Hard rock in the 1970’s was mostly a boy’s club. The long haired, fist-pumping bands that jammed FM radio waves and drew concertgoers by the tens of thousands to every cavernous arena around the country in record numbers had to make room for a pair of women who emerged in the middle of the decade, though.
It was in the summer of 1975 that sister act Heart emerged with their red hot debut album Dreamboat Annie and turned the genre and its many stereotypes on their collective ear. Leading a mostly male kickass rock and roll band, it was clear that the real stars of this show were guitarist and vocalist Nancy Wilson and her big sister, lead vocalist extraordinaire, Ann Wilson. Not since the emergence of Led Zeppelin lead vocalist and powerhouse Robert Plant had anyone heard another singer as strong and commanding blast through their speakers quite like Ann. Clear, crisp, powerful, forceful and bold yet still capable of cooing sweet, dulcet, quieter tones, Wilson’s voice was (and still is) impossible to aptly describe as it defies categorization and travels places that few other rock singers, male or female, have ever been capable of reaching.
DO THIS: ANN WILSON AT CAPITOL THEATRE 06.10.17
A resurgence in the 1980s brought Heart a new look, a new sound…and a new audience thanks to regular exposure on music video channel MTV. Heart’s fans — either those who embraced them from the very beginning or via their string of 80’s hits — remain some of the most loyal and fiercely dedicated of all, so many should revel in the fact that Ann is opting to take her solo show out on the road this summer.
Instead of hitting the outdoor amphitheater and arena circuit as Ann and Nancy have for many summer tours in recent years, Ann is hitting small, intimate venues and getting back in touch with the closeness of playing to theater-sized crowds. Before hitting the road on her solo jaunt, Ann Wilson took some time out to speak to me about her tour, her music, her travel plans and the cool stuff she’ll be including in her solo concerts.
Read our full Q&A below, and get more information on the show via local.cltampa.com
First, in terms of touring — you’ve been at it for so long, do you still enjoy it? What do you enjoy about it more now than you did in the past?
Well what I enjoy about it more now is that my husband and I bought a really beautiful bus that we actually live on when we’re out on the road so we don’t go to hotels. We bought this vehicle and we totally tripped it out the way we like it so it’s perfect for living. It’s like a cool little apartment now. So we just go to the show and I do the show and then we drive on. We have a driver, we drive on to the next city and outside the city we find a campground and we just pull in there for the night, plug in and go to sleep under the stars and we’re out there in nature. And then, whenever the next show is, we just head into that town and do the show, leave, and then go out to another site so it’s a really good life. Back in the old days of touring, it was just all about hotels and limos and buses and you live in a bubble that doesn’t even approach reality. You never see any nature…you never see any people. So this way we’re doing it now, you get to meet people and talk to people and see wildlife! (Laughs) You know, things that you wouldn’t get to do in that other bubble and this is much more satisfying.
That sounds like it’s a more conscious decision to get to see more and work at your own pace and experience more.
That’s right.
So what would you say is the most significant difference about touring as a solo artist versus with Heart?
It’s much more stripped down and vital and lean and mean. Heart is a great big machine with all kinds of employees and strings and super-high overhead. Every time that band plays, it costs so much to play and to get that whole machine set up. It’s insane. The way I’m doing it now is that I’ve hired, for the crew, both in front of house and backstage, quite a few young people who haven’t done this before who I thought had talent and who had potential and I’m giving them a chance to learn and be mentored by the older, more experienced people on the crew. So we have young people who are high energy who really believe in this and who really want to make it good. So we have a really cool tribe of people who are believers and that’s the biggest difference.
I noticed you’re playing smaller halls and theaters on this solo tour and I know those are more intimate. What does that mean in terms of delivering the type of solo show you’ll be delivering? Is that something you get a rush from?
I really get a rush from it. It’s pretty much more like it was at the beginning when we started in clubs or later on in small theaters. You really do get a much bigger connection from people when you’re close to them and as a person up there on stage, entertaining, I can relate to them a whole lot better. I don’t know...that’s just the size that size of like a thousand to two-thousand seat venue is the size that I seem to be able to get off on the best. There’s nothing against the 10,000 or 20,000 seat shows that Heart does, but to answer your question, it’s just way more satisfying to the performer to get with people.
