Daryl Hall: Making Music on Tour, at His House, and in His Club

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

When you love your work, you do more of it with joy. So it goes with Daryl Hall, who at 69 is undeniably a master of piano, guitar, singing, songwriting and producing. Let us also add to that stellar list the titles of web series pioneer, restaurateur, club owner and home restoration expert. And that’s just for starters.

Right now, he and partner John Oates—you know them as Hall & Oates—are setting out on yet another major tour. It starts May 13 in Dallas and ends in Las Vegas on September 23. The record-setting duo is joined on stage by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Trombone Shorty, and they play select dates with Mayer Hawthorne.

Visit Daryl’s House

Daryl’s highly successful web series born November 15, 2007, has evolved into something really big and really good: Watch Live from Daryl’s House. He just kicked off his new season May 5 on MTV Live, MTV’s new 24-hour dedicated music channel at a spot on the dial formerly occupied by Palladia. The first show features Daryl’s pals, Cheap Trick. (Hint: Daryl does have a lot of really cool pals.)

Tune in to the network Thursday, May 12 for Daryl and Wyclef Jean. Now if you don’t have MTV Live, Daryl says don’t panic. You can watch the entire season globally on the show’s website, starting May 15. In addition to Cheap Trick and Wyclef, look for Elle King, The O’Jays, Anderson East, Daughtry, and Grace and Kenny Loggins in upcoming episodes.

Visit Daryl’s Restaurant/Club

If you haven’t seen his show, grab a glass of wine and a seat for a fun format. Daryl welcomes a fellow musician into his club, and the two play each other’s hits—a great idea. Daryl executive produces with his manager, Jonathan Wolfson—thanks Jonathan, for this interview!

When in Pawling, New York, grab a seat at Daryl’s bar in his restaurant and music club, also called Daryl’s House. Let’s see what else is happening in Daryl’s world.

You have so much going on. You must be the man who never sleeps.

I am not ever pretending I’m going to have a real vacation, because it is work, work, work. I take my time when I can. It’s really about pacing. I wish there were more hours in the day and I do have a lot on my plate. I figure out how to do it and so far seems to be working.

You’re going on tour soon. What makes this one different from the others?

Every tour has its own life. We work hard all the time, and it is hard for me to differentiate how this will be different from what we’ve done before. But it will because we’re consistently playing larger places and selling out every place. It’s so gratifying. We do have the best band ever—we’ve always had good bands. But this is my Live from Daryl’s House band, and they’re like family. We’re going start introducing more and more songs that aren’t the most well known of the Hall & Oates songs.

Are you doing any new solo work or producing anything we should mention?

I’m working on a solo record right now, in between everything, and it will be finished at the end of the year or early next year, a whole album. I’ve been going through a lot of personal stuff and my songs are always pretty autobiographical. This will present itself in time, and no, I don’t have a title yet.

John talked to me about a whole new generation of fans coming to see you. Do you see that too?

One of most fun things is seeing college kids and people in their 20s. I think every artist will admit they want to cross generations. It validates you in a different way, when people who come aren’t just from your time. It’s incredible to watch them react and respond to the music in a different way. It changes the dynamics of the room, making it much more kinetic, exciting and unexpected for us too.

Live from Daryl’s House debuted in 2007. The idea was new. How do you do this, still?

Other people have tried to do what I’ve been doing but they haven’t really succeeded. It only could have happened this way if it started on the web. When I first had the idea, I was lucky enough to get an underwriter. It’s not easy to do this, due to a lot of music publishing issues, writer clearances and more.

I tried going to TV early on, and they just didn’t get it. The concept was too loose and new and they said there’s no contest! [like an American Idol.] I didn’t listen. I laughed and said I’m going to do this my way on the Internet. It’s allowed the show to be flexible and grow with a freedom of format organically. That makes it truly unique.

What about this season?

This is the best season, due in part to the guests we’ve chosen and thanks to Jojo Pennebaker, the director. It’s creative and interesting TV, and I’ve felt the love from the first episode.

You have this crazy-good and diverse lineup for 2016: How did you put that together?

I can speak a lot of languages musically, and participate in all styles. The show speaks to that.

You really carved out another niche for your brand—pun intended. You have restored so many homes, here and abroad—including one in Charleston. Working on anything now we should know about?

This project I did on my DIY Network show—the story was truncated and that project is still about three-quarters done. I want to resume that one soon, but don’t know if I’ll do it on TV.

Other than that, there’s nothing planned right now, but things do come up…

And your restaurant…what’s your favorite menu item?

First, I love having the club because I started in clubs and I like the intimacy of it. It’s a great club and it has great food, and I created that. My favorite is probably my sister’s meatballs: “Kathy’s Rockin’ Meatballs,” real Italian style.

How are you taking care of yourself? I mean, you have quite the schedule.

I’ve always been a healthy eater. I’ve been doing a low-carb, no-sugar diet for two years. When I started, I almost immediately lost 20 pounds. It works for me.

What do you do for your body?

I have machines at home, and I use them, but mainly I just stay so active, always moving around. I’m not a “heavy-duty” workout person, but I don’t let this go. That allows me to be ready for whatever happens.

I want to ask about the mental balance part of you. How do you stay that course?

I do have a lot of stress, and it’s worse in situations I can’t control. So I try to be in situations that I can control. That allows me to feel calm within. And because I pace myself, I know when to stop and do nothing, and how to restore my energy and store energy. I have discipline.