever had that on record, but never live. So, it’s been really thrilling to work with these players and watch these arrangements come together. There’s a raw power and a wonderful tonality to it.
Q: This tour comes on the heels of the 40th Anniversary 4k restoration of “Stop Making Sense” and the band reunion at the Toronto Film Festival. What was that like, to sit there, alongside the original crew, and see your film re-released on the big screens?
A: It was fabulous! It was really nice to have all four of us back together again, and as for the remixing of “Stop Making Sense,” it’s never looked better. It’s never sound better. It’s been really exciting to take something that was already great and make it even better.
Q: What do you most enjoy about touring? Is it the performing? Traveling? Interacting with the fans?
A: The shows are the highlights. The traveling around is just how you get there. But it is fun to go to different parts of the country and experience how audiences are different in different places, and there are rooms that are particularly wonderful to play in. Sometimes, I play rooms I’ve played before, and I’m like “Oh, it’s great to be back!” Other times, I’m like, “Oh I never even knew about this place, the sound is awesome here!” Then, the opposite can happen. You play somewhere and you’re like, “God, that was a difficult place to play!” As for this tour though, the band is having a great time on stage, and the audience is invited to just join in on the fun. And they do!
JERRY HARRISON & ADRIAN BELEW
Perform “Remain in Light” tour
When & where: 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at The Quarry, Santa Cruz ($60.97-$117.62), 1 p.m. Aug. 17 at China Basic Park, San Francisco (free); tixr.com/groups/noisepop
More information: remaininlight.net
