Apathetic? Joe Walsh Could Care Less
Author: Larry McShane
Publication: Associated Press (Wire Service)
Date: June 4, 1991
Abstract: Joe discusses Ordinary Average Guy with a sad lack of interest or spirit.
Joe Walsh doesn't want a hit single. He didn't pick the name of his new album; in fact, he doesn't like the title. He won't discuss any Eagles reunion rumors. He can't say when his new tour starts or where it will go.
And you thought interviewing famous rock stars about their new albums was fun and exciting.
"It's no big deal to put a record out. Everybody's excited but me," said Walsh. "What is this, my 20th or something? It does good, it does good. I can't get my hopes up."
Or his enthusiasm.
"I'm pretty boring, huh?" Walsh asked after one of many monosyllabic answers to questions about his latest album, "Ordinary Average Guy."
Well, yes.
It wasn't always so. Walsh broke into rock as the nimble-fingered guitarist with the James Gang in the late 1960s, scoring with the hits "Funk No. 49" and "Walk Away." A successful solo career followed; his "Rocky Mountain Way" became a classic rock staple.
There were three albums with the Eagles, including the masterful "Hotel California," before returning to the solo scene. "Life's Been Good," his satire on rock star excess, hit No. 12 on the pop chart. More recently, he worked with Steve Winwood and toured with Ringo Starr.
Along the way, Walsh achieved a reputation as one of rock's greatest party guys, as adept at trashing hotels rooms and himself as ripping off guitar riffs. It's an image Walsh doesn't like anymore.
"I've kind of fixed that. I'm straight and sober, not wild. Used to be. I know how to be," said Walsh, quietly sipping a soda at the Plaza Hotel.
Walsh looks like he really knew how. At 43, the wizened Walsh is thin and frail-looking; his hair is graying; he moves slowly across the room, peering through thick glasses.
It's hard to imagine that this is the same guy trading lead guitar licks with Don Felder on "Life in the Fast Lane," or wailing away on "Rocky Mountain Way." And though he's allegedly promoting his new album - Epic Records has rented a suite to conduct interviews - Walsh puts the A in apathetic:
-On his new single, "Ordinary Average Guy": "I didn't pick it. That's all I can say, man. I had nothing to do with it."
-On his reputation as rock 'n' roll's clown prince: "I don't want nothing to do with it. That's all I can say."
-On the venues he might play: "I don't have a clue. I could care less."
-On the much-rumored Eagles reunion: "I don't have any comment on the Eagles. That's between Henley and Frey. OK?"
In fact, Walsh says he doesn't want "Ordinary Average Guy" to become a hit single: "That's all I need, another hit single. Yuuuk. What's that got to do with anything that's supposed to be an art form? I'll have to collect some stupid award that I don't want."
Walsh is also down on record companies and the current music scene.
"I don't think there's any rock 'n' roll being made these days. All I hear from new groups is noise. ... I mean, I don't understand new music, and I don't see any need for videos whatsoever."
As for record companies, Walsh said, "I don't have any respect for record companies. They're a bunch of tone-deaf executives. All they care about is profits for their corporate quarter, not if you're good or not."
So what does Walsh care about?
"Having a son. The planet. My family. And AIDS research. And 500 oil wells burning for a year. The homeless. That's about it."
Yes, it is.
