With the release of Marshall Crenshaw’s first album, some people responded as if the Beatles had stepped into a time machine and emerged in 1982 in his person. Certainly Crenshaw owed a debt to the Fabs (his early days were spent in a touring production of “Beatlemania”), but subsequent albums proved his musical palette went far beyond the British Invasion. The release of his 10th album (titled ” 447″) brings Crenshaw at 10 p.m. Friday to the Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets: $15. 773-489-3160.
Q: When did you first come to Chicago? Was it when your first album came out?
A: No, in fact, it was even before that (in 1981). The first record I ever had out was this 12-inch single on a local New York label, and when that thing came out, somebody got the bright idea of us going on the road and then, somehow, we went to Chicago. I can’t remember the name (of the club) at all, but there was nobody there. Nobody … the only people who were there were two A&R persons from Warner Bros. in Los Angeles, and that was the night that they decided to sign us. I also remember that we stayed in this cheap, really scary motel. The rooms were all trashed. It was a really strange scene.
Q: The title of your new album struck me as being a little bit cynical. Like, “Here you go; here’s another album.”
A: There wasn’t any cynicism in there, at least not in my head. That wasn’t part of the joke. It’s meant to be a joking reference to the fact that I’ve made a lot of records … I was going to call it ” 448,” then one of the guys at the record company said, `Well, how about ” 447″? It’s a prime number and it can’t be divided by any other number!’ And I thought, `Yeah, whatever, fine, so call it ” 447″.’ Then I thought about it a little bit and it turns out that 447 can be divided by three.
Q: Do you look back on “Beatlemania” with pride or is it like going through high school yearbook pictures?
A: Well, it totally is. What could be more peculiar than a picture of me in a Beatle wig? … It brought me to New York City for the first time and that really was a transforming moment in my life. But another good thing about it is that I was with a lot of my peers from different parts of the country. … Some of the other guys who were doing the show were also songwriters. That kind of got me going on the idea of doing it myself.
Q: Any grand plans to start the millennium?
A: My usual New Year’s Eve routine is to be in the bathtub and then in bed. That’s probably the way I’ll go this year too.
