- 6 weeks ago
This Friday night (October 24th), the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom in Warren comes alive with the sound of one of the greatest vocal harmony bands in rock history — Little River Band.
Jim O’Brien sits down with Wayne Nelson, the band’s longtime frontman and bassist, as the Happy Anniversary Tour celebrates 50 years of unforgettable music — from “Reminiscing” and “Cool Change” to “Lonesome Loser” and much more.
🎟️ Tickets start at $35 at https://andiamoshowroom.com or call 586-268-3200.
📍 Andiamo Celebrity Showroom — 7096 E. 14 Mile, Warren, MI
Doors: 7PM | Show: 8PM | Parking: $5 self / $10 valet
Jim O’Brien sits down with Wayne Nelson, the band’s longtime frontman and bassist, as the Happy Anniversary Tour celebrates 50 years of unforgettable music — from “Reminiscing” and “Cool Change” to “Lonesome Loser” and much more.
🎟️ Tickets start at $35 at https://andiamoshowroom.com or call 586-268-3200.
📍 Andiamo Celebrity Showroom — 7096 E. 14 Mile, Warren, MI
Doors: 7PM | Show: 8PM | Parking: $5 self / $10 valet
Category
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MusicTranscript
00:00Hi, Wayne Nelson from Little River Band. How are you?
00:02I'm good, Jim O'Brien. How are you, sir?
00:04Wonderful. Can't wait to have you here at Andiamo.
00:06That is Friday, October 24th.
00:09Andiamoshowroom.com for tickets.
00:11And it's a great, just a great venue to perform in, too.
00:15It is great.
00:17What's so cool about those venues is a lot of times you play a larger crowd or an open crowd,
00:26and it's very anonymous.
00:27But you go to Andiamo or the Birchmere or Coach House up in California,
00:34those people are right up to the edge of the stage.
00:36They're looking up your nose, and you've got to bring it for them.
00:39It's really good fun. Good fun.
00:41You've never had a problem with that, Wayne.
00:43I mean, that's never been an issue.
00:45But the first thing I wanted to talk about was when you came to the band and did Night Owl with them.
00:52But I'm not saying that's a departure,
00:54but to inject yourself into a band that was so successful at the time as well, that's a big swing.
01:01You took a big swing at the plate when you joined them.
01:03Well, and vice versa.
01:05They took a big swing at the plate with me because they're an Australian band.
01:10They're touring in America.
01:12I'm in the opening band with Jim Messina, and they watch us for two weeks,
01:16and then they come up and make that offer.
01:20Basically, it was a two-week audition.
01:24Really?
01:24It was a very good band.
01:27But what happened was, and I said the same thing when they asked.
01:32I said, I need some time.
01:34We're going to record an album.
01:35But they said, we'll call you in April.
01:37And I kind of went away going, yeah, sure, you'll call me in April.
01:39But they did.
01:41And all that time, I'm thinking, there's a lot of great bass players.
01:46There's got to be in Australia that can sing.
01:48Why are they doing this?
01:50And it was something that one of the songwriters heard.
01:55He heard me singing.
01:56He knew I was singing in that group, that I could do it,
01:59and that he had a vision for adding another lead singer to the band.
02:03So they were taking a big swing as well.
02:05Well, yes, I left home and went to Australia and lived there for six months.
02:10But it all worked out.
02:13It was meant to be.
02:14Well, yeah.
02:15And the lyrics and the music of Little River Band over the years still hold up.
02:19It's funny to me.
02:20I always give that.
02:21My son's in music.
02:22He wants to be a producer, and he's in marketing and stuff.
02:25He's going to college right now.
02:26And we talk about the 50-year rule.
02:28I'm like, you hear a great song 50 years from now.
02:30It's still going to be a great song.
02:32You start going through the catalog of the Little River Band.
02:34And I'm sure when you're playing it on stage, you're like, man, these songs are timeless.
02:39They're timeless.
02:40They are.
02:41And the reaction from the crowd is what drives that home.
02:45You know, we're doing 100 shows this year.
02:47Wow.
02:47And there's a ton of travel and so on and so forth.
02:50So the rigor of getting there and getting home is never easy.
02:54But when we see people's faces light up, as soon as we start playing those songs and they start flipping the pages of their scrapbook, it's all that's what it's about.
03:06It's about their ears, not so much ours.
03:09But when we see their, you know, their reactions, we're going, yep, okay, another night.
