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Q: Paul, let's start at the beginning…
A: Waaaa... waa waa (making baby sounds)! That far back?
Q: The "Back In The US" CD and DVD, they trace the entire concert. When did you know that you were going to start with Hello Goodbye and end with The End?
A: You know what? I just was sitting around and -- in England before we actually came out to rehearse. And I was thinking of what songs we might want to do. And I got a big list of songs down. And those songs were in there. You know, they were on the list. We took 'em to rehearsal which was out in L.A. And when we took it to rehearsal it started to become a good idea to do like Hello Goodbye. It kind of -- we wondered whether it was kind of raw enough to open the show, because it's not really sort of that fast. But it just seemed like a good idea. So we said, "Well, you know what? Let's just try it. And if we need to change it, we will." And then The End is always kind of a good way to finish, for me. And what we did, we kind of segue-wayed it -- I sort of had the idea to, instead of doing the other bit of "Sergeant Pepper" that we often do, I thought we should do the sort of bit at the end of the album and at the end of the concert. Because it's quite sort of short. I thought it would be good to segue into (sings): "Do you want to be in my dream tonight?," which lead into The End. And so that makes a nice, neat little end.
Q: Have you ever considered starting with Take it Away?
A: (Thinks out loud to himself): Take it Away…Take it Away…yeah, it would be a good start. You know, the one I considered really starting with was Honey Hush (sings): "Come into this house. Stop all that yackety…" You know, but Hello Goodbye just seemed like a better idea.
Q: Why did your 2002 world tour begin with two visits to the US?
A: What, two legs? Yeah, well, I'll tell you why, because we're having so much fun on the first leg and we just felt that the band was really becoming a band, you know rather than just sort of a bunch of guys. And we felt very good about it. And the audiences were so cool that we really enjoyed the first leg of the tour. So we said to the guy who is our promoter, I said "You know, look, we shouldn't just fold this band now. We should keep going." So I said, you know, "Where would you like us to do some more dates? We'll do some more dates." He said, "Well, America. You should go back. They want you." And there's a lot of cities that we hadn't done. So he said, you know, "There's a big demand there." So we said, "Well, you know what? There's no place like America. We love it there." Audiences are great. And so that's why. That's why we're (adopts Little Richard-type voice) Back in the U.S.!
Q: I understand the "Back In The US" DVD has a peek into your private life that we don't usually get to see. Since we're on audio and not video, you'll have to tell me about it. First of all, how do you travel from town to town?
A: That depends, really. It's mainly flying. Most of the time it's flying. In fact, all of the time it's flying. We did plan to take a bus trip, but then we got this really cool plane. No one wants to take the bus anymore. I don't know why. Maybe it's because we've got a disco on board and, you know, food and drink. Yeah, that's how we travel normally, on the plane, yeah.
Q: What's it like for you when you get to the venue in the limo? What's that experience like?
A: It's really nice. You know, sometimes I will do, like, a radio (interview) on the way in, because it's kind of exciting. You're in a town and you're actually in the police motorcade and you're actually going to venue. And I always think it's really cool. If I was a listener, I'd think it was really cool. Yeah, wow, he's in the town. And yeah -- you know. So I like to do that. And just -- I often give, like, traffic reports. The -- you know, traffic on Freeway 120 is light to variable.
But, yeah, so then we get to the gig and often there's a little knot of fans and stuff, so that's cool. I can get to say hi to some of them. We get in and we do a soundcheck, just sort of check out our instruments and stuff. And often do a bunch of songs that we don't do in the show in the evening. We do one or two that we're going to do in the evening to give our sound guy a chance to really nail it down. But we use all the instruments -- go through all the instruments that we're going to use. And just goof around a bit. Have ourselves a bit of fun.
Q: In the Beatles' days, it was tough for you guys to get out of the hotel rooms. Can you actually, when you come to a city, get some local flavor if there's time?
