Ox interview in San Jose Mercury

["Jeff House" <whocasa@hotmail.com>]

http://ent.bayarea.com/scripts/staticpage.dll?only=y&spage=AE/music/music_details.htm&id=22295&ck=&pwhere=Bay+Area&pwhen=%2b1000&ver=3.0

Entwistle isn't on hiatus

By Buddy Seigal
Mercury News
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2001

John Entwistle, bassist with the Who, is among the most influential 
musicians in rock 'n' roll. His aggressive, melodic and complex style -- 
more like a lead guitarist's than a conventional bassist's -- has served as 
a model for countless others who saw their role as more than simply holding 
up the bottom of a rhythm section.

Many of Entwistle's compositions -- among them, ``Boris the Spider,'' 
``Whiskeyman'' and ``My Wife'' -- have been favorites among Who fans. And 
during the Who's frequent hiatuses over the years, Entwistle was kept 
active, with eight solo albums released between 1971 and 1999.

Now Entwistle is embarking on a new adventure. His current tour is ``A Walk 
Down Abbey Road,'' a Beatles tribute -- which plays Monday through Wednesday 
at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. In it, he will concentrate on songs from the 
Beatles' ``Abbey Road'' album, joined by Todd Rundgren, Alan Parsons, Ann 
Wilson (of Heart) and members of his solo band. Entwistle's drummer, Steve 
Luongo, is the guy who organized this particular journey, and the man 
nicknamed ``Ox'' seems almost perplexed when asked what fans should expect 
from the tour.

``I'm confused,'' deadpans Entwistle. ``I've met Todd before. I don't think 
I've met Ann Wilson. Alan I think I've met before. I don't know any of them 
that well. I'm sure I will after the next few weeks. It's kind of different 
from what I'm used to, but I'm getting my fingers around it.''

Asked why the Beatles and why the ``Abbey Road'' album, in particular, he 
says, ``Well, the Who started as a pop band doing Beatles songs, because 
that's what people wanted to hear, that's all. We started out playing `Twist 
& Shout' and `I Saw Her Standing There' and probably the whole of the first 
and second albums. But we're not playing that stuff.''


What's he, chopped liver?

It might be a sign of humility that Entwistle is even doing this tour. After 
all, many would argue that the Who was just as important as the Beatles. And 
it could also be argued that, despite long track records of their own, the 
musicians with whom Entwistle is performing fall far short of his own large 
legacy.

``Ummm no, I always play with people who aren't as famous as me,'' the Ox 
says with a laugh. ``They're famous enough to play with me. Anyone's famous 
enough to play with me. I don't feel very humble at all.''

Still, Entwistle saves his longer and more thoughtful responses for 
questions about the Who. It's obvious that, even after more than 40 years 
(Entwistle started playing with guitarist Pete Townshend when they were 
schoolboys in the '50s), the Who remains his passion. The group tours or 
records infrequently now, but according to Entwistle, it's not yet down for 
the count.

``There's a bunch of stuff that's possible we'll be doing, but we haven't 
chosen which yet,'' he says. ``We have to try out new songs for an album 
first. I think that's our best bet, working on songs for a new album, write 
some material. We'll see where it takes us.''


Feuds have dwindled

Entwistle insists the well-publicized squabbles that have plagued the band 
over the years have subsided. But he acknowledges that the band spends more 
time with solo projects than working together these days. He's says it's 
easy to feel trapped by the Who's legacy but that the members always come 
home.

``We get on very well,'' he says, ``but I do get to feeling trapped. Always. 
And I think the rest of the Who feel that way, as well, especially Pete. 
Pete has his own sort of taste in music that's slightly different. He gets a 
chance to perform his own stuff onstage anyway, which is what I do with my 
band.

``But I think the breaks we had, where we weren't playing together -- I 
think they helped us out a lot. It helped me, in particular. So after a 
break and working with different musicians, when I come back to the Who, I 
have something different to offer. The secret to staying together is not to 
play together, I guess.''

Of course, Entwistle could easily rest on his laurels. The Who has won a 
Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and Entwistle was recently voted ``bass player 
of the millennium'' by British Guitar magazine.

``Yeah, the millennium,'' he chuckles. ``That would be a long time. Of all 
the bass players that's ever been, I got voted No. 1. That's a lot truer 
than the Playboy poll I suppose. When people come up and go, `Hey -- you're 
a legend,' I always thought legends were Ulysses and King Arthur and people 
like that. I'm a minor legend, I guess. It makes you feel extremely old and 
just about to die. It's those . . . Off and Die Awards -- they get you every 
time.''




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