Young Chang It is Michael McDonald’s way...

Young Chang

It is Michael McDonald’s way to let chance and spontaneity rule

what happens, to not “presuppose” what he should do, to throw music

up in the air and let it fall where it will.

In the late ‘70s, the music fell into stardom’s lap and ushered

McDonald to platinum-status fame as part of the Doobie Brothers.

Today, after a subsequent solo career in the early ‘80s best known

for the single “I Keep Forgettin,” McDonald is still playing music

and letting it get dictated by chance with the Michael McDonald Band.

The group will perform on the last day of the Newport Beach Chamber

of Commerce-sponsored Taste of Newport on Sunday.

“We look for different acts on Sunday,” said Jeff Parker, vice

president and director of operations for the Chamber. “Performers

that have a wide range of musical styles. Michael McDonald just had

such a long career, standing over 40 years, that families and pretty

much all ages like the music he’s done.”

McDonald, during a phone interview from his Tennessee home on

Tuesday, said audiences are always “pleased and surprised” by the

band.

“The band has really developed into a really interesting group of

players,” the 50-year-old said. “For me, that’s as much fun of it as

anything, always having a band of this caliber to perform with.”

He has difficulty characterizing the group’s style. Artists and

music industry heads nowadays seem to expect the “one-trick pony,”

McDonald mused.

“I guess if I had to come up with a term, to me it’s a strange

kind of combination of pop, R&B; and rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “I think

a lot of artists from the ‘70s had a cross-pollenization of different

styles. Back then, that was acceptable. Nowadays, you’re either a rap

artist or pop or R&B; artist or urban. That’s the only thing I find

disturbing.”

In the ‘70s, McDonald’s music with the Doobie Brothers and even

singing backup for Steely Dan was somewhere between boogie-rock and

soul.

Since then, his solo hit climbed to No. 6 on the pop charts and

also made it into the R&B;’s top hits.

McDonald and his band now are waiting for a Motown retrospective

album to get released in parts of Europe. The work might be imported

here.

The group will perform hits, including “What a Fool Believes,”

“Taking it to the Streets” and “We’ll Be There,” at the Taste on

Sunday.”