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I count myself fortunate that, in my two decades as a journalist, I’ve had precious few interviews that were just really, really bad…although, for the record, whenever anyone asks me about my personal worst, however, I invariably cite a conversation that I had with Juliana Hatfield:
It started two hours later than I’d been told that it’d been scheduled, no-one had told her that it had been scheduled at all, and she clearly had no interest in talking to me at all, based on her general indifference to every question I had to offer and the constant stream of one-word answers that served as her responses. And to top it off, the most memorable part of the entire conversation - such as it was - came about only because I dared to close by asking the God-awful question, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be, and why?” Her horrified response: “I don’t want to be a tree!” (Okay, keep your cool, Juliana. It was hypothetical.) Still, as excruciating as that experience was for me…and the fact that it occurred in 1992 and it’s still tops on my list speaks volumes as to the level of excruciation, I think…it still doesn’t come anywhere close to this: Luke Burbank’s recent conversation with Sigur Ros. Wow. Luke, brother, I feel for you. |
 You bet! It’s time for some fun with Mr. Zimmerman as New York magazine proudly presents The Ten Most Incomprehensible Bob Dylan Interviews of All Time. Dig Bob waxing weirdly throughout the decades. Fun for all. |
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Yes, that’s the headline you never saw for my chat with former Raspberries frontman Eric Carmen…and for good reason, as it’s quite awful. There was a brief period during the 1970s when the funniest rock-related one-liner involved a teenager asking, “Hey, did you hear that Paul McCartney used to be in a band before Wings?” It’s a joke that isn’t nearly as funny today, what with Wings having been relegated to little more than footnote status in McCartney’s career timeline, but if you lived and died by the FM dial during the ’70s, you can still see the humor in it. In turn, you might also have been really amused in the late ’80s, when kids were thrilling to Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes” and “Make Me Lose Control” without having any inkling that, a decade and a half earlier, he had been fronting one of the definitive power pop bands of all time.
Carmen and his fellow ‘Berries — Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley — were staples of the Billboard singles chart from 1972 to 1974, but creative struggles led to line-up changes and the band’s eventual dissolution. The 21st century, however, has found the guys getting back together and doing some live dates, one of which – a performance at L.A.’s House of Blues on Oct. 21, 2005 – has recently been released on Rykodisc as Live on the Sunset Strip. After a few scheduling conflicts and one missed opportunity (which was totally this writer’s fault), Bullz-Eye had a chance to speak with Carmen recently, and we quizzed him about the legacy of The Raspberries, his solo career and its notable difference to the sound he’d helped forge with the band, and how he can’t help but empathize with Kelly Clarkson these days. Check out the interview here. Filed under: Rock and Pop and Interviews and Songs and Artists and Concert CDs and External Music Comments: None |
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Sure, why not a crossover…? BET is running a new series entitled “Hip Hop vs. America,” and on the panel for the show was none other than the legendary Public Enemy front-man, Chuck D. The show focuses on the different sides of the hip-hop genre, and the social responsibility that its performers have to those who are listening. Great concept, and I’m psyched to see it…but, still, I had to ask what I knew lots of other wanted to know:
Yours Truly: Chuck, guys like you and KRS-One have taken rap and made political statements and aided it in being taken seriously as an art form. How do you think a show like, say, “Flava of Love” has affected you being taken seriously, I mean, as far as the rap community in general? Word. By the way, Chuck said he wasn’t really interested in getting his own show…although he said he did think that Professor Griff would do pretty good with one (though, personally, I have to wonder if that wouldn’t have the potential to be even more damaging to hip-hop’s reputation than Flav’s show)…but he admitted that, if he did get his own show, he’d want it to be a one-on-one interview format. I said, “Oh, kinda like Henry Rollins?” I knew he’d been on Rollins’ show…but, damn, boyee, I didn’t know how much he’d enjoyed it. Chuck just lit up and was, like, “Oh, man, Rollins, I love Henry Rollins, I love him, I love everything he does, and I’d love to do anything like that guy.” In closing, another writer asked Chuck if he thought Flava would ever find love, and he instantly offered up a laugh and a scoff, saying, “Flava found love. Flava got more love than he know what to do with!” |
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…you’d think someone would’ve stolen it by now. Then again, would you steal from Tony Bennett? Bennett turned 80 this year (happy belated b-day, Tony) and to celebrate, director Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha”) teamed with Bennett to produce an hour long special that commemorates the career of the legendary singer. A portion of the show features celebrity narration from Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Robert DeNiro, and Billy Crystal, discussing the highlights of Bennett’s work. The best bits, however, are the song and dance numbers; Bennett duets with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Diana Krall, and John Legend, with Marshall having recreated sets from various periods in Bennett’s history, including a ‘60s variety show and the stage of Carnegie Hall. Bennett and Marshall did a teleconference to promote the special, and Bullz-Eye was able to ask a few questions of Mr. Bennett…though we apologize wholeheartedly that we didn’t ask Mr. Marshall a single thing. Sorry, Rob, “Chicago” was great, but this is Tony freaking Bennett, man! |
