 John, Gail, and Shane |
The many faces of John Waite
|
John, Gail, and Shane |
The many faces of John Waite
|
His latest release, When You Were Mine, is a solo work done incollaboration with rock veteran Shane Fontayne, who has worked in the past with Bruce Springsteen and the band Lone Justice. Fontayne is an excellent guitar player and not a bad songwriter, either ... Chet Atkins recorded one of his songs.
Waite and Fontayne recently did a semi-acoustic show in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The duo performed the Tennessee- and country-inspired songs from his new album ("Bluebird Cafe" and "I-95"), as well as past hits "Missing You" and "In Dreams," then as an encore, a cover of the Vince Gill song "Whenever She Comes Around."
Before this performance, [I interviewed John Waite]. The interview provides insight into this complex man and what he is trying to get at musically. When he walks into a room, there is no doubt that he is an Englishman: he has the poise, the posture, and the fastidiousness. And then, of course, he opens his mouth and speaks in the light accent, softly, quickly. "I come from a rock background. I've a lot of blues influences and country, [but] what I do is still rock," he comments about his music. "My phrasing is blues phrasing. The blues is like conversational singing; it's very short phrases."
Where does he identify with blues? When asked about his favorite all-time music, he says it is, "[The band] Free and black music: blues." Digging deeper about his relationship with the blues, he answers the question about whether he has been down enough where he could experience the real "blues" feeling. "I've led a dark life. I think I'm balanced, but I think my life has been really a very intense, restless life. I've lived out of a suitcase for half of it. I'm divorced," he replies. He says he likes to travel, but lives a double life, commuting back and forth from his current home in New York City to his family home in Lancaster, living half his time in each place.
Concerning acoustic music he listens to currently, he says, "I've rediscovered Dylan. [And] Gillian Welsh, who's a lovely sort of Appalachian, country album she's made with T-Bone Burnett producing, called 'Revival.' It's like my favorite; I play it non-stop ... at least once a week." Later he adds, "We [Shane and John] were saying on the plane today, was that all the bands we like, that we listen to, and can stand, are all like either old world country, or folk or in that folk world 'cause it's authentic. Then what we play is still rock'n'roll, although it's influenced by that authenticity ... I don't go home and learn Hank Williams songs, or George Jones, but there's something about the writing that's as truthful, and as daring, as sharp as the best contemporary writers like Elvis Costello, or Tom Waits, or those people that really look the beast in the eyes like Dylan. The old blues guys did [it]. It's really something else. It's like high art; it's not commercial."
He says this about his work, "I look at myself, and really put myself through a grind. It matters a lot to me." He says it's hard to imply that work ethic on a band.
But he currently enjoys working within a duo. "I like working with Shane. Everytime I start playing or singing something, he starts playing something against it, and it's like, there it is. It's a much more bohemian approach. Everybody's like in their own worlds; there's nothing stock about it. Although it's based in country and blues and stuff, it's still very rock," Waite explains. Fontayne understands Waite's feelings about what he says Waite calls "real. The music has passion, and is expressive." Sharing an ultimate goal and working well together make Waite and Fontayne a dynamic duo.
With all these spiritual ideas floating around Waite, one wonders if he has any religious feelings. At the interview, he spoke about Buddhism. "I'm very anti-violence. I've spent long periods as a vegetarian. And it just makes a lot of sense to me. Any religion that promotes peace -- it can't be all that bad ... The Self-Realization Fellowship is where you go and chant and sing peaceful rhymes and stuff, and celebrate life."What are Waite's future plans? About videos or single releases, he says, "It's all up to Mercury [his record company]." About moving back to England, he says, "I've got intent to buy a farm and just disappear in the Lake District ... I'll either live there, or somewhere like New England." After the interview, he said his thank yous and went on his way. Later, he gave a casual performance, talking to the audience and acknowledging some Internet fans in the audience.
Waite has a couple of pages on the net. Most notable is one called Waite Toons at www.raize.com/WaiteToons. The fans at the show are on a listserve, or mailing list, which discusses topics related to John Waite. That night, they attended the Tennessee show from as far away as Ohio, Indiana, Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach. The list owner arranged for the fans to meet Waite and get photos and autographs, which he graciously obliged to do. Some of the fans had followed his music for his entire career. He was, as always, thankful to acknowledge the people who admire his work.
Although John Waite is best remembered as the original singer and songwriter of Tina Turner's current hit, "Missing You," he is no one-hit wonder. It is true that "Missing You" was his longest running #1 hit on the Billboard charts in the '80s. But, unknown to some, he has been rockin'n'rollin' for over 20 years. His musical career began in the '70s with The Babys, a pop band who frequented the top 40 three times, most noteably in 1977 with "Isn't It Time?"
John Waite and Jonathan Cain are the two performers from The Babys that have had the most commercial success. Cain, now a keyboardist for Journey, worked with Waite twice: first, with The Babys after original keyboardist Michael Corby left, and next with the band Bad English, which included not only Waite and Cain but Neal Schon of Journey as well (Bad English was formed while Steve Perry was on hiatus from Journey). Bad English had three songs on the radio: "When I See You Smile," which went to #1, "Price of Love," which went to #5, and "Straight To Your Heart." They only produced two albums, Bad English and Backlash. Between bands, Waite released solo albums. His first solo album, Ignition, was promoted on MTV (in 1982, its inaugural year) by the video for "Change." His next album, No Brakes, produced the hit "Missing You," and "Tears," a top-40 hit. Mask of Smiles followed with the top-40 song, "Every Step of the Way."
Since the breakup of Bad English, Waite has been searching out his musical "roots." Temple Bar includes three cover tunes. When You Were Mine brings those roots into his own music. Despite being somewhat of an enigma musically, the man is talented. He is a true artist. He has done what he wants, when he wants, and has been supported by many talented people. There is no question about John's ambition or that he has been touched by a musical muse. He is a true artist. Why else would he say this? "I'm really being driven to do what I do. It's not easy when you're driven to get it right. It's really a lonely sort of prospect, but it's like, what else is there? You have to go on."
Gail notes: I'm sure I left things out, like the songs "Everytime I Think of You" and "Possession," but I feel that, otherwise, the article is fairly complete. I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to send comments to no1rockfan@gmail.com
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