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(photograph by Shannon McIntyre)
Charlie Burton: 12 Steps to Heaven 
Charlie Burton is the greatest rock and roll songwriter in the center section of our great land. After toiling in the wastelands of Nebraska for nearly 20 years, cracking whip on bands like the Cut-Outs and the Hiccups, he's now residing in Austin, running not only a record store but a damned fine roots-rock unit, the 12-Steppers. Their first album, Rustic Fixer-Upper, on Bulldog/SOB Records, excellently showcases Burton's creative wiles, and the 1999 release One Man's Trash: The Charlie Burton Story (1977-1999) will neatly catch up anybody who doesn't know who the fuck he is....which is too damn many of us.
Recently, Charlie took some time to answer a few questions.
Are you a folk singer?
No.
How'd you get interested in music in the first place?
I grew up in a house where music was very important: my father was a record collector (classical and folk mostly) and he was a real literal Pioneer in FM radio: he started a commercial (meaning he had to sell advertising), classical FM station in 1957 in Lincoln. Nebraska, and sold Granco FM receivers at cost outta our garage to create a market for the station; nobody listened to FM at that time; there was no public radio or college radio. My sister was an accomplished pianist and I won an AM transistor radio when I was 12, in 1963--a good year for AM radio. You could still hear Wolfman Jack on the "Big X...XERF" playing Howlin' Wolf while you were falling to sleep with the transistor radio at your ear. It sounded like the terrifying voice from Hell. I was both drawn to it and scared by it. Need I point out that music was extry-good in the mid-60's when I was a teen??? And seeing Bob Dylan (on THAT tour) in March of 1966 when he played Lincoln's Pershing Municipal Auditorium really did a number on mah haid!!!
Where'd your world-famous sense of humor come from?
Sense of humor... Yeah, I guess I'm kind of a quipster. Dunno where it came from. Some of my favorite records as a Husker Youth included Peter Sellers comedy records on the Angel label; I always liked the track "Balham: Gateway To The South." which I seem to recall reading in a back issue of MOJO was THE favorite track of its producer, George Martin, who could have also picked many others, don'tcha think???
Were you good at book-larnin'?
I was good in English, yeah. I remember that we had to write our own obituaries in one class and I wrote "See the candle, burn out quick, no more wax, no more wick." Then I forgot it, and wrote and handed in some total mediocre shit. Twelve years later, I remembered the line and it became a lyric in one of my most requested numbers, "Breathe For Me, Presley."
Is there such a thing, do you think, as Midwestern rock and roll? You got the Skeletons, Freedy Johnston, Bottlerockets, and...hey, wasn’t Axl a Plains child?
Of course there is such a thing as Midwestern Rock and Roll, but I would cite such practitioners as Iggy, The MC5, Lonnie Mack, the SOMA label outta MPLS, and the aforementioned folk singer from Minnesota as being more of my Midwestern Rock and Roll Soul Brethren (at least in my dreams) than the artistes you mention. Also let's not forget the great Nebraska rockers like Carl Cherry, Sparkle Moore, Lou and Red Berry. But then, Philbert, you have a Show-Me State bias. I was talking to my old friend Peter Jespersen, he of Twin-Tone and Replacements fame, the other day, about being Midwestern, and he 'lowed as how it has something to do with being polite, and I would have to agree.
How'd you keep a band together for nigh-on 20 years without raking in the big bucks?
The bands stayed together with minimal/gradual personnel changes because, I think, we all believed in what we were doing. It's really that simple.
Any highlights from the Cut-Outs' life on the road?
Highlights? Hmmm... there was one night at the Rodeo Bar in NYC when I remember going over to Phil Shoemaker, the geetar player, and looking at him and saying, "Geeziz, we sound great tonight, and making eye contact with him and just knowing we really did sound great. And it was always a thrill and an honor to play on the same bill with the Replacements when that happened. There were lotsa fun nites at The Lifticket in Benson. I always liked the feeling of driving home after a good gig and maybe stopping at this all-nite BBQ joint in Omaha.
You’re now located in Austin, which many folks in my parts consider the Mecca of American music. Have you found relocating there to strike your fancy?
Well, as Sonny Boy Williamson the Number once said, "Don't start me talkin' I jes' might tell everything I know!!!" Let's just say that as a Mecca of American Music, Austin may be somewhat over-rated.
Tell us a little about the genesis, progress, and future of the 12-Steppers.
The Texas Twelve Steppers are what I call the people I play with here in Austin; they are a pool of some of the finest musicians in Austin and there are many fine musicians in Austin, yew betcha!!! They play subject to availability, in other words if there is a higher-paying gig with someone other than myself when I get a gig they can...and will!!!... take it. Hence the pool. Progress??? Progressive!!! Future??? Unknown!!!!
Has the resurgence of interest in roots rock and roll had any impact at all on your, uh, career?
Resurgence in roots rock and roll??? Impact on my career??? Geeziz, if this has been a resurgence then I AM screwed!!!
How hard is it to write “funny”? How do you normally go about writing your songs?
Y'know, I don't really try to write "funny." I just approach an idea the way I approach it and I usually don't like songs where the songwriter tries to make a Big Statement About Life. I try to deal with what's left.
Describe the typical Charlie Burton fan.
Men: Well hung and intelligent. Women: Beautiful and intelligent.
Based on the evidence of some of your songs, you gotta be a major record collector. Do you have any “Holy Grail” records you’ve yet to find?
I am an avid rekkid collector and have uncountable LP's, 45's and CDs, many of which are totally rare and which my fellow collector friends will never own. As far as any "holy grail," for which I still search, there really is (are) none simply because I am well aware of the countless great "sides" that await discovery by us one and all and regret that there is not time enough in life to listen to them all. Sigh. I do love the Thrill of the Hunt For Music. In fact I shall now impart to you my current 25 fave listening items. They include both all-time faves which I never even bother to file away, and current acquisitions.
In no apparent order:
1) Vernon Oxford--Let Me Sing You A Song. (Westside).
A new release and a dream come true for me, reissuing on a single CD all of this great hard-core honky-tonk singer's classic 1966 recordings for RCA. Minor (major) Quibble: They shoulda used the original LP cover.
2) I work at a CD store and gazed longingly at the Frank Sinatra "Capitol Years" UK box for about a year before I finally traded in a buncha shit, including all my US remastered Frank-on-Capitol stuff, to acquire this SHOEBOX o' DISCS. Gulp!!! Well, it's the BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE!!! Simply astonishing sound--I mean I'm no audiophile,--BELIEVE ME--but if you "dig" Frank on Capitol ...YEOW!!!
