I had the extreme pleasure to have the opportunity to interview Lita Ford. Not knowing what to expect, I encountered a very down to earth...Mother, musician, friend, and very strong woman. Lita spoke to me from a chair in the hair salon, while getting her hair done. Now c’mon, how much more down to earth can you get? Read the interview to hear Lita talk about her life changes and music career. She’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry, and without a doubt…she’ll make you rock.
KCM: Let me start by saying how happy I am that you’re doing this interview with us. I’m so excited to be talking to you because I grew up with your music, I have always been a longtime fan and think you’re just amazing. So…pretty excited about this. LITA: Thank you, it’s a real pleasure. You’ve heard the new record obviously? KCM: I love it! LITA: Cool! KCM: It’s….we’re going to touch on that in this interview, but it’s just so amazing. I was so impressed, I actually put it up on my Facebook and mentioning that I was listening to it and people were asking me how it was and I was telling them they have no idea how good it is. LITA: Oh cool! Yay!! Right on! KCM: Ok so, you’re in the middle of touring aren’t you? LITA: Yes, we’re touring with Def Leppard and Poison. KCM: Right, ok. So how does it feel to be touring again? LITA: Oh it’s awesome! The arena gigs, the arenas are a whole different ball game than clubs or theatres. They’re very ahh...I don’t know, you have to approach the audience differently because they’re so spread out and they’re so far away from you. Uhm, it’s a real different type of a show. It’s not so intimate ya know? You can’t…it’s very hard to get intimate with 20,000 people. As opposed to 800 people. It’s a big difference. KCM: But it’s probably so much more of a rush. LITA: Oh it’s awesome. I think the littler shows are more of a rush though, because the people are so in your face. They see every little imperfection. The arena shows are more...uhmm…what’s the word I’m looking for…well it almost feels like you’re untouchable. Ya know? You come across to be larger than life in these arenas. Which is cool, but you have to present yourself that way on stage, and I love it. It’s a real honor to be on these tours with Def Leppard. I just love them, they’re so wonderful. They’re such great musicians, with such great songs. And the Poison guys are like my brothers. KCM: Are you performing a lot of your older songs? LITA: We are, we’re doing a little bit of everything. New, old, in between. Ya know we’re trying to cover all the bases. KCM: Ok, so when you’re standing on a big arena stage, and you’re preforming on of your songs that everyone remembers and you see everyone singing, and everything and just going nuts over that one song, does it take you back? LITA: It doesn’t take me back. It just feels like you’re in the time of the moment. The moment of the time. You know what I’m trying to say. It goes either way. You’re just living it out that second while it’s happening because...you know like Close My Eyes Forever, you know you can see everyone holding up their cell phones, and you can see all the lights all around the arena. Really cool. Really wonderful. KCM: *Laughs* Cause the days of the lighters are long gone LITA: *Laughs* Yeahhh, I know right?
KCM: I totally remember the lighters, because I wore a can of Rave to a show and I would say “you better watch that lighter” LITA: Oh yeah! And I burned bugs! Like if we got a bug on the bus, like a bee or fly…I used to get my can of Aqua Net Hairspray and a cigarette lighter and I used to blow torch the bug *laughs* . Of course the bus driver didn’t like me too much. But it was fun. It was good for a conversation piece. KCM: *Laughs* When I see a bug If I have no bug spray, I do use the hairspray. Never the lighter. LITA: *laughing* What were we doing? Trying to give the bug a hair style or something?! KCM: *Laughs* Oh that’s too funny. Ok, we have a fan question. Kevin Weinstein from New York City wants to know, If you will come back to New York anytime soon as a headliner? LITA: We do have some headlining shows coming up. However, I don’t know what they are. I haven’t looked at the itinerary, so I don’t know if it is in New York. But yes, absolutely we will definitely be in New York. New York is a big market for us. KCM: Ok. So the new album titled “Living Like A Runaway” , being through all your trials and tribulations in the past few years, did you find that writing this album was therapeutic? LITA: Oh absolutely! It’s very therapeutic. It think it’s therapeutic for anybody. No matter what you’re going through whether it is good or bad it’s letting out your frustrations, and your just everyday aggravations. A good way to do it is to write songs. This album for me was so rewarding because every song was so good it was like WOW! I mean it really came to life. And working with Gary Howie on the production, was just a God send. He was so focused on making this album huge. And sounding huge. We really kept our nose to the grindstone on this record even through the artwork. We didn’t lose focus on the story of ya know Living like a Runaway. Even with the album cover it shows ya the railroad tracks, it gives you the impression that you’re on a journey.
KCM: Definitely. It is an amazing album cover. The colors, everything.. It just fit. LITA: Right. Yeah, I had to do a bit of finagling. The record company didn’t quite understand why we were putting such a moody cover on the record when everyone knows that Lita is famous for pin-up, posters, and ya know just sexy. This was not one of them and they were hesitant as to ya know, id this really a Lita comeback record. And this is not a Lita comeback cover. But when they heard the music and it all came together, they just went WOW! Yes. And we can still put the sexy poster inside. If you buy the CD the inside has a poster that folds out, it has my signature on it. And then on the other side of the cover there’s a booklet that you can pull out and actually like hold it in your hand, like the old days. It’s a beautiful packaging. The record company really, really put together a wonderful packaging on this album. It comes in different formats, there’s a vinyl, they do a red vinyl which is absolutely to die for. I mean even people that don’t collect vinyl WILL want this. Because it’s just too cool. And there’s two CD’s. One has bonus tracks, one doesn’t. KCM: There is one thing I did notice about this new album. It’s heavier than usual, but it still has that “Lita” sound that I remember. And I was happy with that. LITA: Oh awesome, thank you. It is definitely more aggressive. KCM: What song on the album do you feel that you can relate to the most? LITA: Uhmm…What song do I relate to the most? I relate to the entire album. I look at the entire album as one entity. I don’t look at it as different songs. I look at it as one entire journey. I relate to the whole entire album, I mean every little lyric and every little huff and puff from my breath is all real, and they’re all the first vocal tracks. Like we didn’t go into the studio and say “Oh we don’t feel like doing vocals today, let’s come back tomorrow and do it.” We just did it right there on the spot and Gary the producer took the first takes, because they are the most heartfelt. Rather than doing something over, and over and over…it’s like just get it fresh and get it when it first comes out cause it’s the best. Ya know I really believe that. So it’s not something over produced, it’s just something that’s real. Like you listen to it...you get that. KCM: I love the answer to this question “One entity”.
I know I have asked that question before in interviews with other bands, and most will pick one song. But you nailed it! LITA: Cool! KCM: You did. Ok, the song “Mother” is that about you being a mom, or about your mother? Or Mothers everywhere? What exactly is that about? LITA: Mother is an explanation on what happened in my divorce, to my kids. My divorce ended up..ahh …the father is…uhm…it’s severe parental alienation. That’s what it’s called. There is a book out by Dr. Richard Warshak, and he specializes in Severe Parental Alienation. And it goes beyond evil. It’s absolutely the most evil thing anybody could ever do to a person or child, and “Mother” is my song to my kids because the father won’t allow me to have anything to do with the kids. I can’t even get them on the phone. So I wrote them this song. When you listen to it, you’ll get it. KCM: I’m a little bit chocked up over here because honestly, I couldn’t imagine..*clears throat* sorry.. LITA: No don’t be! It’s terrible! It’s terrible! It’s like am I really still walking around breathing, and living, and moving. I mean like when I feel I should be dead because of what he did, it’s uhmm… It’s a horrible, horrible thing and sometimes it’s too difficult for people to comprehend. You know it’s so easy for people to point the finger at me and say “Oh she did something wrong” . It’s like no, I’m not perfect ya know? But I definitely wouldn’t have gone this far. You know this is not just a divorce, it’s well over the top and that’s what the song “Mother” is about. KCM: I’m sorry I have an 8 yr. old daughter, I’m divorced...and... I…*clears throat* I’m sorry I’m getting all choked up.. *tries to cover it up by a laugh* LITA: So you can relate. You can be cool about it, not put the child in the middle of the divorce, or you can throw the child in the middle and use them as a pawn to hurt the other parent, and that’s what happens. KCM: Oh my God. LITA: I know, it’s brutal. KCM: You’re so strong though, you really are. I mean, I don’t know you personally but you have this album, you’re out there touring and you know, doing what you love to do and everything and you’re holding it together, you really are.
To be going through something like that, you’re so strong. LITA: Thank you. Well, I’ll be damned if I’m going to fall apart for him. That isn’t going to happen. Like if I changed the album cover, it would have one big middle finger on it *laughs* KCM: *Laughs* I know the feeling, trust me. LITA: Mhmm yep *laughs* KCM: Ok, well I read that you had a really nice dinner with Joan Jett and it’s been 1980 since you last spoke to her. What was that like? How did you feel about that? I mean 1980 is a really long time to not speak to someone then all of a sudden 32 years later…I mean that’s…crazy. LITA: Yeah. It’s crazy and it’s ahh…it’s a very screwy situation. You know I would really love to have a relationship with Joan as a friend, but umm, I don’t know, it’s just too much work. It would be easier to get through to the president of the United States *laughs* I’m very accessible, I’m a people person and I get in there and talk to my fans and get on my Facebook and you sometimes I even give people my phone number. I’m very accessible. I would think that somebody that you were in a band with for five years as a teenage girl, would think would be accessible to the other band members, but it doesn’t work that way. Kinda sucks. But I love Joan, I miss her and I wish she’d pull her head out of her ass and call me *laughs* KCM: *Laughs* well maybe she will see this interview. LITA: Yeah! KCM: So how did it go with Cherie? LITA: Oh Cherie has been great. She’s easy to get to. I called her and she was screaming with excitement on the phone. And we got together and had dinner and have been in touch with each other ever since. It went great with Cherie. She’s a sweetheart. KCM: I have a fan question from Heather Ashley of The Wild Ones, she’s in a Runaways tribute band out of New York City. She wants to know, as I’m sure everyone else does, when is The Runaways reunion? LITA: Ahh. You know you really have to ask Joan that question. I’m there if she needs me. KCM: Ok. Speaking of The Runaways, How did you feel about the movie and what did you think about the performances? LITA: I didn’t see the movie. KCM: Really? Wow. LITA: Yeah, I didn’t see it. I’d kind of like to leave it that way. KCM: Ok well, I have some off the wall questions for you. What is your guilty pleasure? LITA: Hmm...probably shopping and spending lots of money then thinking oh, I probably shouldn’t have done that. Like going out and buying a $2,500 jacket or something stupid going Oh God! What am I doing? *laughs* KCM: *Laughs* If you were a contestant on Fear Factor, and you had a choice to eat a jar full of Hissing Cockroaches or Bull Intestine, which one would you pick?
LITA: Oh shit! I would NEVER eat a cockroach that’s for sure. I can’t handle cockroaches, although other bugs don’t bother me, cockroaches bother me. *discusses her hair with the hair stylist* Ok, I actually have to go because I have to get my hair blow dried *laughs*. KCM: I have a few more questions that won’t take long at all. LITA: Ok. I’m getting my hair blow dried so it’s probably going to be a little loud. KCM: That’s fine. Ok, so you would choose the bull intestine? LITA: yeah, I can’t handle cockroaches. Can’t handle them. KCM: Ok. So who is your band line-up now? Anyone anybody might know? LITA: My band line-up would be Mitch Perry on Guitar, Scott Kugan on drums and Marty O’Brien on the bass. And I’m not using a keyboard player right now. We’re going au natural. KCM: If you had the chance to stand up in front of congress to touch on the most important issue to you, what would you want to talk about? LITA: Taxes. No taxes! *Intermission a few minutes of Lita singing “I’d Love To Change The World” too cool. KCM: If you were cooking Rock N’ Roll Stew, what would the ingredients be? LITA: Rock N’ Roll Stew! Wow! Black leather, Marshall 100 watt JCM 800, Uhmm. Let’s see. Some 9 volt batteries, *laughs* and ahh…some blonde hair. KCM: There ya go. That’s rockin’ that’s totally you. LITA: And a couple of tattoos. KCM: Ok this is six questions in less than a minute. You don’t have to elaborate on your answer, just one answer and that’s it. LITA: Ok.
KCM: Chinese or Italian? LITA: Italian KCM: 80’s or 90’s? LITA: 80’s KCM: Air Supply or REO Speedwagon? LITA: Neither. KCM: Leather or lace? LITA: Leather KCM: Love or lust? LITA: Lust! Fuck the love! KCM: Michael Jackson or Elvis? LITA: Wow! Both. KCM: Ok, so I’m going to let you go get your hair finished. But one more thing, can you just say something to your fans? LITA: I miss you guys and I can wait to see you. I hope you love my new album. KCM: I haven’t talked to anyone yet that doesn’t like it. And I’m so happy for you. You have a lot going on, a lot of good things. And I wish the best for you. I hope to make it to one of your shows one time, it would be awesome. LITA: Awe I hope so, I hope so. I’ll talk to you soon. Take care. KCM: Ok take care, thank you. Bye. LITA: Bye, You’re welcome.
KCM: How is the Rock on, Rock Hard, Rock Animal album release going? ADAM: It’s out on iTunes and Amazon, at least the original part of it. There’s a lot more to it that’s not been mixed yet. KCM: Since you’re on tour so much, where did you record it? ADAM: It was recorded in New Jersey, last December and the beginning of this year. It’s a triple CD so I’m waiting for the finished product to be published. KCM: Part one is only available electronically, right? ADAM: Yeah only some of it’s been out. There are twenty-four songs of the best guitar tracks in Rock n’ roll. KCM: Wow! I can’t wait. (Laughing) Into some history stuff, you had a long relationship with the management team of Leber Krebs. From what I’ve read, they don’t have the best reputation in the Music Industry. ADAM: Maybe Steve Leber. David Krebs is one of my best friends in life.
ADAM: Dave Grohl! Maybe Sebastian Bach but I met him when he was in a band called VO5 and instead of working with him I started working with his drummer Mark McConnell who’s passed away a month ago. KCM: Tell me about the “Goodfellas” type of experience, getting your collaborative work with Steve Stevens produced by Jack Douglas? ADAM: The ‘New York Times’ record was kind of a special thing for us. It started off with me working with Bobby Chouinard who’s kind of a mentor to me. He was like Keith Richards but a drummer. He was definitely one of the coolest most rock n’ roll people I ever met. This was our project to try and get an album going. So we started to get Jack involved and he brought in Alan St. Jon, Kenny who played with Billy Squire and I brought in my friend Steve Stevens. We were all hanging out together in New York at the time doing lots of drugs. Jack brought in Mick Taylor and Nicky Hopkins. This was Nicky Hopkins last album that he ever played on. He played on all the great Stones classics; he played the piano on ‘Rock n’ roll’ with Led Zeppelin. KCM: Fabulous! That’s a song we all know.
KCM: Tell me about that.
ADAM: This was just kind of a New York happening and it’s something that probably will never happen again. Puff Daddy bought that studio. It’s just up the street from where I live.
ADAM: He’s the Godfather of my daughter Darian and he’s also the Godfather of Mia Tyler.
KCM: But you had to go through some kind of shitty process to get it?
KCM: So he’s one of the good guys?
ADAM: Yeah! Jack was heavily into heroin on that album. David Krebs was well involved in these lawsuits and perhaps wasn’t paying attention to what was going on in his office. There were problems with the studio manager… trying to get money, and there were a lot of drugs being done at that time. So when the album got finished, I took off to Hawaii to record another album with Rick Keefer. When I got back Jack kind of disappeared and the tapes just sat. They disappeared and about five years later I found out how to get them back. Some lady offered me the tapes if I paid her five grand cash. So I had to go to some place in New Jersey, to pay off this lady in cash.
ADAM: Yeah David is one of the coolest managers ever in Rock N’Roll. The Managers of today that are happening, like Doc McGhee for example, still praise David Krebs as their inspiration. KCM: Thanks for letting us know that. Leber is no longer working with Krebs, though, right? ADAM: Steve Leber no. They started out together, but haven’t worked together for twenty years. KCM: You either know or have recorded with almost every worthy name out there. It seems that you just show up at a gig and the next thing you know you’re in the studio with the artist. Like John Paul Jones, Michael Monroe and Steve Stevens who you’re still pals with. Who out there who is happening NOW would you like to join forces with, who you haven’t met yet?
KCM: Pretty Weird! You’re lucky you got out of there alive. ADAM: That’s kind of what I felt.
KCM: Is it true you let Layne Staley or Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains pretend that they were your roadies to get them into a club for free when they were kids? ADAM: They were just kids when I was in this band called TKO in Seattle. TKO influenced a lot of bands like Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone and Alice in Chains. Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley were like a couple kids hanging outside the Moore Theatre, we played there and we let them in to help us out backstage. I saw Layne Staley before his death we were doing a TKO reunion and they were rehearsing in the same place. He didn’t look too good. KCM: I can imagine after years and years of heroin use. It’s a shame. What was your experience with Geffen records? Kory Clarke with whom you’ve briefly crossed paths was pretty vocal about being unhappy with Geffen. Did you have good experience with them? ADAM: No! It was pre Guns n’ Roses. I was signed by a lady named Carol Childs. I don’t think the guys who ran that office, John Kalodner and the boys on the other side of that office really liked Carol. I also believe the president of their company had a problem with David Krebs because of Aerosmith. Aerosmith had a problem with David Krebs at that time. I was just kind of a pawn - I trusted everybody. KCM: …and too caught up in Politics. ADAM: Sometimes you never learn. KCM: Tell me about it! Is it true that you walked off the W.A.S.P tour because Blackie Lawless was too controlling and you got onto the bill of Gods of Metal Festival as W.A.S.P.? How did that happen? ADAM: We had this deal with a label called SPV and David Krebs wanted to call it a new project. To shine away from the Geffen thing, so we called the record ‘Get Animal’. We had a chance to open for KISS but we lost the KISS tour to Backyard Babies. There was a buy on it, an expensive buy on it like $100,000 or something. SPV was convinced to put up the money, but the time they were convinced it was too late so we lost the tour. KCM: That’s right. That’s another source of revenue for KISS – selling opening slots.
ADAM: Right. So then we got the W.A.S.P tour, which also had a buy on it. I was really giving them a run for their money, though. I was very excited because it was our first big tour. I was driving people at the label crazy. W.A.S.P had a problem with me spitting blood. I used to spit blood like Gene Simmons, and used to light my guitar on fire. I still do. But they didn’t want anybody to show them up–we were pretty good some nights. So I got threatened a lot, like, if I spit blood they’re gonna send me home. I don’t know-– I was playing guitar with my teeth and some blood came on my lip and then he said, “Ok you’re off the tour.”, which was bullshit. Then, the next day they cancelled the tour because of Blackie’s voice going bad. So, we knew they were playing the Gods of Metal Festival, so we decided to try there. We were the only ones that knew they cancelled. So we knew there was a chance to get on– and we did! KCM: there?
