By A few shows into his Rock and Roll Revival tour, Kid Rock is proud of — and a little surprised by — what he’s wrought on the road. “After the first show, we were all like, ‘I can’t believe this thing worked!”‘ said Rock, who’s incorporating guests such as Run-DMC’s Rev. Run (Joseph Simmons), J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf and former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickie Betts with his expanded Twisted Brown Trucker Band into long, revue-style presentations.
“There’s something going on here I don’t think any of us realize yet,” he told Billboard.com.
Rock said the concept was inspired by the T.A.M.I. Show and early rock ‘n’ roll road shows. He also wanted to pay homage to some of his early influences — particularly in the case of Rev. Run.
“Hip-hop was my blues music,” Rock said, “and it seems like what happened with blues was a lot of people forgot about it, and then bands like the (Rolling) Stones started taking out (artists like) Muddy Waters and giving them their props. I feel like that’s my thing with old-school hip-hop.”
Rock and Run will be taking that even further with “Riding With the Kid,” an album the two have committed to record.
“It’s just a concept now,” Rock said. “We’ve only got a few tracks we’re messing with. We’ve been working so hard to get the tour tight … so I think we’ll start doing some writing. I just want to make a fun hip-hop record, old-school, with the music I like and grew up on. I’m not into a lot of the rap music nowadays at all.”
Rock will have to fit the album into the Rock and Roll Revival Tour schedule, however. The current leg is booked into late March, and Rock is planning outdoor dates for the summer in both North America and Europe. And he plans to keep the revue concept going with even more guests along the way.
“There’s so many people who could be part of this,” he said. “It could be the Stevie Nicks or Sheryl Crows or Gretchen Wilsons. It could be some of the country cats. There’s a lot of classic rock cats out there, and guitar players. A lot of rappers have already expressed interest. I see TV specials and possibly TV shows and DVDs and live recordings. It really is endless when you think of the possibilities. It’s just a wild idea that’s working really, really well.”
