Lead singer and guitarist Tom Johnston, 74, is a founding member of the original quartet that was initially formed in 1970 in San Jose. Other original members included guitarist and vocalist Patrick Simmons, bassist Dave Shogren, and John Hartman, the drummer whose death at the age of 72 was confirmed by the band on September 22.
It wasn’t until 1975 that Michael McDonald stepped in as lead vocalist because of Johnston’s failing health due to a bleeding ulcer. Guitarist and violinist John McFee came aboard in 1979. The band was indicted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
This year, Johnston, McDonald, Simmons, and McFee are traveling across the country for The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Tour, which is coming to the Arizona Financial Theatre on October 4. This show was rescheduled after the October 16, 2021, date at Ak-Chin Pavilion was one of several postponements the band made due to COVID-19 issues.
Phoenix New Times recently interviewed Johnston, who discussed, among other things, the origin of the band’s name; it was all thanks to a fellow musician named Keith Rosen.
“Actually, the name was just originally supposed to be used for a gig we were playing because we didn’t have a name and we didn’t have any candidates for a name — we had nothing,” Johnston says.
Rosen came up with the name in reference to marijuana, and Johnston thought it was good enough for the gig and would probably change it in the future. "Four or five days later it hadn’t changed," Johnston adds. "A year later it hadn’t changed and then we said, ‘We’ll just stick with it,’ so we did and that’s how we are where we are.”
But Johnston didn’t start out thinking about a career in music, let alone becoming a legendary rock icon. His sights in college were set on being a graphic designer. He says his interest in art started in high school. “I was good at art, but there were people I thought were a lot better, and graphic design was a whole other ballgame,” he says, adding that art was just an interest and not his passion.
“I kinda didn’t really care, to be honest with you, because all I really cared about was playing music. So, although I was going to school and I was taking the classes and I was doing the work, when I wasn’t doing that — which frankly, being an art major isn’t the same as being a history major — I had more spare time and it was spent doing music and hangin’ out in the Santa Cruz Mountains and whatever else.”
Johnston, originally from Visalia, California, moved north to attend San Jose State University. Once the Doobie Brothers started getting some recognition there, it was never any question about where he would plant his musical roots.
“I never thought about moving to [Los Angeles]; there was never any need to,” he says. “There was an active music scene going on in Northern California at that time, which, unfortunately, sadly, isn’t like that now. I grew up in Central California, in the Central Valley, and it’s drastically different from either end of the state. I grew up in a completely different atmosphere. ... So it was an exciting time to be making music, it was a fun time to be Northern California — there was a lot going on.”
In fact, the Doobie Brothers’ latest album, October 2021's Liberté, celebrates, in part, some of their time playing at the now-shuttered Santa Cruz rock 'n' roll bar called Chateau Liberté. “It’s an honest appraisal of where we started and where we are now," Johnston points out. "The latest album is different than anything we have done before and we actually had a ball doin’ it; it was a lot of fun."
The band's 15th full-length album was made during the global pandemic in writer-producer John Shanks' home. Johnston says it was a different experience for him because of how quickly it came together.
“I’d never worked like that,” he explains. “We would come up with a song in his writing area of the house. He had a house that had a studio in the … I don’t want to call it the basement, but down in the lower floor. And in the upper floor, he had a writing area, and that’s where we would come up with how the song was going to go as far as chords and lyrics, the whole thing.
"Then we would take that downstairs to the studio with a basic track he would do with software and stuff like that. We’d lay that down and start singing vocals right off the bat and then we’d start adding instrumentation. We’d also have guys put in their parts. Generally, it’s only been two people who were writing it in the studio at the time. In my case, it was he and I; and in Pat’s case, it was he and Pat. It was a different way to work, but I really enjoyed it. The songs are really different than anything we’ve ever done before, so it was a lot of fun.”
Johnston’s musical legacy is continuing through his daughter Lara, a singer-songwriter who has opened on tours for bands like KISS and Heart. He says she is busy writing and working on new tunes. His advice for anyone trying to make it in the business is to be prepared for some hard work.
“It’s a crowded field,” he says. “That’s another thing. For anyone trying to make it — and I’m not trying to discourage anyone, don’t get me wrong — there’s so many people trying to make it, it makes it that much harder. Getting a team, and getting places to play and all that kind of stuff is all extremely important.”
The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Tour
When: Tuesday, October 4Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 West Washington Street
Tickets: Lowest price currently available is $64.