In the summer of 1973, the music journalist Steven Rosen sat down to talk with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter inside the second-floor offices of Gibson & Stromberg, the Los Angeles PR firm that represented Steely Dan. A few minutes into the interview, Baxter had just finished describing his group as a “guitar band,” when into the room walked Walter Becker.
“What’s the coolest thing in the world?” Baxter yelled to his bandmate, as a kind of tribal greeting.
“Electric guitar,” Becker said without hesitation.
“See what I mean?” Baxter said to Rosen.
If you want to help keep Expanding Dan going—and get full access to every newsletter—please take out a premium subscription.
The 23-year-old Becker spent the next several minutes locating a suitable chair before finally plopping down on the far side of the room.
“Are you being difficult on purpose?” asked Rosen, whose byline was a common sight in the pages of music magazines during the 1970s and ’80s.
“No,” Becker deadpanned. “I’m normally difficult.”
A few minutes later, Becker lodged yet another complaint about the furniture. “This is a very treacherous chair,” he said. “I’m gonna throw it off the balcony.”
Eventually the three men settled into a free-flowing conversation about Steely Dan’s just-released album, Countdown to Ecstasy; the touring party known internally as the Steely Dan Auxiliary Flotilla; Becker and Baxter’s tongue-in-cheek fraternity, the Institute for the Advancement of Electric Guitar; and the band’s relatively sudden rise from nobodies to hitmakers.
The story Rosen penned following the interview, “Counting Down to Headline Status: Steely Dan,” was published in the Los Angeles Free Press in August 1973. (The piece is reproduced in full below, following the transcript.) On August 31, the band would appear for a second time on The Midnight Special, where they performed “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Show Biz Kids,” and “My Old School.” Two days later, on September 2, they would play the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium—headlining a major concert for the first time.
“We’ll get the big dressing room from now on,” Becker said.
“Lots more beer!” added Baxter.
At the behest of Expanding Dan, Rosen recently dug into his vast archive and blew the dust off the 38-minute interview, which has not been heard by the public until now. The fidelity of the 51-year-old tape is spotty in places, but the youthful wisecracking of Becker and Baxter comes through loud and clear.
