This year, iconic rock singer John Waite decided to independently release a live album, Live: All Access as a follow up to 2011′s Rough and Tumble. Live: All Access comprises of a setlist of music from Waite’s solo albums — particularly Rough and Tumble — and a touch of career beginnings ala The Babys. All of the songs on Live: All Access have an electric, seize the day sound, a sense of urgency to explode rock ‘n’ roll energy. It’s raw and unpredictable — so much that “Missing You” is purposely missing — and new guitarist Keri Kelli (Slash/Alice Cooper) is the perfect fit to help Waite deliver this.

Waite has had the kind of success any rock vocalist could ever want — hit songs, The Babys, Bad English — and at this point in his career, he wants to do whatever suits him creatively. Live: All Access continues to express this attitude.

The following is a Powerline discussion with John Waite.

Why the decision on a live album instead of another studio release?
John Waite: Just the time was right. It was always in the back of my mind, and then when we got Keri on board everything just took off. It just seemed like A leads to B leads to C. It was not a lot of thought behind it. We cut several tracks and then I went to mix the whole thing. It was slightly out of tune at the end of the set so I scrapped it. We salvaged two or three songs and we went onto New Hampshire and after recording four shows we had a really really great night. And we are still grooving on the songs from Rough and Tumble and trying to play things fresh. There’s not a lot of obvious hits on the record. It’s just great performances, as far as I’m concerned. Couple of things you’ll know but I was going for the songs where I really didn’t care what people thought. I really went for what I thought was the greatest thing in the world.

Sometimes that’s when it works best.
Waite: Well yeah, but I have that kind of freedom. I own quite a lot of my own catalog and I have my own small label. And I put this out on iTunes. If you want to find it in hard copy, you can just send for it and get one in the return mail. I just bypassed the record companies and put it out as pure as possible. I didn’t want people interfering with it or having a say, really. I just wanted to put it out and let it fly.

That’s cool that you can do that nowadays. And you’re a music veteran. You lived through all the changes in the music industry which has been pretty remarkable over the last 20 years.
Waite: But the fun of making music, and the instinct to make it, is to be true and try to put really great stuff out that communicates to people. That instinct is always gonna be there no matter what the music business does.

Do you like the fact that the artist now has to take more control of a lot of different things, like the marketing and social networking …?
Waite: Well, yeah, but it gets done. When you’re with a big company, they give you like two weeks and then they sort of get on to the next artist. It’s kind of what happened to the last record. They had a certain amount of money allotted to promote the record and when they ran out of that I just had to pay for everything, so I thought, “Well, Jesus, I can do this standing on my head and get it better.”

You’re in control of your own destiny.
Waite: It’s control. I know a lot of DJs and a lot of people in the press and tv that are friends of mine. Very cordial relationships where they’ll take a call from you and then play the record or chat to you and invite you on the show or write something about you. At this point I’m just not interested in anything that’s corporate and I never have been but I can actually do something about it now. I rather be doing this than something else.

Getting back to the live album — you said it was refreshing. I take a song like “Head First” and you got to love the heaviness of it live. [Guitarist] Keri Kelli has such a nice hard rock chug on it.
Waite: He gave it a certain kick in the ass. I mean you can only be as good as the guitar player. No, really. A singer can only be as good as the guitar player. It’s like twins. And without that opposite, there’s no one to play in to. I’m always looking at the guitar player. I’m always looking back at the band. When you see a lot of people on stage they don’t want to do that. They stay facing forward. But I always look back at the drummer and I look right into him. And I look at him and we’re sort of having a lot of fun together, and I can’t disassociate from being in that unit. But if someone like Keri comes in — and he got it pretty quick. He got it in about six weeks — it’s certainly going to go through the roof. One of the last gigs we played was one the best gigs I ever played in my life. So we’re all happy and grooving and everything’s cool. I’m hoping that some sort of tour comes up so we can take it on the road and deliver.

