| November 30th, 2005 11:48 PM |
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Stones Svengali Oldham hustling book, radio show
Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:09 PM ET [165]
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - You can't keep a good hustler down.
Former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the impresario who created the group's bad-boy image and produced their early records, is keeping busy with a DJ gig on satellite radio and his third book, to be called "On Hustling."
His radio show airs daily on Sirius Channel 25 as part of Little Steven's Underground Garage, the rock 'n' roll network operated by E Street band guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt. Oldham broadcasts weekdays from 6 to 8 p.m. EST, as well as Saturday (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Sunday (3-7 p.m.)
"I'm fulfilling my American fantasy. I'm Johnny Carson," said the British native, 61, who divides his time between homes in Colombia and Canada.
Alas, the Carson analogy ends there, as Burbank is a more agreeable destination for guests than Bogota. So Oldham contents himself by spinning discs and shooting from the hip in the hipster jive immortalized on the liner notes he wrote for such Stones albums as "The Rolling Stones No. 2" and "Out of Our Heads."
His main criterion for choosing tunes on the playlist is "nothing slow," he said in a recent interview. "Basically it's British, it's New York punk, it's thrash, it's Stones, it's R&B and new stuff."
Particular favorites include the bands Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV, 22-20s, the High Dials, and the Super Furry Animals, a band he was introduced to about eight years ago by a video producer who used to supply him with cocaine.
With no trace of self-doubt, Oldham considers himself a natural broadcaster.
"My basic business was seducing people, or being friendly. I don't know what the next logical step is, but I'd be up for it. You may think I'm on the radio, but in my mind it's Garry Shandling. Hey now!"
But, the TV legacies of Carson, Shandling et al will likely remain untarnished, as Oldham has no intention of moving in front of the camera, claiming, "the sound louder than my voice will be my knees knocking."
Audience feedback has been largely positive, though Oldham cherishes one e-mailed comment: "Great show, but do you have to talk?"
His new book, meanwhile, will examine the accomplishments of such influential hustlers (his term) as Russian ballet promoter Sergei Diaghilev, movie producer Michael Todd, director Otto Preminger, and Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman.
While hustling may connote a negative image of fraud and deception, Oldham considers it a pure art form that has become degraded. In his mind, a hustler, often on a divine mission, creates something out of nothing, unconcerned about failure.
"The hustler walks the streets of life humming a tune he can't himself play, but he hears an attitude in his mind, and when he encounters someone who can hum the tune out loud, the hustle is on," he writes in the foreword.
Oldham recruited Marlon Richards, the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, to interview two subjects, British music label boss Alan McGee and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. But Oldham's relationship with the Stones organization is otherwise minimal.
Oldham paid a courtesy call on Richards and drummer Charlie Watts when the band played in Seattle recently but says he has not had a substantial conversation with Mick Jagger since he walked away from the band in 1967.
He hopes to finish "On Hustling" next month and expects it will be published next June through Random House, which has the rights for the U.K., Canada and other British Commonwealth territories. There is no U.S. publishing deal in place. His 2001 memoir, "Stoned," was handled by St. Martin's. Its 2004 sequel, "2Stoned," was not published stateside.
Reuters/VNU
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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