3) Los Shakers, "Por Favor!" (Big Beat) Another dream come true for me, an entire CD of the best of Los Shakers, the Uruguayan Beatles. I stumbled on Los Shakers when I got a reissue on Raven of their "Break It All" LP and wuz ah evvah HOOKED!!! Cynics will cite similarities to the Rutles, and, okay, there is something of the pastiche about 'em, but I just love these guys. You will too.
4) Iggy & The Stooges "Raw Power" The greatest Hard Rock LP of all time. The remixed-by-Iggy-version is best, but I will part with my original with the last grip o' mah dyin' digits.
5) Percy Mayfield "My Jug & I" Why hasn't anyone reissued this PULVERIZING AND INFLUENTIAL LP (on Ray Charles' Tangerine Label, with backing by RC & band)on CD???
6)Johnny Bush, Texas Legends Vol. II--(Texas Legends) These are earlier recordings than Vol. I which covers his RCA period, which I adore also, but there is something so SOULFUL AND MAJESTIC AND SPECIAL about the STOP recordings of Johnny Bush, ca. '68 when the Country Caruso was at the absolute height of his honky-tonk power. Totally over-the-top and totally devastating music.
7) Elvis 60's Box From Memphis to Nashville. "Elvis is Back" and "From Elvis In
Memphis" with the hugely under-rated no-sountrack studio recordings in between. My favorite period o' the King.
8) MC5 --"Back in the USA"
9) Elvis Costello "Get Happy!!!" (Ryko) I like Elvis Costello and this is my favorite by him.
10) Bob Dylan -- Royal Albert Hall CD's (SONY)
11) "Otis!" Otis Redding Box on Rhino. He was so great.
12) Buddy Holly Complete LP's. Hopefully someday soon all the legal shit will get hashed out so there will be a CD update with stuff currently only available on bootlegs added. It's a National Crime that you can't get it at this time.
13) George Jones - Live at Dancetown USA-- (Ace) I love George Jones and have been looking for this for a while. It's great.
14) Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Vols. 1 & 2 (Kent) These are great "northern soul" compilations for which I tend to be a total sucker. There's a new Volume on the horizon for which I have high hopes.
15) French Accordion Music 1913-1941 (Vol. I) and 1925-1942 (Vol II) (Fremiueux & Associates) One of these came in "used" at work and I hadda get Vol. II!!! Like the Harry Smith Archive of American Folk, these things give yew a glimpse into another time and world alltogether, this world being French.
16) Ernie Kovacs' Record Collection (Varese Sarabande) I have always adored the great Tee & Vee Pioneer Ernie Kovacs, and I remember Where I Was When He Died like I do Marily Monroe and JFK. This wonderful CD collects the music that was so prominently featured in his shows and ah jes' love it.
17) Anything by Johnny Paycheck on the Little Darlin' label
18) Clyde McPhatter--Love Ballads-- (Atlantic) Wotta voice!!! Sheesh!!!
19) Willie Nelson--Complete Liberty Recordings
20) Various Artistes --Brown Eyed Soul Vols 1-3 (Rhino) & Huggy Boy's Presents Oldies But Goodies (RCA) Love that triplet Barrio Soul style like a fiend likes his dope and a drunkard his wine. Why isn't there a full length CD by Thee Midnighters any more???
21) Dusty Springfield/Walker Brothers/Ivor Raymonde arrangements. You don't have to be gay to dig the over-the-top melodramatic vertigo-inducing string arrangements featured on these 60's Polydor recordings outta the continent!!!
22) Rockpile--Seconds of Pleasure (Colombia) and Live at the Palladium (CDR offa friend). What a rock and roll band oughta sound like. The Live thang is so blisteringly HOT it'll take the paint off yer walls!!!!
23) Arthur Alexander--the Greatest-- (Ace)
24) Charlie Rich: the Smash Recordings (Mercury)
24 1/2) My 45 rekkid collection -- always within an arms' reach is my mysterious and huge and randomly organized 45 collection from which I love to stick in my thumb and pull out a plum or three. Whether it's the medium itself, the EQ of same, or my short attention span, the 45 is my favorite form of ingestion of da shit from snotty punk to honky tonk to soul to ???
25) Replacements--Pleased To Meet Me (Sire)
What are your favorite recordings from your own oeuvre?
1) "Rock and Roll Behavior" (original Wild 45)
2) "(You're Not Playing Fair) Elise"
3) "Is That Wishful Thinkin On My Part???"
4) "Spare Me The Details"
5) "Embarrassment of Riches"
Charlie, I've done my level best to convince the congregation that One Man's Trash is an absolutely e-fucking-ssential purchase. With your last words of this interview, why do they need this hard-hittin' compilation of your work?
You should buy The OMT compilation because it is essential to have if you
ever want to get laid again.
John Schooley: Hard Feelings, Hard Thoughts
I know no one more straight-razor serious about proper rock noise than John Schooley, the driving force behind Austin's premiere garage outifit, the Hard Feelings. Straight outta the nothing of Niangua, Missouri, he helped craft the greatest band Columbia, Missouri's ever known, the Revelators, who musically mugged the Oblivians at the Down Under Bar at their first-ever gig and waxed We Told You Not to Cross Us (click for our review) for Crypt Records, a raging slab of venom topped only by Ike Turner and the Bottlerockets (barely) in the annals of state rawk history. After the Revelators unfortunately self-destructed, Schooley packed his six-string and headed to the Lone Star State, where his new band's Sympathy for the Record Industry release, Fought Back and Lost, chewed through Garage Nation like a pissed-off wolverine. The band's sophomore release is imminent.
Schooley pulls no punches. Nevertheless--or should we say, consequently--the Reverend decided to wade into an interview situation last month, armed only with an inquisitive mind and the desire to bring some excitement to the congregation.....
You've been at "the rock and roll thing" for a long time for somebody so
young. What first lit that fire in you, and how have you kept it lit?
Well, actually, I always thought I got a late start. I was always interested in music, but I didn't have much access to it. I grew up in an isolated, rural community (Niangua, MO, pop. 450, Sa-lute!) I had wanted to play guitar for awhile, but my folks didn't wanna drive me somewhere to take lessons (the next biggest town being 15-20 miles away) so I didn't start until I turned 16. I never got a chance to play with anybody else until I was in college, I just practiced in my bedroom. I always figured most people were in bands in high school, but there was really nobody to play with.
