WORCESTER MAGAZINE
Worcester, MA
July 15, 2004

THAT'S PRONOUNCED "LAIF" TO YOU AND ME

Leif Garrett doesn't squeeze into those tight, shiny black pants anymore.

The teen heartthrob, his svelte hips and curly locks gracing covers of Tiger Beat throughout the '70s, actually did still slip on the tighties when touring with his last band, F8, a few years ago. "No more stuffed sausage," he joked, calling from his home in Hollywood last week.

Everyone knows the name, whether it is from his role in "Bob & Carol and Ted & Alice," or his hit "I Was Made for Dancin'," or you saw him in Spirit of '76 or Dickie Roberts or you just thought his Behind the Music special was interesting. He actually has seven records (six plus a "Best of") and another with his band Godspeed and another with his subsequent band, F8.

He doesn't mind the reason you know his name, and seems pretty content with where he is now. "Sure, the perks of being a teen idol were great," says Garrett, who admits pow-wowing on occasion with David Cassidy. "It's always nice to be recognized. But I don't look too different. I just look a little older. I don't miss a lot of it. I still have stalkers. Someone once told me when to worry is when they don't want to know about what you're doing." Kevin Bacon explained that notion on an episode of Will & Grace a few years back.

In addition to getting ready for the tour with his new band, he's working on recording a song with Justin Murr and the band Liberty and Justice - a Christian song that'll be included on a record with other guest singers. "Well, I'd rather do that than Satan-worshiping," says Garrett. "I heard it and liked it and thought it would be fun to do."

This short East Coast tour won't spotlight any of that "tight packaging" we mentioned earlier, but it will be the last time you can hear Garrett's '70s hits, as well as songs from his bands F8 and the one before that, Godspeed. After these 5-6 gigs that came about rather unexpectedly, Garrett says he'll concentrate on material he's writing with his brand new band (which has been together about three weeks).

"Well, what I'm doing now," says Garrett, "we didn't have time to get all the stuff together. We haven't written enough together as a band. That's why we're doing the old stuff and then laying it to rest. This is the 'Farewell Leif Garrett tour' [laughter]."

His band now is so new that it has no name yet, so he plays around Hollywood as The Leif Garrett Band. It will eventually have a name, though. "The new material I would describe as current," says Garrett. "This is a typical statement, I know, but it's current and yet it's definitely rock 'n' roll-based. I think my material is reflecting a mellower life. It's less aggressive."

And so are the pants. Though Garrett doesn't slip into the slick leg-wear anymore, he is quite proud of the fact that he could, if he wanted to.

"I still have the same waist size I did when I was 18," he beams.

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