Lipstick rock, says Joe

Press, 5 April 1989, Page 22

Lipstick rock, says Joe

By

ALISTAIR ARMSTRONG

During his visit to Christchurch last month, the influential American guitarist, Joe Walsh, aired misgivings about the direction of contemporary rock. Walsh, in New Zealand to produce an album by his adopted Kiwi band, the reggae-influenced Herbs, draws his perspective from a broad range of highly successful activity over the last 20 years. The former member of The Eagles and the James Gang has embraced a multitude of musical styles, including jazz, progressive country and pop. Recently, he has lent his talents to the rhythm and blues-inspired Steve Winwood, who has had a resurgence of popularity thanks to efforts like "Back In The High Life” and “Roll With It,” and to the mainstream rock newcomer, Richard Marx (“It Don’t Mean Nothing,” “Endless Summer Nights”). Walsh’s trademark, however, has always been the raunchy rock of such solo hits as “Rocky Mountain Way.” The British giants, The Who, obviously felt he would be at home with their hard rock sounds when they asked Walsh recently to accompany them on an American tour this northern hemisphere summer. Asked what, as a trailblazer in this style of music, he thought of the direction of such current exponents as Guns ’n’ Roses, Walsh gave a terse reply: “What direction?” “I don’t call Guns ’n' Roses rock ’n’ roll. That is a bunch of ... I call it lipstick rock,” he said. “I think we are in a huge transition period here. I wish this wasn’t true but I suspect it is — I think rock ’n’ roll is an endangered species. “I mean, look at all the bands. There is Journey, there is Foreigner, RED Speedwagon, Styx ... they are all the same. It is too safe, too easy. “I’m glad Little Feat are back together. I think Talking Heads is a great band. It is a shame the Police broke up. Now and then there are some good records made, but I don't think it is rock ‘n’ roll any more; it isn't like the old days. “What is rock - n’ roll? It gets hard to define. To me it is Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. We will just

see what goes and keep an eye on it. There are some of us elders in the rock ’n’ roll train of thought that are going to stick it out until the end. As long as people come to hear me, I’ll be there to Play.” It is safe to assume that many will want to hear Walsh when he teams up with The Who. The 41-year-old’s connection with the legendary Britons goes back to the early 19705, when the James Gang supported The Who on tour. On his being summoned to help out The Who, Walsh said, “They said, ‘Well, we couldn’t think of anybody more logical to call.’ You know, they don’t want to audition guitar players in London ... they don’t even want to rehearse.” The group’s about-turn after their huge “farewell” several years ago was easily explained. “This is going to be the ‘Hello Again’ tour — they were only kidding,” said Walsh with a sly grin. “It’s like touring. You know, you go on a sixweek tour, get home and say, ‘That’s it. I’m never going to tour again, that was just horrible.’ And three weeks later it is ‘I have got to go somewhere, I’ve got to do something.’ “It is the same thing with an album. You go into a studio and do an album and it is so draining you say ‘That’s it, this stinks. I’m going to get a real job.’ Three weeks later you are sitting at the jam and saying, ‘Wow, that’s a great idea, I wonder who is up and round' and around you go. It is a fine line.” The stadium rock of The Who seemed a million miles away a little over a fortnight ago as Walsh prepared to play with Herbs in the relatively close confines of The Playroom, Mackenzie's Hotel. However, the prospect of playing in a pub appealed to Walsh, a veteran of the huge-scale American circuit. “I prefer it to a big venue,” he said. "Everybody has a good seat, you knpw? You can be a lot more intimate with an

audience and that helps, rather than them being in the 200th row, where everybody on stage is about half an inch tall. “I like the intimacy. And I really did leave my ego in Los Angeles you know; I have played enough of those stupid Madison Square Garden concerts. “When the audience is 40 feet away and there is a security fence and great big guys being ordered to whack them in the head if they clap, that is no fun. "I like them right up there staring at you. You need energy back from the audience. There is nothing better than when you get everybody rocking because you get all that back ... it is a great form of communication.” Walsh, who hinted that he would remain until the end of this month at least, expressed a fondness for New Zealand. “I like everything. I feel safe here and I feel like I belong here,” he said. “My job on the planet is to make music. The distracting parts of reality can really shut down the creative process; I hear music every minute I’m awake in New Zealand — I love it. “Plus, you can drink the water. In Los Angeles, the water is coffee and you didn’t even put any coffee in it yet, you know? You want to put cream and sugar in the water. I'm exaggerating, but not that much, actually. “New Zealand is concerned with the planet and so am I, so I belong here. “I'd like to buy some property. Gosh, if you had 50 acres in New Zealand I don’t see any reason why anybody would need a house ... get a hammock and some charcoal." Advised that winter temperatures, particularly in the south, could require a little more insulation. Walsh replied, laughing. "You’ve never been in Alaska ... piece of cake down here." The American rocker said that he had found Christchurch "a very nice small town. “Very English here. isn’£ it? Quite all rjght with me."