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…when you’ve done an interview with notoriously long-winded Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, you’re gonna be a little punchy, so it’s only to be expected that you’re gonna take the easy way out and go with a headline like, “Make Room For Jello.” In an interview with PortFolio Weekly, the Hampton Roads, VA, alt-weekly, Biafra got decidedly political, but, on the music front, he spoke frankly (what a shock) about how there’s no lack of love between himself and his former DK bandmates. PortFolio Weekly: I know your lyrics have always been political, but do you ever find it hard to flip-flop between music and spoken word? Jello Biafra: It is kind of hard to concentrate fully on both at the same time. And, plus, there’s Alternative Tentacles [the label Biafra owns] and all kinds of other things going on, so there isn’t always as much time for music as I would like. Especially with unending harassment from greedy former band members and great, big, nasty corporate lawyers. PFW: Well, I was going to hold off asking about that, but now you’ve given me the perfect segue. JB: Yeah, it’s as ugly as it ever was. I mean, I’m not allowed any say in how the band is pimped any more…and I emphasize the word “pimped.” I’m not allowed to see all the books; they’ve never adequately explained how “Viva Las Vegas” got into American Idol or an ad for The O.C. overseas. And, now, I guess they’re in negotiations with some big, slick Hollywood manager whose website lists experience with sports stars and Britney Spears. PFW: Oh, geez. JB: And no matter what they try, I will not be forced into that. I mean, they’ve alternately tried to arm-twist and sweet-talk me into rejoining the band, but, y’know, I have no interest in dumbing down something that means as much to me as Dead Kennedys does. I actually care more about the quality and integrity of the songs than they ever did. Read the rest of the interview here. |
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Yes, in an interview with “Rolling Stone,” Nick Lacey finally opened up about the closing of his marriage to Jessica Simpson, and, more importantly to those who enjoy a bit of a giggle at someone else’s expense, started crying at various points during the interivew. I haven’t read the interview yet…just the synopsis of it in this piece written by the fine folks at “Entertainment: Tonight” …but the description of the conversation actually makes you feel sorry for the guy. He claims he found out his marriage was over when Jessica told him it was over…on the way home from the American freakin’ Music Awards, fer chrissakes!…and when he asked her not to make any rash decisions and to sleep on it, she apparently thought he said, “Sleep with someone else,” because when the next morning rolled around, her decision remained unchanged. “I never wanted a divorce,” clarified Lachey. “I wanted us to be happy. I guess we differed on strategy.” I guess. |
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After the untimely passing of Jam Master Jay, the other two-thirds of Run-DMC took an understandably extended break to figure out their place in the rap world. Rev. Run re-emerged in 2005, dropping his debut solo album and conquering another medium with his MTV series, “Run’s House.” Not be outdone, DMC has his debut solo album scheduled for release in March 2006, as well as a documentary on VH-1 in late February. He discussed these topics with Bullz-Eye, as well as the Run-DMC reissues, how an unlikely musical artist changed his mindset from suicidal to philosophical, and how he’s a little peeved that Run beat him to the solo punch: DMC: So, yeah, I had a little help from my friends on the record. BE: Nothin’ wrong with that. DMC: People that are more than just celebrities. I’m talkin’ ‘bout real musicians and artists, as opposed to just working with people for the celebrity and the name value. I mean, these guys are big names, but they’re serious about what I do. I really needed musicians, because the album is really all about the music for me, and I wanted to make the best music I could, so I wanted some real cats I could get down with, if you know what I’m sayin’. BE: I saw Sarah McLachlan is on the album, which is a name that could shock people the most…or surprise people the most, anyway. DMC: Actually, she’s my favorite artist of all time. BE: Wow! DMC: Her music really inspired me…and, actually, that song “Angel” that she did? That was the record that saved my life. BE: How so? DMC: Because…I would say it was, like, 1997, and I was kind of going through a depression, and I was suicidal. And I was asking myself, am I here just to be DMC? There’s got to be more to life than this. I know it sounds crazy, but it was, like, because I did this and I did that. Aerosmith, “My Adidas,” “Walk This Way,” first to go gold, first to go platinum, I grew up in Queens, I went to the best schools…but with all this success, there was something missing. There was a void in me, but I didn’t know what it was. And I told myself, ‘cause we was over in Europe on tour…and, even then, it was fortune and fame, I was getting $70,000 a night, y’know, me, Jay and Run was tourin’ over in Europe and life was good…but I was, like, there’s something missing. Something ain’t right! And I was suicidal…well, okay, I wasn’t suicidal, but I knew something was wrong with me because I was having suicidal thoughts. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful or didn’t have gratitude about what I did, but it was more, like, if this is all that life is about for me, then I want to move on to the next plane of existence, ‘cause there’s gotta be something missing, but I can’t put my finger on it. You can read the interview in its full entirety here. |
