John Oates: Producing, Touring and Writing for a New Generation

Mind Your Body with Stephanie Stephens features celebrities and high achievers age 45+ who share their latest projects, healthy living secrets and more.

John Oates, one mighty half of the No. 1-selling music duo Hall and Oates and an outstanding solo artist in his own right, is sometimes confused with his venerable partner.

No, they do not resemble each other in the slightest. (Hint: Check the hair color first.)

“I’m the short, good-looking one,” John says with a chuckle. Musician, songwriter and creator in general, this artist is one very busy guy and here he tells me what he’s up to in work, health and life. There’s plenty to talk about, including the duo’s tour with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Trombone Shorty and select dates with Mayer Hawthorne.

Yes, they’re headed to an arena somewhere near you. Find it.

So, what’s new? I realize that is one loaded question for you. You’re still “everywhere.”

I’m writing a book for St. Martin’s Press and have finished about 60 percent of the first draft. It’s a nuts-and-bolts process, with the book set for release in early 2017. I’m writing about the late ’80s, my transition to Colorado and much more. There’s not a lot of detail about Hall & Oates’ music-making. The emphasis is on my life before meeting Daryl. It’s about my self-discovery, really, and as far as gossip and dirt—it’s not that kind of book.

Chris Epting is my co-writer, who’s working away diligently with me, making sure details are correct. It’s a bit like progressive therapy, so once you open up some memories, you delve into details you may not have always remembered.

Hall and Oates has 21 albums, you have five solo and you always stir up some cool collaborations. Any new music you want to share?

I’ve done so many solo recordings during the past three years that I almost got burned out, working like a crazy person. After all, the demands of the Hall & Oates tour are pretty intense.

But you’re doing other things now, like working with younger artists.

I produced a band from Denver, Paper Bird, [a six-piece indie folk/baroque pop band] and the album comes out in September. I am recording a Christmas single, John Oates featuring The Time Jumpers, who are a swing band. It’s called “Santa Be Good to Me.”

How do you gauge your current popularity? I mean, you have always been hugely popular.

We’re bigger now—not in terms of selling records, but with the tour. We played the Garden in New York in February and it was sold out. If you told me in the ’70s we’d be doing this, well… We have a whole new audience, a new generation of fans, much younger—from teens to 40s. Older fans don’t always want to go to an arena show, but they are still there and so supportive.

I played the heck out of you when I was on the radio. You seem to have always attracted a wide range of fans, age-wise.

Yes, when we were just two guys playing in art galleries and coffee houses in Philly, I’d look at the audience of 20 to 30 people and see teenagers to 60-year-olds. We used to talk about it. To this day, it’s a testament to the songs we write that communicate on a universal level to people, with no “generation limitation.”

Your music doesn’t need frills, does it?

We’ve built our careers on being really good at what we do. We get on stage and deliver, play guitar and sing. People crave that authenticity: no tracks behind us, no dancing or fiery explosions, and that’s OK. There’s a reason classic rock artists are selling out tours. Kids who come aren’t looking at us from a nostalgic point of view; they just want to hear the music the way it was meant to be played.

How do you feel about music videos? They’ve gotten pretty elaborate and complex.

I was on a new music panel with Madonna in the ’80s, and we had a crazy argument. I call it the “Madonna syndrome,” because Madonna started it, turning live performance into a spectacle, and she provided the template. My stance was that I never really wanted to be an actor. The only reason I cared about video was that it was a way to promote our music.

Are you still racing?

I loved it as a kid. I started in go-karts on Long Island. I still love it, enjoy driving, and go to races periodically. I used to race various formulas—first amateur, then professional—then had an accident in 1984 and decided to stop.

You’re a long way from Philly now. You and your wife live in Nashville and Aspen: two very different places. Tell us more.

We have a little ranch in Colorado, and it’s really my wife’s thing, since she grew up on a farm in Illinois. Her father is still a farmer. They always had exotic animals. Over the years in Aspen we’ve adopted dogs, cats, emus, llamas, peacocks, turkeys and a guinea fowl.

We live in the city in Nashville and originally went for musical reasons. We found a great city of really interesting people. We’re there most of the winter.

Let’s switch gears. So how’s your workout routine now?

I was into sports in high school with wrestling and playing tennis. Later, I used to be extreme, running up mountains. Now for me, more moderate exercise on a regular basis feels really good. I have to be careful about my knee, arm and shoulder. I did get thrown off a mustang—bucked off in a round pen.

In Nashville, there’s a gym in the building, so I do the treadmill and StairMaster. In Colorado, I bike, walk and run around the farm.