BWW Interviews: Willie Nile Toured with THE WHO

When I was a kid there was a lot of music in my home. My grandfather on my father's side was an orchestra leader for vaudeville for over 20 years. Buffalo was a big spot on the vaudeville circuit. People going west or coming east would stop at Buffalo. Him and his brother both ran orchestras. He was an amazing ragtime piano player. His sons played and two of my older brothers played. We were always playing music in the house so I grew up with classical music, big band music, ragtime music and with my brothers, radio and TV; rock and roll. I love music. It struck me like it struck many people in that era. It was alive and made me feel good. I never thought I would do it. I always wanted to be a concert pianist. That was my dream as a 5 year old. I wanted to play Rachmaninoff. I do play the piano in some concerts. That's what interested me in music in the beginning. When the Beatles hit and Dylan and all the great music in the late 50's and 60's hit, I just loved it. And it was meaningful. You know, music can have a bit of salvation in it and I felt that. Then I started writing poetry and eventually started writing songs and here I am.

When did you start playing guitar and writing the music?

I started playing the piano at age 8 and I started playing guitar at about 17 or 18. I quit the piano before that and then when I started playing guitar, I went back and re-taught myself the piano, just playing chords. I started writing songs when I was 15 or 16 years old. It was meaningful to me. I had fun doing it. You could write about love. If you were blue you could write about it or something political. It was a good release for me. It still is. And this is it. I'm in Europe touring for 3 or 4 months a year. I'm going in a few weeks. I'll be there in July in Italy in the summer. I'm in Europe quite a bit. A good friend for mine, Doc Pomus who was a great singer/songwriter; he wrote "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment," he's one of the all-time greats. He wrote a lot of Elvis Presley. And when I was coming up in New York City in the late 70's, he would come see me play every night. We were friends. He was one of the coolest guys I've ever met. I met so many interesting people and I'm grateful, but Doc Pomus was so special. He said, "Go to Europe Willie. They know how to treat a songwriter." And this is it. I make records and I perform concerts. And not a day goes by that I'm not grateful doing what I love to do.

You spend a lot of time on the road.

My first record came out, it made a lot of noise and I toured across the U.S. with The Who as the opening and toured all across the country. I was on Arista Records and we flew across country with The Who. The first time I was ever in Texas was with The Who. It was a thrill of a lifetime for a kid who grew up on rock and roll. They're friends of mine to this day. I saw Pete (Townsend) not too long ago and I saw Roger (Daultry) last year. In the 80's I didn't play hardly at all. I walked away from the business in the early 80's because there were too many money hungry people around. It's not what I went there for. I went there for the music. There came a point where it wasn't fun. I got in with good intentions and I thought, "This ain't fun now, so I'm leavin'." When I tried to get in a few years later, I couldn't get arrested. So it wasn't until the late 80's that I got a deal with Columbia and I put a record out. So I didn't tour a lot in the 80's. I toured a little bit in the 90's, not much so I never burned out on the road. But the last few years I've been playing a lot. 235 shows in the last two years. So, I'm working hard. I'm enjoying it. Had I burned out on the road years ago, I wouldn't be doing it. Now I'm enjoying it. It's joyful. I feel good and it inspires me. It seems to inspire the people. Most people don't know me. Some do but I'm having a good time. I'm about to embark on 3 hard months of travelling. Going on a tour of UK and Spain.

It shows that you have a great passion for your music and you are not willing to slow down.

I'm very grateful for that. I'm making a good living at it and I'm grateful for it. I worked many years. I know life is hard for everybody. And right now after a long circuitous journey, this is the best time of my career. I'm enjoying it very much. I've gotten a little better at it. I thoroughly enjoy it and I don't take it for granted. We are staying in a castle and we're travelling all over Europe. I do not take one day for granted. I encourage my friends if you can come on over, come over and see what we see, it's something else. I love playing for people. I believe in a brotherhood of man. I don't have any borders. I believe in people and to raise some spirits.

Do you have any advice for people aspiring to be rock singers?

Follow your heart. If you believe it, follow your instincts. You've gotta listen to your heart. You have to be practical. Just follow your heart and trust your instincts. I think that if you believe it and it's meaningful for you and if it comes from a real place, then there's a chance it might be meaningful for someone else. If someone else is telling a story, tell me about your story. Learn from other people. Try to find your own voice. Sing and play what you believe. And you'll be alright.

To learn more about Willie Nile and when he will be in your area, check out his website.

Willie Nile and his Band at SXSW