Peter Frampton celebrates the 35th anniversary of “Frampton Comes Alive!” with a mega-tour ending in Paris next November. His Wolf Trap show, an early stop for the multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer, is jam-packed with favorite numbers from one of the top selling live albums of all time and highlights from his extensive repertoire. “It’s been getting busier and busier for the last few years,” he said. “Things kicked into high gear when ‘Fingerprints’ won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. It put me back into peoples’ minds as the guy with the frizzy hair, the looker, which I’m not today. Nevertheless, a pop career lasts about 18 months, while a musician?s career lasts a lifetime.”
The title song of Frampton’s latest album, “Thank You Mr. Churchill,” conjures up his childhood memories in suburban London when the city vibrated with the sounds of construction workers rebuilding the homes, offices and landmarks reduced to rubble by German bombs. He recalls the safe, peaceful atmosphere that allowed a five-year-old to wander up the road and chat with the workmen.
| ONSTAGE |
| An Evening with Peter Frampton |
| » Where: Wolf Trap Filene Center |
| » When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday |
| » Info: $42 in-house, $30 lawn at 1-877-965-8727 |
Soon afterward, while investigating the attic, he found his grandmother’s banjolele and taught himself to play. By eight, he had taught himself to play guitar and piano and was taking classical music lessons. Graduating from one band to another, he segued from child singer to lead guitarist and singer at age 15 with The Herd. Three years later, he and Steve Marriott formed Humble Pie.
Over the years, his life and work intertwined with many contemporaries, among them Mariott, David Bowie (his childhood classmate and fellow Buddy Holly fan), and Hank Marvin, probably the most influential of all. Bassist Stanley Sheldon, who played on “Frampton Comes Alive,” is a member of this touring band, along with Rob Arthur on keyboard, guitar and vocals, Adam Lester on guitar, and Dan Wojciechowski on drums.
“The band I use on the road is the best group of musicians I’ve worked with,” Frampton said. “I go after people I want to spend time with. We’re only on stage a short while, but we’re together a long time on the bus or plane. I may use my band in the recording studio, but often I choose others because I have specific ideas of where I want to go musically.”
