New directions ahead for No Doubt
By: Tom Lanham
Special to The Examiner
October 22, 2009
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| Simple kind of life: After finishing a big stadium tour, Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal of No Doubt will appear this weekend at the acoustic Bridge School Benefit. (Courtesy photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — If there’s one musician who should be sitting on top of the world now, it’s Tony Kanal.
The No Doubt bassist just finished a summer stadium tour with his Grammy-winning group, and appeared with them — billed as Snowed Out — on TV’s “Gossip Girl” to perform Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver.”
He launched his own label/production company, Kingsbury, and even has a cameo in the new Pink video for “Funhouse,” a song he co-wrote with her.
Still, he has more than a few doubts.
No Doubt just had the added honor of being invited to headline Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre this weekend.
But Kanal, at 39, has been experiencing something of a midlife crisis. “I’m going through a trying-to-figure-out-where-I’m-at phase,” he admits.
The recent tour was an eye-opener for the artist, whose only responsibilities have been his four pet cats.
Singer Gwen Stefani and his other bandmates are all parents, and they brought their families along on the road.
“So now my girlfriend and I are having the ‘kids’ discussion,” he says. “And just wrapping my head around that takes up a lot of my thought process every day.”
It led Kanal to more existential questions. When Stefani took time off to record two solo albums, he immersed himself in side projects, including buying and renovating his new house, designed by art deco architect Stiles O. Clements.
“I just wanted to stay creative and keep things going while the band was on hiatus,” he says. “And in my head, when I’m onstage and playing, I still think I’m 16 years old, back when No Doubt started out. So you want to grow up, not be selfish, and have kids, but at the same time you want to keep that balance of feeling young, that spirit of reckless abandon.”
That’s why No Doubt jumped at the acoustic Bridge School opportunity. They’re working on a new, as yet directionless, album, Kanal says.
“And looking at our songs and their arrangements differently could really assist in our songwriting process, so the timing of these shows couldn’t be better.”
Will this Peter Pan reach adulthood? He’s optimistic. “This inner turmoil of growing older while retaining the excitement of childhood? I wonder if that’s ultimately the thing that will fuel my new creativity? If I can channel that,” Kanal says, “I could be onto something!”
IF YOU GO
Bridge School Benefit
With Neil Young, No Doubt, Jimmy Buffett (Saturday only), Chris Martin of Coldplay, Adam Sandler (Sunday only), Sheryl Crow, Fleet Foxes, Monsters of Folk, Wolfmother and Gavin Rossdale
When: 5 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Shoreline Amphitheatre, One Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View
Tickets: $39.50 to $150
Contact: www.livenation.com
