We swim, and we're on a high-protein, low-carb diet. "I have a recumbent bicycle I ride almost every day. McGuinn looks trim this day in black jeans and shirt and tan cowboy boots. Playing music every day matches his exercise regimen. I've found when you think about lyrics, you can actually erase them" from your memory. "I don't know," McGuinn concedes, adding, "I don't want to think about that. Still, how does he remember all those lyrics and all those chords? We went through a phase where melodies weren't important and it was mostly drums and talking, and now we're getting back to this melodic stuff with more lyrical content."Īnd McGuinn has had those decades to learn thousands of songs - from his days as an accompanist for the Limeliters, the Chad Mitchell Trio and Bobby Darin, and as musical director for Judy Collins' third album. And that's kind of coming back to some extent. "The things I like are more in terms of acoustic music - songs with lyrics and melodies. Musically, McGuinn has returned to his roots. If you stop or slow down, you lose that edge." I just want to be where I can still play and I'm still going in my older years. "I've played Carnegie Hall several times, so it's not like that's my quest. He was 90-something when he was booked in Carnegie Hall. "I still don't think about it much in the sense that I don't plan to retire. "That's the plan," he says with a smile, adding that back in the 1960s he lived in the moment and never thought about growing older. He adds that he'd like to continue their low-stress lifestyle the next 20 years. You get spoiled by being on the road for six months a year." You don't have to worry about the dishes and taking out the garbage. "In fact, it's hard being home because there's household maintenance, responsibilities and chores to do. We love to travel (and) I get a kick out of playing for people. "We identify with Charles Kuralt, driving around and seeing little places. We've been doing this ever since, with a few exceptions. "I was able to get some, and it was so much fun I quit the band. "So we called our agent at the time and said, 'Can you put some acoustic dates (without a back-up group) out there just to see if we could do that?' "I thought that sounded great, because I had been taking buses and trucks and all kinds of equipment on the road with a bunch of guys. We just barnstormed around the country and played places.' "I had just come off a tour with Dylan and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Jack had said, 'Polly and I went out in a Land Rover and threw the guitar in back. Interestingly, McGuinn says his continuing road trip lifestyle began after a grueling tour.
It's not quite roughing it when you consider that their GPS system ensures the McGuinns won't get lost and a DVD player keeps them entertained when they pull over to rest.Īnd, come nightfall, they check into a Ritz-Carlton or an upscale lodge when they can.
Roger and Camilla McGuinn pack their van with what they think they'll need, and they follow back roads from gig to gig, small auditoriums or large festivals. The well-timed lifestyle of travel and concert dates has been honed over the past 25 years. I'm working hard and having a good time." McGuinn adds, "And I'm still fulfilled in my work. "When I turned 50, I didn't have aches and pains, but psychologically I sense I had peaked. The fitness fad has gotten people into shape. They're friendly and happy maybe, but they're not physically fit. "It was an age when you thought of grandparents: You had a picture of somebody who was porked out and totally drained and no life in them anymore, and just moping around, and they can't do anything anymore. "So 60 was big, for me," McGuinn said in an interview recently, "but 50 was more momentous. ' "Īnd Dylan had countered, "Fifty's old, no matter how you look at it."
"I remember telling Dylan, 'Well, 50's not so bad.
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