Stew & Friends comes to campus
Stew
When Mark “Stew” Stewart came to Madison for an intimate performance as part of the 2010 Line Breaks festival, he seized the crowd’s unflinching attention. The Tony-winning, Passing Strange playwright and his frequent collaborator Heidi Rodewald conjured almost a dizzying effect with a collection of theatrical pop tunes that played off of Stewart’s powerful vocal dynamics and raw wit. Fast forward a year and a half, and Stewart is currently taking up residency at the UW, during which he’ll be teaching what he describes as “a songwriting class filtered through my pop culture, historical brain.”
“One of my mottos is that this is the hardest easy class my students will ever have. It sounds easy; all you have to do is finish a tune. But in some cases, that’s the hardest thing in the world to do, because the inspiration that gets you out of bed to write a song doesn’t last,” Stewart says. “After that inspiration is gone, you have to trust it to carry you through the song. People think inspiration is supposed to be their guide or guardian angel, but it doesn’t work like that. You write a check and then you’ve got to cash it.”
Aside from Stewart’s classes, the song wizard has also been holding an intriguing seminar series called Stew & Friends that will roll out to the semester’s end and cap off with a performance by Stewart and Rodewald as The Negro Problem on December 5. The next couple guests on Stewart’s roster are immediately recognizable: legendary jazz-bassist and University Of Wisconsin professor of bass, jazz studies, and combo improvisation, Richard Davis (Oct. 24), and Living Colour axeman Vernon Reid (Nov. 7). Other guests, like cabaret drag performer Taylor Mac or playwright and Passing Strange actor Colman Domingo, are perhaps a little less familiar, so we recently caught up with Stewart to talk about what exactly Stew & Friends has in store for us.
Richard Davis, Oct. 24, The Red Gym
Mark Stewart: Richard Davis’ career is amazing. You look at the records he’s been on—one minute Janis Ian, the next Archie Shepp. And dude, [Van Morrison’s] Astral Weeks! I got emails all the way from our little fan thing in South Africa when they found out I was interviewing someone from the Astral Weeks session. Davis is the living embodiment of what I’d like my class to be. It’s not like Archie Shepp is over here and Janis Ian is over there; it’s all music. People just get locked into a genre because that’s the music you want to do. But I believe that sometimes, in order to make interesting music, and even if it’s in that genre you’re locked in, you need to go outside and listen to some other stuff. It’s kind of amazing that he’s a professor here in the university. I wonder how many non-music program students have been able to take advantage of that.
What to expect
MS: I’m sure he’s going to play some bass, but I also want to, with his blessing, do an interview where I play excerpts from some of the 100 million records he’s been on and we talk about them.
Taylor Mac, Oct. 31, Mitchell Theatre, Vilas Hall
MS: Taylor Mac spans a lot of different genres. He’s definitely very musical and extremely theatrical. He’s a performance artist and playwright. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think most of the people I’ve invited are cross-genre types and do more than a couple things well. I think, these days, it’s not all about, “I’m a renaissance man.” Honestly, these days, it’s about surviving. Artists are like corporations in that they have to diversify. Taylor Mac is the classic example of that.
What to expect
MS: Taylor Mac tries to and does do everything. I can’t think of a better Halloween show than this.
Vernon Reid, Nov. 7, Mitchell Theatre, Vilas Hall
MS: Vernon Reid is the guitar player of Living Colour. He’s a big hero of mine, because he actually does what a lot of other artists say they’re going to do and never do. He’s got the whole rock star thing, but then he’s also totally deep into experimental music, so he does both. A lot of artists say, “When I make it, I’m gonna spend a lot of time doing the real stuff that I really want to do,” but then they never do. Reid can shift between both worlds. I’ve been saying it, too; I used to make a lot of experimental music, but now I’m supposed to be the guy in the literate rock band. [Laughs.] I hope that when I go back to New York, I can finally do it.
What to expect
MS: I believe he’ll be doing some very experimental solo stuff.
Paul Farber, Nov. 14, Mitchell Theatre, Vilas Hall
MS: Paul Farber is an expert on Philadelphia hip-hop. Philly’s got this whole big history that’s got nothing to do with New York’s movement. It’s amazing.
What to expect
MS: Mr. Farber will be playing some awesome tunes and discussing them.
Colman Domingo, Nov. 21, Mitchell Theatre, Vilas Hall
MS: Colman is big hit with the kids in the First Wave program at the University Of Wisconsin. Everyone loves Colman. He’s a Passing Strange family member. When I got this residency, he was maybe the first person I thought to invite. He’s just got this crazy energy.
What to expect
MS: I’m not sure what he’ll be doing. He might do a take on his one-man play, A Boy And His Soul, but I’m not sure.
Paul Oakley Stovall, Nov. 28, Mitchell Theatre, Vilas Hall
MS: Paul Oakley Stovall is another multiple threat artist, songwriter, playwright. He decided to quit his art and join the Obama administration. He stopped everything and went and did that and ended up getting really deep into everything. A lot of us have ideas of how the world should be changed, but I don’t really know anybody personally—especially in New York City—who just stopped their work and career and shifted in a completely different direction.
What to expect
MS: I want him to discuss his time with the Obama administration, but he will definitely play some tunes, too.
