Pioneering genius. So underrated. I saw them in 1976 for the first time and thy blew my mind. Best stage show ever at that time.

This breaks my heart, they deserve all the money and success in the world for true talent.

The Tubes--most real band in R&R history! We saw them open for Bowie in 1980. They played in front of 65,000 screaming lunatics on Saturday night, then, the whole band, shows up at our softball tournament on Sunday (dancers and all) to play a couple games and have a couple beers, before hopping the jet for the next show! Unreal, they just wanted to say "thanks for coming to the show!"

Freaking geniuses, these guys. Smart, savvy, musically astute, and know how to deliver the goods live. You can't ask for more than that. Tubes rock!

Hearing Fee talk about the realities of the record business back in the day makes me wish the band was set in contemporary times when they could use the newer music distribution model to appeal directly to their audience. They were so creative and talented and funny and wonderful. Their music was brilliant, really. I'm always going to have a soft spot for The Tubes and especially for Fee Waybill - an incredibly talented, kind, self-effacing guy. And that dude could sing, too!

In my opinion, the greatest rock n roll band of all time. First time I saw them was at the Capitol Theater in Passaic NJ. The night of the show there was a major snowstorm, and there couldn't have been more than 200 people in the building. The Plimsouls were supposed to open, but didn't show. Fee walked out, looked at the audience & said "You people are going to tell your friends you saw the best Goddamn rock show tonight". He was right, the played for hours, & we were all exhausted from the power of the show. No band for me has ever come close.

one of a kind rock band who expanded the boundaries of rock and showmanship saw them live in the 80s superb!

This guy is one of the real interesting fellows in rock 'n roll. The Tubes were a fabulous band and Fee was their unquestioned leader. A great artist yet very practical, not an easy balance.

Heard them here and there when I was growing up in the 80's and although I loved She's a Beauty I just couldn't get into them. Tonight I am watching a lot of live stuff from them on here and man I can not believe how good they are and how great they sound live. Took me a long while but I am very interested in these guys. I am surely gonna look for a lot more and soak it up.

Love this guy- what a fantastic interview- honest and open - long live Fee and the Tubes- cannot wait to see you in the UK this August 2015 :)

i was at this. it was called Taste of Kalamazoo. got to meet Fee. in fact i worked the merch booth!

Honest and straight forward man. Refreshing.

Love the honesty in this interview, and thank you for doing it, and for Fee, for being so honest and straight...answered a lot of questions I had about the band. They were HUGE in 1975 in San Francisco and their crazy theatrical shows were the stuff of legend. They were WAY ahead of their time, and clearly not managed very well. They should have been a lot bigger than they were. Long live The tubes!

I grew up in Phoenix, Az... "The Beans" & "The Red, White & Blues Band" were 2 of the top bands there back in the late 60's ..leaving town separately for fame & fortune to the bay area, then merging into "The TUBES" in '71. I once jammed on stage (blues harp) with the Red White & Blues Band at Legend City & loved The Beans , who even once played at my high school. About the time they were merging into The Tubes in the Bay area, I got my own band rolling called "Sage" ( Guitar,bass & drums + my lead vocal) & were a popular band for a few years in the early 70's (Played a lot at The Odyssey.) SO, you can easily see why I'm all down with Fee....& great to see they're still performing...and even Bill Spooner ( Original Beans / Tubes lead guitar ) is playing clubs ion the Bay Area as well.

What a terrific, frank interview with Waybill. I went to SF Art Institute in '71 when Cotten and Prairie Prince were there. The band was just coming together then (called the Beans) They played at some school functions. Anyone who didn't see their first national tour (75?) missed one of the greatest Rock 'n Roll roadshows ever put together. Fee still gives 100% at every show.......They had something good going with David Foster. Too bad Bill Spooner and some of the others couldn't see their way to continue that alliance.

Fee is funny as shit! The whole band for that matter. Especially when they do Business live haga. Man, I wished I could have seen them around 1981-1983 timeframe when they were NOT family-friendly haha... and in their prime

I met Fee once. After his good natured energy I was most amazed when I shook his hand. I have good sized man hands but his hands are enormous! Great guy.

One of true geniuses of rock n' roll!!

