New interview with Roger and producers from Newsday

["Kevin O'Neal" <kevinandt@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tackling the When and Where
The Who's front man takes the helm of a rugged history show

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By John Crook
ZAP2IT.COM

October 9, 2003


Roger Daltrey is best known to millions for his electrifying work as the front
man of The Who, but the British rock singer and actor shows an even more
adventurous side of his personality in "Extreme History With Roger Daltrey," a
new weekly series now airing on The History Channel (Sundays at 10:30 p.m.)

Each week, Daltrey gamely undergoes tough, often risky challenges to give
viewers a look at the gritty and even brutal conditions under which early
Americans made their way across the continent. Accompanying him is a team of
experts on location to provide guidance and perspective on each episode.

One week, Daltrey learns about the survival skills that kept explorers Lewis
and Clark alive in the Montana mountains of 1805. Another week, he relives the
saddle-sore life of a cowboy on the Chisholm Trail in 1867 or re-creates John
Wesley Powell's hair-raising 1869 journey down the Colorado River in a wooden
boat.

"The History Channel came to us, and they said that they wanted to do
something different and something a little radical," explains Matt Ginsburg,
co-executive producer of the series with David Leepson. "We started putting
together a list of people we thought would be pretty intriguing [as host], and
one day, David turned to me and said, 'What about Roger Daltrey?'"

"It was just an instinct," Leepson adds. "It was a vibe that we had, and we
just went with it."

Using a famous Brit to explore American history definitely qualifies as
thinking outside the box, but Daltrey says he jumped at the offer.

"I thought it was a great chance to have a boy's own adventure," he says.
"I've flown across America so many times, probably more than most Americans,
yet I've seen very little of it. This seemed like a great opportunity to
really get out there and see what a great country it is."

Although he turns 60 next March, Daltrey exhibits the vigor and fitness of a
man half his age, scrambling up sheer mountain faces and negotiating
treacherous rapids with aplomb.

"Being lead singer of The Who is a very physical job that keeps me in shape,
but even way back in the early days, I kept things pretty clean. Don't get me
wrong; I had a good time, all right, but I was sharing the stage with some
raging alcoholics and addicts, and one of us had to keep a clear head," he
said, laughing.

"And I think I got more than I signed on for with this show. It looks
dangerous because it is dangerous. I remember bouncing down the Colorado River
and thinking, 'What the hell am I doing? I have a family back in England! This
is bloody insane!'"

http://www.nynewsday.com/entertainment/ny-p2toptv3485768oct09,0,2381231.story
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Kevin in VT

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