By now, everyone knows what Johnny Winter looks like, even if they’ve never heard his music (those who haven't might be deemed fortunate by critics of Winter's recent albums). You’d have to be as short-sighted as Winter himself not to recognize his distinctive albino features.
He's currently in Britain, preparing for the only UK concert of his European tour at the New Victoria Theatre in London. The band accompanying him includes his regular sidemen: Randy Hobbs on bass and Richard Hughes on drums. Both have been with Winter for some time and appeared on his recent albums. A more recent addition to the band is second guitarist Floyd Radford, who joined only a few weeks ago. The London concert will be his first appearance with Winter.
“We’d been playing as a trio for some time,” explains Winter, his eyes half-closed and permanently crossed, “and I really wanted somebody else to help with my writing. I was looking for another guitarist the whole time I was finishing off my record, and it seemed we were going to come over here as a trio. Then Floyd came up from California. I’ve known him for four or five years, and I’d jammed with him a few times before. Luckily, it worked out perfectly. We’ve only had four rehearsals, but it all came together. We just got up and played.”
It will essentially be the same dynamic that existed between Winter and Rick Derringer, with the two guitarists working off each other. “Y’know, I go through phases where I don’t want to play with anyone else. Sometimes I feel I want to do everything myself—I just don’t want anybody on that stage with me. Then, sometimes, if it’s the right person, I really enjoy it. I like to improvise a lot, so it’s gotta be somebody who fits in naturally, who knows my style and where I’m going."
“The trio went down really well in America, but I think it’s something that excites me more than it does an audience. It can help to have somebody to work off, especially if you’re having an off night. The other person can act as a kind of inspiration.”
What about the new album, which includes John Lennon’s song Rock 'n' Roll People ?
“I was really glad to get that song because John’s been one of my favorite people for a long time. I’ve been hustling for a song from him for three or four albums. When I did Still Alive And Well , we called him up and asked if he had any extra rock 'n' roll songs. He said if he did, he was keeping them for himself because he was short on material. Then, he was recording at the same studio as us, and my producer mentioned I was recording there and asked again if he had any songs we could use. Rock 'n' Roll People —he’d written it for himself, but it hadn’t come together right, so he gave me the tape, and it was just perfect for me.”
So, what about the rest of the album?
“It’s a fairly strange record, actually. About half of it is what you might call the old Johnny Winter—it’s got three blues songs I wrote, kinda traditional. It’s more like what I was doing around ’69. Then, it’s got some really radically different material: some blues, some rock 'n' roll, and some heavily produced ballads that I wrote. They’re really out of character for me and what people expect from me. There’s also a country song called Love Song to Me , which is about how much I love myself.”
Did the album, to some degree, return to the earlier days of the Winter bands?
“Well, I’ve always wanted to be accepted for whatever I do well. I don’t really want to change direction; I just want to go in any direction I feel like. It’s strange because when I was playing clubs down in Texas, variety was the main thing people expected—you had to be able to play everything. But when I made it big, I got categorized. You could do whatever you wanted, as long as it was what people expected. Anything else, they didn’t want to know. Since then, I’ve been trying to get out of the categories people place me in. It’s a difficult process—audiences always want to hear something familiar. If you play a song they’ve never heard, they usually don’t care, no matter how well you play. I try to compromise: play half what they want to hear and half what I want to play.
“If I only played what they wanted and I didn’t like it, people would be able to tell because I’m not a good actor—it would come across. On the other hand, if I only played for myself, I should just do that in my bedroom. You have to remember that people have paid to see you, and they’re gonna be disappointed if they don’t hear certain songs. You feel obligated, even if you’ve played a song half a million times and vowed never to play it again.”
Winter’s recent enforced absence from music, if nothing else, made him reevaluate his career. When he came back, he decided he wouldn’t get trapped in any more gruelling coast-to-coast tours.
“I don’t like being on the road so much anymore, so I just don’t do it. One of the things that really split me up was that on tour, you don’t have any roots—it’s like you’re in a different dimension. It gets weird—you don’t feel quite alive after the endless strain. We do six weeks on the road at most, then take a break, so I can concentrate on other things like writing and producing. Music isn’t what I want to get away from—I like working—but not on the road. I’m still active.”
I suggest there has been a shift away from guitar-led bands that dominated rock when Winter was last in the UK.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. I wanted to come over here a few days before the gig, so I could find out what people are into and get oriented. Now, I don’t quite know what to expect.”
The concert has been a sell-out, reports say. Winter looks relieved.
“Yeah? That’s fantastic. Y’know, I was kinda hoping there’d be a few people around who would still be interested in what I’m doing...”