03:15And these people got turned on and on we go.
03:18So it's kind of a double-edged sword.
03:20It's an absolute honor to be, you know, with the Little River Band and doing what you do and being here at Andayama.
03:24But at the same time, there is, I don't know if that's the right word, responsibility to make sure you got it right when you're on stage?
03:31No question.
03:32Okay.
03:33All right.
03:33We can.
03:34And look, you know, you've seen the band, even across other lineups.
03:38There's always great musicians and singers playing Little River Band music.
03:42And they always have something special to bring, a special style or a phrasing or something like that.
03:50But from the get-go, it is we go back and listen to the original recording.
03:56And we start there as opposed to don't start with what you just heard last night when we played the song.
04:03We're going back to the history.
04:05We're going to honor the history.
04:07Then you can add in what you want as we're pulling this together and you get more comfortable.
04:12Feel free to be expressive on stage.
04:14But we got to go back and start from the, you know, the foundation of the house.
04:21Like the roots of it.
04:21Yeah.
04:22You got to go back there.
04:23Good word, yeah.
04:24It is an interesting thing, like the difference between musicians and comedians.
04:27If a comedian records an album when they do a live show, people don't want to hear that.
04:32They've already heard that.
04:33But when you have a body of work, they're, again, I use the word expectation.
04:38When I come to Andiamo, I know I'm going to hear Reminiscing, Cool Change, Lady, Night Owls.
04:43I mean, those songs.
04:44And because of who you guys are, that's got to be cool, though, to just stop and go.
04:48I'm on stage as a member of Little River Band and your time and just to be here in Detroit.
04:54I can't imagine what it's like on stage.
04:58First of all, the responsibility is what takes control.
05:01So we're honed in on making sure we're focused, in shape, et cetera, et cetera.
05:09But as the momentum builds, all of that kind of settles into place and the crowd takes over the energy.
05:17And you're right.
05:18It is truly an honor to do that.
05:21It is funny.
05:22That's ironic that I said funny.
05:25But how many times can you hear the same joke?
05:28And then it's like, no, I know what's coming.
05:30You're right.
05:31The song imprinted something in people's memories.
05:34It's a very unique thing that music can do.
05:36I don't think humor has the same power, but a great story delivered by good musicians wins every time.
05:45Andiamo Showroom, this will be Friday, October 24th.
05:48Doors open at 7, show at 8.
05:50Get your tickets started at $35.
05:52See Andiamo Box Officer.
05:53Get online, AndiamoShowroom.com.
05:55When was the first time you remember being on stage with the band?
05:59First time you went live with them?
06:01Well, the first time we went live was in an Australian pub.
06:04I went down there to rehearse, and that was their routine.
06:08They would go out into pubs for a couple of weeks.
06:12And Australian pubs are tough because it's a very, very rock and roll, ACDC, midnight oil.
06:22Those are the things that, so Little River Band's music is a little more tame than those things.
06:28But yet the history was there on stage.
06:30And if you can make it work for an Australian pub, you can take it to a big stage.
06:35And so that's the first thing I remember.
06:37But the first big show was in Olympic Stadium in Munich, 125,000 people.
06:45So that was, we went from the pubs to, we got off a plane and we did that show in Munich.
06:52As a matter of fact, on my 30th birthday.
06:54So it was quite a, quite a treat.
06:57Did you get a point at some, when you're on stage, did you get a point to just take in the crowd?
07:00Or you're like, I'm just going to focus on what I'm doing?
07:03No, you couldn't help but take in the crowd.
07:06I mean, 125,000 and you're in that iconic place.
07:10You know, the Munich Olympics had so much bad history to it.
07:14But yet we're still in that stadium with all those people.
07:16The greatest thing was it was a cold, nasty, rainy, windy German spring day.
07:22And we went on stage and I swear to you, the clouds parted, the sun came down, everybody got to dry out a little bit.
07:28And it lasted for an hour.
07:30We walked off stage and the rain started again.
07:32And so we had a, we had a golden spot there in that day.
07:35It was very cool.
07:36You don't get nervous when you're on stage now, do you?
07:39No, I didn't.
07:40I didn't then either.
07:42Excuse me.
07:43Their Little River Band's music was so ingrained.
07:46And, you know, I did a lot of times studying the songs that I hadn't heard on the radio.
07:51And I knew that I was hired to be me.
07:55And when I was playing the songs and playing the original bass parts,
07:58it was like I had learned all the other songs that I learned when we were doing Six Sets a Night in Chicago.