How many people did you play in front of
ADAM: 14,000 including my future bass player Paul Del Bello. KCM: Oh, excellent! And you didn’t know that until. … ADAM: No. I’d yet to meet him. KCM: Your first rock star meet up was with Van Halen. I think you were like 15? ADAM: That’s not true, my first real seeing of rock stars, was seeing Rush walk out of the Seattle Paramount. KCM: How old were you? ADAM: I was 13. Chris Jacobson, who gave me my first guitar, took me to a Rush show. We watched them get into a limo with groupies. It was so cool. KCM: Did you go up and talk to them? ADAM: No, we just watched. Later, we started to follow bands. I met KISS. I met Gene Simmons at The Edgewater Hotel I was like 14 or so. I didn’t meet Eddie until 14 or 15.
KCM: And you auditioned for KISS? ADAM: Yeah I auditioned for KISS when I was like 16 or 17. But I lied and said I was 21 (Laughing).
ADAM: We just didn’t kind of see eye to eye. I don’t know. I was destined for other things. (Big smile.) Everybody was very surprised when Queensryche got a record deal. It was very much a big thing for Seattle and the musicians I went to school with.
KCM: I bet they didn’t believe you. ADAM: They believed me till I got there. I still got to play with them. (Laughs) KCM: Yeah, that’s cool! And are you still in touch with those guys? ADAM: Tommy Thayer is one of my really good friends. In fact I just heard from him by e-mail yesterday.
KCM: If you had to pick from your massive catalogue, which would you say is your favorite record or maybe your top 3? ADAM: Well my favorite is ‘Third World Roar’, ‘Rock Like Fuck’ or ‘Get Animal 2’. ‘Get Animal 2’ is seems to be the most popular record I’ve done. Or ‘Fatal Attraction’.
KCM: What would you say is your influence in formulating the “Rock Like Fuck” style that you’re known for?
KCM: You do everything yourself, you don’t use a record company, management company or booking agent. You even sell your own music, that must be a lot of work but I guess as you said you, you have enough of people ripping you off.
ADAM: It’s probably from being fucked over so much, being screwed over, believing and trusting people. I finally just became like a Rock N’ Roll monster and decided to embrace being the bastard son of Rock N’ Roll instead of trying to be something I wasn’t.
ADAM It’s really not people ripping you off, its people not DOING anything. I waited so long to play out, get shows and tour that when I finally found out how to book them myself, I kind-of overdid it and started playing 200 – 250 shows a year. I found if you can book one, you can book ten. If you can book ten, you can book a hundred.
KCM: Well, it certainly worked! (Laughing)
KCM: So you don’t need those middlemen or women?
ADAM: (Laughing) so I’m the guy who takes fireworks and lights them off in small bars; who plays loud obnoxious feedback through a really loud amplifier.
ADAM: They’re not the ones that are out there doing the driving. They don’t really care. It would be nice to have a booking agent. But at my level which is kind of an underground and unknown cult thing, trying to be an American pub entertainer in England I found out how to book dates and I became, like, a Rock N’ Roll Pub entertainer!
KCM: That’s a pretty cool way to earn a living. When did you first pick up the guitar? ADAM: I first picked up the guitar when I was 13. I started a band with this drummer named Gary Thomson from Seattle. We had a band called Rage and we had to have a four-letter name like ….RUSH. I think we did a little gig in his basement. We use to play junior high schools and High schools at 14 and 15. At 16 after a battle of the bands competition and I started a band called Tyrant with Geoff Tate after we auditioned him. KCM: He had that great voice, though I heard that he was not much on style and looks. ADAM: He was more to look at than he is to look at now (Laughing).
KCM: You’re very popular in Europe, but haven’t really cracked the American market. I guess you’d rather be touring in Europe than playing, say, a bowling alley in Nebraska. ADAM: Well, I live in New York City. I’d rather go to Monaco than go to Brunswick or something (Laughing). Although I wouldn’t mind touring America, but all my gear is over there, I set myself up over there. But I do have to make a change, so we’ll see what happens. KCM: Why do you have to make a change? ADAM: Well a lot of reasons having to do with my personal life.
KCM: What’s on the tour schedule this coming fall or are you still working on that? ADAM: We’re booking a tour around end of October through December. I have problems now because my band is splitting up, so I’m going to have to start again. KCM: You’ll find someone else. I mean, you always do. ADAM: This one was pretty magic. We were together for two and a half years, did about 300-400 shows and we recorded a couple of albums. But I’ve been through some shit, since my wife died in July last year and I’m having trouble dealing with the legal stuff that’s happening as a result. KCM: There’s always the ‘legal stuff’ unfortunately. ADAM: In my case it’s pretty bad. It’s enough to make me just grab my guitars and run away. KCM: No, you can’t do that! How would you sum up the impact that Claire had upon your life?
“I finally just became like a Rock N’ Roll monster and decided to embrace being the bastard son of Rock N’ Roll instead of trying to be something I wasn’t.” “I waited so long to play out, get shows and tour that when I finally found out how to book them myself, I kind-of overdid it and started playing 200 – 250 shows a year. I found if you can book one, you can book ten. If you can book ten, you can book a hundred.”
ADAM: Well, we were a family and she made my life possible. She had her life and career in New York and I had my music career. And I started working a lot overseas. We had ups and downs in our marriage. We were married for twenty-four years. We produced two beautiful children. I’m now a single parent of a twelve-year-old girl, which is brutal …trying to be a parent in 2012 (Laughing). My other daughter just graduated college but we haven’t spoken since October and she’s kind of programmed against me, she just recently filed a restraining order against me. Even though we haven’t spoken, so things are pretty bad. KCM: Well, she’ll get over it. ADAM: Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll have to see what the judge says. She’s hired a lawyer. It’s really bad, what I’m going through. It’s my worst nightmare. It’s actually worse than what we went through with my wife’s sickness and her death. KCM: I understand. But look, in ten years, down the road…. You’re always gonna be her dad. What do you think if Claire could tell you, “Adam this is what you should do” especially with your older daughter? ADAM: She’s in purgatory right now. It’s, like, really dark where she is. She wasn’t ready to die.
And now there’s a lawyer who is trying to rob me and estranged me from my daughter, so the visions I have of what she is seeing now are visions of torment. All she would do is, like, watch the ‘movie’ and try to laugh about it, to make light of it. KCM: What’s your older daughter’s name? ADAM: Darian, I wrote a song about her called ‘Cheyenne’ on ‘New York Times’. Her full name is Darian Cheyenne. When she was a baby she was in a music video called ‘Magenta Sky’. KCM: Is it on YouTube? ADAM: Yeah. It’s spliced with images of Johnny [Thunders] in the sky. I don’t know why. They just were on the same CD together. KCM: I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I’m sure everything is going to be fine. You have to have faith and try to be happy. ADAM: We’ll see what happens. If I have a gig tomorrow, I’m doing OK. I have my next gig on Halloween. We do this place every year in a town called Krefeld. KCM: Where’s that? ADAM: Germany right on the edge of Holland. It’s kind of a tradition for that town. I played it so far past seven years. Plus it’s a jackpot. KCM: Well that’s always good when they pay you right? It’s good to create music, but it also good to get paid. ADAM: Yeah!
CrashDiet has answered every glam fans prayer when they toured the States twice this year. They’ve come to spread their Swedishness abroad the American shores and they were well received with massive screams and leaving quite a few girls with wet panties, so that could only tell you that they know how sleaze is done in a true Rock’n’Roll fashion. They got to play in the melting pot of sleaze and debauchery which is the famed Whiskey a go go, every bands dream. I however caught up with them in New York City at the end of August. I would like to extend special thanks to Dave Tedder and Michael Sunden without whom this wouldn’t be possible, and of course Simon Cruz and Peter London, my victims……. By: Agnieszka Wilde Photo’s By: Simi Friedman
KCM: How has the tour been so far, especially on the west coast?
KCM: Was it everything you expected? Simon: And more!
Peter: We only played a few clubs and today is the last show, so it’s really not a tour but it’s been great. KCM: Simon how was Mexico? Simon: Mexico is always good. The fans are crazy and they go ballistic they move like…..They go wild!
Peter: And more! It’s been a lifelong dream to play the Whiskey. That was the best day of my life. I was sooo happy that whole day…(laughing) I couldn’t believe it! KCM: And you’ve been in New York for a couple of day’s right?
KCM: After your return to Sweden what’s next? Simon: We’re in the middle of recording now so we’re gonna finish up our album and then we’re gonna do videos and then release the album in January 2013.
Peter: Kind of. We’ve had so many problems with cancelled flights and then we’ve had van problems, so we’ve been here for only a few hours it seems. Simon: Maybe a total in hours of a full day.
KCM: Can you tell us a little bit more about the upcoming album? How different is it from Generation Wild? Simon: I think it’s different but it still has the same vibe. Peter: The biggest difference is that we’re recording it pretty much live and that works out nowadays because we’ve become so much tighter as a band, and yes it’s the same vibe.
KCM: I wanted to know if you got to see anything cool in New York. Simon: Eric and Martin went to ground Zero and my best memory of New York would be when we went to Harlem and we went to the Lenox Lounge and we jammed with a band there and we got it on camera. KCM: That’s awesome! Peter: Yes that was great!
KCM: Can you reveal any song titles? Just a few…. Simon: We haven’t really decided on them yet. Peter: (laughing) that’s true. Simon: We recorded six songs already and we have not even decided on the songs that were recorded what they were going to be called. Peter: Well we could give a few like “Liquid Jesus”. Simon: “Cocaine Cowboys”. KCM: Nice, sounds very American. Peter: Yeah, yeah. KCM: How was it in California the last time you were here? Simon: At the Whiskey? That was awesome, that was the best show I’ve done in my life.
KCM: Is New York everything you expected it to be? So far what’s your impression of New York? Simon: Well I’ve been here before but I liked Harlem very much and I also liked Central Park. We went to another club that our manager knew about where before it was kind of like a Punk area. So that was cool, I like places like that more than the skyscrapers. KCM: The historic places. Peter: Yes! KCM: There is so much history in Harlem, if you have time to comeback you must check it out. Peter: We will definitely comeback. KCM: Today was a historic moment actually, that you guys are in town and there was a big shooting in mid-town. Peter: Yeah (laughing)
KCM: Peter how many pigs do you own?
Simon: I didn’t have enough time to prepare for that.
Peter: To be honest those pigs aren’t mine and I used to share them with a crazy lady. One was called “Peter London” and the other “Adolf Hitler”. Peter was the nice one and Adolf was really mean so that’s why I picked those names I guess. I have not seen them for a few years now unfortunately.
KCM: Better yet you don’t have to answer that.
KCM: You’ve started a trend, I now want a pig.
Simon: Oh Yes.
Peter: (laughing) that was few years ago.
Peter: We will be here back in March for a coast to coast tour.
KCM: I saw a few pictures on the net not too long ago. Peter: Yes I used to push Peter London around town in a stroller (laughing). KCM: Here’s a fun question: If there was a reality series about you, what would it be called?
Simon: (in cheerful voice) Alright! KCM: Someone else wanted to know if you guys will play Chicago?
Simon: Yes the big tour! KCM: What is your current favorite band?\ Peter: I have kind of too many to choose from but right now I’ll say Betty Blowtorch. Simon: I don’t really listen to music…(laughing)
Peter: That’s a though one coming out of the blue like that.
KCM: How about old time favorite?
KCM: Simon, what about you?
Simon: Skid Row.
Simon: It would Ships” (laughing).
be
called
“Crashed
KCM: Can you tell me a little bit about tonight’s song list? Peter: Yeah one new song form the upcoming album and the rest is I guess is a good mix of songs from all the other albums. KCM: Simon, what would you like to say to your fans? Simon: Everyone asks you that question but you never rehearse anything so, am I supposed to do that? I’m asking you Miss Journalist? KCM: (laughing) I was not going to ask it but I went to Facebook today and I asked your fans what they wanted me to ask you guys and this was one of the questions. Simon: Like what we want to say to the fans? KCM: Yes, your U.S. fans.
Let’s just say coming across an artist that not only creates insanely unique art but also paints with his own blood isn’t very common to come upon. Finally after being a fan for years I got the opportunity to take a trip inside Nick Kushner’s head and learn about the evolution of his art. Not only an artist but also a philosopher Nick Kushner is what you would call a one of a kind mastermind.
KCM: So start out by introducing yourself and what you are about NK: Well I am an artist that uses my own blood as my painting medium that wasn’t started for shock value; it’s my way of transmuting me into my work. I’ve been doing that for about 13 to 14 years. I recently had some exhibitions in LA and I also altered my site, nachtkabarett.com, that is a dissection of the imagery and art of Marilyn Manson. It also breaks down what all the symbols mean and how they correlate with each other. KCM: Nice! You know, I had to make sure you got into one of our issues for so many reasons: One being that you are a true New Yorker and because you are just a great artist in general. It’s amazing how you paint with your own blood especially since I have a fascination with blood. So how did you get your inspiration in art? NK: It’s something that I would say is hereditary. My mom was an art historian; my grandfather was a German artist who worked in a speakeasy in NYC during the 20s. So I always came from an art background, both of my parents were inclined in that regard. It was something that really was hereditary that evolved with me over the years. KCM: How did you get into painting with your blood? That takes a lot of guts and most people don’t have the guts to stick themselves with a needle and draw their own blood out. Personally I enjoy watching my blood flow out of me (laughing). NK: (laughing) there are a few different ways I do it which all depends on the piece I am doing and what I would like to accomplish. I guess I am kind of the inverse of a junkie in that regard because I take things out of my veins instead of putting things in. It started out when I was 15 growing up in Benson, New York which is a small town. In countering adversity from my “quote on quote” peers, I drew myself in the pose of the crucifixion as way to crystallize my identity. I used my own blood emanating from my palms and it was a way to express who I was regardless of adversity. I came up with something that just evolved over the years. KCM: Very cool and what are some of the ways you draw out your blood? NK: You know I don’t like pain; it’s not something I get off on. It’s actually the opposite, I dislike it. I believe that if you are going to do something profound and if you want to make a statement then you should be willing to suffer for it. There are many pieces that have just come from blood taken straight from a womb. The piece just formed and crystallized straight from the source and it works on many levels. The purpose of what blood is-is to just clear a womb. If something is painful for you you’re literally cleansing that out of yourself. Its literally coming out of yourself, there’s no medium or interface between you and what you are creating. So I am pouring myself onto the canvas. I always thought there was something really powerful and I think it augments the piece, what you are trying to project, and what you are trying to convey with what you’re doing. Each piece I do I like to insert myself directly from a womb because I like the direct application of it. Some of my earlier pieces, even if they were just pencil drawings, I would take a fingerprint of blood and that would be my signature. It was my way of stamping it, putting me into it, laying claim to it, and just becoming one with creating it. KCM: It makes the painting more original, personal, and shows more effort. I like how you stated how you hate the pain of getting the blood out because I am sure a lot of people must think you are “emo” or think you enjoy hurting yourself. NK: I appreciate that. People do what they want to do and I don’t give a shit or pay attention to what other people do. It’s not one of those things where I am having a bad day and I am going to cut myself because it feels so good (laughing). That’s not the case it’s just something that you have to overcome and deal with. If you’re dealing with something that’s painful, you can’t run away from it or take drugs to dumb it down. You have to deal with it, so it’s likewise if you’re painting something you have to sit with the feeling and transmute it into something positive if you want to move to your next stage. That’s why I always viewed my art or have approached it in the same matter as where it’s the journey and not the end results that changes you. You put all of your essences and beings into it. The old alchemist who would try to turn metals into gold to create the philosopher’s stone,
which is something metaphorical and symbolic which is like purifying your own soul and ascending to your next level. That’s the way I always tried to approach what I am doing. KCM: I like that way of looking at your art. I must say I am so happy how you spoke about not liking the pain you put yourself through because I am so sick of people calling us “emo” and judging us. NK: I don’t even know what the fuck that word means or where it came from. KCM: Me neither nor do I get that whole thing. It’s just stupid. So a lot of your paintings are Nazi inspired and I am sure a lot of people must get offended by them. Personally those are my favorite paintings, can you explain some of your paintings, especially the Nazi ones and explain the beauty behind them that I am sure a lot people don’t see like we do. NK: I wouldn’t classify it as Nazi paintings you know I would sympathize with the underdog and any situation. You can’t study the Kabbalah and Hebrew numerology with hating a group of people, a lot of my good friends are Jewish, and so it really has nothing to do with that. The swastika is a powerful symbol, it’s thousands of years old and it’s a symbol of magical energy and good luck. There used to be Coca-Cola tins with swastika on them, you know it’s just a symbol. The Buddhist religion also used the swastika as their symbol. One of the pieces I think you are referring to is the octopus in the form of a swastika. It’s actually inverted from what the Nazi swastika is and the title is “An Amalgamation of the Three Different Buddhist Deities.” It’s easy to look at a symbol and immediately have instill of a feeling like positive or negative. Being a student of the occult, I think it’s important to look at the symbols that are around us, look at other things that are around us and understand the other meanings behind them that we don’t associate with them. It’s something powerful to objectify a symbol and when I say objectify I mean to take it out of the popular context and have it represent something else.
terror than a horror movie because of what’s going down of the millennium of what the church has done. Whether its religion or the cult it has an unworthy quality to it that is unnecessary. KCM: Now just explain some of the art exhibits that you have had and if your art was featured in any art galleries. About a year ago I believe, I think you had a big art exhibit that only featured your art, so if you wouldn’t mind telling me about that. NK: I’ve been in a number of group shows throughout the country including New York over the past few years. I had my first solo exhibits in LA last fall on 9/10/11 at a place called Studio Servitu. It was called ‘Les Crimes De L’Amour’ which is the title of a couple of my pieces, but it was inspired by the play by the Marquis De Sade that means crimes of love. Putting your blood with your work evokes a certain passion that the title reflects. The show was really amazing Twiggy Ramirez DJ’d the party and Marilyn Manson came to it. These guys are my heroes so I can’t even tell you how much it means to have people who I grow up admiring, actually coming and looking at something I did, it was crazy and a tremendous honor. Manson actually world premiered Born Villain it was the first public appearance of Born Villain. It ranked as number four on LA Weekly’s top ten badass events of 2011 so it was really cool and I could send you the link of it. That’s why I view art as something powerful like magic and I don’t walk around with a big ego, but this is something that I put my heart into for so many years before anyone did give a shit and before I thought anyone gave a shit and you create something bigger than yourself out of it. I had a show at the same venue, it was a collaborative show with me and one of my best friends, Anthony Silver, who co-wrote and produced Manson’s Phantasmagoria film trailer. So he exhibited some of his still photographs with some new works of mine on 11/11/11. I had my painting ‘MALDOROR’ be part of a museum exhibition in Vienna this past spring. I don’t know if you recorded it or not but I am having a show in San Diego probably in the fall and I have a representation company in Mexico and Latin America called Two One Two Productions which is the same company that represents Manson and who organized his museum exhibition in Mexico City last fall. KCM: Wow that’s awesome, congrats! KCM: I am glad you explained it because people are very closeminded and don’t know that one symbol can have many meanings. NK: People can get offended easily. I’ve never done anything for the shock value, and art shouldn’t be something to compliance in. It should be something that is dangerous like what punk rock used to be. That’s why I call my art degenerate art not as a thjoke but as a way to pay homage to my heroes from the early 20 century who had their works vandalized, persecuted, stolen, and confiscated by the Nazis and called degenerate because it was something powerful. I think if you are revoking something that’s powerful it will offend people but that means it has significant meaning. KCM: One of your paintings that I find extremely fascinating is painting of the Pope; I forgot the name of it I am so bad with names (laughing). What was that painting all about? It’s extremely interesting and hard to figure out, so if you don’t mind giving a little explanation about that painting. NK: That was kind of an exciting for lack of better word to kind of live through the death of the figurehead of Christianity, which is the world’s most powerful religion. It’s kind of like living through the crucifixion or something like that; it was just an exciting moment in time. The title ‘BORGIA’ is a reference to a line of Popes in the renaissance that where notorious for corruption, murder, and incest. No matter what something comes from, no matter how poor something looks like, there’s at least something beneath the surface and that was a fascination with that element. KCM: You can play a lot with religion art and writing-wise, and I like a lot of the religious themed arts if it is done tastefully. That’s why I have a fascination with that painting. NK: Cool thanks! Religious imagery has always been something really powerful and I think looking at old cathedrals can cause more
NK: Oh thanks that’s one of the reason why you haven’t seen me that much. KCM: Does the environment around you affect your art? NK: Yes. Where I create has to be a place that’s contemplative. Anything that you are creating whether its music or a painting it’s all something that you are projecting out of yourself that you want to convey the world, you have to have that done in an environment that facilitates that. Wherever I create, I like to have images, symbols, and various things that are an inspiration to me because it keeps you in that mindset that makes you want to create. All my tattoos are either things that I designed or are various paintings and drawings by artists that I love and inspire me. It’s my way of putting my inspiration on me and when you see something that you are inspired by, you want to create something of your own, if I am putting it right. When you see something that changes your world and makes it come alive, in a sense you want to return the favor. So any place whether it’s a place upstate or in the city you have to have an environment where you can listen to the God within yourself. However you want to look at it, you have to have an environment with things around you that inspire you that make you want to create, and that alternate what you want to project what you are creating with your art. KCM: I feel it also goes the same way with moods. For example I wanted to write something about NYC, the real NYC of course, so I went back to locations that used to be the heart of NYC and its music to get inspired and it worked. I am actually the same way with tattoos I like to get tattoos that are musically themed and portraits of musicians that really make an impact in my life. NK: It makes you want to create, which is even more powerful than having something on your wall.
