Having spent the summer fighting evil aliens in "Independence Day," Harry Connick Jr. is now back on tour, fighting for the hearts of his human listeners.
With his new funk album, "Star Turtle," Connick is reminding fans of his versatility as a performer and musician, unafraid to stray from his trademark big-band style.
On "Star Turtle," Connick chronicles the fictional exploits of a turtle who comes from outer-space in search of salvation, which he finds and brings home in the form of New Orleans funk, blues, jazz and parade music. In a recent telephone interview with The Michigan Daily, Connick explained the evolution of his creative works and how he keeps his ideas fresh.
"Star Turtle" is "just an idea I had," Connick said. "I guess what I'm supposed to do for a living is create things. That's one of the things I came up with. It's just a story. It doesn't really have any symbolism or metaphoric value."
Even after '94 release "She," his previous funk album, Connick's fans were still surprised by the new album, which features a wild arrangement of drums, horns, guitars and overdubbed, whispery voices on the title track. Despite doing all the instrumentation on the first track himself, Connick said, the distorted, psychedelic sound was not hard to do.
"That's just fooling around," he said nonchalantly. "The voices are just fun, you know, just screwing around, and all the instruments. ... There's not anything real complicated in any of that stuff."
Although most fans still yearn for the gentle crooning heard on his earlier albums, like "We Are In Love" and "25," Connick's new funky groove is nevertheless an interesting change of pace.
Instead of re-adapting the beautiful, but standard "On the Street Where You Live," as he did on "25," Connick creates new and innovative sounds on "Star Turtle." On two of the album's 15 tracks, "Little Farley" and "Boozehound" Connick and his band combine rhythm and wah wah guitars with a mini moog and steady drum beats in a distinctly jazzy style. "How Do Ya'll Know" and "Hear Me in the Harmony," the MTV hit, both evoke the feel of a big New Orleans street parade, with swaggering trombones on the former and Connick's soulful tinkling of the ivories on the latter.
Connick dismisses any claims that not recording big-band music on this album could be perceived as selling-out. "I know I didn't sell-out because I didn't change my style," he said. "Before anybody knew who I was I was playing that kind of music. It's just part of what I do. And I'm proud of it, you know. 'Cause I think as an artist that's all you can ask for is to have artistic freedom and to do things that you're artistically proud of, and that's what I'm doing, you know."
His New Orleans roots are all over his new album, and he pays special tribute to the city on "City Beneath the Sea." He wonders how long he could stay away from the city, begging for someone to take him "To the Meters and the Mardi Gras / They betcha where you got your shoes / And they eat their oysters raw / Pork Chops dances all night long / But he won't dance for free / Please ... somebody won't you take me / To the city beneath the sea."
"No city has moves like New Orleans does," Connick said in his strong Louisiana drawl. He added that the city has helped shape him into the person and musician that he is today. "I think had I come from somewhere else I would have been totally different, you know? I'm totally indebted to growing up in New Orleans."
The music he heard in the alleys and clubs of the city while growing up also helped shape his musical style, Connick said. He counts Errol Garner, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, The Meters and James Brown among his influences.
Having influenced women fans to swoon at his image on the silver screen, Connick enjoys occasionally cutting in on the movie business as another way to exercise his creativity.
Acting and singing are drastically different, he said. "On film, you're creating a personality that's never been done before. On stage, I'm not changing my personality at all, you know. It's just a totally different craft."
Connick portrayed a serial killer in "Copycat" last year, a doomed fighter pilot in this summer's blockbuster "Independence Day," and is set to take on the role of a crooked car salesman in upcoming movie "Excess Baggage," with Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Walken.
Although he has juggled stage and screen gigs for 10 years now, Connick says it is now time for him to slow down. He and super-model wife Jill Goodacre welcomed their daughter, Georgia Tatom, into their New York home in April, and the proud parents to spend time at home.
"(Being a father) will change how I tour, 'cause I don't want to do this for the rest of my life, you know," he said. "It's hard being away. I haven't been away but about two weeks the whole time she's been around. But, it's no fun being away, so I would definitely like to slow down my touring schedule."
In the meantime, fans will still find Connick tinkling away at the ivories, thinking of his daughter and looking forward to recording his next album, "30," which will once again showcase his sweet songs now tinged with the extra spice of his funk sound. If all goes well, the Midwestern tour showcasing his interplanetary "Star Turtle" trip should be out of this world.