Interview: Blackberry Smoke (Charlie Starr)
By: Rob Smittix
Photo By: Andy Sapp
After some brief technical phone issues on both of our ends.
RRX: I actually think we’re in business now.
CS: All right, great.
RRX: We were just talking about technology and how it works against us sometimes.
CS: Yeah, and here we are.
RRX: Here we are, we made it happen. Now, did you notice they said that AI might actually be able to kill us all within the next 10 years? It’s all over the news.
CS: I mean, that’s how the movie plays out, right?
RRX: It sure is. It’s like we wrote the script. Now we’re trying to actually go for it. So, that’s what’s going on in the world. What’s going on in the world of Charlie Starr this morning?
CS: I’m just looking out the window on a sunny Toronto day. I have the day off and that’s nice gonna see what there is to do in this city. And yeah, we’re in the middle of this 25th anniversary tour.
RRX: Yeah, 25 years. How does it feel? Does it feel like it’s been that long?
CS: No, it feels like 5 years.
RRX: Right? Exactly. When you sit back and reflect, like when you’re looking out the window in Toronto and you start to think about how did you get here? Obviously, it was the music that brought you here.
CS: It’s just like they say, when your job is something you love, it’s not a job and time really flies, that’s true.
RRX: And today is a day off for you, but you’re still up early in the morning?
CS: Yeah man, I’m an early riser, I’m late to bed and up early. As we get older, your body creates less melatonin or something, right? And you sleep fewer hours.
RRX: My schedule’s very weird, I’m not even usually up yet. I promised when I talked to your management that I’d have coffee in hand and be ready for you but my wife drank all the coffee, so I’m drinking tea.
CS: (Laughs)Well, that sounds great.
RRX: So are you a coffee or a tea guy?
CS: Both, mostly coffee.
RRX: Right? It’s more accessible here in North America.
CS: I guess it is. When we go to the UK, I enjoy a cup of tea.
RRX: For sure. So, we’re excited to have you come to our neck of the woods, down at UPAC in Kingston this Saturday. What are we to expect out of a band that’s been around for 25 years?
CS: Well, I don’t know. Here’s what usually happens. I’ll get up that morning and look at what we played last time we were there over coffee, with whoever might be around me on the bus that morning. I’ll say, hey, what do you wanna play? And I might listen to their advice or I might turn a deaf ear to it.
(Both Laugh)
CS: I try not to repeat what we did last time or what we did the night before because it just keeps it interesting for us and for the people who are coming to multiple shows, you know? And for the person who saw us last time, they definitely don’t wanna see the same thing again. With 25 years of music to choose from, there’s plenty of variety.
RRX: I love that. I wish everybody would take that advice.
CS: I’ve started seeing bands do that when I was younger and I thought that’s great. And then of course, I would see bands that would do the same exact thing and I don’t hate that either because it’s a different night but I prefer the bands that switch it up.
RRX: Absolutely, I think some of the bands that don’t switch it up, when they’re going from town to town… it’s kind of like they’re stuck, where they have to play those songs that everybody wants to hear. I often think about… imagine being a comedian and having to do the same stuff over and over. How do you keep that fresh for yourself?
CS: Well, you know? I had a conversation with Dusty Slay, who is a great comedian and he was a guest of ours that at last year’s High Tide Getaway in Mexico hosted by Blackberry Smoke. Which we’re doing again this year, this is shameless plug. Last year’s lineup included Dusty Slay and he and I were sitting having coffee, talking about what we do and I said, you know it’s funny when I think about it and when I kind of examine it a little more closely, you and I have the exact opposite job description. You have to do something that people have not heard every night and make them laugh with it and I have to do things that they have heard and make them dance. It’s completely a 180 and he’s like, yeah, you’re exactly right.
RRX: I’m very familiar with Dusty, he’s hilarious and I think that’s a whole different thing, you know? I’ve been funny a couple of times but I could never imagined going up on stage and trying to be funny and nobody laughs. Even if you as a musician hit a sour note, they’re still gonna applaud you.
CS: He had never seen us live. He was aware of our music but it was his first time seeing a show of ours. We had an afternoon show on the beach that day, he and his wife came down and we invited a bunch of artists that were there. We did a cover show, it was just fun and loose and when we were done he’s like, you’re funny man! And I was like, What? And he goes, I like your work. That was some good material. I was like… well, thank you, Dusty Slay. I might get a patch made that says that. I wore it like a badge and still do.
RRX: Oh, absolutely, wear that as a badge of honor.
CS: That’s right.
RRX: If you had something that you could say to the fans out there right now, what is it that you would say?
CS: Man, I would say thank you for coming to see us and listening to our music and supporting us for 25 years, and let’s do it for 25 more!
RRX: For sure gotta do it for 25 more. Besides, you’ve got some people out there that are really giving you the run for their money. Willie’s still out there, unfortunately we just recently lost Dolly.
CS: Oh man, it’s huge, people like Dolly loom large. In the music industry she was a mainstay, you know? Just a giant.
RRX: She sure was. She was one of the biggest and we still got some of the biggest still out there today. Obviously, Keith Richard’s is gonna be here forever but… yeah man, just keep making music until you can’t. Like Frankie Valli, right?
CS: Right.
RRX: A lot of people were upset that they were putting Frankie out there on stage like that, but that’s not what’s happening. He wants to do it, so let the man do it.
CS: That’s right, that’s what he loves. People don’t want to stop doing what they love.
RRX: Exactly. Well, I know they’ve said you might be too rock to be country or too country to be rock but what do you think?
CS: It’s just music to me.
RRX: It is definitely just music and we’re looking forward to joining you for some of that music this Saturday at UPAC in Kingston. Anything else you’d say to people to encourage them to come on out?
CS: Come on out and help us celebrate our silver anniversary.
RRX: Amen to that.
Blackberry Smoke at UPAC, Kingston, NY
Saturday Sept 19th
