AUSTIN,
Texas (Top40 Charts) - "I'm not a keynote kind of guy, really," admitted
Robbie Robertson, singer, record executive, and legendary leader of the
Band, before giving the keynote speech at the 16th Annual South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday (March 13).
This year especially, being the keynote speaker wasn't an enviable task: In a post-Sept. 11 world, the record industry's admittedly grave problems, which include slumping record sales, pirate downloads, and lots and lots of bad records, have never seemed less relevant. Robertson wisely avoided almost any talk of the industry's woes, or of 9/11, giving instead a speech that was basically a career reminiscence.
An amiable, assured speaker, Robertson is the Forrest Gump of pop music, with a gift for being in historical places at the right time. His speech recounted chance encounters with everyone from Sammy Davis, Jr. and U2 to Edie Sedgwick and Lee Harvey Oswald assassin Jack Ruby -- and that was just the first 40 minutes.
Unlike most keynote speakers, Robertson didn't much mention the state of the record industry or the world; and unlike most keynote speakers, he was actually interesting. Some highlights:
- Meeting Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and moving with him to Woodstock to record what would become The Basement Tapes. "This guy was like, from another planet," Robertson remembered. "He looked like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket and his hair blew up."
- Hanging out in Greenwich Village with Jimi James, later known as Jimi Hendrix, with whom he would later play Woodstock.
- Living with filmmaker Martin Scorcese -- their wives had thrown them out -- with whom he collaborated on films like Raging Bull and The Color of Money.
- Making the legendary Last Waltz, a movie and concert documenting the Band's last stand, which includes appearances from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
The Last Waltz documentary and accompanying album are regarded as the best ever of their kind. Both will be re-released this year, in commemoration of their 25th anniversary.
