A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: hunter on June 17, 2020, 02:40:53 PM
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Just came across this interview with Jack. We all know his story, but he fills in some interesting details. Worth a listen.
http://www.ouramericannetwork.org/story?title=Dire-Straits-Jack-Sonni (http://www.ouramericannetwork.org/story?title=Dire-Straits-Jack-Sonni)
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thnx for the link.
listening now.
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Jack is a super cool guy, makes for a perfect drinking buddy it seems, so I understand Mark.
"Everybody was worried except for Mark" hahahahahaha :lol
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Great interview!
Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup
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Great interview!
Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup
Yes. I really want an autobiography book from Mark, because all the stories are absolutely insane from every conceivable standpoint. Travelling 1st class with a separate seat for the masters I can get it (that's MASTERS after all), but commercial flights on the tour itself — that was some shocking information. So Mark travelling by tube to his show in London is something that he did at the highest peak you can imagine (emotionally speaking), truly mindblowing. As Jack said, you'd never even imagine it, because you think that a group like this, in the 80s, playing stadiums and stuff, would tour in a private jet exclusively.
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The most interesting part for me was to hear Jack talk about the abrupt exit from DS. It really begs the question why would Mark drop someone he was obviously close to without so much as an explanation. There must be more to it from Marks side....
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The most interesting part for me was to hear Jack talk about the abrupt exit from DS. It really begs the question why would Mark drop someone he was obviously close to without so much as an explanation. There must be more to it from Marks side....
The guitar player that got fired he talks about is Hal Lindes, right? Why Mark fired him? Too many questions, no explanation :hmm
I think that it's not a technical or emotional decision, just trying something different, maybe he decided to have a real pro guitarist this time around (Phil Palmer).
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The most interesting part for me was to hear Jack talk about the abrupt exit from DS. It really begs the question why would Mark drop someone he was obviously close to without so much as an explanation. There must be more to it from Marks side....
The guitar player that got fired he talks about is Hal Lindes, right? Why Mark fired him? Too many questions, no explanation :hmm
I think that it's not a technical or emotional decision, just trying something different, maybe he decided to have a real pro guitarist this time around (Phil Palmer).
Hal Lindes caught the bug of film composing and he was asking for a more prominent role in the band to stay, and apparently he did it in a way that John Illsley described in one of his "DS stories" last tour like "When he left, we were back to calm".
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What a great interview, thanks for posting Hunter! :)
Quite an anecdote about watching the rest of the band leave from Sydney.
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I really wish Jack would publish his memoirs. He's a funny guy, got a good memory (it seems) and knows how to tell a story.
It's my impression that he is not doing very well financially; maybe the fans could convince him to publish the book himself through crowdfunding?
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I always felt sorry for Jack...
He was working on a guitar shop and ready to quit and study, when his big friend Mark called him and asked him to join DS... wow, a dream comes true, he finally get to be a rock star!
And after the last concert in Sydney, his friend Mark doesn't called him again when he was in NY doing other stuff. He not only loosed the rock and roll dream but also a friend.
Every story has two sides, I wonder why MK did that to his old friend, I wonder if anything happened between them but, with what we know, that it's Jack's side, MK wasn't nice with him in the end.
After the height of being a rock and roll star, you fell very fast to reality without any explanation. He wasn't a studio musician, but a MK close friend, and that should hurt...
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I always felt sorry for Jack...
He was working on a guitar shop and ready to quit and study, when his big friend Mark called him and asked him to join DS... wow, a dream comes true, he finally get to be a rock star!
And after the last concert in Sydney, his friend Mark doesn't called him again when he was in NY doing other stuff. He not only loosed the rock and roll dream but also a friend.
Every story has two sides, I wonder why MK did that to his old friend, I wonder if anything happened between them but, with what we know, that it's Jack's side, MK wasn't nice with him in the end.
After the height of being a rock and roll star, you fell very fast to reality without any explanation. He wasn't a studio musician, but a MK close friend, and that should hurt...
All it would have taken on Mark's part was a phone call to explain that he is going for a different artistic direction which involves other people and musicians. Jack would have been disappointed, but I think he would have understood. At least he would have gotten some kind of explanation. The fact that Mark didn't do that or reach out to Jack when it was time to do the Mandela concert is very strange.