KCM: Now going back to your website explain what the website is all about. I have been a fan of your website for a while and I have always been very interested in knowing how it all started and where you got all the information from. NK: I’ve been studying the occult for the past 16 years being an artist, it’s something that inspires you to look deeper into and the theories of meanings, things you like and are inspired by. Music has always been something that I always naturally gravitated to because it’s what makes my world come alive; it’s the sound track of your life. I learned about various literatures and inspirations from bands that I used to listen to growing up, like The Beatles and Iron Maiden. When I got into Manson it was something that I was just naturally inclined to, that was exciting you know being at a Marilyn Manson concert and the audience always felt like to me what it must have felt like to be in the audience of a Sex Pistols concert back in 77. So it already had that excitement to it, it’s why Marilyn Manson has always been my favorite and my hero. As I would study the occult, it was kind of a turning point in my life, were I was about to kind of get off in my next level and I would notice these parallels with what I was reading with the themes and imageries that Manson would evoke in his performances, album artwork, and his art. So the best way to share these things with the world was through a website, so that’s basically how it started. It changed my life, I got to meet my hero from doing it, and I’ve met my best friends from doing it. It’s one of those things where you put your all into it, whether or not no one else cares, and you put this work into the world that changes you that projects this energy which comes back to you. KCM: I am sure Manson must have been amazed when he discovered it because someone actually got the facts right. NK: Yea my friend Rudy actually introduced me. I did something without the intension of getting something in return from it whereas most people expect something in return from it. It’s kind of how I developed part of my philosophy and art. KCM: That’s awesome and it really is a great website and very helpfully for anyone who doesn’t understand Manson and the occult. I definitely recommend fans to go on it. NK: I actually want to update my website soon with the materials from Born Villain but I am only on man with three careers that I am trying to put my all into (laughing). KCM: Growing up and even now do you have any goals and things you would like to accomplish? NK: I don’t like to limit myself by making a goal because I think that if you don’t limit what the end goal is or what you want to accomplish it opens it up for something greater that you didn’t know existed. When I grew up I was just naturally inclined to be artistic and my goal was always to just use my art and creations. I went into web design because I wouldn’t have to compromise my art by having to do paintings for other people. My goals were always just to be creative, to create things, and be able to make my living around the world. KCM: What are something’s that you are fascinated by. NK: Well the occult is something I have been fascinated with for many years, the darker recesses of art, and the world meaning things that aren’t visible on the surface. KCM: Very cool I always had an interest for those things as well. Now like we were talking about before music is a major part of your life so what are some of the things you listen to and grew up on?
NK: I think being a visual person music is the counterpart to that it provides the soundtrack for what you are creating. Aside from Marilyn Manson music that I always gravitated towards was late 70s and early 80s punk like The Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders, varies California punk bands. I always gravitated towards punk rock because it’s a short burst of energy that’s inspiring. KCM: Are you a musician do you play anything? NK: I always wanted to start a band and growing up in a small town I didn’t have the peers to start a band with so I went into slitting my wrist and painting with it (laughing). I play guitar on and off I haven’t played in a while but I always wanted to be a singer. KCM: I can picture you being a front man. NK: I always wanted to but that’s one thing that fate didn’t shine on me. I guess I got my own thing going so it’s alright. KCM: Now you have mentioned some of your idols just give me a general idea of who your idols are and why they inspire you? NK: I guess my various idols are people that refuse to be limited by what society expects them to be which varies from writers, to artists, to musicians. Heroes of mine are Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, Sid Vicious, Johnny Thunders, Andy McCoy, Comte de Lautréamont who wrote Maldoro because all those people weren’t afraid to create things that were powerful or refused to be limited. KCM: Is there any type of mark you want to leave on this world? NK: It’s one of those things were I don’t want to limit by what I can accomplish but I you know I guess I would like to be remembered as someone that liked all of my heroes someone who did something regardless of adversity. Something that is truly unique. KCM: When you die is there anything or something that you would like to come back as? I don’t know if you believe in that but I do. NK: I am very interested in past lives and it’s something that I do believe in. I think it’s interesting whenever you ask someone that they always say Jesus or Gandhi no one ever says like the janitor or the Hebrew slaves who built the monuments. I don’t know what I would like to come back as I would just like to go at it again. KCM: Ok so to wrap up everything tell me what will be going on in the future and what is to be expected from you. NK: Well I will be having the show in San Diego that will most likely be in the fall. I am being represented by 2.1.2 productions for Mexico and Latin America to have a show out there, which is very exciting. I recently finished a commission’s piece, which will be the front piece of a book cover, which I am designing hopefully it should be out in the fall. Aside from that I am working on transforming the website into a book with new materials, new visuals. Otherwise I’m just cultivating my new body of work right now. KCM: Well thank you so much I look forward to seeing more of your and seeing a show hopefully soon in the future. NK: Thank you I hope so too.
From the minute I heard their album ‘Wildstreet’ not only did I know I was going to be a huge fan but I also knew that this band was going to go places. Sure enough when their EP ‘Wildstreet II Faster, Louder’ was released it brought the band to a whole new level bringing them success with a blink of an eye. Eric Jayk also stood out to me not only because of his awesome style but also because of his distinct vocals and talent especially on stage. Now currently in the studio working on a new album that is due to be released in the New Year, Krashcity is one of the first presses to actually hear about the new album along with all the plans in store for 2013. I must say Wildstreet is one of my favorite NYC bands.
KMC: So can you start out by giving me a little history about the band and about yourself.
KMC: that?
ERIC: Well I started the band in 2006 with my old guitar player Jimmy Marlow who left the band a while ago but we still write together all the time and he still is my best friend. He and I started to record the EP then met Ally and my old drummer Brian Beck on craigslist, stuff got pretty intense very quickly. The band started playing in 2009 we got signed to this small record label in Las Vegas who put us on tour and gave us our first appearance at Rocklahoma, which was huge for us. We have been back every year since headlining the side stage, which is the closing act on Sunday nights, and this year was the biggest ever. At our first Rocklahoma in 2009 I met Ian who was in the band Dirty Penny at the time. When we needed a new guitar player strangely enough Dirty Penny had broken up so we called Ian and he came into New York City for a little while just to visit and when he came to rehearsal he learned a few of our songs in 20 minutes. He played the songs perfect so he got the gig. The next night we played a show at Don Hills and it was killer. Then he moved here in 2011 and at that point Jimmy and my best friend had left the band and Aaron Joos our current rhythm guitarist joined the band. So that’s really the history. Now we are getting ready to make our new record and are in the process of writing it and figuring it out.
ERIC: Yes there is definitely going to be a song called “Three Way Ride”; another called “Raise Hell”, “We Come Alive”, and two awesome ballads that we wrote. I really just can’t wait for you to all hear it, it’s really going to be something awesome.
KMC: Very cool. So basically ever since the EP was released that’s when everything started to change and that’s when you started to play big festivals, winning some awards like the battle of the bands, and getting noticed on the television. Has this changed the band in away way or you as a person? ERIC: Well the response that we got to ‘Faster Louder’ was pretty amazing especially to Poison Kiss. Everything changes and it’s been an amazing few years. KMC: You guys are working on a new record how is that going so far? ERIC: It’s going great. It’s definitely going to be different. We are trying not to go into that whole easy sleaze rock thing or whatever genre. We are just trying to make great music and that’s what we are doing you know. I am totally excited about the songs that we are all writing.
Any ideas for songs titles or anything like
KMC: It sounds like it is very put together and that it is coming along quickly. Any release date yet? ERIC: We are trying to get it out shortly after New Year because we have tour plans that we still are waiting for confirmation on but, its going to be pretty huge. When we are ready to announce I will totally let you guys know. KMC: Oh awesome that would be great. How do you feel about the New York City music scene in terns of like where you guys fit in and the rock n roll scene? Its not that common here so how do you feel about that? ERIC: Well I feel that there is nothing but love for Wildstreet in New York City. It would be awesome if there were a million bands like us working together but bands that are out there such as ‘Nasty Habit’, and another band that was out a few years ago ‘Party Death’ we all have been there to help each other. Samuel Valentine is an amazing person who has done so much for both me as a person and all the guys in the band. He has done a pretty awesome job building a rock scene in New York City. KMC: Yeah, I agree and the Crashdiet show was something else. Every band on there was amazing and it was the first time I got to finally see you guys. I was totally blown away from every band and it was a really fun night. ERIC: Yea its always awesome for us to play with our friends ‘The Last Vegas’ and of course Crashdiet was great, we love that band. Its was just a great night. KMC: It really was. I got to say I have been to so many shows this summer but that show besides Aerosmith had to be the best of the whole summer. ERIC: That’s awesome, I am glad (laughing).
KMC: I was actually a little upset because I only caught the end of your set since we were covering the show and doing business with Crashdiet but I got to catch you guys again. I am sure you will be performing a lot when the album comes out. ERIC: Yeah, absolutely I am glad you got to see some of it. KMC: Yeah ,it was pretty amazing. Do you have any favorite clubs to hang out at or perform? ERIC: I always love playing at Webster its like home for us. We have played there a bunch of times and they really take care of us. We’ve played a lot of clubs and a lot of different places so in New York I think The Bowery was great, Gramercy was fun. I don’t really know. There have been too many awesome places that we have played. We’ve been kind of on and off tour for about 3 to 4 years. Are there any places that you like to go? KMC: hmmm I’ve been going to Webster a lot and the gigs that I have seen there weren’t bad so I kind of got used to it there and its cool to hang out there as well. I really enjoy going to Gramercy a lot because I like the size of it. I kind of judge the club or venues based on sound and not too many clubs have good sound. My favorite place to go see a band is The Best Buy Theater the sound is mind blowing. ERIC: Yeah I’ve seen a lot of cool shows there. Highline was a lot of fun too we played there with the ‘Bouncing Souls’. It’s a good place. KMC: Good to know I have to go to a gig there real soon. So what was your favorite gig of the summer? ERIC: Yeah, the Sunday night at Rocklahoma it was our biggest audience so far at a festival and it was just a lot of fun. KMC: I could imagine festivals are huge especially Rocklahoma so it must have been great exposure for you guys.
ERIC: How so? KMC: Well not a lot of artists are playing rock n roll it’s kind of a whole new genera they are trying to create claiming that it is rock n roll and it’s not a mainstream thing anymore so, how do you feel about that? ERIC: Well there are some people I think are doing an amazing job in keeping the spirit of rock n roll alive (laughing). Like Justine from the band The Darkness is an amazing guitar player, an amazing singer and front man as well. There’s a few others too but he is probably my favorite of the new quote on quote new rock bands even though they are not so new. KMC: ist?
Do you have a current favorite band or art-
ERIC: hmmm current band or artist, I have a favorite band I am listening to currently (laughing). KMC: (laughing) That will work
ERIC: Yeah, it was especially playing for people who are not always at our shows and who are actual fans of the band from all parts of the world and the country. When you see a crowd singing back the lyrics of your songs it just feels amazing. KMC: And also the exposure that you guys have been getting on television, your songs being used on E, and also appearing on Jimmy Kimmel. I am sure this must have heightened your audience and fans. ERIC: We got really lucky because people enjoy using the sounds from ‘Faster, Louder’ for TV shows. It’s pretty cool when somebody writes on Facebook how they were watching The Real World and we just heard Wildstreet on there. It’s pretty awesome. KMC: I never watch those shows but they are good for something now, which is promoting your music (laughing) ERIC: (laughing) KMC: How do you feel about the artists and bands in our days?
ERIC: Recently I just got into Iron Maiden (laughing), I went through a Judas Priest phase as well. I like some of those newer bands like Crashdiet, Reckless Love but I do honestly like 69 Eyes. I think they are an amazing band; they are big supporters of Wildstreet along with good friends of ours. KMC: There’s a lot going on in Europe and I am so happy that you said you’re a supporter of Reckless Love because I get bashed from people all the time that I like Reckless Love. They might be a bit poppy sounding but I personally think they are great. If you like the European stuff then you should check out Blackrain if you haven’t heard of them but they are fuckin amazing. ERIC: Really? KMC: Yes. ERIC: Oh I definitely will. KMC: Do you have any goals or accomplishments for yourself and for the band? ERIC: As if what I want to happen in the next year? KMC: yes
ERIC: We have already put our goals into motion by trying to get this new record out which has really been my focus for the past year or so. I’ve been writing constantly to the point where I drive everyone in my life crazy (laughing). For example I don’t really answer the phone or emails. I just want to release our record, tour Europe, and do a big US tour. I just want to play music in front of people all the time. KMC: I like how you are not all talk and no action you are actually talk and action if you get what I mean and that is what I think got you guys so successful. You don’t just sit there and dream you actually go for it and have a lot of potential. ERIC: We love what we do, love playing music, love making people happy, love playing music in front of people, recording music, just everything about being in a band we love. The sky is the limit. KMC: So you have started to accomplish some of the goals already from the sound of it, which is awesome. ERIC: Yeah we are working on it and it will happen so its all good. KMC: Do you have any artist that you always dreamed of playing with or sharing the stage with? ERIC: I have a ton. Let me start with my top five favorite performers and bands, which are Prince, Def Leopard, ACDC, Aerosmith, and Gary Moore who is my favorite guitar player. So I would do anything to play either on stage or to just make music with them or to have us open for them. KMC: That’s pretty awesome how you love Prince because that’s another thing I get bashed for. There is nothing wrong with Prince, he is an amazing musician and an amazing guitarist. A great poet I might add. ERIC: He represents exactly who I wanna be. He is a great singer, a great songwriter, a great guitar player, great music, producer, and he looks amazing. KMC: I was brought up with Prince. He was the first artist that I really ever got into and introduced to. You have some great people you want to play with and you know it might just happen. ERIC: Oh I have no doubt it will. KMC: I can totally see that happen.
ERIC: You know I just want say I really, really appreciate your support of Wildstreet and it means a lot that you are taking the time to do this interview. KMC: Oh no problem my pleasure. I’ve been a supporter for a while and it has never worked out to see you guys and I was finally suppose to see you open for Michael Monroe but It was 21 and over so I was fucked (laughing). And, it’s my pleasure to get to promote you guys and give you exposure so thank you for agreeing to this. ERIC: Well you are welcome (laughing). Oh and I can’t believe I left Michael Monroe off my top performers and musicians list. That was mind blowing for me to open for Michael Monroe. KMC: I can only imagine I am dying to see him. So you’ve been going crazy with writing and playing shows so it seems like you don’t really have time to breathe. When you do have the time to just relax? Do you have any favorite pass times or ways that you like to spend your nights? ERIC: I am just writing or teaching all the time. I teach guitar and bass by the way.
KMC: Oh that’s awesome I play bass. ERIC: I guess sometimes I watch TV but I am kind of a focused person so I work out and I work on music. KMC: But if its what you love to do then hey keep on doing it. ERIC: It’s what I love to do! (laughing) KMC: Exactly, so if its making you happy then that’s all that matters. ERIC: Absolutely. KMC: So I am just going to put you on the spot and do some on the spot questions. So is there any place that you would rather be right now? ERIC: Right now? No probably not. KMC: Now fill in the blanks, if blank would happen I would blank ERIC: If pigs could fly, I would scream. KMC: (laughing) If I had blank in my life ,I would be complete. ERIC: hmmm (laughing) if I had an endorsement with Gibson and a custom Les Paul design then I would be perfect. (laughing) KMC: (laughing) That is awesome! Sorry for making you think a little too hard (laughing) ERIC: (laughing) KMC: How would you like to be remembered by the time you leave this earth? ERIC: I just want them to say “Eric Jayk yay! KMC: (laughing) Awesome! So to finalize everything just explain what is up ahead for you and Wildstreet in the new year. ERIC: Ok, so 2013 Wildstreet 3 new records, tour of Europe, and a big tour of the US with bigger festivals, big venues, and more people seeing us. Just playing lots of great music and to be on tour for 9 months. KMC: (laughing) that’s great and intense. Well that is it we did it! (laughing) ERIC: (laughing) alright! Well thank you KMC: No problem. ERIC: I think I am making myself dizzy doing all this talking. (laughing) KMC: Well I tried to make it as short as possible and also interesting (laughing) ERIC: Its awesome thank you so much! Anything I can do for you guys just let me know. KMC: Thank you! And you have a great day ERIC: You too bye.
KCM: So start out by explaining who you are because unfortunately most people are not familiar with you and the involvement you have in the NYC scene.
Alison: Well that’s kind of a lot (laughing), do you want the long answer or the short answer. KCM: Just a good description.
