Time Tour

[michelej1]

[I was searching through the Los Angeles Daily News article and this one came up. It's undated, but Billy is talking about the upcoming tour with Pat Benatar.]

CLASSICS RETURN WITH NEW PACKAGING Titans of '70s, '80s hit the road in group shows


Summer is a time for kicking back, for going to the beach and for sifting through all the classic rock tours headed to the concert sheds. This year is no different, as musicians and promoters seek new ways to package the classics and give consumers more bang for the buck.

The latest ideas:

A double bill with the Steve Miller Band and Doobie Brothers, two famed San Francisco acts. ''Between us, we have 47 charted hits. And we even have pillars on stage now. That's classic, baby!'' said the jovial Miller, who is touring for the eighth summer in a row.

A triple bill of arena warhorses Fleetwood Mac, REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar. ''It will be like turning on classic rock radio,'' said Billy Burnett of Fleetwood Mac, whose lineup now includes singers Bekka Bramlett (daughter of Bonnie Bramlett) and Dave Mason, formerly of Traffic.

Such packages are put together in a variety of ways. It was Miller who personally asked old friends the Doobies to tour with him. But the REO/Fleetwood/Benatar bill - which arrives at the Universal Amphitheatre on Aug. 30 and 31 - came about because they share the same booking agency.

''These package tours are successful on a business level and let you play larger venues,'' said Benatar, a star from the early '80s. ''Is it my favorite thing to do? No. I'd like to be more in control and have the closing spot on the show. I've never done a tour like this before, but it's worked well so far.''

Added Michael McDonald, who has returned to the Doobie Brothers for the first time in years: ''It's nice to be back in the summer sheds - and it's nice to see people get their money's worth after all these years of being gouged by high ticket prices.

''It's also nice to see a lot of young people in the audience. It's the first generation in a long time to like the music of their parents,'' McDonald continued. ''Man, if Jim Morrison and the Doors were still around, they'd be selling out all over the world.''

The Miller/Doobies package - performing at the Greek Theatre on Aug. 25 - is a guitar-rocking bonanza dating back to the psychedelic days in San Francisco, where Miller used to sleep in a Volkswagen bus before getting a place in the hippie haven of Haight-Ashbury. He and the Doobies occasionally shared stages in the early '70s. Also, he and Doobies singer Tom Johnston later became neighbors in the smaller California town of Novato.

''Those days are somewhat hazy,'' Johnston admitted with a laugh.

Miller, whose hits include ''The Joker'' and ''Fly Like an Eagle,'' is always seeking new ways to spice his tours. Last year he toured following the release of a boxed set. This summer he's out with the Doobies (who were to have their own boxed set before it got tabled by infighting at Warner Bros. Records). And this fall, Miller plans to do a small theater blues tour with, he hopes, blues legends Otis Rush and Curtis Selgado. ''I've got to do a blues tour for my own sanity,'' he said.

Miller also just recorded six blues-oriented tunes with former Beatle Paul McCartney. ''He called me up and said he had a couple of songs he wanted me to work on,'' said an awed Miller. ''So I went over in May and spent two weeks recording with him. ... We also did four of my songs. We said, 'Hey, let's just do it and not worry about the business.' We got some good stuff, though I don't have a clue what's going to happen with it. It was all stuff we did in first takes. That's the way he wanted to work. I'd say, 'I think we can do that again.' But he'd say, 'No, no, no. Just the first take.' And it's amazing how much fresher that feels.''

Lately, Miller also has been dedicating himself to the music of Lightning Hopkins, a fellow Texas blues man for whom Miller used to play bass when the two lived in San Francisco. ''Stevie Ray Vaughan got it all from Lightning Hopkins,'' Miller said. ''Studying him again has really affected my own guitar playing.''

As for the Doobie Brothers, they're playing a wider variety of music now that McDonald is back. They now can range from guitar-oriented hits ''Listen to the Music'' and ''China Grove'' to keyboard-slanted hits ''Minute by Minute'' and ''It Keeps You Runnin,' '' from McDonald's tenure.

It's common to ask whether McDonald has patched up his ''feud'' with the Doobies, but it's also incorrect. ''I get asked about that a lot, but there never was a tiff. There never was a problem,'' said co-singer Johnston, who left the band himself at one point before returning. (In all, there have been nearly 20 Doobies band members through the years.)

The Miller/Doobies package makes complete sense, but the REO/Fleetwood/Benatar bill is somewhat more unwieldy. Each act is playing 70 minutes (the band Orleans is also doing a short warm-up set). Benatar chuckles that during a recent show she offended someone she thought was a Fleetwood Mac fan.

''He was an older guy with thinning hair, and he probably liked the softer Fleetwood Mac hits when Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie were in the band. But there I was, letting out a blood-curdling scream on my hit, 'Hell Is for Children.' The guy's jaw just dropped completely!''
Benatar is on the comeback trail after switching gears from arena-rock music to blues on 1991's ''True Love'' album. It didn't get much airplay but still sold 750,000 copies. ''It was something I needed to do to get out of the cookie-cutter mold,'' she said. ''If I hadn't done that blues record, I would have retired. It gave me new confidence.''

Unlike some other classic-rock acts this summer, Benatar is singing as many as four new songs per show. She's between record labels right now and hopes to catch on with a new one. Her new music leans toward acoustic-flavored rock with 12-string guitar. ''The songs have a simple construction so you're not getting slammed in the face by bombast,'' she said.

Fleetwood Mac has undergone the greatest transformation in recent years. After a four-year absence, they returned last year with Bramlett as a new singer capable of doing the older hits by Nicks and McVie. ''The sound is more raw and edgy compared to when Stevie and Christine were in the band,'' said Burnett, who joined in 1987 and is the son of oldies legend Dorsey Burnett. He added that the latest version of the band will have a new album in September. He, Bramlett and Mason all contribute tunes, while McVie contributes four, though she's no longer a touring member.

''It's going to surprise people,'' Burnett said of the disc. ''But right now, we're just loving this tour. It's a lot of fun. I'm sitting out there enjoying all the other bands myself, because I'm a fan of each.''