Bobby Conn will bring his rock stylings and energetic stage presence to The Rodeo, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, Saturday to support his latest record, “The Homeland,” and promote a soon-to-be-released live album. Weekender interviewed Conn via telephone and spent most of the interview laughing.
Weekender: Where are you right now, and what can you see?
Bobby Conn: Right now, I’m inside my house and I can see my piano.
WE: How would you describe yourself?
BC: Energetic. Caring. Supportive. These are some tough questions.
WE: Well, they don’t get any easier.
BC: How would I describe myself? Well, I’m about 6-foot-4. Ruggedly handsome. I walk with a limp due to a hunting accident and I play guitar like a mother (expletive deleted).
WE: I can’t print “mother (expletive deleted).”
BC: Can you print mother? I play guitar like a mother. Oh, and I’m a parent.
WE: Yeah, I can hear that in the background. How many kids do you have?
BC: I have one child, and right now he’s playing with a My Little Pony. He’s 3.
WE: You lived in Argentina and Brazil as a child. Did you get any musical inspirations while living there?
BC: Yeah, I like to work a lot of those elements into my music. A lot of my guitar playing is minimal with lots of seventh chords, something that comes from living down there. I’m a big fan of Brazilian music from the ’60s and ’70s, but my live show is influenced by cheap glam rock of the ’70s and ’80s.
WE: What did you listen to growing up?
BC: The radio mainly which, back then, was the golden age of rock and roll. Most of what I listened to is still on the radio now, which is kind of depressing. If you listen to “The Drive” or Two for Tuesday on “The Loop”, that’s pretty much what I grew up listening to. The one thing I miss listening to was this station called “Dusty Radio 1390” that played all the soul classics like the Dramatics and Curtis Mayfield. I also grew up listening to a lot of classical music as well because that’s what my parents listened to.
WE: I noticed you played at the Virgin Megastore for the tsunami relief effort. How did that go over?
BC: It went over pretty well. I tried to celebrate even though it was a benefit concert for a terrible tragedy. I tried to put a positive spin on it, with the great day of the inauguration of George W. Bush for a second term as president. I mentioned that and people didn’t seem all that cheered up. They almost seemed like that was a tragedy too. There were maybe 25 people there, so …
WE: That’s it?
BC: Yeah. Despite the name Virgin Megastore, on a Thursday night in a snow storm they are not doing mega business. It wasn’t very publicized, either, but we did manage to raise more than $3,000, which is really good.
WE: What was it like playing with Wilco member Glenn Kotche?
BC: Glenn is an ace drummer. He’s one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen and/or played with, and he’s a super great guy, and I was really excited for him when he joined Wilco.
WE: If you could have written any song, what would it be?
BC: I’d guess “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John and a close second would be “Damaged II” by Black Flag. Those songs represent the ying and yang of music. There’s a ton of songs I wish I’d written.
WE: Why should people come out and see you this Saturday at The Rodeo?
BC: Because I guarantee they have never seen anything like it before. If there’s one show you see this year, let it be this $4 show at The Rodeo.
WE: I don’t know. We just found out Nelly is playing here soon.
BC: Okay, go to the Nelly show. You might enjoy that one as well.