美国国家公共电台 NPR Susan Tedeschi And Derek Trucks, Partners In Music And In Life

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks are partners in work and in life. They're musicians who married, then married their music.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SIGNS, HIGH TIMES")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) Here I am. I did it to myself, but I still don't know what I'm here for.

INSKEEP: That's Susan Tedeschi fronting the Tedeschi Trucks Band. They're linked to some of the biggest names in blues¹ rock and have a devoted² following of their own. And they brought their instruments by our studios to show what they do.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MEET ME IN THE BOTTOM")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) Well, meet me at the bottom. Bring me my running shoes.

INSKEEP: She bends her voice into blue notes, tones between the regular notes on a scale. He bends the voice of his guitar, moving a slide, a glass tube up and down the strings³.

DEREK TRUCKS: You know, you can really emulate⁴ the human voice with this lad.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUITAR STRUMMING)

INSKEEP: So how do you take the chaos⁵ that is the life of a travelling musician and make that your family life? The story starts with the Allman Brothers, a famous rock band. Derek played with them in the late '90s, and Susan was their opening act.

SUSAN TEDESCHI: Derek actually had started with the Allman Brothers in June of '99, right around his 20th birthday. So you were - what? - like, a month into being 20 (laughter) when I met you, and I was 28.

INSKEEP: Oh.

TEDESCHI: So I'm a little older.

TRUCKS: Cradle robbing.

TEDESCHI: And I told him he was too young for me, but everybody knows he's an older soul than I am.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MEET ME IN THE BOTTOM")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) When you see me streaking⁶ by, please don't be late.

INSKEEP: In their first years together, they played in separate bands. Their songs sounded a little more traditional than other artists'. Here is a sign of the choices they made. Susan Tedeschi was nominated for a Grammy as best new artist.

The other nominees⁷, if I'm not mistaken, were Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Kid Rock, Britney Spears...

TEDESCHI: That's right.

INSKEEP: ...And you.

TEDESCHI: Who would've thought?

(LAUGHTER)

INSKEEP: We're getting at your passion here, I think, because it's probably fair to say that these other four nominees made certain commercial choices, maybe agreed to do the things you didn't want to do.

TEDESCHI: Absolutely. And I was fine with them doing it. I didn't want to do it.

TRUCKS: Yeah.

TEDESCHI: I mean, I'm out there to please people, make people happy through music. And...

TRUCKS: Yeah.

TEDESCHI: ...The only way to do it is to be true to yourself. And Derek really helped support me through a lot of that, actually.

TRUCKS: And we've been fortunate 'cause we've been able to be incredibly stubborn, musically. And it's still working, you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MEET ME IN THE BOTTOM")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) He's got a mean old woman, and I'm too young to die.

INSKEEP: Their stubbornness makes them distinctive⁸. He's 39 now. She's 48. They're of an age when older mentors¹⁰, like Greg Allman, have been dying around them. One mentor⁹ died with them on stage. He was 70 at the time. And even as they started their latest tour, one of their bandmates died. They say their losses were on their minds as they wrote a new album called "Signs."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WALK THROUGH THIS LIFE")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) Looking around, I see so many lives falling apart.

INSKEEP: Having merged¹² your personal lives years ago, how did you come about deciding to merge¹¹ your professional lives?

TEDESCHI: Well, that took a while. It was a good 10 years of being married and having two children. And we could not have done it sooner because Derek was in three bands. I mean, he had his own band, which was touring the world. And then he also was in the Allman Brothers. And for the 2006 and '07, he was playing with Clapton.

TRUCKS: It was a busy decade.

TEDESCHI: So we were very busy, and then it got to a point where, you know, things just started to change.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WALK THROUGH THIS LIFE")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) But you and me - oh, we ain't giving up now. Oh, we're going to rise above.

INSKEEP: Was there a moment of hesitation¹³ when you thought, I hope I don't see too much of this person - I hope I don't drive them crazy?

