Jeff Daniels is understandably delighted to co-star in two of the most acclaimed films of the year, “The Martian” and “Steve Jobs.” But if his career had turned out the way he anticipated, he would be earning his living now as a guitar-playing troubadour, not an actor.
“I kept thinking the movie career would end and this is what I’d end up doing,” said Daniels, now touring with his son’s group, the Ben Daniels Band. “I was literally preparing for the end of the movie career, which, well, you never know. You find out on a Tuesday that you’re over. That’s the Hollywood expression. Someone asks: ‘How about (casting) so and so?’ ‘No, no; he’s over.’
“I was just preparing for the second half of my life, where I could still be creative and enjoy something I liked. Then, ‘The Newsroom’ (the HBO TV series that starred Daniels) happened, and the movies. Now, I get to do music less than I thought I would. But when I do, I enjoy it as much as anything else, especially with Ben’s band. It’s something I’ll always cherish, and every show will be a great show.”
Daniels, whose tour makes a pair of stops this week in the Pacific Northwest, is well aware of the long list of actors who have made negligible, if not outright laughable, forays into music. He slyly chronicles the phenomenon in his song, “If William Shatner Can, I Can, Too,” whose lyrics name-check Russell Crowe, Kathy Lee Gifford, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Adam Sandler and the Olsen twins, among others.
But Daniels is no mere wannabe. He has played guitar for more than 40 of his 60 years and has six albums and 400 songs to his credit, including last year’s “Days Like These.” He is quick to stress that playing music is anything but a lark for him.
“This is not about us coming out (onstage) and me singing into my navel,” Daniels said, speaking by phone from a recent tour stop in Michigan. “It’s got to connect with the audience, and it does. Those expecting a train wreck will be very disappointed.”
Well versed in folk, blues, country and various American roots music styles, Daniels has co-written a song with three-time Grammy Award-winning blues artist Keb’ Mo’ and shared a stage with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt. “Things like that inspire you to get better every day and put in the time,” said Daniels, whose sense of humor is evidenced in such songs as “If I Weren’t So Stupid, You Wouldn’t Be So Smart.”
and “Baby Take Your Tongue Outta My Mouth, I’m Kissin’ You G’bye.”
“When I was a teenager, I was aware of Arlo Guthrie and his story songs. Then I discovered John Prine and Steve Goodman, and said: ‘Whoa! What are they doing?’ Then I heard Christine Lavin and Loudon Wainwright, musicians who said: ‘It’s OK to be funny. You don’t have to write serious songs all the time; you can take a left turn.’”
If you go
Jeff Daniels will perform Nov. 11 at Pantages Theater in Tacoma and Nov. 12 at Kirkland Performance Center. For more information, including tickets, visit www.jeffdaniels.com.
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