I think we’re done with the clubs. I mean, we’re really done with that. We did that for Rough and Tumble. We went into the clubs and played small stages and theaters, anywhere that would take us just to get on radio and tv. And we got a No. 1 single out of it on Classic Rock [radio] but it cost so much money to do it. And it’s such a grind, you know. And the show is so high energy. It’s all absolutely running as fast as you can from the word go. We did a show where it was about 4,000 people and we were great on a big stage. Really, I had forgotten how great a band can be on a big stage. And it’s fairly challenging but we had everyone on their feet after the third song. It’s meant to be that. So I’m waiting around for something like to come in, like on a nightly basis. I want to sing flat out while I still can. I mean, obviously, it’s a young man’s kind of style of singing but I’m completely on top of my game right now. I don’t want to waste any time playing for small audiences. It’s a case of getting to as many people as possible. I mean it really gets down to that. I want to speak to as many people as I can before I stop singing or go into an acoustic world. For someone to be singing at this volume and hardness, and I’m still doing it, I mean, you must look at the clock. You have to. And I don’t want to end up singing the Great American Songbook. (laughs) I really don’t. I really, truly, do not.

But if you look at, say, the Rolling Stones, there’s longevity in rock and roll.
Waite: Yeah there is, but, I mean, they do a gig and take two or three days off. And they’ve got their own chef, you know, and masseuse. We don’t have anything, it’s ridiculous. We just show up and plug in and play. A bit more hardcore for us. And we have to stay on the road and play almost every night to just make it work financially. It’s a funny place to be. It’s funny to have a live album at this end of your career but I feel like swinging through the trees and biting people. I freely feel like I’m at the best I’ve ever been, so … I don’t know what to do. Either go on tour for several months, playing bigger places or go and live in Paris. I have no idea what’s gonna happen next. I know it’s funny but not really (laughs).

Sometimes with live albums, you don’t know what to expect. And I was very pleased.
Waite: Yeah, it’s got tweaks on it. I mean, I spent a lot of time mixing it. But the performances were so good, it was so in tune, and so inspired, there was no room to put bonus tracks on it, or put in the big hit songs just cause they’re big hits. I couldn’t have cared less. There’s something complete about it. I rather have [songs like] “If You Ever Get Lonely” and “In Dreams” on there than the obvious big ballads.

Of course, the first question anyone’s probably going to ask you is: ‘Where’s “Missing You” on the live album?’
Waite: People are still asking me where it is, you know. And I go, like, ‘Under the stairs to the left.’ I don’t really know. It just didn’t make it. It just wasn’t appropriate. So what the f*ck?” (laughs)

But if there is ever a song to be attached to, that’s not a bad one.
Waite: Well, it’s a double-edged sword, believe me. Talk about known for a song. It’s kind of unfair because I have so much more to offer. But it’s actually forced me into doing what I want to do no matter what. It’s been more contrary. Since the end of Bad English I’ve completely gone off on my own and done my own thing. I’ve had more fun and more artistic satisfaction.

I think the album Rough and Tumble shows that.
Waite: And I couldn’t think of any other way of answering Rough and Tumble than doing a live album. And whatever transition there is from the live album forward will explain itself when I get in the studio [again]. It’s all been done very organically. All of it’s been done since ’94 with Temple Bar… all have been pretty much un-self-conscious, I think. It’s just purely flowing into things, which is how it should be, really.

And you gotta love the guitarist you’ve got, Keri Kelli.
Waite: I’ll tell you, man. He’s a diamond. And he’s a great guy, too. He’s a funny, intelligent guy. He’s got a lot going on. And it’s a pleasure to have him on board. We’re a better band. I’m hoping we get the gigs to go out and play it live, you know.

How did you meet up with Keri?
Waite: There’s a guy who’s a DJ in Philadelphia called Jacky Bam Bam (93.3 WMMR) that has been a big supporter of ours. And he knew Keri. And when he heard we were looking for a guitar player he called Keri up and Keri just came over. He lives down the coast, about two hours. He came up with his guitar, plugged in and we sat around the living room playing some songs, you know.

