Stereogum Home
February 28, 2008

Michael McDonald On Yachts, Rock

You'll remember we joined most of the online music community in welcoming back that inimitable imitation of '70s smooth sounds and the folks that made them, Yacht Rock. Although Hall, Oates, Kenny Loggins, James Ingram, and even Kevin Bacon figure into the softsational character constellation, Yacht's anchor has always been the prematurely gray grace of Michael McDonald. Michael's playing Blue Note in NYC this week, and Time Out New York asked him some hard hitting Qs relating to the image cultivated by Channel 101's sketch show:

TONY: Have you ever owned a yacht?

MICHAEL MCDONALD: No, but I thought Yacht Rock was hilarious. And uncannily, you know, those things always have a little bit of truth to them. It's kind of like when you get a letter from a stalker who's never met you. They somehow hit on something, and you have to admit they're pretty intuitive.

TONY: Have you at least lived near a marina?

MICHAEL MCDONALD: No, I never did. Although a couple summers ago, when I opened for Steely Dan, I'd do the encore with them and come out in a little captain's hat, like Alan Hale Jr. We all wore them onstage.

TONY: And not one of you owns a yacht?

MICHAEL MCDONALD: Not that I know of. Well, David Crosby owns a sailboat. But I'm not sure he counts.

TONY: Okay. So what's the craziest thing you ever did with Kenny Loggins?

MICHAEL MCDONALD: We mostly worked a lot when we would get together. Kenny, he's one of those guys who was a more serious artist; I was just a schlub. He was like, "C'mon, let's get this right," and I was like, "Got any beer?"

Which of course makes JD Ryznar a picture perfect impressionist. Read the rest at Time Out New York.

Posted at 2:04 PM
Tags:  |




-->

7 Comments

"Devastating character piece, showcasing pop superstar Michael McDonald. Written & directed by ZZalgern0n & Josh Fadem"

Posted by: MyLittleUnderground at 02/28/08 2:24 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Nothing against Michael McDonald, but if I hear "Yah Mo B There" one more time, I'm going to "Yah Mo" burn this place to the ground.

Posted by: TW at 02/28/08 2:25 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Jo_na Bech_tolt rocks.

Posted by: juno©you know at 02/28/08 2:32 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

James Ingram: Yah mo murdered a lot of people.

Michael McDonald: Those aren't people, James Ingram, they're Jimmy Buffet Fans.

Hilarious.

Posted by: Greg at 02/28/08 3:09 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

"Nothing against Michael McDonald, but if I hear "Yah Mo B There" one more time, I'm going to "Yah Mo" burn this place to the ground."

The proper "Yah Mo" grammar structure would be:

"...if I hear "Yah Mo B There" one more time, Yah Mo burn this place to the ground."

Posted by: Nathan Smart at 02/28/08 3:56 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Seriously though, McDonald was the absolute shit when he was with Steely Dan. "Showbiz Kids" anyone? Anyone?

Posted by: Donter at 02/28/08 4:36 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

For those livin' or hangin' in Chicago later in March...

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e295/baldeaglechicago/stay_smooth_VII.jpg

Posted by: Bald Eagle at 02/28/08 5:24 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Hospital Ships - I Want It To Get Out (»)
Mogwai - The Sun Smells Too Loud (»)
Ungdomskulen - Ordinary Son (Radio Edit) (»)
Damien Jurado - Where Lies My Tarp (»)
Birdmonster - Born To Be Your Man (»)
Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others (Live At Morning Becomes Eclectic) (»)
Genghis Tron - Things Don't Look Good (Rob Crow Remix) (»)
CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage) (»)
James Jackson Toth - Doreen (»)
Twi The Humble Feather - Higher Than The End (»)
Roadside Graves - Ruby (»)
No Age - Eraser (»)
Doveman - Footloose (»)
Rooftop Vigilantes - Oscar Want 7 Inch (»)
Dr. Dog - The Ark (»)
Oxford Collapse - The Birthday Wars (»)
Neil Halsted - Paint a Face (»)
Throw Me The Statue - If This Is It (Huey Lewis Cover) (»)

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: Hospital Ships

As we pass saturation point for press coverage of Montreal, Portland, Brooklyn and et cetera, it seems Lawrence, Kansas is poised for its coming turn in the music media trend piece carousel. At least from what we're hearing; this marks...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Ungdomskulen

The Bergen trio Ungdomskulen play proggy post punk, mixing chops and hooks with a sense of humor. But they don't sound like Primus. When I was in Norway a couple years ago, "Ungdomskulen" seemed to be on everybody's lips (or...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: Beck - Modern Guilt

It's been some time since we learned Modern Guilt, Beck Hansen's eighth album, would be some sort of psych rock minimalist '60s trip with Danger Mouse. Since then, we've gotten a look at the old-school jazz/Blue Note-style cover art and...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: Papa Roach - "Getting Away With Murder"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: Papa Roach lands an uppercut on the glass jaw of big oil.

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: SPIN, November, 1990

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. For the cover story, Bob Guccione Jr. himself gets in the ring with...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 15: Clark, My Brightest Diamond, Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy usually focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This time...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

Damien Jurado - "Murderer" (Low Cover)

After hearing "Gillian Was A Horse" from Damien Jurado's forthcoming Caught In The Trees, we contacted the Seattle singer-songwriter and asked if he'd want to premiere a track at Stereogum. Lucky for us (and you), it turned out he had...

MORE »