JOHN WAITE: RAISING THE BAR HIGH From The Babys to Bad English to Solo Classics, Waite Has Made Music That Endures By Paul Freeman [August 2013 Interview] This Baby has grown up quite nicely, thank you. Born in Lancaster, England, Waite first gained attention as lead singer/bassist of The Babys. In the late 70s, they reached the American Top 20 with “Isn’t It Time” and “Everytime I Think Of You.” As a solo artist, Waite achieved massive success with his 1984 song “Missing You.” In 1988, he joined former Babys bandmates Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips, along with Journey’s Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo, in the supergroup Bad English. They reached number one with the Diane Warren composition, “When I See You Smile.” Waite’s own songs have always shown finesse and emotional depth. Long based in the U.S., Waite has continued to perform and record. The title track from his 10th solo album, “Rough and Tumble,” recently hit the top spot on the Classic Rock charts. This summer, Waite has released a searing new album, “Live: All Access,” recorded with his new power trio of guitarist Keri Kelli, bassist Tim Hogan and drummer Rhondo. It includes electrifying versions of material from “Rough and Tumble,” as well as earlier Waite gems. Meanwhile, “Missing You” has resurfaced, showcased in the recent, very cool zombie rom-com, “Warm Bodies.” At 61, Waite is red hot once again. POP CULTURE CLASSICS: The new album sounds great. Very exciting sound. Had fans been asking when you would release a live recording? JOHN WAITE: No, no, no. We got a new guitar player about eight months ago and we started playing differently. And songs developed into more spartan, stripped down, honest performances. We had a guitar player that could really carry that, named Keri Kelli. It got so good over two months that I just instinctually felt I had to record it. I was going to give it away on future albums, as bonus tracks or YouTube, I don’t know, put it on Facebook. But I realized, after the first night of recording, it was going to be an album. In for a penny, in for a pound, you know. I just sort of recorded the whole thing. It took three shows to get it. But it was worth the time. I’m really proud of it. PCC: The key was to capture the raw energy? WAITE: Yeah. Most bands have two guitar players and a keyboard player. Where I come from, the bands used to be just a three-piece band with a singer. And there’s a gigantic difference. A huge philosophical musical difference, in how you approach it. And I wanted it to be edgier. I like playing edgier kind of performances. Anything can happen. You can change gears immediately. And everyone’s focused. You can’t take your eye off the ball for a second. It makes for a very passionate, intense show. PCC: It must make for a really exhilarating connection with the audience, too. WAITE: Yeah, it’s great. We did a show last week for 4,000 people. We headlined. And it was the best show we’ve done. We spent a lot of time in the clubs last year, trying to get the last album played, ‘Rough and Tumble.’ And we actually got a number one single at Classic Rock out of doing it. But the financial aspects of playing the clubs and carrying good musicians is out of the question. At the end of the year, we’d made a small fortune. And then the tax man rang up. [laughs] And there went the small fortune. I didn’t make anything last year. But, you know, I got a number one single out of it. But people expect us to keep playing clubs. We’d occasionally play like in front of 20,000 people, doing a festival. And it would just go down like a firestorm. So I know we belong on a bigger stage. And this album represents what it sounds like. So it’s what I do. It’s what I love. And I’m proud of it. And, if it sells 10 copies, so be it. If it sells 10,000, fabulous. If it sells 100,000, I couldn’t be happier. It’s just about getting it out there, really. PCC: What’s the next step with this? Do you plan to make more live recordings? WAITE: Yeah. I hope to make one every eight months. I have this sort of deal I’ve made with myself. I’m just going to put one every eight months of the songs I think should be on it, the best songs from that period. It isn’t necessarily hit-driven. It’s just a great performance of the songs I like. It’s not product. It’s art to me. I don’t want to sound lofty, but I’m not trying to sell you a greatest hits and take the easy way out. These are just songs to play. And some of them are quite obscure. But it’s what we play best. And they’re the best songs. They made the cut. I wasn’t going to load it up with stuff that wasn’t good. I pick the best songs. PCC: Do you think that’s part of the reason for the fact that your music has stood the test of time, because you’ve been more focused on the art than the commerciality? WAITE: Well, yeah. After Bad English, I made an album called ‘Temple Bar,’ which was much, much more singer-songwriter-driven and quiet and more reflective about a sort of mid-life crisis in New York City. And then I made a record that almost went sort of English country storytelling rock with an album called ‘When You Were Mine,’ that I think is my favorite record, really. Very