Love, Love, Love, The Tubes. Played my college in 1980 with The BusBoys - best concert ever!!!

I wish that Social Media existed back then; it would have been so good for The Tubes.

The completion backwards principle album will go with me to the next life.. 1981 was my graduation yr from high school, my friend introduced me to attack of the fifty foot woman song and was hooked since... no money's need to add up to their legacy. They're immortalized forever in my book. Amnesia,Mr hate are classic!

One of my all time favorite bands and I saw them live in the 70's at the Capital Theater in Passaic NJ! Not only are they great musicians but they put on a show that you will remember for the rest of your life! I'm now 78 years old and I was so lucky to have seen them Live!

142 views and no comments, and it's an interview with the singer from one of the best bands ever? What gives? Cool interview, thank you so much! Tubes 4everrr! :D

My brother turned me on to The Tubes first album in California back in the 70s. Classic awesomeness. Fee tells the truth of what was and what could have been. Gentleman, rocker and fortunately found a further career in real estate.

What a great band. Fee has a great underated voice. Great lyrics and a true cult band. I agree with others , these guys should have been HUGE . I saw them several times in Pasadena and lately at the coachhouse. what great shows . too bad most people dont undrerstand them?

I saw the tubes in Seattle back in 76. My buddy knew nothing about them and the tickets were $7.50. He thought that was expensive and said" This better be worth it" and a guy in front of us turned around and said " oh It is" . My buddy love the show!

LOVE The Tubes! Glad I saw them back in the Completion backward principle days in the 80's!

Cal State Fullerton....motorcycle right down the middle in a small place up to the stage.....outrageous!! To this day I still talk about it!!

Great interview, candid, always loved their music... had tickets to see them twice and never saw them (once a no show in Montreal) :-(

Late 1970's I volunteered to usher at Bimbo's San Francisco when The Tubes were playing. I saw their show 2-3-4 times. It was a lot of fun and entertainment. "What do you want from Life?"

What a biz.Thanks Fee for a concert experience that I will never forget.Quaylude!!!!

Saw the Tubes in Boston back in the 70's and was totally blown away by their performance with all the costume changes and stage props.

WOW. YOU GUYS WENT OUT ALL THE WAY ON THE INTERVIEW SET! SPENT MILLIONS, OBVIOUSLY!

Lucky me-I got to see the What Do You Want From Live Tour back in the 70s. Phenomenal show,fantastic music. I have been a fan since...

The Tubes rock so steady. They are playing not far from me this month I think. I get the feeling that Fee does not understand just how important the tubes are. Oh gosh do they do great on stage!

For a kid from the MidSouth in the early 80s, they were so weird and so amazing.

Thanks for the interview.......very interesting.

Good to see you again Fee Waybill!

The Tubes best album far and away was "Remote Control". Every song was a keeper. The production was flawless. I wore that album out.

Saw them in Tuscon in what, 1979/80.... Just fantastic! Love it!

It’s a shame the never got the recognition they so much deserved, only 2 hit songs, been listening to their music for many years, a very tight band!

Fantastic band, very much underrated.

Nothing worth while is ever easy. You guys still rock !

The moment the interviewer said “here’s Todd Rundgren now”, you could see Fee’s face. 😲. He was so ready to smack the guy

Great band and a awesome Singer LOVE TuBeS!!!!!!!!!!!

On fm indy small radio stations which sprang up in the 1970s you heard lots of the Tubes and no censorship . those were really the good old days....sigh

"She's a beauty" is a fantastic rock song. Love it love it love it, it never gets old. Fee is right, a few more songs from the brain trust that wrote it and they were on that level that never requires a real job again. Touring perhaps yes, but a job, no.

Love Bomb is still one of my favorite records. So sad to hear Fee talk this way. The Tues went down hill when Bill Spooner left the band. And Todd is GOD...

First saw the Tubes at Dallas County Convention Center Theater, small venue. Encore =1 they did a tune called Doctors Hospital with Re Debris wheeled out on a gurney covered by a thin white sheet and her ample curves protruding proudly. When Fee fired up the chainsaw, a Dallas cop standing stageside saw the blue two-cycle smoke head up toward the stage lights, he nearly swallowed his cigar. It was worth the price of admission!

