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<\/p>\nThough their names might not be widely known to the general public, the members of The Immediate Family are widely acclaimed within the business. And even after decades of lending their skills and talents to some of popular music\u2019s most well-known recordings, they maintain a jokey, offhand attitude about their importance. Asked why they think artists like Linda Ronstadt, Carole King and James Taylor started calling on them for recording sessions in the early \u201870s and beyond, bassist Leland Sklar doesn\u2019t miss a beat.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody else was busy that day,\u201d he quips.<\/p>\n
Beaten to the punch line, guitarist Waddy Wachtel chimes in a split second later. \u201cI was going to say that we had the lowest price available.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After the laughter subsides, Sklar reflects on the question. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to say, because so much of this is chemistry, the relationships that develop,\u201d he offers. Sklar admits that there have been times that he\u2019s thought to himself, \u201cThere\u2019s a guy who\u2019s actually better than me who could be doing this gig, but for some reason, I\u2019m<\/i> here.\u201d In the end, he believes, being right for a studio or live gig goes far beyond a musician\u2019s technical skill. \u201cIt\u2019s the hang, it\u2019s the relationship,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the contributions you make beyond<\/i> just playing. It\u2019s your thoughts, going into their songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back on those sessions, Sklar emphasizes an important point. \u201cIt never felt like anybody was making an effort; it was this community of players that all got together. And it was just a natural fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wachtel first met Sklar on a Bobby Womack session. \u201cThat\u2019s how we first got engaged,\u201d the guitarist recalls. \u201cAnd we\u2019re still<\/i> engaged; we never got married.\u201d Wachtel became part of the loose aggregation of session players featuring Sklar a bit later. \u201cLee and Danny [Kortchmar, guitar] and Russ [Kunkel, keyboards] were already working,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Wachtel points out that studio sessions of the early \u201870s were approached in an informal manner. \u201cIt was an open invitation to play, really,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut at the time, you\u2019d do a couple of sessions, and the next thing you know, someone was suggesting you for another date, and then another.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comparatively small coterie of players in which Sklar and Wachtel found themselves had similarities to an earlier, larger L.A. aggregation. Renowned session drummer Hal Blaine is credited with coining the name \u201cWrecking Crew\u201d to describe that informal group, one that included Glen Campbell, bassist Carol Kaye and others of great import. The Wrecking Crew played on sessions for everyone from Herb Alpert\u2019s Tijuana Brass to the Beach Boys to Dean Martin, The Monkees and Richard Harris \u2013 sometimes in the same day.<\/p>\n
The son of guitarist and noted Wrecking Crew player Tommy Tedesco was inspired to document the story of those \u201860s studio cats; Denny Tedesco\u2019s 2008 film The Wrecking Crew<\/i> is a highly-regarded document of their story. And his most recent directorial offering is the story of the that outfit\u2019s \u201870s corollary: The Immediate Family<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the beginning of The Wrecking Crew<\/i>, there\u2019s a quote of me saying that it\u2019s the story of my father and his extended family,\u201d Tedesco says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what these<\/i> guys are like: they\u2019re all brothers; they\u2019re a family.\u201d Tedesco points out that in many ways, the players known informally as the Immediate Family picked up the baton from the Wrecking Crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked Lou Adler, \u2018When you produced [Carole King\u2019s] Tapestry<\/i>, did you make a conscious decision to stop using the Wrecking Crew?\u201d Tedesco recalls. Adler replied, \u201cAbsolutely not. When Carole came in to do Tapestry<\/i>, she brought her own friends in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tedesco acknowledges the parallels between the \u201860s collective of players and the Immediate Family. But he also emphasizes a fundamental difference. The Wrecking Crew players \u201cnever left town,\u201d he says. \u201cThey were making too much money in \u201867, \u201868 to walk away from their seats.\u201d In contrast, Sklar, Wachtel and their musical pals played live, backing James Taylor and other high profile artists on concert tours. Yet like the Wrecking Crew, they effortlessly changed from one musical style to another as situations demanded.<\/p>\n
And along the way, a few of them decided to form a group of their own. Thanks to their musical associations with acts like Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell, they had acquired the informal name The Mellow Mafia. But trading in a very different style \u2013 instrumental jazz-rock fusion \u2013 Sklar, Kortchmar, Kunkel and others formed The Section. That group released three albums before its members again went their own ways.<\/p>\n
But the longtime friends and musical associates continued to feel their relationship was familial. They remained in touch even while busy with other commitments: Wachtel, for example, is Stevie Nicks\u2019 longtime musical director, and in recent years Sklar has toured with Phil Collins, Lyle Lovett, Tracy Chapman and many others. But in 2018, the two of them reunited with Kortchmar and Kunkel, adding guitarist Steve Postell. For the first time officially billing themselves as The Immediate Family, they released an album, playfully titled H<\/i>oney Don\u2019t Leave L.A<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Two EPs and two more albums would follow; the latest is 2021\u2019s self-titled release. And while those albums serve up a mix of new material and standards, in concert The Immediate Family leans toward their own versions of songs they helped make famous.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re covering all the songs we either wrote, produced or performed,\u201d Wachtel explains. \u201cDanny wrote Don Henley\u2019s \u2018All She Wants to Do is Dance\u2019 and \u2018Dirty Laundry.\u2019 I co-wrote \u2018Werewolves of London\u2019 with Warren Zevon.\u201d Audiences are treated to an evening of hits, performed by some of the guys who originally played on those recordings. \u201cThere are a lot of classic tunes in our show, and people are happy to hear them,\u201d Wachtel says, pausing to deliver yet another punch line. \u201cEven our<\/i> versions of them!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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