organic-sounding record. And then I sort of continued on the singer-songwriting path. But I’m not really concerned with the Top 10. I mean, the Top 10 to me, is a whole different Top 10. And the Top 10 out there is an entirely different Top 10 [laughs]. I mean, it’s how good it is that matters to me. Truly. If this is the last record I make, I’m very happy with this record, because I sang my ass off. And the songs are intelligent, they’re not just like you’re throwing shit together just to make a three-minute song. It means a lot to me. PCC: And it shows. When you were at art college, did you have another career path in mind? Or was it music even then? WAITE: It was music then. I realized in my first two years, although I was gifted as an illustrator, I wasn’t going to leave my mark on the world as a painter or an illustrator. But my voice was different. I might not be the best singer in the world, but I had a style. I was raised on like blues and country-western songs. That was second nature. It was about storytelling, before it was anything. And the biggest diversion was going into a band like The Babys, which was like a rock band... even though I’d been playing in rock bands. But suddenly they were playing my songs. So it was very hybrid, really. It was a strange twist of events. But I felt so passionate about what I was doing, I didn’t want to be a third-rate painter, when I could be a first-class songwriter. And I felt I could be. PCC: How early did you start writing your own songs? WAITE: I started really writing when I was about 11. PCC: And what was process, journaling and experimenting? WAITE: Well, it began when I was eight years old, waiting for a bus. And the bus used to go to where I lived, called Scotforth. And the bus was called Scotforth 11. And I remember, like in my short pants and school outfit, school cap and satchel, starting to get very impatient, singing this melody to ‘Scotforth 11.’ It sounded a bit like something out of, I don’t know, ‘South Pacific.’ I came from a very musical family. And the people that weren’t musical were painters. And I suppose we were blue collar. Well, middle-class, I guess. But everybody could do something. Everybody could pain or draw or sing or dance or play the guitar really well. It was just one of those things that art was big in the family. PCC: So the songwriting was really something you were born with and it was just a matter of honing it? WAITE: Well, who knows where it comes from? You look at something and your mind stops. And you see poignancy in everyday things. You see enormous joy. And you see terrible things. And instead of just walking through hit, you retain it. And somehow, you can make sense of it, if you write it down. PCC: Were there particular musical influences and inspirations? You mentioned blues and country-western being important to you. WAITE: Yeah, Marty Robbins. Opposite where I was waiting for that bus, was a record shop. And in the window was Marty Robbins’ ‘Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.’ And it had sort of a Day-Glo red cover. And a cowboy, dressed in black, going for his six-gun. I used to hurry down from school, so I could look at it, before I went to wait for the bus. Because it represented America. Even the strange, Day-Glo red. It was weird. It’s America. It’s Americana. It was ‘High Noon.’ It was like the lonesome cowboy riding off into the distance. Alison Krauss bought me a copy for Christmas once, had it framed. and gave it to me. It’s one of my biggest treasures, really. PCC: Segueing into The Babys, was that a growing time for you, artistically? What kind of shift was that for you? WAITE: Well, I’d written a couple of things in another band that I’d been in. But I was just the bass player and backup singer. But I’d written a couple of melodies that I’d been trying to get in the band. And the guitar player wouldn’t have it. He was the singer-songwriter. And then when that all band broke up, I went to Cleveland for five months to join a band in America that broke up. Came back to London. Met the guys who were trying to put The Babys together. And nobody could sing. And I could. I could sing well enough. And nobody could play bass. Ticked that box. And then, more importantly, nobody wrote songs. So I was playing bass, singing and writing the songs. Three big things to be taken care of. But the manager turned around to me one night, when we were just jamming around, looking for drummers. He said, ‘We need a couple of songs. Can you write a couple of songs for next week?’ And I was like, ‘F-ckin’ hell! Are you serious? Yeah, all right.’ I had a couple of things I had worked on. So I finished them up and brought them in the following week. And we went in the studio and cut them. It was that fast. And I was singing them. And it was that fast. Talk about your world turning upside down. Instead of people raising their eyebrows, when they looked at me, they looked me in the eyes. And there’s a big difference. So I went home and really started to work seriously on songwriting. And I was The Babys’ major songwriter. PCC: So that was a period in which your confidence was growing? WAITE: Yeah, I went from being a bass player, looking for a gig, that was hip to a lot of different things. And I was devoted and dedicated to music. But once you get into a band, and there were no record deals to be had, and there was hardly anywhere to play, it was a very romantic ideal. But to start banging out songs that worked, with a band that could play them, I don’t know where my life would have gone, had I not walked into that situation, because I was extremely shy. And the last thing I wanted to do was be in the center of the stage. But the songs drove me to be in the center of the stage. And I had to put it across. And they were kind of introspective songs. They weren’t common rock songs. So I think there was a certain difference to that kind of music. PCC: So was it another big transition then, to go into the solo period after The Babys? WAITE: Yeah. It hadn’t been intended. The Babys split up. I had a knee injury. The keyboard player joined Journey. It all came to a head on the last record and we split. I went back to England for about six, seven months, then I moved to New York City. And that was like walking into the light. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. And I lived the life of the nocturnal musician. I slept all day and worked all night. Played with greats. I jammed with Townshend in a club. Jammed with Steve Marriott. Almost started a band with Chris Spedding. It was just really over the top. Every time I went out the front door, something happened. It was just my kind of town. And I completely fell in love with it. But it was a struggle to keep some sort of autonomy, with the record company trying to f-ck with you all the time, because they wanted to have pop singles... and I didn’t. So it was difficult. But I think I won. But then it kind of dropped the ball on the record. But the video got played like eight times a day on MTV. And I had this huge following from The Babys, this sort of underground following. So, when I went back to England the second time, and threw the towel in, it was like I became sort of the man of mystery. I became like, ‘Where the f-ck did he go now?’ But I’d quit again. I’d really had enough at that point. But I got this phone call from two lawyers that got me out of my deal. And I came back, signed to EMI, wrote ‘Missing You,’ sold two million records. And after eight years of slogging around, losing, really, but being sort of a cult figure, I became famous overnight. PCC: What was the process of writing ‘Missing You’? WAITE: That was the easiest thing I ever did in my life. I sang the melody over somebody else’s track. And I got the whole first verse, B-section, chorus and most of the second verse, then the B-section and chorus for the second half of the tune, all in one go. As lunatic as that sounds, and as exaggerated and grandiose as that sounds, I swear on my mother’s life that’s the truth. I was waiting to burst. Obviously I was ready to write it. But Jesus Christ, it was like being in some boxing match with Muhammad Ali. You know, I went in there with my fists up, but I had no idea what was going to happen next. But I won. PCC: Having that sort of massive hit, was there any downside, in terms of worrying how to follow it up? WAITE: I never worried about following it up. I made a basic album. I knew I could never top it. That’s one of those songs that comes, like ‘All Right Now’ happened for Free. There are certain songs that happen to musicians... and they mean all things to everyone. And they come out of the blue. It’s literally like a lightning bolt. And it was artistic and poetic... and it was completely made up on the spot. And I wasn’t going to write ‘Missing You 2.’ I thought that would be the cheapest way out. I thought, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I made a record of songs I would normally have made. And the whole world went, ‘Where’s ‘Missing You 2’?’ And I said, ‘No, you’re having this’ and got on with my songwriting. It’s always been considered very bad form to repeat yourself. And, when I was at art school, if you did the same thing twice, you’d get taken aside and they’d sort of like quiz you, ‘What the f-ck do you think you’re doing? You’ve already done that. Move on.’ And I think I’ve applied that to my songwriting. And it’s allowed me the integrity to do that, without feeling guilty. I don’t feel guilty in the least about anything I do musically. Because I mean it. When I made the live album, there were no overdubs. There’s only eight tracks on it. But they’re longer tracks. There’s a huge guitar solo. But it’s my choice. I’m the artist. And, if the audience come with me, then that’s really, really fabulous. But I don’t chase the audience. Ther’s something else going on with me - it’s defiance. I’m not really trying to please the crowd. I’m trying to find out what the f-ck I’m thinking. PCC: That kind of philosophy, doesn’t it rub against the grain of the suits in the music business? WAITE: Yeah, absolutely. I can’t stand going in an office. I haven’t worked with an A&R guy for 20 years. I make my own records and I license them to bigger companies. This one, I put out on my own label. But to have some guy in a suit come into the studio and tell you you’re doing something wrong... They all