White Hot

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 13, 2002 | 5:08 a.m.

Verdine White was an aspiring 19-year-old classical musician when his brother, Maurice, invited him to join new group Earth, Wind & Fire in 1970.

More than three decades later, the decision to come on board is still paying off for the Chicago native. Now 51, bassist Verdine White remains one of the driving forces behind the band and its blend of funk, soul and rock.

Earth, Wind & Fire will play a four-show run at Le Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas beginning Thursday night at 9.

Verdine White's role in the group has grown in recent years, since percussionist/vocalist Maurice White retired from touring in 1996. Maurice White later disclosed he suffers from Parkinson's disease.

In a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home, Verdine White spoke about his brother's health, cell phones at concerts and Earth, Wind & Fire's recent string of significant honors, including the opportunity to play at the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Las Vegas Sun: How do you guys approach a four-show stand like the one you'll be playing here?

Verdine White: You're in one place, so you try different things. The first night we'll kind of check it out, and probably by the third night we'll be stretching out a little bit.

Sun: Do you play mostly old favorites, or do you have some new songs in your live sets?

VW: With new material, if it's not out we won't play it live. Because with cell phones, you really can't do that anymore. When you're in a concert hall, people have cell phones and they're directed right at you, because they want to play it for their girlfriend or whoever. And that translates into people lifting your songs.

Sun: Earth, Wind & Fire has a new album due out in the spring. How is it coming along?

VW: Maurice played me some of it last night, and it's really good. He started mastering it last Friday.

Sun: How is Maurice's health these days?

VW: He's feeling really good, wonderful. And he looks great. He's been pumping iron.

Sun: He played with the band on your recent tour of Japan, right?

VW: He got the bug (to play live) a little bit when we received a lifetime achievement award on BET (Black Entertainment Television) in June and he performed with us. It was tremendous. So he said he might do Japan with us, and he did all the concerts there.

Sun: Do you think you'll be seeing him at more dates in the future?

VW: We're trying to convince him because we had a ball (in Japan) and the fans loved it. The band was really rocking when he was there. Not to say we don't rock when he's not there, but it was immensely easier with his presence.

Sun: Was it tough going out there without him when he first stopped touring?

VW: The challenge was for the audience to give us a chance to see how we would do without him. When you have somebody like that whose presence is immense, sometimes you may have people that might not come see you because he's not there. They might doubt that you're going to be great without him.

But after we got into it, they said, "Oh OK. These cats are rocking."

Sun: Have your responsibilities on the road changed with Maurice not out there?

VW: Yeah, (vocalist) Philip Bailey and my responsibilities as leaders of the band on a daily basis ... we're dealing with a lot of day-to-day things, rehearsals and soundchecks and things like that. But what it afforded Maurice was the opportunity to go back in the studio and kind of figure it out again, to really concentrate all of his energies on a record, not a record and the road.

Sun: It sounds like it's important to you guys to continue releasing strong material, so Earth, Wind & Fire doesn't simply turn into a nostalgia act.

VW: We're musicians first. I think if we were just entertainers and celebrities, we would probably go the other route. But we still respect the art form of music and theater and dance and the high arts. We're closet high-art freaks, sort of masked in entertainment and showmanship, and I think our commitment to higher art really is the driving force behind us still wanting to really be good at what we do.

Sun: Over the past few years, Earth, Wind & Fire has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and received lifetime achievement awards from BET and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. How do you view those types of honors?

VW: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was really good, but BET was stellar. It was live, and it was really good. We rocked that night, I mean really rocked.

Sun: What was it like performing at the closing ceremonies at this year's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City?

VW: It was surreal. When I got home and got out of my car, some of my neighbors applauded. That was kind of cool.

Sun: I read that before joining Earth, Wind & Fire, you hadn't been out of Chicago. Now you've spent a lifetime touring. Could you ever have imagined such a twist of fate?

VW: I hadn't been anywhere. I went to Washington, D.C., on a high school trip for a week, but I'd never been anywhere. Seen nothing, done nothing.

You never can imagine all those years, being able to last this long, particularly this strong too. And we're still trying to push the envelope a little bit.