By Jon Bream Minneapolis Star Tribune Bruce Springsteen is doing it. So are Van Morrison, the Pixies and Steely Dan. Playing a classic album in its entirety in concert — along with random favorites, of course. On tour this year, Steely Dan is rotating the three biggest albums from its 1970s warped jazz-rock heyday: “Royal […]
Tag Archives | Interview
Once-Reclusive Pair Now Road Warriors
By Greg Kot Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — Steely Dan famously quit touring to concentrate on recording meticulously crafted studio albums in the ’70s. But in the last decade, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have spent more time on the road than behind a mixing board. And now, with a dozen musicians, they’re performing some of […]
Donald Fagen on Our Secret Society
By Devon Wendell The International Review of Music Recently I had the opportunity for an exclusive interview with my great friend, mentor, and former employer, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan on the influence of jazz on his life and music. Here’s the result. And don’f forget that Donald, Walter and the gang will begin their […]
Solo ‘Circus Money’ Has Deep Grooves
By Mr. Bonzai MixOnline.Com Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have been on the road all summer leading Steely Dan through its paces, drawing enthusiastic crowds to their Think Fast tour. Meanwhile, Becker has a little side treat for us: His second solo album, Circus Money, thrills with exquisite musicianship and just the right touch of Dan […]
Steely Dan Remains True to its Nature
By Doug Pullen Flint Journal FLINT, Mich. — When an artist wins the Album of the Year Grammy Award, that artist pretty much can expect a healthy bounce in sales of said album and a not-so-healthy afterglow of cocktails, parties and God knows what else. The learned, enigmatic men behind the curtain that is known […]
Steely Walt
Bass player for iconic group steps into his own By Michael Senft The Arizona Republic Throughout the 1970s, Walter Becker was the silent partner in Steely Dan. He played bass, handled production duties, wrote songs and served as a musical foil to his longtime friend, Donald Fagen. But to many fans he was the “Oates” […]
Rockers With Soul
Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen looks back to shared roots and finds jazz, R&B, and something even deeper By Bernard Perusse The Montreal Gazette MONTREAL — It’s been said that although Steely Dan are in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the duo — singer and keyboard player Donald Fagen and guitarist Walter Becker — […]
Donald Fagen interview
By John Del SignoreGothamist.com Originally published on June 13, 2008 Since he began his fruitful collaboration with Walter Becker back at Bard College in 1968, Grammy award-winning musician Donald Fagen has steadily distinguished himself as one of the smartest and most imaginative contemporary songwriters. As Steely Dan, the innovative duo lays claim to an impressive catalog of hit singles that […]
Everything Must Groove
By Ken Micallef EMusician.com Interviewing Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen is a lot like playing a verbal pinball machine: their answers change direction with a comic, if disorienting, suddenness — deflecting the thrust of a question and bouncing up against an array of societal, historical, and musical references. For instance, when I asked […]
Just A Minute With: Donald Fagen
By Mark McSherry Reuters NEW YORK – American musician Donald Fagen — half of jazz-rock duo Steely Dan alongside Walter Becker — is in no rush to put out a fourth solo album, having taken 25 years to produce the first three. Outside of Steely Dan, Fagen’s three albums — “The Nightfly,” “Kamakiriad,” and “Morph […]