So the Revelators was the first band I was in. I had been playing long enough by then that I kinda knew what I was doing, and I had been doing it in isolation for so long I didn't have anybody who tainted my "vision", (ha ha). And actually, my One Man Band 7" on Goner was the first record I ever did, it came out awhile before the first Revelators single. So the die was cast, so to speak. I was doomed from the beginning!
It helped that the Revelators enjoyed some moderate success right off the bat, so that was encouraging. Since we did put out a record, and get to tour, I wasn't ready to quit when the other guys did. I was just getting warmed up.
What distinguishes the Hard Feelings, your current band, with the plethora of other so-called garage rockers out there?
We mean it!
Ha! To elaborate a little, it seems like there are lots of bands out there right now that are jumping on the "rock" bandwagon. Some of these bands are loud, some of them are fast, some of them play hard. Some even play loud, hard and fast. This is enough to fool the average dumbass into thinking he is watching a rock n' roll band. And he is, but it's a BAD one. I think what separates us from these other wankers is
1. We actually have SONGS. Bands used to have these long ago, now they mostly have gimmicks or a formula or sumthin'. I think every song on the album is good, no filler.
2. Good guitar riffs. Repeating the same thing twice does not make it a RIFF. A riff is something that makes the song!
3. Some distinctive musicianship. I like to think I have my own guitar sound. Trey's one of the best drummers around. And when you hear the new album with Will's playing on it, you will be impressed. We aren't afraid to actually play our instruments.
and, finally (and perhaps most importantly)
4. We have ROOTS. Most bands sound like they never listened to anything past a few years ago, so you get a third or fourth generation interpretation (of something that usually sucked to begin with!). And most people don't know anything about music older than when they first started buying records, so both band and audience are in pretty shallow waters. We bypass the puddle of contemporary historical blindness to explore the lost rivers of American musical experience, from blues, country, and soul to unknown garage and punk rock. (We also like AC/DC).
You've always been pretty eloquent about what you do and what you like, so let me play devil's advocate for awhile. One theory about garage rock is that it's seeking after that "amateur epiphany" that you hear in so many '60s groups (like, say, the Monks or the Sonics or the Music Machine), but that, in being self-conscious about something that lacked self-consciousness to begin with, it's a doomed pursuit. What's your take?
Well, I'd hardly say the Monks lacked self-consciousness at all! They very much knew what they were doing and the sound they were creating. I feel the same way. I'd be pretty pissed if anybody described my guitar playin' as "amateurish". I think this kind of attitude is what you get from people who think, say, Eric Clapton is a great guitar player. Their assumption is that technical competence makes for acceptable music.
I don't know anyone in a so-called punk or garage rock outfit who is "holding back" so as to appear more amateur. It's not like I can play like Yngie Malmsteen at home and I'm dumbing it down on stage. It has to do with a whole different attitude towards music, that drive and passion take precedence over the technical aspects. Some may just have a hard time accepting that we mean for it to sound that way.
The Sonics, Monks, all those bands knew what they were doing, they didn't just stumble across their sound blindly. Their sound was a reaction against the bland pop of the day, a rejection of the status quo, or maybe it just made 'em fuckin' happy. I think people seem to have a hard time accepting that you can make music that is simple, direct, and brutal like that and still be a thoughtful, intelligent person. People either seem to assume that it must take an idiot to do it and are interested in a sort of freak show way, or that it takes some sort of genius and are all misty-eyed and reverent. It's really neither one. Incredible music can be made by normal people. Iggy, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Hazil Adkins, Cap'n Beefheart, all the "greats" attain a sort of hero status. But it's really a cop out 'cuz if you think that way, then there's no way YOU could do anything as worthwhile 'cuz you are either 1.) a mere mortal or 2.) simply not "crazy enough" to be able to do something like that. The reality is that Iggy, Jerry Lee, and you and me all put our pants on one leg at a time like everybody else. That's not to diminish what they've done, or to ignore the fact that they were some pretty forceful and fucked-up personalities. But in order to recognize that YOU have something to contribute, as well, you have to get past all that fan-boy baggage.
But I think what so-called modern "garage rock" has in common with it's 60's forebears is that the people makin' it, at least those that don't suck, are really doing it for their own amusement. I hope they all know enough to know they aren't gonna be rock stars and be rich! It's more like a modern folk music, moved from the front porch to the punk rock bar. It's the same concept of making music for yourself and yer friends, but you can get more people drunk and turn the amps up louder.
How 'bout the possibility that striving for the perfectly raw sound reduces "raw" to a cliché?
Well, I can agree with that on some level. On the one hand, there can be alotta charm in recordings with less than perfect fidelity (Back From the Grave comps, etc.). One of the reasons we're into punk and blues and rootsy musics is that we want to avoid the artificial polish of mainstream pop. (Or even mainstream so-called "roots" music- Keb Mo may be blues to some folks, but it sounds like pop to me. Yech.) On the other hand, I hear some bands that maybe are shooting for that Back From the Grave ideal and instead they make something that just sounds shitty.
Cost can be a factor. I mean, why is it "authentic" if a band 30 years ago made a shitty sounding record, but one this week does it and it's clichéd? I'd love to go into a real expensive studio and take a week to record an album. I think we sound raw to begin with, you'd just get a much better recording of what we really sound like, our "rawness." But that's not an option money-wise for us, and for most bands in the "garage-rock/punk" world. I mean, every 7" I've ever done has been recorded for free, either in somebodys basement home studio or on a boom-box or something. So it's authentic, in that we were trying to get it to sound as good as we could with the shit we had available to us.
I like the Mummies, the Gories, Billy Childish, and these folks seem to make it work (and my One Man Band singles both really sound like shit). But generally I wanna hear everything that's going on. Alotta the time a "raw" sound can just be covering up a bands lack of ability! I think our album is raw, but you can still hear everything. It's the performance itself that's raw. So sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
What about the caveat that lots of the trademarks of garage (misogyny, stoopid lyrics) are indicative of modern guys pretending to know less than they actually do?
Once again, you may have a point, but I also disagree a little. I'm a fan of some of yer singer-songwriter types or some folks who are known for their lyrics (Dylan, Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello, Townes Vand Zandt, etc.), but I still like plenty of rawk with what some may deem "stoopid" words. The thing is, it ain't poetry, it's rock n' roll! "Louie Louie" is not supposed to read like fucking Leaves of Grass on the printed page!