And something like the song “Better Off Gone,” the solo … he has a nice touch to his sound.
Waite: He does and he sticks to the real plan with any kind of piece of music, which is you take the blueprint and then you take it somewhere else, you forget what you’ve learned and then you build on that. And that’s what I do as a singer, every time I sing a song. It’s never the same twice. You stick to the blueprint. And he does it like that as a guitar player. So you have to admire the thought behind it. The intent, it’s in the right direction.

I did hear you comment that you didn’t want to go another two years without making another album. Is this a new seize the day attitude?
Waite: It’s kind of like looking at the clock. My natural instincts when everything is said and done is to play almost like full blues/country. I was raised on the acoustic guitar, and western music and blues. And when I pick up the guitar, those are the melodies I reach for. That’s the storytelling part of what I do, it’s from the cowboy music that I was raised on. When my voice is shredded, if I still want to make music, it’s going to be convincing because it’s had a lifetime of wear and tear. At this point I can still sing every note that I go for. Full voice. And I just want to make sure I can get that on the music I want to express at that point. This is going to sound all SpinalTappy but just want to rock. Everyone’s gone country and I’m so contrary that now I’m making a rock record (laughs). But I’ve got country roots so it must be very confusing to everyone. I mean, one minute I’m singing with Alison Krauss and living in Nashville and doing the Opry, and then I turn around and make a rock record. Because it’s the time to do it. I think it’s appropriate to do that, especially with a guitar player like Keri. I mean, I’m a rock singer with country roots. But now that everyone’s gone country, I rather just stay rock, and see how country deals with itself.

Your voice is perfect for both formats.
Waite: I really enjoy the fact that I can live in both worlds and be true to it. When I was a little boy, I loved western music so much. That’s how I got into music, really. So all my roots in country and blues and bluegrass are really as genuine as any Americans my age, but I’m English, you know, and I sort of have that as an influence. I have a lot of blues in me, so I can’t be that country without bringing the blues, and once you bring the blues, it’s rock ‘n’ roll.

When can fans expect a new studio album?
Waite: Never (laughs). I don’t know. I suppose if this album gets any kind of recognition and people say ‘Oh yeah,’ then game on, you know. But if it gets passed them and nobody’s interested, Hello Paris. (laughs) Bonjour! I might quit. I might write a book. I might paint. I might do folk gigs. I have no idea. Honestly, I have no plan.

And as you know Paris is not known for its pop music (laughs).
Waite: Well, at least they like Jerry Lewis (laughs). But life is short, you know, and I live how I wanna live. And I make the music I want to make. I’ve done it most of my life. There have been glitches here and there but I’m pretty strong-willed. And I want to enjoy whatever I’ve got left. There are only so many summers, you know. There’s a lot to life and I’ve given a great deal to music but I don’t want to be the guy that’s always running up hill. It seems like the dumber you are, the bigger you get. And I don’t want to dumb down anything that I’m writing. I’m serious about what I do. Period.

Well, a lot of artists are returning to the old days. Reforming old bands and stuff like that.
Waite: Yeah there is that.

That seems to be a big thing now. The nostalgia factor.
Waite: Yeah, that’s not really my cup of tea. If you have to double back, you’re a failure. If you can’t improve on what you did 30 years ago, and you’re doing the same things you were 30 years ago, I would think that it’s pretty obvious, you know. I must smell a rat. It’s just for the money. Art is fantastic, whether you’re painting or acting or writing music or poetry or literature. It’s a fantastic, it’s the goal of life. The money part is just redundant but the other f**king part is tremendous.

Even heard something about your old band The Babys reforming.
Waite: Yeah, they’re doing that, yeah. They’re doing it without me but they’re doing it. And God Bless ‘em. I would rather them do well than not. I really do wish them the best. I’m sure it will be something that’s interesting. As long as they write new stuff. If they’re just gonna play the old stuff, I’m not really sure about it.

If I got a ticket to a show and went, and didn’t see you on stage, I’d be disappointed.
Waite: But it’s not what I do. I don’t really go backwards. I don’t think I would reform any band that I’ve ever been in.