Yoko Ono Tours With Son's Band

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Yoko Ono & IMA; 9:30 tonight, Crocodile Cafe; sold out. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Many musicians travel with reminders of home, personal items like pillows, incense, records, books or photos. Not Yoko Ono.

"People take their pillow?" Ono said incredulously from The Beverly Hills Hotel. "I'd be afraid of losing mine. Someone would think it'd make some nice memorabilia.

"I'd take a picture of my son, but," she added sweetly, "my son is here with me."

Ono - artist, writer, musician, filmmaker, activist, tycoon and mom - doesn't travel much. She's never been to "the legendary" Seattle. She rarely leaves her New York apartment in the Upper West Side landmark, The Dakota.

"It's true, I'm cloistered, but I don't feel bad about it either," she said cheerfully. "I try to go out, walk, go to the gallery and museum. Openings, you know? Artists are supposed to go to openings. Otherwise they forget who you are."

Ono's tour is in support of "Rising," her first album in 10 years. It's been 15 years since her husband John Lennon was murdered. Before Lennon, Ono was well known in avant-garde art circles. With Lennon, her name became synonymous with the biggest rock band in the universe. Since 1981 she's been mostly involved in philanthropic, political and charity projects and business.

But with the release last year of "Onobox," a six-disc compilation of her work, and the new "Rising," Ono is out.

"Going out on this extended tour is hard for me, but I decided to make it as easy as possible. We're not doing a different city every day. That would be a bit too heavy. But, yeah, we feel good about it."

But why now?

"Well I couldn't go out before because it's silly to go out when there's no album," she answered with matter-of-factness. "Now I - WE - have an album. And the band was very enthusiastic about going out, so why not?"

When Ono began to record "Rising," her 19-year-old son, Sean Ono Lennon, told her to dump the studio pros and record with his band IMA, named after the Japanese word for "now." Ono consented.

"He kept saying, `Come on Mom, let's just do it.' I was afraid they wouldn't accept me. We're all chicken, you know? But it went fine. I went with Sean and his friends and we sat in with other bands at small venues. These new venues are big to them because of what they're used to. But that's good. The club is good for a new band.

"And I think you're gonna really like my band, I mean Sean's band! I'm finally feeling like I'm one of them, you know? They're very nice."

The talk briefly turns to Lennon and Ono chuckles again.

"I was so funny with John, really, I always kept John roaring. He thought I was funny. It was very precious to us. Some people are only funny outside. He wasn't. But, we're talking of the past."

"The nicest thing about this for me is that I get to travel with my son. I think I'm lucky as a mother. He's been getting older and living in a loft now and I'd be calling, going, `Tonight we're having sushi. You want to come for dinner?' And he'd say, `No, we have other plans. Nice try.'

"But we are together on the road now," she said with a smile you could hear. "I don't have to bait him with sushi anymore."