The Byrds (Roger McGuinn)

0:00Hi. Morning. Morning to you. How are you doing? I'm doing great, how are you? I'm pretty good. Well, I wanted to start talking first. You started off working with Bobby Darrin. Right. Did you see Beyond the Sea by any chance? No, I didn't. I know I haven't seen it. No, it's the Kevin Spacey movie. Yeah. How come you didn't see it? Well, I haven't been busy. I haven't gone to the movies. Oh. Yeah, I do want to see it. We just have to go to the movie. Was it as big a thing as the movie says he was? He was, well, I don't know what, you know, not having seen the movie. I don't know what you, you know, referring to it. Well, I mean, it really builds him off as this big, huge star.

0:45And I mean, me being a young man, I'm not really too familiar with how it was back then. He was quite a big star for a while. After Mack the Knife, he played, it was a circuit. We played in Las Vegas. We played the Flamingo towel. And we played, I guess it was the coconut growth spotlight.

1:38And it was kind of like a duo. We did like Neverly Brothers thing. Yeah. And I sang harmony and played 12-string and he did the leads. He wanted the 12-string. Oh, okay. He liked the sound of it. Nice. And is that why you stuck with it all through your career? I know. I liked it too. I mean, I'd gotten into it earlier with Pete Seeger and Ledvelli and puts out more. That's St.

3:35And so we met up. Human nature is.

6:07It's like the music industry was much more the way it is now with a lot of jamming. Going on backstage and all the bands seemed to be much tighter. Yeah, we were all friends. I mean, the Beatles and the Stones and we hung out in the Beach Boys and all the mamas and pop. It isn't everybody. I'm back and forth soloing. Yeah. That's the industry. It seems like it's kind of segregated in different groups now.

6:54And it's not as condensed as it was back then. Well, I think what's happened is it's just become much larger. The population has exploded into the smaller numbers because there's a lot of different

8:48coffee houses and just the middle class.

11:32There still are now. But it seems that everyone was kind of changing then and now it's, I don't know, I just wish it was more like the 60s myself. I keep reading about it and wishing I had been there. How old are you? Twenty-two. Okay, yeah. So, right. Well, there are a lot of people now. I think it's going too far. It's just different. It's just like something different, you know. Something to shock and to indicate the mask. Sit down and play it with you guys.

12:22Have you ever talked to him before recording it? Yeah, we did. Both. He came to our rehearsal when we were working it up and he liked it. What's called is just a movie of him playing the folk shows and everyone would sit there and not say a word. Just be completely silent. Was it like that at your shows? Yeah, it was.

13:08No, I mean, not the birds. The birds. Why do you think that was? Well, girls like to scream. It just seems like, I'm not sure. It just seems like you guys were like superheroes almost to them. Yeah, well, you know, we were up there. We had a couple of number ones and they liked to scream. I don't know. I think they still scream at some artists. I haven't even seen bands that they scream at. Music as opposed to what they scream at now.

13:54Right, right. But the phenomenon of the girls. Free if upon your magic to worship.

14:49Oh my senses have been stripped. And my hands can't be awake. And I've closed to them to step before. Not the wheels to be wandering. Ready for to think. I did. Well, actually, video and Nashville, a computer. You know, I'm paying $6,000. I

16:50came home and did the rest of them. And I did it on a laptop. Punctuate that. We went to... And, uh... Like the way it's changed from analog now to the way we have all the digital and pro-tune stuff. Oh, yeah. I love it. It's a way to go. I mean, with tape, you used to have to go back and punch in and do it over and over again. Thanks for having me con-clip editing.

17:42You think it helps out with people who aren't as talented music? I suppose it could be a tool for people. I mean, it's possible now to make music without knowing how to play music using, uh... I think it still helps if you know music and you can play music to make really good sounding music. Cool. With all the computer stuff, it also comes out with downloading. How do you feel about that kind of stuff? I'm very much in favor of downloading. I think it's a promotion for the artist. I think that company is anyway. So, the only advantage...

18:31Do you label people who make more money? It's definitely going that way. I started my own label last year. Some money from the actual product that you sell. Yeah. Do you think it's going to get rid of the album concept, though? There's been more singles labels back when? You know, I'm still making albums. I still do... And my latest project is a 4-CD box set of the poke-in. It's a project I have on the Internet. I don't know if you noticed. I don't know if you noticed. For a free download box set of...

19:40It's wonderful. You think Paul Simon songs in there? Oh, these are all traditional songs. Oh, like way back when I got three. Yeah, yeah. B4 or two years ago. The original side of folk music was getting lost. So I started the folk-in to produce...

20:25It's good to hear. I got a list of 20 names here. You know, you can just give me either one word answers or if you have a good story about them or something like that. You know, something that pops into your head when you hear the name. David Crosby. Singer. And... Sam Parsons was simplified and loved.

21:36A love song oriented. And he got into much more detail. It's my Bob Dylan. He had a good sense of melody and a good book, some wonderful songs. And then I've done some wonderful work over the years. I think my favorite album is... Paul Simon.

22:22Or even Paul Simon. But Simon and Garfunkel, they were called... Talk to a dude and an incredible songwriter and singer. All this was the reason I got into using talent. Contract on Columbia Records. He named Benny Shapiro, managers.

23:30I'm hoping to get some local gigs in Los Angeles. And I said, Daddy, Daddy, who's that? And she thought like... I came to Miles and this thing and my daughter flipped out. She thought they were really great. And Miles said, well, kids know stuff like that. So none of that band you've been looking for. I think I got them for you. Wow. And they find us based on his recommend they even know about.

24:42And he brought it up to the... He's still doing good work. He's an amazing producer and songwriter and singer. He's like a very imaginative man. Imagine this guy.

25:28He started... When it first heard of me, he went to England and he got to be... The man in black. He was... Or Cherison. One of the days night he played it and got a record back.

26:18So I got a good friend about 20 years. He's so brilliant. He's a couple of hours. So about things that you can barely understand. Just one word. Even if I was in your head when you hear so much.