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I always felt sorry for Jack...
He was working on a guitar shop and ready to quit and study, when his big friend Mark called him and asked him to join DS... wow, a dream comes true, he finally get to be a rock star!
And after the last concert in Sydney, his friend Mark doesn't called him again when he was in NY doing other stuff. He not only loosed the rock and roll dream but also a friend.
Every story has two sides, I wonder why MK did that to his old friend, I wonder if anything happened between them but, with what we know, that it's Jack's side, MK wasn't nice with him in the end.
After the height of being a rock and roll star, you fell very fast to reality without any explanation. He wasn't a studio musician, but a MK close friend, and that should hurt...
All it would have taken on Mark's part was a phone call to explain that he is going for a different artistic direction which involves other people and musicians. Jack would have been disappointed, but I think he would have understood. At least he would have gotten some kind of explanation. The fact that Mark didn't do that or reach out to Jack when it was time to do the Mandela concert is very strange.
Well, you have to be a little naive to think that you can stay in a band where you're like the third rhythm guitar player in 5 years or so, musicians get fired all other the place and having this frontman who fears nothing and actually would break up the band completely later that decade... As they say, what could possibly go wrong? Clearly, he got extremely lucky for the chance of a lifetime and used it in full, so nothing wrong with that.
Because I'm a hot-tempered person and sometimes kind of a jerk myself, I can understand Mark doing things like that (not calling Jack). I don't have friends at all, so no calling to a drinking buddy when I'm in town would be totally OK for me. Nothing personal, it's just a part of my personality, that some people find offensive, but people like me, they never do it with bad intentions, they just... do it. Without too much thinking involved. My theory is, if you don't like it, then just don't talk to me and never try to be friends with me, it's that easy.
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If you think really hard about it, Jack might have turned down Mark's offer. It may sound insane, but as we all know Vince Gill did it and kept his cool (but joined Eagles later in his life lol). If I were Jack, and if I had some major plans and wanted to be a rock star (why?), I'd think twice. Because you either going to be famous as "the other guitar player in Dire Straits" or not be famous at all, you have this choice when asked by Mark Knopfler to join "his little orchestra" which was Dire Straits.
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I'm curious how much contact Mark had with the other musicians in the touring band between 1986 and 1988. Very little is my guess. He toured with Alan (with Eric Clapton) and did some soundtrack work with Guy, but I can't imagine he hung out with the various band members. After a year on the road and 250 shows, that was probably the last thing he wanted. And to be honest, Jack does seem like a pretty intense guy. One thing is going for some drinks and hanging out in New York, but being that close for a year can make anyone reassess their relationship. Just thinking out loud here, but you know what I mean? Mark maybe needed a break, time rolls on, and, as the saying goes "out of sight, out of mind".
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I wonder if Jack hadn’t turned down Mandela would he have made it to OES? I doubt it myself.
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I wonder if Jack hadn’t turned down Mandela would he have made it to OES? I doubt it myself.
I don't see why not. Provided he and Mark had stayed in touch. Phil Palmer is a much better guitarist, but his parts during the OES tour were fairly simple and nothing that Jack wouldn't be able to do. Phil having the charisma of a cruise ship waiter, I wish Jack had been part of that tour to provide some life on the stage.
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If you think really hard about it, Jack might have turned down Mark's offer. It may sound insane, but as we all know Vince Gill did it and kept his cool
Maybe Vince Gill knew how the story would end and chose to say no.
It's really hard to know who MK really is but I have the feeling he is not really a nice guy in the sense that if you want to last in this line of work you have to be tough.
- Fire those you don't want to work with anymore without a call... check
- Almost forget you ever had a little brother and basically ruin his dream of stardom check
- Split a band because you're not in the mood anymore check
- "start over" as successfully as before unhindered by any of your past decisions check
- never pay attention to what your fan base would love you to do check over time
- Play what you like only
- write a song or 2 to demolish your old pals because they are using something you chose to forget about
Manu Katché, a famous french jazz drummer, who played on the original Heavy fuel and Planet of New Orleans recordings, published a book about his career. What he has to say about MK is also revealing and reminiscent of the way MK treated Jack Sonni.
