Updated:2006-02-21 21:38:12
11 Questions For Darius Rucker
By Marcus Vanderberg, AOL Black Voices
Like it or not, Darius Rucker and Hootie and the Blowfish have managed to carve out a niche for themselves on the music scene. Thanks to the success of their 1994 debut ‘Cracked Rear View,’ which went on to sell over 16 million records, the band has been going strong for over a decade. Rucker, lead singer of the band, also went on to record a solo CD titled ‘Back to Then.’
11 Questions with Darius Rucker
Name: Darius Rucker
Current Release: 'Looking for Lucky'
11 Questions Quotable: I read comic books. Anything ‘X-Men.’ I wanted to as a kid but I could never afford them. Now, when I’m home, I’ll run down and catch up on my ‘X-Men.’
- Watch and Listen to Hootie and the Blowfish
Back to Black Voices Entertainment
Black Voices recently sat down with Rucker to talk about being the black front-man of an all white band and how he would handle a band-member like Miami Dolphins’ running back Ricky Williams.
You have mentioned that you were blown away the first time you heard ‘Ready to Die’ by the late Notorious B.I.G. What was your reaction?
“I think the reason I did my first solo album as an R&B record instead of a country record was because I heard ‘Ready to Die.’ I had been on the bus touring the Gulf, listening to country music, and I heard Notorious B.I.G. and it changed everything.”
Looking back at it, do you stand by your decision to do the Burger King commercials or do you regret it?
“I don’t regret it at all. We know it was going to be good and bad. I don’t ever regret anything. It was fun and the deal was good, I have no regrets.”
In your early musical career, you gave us “Drowning” which addressed social views in the south. Your recent release, ‘Looking for Lucky’ has some political undercurrents. You grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and you are raising your children there. Have views on race changed in the South?
“The attitude has changed but it’s still there. When I was in high school, if you had an interracial couple in high school, a teacher was going to call somebody’s parents and tell them. It’s probably more tolerant but it’s still there. Always will be.
This place is a much better place to live. I loved living here as a kid. The thing I loved about Charleston is you knew who hated you. Now it’s a much better place than it was back then.”
You have shown tremendous support for the US troops and you’ve said that had it not been for your success with Hootie you would have joined the Air Force. What do you think about the war in Iraq?
“If I wasn’t in a band, I would have probably went that route. I really wish we could come home. It’s one of those things where we are going to be there a long time. The whole weapons of mass destruction -- that was bull. No Iraqis blew up the World Trade Center. It seems to me that our presence there is just making the insurgency worse.”
You are a big sports fan and in particular a Miami Dolphins fan. Running back Ricky Williams left his fellow teammates and suddenly retired in 2004, only to come back less than a year later. How would you handle a band-member like Ricky Williams?
“We've been doing this so long that if someone left, there wouldn't be a chance to come back to the band. We wouldn't be a band anymore.”
Who do you want to collaborate with?
“There are tons of people. Dr. Dre, just because I have never heard anything that he did that wasn’t great. I’d like to work with Garth (Brooks). I think he’s a genius. One day before I die, I would like to work with Stevie Wonder. I want to do a big band record with Quincy Jones or Branford Marsalis. That’s something that I’m really going to do when I get the nerve to go beg one of them.”
Do you ever feel the pressure from the black community for being the lead singer of an all white band?
“Sure, my whole life. The great thing is once we became successful, that was all gone. I didn’t realize how big we were until I made my solo record, working in the R&B world, seeing what people thought of us. I didn’t realize we were that big. The respect, the willingness, let’s do it. That was an awkward experience for me.”
What would you like to accomplish next?
“I feel like doing like Neil Young did. Every time I do a solo record, I want to do something different.”
What’s the one thing about you that your fans would be surprised to know?
“I read comic books. Anything ‘X-Men.’ I wanted to as a kid but I could never afford them. Now, when I’m home, I’ll run down and catch up on my ‘X-Men.’ I read them and give them to a buddy or throw them away. I’m not that guy. I’m not collecting them. I’m the guy that wears a jersey to the football game.”
What’s the story behind the group’s name?
“It came from two friends of mine in college. One guy had big eyes. And I used to give people nicknames all the time. We called him Hootie because he had big eyes and glasses. His best friend had these big cheeks, like Dizzy Gillespie. So we started calling him the Blowfish. And they were together all the time.”
You have a family now. How has that changed the music you write or the decisions you make about your work?
“It changes work totally. Before I had a family, my motto to my management was ‘Don’t call me. Just put it on the calendar. I’ll be there.’ Now, it’s like pulling teeth to get me going anywhere. I rather be home with the kids.
We might tour a little bit this year. It won’t be as much as last year. I have made it clear that I won’t tour that much again for a while, if ever. We will tour a pretty good amount. We are putting out a live CD and DVD. We will see what happens. Maybe the year after, I’ll put out a solo record.”
2005-03-16 19:03:00
