WHITESNAKE's DAVID COVERDALE: 'It's All About Balance And Moderation'

Emma Johnson of the Daily Post recently conducted an interview with WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On recuperating at the time of the interview in a German hotel room after doing three gigs on the run:

"Not just three shows in a row, three different countries. I am very grateful that I got through them. A man of my advancing years has to be more discerning. It's the travelling that buggers you up. I would love to be able to do the 'beam me up Scottie' thing. I love being at home but I'm not that arrogant to expect people to come from all over the world to my back garden."

On "clean living":

"I am much more respectful to my body these days than I was. I won't ever become a bloated parody. I never want to walk on stage and see an audience gasp; 'What has he done to himself'? A great pleasure for me used to be my cognac, but I have stopped drinking now. I used to be a major carnivore too — loved my steak — but, when I stopped being able to digest it, it was easy for me to stop eating it. That's not to say that I am not very grateful for those years when I could indulge."

On "indulging" during the earleir years:

"Times 10. I had over 30 years as a rock 'n' roll aristocrat but I got involved in a very positive relationship 15 years ago and things changed. The last major relationship I was in was a bit more of a celebrity thing (he was married to actress Tawny Kitaen, who featured in a number of WHITESNAKE's saucy videos). We lived in that nonsense called L.A. and were Rolling Stone couple of the year ... that sort of thing. It was all very uncomfortable for a Yorkshire lad like me."

On his 10-year-old son Jasper:

"He is one of the reasons I have to be sprightly. He gets me up on a trampoline when I'm at home. I mean, I can hardly turn around to him and say 'Daddy can't do that he's in his 50s. It's a total pleasure to have him around. My generation is entirely different to my father's generation. The perception of age is different. I remember coming up to my 50th birthday and thinking, 'it's all over', but it was a blast."

On WHITESNAKE's audience:

"Last time we toured Europe we were seeing 14-16-year-old kids in the audience. That was a mind-blower. They said they just weren't getting what they wanted from today's rock music."

On WHITESNAKE's plans to continue touring and recording:

"In 2003 I came out to do two months of shows for WHITESNAKE's 25th anniversary. I had more fun than should be legal with your clothes on. I came home, talked with Cindy and agreed I would take six months out of the year to be with the band and to keep the balance with my personal life. That's what it's all about these days — balance and moderation."