4B — Thursday, April 9, 2015
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
Hardworking blues
rock guitarist a
force in the local
scene
By MATT BARNAUSKAS
Daily Arts Writer
Laith Al-Saadi is always play-
ing music. From Mondays at The
Arena Sportsbar from 10:30 p.m.
to 2:00 a.m. to playing solo acous-
tic Tuesdays at the Black Pearl
from 8:00 to 11:00, then being
at Weber’s Inn every Thursday
from 8:45 p.m. until 12:45 a.m.,
the Ann Arbor native lives a life
full of blues, jazz and rock music.
He takes at least two road trips
a month, spreading his music to
other Michigan locales like Tra-
verse City and to states such as
California and New Orleans. Sit-
ting down with the local guitarist
and singer, I asked him when he
decided to take this path.
“I don’t think I decided that. I
think it was necessary because I
was so committed to making my
living as a performer and doing
nothing else,” Al-Saadi said.
For him, it started at Commu-
nity High School in Ann Arbor,
where his band leader, Mike
Grace, would let the best play-
ers, as jazz combos, go out and
play gigs in the area. The young
Al-Saadi found himself playing
three to four night a week at Uni-
versity receptions and banquets
at venues like Weber’s Inn that
would become familiar stomp-
ing grounds for the 37-year-old
musician.
“We didn’t make a lot of
money, but we did make money
off of those things, and we got
the ethic that the work was out
there if we hustled and got it.
That really resonated strongly
because I’ve never had a real job
since I turned 16 and was able to
drive. When I got my license, I
quit my job at Briarwood and I
had a car that could get the PA
system around; I started booking
my band on weekends and play-
ing during the week and that’s
it.”
Since then Al-Saadi has con-
tinued to play and develop the
musical style that was originally
sparked listening to his older
sisters’ Beatles records when he
was a kid.
“I gravitated towards music of
the late ’60s, early ’70s primarily
when I was a kid and I liked the
Beatles. Then I got into Cream
and I got into Jimi Hendrix and
Led Zeppelin. When I started
playing guitar and learning that
stuff, I found that the guitar play-
ers I most liked were really into
blues and were mostly blues play-
ers. Even when I was a kid I was
gravitating towards the music
of Ray Charles and Louis Arm-
strong, stuff that had a strong
Blues component and spiritual
and gospel components as well,
as far as harmonies and that stuff
go. From there I went to BB King
and Buddy Guy, then I got into
the guys I think I’m more into
today, once I dug a little deeper:
the Albert Kings, Elmore James
and Danny Gatton (who is one of
my favorite guitarists),” Al-Saadi
said.
It’s fascinating to listen to
Al-Saadi talk about music and
his influences. Lists of bands
and musicians tie together with
thoughts about locations that
possess their own styles, which
he then weaves into a completely
new list of artists. From these
threads, Al-Saadi’s words weave
a rich tapestry, capturing years of
blues and jazz history that span
several regions of unique music.
One
such
region
is
New
Orleans, where Al-Saadi wrote
three of the songs (“Gone,” “The
Last Time You’ll See Me Cry” and
“What It Means”) that appear on
his latest album Real, released in
2013. The album was produced
by Grammy winning producer
Jeffrey Weber, who Al-Saadi met
when he was playing down in Los
Angeles. Recorded straight to two
track with no overdubs or editing,
the album is representative of Al-
Saadi’s constant live performing.
“I think that most of the
records that I love the most were
that way, and trying to make
recordings in the past, you’re try-
ing to capture this energy of what
happens in a live performance
and make that translate,” Al-Saa-
di said. “Especially when you’re
playing music of the moment,
music
that
is
improvisation
based, where people are listen-
ing and responding to stuff that is
happening at the time, that’s the
only way to capture it.”
Real is bolstered by the pres-
ence of prominent session musi-
cians such as Larry Goldings,
Leland Sklar and Jim Keltner in
the rhythm section and Conan
O’Brien’s band leader, Jimmy
Vivino, who flew out from New
York to play in the nine-hour
recording session at the Ocean
Way Recording Studio in Holly-
wood.
“I didn’t ask for Paul McCart-
ney and didn’t ask for people of
that level, but the guys I did ask
for were my favorite session play-
ers and heroes,” Al-Saadi said.
“I didn’t really have an expecta-
tion that they would say yes, and
we got every single person who
was my first choice. I think by
the time the players lined up, the
other players getting involved in
the session were more excited
about doing it.”
Besides the New Orleans, Delta
and spiritual roots on Real, there
is the presence of Chicago Blues
in songs like, “How It’s Gonna
Be,” which Al-Saadi describes as
influenced by Howling Wolf and
Koko Taylor. Along with that is
a cover of The Band’s “Ophelia,”
a tribute to the late Levon Helm,
to whom Al-Saadi dedicated the
album.
Looking to his future, Al-Saadi
is looking forward to continuing
to perform live, notably April 17 at
the Magic Bag with Jimmy Vivi-
no, who has co-headlined shows
with Al-Saadi. He also plans to
get back in the studio as soon as
he can.
