The Making of Kamakiriad (Part Two)

A behind-the-scenes look at the production of the music video for Donald Fagen's hit "Tomorrow's Girls", as well as interviews about the production of the album by Donald Fagen, co-producer Walter Becker, and actor Rick Moranis. PART TWO

[@Trookieness]

When Don says "I'm generally an optimistic person", I almost died laughing. He's the greatest though, I absolutely adore him. There's no-one cooler than Fagen.

[@jmdavison62]

Fagen and Becker were certainly cool toward Roger Nichols from 2001 onward. Maybe Fagen will give his side of the story before he passes.

[@johntabacco]

Fagen : I'm generally an optimistic person because really there's no choice - is there?

[@dingoswamphead]

I love Walter's bass in Kamakiriad. It is a joyous album. Great to visit his studio too.

[@Sherrie510]

Every song on every album is good or great . I can’t think of another group like this . RIP Becker . 11 Tracks of Whack is like a Russian doll it just keeps on giving and revealing more every time I hear it . Masters of their craft.

[@janierunaway112]

No matter if it's their Dan stuff or their solo works, Donald and Walter are absolute fucking geniuses. The American Lennon & McCartney. Plus, they're such a hoot when interviewed. Smart schmendricks, those two!

[@BlackCountry-q1h]

100% agree..i said exactly that 1 month ago in Birmingham England :))

[@WHEREtheFUNK]

too cool for school...these guys are in a league of their own. there is nothing to compare them to.

[@icmequipment]

These guys are timeless!!!

[@katherinefisher6021]

Love Steely Dan 💞💞and Donald Fagens voice

[@LikeWiseLikeYou]

Donald is so wonderfully boring in this interview. Hhahah I love it. I wouldn't want him any other way.

[@brettcurtis5710]

Love this album - the Steely Dan album you have when you don't like Steely Dan....??? Donald and Walter are true musical geniuses!

[@jgmiller804]

The organ in Snowbound is unbelievable

[@steveman1236]

"I think I'm generally an optimistic person because really there's no choice, is there?" I don't know why, but I laughed so hard at this.

[@LS-kg9dq]

me too, it's classic

[@Rick-zw7zv]

It's funny because it's actually a pessimistic remark!

[@patrickmoore3538]

Seeing Walter's beautiful studio in Hawaii was astonishing. Just seeing the footage of Walter working with Roger was astonishing also, I wish there was more.

[@ronrobbins2737]

Wildly underrated album from the GENIUS of American jazz/pop music!

[@stephenr.vaughan4983]

Kamakiriad is pure brilliant. So is Lester the Nightfly-

[@kingtarkus]

I watched part 1, so I didn't miss the actual context, but Rick Moranis's half-second plea for help at the start made me laugh.

[@b4nt2k]

MrLapage is OUR man.

[@gnich40]

Donald isn't on anything. He is a Jazz musician. They are cool - that is what they are supposed to be like. Hey these guys are brilliant. They did it there way.

[@flaccidusminimus2170]

He also suffers from what may be a major depressive disorder. The main reason he could barely write songs for nearly 10 years after The Nightfly is because he had a nervous breakdown and could barely get out of bed let alone compose. Began popping various anti-depressants that never worked for him. Libby Titus turned him around, but he's a melancholy guy generally.

[@gnich40]

@@flaccidusminimus2170 Fifty years ago I thought they were cool. They had some depressing stuff I guess - Babs and Clean Willie were in Love they said ......Mr. LaPage is your man.....even Rickie don't loose that number. But they way they did it was so cool I loved it. I'm sorry that Donald has to struggle. But I will always remember him. Met a pianist in Northern IL. who had known him. Was nice to talk about Dan's music.

[@ryanmoore2698]

Donald: "Uuuuuummm So I'm basically ummm a genius and uuumm uuuummm uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummm yeah."

[@OneMan-wl1wj]

lol! exactly!!👍

[@amac9085]

you have no idea how stupid you truly are, when the shit hits the fan and its starting, you ll be groping for nothing, RUN

[@debonaire_nerd]

I'd like to see Don and Lars Ulrich have a chat.

[@shrek5888]

i think he said "um" every other word

[@wastrel09]

When you're The Donald, you can speak however you want.

[@kirazinn]

Donald Fagen is hot, and i love the way he talks just like how he sings really cool!!!

[@droz1000]

Its not a coincidence that Snowbound is by far the best track on the record.

[@howardleban5524]

My personal favorite is Tomorrow's Girls. Also, being from there, Florida Room has a special place in my heart.

[@manicdrive85]

I like tomorrows girls a lot , spring time, Florida room and teahouse on the tracks they're all great to be honest , and I use to like the nightly more than this album but now it's reversed I like this album more at least I play it more anyway.

[@jamestaylor6493]

Fifty years of genius.

[@stringbini]

I've never seen Donald Fagen look cuter than in this interview.

[@suzannewooten2849]

jimmy perini He is pretty damn hot. That's for sure!

[@MariaLopez-hc2nm]

I KNOW!!! I could Kiss Him! SO Chilled.....

