John Sebastian will perform a solo acoustic show to kick off the ‘On Patriot’s Stage’ series.
By: Susan Van Dongen
Somewhere in the middle of a recent benefit concert with David Grisman, John Sebastian realized some of the music on the set list was on the wrong side of 40, maybe even 45 years old.
"We just reverted to all this ancient jug band music," Mr. Sebastian says, speaking from California, where he’s working on a recording project with Mr. Grisman. "David and I go back to age 16 in Greenwich Village. We were hanging around the same places, listening to the same music, then we both went to NYU."
In the mid-’60s, he spun pop gold with the Lovin’ Spoonful by electrifying this acoustic material. A string of joyful and wry tunes hit the top of the charts, songs like "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream" and the number-one hit "Summer in the City."
The Lovin’ Spoonful was so hot, Woody Allen tapped the group for the soundtrack to What’s Up, Tiger Lily? They also wrote the music for You’re a Big Boy Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s master thesis at U.C.L.A. film school.
Now Mr. Sebastian is back to his roots, in a solo acoustic tour that will bring him to Trenton for an appearance On Patriot’s Stage Oct. 19. He’ll kick off the new season of intimate on-stage concerts at the War Memorial.
"I really enjoy this one guy-one guitar format," Mr. Sebastian says. "It’s a way to get the Lovin’ Spoonful stuff out there, although I have to say they’re like cartoon versions of the real songs. Since it’s just me on guitar, it’ll be like broad musical strokes just to sketch the way the song sounded originally."
Another generation discovered Mr. Sebastian after he wrote and recorded the theme to the TV show Welcome Back, Kotter a song that went to number one in 1976. An even younger group of fans is coming out to his performances although "…they might be dragged to the concerts against their will by their parents," Mr. Sebastian jokes.
Like Brian Wilson and Ray Davies, Mr. Sebastian is known for being a master at crafting three- and even two-minute gems. "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" comes in just shy of two minutes, in fact.
"’She’s a Lady’ is the shortest of the short," Mr. Sebastian says. "When I was first writing, there was a magic (length) for records, like two minutes, 25 seconds any longer and radio programmers said the audience would lose their minds."
The greatest songwriters have noted how difficult it is to write so concisely to get your thoughts down in a brief period of time but Mr. Sebastian says it seems to suit him just fine.
"I don’t have any ‘how does he do it’ secret," he says. "My thoughts aren’t really that involved, I guess. They kind of fit in well to two and a half minutes since I’m easily distracted."
John Sebastian will perform On Patriots Stage, Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, West Lafayette and Barrack streets, Trenton, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $45. For information, call (609) 984-8400. On the Web: www.onpatriotsstage.com. John Sebastian on the Web: www.johnsebastian.com