A: Yeah, you know, you can do that. We could always do that actually, but it was more difficult at the height of the Beatles' things. But you know, you still found yourself doing that. I remember in places like Manila I would just sort of slip out and go downtown and see the sort of shanty areas and the Wall Street kind of areas. I'd just go out on my own, you know, buy some little souvenir paintings or something. You know.
Q: So that's why you guys didn't make it to the palace for the Marcoses. You were out shopping!
A: You know what? You know what? That was a little bit to do with it, but we had the day off man. If you remember the story, we -- that was our day off, so no wonder I was out -- I was doing my only tourist bit of the year. And when I got back, yeah, there was this sort of, "Hey, we're supposed to go to the palace." We said, "No, man, it's our day off." They said, "No, it isn't. You're coming to the palace." We said, "We get one day off a year and we're going to have it off." We had wired them months before saying, "We won't be able to make this function." But you know, it was President Marcos who was fairly much a bit of a dictator. And he said, "Tell them they're coming. You know, we've got guns. They're coming." And we just said, "No. Sorry, man. Nobody messes with our day off."
Q: And that day off is probably how you maintain some semblance of normalcy when you're on the road. How do you stay healthy on tour? Do you have time to meditate or exercise?
A: I've got a bunch of things I like to do. As you say, you know, it is good to kind of balance it. I don't really have any sort of workout programs. Heather and I sometimes do a little bit of yoga - which is really cool. We get some stretches. You know, that's a bit meditative.
Today we just went for a walk in the park, Sunday. We went down here…Houston, there's a nice little park there called Herman Park. We just walked around there. You know, occasionally people will notice you and stuff and say, "Maybe we can have an autograph?" I say, "Oh, I don't do that when we're in the park." But I say, "I'll shake your hand," and we chat. So it's cool. And, uh, so we do that kind of thing.
I also sail. I've got a little Sunfish sailboat. It's about 14 feet long. It's just a single-man craft. You know, you can just about get two people on it. Heather sometimes comes on it. But that's really good. The trucks take that around so whenever I get a moment, you know, I'll go for a little sail. We did that in New Orleans, Cleveland, and a few other places.
Q: Do you stay in touch with everyone at the home bases? Are you an email guy at this point on that?
A: I'm not email, no. Heather is. So, you know, anything I need through that, she does that. I'm not very computer…I have a music program. That's the only sort of time I use a computer really. You know, the thing with me is that people can get in touch with me in so many ways that I like to not be in touch, which is pretty much the opposite of most people because, you know, they like to stay in touch with people. I like to try and get out of touch, 'cause I'm too in touch sometimes. You know, they can get me. They can fax me, phone me, anything, you know.
Q: When you're not out on the road, we see you in New York, L.A., England. You've been known to hang out in Arizona, Jamaica. Is there a place that you and Heather consider home yet?
A: Yeah, you know, England is home for us. I mean, that's where we live. We're English, so that's our home. But we're lucky to have a few places. You know, like anyone who's earned a bit of money, you can do that. So there are a number of places that we love. But our home is England, really.
Q: On most of your tours, the soundchecks we were talking about earlier, they become shows in themselves. You could skip these sound checks, so why do you spend part of your day doing it?
A: Well, I mean, number one, it's good to -- it's like a warm-up. You know, if you're going to do a game of soccer or any sport, you'll see athletes warm up. And it's a good idea to do that. You don't want to just go in cold. There's a bunch of muscles involved somewhere. Don't ask what they are, but there's a bunch of stuff there. So it's good to exercise it. And that's number one.
But the real answer is: We love it, you know. So whenever we kind of get to the place, we've got to give our man out front a chance to get all his mics up, check that they're all working. And so they do a tech test, first of all. But then we come in for just the last three-quarters of an hour or something and do that. But we love it. You know, it's nice opportunity to try out some new numbers, just do some stuff we don't normally do. I enjoy soloing, for instance. You know, when I'm checking out my electric guitar, I play a bit more lead guitar than I would normally. I only get a chance to do a couple of bits in the show. So I enjoy that. But it's really we just enjoy playing together. That's the truth of it.
