The Coshocton Tribune Sat., August 10, 1968

'The Who' Rock Group Breaks It Up At Every Performance

By STEVE BOZ

(Editor's note: This story is the result of a personal interview with "The Who," at the Musicarnival in Cleveland recently, conducted by the author and Jerry Thomas, both of Coshocton. The author works in the display advertising department of The Tribune.)

Of all the rock groups you have ever heard of, which ones have really influenced the present-day music scene? Chances are, you won't think of The Who. Feedback in guitar music, songs using a story line, mini-operas, multiple track tapes in the recording studio and psychedelic sounds in general, were all pioneered by The Who.

The one person who is most concerned and outspoken about what happens to the British group is their lead guitarist, Peter Townshend. Not too long ago, a popular magazine described him as "arrogant, conceited, and ruthless." This must have been a completely different Pete Townshend, as he proved eager to talk about music today and the philosophy behind the four-man group.

One of the most startling things about The Who is that they smash most of their equipment at the end of every performance. All this is a big act, and most of the audience knows it. The inspiration for this came to Townshend when he studied art in London. One of his instructors gave a lecture about certain forms of destruction being art in themselves; and this immediately hit a sympathetic note.

The nightly ritual blended in perfectly since the group was already known as one of the wildest rock bands to hit England. They all realize the consequences of such acts and arrive prepared. Townshend carries a case full of spare guitar parts and each member of The Who contributes $30 per show to a pool for replacing valuable equipment.

Probably the biggest concern for Townshend is the relationship between a performer and his audience. As he puts it, "Most big groups don't really care what happens with the audience. They want to arrive, set up, play and leave as soon as possible. But The Who is different.

Townshend continued, "When we got to Detroit, we had all gone for fifty-two hours without sleep and were all out of sorts with everything in general. On top of that we had heard news of the Thames River flooding in London. That made me worry even more because I had a new house right at the river, plus a new wife and a new puppy living in the house. When we got on stage we didn't care what happened but the audience was wildly enthusiastic and we got worked up and gave a great show. After we were done, I called London and found everything was O.K. So, we went another night without sleep."

Contrary to some groups, The Who enjoys their U.S. tours. Where Jack Bruce of Cream and Jim Morrison of The Doors tend to think of most of their audiences as a mob incapable of comprehending good music, Townshend enjoys every city he visits. "The U.S. was made for traveling and we don't find any real difference in people wherever we go."

All of their material is completely original, the vast majority of it being written by Townshend. He has over 200 songs written and filed away for future use. Some of The Who's big hits are: "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"; "My Generation"; "Substitute"; "Happy Jack"; "Pictures of Lily"; and their most recent "The Magic Bus".

Pete worries about the basic fickleness of the music business. "A group has to keep moving forward very fast. You can't turn out an album and then follow up with another album in the same style. People tend to think you've become stagnant and desert you. Take the Beatles, for instance. Every time I see them they're frantically trying to turn on something new and wild, different. They try too much too fast."

No stranger to trying something different, Townshend dreamed up their latest album "The Who Sell Out," as a long satire on Top 40 radio complete with commercials. The album went over well, despite some very pointed barbs at well known products. "All the advertising people were upset at first, but then they liked what we did and wanted more. The Heinz people didn't like the picture of Roger (the group's lead singer) sitting in a tub full of Heinz baked beans, but they turned around and gave us several cases of the stuff."

The next album is a Townshend original too. He wants it to be recorded on one tape so it will be like live performance. (Almost all records are made with two master tapes. The first made is only instrumental with the vocals cut at another time. When the "master" is made for the actual record, the two are combined.)

This album will be an oratorio with one central theme running through both sides. It will be written in third person singular, about a boy who is deaf, dumb and blind, and traces what happens to him during his childhood. With Townshend's wit, the album will not be sad and depressing.

As one might guess, a person with Pete's originality would have definite opinions about most everything. When asked about the Rolling Stones he forthrightly stated, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" is the biggest bunch of rubbish yet." He considers Jimi Hendrix to be the greatest guitarist alive, "This thing called 'aura,' a glowing light some people have about them, you can almost see around Hendrix when he walks on stage."

Further comments were on Eric Clapton, "Eric has a very delicate ego. This U.S. tour has almost turned me into a ghost."; and on Cream in general, "They play so much in the U.S. they all have draft cards. And even though they make a big thing of improvisation, they've played so many one-night stands, their improvisation isn't improvised anymore."

What comes next for The Who, nobody knows. Everyone concerned with them pitches in, enjoying their frantic life to the fullest. Even one of their equipment managers gets involved enough to join the show as an instrumentalist.

[Photo caption]

PETER TOWNSHEND "The Who," one of the hottest new rock groups, performed recently at the Musicarnival in Cleveland. Members of the group are, left to right, John Entwistle, on bass; Keith Moon, drummer; Roger Daltry, lead singer; and Peter Townshend, who provided the interview above, is lead guitarist. (Tribune Photos by Steve Boz.)