Interview with Chris White of Dire Straits Experience

The icon that was British rock band Dire Straits cannot easily be summarised. From Romeo and Juliet to Telegraph Road, the group’s contribution to rock music as a whole is immense. Though they officially broke up a few years ago, their legend lives on, continuing to inspire many a musician and fan through The Dire Straits Experience.

In this interview, Jackie Smith talks to ex-Dire Straits saxophonist Chris White about the tribute act’s upcoming Australian tour, his love for the fans and some of his fondest musical memories.

You’re touring The Dire Straits Experience in Australia soon.

Yes, we’re coming over in two weeks’ time.

You were last here with the show in 2014. Are you excited to return?

I’m always excited to come back to Australia (laughs). Absolutely, I love Australia. We had a good time last time we were there. Things have moved on with the band, the band’s really good now, so I’m really looking forward to bringing the band back down to Australia.

What can people expect from a Dire Straits Experience performance?

Well, we’re presenting quite a wide range of Dire Straits’ catalogue, things like Telegraph Road, Walk of Life, Romeo and Juliet, big hits like Sultans of Swing, Private Investigations.

Also, a couple of earlier things: Down to the Waterline is an earlier track which we’ve cut down to a four-piece band (it’s just like the very original Dire Straits band). And some of the older stuff, like Brothers in Arms and On Every Street we’re playing as well. It’s a real cross-section of Dire Straits’ stuff.

Is there a particular target audience for the shows, or will it appeal to both new and old fans?

No, that’s the real interesting thing. Two years ago when we were down there, I was meeting people who I met in 1985, when I was down on the Brothers in Arms tour. Those are old fans. But what we’re seeing now, what we saw in Australia and lots of Europe now is [that] there’s a whole younger crew – late teens, early 20s – coming along as well. I don’t know if they found it on the internet or if their parents or grandparents (laughs) played it to them or something.

You first started The Straits and The Dire Straits Experience in 2011 to fill the void left by Dire Straits’ breaking up. Is it surprising that it’s still so well received having been around for a few years now?

It is. We didn’t start it to fill the void … I was asked to put a band together to play a charity concert. Mark [Knopfler] wasn’t available for that. I didn’t think it could be done, I didn’t think we could find anyone to replace Mark, but we have. We’ve got this amazing guy, Terence Reis, who is a stunning musician in his own right. [He] completely fills that hole there.

Actually, when it started, we thought it was going to be one thing, just for that charity show, but it went so well that people started saying, “Can you come and do this? There’s another thing here.” and it’s very humbling, to be honest, that people still want to come and see you. We wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for the number of fans who want to come and see you and buy the tickets.

It’s amazing that we’re still out there, but I’m very happy to be out there. As I say, with this band that we have now, I think it’s great on stage. It just feels really alive and vibrant on stage as well.

You’ve performed the show all over the world now, across Europe and in places such as Israel and Egypt and Turkey. I’m curious as to what the reaction has been like, particularly in comparison to Australian audiences.

We’re now starting a very busy month. We were in Israel two weeks ago. We played five shows which were sold out there, and to an amazing response. That’s what we’re finding, wherever we go, just this amazing response now. It’s a growing thing. We were in Israel and [now] we come to Australia.

We always have … enjoyed a great response from Australian audiences. Actually, the Australian audiences are pretty special. They do seem to enjoy themselves, which is fantastic! (Laughs) But we’re in Australia, and then we’re touring back in Europe up until the 17^th of December, really close to Christmas.

If we get the same kind of reaction as we’ve been getting so far, it’s going to be awesome for us.

Do you have any stories you can share from your time in Australia in 2014, and with Dire Straits in general?

I loved being in Australia. I came to Australia first in 1985-86 on The Brothers in Arms tour, and I had such a good time, I wanted to move to Australia after that. But Australia didn’t need any musicians, it only needed nurses and teachers at the time, I think, and I couldn’t get in.

I had a great time in Australia, hung out with people like Tommy Collins (a world champion surfer) and all kinds of people. Specific stories? There are lots but, you know, I have always loved coming to Australia.

What do you enjoy most about touring in general?