Q: Before you take the stage, there's a pre-show performance with folks in costumes. They dance... there's a whole circus atmosphere. There's a lot of anticipation out there. So what are you doing while this is going on?
A: We are getting ready. We get a warning normally half an hour before that show, which we call the pre-show. So one of the guys will come and say, "Half an hour to pre-show." And then sometimes they have to put it back a little bit if people are slow getting in. Because with all the security and stuff these days, it sometimes takes a little while for people to get in. So once that's all cool, then we'll get an announcement that pre-show is started. And we know we've got about 15 minutes from then. So that's time to just zip it up and get ready. I'm normally changed and ready to go by then. And I just go into the band's dressing room, normally. I'll go into their room and we do like a little vocal warm-up. We sing a bit. They do a couple of things. We goof around a bit, just get, you know, in the mood together. And then the guy comes and calls us and it's like, "okay, time to go." And then we walk in. But we're not going in cold, you know. We've had the sound check, we've had our little warm-up, we've had our little camaraderie. So it's like, yeah, we're ready to roll by the time we hit the stage.
Q: And when we see you for the first time -- and I can tell people this because they're already buying the "Back in the U.S." DVD, they're going to see this. That we see you in silhouette behind a big screen with the Hofner aloft, and there's 20,000 people screaming. What are you thinking at that point?
A: Oh we are loving it. It's great. There's that moment before the screen goes up, you know, which is -- it's a fun moment for us. We've got all our little ritual things, you know, that we do. It's the absolute pre-game moment. And it's great. So we're facing the other way and then we sort of turn around and you look first off at the audience. You see what you've got. And on this tour, I must say -- I mean, most tours, they're great anyway, but this tour, there's a bunch of sort of smiling people out there, you know, who come to party. So it's great. It looks great for us. And we just launch into the show and just settle down and enjoy doing the songs, try and rediscover 'em. Do a little bit of this and that. Have fun.
Q: The musicians in your band, they were pretty much unknown when you chose them to do the "Driving Rain" album and now the tours. You could have picked anyone to play with you -- and these guys are great. But what made you pick them?
A: 'Cause they were great, really. I was working with two of them. Actually, it was real guess work because I was going to go and do the "Driving Rain" album. I was talking to the producer. And he said, "How do you want to make this?" I said, "I don't know. I just want it to be really free on the album." I just was excited about recording some new songs. I didn't know how I wanted to make it. I said, "We might just kind of get into a multi-track machine-y type vibe, if we fancy that. Or we might get into kind of a raw, live sort of thing and then do a bit of machine-y on top of that or whatever. I don't know how we want to do it." And he rang me about a week before the sessions. He said, "Well, if you're going to do that, I've just been thinking." He said, "I better get some people or you better get some people. You know, we're going to work with musicians." So I said, "Well, I'll tell you what. You know guys out in L.A.. I said, "Why don't you make a couple of suggestions?" So he did. And they sounded great. Abe on drums and Rusty on guitar. And then there was another guy called Gabe who was working with us. But he couldn't come out on tour.
So anyway, I worked with those two guys during the "Driving Rain" album and loved working with them. We did a couple little things and then the beginning of this year we did the Super Bowl, with Brian, who was our kind of sort of final member. And Wix, who's from my old band. And it just seemed (a) really good little group of people. You know, the attitude seemed great. We all seemed to like each other, which is always a little bit of a plus. And even though we were just -- it was only the one number on Super Bowl, you couldn't really tell how we were going to stretch as a band. It just felt very good.
And so we got into rehearsal and it just started from there. And then the tour just built and built. And now we really consider ourselves not a bad little band.
Q: You know, I've only ever seen one photo of you writing. And that's on the "Tug Of War" album. You're there in this really big sun room that looks like you've got a pad and a piano --
A: Yeah, I remember that. Yeah.
Q: Where do you usually write?
