What’s Your Favorite Colour?

• filed under Music

Two decades ago I was able to arrange a short interview with Living Colour that ran in my college newspaper. I had fallen in love with their debut album, Vivid, and wanted to share it with the world, and I was thrilled to be able to talk to the band about it.

Today, full circle, as I had a chance to speak to Living Colour’s drummer, Will Calhoun, in advance of a benefit show he has organized next week in support of MoveOn.Org’s work in this election cycle. The show will take place next Wednesday, Sept. 10 at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, in Manhattan. Tickets are available here.

Twenty years ago I saw Living Colour at CBGBS and the Ritz put on the best shows I ever attended. Much has changed since then, but I have seen Living Colour many times since over the years and have always come away shaking my head in amazement. A must see show for a very good cause.

My interview with Will Calhoun follows:

Q: Let me just first say that I’ve been a big fan for a long time. I actually interviewed you guys when I was in college and we were all much younger so I’m really glad that you’re all still doing what you’re doing and very excited to see you next Wednesday.

A: Thank you very much. You know, we went through a little bit of a short break period, a down period, a pause I guess you could call it but we’re working together and touring.

Q: Living Colour has always been a very political band, very attuned, very aware. Is this the first time you’ve gotten involved in an election in this way?

A: No. The first time we were really kind of one of the first bands to organize the Rock the Vote tear out card in our CDs. If you are 18 years old with a driver’s license you should be able to vote. When Clinton signed that bill we were invited out to the White House for the signing of the Motor Voter. That was our first time of being out there.

During the Clinton era when we were out on the road we just felt like Clinton did have a sort of a galvanizing interest for younger people. We were on the road touring and we noticed playing colleges and playing rock venues or night clubs that a lot of the younger people were talking about Clinton and his campaign and how they felt like this was an opportunity for them to really feel like they were involved with that process.

So we talked about it so much in interviews and in the press, both in America and abroad, that we should do something about it and we decided to have that little tear out in our CD cover and you could sign it and send it in and that helped push the vibe of the Motor Voter Bill into fruition. We decided to ask Sony, ‘is that okay to put that in the insert’ and they said ‘yes’ and that was our first engagement in the electoral process, speaking awareness to younger people.

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