[@kendramiller3677]

It has always been dream to one day meet Walter and donald but Walter is gone . I guess that's why it's called a dream. Rest in peace Walter. 😢

[@xebio6]

So many questions I'd like to have the opportunity to ask Donald... One can dream

[@JRcmty]

Donald Fagen is very cool, he is a genious

[@gregham3308]

What a great trip this is..driving through the seasons, sexy imagery and white hot groves. I think this by far my favourite DF solo adventure - yet strangely seems critically under-rated. Fantastic audio , playing and production- and lacks the electronic/ synth sound that has been known to occasionally fatigue the best of DF fans.I LOVE this one on so many levels- glad to have seen this interview 20 years after it hooked me.

[@DancingSpiderman]

As I remember, I liked ten of the 11 Tracks of Whack. There was very little that was Whack on that CD. All of Kamakiriad was gems, they was. Both albums was Ear Kandy. Plain and simple.

[@candelise]

Is there a human being more laid-back than Donald Fagen? THE quintessential meaning of the word COOL!!

[@barneymiller5488]

Underated record.

[@caraphyllis]

funny how they call each other Walter and Donald, like they just met

[@MistaShock]

One of my all time favorite CDs, I'm ordering another one today. Classic!

[@MattSmith-iq1ld]

Gosh Walter looks so young here. RIP. Still love "Kamakiriad," but enjoyed "Morph The Cat" and "The Nighfly" more. In fact, I like those two solo albums more than the past two Steely Dan albums.

[@Katy51844]

I love his stories in music. Each one goes further into the future and follows a timeline. I'm not sure yet about (oh, hell, the memory just took a break) the one with the two shaddows on the front. I'll remember it about 2:00 this morning, and wake up singing it.

[@MariaLopez-hc2nm]

Absolutely!! Thats why they linger....

[@BudSchnelker]

Kamakiriad is on my desert island short list.

[@ak2112]

that hawaiian studio looks incredible

[@pierreorhan]

La vidéo nous montre une éblouissante et très humble présentation par Walter Becker de l'environnement créatif d'un studio perdu en pleine campagne parmi les vaches. L'album est d'une pureté cristalline avec un chanteur et des musiciens maîtrisant tous les styles groove et balade, avec des clins d'oeil à certains riffs produits par Steely Dan.

[@worldsbesttarot]

I love Donald Fagen

[@makeadifference4all]

Fascinating! You rarely here about how Becker and Fagen co-wrote music.

[@andrewhowden3887]

The guy doesn't give him self enough credit, the album is beautiful, clever,witty, and I love mine....and the night fly.

[@andrewhowden3887]

Michael Nascimento remember the guitar solo for peg !!!??? I think they had 9 to try!!! I cannot find that video.

[@IronMan-tk8uc]

Andrew Howden I think it was 7. Jay Graydon was the last guitarist to take the arduous task, but he did it! Well, I don't know what video you saw, but I saw this story on the Classic Albums documentary about the production of Aja, made in 2000. He even jokes that Graydon's take sounds like a Polynesian sound.

[@burpo]

Awesome upload. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us.

[@cosmogoy1895]

DONALD IS AWESOME !!!! 😄

[@torch9t9]

Lovely shock to see Roger in this.

[@janierunaway112]

+J Garrett I thought the same thing, J! Roger was like the Fifth Beatle, or should I say, the Fourth Dan, after Donald, Walter and Gary Katz.

[@mootbooxle]

...And then there was one. RIP Walter Becker and Roger Nichols. Pioneers. Long live Donald!

[@hansmueller3029]

Too cool

[@MattSmith-iq1ld]

I love the song "Springtime." Imagine going to an amusement park where they place you in a virtual reality machine which scans you body & brain and forces you relive old heartaches, previous crushes????!!! Although those romantic disasters. But, it's a necessary part of the journey that Donald's character has to go thru in order to find solace and move on to the next stage on his journey towards healing. Donald went out his way and just penned some great lyrics and developed a great concept for this record that helped him but also I feel so many men and women in the middle years can relate to. He really created universal record.

[@SOB90]

He definitely looks stoned haha... I love the Kamakiriad album, and also Nightfly, great albums!

[@WheelDweller]

BMG offered this album to me for a penny; I loved the dashboard on the cover, and I usually like anything Steely Dan does, so I got it. Listened to it. Hated it. Left it in the CD carrier. Six months later I've moved into a van; vandwelling. I moved to Chicago, took a job, and when I looked back into the carrier I got interested again. And again: these guys trap my life: on the road, until mom got sick and I had to care for her, for 11 years. 15 years later, I'm getting back on the road. And yeah; this'll be playing when the vehicle gets out of 'dry dock'.

[@rockgardenlove]

This dude's hilarious. Welcome to part two.

[@egyptianminor]

Don & Walt, two of my all time heroes...Donald might have smoked a little grass before this interview, but so what?big deal...

[@johng6683]

Remaster on vinyl in the U.S.? Great album start to finish!

