Accompanying picture

Source: Crawdaddy Radio Review radio station use only LP. CR3-1976, Gate 5.

Crawdaddy Radio Review

Interviewer: How did someone so funky come out of California?
I didn't grow up in a vault or anything. I was never particularly excited about the Beach Boys, a lot of their albums were good for keeping the dust off your turntable.

Interviewer: Was there a subculture, people you could relate to?
There were a few. It wasn't rampant at all.

Interviewer: What kind of music were you first into?
First album I bought was James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand new Bag. Clarence Frogman Henry, Huey Piano Smith, Harry The Hipster Edison. I listened to Lord Buckley for a long time. I was always fond of George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. As far as contemporary artists at the time I wasn't listening to them. I was never a real trendsetter.

Interviewer: do your audiences know about Lord Buckley and Oscar Brown and like that?
No, not necessarily, perhaps in New York - most places, no. I have a regular band right at this point. (Vicari, Jenkins & White), they seem to perform really well even though I do pay them $1.65 an hour plus tips

Interviewer: Were you ever into underground rock?
I worked jobs through that whole period I wasn't performing. I was working at restaurants and I was cooking and I was a janitor and a plumber's helper and I was playing pool. I worked at a liquor store, I drove a cab, drove an ice cream truck, I was a firefighter, I was just trying to get by. I wasn't particularly that interested in what was happening on the current music scene at all. I slept a lot.

Interviewer: how did you get into the music business?
I guess I was pretty ambitious about it once I decided to do it. I had already quit my day job and it was a little too late. Met Herb Cohen who was and still is working closely with Frank Zappa and the Mothers. A little recognition goes a long way. I started to get a little reinforcement and that helped. I was gigging for a while before I made a record. I ended up doing 3 tours with the Mothers.

Interviewer: I guess the Eagles recording Ol' '55 helped
Yeah, it helped a little bit. I made some chump change off of it.

Interviewer: do you play mostly halls or clubs?
Both, it's even Steven right now. I much prefer a club - for different reasons. Of course there is a point where there are some clubs that are run on a level where everybody comes up and tells you, "Don't worry about a thing cause everything's cool." And you get a little worried when you find out the sound is being done by a little Magnavox system and everyone connected with the joint does have a serious drinking problem. It affects their performance. There are some clubs that I really enjoy playing. The halls I play, usually I'm the opening act or I'm playing a college but it's pretty even spread right now

Interviewer: as an opening act, who do you share a compatible audience with?
Martin Mull, John Hammond Jr, Steve Martin, Bonnie Raitt worked out good.

Interviewer: do you feel you have an image to live up to?
I don't give it that much thought. Travelling so often, I've been gone so long that it looks like home to me. Busier than a one armed bass player, You get into town, you've been on a bus for 17 hours and your dog died and your girl left you and you got hemorrhoids and you're upset. I got enough on my mind without having to worry about how wide my lapels are or whether my ratstickers are congruous with my black slacks.

Interviewer: is there a diner?⁽¹⁾
Yes, there is a diner. Contrary to public belief there is a diner in the world. I saw one the other night. It's just the diner of the world, you know. There's a million diners.

Interviewer: did you write Eggs & Sausage as poetry and then apply music?
I just write it down like a story and then when I get an opportunity to sit down at a keyboard which is very rare I usually jump at the chance and write a melody and then stick it all together into some kind of homogenized, pasteurized, copacetic⁽²⁾ sort of little piece of work. I'm getting thirsty...

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Is there a diner?: Referring to the title of Waits's latest album "Nighthawks At The Diner", released October, 1975.

⁽²⁾ Copacetic: (copesetic, kopasetic, kopesetic, kopasetee, kopesetee) adj. also mentioned in "I Can't Wait To Get Off Work" meaning: Fine, excellent, all right, o.k. (Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)