We know what Kevin Costner can do behind the camera. Soon, we’ll find out what he can do on stage, too. The Hollywood movie star is bringing his band Kevin Costner & Modern West to the PNE for a free show Aug. 21. Costner spoke to Metro about his band — and life as a music star.
Are you enjoying life on the road as a musician?
I don’t enjoy life on the road. I really enjoy performing, but part of the job is not just singing — part of the job is being on the road … the small planes, the connecting flights, the layovers, no, I don’t like that. I don’t know that anybody would — I guess if you were single, you might think that was fun. But I have a lot of strings attached to me that I have to get back home to.
As far as balancing your time right now, is it more music than movies or movies than music?
It’s more music right now. What I find myself doing is writing a lot of movies. I have about four or five movies now that I could direct, so I’ve been doing that. I’ve been developing a cartoon that I hope will hit the light of day. I manage to do a lot of different things and enjoy doing all of them.
How would you describe your sound and has it evolved?
For me it isn’t just country — it’s more rock ’n’ roll with the way we’ve grown up with our urban roots.
Who were your musical influences growing up?
They were really across the board. The first music I was introduced to was Motown. But in the 1960s, I loved the Four Seasons, I loved the Beatles, I loved the Doors, I loved Cream. I loved the singer-songwriters — Carol King and James Taylor.
What is tougher? Performing on stage in front of crowd or behind the camera for a movie?
You can compare them but I don’t know which is tougher. I can tell you that you can be brutalized when you play live. That’s why you see a lot of musicians who are able to go into acting — because they can do eight takes and no one is going to see the bad seven takes. That doesn’t happen on stage.