‘Hard to Hold’

Andrew Glazer

I remember hearing the song spilling from a car radio at the Jersey

Shore and singing along with my pal Joey Canuso. It was 1981. We were 8

years old and walking to the beach barefoot across the sweltering

blacktop. We both sang along.

“I wish that I had Jessie’s Girrrrrrl!”

Singer-songwriter/actor/sex symbol Rick Springfield, still known for

howling that ever-so-catchy song, said he’s changed a lot since then. He

performs at the Orange County Fair Tuesday night.

“That song was all about sex and women and guitar,” he said.

“Obviously if I were still writing that way now it would be kind of sad.”

He said “Karma,” his 13th album--the first he’s recorded in 12

years--is much darker, sadder and more introspective. The music is still

old-fashioned, guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll, only this time spiced with

contemporary drum loops.

“The last decade was an interesting one,” he said. “Friends died,

there were marriages, divorces, kids born and spirituality came back into

my life.”

Springfield said a discovery of meditation, Buddhism and the birth of

his two sons, Liam, 14, and Joshua, 11--all inspirations for his latest

album--helped guide him through the tumultuous decade.

Suffering a near-fatal motorcycle accident and periodic bouts of

depression and extreme self-doubt in the 1990s caused Springfield to dig

even deeper into his soul.

“When I was a kid, they called me moody,” he said, his mildly husky

voice tinged with a bit of self-conscious irony. “Now it’s called

depression. Before I felt like I was the center of my own universe. The

most depressing thing is you think you’re really a jerk. And you say to

yourself ‘Wait’ll they all find out.’ But my kids and spirituality have

helped me find a balance.”

Springfield played almost all the instruments on the album, including

Dobro, bass, guitar and keyboards. He even programmed the drum loops. He

said the writing and recording process, which took more than a year, was

both painful and rewarding.

“When you write a great song, it’s like getting a high,” he said. “But

when you write a bad one, you say to yourself ‘What did I waste my time

on?”’

Personal and musical growth aside, Springfield said he still looks

forward to singing to his long-term fans.

“Performing is like an instant party,” he said.

At his concerts--he has 150 scheduled this year--fans call out

favorite songs. Some even hold up cue cards displaying the lyrics to

songs he never performed.

He tries to indulge them and himself as much as possible.

“It’s boring for the band to perform the same songs over and over

again,” he said. “There are people out there who have seen 70, 80 shows.

This keeps it fresh.”

Springfield said he even embraces requests for his old hits, including

“Jessie’s Girl.”

“My shows are like going to a big fan club meeting,” he said. “Only

everyone’s older, the audience has grown up and gotten real jobs. I feel

the connection they still have to my old music.”

WHAT: Rick Springfield

WHEN: 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Orange County Fair’s Arlington Theater, Orange County

Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

HOW MUCH: Free with fair admission.

NOTE: The Arlington Theater seats roughly 5,000 and offers festival

seating on a first-come, first-served basis