Latest Doobie Brothers incarnation gives fans a reason to still listen to the music

The current incarnation of the Doobie Brothers, together since 2019, is one that fans have been wishing for over many years.

It’s the first time all four principal members — co-founders Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and John McFee — have been in the band together at the same time. And the Doobies’ new album, “Walk This Road,” marks the first time that McDonald and Simmons have had a fully-engaged Johnston — who McDonald had replaced during the mid-70s due to health issues — writing alongside them.

It’s a welcome new chapter in the band’s 54-year history, which includes 16 studio albums, 15 Top 40 hits and inductions into the Rock & Roll and Songwriters halls of fame. McDonald, of course, has maintained a successful solo career with hits such as “I Keep Forgettin’” and “Sweet Freedom,” but these days he’s fully ensconced in the Doobies and making up for time lost during his periods away from the group.

As Simmons notes, “I think Tom and Mike are both at the top of their game right now. It’s really crazy to say that; all of us now are in our 70s, so it’s like, ‘Really? At the top of our game?’ But, yeah, I think so I’m kind of astounded, to be honest; you sort of have high hopes and we all set our goals, but you never know.

“I think more than anything, at this stage in my life, I just want to see whatever we do stand up there with the other stuff that we’ve done in the past, and maybe get a little bit better.”

And on the phone from his home in California, McDonald says the main goal right now is to give Doobies fans more than enough reason to, well, still listen to the music. The band performs Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Blossom Music Center on a bill with the late Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band…

The Doobie Brothers have been a bit different during the past five, six years than the one you joined back in 1975.

McDonald: It’s been great, and I think it’s something we always wanted to do, but fate just didn’t serve up the opportunity as much as we would’ve liked. I think “Takin’ It to the Streets” (in 1976) was the last record we actually did together; Tommy had a song on that album (“Turn It Loose”), but due to health issues for him at the time his participation was a little limited — but it’s still one of the best songs on the record. So I think we finally got the chance to do what we’ve kinda wanted to do.

What makes it so distinctive for you?

McDonald: When Tommy’s out on the road with us, it just brings a certain energy that is all his own, really. To have him sing his songs, he brings a personality to those song, and all the songs — even my stuff — that is palpable. We could play in any number of configurations; certainly there’s plenty enough of us up there. But we always enjoy the combination that includes Tommy, Pat and myself and John McFee. It’s the situation we all prefer.

You’ve been on-and-off with the Doobies since the temporary split back in 1982, but you’ve seemed all-in since the 50th anniversary reunion was announced in 2019.

McDonald: Yeah, it’s been a wonderful experience for me to be back in the band. I’ve always missed playing that songbook, the Doobies songbook, Tommy and Pat’s songs. And with the Doobies I kind of fall in to the position of being the keyboard player more than I do with my own band; although I do play keyboards with my own band, I keep it to a minimum so I can concentrate on singing the songs and talking to the audience. There’s a guy who comes out who does the heavy lifting as far as playing organs and synths and stuff who does a much better job at it than I do. But with (the Doobies), I really enjoy the playing and I enjoy living up to the challenge, and I don’t really get to do that anywhere but in the Doobies. And it allows me to play a few other instruments; I get to play a little, some guitar, accordion…None of those things I do well, but I indulge myself when I can and get away with it without embarrassment.

What are some of your favorite keyboard player moments for you with the band?

McDonald: Pretty much on almost any of Pat and Tommy’s songs. A lot of their music before I joined them had keyboards on it, and Billy Payne (of Little Feat) played on a lot of their records. I have his parts to go to school on, but I enjoy playing them. I enjoy playing “China Grove.” I enjoy the intros to “Sweet Maxine,” “Eyes of Silver.” We’ve kind of developed those songs along the way into a little more fun, rhythmic underpinnings, so I get to play some organ and clavinet on that stuff. And when I’m not singing I can kind of pay attention to what I’m doing on keyboards a little more and develop my parts further.

You’re giving the “Walk This Road” material a generous airing in the live set this year. Does it feel good to have new songs you’re comfortable doing that with?

McDonald: Yeah, ‘cause back in the day you’d start playing new material early, and it was always a good excuse for the audience to go to the bathroom ‘cause they really want to hear the hits and stuff they’re familiar with. So we’re always cognizant about that. This is the first time in a long time we’ve noticed that people kind of know “Walk This Road” from the streams we’ve been lucky enough to get. They’re familiar with it. That’s a nice feeling after all these years to feel that the audience has an affinity with some of the newer stuff. It’s something that’s kind of unique to this record.

One of the nicer moments, on the album and in the shows, is “Lahaina, which you and Pat co-wrote.

McDonald: Pat came in with the song; it was kind of a guitar piece that he had started and he needed some other sections of the song to develop. He was gonna write with John (Shanks, producer) and I happened to be there doing some other things, so the three of us sat down and finished the song, fleshed it out some more. We wound up recording the track for the most part except for the other people who are on it, like Mick Fleetwood and Jake Shimabukuro and Henry Kapono, who sent their parts by email from Hawaii. And all of it is an effort to bring awareness to what the people in Lahaina are going through (since the august 2023 wildfire and Hurricane Dora) and possibly enlighten people to the idea we’re in different times now. We’re in a different world with climate change, and these are the things we’re gonna be doing more and more of around the world. We need to be ready for when these things happen, when these crises befall us. It’s a new reality.

Since you returned to the band you’ve been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Does one mean more than the other?

McDonald: I think they’re different. Certainly being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is like a dream come true; from the time you started plucking on a guitar or playing piano in the basement in your underwear, you dreamed about someday taking your place alongside the many recording artists who have come before you, whose songs you were learning in the privacy of your home. That’s an incredible honor, of course. And the Songwriters Hall of Fame, to be counted among those people who have written songs that the public has embraced over the years is kind of an amazing honor, too. I don’t think any of us think of ourselves as great songwriters; we always felt like we were lucky to write that song and hope people will lean forward in their car and crank the radio up because that song comes on. It’s not lost on any of us that it’s a great honor after all these years of writing songs.

What`s on the horizon for the Doobies?

McDonald: We’re talking about touring, dates for next year. But at this age the first question that comes to mind is, “Am I gonna be alive then?”

How about another album?

McDonald: Yeah, I think we’re looking at maybe, possibly doing another record, and there’s a lot of things about that we’d like to try. We’d like to try sitting in a room together again and recording the way we used to. There’s some benefits to recoding these days with…the technology and everything that’s available to make records. You’re able to come up with an idea and preserve it a little better during the process than we did in the old days, but we kind of miss sitting on a floor together and laying the song down and capturing that moment of the band playing together. It’s torturous at times, too. But we’ve kind of dedicated ourselves to the idea we’re gonna at least do some of that if we do another album. We feel that would be appropriate.

You’ve been one of the poster boys in the so-called Yacht Rock world. Have you surrendered to that as a fate by now?

McDonald: Yeah, I always kind of did. My kids couldn’t wait to show it to me when they were little and it first came out on the internet or (in) ‘Family Guy.’ We’d sit and it was very funny and we’d laugh about it. I always tried to remind them, “Listen, don’t laugh. When your music becomes less relevant your pathetic comedy value may come in handy.” I always felt it was a form of flattery in the way that people even know who I am, much less would take the time to make fun of me. And I like the company I’m in; it’s not like I’m being categorized with the 1910 Fruitgum Company or something. It’s, like, Toto and the Eagles and Steely Dan. I’ll take it. I’m more proud to be in their company than in any kind of genre or category.

The Doobie Brothers and the Coral Reefer Band perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Blossom Music Center, 1145 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls. 330-920-8040 or livenation.com.