Adrian Belew has revealed when King Crimson offshoot Beat will decide their future – which may or may not include making new music.
He and bassist Tony Levin were part of the acclaimed ‘80s line-up of Robert Fripp’s band. When Beat began with Fripp’s permission, guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Danny Carey joined them on the road. Since then Carey has been replaced by Terry Bozzio.
Belew tells Ultimate Classic Rock that their original intent was to tour Crimson’s 80s music wherever they could, and that’s more or less been achieved. He confirms the next question is what they might do next – if anything.
“We can’t say because we we’ll only know that after the end of next year,” he says. “We can’t do anything for the next year at least. And then you have to start wondering, ‘Well, what will we do if we come back to it? Are we all just going to continue to want to play King Crimson music?’”
Explaining that the members’ other commitments limit their activities together, he adds: “I think everyone loves the band, so that’s not a problem. But you’ll just have to see, you know: what does everyone want to do at that point? Everybody will be coming from their place.”
Asked specifically about new music, Belew replies: “Yeah, that’s absolutely the biggest factor. We can only get together for certain periods of time and immediately we say, ‘Okay, book a tour for that period.’ And that’s why we haven’t even tried to start making any new music.
“Next year is taken up with obligations – especially Steve Vai, I think, and maybe Tony a bit. I’ve left my schedule open only because I want to decide when I'm ready. I’m not ready to decide: am I going to tour some more? Am I going to record? Am I going to lay around the house and read books? I’ll figure it out though by January.”
