John Oates Takes on '60s Folk

Posted on Nov 28th 2009 12:00PM by Mike Ayers
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John Oates has had a busy fall. He's released a box set with Daryl Hall, saw Rachael Ray petition for their inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, headlined a recent gig at the 2009 Stache Bash and that's not all. Now he's contributed to a folk compilation called 'The Village,' which features tracks from artists like Lucinda Williams, Bruce Hornsby and Los Lobos. The project was rather simple: pick a classic song from that came out of the Greenwich Village '60s folk era and put it to tape.

While others were busy poaching from the Bob Dylan catalog, Oates deliberately shied away from taking on the scene's master and instead recorded a version of the standard 'He Was a Friend of Mine.' Oates's version is an upbeat, acoustic take that pairs him with former Leftover Salmon founder Drew Emmitt on mandolin. The label ended up being so pleased with his song that the two camps are in discussions for more. "They asked me to do a record in the same style," Oates tells Spinner. "[It's] very traditional and that's something I'm very comfortable with."

For his new material, Oates says he'll draw on artists and sounds that he was influenced by as a kid such as Doc Watson and Mississippi John Hurt. For his recent solo shows, he says that he's been working in this style of material and it's doesn't really see this direction as being a problem. "It's something every artist wants to do in some point in their life," he says of taking on songs that influenced him. "It's almost like a comfort thing."

Speaking of going traditional, John Oates will team up with dobro master Jerry Douglas and Maura O'Connor for a holiday-themed run of shows, starting Dec. 5 at the Newberry Opera House in Newberry, S.C.