Paul
Turk Henry & Music Band Hobbit
Interviewed
by Fethiye TUZER
| Paul
èTurkî Henry is the bass and singer of the famous
U.S. music band, Hobbit. Paul was born in Ankara,
and spent his first 15 years in Turkey. Although
now living in Texas, he has kept a deep affection
for the country of his childhood. Hobbit is a
group that started in 1977 when èTurkî (Bass/Vocals)
and Gene Fields (Vocals/R.Guitar) joined with
a drummer (now Rusty Honeycutt) and Richard Hill
(L.Guitar/Keyboards) to combine rock-n-roll influences,
and the powerful attraction to J.R.R. Tolkiens¹s
Middle Earth, leading the way to a style called
Fantasy Rock. They have issued several records
including Two Feet Tall.
Then have followed songs
like èLove Is Forever,î èTake Me Tonight,î èNeed
Your Love,î and è¹Til I Get You Backî.
Although they have never lost the fantasy side
of their roots, as seen in èMidyear¹s Eve,î èIntensity,î
and èUp And Down,î they have a variety of musical
styles that should provide something for everyone.
Hobbit¹s Rockin¹ the Shire, which contains
the bulk of the èFantasy/Tolkienî oriented songs
like èJoin The Celebration,î is their last release
of end 2001 and was hailed as the Disc of the
Year by one music critic who praised the scorching
vocals and the most incredible bass work of Paul. |
_
Paul, you carry the name of "Turk". Can you
explain why you continue to do it through the years?
_ Paul èTurkî ê èI guess I need to start at the beginning? But first,
let me say merhaba, cok memnun oldum, ve cok tesekk…r
ederim for this interview! OK, I was born in
Ankara, was raised in both Ankara and Izmir and spoke
Turkish before I even knew what English was! Coming
to the U.S., I found that Americans are very fond of
nicknames for their musicians, athletes, etc. So when
my first friend in college found out where I was from,
he gave me the nickname ¨Turk¹. It stuck, fit perfectly
with being a musician, stayed with me through Hobbit
and LIX, and I am still called that now! I have known
people for 25 years, who to this day, still don't know
my real name...just that I'm ¨Turk¹! And to this day,
I still like it very much!î
_
How long did you live in Turkey? What are your memories
about this country?
_ èTurkî ê èAll together, T…rkiye¹de on beş sene (15 years)
kaldım.
For me, the greatest memories are of the people! I can
honestly say in all those 15 years, I never met a Turk
I couldn¹t or didn¹t get along with. And I can¹t even
begin to count how many have taken me (with or without
family or friends) into their homes for cay, a plate
of food, or just for talking. Of course, they like you
even more if you can speak the language! After the people,
it has to be the food...the best in the world! Also, the country is just plain beautiful with endless beaches
and countless archaeological sites and histories.î
_
Are your memories of Turkey impacting your music? If
yes, how? If not, do you have any knowledge of the last
Turkish musical developments? i.e. Tarkan [Turkish singer
living in NYC]?
_ èTurkî ê èDefinitely! Growing up in a different world and society
absolutely affected the imagination and opened the mind
for creative processes, or fantasy as we call it. In
fact, you will hear some Mid-Eastern undertones in a
few of the songs we are writing now. L…tfen, forgive me, I am not familiar with Tarkan,
but I do remember Zeki M…ren very well, being at the
time,
the biggest star in Turkey! Did I just give away my
age? Ha ha.î
_
What
do you think about the awareness of the US public opinion
about Turkey?
_ èTurkî ê èAsk any ¨educated¹ American this question: Of all the
(majority population) Muslim countries in the world,
which is the only one the U.S. can truly call a friend?
I think the only, unanimous, answer you would get is
Turkey!
And since I will always consider Turkey my true ¨homeland,¹
this makes me very happy, indeed! Of course, I've been
a pretty good spokesperson in all my years in America!î
_
How
would you qualify the present music scene in today's
U.S. and the role of the Academy Music Awards? What
are, according to you, the relations with the music
scene abroad?
_ èTurkî ê èPersonally, I¹m not very happy with music as a whole
in the U.S. today. Most of it is just not melodic, artistic,
or vocally pleasing enough for my taste. Don¹t get me
wrong, there are some good groups, like Creed
for instance, and you know, music is relevant only to
the happy ¨ears of the beholder,¹ no matter what it
is or sounds like to the rest of us. I do like almost
all of the female artists, like Alanis M. and Sheryl C. The Academy Music Awards have become
way too ¨political¹ over the years to me, and I haven¹t
watched it in many, many years! With the wonderful invention
of the internet and ease in trade policies, I would
have to say that this is probably the easiest and best
time to be involved in the music field, especially for
Independent (un-signed) bands like Hobbit and LIX!î
_ Your
earlier music reminded me Jethro Tull. Yes, at your
beginning. Do you think there is a meaningful change
since your first works? What kind of change would it
be?
_ èTurkî ê èYes, there is a meaningful change, but only in the maturity
of the songwriting. Those are still some of our favorite
bands and the influences are still with us. We¹re just
older, wiser, and better writers today. Also, since
the recent reforming of Hobbit, and (lucky for us) the
release of the Lord Of The Rings movie, combined with those influences, past and present song-writing
much more fun! We are presently working on a Tolkien-LOTR
Concept CD which we've been dreaming about for a quarter
century!î
_ Would you enjoy coming to Turkey to perform your music? According
to you, what would be the best way to promote a musical
co-operation and understanding between Turkey and the
U.S.?
èTurkî ê èNothing would make me happier than to play in Turkey!
Most bands look for a concert at Madison Square Garden,
N.Y.C. as the ¨ultimate goal for rock-n-roll,¹ but playing
in Turkey would be my personal ¨ultimate gig¹!
èWell,
what you and I are doing right here is a great step
for Turkish/American relations! Then getting the word
out in the Turkish websites, getting the music played
on the radio, and lastly, making it easier for groups
to come to Turkey to play! I remember how much the Turkish
people loved music back then and the dancing we all
did in the nightclubs to groups like Chicago, Deep Purple,
and many other European and American bands. So, I'm
sure Turkey is still hungry for all kinds of music.
Of course, it's always nice to have a èTurkî in the
band!
èAnd finally... Õok, Õok b…y…k Selam to all my friends in and out of Turkey;
Anneme Maria, ağabeyime, John, Õok sevgiler, en sevgili arkadaslarima, Niko, Kimon, Eli, Sofia, and Irini and....yine,
Õok Õok teşekk…r ederim, Madame Fethiye,
hayirli isler, ve g›r…s…r…z inşallah! ‘ok
Sevgiler, Rock on Pol èTurk¹.î
Thank
you very much for your interview and I hope that you
will be able to realize your wishes and perform your
music in Turkey to make it known to the young Turkish
folks. Fethiye Tuzer.
(1st
Age...L-->R..Rusty, Richard, Gene, 'Turk')
(1st
Age..6 Flags)
(1st
Age..Agora Ballroom)
(1st
Age..East Texas Fair..The Reason..Thank You!)
(2nd
Age...L-->R..Richard, 'Turk', Gene)