Here's an exercise: take any great rock n' roll song and write down the lyrics (if you can understand 'em). Fer example, take "All Day and All Night," by the Kinks, which I don't think anybody can argue is a great song:
Girl, I want to be with you in the daytime
Girl, I want to be with you all of the time
The only time I feel allright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
Notice the lack of resemblance to Emily Dickinson! The words are worthless if you take 'em off by themselves, they've gotta have the riff, the beat, the screamin' to go along with 'em. Not to say that some lyrics don't hold up without all that, but the point is they DON'T HAVE TO, and even that they AIN'T SUPPOSED TO. Most of yer so-called "poetic" rock lyrics, usually liked by English majors or folks who want to appear smarter or more sensitive because they listen to A, B, and C, are crap! We're talking about Jim Morrison and Morrissey, here!
Anyway, rock n' roll is supposed to be visceral, dynamic, of the moment, an experience. Lyrics are just a part of it. Hearing Iggy sing "Nineteen sixty-nine okay, all across the U.S.A." with the Stooges is not the same as seeing the words on the page. Not that rock can't be intellectual, but it can be over-intellectualized. I generally find it's yer so-called "rock critics" who need to have some "intelligent" lyrics so they have something to write about. And some indie-rock wankers need these to prove how smart they are to themselves and their friends.
And yeah, I like alotta songs with misogynist lyrics. If it works in the context of the song, it works, and some women will sing along with it and some will be offended. So be it. You gotta have a sense of humor about some of this shit, after all! Besides, hip-hop has pretty much taken the honor of being "most misogynist music" at this point. Most rap records make "Under My Thumb" or whatever might have been considered sexist at the time sound downright quaint.
Now, all that being said, I don't really think my lyrics are misogynist or stupid at all. There are a lot of bottom-feeder bands out there whose "lyrical themes" center around drugs, sex, and clichéd aspects of rock n' roll. Are these people genuinely as stoopid as they make themselves out to be? Well, maybe they are that stupid or maybe they are just playing to the audiences expectations.
I think it comes down to two things: image vs. music. Some people are into Johnny Thunders 'cuz he wrote good songs, some people are into him 'cuz he was a junkie fuckup who died, they're into this rock n' roll martyr image. I'm into music more than image, so I want a well-written song. The thing is, you can still write a good song about getting drunk, or being horny, or whatever tired "rock n' roll" kinda topic that comes to mind, 'cuz these things are still part of the human experience. It just takes some talent! (more following picture)
I know you're a harsh task-master, and probably even more so with yourself. When you're playing or recording, what does it take to produce something you yourself can live with?
Actually, I like things to be loose, I don't care if you can hear the mistakes as long as the feeling is there. I've never had a lot of time in the studio, it's always been a git-in-&-git-out-quick situation, so I usually have to settle for getting through the song without fucking up too bad. That makes a good take: not TOO MANY fuck-ups.
Live, I like it when bands are sloppy. I don't think The Hard Feelings are usually that sloppy, but we can be. I assure you, depending on the beer intake, the potential is there! I think the key is that you practice enough that you have shit down, and then you just cut loose and try to have fun with it live. I don't sweat the small stuff.
I know that, economically speaking, the music you make isn't a going concern. Being a veteran of two of the coolest garage rock labels (Crypt and Sympathy), were you able to turn much of a profit and, if not---if making a simple living doesn't keep you going, what does?
A profit? (Insert laughter here) I'm always surprised when some delusional folks think we make any money! I could've gotten the same return on my "investment" if I took all my money, pissed on it, and then doused it in kerosene and set it ablaze. I've never turned anywhere near a profit being in a band. You get some money here and there, but compared to all you spend in the long run you are way in the hole. Really, I try not to think about it that much!
Crypt made some pretense of giving you a royalty statement, but the Revelators never sold enough to actually get anything. With Sympathy, we never signed anything, it was strictly a handshake deal, and Long Gone John doesn't even bother with the pretense of giving you a royalty statement. If he reprints the record, he'll send us some more copies, and that's all we can expect to see from it in the future. I'd say on our record Long Gone covered the advance he gave us, and he may have actually made a profit on top of that. So somebody is making something, at least. And Long Gone is pretty generous with the money he gives you up front, unlike a lotta other labels, so I got no complaints.
With most small labels, and I'm talking about the ones small enough to be in our ballpark, all you get (if you are lucky) is enough dough to cover the recording expenses and maybe a pittance on top of that. And they put out your record and give you some copies. They print (maybe) a couple thousand copies of the record. So you aren't gonna see any royalties, 'cuz they may recoup the expenses (i.e.: the pittance mentioned above) but after that there won't be much left. You make some money selling yer records off the stage, usually enough to buy gas to get to the next town and get some tacos.
That's it. And that's with Crypt and Sympathy, the "big" labels. Most don't even give bands that much. Most small labels also go out of business on a pretty regular basis 'cuz nobody buys their releases!
So, it's pretty obvious that it AIN'T about the money. The way I look at it, most of the bands I love were never very popular and never made any money. I mean, some, like the Stones or CCR were big, but overall we're talking about bands that nobody cared about then, and nobody knows about now. I'm grateful that these folks bothered putting out records, because their music means a lot to me, even if I never got to meet them and tell them that. I guess I'm just doing it assuming there are people like me out there who will find it and dig it. So this will sound lame, but it's for the fans! I'm a rock n' roll fan, and I'm making music for people like me and my friends!
And, it's also a chance to do something creative that will maybe outlast you. A good rock n' roll album lasts forever. I was reading the liner notes to that recent Saints compilation on Raven and the writer was talking about seeing one of the Saints' first shows at a Communist party function. Think about that: The Berlin wall has fallen, Communism is dead in it's homeland, but people are still listening to the Saints! And ask Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper if they ever made any dough. Or guys from a lotta my favorite bands. Ask John Felice. Or Jeff Connoly.
When the Revelators first started out, I asked Steve Mace if Untamed Youth ever made any dough and he just laughed, too! He pretty much said we were doomed, and I remember his words quite clearly: "You'll never make shit playing garage rock. It's all for the glory!"
Were you pleased with the reception of your first record, Fought Back and Lost?
Well, everybody who's heard it seems to like it, but of course I'd like it to reach a wider audience. I think we are hindered by our lack of a gimmick. No matching outfits, no fire breathing, no black chick lead singer, not Scandinavian. It's a problem for some, 'cuz there's nothing 'cept the music.
With no gimmick and a maybe a record that's a little subtle that you have to take time to get into, no reviewer is gonna care! That's why you should never trust record reviews - they get them for free, listen to 'em once, and they prob'ly have a big stack of 'em to go through. So of course what sticks out is the gimmicky shit. With us, there's nothing to write about, just three guys in jeans and t-shirts. There's no angle! We're a pretty straightforward rock n' roll band, so there's not "snob appeal". We do reference alotta things (country, soul, r&b, blues, rootsy shit etc. that indie-rock types avoid like the plague) but I think that the average rock critic or punk zine writer isn't familiar enough with that stuff to appreciate it. We are both too lowbrow and too highbrow at the same time!