[@xebio6]

I have the original vinyl

[@ezekielthemack]

Is it me, or does Donald look a little stoned here? :-)

[@rufusdogrules]

God, I love that man. ~Lone DanGirl in Utah

[@msknighttime]

yeah u guys are right he is stoned....still love him!

[@tombaker9615]

Kamakiriad - Fave Steely Dan since Aja...every song rocks Where is pt 1 of this

[@Mangonectar42]

hes like spoof of himself... i kind of love it

[@ra15899550]

…".Wake me up, when the wolves come out to play".

[@TheLastOilMan]

as a Hi fi buff I love the last of the analogue equipment !

[@aaronamccoy]

too cool!

[@makeadifference4all]

Fagen is giving those Ray Charles vibes.

[@RingoMcLennon]

oh my god why am I crying xD

[@jamespeelecarey]

Wats line. Ha, wats that? I've loved this album since it came out. Thanks for posting this. So much fun.

[@Elidoransgar]

I was just saying to myself, "damn, he's toasted!"

[@dreammfyre]

Walter looking like the 5th member of ABBA. (RIP BTW)

[@jcBurton2094]

You're right... a bit of Björn and Benny mixed up in some peculiar way

[@jasonpp1973]

He looks kinda like Jeff Goldblum!

[@Katy51844]

I've always thought so too.

[@HevyDevy101]

Where is part 1 please?

[@TheTralfaz]

Wheres part 1 ?

[@evelsteev]

This ISN'T Steely Dan. It's Donald Fagan. Case closed. Actually, read "Reeling in the Years," the book. At this time, he wanted to get away from Steely Dan's legacy, and not to mention, pressure.

[@bass0111]

SD: always uber cool. Mike H.

[@ACLTony]

Since the early 80s, I've always enjoyed their music. To me, many of the lyrics were a bit odd or strange (like in Century's End), a few a bit offensive but appreciated the unique musical arrangements.

[@aheady1969]

awesome

[@yungghost5889]

Donald seems like he’s done with everybody’s bullshit 😂 while Walter is loving life 💀😂

[@robertdegiro]

his skeptic attitude typical genious

[@Modes9]

That was a very astute observation. I miss the restless energy of Steve Gadd, for example. On the other hand, these guys really think of themselves as songwriters first, so I guess the recent albums are more like vehicles for that rather than blowing sessions for the players.

[@cubdukat]

"Kamakiriad" is for all intents and purposes, the Steely Dan reunion album "Two Against Nature" should have been.

[@TheRMSU1]

may as well say it's a "steely dan" album lol

[@AbstractMan23]

where's part ONE?!

[@MichaelTrogdon1990]

It was blocked.

[@AbstractMan23]

@@MichaelTrogdon1990 ah shame - strange they would block one but not two. do you know where i can purchase it?

[@PrimoStracciatella]

Can anybody post a link to Part One? I can't find it on here.

[@MichaelTrogdon1990]

There was a part one, but it was blocked. I want to see it, too.

[@bobbyohanesian4228]

Stoned again....love him

[@DancingSpiderman]

You know, if Donald Fagan had a scruffy full-face beard, he'd look JUST LIKE the hassidic Joaquin Phoenix The two should do a music project together, some klezmer jazz bop rap thang....i dunno...

[@omnipop4936]

Where's part one?

[@pretorious700]

@party70style he survived

[@rh3583]

There is no color, except this.

[@JahJahBruh]

Uuhuuhhhm like..

[@GrowthruGod]

Hour and half for one line lol

[@tuimusic]

Anyone know where part one is?

[@nitropowrd]

I never realized that steely dan was nick kroll's band

[@mjsmcd]

Whay does the word kamairiad....mean?

[@whowweeemandude40]

so who has the music from Kamakiriad? please tell me

[@chochief]

thats my man

[@jdunn85]

Their landing on the jersey beaches Their engines make the white sands swirl!!

[@SCBRoslyn]

As Gene Hackman said in one of his movies, "There's somethin' wrong with that dude." (LOL!!!!)

[@Katy51844]

I'm thinking he's not on anything. I had heard in the beginning there were some mighty strong drugs, but I'm thinking he and Walter have pretty much quit. Well, maybe a little grass.

[@TimBoykinGuitar]

Fagen kinda talks like Dr. Evil.

[@SurprisedCentaur-xh5cp]

There's an interview where he says riiight, and it sounds just like Dr Evil also 😂

[@FilmForger]

Cool workin with ya's at Clinton

[@leontama]

where can i get this video?

[@loungecruz]

cool

[@bigboijc]

@adamjkel7 says a guy with (suprise) NO VIDEOS UPLOADED!

[@Shadowcruise99]

What's your point?

[@Katy51844]

I don't mean to sound prejudiced, because I think in another life I was born a Jew, but you always hear about the noses. I think they have beautiful lips. They're always full and luscious. Makes you want to take a little taste.

[@MariaLopez-hc2nm]

Ha Ha hhhhhaaaaaaa.. YES!

[@karlaohara237]

Hell yeah.....

[@christopherbowman7799]

Right in que Jan 7