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articles again
an article in the tampa tribune about john and the boys!!!!
Who bassist rocks art world
CURTIS ROSS
Unlike other famous English rock 'n' roll stars of the '60s, John Entwistle never went to art school.
``My stepfather wouldn't let me,'' the Who bassist says by telephone from his offices north of London.
``My stepfather decided I'd go to work so I ended up in the income tax office. I'm still working for them apparently,'' Entwistle says with a laugh, echoing the sentiments of countless British musician-subjects.
The United Kingdom likely will benefit from Entwistle's current outing with the Who. But some of the government's take may come from sales of the non-art school student's artwork.
An exhibition of Entwistle's works will be held at 531 Central Fine Arts, 531 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, beginning with a reception Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and continuing through Sept. 30 (see story in Tuesday's BayLife).
Not surprisingly, several of the drawings are caricatures of Entwistle and his band mates, as was his first widely seen drawing, the cover of 1975's ``The Who by Numbers.''
``I just drew as a kid and did cartoons when I was on the road to stop the boredom,'' Entwistle says. The ``By Numbers'' cover - a caricature of the band done as a ``connect-the- dots'' puzzle - ``got me back into drawing again.''
Besides his artwork, Entwistle also is busying himself with the John Entwistle Band, which released ``Left for Live'' in 1999 and soon will release ``Music From Van-Pires,'' music written for the cartoon series, later in the fall.
He's also writing ``a series of books, funny things that happened to the Who,'' he says.
``At the moment, the Who is the most important part,'' Entwistle says.
The Who is back on the road. The band is touring as a stripped down five-piece, with Entwistle, guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey joined by long-time sideman John ``Rabbit'' Bundrick on keyboards and Zak Starkey on drums.
Townshend has been famously fickle about touring, declaring the Who over as a live outfit before reneging for yet another outing. Entwistle, almost as famously, loves playing live.
``I pretty well like the way we're touring now, about half the time, for six months, Entwistle says. ``It's not possible every year. It's not possible every five years,'' he says with a laugh.
It's on stage that the Who made its reputation, touring relentlessly throughout the United States before 1969's rock opera ``Tommy'' made them stars. The band was so explosive a live unit that 1970's ``Live at Leeds'' is as essential a Who album as an acknowledged studio masterpiece such as 1971's ``Who's Next.''
Of course much of the Who's live appeal was visual - Daltrey a swirl of curls and fringe, Townshend leaping and windmilling his guitar, the late Keith Moon attempting to play every drum and cymbal of his massive kit at once, and almost succeeding.
Off to the side stood Entwistle, almost comic in his stoicism, a necessary, stable tonic to the madness around him. His fluid, busy style merged the steady pulse of Motown's James Jamerson with the melodic sense of Paul McCartney and fueled them with a wild, new energy. Providing rhythm and melody, Entwistle eliminated the need for a second guitarist.
Moon's death in 1978 ended the band for some fans, but not for the Who. ``Actually we never thought of stopping,'' Entwistle says. ``We just started thinking about who's going to play the drums.''
With ex-Faces drummer Kenney Jones, the new Who made two albums, 1981's ``Face Dances'' and 1982's ``It's Hard.'' The band basically is an occasional venture now, which suits Entwistle.
``I'd basically like to keep it as it is,'' Entwistle says. ``We all like to do our own thing as well as the Who.
``I like to tour with my own band, do the artwork and play with the Who,'' he says. ``I've got the best of all three worlds.''
< On tour
The Who
‹ WITH: Unamerican
‹ WHEN: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
‹ WHERE: Ice Palace, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa
‹ TICKETS: $35.80, $50.80, $75.80 and $125.80; box office, (813) 301-2500; Ticketmaster, (813) 287-8844