Q Welcome
to the World Premiere broadcast of "The Last DJ" live
with Tom Petty on Westwood One. Here we are in the heart of New York
City, Tom, did you have a good day in the City today?
A Absolutely.
Q What did you do?
A Conan O'Brien show.
Q Oh. So you got a studio
tan?
A Yeah, I was in NBC studios
all day.
Q You know,
when I think of Tom Petty, I think California, I think Florida, now
here we are in New York. Do you get to spend much time in the Big Apple?
A Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm here
a lot. Seems like it, anyway.
Q And today is the big
day. This is the release day of "The Last DJ," October 8th,
2002. (Applause). It's a great album. In the introduction, I heard them
talking about you meeting Elvis Presley. And for a lot of us, when some
of us saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, that was what kicked
off rock-and-roll for us. Was that meeting with Elvis, for you, what
got you going?
A Well, it got me interested
in records. And I got -- you know, I was a record collector at the age
of 11. So I really just wanted a record because everyone was handing
Elvis records to sign. And I thought if I had a record, next time I
came down there, I'd get him to sign it. But I never went back. So I
got into records that way and just really -- you know, I still do, just
love to sit and listen to records. You know, great rock-and-roll records.
So when the Beatles came, I was about 13. And that was -- that's when
it, you know, became obvious to me, "oh, this is what I'm meant
to do." You know, I'm going to learn how to play the music. Because
until then, I'd just thought of listening to it, I'd never thought of
playing it.
Q Now, you're growing up
and you're into records. But are you listening to those records on the
radio in Florida?
A Absolutely. Yeah, there
was -- in those days, everything was played -- pop music was played
on one station. We only had one station. And it played everything that
was pop, from, you know, The Beatles to even Frank Sinatra would come
on…or if there was a big country record -- you got a really good
education in all kinds of music just from that one station.
Q And your new album is
called "The Last DJ". And that song itself deals a bit about
radio. The good, the bad…
A …the ugly!
Q
The ugly! And we're on the radio right now. I'll let you tell us where
you're coming from.
A (Makes funny voices):
Where am I coming from? Let me tell you where I'm coming from, baby.
Let me see. Where am I coming from? With what?
Q With "The Last DJ"!
A Oh, "The Last DJ".
Q The song.
A That song. Well, that
song is -- it's -- you know, it's a fictional song, although there's
some people lately that seem to think that, you know, I aimed it at
them or something, you know. But it's a fictional song. And it's a story
-- it introduces the lead character, narrator of the record, as a disc
jockey, who is like the last guy on earth that can play what he wants
and say what he wants. And, you know, so he goes -- it's a story about
him sort of getting fed up and fired and he goes down to Mexico and
starts his own station. But it's really a…just kind of a metaphor
for -- boy, explaining these things is harder than writing them - it's
kind of a metaphor for like vanishing freedoms that we all are noticing
living in corporate America these days. It's kind of a fable about living
in corporate America, if you would. That's what the album is. And this
is kind of the introduction where you meet the lead character.
Q Let's meet the lead character.
* The Last DJ * (Song)
A The Last DJ, you were saying that's a fable about
the corporatization of America. So this record, it's not necessarily
-- well, first of all, the whole record is not a concept record. It's
just a few songs -- a handful at the beginning --
A Oh, no, it's absolutely
got a common thread through it. And, you know, there's only a few songs
about the music industry. But it wasn't really intended -- like, the
press has really played that angle up, you know, the music industry.
I used them as a metaphor. Really, it could be any business that you
wanted to use. You could use, you know, the used car business or the
shoe business. Any of them would fit, you know. But we're in a place
today where we want -- you know, businesses, they want all the money
they can get, like every single penny. And they have guys that sit at
computers and it shows them where every single penny is. And the objective
is to make enough points with "The Board," whoever that is,
which is above your head. And that's like getting all the pennies.
And this kind of thinking has infiltrated every aspect of life now.
And that's affecting all of us. Culture is a really strong thing. It
will affect everything. Even the president, even the kings, they're
all affected by People magazine man. Like, they see -- you know, they
read -- it's all -- we can't hide from culture. So, you know, I'm longing
for -- like The Last DJ was a guy who went, "Yeah, I know
you make more money by playing them off the playlist, but I don't want
to do that. I think that I want to do it this way." Or like, you
know, in the fashion industry when you see people -- yeah, let's pick
on the fashion industry for a minute.
