{"id":17709,"date":"2017-09-29T17:44:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T00:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=17709"},"modified":"2017-09-29T17:45:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-30T00:45:53","slug":"video-web-exclusive-interview-the-doobie-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2017\/09\/video-web-exclusive-interview-the-doobie-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"Video &#038; Web Exclusive Interview: The Doobie Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h1>Band:\u00a0 <strong>THE DOOBIE BROTHERS<\/strong><br \/>\nMusician:\u00a0 <strong>PATRICK SIMMONS<\/strong><br \/>\nVideo:\u00a0 Playing For Change\u2014WE ARE ONE \u2013 Benefit Concert<\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPlayingForChange%2Fvideos%2F10155431246316620%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Doobie Brothers and Little Feat help Playing For Change with Benefit Concert at The Mayan in Los Angeles this Tuesday, October 3, 2017<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3>Event:\u00a0 <strong>PLAYING FOR CHANGE<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>WE ARE ONE<\/strong>, a <strong>benefit concert<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n<h3>Celebrating 10 years of positive change through music.<br \/>\nWhen:\u00a0 <strong>Tuesday, October 3, 2017<\/strong> at <strong>The Mayan<\/strong> in <strong>Los Angeles<\/strong>.<br \/>\nWhere:\u00a0 1038 South Hill Street, Los Angeles,\u00a0CA\u00a0\u00a090015\u00a0\u00a0 P: 213-746-4674<\/h3>\n<p>Playing For Change Foundation supports free music education for children across the globe. Come out and help\u2014be a part of the change. This special benefit concert will feature <strong>Doobie Brothers<\/strong> members\u00a0<strong>Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons <\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>John McFee<\/strong>, along with <strong>Little Feat<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0<strong>Paul Barrere, Kenny Gradney<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Fred Tackett<\/strong>. The evening will showcase <strong>The Playing For Change Band<\/strong>\u00a0made up of 10 musicians from 10 different countries including vocalist\u00a0<strong>Nahko<\/strong>, drummer\u00a0<strong>James Gadson<\/strong>, multi-instrumentalist\u00a0<strong>Ellis Hall<\/strong>\u00a0and harmonica master\u00a0<strong>Lee Oskar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with The Doobie Brothers\u2019 Patrick Simmons about the need now, more than ever, to come together\u2014and unite with other musicians to help children around the globe.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17717\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17717\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17717\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-4-The-Doobie-Brothers-Photo-credit-Anddrew-Macpherson1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit:  Anddrew Macpherson\" width=\"660\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-4-The-Doobie-Brothers-Photo-credit-Anddrew-Macpherson1.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-4-The-Doobie-Brothers-Photo-credit-Anddrew-Macpherson1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17717\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Anddrew Macpherson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>THE DOOBIE BROTHERS\u2019 PATRICK SIMMONS <\/strong>Interview with\u00a0<strong><em>M Music &amp; Musicians<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>magazine publisher,<strong> Merlin David<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the level of your involvement with Playing For Change?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe took notice of what they were doing musically\u2014with the earlier videos of musicians from around the world. It was impressive for everybody in the music community. I\u2019m friends with Peter Bunetta, so I heard about it from him first\u2014a couple of years ago. I said, \u201cAnything we can do, you should get a hold of us.\u201d About a year ago, they came to us through Tom [Johnston], and asked us if we would be into doing a PFC version of \u201cListen to the Music\u201d as they had done with some other songs. Of course we said, \u201cCertainly.\u201d They did a worldwide video of that tune, with musicians around the world participating. We also sang and played on the track. It was a fun process in the way that it was recorded and shared.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Was the process challenging?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt\u2019s truly a cool process. The track was initially cut to a click, and all the musicians joined in and added their parts. The actual finished product came out great. It\u2019s such an uplifting process, and that song is a signature tune for us. It was our first really successful song. The message is the right message for this organization, in terms of sharing music, which is probably the main focus of Playing For Change\u2014to encourage music around the world, in schools and communities. It\u2019s about sharing and learning, among other things that they do. It was perfect for us, and perfect for the song. That\u2019s how we started working together, and now we are a bit more engaged, and we\u2019re getting ready to do a Benefit Concert in Los Angeles\u2014this Tuesday, October 3, at the Mayan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What attracts a well-known band like the Doobie Brothers to this project?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt\u2019s fabulous to do something globally, especially in the times we live in. I don\u2019t want to get too political but it\u2019s tough with the current administration we have, as opposed to the last administration\u2014which was the opposite, 180 degrees. Trying to pull the world together is obvious for all the adults in the room. We need adults running the country and representing us to the world. But these two schoolyard bullies are drawing us closer and closer to annihilation. People should be very clear that if something happens in one case, it\u2019s going to happen everywhere. It comes down to a lack of knowledge and education.