Doobie Doobie Doobie Do
For over five decades, The Doobie Brothers have been delivering roots-based, harmony-laden, guitar-driven rock’n’roll – all of which recently culminated in an induction into the 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Boasting one of the most loyal fan bases in music, selling more than 48 million albums, and winning four Grammy Awards, The Doobie Brothers continue to write and record new material and tour the world.
Last week Seven caught up with co-founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter, Tom Johnston.
Are you bringing any new music to Australia or working on a new release?
We’re talking about doing just that. I don’t know that it’ll be an album, probably more likely to be an EP. It takes a while to do an album, although I have to say the sound on the last one, Liberté (released October 2021), was different from any album I’ve ever done, simply because the writing and the recording on it was done at a really rapid pace, not because it had to be, it just went that way.
Also, the guy that produced it (John Shanks) is one hell of a guitar player and he’s also a great songwriter, so he co-wrote every song that was on the album. It made for a totally different environment from what we were used to, you know, sitting in the studio for months at a time and working on this song, then that song, with a producer. It was a different way to do it, but I enjoyed it – it was pretty cool.
Is there a particular song that you never ever ever get sick of playing?
You know, for a fact, that ‘Blackwater’, ‘Takin’ it to the Streets’, ‘Long Train Runnin’, ‘China Grove’ and ‘Listen to the Music’, you’re always going to get a reaction to – you don’t get sick of them because the crowd responds in such a big way. If everyone was sitting on their hands, yeah, you’d probably get tired of it. But they’re up singing the song with you and dancing and having a ball. So on any given night any of those songs are different at each show because of that.
What inspires you?
It’s a good question. I don’t have a good answer. As far as music goes, it’s always been a part of my life since I was a little, bitty kid. So I would say that’s always been something that propels me, gets me into doing lots of different other things, but through music I’ve seen so many different countries and towns and crowds – I’ve got to travel and be a tourist while I’m working. I have just had a lot of experiences I don’t think I would have had if I hadn’t been a musician. And I love playing music. So it’s the best of all worlds. I’m looking forward to the festival – we’ve played Bluesfest twice and it’s a great gig. I absolutely love it!
For more information and lineup news, visit: Bluesfest.com.au