Katché said that he was hired to redo some of the drumming in the record. He talks about endless repetitions of the song until suddenly MK in the mixing room starts jumping around and clapping because apparently Katché had done something good. The thing is, Katché adds, MK hadn’t talked to him all day not even to say hi. So he didn’t know what he, MK, wanted. Next thing you know MK was taking him for a drink and asking him to join him for the On every street tour which Katché turned down not wanting to work for someone like that he says.
For those of you fluent in French, it’s here at the 9th minutes mark. The guy is in a talk show, promoting a book about the famous musicians he worked with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUuBGWFgDo&t=681s
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If you think really hard about it, Jack might have turned down Mark's offer. It may sound insane, but as we all know Vince Gill did it and kept his cool
Maybe Vince Gill knew how the story would end and chose to say no.
It's really hard to know who MK really is but I have the feeling he is not really a nice guy in the sense that if you want to last in this line of work you have to be tough.
- Fire those you don't want to work with anymore without a call... check
- Almost forget you ever had a little brother and basically ruin his dream of stardom check
- Split a band because you're not in the mood anymore check
- "start over" as successfully as before unhindered by any of your past decisions check
- never pay attention to what your fan base would love you to do check over time
- Play what you like only
- write a song or 2 to demolish your old pals because they are using something you chose to forget about
Manu Katché, a famous french jazz drummer, who played on the original Heavy fuel and Planet of New Orleans recordings, published a book about his career. What he has to say about MK is also revealing and reminiscent of the way MK treated Jack Sonni.
Katché said that he was hired to redo some of the drumming in the record. He talks about endless repetitions of the song until suddenly MK in the mixing room starts jumping around and clapping because apparently Katché had done something good. The thing is, Katché adds, MK hadn’t talked to him all day not even to say hi. So he didn’t know what he, MK, wanted. Next thing you know MK was taking him for a drink and asking him to join him for the On every street tour which Katché turned down not wanting to work for someone like that he says.
For those of you fluent in French, it’s here at the 9th minutes mark. The guy is in a talk show, promoting a book about the famous musicians he worked with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUuBGWFgDo&t=681s
I absolutely agree, young Mark seems to me the man with a character so tough so as strong his songwriting talent, I mean VERY strong. Of course, now he's a kind and old (grand?)dad, but we're all different when we're young. You don't need to work with him to know that he was tough, especially baked by evidence, stories, constant lineup changes, etc. However, with that said, John Illsley and few people like that, who've stayed until the end (or more like until now) are also telling us something.
It means that if you're really loyal, smart and skilful, Mark will "spare your life", but if you're dumb, overly ambitious or not interested, you got to go. In that sense, Mark is a very rational human being. Remember, Mark is the same guy who can write an awful song (in terms of its message) about his ex-band members, but at the same time plays with Danny Cummings, who also plays with all these people. So it goes to show that Mark just very cautious when it comes to people from his circle.
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It would be really interesting to have a skilled psychologist do an analysis of all the interviews with Mark plus stories and anecdotes from other people.
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Great interview. Pity he had to come back from Oz. ;)
Thanks Hunter.
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Great interview!
Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup
Yes. I really want an autobiography book from Mark, because all the stories are absolutely insane from every conceivable standpoint. Travelling 1st class with a separate seat for the masters I can get it (that's MASTERS after all), but commercial flights on the tour itself — that was some shocking information. So Mark travelling by tube to his show in London is something that he did at the highest peak you can imagine (emotionally speaking), truly mindblowing. As Jack said, you'd never even imagine it, because you think that a group like this, in the 80s, playing stadiums and stuff, would tour in a private jet exclusively.
There are soooo many rumors cruising this planet about Mark Knopfler. I don`t care. The man himself only knows the reasons for the decisions he had made in the past.
There is no better storyteller than Mark Knopfler, so I am hoping sometime he will sit down - alone or with wife Kitty - to write down his memoirs. For his kids, his grandkids, his fans or at least to please himself.
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If you think really hard about it, Jack might have turned down Mark's offer. It may sound insane, but as we all know Vince Gill did it and kept his cool
Maybe Vince Gill knew how the story would end and chose to say no.
It's really hard to know who MK really is but I have the feeling he is not really a nice guy in the sense that if you want to last in this line of work you have to be tough.
