August 8, 2009 - When you close your eyes and listen to
Paolo Nutini
's new album, Sunny Side Up, you can hear echoes of
Bob Marley
,
Otis Redding
or a young Dean Martin. Nutini grew up in Scotland, and as Daniel Zwerdling found out, he is very, very Scottish.
First, Zwerdling couldn't figure out if Nutini was saying "bunt" or "burnt" after talking about the multigenerational fish-and-chips shop his family owns.
"It's been there for about over 100 years. I worked there for a little while. My father would probably argue otherwise that I didn't," Nutini says. "It's harder than writing any song. You can get burnt."
Then Zwerdling mistakenly heard "clown" for "count."
"My father — he always wanted me to try to do something else," Nutini says. "He never really wanted me to come into the shop. But it was in the family, so he said, 'Let's not count our chickens.' I could be in there for years."
Nutini calls his singing voice more a "croak" than anything, yet it produces an unusual and beautiful sound. In an interview, he performs "The Rich Folks" and talks vocal exercises.
On the rooftops of adjoining buildings missiles are discreetly placed should they be needed to combat terrorist attacks.
But we're calmly waved through the gate and within seconds Scotland's hottest young pop star and myself are strolling through the corridors of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, The White House.
When it comes to getting backstage it's got to be the ultimate "Access All Areas" pass.
It also helps if you have friends in high places. Two of President Barack Obama's aides are big Paolo Nutini fans.
So, when the 22-year-old singer hit Washington DC for a sell-out gig at the 9.30 Club as part of his US tour they asked to go on the guest list.
They were only too happy to return the favour. Sadly, President Obama wasn't home - he'd flown to Ohio to deliver a speech on health care.
But it didn't matter. I had to pinch myself as I walked along corridors decorated with portraits of US Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt - and more recent residents such as RonaldReagan, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton.
We were shown into the ornate Red Room where George Bush Sr hosted a romantic Valentine's Day dinner for wife Laura each year.
Outside the bay window of the Oval Office in the East Wing - one of four in The White House - is the helipad where a disgraced Richard Nixon waved a final farewell as he boarded a chopper to leave after resigning in 1974.
The Paisley-born singer tried to sum up what was a once-in-a- lifetime experience.
He said: "It was a privilege to be IN The White House and get an insight into how Barack Obama is running the country.
"He's the first real rock 'n' roll president - a fan of U2, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi - so it's good to know he's got a bit of a record collection.
"The visit got me wanting to read more about US Presidents of the past and hear all their little quirks.
"Obama seems to have a very rounded opinion of the people he's leading. He appears to have the ability to connect with everyone and is very accessible. I get nothing but positivity and encouragement from the President."
We were led into the Presidential Library which is stacked floor- to-ceiling with leather-bound books.
It was easy to imagine John F Kennedy, Jimmy Carter or George W Bush sitting reading tomes such as The War Department Records Of World War II, The Lives And Legends Of Buffalo Bill or Bob Dylan: Lyrics 1962 - 2001.
Paolo said: "The highlight for me was seeing the portrait of John F Kennedy which was painted after his assassination in 1963.
"In the painting, JFK is looking down towards the ground because the artist didn't feel he could capture a fair reflection of his eyes without painting him from life.
"That's why he chose to capture him with his gaze towards the floor. It was a very gracious thing to do.
"Standing inside the Presidential Library I tried to imagine some of the decisions, both overhand and underhand, which had been made there."
Paolo is touring America hoping to build on his phenomenal success on home soil.
In 2006, his debut album These Streets reached No. 3 in the UK charts, producing four hit singles - Last Request, Jenny Don't Be Hasty, Rewind and New Shoes, and sold more than one million copies.
The following year the singer duetted with The Rolling Stones at the Isle Of Wight Festival and guested on the bill of the Led Zeppelin reunion concert at the O2 Arena in London, a tribute to record mogul Ahmet Ertegun who died in 2006.
In 2009, Paolo released follow-up album, Sunny Side Up which shot straight to No. 1 and features singles Candy and Coming Up Easy.
The likeable singer is realistic enough to realise cracking the vast American record market will be tough.
But he's prepared for the long haul. He told me: "I know I'm not yet on the brink of making a massive leap in America. But I'm pleased with the success I'm enjoying here so far 'cause it's been achieved the right way, through word of mouth at a realgrassroots level."