Alison: Well I moved to NYC in 1978 and had a band from about 79 until like 83 or 84. Then I moved to California and played with a couple of blues guys called The Hurricanes. Then I moved back again to the city and played country western music, and because I began going out with my husband Stephen Hoda I met Johnny (Thunders), they were very good friends. I met him at a mutual friend’s house out in Brooklyn where I met Johnny for the first time, this was around Christmas time. We were just in my friend Jerry’s Brooklyn apartment and I was playing his wife’s guitar on their living room floor while Johnny and Jerry were in the kitchen. So I began to sing and Johnny came in the living rooming sat on the floor next to me and said, “Do you know Eve of Destruction”? So I said “yes I do but you play it better.” (Laughing) So he started playing and we just sang together. That was the first meeting with him, which was the end of 87. In the summer of 88 Johnny was living in Sweden then, and he came back to town around that August, and we were on our way to the Lime Light together when he asked me if I wanted to put something together with him. So I said ok and he asked me if I knew anyone who played bass and sang which I did. So then we rehearsed for this show at the Lime Light and Sylvain played with us, but I didn’t meet him because he didn’t come to the rehearsal he just showed up and played. We did the show it was very well attended; we have only done a couple of rehearsals just to learn the songs. He had put together local musicians from New York then he had other people in Europe he wanted to do stuff with as well. After we did that show he asked if I wanted to go to Europe with him, so I agreed and asked when, he said now right now (laughing). So we went and toured Europe for 2 months, and met the other guys that were in England along with picking up the guitar player Stevie Clarson who was Swedish and the drummer Chris Musto who lived in London. We were all living together in this apartment that Chris rented, so we were all there together (laughing). I really didn’t know that much about Johnny I’ve heard things like oh he takes drugs and at that point I didn’t really see that. I had seen him be fairly lose, together, reasonable, and good at what he was doing, and then that all changed (laughing). Here I was only 30 years old I was on the road with someone where there were problems going on. The sax player Jamie who was American (which was great) was there too, and I asked him if he had ever encountered anything like this before and he said that he has been in bands were it’s like a room filled with Johnny’s (laughing). So I called up my husband telling how he’s taking Valium, he’s miserable, falling asleep, wandering all night long, and what should we do? He tells me that he doesn’t need that so I called up his wife Suzann in Sweden and ask her if he needs it. She told me no he doesn’t, he is a real jerk when he takes them just throw them away. So I did (laughing) I throw them out the window (laughing). Then Johnny was looking for them and pacing all night long. I would go in his room and rub his back trying to make him feel better, he would be good for about 15 minutes and then the pacing would start again. Finally in the morning everyone was finally asleep, he was still up and said, “Well I am going to go get some more Valium.” So I said ‘that’s it! I am leaving the hell with this!” I stormed out, we had a big fight and I left but not permanently. I told the rest of the band who caught up with me and I told them that I would be back by the end of the night but don’t tell him that, tell him you are extremely worried and you don’t know where I have gone. So I went to a play and I came back at ten. They were all pacing around the apartment saying ‘what do we do, what do we do”. I said to Johnny “I am really sorry that you are an asshole (laughing) but I can’t deal with this!” He threw his fist into the wall and punched a hole into it, which I don’t know how they explained that to the landlord. Then he said “well you are the only other person that I am afraid of besides my sister.” I said, “Good let’s keep it that way.” So we had a very good understanding I just adored him, but I am the one who is staying up all night with you and you are just going to go out and do it all over again. So that begin the tour and we had to get through these shows in London that were big shows, because it was the start of the tour. We couldn’t just walk in there and not know what we were doing . The band had just met and was trying to play together,
so I said I’ll keep him busy in the day, with Johnny and when he would get to rehearsal he would rush it and we would never get through a song (laughing). So everyone would panic because they wouldn’t know the song and couldn’t get through it. It was fun and we worked it out. Then we took our van to a boat that took us to Switzerland and the tour began (laughing). We went to Germany, Austria, which Jamie made the best comment. He said “if I see one more fairy tale village I am gonna throw up.” (Laughing). It was a lot of fun and Jamie was very fun. It was just a humorous band and a very intelligent one including Johnny, who was always reading stuff and checking out newspapers. People think he was a “bad boy” or something like that, but he was rather shy most of the time until he became Johnny for the show. We were on a train coming from Sweden to go to Amsterdam, and his leg began to jump up and down. And I said, “What’s going on with your leg? You’re becoming Johnny aren’t you?” (Laughing) And he said, “Yes I am”. (Laughing). He became Johnny (laughing). KCM: Wow you know a totally different side of him.
Alison: It bugs me when I see stuff written about him, especially the English press they were so evil. They wrote something in one of those Trash magazines or music magazines whatever it’s called saying “here comes ol’ Johnny Thunders shuffling away in his carpet slippers to yet again another encore.” They made it sound like that was a bad thing like it was terrible. They were trying to put you down while you actually had a really good show. They were like witches who couldn’t say anything nice. They are very cruel there and never said anything nice about a show. There always has to be some kind of negative scandal and it bothered me, I never liked the whole drug addled doomed scenario. It was basically a lot of fun, and most of our day usually ten hours of it was traveling together in the van playing Bob Marley, which no one of ever removed. If we put other things on everyone would complain and want to take it off, but then we would put on Bob Marley and played it like 20 times (laughing). Most of the time we didn’t have time to get ourselves together, we would have to go straight to the venue to do a sound before we could go to the hotel and try to make ourselves look reasonable. Everybody in the band I think had their own unique style, and everyone liked to dress up especially Johnny. He didn’t just slump out there. Now bands show sliding out there in your pajamas (laughing). All though Johnny did wear pajamas but they were polka do and interesting. We played with The Replacements at the Beacon Theatre and I have never heard of them before. We had just got back from the French tour in 1989, and Jamie set this show up through a producer who said this band wanted Johnny to open for them. I thought who the hell are they (laughing) because I have never heard of this band. So we get to the theatre and we’re doing sound check and Paul Westerberg is there, who was their “bad boy”. These guys dressed in button down shirts that was sort of left out of their pants, and they looked all shumpy and whatever as if they just left their college dorm to go do their laundry. They didn’t look like anything at all. So Paul Westerberg comes in the dressing room on the second night of the performance and he says to Johnny “oh Johnny I got to talk to you come up stairs.” So Johnny taps me on the leg and tells me to go with him. So we go upstairs to their dressing room and he says to Johnny “listen man play to the rockers don’t do all that acoustic shit.” I am sitting there heaving to Johnny “please can I just hit him for you.” (Laughing). So Johnny was very nice and took it as whatever, but we still did what we wanted and did acoustic stuff. And guess who came out with their own acoustic album 2 years later Paul Westerberg, which I think Johnny was died by then. HA what an idea Paul I wonder how you came up with that. At the time I thought who the fuck are you! You are telling Johnny who’s maintained a career at this point for 18 years and you have only been on the scene for only three or four years, and you are telling him what to play and what to what to do! Who the fuck are you! I don’t like them I never have including their songs I was never interested. I never heard of them until we played with them. That 2 night show at the Beacon Theatre could have been very big for us, but it wasn’t promoted.
They were getting $20 a ticket and the theatre holds 3,000 so that’s 60,000 per night and it was sold out, unfortunately it was not promoted. We only agreed to it a week before it happened, so there was no promotion and people didn’t know about it. There were maybe 1,000 people in the audience because we were the opening act, which the Johnny did come, but it would have been a full house if there was promotion. So we were playing to a third of the audience, which felt weird. To top it all off they only gave us $1000 per night of which we had to kick off $700 to the sound system. So there was $300 split with 6 people. I told the promoter that I made more money playing at O'Lunney's by myself on a Friday night. He had the nerve to say that so many bands would have killed to be opening. So I said “why didn’t you get them? I don’t need this, we don’t need this you didn’t promote it so what’s the point.” So that’s what you deal with, but it was fun to play there since it was a big venue. KCM: So what is currently happening with your career?
Alison: After Johnny died in 91’ I continued my band Blonde and Blue in New York from 90’-97’. After 97’ I just couldn’t keep it together anymore, it was too expensive. I was playing shows regularly, doing stuff, and it was an uphill battle. There were still record companies that you had to interest their A&R people, and if you couldn’t get them all in the same room then they weren’t interested. So it was just very difficult, even though we always got great reviews. I also had no management except me, so I would get on the phone and call record companies inviting them to come see the band, and it would always be the same story. They would always response with “well we are looking for another Jane's Addiction.” Well don’t you have one already? You should get something new, don’t you believe in alternative music I would tell them. They would response “Wow you really sound like you believe in your band.” Yea no shit I am on the phone with you! (Laughing). So that’s what I was dealing with club owners, people that don’t wanna pay you, etc. So I played in NY pretty much straight for the next 7 years, and I just got sick of it. One of the last things that just brought me over the edge was playing over at Sticky Mike’s Fog Bar, which changed its name by the time we played there. It was on Lafayette, and was doing pretty well. I got the booking through another band that asked us to be on the bill with them. So there were three of us on the bill that really worked it, and there were 16 people to pay in all. Everybody got $100; it was sold out, and out of liquor. It was a very successful night for them; I even got press for that show because it was in the paper. So I go back the next day to this women Ellen and I use the c word for her, because when I called her to book another gig in the future she told me that she needed a tape when in the end she knew exactly who I was. Why? Just quiz your people that were there like your bartender, sound guy, and your waitresses. So I had to just stop in to give her the press kit from that night as a reminder of who I was since the show was so successful. So what more could you possibly want? After all that I still got “oh I need to hear a tape.” I turned around and said “I don’t fucking care! I don’t have the time for this, it’s costing me money, and if that’s the kind of reception that I am going to get I don’t care because I am not going to do this.” So a lot of things happened on top of that, my sax player Jamie dyed in 97’ who was also Johnny’s sax player that’s how we met. That happening just took the wind out of me, so I just stopped doing things for a while. I didn’t do very much until about 20022003 when my very good friend Susan Mitchell, who I s an excellent violinist, asked me She said, “Come on we could put together a duo and do your music.” So we did, and the person who got us back into doing this was Frankie Wood. Frankie was doing all the booking at Otto's Shrunken Head, who claimed to not know who I was. So I go to meet him and brought him my CD. He then realized that everyone I knew had liked Sami Yaffa, and who has played in my band so, he knew all these people that knew me. Then he right away said that I should play there. We played there every Sunday night for a year and half straight, and I was very grateful. I have nothing but love for him. I had to get myself back together and I wasn’t confident, especially about playing guitar again, but he helped me along. So we did that and it really just gave me a boost of confidences. Frankie really brought me back in along with Susan, and I realized that there were many people in the NY scene that I knew. Every night I would see all these familiar faces, and realize that they all play in each other’s bands. Frankie kind of started all this, because he realized that the same people were in different bands, so he would put together a great line up of bands.
That’s what attracts all these people like Sami Yaffa, and Lenny K. I am going to go play tonight a show over at Local 269, which is with Steve Krebs who is a big Johnny fan and now started to play, everyone who is in the scene like Kevin Schon, Matt Legon, Cynthia Ross, and of course Walter from The Waldos. All these people I play with now and have even played with back in the day are all people that are trace back to Johnny in some way. So the NY scene is made up of people who have been around like the guys in the Fenders, Cheetah Chrome who used to open for us, it was just a bunch of people that would come in a play. Now there is young people too and bands. There’s a band that is going to play tonight called Stiletto and Sam Hariss is very good. They are all so young and influenced by Johnny, Walter, and the whole scene. It’s actually done my heart good to see people like yourself as well who weren’t even around to see Johnny, but still have this influence that is carried over and effecting what people are doing. I hope this answers your question about the NY scene because it is pretty wacky. (Laughing). I would say that the current scene is a mixture of us old timers and the young people who are influenced by us. I think it kind of has more import now, because before everyone was in a punk band. I don’t even know if there is such a thing anymore, and I wouldn’t call what we were doing with Johnny punk. It was rock n roll even though people didn’t call it that. KCM: Has the NYC scene and club scene change at all, because to me of course I see a major change so I would like to know
your opinion on that. Alison: Yes, I used to get paid for playing and now I get very little money. (Laughing). Back in the 70s and 80s if you played you were guaranteed about $50-$60 a band, there would be no issue. Now you almost have to pay to get on the stupid bill. It’s also going to cost you for the rehearsal, which you never see that money again since you aren’t making it at the show. Everyone thinks their music should be free and it’s always been a “can I get on the list” with people, but now it is more than that. It’s also now because the club doesn’t value it, and feel that since there are thousands bands out there that they could just find one that will play for nothing or pay us. So yes I do think it’s different. People used to expect to pay a cover price of probably about $5, and that didn’t kill them. Now people can’t do that or don’t want to do that, and they don’t appreciate a live music scene. Actually what happened at the Continental was really a shame, because they had live music all the time. They actually posted a sign outside that said we no longer have live music, as if they are proud of it. So that’s the death of a club, which was also a great place to play. KCM: It also seems like the people and fans have changed too. Alison: I think it starts off with the clubs, because it’s all based on money. So if you were to go to a club that charges $5 at the door, you would get about 60% of that. Now if you pack the club up and ask them for 60% they look at you basically with a look that says “well that isn’t going to happen” (Laughing). They can take part of what you bring through the door, but they will not part with anything they have made which has never changed. I think people just go along with whatever club policy is. One thing I do love about Otto’s is that on Sunday nights it is free and they pass around a hat for whoever wants to give something, which frankly I make more money passing the hat around than I did playing at Tramps. I used to have to beg the guy for $75 for my whole band of six people. I had brought like 200 to 300 people, even though they were on a list they were all eating and drinking, which is about $20 to $50 a person. So you tell me who is making out better. So that’s another reason why I stopped the band as well, because I couldn’t even justify doing it. I should just attach a vacuum to my pocket and suck the money out that way and set fire to it, because I would have more fun that way than with what’s going on now. As far as what’s the same I think bands still get crap deals but I think it’s worse now, and it’s much harder to get an actually guarantee. When I played at the Cat Club with my first line up of Blonde and Blue I approach Don Hill who was a very standup guy, and he guaranteed me $200. I was an unknown band even though I had played with Johnny he didn’t know that, he didn’t know if I could bring in people or not, but he still guaranteed me $200 which he gave it to me quiet freely. He was very kind and lovely, which is very rare to come upon, Don Hill was a real lose. He had clubs in NY the Cat Club and Don Hills. He really loves and lived for music and wanted to make sure that there was a venue. He always had good sound and was trying to make an effort to have a venue with good sound, and he treated bands like humans. It was a real loss having Don Hill pass away. KCM: I feel that back in the day there were some promoters and club owners that were more caring for the bands and the music rather than today. Alison: Yea well as I say I can only speak now that I still have nothing but good to say about Frankie Wood, because he worked so hard to try to keep the venue going, and keep the new and the old bands going. No he is not a youngster, but he believes and lives for it as someone like Don Hill did. There are very few people in music that seem to actually care
So who makes the money? It’s not us in the music world (laughing). KCM: Now let’s gear a little more towards you, so tell me a bit of your musical history like albums you have put out, people you have played with, etc. Alison: My musical history is very disjointed. I taught myself how to sing and play the guitar but was too shy to sing in front of people until I got to college and our singing teacher had us sing in front of the class once a week. I went from playing folk music to singing torch songs accapella. When I moved to NYC, my roommate kept trying to get me to sing with her friends who had a band but no lead singer, after 6 months of avoiding them; I finally went to a rehearsal and began singing with a rock band that did a lot of covers, hence the name: The Clonetones. We started doing more and more of our own material, which was the most satisfying aspect. We got a demo deal from Polygram Records, but Cyndy Lauper's band Blue Angel got the same deal and they got signed. Our guitar player financed us to make our album Clonetones/Kill 'Em in Vegas.I briefly joined another band called Race that I didn't do any writing with. We tried out for Star Search, how stupid was that?! In 1984 I moved to San Diego for almost a year and sang with a wonderful blues band called The Hurricanes, I taught them my song "Suicide Blues", and I would get up and sing that with them. They were great musicians and a lot of fun. When I got back to NYC I stopped singing for a while and then formed The Buck Buck Bunny Band, we did country western covers, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams etc. We auditioned at O'Lunney's and Mr. O'Lunney called me up after and said "I like you. I don't like the band. Can you play the guitar?" I said that I could, so I played solo, four 20-minute sets before each band. I did that for about a year. I enjoyed doing country music but I wasn't writing anything and just stopped singing for about 2 years, I hated being asked why I didn't have a record deal. My husband, Stephen Hoda, introduced me to Johnny Thunders in December 1987. We had gone to Sheepshead Bay to hang out at his friend Jerry's apartment. Jerry's wife, Linda, had died two years earlier, but her guitar was still there. I started playing and singing in the living room, by myself. Johnny comes in, plops on the floor with me and says, "Do you know Eve of Destruction?" I said, "Yes. But, you probably play it better." So I handed the guitar over and we sang and played for about an hour. Johnny was living in Sweden then. He came back through New York in the summer of 1988. We were all in a cab going to Limelight; Johnny says to me “Do you wanna put something together?" I said "Sure!" So we rehearsed and played a show at the Limelight. Sylvain played keyboards with us, the first time I met him was on stage at the show. A few days after the Limelight show, Johnny asked me if I wanted to go to Europe. I said, "When do we leave?" I played with him from August 1988 until our last show in Japan, April 1991. We did one album called bootlegging the Bootleggers; it was essentially a live recording from a show in New Jersey at Murphy's Law. I played 85 shows with Johnny and every single one of them is being bootlegged somewhere. We played the second to last night at the Ritz. On that show, we had Clem Burke, from Blondie lay with us--a truly great drummer! Cheetah Chrome and the Senders opened for us. In 1990, Jamey Heath, Johnny's sax player, put together the Spodeeodee Band, just so we could keep busy when we weren't playing with Johnny. In the summer of 1990 I put together my band Blonde & Blue. I booked a gig at the Cat Club before I had even written enough material, but the deadline got me to come up with three more songs! I recorded those three in December 1990. Johnny was apparently very hurt that I didn't ask him to play on it. It never occurred to me that he would want to play my stuff; it certainly wasn't a career move for him, so I couldn't understand it. When Johnny was murdered in 1991, I really needed to keep playing to stay sane. I wrote a lot and played at Tramps a lot. By that point, Sami Yaffa was playing bass with me and Michael Monroe was playing harmonica on 3 or 4 songs of the set, those were great shows! On the Blonde & Blue cd, my line up was, Jamey Heath: sax, Josh Brown: guitar, Chris Musto: drums, Sami Yaffa: bass, Michael Monroe as guest Harp Player, Stevie Klasson: guitar, Ronnie Roze: bass and Charlie Sox: drums. I had the best band in the world. In the summer of 1993, I went to England with Blonde & Blue to record Johnny's song Just another Girl, for the Tribute album. We also played at the Camden Underworld in London, with Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks. In 1995, I was sitting in with a big band called Dem Brooklyn Bums- I recorded a song with them, but they did not have permission to do the lyrics I was singing, so there weren't many copies released. I kept Blonde & Blue going until 1997, when Jamey died of an overdose. Then, I pretty much stopped playing until 2004. My wonderful friend Susan Mitchell got me back into playing and singing, with her on the violin. We did all of my songs from Blonde & Blue as a duo. Our first gig was at Otto's Shrunken Head, at Frank Wood's Wind Down Sunday. That summer, I went to Stockholm, to play with Johnny band mate, Stevie Klasson. Stevie put together a great Swedish band for me and we played a large show in Stockholm and several smaller ones in the Archipelago up north. We did it again in 2005. Stevie got us free studio time and we did 3 of my newer songs with the Swedish group. KCM: How did your love for music develop? How did you know it was your calling in life?