- Fire those you don't want to work with anymore without a call... check
- Almost forget you ever had a little brother and basically ruin his dream of stardom check
- Split a band because you're not in the mood anymore check
- "start over" as successfully as before unhindered by any of your past decisions check
- never pay attention to what your fan base would love you to do check over time
- Play what you like only
- write a song or 2 to demolish your old pals because they are using something you chose to forget about
Manu Katché, a famous french jazz drummer, who played on the original Heavy fuel and Planet of New Orleans recordings, published a book about his career. What he has to say about MK is also revealing and reminiscent of the way MK treated Jack Sonni.
Katché said that he was hired to redo some of the drumming in the record. He talks about endless repetitions of the song until suddenly MK in the mixing room starts jumping around and clapping because apparently Katché had done something good. The thing is, Katché adds, MK hadn’t talked to him all day not even to say hi. So he didn’t know what he, MK, wanted. Next thing you know MK was taking him for a drink and asking him to join him for the On every street tour which Katché turned down not wanting to work for someone like that he says.
For those of you fluent in French, it’s here at the 9th minutes mark. The guy is in a talk show, promoting a book about the famous musicians he worked with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUuBGWFgDo&t=681s
I absolutely agree, young Mark seems to me the man with a character so tough so as strong his songwriting talent, I mean VERY strong. Of course, now he's a kind and old (grand?)dad, but we're all different when we're young. You don't need to work with him to know that he was tough, especially baked by evidence, stories, constant lineup changes, etc. However, with that said, John Illsley and few people like that, who've stayed until the end (or more like until now) are also telling us something.
It means that if you're really loyal, smart and skilful, Mark will "spare your life", but if you're dumb, overly ambitious or not interested, you got to go. In that sense, Mark is a very rational human being. Remember, Mark is the same guy who can write an awful song (in terms of its message) about his ex-band members, but at the same time plays with Danny Cummings, who also plays with all these people. So it goes to show that Mark just very cautious when it comes to people from his circle.
Hey Pavel, which song are you referring to?
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Hey Pavel, which song are you referring to?
"Terminal of Tribute to".
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Hey Pavel, which song are you referring to?
"Terminal of Tribute to".
That, of course, is the Terminal Of Tribute To. From the moment I saw the title I thought — what a strange title. But when you hear the lyrics, and oh my...
Good that Mark reused pretty much the same idea and released it on his newest album (Back On The Dance Floor), instead of putting it as a bonus track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKx3-w3VisA
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Hey Pavel, which song are you referring to?
"Terminal of Tribute to".
That, of course, is the Terminal Of Tribute To. From the moment I saw the title I thought — what a strange title. But when you hear the lyrics, and oh my...
Good that Mark reused pretty much the same idea and released it on his newest album (Back On The Dance Floor), instead of putting it as a bonus track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKx3-w3VisA
Ah now it makes sense. Yea the song never kind of clicked on me, and just now I saw the lyrics, and all holy hell it’s probably the most “negative” song by Mark I know. Guess I’ll keep skipping it
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It's really hard to know who MK really is but I have the feeling he is not really a nice guy in the sense that if you want to last in this line of work you have to be tough.
- Fire those you don't want to work with anymore without a call... check
- Almost forget you ever had a little brother and basically ruin his dream of stardom check
- Split a band because you're not in the mood anymore check
- "start over" as successfully as before unhindered by any of your past decisions check
- never pay attention to what your fan base would love you to do check over time
- Play what you like only
While a blunt reading of these attributes is negative, the psychology of stubbornly following your own guiding star seems to serve artistic genius well in terms of the art that is produced. Thinking of Bob Dylan's career also.
A 'nice' guy may have tried to follow 80's trends, deliberately write hit singles to please fans etc etc.
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Funny because in my opinion Mark’s a very easy man to read. He’s controlling and knows what he’s doing. If you go along with that and do your job you’re good - and of course you have to deliver. Regarding Jack let’s not forget Mark toured with Clapton, recorded with Atkins and interacted with several top guitar players after the BIA tour an before OES was a thing. At some point in between he realised he wanted someone like Vince Gill or Phil Palmer to be next to him, a more professional approach if you will. The real problem here is not even calling Jack but we only know one side of the story so I won’t judge.