Oasis Never Went Away, Noel Gallagher Says

Memo to the rock press: Noel Gallagher would like you to stop declaring that Oasis keeps making comebacks.

It has been a routine for at least a decade: Oasis releases album, record gets solid reviews, media raves about the band's unexpected grand return. Singer-songwriter Gallagher, who remains the band's foundation with younger brother Liam, just endured it again with the band's latest album, "Dig Out Your Soul."

"It gets kind of annoying that we're always 'coming back,' because we never go away," he says, noting that his band's release schedule is no different from those of fellow European rockers U2 and Coldplay.

"It's one of these dumb things that's always said about Oasis, just like mentioning the Beatles every 20 minutes, or talking about me and Liam getting along like a house on fire."

One thing that hasn't been so dependable is the band's personnel, particularly its Spinal Tap-esque series of drummers. The group's Saturday show at the Palace of Auburn Hills is to feature the services of drummer Chris Sharrock. He's at least the sixth person to man the Oasis skins, and replaces Zak Starkey, who managed a four-year stint before splitting in the spring because of feuds with Noel Gallagher.

That says it all. At root, Oasis is all about the Gallaghers, and after all these years, Noel remains the band's heart and soul. This is still his band, the one he formed 18 years ago in Manchester and took to multiplatinum heights with Liam as front man.

Oasis isn't the commercial juggernaut it was in the mid-'90s, when it was selling out stadiums and topping singles and album charts. But it has continued to draw critical accolades and maintains a devoted fan base.

"Dig Out Your Soul," released in October, is standard-issue Oasis: melodic, simple, soaring and satisfying. Fourteen years after the band exploded onto the global scene, Gallagher says, there's no need to seek musical transformation.

"There are bands that are constantly changing their sound, constantly searching for something. I don't perceive it like that, where I have to sit down and reinvent myself or reinvent the band," he says. "We've got a strong identity. We found what we were looking for. There's no point to go on searching anymore -- we arrived at the place where every band in the world wants to be, where you're comfortable with who you are and what you sound like and the number of fans and the clothes you wear. There's no need to be (screwing) about endlessly searching for something that's not there."

Of course, it wouldn't be an Oasis tour without a bout of melodrama. Detroit fans, for instance, can recall the will-he-won't-he soap opera of '96, when Liam Gallagher briefly quit the band only to rejoin just in time for a Palace show.

But this year's episode came with more real-life ramifications than normal, when Noel Gallagher was attacked during a September concert in Toronto by a fan who rushed the stage. Several shows were postponed as the guitarist nursed three broken ribs, though he heads into this week's Palace concert fully fit.

Gallagher, 41, is now a bona fide family man, but the downtime proved frustrating for a musician who says he enjoys the ritual of touring. Let other acts complain about the grind of the road, says Gallagher -- he's out to "find the good in every day."

"I never understood the moaning rock star. I find it a really strange attitude," he says. "Like, we've got two years on the road coming up. These are the memories I'll take to the grave with me. I've been able to see the changes in the world, for better and for worse. I love playing live, and the farther away from home the better.

"I love being in limbo, constantly moving, not settling down. It's brilliant. The hours are long, and what gets tiring is the drinking, but even that's not so bad."

Gallagher still gives good quote, as they say in the news business. He's never short on testy words about his younger brother, and of his homeland's rock scene he takes no quarter: "This generation of young kids are useless. They've got nothing. No attitude. They look good and that's it. Can you think of one great song that's come out of England the last five years?"

Still, by his confession, Gallagher has mellowed a bit over the years. He says he keeps his head on straight by continuously writing -- he has already got five songs ready for when the next record beckons.

"The thing that's most challenging for me is the writing. I could always find a million reasons not to do it, like sitting in front of the television or sitting in the garden to smoke a cigarette," he says. "But when the call comes, I've always got three-quarters completed already. When we're in the studio, it's like being in the best private members club of all time, all day, every day."

Source: www.freep.com