A: I write wherever. You know, I can write on tour. It's really when I've got some time off and I'm not going to fill it with like doing hobbies and things. And I've just got sort of some time to fill. Then, I just suddenly think, "Oh, brilliant. Now…great. Now I'll sit around with the guitar or a piano. So it could be at home. It can be on holiday, because you've often got like a lot of time sort of in the afternoon after you've had your swim. You've had, you know, some lunch and stuff. And there's like a little period there where it's kind of, you know, things are nice and cool, lazy. So I often write then. It could be anywhere, really. It's wherever I've got a piano or a guitar. You know, I don't really set myself, "okay, this week, I'm going to write." Sometimes I feel like doing that, but normally, these days, I will just do it when the mood hits me. You know I get an idea for something. I go "Okay, whoa, there's a little half idea there" or I sit down for an afternoon, couple of hours, and just work up a couple of ideas. And then maybe work on them again later. It's here, there and everywhere. And we know a song about that, don't we?
Q: I was going to say, that would be a good title.
What about painting? Do you bring any of your stuff on the road?
A: No, I don't. That has to be kind of a static place where I've got canvases and stuff. It's a bit too much stuff to bring around. Sometimes -- I've got a little watercolor set, but -- occasionally, you just get a moment to do that. Where were we? We were in -- the Mississippi was flowing through it, wherever it was. And there's a big bridge over there. And Heather and I went for a walk and we had a little moment. And I just did a little sketch of her kind of thing, you know. Just those kind of little things I'll do, just to have fun. But normally, to bring a big canvas and stuff, that's a little bit of a big deal.
Q: Well, obviously, you have to bring your instruments. And some mighty nice ones you've brought. But there's a point during the show where you not only give your assistant, John Hammel a heart attack, but pretty much the rest of us in the audience when you toss him your Hofner.
A: Well, you know, it just -- it never used to be quite so far. It used to just be always sort of handing it off to him. And it was just like, you know, a couple of yards. I just would throw it a little bit. But now, we've got real cocky. And I ended up -- like last night -- well, for the last quite a while, I've been sort of not throwing it, but my Les Paul, I've just been sort of standing it up and then letting it go, just as he gets to it. And he just catches it last minute, which is just for a bit of fun, you know. But actually, last night it fell. And we sort of said, "You know what? Maybe I'll stop doing that now." It's -- you know -- I like throwing the Hofner. I don't know why. But he's a good catcher man. It does stop a few hearts, including John's. But you know what? It was only 30 quid.
Q: Yeah. Maybe 40 years ago.
There's another important instrument that you use in the set and that's the ukulele you play during Something. It was a gift from George Harrison. Do you remember the specific night he gave it to you, what the circumstances were?
A: It wasn't a night. It was just -- it was a Christmas gift. He sent it around. And it was a really nice ukulele. It's a very good one. And you know, it says on top of it, "The Gibson." So it's just really cool. It was a gift. And I've always loved it, you know. I had one myself. I have a Martin, actually. They make a nice little ukulele. Which I, in the early days on an album "Ram," you know, one of my first solo albums after the Beatles, I did Ram On on that. And so that was my little one I used to carry around. But this one's special, so I brought it on tour and I do the tribute to George with it.
Q: When you sing Something in the tribute to George, there's a lot of pictures of George on the video screen. When you sing Here Today, the tribute to John, the video screens are blank. Why did you decide to do it that way?
A: First of all, we were going to do Here Today. And we just didn't put any pictures up. And then I said to 'em, "I'd like to do something for George." So the video guys got some pictures together and said, you know, "What about this?" And I said, "That looks great." And then the guy did say, "Well, wait a minute, if we've got pictures of George, shouldn't we have pictures of John?" I actually -- to tell you the truth, I just thought it makes two numbers samey. And I thought, it's cool, you don't need pictures every time. I think it makes George's special 'cause there's pictures. And it's just a little ukulele. And then John's is sort of more conceptual. You think about it. The pictures don't do the work. You've got to do the work on that one. So I think it works like that. I like it like that. It was suggested to have pictures there, but I didn't think we needed them.
