The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Blues, oldies at solo New Haven gig
Blessed with looks and ability as a young man, Rick Springfield made a name for himself in pop music and acting in the MTV ’80s and beyond.
And here he is, at 68, still demonstrating those loves — acting on HBO’s “True Detective” and CW’s “Supernatural” and playing his music with a large orchestra, or his blues/rock band, or “Stripped Down” solo/ acoustic, as he will perform in New Haven at the Shubert Theatre on Friday.
Asked what his set list might look like in New Haven, in addition to his signature hit “Jessie’s Girl,” Springfield responded in an email exchange, “Oh, we’re just going to play a 90minute version of ‘Jessie’s Girl.’ Hahahaha.” (You can expect a mix, described by his booking company as “An intimate solo performance of music and storytelling.”)
The Australian-born performer/songwriter created Grammy-winning power-pop tunes such as “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Affair of the Heart,” “I’ve Done Everything for You” and “Love Somebody.” His 2017 album, “The Snake King,” is a darker, intriguing mix of Biblical references, rocking blues and big issues. We asked Springfield if the current political or social climate led to those themes.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “There is a lot going on in the world and I look around and I see evil everywhere and wonder where God is. Leaders that are steering us towards war, decimating our planet’s eco systems and killing off beautiful creatures. It makes me angry and there is a lot of anger in ‘The Snake King,’ but I think a lot of people relate.”
Springfield said the album’s “‘Jesus is an Atheist’ “is me poking at the dogma of religion, as well as adding a bit of humor and also trying to put a human face on Jesus.”
The song “Suicide Manifesto” references Springfield’s past struggles with depression. He attempted suicide as a teen, but the rope he used for a noose snapped, he has said in interviews. We asked if he has helped people by talking about the struggle.
“Yes, it comes up a lot,” he said in the email. “When I wrote about my depression in my autobiography, ‘Late, Late at Night,’ I didn’t really think anyone would pay much attention to it, but it has been the one element that every (one) seems to identify with and wants to talk about. I wasn’t going for any altruistic thing by talking about it; it’s just part of my life so it was discussed in the book . ... But now people are noticing and wanting me to talk about my battles and I get that. If I can help someone see past today and get to tomorrow and realize that everything changes in time, then I will do that.”
Asked if he steps back to appreciate his longevity in show biz and how he got here, Springfield said it’s due to “a lot of perseverance. I do appreciate it sometimes, but I’m not really that guy that looks back and reflects just for the sake of it. I do for writing purposes or whatever, but I don’t reminisce.
“I am incredibly fortunate to still have fans that are interested enough in what I’m doing to take time out of their lives to share the experience, and I know that getting out is more difficult as we get older because there’s more prep work with dog-sitters, babysitters and all the stuff that comes with being an adult.”
To this day, Springfield gets fired up about acting. Asked why, he replied, “If the writing is really good (and there is a lot of great writing now on TV), it’s an incredible high to work on roles. I cannot be me for a while and I get a lot of freedom and peace from that, plus it’s a creative process that I also enjoy.”
Is he hopeful about the music industry?
“I still hear great songs and great singers/writers. It’s a pretty tight field now as far as hearing new music goes and that’s a drag, but people are hearing stuff peer to peer and on the few adventurous radio stations that still exist. ‘Jessie’s Girl’ wasn’t even released as a single at first. DJs were still able to play songs they liked, even by unknown artists, and the song started getting a lot of phone (requests), so my label finally released it.”