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closeFriday, Oct. 30, 2009
Doobie Brothers’ classics survive decades of change
Rock ’n’ roll road warriors the Doobies roll up to Bass Hall on Monday.
By ANDREW MARTON
dfw.com
Detroit Free Press/Kimberly P. Mitchell via MCT
Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers Detroit Free Press/Kimberly P. Mitchell via MCT
Bass Hall
Doobie Brothers have been around for nearly 40 years. Bass Hall
It has been almost 40 years since the Doobie Brothers first exhorted, in perfect three-part harmony, their growing legion of fans to "listen to the music." It has also been close to four decades since the San Jose, Calif.-born band began dominating the classic-rock airwaves with its tightly constructed, guitar-driven odes: China Grove, Long Train Runnin’ and Black Water.
And although the band reached its zenith with 1978’s, multiple Grammy-winning Minute by Minute — led by its bouncy hit What a Fool Believes — the original group faded from the full-time recording and concert scene. The Doobies would fully re-emerge in the mid-1990s as a tireless touring act.
Today, clearly buoyed by their material’s near constant airtime on classic-rock radio and anchored by their two founding members, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, the Doobies continue as rock ’n’ roll road warriors. The band is currently "takin’ it to the streets" with an ambitious tour and a new album due out in spring 2010.
The Star-Telegram caught up with the 61-year-old Johnston in Greenville, S.C., as he anticipated Monday’s Bass Hall concert.
Can you believe it’s been nearly 40 years since the Doobies first emerged?
When I do stop and think about it, it’s been a bit of a blur, mostly from all the travelling. It does seem like it’s been a good long time though. Mind you, I’m not nostalgic for those old times. Life has to go along, and I can’t go back.
Has the road life changed much over the years?
The road pretty much stays the same. It’s a constant of traveling every day or every night, playing every night with a day off here and there. In the 1970s, we used to use a plane, but now pretty much everyone who doesn’t make staggering amounts of money gets around with a bus. One difference: Nobody is being nuts with nonstop partying.
Why has the Doobies’ music retained its popularity?
It may be something as simple as it’s always been catchy, and people could easily sing along with it. There’s just real musicality to the songs. We had a melody and hook that people could grasp. In many cases, our words were upbeat and fun. Through the years, so many people have come up to me to say that one of our songs got them through high school, college, a divorce, even the Vietnam War.
Aren’t you a little shocked over how the record industry has changed during the last four decades?
The industry is now 180 degrees from when record companies used to rule everything. That they didn’t embrace the Internet was a huge mistake. Now the marketing is handled by Walmart and Target. I actually think iTunes is a great invention as it’s taken over what the record company used to do by helping sell your product. The biggest change is that a band like us can’t expect any radio play for our new music.
Wouldn’t you like to have your new songs heard on the radio?
Sure we would, especially to gain that extra visibility. But we’d be up against the youth market, which is totally focused on Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, hip-hop and country.
What do you like about playing for Texan audiences?
Over the years, we’ve played for audiences from Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, to Waco, Lubbock and Corpus Christi. Like so many audiences in the South and Southwest, Texans always are looking to have a good time, and they love to get up and express themselves. And it certainly doesn’t hurt us in Texas that China Grove is based partially on a little town not far from San Antonio.
How much longer do you plan on taking your music to the streets?
Well, I don’t think I’ll be doing this when I’m 100. But for now, I really enjoy this Peter Pan life, however grueling it might be to run around the stage and get the crowd fired up. But retirement is just a scary word for me. When you retire, you just start to rust and fade away.
8 p.m. Monday
Bass Hall,
Fort Worth
$35-$125
817-212-4280
Andrew Marton is a Star-Telegram senior arts writer, 817-390-7679
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