MUSIC

'Heart of Glass' still beats strong

Forward thinking has kept 'Parallel Lines' fresh, drummer says

By Brian T. Atkinson
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

By

Special to the American-Statesman

Thirty years ago, Clem Burke's jumping-jack drums on 'Heart of Glass' enlivened a thousand garages. Meanwhile, Blondie's other hits ('Call Me,' 'Rapture') and splits (1982-1997) famously followed that first Number One. The New Jersey native, a vocal champion of South by Southwest, looks to a particular musician for inspiration today. 'I really liked Alejandro (Escovedo)'s Continental (Club) show at last year's South by,' Burke says. '("Real Animal") is great.' Blondie performs tonight at Austin Music Hall.

American-Statesman: How's the tour been going?

Clem Burke: I think it's a really compatible bill. It's great to have the Donnas opening. Depending on the evening, either we play or Pat (Benatar) plays next. We've been getting some of Pat's fans and she's been getting some of ours. Debbie (Harry) and Pat are both women obviously, but the music is different. It's a good value, and the tour's been like a traveling circus.

(Blondie guitarist) Chris (Stein) has said you rehearsed more than usual for this tour.

Well, we rehearsed a little bit, but not that much. We were trying to make a record while preparing for the tour, so we were spending a lot more time on the new music. At sound checks, we were working on the stuff for this new record, which we hope to have out by the middle of next year. We were definitely in the creative mode.

You've been playing the new song 'Love Doesn't Frighten Me' live.

Yeah, that makes it into the set once in a while. We recorded that a while back for the record.

Is there an album title?

No, it's all still in the early stages. We're just collecting material. We need to make a record for ourselves to have some new music and continue the creative process. We enjoy playing the hits, but there's always music to be made. Whether anyone's interested in it is a whole other story.

Speaking of the hits, how do you feel 'Parallel Lines' holds up more than three decades later?

Very well. I think it's pretty contemporary sounding. (Producer) Mike Chapman did a good job on it, and it has 'Heart of Glass' and 'One Way or Another' on it. The legacy of the band is the music, and some of the things we were doing – like using a sequencer on 'Heart of Glass' or working with guest musicians like Robert Fripp – were forward thinking.

Also around that time, you made 'Roadie' in Austin.

You know, I don't want to say it's the world's worst rock 'n' roll movie because I know people who actually like it. We had a guitar tech on the last tour who had a 'Roadie' tattoo on his arm. He said that he'd been inspired by the film to become a guitar tech. 'Roadie' was one of our earliest experiences in Austin. We played with the Kinks at the Armadillo before that.

What was filming like?

Making 'Roadie' was a bit of a circus, but it was a good experience. You know, we covered 'Ring of Fire' in that film, and many years later I met Johnny Cash. He acknowledged that we covered that song, because we were one of the first so-called punk bands to cover a country song. We bought cowboy boots and hats and all that.

Blondie, Pat Benatar and the Donnas perform at 8p.m. Thursday at Austin Music Hall, 204 Nueces St. Advance tickets are $67. 866-443-8849, gettix.net.