Schmit Article

Riff Rap: Disc by Ex-Eagle Has Taken Flight
Author: Alan Niester
Publication: The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Date: October 9, 1987

Abstract: A brief interview with Schmit about his Timothy B. album.

"WE HAD US an earthquake today," an incredulous Timothy B. Schmit offers over the phone from a still trembling Los Angeles . "It measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. Broke some glass. Really shook the place."

The temptation was to give Schmit a little friendly advice based on the comparative geologic soundness of California compared to, say, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence lowland, but in the end the counsel was not offered. The topic of this conversation was Schmit's solo LP, Timothy B., which has hit the charts like a minor earth tremor.

The album is riding high on the strength of a number called Boys Night Out, the most obvious pastiche of Eagles structures and harmonies this side of Richard Marx's Don't Mean Nothing. But unlike Marx, Schmit can lay a certain claim to the style, having played in The Eagles after a lengthy stint in the ground-breaking country-rock outfit Poco.

Timothy B. is not the debut album from this music industry veteran. He released a solo album in 1984, called Playin' It Cool; unfortunately, sales reflected the title. "I think in large part the record company was to blame," Schmit says. "Because the record didn't produce an immediate hit, they didn't bother trying to work with it. Although actually, I don't think they were really all that interested in me in the first place."

But Schmit has higher hopes for Timothy B. "It's a lot more focused," he says. "I saw much more clearly what I wanted to do with this one. You can tell just by the length of time it took. This one only took me 10 weeks to complete. Everything just sort of fell into place. By comparison, the other one took over a year to finish."

Asked whether Boys Night Out was written intentionally in an Eagles vein, Schmit demurs. "I personally don't hear The Eagles in it, other than myself, but then, how could they not have had an influence? It's interesting, though, a lot of people who heard the demos of this album didn't really think it sounded like me at all, so go figure."

Incidentally, for those wondering what the "B" stands for, it's Bruce. "As in Springsteen, or Hornsby," Schmit laughs.

 

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