But I say put "Fought Back and Lost" up against any so-called garage rock, punk rock, or indie-rock release to come out in the past couple years and it will totally slay and lay waste to it! It is a good record, I feel pretty confident. So even though we'll probably never be any more popular than we are right now, I'm satisfied.
What inspires your songwriting? Do you start with music first or lyrics?
A little of both. Usually, it's the guitar riff first, and then I'll come up with a melody line. Then I'll just sing with that melody and see what words fit. Sometimes it springs forth fully formed, sometimes we'll play a song live for quite awhile before I actually finish writing the lyrics. I'll have an idea, a topic, for the song and then just see what I can come up with. Most of the clubs we play have shitty PA's, so live you can't hear the vocals anyway. So that gives me a chance to play with things and see what works. Usually a "hook" will come to mind, and I just have to fill in the blanks.
Is there a song you've written in particular where you've really hit the ball with the fat of the bat, so the speak?
On the Hard Feelings album I really like "We Need Another Vietnam". I got the idea from a Bart Simpson quote, and I think it's just hilarious. A very broad indictment of the youth of America, who deserve it. It seems to be a popular live number, it's our usual set closer. I never get tired of playing it.
I also liked "Roger Peterson's Blues" 'cuz it was an attempt at a "story song," at least in my mind. And it was written from the perspective of someone else, which made it an interesting exercise. I was reading a book about Buddy Holly and there was a bit about Roger P., who piloted the plane Holly, Valens, and the rest died on. I thought it was really interesting, and sad, that this guy was a footnote in history. He got called outta bed on a cold shitty day to go to work, died, and his death was totally overshadowed by the death of his passengers. And it added an extra tinge of tragedy that it was probably his fault, too.
Who are the guitarists who've most inspired you?
Link Wray is the main one. Before I heard him I was a bedroom wanker, practiced a lot of scales. I was mostly into classic rock. I was just getting into rockabilly, like Cliff Gallup and Scotty Moore, and somebody told me I should check out Link. I bought Missing Links Vol. 3 on Norton, on LP 'cuz that's the only way it was available and it was the only one I could find. I didn't even have a turntable. When I finally played it, I started it on side two and played "Growlin' Guts" 'cuz I liked the song title. Immediately I knew I'd never practice a scale again! It was really a revelation, it was so easy you could figure out how to play it as you heard it, but it was so ballsy and so much fun. It was how guitar was supposed to sound. It was more punk than punk. I was hooked.
My other big influence is probably Hound Dog Taylor. He's like the Link Wray of slide guitar! Quoth Hound Dog: "When I die, they'll say 'He couldn't play shit, but he sure made it sound good!'" That says it all right there. And in keeping with that spirit, I've never sat down and tried to "learn" a Hound Dog song. I have all the records, but I can't do like a note-for-note "guitar in the style of Hound Dog Taylor" impersonation. I also learned a lot from R.L. Burnside when I toured with him, and that helped my slide playing immensely.
And though I play some leads, I really think of myself more as a rhythm player. I guess from my Revelator days when I had to fill up all the space. So Malcolm Young is a big one, 'cuz he is the best rhythm guitar player in the world. And R.L. plays great rhythm guitar, he can really lock into a simple groove that could just go on forever.
So those are the big ones, but I'm a (reformed) guitar nerd, and a record collector nerd, so I've listened to A LOT of guitar players. Bukka White is a big one as far as slide. Grady Martin's playing on Johnny Horton's early records kicks my ass. Travis Wammack. Johnny Ramone. Paul Burlison. Ike Turner. Danny Gatton. Billy Gibbons (the solo on "Just Got Paid" is what made me wanna play slide in the first place!). Angus Young. Ed Kuepper. Lots of players.
I know you've had some interesting touring experiences here and abroad, with both the Revelators and the Hard Feelings. What have been some of the highlights of your life on the road, and, as someone who has to work for a living...how do you do it?
Getting to tour Europe was the biggest thrill, it was also the first real tour the Revelators had ever done. Crypt paid our way. We were with the Oblivians, a band I really liked, and so we got to see Europe and see the Oblivians every night.
The sights and smells of Europe! I remember in Rome we played this hippie punk squat, and couldn't find a bathroom that didn't make us nauseous. We had to go out in this vacant lot/field to take a dump! Making shit like a bear in the middle of Rome. We played in front of probably 1000 people at that show. We got to see Paris, Germany, we went to about 10 countries in two months.
The tour really made me a lot more aware politically, after seeing Sweden and Holland and all the countries with more socialist economic systems. It was eye-opening to see how much better the average person lived there than in America. The quality of the floors we were sleeping on were much improved. Then we came back to the U.S.A. and did a miserable month and a half tour. That pretty much broke up the band.
I'd love to get to Europe with the Hard Feelings, but we'd have to buy our own tickets over there and then hope we made enough from the shows to make that back. We can't really afford to lay out that much cash with no guarantee right now.
The Hard Feelings have done some brief U.S. tours, we've hit the west coast a couple times. I know, having lived there, that I can avoid the mid-west and the Revelators toured the east coast and nobody cared, so the west coast looked like the best option. We've been decently received. We played the Vegas Shakedown, and we played to more people at that one show than at all the shows on our tours combined!
We haven't done any extended tours like the Revelators did, 'cuz that seems to be just a good way to drive yer band into the ground. It's a catch-22, 'cuz you can't reach more people if you don't tour, but if you tour too much your band breaks up or you get burned out. You can't make any money doing it unless that's all you do. Otherwise, you have to quit your job so you can lose money for a couple weeks.
I've tried to keep our tours short, so we can keep our jobs. We use our vacation days, ask for time off, fake family emergencies, etc. Touring for an unknown band these days is trench warfare. You can stick your head out to fight a little, then dive back in the trenches where it's safe. Or maybe guerrilla warfare is a better metaphor. If you launch some big campaign to take over North America you'll be defeated. You have to sneak around, do a little damage by skirmishing here and there, and then get back home to lay low. We are an underground band, and always will be, so guerrilla warfare is our only option.
I know you probably don't wanna talk about this, but what's the chances we'll ever see the 2nd Revelators record?