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the responsibility of musicians during times like these?<\/strong><br \/>\nYou can speak up, and use your music to bring people together. But it\u2019s a new paradigm in terms of how people get their information. Unfortunately, most people get their information from the sources that tell them what they want to hear. They don\u2019t pay attention to Rachel Maddow, CNN, or other reputable news sources. They pay attention to their Facebook page and Fox News\u2014because it reinforces the views they already have. I suppose it happens on both sides, but much more often on Fox News. It\u2019s shocking sometimes. I hear out and out untruths. I hear things that are detrimental to the welfare of our nation. It\u2019s frightening.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What can musicians do?<\/strong><br \/>\nMusicians and artists do their best to be as inclusive as possible, and reach out to people. Unfortunately, some people don\u2019t want us to reach out to them. They\u2019re rather we left them alone. For people like Jerry Falwell Jr. who claim to be Christians and don\u2019t stand up and speak out about this hatred and racism, I\u2019d say, \u201cYou need to get back to reading your Bible, brother\u2014because you\u2019re reading between the lines, instead of reading the lines that mean something. You\u2019re misreading and coming up with something that just doesn\u2019t see the good.\u201d The Christian doctrine has been so twisted to accommodate prejudice and hate\u2014hate for people who are different. There\u2019s no way the Savior would have accepted that\u2014he died fighting for the opposite. These guys don\u2019t have a clue\u2014even regarding their own doctrine. All they want to do is create something that dwells in hate rather than love. It\u2019s a pretense. It\u2019s a mind-blowing thing. They live in an era of denial, and that denial is pushing people away from their message.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there a song you would sing to help alleviate fears?<\/strong><br \/>\nI wrote a song a couple of years ago called \u201cDon\u2019t Be Afraid\u201d\u2014about how fear can limit your ability to move forward with your life. My hope is that people don\u2019t let fear get in the way of making decisions to move forward. It will only impede their growth.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17713\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Doobie Brothers-1\" width=\"660\" height=\"759\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-1.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-1-260x300.jpg 260w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-1-300x345.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/>Does music have the power to change?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have hope. I have hope all the time. I\u2019m sitting here complaining, but the fact of the matter is I\u2019ve been through Nixon, the Bushes, Reagan. I hate feeling this way, but in my lifetime, the political agenda has been a right-wing, business oriented, political agenda. Or it\u2019s been a more liberal, populist view\u2014looking out for the little guy. I\u2019m not ultra-liberal. I am probably more conservative these days in understanding of what it takes to develop your dream. It takes a <em>lot <\/em>of hard work. But I\u2019ve been through Nixon-Reagan-Bush\u2014politically and economically, and we made it through. We went on to better years with Clinton and Obama, and with Jimmy Carter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did President Jimmy Carter help?<\/strong><br \/>\nMany people malign him and laugh when they say, \u201cOh Jimmy Carter, look what happened.\u201d But he was <em>the<\/em> guy saying, \u201cTurn down your thermostat\u2014the country can save trillions of dollars, if people would turn down their thermostats and keep it down to 68.\u201d Even to this day, if you ask the average person, they\u2019ll say they keep their thermostat at 68. After Carter, people closed the door when they had the air conditioning on. Keeping it at 68\u2014saved energy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>People don\u2019t realize all that President Carter has done and continues to do.<\/strong><br \/>\nJimmy Carter aligned with Habitat for Humanity, and you see how much he\u2019s done for people in need, and for the spirit of the country in terms of helping and highlighting the needs and difficulties of a group of people who can\u2019t buy a house. He\u2019s done so much for the average American, and the spirt of the country. He was highly underrated as a leader.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there a new Doobie Brothers album coming soon?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe have been recording. We\u2019ve got some tracks we\u2019ve started working on\u2014and they really came out well. But we\u2019re just scratching the surface. Hopefully this winter, we\u2019ll buckle down and finish up the product. I\u2019m not sure if we\u2019re actually going to do it as an album, or if we\u2019re going to release a few songs here and there. That\u2019s possibly what we\u2019ll do. I think that\u2019s the new approach to marketing\u2014release a song at a time.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17712\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17712\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17712\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-3-Patrick-Simmons.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Patrick Simmons\" width=\"660\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-3-Patrick-Simmons.