It seems like it would be a much closer connection to the people you’re playing for
Yeah it’s more personal and with the show I have right now, we have a full video program for every song so it’s a full and total experience for people. You know, I’m up there, there’s a really cool band and there’s a visual show going on too. Usually you see those big visual shows where you’re way up on the back lawn, you see a big screen and you can’t really see the performers that well because you’re so far away but this is all right in your lap and we went through and worked on the video content for every single song really carefully. So it’s all the way I wanted it.
\\<\/iframe\>That sounds really cool. And the theater where you’ll be playing here in Clearwater, The Capitol, is really gorgeous. You’re really gonna like it.
Fantastic!
With such a huge catalog of work, tell me a little about the setlist and what fans can expect. How do you choose what songs to perform as a solo artist?
Well I wanted to make a real clear distinction that this is not Heart….this is not a Heart show. This is my show so I only do about four Heart songs and they’ve been re-imagined so I stripped them down basically and took out the bombast so that they’re really the core of the songs. The other songs I do have been written in the last year and a half or so, so they’re new originals or they are fantastic, surprising covers that I just love to sing. So the combination of all those songs mixed up together in a certain way is what we’re doing.
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Yeah! We’ve been getting a really good response.
Looking back with Heart, and especially with you as a vocalist, with all the accolades you’ve always gotten, you’ve been regarded as such a pioneer. You broke down so many doors and so many people are aware and appreciative of that. What does that feel like for you now to hear those things and to have your career and your voice mean so much to so many people? That’s gotta be a great feeling.
Yeah…it is…especially over all the years and a lot of people who like Heart really feel like they’ve grown up with Heart. It’s something that they feel really personally attached to and so we’ve made a lot of friends in the Heart fans and many, many of them are really excited about the solo thing and about Nancy’s solo thing so Heart has given birth to more than just itself — it’s continuing to evolve in Nancy’s work and in my work solo-wise and we’re giving people a whole lot more to get excited about now.
You’ve heard this a million times but I have to say, you’re easily one of the greatest rock singers of all time. Your voice is just amazing.
Well, thank you. I appreciate that.
I just have to know…when you performed that stellar version of [Led Zeppelin’s] “Stairway to Heaven” in 2012, what did it feel like to get that response you got from Robert Plant when you finished? He seemed totally floored and I know that he’s a big hero of yours and that Led Zeppelin played a big role in your musical path. What did that feel like?
Well, at the time, at that moment we couldn’t see him because they were too far away for us to see but we saw it later on YouTube and it was very sweet. I mean, I can’t really say…I can’t claim responsibility for his reaction, really. I think it was a combination of things but the main thing is that he was really pleased and moved and that’s really why we went there and did that was to please them.
\\<\/iframe\>For someone who has been around as long as you have and someone who has made so many records, what do you see as the most significant change in the music industry from where it was when you started and where it is now and your role in it?
The most significant change is that people don’t really buy albums and get into the whole album any more. They want singles and the attention span is different. There’s so much super-saturation out there and the music is easy to get. Everything is downloads…it’s at your fingertips at all times so the live show thing is really the way to go because you have to go out there and be good. You can’t go into a studio and auto-tune yourself into sounding good. When you’re live you have to actually go out there and have something…so I like that…that’s a big change.
So, can you give fans an overview of what they can expect if they come out to see your solo show? What are longtime fans gonna walk away with after seeing this show?
Well, they’re gonna have an evening of really beautiful video presentation because there’s one for every song that we worked on really carefully and the band just sounds great. It’s a lean, very rocking band that’s also capable of going other places…you know, more sophistication…they can do the old Heart songs, re-imagined really well and they can go into the new…they can go everywhere. They’re really a good band. And I’m really, really enjoying doing this. I’m so down with it and excited about it so I hope people will see me at my most alive!
The real treat will be getting to hear Ann Wilson and her superb voice in such a small, intimate venue. Get more information on the show via local.cltampa.com
