Credt: Jim SheaThe Doobie Brothers haven’t released an album of new original material since 2010’s World Gone Wrong, but frontman Tom Johnston says his band hopes to begin work on a new recording project before 2016 ends.
“We’re in the process of getting songs together, slowly but surely, ’cause we’d like to do an album this year,” Johnston tells ABC Radio, adding that “one thing we don’t like to do is live on our laurels.”
Johnston, who celebrates his 68th birthday today, reveals that he’s “already been writing some new music.” He maintains that composing songs continues to be one of his hobbies, while noting that the tunes he writes “are all over the map and are not all geared” toward The Doobie Brothers.
Of course, work on a new album will have to wait until after his group’s 2016 touring schedule winds down. The Doobie Brothers’ current trek with Journey and Dave Mason — dubbed the San Francisco Fest Tour — began in May and will continue until early September. The Doobies also will play a special one-off concert on September 4 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park featuring Journey, Santana and The Steve Miller Band, and will follow that event with a series of headlining shows mapped out though mid-November.
Johnston tells ABC Radio that he particularly enjoys headlining gigs because it gives his band the chance to play some new songs for fans.
“We were playing as many as five songs off of World Gone Crazy when it first came out,” he recalls. “[The fans] had no idea what we were playing, but we didn’t care. We wanted to introduce them to the album. And we got a good response.”
Here are The Doobie Brothers’ upcoming 2016 tour dates:
8/16 — Oklahoma City, OK, Chesapeake Energy Arena*
8/17 — Little Rock, AR, Verizon Arena*
8/20 — Denver, CO, Pepsi Center*
8/21 — West Valley City, UT, USANA Amphitheatre*
8/23 — Auburn, WA, White River Amphitheatre*
8/25 — Ridgefield, WA, Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre*
8/27 — Las Vegas, NV, Mandalay Bay Events Center*
8/30 — Chula Vista, CA, Sleep Train Amphitheatre*
9/2 — Wheatland, CA, Toyota Amphitheater*
9/4 — San Francisco, CA, AT&T Park**
9/29 — Austin, TX, ACL Live at The Moody Theater
10/6 — Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, The Avalon Ballroom Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
10/7 — Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, The Avalon Ballroom Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
10/8 — Montréal, QC, Canada, Bell Centre
10/11 — Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Theatre
10/12 — Morristown, NJ, Mayo Performing Arts Center
10/13 — Huntington, NY, The Paramount
10/21 — Paso Robles, CA, Vina Robles Amphitheatre
10/22 — Indio, CA, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
11/11 — St. Augustine, FL, St. Augustine Amphitheater
11/13 — Fort Lauderdale, FL, Broward Center
11/16 — Orlando, FL, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
* = with Journey and Dave Mason
** = with Journey, Santana and The Steve Miller Band.
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