TEDESCHI: I mean, we both were a little nervous. If anything, we actually like each other better being around each other. We realized because we've been on the road so much our lives, it was nice to not be on the phone so much and to actually just be in person.

TRUCKS: Before, it was a lot of, I'm out. Susan's home.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

TRUCKS: Susan's out. I'm home.

INSKEEP: Relay parenting.

TRUCKS: Yeah. And it - that was a big factor in doing this, too - was just a quality of parenting (laughter) and child rearing.

INSKEEP: We have this song on the album called "When Will I Begin," which seems to express that kind of - I don't know - daily frustration¹⁴ of trying to get your life going in the way you want.

TEDESCHI: Absolutely.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHEN WILL I BEGIN")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) There are papers surrounding me, keeping me buried beneath the sea.

TEDESCHI: Some people ask, you know, why is the lyric¹⁵, you know, there are papers surrounding me? Well, you know, how many people are just inundated¹⁶ with bills or mail or, you know, paperwork? And you don't get to go enjoy life 'cause you're so inundated with just normal, everyday stuff.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHEN WILL I BEGIN")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) When will I begin? When will I begin? When will I begin to be free? When will I begin?

INSKEEP: That's beautiful, guys. Thank you.

TEDESCHI: Thanks.

INSKEEP: You feel it.

TRUCKS: This record, especially, I think, more than anything we've done, happened in a time where there was just a lot in the air - in the world, personally, for the band. And all the lyrics¹⁷ were pretty raw and to the bone.

INSKEEP: It's not too explicit¹⁸, but they say there is no doubt their song "Shame" is a comment on the news.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHAME")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) Shame - oh, there's poison in the well. Shame, shame...

TRUCKS: You want to say things. You don't want to shy away. You can't bury your head in the sand. You don't want to pander¹⁹, but you also don't want to make the chasm²⁰ any wider than it already is.

INSKEEP: Well, have you noticed that the crowds you play to - are they in some way divided or politicized?

TEDESCHI: So this is interesting.

TRUCKS: Without a doubt - you can feel it in the air. We really felt it right after the last election. We did a tour through the Midwest, and you could just...

TEDESCHI: Stick.

TRUCKS: Every lyric you sang had a different meaning. And you could feel it just through the crowd. We opened the first show with a George Harrison tune²¹ - "Isn't It A Pity." Just - it just felt right. And you could just feel the portion of the audience that's like, yes. Isn't it a pity? And then you could feel a portion that's like, how dare you play that song first?

INSKEEP: (Laughter).

TRUCKS: And you know - and we - our mentor - one of our mentors, Colonel Bruce Hampton, before he passed away - right around that time period, we saw him. And he said, well, music's important again (laughter). I was like, you know what? He's absolutely right.

TEDESCHI: Music is.

INSKEEP: Because people need it.

TRUCKS: And it matters, and...

TEDESCHI: And music can be revolutionary, too. I mean, it can really, you know, get people inspired and bring people together.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHAME")

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: (Singing) Makes me wonder, oh, why we're broken. Lord, you got to wonder...

INSKEEP: A grown-up perspective from two musicians who have been growing older together. The latest from the Tedeschi Trucks Band is called "Signs," and you can hear the songs they performed for us at npr.org.

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 streaking   

n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• Their only thought was of the fiery harbingers of death streaking through the sky above them. 那个不断地在空中飞翔的死的恐怖把一切别的感觉都赶走了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• Streaking is one of the oldest tricks in the book. 裸奔是有书面记载的最古老的玩笑之一。 来自互联网

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

8 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

9 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

10 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

11 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

12 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

13 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

14 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

15 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

16 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

18 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

19 pander   

v.迎合；n.拉皮条者，勾引者；帮人做坏事的人

参考例句：

• Don't pander to such people. 要迎合这样的人。
• Those novels pander to people's liking for stories about crime.那些小说迎合读者对犯罪故事的爱好。

20 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

21 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。