Alison: My love of music has always been there. I learned how to work my parents' record player when I was two years old started my singing by imitating Joan Baez, while holding the album cover over my face (so no one could hear me). KCM: Who or what are your inspirations? Alison: Obviously Joan Baez was god. Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Elvis, Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee and my favorite singer Mahalia Jackson! KCM: Who or what are your inspirations? Alison: The highlight is hard to define because it involved all the times playing with Johnny and the outgrowth of that was making my own CD. KCM: So to finish off just explains what is happening currently in your music career? Do you have any new music or plan on making any new records? Alison: As for current projects, I have been sitting in with Steve Krebs and his band. I am not doing any of my songs but, I do take a lot of breaks from writing, I am neither consistent nor prolific, but I am very happy with the small body of work. Songs come out in twos and then I have to let them sink in. I would like to do a lot of things but that requires more concentration than I have had lately. I spend a lot of time going back and forth to Boston, helping my brother take care of aging parents. As much as I have tried to abandon music, it has never abandoned me. So, I will just have to see what happens next!
Height: 5'5 Weight: 104 Waist: 24 Hips: 32 Breast: 32 A Shoe Size: 7 Tattoos: Right wrist Piercings: Lip
My Ambitions: Get my name known and be successful My Turn-on’s: Piercings and tattoos My Current Crush’s: Too many to name haha My Favorite 5 Bands: Thoery of a Deadman, Skillet, Shinedown, Adelita's Way, My Darkest Days My Favorite 5 Movies: SAW is my main favorite but I love most horror movies Last Read Book: I don't even remember haha My Political View: I don't have one If I was the U.S. President I would: Fix this janked up world My Headstone Should Read: To be continued... https://www.facebook.com/DelorisTheModel
KCM: Hi! Steven: Hi darling! Steven Adler and Lonny Paul with you! KCM: Hi how are you guys? Steven: Wonderful as always, thank you for giving us some of your time. KCM: Oh no problem, it’s a pleasure. I’ve been a fan of yours forever, and the new Album is amazing. So it’s a pleasure to be doing this interview. Steven: Thank you. You know that’s the nicest thing that anyone could say to a musician. KCM: Oh yea I agree. I have always considered you one of my drum heroes. Steven: Oh cool, so I am guessing you play drums?
KCM: That’s awesome, and Lonny, what about you? Can you tell me a bit about yourself? You are a great player, and it definitely shows on the album. Lonny: Thank you very much. Well my back-story is that I started out in local bands out here in LA. I had a couple of independent record deals, but nothing took off. Then I met Steven a few summers ago, a couple of weeks before the last run with Adler’s Appetite. So I went out on tour with him, and became best friends with him. When we got back home he decided to start a new band, and basically let everyone else go but me. We were out one night, and I ran into my friend Jay Rustin at the Key club, and Jay introduced us to Jacob Bunton our singer. So after that we went into the studio with Jeff Pilson and recorded the record. Jeff actually played bass on the record along with producing it, and Jay Rustin mixed it. After the record was done we brought Johnny Martin along. KCM: Very cool. So what happened with the old line up and how is this line up better, or what makes it better?
KCM: Yes I do drums and bass. Steven: Yes! I just got a new Ludwig drum set. KCM: Oh get out! How is it? Steven: Amazing! I just got a sponsorship with them, and now I am playing what Ian Paice Plays and what John Bonham played, and its classic maple. KCM: Oh that’s awesome congrats on the endorsement! Steven: Everything has been so great, and it’s very exciting. So what else would you like to talk about?
Lonny: Well the Adler’s Appetite played mostly Guns N Roses songs, whereas Alder has made a full length record, and when we play it’s all about the new band. We only play a few GNR songs at the very end just for the fans. KCM: And honestly that’s how it should be. I was actually supposed to go see Alder’s Appetite when they played Long Island about a year ago, and I wasn’t going to hear GNR songs, I was going there to see Steven. Steven: Me? KCM: Yea you! (Laughing)
KCM: Ok so just start off by giving a bit of history about the both of you. Steven: Well everyone already knows me. I am Steven Adler; I played drums in Guns N Roses, which was my starting band. Life was pretty insane for about 20 years, then I started working with Dr. Drew in 2008, and that’s when my life started turning around. I started taking responsibility for myself, my life, and just started to take care of myself. The best thing that I can say that has happened to me in the last 20 years was meeting Lonny Paul.
Steven: Well thank you (laughing). KCM: Of course I like Adler’s Appetite, but I like this band so much better because it is original music. And instead of doing what has already been done, you are creating something new and fresh that is just as good. Everyone in the band is so talented as well. Steven: You know the Adler’s Appetite thing really was just getting those songs out of my system, and paying some dues.
With the GNR thing it happened so fast, we probably did 13 shows before we got a record deal. Then, everything just took off. I really never got to pay some dues and I was really lucky to be able to pay those dues, it got me to the place that I am at now. I just felt it was time to be relevant. Like I said, Lonny Paul came into my life, and I feel like it’s a Mitzvah a blessing that he came into my life. Everything really just came together. The only reason why we call the band Adler is because I happen to be well known. So it’s easier to get people to listen to our music going by this name, instead of using another name which will take time for people to realize who it is. The band might be my name, but we are a team and all work together. It’s just so great being part of a team again, a great team. It’s a team that doesn’t have issues; you know what I mean (laughing). KCM: Yea and that’s how a band should be, everyone doing their part. That’s why the music sounds so great and together. Steven: Thank you, we had so much fun recording it. I don’t think a football team that won the super bowl high fived as much as we did. And once Jeff Pilson came into the picture it just made everything better. He is like our big brother; he was the missing piece of the puzzle. Everything just came together for this record. KCM: So go on and explain a little bit more about the writing and recording process of the record, because it seemed to have been a great time for you guys. Steven: I am gonna let Lonny tell you. Go ahead Lonny. Lonny: Well basically in the early stages Jacob and I would bring songs to the table, and play them for Steven, which he either liked them or didn’t. When we finally got the songs down for the record, then everyone of course added stuff in, and made changes with tempo and stuff. So that was basically the writing process. In fact some of the songs were even written the morning of our recording session. We sometimes would write like 6 in the morning, and then go down to the studio by noon, and bring the songs to Steven. We would literally play them for him in the car on the way to the studio, and whichever he liked we would record. KCM: Well sometimes things done last minute come out better. It’s good that you answered the question,
because this question was actually for you since you were the main writer on the album. The album does have a very unique sound, so do you mind describing the musical theme of the album? Lonny: Well as far as the style first of all, we are just a rock and roll band. We didn’t consciously try to go for a particular sound, we just wrote a record that we wanted to listen to. We all had different influences; you can hear the fling of the drums and the disco groove that Steven brings to every song he plays on. You can probably hear metal, funk, and some Journey type feel thrown in there. Steven: We stole from all of our influences. You show us a band that doesn’t have any influences. And I will show you a band that doesn’t have a rock n roll record. KCM: And that’s why I think it’s so unique sounding, because it doesn’t have a genre and you can’t label it. I love a band that you can’t label or place in a category, it doesn’t make it cliché. You also had a lot of guests come on board and star on the record, Slash was one of them. So what was that like having Slash involved with the record? Lonny: Slash preformed a solo on the song “Just Don’t Ask”, and John 5 came in and played on “Hard to beat”. Steven: “Bad To Be Good” Lonny: Oh “Good to Be Bad” (laughing). Sorry we don’t even know our own songs (laughing) KCM: (laughing) that is actually one of my favorite songs off the record, and I was just going to ask about John 5 as well. Lonny: Oh it was an honor to have both those players on the record. Steven: John 5 to me is the 21st century Eddie Van Halen. KCM: Oh I agree. Steven: It was just so amazing having him in there. I know that you are in NY which sucks, because we are going to do our first LA show at The House Blues on December 17th, and John 5 is going to come down and play his solo on the song live.
I feel even more blessed that I have a new best friend, and a new great team to work with. Now we are older, more mature, and now we know a little bit more about what we should do and what we shouldn’t do. It goes back to that saying when I was younger if I only knew then what I know now. Now I know I got a second chance, and I am taking it for everything it’s worth baby. KCM: That’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful statement, and that how people should really look at life. Steven: I love how my dogs look at life, they live for the now. It’s all about now, when can I poop, when can I eat, when can I go for a walk now! (Laughing) KCM: They have the life, and we take everything for granted. We never really stop and think about life. Steven: Like I was saying earlier about how I finally taken responsibly for my life, for my actions, and the best thing I ever did was apologize to Slash. I blamed him for 20 years of my downfall, when the whole time it was me. You got to live for the now, and as long as you do the right thing and don’t hurt anybody. All I know is that the more I know people the more I love my dogs. KCM: (laughing) I agree! My two dogs are my life, and if one of them goes I am going to lose my mind. Steven: They are just like children; they are a pain in the ass. I just wish I could talk to them, I am sure we could learn so much. KCM: Well you can talk to them, I talk to mine and they listen. (Laughing) Steven: (laughing) KCM: So you also played with Davy Vain in the past, could you talk about that a little bit? Steven: I love Davy Vain he is such talent. You ever know somebody who was so talented, so great and such a wonderful person that you wonder why they aren’t huge and majorly successful. He is one of those guys seriously I don’t get it. He is just so talented, and it was a blessing working with him, and living with him. He actually put up with me; I lived with the guy in his house in San Francisco for months I think it was actually a year. He actually put up with me, and I would have loved to have him on this record but definitely the next record. KCM: Well I will make you laugh; I have a bootleg copy that someone burned for me of you performing a show with Road Crew. Steven: Oh where was it? It wasn’t me and Davy’s band Road Crew? KCM: Yea it was. Steven: Oh that’s so great! Those songs were so great and I screwed that up. KCM: It was actually a really good performance. Steven: You have my book? KCM: Yes of course. Steven: Oh so then you know the whole Davy Vain thing. Some record company came down and saw us. They loved us and they wanted to come back to my house. I had this big gate in front of my house, and we were walking in the gate and this girl who used to give me heroin just pulled up and gave me an empty cigarette box filled with heroin.
I didn’t even call her to give me any it was just crazy. It was a terrible shame because we had some great songs. That was a really big disappointment, and it really hurt. I thank god for waking up and it being a new day. Thank you god for the present because it’s a gift. (Laughing) KCM: And you are doing great now, so don’t even let that get to you. Steven: Yea that was 20 years ago. KCM: Exactly and you are making music that is just as good if not better. Steven: It’s better because god brought me even better and more talented people. KCM: Yea I agree. Steven: I have god’s giving destiny and victory is the only thing involved in it. KCM: I love how positive you are. It makes me very happy to hear you so upbeat and happy. I am so happy with all the accomplishments you are making with the album, your book, and how you are taking good care of yourself. Steven: Thank you. Thank you darling, you can make yourself sad for so long. Its either you die or something snaps inside that says I don’t have to be like this. And I have to say Joel Osteen and Dr. Drew were such big influences in my life and in my head of getting me to snap out of it. I realized that as long as you didn’t hurt anyone yesterday, tomorrow will be a new day. Let’s make something new happen and be productive, let’s do the best we can with what we got. KCM: Thank god you found those two people to help you. Steven: And Lonny, he is a huge influence. Lonny has helped me lose 25 pounds. KCM: Wow. Steven: 25 pounds! We work out in his garage, every morning he comes and picks me up. He got me doing this new thing it's these squats. My tushy hurts so bad I can’t even sit in this chair and talk to you, I am literally on my knees. He’s been a dream. And it’s been so wonderful. I’ve been so blessed and had some great friends and people in my life. I feel really blessed, and like I said I am not taking advantage of anything anymore. I am just taking if for everything its worth. KCM: That’s awesome. I am really so happy for you, you deserve it. Steven: Thank you darling, yes I do and we all do. KCM: Yup everyone deserves a second chance no matter how bad you fucked up. Steven: Yea unless you kill someone for no reason then you don’t get a second chance. KCM: Well yea of course (laughing). Steven: Thank god it was just drugs that ruined my life and that I got a second chance. KCM: Now Lonny I have a question for you, what is some of your favorite gear that you use? Lonny: Some of my favorite gear to use? KCM: Yea like amps, guitars, effects, strings, all that stuff.
Lonny: Well I’ve been playing Marshall JC 900 amps and Les Paul’s. Recently I’ve been looking into Black Star amp; I am good friends with one of the A & R’s over there so he’s trying to turn me on to different amps. So that’s the amps and guitars, as far as strings I use GHS strings. Steven: What about your new toy, the board ? Lonny: Oh yea I have a Line 6 peddle board. It’s a Line 6 HD 400 board that you can program different effects. KCM: Awesome, that’s some really cool gear. What about you Steve, I know you have a custom drum kit from Rokket Drum Works. Steven: I was working with Rikki Rokket who I love dearly, I had an opportunity to go with Ludwig and I had to take it since it has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. KCM: Of course how could you not take that? Steven: I had to take it; the down side was that with Rokket Drums I couldn’t get them in other countries or even other states. Sometimes we would do fly in shows or we would go to Europe or South America, and I could never get them. With Ludwig I can get them anywhere, plus they have probably more than 100 years behind them. Obviously they’ve been doing something right. I got the drums last week and the guys went crazy when I set it up and played it, they were saying how it was like night and day. I use Paiste symbols, you know Ian Paice, John Bonham, all use them and it’s the big league now. KCM: Yea I will never forget when I tried a Ludwig set at a music store, it wasn’t even their high end set but it was still the best sit I ever played. So what makes up your drum set because you do have a signature drum sound? Steven: Well the Paiste symbols 2002s, of course Ludwig classic maple, and I love the cowbell. (Laughing) That’s it; all I need is a bass, a snare, a floor tom, a ride, a crash, a high, and a cowbell. KCM: That’s signature Adler right there (laughing). It’s simple but can do wonders. Steven: Yup the golden rule of drums is keep the hands clapping and the feet tapping KCM: (laughing) I agree. So Lonny, how did you get started with music and playing guitar? Lonny: Oh well I suppose when I was five years old my mother made me take piano lessons, which I hated. So I guess that’s my first experience with music, and I always have a piano around the house so I still fart around with it. When I was a teenager I played drums in a rock band, just before I went into college well art school I crashed my car and had to sell my drum set. When I got to college I met a band that needed a bass player and I just worked my way into it. I borrowed my neighbor’s bass and amp to audition, and when I played the first song the drummer turned around and said, “You’re the best bass player I ever played with.” So I played bass for years doing that, then I came to LA and sang for a while. I only seriously have been playing guitar recently in years, and it was the same story a guy needed a guitar player so I picked up the guitar. KCM: Wow I would have never known that you haven’t been playing guitar for years. Steven: I am telling you god brought these people to me. Ok, god did all this (laughing). KCM: (laughing) so you are basically multitalented, and I really thought the guitar was your first instrument. Steven: No he is one of those jerks that can play everything I hate. (Laughing) Lonny: Oh thank you (laughing). It’s not just me, our singer can play the Mandolin, the banjo, piano, he is actually playing piano in the beginning of the song Diamonds. He is an excellent guitar player.
Steven: He is one of those prodigies, another guy I don’t like (laughing). Lonny: Our bass player too, he is an incredible piano player and guitar player. Everyone in the band can play multiple instruments. Steven: Everybody in the band is great except me (laughing) KCM: Oh stop it that’s not true (laughing) Steven: (laughing) I don’t even know what I am doing (laughing) and I only play one instrument and I don’t even know what I am doing. (Laughing) KCM: Well you influence so many people so you must be doing something right. (Laughing) Lonny: He’s the foundation of this house. Steven: You know what the cool part about it is, I met these guys and all I did was wake up one morning. That’s it, I woke up one morning went to the studio and Lonny walked through the door, some stranger who I didn’t even know and now I am recording a record with him and touring around America. KCM: Well you can tell the whole story I am up for that. Steven: He walked in the door to the studio (laughing). He was looking for aluminum cans and I was looking for a guitar player so he brought his was into it (laughing) Lonny: (laughing) Nah that’s made up. KCM: Well that’s interesting so no one has to know that it’s made up (laughing). So I have a little question that is going to make you think a little, if blank would come and visit I would blank. Steven: Lonny this is all yours (laughing) Lonny: hmmmm oh I got it, if Obama came and visited me I would tell him how to run the country. KCM: AHHHHH!!!!! OH MY GOD I LOVE IT!! YESSSSSSS I LOVE IT!!! Thank you that made my night! Steven: (laughing) you got to talk to Jamie (laughing) KCM: Finally someone who agrees with me.
Steven: Oh yea (laughing). All I know is that the music that has been out for the past 20 years the guys are pissed. We took it into our own hands to make a record that we want to listen to, to have people love it and get off on it is a Mitzvah. The greatest thing in the world is playing a song and having people love it. It’s the biggest honor of all. KCM: I can only imagine. It’s like magic. Steven: Well pretty much, ho, ho, ho it’s like magic! KCM: SO do you guys have other talents besides music that no one would ever imagine that you have? Steven: Well I hmmm well never mind I am not going to say it (laughing) Lonny: (laughing) KCM: You can say it, come on its ok. Lonny: Well I am an artist, I draw and write cartoons. KCM: Oh that’s really cool. Steven: Tell her the name of the newest one. Lonny: Well I got a new one but I am not going to say the name. Steven: Oh come on. Lonny: I’ve been pitching the cartoon ideas so hopefully you will see me on Fox one night. KCM: Hopefully I will keep a look out for you. Steve what about you? Steven: I love watching cartoons (laughing) KCM: Ok (laughing). Is there something that you wouldn’t normally reveal in interviews but wouldn’t mind revealing to Krashcity? Steven: I would assume that people wouldn’t realize that I wake up 6 in the morning go to the bagel shop and get sandwiches for me and Lonny, and Lonny comes to pick me up so we can work out. I don’t think people would think I would be doing that. I also seem to masturbate too much, but you know that’s what I do. (Laughing) KCM: (laughing) well you got to do what you got to do. Steven: (laughing) KCM: Man, I am really enjoying this. All right to conclude what are your goals for 2013? Steven: The goal for 2013 is to just play and perform for as many people around the world as I possibly can, and to turn people who are not rock n rollers to turn them on to rock n roll. KCM: Yea! Lonny: And of course another record. Steven: Yea of course another record, but let’s enjoy this one first. Oh and not to masturbate as much in 2013. There
KCM: (laughing) Well those are great goals. Steven: It’s not gonna work but anyway like they say I am going to give it a shot. (Laughing) KCM: (laughing) well you are making an effort. Steven: Yea and everyone loves someone who is making an effort (laughing) KCM: Well that’s basically it, thank you so much for your time! I really enjoyed it. Steven: Thank you for your time darling, it is so wonderful of you. Can you send us a copy when it comes out, I would love to see your stuff? KCM: Sure of course. Steven: And when I get to NY I accept a big hug! KCM: Oh of course! I can’t wait for you to play here it’s gonna be awesome! Steven: Check out the stuff I told you about on YouTube. KCM: Totally I definitely will. Steven: And the website is adlerrocks.com and god thank you so much this was a lot of fun. KCM: Yes I agree and again thank you. I can’t wait until you guys make it here to NYC. Steven: We’ll see you soon darling. KCM: Awesome have a great night guys. Steven: You too.