Oh, it’s a number of things! One is: the privilege of being able to play live and play this stuff, and play with this band. I love being on stage with these guys, it’s very exciting! And you get that chance to re-connect with people you haven’t seen for years, like I say, people I met in 1985. When I get to Brisbane this time, I’m going to have lunch with somebody I met in 1992 and haven’t seen since then. That’s pretty special.

All members of The Dire Straits Experience have had fairly prolific careers in the industry. Outside of Dire Straits, you worked with Ray Charles and Joe Cocker. What were those experiences like?

My experiences were fabulous. Working with Ray Charles, I did one night with Ray Charles in Paris – he is a big hero of mine, so that was a very, very special thing. I loved working with Joe. I toured with Joe for about six months or something in Europe and in America, which was just great.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with the people I’ve worked with and … experience how people work. It’s just been an absolute honour, almost, to work with people.

As you say, the other guys in the band have worked with a whole range of people, some [have] written for other people. One of the guys, Danny Schogger [piano, organs, keyboard] wrote a song for Céline Dion. We’ve all had pretty … satisfying careers.

Is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with but haven’t got the chance yet?

Yeah, there’s an artist called Joni Mitchell. I’ve always been a fan of hers. I doubt that that’s gonna happen, but that would have been great. Peter Gabriel too, I’m a big fan of Peter Gabriel, so it would have been nice to do something with him.

There are lots of great people out there. I trawl through the internet and I find great bands. There’s a great American band called Walk Off the Earth, who are pretty wacky, but they’re great too.

I’m just grateful to be still doing it.

How do you prepare for a show? Is there much rehearsal time involved?

We have rehearsed, you will be glad to hear! (Laughs) Once you get into a run of shows, we have a sound check every day so sometimes technical things happen the night before. You make sure they don’t happen again, but mostly now we have this stuff pretty much under our fingers and we don’t need a great deal of rehearsal time.

Having said that, at the end of this run this Autumn, we’re looking to put some new songs in for next year, so at the start of next year, we’ll have some a couple of rehearsals, work out some new material.

As Dire Straits’ saxophonist [1985-1995], what did the average day look like for you?

Well, if you’re on tour, there is an average day. The day revolves around getting yourself ready for the show that night. When I was in Australia in 1985-86 … I would go surfing. We’d get to the beach and surf for a few hours, and then go back to the hotel, have some lunch, have a rest, go to gig, play the sound check, play the show and then probably go to a pub. (Laughs) It was great!

It’s not quite like that now, because we’ve all moved on a bit, we’re a couple of years older, can’t quite be as active as that. But on the road, that’s what it’s like.

Here in London, it can be anything, from working on my own stuff in the studio, to recording with other people.

What are some of your favourite tracks from Dire Straits’ back catalogue?

Everybody asks that and it’s quite a difficult one to answer because as well as being a musician, I’m actually quite a fan of the Dire Straits’ stuff, actually. I really like the songs. I like them all.

But I always enjoy playing Romeo and Juliet because it’s got a lot of saxophone played on it. Brothers in Arms is a classic track. They’re all classic tracks. Mark wrote so many great songs.

How has the music industry changed over the years?

Beyond recognition is the answer, I think! It’s completely different now. My son is 23, he’s a musician. He’s out there trying to make his way. He’s doing OK. He’s playing in a few bands. But it’s so different to how I started.

I think it’s tougher now. It’s much tougher. But, having said that, certainly here in the UK, there’s a lot of very exciting new music still coming. People are still doing it; people are still trying to do it.

Record companies are not there in the way they were. There’s not the financial support that there was for tours, because a lot of them don’t really make money, but people are finding a way. I think musicians always will find a way to continue.

What’s the biggest misconception people have in regards to making a career from music?

Currently, with the advent of shows like The Voice, people don’t realise quite how much hard work there is to developing a career that will sustain. It’s almost like people think you can just stand up and do it. All that stuff’s about TV but actually the people who really do it … work very hard at their craft, singing, playing music, whatever it is.

It’s hard work. It’s very enjoyable work (because it’s a vocation, it’s not like a job, really).

What advice would you give aspiring musicians?

Keep doing it. Simple: keep doing it! It’s an obsession, all you can do is keep doing it and if you’re meant to be a musician and don’t do it, you’ll be very unhappy.

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