FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

Pretty self-explanatory
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johnfoyle
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FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

Post by johnfoyle »

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Shari Rosen Ascher with Elvis Costello (photo courtesy of Shari Rosen Ascher)

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FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

by
Shari Rosen Ascher
10.31.16


There are moments that matter most to me: my first kiss, my first love, and first heartbreak too. College graduation and big birthdays. My wedding day and the birth of my children. And there are two people who have shared each of these moments with me: my sister and Elvis Costello.

I was at Camp Natchez in West Copake, NY in the summer of 1978 when I had my first kiss and was introduced to the man who would later share my life. (He was not the same boy who kissed me!) While most of us were trying to memorize Meatloaf’s “Paradise by The Dashboard Light,” there was one counselor who was listening to a song about “Red Shoes.” She played it over and over and the more I heard it, the more I could not get the song out of my head.

But that “first kiss” of Costello’s music wasn’t an explosive love at first listen. More like the beginning of a slow simmer. By the time I went off to college in the fall of 1981, My Aim Is True was one of the many albums I schlepped up to school in a milk crate to be played on my Panasonic stereo. I was friendly with musicians in high school who loved Elvis Costello, and “Mystery Dance” was definitely a group favorite. But I was still more focused on the Who, the Doors, and James Taylor.

My world changed in 1982 with Costello’s Imperial Bedroom. In fact, I can almost look at my existence as pre-Imperial Bedroom and post-Imperial Bedroom. To me, the artwork on the cover evoked Picasso or even Kandinsky, and the title was spelled in a mysterious way: IbMePdErRoIoAmL. Like the lyrics, even the fonts forced you to think.

Imperial Bedroom is a true work of art, asking for the participation and reflection of the listener. It’s exactly where I was at this point in my life at the beginning of college: I could spend hours talking about poems, philosophy and '70s sit-coms. This album embodied an intellectual approach to pop music that I found extraordinary. It was always on my stereo. Costello’s songs got me through unrequited crushes ("Lipstick Vogue"), my first love ("Kid About It"), and utter heartbreak ("The Imposter").

The first time I saw Elvis Costello live was in the spring of 1983. A bunch of us (my sister included) drove from Waltham, Massachusetts to the Cape to see him on the "Punch the Clock" tour (I still have the t-shirt). It was revelatory. He was even better live than I could have hoped. When we returned to New York, he was playing at the pier on August 10, 1983, and we all spent the day waiting in line and making signs. We were in the first row for the show and we were determined to meet him.

We all went to the stage door, but my sister and her friend made it backstage. We were hanging out with the opening band, Aztec Camera, which was pretty cool. Since we had a long ride on the D train back to Brooklyn, I decided to find my 17-year-old sister. Security let me backstage and I found Robyn and her friend talking to Elvis (yes, I said hello!). He had a towel around his neck, and my sister asked if she could have it. He gave it to her and when we got home, we cut it half so we could each keep part of it. My sister hung up Elvis’ towel on her dorm room wall when she went to Brandeis that fall.

Those two concerts seem like a long time ago — I’ve seen Elvis Costello over 30 times since that summer, on every tour since 1983. I’ve seen him with the Attractions and the Imposters, partnering with Burt Bacharach, and completely solo. I’ve even seen him at “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Saturday Night Live” tapings, opening for The Police and, lucky me, up close at WFUV.

Costello’s music would accompany me when I backpacked through Europe in 1985, when I commuted to work in the late ‘80s, and when I met my husband. When I got married in March 1991, my mother-in-law couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a band at the wedding. I insisted on a DJ so that I could have a playlist with Costello songs. The DJ didn’t have his music, so I lent him my albums so I could dance to "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" and "Indoor Fireworks."

I love my husband, but I was not going to get married without Elvis Costello.

In July 1994, like many pregnant women, I went into a nesting phase before I gave birth to my first child. While many women take time to clean the house, prepare the nursery, or get their professional life in order, I made mixtapes. I had been holding my headphones on my belly for months, determined to bring my child into this world with an awesome soundtrack. Side B of that tape was an assortment of some of my favorites songs from the Grateful Dead, Indigo Girls and James Taylor. But Side A was all Elvis Costello, songs taken from his first 11 albums, like My Aim is True and Blood and Chocolate.

I was in labor for about 24 hours — eight of those hours in the hospital — so we heard that tape over and over again. But when push came to shove — literally — it was playing on the Elvis side.

