One For the road
the veteran rocker from traffic details his love affair with his tour bus and more…
What was your first ever gig and how did it go?
“Oh God, I don’t even remember! It would have been some local gig in Worcester with The Jaguars. I honestly don’t remember exactly what it was. I would have been about 16 and I was born in ’46, so we’re talking about 1962… Yeah. Exactly. There you go!”
Describe your current stage rig…
“I use a Bob Bradshaw rig. It’s a custom rig: a preamp with the effects post, like a studio. I run it through a Fender Blues DeVille, but I don’t use the preamp stage, I just go straight to the amp. I bypass the Fender preamp stage, because I have all that in the rig. Guitars? Mostly I use a Custom Tele or I use a Custom [Shop] Fender Strat made for me and I have humbucking pickups at the bridge and a locking tremolo unit on both.”
What piece of gear is most essential to your live sound?
“I suppose the most essential piece of gear for the live sound would be the PA – for anybody’s live sound. And as much as that, the guy running it!”
What’s on your rider?
“Well, other than what’s in the dressing room there really isn’t anything. Most is just to do with the PA stuff. I mean, we carry all our own equipment – namely stage stuff, monitors. So, really, it’s pretty much what is in the dressing room, which is kind of minimal. You know, they don’t have to take the green M&Ms out of the bowl!
“Obviously, when I come over to the UK and Europe, everything is backline. It would have to be, because I’m not going to be hauling all that stuff over to Europe and the UK. So that would be the amps and the drums. Basically, we’re a four-piece band; my keyboard player does all the bass work, so there is no bass player in the band. So I guess we’re a lean and mean unit. Over here in the US, what’s in the dressing room, food-wise, is water and drinks and stuff like that. There isn’t a lot.”
What non-musical item couldn’t you do without on tour?
“My bus! I can’t do without my bus, it gets me around. When I’m on tour, it’s what I live on. It’s my home on wheels.”
What’s the best venue you’ve played in from a musician’s point of view?
“There’s two or three. Red Rocks [near Denver, Colorado] would probably be one of the nicest. It’s just the setting – it’s a natural amphitheatre cut out of the outside of the mountain. There’s another one, but it doesn’t exist any more… the Miami Marine Stadium, which is essentially a stadium that was set up for boat racing, but it held about 8,000 people and it was just right on the water and we used to do concerts there. The stage is on a barge facing the audience and that was one of the great fun gigs.”
What’s the worst journey you’ve ever had to or from a gig?
“The worst? Gosh, I mean, at my age none of them are really much fun! Before getting my bus four or five years ago they were all pretty gruelling when you’re on the road, period. I mean, when you’re young you don’t give a damn, it doesn’t matter – but when you get past 40s, into 50s, none of it is easy.”
Which airline, from a musician’s point of view, do you find easiest to travel on?
“None at this point. That’s one of the reasons I have my own bus and stuff. I mean, for somebody whose dream, when they were young, was to go in the Royal Air Force, I find flying just a pain in the you-know-what. It’s not so much the actual flying, it’s just all the rigmarole going through all that stuff. I mean, right now we’ve just finished a show in Maryland and I’m on the bus driving home, which is going to take me five days. But I’d
rather do that than get on a plane and fly home, to be honest with you.”
What’s your best tip for getting the audience on your side?
“First off, you have to assume they’re on your side in the first place or else they wouldn’t be there! My audiences have been with me for a long time. Coming over to the UK for me is a little apprehensive, because I have never played there as a solo artist, so I have no idea what to expect. I mean, all I can do is do what I do – and all my band members, we’re all basically working musicians. We just love playing music. Some acts are just going through the motions up there on stage, but I think if you’re into what you’re doing and it’s authentic, audiences will pick up on that. I think that applies to pretty much anything in life.”
What do you do to warm up before a gig?
“[Laughs] At this part of my life I take a nap! If we have a run of dates that go back-to-back, then it’s not necessary. If we’re off for a few days, then I will.”
What’s your favourite live album?
“Actually, there are a couple of them. BB King’s Live At The Regal and James Brown’s Live At The Apollo – and there’s actually one more, Ray Charles Live At Newport. They’re everything we all learned from, for one thing. And when you consider the technology of the time, they’re just really great recordings for what was available at the time. That’s also attributed to the fact that you’re dealing with great live artists; the real deal – and great bands.”
“Some acts are just going through the motions up there on stage, but I think if you’re into what you’re doing and it’s authentic, audiences will pick up on that”