Tim Warren claims it'll come out this year, probably September. I wrote some liner notes for it. There is even an ad for it in the new Gearhead. But he about went broke doing these new Pagans reissues, if those don't sell the Revelators album won't get released. So if you wanna see the 2nd Revelators LP, you better buy Shit Street and the Pink Album!
Your one-man band singles are the cat's ass (click to see our review of the latest one). I'm lucky to have 'em both--how can the curious but unlucky obtain 'em? Any more in the future?
The Goner one is out of print (and going for thousands on E-bay). The new one you can get from Goner's web site or from Ball Records directly (PO Box 152,Gardiner, ME 04345).
I've been messing around with the one man band shit a lot lately, since I moved out of an apartment and into a house. Now I can be as loud as I want. I've added a snare drum, and I play a little harmonica as well. I should have enough material for an LP pretty soon. That should annoy lotsa folks. I figure the one man band is the only way I'd ever be able to make any money touring, and it would probably be more popular 'cuz all the records (by necessity) would all sound the same! I'm pretty much reached the conclusion that too much variety just confuses people. They want every song to sound the same, or they don't know what to think. The one man band could be my cash cow!
You're a pretty voracious reader and record-collector. What've been some books and records that've been keeping you alive recently?
Just finished Noodling For Flatheads by Burkhard Bilger. The concept sounds shakey (New York writer travels the south in search of "lost" southern traditions) but he's good and pulls it off. Great essays on cock fighting, squirrel brain eating, catching catfish with your bare hands, and a marble game called Rolley Hole. I'd recommend it.
I picked up a few AVI re-issues of various artists (Wynn Stewart, the Hightower Brothers) that I was missing. Anything that AVI re-issed is good, and they're all out of print, too. Sometimes you can find 'em as cutouts or markdowns. Whoever it was at MCA that deleted all these records (when MCA bought AVI) should be hunted down in the street.
Also recently picked up a cd comp of Moon Mullican called "Moon Over Mullican" that's his more rock n' roll songs. It's pretty incredible.
But mostly I've been listening to Bo Diddley and Jerry Lee Lewis, 'cuz I finally nabbed the out-of-print Charly box sets for both those artists. I like the Bo one better as far as sequence, 'cuz it's more or less chronological, whereas the Jerry Lee one is grouped into various categories by cd (all his country covers on one, all his r&b covers on another, etc.). But both of 'em are killer and it's such an overload of music to have all at once that it's hard to take it all in.
Your championing of unsung rock and roll bands have led me to some great listening experiences. Any bands you've played with or been exposed to you feel are worthy of better exposure?
Just saw Tyler Keith and the Preacher's kids. Their record is great and they killed live. It's Tyler from the Neckbones' new band. It sounds like the Neckbones, but without the Soul-Asylum sounding tunes. Tyler always wrote the most trashy songs, and was the craziest on-stage. And now it's all his show. They are brilliant, but I'm afraid nobody is gonna care because they are on an "americana" label (Black Dog) and I don't think the people who'd like it are gonna hear it. And the Neckbones never got any breaks, they never sold many records and I thought they were a great band. The Revelators played with them some, both bands were active around the same time, and I think more people know about the Revelators than the Neckbones. (That should give you some perspective: lesser known than the Revelators!) So "featuring ex-Neckbone Tyler Keith" isn't gonna be much of a selling point for most. But they rock.
The Deadly Snakes record was one of my favorites from the last couple years. Talk about records that sound like shit! But it works, and I saw 'em and they rocked mightily. I'd like to see 'em getting the kind of attention that the White Stripes are getting.
The Country Teasers just came through town again not too long ago, and I always enjoy seeing 'em. They're the other white guy band on Fat Possum that didn't sell diddley-squat, but I dig 'em.
Jon Wayne just played here, too, and it was one of the better live shows I've seen for awhile. Talk about a totally underground band. I've never seen anybody review them, never even seen 'em mentioned in print. But the place was packed, and everybody knew the songs, so word got out somehow. Very drunken show, very funny, lotsa fun.
I've heard mixed reviews about what it's like to be a musician living in Austin. How's it for you?
Well, for me it's great, especially compared to Missouri. People actually go out to see music here, there is a healthy scene as far as bands and clubs. Emo's has improved a lot in the past few years, the guy who does the booking there now really knows his shit. Also, a friend of mine who used to book the Bates Motel is opening his own club (Beerland!) and it should be a great place to play.
And there are quite a few good local bands around town and in nearby cities.When we tour, I always hope we'll play with some cool band I've never heard, but usually it's an endless parade of lame combos. I haven't seen any town that can sport as many cool rock n' roll bands as Austin. I hear Detroit has quite a few, but it's too fucking cold up there, so I haven't seen for myself. Texas has a fine roster: The Crack Pipes, Damn Times, Titz, Big Foot Chester, Deadites, Sons of Hercules, Gospel Swingers, Boozers, Teen Cool, Ignorance Park, lots of bands that can provide a good evenings entertainment are from around here. Also, there's Sweatbox, a great studio that's pretty cheap. Bands come from all over to record there. As far as making money, it stinks, but I never made any money in Missouri and at least we can attract a crowd here.
My friend D.B. Harris is a honky-tonk country singer here, and it's harder for him 'cuz he has to pay his band every night (he uses some of the same players as Dale Watson). Austin also has a good honky-tonk scene but it's pretty competitive. The "professional musician" types might have a hard go here, but if you give up the idea of ever making any dough (like I have) you can have a good time.
Austin is changing, the tech boom hit it like it hit San Francisco and raised rents and the standard of living. I'm hoping the music scene will survive, but it has been tainted by lots of yuppie bullshit (if you ever hear the name Bob Schnieder, RUN!!!). Luckily we exist so far from the mainstream that we don't have to worry about Dell and Intel tech-yuppie types flooding our shows. The scene we're a part of has survived and I hope it will continue to do so.
What's the current activity on the Hard Feelings' radar screen?
We've got a new single coming out on Dropkick, the Onya's label out of Australia. It's got an original on the a-side and a Flamin' Groovies cover ("High Flyin' Baby") on the flip.
We'll record the new album this summer. Will is real anxious to get an LP out with his bass playing on it, 'cuz at this point he's been in the band longer than Andy was but it's still Andy's picture on the cover of the only record.
I want the new album to be shorter, probably only ten songs, 'cuz I think the first one suffered by being too long. All the songs were good, but people's attention span starts to wander after too many songs, so I think some of the tunes get overlooked. I'd also like to be able to spend a little more time on the production.
