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The reinvention of a hit-maker

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 28, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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[HD Version] Recording artist John Oates stopped by the Rocky's newsroom to talk about his new solo album "1000 Miles of Life" with music critic Mark Brown. During his visit, he perform a track, "Lady Rain", from the "Abandoned Luncheonette" album that he recorded with long-time collaborator Daryl Hall.

Video Video: [HD Version] Recording artist John Oates stopped by the Rocky's newsroom to talk about his new solo album "1000 Miles of Life" with music critic Mark Brown. During his visit, he perform a track, "Lady Rain", from the "Abandoned Luncheonette" album that he recorded with long-time collaborator Daryl Hall. Watch »

JohnOates serenades the Rocky newsroom last week.

Photo by Joe Mahoney / The Rocky

JohnOates serenades the Rocky newsroom last week.

"I wanted to write age-appropriate songs, songs that reflected where I am as a person right now," John Oates says of his second solo album, "1,000 Miles of Life."

Photo by Joe Mahoney / The Rocky

"I wanted to write age-appropriate songs, songs that reflected where I am as a person right now," John Oates says of his second solo album, "1,000 Miles of Life."

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When people think of John Oates, it's generally as in "Hall & Oates," and he's not surprised. His new album, 1,000 Miles of Life, is only his second solo album. The co-writer of Maneater, She's Gone, Sara Smile, Every Time You Go Away and other Hall & Oates hits has been prioritizing his life, whether it was moving to Colorado years ago or raising his family. Besides promoting his solo album (and its slew of guest artists, such as Bela Fleck), Oates is setting up a trio of songwriter workshops at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen for next year with himself, Tift Merritt and other writers playing songs and telling the stories behind them. He stopped in at the Rocky last week to talk with pop music writer Mark Brown about music and life - and to play some as well.

How did you come to live in Colorado after growing up near Philadelphia?

I came out here in the '60s. I was at Temple University, in Philadelphia, and there was a ski trip on the bulletin board. It was $125 for airfare, a week of skiing in Aspen and hotel. I said, "You can't beat that." So I talked some guy I knew into going skiing with me. I'd been a skier and always wanted to go out West. Next thing I knew I found myself in Aspen in the '60s. In the late '70s, I got back into skiing. A friend of mine from New York had a house up there that I could use any time I wanted. In the '80s, I bought a condo and began to come out on a regular basis. About '88, I said: "You know what? I gotta live here." Changed my life, moved out to Colorado. Best thing I ever did.

What was it like in the '60s?

Needless to say, a very different world. A lot of hippies and counterculture, which appealed to me. It was almost that quintessential dream ski adventure. A big dorm, a bunch of dirt-bag skiers, a big St. Bernard, a fire, a lot of other extracurricular activities we won't go into now. It snowed the first night I got there. The whole thing was almost too good to be true.

This album has a lot of thoughts about life in songs like Spinning Down, which appreciates moments you didn't appreciate in the past. How did it come about?

Six months before I recorded this album, I had no intention of making an album. A lot of close people to me had passed away. . . . I started thinking about mortality, about life in general, basically about not wasting time. I had this song called 1,000 Miles of Life: "You wasted a thousand miles of life standing on the side of the road." There's nothing worse in life than letting it pass you by. That became a theme for the entire album.

Your songs reflect your age; you're not trying to re-create your past.

I'm proud to say I'm smart enough not to do that. Those pop songs were a moment in time. We were living in New York. The '80s were very pop. We felt very comfortable in that place, but now I've moved on. I'm not a teenager. I don't write teenage love songs. I probably could, but it would probably ring false. I wanted to write age-appropriate songs, songs that reflected where I am as a person right now.

You've been fortunate in your life: growing up near Philly during the R&B heyday, being a musician as the music industry peaked, being financially secure now in its aftermath. How much has luck played into your career?

Serendipity, luck, good fortune, gift from God - all those things. It's a really important component. Some people say: "Wow, I wish I was born whenever. Maybe it wasn't my time." I think I was as much in my time as any person could be. To see and hear the early history of rock 'n' roll and R&B, actually seeing these performers at the Uptown Theatre in Philly . . . I don't think I could have been in a better place.

Tell me about having great players like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas on the new record.

I've been focusing on my musicianship. When I put myself in an arena with those players, the Sam Bushes and the Jerry Douglases, the Bela Flecks, you'd better be able to play. Those guys are the creme de la creme of instrumentalists. I had to step up a bit. It was Sam's idea to do the bluegrass version of Maneater. . . . He's a character, has a lot of energy. He picked up the mandolin and played this funny bluegrass version. . . . It was a highlight of my career to be onstage with him at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

The view of Hall & Oates has changed. Back then you were considered lightweight, now you're in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I take it you like that change?

Very much so. The '70s and '80s, the rock press was not very warm and respectful of people who made hits. It was considered unhip in a way. We were put on that shelf: hit- makers, less than substantial, whatever. My take on that is, if it's so easy, why doesn't everyone do it? I'm very proud of the records we made; now a whole new generation looks at us in a complete different way, such as songwriters and pop legends, rather than trivial hit-makers.

What's the relationship like with Daryl?

This year he and I decided to take the year off. He's doing his Live From Daryl's House Web cast, I'm doing my solo album. At the same time, we played a show last week in Los Angeles. It's so easy for us to play together. We don't rehearse, we just show up. It's like putting on an old shoe that fits really well.

Mark Brown is the popular music critic. Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Comments

  • November 28, 2008

    4:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mark Brown writes:

    You can see a video of my talk with John Oates and a performance of a Hall & Oates song here:

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/vide...

  • November 30, 2008

    4:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    RL78 writes:

    I'll never figure why people think that it's a negative to have a hit. That just doesn't make any sense. It's good to see John getting some press. Daryl Hall and John Oates aren't in the Songwriters Hall of Fame for nothing.