WHITESNAKE's COVERDALE: OBAMA Is 'The Best Hope By Far In Restoring The Ideals Of America'

The Liverpool Daily Post recently conducted an interview with WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale. A few excerpts from the chat follow.

On the changes in the music business:

"I welcome change. It's nature's way. I can't help but laugh when I see the major record companies clinging desperately to the old-fashioned way of doing business and are being left behind in the new, technological dust. It's a new playing field, lads and lasses, and if you want to score goals you have to move with the times and reinvent how you do most things. As Mr Dylan says, 'The times they are a-changin' and I think to resist will be painful and uncomfortable, so, I'm moving on, boys and girls — you coming?"

On how Liverpool has always held special memories for Coverdale, who credits an appearance here with helping him found WHITESNAKE way back in 1977:

"Liverpool showed me incredible support on a promo visit I made to the city to be a judge in a Battle Of The Bands contest many years ago. At that time, I wasn't getting much support from the DEEP PURPLE management about putting my own band together, but when Phil (DJ Phil Easton) introduced me the crowd went nuts and I tell you, it was just the medicine and encouragement I needed at the time to go back to London and insist on the management to either support me, or let me go. So, Liverpool was absolutely instrumental in giving me my start with WHITESNAKE and I will always be grateful for that."

On WHITESNAKE 30th anniversary:

"I've never planned for success — I'm not sure you can — but I have always done the best I can at whatever I'm doing, and I believe the WHITESNAKE crowd appreciates that. I prefer live performing, but I do enjoy the creative process, taking a small thought of a melody and nurturing it through to the stage and hearing people sing along with you. It's an amazing feeling. I particularly enjoyed making the new record, as we did most of it at my house in Tahoe, so it was the best of both worlds. If you saw Lake Tahoe in the mornings, you'd understand. It's like postcards from God on a daily basis. I can already feel an uplift in the energy of the band's shows with the new songs injected in there. Lovely stuff — made a huge difference."

On ditching the hard-drinking hard-living lifestyle and swapping debauchery for dad time with 11-year-old Jasper, his son by third wife Cindy:

"Other than being a family man (as well as Jasper, he also has a daughter, Jessica, with his first wife Julia, and two granddaughters) WHITESNAKE business takes an enormous amount of my time. But I love hiking in the mountains around my home, carefully avoiding my black bear neighbours who made themselves so welcome in my home last year. I like reading, too."

On the forthcoming U.S. Presidential elections:

"I'm a Barack man — apparently, once you go Barack, there's no going back. I feel he's the best hope by far in restoring the ideals of America, the respect it has lost around the world over the past eight years. It's been hopelessly off course with the current useless 'ayporths. I can't wait to see the back of them."