Tuesday, Sept. 17

Guitarist Chris Stein recently returned from Burning Man and is celebrating a successful photography show in Los Angeles, but reflecting on his many years with Blondie—the band he co-founded in 1974 with singer Deborah Harry—finds the axeman reliving the past.

He brings up a few standout memories, like the first time he heard a Blondie song on the radio. “That was exciting,” he says. “But I’ve always been really optimistic, so I kind of took things for granted.”

When early singles like “Heart of Glass” and “Call Me” made the band a household name in America, though, Stein was surprised. “I didn’t know how much we were getting into,” Stein says. “We were very much in the moment when we were doing all that stuff.”

The group broke up eight years after it formed; Stein blames, among other things, “inner-band tension.” But two years after reuniting in 1997, the band released its seventh studio album, No Exi

t—its first in 15 years.

Getting back together and recording again, Stein says, “was a natural progression. I always had it in the back of my head that it might be appropriate, but then suddenly it seemed like the right moment.”

Those moments aren’t over yet. Now approaching the 40-year threshold, Blondie is set to release Ghosts of Download, its 10th studio album, early next year. The eclectic album, which came together as Stein and producer Jeff Saltzman sent music back and forth from New York to San Francisco, features Gossip’s Beth Ditto, hip-hop group Los Rakas, and Colombian electronica artist Systema Solar.

“The individual instrumental styles give it a similar sound, but we’re all trying different things,” Stein says.

Also on the album? A cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s classic “Relax,” which Stein calls “epic.”

Back in the present, Stein says he would like to keep making music, but is wary of discussing his plans. He says missing his family makes touring difficult.

“I mean, the Rolling Stones do it,” he says. “But it remains to be seen.” With X.

Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy., 205-3661. marymoorconcerts.com. 7 p.m. $39.50–$59.50. All ages.

AZARIA PODPLESKY