We will only review your latest 5 song E/P or Full CD DO NOT Send old material or single songs. All submissions can be mailed to: KRASHCITY 21-24 47th Street Astoria, NY 11105 or emailed to krashcityreviews@gmail.com
provocative ambience with an eerie overdriven guitar and abstract synthesizer. Overall I really enjoyed the EP and it stays true to the Industrial rock style of escaping the mainstreams of society, by being expressive and experimental through the use of music. Rating:
Damion Cullen Band - Paved With Good Intenstions By: Keira Kentworthy
The Damian Cullen band seems to me to be unsure of their identity, neither glam, punk or rock. There is a miss match of lyrics with music. Happy music with angst ridden lyrics doesn’t work without real humour. The Offspring’s she’s got issues is prime example of how it can be done or Green day’s Basket Case Damian Cullen has a good voice that reminds me of Graham Parker or Elvis Costello but not as lyrically mature. ‘It’s cold outside’ tells about going from happiness and joy to the depths of despair after losing your loved one, the mix of ‘happy clappy’ music doesn’t really work with angst ridden lyrics. The song I enjoyed the most was ‘Wonderland’. It features a growly aggressive bass guitar and edgy guitar riff throughout the song. ‘Paved with Good Intentions’ may lack originality but is a pleasant enough listen. Rating:
Davey Suicide - Put Our Trust In Suicide By: Keira Kentworthy
Davey Suicide’s ‘Put our Trust in Suicide’ is an exciting and energetic EP that will impress those who are diehard fans of the Industrial rock scene. The EP begins with ‘Generation Fuck Star’ a powerful and hard hitting song with its metallic guitar and Davey’s aggressive vocals. The subject matter of the song is all about being raised in a manufactured and diluted world and not conforming to it. I also thought the remix of the song was amazing, starting with a sequenced synthesizer then suddenly erupting into the hard hitting drums and abrasive guitar. My favourite song off the EP is ‘Grab Your Guns and Hide Your Morals’, with Ben Graves’ heavy and industrious drumming and Eric Griffin’s shredding guitar riffs. The song also reminds me a little of Marilyn Manson’s ‘Irresponsible Hate Anthem’ from ‘AntiChrist Superstar’.Finally ‘Kids of America’ uses a child-like carnival atmosphere to introduce the song, then changes into a dark and
Lionsex - Get Evolved By: Keira Kentworthy The song Afgahnastar is based on the tragic incident of Afghan Pop idol contestant Setara Hussainzada whose headscarf slipped off during a performance and caused hatred and outrage amongst the Muslim public for being blasphemous. It begins with beautiful arpeggiated chords on acoustic guitar and then a funky electric guitar. Jef Leppard’s vocals reminds me of 69 eyes’ Jykri 69 or Jerry Only from the Misfits, however it is sometimes wobbly and unsteady in between some of the songs but when he plays at a certain range his voice sounds emotional and fits well with the song. ‘Blue Lights’ speaks for itself, starting with the sound of police
sirens and a staccato riff played on guitar which adds a dramatic atmosphere to the song. The song reflects how in today’s world we have lost a lot of respect for the police and see them as nothing more than a bunch of enforcers who are looking for an excuse to lock someone up. My favourite song off the album has to be ‘Last Time’ which has an amazing groove, featuring elements of Funk and blues. The dampened bass guitar has a wonderful part in the song given it a sensual feeling to it. I especially love the riff that the electric guitar plays before the verse and at the end. It also features Jeff’s vocals in a soulful style which emphasises that sexiness to the song. ‘Get Evolved’ features interesting and effective instrumentation and grooves that accompany the songs. Although it would be cool to see those funk influenced grooves to be featured in more upbeat songs. It tackles the subjects of how our world is like today with the police force being stricter than ever and how expressing yourself creatively can be against your religious beliefs and cause ridicule. However it was a real enjoyment to listen to despite the gloomy subject matter. Rating:
Zombies Of War”, “Tarnished Halo” (the bass into and riffs are killer), Stillborn Savior (love the lyrics), and “No Gods, No Masters”. I can only imagine how this band must sound live and I would jump at the chance to see them live. This album is perfect to let off all your anger too and it will definitely be in my top playlist. I love how this band is taking the old punk and giving it a modern twist. It always makes me so happy when I see bands like Mongrel keeping the true spirit of punk alive especially when you have a badass female running the show! Rating
Maimun RnR- The Black and White Years By: Rita Fabozzi
Texas Hippie Coalition- Peace Maker By: Rita Fabozzi
Mongrel - Reclamation By: Rita Fabozzi
Mongrel is what I call a real punk band filled with anger, fury, and aggression. This female fronted powerhouse band got my attention just by hearing their first song on the album “Bored To Death”. Honestly I hate female vocalist but I really do love Jessica Sierra’s vocals and personality. She has aggression and attitude, which is what every punk frontman/women is supposed to have. She is also backed with a kick ass band that has the true punk vibe. The highlights on this album for me are “Fuck Off And Die”,
When I first checked out this album without listening to it I thought it was going to be another one of those nauseating, honky tonk Z. Z Top like bands, but it turned out to be the total opposite. These tuff rock n roll outlaws from Texas are making music that is loud and heavy done teas style. Personally I am not a fan of this styled music, but I have to give credit where its due and this band does know how to make good music. Some of the lyrics on the album are kind of funny like in the song “Turn It Up”, but I do like the song “Wicked”. I have never been a fan of music from the West, but I do like the heaviness that the music has. All and all it is a decent album especially for all the trashy bands that are out in the scene. Rating
Old school Misfits with a new and improved twist is what came to mind when I first heard this album. I am in total love with this band and the style of their music, especially Diamond Brent Panther vocals who I feel is the new Danzig. I am a sucker for punk especially when its done in a fresh new way like this band is doing. I especially love the rockabilly feel thrown into the music and artwork. This band has a long history dating back from 03’ and they are still going strong. This whole 20 song album had me up a dancing from beginning to end. The songs are short, sweet, and to the point filled with insanity and aggression the way punk should be. Some of my favorite songs off the album are Switchblade, Speaking In Tongues, Welcome To Sodomy, and Wasp Queen. This band has to be one of my new favorite punk bands, I am hoping to hear more from them and that they keep going strong! Rating
run through Pat's Kitchen and served up hot and tasty for faithful fans of Blues Rock-nRoll. Travers has been doing this a long time. Now going into the second decade of the 21st Century he offers us a classic mix of Rock-n Roll deliciousness. A great recipe for the ear for all to hear. Eat up!! Rated
Pat Travers - Blues On Fire By: John Irizarry
In cooking there are always variations on a theme. Recipes get altered, changed and shifted from the original idea. But, as any good cook will tell you, there are times you dig looking at the original idea to see the chemistry that makes up the classic formula. Pat Travers is the trusted keeper of the formula that creates that perfect Rock-nRoll stew and serves it up just for you. Travers' latest, “BLUES ON FIRE” (Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra Records) is a lesson in Guitar Rock cooking that he has defined since his “Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights) days. In this class we'll be tasting the Blusier side of things with focus on adding just the right ingredients to make a delicious sonic meal. The songs on “BLUES ON FIRE” are instantly familiar. Pat Travers tried and true stylings are here for the listener on this self produced collection. There is a passion and heart that he's held onto low these many years that comes through on these recordings. You Guitar Rockers out there will find one hand on your air guitars and the other on your stereo's volume knob while listening to “BLUES ON FIRE”. There is an extra treat throughout this album. Besides the dug deep riffing that Travers is known for, there is plenty of slick slide work here that Pat only started bringing out in earnest a few years back. Yep, he's does this well too. The band gets as down and dirty as Travers asks them to with Doug Bare- Piano/Organ, Carl Cleaver – Piano and Sean Shannon on Drum duty as well as sound engineer. Pat Travers covers Vocals, all Guitars and Bass as well as Production on “BLUES ON FIRE”. Classic blues songs, from Blind Blake's “Black Dog Blues” to Son House's “Death Letter” were picked for this record and are respectfully
Dirty Little Rebel—Tend To Offend By: Rita Fabozzi
Toxic Rose - Toxic Rose By: Agnieszka Wilde
If bands such as Toxic Rose existed in the U.S. I’m sure our musical horizons would be extremely expanded. When four great musicians get together and form a band you’ll get nothing more than awesome music and that’s exactly how I would describe the latest Toxic Rose EP. This EP was produced by Martin Sweet of Crashdiet and released in December of 2012, talk about ending a year with a bang. “Song for the weak” is the CD opener and highly addictive. The vocal harmonies are perfectly synchronized and there’s no denying that these guys knows what they are doing because the music has a great flow and kudos to Martin Sweet for a great production. The melodies simply explode on this EP and it’s hard not to like it and I’m definitely grateful for the fact that Andy can sing and does not make my ears bleed like many other bands I have come across. This EP is loaded with hints of bands like WASP, Motley Crue and slight undertones of Iron Maiden. Everything I love and respect about music. Every song is melodic and highly addictive that’s why I can’t name a favorite. Toxic Rose is a class act in today’s world of music and I hope this EP brings them the success they obviously deserve. Rated
Now this is my kinda music. Motley meets Iggy Pop, meets Sex Pistols what more could you want. These punks from the UK are following in their idols foots steps, and created an EP that is totally rockin. Personal I wish that the EP was bit longer instead of only 4 songs, but I must say these 4 songs are rockin and well written. So take out 5 minutes of your time and check out this band, and hopefully next time they will write more songs! Rated
GUTTER GODZ—Gutter Godz By: Rita Fabozzi
From the fires of Scotland comes a band that's been rockin the Scotland music scene since 2008. With a name that you can't forget GutterGodz a three piece band with the sound of a five piece, really brought it the table with their first album Go For Broke. Punk with a bit of Motörhead is how I would describe this albums sound.
I really love Jon 'Bon' Davie’s vocal style, which gives the band a unique sound. The whole album is totally rockin, but my favors songs on the album are Blood On Your Hands, Gypsy Girl, Kicked In The Head, and Mess Again. I really enjoyed this album and I really look forward to hearing more from this 3 piece power house. Rated
Bombay Black -“Bullets and booze” By: Agnieszka Wilde
MEMORY OF A MELODY— Things That Make You Scream By: Agnieszka Wilde
DIRTY PASSION—In Wonder Land By: Agnieszka Wilde
For a small country Sweden has been bursting with great music for quite a few years and I wish the rest of the world would finally catch up. Dirty Passion is one of those good solid bands who have just come out with a new album. “In Wonderland” opens up with a very pretty, heartfelt ballad called “Addicted” and I’m not a huge fan of slow songs but I have to admit that this one has grown on me. My only complaint about this album is that the guitars linger a little bit too long right when all the songs begin. I feel like I have to wait too long before the lyrics kick in but other than that the only thing this band is missing is world-wide success. My favorites are “Lovers Lane”, ”Shadow” and “Sinner”. Rated
From the heart of Texas comes MOAM opening the album with edgy guitars on “ Break away”. This album thrives on heavily driven guitars and hard hitting drums. Most of the songs are melodic however I do not like when the singing suddenly turns into a gut wrenching screaming. The singer has a really good voice so I don’t see the need to start screaming as it simply ruins the song. I actually really liked “Mask” until the singing turned into screaming as if someone was skinning a live animal. “The Darkest hour” is a really good song as well until it turns into a scream for all. “Skin deep” and” The core” are the two mellow songs on this CD and that’s a good thing. I see a big potential for a radio play with this band however angry screams do not mix with good music. I think this band needs to pick a direction and stick with it because on this album they sound s l i g h t l y c o n f u s e d . Rated
I have no idea where this band is from because their bio does not include their location but regardless of where they are from, they are the perfect example of good music. “Queen of Denial” has clever lyrics, heavily driven guitars and melodies that will make you wanna pump your fists in the air “Helluva Time” is another tune I dig because it reminds me of a time where good music was flowing everywhere followed by shots of Jack Daniels chased by cheap beer. My other favorites are “Bad boy”, “Honey lemon kisses” and “One single drop” which has a nice piano intro before it kicks into a full frenzy. Over all this is a party band with a party album and if you wanna have a good time why not give Bombay Black a try? I highly recommend them. Rated
SIX MILES WIDE - Deadly Habits By: Agnieszka Wilde
Having to read up on this band as I never heard of them I can only assume that they hail somewhere from Spain as their bio states that they opened for The Last Vegas on their Spanish tour. These guys are full of piss and vinegar and they will definitely rock your ass off with this CD. The singers nasally voice has a strange sex appeal and they prove with these songs that they can run with the boys in the big league such as Buckcherry. This is sleaze at its best with a little hint of blues just the way I like my musical mixes. I really dig “Outcast”, “Burning bridges”, “Wake up dead” and “Bless this mess” My only gripe is that the production of this album could have been much better, but other than that if you’re a fan of
sleazy, straight up Rock’n’Roll you will totally dig Six Miles Wide, and as they say “Party hard and wake up dead!” Rated
ADLER—Back From The Dead By: Agnieszka Wilde
SEVRENTH —Reveal By: Rita Fabozzi
I was very excited when I read this band’s bio because for once I thought I found a true metal band. Well let’s just say I got a very big surprise when I started listening to the CD. Severenth is what you would call a “screamo” band and I absolutely hate screamo bands. Musically this band is extremely different from all the other screamo bands, which, I feel is because they come from the UK. What makes them so different is how they actually have a thrash metal sound unlike all the others which just have the same sound and use the same riff that they all rip off of each other. The other screamo bands also sound like a bunch of noise which I cannot say the same about this band .I can actually understand what they are playing and get into it until the vocals kick in. They are very good players especially the drummer but the vocals just totally turn me off and ruin the whole thing. I just hate the type of scream they use combined with the god awful clean vocal breaks used for the chorus of the songs or just randomly. I really have nothing more to say about this album or band besides the fact that the vocals made me want to just bash my head against the wall until I was unconscious. I just don’t get or see the point to this type of music that they are playing. Rated
How could you expect anything less from a seasoned musician like Steven Adler and his talented vagabonds….”Back from the dead” opens up with a slow steady guitar and mellow voice of Jacob Bunton before kicking in full force into a Rock’n’Roll fury. Oh yeah this song is a clear indication that Steven and his boys in Adler are back full force….Each musician contributes a piece of themselves into this band and their music clearly jumps in your face. Johnny Martin and Lonny Paul add their own brand of individuality.“The one that you hated” is another favorite of mine and I get instantly hooked on your bass line in “Blown away” Mr. Martin. After listening to each song I want to stop and play it over because I’m simply feasting in the sounds of good ‘Ol Rock’n’Roll that has been missing from the music scene for years. “Your Diamonds” and “Dead Wrong” are the other two songs that stand out to me but I don’t want to depict this album simply because everyone should decide for themselves, but make no mistake this band should be on a regular radio rotation and I don’t say that too often. If you live for music then “Back from the dead” is an album that you must own Rated
Star Mafia Boy -“En Directo en la Gruta 77” By: Agnieszka Wilde
I always had immense respect for Star Mafia Boy as he is one of the hardest working musicians in the world and truly no one deserves global success more than this artist. Rocking out his fourth solo CD in the form of a live album from the place that holds a special meaning to him which is Madrid’s own Gruta 77. Very few musicians I know deliver smoking hot Rock’n’Roll in the way that Star Mafia Boy does. His passion spews out of his veins when he is on stage and what better way to experience that around the world then in a live album? If you have never heard of Star Mafia Boy I plead you to check him out and I guarantee that you won’t regret one single minute. Although I’m a huge fan of all three studio solo albums this album has me floored. Not only do I hear a lot of my favorite songs but they translate in a different way when recorded live. They hold a certain edge and intensity that the studio albums lack. I’ve fallen in love all over again with songs like “Reina de las Calles”, the feisty “Entre Cristales Rotos”, “Angel Caido” but mostly all of them. It’s hard not to like someone who with one song is able to boost your own creativity into unimaginable heights. I said it before and I’ll say it again, you must give Star Mafia Boy a try otherwise you are denying yourself an important part of a Rock’n’Roll history. Rated
‘. ‘Spook and destroy’ is a highly contrasting EP which contains experimental remixes that go off at tangent to his normal style, do they work? I’m not sure. On the acoustic cuts the vocal style just doesn’t work. ‘Rambo’ is so well known and appears in so many different guises I think has been done to death. Wednesday 13 still maintains his powerful, creepy status with the new catchy material and recapturing the old school ghoul. Rated
TORPEADOHEAD—Greetings From Heartbreak Key By: Agnieszka Wilde
Have I mentioned how much I love Torpedohead? I believe that I have; few year ago when I came across their then EP. I was thrilled to find out that this time around it was a full length album released in October, 2012 on Woodhouse Records. Even more thrilling is the fact that I’m in love with a song called “Moonshine Highway” which is included on this album. I drove my neighbor’s nuts playing that song over and over at full blast two summers ago. Germany has been producing a lot of good music lately and Torpedohead deserves to be right on top. “Greetings from heartbreak key” has melodic riffs, catchy hooks great vocal melodies and call me crazy but I hear a few slight L.A.Guns undertones in the guitars. These songs simply rip into your veins as they are pretty straight forward and easy to sing along. This is the type of CD that you wanna blast to 20 while speeding down California’s Pacific Coast Highway with the top down and wind freely blowing through your hair. I simply love this band and if they ever make it to New York City they will get exclusive coverage by Krashcity Magazine. I love all the songs so it’s hard to pick a favorite but I think you’ll dig “Gasoline”,” Bleed on me”, ”Black Rain” and of course “Moonshine Highway”!!! This album is more mature as is the musicianship and like I said before to watch out for this band as they are lethal contender and can easily give any band run for their money. I still stand by that statement except today it’s magnified by a thousand. Rated
WEDNESDAY 13— Spook and Destroy By: Keira Kentworthy
Wednesday 13 has been working hard non-stop for the last few years from starting hard-rock side project Gunfire 76, reuniting with Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison to create their second Murderdolls album ‘Women and Children Last’ and recording the fourth installment of his collection of scary tales ‘Calling all corpses’. Now he’s back from the dead again with a brand new EP release for his upcoming Halloween tour. 13’s EP ‘Spook and Destroy’ features re-recordings and remixes from his post-solo and Frankenstein Drag Queen days plus two brand new songs ‘M.F.T.W’ and ‘Halloween 13-13’. My favorite song has to be ‘Halloween 1313’ with its spooky and grooving organ, howling backing vocals, camp lyrics all presented in a perfectly ghoulish Minor Key. However Wednesday ends up doing different versions of the same song that we already know inside out and in my opinion doesn’t add anything to them. I could count about five versions of ‘Rambo’ he’s done throughout his whole discography including the live version on his F**K it we’ll do it Live’ album. His Acoustic version of ‘Curse of me’ has extremely weak and rusty vocals. It sounds as if he has a cold and as much as I enjoy listening to a large sum of his songs it had to be one of the weakest he’s done. The remixes of ‘Rambo’ and ‘Bad Things’ on the EP are very contrasting to 13’s heavy rock and hardcore punk style of the other songs. The remix of ‘Bad Things’ especially has a more electro pop style than its traditional hard rock version with the melodic piano and ambient sound effects
MIGGS—5th and Hope By: Agnaieszka Wilde
Miggs are no strangers to the music industry having been around for over ten years and toured with the likes of Aerosmith and Maroon 5. I could best describe them as commercial rock and the best comparison I could come up with would be that band; One Republic. Now having said all that I’m not a fan of commercial rock simply because I dig punk and Rock’n’Roll however I have to give credit where credit is due for the outstanding musicality. I may not like this genre of music but I can definitely recognize talent and even though I’m personally not into this album I highly recommend it to all you music lovers out there, simply because this album consists of beautiful music. There are a few catchy songs that stayed in my head and I will be listening to them again and they are “Pretty”, “Stars” and “Heart full of doubt”. Rated
THE GRAVITY GUILD—I By: Keira Kentworthy
The Gravity Guild’s album ‘I’ shows a strong influence from the elements of 90s alternative rock and progressive metal. My first impression of the album is a similarity to the style that of Tool, Alice in Chains and Machine Head. However the technicality and structure of the songs sounds well thought out and professionally done. The sound has been successfully arranged to make it sound as if it was an album created in the mid 90s. A powerful and aggressive feeling is created when listening to the emotion and dark subjects in the lyrics. The subject matter covers not particularly happy or joyful things and in this day in age we could do with some fun and humour in songs rather than more sadness. For example losing the sense of reality from drugs in ‘Little Pill’ and the times when you are ignored and being played with in ‘The Game’My favourite song on the album is ‘Little Pill’ and is by far the heaviest of all the songs. It uses that amplified and overdriven guitar to build that aggressive sound and with an improvised bassline in between the verses. The album also has its experimental and rhythmical side with the song ‘SLO’ with bongo drums and a grooving Funk bassline and guitar. If you’re a huge fan of Grunge and Progressive metal than I guarantee you’ll enjoy listening to ‘I’ which recreates the Rock of the 90s era. Although none of the songs have a positive subject matter, I find ‘I’ articulate and very expressive which is the key to a good progressive rock album. Rated
BETTER DAYS - Another Lost Year By: Keira Kentworthy
Better Days’ by North Carolina band Another Year Gone, could have done with better ideas to grab your attention. The songs are very much in the style of Nickleback and Creed mixed in with the heaviness of Black Stone Cherry. Subject matter of the album was just too depressing for my tastes. But then again that is the principle concept in most Alternative rock and post-grunge bands. The first track ‘Better Days’ starts with a heavy drum beat and guitar followed by vocals that sounds exactly like Scott Stapp’s with the scream in the middle of the song. However we got the song ‘Angels’ which features a duet with a female singer. I don’t see that as unique but it gives the album something different I guess. As it goes into the next track ‘Last Goodbye’ there is a slight upbeat in the beginning to the song but it then just goes back to the same gloom and doom I’ve been hearing throughout and the final track ‘Forgot about us’ features a chant at the end similar to what you would hear in a football stadium. There isn’t really anything overly special about the album because it is something I feel that has been done so many times before. The vocalist has not developed his own style and therefore sounds like Scott Stapp. Overall it’s not my cup of Tea. Rated
It was 1988 when the height of sleazy glam has hit the national airwaves. Everywhere you turned there were men with long ass hair and tight spandex pants. What’s not to like? Some of them even went as far as wearing full faced make up on daily basis. My young life was just unfolding and with so many choices lingering in the air I couldn’t wait to dip my hand in the cookie jar. It was pure hysteria trying to decide which bands team you were on, and who was the better band, or the hotter band to follow around like a lost puppy. While most of my friends had totally fallen for Poison, Van Halen and Motley Crue my choice was still unclear. I wanted something little bit more bad ass, something little bit more sleazier then Bret Michaels shaking his ass on stage, or Vince Neil doing splits in his hot red leather pants…….Thanks to my old friend Cathy Collins I have discovered the first L.A.Guns album on vinyl and although I didn’t know what to make of it at first I was undoubtedly fascinated. We smoked some weed one night and she said” Don’t talk just listen and tell me what you think afterwards”. After listening to the first three songs which were “No Mercy”, “Sex Action” and “One more Reason” felt like I have been hit with a ton of bricks!! I fucking loved it! My decision was solidified even more after the band released a VHS tape with most of the videos from that album. My brain instantly flipped for the L.A. Guns boys in black leather who rolled around Sunset Strip like lost alley cats.
