On Friday, July 27, The Cult will be performing at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island. “The tour seems to be working out very well. Everybody is very happy. The bands are friends with each other, so we all get along, which is one of the reasons why this tour has happened. We are all playing co-headlining, one-hour sets. I know that has been done before, but it’s unusual. That is kind of cool,” he said.
Duffy continued, “All three bands have released albums over the last two years, which is healthy I think. We all play the hits. Nobody’s stupid. It’s an important thing to mention that we don’t dwell on songs from 25 years ago. We continue to try and make new music. The bands are active in creating new music moving forward. All of the three bands have their own eras. We are the elder statesmen or the seniors of the tour only by a few years.”
The lead guitarist revealed that they started getting success around 1986, and they had a good run until the early ’90s. “We built the band up from being a club band into an arena band,” he said.
Growing up in England, he noted that he was influenced by rockabilly music and the glam rock era. “A lot of that music in the ’50s was quite simplistic, but had its roots in rockabilly and rock and roll,” he said.
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, Duffy said, “Technology has made us all a bit lazy, I believe. As musicians, and I am as guilty as the next guy when I play one section of the song, the computer can put in the rest of the song. In some ways, it is time-saving, but I’m not sure I love the feel. Technology is fantastic for a few musical genres, but for rock and roll, and organically-based guitar rock music, I don’t think that technology is as good.”
Duffy added, “It is great that a lot of people have access to making music, but I think, probably not all of them should, cause they don’t actually have talent. Just because you have a laptop doesn’t mean you are a talented person. There is a lot of quantity, and not a lot of quality. Other than that, I don’t have any complaints.”
The acclaimed musician shared that he uses technology (such as Pro Tools) in his recording process. “I use it in my daily life just like any other person. In regard to my career, I would record on analog,” he said.
Duffy defined the word success as “Being paid to do what you love, and after having done that for 40 years, still maintaining a love for what you do, after you’ve gotten paid.”
Hidden City is available on Amazon, and on iTunes.
To learn more about British rock group The Cult, their music, and touring schedule, check out their official Facebook page, and their website.