Steely Dan Confirms First Tour In Three Years (With a new album due summer 2003)

billboard ^ | 4/8/2003 | Jonathan Cohen

[TLBSHOW]

Steely Dan Confirms First Tour In Three Years

Steely Dan has unveiled details for its first tour since the summer of 2000, kicking off July 23 in Costa Mesa, Calif., and wrapping Aug. 31 in Syracuse, N.Y. The veteran jazz/rock outfit will be touring in support of its upcoming Reprise album, "Everything Must Go," which has been bumped to June 10 from its original May 6 release date. As the band explained in its online newsletter, "the reason, we understand, has to do with something called 'a schedule' for some entity called 'the record company.'"

"Everything Must Go" finds group leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker backed by drummer Keith Carlock, keyboardists Ted Baker and Bill Charlap, and guitarists Jon Herrington and Hugh McCracken. Beyond his usual bass and guitar duties, Becker takes the mic on one as-yet-unnamed tune, marking his first lead vocal in Steely Dan's history.

The album is the follow-up to 2000's "Two Against Nature," which was the group's first album since 1980's "Gaucho" and went on to win the Grammy for album of the year.

Here are Steely Dan's tour dates:

July 23: Costa Mesa, Calif. (Orange County Fair) July 24: Paso Robles, Calif. (Mid-State Fair) July 26: Kelseyville, Calif. (Konocti Harbor) July 27: Tahoe, Nev. (Harvey's Outdoors) Aug. 1: Portland, Ore. (Coliseum) Aug. 2: George, Wash. (Gorge Amphitheatre) Aug. 4: Denver (Fiddler's Green) Aug. 7: St. Paul, Minn. (X-Cel Energy Center) Aug. 8: Chicago (United Center) Aug. 9: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center) Aug. 11: Clarkston, Mich. (Pine Knob) Aug. 12: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center) Aug. 14: Toronto (Molson Ampitheatre) Aug. 16: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center) Aug. 17: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center) Aug. 19: Manchester, N.H. (Verizon Wireless Arena) Aug. 20: Hershey, Pa. (Hershey Park) Aug. 22: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach) Aug. 23: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center) Aug. 25: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun) Aug. 27: Bristow, Va. (Nissan Pavilion) Aug. 29: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Saratoga PAC) Aug. 30: Atlantic City, N.J. (Etess Arena at the Taj Mahal) Aug. 31: Syracuse, N.Y. (New York State Fair)

[jimbo123]

Walter Becker is a raging leftist. He was booed bigtime at a Houston concert in 1983 for calling George Bush a nazi.

[jimbo123]

Make that 1993.

[Last Visible Dog]

Wasn't the band 10cc also named after a dildo??

As I understand it, 10cc is the (average?) size (in cubic centimeters) of an ejaculate - although I have never checked the validity of this assumption.

[Rebelbase]

"Walter Becker is a raging leftist"

True, but he had some really good lead hooks.

[Last Visible Dog]

It's a William Burroughs reference.

CORRECT! A metal one

A Dildo ?

All are correct. Sorta. Steely Dan is a William Burroughs reference from the book Naked Lunch. Steely Dan is a strap-on rubber penis - it is not metal. Check out this excerpt from Naked Lunch

[Last Visible Dog]

As I understand it, 10cc is the (average?) size (in cubic centimeters) of an ejaculate - although I have never checked the validity of this assumption.

This is also where Lovin’ Spoonful got their name

[marlin]

that would be volume, not size :-)

if i remember correctly the name derives from the name danielle steele - not the romance novalist though i suspect she did the same - which was in some obscure literary classic of which the name escapes me

not surprising their left leaning - their producer katz was/is a huge collector of hitler memorabilia

try this for trivial - on their 1st tour who did becker and fagen have as their drummer - and who'd they open for

marlin

[Last Visible Dog]

Walter Becker is a raging leftist"

True, but he had some really good lead hooks.