I can't really describe it in too much detail, 'cuz of course we haven't recorded it yet. But we've got lots of new songs, some in a familiar vein and some a little different. At least in that they have more chords or are shooting for a different mood or whatever. Not a radical departure, but I'd like to think we have a distinctive sound as a band and so anything we do is going to sound like The Hard Feelings. When the White Stripes were in town, I asked Jack White about his next record, 'cuz Long Gone had said it wouldn't have any slide guitar or blues songs on it. He said yeah, that was the case, 'cuz he didn't wanna repeat himself, didn't wanna make the same record twice, etc. I told him we were plowing the same tired ground with our next record! There's something to be said for originality, but there is something to be said for consistency as well.
How would you describe the Hard Feelings' mission in the rock and roll universe?
The Hard Feelings are a real rock n' roll band. Our music is not for poseurs, squares, or lames. We will not dumb it down to make it more accessible, we will not fatten it up with pretensions to make it seem more intellectual. We play music which is rooted in country, blues, punk and other forms of American roots music, but we never try to outright copy or imitate those who came before us. We play rock n' roll for those who like rock n' roll. Our mission is to annoy as many folks who don't as possible!
What are your Top Ten Desert Island Discs (as of today)?
I dunno, I've listened to all of these so much I'd probably get sick of 'em if stranded with 'em, but here goes I guess if you're looking for an "all time favorites" kinda list...
Saints - Wild About You (Ha! This is really cheating 'cuz this collection
has their first three albums on it).
Link Wray - Mr. Guitar (Norton collection)
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers - s/t
AC/DC - Live at Atlantic Studios
Bo Diddley - Any of the Chess albums
Jerry Lee Lewis - Live at the Star Club
Slim Harpo - Hip Shakin' (AVI collection)
Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk
Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F.
Ahh, I hate this kinda shit! No room for the Oblivians (Popular Favorites) or Tennessee Ernie Ford (Ol' Rockin' Ern)! Or George Jones! Soloman Burke! Jerry McCain! My desert island would have to have a large record library.
Street-Walkin' Cheetah:
The First Church Chats with Mr. Chrome
Gene O' Connor, otherwise known as Cheetah Chrome, has brooked no bullshit as a dyed-in-the-wool rawk and roller. The six-string fulcrum of two legendary bands--Rocket from the Tombs, who envisioned an attack where all was permissible and nothing forbidden, and the Dead Boys, who looked into the void, whirled, and, snickering, unloaded into it--Cheetah's survived the worst and continues to generate holy clatter. The Reverend Coomers was fortunate recently to volley a few questions into his court, particularly since a certain East Village rag had posted his obituary. Upon being resurrected, here's what he spiked back our way:
What first struck the spark of rock and roll in your soul?
Believe it or not,seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan was what made me want to play, I got a really shitty little guitar for Christmas after bugging my mom forever, and that was it. What inspired me to play lead was the guitar sound on "Born to Be Wild," which still really kicks ass, by the way.
Didja have any classic rock and roll rebel experiences in school?
Just the whole thing with the long hair,which used to be a VERY big deal, a bit (!!!!) of experimentation with drugs, sex, all the typical teenage shit.
How’d you come to get involved with the other guys in Rocket from the Tombs?
I had been playing with Johnny Blitz in cover bands for a few years, and we happened to see an ad in the paper for a guitarist and drummer into Stooges, Velvets, etc. We were into all that stuff, but Alice Cooper was our bread and butter. I hooked up with Peter at a little bar in the garment district in Cleveland, we talked and set up a jam. I think Crocus was a little put off by us, being an art fag,but Peter was quite impressed. RFTT had been thought of as a joke until then!
There’s so much tension in that band’s music between art and trash. How’d you manage to hold things together long enough to make the few recordings you did? Thomas sez you all could agree on the MC5/Stooges, but I don’t notice you quoted much. And did that really cause the band to break apart, y’know, like in a High Noon showdown between the brutes and the brains?
Talk about tension--Crocus (who by the way I DID like) had a great sense of humor, but could be very condescending,and really didn't have much patience for us young upstarts. He took himself quite seriously as an "artist," how else could he wind up playing that little metal bar with that little silver hammer in Pere Ubu? How fucking precious!!! The reason you never saw me quoted was because we were the kids, and Peter and Crocus were the "creative nucleus." The break up was not what I would call a showdown, ,just a long, drawn-out drag!
With over a quarter of a century of perspective, how do you feel about those recordings? If you take the best of the Dead Boys’ first two albums, combine it with the hot shit on Ubu’s first EP and album (all of ‘em ex-RFTT things), it seems to me you have one of the all-time in-your-face rock and roll albums.
I agree, but oh, well! Any chance the RFTT stuff will see legit release?
I doubt it, none of us speak, and the master tapes, which are 25-year-old 2-tracks, are most likely dust by now. Plus, I don't do much business with art fags since Rockets. They really do get on my last nerve.
Laughner’s seen as either a genius or a crafty dilettante. What’s your take?
I really would have to say both, not avoiding a real answer,but he really was. Peter was very naive, looking back (I mean, he died when he was 23!!), and almost asidealistic as I was. He was a big fish in a small pond in Cleveland, and had the sycophants to prove it. Half of them later played in one version or another of PereUbu! He sure could play guitar, and to this day is one of my biggest influences.
What was more fun: being part of a visionary group of program-fuckers barely anybody got a chance to see, or being in a band of major-label bad boys maybe more infamous for their behavior than their music?
It felt really good to be rockin' again!! Rockets had no clue we were visionary program-fuckers at the time, and the DB's were much more of a band, mentality-wise and musicianship-wise.The major-label bad boys part was, of course, a complete blast!!!!
I guess I probably need to point out that at the time (1977), Sire was NOT a major label. They had few acts besides the Ramones,and their claim to fame up till then had been this Dutch band Focus,who had that song "hocus pocus" with the guy yodeling. I can only assume they fired their talent scout before '77! In '76, '77, Seymour Stein started buying up all the punk bands he could,looking for the next Ramones, (or rather, looking for tax write offs FOR the Ramones). We were "lucky" enough to be one of them.The asshole still does this,and wrecks a lot of what could be decent careers with his little development deal scam. Anyway,in the midst of our first tour,Sire became a subsidiary of Warner Bros.,who ARE a major label,so next thing we know we've got these doofus A&R guys at all of our shows, setting up in-store appearances, radio interviews, and shoving "toot" up our waiting noses. This also brought what's known as toursupport,so we got to stay in decent places and eat a few times a week, hell, sometimes we could even buy beer and cigarettes!!We never got to be "rich rock stars" per se, but we had plenty of press, the girls loved us, all the dealers wanted to hang with us, and we couldn't walk down the street in damn near any city without being recognised.We could also destroy hotel rooms,dressing rooms,rental cars, etc., and Sire or our manager would get us out of it or pay for it.Just the thing for 5 like minded juvenile delinquents like ourselves! Now, if we were to appear today? My guess is we'd die the death, overshadowed by morons with black contact lenses and lead singers that wear baseball caps that can't play their fucking guitars. Plus,I'm proud to say that not one Dead Boy could rap worth a shit, and wouldn't want to, so that's another strike against us. Nah, unfortunately instead of changing things to where the criteria record companies used to sign acts changed,the kids figured that anybody that could wear a safety pin in his nose had a right to a million dollar contract after two guitar lessons! From what I hear these days, we played too well, cared too much, and dressed too cool to ever make it in today's market.
