Archives: Interview with RICK SPRINGFIELD (2005)

*Interview originally appeared at my former site rock-is-life.com, Winter 2005

Rick Springfield needs no introduction. Those of you slightly familiar with the pop-rock icon will remember him for his 80’s pop culture hit “Jessie’s Girl.” Those of you who have ravenously followed him since the very beginning will remember him for his 30+ years of music, his starring role as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital, and his numerous movie and television appearances.

Rick Springfield was my childhood idol, so this interview was quite special for me. Rick’s music has always been something people can easily relate to, whether is was about love, heartbreak, or having a good time. Following the critically acclaimed 2004 studio release Shock Denial Anger Acceptance (read CD review), Rick Springfield has returned to the fold with a seventies and eighties inspired covers album, The Day After Yesterday (read CD review). In between his appearances on The Today Show, The View, and a Rockafeller Center gig, Rick took some time to chat with Rock-Is-Life.com.

Rock Is Life would like to thank Patrica, Laurie, Norma, Lauri, Kathleen, Laura, Kelley, Kitti, Elizabeth, Julie, Karen, Tracey, Leanne, Donna, Dancy, Kathy, Alane, Helen, and Christine from the Rick Springfield message boards for helping with the questions.

RIL: Your new album is a covers album, what made you go that route?
RS: The last record I did took a lot out of me to record it and write, so I wanted to take a break from writing a little bit. I had a song in my head that I always wanted to try, so it seemed the appropriate time. I thought that I would have fun doing it.

RIL: Was there any rhyme or reason to the song selection?
RS: Yes there is. They’re old songs that I love; moody, very atmospheric kind of music that lends the theme of what the whole record is. You know; that moody kind of atmospheric tone.

RIL: So you were trying to go for a mellow kind of mood then?
RS: Yes, opposite of [Shock Denial Anger Acceptance] which was pedal to the metal.

RIL: Do you plan on making any music videos for the covers album?
RS: We’re in the middle of mixing a DVD of a concert with a bunch of those songs in it. It will be in definition.

RIL: Are you planning a tour around this release or are you just going to continue with special appearances?
RS: We have been touring since it came out. We’re actually in New York right now playing in Times Square tomorrow night. Then we’re going to Pennsylvania, Japan, and Australia. We’ll pick up touring again in February.

RIL: Are you planning a consistent touring schedule or are you going to break it up?
RS: We tour the same way that we have for the last ten years. We go out for about three/four days, then go home for about a week so. It keeps the show fresh, keeps us in touch with our family, and keeps it fun for us.

RIL: You have said in past interviews that you would not go back to General Hospital, what made you change your mind?
RS: They came to me at the right time. We had just taken a break from touring, and I had missed acting. I hadn’t really done.…I did a kind of a Broadway type show in Vegas at the MGM for two years. I was acting, but I missed working as an actor in movies and television. They came to me at the right time and they asked if I was interested in just doing a couple of shows in character, and since I hadn’t been doing that in twenty-three years, it was a chance that I could just not miss. They wrote it right, and it worked out in such a way that they ended up writing another ten episodes. 

RIL: Would you entertain a full time roll on the show again?
RS: We’re all kind of sitting back and waiting for the reaction to it. We’ll see what happens if there is any interest to it. 

RIL: Have you been offered any other television roles the past couple of years?
RS: Yeah, there was a couple that we tried to work out, but once the tour is booked, it’s booked. There is really nothing we can do.

RIL: You put out your last two releases on your own label Gomer Records. Do you have any plans to sign other artist?
RS: No, I just created it for myself. If something came up that was really something, something that I completely believed in, I would. I’m kind of slow in the studio, so I spend a lot of time there. It would have to be something that I was really committed to.

RIL: Do you find it easier being in charge of everything, or do you find that you just have more responsibility?
RS: Both actually. You don’t have to fight somebody to do what you want, but on the other hand it cost you a lot more money.

RIL: You’ve managed to be successful with music, movie, and television; have you ever considered writing a book?
RS: I think that will happen at some point. I have to wait till the spirit takes me that way.

RIL: Speaking of books, I was perusing the message boards on your website, and one of your fans is writing a science fiction book based on your last CD (SDAA). I thought that was interesting.
RS: Wow, really? Sci-fi? I would say most of the books I’ve read are sci-fi. I still read on the road. When one of my favorite authors writes a new book, I’ll pick it up.

