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Roger interview in the Richmond Times-Dispatch



Available online at:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/flair/artandent/who02.shtml

The Who / what, where, how long?
Sunday, July 2, 2000
MELISSA RUGGIERI/Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
Having kicked off a 20-date North American jaunt last week in Chicago (with
Chicago Sun-Times pop critic Jim DeRogatis determining, "Maybe it isn't time
to pull the plug on this band just yet"), the trio and drummer Zak Starkey
appear far from turning in their earplugs.
In fact, as Daltrey mentioned in a recent phone interview from his home in
Sussex, England, The Who might be back on record shelves with a new
recording in the next year.
"We find we miss each other's company, the camaraderie of the band," Daltrey
said. "We feel as if we're playing better than ever, but we needed the time
off.
"I built another career, and it's been wonderful and I'm not giving it up
for anything. But for Pete to have that time off was necessary. The place he
used to have to visit to write the kinds of songs he did was a painful
place, so he needed to get away from that and put himself back together."
Though this is largely a greatest-hits tour, Daltrey mentioned the
possibility of a new song or two being unveiled, and, once the tour wraps
the first week of October, the likelihood of returning to the studio with
his mates.
"I've got a couple of songs that will suit The Who and ideas how we can fit
them into the act," he said. "One of the mistakes bands tend to make is
announce you're doing a new song from the stage. As soon as you do, you're
inviting the audience to take a bathroom break.
"But I've been writing like mad. I've got loads of songs, possibly three
that could be Who songs. Pete hasn't heard them yet, but I showed him the
lyrics and he's kind of impressed.
"I hope by being on the road and playing together, we can develop and make
[the album] organic, rather than sit down like we used to and say, 'OK, we
have to come up with an album.' I'd like to go back to the way we did things
in the very beginning."
In April, The Who followed the lead of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes and
released a live album, "The Blues to the Bush," through the music Web site
Musicmaker.com. Unlike the free, file-swapping Napster, Musicmaker.com
allows fans to customize a CD by choosing from a list of songs available, in
the order preferred, and downloading for a fee (20 songs on two CDs are
$19.90).
The Who is also teaming with Page and the Crowes by sharing equipment this
tour, playing consecutive nights at the same venue (Page/Crowes play Nissan
on July 6).
As for whether this will be the final round on the Who-mobile, Daltrey
defended the band's earlier retirement announcements.
"It's all a bit vague," he said. "The last tour was the last tour. We don't
really tour anymore; we just go out on the road for a few shows at a time
sometimes. When we stopped touring in 1982, we had been on the road three
years solid. It's a similar thing now. We'll do this and see how it goes."
Daltrey is also furthering his acting career (his role as a "mad rock 'n'
roller trying to clean up his act" on Showtime's "Rude Awakenings" recurs in
August) and working on a movie about deceased Who drummer Keith Moon.
"I'm going through a short list of screenwriters as we speak," Daltrey said.
"We've aborted three times already, and I spoke to [writer/director] Cameron
Crowe the other day, since he did his first interview with The Who and I
respect him as a writer and film person, and asked if, after knowing Keith
Moon, if he thought there was a film in the man, and he said absolutely.
"I don't want to make a biopic. I want to make a great film about a man who
happens to be Keith Moon, who lived an incredibly volatile, interesting
life."
At 56, the affable Daltrey -- who was late for this interview because he was
overseeing the repair of some equipment on his farm -- somehow escaped the
long-term effects of his early rock-star days, looking more trim and muscled
than performers half his age.
Attributing his fine vocal and physical shape to large amounts of work and
indulging in Austin Powers' favorite activity, Daltrey also joked that "I'm
pretty lazy, actually."
But he does vow to embrace life to its potential.
"I never used to think past the next day, and I still don't to an extent,"
he said. "Enjoy the day, or don't enjoy anything at all."

        -Brian in Atlanta
         The Who This Month!
        http://members.home.net/cadyb/who.htm