You obviously had some wild experiences in those days, serving time at CBGBs, fighting Sid Vicious, having Belushi in your rhythm section due to Blitz’s being stabbed, bartending with Keith Richards, being trailed by the CIA, traveling (I assume) in the same orbit as Dee Dee, Thunders, Bangs, and of course Stiv. Please elaborate.
Well, back then it really was a pretty special time, there was still a little bit of 60's optimism in the air, no AIDS, there was a big feeling in the punk movement that you BELONGED to something that just might change things. Music didn't suck quite as much as it had in the previous few years,and there was a sense of community in NYC that was very inspiring. This, of course, was before it all degenerated into Hard Core, and kids sat around being"straight edge," laying up in abandoned buildings bitching how everything sucked, all the while NOT having sex,NOT learning how to play an instrument, NOT drinking or taking drugs, eating out of dumpsters and going to see other like-minded schmucks and slam into them--no wonder they thought it sucked!!!! I've got way too many stories about that time to even begin and try to type them all--I've got a gig in a week, and my fingers wouldn't be recovered by then! Suffice to say, it was great, I got to hang with a lot of my personal idols, plus made some new ones, and I'll cover it in detail when I write my life story.
The Dead Boys haven’t really gotten a fair shake from the rockwrite clan. What’s your take on rock criticism in general, and the band’s legacy?
They never liked us,never did. But to this day there is a continued interest in what the band did, and I'm proud to say a lot of kids picked up guitars because of me--I talk to a couple at almost every one of my shows! It's always been my opinion that you really aren't qualified to judge someone else's work unless you are capable of doing as well, or preferably better, yourself. In my experience very few critics can meet that criteria, so...FUCK 'EM!
Any comments on GNR’s cover of “Ain’t It Fun”? Didja see any $$ from their recording, or meet ‘em?
The Gunners? Their version of "Ain't It Fun" was very faithful to the original, nothing
earthshaking, but real good. I did get to hang with Slash and Duff a bit, great guys, and was only subjected to Axl Rose twice (thank God). I did get paid handsomely, they are very honest gentlemen (unlike Pearl Jam) and I am very grateful tothem.
As a survivor of heavy substance abuse, how do you look back on it? No regrets? Ray Charles has always said he’s never regretted being a junkie; Lou Reed (though he’s a little stuffy), Steve Earle (though he’s taking himself too seriously again) and George Jones (very intermittently) have done great post-addiction work; guys like Stinson and Thunders ran into the wall. I’m also interested to know if you think, had Thunders been able to clean up, he coulda written more songs instead just doing the same ol’ same ol’ over and over again, great as it was. Is substance-induced flight from self necessary to great rock and roll?
Drugs? If anything, they might be necessary to the musician, but they aren't to R&R, not one bit!
Lots of folks may have lost touch with your post-Dead Boys career. What were the highlights? And what are you up to now?
I would have to say the coolest things I've done since the DB's would have to be working with Jeff Dahl, which is always very professional and a lot of fun (especially "I Kill Me"), and the Ghetto Dogs (both line ups).The Sonny Vincent cd with Capt. Sensible and Scotty Ashton was alright, but in my opinion could have been a lot better,considering the personnel. I did do a complete album's worth of material in 1996 with Genya Ravan (YL&Snotty producer) for my first solo cd, but due to some legal disagreement with the record company that hasn't seen the light of day yet. We'll see what happens with that. Right now I'm rehearsing my band to tour behind the new CD here in N'ville. The new line up is:
Cheetah Chrome guitar,vocal
Pat Albert guitar
Andy Zachary bass
Matt Bach drums
We're doing stuff from the new CD, some DB's, some RFTT, some new stuff nobody's heard yet!
What are the biggest challenges when "the guitarist" goes solo?
You mean besides having to learn to sing and play at the same time? Finding a recognisable band name without the word "featuring " in it, for one. Not working with chick singers is another, for some reason that always seems to happen. Not bitching about yer old bandmates, there's another one! There's plenty of challenges out there for erstwhile guitarists, you bet!
How are you liking Nashville? Do you ever miss Cleveland?
Nashville is really cool, everybody and their brother is in the music business,there's still an economy that "W" hasn't fucked up,and the scenery is great! There is a pretty strong little rock and roll scene here, lots of indie bands, and you can get a three bedroom house w/an acre of land for what you pay for a broom closet in NYC.
I never even think of Cleveland. It might be cool now, but it wasn't when I grew up there,and I've pretty much always hated it. But I hear it's improved a lot the past 10 or so years.
Most career rockers are pretty disgusted with the state of American music today. Is it really that much different from when RFTT was in its prime?
What do I think of music today? It's mostly shit! It does remind me of the days before Rockets and the DBs, or the early 80's, when there was nothing but hardcore and heavy metal. I guess somebody needs to rebel against all this new "punk" like Blink182. Limp Bizkit just need to be shot.I like the Backstreet boysbetter. Hopefully R&R can recover from this dry spell, but with that fucking little pipsqueak in the White House I doubt it will get the chance. It's all about $$$ now more than ever, anything of any real value will never get the distribution it needs to make a difference.
What have you been listening to lately?
A lot of old stuff I listened to before I was in the DB's, like Alex Harvey, Stooges, MC5, Cockney Rebel, Stones, Beatles, Dylan, Zep. I do love Clawhammer alot, and the Foo Fighters aren't bad. I was sad to see old Kurt Cobain die--they were probably the only real hope punk had, but the only influence I've really seen was Bush, who kinda suck! The newest CD I bought was the new Mark Knopfler solo, but I don't play it that much.Here and there you might hear something good,but few and far between. The Cult are playing here [in Nashville] Sunday--finally something to look forward to!!