In the States, Paolo is signed to the legendary Atlantic Records. The label was founded in 1947 by Turkish-American music mogul Ahmet Ertegun ... the man who signed Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
Ertegun, who also founded the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, was so impressed by Paolo's amazing voice that he came out of retirement aged 82 to mentor the singer. One of Paolo's earliest US gigs was sharing the stage of the famous Carnegie Hall in New Yorkwith Liza Minnelli and Kid Rock for a charity concert.
Paulo recalled: "I first met Ahmet in 2005 when I played The Mercury Lounge in New York supporting The Zutons. He loved New Shoes. He walked over and said: 'Hey kid, that shoes song ... it's a hit, it's a hit'. Ahmet was a very commanding figure. It wasa great moment for me. I went to his office at Atlantic the next day for a proper chat and that was a real big deal.
"I was trying to keep my bubbly excitement back a little bit because this was the guy who signed Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Musically, it doesn't get much better than that.
"He said: 'Write, record and show us what you can do. I think you can have an amazing career'."
Paolo can pinpoint his fascination with US culture not to records but movies. He told me: "I first discovered America more through films such as the 1940 Walt Disney classic, Pinocchio.
I remember seeing Jiminy Cricket, who was voiced by Cliff Edwards, sing When You Wish Upon A Star.
"It made a big impression and even now when that song comes on my Ipod shuffle I start bubbling.
"I also got to know every track in Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book ... some of the melodies in those songs are fantastic.
"I remember seeing 1993 movie The Sandlot - a US comedy about kids playing baseball - and the soundtrack which featured The Drifters, Booker T And The MGs was great.
"In the film, Ray Charles sings America The Beautiful. It's my favourite vocal ever. His sound is very raw and made a huge impression on me."
Paolo added: "I graduated to hearing records on legendary labels such as Atlantic and Stax.
"To be honest, the US grunge music scene in Seattle in 1991, led by Nirvana and Pearljam, just passed me by. So did Britpop with Oasis and Blur three years later. I had more of a fascination with classic American singers like Ray Charles and Ben E King... they were the artists who gave me my real music education.
"The Italian-American jazz singer Louis Prima was another influence. His voice is like a holler ... but his sound is so light and romantic."
The singer is confident fans will reap the benefit of his American adventures on future albums.
He said: "Just travelling across this vast country is so different - the landscape in a place like Colorado is so cinematic yet it's competely the opposite of say Brooklyn, New York.
"I find it so creative. So, I'm sure what I've seen here will subconsciously filter into my songs. I really hope it does. If I'm sitting in the Manna Cafe, over the road from the 9.30 Club, and a song comes I'm going to jump on it, believe me.
"When it comes to music I wouldn't rule anything out. Never."
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/133663191
13.07.09.
As his publicist brings him his
favourite lunch of sushi (he wishes it had come with sake)
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/113689/Career-and-love-life-are-looking-Sunny-for-Paolo-Nutini/
He made his last request in his latest tune. But when was the last time that Paolo Nutini dressed up like a lady or wet his pants? We want answers!
|
|
TOTP:
When was the last time you got talking to someone in a toilet?
Paolo: T in the Park. It was some random guy called George and it was about how good we thought The Who were going to be.
TOTP:
And were they?
Paolo: No. I just found myself at one point disappearing to see Kasabian. I think I made the mistake of watching their 1975 L.A. performance. It's just so good that I maybe went in with my expectations too high.
TOTP:
Are you the kind of person that generally starts conversations in the toilet?
Paolo: Well, it depends if the people I'm in the toilet with are in the same mood as me and in the same spirits as me and if they are, then I like talking to nice people.
TOTP:
Isn't there a protocol in men's toilets?
Paolo: Emmm... try not to take too long?
TOTP:
I thought there were rules about not making eye contact and not talking?
Paolo: I should hope you're making eye contact. If you're not making eye contact, where are you looking?
TOTP:
So you're the kind of man that throws toilet protocol to the wind, then?
Paolo: That's it! Smash the rules!
TOTP:
When was the last time that you dressed up as a lady?
Paolo: For a school uniform night in Glasgow. I had the full pop socks, skirt, school uniform. And I actually found out that my hips were quite nice.
TOTP:
So you quite fancied yourself, then?
Paolo: Yeah... from the back. My legs are a bit hairy, mind.
TOTP:
Well, you know how to change that...
Paolo: Ah, no. I'm not sure that I want to go down that road. The only time that I've ever shaved any part of my body, it was when I got my arms shaved to have my tattoo.
TOTP:
Does hair grow back over a tattoo?
Paolo: Yeah. By looking at my head you can tell that my hair grows very fast. I've got a big huge bird's nest.
TOTP:
What's your tattoo?