Like, if you dress up very young girls, like nine, ten-year-old girls
to look sexy, you may sell more shampoo or whatever it is you're selling,
you know, but they remove the human from that chain that goes, "oh,
no, I don't think this is a good idea, because it might be contributing
to the great proliferation of child molestation in America." Maybe.
And just because it may contribute to hurting a kid, I'm not going to
do it. But if it just comes down the line from somebody you've never
met that you work for, you've never seen, you're never gonna see, "hey,
that's how we make the most money. And that's what we do." And
then people go, "Well, I get off at 6:00. Hey, it ain't me."
And so we get caught up in this circle of, "Well, it ain't me."
Well, who is it? So at some point, you've got to go, "Well, I'm
sorry, but I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to hurt anybody for
money."
When you had the Mom & Pop stores, you know, small business, they
had to care what the customer thought. And they had to care about their
product and their customer or they wouldn't -- you know, they wouldn't
survive. Now you're really falling into the hands -- and this is an
emergency. It's not some lame rap. You're falling into the hands of
people that don't care about you, they don't care about the product
and they don't care what happens to you or if you come back. And it's
time for that to -- you know, maybe we should take a long look at that.
(Applause).
Q But I grew up wanting
to have a big pile of pennies and you've got a big pile of pennies now.
So when does -- when's the pile enough where you say --
A Well, I tell you, that's
the simple analogy. You don't need all of them. I mean, I go on concert
tours and make a lot of money. But I don't charge as much as I can charge.
I don't charge $200 to come in. There ain't ever been a rock show worth
$200! And I make a lot of money. I make a hell of a lot of money. And
I don't have to have every damn bit of it. I don't have to charge $50
to park or what. Look, I'm not Robin Hood, either. I go home with a
lot of dough. But -- and I don't think you should be. It's fun to make
money. And that's what our country is about, the whole capitalistic
system.
But somehow -- rock-and-roll used to be the people that wouldn't go
along with that. Now, rock-and-roll is the people you got into a band
to get away from. So we're kind of stuck in a funny place. The idea
of like, "hey, we did something great and creative and we made
some money" is a great thing. You don't have to make all the money.
Or, how about the idea of, "listen, you guys could do something
not quite so great and not quite so creative and make more money."
It's a bad idea.
Q I think it's all summed
up by the logo right behind us, which is a crown with a dollar bill
underneath it. And that represents Money Becomes King. And that's
the song we're going to hear right now on this world premiere broadcast
of "The Last DJ".
* Money Becomes King * (Song)
Q
Well, Tom, you heard that we're going to go to the phones. Can we kind
of do a Larry King here and go to…
A Yeah.
Q All right. Mike, from
Santa Barbara. Here's Tom Petty.
A Hey.
Q Mike, say hello and ask
Tom your question now!
MIKE: Hey, Tom, I want to know if you believe in radio still.
TOM: I believe that radio is a great thing and it was once an
art form. And I think that it's up to the public to demand that it be
an art form. And if they do that, you know, radio will go on. I think
radio is a great thing. There's some great stations. And I think that
we just need to encourage to just get a little bit more artistic and
take a few more chances and it'll be fine.
Q And I think, Tom, judging
by your voices tonight, that when you're off the road maybe we could
enlist you to be a DJ because --
A Well, I do a little ventriloquism.
(Makes voices)…
Q The song we heard before
the break, Money Becomes King, there's a part in there, "Every
verse a diamond/Every chorus gold, the sound was my salvation/It was
only everything." So we're talking about the power of radio, but
also the power of music. I mean, music transformed your life, my life.
It's sort of our religion.
A Well, it's very much
mine, because that's where I find God, is in music. And God is -- either
it's a thing or whatever. It's how you find it. How you find that real
beauty in life. And many people find it through music. Music is the
only really true magic I've found. You know, most magic is a trick,
but music is not a trick. And it has the power to heal and to inspire.
And it's a great, great thing. And we should take it -- we should treasure
it. And I hope that the audience that's coming up really treasures it.