08:04You know what I mean?
08:05Playing pop music.
08:07It was there and it was straightforward stuff.
08:11You just had to make sure you remember the arrangements.
08:13But once we got done with rehearsals, you know, I was ready to go.
08:16It's, like I say, it's that, okay, showtime.
08:21Let's go.
08:21Let's do it.
08:22It's like playing a football game.
08:24You know, you get amped up and then you go out there and you do it.
08:26Yeah, if you don't know by then, you're probably in trouble walking out on stage, right?
08:30Exactly right.
08:31Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:31If you're nervous, then you're in trouble, yeah.
08:34So we're going to see you at Andiamo here on the 24th, AndiamoShowroom.com.
08:39Let me ask you something, Wayne Nelson.
08:40Let me ask this question.
08:42Someone comes up to you and they go, I've never heard your music.
08:45I've never heard Little River Band.
08:46I know the name.
08:46I've never heard a song.
08:48What's the first song that you play for them?
08:51You go, okay, this is us.
08:52This encapsulates the band.
08:54And, wow.
09:02Oddly enough, it wouldn't be reminiscing.
09:05Yeah.
09:05It wouldn't be Lonesome Loser.
09:10Those are kind of the extremes of styles for that time.
09:15That song, by the way, is like Australian Eagles to me.
09:18It really is.
09:19Yeah, yeah.
09:19That vibe, yeah.
09:20But the song I would play and be most proud of is Take It Easy On Me.
09:26It has all of the elements of a solid vocal rock pop band with a great story, big vocals,
09:32so on and so forth.
09:33But it's right in the center lane of here's your story.
09:38We're not trying to set the world on fire with some kind of wacky sound or spandex or whatever.
09:44This is straightforward.
09:45We're going to tell you this story.
09:47I think that's the one I would put up there first.
09:50I love it.
09:51I love it.
09:51I love it.
09:51Although you have to admit with reminiscing, how many people had a mixtape in their car on a first date
09:56and you had that queued up when you were dropping them off, right?
09:59No question.
09:59If they came up and said, hey, I've got your greatest hits on three different formats,
10:03I'll play reminiscing or I'll play any of them.
10:05It doesn't matter.
10:05But if somebody doesn't know the music, I would go, this is solid.
10:11You can't help but go, okay, good song.
10:14Play me some more.
10:15And the guitar playing on this song is beautiful, too.
10:17I mean, there's some really good DNA to rock and roll in it as well.
10:21Absolutely.
10:22The next one I do is Help Is On Its Way because it's also got a great feel and a great message.
10:27And then you start going fringes.
10:28You go to Happy Anniversary, which is half disco, half R&B kind of thing.
10:34And Man On Your Mind or Lady, you know what I mean?
10:39But I think Take It Easy On Me has got the elements that say, you know, that that's an 80s pop song.
10:45This is going to be so much fun.
10:47I really do appreciate the time, Wayne.
10:48It's an honor talking to you.
10:50And congratulations on continued success, Little River Band, AndiamoShowroom.com.
10:55Here on a Friday night in the Motor City, we'll all come out and just have a great time.
10:59And we'll reminisce with you.
11:00See what I did?
11:00I tied the song title.
11:01I heard that, Jim.
11:02I heard it.
11:04Never heard that one before.
11:06I know.
11:07First guy ever.
11:07You're like, what?
11:08Somebody finally did that.
11:10No, it's fantastic.
11:11Real quick story about that.
11:12The reason I brought up reminiscing is I was laughing when I was in the Navy.
11:17And my friend, Greg Skipworth, had a mixtape in his car.
11:20And we were in submarine school.
11:22And we would borrow his car if we were going to take a girl out on a date.
11:25He had a bottle of Polo in the glove box.
11:27It was a Chevy Cavalier.
11:28And on the mixtape, the first two songs, when you picked them up, was Gregory Abbott, Shake
11:36You Down, and Reminiscing by Little River Band.
11:39Those were the evening songs.
11:41Oh, yeah.
11:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:43Yeah.
11:43So if I smell Polo, I immediately start hearing Little River Band in my brain.
11:48It's like it's Cavalovian.
11:50Who knew?
11:51Polo-lovian?
11:52Is that a thing?
11:52I don't know.
11:54You got me, but I'll look it up.
11:56Thank you for the time, Wayne.
11:58We'll see you at Andiamo.
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