Legendary rock band Little Feat brings Can't be Satisfied tour to Indian Ranch in Webster

Legendary rock/country/blues/funk band Little Feat's latest studio album — and first in 12 years — "Sam's Place" was released in May. This year has also seen the re-release of Little Feat's classic 1974 album "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" to celebrate the recording's 50th anniversary.

There are two or three constants with the two albums.

Bonnie Raitt sang backing vocals (along with Emmy Lou Harris and Fran Tate) on "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" and sings a duet with band member Sam Clayton on the track "Long Distance Call" on "Sam's Place." Another constant is the excellent musicianship that has always been a feature of Little Feat.

Then there's Bill Payne — piano, organ, keyboards, vocals — who is the only member of the group from the original four-piece line-up currently playing in the band.

'It's fun to go new places'

Payne, 75, said he's looking forward to Little Feat's first visit to Indian Ranch in Webster as part of its Can't Be Satisfied Tour with a show set for 1 p.m. Aug. 24. The special guest is the folk-rock band The Steel Wheels.

"It's fun to to go new places and catch what's left of summer," Payne said during a recent telephone interview before a number of tour dates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and New York state in August.

"When people come to hear us in Webster, what they're hearing are people playing live music who are really, really good at it ... It's contagious. I guarantee you that people who love music are going to love Little Feat."

There will be some people at Indian Ranch who "don't know us," he acknowledged.

And there may be some people who feel that Little Feat is a band that perhaps has not received its full due of recognition. For example, the band is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

"I don't feel we're underrated," Payne said. But when a band plays as many genres as Little Feat does, it is faced with the reality that "we like things in a nice package," he observed. On the plus side, "people can still figure out who you are."

However, "The Rock& Roll Hall of Fame — I think Little Feat should be in there," he said. Testimony to that is the number of bands in the hall who were influenced by Little Feat.

But the engaging Payne does not remotely come across as a complainer. "Being in a band has been one of the greatest things in my life," he said.

Acclaim and turmoil

Little Feat dates back to 1969 when guitarist and vocalist Lowell George, who had just been fired from Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, put together a band in California with Payne, drummer Richie Hayward and bassist Roy Estrada.

A member of the Mothers of Invention had reportedly once referred to George's "little feet." The band's name was born with "Little Feat." Zappa helped the band get a contract with Warner Bros. Records.

Estrada departed in 1972, but coming aboard were guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere, bassist and vocalist Kenny Gradney and percussionist and vocalist Sam Clayton.

There was acclaim and great early albums like "Sailin' Shoes," "Dixie Chicken" and "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" and hits such as "Willin' " and "Oh Atlanta" (the latter written by Payne). A clip from the very cool BBC show "Old Grey Whistle Test" in 1975 shows the great musical talent and power of the band in its early heyday.

There was also turmoil. George went solo in 1979 and died suddenly that same year at the age of 34. Little Feat disbanded in 1979 but then reformed in 1987 with Fred Tackett joining on guitar and vocals.

Hayward (2010) and Barrere (2019) are both deceased, but Tackett, Gradney and Clayton remain members of the band along with Payne. The newest members are Scott Sharrard (slide guitar, electric guitar, vocals) and Tony Leone (drums, percussion, vocals).

Payne has also received great acclaim as a pianist working on projects with a who's who of music greats ranging from James Taylor to the Doobie Brothers and Pink Floyd.

All in all, he could write a book. Which is a way of saying that he is. "Carnival of Ghosts" is a memoir not just about Little Feat but Payne's eventful life.

Asked what he will be writing about Lowell George, Payne said that the two had had a "a very long talk" in 1979. "He was a very complex human being."

So far Payne has written 90,000 words of "Carnival of Ghosts," he said. "I'm only up to 1976. My admonition to myself is tell a story. Actually, I'm kind of stuck on 1975."

'A love letter to blues'

Among the words that have been used to describe Little Feat's music are California rock, funk, folk, jazz, country, rockabilly, blues, New Orleans swamp boogie and more.

"Sam's Place" is Little Feat's first all-blues album and showcases Sam Clayton's distinctive and gravelly blues voice in a way never really heard before. The record has an original song, "Milkman," along with covers of classics by Muddy Waters, Bobby Charles and Willie Dixon. “Got My Mojo Working” is the final cut and was recorded live in concert.

Blues Rock Review said Little Feat's "rocking interpretation of blues classics cements their position as contemporary torchbearers of the blues tradition".

"'Sam's Place' is a love letter to the blues," Payne said. "People ask 'Did you know Sam could sing all these songs?' ... I know how to play the blues. I wanted to do this record and have Sam sing the blues."

Little Feat has also been at work on another recording, Payne said. "The band is alive and well coming up with a lot of good stuff."

At Indian Ranch Little Feat is likely to play a mix of numbers from "Sam's Place" along with "a couple of songs people know well, and one or two surprises," he said.

Payne still enjoys performing live.

"What do you do when you sing 'Happy Birthday'? You sing it with your heart. You add something. You take something away. There's a lot of ways to keep it fresh. The new kids, they influence us. A combination of things keep it interesting," he said.

"You cannot fool an audience. If you don't deliver it's pretty obvious. I don't care if it's 300 people or 30,000 or 40,000. It's an opportunity to shine at what's been a lifetime endeavor for me."

Little Feat — Can't Be Satisfied Tour with special guest The Steel Wheels

When: 1 p.m. Aug. 24

Where: Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster

How much: $39.50 to $259.50. indianranch.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Legendary rock band Little Feat heading to Indian Ranch in Webster