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Historic Folk Rocker with a Legendary Past Thrives in the Present and Is Hopeful For the Future! A Kweevak.com Rock Report by Rich and Laura Lynch Richie Havens is a timeless, soulful singer and has been a voice for brotherhood and personal freedom for over four decades. Richie was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of nine children and from an early age Havens was interested in music. In his formative years he was in a number of neighborhood doo-wop singing groups and at age twenty Richie moved to Greenwich Village, eventually gaining respect in the emerging folk scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
 Richie Havens on stage in Wyckoff, New Jersey! Havens achieved major recognition in 1969 as the opening act at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair. Richie's galvanizing set with numerous ovations ran for over three hours and Havens had unexpectedley run through all of his material. Thinking fast, Richie performed an improvised version of "Motherless Child" in which he added the now famous repetitive "Freedom" refrain. The song was featured in the 1971 film about the Woodstock festival and "Freedom" became an international hit. In the 1970's, Havens founded his own label (Stormy Forest) and released a number of successful singles and albums. Richie also co-founded Northwind Undersea Institute as an oceanographic children's museum on City Island in The Bronx. This act led to the creation of The National Guard, which is an educational organization that teaches children to study nature in their communities. The National Guard shows kids how to make positive changes in the environment from something as simple as planting a garden in an abandoned lot. Throughout the years, Richie has toured relentlessly and has released over two dozen albums. In addition to music, he also paints, sculpts and in the past decade, creates art on the computer. Havens is also noted for his strumming skills. Richie's guitar playing makes extensive use of open D tunings and unconventional thumb-fretting. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds recalls his days in the Greenwich Village coffeehouses stating "back then a hat was passed around to collect money for the performers and people would say don't play after Richie Havens", revealing that no one wanted to follow the energetic singer and strummer. Today, Havens is still that impressive performer who has continued to evolve as a player and a person. Richie states that "making music is a continuous journey, and one that advances a step further with each album. My albums are meant to be a chronological view of the times we've come through, what we've thought about, and what we've done to grow and change. There's a universal point to which we all respond, and where all songs apply to everyone." Rennie of R Giant Music greeted the capacity crowd at the Carl Pfeifer Performing Arts Center in Wyckoff, New Jersey on April 13, 2007 with fond memories of listening to Richie Havens' music from a box full of found records. Rennie also mentioned that in addition to upcoming concerts including Colin Hay and The Duprees, the Center is also now hosting various events and on-going art exhibits. Rennie introduced Walter Parks and Stephanie Winters, formally known as The Nudes. Walter started the set, playing a National guitar with a metal circular base that creates a twangy sound like a banjo. Stephanie is a skillful cellist who has performed and recorded with over 100 artists. The two played an innovative set of mostly instrumentals with some vocal sound effects to enhance the mood. Their performance consisted of some of Walter's more recent songs that have a southern swamp flavor enhanced by the classical sounds of Winters's cello. Both are accomplished players, utilizing various techniques to craft rich texture and tones. Walter and Stephanie's performance was a diverse mix of up-tempo instrumentals and more serious, slower songs. Their version of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" was stellar with both sharing vocal responsibilities. They mentioned that they are honored to be traveling with Richie Havens and thanked the attentive audience for listening. "Hope and Waiting" was a complex composition starting off with Walter plucking his guitar creating an effect that reminded me of rain, then transition into strumming, which melded beautifully with Stephanie's rich melodies. A strong close for the talented duo. Richie Havens is a tall, dignified man. He was dressed in a long, dark shirt with matching slacks and his lengthy fingers were clad in silver rings. Richie was warmly received by the audience and he in turn said he was glad to be here, "absolute glad to be anywhere." For close to two hours, Havens shared his insights, observations, songs and stories. Richie started off talking about his days in Greenwich Village, writing poetry and how people back then would share music. Leading up to the first song of his set, Richie mentioned that he sang this song for years and someone came up to him and asked him to "write it down for me." As was the custom, Richie did and that unnamed someone (Jimi Hendrix) recorded it. "It was so good, I did not play it for years," stated Havens but "All Along The Watchtower" has found its way back into Richie's repertoire. Havens also explained how Dylan personally handed him a demo of this track early on, thus he served as a conduit for one of rock's greatest recording moments to take place. His version of the Dylan classic was soulful yet fast with Havens' fingers flying over the acoustic fret. Walter Parks, who accompanied Richie for the show, added animated riffs to the mix. "Paradise" was a beautiful song about spiritual searching accented by Richie's strong strumming and Park's colorful chord structures. "Way Down Deep" was fast and furious but Walter kept pace with a funky groove. Richie utilized the whole upper part of the strings playing right up to the bridge. Both musicians added multi-hued textures and tones to the entire acoustic set. Throughout the evening, Richie a spokesman for his era, had a lot to say about the government, everyday people and the next generation of citizens who will be cleaning things ups. He mused how today his largest emerging fan base is the four foot tall contingent - the children and grandchildren of his very earliest fans - who often come up to him to compliment him on his songs. After some insightful comments, Havens played a passionate rendition of Jackson Browne's "Lives In The Balance" that tied in well with some of Richie's previous remarks. His version started off with a slightly Latin flavor building up in intensity with the urgency of the message of the song. Walter added sparks to this politically charged song. After performing a moving version of Dylan's "License To Kill", someone in the audience shouted out "Follow". Havens stated that he had not done it in a while but he would take a chance. After a few missed cues, Richie came in on the visually, powerful song and Parks was quick to add texture and twang with his National guitar. Afterwards, Havens said something about how the good songs are always nearby hovering around him. Stephanie joined the men on stage for the rest of the concert, starting with a cover of Gary Wright's "My Love Is Alive". The guitar parts were complex and Winters's cello in the low ranges added to the dynamic of the dramatic song. Stephanie alternated techniques using short strokes mixed with the more traditional long bow method. The song progressed with Richie increasing the stride to the frenzied close. Richie has the uncanny ability of playing classic songs and making them his own through his innovative interpretations. His version of "Here Comes The Sun" shimmered with all three musicians utilizing various techniques to enrich the song. Next was a thematic segue into "By The Grace of the Sun", which gave room for each player to shine individually but contributing collectively to the song that served as a strong symbol of Havens' ongoing message of hope for a better world. "Woodstock" was also wonderful, played in a slow expansive way allowing the story to tell itself both instrumentally and vocally. "Freedom" was the highlight of the evening featuring fast fret work and dynamic instrumentation. Walter got the crowd to clap along as the pace of the song increased until Havens ended it with a kick and a prayer bow to the crowd, stating "share it" as he walked off the stage. The encore was Pink Floyd's "On The Turning Away". Richie left his trusty black guitar on a stool as he soulfully sang the song as Walter and Stephanie contributed subtle instrumentation. Havens sort of danced to the song with expansive arm gestures while covering his eyes in a dramatic close to a stellar set by the legendary Richie Havens. Richie Havens is a national treasure and valued cultural icon. He is a distinctive and talented musician who is also an advocate for brotherhood and the environment. Havens may be an elder statesman of the 60's, but like many great artists he is still evolving and well worth seeing in a live setting.
 Richie Havens is still making meaningful music! Originally Published: 04/15/2007 on Kweevak.com
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