So bummed that things did not work out so well for these guys. I worked in radio at the time that "She's a Beauty" came out and apparently went near the top of the Billboard charts. I did get to see them live at the Pantages Theater in L.A around 1978-79. in, "Outrageous at The Pantages". It was an incredible show with all the theater you'd expect-including "Kway Lude". And in about 2004 or 5 got to meet Fe in person at a casino just outside Sacramento (Cashe Creek) as they performed a scaled down show there. When I heard "She's a Beauty" I was happy they were back on the airwaves. I asked Fe if he remembered the show at The Pantages and he said, "absolutely".

Fee Waybill has a good head on his shoulders. Smart Guy.

I love how Fee is on close terms with Steve Lukather. The Tubes and Toto were two major bands who never got the recognition they deserve.

"No bondage, nuttin' too weird"🤣

I like the tubes they are an awesome band

Saw them at the Bottom Line, Beacon Theater and the Calderone Concert Hall on LI in the 70s. Peak Tubes, yeah they were their best then. Check out any video about David Foster and you can bet The Tubes would be completely "different".

Saw The Plimsouls, The Tubes, and Cheap Trick at Balboa Bark in the San Fernando Valley in 1995. Great show! Kato Kaetlin showed up for the final encore of the day. As Cheap Trick was doing Lennon's Cold Turkey. Only in L.A. saw Robert Shapiro at the Stones/Buddy show at the Rosebowl same year. Once again only in L.A. The Epicenter of the Universe. .

Love it

The Tubes had a certain kind of musical genius going on. Humorous lyrics and crazy good musicianship. The two lead guitarists sang better than many lead singers and way above average radio play pickers. A totally unique band. And as much as I like Fee, it's a good thing performing Tubes songs (as of this interview) is a hobby for him. The voice is pretty much not there anymore, but he's nearly my age and I get that.

Great absolutely outstanding band that gave us something new .mad 4 sure humour definitely but don't 4get that these lads were superb and top class musician's that had a real following in Britain ! Yet the fans were enraged when they were stopped from p4ming in Newcastle England we were looking 4ward 2 seeing a great and solid entertaining show ? There was hell on but fee waybill sure does explain and nail a lot of reasons why the tubes were somehow robbed of being superstars ? Even now I'm old -ish 😜😂I've mentioned the tubes and the puzzled look on the mushes of so called music lovers encourages me 2 elaborate on their shows !!! When my young lads were early teens they laughed b'cos I did on occasion when drunk do my tubes routine that had them pissing themselves ? But hey man that's the beauty of being caught by the tubes ? They were brilliant and by the sound of it nowts changed ! Thanx fee waybill it was all worth it!bliddy well not fair that in Britain (Newcastle) the stingy authorities shit themselves by cancellation of such a fantastic band that were no where near bad enough 2 be treat that way ! We were the losers !

Tubes are the shit I just got back into the music after 25 years

The tubes were so damn good. Piece By Piece should've been a massive hit

Fun!

IMO Remote Control was just about as great as it can get. We generally hated North American stuff back then with the exception of Hendrix, Todd, and Zappa, but that particular album got played until the grooves wore out. Fee, as with most Americans is clearly obsessed with making loads of money, but one could never accuse The Tubes of being hypocritical in this regard, just a really great band with a live show to die for.

Wow, I loved Love Bomb!!!! Sad to hear Fee say that.

Thought Backword Completion Principal would be the beginning of continued commercial success. The song Talk To You Later demonstrated just how hard they could rock out! They left FM Radio and it's listeners wanting bigger and better things.

7:57 this is why they are the best band in the world.

Ha! Love Bomb is BRILLIANT!

Once saw an interview where he stated would not perform the song "Dancin" from Xanadu I feel like by performing that song successfully it would have made them more main stream and advanced their career a lot further. After the movie I never heard about them again on that level. Never be ashamed of where you've been it makes you who . you are!

Yeah, like Leppard, REO, and Journey; I agree with him. But they also would have done music like 80s Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, and Hair Metal. Diversity and more importantly, versatility, were their drive.

I love the Tubes!!! GREAT BAND, and Fee Waybill is HOT!!!! ;)

Odd that one of my favorite albums was Love Bomb. I think it's a great album, but I don't think they were ever marketed correctly.