Q And I think it's safe
to say, then, we won't be hearing your magic behind any car commercials
or …
A Not unless I'm really
broke. I mean, I've got all the principles in the world, unless I was
really broke. And then I'd take about anything.
Q So "The Last DJ"
came out today. Let's keep Tom's songs off of commercials. Go out and
buy it.
A If you hear me on like
a Ford commercial, you'll know, well, Tom lost it all in Vegas.
I'm leaving the door open to go back. Like, I don't want to set myself
up as such a good guy I can't cash in at some point! (Laughter).
Q We were talking about
the theme of the record. And I was saying I didn't think the theme went
all the way though. And you were saying, yes, it did. So tell me how
this song we're about to hear, Like a Diamond, fits into the
theme.
A Like a Diamond
is a little later in the record, if you're in the actual sequence. And
Like a Diamond symbolizes -- you know, it's really kind of a
drag explaining all this. You should find it on your own. But I'll give
it to you the best I can. I mean, it -- the diamond is to symbolize
the hope. You know, I wanted hope to be in the record. You know, hope
is important. If you become a cynic or a pessimist, you'll never change
anything, you'll never make anything better. You know, you must have
hope. And that was the idea behind this song. It's a really beautiful
song. I sing it as the love interest in this kind of make-up-your-own-story-as-you-go
album. It's a moment of hope of when they look up and go "aah,
hope…"
*
Like A Diamond * (Song)
Q That was beautiful. And
I think everybody here agrees at the Museum of Television and Radio.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Like a Diamond. Wasn't that
just stunning? Seriously…It's just a beautiful, beautiful song.
Tom, thanks for that. It was gorgeous.
A My pleasure.
Q And we're going to go
to Iowa now. We have a question from Ashley.
Ashley, you're on with Tom Petty.
ASHLEY: Hi. My brother, Brian, and I were huge fans of yours.
And we just want to know what you do to your hair in the morning. (Laughter).
TOM: What I do to my hair in the morning? Well, I take a long
look at it.
Q Obviously, Tom, we have
some very carefully screened questions for you this evening.
A I think that's a pretty
good question, really. Well, you know, we all have our good and bad
days, don't we?
Q And for those of you
who are not here with us, Tom is in a long hair phase right now. And
I'm done with that. I mean, because I can't grow it down like that.
So --
A Yeah, it's gotten kind
of long. It's probably time for a haircut. I'm glad you pointed that
out to me and the nation!
Q I apologize.
A Thank you. Thank you
for the call.
Q Thank you, Ashley. And
by the way, everyone who calls in tonight is going to get an autographed
copy of Tom's new album, "The Last DJ", which came out today.
A Except you.
Q Tom, I thought we would
go back. We listened to about four or five songs from the new album,
but we're going to go way back, all the way to the start, to Breakdown.
I think this is about 25 years ago. And I guess we're going right now
and then we'll talk about it.
* Breakdown * (Song)
Q Tom, there's a lot of
things about the album, "The Last DJ", that are musically
different for you. Let's talk about a few of them. First of all, you
wrote a lot of the songs on piano, right?
A Yes, I did. I wrote probably
a good 90 percent on the piano. And I usually use the piano, but not
as much as I did on this one.
Q
What brought that about?
A I don't know. I just
--
Q Tired of standing.
A I think I was just enjoying
playing the piano and enjoying -- you know, if you play everything on
the guitar, you kind of go to the same places, I guess, that you're
used to going. With a piano, I'm not that good at it, so I had the freedom
to explore a little bit.
Q And you worked with producer,
George Drakoulias, who's worked with the Jayhawks --
A A master. Just a master.
I mean, when you hear the sound of this record, you'll really like it.
It's maybe the best sounding one we ever did. And we had such a good
time. Just check out the sound if you want to know more about George
Drakoulias, because he's where it's at as far as upcoming, happening
people in the production world.
Q And he's done some great
records with the Jayhawks and the Black Crowes that we all enjoy…
A And he's off drugs now,
so he's really -- you know, he's really worth working with.
Q Glad to hear it, George.
Good news, man.
A No, I was just kidding.
Just kidding. He never had a drug in his life. Two Emperin once.
Q Emperin, I haven't heard
that word in a long time.
A That was the '60s.
Q Yeah, that's along time.
