Donald Fagen On Singing, Steely Dan |
| Sep 03 2010 |
Donald Fagen is currently out on the road with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs, on their Dukes of September tour. But the keyboardist for Steely Dan never intended to be their lead vocalist, too. He tells Spinner.com, “I never aimed to be a singer. When Walter [Becker] and I started, we wanted to be players and songwriters. We were always looking for a singer to front our band. But it just never worked out...I was elected because my pitch was a little better, and I sang higher. But because I was so new at it, when we first started touring, it took me a while to get into it. And I had a lot of trouble with my throat and stuff like that because I didn't really know how to sing, but over the years I took some coaching…And after a lot of experience, I finally got into it.”
On the current Dukes tour, the three singers are covering each others’ material (Scaggs’ “Lowdown” is a favorite of Fagen’s), plus mutual favorites from artists including Ray Charles and The Grateful Dead. Fagen notes that he has a solo project due next year, and that he and Becker are currently developing a concept for the next Dan album. Looking back on their career, he admits the two probably wouldn’t have made it as solo artists. “I don't know if either of us would have had the confidence to go into a music publisher's office alone. A lot of the stuff you had to do to get your foot in the door, you needed a partner. Because we used to, like, buck each other up. We were both pretty socially inept. Together we could bounce off each other and make jokes and stuff like that. But on our own, I wonder if we would ever walk in the door.” The Dukes of September Tour rolls on til early October.
Last changed: Sep 03 2010 at 10:21 AM
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