Why, John Oates?

I interviewed John Oates of Hall & Oates prior to their appearance at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle in 2011. Here's a few excerpts from that interview. 

Why lip-sync?

Daryl [Hall] and I both had singles out with our respective bands that were played on R&B radio in Philadelphia, and a radio DJ invited us to play a teenage dance. In those days, you would go out and lip-sync your record. We were waiting backstage in a really bad neighborhood in Philadelphia and a big gang fight broke out. We went down the service elevator, and that's how Daryl and I met.

Why shave?

Last year, I was the guest of honor at the National Moustache Convention. I actually grew it back for the first time in 25 years, because I figured they'd stone me if I showed up without one. That said, it represents the person I used to be. Without going into too much psychobabble and gory detail, when I left that guy behind in the early '90s and moved on with my life, the mustache had to go with it.

Why now?

I'm way more excited to make music. It's not even close. In the beginning, it was that excitement of youth and newness where you just want to suck in the world and absorb every waking moment and travel and [have] new experiences. Now it's a much richer experience. Now it's all about creating on my own terms, working with people I like, trying unique things, doing things purely for the sake of creating.

(Originally published in Seattle Weekly on August 30, 2011.)