perfect marriage — my voice and the
mantras — because like I say, there’s this
cult-like following now that I never expect-
ed. I just thought it was gonna be something
that I gave to a handful of friends who were
really into yoga. Many of whom were my
teachers.
IE: A few years ago Midge Ure said that it
wasn’t his idea for Ultravox to reconvene
IE: So obviously, the door is wide open
for a new album.
BR: It is. But the problem with making
albums nowadays is that nobody wants to
buy records anymore. And the way people
listen to music, I find, is in the context of
streaming. And what I’m most interested in
doing when I make a record is, I like to
assemble a bunch of tunes that make sense
as a whole. And there’s not really an oppor-
newreleases
September 6
Bat for Lashes Lost Girls
Chrissie Hynde Valve Bone Woe
Melanie Martinez K-12
Miles Davis Rubberband
Sleeping with Sirens How It Feels To Be Lost
Iggy Pop Free
September 13
09•2019
for a “Vienna” anniversary tour — it was a
sly promoter who suggested it, in a ‘You
guys should strike while the iron is hot’
fashion. Same for you and “Shuffled”?
BR: Well, we hadn’t played for a long time
together. But after that Winnipeg outdoor
show, we enjoyed playing the gig so much
and getting the old team together; we
thought, “Let’s do this again.’ And I was
very surprised that the agents were very
excited that we wanted to get back on the
road, so they started booking some dates,
and they went really well, so we went with
that. And it turned into this enormous
amount of gigs. Well, enormous for US. I
thought it would just be a few weeks here
and there, but it’s turned into a long string
of them. I’m actually just home in New York
from a long British Columbia tour, and after
my one day off, I’m heading back out to do
the west coast of America, which is my
favorite run to do, from Seattle to Los
Angeles. Although this time we’re starting
at the south and working our way back up.
tunity to do that anymore, because people
just put their programs on shuffle and they
randomly listen to this, that and the other
thing. Which is fine, but it doesn’t really
turn my crank to make an album in that
context. I’d much rather do it as I listened to
records as a kid. You put on side A, and you
listen to all of it, then you put on side B. It
was an experience in and of itself. So I’m a
little turned off by the notion of writing a
new record for this modern culture of listen-
ing.
IE: Loreena McKennitt once said ‘Thanks
Spotify, for the 13 cents last year.’
BR: Yes, Exactly. We’ve got 80 million plays
so far, and I have seen very very little
money. Record companies cut all these
backroom deals, worked around the artist,
and now stand to make all the money.
Appearing September 22 at Old Town
School of Folk Music
10 illinoisentertainer.com september 2019
Tom Lanham
Blacktop Mojo Under The Sun
Charli XCX Charli
Goo Goo Dolls Miracle Pill
Korn The Nothing
Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier Corpse Flower
Pixies Beneath the Eyrie
Puddle Of Mudd Welcome To Galvania
The Lumineers III
Twin Peaks Lookout Low
Blink-182
September 20
Blink-182 NINE
Brittany Howard Jamie
Fitz and the Tantrums All The Feels
Keane Cause And Effect
Liam Gallagher Why Me? Why Not.
September 27
Hellyeah Welcome Home
Opeth In Cauda Venenum
Steel Panther Heavy Metal Rules
Sturgill Simpson Sound & Fury
Tegan and Sara Hey, I'm Just Like You
Steel Panther