I was an instant fan. “Bitch is back” became my personal anthem and gave me the confidence I was lacking to spread my curiosity even deeper into the world of Rock’n’Roll. Suddenly I was breathing, sleeping and eating L.A.Guns 24/7 trying to convince anyone who would listen that this was THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD. It didn’t take much for me to start spreading the gospel of L.A.Guns after hearing Phil’s Brit accent and seeing those big baby blues. I’m eternally grateful to that awesome album because it displays raw unapologetic Rock’n’Roll, the way that music is meant to be and because that album set me straight on the path of great music and all the good times that followed, which were some of the best experiences in my life. So if you have no fucking idea of what I’m talking about or you do but you have not listened to that album in a long time, do yourself a favor a take a listen. Lock yourself in a room like you did as a teenager, close your eyes and let that Hollywood sleaze flow through your veins. I guarantee you’ll be in for a good time while
Talk about life’s defining moments, well this one of them. I was very young when this album was released1983 and still living in communist Poland. It was my older brother who has brought home this amazing album and to this day I’m still wondering where he found it, because around that time nothing was easy in Poland but especially obtaining music from other countries. That album has instantly caught my eye as I was fascinated by its cover which displayed rich colors and sprawled out nakedness. That’s the only reason I went to church as well. In those days the Catholic Cloister I attended had opulent ceilings covered in murals displaying all sorts of debaucheries of angels and demons alike. I would sit there for hours and immerse myself in the deeply rich colors trying to figure out the stories behind them. If I had not moved to the States in late 1983 I would have probably majored in art and I would go into that field with a flaming passion. The minute I heard “Secret Messages” played once, those melodies had permanently attached themselves to my brain, and although I couldn’t understand one word my creative mind worked on an overload as I would go around humming the melodies and making up my own “English words” that in reality didn’t exist. I clearly remember flipping for songs like “ Four Little Diamonds” and “Rock’n’Roll is King”
I made it a priority to memorize the songs although I had no idea of what they meant. It was said by Jeff Lynne that this album contained hidden messages as the band was accused of satanic messages on their previous albums. I couldn’t care less on what the album had or didn’t have, I simply loved the deeply rich disco undertones and the danceable melodies. This album is one of many that helped me conquer the English language by memorizing songs and writing the lyrics out to then translate the meanings. This is the first out of my first ten albums that expanded my musical horizons and helped me recognize the difference between different genres of music. This album gave me the freedom to decide for myself which direction I wanted to take and this album was my best friend for the first two years of living in the States. This album has many firsts for me and it’s a true treasure in my life. If you are simply a music lover like I am, then this album should be on your list of albums to buy this year. Even better if you could find it on vinyl because nothing beats the feeling of holding that vinyl and staring deeply into that album cover trying to uncover those hidden messages for yourself.
From the shadows of the underground Russian music scene comes a musicians who is trying to break free from the underground barriers, and lead his band to level they are suppose to be at. Ellis Sylvain is an extremely talented musician who is putting his heart and soul into his music career. He has a unique voice that no one can mimic. His new band Heartbreak Suicide is totally kickass and is currently working on their new EP and working extra hard to on European music scene!
As you may or may not know, I am known as Mama Trash and I live in the United States. However, Trash Fest is held in Helsinki, Finland. Trust me this is not an easy event to pull off. I learn new ways of improving it every year, but one thing always remains the same, no one ever leaves disappointed…except for the fact that it is over for one more year! I handle most aspects of the event from selecting the bands, the trash staff, sponsors, coordination of scheduling for the bands (interviews, meet/greets, sound checks and set times). Let’s not forget the after parties and the kick off party too! I also work with my wonderful contact at the venue, Gloria, to set up backline, food/drink, lights/sound and special requests. I happen to have THE BEST Street Team on Earth, Team Trash! They cover the cities surrounding Helsinki each and every year with flyers and posters. I lovingly appreciate their support! I try to allow myself a year to put together each festival, but Trash Fest V was unique, because I was not announcing the line up as “official” as I hoped that the one band I had been wanting since
I met the bass player in 2007 would be able to perform at Trash Fest V. Well that wish came true in July 2012! That bass player (and dear friend) is Skinny Kangur and that band is Deathstars, from Sweden. Skinny was a DJ at the first Trash Fest in 2008 and at that time he told me they would perform there someday and I believed him. Why? Because he is just that kind of guy, you can trust and respect him. Let me just say, it was well worth the wait. They are not only great guys, but a spectacular band to experience live! I can’t wait to see them again. A few things I must say about Trash Fest and the overall experience. The Trash Fest concept of bringing Mama Trash Family Artists to Finland each year is thanks to Anzi Destruction and for that I am eternally grateful. Only one band has performed at every Trash Fest and that is the amazing Finnish group, Private Line. They were one of the first bands with my company Mama Trash Promotions, Inc, and they have never let me down. Only one other person has performed at every Trash Fest and that is Goran Imperator, currently the bass player for Toxicrose who just performed at Trash Fest V. He has played with different bands over the years and in between bands, he played with the annually hand selected (by me) Mama Trash All Star Band. Coming in with three out of five festivals, is one of my favorite bands, Lord of the Lost from Germany, they are already booked for Trash Fest VI. The years have passed and the momentum of this festival keeps growing stronger. Although I have sustained a few bumps and bruises to my soul along the way and some bands have come and gone, I believe this has all happened for a reason. I have met some pretty unique people both musicians and fans from all over the world and some of those people have become very close friends to me. So as you can see Trash Fest is not only an annual festival. Everyone involved considers it a rock ‘n’ roll family reunion. It really is difficult to explain unless you have experienced it yourself. I believe it is due to my love of the music, the fantastic bands and the incredible FANS! Put us all together and you have one HELL of a TRASH FAMILY!
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KCM: You have been a part of the Trash Fest in Helsinki and the first Trash Fest U.S. last year many times over, do you have a favorite moment from Trash Fest V in Helsinki and Trash Fest U.S.? SA: I think the best in Trash Fest is to see our friends from all around the globe at least once a year. It was also fun to have some spare time at Mama Trash’s home in US while Trash Fest US. We (Sammy, Jack & Skinny) had a lot of fun with her family during our stay. KCM: What is the latest news about Private Line? What are you guys up to and what can we expect in the coming New Year? SA: We’ll start to collect the memos and ideas together in January for the next album. We haven’t played a lot live gigs in last months except a mini tour in Germany in October and some Fin gigs. KCM: You have grown tremendously since the 800-out-of –nowhere days, what inspires you to put out better music each year and be a better musician? SA: We are simply doing what we love; playing rock music. We’ve also been smart enough to give some time to ourselves when needed. It’s like a marriage; it doesn’t always get better but the hard times only make it stronger. KCM: Who would you love to share the stage with that you have not done so?
SA: We’ve shared the stage with many our favorite artists like Mötley Crue, Alice Cooper, D:A:D etc.. I would be happy to play with former Finnish band called Smack, but it’s not possible since the singer passed away a long time ago. Smack was one of the main inspirations behind Guns n‘ Roses... KCM: Name three dream venues that you’d love to play in? SA: Wembley stadium, London. KCM: If you had a choice to choose a band manager who would you choose and why? Pamela Anderson, Jenna Jameson, orBridget the Midget SA: Hmmm... A strange collection of potential “managers”... I would pick up Jenna (no comments why), but I guess Pamela would have the best connections and Bridget would be handy in the road van... KCM: What’s one goal that you have wished to but not yet accomplished? SA: Get a proper label in US for our music and get there to play across the country. KCM: What does a day in your life look like? SA: My day job is studio engineering and music production at my own studio and live engineering at Bar Bäkkäri, Helsinki. I also have two sons, 6 and 8 years old who I play and hang around with. Now, during the winter time we’d go ice skating, skiing and snowboarding for example.
KCM: Are you a Smyrna Boy for life? SA: I am ; ) and the Smyrna boys are brothers in every weather : ) KCM: What’s your favorite part of the U.S. and why? SA: I have only been in New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Las Vegas and of course Smyrna, Delaware. All those places have a special place in my heart but I would like to spend some more time in San Francisco. And I would really love to go to New Orleans. And I hope the Smyrna Boys will do their revisit to Delaware some day : ) KCM: Name three films that are your favorites? SA: Melancholia, Wild at Heart and American History X. Just to mention a few. KCM: If you had to wear the same t-shirt for a week what would the writing on it say? SA: Not today. KCM: Name your favorite Rock’n’Roll cliché? SA: Waking up late.
So you take four guys from three pretty well known Scandinavian bands and you get Toxic Rose. Their music is melodic and filled with aggressive guitars just the way I like it but what makes it special to me personally is that I hear undertones of legendary bands in them and that keeps me coming back for more simply because they take me back to a time where music was actually good and it does not hurt that the vocalist can actually sing instead of making my ears bleed like so many other bands. Toxic Rose were also first time guests at the very well-known Trash Fest V in Helsinki this past October, although Goran is no stranger he has been there from the get go. Read on and find out more about the complexities of a pretty cool bass player. Do not forget to checkout Toxic Rose’ brand new video “Song for the weak” and pick up their brand new EP which was just released in December and it’s totally superb.
GI: We are 100 percent into this. Giving it all. Not holding anything back. Of course we’ve got looks, talents and the best music as well. KCM: Who are some of your idols dead or alive? GI: I would say that KISS has been my biggest influence. Of course I love a lot of others artists but these guys are the reason I decided I wanted to be a rock star when I was just a kid. Besides that I can say Oscar Wilde and the guy who invented rivets. KCM: You recently recorded a music video, what was that experience like? And what is the general concept of the song and the video? GI: We went to Hell and back! Our bus crashed, Andy nearly died and some more shit happened during that weekend. But as hard working rockers we still made the most awesome video with the most amazing director in Sweden - Patric Ullaeus who had earlier worked with Dimmu Borgir, Europe, In Flames, 69 Eyes, Arch Enemy to name a few and we thought that “this is our guy”. We had a blast during the shooting. I’m happy with the result and I think the video speaks for itself – Get ready world, here we come! KCM: You will be touring with CrashDiet and Sister in a few months, any plans to tour the rest of Europe and maybe cross over the ocean to the U.S.? KCM: You have an interesting combination of musicians in your band, how did you all meet and how did TOXICROSE come about? GI: Andy and Michael know each other from Lipstixx n´Bullets and they formed TOXICROSE. In Stockholm there are a lot of talents and when everybody knows everybody it’s not hard to hook up with the coolest cats in town. TOXICROSE consists of the best people out there in our genre. KCM: What do you think makes your band stand out from all the other hundreds of bands that flood Scandinavia these days?
GI: We have plans to tour Europe and the rest of the world and it will happen when the time is right. KCM: Describe your experience of playing Trash Fest V this past October since it was your first time and you were practically virgins to it and would you do it again? GI: I have been at Trash Fest since the beginning. I’ve played there with a lot of people and partied with even more, I love it over there. As our second gig it went really good (not surprised). Trash Fest V was supposed to be our premier live gig but then we were asked to do a show in Stockholm a week before as the opening act for HEAT, it was a success as well. Trash Fest V was amazing, couldn’t have been any better! We set the bar high and made a really big impact.
Mama Trash herself asked me if we wanted to play at the festival and I’m really glad we got the opportunity to intoxicate the best fest in Hellsinki. KCM: If you were standing at the top of the Eifel Tower what would you scream out to the world? GI: Propagation de la maladie! KCM: If there was a brand of beer named after you what would it be called? GI: Black Bile. KCM: Which would you rather? A- Be a clown in a circus? B- Work in a mental hospital with sexy but severely demented women? C- Be the star General in the American civil war? GI: I would rather be the bass player in TOXICROSE. KCM: Who would you go ask for advice if you were in a tough situation you didn’t know how to get out of? GI: My loved ones. KCM: Tell me the craziest thing that a fan said to you and nothing is off limits with us. GI: To this day, the craziest thing has been “I want to give birth to your children”. KCM: What are you looking forward to with TOXICROSE in 2013? GI: Our world domination along with new material, more gigs and more crazy fans. The intoxication of the world - it’s an endless party! KCM: If the world was taken over by aliens and you were dying, what would be the last thing you would say? GI: See you in hell, bitches!
If there is the “cool” category in the music business, Chris Wicked the front man of Norwegian Malice in Wonderland definitely falls into it. The band is well known in Scandinavia and Europe and besides having great songs such as “Lucifer’s town”, “Red rose suicide” or “Devil dance” and touring places such as Germany and China they are on the brink of releasing a brand new album in 2013 entitled “ The Royal Brigade”. So before everything starts unfolding for these guys I caught up with Chris Wicked to hear about his thoughts about a little thing called “Music”.
KCM: I first came across Malice in Wonderland when I found your rendition of Midnight Oil’s “Beds are burning” on YouTube and frankly I was blown away by that live performance, why did you choose that particular song? CW: We did that song live on a TV show. A charity gala in Finland, Plan's ten years anniversary, where we actually got a list of covers we had to choose from. It was a lot of slow songs on that list and we wanted to ROCK (!!) and that's why we chose that particular song. It's not an easy song to cover, but I think we did okay. KCM: Have you ever toured outside of Scandinavia? CW: Yes we have, in countries like Germany, Italy and so forth as well as China, but mostly in Scandinavia though. Hopefully we'll be doing more touring outside of Scandinavia in the near future! We love to play live! KCM: Your videos on YouTube are so rich in both color and melodies and I personally think that Malice in Wonderland should be way bigger then you are, do you feel a sense of accomplishment? CW: I of course feel a sense of accomplishment, but as you, I think we should be a bigger band. We have had a lot of setbacks in our career, made a few mistakes business wise and luck has definitely never been on our side which is needed in this biz. But I'm not complaining, I do this because it's my passion, because I love music. I love the sound of music and what it does to me. I love to sing, I love to be creative, to write melodies and lyrics. I love going on stage. All of it, I just love it and can`t live without it. It's not a choice for me,
it's who I am. There are so many drawbacks with the music biz in general. It's such a pain in the ass the whole thing and I understand why so many give it up and go back to a normal life. You have to live and breathe music; it has to be in your soul, if not, it's just not fucking worth it. For me it's a blessing as well as a curse. My life would be so much easier if I was not a musician, but I can't live without it. I won't live without it. It makes my life worth living. We're not a huge band but we have dedicated fans, people that have been following us for years and love what we do. I always try my best for those people. KCM: You are about to release a new album. Tell me a little bit about it. What’s to be expected and where it’s going to be available? CW: In 2013 we will release a new album entitled "The Royal Brigade". The record is produced by the band and mixed by John Fryer (Depeche Mode, Paradise Lost, Cradle of Filth, HIM) and we are very pleased with the record! Its eleven tracks that showcase a lot of diversity and what we've been up to the last few years. It's a really melodic album and each track stands well on its own. You can hear its Malice in Wonderland but it's very different from our debut as we have matured much as people and song writers. The few people that have heard it are absolutely thrilled by the result so that's cool. We can't wait to release it to our audience and playing the songs live. The album title represents the band and everyone who supports and believes in Malice in Wonderland. Together we are "The Royal Brigade"! It will be released before the summer and will be available most places. The first single will be a song called "Live for Today".