RIL: You’ve been a working musician since the late sixties, what do you contribute your longevity to?
RS: Persistence, staying hungry, and wanting to work.

RIL: Was there ever a point where you thought about calling it quits?
RS: Yeah, defiantly. I did quit in 1985. I didn’t think that I would go back when my kids were born. I became a house husband for quite a few years.

RIL: So what made you come back?
RS: I started to get hungry again. The fire got relit basically. I don’t know how or why, whether it was biorhythms or whatever, the fire started up again.

RIL: Do you think the internet has been a viable tool for connecting you and your fans now that the industry seems to focus on the flavor of the week?
RS: Totally. The internet has been great for everything. 

RIL: You release special editions of your albums through your website. What is included in the special edition of The Day After Yesterday?
RS: It’s all real fan specific stuff. The covers one probably has less than any of the others, but on most of them there are a lot of unreleased songs I wrote, both from all of my tapes of unreleased songs and things that nobody has ever herd before. The fans really like that kind of stuff. There are different versions of songs too. There’s a song off the new record that didn’t make it to the final album; a Todd Rundgren song called “Love is the Answer.” There is an hour and a half of video on there of different things. It’s the kind of stuff that if I were a fan of someone, that I would want. Hardcore fans are very different than the very casual fan. They have a lot more tolerance and hunger for the artist and the personal stuff. I try to give them stuff that they find interesting.

RIL: Do you read the message boards or visit the chat room at your website?
RS: I don’t read the message boards, but I do post on a thing called the Gomer Diaries.

RIL: So, you keep an online journal?
RS: Yes, I do hear about the message boards though.

RIL: They are defiantly hardcore fans on the boards. I actually went to your board and asked them if they had any questions for you. As you can expect, some of them were just off the wall. One of them wanted to know if you astral-project? I was like, I can’t ask that one! You definitly have a loyal and loving fan base though.
RS: Yes, they are the best. I have a great respect for them.

RIL: You have expressed in the past that many of your songs are about personal experiences and you’re clearly not afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve. Has this type of honesty ever backfired on you or had a negative effect?
RS: Yeah, I’ve hurt people at times with things I have written. That hasn’t thrilled me, but you don’t think of that when you writing about your point of view.

RIL: Do you get recognized in public on a regular basis or are you able to go as you please?
RS: I can get around it, but sometimes I get busted. 

RIL: You’re married, correct?
RS: Yes.

RIL: What does your wife think about your rabid female fan base?
RS: Oh, she has met quite a few of them, and they love her. She’s a great person; very giving. She thinks it’s a lot of fun.

RIL: Are there any goals that you haven’t achieved?
RS: Yes.

RIL: Anything that you would like to share?
RS: Just to get better at what I do. Basically I’m still hungry to improve.

RIL: Would you like to obtain notoriety like you had at the height of your career again or do you think you already have that with such a strong fan base?
RS: The rabidness, I don’t terribly miss. It’s great now to be able to play concerts and walk into the audience to have some fun. They don’t try to rip your arm off. Back in the eighties they would. That kind of freedom is great. My whole purpose to begin with was for people to hear my music. That’s the drive for most musicians. That’s still my goal; for more people to hear what I have written. That’s the deeper meaning for me.

RIL: You will probably always be known in pop culture as the guy who wanted “Jessie’s Girl,” but what would you like your legacy to be?
RS: I think that’s better than nothing (laughs)! Certainly it’s a double edge sword. I’m very proud of that song. It’s been so enduring and it’s had such legs that now there are tens year olds singing it. On the other hand, there’s is a side of me that says I have other children. This just isn’t the only child I have.

RIL: There are a few artists as of late who have been covering you’re music.
RS: There has certainly been some.

RIL: Have you herd of the band Waltham?
RS: Yes, I have actually.

RIL: They’re from Massachusetts. I interviewed the lead singer Frank Pino one time, and they’re big fans of yours. They base there sound on yours. It’s really good stuff.
RS: That’s great. When someone pursues music through your music, that’s the greatest accolade anybody can get.

RIL: That all I have for toady. I do want to tell you that I’ve always been a big fan of yours. It was you and your music that inspired me to play the guitar.
RS: That’s great, God bless you.