There's a song we're about to hear called Dreamville. There's
strings and horns on it. And one week from tonight, Tom is going to
be live from the Grand Olympic Theater in Los Angeles. He's going to
be performing the entire CD with an orchestra for an accompaniment.
And that's going to be live on this same Westwood One Network on the
radio. And some cities will have that in their movie theaters. And this
is a one-off. This is not going to be the whole tour. This is just this
one event. And that's got to be exciting.
A It is. The rehearsals
have even excited me. You know, it sounds really great. The Heartbreakers
are just getting better and better. I'm lucky to be in that band. I
really wanted to perform this album as a piece, because I always thought
of it as a piece with one line of thought through it. And we're going
to perform it in sequence with a 40-piece orchestra. And it's going
to be great from the Olympic Auditorium. And it'll be in your movie
theaters in a lot of cities. You can go in and hear it in stereo and
in high-def on the screen. Yeah, it might be worth checking out.
Q And this is one of the
songs that's going to benefit from the accompaniment of strings and
horns. It's from "The Last DJ". This is the world premiere
broadcast of "The Last DJ". And this song is called Dreamville.
* Dreamville * (Song)
Q
Tom, we're going to take some more phone calls and we're going to take
another e-mail or two. Your new website's open, tompetty.com.
Are you an e-mail/website kind of guy?
A No, I can't type. So
I really just am useless on the thing because I don't type. So…and
the phone works so well that I just never really got on the computer.
My wife is very good at working it. And so I'll say, like, "Hey,
what if we did this?" But I really just can't type anything. By
the time I typed, "Hello, this is Tom," it would be like night
time. I can't do it.
Q Will she read you some
of your e-mails you get, correspondence?
A Yeah. Yeah.
Q Stuff like that?
A That's how I stay in
the game. She reads them and -- thank God she's around, because, you
know --
Q There's a flurry of love
songs on the album, since we're talking about your wife. And the next
one we're going to hear is, Have Love Will Travel. And again,
you were saying that these love songs, they fit into the concept of
"The Last DJ"…
A Well, absolutely, yeah.
Have Love Will Travel, this is near the end of the record where
the three main characters meet again, in the last verse. Maggie, the
love interest; Joe, who is the CEO and the villain of the piece, has
retired to the backyard; and the DJ, the lonely DJ, is still digging
a ditch trying to keep the flames from the temple. So we're tying things
up, heading into the finale.
* Have Love Will Travel * (Song)
Q That song, Have Love
Will Travel, we were talking about how it ties together the themes
that are in the album earlier, and also stands as a love song, not only
to lovers, but to rock-and-roll as well.
A Yes. It's rock-and-roll.
It's kind of a -- you know, it just goes on and on. And the same with
love and the same -- you know, it just goes on and on. Truth goes on
and on. You know, in our culture, in our entertainment world, we've
had a lot of emphasis on how mean we could get over the last few decades,
like how evil. Or we actually would applaud how tough we could be. But
I want to see people now kind of take the other road to do things like
love and peace and truth. Those are not corny words. Those are beautiful
things. And they go on and on and on. Love travels, babe. Evil has a
limit, but love travels on.
Q And male/female relationships,
of course, are part of that love, but there's also friend relationships.
And let's talk about band relationships. You and the Heartbreakers have
been together for how long now?
A Um, gee, I think this
is 26 years.
 |
 |
Q You've
got maybe the Rolling Stones and the Blind Boys Alabama ahead of you,
and that's about it. How is the vibe these days with the Heartbreakers?
How are things going --
A
Very good. We're very happy right now. We're going through a happy phase.
You know, things got a little rough last year and we had to make a change
in the bass player division. And we were lucky to bring back Ron Blair,
who was our original bass player on the first four or five albums we
did. And we just feel very much like we did, you know, when we were
first starting out. It's a new lease on life for us to have that kind
of attention and talent there. And we're happy, very happy.
We have the best fans in the world. You know, we go around every day
and just live this life. It's -- you know, I almost feel guilty for
living it, because it's really so great. And, you know, you gave it
to me. Thank you, very much. I'm not trying to do Sally Fields here,
but I really am grateful for it -- and the band is, too -- to all the
people that have supported us. The audience has supported us for 26
years man. And that's amazing.
Q The love you take is
equal to the love you make, Tom.
