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Daryl Hall & John Oates: WEB EXTRAS

In the November issue of Performing Songwriter you’ll find our in-depth cover story on the most successful duo in pop history, Daryl Hall and John Oates. In these exclusive outtakes from our interviews with the two, each discusses his latest projects away from his longtime musical partner. Hall talks about the inception of his Internet series Live From Daryl’s House, as well as his interest in renovating homes. Meanwhile, Oates recounts the recording of his new solo album, 1,000 Miles of Life, and his immersion in the music-making community of Nashville.

DARYL HALL
Where did the idea for Live From Daryl’s House come from?
I won’t say I’m easily bored, but I like to keep moving. I like to keep changing things and evolving. I wanted to go beyond the idea that you’re just playing songs to an audience in a traditional way. I was looking for more interesting ways to do that, and what I decided is to bring the audience to me rather than go to the audience. I wanted to make the audience feel almost like one of the musicians in the room. From there, I said, “Well, maybe I should have some guests, because otherwise it’ll just be me, me, me.” That’s when it really took off, and I realized that that’s what I was looking for all along.

How do you figure out who’s going to be on with you?
I’ll give you an example. I have a 15-year-old stepdaughter who is a total musician, and she has the same tastes that I do. She’ll play me a song she likes and I’ll go, “OK, let’s call that guy up and see what happens.” Things generally happen like that. Someone will say, “Here’s an artist who’s influenced by you, or has mentioned you in the press or just sounds like you, or sounds like something you would relate to,” and I literally call them. I try to keep managers out of this and get directly to the artist, person to person.

Have any of the collaborations particularly surprised you?
Every show is a surprise. They are all memorable, that’s what I love about the show. Every show is my favorite in a different way.

How did you get interested in renovating houses?
I’ve always been interested in antique architecture. I grew up in an historical area with old houses. My family owned and lived in historical houses, and they were also craftsmen. My grandfather was a stonemason, a brick chimney-maker and a sculptor, and did a lot of work on houses. My father built houses, including his own. So I’ve always been around construction sites.

This may be a corny question, but is there anything similar about that and songwriting?
That’s not a corny question at all—in fact, it’s absolutely true. I find a house-building project is very similar. As with any creative project, you get a broad idea, you get a team together and that team executes. You oversee its broad strokes and then pay attention to detail.

JOHN OATES
On this record you wrote with people like Jed Leiber and Bob Mayo. How have you adapted to writing with new collaborators?
It’s one of the most exciting things. Every person you collaborate with brings something different to the table. I’ve worked with a lot of different songwriters, and what I’ve found is it’s almost like therapy. You have to open up to another individual, and another individual has to open up to you. I think there has to be a lot of trust, because you have to feel that no idea is too stupid to throw out there on the table. Even if the idea sucks, it may lead to a thought process from the other person that could take you somewhere else. You also have to have a musical rapport. At least you have to be coming from the same place in terms of the direction of the song.

How did you get involved with the musical community in Nashville, where the new album was recorded?
In the early ’90s, Daryl and I weren’t touring very much. I was working with a guy named Jerry Lynn Williams, who passed away recently. He was one of the great American songwriters as far as I’m concerned—the beauty of how he could communicate an idea in a very simple way, that was just so on the money and so soulful. Jerry introduced me to a couple of publishers in Nashville and they asked if I wanted to come down and write. I learned a lot about the business of songwriting and how it works in Nashville, the agendas that artists and publishers have.

I had this misconception that I was writing country songs. But then I realized that they weren’t country songs, they were just John Oates songs. They were very personal, and I thought I had missed the target. In retrospect, I had really hit the target in a big way. One of the songs on the new album, “I Found Love,” I wrote in ’93 when I was getting ready to marry my wife. That song was so real and so personal. When I resurrected it this past year and looked at it again, I went, “Wow, that’s like an autobiography. No wonder no country artist picked it up—no one could sing it except for me.” It was one of those things where sometimes you don’t really know what you a

Day 63 of 365


For my birthday this year, my parents gave me a Taylor 314-ce acoustic guitar. To say I was blown away would be an understatement. My mom has always been a big believer in encouraging musical creativity. I took some guitar lessons as a kid and played drums in a band in high school. I've tinkered around with a cheap Fender Squier guitar, learning chords and basic songs.

I played several acoustic guitar models in a sound room at Guitar Center and found that I really prefer the sound of the Taylors. I had no idea that I would be the owner of such a finely crafted guitar so soon. Thanks mom and dad.