Walter Carl Becker was born on this day 75 years ago. To mark the semisesquicentennial of the late half of Steely Dan, I’m publishing a previously unavailable appearance he made on his hometown Maui radio station, KAOI, in the mid-1990s.
During the conversation with host Cindy Paulos, Becker discusses the reality of his “secluded life” in Hawaii, his experience of Steely Dan’s reunion tours, the aborted Aja tour, recording Kamakiriad and 11 Tracks of Whack, his and Donald Fagen’s shared “mania for perfection,” the mystique of drugs in the music business, and more.
(Please note: the interview was recorded from air to cassette; the audio on the tape starts and ends rather abruptly.)
