Interview for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

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Read interview on Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

So when did you first meet Paul? 

Chris Holmes: I DJed Radiohead’s In Rainbows Grammy party. It was Thom Yorke, Questlove and Nigel Godrich, all DJing with me. We set up this crazy party at some weird rental mansion. And Nigel had produced a record for Paul, so Paul showed up while I was DJing.

Well, OK!

I was dancing in front of the DJ booth and I played a remix I’d made of “Paperback Writer.” Afterwards, I was talking to Paul about how funny he was on The Colbert Report. And I told him I was planning on going to Coachella with the Daft Punk guys, just to hang out. And the next day Nigel called me up, and was like, “Paul McCartney just called, asking for your phone number—he wants you to open for him at Coachella.” And I’m like, they don’t ‘open’ for people at festivals—what does that even mean? And then I got a call a couple weeks later: They’re like, “just come up with something.” I said I’ll do remixes of soul covers of Beatles songs. 

Of course. 

The best part of my job is to show the impact of the Beatles’ music, and the different varieties of expression that people have found through their songs. For my sets, I’ve made thousands of remixes over the years, and I try to make new ones for every tour. The idea is to show the kind of universality of this music, and how it cuts across every genre. People have made these absolutely magnificent versions of these songs — from Sergio Mendes to Rita Lee to all the Motown and Stax stuff.

So many great ones. 

It’s absolutely amazing. And I get to dig in the crates for songs that audiences might not know. Like, I love playing some of the tracks that Paul and Linda made in Jamaica. There’s a song called “B-Side to Seaside” and “Seaside Woman.” These amazing kind of dub songs that they recorded. 

I loved the Dawn Penn cover of “Here Comes the Sun” that you played on your KCRW Freeform Friday set. It’s so good. 

Dawn Penn’s amazing. There’s a whole Trojan set on Spotify—I think it’s like 24 songs and there’s so many amazing ones on there. Like the cover of “Blackbird”—that’s incredible.

But yeah, and I’ll play country versions of their songs. Like I play Willie Nelson’s “One After 909” sometimes, or Dolly Parton doing “Help!” As a DJ, you’re linking a train together—you’re playing one song into the next one and it’s like what story am I going to tell with these amazing songs? Am I going to go 140 bpm, upbeat soul stuff, or am I going to start with really beautiful Ghanaian versions? And sometimes I’m a curator, just playing songs that I love, and sometimes I’m taking songs apart and putting them back together again. I have a mix that I made of “Come Together” that has 15 different covers of “Come Together” all together, and I sync them up. Doing mash-ups can be kind of boring now, but when you can find something where all the individual pieces lift the thing up to another level, then it’s magic. 

So how long do you play before Paul goes on? 

I do like a half-hour set every night live before they play. I make a mix for each tour that the crew almost uses as a clock. So it’s like, Oh, this song’s on—that means we have 7 minutes and 22 seconds before Paul takes the stage. And it’s set to a visual made for each tour, which is a retrospective of Paul’s life, done as a vertical scrolling animation.

You’ve seen Paul from the side of the stage for over fifteen years of shows at this point. You must have so many favorite moments. 

I’ve seen the show from the front of house 100 times. I’ve seen it from the side of the stage. And anywhere you are, from the crew to the audience to the band, everybody is in the moment. It’s something I’m never complacent about. It’s just an absolute treat, like you can’t be cheated when you see a 3-year-old kid singing, “Hey Jude.” 

You’ve coined a term—the “Hey Jude Effect.” Can you explain what that is? 

I’ve spent a lot of time filming people’s faces as they sing the “na-na-na-nas” during “Hey Jude.” I’ve got a whole collection of these videos, and it’s the most beautiful thing in the world, because everybody’s just like, I’m right here with you. It’s truly the most beautiful, magical, healing thing ever. I’ve spent my life trying to use music and art and technology to get people out of those states of ego—out of their fight or flight. And you know, there’s so many different approaches you can take. But Paul’s is so primal. I think that there’s something so great about the na-na-na-nas. It’s like an ecstatic chant—like qawwali music, where the entire audience melts into it. It doesn’t matter your age or your religion—we’re all brought out of ego together, and into connection with a pure kind of consciousness. 

At this point, The Beatles and their music are shared by so many of us—generationally!—but they were Paul’s bandmates and friends. 

