Written by Shar on 19 December 2014
The end of the year issue of Uncut contains Michael Bonner’s long-version interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro.
Bonner writes: “I thought it might be nice to share the full transcript – it’s over 6,000 words long, and covers a lot of ground. We started off talking about the current state of Billy Talbot’s health, the Crazy Horse bassist who’d suffered a minor stroke earlier in the year. For the record, our interview took place on November 3, 2014; a few days before the death of bassist Rick Rosas, who’d deputised for Talbot during the band’s 2014 tour dates.”
Poncho’s favorite memory of Neil from this year?
“That’s hard to think of right at this moment. I could tell you a couple from the year before if I had time to think about it. When we played the Bridge School the last time, we were doing the encore where everybody comes out and sings, we were playing “Rockin’ In The Free World” all acoustic. For some reason, Neil took off his guitar and gave it to Lukas Nelson. He was having a great time playing it. And Neil was trying to give us hand signals of where to go and I was just laughing, “What the hell is going on?” But anyway, months and months after that, we were on the road, we were just getting ready and I said to Neil, “I have a question, it’s really been bothering me, I want to ask you.” He said, “Go ahead.” I said, “Why did you give Lukas your guitar? Did he ask for it, or something?” Neil said, “No, we were just up there playing and singing and he was playing air guitar and I kept looking at him, I thought, ‘Wow, he needs a guitar.’ So I just gave him mine.” I think that’s really cool. It was just like this thing that happened. That was a great moment with Neil. On this last tour, when he started giving away the t-shirts, ‘Protect The Earth’ and everything, he was just so overly sincere about the whole thing. It did bring a good feeling to me. And at the same time, it stresses me out because I just don’t know how to reach everybody and hw to make a change in this world. It’s really frustrating.”
Thanks to Tom Hambleton for bringing this to our attention
Tags: 2014 European Tour, Billy Talbot, crazy horse, FRank Sampedro, Poncho, Rick Rosas, Uncut
Posted in Crazy Horse, News / Article | Comments Off on Uncut interview with Poncho
Written by bnbrainer on 26 May 2013
Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro has played in Neil Young’s band for 37 years dating back to the 1975 album Zuma.
“There was a period where Neil would start saying, “I remember the day I was lookin’ in the mirror, just lookin’ in the mirror, and my father said to me, ‘Son, you’re just a fuck up.’” We’ve all had days like that. You’d be working on something and all of a sudden you’ve busted dad’s tools or whatever. ”
full Interview on OFFBEAT.
Tags: FRank Sampedro, Poncho
Posted in Interviews, News / Article | Comments Off on Frank “Poncho” Sampedro interview
Written by Shar on 17 April 2013
In a new Rolling Stone interview Frank ‘Poncho” Sampedro says his gut is telling him this may be the last Crazy Horse/Neil Young tour.
After all, he is 64-year old and the “baby” of the band.
Those words are heartbreaking, leaving a lump in the throats of devoted fans who have followed the Horse and Neil for decades.
In a Q & A format Andy Greene at RS interviews Poncho, and when Green asks about playing “Hurricane” during a torrential downpour in Australia, Poncho replies:
“Oh, that was so crazy. It was raining off and on, kind of sprinkling all day there. Then we we started playing “Hurricane” and a torrential downpour came. I mean, literally the organ stopped working it go so wet. I had to play guitar on that song for the first time in history.
Tags: crazy horse, Europe, FRank Sampedro, Poncho, tour
Posted in Crazy Horse, Interviews, News / Article | Comments Off on Poncho says it could be the end of the trail
Written by bnbrainer on 19 October 2012
Crazy Horse’s Frank “Poncho” Sampedro enjoying the fruits of labor, literally
By: Tom Lanham | 10/17/12 4:01 PM
Special to The SF Examiner
It isn’t exactly a Batman-Commissioner Gordon arrangement. But when Neil Young needs the guys in his old backing band Crazy Horse, they’re there, says guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro. Recent sessions, the first in nine years, were for “Americana,” a reworking of vintage American folk songs. There’s also the new two-disc “Psychedelic Pill,” which they’ll preview at the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View this weekend. “I love ‘Americana’ because those were the songs my mom sang to me,” Sampedro says of “Clementine” and “Oh Susannah.” “We played our ass off on that stuff, and I looked at Neil and said ,‘Isn’t it cool how we just sound like us no matter what songs we play?’”
So you live in Hawaii now, where you grow exotic fruit?
I grew up in Detroit, and I’ve always had a garden. When I moved to Hawaii, I went to this natural farming class with this guy from Korea named Master Cho. He has this whole other technique of farming that he learned from the Japanese. So I took the classes, where you grow mold and you ferment stuff, and then you spray it back on the plants. So I passed that class. And then one day I get a phone call saying Master Cho was coming to Hawaii to give a master class where you could become an instructor. And they wanted to bring him by my house. So I called Neil — who lives in Hawaii — for support, and he came by and watched it all go down.
Was Master Cho suitably impressed with your skills?
That morning, I didn’t know what to do — should I pull weeds? Clean up the garden? But I said, “Hell, you know what? I’ll do what my mom always did!” I ran to the store, bought some apples and made Master Cho some apple pie. It was still hot by the time he got there. So he invited me into his master class, and now I have a degree to teach natural farming. So mangos, papayas, bananas, pineapple — I’ve grown all of that.
Do you ever just get sick of fruit?
Oh, no! My freezer’s full of it! And in Hawaii, there’s a whole culture of sharing and trading. So I give stuff away, and the next thing I know, some mahi-mahi shows up or some lamb. And nobody’s stressed out, there’s nothing going on there in the entertainment world, and every conversation you have is like, “Did you see that cloud that drifted by yesterday, that big one?”
sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2012/10/crazy-horses-frank-poncho-sampedro
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thanks go to Shar
Tags: FRank Sampedro, Poncho
Posted in Interviews | Comments Off on SF Examiner: Poncho Interview
The end of the year issue of Uncut contains Michael Bonner’s long-version interview with Frank “Poncho” Sampedro.
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