Alt-Nation: an Interview with Peter Wolf and Fall Shows
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Alt-Nation: An Interview with Peter Wolf and Fall Shows My earliest memories of listening to radio involve getting down to The J. Geils Band when they started to have a string of huge radio hits with the likes of “Freeze Frame,” “Centerfold,” and “Just Can’t Wait.” This was the tail end of the band’s career as soon as they hit the big time, it was over. Singer Peter Wolf left to go solo. Wolf would have a couple hits like “Lights Out” and “Come as You Are.” More than the hits, Wolf has built up a catalogue 30 years in the making of some really fantastic music. Growing up, there would be that one Saturday night of year where Wolf returned to where he started, on the airwaves of WBCN. He’d play all these obscure records that I had never heard of and spin tales of hanging with musicians like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters that in my teenage mind were some legendary figures from another dimension. I had heard of them and these stories about them but didn’t really know much about them at the time. These experiences later would prod me to dig deeper in the band’s rich history. The J. Geils Band remain one of my all-time favorites for classic American R&B-infused blues rock ‘n’ roll. With The J. Geils Band coming to town, it seemed like a good time to talk to singer Peter Wolf about the band and his solo career. Marc Clarkin: Does it take a while when the band gets back together to recapture the magic? Peter Wolf: Well yeah, we work hard on it. It’s not unlike actors getting together putting on a classic play. The lines might be there, but you want to make sure it lives and breathes and has the same intensity you are known for. We always try to keep the bar high and keep the energy where it needs to be. It is always an interesting get-together, kicking up the songs that we’ve been known for. MC: When it comes to constructing the set lists, obviously there are the hits that everyone expects. Do you have any deep cuts or tracks you are partial to planned this time around? PW: Yeah, we had about four or five in the set that were kind of obscure album tracks that we liked. This time there will be several of them. It changes. Of course people expect certain songs that you made popular, but that is true of many bands that have been around a long time like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles or the Rolling Stones. People want to hear the songs you made popular. MC: Although The J. Geils only had their commercial success toward the end of their career, you guys were playing arenas for years prior to that. Do you think that things are different today as far as a band being able to reach the level of selling out arenas without a hit record? PW: We played arenas quite a bit, but I would say it wasn’t till the MTV era came along and embraced the band that we had our largest popularity. Also it coincided with a label change that had a great belief in the band that combined with MTV gave us new possibilities that we didn’t have before. There are a lot of bands playing arenas today that people say wow, where did they come from? I’ve never even heard of them. There is a whole new audience through multimedia and the internet that communicate to a whole new fan base that are having great success that might not be played on the traditional radio in the way that the Stones or Geils or Aerosmith, bands of that order achieved their acclaim shall we say. MC: You got your start in the music business as a deejay for WBCN in Boston. How did that come together? PW: The fellow who put the station together was kind of an eccentric character. He used to go out drinking and when the bars closed, he’d come to my place and pass out on my couch. Then one day he asked me if I wanted to invest in this radio station. I couldn’t even pay my rent, never mind invest in a radio station. “Well,” he said, “you’ve got all these records around the house. Why don’t you at least help me out and come up and deejay?” So I ended up doing that for a couple of years. Every night I had the Wolfa Goofa Mama Toofa that went from midnight till 6 in the morning. I really enjoyed it. I had guests like Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, Carla Thomas, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and all sorts of different people. It was an amazing time to be on radio because it was one of the only music shows on at night on the FM dial that was playing that kind of stuff. So a lot of guests who were in town would drop by after their shows to promote that they were in town. MC: I know you’re working on a new record. It’s been five years since your last solo record, the excellent Midnight Souvenirs, was released, how is the new record coming along? PW: It is finished and should be out in February or March. We’ll be touring with the Midnight Travelers. which I’m very excited about. I enjoy doing the Geils stuff because it enables me to revisit a body of work that I helped create and was part of my life for so long. The solo stuff is very important and meaningful because it gives me the ability to keep rolling on. MC: Midnight Souvenirs had a lot of guests on for duets; do you have any on the new record? PW: It was a thrill to work with Merle Haggard who I always admired. He’s an icon. He’s right up there and it was a labor of love. On the album before that (Sleepless) it was great to work with Mick Jagger and another song with Keith Richards who are old friends. I had been planning to do a duet with a singer and songwriter that I had always loved and admired, Bobby Womack. There was a song I wrote with Don Covay who was a good friend of Bobby’s. Just as I got done finishing the song that Bobby was going to sing on, the fellow that was producing the record said you won’t believe it. I just got a flash on my cell phone that Bobby Womack passed away. It was very sad and disappointing news to lose an artist like that. His band the Valentinos was the first band to record “Looking For a Love,” which became a Geils staple. Bobby had been somebody that I had been a fan of throughout my career. That’s why I say with this Geils tour when people ask if this is the last tour, “You never really know.” Some bands like to promote it as the last tour but you never really know. So if people haven’t seen the band, they should make a point to get out there. Catch it while it is there. The J. Geils Band and Ian Hunter & The Rant Band will bring the Houseparty to India Point Park on The Providence Waterfront on September 5. The doors open at 5:30pm and the show starts at 6:30pm. Scurvy Dog Parking Lot Mega Show The Scurvy Dog is at it again, hosting another all-day barbecue and rock show in their parking lot. The Labor Day Weekend lineup includes co-owner Jami Sleaze’s ’50s Elvis tribute band Louisiana Hayride, Beta Motel, the Viennagram, The Worried, Sasquatch, The Hornets, The Quahogs, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion! (Boston instrumental surf rock), and Minibeast (crazy psych-rock featuring Peter Prescott of Mission to Burma and Adam Autry from Olneyville Sound System). There will be a grill going outside with the Scurvy Dog’s usual menu plus the addition of Jennifer Hurricane’s world-famous seafood gumbo. The Scurvy Dog Parking Lot mega show happens at The Scurvy Dog on September 6th. The music will run from 2PM to 11Pm and the bar will be open all night. Spot Underground’s Summers End Rock BBQ As sad as it is to see summer go, who doesn’t like a good barbecue to send it out in style? In fact, one can just go barbecue hopping from the Scurvy Dog for the Parking Lot Mega Show to the Spot, and then maybe hit The Parlour. The whole time you’d have great music going on in the background. The Spot will have food and two stages going all night featuring performances by Spiderfighter, Another One Down, Chained to Insanity, Chronovore, Rich Polseno, Johnny Poons and Insanity Plague. Spot Underground’s Summers End Rock BBQ will take place on September 6 at the Spot Underground in Providence. Barrence Whitfield & The Savages Barrence Whitfield & The Savages come to town in support of their new powerhouse of record in Under The Savage Sky (Bloodshot Records). Under The Savage Sky is packed with the R&B and garage rock that has long been Whitefield and The Savages’ calling card. I’ll have review of the entire record next issue but until then, circle this date on the calendar so you don’t miss something special.