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-3-Patrick-Simmons-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17712\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Patrick Simmons<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Is this new paradigm difficult?<\/strong><br \/>\nYou almost have to give your music away these days. That\u2019s OK. We work hard, and we have worked hard, and we\u2019ve been fortunate. When it comes down to it, it\u2019s all about the music for us. Certainly we try to make a living and do the best we can for our families. We love music. That\u2019s what we got into this for. In that respect, we\u2019ve been livin\u2019 the dream for a long time. It\u2019s an interesting musical thing going on right now in the community\u2014with the internet. We\u2019re learning. I\u2019m always learning new things. It\u2019s just a new approach to marketing music.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who inspired you to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nOther musicians inspired me. I\u2019ve always loved music. Every musician is a fan, and a listener. A lot of those early songs, I don\u2019t even know who wrote them. But Dylan, of course, would be one that every writer looks to. The Beatles\u2014Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison. I loved Hoyt Axton. I thought he was always a great songwriter and a really cool artist. I was a folk singer, so I liked Tom Paxton. I was a blues guy, and I loved the blues\u2014Howlin\u2019 Wolf was always one of my favorite guys. Bobby Darin. (<em>Laughs<\/em>), the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Bill Haley &amp; His Comets, Buddy Holly, and so many more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think about the current wave of racism and hatred in America?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt baffles me that anyone would take exception to the phrase Black Lives Matter. It\u2019s basically saying\u2014I\u2019m a racist\u2014I don\u2019t think black lives matter. I\u2019m going to find an excuse to not think they matter. Because it\u2019s political, I\u2019m going to go against it. It\u2019s just sad because they deprive black people of the dignity they deserve. This is a friking nation that thrived on slavery not that long ago. People think it\u2019s been a long time. But America is one of the newest countries in the world. And it was founded on the chains we put on our black brothers. It\u2019s mind-blowing to me that anybody in their right mind would ever not want to make up for the injustice that has been served out to our African-American citizens.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17711\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-4.jpg\" alt=\"The Doobie Brothers-4\" width=\"660\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-4.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Doobie-Brothers-4-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do you think it has lingered so long?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt\u2019s a mind blower. How can you be trapped in that racist viewpoint\u2014after all these years? We are products of what we\u2019ve learned, and what has been beaten into us. There are a lot of people who are still living in that space. They want to be there. I believe they like being racist. (<em>Scoffs<\/em>) But it can change so quickly, and so easily. All you have to do is to get to know people, and it changes. And it\u2019s just not African-Americans that are having issues. So many minorities are suffering from this hateful rhetoric that\u2019s going on right now\u2014and it\u2019s coming from the top, at this point. It\u2019s really bizarre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remain hopeful?<\/strong><br \/>\nThings are changing pretty fast in Charlottesville and that part of the country. I had hopes there would be a new generation recognizing the mistakes people have been making, and try to put it right. I\u2019m still crossing my fingers. And I\u2019m doing the things we need to do. Playing For Change is one way we can reach our brothers and sisters across the globe. I have hope. I have hope all the time.<\/p>\n<p>Come and listen to the music:<br \/>\nThis <strong>Tuesday, October 3, 2017<\/strong> at <strong>The Mayan<\/strong> in <strong>Los Angeles<\/strong>.<br \/>\n1038 South Hill Street, Los Angeles,\u00a0CA\u00a0\u00a090015\u00a0\u00a0 P: 213-746-4674<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-17710\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-We-Are-One-flyer.jpg\" alt=\"Playing for Change - We Are One-flyer\" width=\"660\" height=\"1020\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-We-Are-One-flyer.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-We-Are-One-flyer-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Playing-for-Change-We-Are-One-flyer-300x463.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Band:\u00a0 THE DOOBIE BROTHERS Musician:\u00a0 PATRICK SIMMONS Video:\u00a0 Playing For Change\u2014WE ARE ONE \u2013 Benefit Concert Doobie Brothers and Little Feat help Playing For Change with Benefit Concert at The Mayan in Los Angeles this Tuesday, October 3, 2017 Event:\u00a0 PLAYING FOR CHANGE \u2013 WE ARE ONE, a benefit concert. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[8495,4283,9883,9884,9885,3592,9024,3948,9886,9887,9888,9889,9905,9890,9891,9892,9893,9894,4075,9895,9896,9897,9151,7837,9898,9899,1271,2363,4458,9900,9901,9902,4454,5732,9903,10161,7566,3010,7978,9904,2360,4457,1673,9906,9907,9908,9909,9910,9911,9912,9913,9914,9915,3818,9809,8110,9917,9918,9916,2361,9919,1464,9920],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17709"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17718,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17709\/revisions\/17718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}