Michael McDonald – 4.2.14

Mike Ragogna: What is your advice for new artists?

Michael McDonald: You know, if I look back on anything about my own career or the careers of my friends who I’ve seen persevere, I think it’s to believe in yourself and what you do. Believe that you have something to bring to the mix of whatever genre you’re trying to approach. If you’re a blues artist, look for what is unique about yourself and keep your faith in that. At the same time, keep your head open so you don’t look at everything as criticism or the kind of input that would make you cynical after a while. That was what was hard coming up. I think by the time I had joined Steely Dan I had pretty much given up on being a solo artist. I came out to California with a record deal from RCA records and I thought I was going to make an album, go home, and hear it on the radio a couple weeks later. I had no idea what it would be like in California. But I found by the time I got the break with Steely Dan…I didn’t even realize it was just the best gig I had gotten, and with the band that was my all-time favorite band ever since The Beatles. It was a dream come true on a lot of levels, but I still didn’t see myself as a recording artist anymore. I thought, “Well, I’ve run that gambit.” My ambition at that point was to play as many sessions as I could whether it was singing or playing and then fill it in with the live club gigs around LA, and then my dream became, “Oh man, if I could just get a gig with Steely Dan or The Eagles or someone like that and go on the road as a utility guy…” Of course, I never dreamed I would end up writing music for a band like The Doobies, but they were just situations that presented themselves. I think that only comes from keeping the faith. To young artists, I think that’s sometimes the hardest thing to do, just keep the faith and understand that nine out of ten things are not going to go your way. But if it does, it can make all the difference in the world in terms of how it effects your over all career and your life. You have to be looking for the door that’s open and not paying too much attention to the ones that close.