Q: You're so gracious to talk to us and do these interviews on the road. Do you get anything out of the exchanges with the press?
A: Yeah, you know, it's nice. I like talking and stuff. I rabbit on at the drop of a hat. But Peter Ustinov, the British actor and comedian said once, he said, "I like doing interviews. It allows me to know what I'm thinking." And you know, I think there is kind of slightly element of that, you know. It's just kind of cool. You think of stuff when someone asks an interesting question. You go, "what do I think of that?" And so it's interesting.
Q: With so much planned at the "Back In The US" shows and so much to remember, how do you stay spontaneous and in the moment?
A: I can't remember a thing. I forget it all as soon as it enters in my mind. It's planned, but it-- there's a lot to remember, you know. So it turns out quite spontaneous. I mean, last night -- I mean, do you play piano or anything? Do you know the chords? You play the guitar. The chords to Maybe I'm Amazed. There's quite a few of them. It's not just like A, D and E. You know, there's like B-flat, F, C, G, A-flat, E-flat. God in heaven. It goes -- a D. It goes all over the place. There's more than three chords, man. How do you expect me to remember that?
So last night, we were in New Orleans and I went, (sings) Maybe I'm Am... -- no, I'm not. I just had to start again, because I just went to the wrong chords. And that's how it keeps spontaneous. It's just difficult.
Q: The "Back in the U.S." project, it's your fourth live album, but it's the first project you've created for DVD. How is this different than your other tour videos and albums?
A: This tour is kind of special, you know. It started with just getting one camera around. We had a stills guy, Bill. And then we said, "Well, you know, let's shoot a little bit of movie stuff," 'cause it's starting to feel good. The atmosphere backstage, the soundchecks, the shows themselves. So we started pulling one camera in. And it was really just -- he's still referred to as the B-role guy. He's actually done an amazing job and he's the director, you know. But he was just going to do a couple of shots for sort of -- you know, for memory, really, for the whole thing, like home video. But it just grew and grew and grew. And so it became very special With the audiences, the camaraderie backstage, the amount of film we started to shoot. There's quite a lot of it. The guy doing it, Mark Haefeli, was just such a good guy. We just got on very well. He and I hit it off and sat around with the footage and kicked it around. And so, you know, we got -- I think we've got a really excellent DVD out of it.
And the other thing is, not just the concert film, which is brilliant, I think. I mean, you know, his job is brilliant. We're okay, too. But I think it's a really good DVD. Every time we see it, we enjoy watching it. But also, the special features you can get on a DVD. You know, they're kind of really amazing. You get sort of to meet the band, you get more of the pre-show than is in the real film. But then we have this thing where we've got a secret website. And the DVD is encoded so that if you put it in your computer, you go through to this secret website that nobody else can go through to. And there's a whole whack of extra stuff on there. So not only are you getting like the 75 minutes on the DVD -- and this, to me, is like the most magic idea I've heard in the whole century. Mind you, it's not been that long. It's a fantastic idea, because it's like -- you know, it's like getting an Elvis Presley record and putting it on and you've also got sort of a hologram of Elvis or something. So when you plug through -- if you put your DVD in your computer, you plug through to this website, where there's a whole load of other stuff. The stuff we couldn't get in on the show and special things. And actually, we can keep updating it.
So I think it's just cool value for money. You know, people are paying a DVD price, but you get so much more. So I'm very excited about that. And I hope people like it, 'cause I do.
Q: Well, we've been excited to have you back in the States. Not once, but twice. And it's been a pleasure. So I'm guessing that on your 2006 tour, you'll be singing When I'm 64?
A: You know what? I may well be doing that. There's a pretty good chance of that, I think. That's if I'm touring. You know, I may be When I'm 64-ing on a Hawaiian island. There's always that chance.
(End of Second Interview) |
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