We continue our look at some of the outstanding musical guests who appeared during the first 10 years of Live From Daryl's House. Diane Birch's appearance on the show is one of the highlights, which also captured T-Bone Wolk, the now deceased musical director of the house band, at his best.
Diane Birch learned piano at an young age via the Suzuki method. She also plays violin and guitar.
As the daughter of a minister she spent her childhood in Africa and Australia before returning to Portland, Oregon. In 2006 she was playing piano at the Polo Lounge when Price happened to see her, and spontaneously invited her to come to his house for a session with his band. She was signed by S-Curve Records in 2007 and did two albums and an EP with them. Her last, Nous, self-produced and recorded in Berlin, was released in 2016.
At the time of Diane Birch's appearance on the show it was still being film on Daryl Hall's estate in Upstate New York, if you happen have sixteen plus million, it is for sale.
Continuation of my interview with Eliot Lewis
After he left the Average White Band he was recruited to do a tour with Daryl Hall
T-Bone Wolk
Eliot Lewis: It was T-Bone who called me, and said they were looking for someone to play some bass, some keys, some percussion, and asking themselves who could do that, and T-Bone said, 'You can do that. So do you want to do this little solo tour?” I said I would love to. It was perfect timing, so I did the tour. And at the end of the tour, Daryl said they would love to have me in the band, and asked me if I would like to join. The position that was open in Hall & Oates was the keyboard position, so that's why I became associated with being the keyboard player – that position just sort of stuck.
Alan Bryson: So you knew T-Bone before you joined the band.
Eliot Lewis: Oh sure, I had known T-Bone since the 90s, because there were a couple of instances where Hall & Oates and the Average White Band actually did some shows together, so we would open up for them, and I met T-Bone. I fell in love with him immediately, he was a master musician and one of the sweetest guys on the planet. We bonded, and I think that anyone who met T-Bone did, it was immediate, we just clicked. He was such a great and remarkable person and musicians, and obviously sorely missed by all of us.
Alan Bryson: You know it's strange, by watching a show like Live from Daryl's House, if you're a music lover, you get into it, and you love the guys in the background. You start watching what is going on, and I really grew to love T-Bone's guitar playing so much. He was such an impressive guy, and then later I learned that he had been the bass player for Hall & Oates, and that just killed me, because I thought he was a tremendous guitar player. So tasteful and emotive, he knew just what to play, how to play it, how loud – just everything, I loved the way he played.
T-Bone, Daryl Hall, Eliot Lewis
Eliot Lewis: He was by definition a natural born musician. His ear was so developed and like you said, you hit it right on the head, he could get on piano, on guitar, and of course he wrote a lot of those classic bass lines on a lot of the Hall & Oates music. He took that idea from me of being a multi-instrumentalist. Working along side of him, it elevated that so much because he was so proficient at so many instruments. And he was really the one who believed in me stepping into the role of the keyboard player in the band. Although I was playing keys, I never really considered myself a really good keyboard player – I'd played a little bit in the Average White Band, and I could certainly write songs and play well, but I was filling the role of some players who were really proficient. He was the one who said, “'L' you can do this, I totally believe in you.” He really gave me the encouragement, and it really made me a better musician.
Alan Bryson: I have so many favorite moments that he's on, but there was one particular episode that I want to encourage people to check out, and that's the one with Diane Birch. T-Bone seemed like he was so taken with her music and song writing and it seemed to me he put everything he had into backing her. So I want to share something that showcases his guitar work, he's playing an amplified acoustic, on a song she did called Nothing But a Miracle.
Eliot Lewis: Excellent
Alan Bryson: That was just so tastefully done.
Eliot Lewis: I'm so happy you brought that up, because with all the episodes we've done, and all the great amazing people we worked with, that's still one of the more special shows. That hit all of us, we were so taken with her. She's such a natural talent, she's like Carole King and Aretha Franklin all rolled into one, with the very natural and soulful approach she has.
We've actually stayed in touch, she's a wonderful person and I hope her career really flourishes. She's fantastic.
Alan Bryson: I think the premise of the show is great, because I don't know if I would have necessarily found out about her and bought her album, but the show is cross-generational and you learn that good music is good music, it doesn't matter if the person is 18 or 81, that's what the show is all about.
So I bought CDs from some of the young guests on the show, including hers. I have to say, as wonderfully done as her studio album was, and they went big budget on it, there were string sections and all kind of stuff -- but I prefer way she did her music with you guys.
I'm curious, do you guys get artists asking you to do like a Wrecking Crew gig (famous group of studio musicians in L.A.), because that sound is just so great. You guys could set up a recording studio and I bet you would stay booked.
Eliot Lewis: Thank you for saying that. And you know that's amazing, your perception is very attuned, because that is exactly what happened on a couple of episodes. It happened exactly with Diane Birch, I remember her saying, this is how I want my record to sound. Then her next release was very different from that record. I don't know what happened, I have the feeling that her record company sort of dictated what was going to happen. But she did say, “This is how I want my record to sound, can you guys be involved on my next record.” But it just didn't happen, but also Shelby Lynn said the same thing, which was much later on.
We actually haven't done that yet, but I certainly hope it happens. It's a great band of musicians, these guys are all top notch and it's so easy working with them all, because we have such a good relationship musically and personally.
Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for some more great musical surprises.
Photos are YouTube screen captures with effects by
