It's true. A few weeks back, about twenty loser journalists, including myself, were allowed in on a conference call with Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, and McDonald. They were promoting their Dukes of September Rhythm Revue tour, which they have weirdly taken to calling it despite the existence of better, more readily available names. I sat and listened to nerds try to impress Fagen for an hour and a half, and at the end of it -- I was literally dead last in the queue -- I was allowed one question. To the transcript!
David Hudnall: Hey, do you guys still keep in touch with Skunk?In case you didn't know (I did) Skunk's career -- wait, you do know Skunk, right? -- has evolved beyond music. These days, he moonlights as a consultant on U.S. missile defense. Not a joke. So there you go. Eat that shit, RFT.
Michael McDonald: I've actually talked to Jeff. He actually just did a record, a solo record after all these years, and it's pretty good. It's him and another guy producing, it's kind of like a two-man thing, but a lot of instrumental stuff and so I think it's due to come out pretty quickly here.
Donald Fagen: I haven't talked to Skunk for quite a while now. I forget when the last time was, a few years ago.
David Hudnall: That's all.
Donald Fagen: But I do follow his career and weaponry very closely on the Internet.
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@Annie Take a joke!
@Christian McDonald was such a class act during the conference call, warm and generous with his words and time. Your abbreviation detail is perfect. Vintage McDonald. You scooped me, I admit it.
As the RFT writer who got to interview McDonald, I did indeed scoop the fuck out of you. Our 15-minute unfettered phone interview was completely wonderful (he even called me "Chris" and referred to himself as "Mike"; bros gotta abbreviate). He reminisced about Boz and Donald and Toto's Jeff Porcaro; the name "Kenny Loggins" was even bandied about.
But your conference call sounded like fun. Let me know if you need his cell number for any follow-ups.
CS
FYI -- we landed an interview with McDonald because he did a benefit (solo) concert in St. Louis, for the St. Louis-area branch of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He's a recovering addict; he talked more about this topic here:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.c...
He was also by all accounts a very nice guy, very forthcoming and personable. The focus of our interview was on his solo work/local roots/that particular concert, not the tour w/Fagen.
And funny, but I sure ran into a lot of gridlocked traffic in KC when I was there for Paul McCartney a few weeks ago. The traffic around the Sprint Center/Power and Light District -- and the insane way they were blocking streets on a Saturday night, no less; is that normal? -- was rather bad. Sure didn't make me, as an out-of-towner, want to come back and spend time in that part of town. Glass houses, etc.
Annie Zaleski
RFT Music Editor
"That guy is a freakin' Nazi, great musician but a real a##-hole..." -Fagan on Baxter
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