RICK SPRINGFIELD and Autumn Hill at Bandshell Park (Exhibition Park, 210 Princes’), Wednesday (August 26), 7:30 pm. Free w/ admission. theex.com.
Rick Springfield’s Working Class Dog is a perfect album: its 10 lean-machine songs will rock you, invade your brain for days at a time and help you and your heartsickness feel less alone in the world (“Lately something’s changed / It ain’t hard to define / Jessie’s got himself a girl / And I wanna make her mine”).
That hit album came out in 1981, though, and Springfield’s done plenty since: his 18th studio album is set for release in early 2016 his Late, Late At Night: A Memoir hit number 13 on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2010 he got plenty of screen time in Dave Grohl’s 2013 doc Sound City, where Working Class Dog was recorded and the former Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital is currently acting in Ricki And The Flash alongside Meryl Streep.
Ahead of his CNE Bandshell Park show on Wednesday, at which he’ll play his hits as well as a medley of lesser-known songs, the Australian singer/songwriter talked to us a little bit about those things, plus the CNE.
Do you get tired of playing the early songs – the Jessie’s Girls and the I’ve Done Everything For Yous – or are you able to still tap into their special magic?
I’m happy to have “the guests that will never leave,” but I do look to new music to revitalize me.
Working Class Dog was your fifth album, and the stakes were high when you were making it, which we learned through the Sound City documentary. Was it important to you that your fans got insight into that time in your life?
No, I’m just grateful to have fans at all. Sound City was a heartfelt project, though, especially since it honoured a great man in my life, Joe Gottfried, who owned Sound City and was my manager. He would have loved the doc, and I love Dave for making it.
How did your big-screen Ricki And The Flash opportunity come about?
They were looking for an actor who could really play guitar and who had chemistry with Meryl. The music was all recorded live, so they needed someone who could shred a little and also be able to carry the acting thing. It was a blast. And it wasn’t a fake band. We truly banded together and it felt very real. Meryl loved it when we jammed between takes. She said it was the most fun she’s ever had on a set.
Your 18th album comes out soon. What are your musical goals at this point in your career?
I have a lot of dreams, and as long as I have something to reach for I’ll be driven to write. I love writing songs, and the occasional time when you hit something truly good is addictive – a high you keep chasing.
The CNE has some crazy food on offer. The Cronut Burger was last year’s big thing. What are your guilty pleasures in the food department?
Honestly, my food plan is so strict that a banana is considered an exotic and over-the-top food. But I do have a terrible and unforgivable guilty pleasure in fried pork skins, obtainable only at your local truck stop, and I’ll have one every 10 or 15 years. Really, the guilt is just too much.
The CNE signals the end of summer here in Toronto. Do you have any tips for those of us who get those wistful, melancholy early-fall blues?
Move to Cali? I actually love winter. It’s my favourite season, so I guess I would say lean into it and go with it.
Once your set is over, which ride do you most want to sneak onto?
The-bar-with-the-best-wine ride.
carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis
