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Lightning has struck twice for members of Bridgehampton band Great Caesar’s Ghost, who have hit it big yet again by snagging a second feature spot for their rendition of The Rolling Stones tune “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.”
Band members Keith “Art Fiedler” Hill, Ed DiCapua, Peter “Bosco” Michne, Ray Penney, Shawn Murray, Larry Hunter and Larry Schmid first got recognition for their take on the Stones classic when it appeared on the NBC television show “My Name is Earl” a few years back, Mr. Schmid said.
Most recently, the Great Caesar’s Ghost version of the tune (which originally debuted on the 1971 Rolling Stones album “Sticky Fingers” and was named number 25 in the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine list of “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”) appeared on the Showtime series “Californication” during the season four premier, cleverly titled “Exile on Main Street,” on Sunday, January 9.
“A couple of years ago, our cover of the song was on ‘My Name Is Earl,’” Mr. Schmid explained during a recent phone interview. “And I think someone who worked on ‘Earl’ was friendly with the ‘Californication’ publicist, Nora Felder. So we got a call from Los Angeles, and found that they wanted to use the same song.”
That’s pretty much how it happened, according to Ms. Felder, who is an independent music supervisor for Picture Tunes Music. She reported during a telephone interview that she had been looking for a Rolling Stones cover for “Californication” and a music supervisor friend recommended the Great Caesar’s Ghost version.
“When you choose a song for a television show or film, it’s not just about a great song but also about how the song fits with the show,” she said. “Great Caesar’s Ghost’s song was great and it worked really well ‘behind picture,’ so that’s how we chose them.”
Music licensing is a great coup these days for any musician, so getting a second chance on the small screen was another triumph for the band. Mr. Schmid explained that the groundwork was most likely laid when the band got some of its songs on satellite radio a few years ago.
“They probably heard us initially on Sirius or XM radio, where we’ve been getting a tremendous amount of airplay on the Deep Tracks channels,” he said. “We’ve been in semi-regular rotation there since 2005.”
Great Caesar’s Ghost members, who play their own originals plus a heavy mix of jam band cover material, actually ended up covering the Stones song by accident.
“We started playing it informally, at a rehearsal,” Mr. Schmid chuckled. “Since we’re a jam band, we’re not really predisposed to The Stones. But ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ has a very non-Stones jam section at the end of it, so that, and the song’s swagger, drew us to it.”
The band’s take on the song was further seasoned, Mr. Schmid said, by guitarist Ray Penney’s work.
“It’s not an easy song to play. But Ray understands what [Rolling Stones guitarist] Keith Richards was doing on the song. And he played a great old ’54 Les Paul guitar through an equally old Fender amp, so part of the appeal lies in that guitar riff. Plus it’s a live track, and I think I sang it reasonably well,” he said.
It didn’t hurt that a few famous musician friends were there when the track was laid down, Mr. Schmid said.
“The night that track was recorded live, the sax solo in the song was played by Mario Cruz, and the guitar solo at the end was by G.E. Smith,” he reported.
The exposure on television and satellite radio seems to be paying off, as Great Caesar’s Ghost has an original single which is being considered for a Hollywood sound track, Mr. Schmid said, adding that the band has also just won a worldwide contest, sponsored by Allman Brothers founding member Dickey Betts, for performing the best version of the Allman Brothers Band’s rock instrumental “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
Ms. Felder said that she was not surprised by the band’s momentum, regardless of the competition.
“There are a limited number of placements, and of course there are a gazillion artists out there. But ... Great Caesar’s Ghost is a good band, I’d definitely consider them again” she said.
After the release of the band’s next album, “What’s Done is Done,” a mix of originals and covers that’s due out spring 2011, Great Caesar’s Ghost is looking to play more live concerts closer to home here on the East End, Mr. Schmid said.
“We’re not big travelers, so to jump on a bus and try to reinvent ourselves for a tour just isn’t in the plan,” he said. “But we’re really thankful for the airplay we’ve gotten and for the ‘Californication’ thing, so we’ll probably book some local shows. I just think it’s really cool that we’re getting recognition.”
on Jan 11, 2011