Paolo: It's three Texas stars. I had it done in Texas. It was sort of half-planned. I was a little drunk and I sort of ran out of money half-way through, so I only managed to get the three, whereas I wanted them to go round my forearm.
TOTP:
Was it painful?
Paolo: It was almost like a little bee running its sting up and down your arm.
TOTP:
Well, the being drunk probably helped.
Paolo: Nyehhh, even a little bee running its sting up and down you sobers you up slightly.
TOTP:
Not as bad as childbirth, though is it, eh?
Paolo: Well, when I gave birth to a child it was much less sore than when I got a tattoo.
TOTP:
When was the last time that you saw a picture of yourself and you thought "what am I wearing?"
Paolo: I got a picture of my first school concert and I'm wearing this awful yellow and green check Ben Sherman shirt. I look like an idiot. And I was a wee fat kid as well.
TOTP:
Really?
Paolo: Not fat fat, but a chubby little kid. And because I used to always shave my head and my hair used to grow so fast, it used to always grow out in three days. Number three. That's the way it used to go in high school -by numbers. "What you got?", "I got a number three", "Oh, I got a number one."
TOTP:
So now, was it baby fat? Or was it all of the chips from your dad's chipshop?
Paolo: A mixture of the two. Probably about nine packets of crisps a day. But I was a lot fitter then. Now I'm skinny but I'm not too fit.
TOTP:
When was the last time you wet your pants?
Paolo: [Incredulously] What? The last time I wet my pants? Oh, it was when I was about 8 or 9 and I went sledging and I thought that I was going to go right over the edge of a cliff and I wet my pants.
TOTP:
But you didn't go over the cliff, though?
Paolo: No, we didn't.
TOTP:
That's right. I've seen your video. There are no scars. Well, no obvious scars.
Paolo: No visible ones...
TOTP:
When was the last time that you were chatted up?
Paolo: Emmm... last night, I think. The girl was very keen.... but yeah... last night.
TOTP:
Do you get chatted up a lot?
Paolo: Ehh... yeah. I tend to get into a lot of conversations with girls. It's just funny to see girls who wouldn't usually spit on you if you were on fire. And then suddenly they're showing a keen interest after they hear you sing.
TOTP:
Now, it's not their fault that they fall in love with you, Paolo.
Paolo: Yeah, but it's funny to watch!
TOTP:
We're very surprised by your hair revelations because we're very jealous of your 'do. When was the last time that you had a bad hair day?
Paolo: Oh well... On Sunday at T in the Park, I had alot to celebrate. I had the album, I had a front page Scottish drug scandal.
TOTP:
You did??
Paolo: Aye! Crazy journalist misconstrued what I said, giving false quotes. But it was front page of the Scottish Sun! Come on! So I had a lot to celebrate, I had Italy winning the World Cup, I had a Scottish Number 1. So I was very, very happy. And I didn't sleep at all that night. I camped there and I didn't get any sleep. When I got up from lying down in my tent. My hair was absolutely amazing. It looked like Ace Ventura's.
TOTP:
When was the last time that you wished you were invisible?
Paolo: Probably every day in P.E. class. The boys and the girls dressing rooms were very close together, if you get my drift.
TOTP:
When was the last time that you embarrassed yourself on a dance floor?
Paolo: Every time I go on a dancefloor. If I'm in the mood to go on the dancefloor it means that I'm not afraid of embarrassing myself.
TOTP:
Would a quantity of alcohol have been consumed when this happens?
Paolo: Yeah. My dancing's kind of a mix of bad Michael Jackson and Peter Kay.
TOTP:
So, when was the last time that you were on a dancefloor and drunk enough to feel the King of the world?
Paolo: We managed to blag our way into this party in Liverpool. The Beach Boys ' Get Around' was on and I thought 'I'm the s***!'"
TOTP:
And I'm sure that for that moment only, you were...
Paolo: In my own little special way! I'm sure my mum would have thought I was.
TOTP:
What was your last job?
Paolo: I worked in my dad's chip shop. It was FANTASTIC. I wish I did it a little bit more, because I don't get to see him much anymore.
TOTP:
So, now. What's the story with deep fried Mars bars?
Paolo: Nobody puts it on their menu, so to speak, but if you want it, they'll make it.
TOTP:
Is there any limit to the things that you can have fried?
Paolo: Maltesers don't happen. Do you know how long it takes to find each malteser in a fryer?
TOTP:
Have you learned that the hard way?
Paolo: No somebody asked and I just said that it wasn't going to happen. Try deep fried Snickers - it's phenomenal!
| /TD>