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Some may think of singer-songwriter John Sebastian, as a mellow, country, folk tinged artist writing hits like “Day-dream” and “Nashville Cats,” with the band The Lovin’ Spoonful. But within lies the heart of a rock n’ roller. He told On Deck his first jobs were playing Duane Eddy tunes. Sebastian had a good reason for a switch to folk music as a teen for a time.
“I went away to summer camp and here are all these beautiful girls who like Joan Baez and things like that and I’d kind of had to catch up,” he said.
On his latest album, he concentrates on harmonica, the instrument on which he started. “That’s where the work was, there were so many guitarists and so many guys that were so good and so far along” said Sebastian. He considers his father the greatest classical harmonica player that ever lived.
Sebastian is currently recording an album with David Grisman, probably best known to NPR Public Radio listeners for his song “Dawgy Mountain Breakdown,” used as the theme music for “Car Talk: Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers.”
The Lovin’ Spoonful was born in the basement of the Alberts Hotel in Greenwich Village, “where all the members of the Spoonful and Mamas and Papas rented an apartment,” he said.
Early in its career, the Lovin’ Spoonful was fired and returned to the basement of the hotel to improve their playing. Sebastian said he had four or five good original songs when the band signed a record contract but also introduced jug band music songs to a rock n’ roll audience through their albums.
“Jug band music is pretty much blues before electricity,” he said.
An essential part of the band’s first hit “Do You Believe in Magic?” was Sebastian playing autoharp on the song, an instrument not previously heard on a rock record. He said he had learned to play the instrument in summer camp.
“I put a ukulele contact mic on the back of an autoharp and that is what was on that first record,” said Sebastian. “Summer in the City,” a solid, rock number for the band, is keyboard and drum oriented. The song was written with his brother Mark Sebastian and band member Steve Boone. “Playing a little bit heavier was not out of the Spoonful’s style, it just took three singles before we got around to it,” said John Sebastian.
Although not on the bill, he played Woodstock in 1969, just himself and an acoustic guitar for an extended set. The 70s brought Sebastian a number one hit, “Welcome Back,” the theme from the television series “Welcome Back Kotter.” He said the show’s producer called his manager and asked, “for a John Sebastian type guy.” Sebastian had just signed one week before with the manager.
“They gave me three scripts and kind of a rough demo of the first episode,” he said. “I remember saying to them ‘don’t make me write a song with the word Kotter in it’ because it sort of limits it…”
Sebastian said he wanted to write a song that would receive radio airplay. The song was recorded over a weekend when his drummer was not available. The only percussion on the record is handclaps and a bass beat from an Indian drum.
His live show features all his hits from the Lovin’ Spoonful, solo work, new songs and a little jug band music. Sebastian doesn’t promise he and Byrd’s founder Roger McGuinn, with which he shares the concert bill at Ocean City Music Pier July 16, but it does happens some nights, he said.
For ticket information: call 609-652-9000 or go to www.stockton.edu/pac.