I think Paul’s really good about understanding not only the impact that he’s had, but the impact that his band has had, and the importance of everybody’s contributions. He does “Something” by George Harrison every show, and it’s this amazing moment. You see pictures of the Beatles and they’re in their prime, and they’re doing White Album stuff and they’re 26 years old—they’re kids. And you realize that these guys knew each other. Paul’s told me such crazy stories about growing up with John and George and Ringo. They were best buds, you know—they cruised around on hitchhiking trips around Scotland and Wales. And that’s almost like the most amazing part of it, that these people found each other and they continued to elevate one another and they continued to grow in a way that very few other acts in the history of the world have done. They all shine in their own way.

He has so many hits, obviously, but what are some of the lesser known songs that have made an impact on you? 

There’s a moment after he does “Blackbird,” when he plays a song called “Here Today,” which is a song he wrote when John passed away. And it’s a moment during the set where everybody’s just heard “Blackbird,” and their souls are kind of quieted down, and you’re reminded that Paul’s human. Like you’ll see Paul cry sometimes when he’s singing it, and you’re reminded that this was his friend. And it’s just the most beautiful thing to realize that this isn’t a songbook he’s singing—they’re songs that are about his life.

Where were you the first time he broke out what everybody calls the final Beatles song, the song that was released in 2023, “Now and Then”? 

I think we were in Uruguay. You’re at the soundcheck, and you see the video Peter Jackson made for the show and all this magic they put together for it. And then you see an audience sing it together for the first time, and it’s like, all of a sudden, that’s in the canon. But there’s just so many moments like that on tour, where different songs have taken on such a profound meaning. Paul’s music is kind of our lexicon for how we respond to tragedy, how we respond to happiness, how we respond to rebellion. Like playing “Revolution” when we were in Chile and there was a miners’ strike and it’s a totally different vibe. You hear the music in the moment that you’re at, and then it brings you back to every other time that you’ve experienced that music. And yeah, there are moments in the show like that all the time. I don’t know what the changes will be for this leg of the tour.

When I saw him in 2009 at Coachella, I was struck by his virtuosity on so many different instruments. He brings up his mandolin, he plays the bass, he plays the guitar, he goes over to the piano. And he’s singing through all of it.

There’s a funny John Lennon quote—which is probably apocryphal—but someone asked John, “Who’s the best drummer you know?” And he said, “Paul.” And they’re like, “Why not Ringo?” And he’s like, “Ringo’s not even the best drummer in The Beatles.” Paul is an insane drummer. And an insane bass player, and an insane piano player, and an insane guitar player. We have an amazing horn section that plays with Paul called the Hot City Horns and after all the shows, they do like a little serenade to the bus, and sometimes Paul will grab a trumpet and start playing with them. 

Wow. 

Paul is like on a whole other level—he’s like the least disappointing human being in the world. Just the depth of his talent and the depth of his passion. And he’s still making new songs—he’s got a new record that he’s working on now, and he’s still making like 30 songs a record. He still goes through that process and is so true to it. He doesn’t ever just hack his way through things. It’s beautiful to see, because I think he only knows how to do it 100 percent. When we started on tour, like, it was crazy—Paul never drank any water during the show. It’s like, how is this human being Camp Dune?

Like he’s one of the Fremen of Arrakis? 

He’s like, “Oh, Muddy Waters and all those blues guys didn’t take sips of water while they were playing.” But I think he drinks water now, which is good. Like he finally relented after a couple 110 degree shows.

Are there any other secrets to longevity that you’ve gleaned from being around him? 

I don’t think not drinking water is a secret to longevity! But he’s a miracle for sure—to see his energy. He’s active and he’s filled with joy and he’s never complacent about anything. You know, one thing I’ve noticed with Paul is he always gives everybody their moment, you know? I remember Ryan Gosling coming backstage, and Ryan was super nervous to meet him. I kind of knew him a little bit from L.A. stuff and he’s like, “God, what should I say? What should I do?”And I was like, “Paul’s the coolest guy ever—just hang out.” And Paul came over and was like, “Hey, I know you from the cover of Look Magazine.” And Ryan just immediately melted. He knows how to get people out of that Chris Farley from Saturday Night Live mode, where it’s just like, Oh my God, you’re so excited.

So how should we act at the Paul McCartney show? 

Right now, we’re in this time where everything in our world divides us. Every screen is algorithmically programmed to keep us in a state of fight or flight, and we get stuck in that state and think we have to live there. And then we go to a McCartney show and we’re reminded of all the different ways that we can feel, and all the different ways that we can be together. I think it’s the most precious thing in the world right now. Everybody in the world should try to go see McCartney, not because it’s like a cool legacy thing, but because it’s a peak human experience.