When We Were the Boys: Coming of Age on Rod Stewart’s Out of Order Tour The new audio book by Stevie Salas and Robert Yehling comes out today, We know this will be very popular with Rod’s fans, when the written book came out in 2014 many of you identified with the young fan who went on to make it big and commented on our message board that it was the best ever book written by anyone who had worked with Rod.
To celebrate the release we asked you to send in questions for Stevie to answer about his career and time working with Rod.
Stevie told SMILER “I’m always happy to answer questions from the fans” So here goes..
Looking back at the 80’s now and remembering the performances Rod put on…did you think he would still be going today and is he living up to your expectations ? – Jayne Paige
Hey Jayne, Hmm its weird…One day when I was on Rods private plane and was in my very early 20’s I looked at Rod and thought Man He Is So Old…( he wasn’t, he was maybe 39?) But I thought Why is he not living on an Island after all he was already super rich! Well over the years I have figured out that the ones that stay young while growing old are the ones who keep rocking and having fun. So Guys like Rod, Woody and Mick Jagger will NEVER grow old because Rod who is getting better and better will never quit.
Everyone loves Rod but what did he do to wind you up while you were in the band ?.. Even his sister Mary says he’s a little bugger! – Yve Paige
Yve, Yes he is a bugger indeed and FUN as heck!! With me I was an easy target because I was young, inexperienced and full of my own bull sh*t, Rod once called me to meet him and the boys in his room in Kansas City and when I got there he and Tony Brock were not there, Turns out they were in my room destroying it turning the room inside out with the curtains tied to furniture hanging off my balcony…that might have cost about 5k to deal with back then. Rod once took a black sharpie pen and drew a penis on my new white jacket and white speaker cabinets on stage BUT he could also take the wind up when we all gave it back to him. That’s why we had so much fun.
When you first joined Rod’s band you were taking on songs that were played by some legends like Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood, did you think about that at the time? –Mike Walton
Hey Mike, I did think about that and I didn’t think about that meaning this…I was a pretty good guitar player doing my thing BUT I really had to learn bits like the cool way Woody or Billy Peek played their unique Chuck Berry style rhythm because those songs don’t work unless that rhythm is correct. The Jeff Beck stuff came easy to me cuz it was wild and reckless but I screwed up so much of Jim Cregan’s beautiful acoustic guitar work….Sorry Jim!!
What special memories do you have of the Out Of Order Tour? Was there a show or a scene at a show that will stay with you forever and which song was your absolute highlight on the tour? – Martin Heidt
Martin, That’s such a hard question…For me playing in San Diego for my family and high school friends was beyond, The only band that they had ever seen me play in was my High school band This Kids so seeing me with Superstar Rod Stewart at a football stadium was beyond anyone’s imagination, My Mom told me that during the show my Dad was frozen watching the show and couldn’t speak and he didn’t say a word all the way home in the car like he was in shock. And my favorite songs to play on tour were Infatuation, Mandolin Wind, You Wear It Well and Stay With Me.
Do you keep in contact with Rod today? –Tommy Kevitt
Tommy, I try, We recently hung out in Florida and we just had the most fun hugging and laughing, I love him like a Big Brother Father figure still to this day.
How did touring with Rod influence you in the further course of your career? Did you learn anything from him? –Tina Assmann
Tina, I was Lulu in To Sir With Love….except Rod didn’t take me from crayons to perfume he took me from and amateur musician to being a pro musician…from regular girls to super models and so much more. He once taught me about mountains and valleys..he said when you’re up you cant stay up but when you’re down you gotta keep going never giving up then you will soon rise again. He also stopped me from buying one of his amazing cars refusing at the last minute to sell it to me telling me to instead buy a house which I did ( in fact I bought two houses that year after that talk) Thanks Rod!
You have not only worked with Rod, but also with other well-known musicians. Who do you remember most – apart from Rod and If you could start all over again today, what would you do differently with regard to your career? –Ian Hafford
Ian, I have been SO lucky to have worked with so many legends, Rod, George Clinton, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Michael Hutchence, Justin Timberlake, Bootsy Collins, Public Enemy, Adam Lambert and many more, And the only thing I would have changed is I would have tried to enjoy the music business a little more, I pushed myself so hard in the 90’s sometimes I forgot to take the time to enjoy my little victories.
When You signed the biggest record deal Island Records has ever offered to a new artist. Did you feel pressured to deliver a great album? – Kevin Froggatt
Kevin, The pressure was beyond but it was my fault. I felt like everyone thought I was this magic kid and I never thought what I was doing was good enough, People tell me my first record is a classic and it’s legendary but when it didn’t sell big I was crushed, I ran into Rod one night who was hanging out with his great friend and my publisher Lionel Conway and Rod said Hey I Hear You Made A Great Album But Its Not Selling and I was so embarrassed, I think what he was saying was that its great so go make another, I was too young and immature to know how to handle failure.
“Colorcode” has become a real classic, especially in the UK and in Europe, and your second album “Back from the Living” also really hit the spot, even displacing the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith in Japan. Did you expect this success? –Martin Heidt
Martin, I always expect myself to be successful, I’m an over achiever for sure and always find myself swimming in the deep end, With Rod I was so in over my head it was swim or drown and Phew it was a close call many times but in the end with help from Rod and The Band I made it out alive! I play guitar with the guys in the Stones and Aerosmith and when my second record exploded I was indeed so happy. I hope people love my records and keep discovering them long after I’m gone.
The written version of your book When We Were the New Boys was very successful, staying at number 1 in the Amazon charts for eight weeks. What prompted you to write this book?-John Rafferty
John, I kept a diary on the Out Of Order tour and that’s the only time I’ve done that, I knew me being in that band was gonna be historic in my life and indeed it was, You know Rod put that new band together and we were only gonna play for a few months and then record but that band was special and Rod and his career exploded, I thought a book about a kids dreams and impossible odds needed to be told, Anything is possible and I’m living proof.
As a Native American, you have also been involved in prominent projects to support indigenous communities. How important is it to you to remember the history of your people and keep it in people’s minds? –David Fisher
Being a Native American is very important to me, But I’m not a Native American guitar player I’m a guitar player who is Native American, I hope to and try my best to show Indigenous people all over the world that if I can make it any thing is possible no matter what color your skin is.
When you were on tour with Rod did he manage to get you into football, If so, who is your team? – Domonic Murphy
Hello Dom, Well he was mad about football as you all know, I played it in high school but wasn’t bananas about it, BUT I did have to have eyes in the back of my head when Rod started kicking footballs all over the arena.
How much freedom do individual band members have when it comes to song arrangements, length and type of solo etc. or does Rod direct every detail? – Jan Kittelsen
Jan, Some artists like Bowie are really flexible and some are not flexible at all, Rod was in the middle, We could rock the songs pretty good and were NEVER a karaoke band BUT when you have such amazing songs you have to first make sure that song is respected, In Rods band none of us were ever trying to imitate any of the past Rod Stewart band players or era’s ( I was often accused by the older musicians from past Rod bands of playing too many notes or having too much distortion for some of Rods songs but it was 1988 and a lot of notes worked for the crowd I think) but we did respect the foundations of the parts they played.
Have you got any plans to visit the UK to play any live shows? – Carole Walton
Carole, I’m so busy producing movies and TV these days but I hope to get back to the UK playing sooner than later, I hope you get a chance to see my film RUMBLE The Indians Who Rocked The World. I’m really proud of it and Rod is in the film.
When We Were the Boys: Coming of Age on Rod Stewart’s Out of Order Tour is on sale from today
Stevie chose Tina Assmann’s question to win a free download of the audio book..Well done Tina.