For my second son’s delivery in January 1997, I made a new tape and this one was a little different — but the first side was still entirely Elvis. As is usually the case for the second child, my labor was much shorter (I was quite thankful) and we only heard the tape once. I was blessed with another beautiful and healthy baby. Both bring me great joy to this day. They both loved "Miracle Man" when they were little and we sang it in the car all the time. And my older son is now a musician — coincidence?

I’ve been working at WFUV since April, 2003. I had been working steadily since the age of 20, but in the aftermath of 9/11, I lost the funding for a consulting business I had started. I was making some pivotal choices about my life and decided to stay home with my children until I could find a job that mattered to me. I missed my professional identity, but I also wanted the work to mean something to me, to serve a greater good. A few days after discussing my decision with my sister, I woke up to WFUV on my clock radio. I heard a promo for a job opening: “Do you love WFUV? Do you have experience in media sales?” Are you kidding me?

I drove to the Bronx for my interview a few days later. I walked into Keating Hall and as I entered FUV’s offices, I smiled because playing on the station, at that exact moment, was Costello’s “Everyday I Write the Book.”

I knew that this was where I was meant to be.
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docinwestchester
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Re: FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

Post by docinwestchester »

Nicely written.
bronxapostle
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Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:27 pm

Re: FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

Post by bronxapostle »

Except for at least one error (of memory perhaps, we are all getting old) i don't think she saw him in the spring of 1983 as opening night of the tour was 8/3/83 in Allentown (A FANTASTIC SHOW!!!) a week before the 8/10 show she speaks of, with only another Pier night, Jones Beach and Bridgeport in between.

P.S. she is correct, there was a Cape Cod show just three or four days before the NYC Pier show she speaks of. Guess she meant SUMMER
johnfoyle
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Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: FUV ESSENTIALS: SHARI ROSEN ASCHER ON ELVIS COSTELLO

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LARKIN POE: FIVE ESSENTIAL ELVIS COSTELLO SONGS


by

Kara Manning
11.02.16

Sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe not only have a fine career of their own — they released their bluesy, rocking second album Reskinned earlier this year (and did an FUV Live session too) — but for the past handful of years, the Atlanta duo has also regularly toured and collaborated with Elvis Costello since meeting him at North Carolina's Merlefest in 2007.

Not only have the Lovell sisters opened for Costello countless times in concert, but they join him onstage during his set, accompanying him on songs like "Blame It On Cain" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Larkin Poe were included in the 2015 Costello concert film Detour Live at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and they joined him at the 2016 Newport Folk Festival and on select tour dates this year too.

Rebecca and Megan, who've affectionately dubbed Costello "E.C.," have a special place in their heart for the man who has been a mentor, friend and cohort on the road for many years. Larkin Poe also have an insightful perspective on his songs as frequent observers and participants, so the sisters kindly pulled together their "Five Essential Elvis Costello Songs" for FUV Essentials:

Larkin Poe: Five Essential Elvis Costello Songs:

"I Want You," Blood And Chocolate (1986)
I remember E.C. saying “I Want You” was a painful song to perform live because he had to bury himself in the character of a heartbroken man to do the song justice. And you can feel it. His heart may be breaking on stage for all we know. A song that skirts the edges of despair, anger, sexiness, and love. Makes you feel raw just listening to it. - Megan Lovell

"Alison," My Aim Is True (1977)
The simplicity and integrity of this song has endured since 1977. Everyone knows it. Elvis sings it as beautifully today as he ever as. - Rebecca Lovell

"Ascension Day," The River in Reverse (2006)
Elvis Costello and American legend Allen Toussaint came together to make The River in Reverse in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. E.C. speaks very, very highly of Allen Toussaint and that respect is palpable throughout the record. "Ascension Day" is a beautiful reflection of the soul of New Orleans. - RL

"Shipbuilding," Punch The Clock (1983)
Sitting on the side of stage watching E.C. perform night after night in the years we’ve gotten to tour with him has been a thrill. He varies the setlist widely from show to show, but there are a few key songs he plays every night; “Shipbuilding” is one of those songs. The lyrics pull on my heartstrings each time I hear it, even though I’ve heard it hundreds of times at this point. It always gets the emotional reaction. Pro tip: Go see him perform it live and hear a beautiful additional verse—my favorite verse—not on the album cut. - ML

"The Scarlet Tide," The Delivery Man (2004)
T-Bone Burnett and Elvis originally penned this song together before it was immortalized by Alison Krauss. Getting to sing these lyrics of the heart around one microphone with E.C. night after night has been an incredible experience. It's a timely song. - RL

- Rebecca and Megan Lovell
October 2016
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