While I am not a Steely Dan expert – from my understanding of the band Becker is a bass player primarily. Steely Dan had lots of great lead players that joined their little pick-up band including Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Dooble Brothers), Rick Derringer (The McCoys – “hang on Sloop”, Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, Edgar Winter), Larry Carlton (his solo in “Kid Charlemagne” is one of my favorite solos of all time – very fluid)….and others.

[TLBSHOW]

Did you know that former Steely Dan member Jeff Baxter is advising the the Pentagon and Congress on ballistic missile defense?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Aja is one of the great albums of all time.

[Rodney King]

Steely Dan is one thing that I just don't get. Honestly, I think they are the worst band I have ever heard.

[Cboldt]

Chevy Chase. I don't know who they opened for.

[dead]

Did you know that former Steely Dan member Jeff Baxter is advising the the Pentagon and Congress on ballistic missile defense?

I did know that, and it is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard.

Apparently, he really knows what he's talking about.

[TLBSHOW]

Then again we do have Bono advising President Bush so I guess it does get stranger than fiction.

[marlin]

lol - that is the fiction - they all went to school together - and chase played with them there - but on the 1st tour they opened for jay and the americans as a duo

marlin

[John Lenin]

I still listen to the Pretzel Logic CD. The Grammy was way late in the coming since the best music they put out was in the 70's and early 80's. Two Against Nature is their weakest album since their first release.

[TLBSHOW]

I like Reeling in the Years best!

[Rocko]

Donald Fagan on The Lovin' Spoonful....

"Very big when I was making the transition from jazz fan to pop fan. This always puts me in a good mood. John Sebastian (sound) is incredibly underrated. He was a fine songwriter and a great singer. These days, he's kind of a forgotten man. I guess what did him in was that song Daydream, which people got really sick of and typified The Lovin' Spoonful as sugary, good-timey music. But it wasn't typical of his work at all. There's some great music on those records. The lyrics on this are all about youth and optimism and it was probably one of the first records that celebrated rock 'n' roll for itself, pulled back and looked at what was going on culturally."

[Last Visible Dog]

try this for trivial - on their 1st tour who did becker and fagen have as their drummer - and who'd they open for

Drummer: Jim Hodder. Open for: ?? The Monkeys (no, that was Hendrix's first US Tour)

I think I win this one. I am pretty sure you are talking about Chevy Chase (as drummer) and the band opened for Jay and the Americans ("Come a Little Bit Closer") - but that was BEFORE they formed Steely Dan (actually, you did not say "as Steely Dan" - DARN, I thought I was going to looks so smart)

[southernnorthcarolina]

Before this thread gets booted over to the FReeper Purgatory known as Chat (where, let's face it, it rightfully belongs with all the hard news happening), I'll just note that I have every album (well, CDs, now) Steely Dan ever did; pre-Steely Dan Becker and Fagan stuff (1969-71) that sounds like it was recorded inside a shoebox; two solo albums by Donald Fagan; and one solo album by Walter Becker. Only the Becker solo album is an artistic failure in my humble opinion; let's just say he has "issues" and let it go at that -- definitely the lesser of the two principals.

Their Grammy for Two Againt Nature, I'll have to admit, was bogus. Think of it as a "lifetime achievement" award in recognition of their earlier work which may not have received enough critical notice. Even that album, though, had a couple of outstanding cuts; "What a Shame About Me" ranks with their best.

Of course, as with all art, you either like 'em or you don't; rather pointless to argue about artistic merit. For me, jazz-influenced rock with actual lyrics, actual melody, an absence of screaming, and flawless production works for me.

I have no doubt that they're politically nowhere near me, but if I limited myself to conservative rock, I'd have a skinny musical library, indeed. Anyway, if ideology is important to you, some of their lyrics could be interpreted as conservative-leaning, e.g. "Only a Fool Would Say That," from Can't Buy a Thrill.

I'm delighted to hear there's one more album on the way. I'm less delighted that they're touring; they're the consumate studio band if ever there was one, and in fact it's a major stretch to call them a "band" -- it's really Fagan and Becker and whoever else they decide to take on at any given point in time.