KCM: Which venue would you like to play in that would give you the ultimate Rock’n’Roll high?
KCM: What was your experience like meeting Mama Trash for the first time and playing Trash Fest V for the very first time?
CW: Honestly I don't think like that. I just want to play gigs in front of people who are into our music, that's it! It's the fans that give me the Rock 'n’ Roll high, not the venue.
CW: It was a blast of course! Mama T is such a sweetheart and it was great playing there as well as hanging with other artists and the fans. We are already confirmed for Trash Fest VI in October 2013 so we are looking forward to that!
KCM: Is it true that large percent of Norway is taken over by Death Metal or is it a silly rumor that was told to the Americans? haha… CW: He, he well there are a lot of black/ death metal bands in this country and that's the scene that is most well known internationally. A lot of my best friends are black metal personalities as Bergen is seen upon as the black metal capital. I once had a side project together with members from Taake and Helheim and I've always been in that "scene", simply because there's no real hard rock scene in Norway. In Norway it's mostly pop crap, indie crap, rap crap or extreme metal (not crap ;). Malice in Wonderland is definitely the odd one out, that's for sure! Although there are a great bunch of black metal bands in Norway most people here are not that into that kind of music and the bands are bigger internationally. Most Norwegians listen to what's on the radio and that's mostly British and American pop music, me on the other hand I have always been a big black metal fan. There was a lot of controversy in the early 90's with church burnings and what not. I was of course not into that, but the music, I really liked it and still do. But I have never been keen on playing that type of music myself, I'm way to mellow hehe, so I've stuck to my guns, Malice is the first band I started and is still my number 1 and probably will be 'till I take my last breath.
KCM: If you were thrown in a boxing ring and your life depended on a Victory, who would be the opponent that you would ultimately fight to save your own life? CW: Kayne West, simply because I don't like his personality or music! KCM: Name 3 places that you’d love to visit but have not yet done so? CW: Ah, this is a tough one since I want to go everywhere I haven't been! But I would love to visit some South American countries since I've never been there. I would like to go to Australia and would also like to visit Russia! KCM: What’s a hidden talent that you have but no one else knows about? CW: I can talk to animals :) KCM: Besides a new album in 2013 what else will you be doing with the band? CW: In the beginning of 2013 we will shoot a new music video. A part from that we will keep our selves busy with playing live and making more videos as well as writing the next album!
KCM: Name your biggest guilty pleasure? CW: I don't really have that. If I like something I like it, and it's probably good. I don't care about what others think. So I say fuck guilty, it's all a pleasure to me! ;-) KCM: What would you do if you woke up drunk and you’ve had an unwanted tattoo on your body? CW: You have heard about that?? Just kidding. ;-) It really depends what that "unwanted" tattoo would be. But, usually I don't regret anything and after all, the best ideas I've come up with were not in a sober condition so I would probably embrace my new tattoo and continue on with life :-) Thanks for this interview, wish everyone a great 2013 and join The Royal Brigade!
“Do it like you mean it live it like you dream” Jay-Jay Winter (1967 – 2010)
The Full Moon Dog Festival pays remembrance to Jay-Jay Winter who sadly died in a car accident back in 2010. Everyone showed stupendous respect and support to Asomvel’s late Founder/Frontman and a love for everything that is metal. Throughout the whole day it was a non-stop Hard Rock and Heavy Metal jamboree. It was like a miniature Wacken Open Air (minus being outside), everyone was wearing their leather, band t-shirts and their Patch encrusted denim jackets. The event was presented by Starjack Entertainment who put an amazing effort and a lot of hard work into the event. The festival was recorded for a full-length DVDdocumentary entitled ‘Madder than a Full Moon Dog’ due to be released in January 2013. The afternoon kicks off with Mercenary (re-united after a whopping 26 years to just do this gig in honor for their friend Jay-Jay) and The Screaming Eagles. Screaming Eagles were a great listen with their tongue n cheek songs like ‘Blow Me’ and ‘Whorehog’ accompanied by Ben Marsden’s catchy guitar riffs and Rory Hebblethwaite’s thunderous bass. The band finished their set with an unknown song, which had an interesting funky vibe to it. Next up were Dark Forestand Triaxis, both bands style were similar to a cross between Judas Priest and Helloween. Triaxis were fronted by both female vocalist and lead guitarist who was a budding Yngwie Malmsteen. It’s quite rare to see women take the lead roles in such a male-dominated genre. Early evening began with Eliminator whose musical style is quite similar to that of Iron Maiden with their operatic singer, classical influenced guitar riffs and powerful bass drum which the crowd were merrily head banging to. Next was the very entertaining Stiletto Farm (one of my favourite bands of the night) fronted by the humorous Stel Robinson. They began with ‘January Sales’ which captured the audience’s attention straight away with Stel’s grooving guitar solo and Rio’s growling bass guitar . They also included their new single ‘Decimation Baby’ which I was happily singing along to. As for stage presence they were dynamic and full of enthusiasm and movement. The sound guy must have had celery in his ears as during their set you couldn’t really hear Dayvd Bavouir (Guitarist) and Rio Goldhammer (Bassist) on backing vocals. This also happened when Rio took the lead for the song ‘Black n Blue’. They finished off their set with ‘God’s own Image’ which had a lot of dynamics and variation to it.
By nightfall the bands got heavier band Stuka Squadron took to the tion, dressing up like blood covered Fang Begley (Sporting a kick ass ing vocal range, during songs he was ing back. The main event was Asomvel the was put together for. This is when the wildness. I was constantly being atback and forth, all the crowd-surfing whole audience making loads of
and the audience got crazier. London stage. They had great visual presentamilitant vampires. Lead singer Duke military cap and whip) had an amazable to reach high notes with no hold-
As a mark of respect at centre BC Rich bass guitar. The difficult job was Conan. Songs like ‘Kamikaze’ aggressive vocals, shredding guitars actually feel the floor vibrating. an amusing sing along everyone F**K ‘em all” constantly.
stage was the late Jay-Jay Winter’s of filling his place as the frontman and ‘Knuckle Duster’ showed great and powerful drums. You could ‘Internet Commando’ featured chanting “F**k You, F**k Them,
The final band and headline act of
the night was Orange Goblin who reminded me of Deep Purple meet ing Slayer with a slight horror movie influence. They started with ‘Red Tide Rising’ suddenly the devil horns were up in the air, and some ‘Muppet’ in a superman outfit crowd surfing. They even played a song dedicated to James Herbert’s novel ‘The Fog’. However through all their heavy songs there is a taste of blues. ‘Time Travelling Blues’ featured a rocking guitar riff, heavy bass guitar and Ben Ward’s whose vocal style varied from a whiskey sodden growl to a smooth soul style.
very reason this spectacular event audience got to their highest point of tacked by a woman’s hair whipping was done by girls (strange) and the noise for the cameras.
It was an entertaining night and totally worth going to. All the bands performed well and delivered a fitting tribute to Jay-Jay Winter. I look forward to seeing the DVD in January.
KCM: How did Crash Street Kids form? RM: Well, we started in 2005 but the story goes back a couple of years prior to that. The drummer A.D. Adams and I we worked with the original guitar player for the Alice Cooper group, his name is Michael Bruce and we were his side man on a project he worked on called “The dark side of love” it’s going to be a new album that Michael is putting together, we started to work on it but unfortunately it was never completed but one of the songs we worked on wound up on the latest Alice Cooper album “Welcome to my nightmare the sequel” and the song is called “When hell comes home” Michael relocated to another town and A.D. and I were left high and dry. Since I had written some songs we decided to record them since we had a pre-production studio that we had built with the Michael Bruce stuff so yeah. So we started to put all these songs together never intending to be a band but rather to have fun and drink a few beers. So that’s basically how the whole thing came about. KCM: Since you’ve been together since 2005, do you still have the same band members? RM: Yes, all four guys are still going strong. We’re kind of like a family. All four knucklehead brothers together (Laughing) we like the same music and we have the same taste in whiskey and beer and everything. We’re a pretty tight group. It’s like a four way marriage and that’s probably why we’re still together because we don’t fight about the band or the music.
KCM: That’s very impressive to hear that you have been together since 2005, because not too many bands last that long. RM: Yes, and we’re very proud of that. KCM: What influenced you to take the musical direction that you have taken and why? RM: When I was a little kid my first introduction to Rock’n’Roll was a Kiss record that my cousin and my older brother brought into my house so for me the marriage of the glam rock and good musicianship it’s how it’s done. That’s how I always approached it since that was my first experience. As I got older I discovered similar bands like Alice Cooper when I was in middle school and David Bowie when I was in high school. Everything just kind of spring boarded from that first experience in Rock’n’Roll. So we listen to that and also we really dig what the New York Dolls were doing in terms of the roots of punk rock so MC 5, Iggy Pop and The Stooges. Things like that because the energy is kind of raw, and the really great song writers like The Beatles and Jeff Lynn from E.L.O. and these types of people that just write beautiful melodies. Ziggy Stardust to me encapsulates so much of what Crash street kids are about because it is kind of sloppy garage like album, but there are some really great chord changes and melodies in that record. KCM: Actually you’re the very first person who actually mentions E.L.O. in an interview (laughing). RM: Isn’t it funny that nobody really talks about that group? And Jeff Lynn has a new record out which is really, really good. We’re just nuts for Jeff Lynn and the album “Eldorado”. If you never listened to E.L.O. start with that and tell me that’s not a fantastic album.
I once read a quote that someone mentioned when talking about E.L.O. and the quote said “ E.L.O. sounds like what The Beatles would have done had they not broken up” and that’s so true. KCM: I could see that. I grew up on E.L.O. because my uncle was into them so I learned all about E.L.O. and I think they’re great, I really do. RM: I Love them to death! KCM: And they’re not a guilty pleasure, like you know when someone says: What’s your guilty pleasure? I have a guilty pleasure but I’m not gonna say what it is, because I get made fun of. RM: Well now you have to tell me. KCM: You gotta promise not to tell anybody. RM: If you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine. KCM: I am a huge fan of Barry Manilow. RM: Hahaha ooooohhh Ok! I’m very close to where you’re at but I’ll tell you this: when I was like 4 or 5 years old my mom had the Barry Manilow live album that came out in 78 and she recently found it at a yard sale and gave it to me on vinyl and I listened to it and it’s actually quite good some of that stuff. I mean you can’t beat “Could this be magic” and “Mandy”. KCM: Oh yeah those are great songs! RM: So fantastic I know! Ok so mine is the Bee Gees! I love Barry Gibb. KCM: I was going to say Bee Gees that was my second choice. I love Andy Gibb. RM: People look at my I Pod and see like “Raw power” by The Stooges and right next to it is “Main course” by the Bee Gees and they go, what is wrong with you?
KCM: That’s awesome! I remember back in the day with my best friend driving the fire bird, having the big hair playing L.A.Guns, and then all of the sudden we’d look at each other take that out and put Barry Manilow and roll the windows up (laughing). RM: That’s pretty cool and there’s nothing wrong with that at all, you gotta listen to different things and be exposed to different stuff. The stuff that Manilow and the Gibb brothers were doing is not that far removed from E.L.O. or The Beatles and you can trace it all together at some point. KCM: I read somewhere that your albums from your first to your last kind of tell a story, can you elaborate on that? RM: We are actually on our fourth record now which is called “Sweet Creatures”. Our first three records were a part of a long story that was told over those three records. It follows the story of a kid that is sent to 1975 and he becomes a rock star and hence our style is early 70’s glam rock. So this kid travels through time becomes a rock star and the story follows his rise and fall and all of the things that happen to him, we developed that over the three records . The first one wasn’t as conceptual it just sounds like a concert from 1975. In the second record he gets into drugs and groupies and things like that so it’s a much darker album and with the third record we had to tie it all together and you find out what ultimately happens to this kid. I love concept records I think it’s a really cool listening experience. Our new album “Sweet Creatures” begins a new concept which follows two runaway teenagers who live in the streets and turn into all kinds of things like prostitution, drugs and things like that so it’s kind of a darker record but it can only be so dark with us because we are kind of fun, party glam rock band. That’s what makes it fun to be in Crash Street Kids, is to do stuff like that. KCM: What type of people would you say is your predominant fan base? RM: We have an interesting fan base in that it’s all over the place. When we first started both me and the drummer were music teachers that’s what we did for a living so our students would turn up at our shows bring their friends, so the first few rows would be 14 and 15 year olds and their parents but it was interesting because the parents were familiar with the seventies stuff and the kids weren’t. So the people that have seen us in the early days have grown up and now are in their twenties, so now we have a college fan base and they’re drinking at shows. People can appreciate anything as long as there’s passion behind it, so it’s one of those things that age is not a factor when you look at it like that. I’ve had guy in his 60’s telling me that we’re bad ass but then I also had an 11 year old telling me that we’re cool. KCM: If it takes half a chicken half a day to lay half an egg, how long does it take for a monkey with a wooden leg to kick all the seeds off of a dill pickle? RM: (Laughing) It would take three licks (laughing) is that the right answer? KCM: No because he’s not licking the pickle he’s kicking it because he has a wooden leg. RM: I was thinking of the owl on that tootsie pop commercial, it was three licks to get to the center.
KCM: No it’s a monkey with a wooden leg so how long would it take him to kick off all the seeds off a dill pickle? RM: Well a dill pickle doesn’t have any seeds on the outside, does it? KCM: It’s kind of bumpy but I don’t know if it’s seeds or not (laughing). RM: I don’t know, let’s do 87 kicks! KCM: Why 87? RM: I don’t know, it was a great year (laughing). KCM: Who would you like to tour with? RM: David Bowie in 1972, Kiss in 1974 and if you’re talking nowadays getting on a Kiss tour would probably be really nice for us because it makes sense in terms of the styles matching and Motley Crue. Those bands are still successful and they still draw so it would be a cool tour to get on. KCM: What do you think should change in the music world today? RM: I wish more people would be willing to put out some money for a record and not download songs for free. The business is changing so much and it seems that every year somebody is doing something new with their music. Nowadays kids are doing Spotify which is cool. I got Spotify on my phone and I like it a lot but the problem is if you’re an artist on Spotify and Crash Street Kids are on there so you can check it out, you don’t get paid very much for it and granted it doesn’t hardly cost them anything to host the stuff up there but still when somebody listens to or downloads a song we get like.009 cents or something like that so it’s crazy cheap. It’s tough because the attitude of most people is that they don’t want to pay for music. It makes it difficult for the independent bands to have that extra money to supplement for better tours, producers, musicians,etc. so if I could change one thing it would be for people to start putting out little bit more money for music and I agree that CD’s are too expansive. There is a middle ground that we can probably find on the pricing of Cd’s that would make everybody happy. KCM: Do you prefer live performance or recording? RM: Well they both have their own merit that’s for sure; I mean there’s nothing like the energy of the live show and Crash Street Kids are known for very energetic and dynamic live performances. We’re not just kind of shoe gazers, what makes a great live show is what we emulate. With the recording that’s very near and dear to our hearts because that’s how this whole thing started in the studio just making these records. As a song writer there’s nothing better than coming up with a great idea for a verse or a chorus and presenting it to the band and hearing how the idea just comes to life. That’s a real blessing, I’ll never get tired of that as long as I live, and I’ll never get tired of performing live. I’ll do it until someone comes up to the stage and yanks me off with a cane. I’ll do it till I’m 90 and my false teeth fall out when I’m singing. So there’s arguments to be made for both live and studio. KCM: If you opened up a fortune cookie, what would yours say?
RM: It would say: You’re going to go out on tour with the Crash Street Kids (laughing) “Don’t give up hope I’m going to Europe with the Crash Street Kids” cause we’ve tried unsuccessfully a couple of times and it’s always something, so hopefully the next fortune cookie tells me that. Actually I hope that a hundred dollar bill falls out of the next fortune cookie that would be great too!! KCM: Do you have any plans for touring? RM: We’re based out of Phoenix, Arizona and the last few months we’ve been playing shows around our area. We actually took a year off after we did our three albums. We did something unique; we put out our first three records in three years. One record every year and then we did the double live record. If you’re a 70’s band that’s how the formula seems to work, most of the bands from that era would put out three albums in three years then a live album. Our live record is called “Live from the waist down” and it’s one of my favorite albums that we’ve done so far. So after going non-stop we decided to take time off, it was a time for a break because we were starting to get a little burned out. After that we went into a studio and recorded “Sweet Creatures” and that took about a year because we were working at a slow pace. So now we’re trying to get back into the clubs and get our name back out there because after being away for two years people tend to forget about you. We’re doing smaller clubs and branching out as we go along and hopefully at some point we’ll get a tour together. We were talking earlier about going to Europe next year, that’s something that we are dying to do because our records do really well over there. We’ve got a distribution deal over there in all the stores we’d love to go out there and meet our fans. We still have to get to the east coast and places like New York City. KCM: I think you would do excellent in New York. RM: That’s what we’ve been told, even when we’re in the heart of L.A. I remember us playing at the Whiskey and couple of people have come up to us and said you guys are a New York band. In fact the famed producer Jack Douglas was there and told us you’re a New York band, you’ve gotta get out of here. KCM: If you were a bottle of liquor what would you be and why? RM: I would be a bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey because I’m Irish and German and I love whiskey. Usually I’m going at 20 percent full of Jameson at any given time during the day (laughing) which sounds horrible. Well maybe not in the morning but definitely at Crash Street Kids rehearsals there is couple of cocktails floating around. Yeah Jameson we love that stuff we always have it around. KCM: How do you approach playing in the studio as oppose to in front of live audience? RM: There’s not much difference actually because we tend to record a lot of the stuff live on our records. KCM: Have you ever smelled your armpit and got hungry for an Italian sub? RM: (Laughing) No I did not, sorry is that something that people do? Cause I never even heard of that. Corn beef and cabbage maybe but not an Italian sub.
KCM: What is your most memorable show experience? RM: One of the earlier shows that we did we played at Alice Cooper’s club here in Phoenix, Arizona and Alice was actually in the audience. Alice loves the band he’s a fan of ours. It was an amazing thing to stand on a stage lookout into the crowd and see Alice Cooper. KCM: It’s Monday morning (most people hate Mondays) so which band will get you through the day? RM: I like to put on some Humble Pie. Rockin’ the Fillmore is a great live record that they did in the early 70’s. My drummer turned me on to them and they’re fantastic.” Four day creep” track one on that record that will get you going. It makes you wanna just Rock’n’Roll for the rest of the day. KCM: What’s the best thing about Crash Street Kids? RM: The passion behind what we’re doing, we really believe in it, it’s not a gimmick. It’s actually what we are, we love the stuff, we love the music that we are doing and we love being around each other, so there’s nothing fake about it. It’s all real. KCM: What would you like to say to your fans? RM: Thank you very much for supporting us and our fun little band that we’ve created. I hope that we can all meet somewhere and do a shot of Jameson together because we love you guys and just keep on believing in Rock’n’Roll!