Smart, talented dude.

I absolutely admire Fee's common sense and honesty. If only more people in the music scene were like him. For a listen to a unique interview with them from 1976, please visit my Soundcloud page (as per my name here).

I dare anyone to explain the tubes.

Remote Control and Love Bomb were the best Tubes albums of all time...

Sputnik FUCKING Spooner! Absolute legend.

Fee Waybill and the Tubes were nonconformist to the music scene and that made them great. Some songs were open to interpretation by design. I have them on my playlist (still).

Hello from Grand Rapids.

Why can't I find Fee's solo albums on iTunes? WTF! You're damned right, GalacticCowboy, one of the BEST bands ever - certainly the best live show I ever saw. Great musicians / great entertainers. So sad it ended that way and that he's so bitter. Show biz, yeah!

Fee Waybill is a Legend..next??

If David foster could get 4 hit singles , why didn't they happen on fee's solo album that he did with foster and lukather?when I listen to a tubes album I like to hear fee sing half the songs with Spooner singing others with Roger Steen singing lead on a song.The albums that foster DIDNT produce showed what a unique and distinctive sound they made.Band harmonies were great(welnick ,waybill,Steen and Spooner ) merged vocals that disappeared on outside inside and weren't there for some of outside inside.Also half the songs on outside inside sound like hired musicians trying to create a 1980s "lite FM" sound.I will give credit to lukather and foster for helping write 2 great songs but at the end of the day when I bought a TUBES album I don't want to listen to songs like fantastic delusion or no not again or even monkey time.It seems to me that capital records wanted to keep going to the lukather foster waybill songs to sell product."writing to formula " usually worked short term in the music industry in the 70 and 80s but usually never sustained success(poor solo album by fee written with foster and lukather)In hindsight if the band had better management they might have found a compromise(have foster produce 1 song )and let a unique band be creative on the rest of the album.What seems to be list concerning this band and many others is that their fans got locked into them following their live shows and weren't interested in hearing albums that clearly didn't have them performing on some instruments and vocals.

Fee Waybill is a stellar performer; he helped shape my performance standards. Having said that, he has shown himself to be an ass, if you ask him for advice in the Music Business. He also makes it clear that he will NOT hire anyone, even if the rest of the band says otherwise. Take it from a man who idolized the Tubes from childhood- we're here, but he isn't there.

saw 'em at the pne garden. i swear that they came back in less than a year before arriving 90minute's late to thunderbird gig @UBC. i thought that i was trippin' on LSD whilst watching these show's. one of the tour's was captured on 'what do you want from live' yes. it was like 'mondo video' not reo speedwagon at all.

I played The Completion Backwards Principle at a "steel beach" picnic on a navy destroyer and was met with boos when I first put it in. Afterwards, every guy on the ship wanted to know who it was and where to get a copy.

Watch the White Punks on Dope clip from the Grey Whistle show. He and Aluce Cooper from same HS. Check those water fountains eh?😆

Yay prairie prince

ITA. Their influence, esp. on the nascent Burner culture, is astoundingly unacknowledged. Fee is like a super hot chick that doesn't realize the whole room wants her. And yes, they KILL onstage!

Great interview! One of the greatest bands ever. However, I agree that Love Bomb wasn't good. Please play more San Jose shows

Sure can't hit the notes anymore on She's a Beauty!

what a fuckin biz!!! Tubes ROCKKKK

Where's the single?

Tubes rule!

Fee is one cool mo fo.

I love all the Tubes albums and they're one of my favorite groups. Saw the Outside Inside tour and they are so good live. I'm disappointed they don't mention Remote Control which is my favorite Tubes album. Also Love Bomb is actually a great album. Fee kinda trashes it but it's a great record.

The King Of San Francisco.

I remember when it was talk to you later actual events should get the writing on that because they got that from he used to tell his old lady I'll talk to you later I don't want to hear it anymore

The Tubes World Tour

Question? Despite having to do 'extra effort' to scale the outfit and presentation for this venue, and do a 'clean show........... Did the Singer Charge a ............. Fee?

kur ir palicis Fee Way Tubes ?

When was this interview done?