There is no doubt that John Oates will go down in rock music history: as a celebrated American songwriter and musician, and as half of the best-selling duo of all time, Hall & Oates. But John Oates is not resting on his laurels. Besides continuing to play sold-out Hall & Oates shows, he has also emerged as a respected solo artist — proving that he’s still got plenty of rock and soul to spare.

With his second and forthcoming solo release “1,000 Miles of Life,” Oates offers an insightful glimpse into his own life’s journey through a set of personal, yet relatable songs. Jed Leiber, his talented co-writer, producer, and keyboard player, was a key force in the creation of “1,000 Miles of Life” as well as Oates’ first solo record, “Phunk Shui.” A Grammy-nominated songwriter, Leiber’s impressive credits include collaborations with eminent artists like Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, Burt Bacharach, Cyndi Lauper, Gerry Goffin, Steven Tyler and many more.

The duo recently invited Roland inside Leiber’s famous NightBird recording studios at the Sunset Marquis Hotel to talk about the new album, the evolution of American music, and their long history with Roland. Here are some highlights of the conversation:

Jed, I know you played keys on John’s first solo album, “Phunk Shui.” How did you guys originally start working together?

JL: I got a phone call to play keyboards for a benefit event. John was on my side of the stage, and I’m a huge fan of his music, so it was an honor for me to have a chance to work with him. I listened to his guitar playing, which I had never paid that much notice to. He looked at me on stage, and we had our own kind of thing going, our own pocket happening.

Afterwards, he mentioned he was working on some Hall & Oates demos. He asked me if I wouldn’t mind playing keyboards on the demos, and I said “are you kidding?” It was a huge honor to be asked, so I was really excited and also a little nervous, because I looked up to him as a songwriter and musician.

So I went over to his house, and he had this song up which he wanted me to play on. It ended up as “The Color of Love” and was the first song we wrote together. I was honored that he liked my ideas enough to let me contribute.

Both of you have a rich musical history and background that goes back to the very roots of rock music. How does that influence what you’re doing today?

JO: We both can draw not only from a lot of personal experiences, but from having been immersed in music our entire lives. Jed has a family experience that goes back to the early days of rock and roll. He has a very deep knowledge of American pop music. And I have a certain kind of traditional American folk music background — R&B with a Philadelphia slant to it. Jed has a bit more of a classical and a rock side to him. And I think it’s a good combination because there’s so much we can bring to the table and so many things we can draw from.

JL: And within that framework, there’s a common ground of R&B. So where he has the folk thing happening, and I may have these other influences, there’s a certain area of music where we’re very much on the same page.

John, with such a large body of work and so many songs that are cited as classics, has your writing continued to evolve?

JO: I think if you don’t evolve as a writer, something’s wrong. You use your past experience to move forward, you try to understand what didn’t communicate your ideas quite as well and figure out ways of saying it more concisely. I think a mark of experience in songwriting is that you’re able to articulate your musical and lyrical ideas in the most concise and direct way, and in that not lose the artistry. Especially in the format of a pop song, which is more restricted.

On the new album, I tried to consciously leave that area because I didn’t want to be restricted to the pop format. There’s still some of that, because I can never get away from it completely, but on this one I had the chance to stretch out. So it’s just that constantly evolving process as a writer of trying to get better at what you do.

JL: My personal opinion is that I think these are some of the best songs he’s ever written. There’s a lyrical integrity, where in the world of music right now, the lyrical content isn’t as important as it used to be. There’s a song called “Ravens” which is a protest song, that is just amazing. The lyric is so simple and so powerful. I think he let some of the shackles off, and it reads emotionally. The songs really get to you because he’s writing about real things.

JO: Wait a minute, “Maneater” wasn’t real? [laughter] It was very real, it was just a different kind of reality.

You’ve said that your first solo album was all about balance in your music and your life. What was the inspiration behind the new album?

JO: It’s called “1,000 Miles of Life” for a reason, and it wasn’t intended to be a conceptual album, but now that I’m able to be a little more objective by stepping back from it, I realize that it is almost the story of my life, without being obvious.

This has been a heavy year for me emotionally. My first producer, Arif Mardin died, my guitar teacher and mentor when I was a kid died, and Jerry Lynn Williams [songwriter for Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and B.B. King] whom I did an album with and learned a lot from also passed away.

JL: John decided to record one of [Jerry’s] songs; we did a version of “Sending Me Angels,” which was never a big hit, but was one of his greatest songs.

