Welcome to www.jackgibson.info

So, how was the 'Hits and History' Tour?

The tour was great. Hard work, but a real good experience. The band were all wonderful musicians and singers and, more importantly, lovely guys. Same with the crew. Nice people. A joy to see every day. Life on the road is full of variables. You need to find the consistency, first in yourself and, then, within the team you have out there. A talented, good spirited team turns a potentially hellish situation into a breeze.   
 
Are there plans to tour with the ‘History’ band again?

We're going to Australia at the end of 2007. Although I've been touring almost exclusively as a solo acoustic act for the past 5 years - just me and my guitar - I still like to involve a band or other musicians every so often.  It's a very different thing.

“They make you decide on a genre today, so they can put you in a box.”

Are there any acts today that musically resemble either Dennis Locorriere or Dr Hook?

I'd have to say no in relation to 'Hook'. The musical ground we were able to cover is unheard of in the business today. No one is doing pop and R&B and country and ballads and novelty tunes and tearjerkers and story songs, etc, etc, and pulling it all off. It comes from the bar band days, where you learned how to play whatever the customer wanted to hear; sometimes on the spot, at peril of life and limb. They make you decide on a genre today, so they can put you in a box. I'm not even sure I can truthfully say that 'Hook' benefited from it's diversity in the marketplace. No one ever knew how to take us or describe who we were or what we did. It wasn't simple. You might see us on TV doing 'Cover of Rolling Stone' with hair down to our asses and someone else might catch a clip of us doing 'Sharing the Night Together' with shorter hair and sport jackets on.  Hell, go to YouTube right now and type in 'Dr Hook'.  You won't believe the amount of diverse material that's on there. We were not easy to pigeonhole, at the same time making us pretty difficult to 'sell' to a target audience. As far as 'Is there anyone out there like me?' I wouldn't know, but I haven't run across him yet and he sure isn't paying my rent.

“A few months later evvvvvery Spandex clad rock and roll front man sounded like that or desperately tried to.”

What are your thoughts on the current trend of ‘manufactured’ music?

There have always been trends of 'manufactured' music. Whenever an act comes along with a fresh, natural take on things and becomes popular, everyone does that for awhile. Until the next natural thing comes along. A good example would be Robert Plant. Before Led Zeppelin no one had that kind of voice. That high, reedy 'alien blues' kinda thing. A few months later evvvvvery Spandex clad rock and roll front man sounded like that or desperately tried to. You can always tell the originals though. Now, if you're talking about 'manufactured' as in built in the studio by a team of technicians, mathematicians and statisticians, that's only developed over the past decade or so... but it ain't going away any time soon. Too many people earning a living from it now.

What are your memories of appearing on Broadway?

One of the best things I ever did. It was great working with Shel (Silverstein), though he could be extremely tough and opinionated and demanding. Hey! It was his play. As with our musical collaborations, I wanted him to feel like he had the right guy representing him... again. It was a real confidence builder to be thrust into a new medium and be fairly successful in it, and by that I mean, accepted. I was worried that I would be perceived in the theatre crowd as some singer who, because he was a friend of the author's was at Lincoln Center, ready or not, probably over his head and totally out of his league. I think I proved that not to be the case pretty quickly, I'm proud to say. Let's face it. Shel was not just gonna hand me his play and let me possibly fuck it up on a NY stage simply because I was a mate of his. In the beginning I ran solely on his confidence in me, until I found my footing and some confidence of my own in what I was doing.

Have you any aspirations to appear on stage in the West End?

I have no aspirations of being an actor. Never did. It's nice to know that if something came along that felt right I could handle myself, but I'm not actively pursuing an acting career. I was asked to audition for a West End production a year or so ago and offered a part in another, but neither were anything that appealed to me.  I'm not all that keen on 'disappearing into' another person or character. Shel's play was me telling a story and using various voices and mannerisms to portray each character in the story, but I didn't have to convince anyone, including myself, that I was a cowboy
or a brain surgeon before I could tell that story.

Your son Jesse is an actor, how’s he doing?

He's doing well, thanks. He's a lot like me in that he just keeps his head down and does what he has to do and he won't take any cheap shots. Acting and music, which he is also involved in, are either the most noble endeavours you can pursue or the most degrading, mortifying experiences anyone can ever have. Usually it's up to you to make those choices and set those parameters. Scarily, these days nothing seems too embarrassing for people to do to be on TV or to get them attention, no matter how adverse. Thank goodness Jess is old enough to have started before a lot of it became important to be 'famous' at all costs.

“I just write what I like to hear.”

Shel Silverstein, a man you hold in very high regard, penned several Dr Hook hits. You too have written material for other artists- Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Jerry Lee Lewis to name a few. What was it like writing for them?

I've never really written 'for' anyone. Anything I've had recorded has been as a result of someone hearing the song, usually from anyone but me, and liking it enough to cut it. Of course it's always a kick to know that what you've written makes that much sense to someone else that they are willing to basically use your heart and soul to help show theirs. I can't write with anyone else in mind...'for' someone. That always feels too much like parody to me.  I just write what I like to hear.

What made you move to England?

I love the country, the people, the understanding and appreciation they've always had of me and what I do. My life is simple here. I can have a personal life and a profession at the same time. My career doesn't necessarily have to totally pre-empt any semblance of normalcy.

 How does the British music scene compare to the American?

I think it's a matter of 'the grass is always greener'. The US looks to the UK and the Brits keep close tabs on the Yanks. But that was happening when The Beatles and the Stones started too. They were completely taken with American music and turned it into something fresh that enamoured us right back.

Are you still in contact with any of the original Hook line-up?

My best friend in the band was our drummer, John. We kept in regular contact, post-Hook, but he passed away several years ago. Good guy, John. Smart. Funny. I miss him. I speak to Rik every once in awhile. The last time was not such a happy social occasion. He'd called to tell me that Hook's bass player, Jance, had been killed on his motorcycle. Sad, but to tell you the truth, he loved his bike. Going like that was practically 'natural causes' for Jance. I hear from members the old road crew occasionally. Some of those guys went on to work production for U2, Madonna, Michael Jackson and other huge acts.

“As long as I'm never on the perpetual 'Please Remember Me' Tour…”

Have you any unfulfilled ambitions?

As I get older I realize I probably do. It becomes more important to leave something of yourself behind. I've spent a lot of time thinking that my participation in 'Hook' was something I did when I was younger and that it wasn't healthy to dwell on those glories too often or for too long. I still agree with that but it has become important to me to incorporate my well earned history into who I am today because it is part of who I am today and what I do tomorrow will be a part of who I am in 10 years. It's only gonna make real sense to someone who looks at the whole thing later on...even if that someone is me. As long as I'm never on the perpetual 'Please Remember Me' Tour, it's OK to dip into the past and pull out some gems to put on current display. Especially when I have some real precious stones in the Shel material alone. I'd be a fool to dismiss that stuff on principle.

When can fans expect your next album?

Nothing is recorded yet. I have lots of songs. I need to start culling them and thinking of some of them as an album now. I'd like to record this next one a little more organically than I was forced to do my first two.  I played a lot of the instruments and did most of the vocals on those albums, so it was slow going and difficult to always remain enthusiastic throughout the process. I'd like the next one to include more ensemble playing. Interplay between musicians. A bit more like 'we cut it 6-7 times, but usually used the first or second take' kind of stuff. It's so hard to plan anything in this life, never mind this business, but if I had a new album out in the Fall of 2008 I'd be absolutely rockin'!