A Yeah.
Q We were talking about
going back to things that weren't so tough, maybe things that were about
love. So why don't we do another song that deals with that from the
album. And if you wanted to set it up, Tom. It's this one (indicating).
A Yeah, this is -- this
one's called, You and Me and the Road Ahead. And it's pretty
self-explanatory if you listen to it.
* You And Me and the Road Ahead * (Song)
Q This (Email's) from Jennifer
Addison, who says --
A Oh, she's married to
Brad Pitt. Say hi to Brad, babe.
Q She is a big fan.
A Yeah.
Q"I have an autographed
picture in which you're seated on the edge of the bed wearing a cowboy
robe, Roy Rogers, maybe. I'm curious to know if that is really your
robe you wear around or if it was just for the purpose of the picture."
A It came out of my closet.
I have worn that robe in the past. I think now it's in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
Q And thank you, Jennifer.
A No, I'm serious. (Laugher).
I think it is.
Q Really?
A Yeah.
Q
Who knew? I didn't know.
A I could be wrong - could
be a Hard Rock. I don't know. It's in -- it's behind Plexiglass, I'll
tell you that.
Q I hope they washed it
first.
Okay. From Mathew Parker, who -- we'll just get to the bottom line of
his question: "Who has inspired you the most to write your style
of music?"
A Oh, Lord, there is so
many that I'd be here all night trying to tell you. But when I was a
kid, the first songwriters I noticed were Lieber and Stoller. They wrote
a lot of Elvis' hits and they were these genius composers in the '50s
that wrote a 100 million great songs. And then, of course, there were
the Beatles…and the Beach Boys were -- I still can just listen
to the Beach Boys at any time. Brian Wilson. So many. Bob Dylan, of
course. And -- we'd be here all night. There are just too many.
Q There's a cover tune
that you did on your live album by someone I know we can't omit. And
that would be the Byrds. Let's say a word about them before we hear
the song.
A Oh, yeah. We always loved
the Byrds. And they were -- that's really why we moved to California,
you know, was the Byrds were from California. And Roger McGuinn is a
true genius in what he did with the Byrds and what he's still doing
with the electric 12 string…
* So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star * (Song)
Q We've been taking phone
calls and e-mails tonight for Tom. And Tom, we have a question from
David from Jacksonville. David, what is your question?
DAVID: Yes, Tom, I've got a couple of quick questions for you.
TOM: All right.
DAVID: Okay. Are you going to be performing at the George Harrison
Tribute Concert next month?
TOM: Yes.
DAVID: And also, are there any unreleased Traveling Wilbury songs
that might get released in the future?
TOM: Yes, I'm going to be performing at the George Harrison Tribute
in London in November.
Are there Traveling Wilbury songs? I don't think so. I think there is
one, maybe two, that weren't released, I think. There is a lot of film
of the Traveling Wilburys. I've talked with Olivia Harrison not too
long ago about releasing a DVD on the Wilburys, because George loved
the Wilburys so much. And I'm sure he'd want the family to evolve. So
we're probably not going to make anymore Traveling Wilbury records,
but we would like to re-release the old ones and give you whatever's
out there.
Q
Do you know what songs you're going to play at the George tribute?
A Oh, gee, no. I had a
brief conversation with Eric Clapton on the telephone about what we
might play, but I think I'll wait before I announce that, because I
may change my mind.
Q We're going to hear another
song from "The Last DJ", as our World Premiere of the album
continues on the Westwood One Radio Network. And -- well, we'll talk
about this afterwards. This is The Man Who Loves Women.
* The Man Who Loves Women * (Song)
Q Tom I've got to ask you:
That ukulele you were playing there, did George give you that one?
A He sure did. Yeah. He
taught me how to play the uke and gave me a few.
Q It's up to you to spread
the gospel from here on out.
A Yeah, the gospel.
Q The gospel of the ukulele!
Well, Tom, October 8th, 2002, the release date of "The Last DJ".
And we heard most of it tonight. What a great album man.
A Oh, bless your heart
for saying that. I really like this album. And I -- you know, I'm usually
tired of them by the time I'm finished with them. And it takes me a
while to like them. But I'm still playing this one. So this is a special
one for us -- for the Heartbreakers and me.
(End of interview.)