JO: So when all this stuff happened as I was getting ready to go on a Christmas tour with Daryl [Hall], I got into writing mode. And then all of a sudden I started writing, and I just couldn’t stop. It was almost like I channeled something. I wrote about six songs within a month, and then I realized I had something, because I had this body of work that seemed to have integrity and be something whole — and I didn’t want to do an album of piecemeal stuff just to do an album. I wanted to make a record that, regardless of how the production went, I could still sit down with an acoustic guitar and play the whole album. And I can do that. I’ve been playing solo acoustic shows, which has always been a goal of mine. I didn’t think I could ever achieve it, but now I think I have.

Speaking of writing, Hall & Oates were among the first to feature the synthesizer prominently as part of the melodic hook — for instance, on “I Can’t Go For That.” How has the synthesizer influenced your writing and your music?

JO: I have been using keyboards since the 80s, and I think Hall & Oates embraced synths very early on. We did a lot of early synthesis, and as sampling synths came out, we used those also in the early 80s.

I’m not much of a keyboard player, though I use it sometimes to write. For instance, I used the JX-8P to write “Out of Touch.” In fact, the JX-8P’s arpeggiator is how I got the idea for that song. I was playing around with it, and I went, [sings 8th-note bass line] and I said, “There’s a song!”

That’s so cool!

JO: Once I had that, I laid it down on a four-track recorder, and laid down some chords on top of it. Literally, that song was written because of the JX-8P.

Jed, I see you have some Roland keyboards here in the studio.

JL: I have used Roland gear since I started playing keyboards. I responded to the quality and feel of the instruments, and the sounds, and also developed a relationship with the company that initially began with Bob Duncan, who is a wonderful songwriter and musician. He went out of his way — whatever project I was working on, he helped me. And he introduced me to Dick Bell. For every project, Roland has been my go-to for instruments. I know I can get the sound and the action is going to feel good, and I also know the instruments will be there, because Roland’s support has always been so reliable.

I understand the Roland keyboards ended up playing an important role on “1,000 Miles of Life.”

JL: For this record, John had called me up and said, “No synths, no MIDI — I want you to come in and play all vintage gear.” Well, just to be safe, I turned up the night before the session. And the organ was missing a couple drawbars, and the Wurlitzer was not working properly. I went into a bit of a panic because the sessions with the who’s-who of Nashville were booked for the morning. [The record features an all-star roster of guest performers including John Popper, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Steve Cropper, and Jerry Douglas.]

I called Bob Duncan, and said, “I’ve got downbeat tomorrow at 9am.” He called Lee Hargrove, and Lee was an absolute angel. He came and brought his own instruments to the studio — he brought me the dual-manual Roland organ [VK-88], and another [RD-Series] keyboard with electric piano sounds. I arrived and he had already set up the instruments, and this was on a Sunday. Here’s this guy who doesn’t even know me and went way out of his way. It’s way beyond going the extra mile.

JO: Lee Hargrove was unbelievable. He was amazing — I want to give a shout out to him and Roland.

JL: Had I not had those [Roland] instruments, I probably would have had to play the record just on piano. It’s interesting, because I played one old Hall & Oates tune, “Change Of Seasons” on the Roland VK-88, and afterwards, John called me and said, “The organ sounds perfect as it is. Don’t change it.” So, that’s kudos to Roland not only for the support, but for the instruments that held up. The first thing you hear on this album is the Roland Wurlitzer sound.

I see you have the Fantom-X8 also. How are you using it?

The Fantom is amazing. It’s used by almost every session that comes into the studio here. There’s great quality to the sounds and feel. Besides that, my rig of choice for live work is the XV-88 and V-Combo. The V-Combo has a great organ sound. The tube distortion is really realistic and convincing, and when you’re playing live, and sometimes in tighter spaces, you also have the flexibility of dialing in another sound when you need a Wurly or a synth.

When does “1,000 Miles of Life” come out?

JO: It depends whether there’s a label involved or not, but it will likely come out in September or late summer of 2008.

To keep up with John Oates and to hear audio clips from “1,000 Miles of Life,” visit his website at www.johnoates.com; and keep up with Hall & Oates at www.hallandoates.com.

To check out Jed Leiber, visit www.myspace.com/jedleibermusic or NightBird, his recording studios at www.myspace.com/nightbirdrecordingstudios or www.nightbirdrecordingstudios.com.