Fagen, McDonald, Scaggs, courtesy of the Fox Theater
The Dukes of September are a super-group of sorts. The trio of seventies crooners Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), Boz Scaggs, and St. Louis native Michael McDonald (ex-Doobie Brothers) are in New York City right now, preparing to embark on their second Rhythm Revue across the country. St. Louis Magazine talked to McDonald before The Dukes’ performance at the Fox Theatre on June 20 to get the scoop on the tour, indie bands, and coming back home.
This is the second time you’ve gone on tour as the Dukes of September; what made you decide to do it again?
It’s something that’s always been fun for us over the years. We haven’t done it more often, because you get into your own thing, your own respective career. If it weren’t for that, I think we would have done it more often. It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since we did it last. It would be a fun thing to do on an annual basis.
Are you doing anything differently this time?
A good portion of the material is new. Donald, Boz, and I are in the process of sifting through that right now.
On the last tour you covered The Grateful Dead, Chuck Berry, and the Beach Boys. How do you pick the songs?
We just throw them in a hat and start weeding through them, keeping in mind what might work for the show. Its fairly obvious which ones are gonna work, and which ones aren’t. We’re all looking for the ones that will keep the show momentum going and keep the pace lively.
We want to find songs that fit one of two criteria. Either they’re that really obscure thing that we all know but haven’t heard in a while, and isn’t one of those songs you hear on oldies radio, or that you hear a lot of people do remakes of. It’s always fun to find that song to make people say, “Wow, I haven’t heard that song in years, how’d they pick that one?” If the song’s not obscure, it should be something that people are going to want to hear, and make people say, “Oh wow, I can’t believe they’re playing that.”
You were a member of Steely Dan in the 70s. What’s it like to be touring with Donald Fagen again?
It’s a great feeling for me. It’s amazing how time flies. There’s times on stage where I think, “I can’t believe after all these years I’m still getting up on stage with Donald.” Other times, it seems like only a minute ago that I was in my 20s, Steely Dan was going on their second tour, and I got hired on.
More recently, you’ve done songs with indie bands Holy Ghost! and Grizzly Bear. How did these collaborations come about? I never would have predicted them.
Me either. [Laughs.] A guy that used play bass with me, George Hawkins, his daughter is in management and was friends with Chris Taylor [of Grizzly Bear]. They thought it would be cool to get a ‘70s sound on one of their tracks, so they called me. Holy Ghost! is actually a band she manages. Both bands are out of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn has a music scene of its own right now, and I found myself intrigued with that. So when I heard both these bands were out of Brooklyn, and heard rumblings that Brooklyn was becoming a hotbed for young bands, I wanted to hear what was going on. So I was glad to get the opportunity to be a small fly on the wall for that.
I actually went and heard Grizzly Bear one night here in Manhattan. They’re great on their record, and they’re even better live. I think live is where you get the whole concept of what the band is about.
I’ve got to bring St. Louis in to this somehow. The Dukes are kicking off the tour in St. Louis. Is there anything that makes a show different here?
Well for me—for sure. St. Louis is always gonna be home, and so many of my friends are still in contact. It’s sometimes an opportunity for me to see the ones I haven’t seen in years, you know. It’s one of those things where, when I get a chance to be around the guys that I played with when I was in grade school, it seems like we were all on stage at the Castaway last night. It’s weird. It’s always good to come through town, play a show, and hopefully see everybody.
What should St. Louis expect from the Dukes of September?
Oddly enough, there’s something to that question. Whenever I go back to St. Louis, I’m amazed. There’s a real appetite for music and bands that I’ve never heard before. It seems like when I wind up at someone’s house in St. Louis, and they’re playing music, I’m always hearing something I’ve never heard before. Rhythm and Blues music is common to the culture there, and I’ve always left hearing something new, much like New Orleans or Memphis. I didn’t appreciate it nearly as much growing up there; I took it for granted as a kid. When I moved away I noticed that there’s a real music culture in St. Louis.
So, going there with this band, probably one of the best bands I will ever have played with, musician-wise, we’re playing songs I haven’t played since I was 14 playing at the Castaway Club [a popular venue in Ferguson]. One of the songs we did last time around I hadn’t played since I was in Jerry Jay and the Sheratons when I was 14, 15 years old. Here we are doing it as a band out of New York City with some of the best players in this country. It’s just a real thrill. This time, no different, we’re doing a song I haven’t done since I was with Jerry Jay and The Sheratons, a Ray Charles song called “Tell the Truth.” Here I am, 60 years old, singing it for the first time in 45 years, and of all places, I’m playing it in St. Louis.
The Dukes of Semptember Rhythm Revue 2012 tour featuring Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs comes to the Fox Theater (27 N. Grand) June 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40-$65. For more information, call 314-534-1678 or visit fabulousfox.com.