“I would say in the next year
or two you will likely see a solo
acoustic project from me and also
another live to two track blues-
rock album. I’m always writing,”
Al-Saadi said about his plans for
new albums.
However, the veteran perform-
er cautions about the future of the
art of live performance, particu-
larly within Ann Arbor.
“I have witnessed the change
of live band to DJ take place, I’ve
witnessed the demise of live ven-
ues in town. I remember when
Rick’s American Cafe had great
music and that was one of the best
spots in town to play, that brought
in great blues acts and stuff. Then
it switched to dollar pitchers and
DJs and stopped offering any-
thing of any quality and I feel like
that’s where we’re at right now,”
he said. “There’s so few venues
in town with stages ... I think in
order for things to change and
to be able to support talent-wise
what’s out there we need more
venues in town and we need peo-
ple to actually realize that they
have to go out in order to support
that stuff and make it happen.”
In the meantime, Laith Al-
Saadi will keep playing his guitar
late into the night and on into the
next day.
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Laith al-Saadi recorded his latest album, Real, with some of the best session players in the country.
EVENT PREVIEW
M-Agination festival
presents student films
By GRACE HAMILTON
Daily Arts Writer
In this year’s M-agination
Student Film Festival, an exper-
imental
music
video
called
“Legs” is just
three minutes
of
dancing
lower
limbs,
legs
commu-
nicating
with
each
other.
Another
one
of the films is
a sitcom pilot,
following a pair
of feisty twins
as they wreak
havoc through their boarding
school by orchestrating a cheat-
ing business. Several of the films
this year are musicals.
The
M-agination
produc-
ers are a board of 16 senior and
associate members, all students.
While most of them are study-
ing film, other majors are rep-
resented, such as the sciences.
They are responsible for putting
out the call for scripts each year,
deciding among the 30 to 40
usual submissions and putting
together teams to make each
film.
“It’s all about story and how
do you tell a good story in an
interesting way?” said Presi-
dent Anna Baumgarten, an LSA
senior. “We like to avoid cliché;
there are ways to put a spin on
things that we’ve seen before.
It’s really about human con-
nection, so good writing, even
with tropes we’ve seen before
like romance, can really make a
difference. The writing comes
through and you feel it.”
There are other things that
help Baumgarten and the other
producers filter through stories.
In narrative films, the producers
evaluate pacing, writing, the feel
of the dialogue and how engag-
ing the story is.
“Another thing we look for is
producability. Are there creative
ways to get it done? If it’s shot on
the moon, can we shoot that and
how do we do it? Resources are
important,” she said.
After scripts are chosen, the
writers typically become the
directors. Then, the producers
put out a crew call that anyone
within the University is wel-
come to attend. There, writers/
directors have the opportunity
to pitch their script. During this
meeting, other students may sign
up for crew roles on the films.
And M-agination is open to all
students and all ideas.
“It’s the only film organization
on campus where you can submit
any idea, and we will consider
it,” Baumgarten said. “I like how
open the format is; every produc-
er is assigned one of those scripts
and productions, and they run
their own little microorganism.
Every production is different.
There’s no set limit.”
The
unofficial
mentorship
program within the organiza-
tion also helps encourage less
experienced students interested
in film to get involved. Experi-
enced people are put in depart-
ment positions and partnered
with newer crew members. This
gives something to people that
film classes can’t.
“When you’re in a production
class, you’re with kids your same
age and experience. Learning
from (older students’) points of
views of art has been so reward-
ing,” Baumgarten says.
This
kind
of
mentorship
fosters a strong sense of col-
laboration among M-agination
members. It’s a theme that both
Baumgarten and Vice President
Anthony Kalil, an LSA Senior
mention more than once.
“There are a lot of very tal-
ented and creative people associ-
ated with our group and the best
works we see each year come
from groups who fostered a safe
space for people to express their
creativity collaboratively,” said
Kalil.
The collaboration that helps
the filmmakers and producers
improve their individual skills is
also the driving force of a film’s
beauty.
“Film is the ultimate collabor-
ative art form. You have writers,
designers, composers, acting; I
can’t think of a single creative art
form that it doesn’t include. Even
if it’s non-narrative, you’re still
conveying feeling and emotion.
It’s so cool,” she said, laughing.
The
obsessive
excitement
often seen in people with par-
ticular
passions,
like
com-
ics, Harry Potter books or, in
this case, film, shines through
Anna’s enthusiasm and ambi-
tion. Likewise, Kalil expresses
the same sentiment towards the
power of film.
“The cinematography, sound
design, costume design, acting
and everything else all try to
convey the story in their own
way. There are a lot of proj-
ects this year in the M-agina-
tion Films Festival that have
achieved the sort of artistic
synchrony and I’m excited for
everyone to see them. It’s beau-
tiful,” Kalil said.
M-agination leaves its door
open to all ideas and all faces.
As part of the University Activ-
ity Center, everyone is techni-
cally a part of the organization,
Baumgarten
noted.
If
your
form of getting involved isn’t
grabbing a camera or writing a
script, simply sit back in the the-
ater and let yourself be blown
away. Remind yourself what stu-
dents are capable of.
M-Agination
Student Film
Festival
April 18th
7:00 p.m.
Michigan Theater
Free