played bass in college. They were in some band at college, playing bass. And they all have a big opinion of what they’re thinking. I mean, John Hammond discovered Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen. John Hammond was the original genius A&R guy. And you have odd people that show up occasionally that have the same gift. But it’s a very, very tough gig. I wouldn’t dare tell an artist that he wasn’t doing the right thing. I mean, is it product? Is it art? The music business, it’s split right down the middle. The business part gets on my nerves. When I go in an office, I feel like I’m going through security in an airport. I feel like the door’s going to slam behind me and I’m going to get strip-searched. You’re really dealing with people that do not understand music. They’re not musicians... or they’d be musicians. But I think every musician who’s worth his salt thinks like that. PCC: Having had a great success solo, what made you decide to return to a band situation with Bad English? WAITE: Boredom. I’d made four solo records,. And I’d had two stabs at the fourth one. And I’d said everything I could possibly think of to say, at that point. And also, I was on EMI, and I had a number single on the rock charts. And I went to Germany to promote it. And when I came back, EMI had turned from EMI America to EMI New York. The whole company changed. And my record got lost. And, radio being what it is, once you’ve had a flop like that, whether it’s your fault or not, they’re not that keen on giving you a second chance. And a band, one of the reasons I did that, was to come at ‘em from a different angle. Bowie had done Tin Machine. And I thought that was brilliant, for Bowie to start a band and come at the world as Tin Machine. So I might have gotten the idea, indirectly, from David Bowie. But I think it was a valiant attempt at making two entirely different artistic approaches work. The chance of failure was pretty strong there. But we had a number one single and two million records, on the first record. PCC: What was the chemistry like in that band? WAITE: It was rough. PCC: How so? WAITE: Well, just politically. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to write. And then it just comes out all at once. And to sit down and methodically write songs is difficult. But we found a way to work together... or it wouldn’t have worked. I was doing Rockline last night, which is in Burbank. And I got there too early. So I walked down the road. And I wound up in front of the apartment building where Bad English stayed, when we were making that second record. And, believe me, I felt nostalgic. I really did. And I felt like we’d done some great stuff. PCC: And, working with Neal Schon, what was the dynamic like there? WAITE: Well, Neal plays the guitar like it’s on fire. He’s a great guitar player. But you have to sort of really work out where the vocal’s going to go. Or you go to Neal with a song and say, ‘We need something that’s a hook on the guitar. Can you give me that?’ But we’d jam a lot. But Neal is a very melodic guitar player, so, in the middle of where the vocal would be, he’d start playing the guitar. You’d have to sort of pull him back and say, ‘Hey, listen. I’ve got to sing something.’ You know, it would be kind of comical. But he’s a very good-natured guy. And he loves to play. Playing guitar and me singing, was like playing ping-pong... on speed. It was enormous fun. And we got some great stuff done. You know, out of all the guys in that band, he was the guy that just genuinely wanted to play. He had no ulterior motive. He just loved to play. And I love to write songs and sing. And we’d go through a rough day in the studio, trying to get something to happen, to get it to work. And it‘d be great. And then me and him would go out and get drunk. [Laughs]. It was good fun. PCC: Do you remember your initial reaction, when you first heard ‘When I See You Smile’? WAITE: Well, I didn’t think it was going to be on the album. We’d finished the entire album and the A&R guy, essentially left us be, because it was such a fine balance. He was a nice guy. He’d come in, make comments, say he liked this better than this... and what about that? And could you try that again? And then he’d leave. He was a gentleman. He knew it was like a lot of egos in the same room. And when we finished the record, I went to the guys and said, ‘Look, he’ s been such a great guy. He found this song. I know Diane [songwriter Diane Warren]. He really thinks it’s worth trying. Let’s give it a whirl. If it doesn’t work, at least we showed him the respect.’ And we tried it... and God bless us all, it was a number one. But there were better songs on the record. There were just way better songs on that record. It was my fault, because I suggested doing it. PCC: Is that frustrating, when you feel there’s better material, but you never know what’s going to click with the public? WAITE: Well, the other guys felt we’d already had the album. And I felt I really owed this guy a favor. And Diane had been a friend of mine for years. And I thought, ‘If we’re going for bust, let’s really go for bust.’ And we were that good, that we could turn a very mediocre song into a giant hit. It was number one. But so was ‘Missing You.’ But it’s not in the same league as ‘Missing You.’ But the other songs, like the other night on Rockline, they played ‘Forget Me Not.’ And that is a really great piece of work. And that’s rock ‘n’ roll. I should have just kept my mouth shut. ‘Price of Love,’ that could have been a number one. It got to number eight or something. If we hadn’t put out ‘When I See You Smile,’ ‘Price of Love’ probably would have been number one. I’m guilty, your honor. [breaks into Cockney accent] I’m the one who f-cking did it. It were me!’ PCC: ‘Missing You,’ reinterpreting that with Alison Krauss [2006], how did that come about? WAITE: Well, I just made the phone call. I was making a record of hits, rerecording some big hits to put out in Europe, and Europe only, to maybe remind people that it was me and that I could go and tour in Europe again. And when I got to ‘Missing You,’ I thought, ‘Well, what am I going to do with that?’ And then a little light went off over my head. A duet. I always wanted to do one. And she was my favorite singer. So I called her up. And she said, ‘Yeah.’ It was the beginning of a very long friendship. PCC: She seems to really relish collaboration. WAITE: Yeah, well, I was around for a lot of the Robert [Plant] stuff. I got to know Robert quite well. I watched that process. That was interesting, too. PCC: How so? WAITE: To watch how uncountry Robert is [laughs]. And how rock ‘n'roll he is. And how bluegrass Alison is. And how unrock ‘n’ roll Alison is. So it was interesting to watch T Bone make the two things work. Robert’s a stupendous guy. Such a nice guy. We spent hours talking about music. He’s just a very, very nice guy. I’m very glad I meet him. PCC: ‘Warm Bodies,’ how did you find out that ‘Missing You’ was going to be featured in that film? WAITE: The publisher owns the master. I get the right to share the publishing. So they sell that master to anybody they want. And it came up in ‘Warm Bodies.’ And it was the beginning of what seems to be a good period. It brought me back into the public eye. A year before, Conan O’Brien had a series of ads with ‘Missing You’ playing, about people missing Conan. They were like little movies. They were great. Very well done. And that’s when it really kind of started. People got interested in me again. And I made ‘Rough and Tumble’ and then ‘Warm Bodies’ came out. And it’s never really stopped. A number one single with ‘Rough and Tumble’ and then a very positive response to the live album. You know, the tide goes in and the tide goes out. I don’t know whether it’s going to disappear tonight or go on tomorrow. But, as a musician, I’m pleased. I’m pleased that I’m busy and that people are responding to it. PCC: It must have been especially satisfying to have that kind of success with ‘Rough and Tumble’ at this stage in your career. WAITE: Well, yeah. It knocked me out. I honestly didn’t expect it. What I honestly felt was, ‘If You Ever Get Lonely,’ the song that Love and Theft have covered down in Nashville, I felt that was going to be the hit. And the promotion person was more towards rock radio. And she took ‘Rough and Tumble’ to rock radio. It stepped over AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac. It was an unbelievable thing. It was only there for like a day. But it stayed in the Top 10 for like six weeks. We went in the studio to finish the second half of the record. And I recorded seven songs in three days. And I wrote ‘Rough and Tumble’ the day before I went into the studio. That’s how focused things can get. And I gave myself pneumonia, on the fifth day of doing like edits and mixing and stuff. I was on antibiotics and steroids [laughs]. I was working like 20 hours a day for three days. And I got everything, seven songs. Plus the five songs I’d done with Kyle Cook [Matchbox Twenty guitarist] in Nashville. I’m capable of doing that, which I think is pretty admirable, if I say so myself. But I like working under pressure. And I like having a project to finish. And I like knowing what I’m supposed to do. Then I just go and kick it out. PCC: In between all your own projects, touring with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, what kind of experience was that? WAITE: That was nerve-wracking, because I hadn’t really played bass since The Babys. And it’s Ringo! When everything’s said and done, it is him. And I was quite nervous about it. Because I had to play other people’s songs that I didn’t know. Plus play with Ringo. And he’d played with Jack Bruce... and Paul McCartney, obviously... and was used to doing his own thing. And you had very strong personalities on stage. It was the most insane thing I’ve ever done. It lasted for several weeks. It was f-cking nuts [laughs]. But interesting. You couldn’t say it was boring. It was really, really interesting. The first night, in Toronto, they filmed the concert. They filmed the first two. Not the middle of the tour or the end of the tour. The opening night! And when I’d come walking out, it’s ‘It Don’t Come Easy.’ He’s like ‘One, two, three, four... [sings] ‘It don’t come easy...’ We’re all on stage. And I look down at the bass guitar. And I had like an out-of-body experience. The guitar didn’t even look like a guitar. And the strings looked like they were made out of rubber. And it looked like my hand was on the guitar. I had no idea where I was, what the first note was. It was like the most nervous I’ve ever been. And you can see me on the DVD. Ringo walks out behind me and smiles at me and puts his hand on my shoulder and I looked at Ringo and smiled back and I could have been in outer space. It was really nerve-wracking. But we got used to it. And it turned into fun. But it was not for the faint of heart. PCC: You’re now based in Santa Monica - is that a good artistic atmosphere there? WAITE: Yeah, it’s all British. There are two English pubs, a tea room. You can buy baked beans. There’s an art theatre that shows foreign movies on Second Street. There’s a lot. But I spent most of my adult life in America, in New York City. And I still miss it terribly. But it’s been good to come off tour and come here, because you really do find it easier to slow down. You come home from tour to New York City and you go out for a drink. It’s just alive. But that’s my speed. But I think it’s done a lot for me to have a home that’s away from the hustle and bustle, yeah. PCC: In general, your life as a musician, what’s been the most difficult aspect and what’s been the most rewarding? WAITE: I can’t separate the two. If you make bad work, then you throw it away. If you make good work, you keep it. And there’s nothing in between. The bar is raised at a very high level, depending on where your brain’s at. But you can’t separate that kind of thing. The one thing I believe in completely is performance. Van Morrison said that. He said he’d been in the music business for 50 years. He doesn’t trust anything at all anymore, but the performance of the song. I read a lot. I really like literature. So I really look into the lyrics and try to maintain some sort of front that’s got something to it. My mind never stops turning over. But I kind of agree with Van, the performance is everything. It’s where you’re free from yourself. You actually leave yourself and you are yourself, simultaneously. It’s very zen. It’s the most you’ll ever be. And it’s the furthest you’ll ever be away from yourself. You’re in a sort of state of transcendence. PCC: And with all the years on stage, all the life experience, do you think that gives you even more to be on stage? WAITE: Yeah, I do, actually. I don’t second-guess myself. You just walk out there and there you are. You bring all these songs. My voice is better than it’s ever been. And we have now a three-piece band that kicks as like all over the place. And it’s something that I’ve been trying to get to all my life - is to be in a three-piece band and just be the singer. And I bring a lot of wisdom to it, experience. But I still feel like I’m 16, when I get out there. It’s great. It’s music. What can I tell you? [Laughs] PCC: With all you’ve accomplished, any goals you’re still burning to achieve? WAITE: No. I think going down and living in Nashville and being part of that community, when it wasn’t quite what it is now, and singing with Alison, and meeting bluegrass greats like Larry Sparks and Del McCoury that meant a lot. Talking to them. Sitting down and having dinner with Larry Sparks at his house. And living in a world that’s the opposite of my world, really. The Christian, devout, humble, blue-collar world is bluegrass. But some great art has been made in it. I adore country. I once said Hank Williams was as good as Walt Whitman. I take that back. Because I read some Walt Whitman last week and it just blew my mind. But Hank Williams really is a great American poet. And I’ve been number one twice, once solo and then again with a band. And then on the Classic Rock chart with ‘Rough and Tumble.’ I keep doing well. I don’t know what else there is, apart from, I’d like to go on tour. I’d like to leave tomorrow and play some gigs. PCC: Always anxious to get back on stage? WAITE: Well, always anxious to make music. I bought a really old, beaten up guitar last week on eBay. And I took it to the guitar shop down the street. They have a very good work department. And my brother had the same guitar, when I was 17. And I thought, I’m going to get it tricked out and all fixed up and I’m going to write an album on that. I’m going to use the ideas I’ve already got and I'm going to use that guitar as the key to the door for the album. So there are these small things that happen, that you chase. PCC: Each instrument has its own personality. WAITE: Absolutely. There’s a new song in every different guitar. PCC: And what kind of guitar is this one? WAITE: I don’t want to tell you. [Laughs]. Actually, I wasn’t going to tell anybody about that. I can’t tell you, because if I told you, it would take the secrecy out of it for me. It’s like having an affair. Me and this guitar are going to spend a lot of time together. PCC: [Laugh] Well, we’ll look forward to hearing what comes out of the relationship. Until then, we’ll continue to enjoy all the great music you’ve given us so far. WAITE: Thanks very much. I enjoyed talking with you. For more about this artist and all the latest tour dates, visit johnwaitethesinger.com.