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Someone at CAKE Magazine summed up Cowboy Mouth better than I ever could, and I know that because their quote in the band’s press sheet appeared three quotes ahead of what I wrote about the band (Let me tell you, nothing is more surreal than seeing your own words on a band’s press sheet). CAKE said, “…on a bad night, they’ll tear the roof off the joint, and on a good night, they’ll save your soul.” Truer words were never spoken. When a guy repping the band asked me if I wanted to chat with a member of Cowboy Mouth, you can imagine the different number of ways I tried to say, “Hell to the yes.” Here’s a sample of the conversation, which covered subjects from former members of the band, to Morrissey, to what appeared to be the worst touring partner they ever dealt with. BE: Is the subject of “Joe Strummer” based on a true story? FL: Yeah, the chorus is based on a true story. I was dating a woman who was, ahem, significantly younger than me. And Joe Strummer had passed away – and I had met him about five or six months before – when we played in Vegas. And I called her up, and I’m like, “Oh, my God.” She’s like, “Honey, what’s wrong?” I said, “Joe Strummer died.” There was this long pause on the phone: “Who was that?” At that moment, it ran through my head, “Oh, man, you’ve gotta go.” But the rest of the song is pretty much made up. Paul (Sanchez, rhythm guitarist) came up with the melody for the verse, Mary helped with the lyrics, and Mitch (Allen), our producer, helped with lyrics. It was an all-inclusive thing. But I always wanted to write a song called “Joe Strummer,” it’s just such a fucking great name. BE: It has a certain rhythm to it, too. FL: Exactly. BE: And that’s one of the reasons I asked the question, because I wondered if it was actually about Joe Strummer, or if it was someone whose name didn’t roll off the tongue, like Mark Mothersbaugh or something. FL: (laughs hard, starts singing melody to “Joe Strummer”) “Mark Mothersbaugh…” Ah, what’s the bridge? “She started talking ‘bout being my wife, but why would I want to be with someone who doesn’t know that Devo saved my life?” That doesn’t work. You can read the rest of the interview here. |
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The Hives took a circuitous route to fame, recording a couple albums and EPs in the 1990s and getting the greatest hits packaged all together in one magic hit CD, Your New Favourite Band, a couple years ago. Last year the Swedish punks came back with the all-new Tyrannosaurus Hives, a clean, punchy set that clears the sinuses of music fans who’ve just about had it up to here with wussy stuff from the likes of Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow. The band’s new concert DVD “Tussles in Brussels,” released in time for the Christmas shopping season, gets the Hives phenomenon down for the record: The hard licks, the black-and-white outfits the band wears, and of course, the singular sound of lead vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, with whom we sat down for the following chat: Bullz-Eye: Describe a Hives concert for those in our reading audience who haven’t been. Pelle Almqvist: If you’ve been to a rock concert–I’ll assume that much–if you take what you’ve seen there and multiply it by ten, that’s pretty much it. It’s like a rock concert except there’s more of everything else. Except color, because we’re dressed in black and white. It’s a bid louder, more intense, a bit more energetic. The only thing it isn’t a bit more of is…calmer. BE: I’m sure you’ve been asked this about 5,000 times, but here’s 5,001: why do you dress that way, anyway? PA: It looks good, but also, we’re convinced it makes us sound better. Like some hippie bands had some statues on their amps and stuff because it made them sound better? This makes us sound better. The treble’s a bit clearer. BE: I’ve been listening to your stuff for a couple years now….but describe your music for those who haven’t heard it. PA: Well, it’s rock music, that’s what it is, I’ll tell you that much. Very very very energetic rock music. If you like the classic values of rock – first it has to be entertaining and exciting, and after that you can do different things with it – it’s fast and loud and fun. BE: Does the DVD cover one show or a series of shows? PA: We just recorded one show and we had to just trust that we’d be good enough to put it out, otherwise we’d have to record another show. It’s one show straight through, not edited. It turned out really well. We spent a lot of time cutting between cameras and making sure the sound was as good as it could be. BE: What do you remember about the gig? PA: I was going into the crowd and this guy was pulling on my leg and I fell and did a jump and I landed with my shins on the barrier. I think you can maybe see where it happens. My leg was bleeding and swelling up halfway through the show, and I keep getting stiffer and stiffer. But the good thing is that I was wearing black pants, so you can’t see the blood. To read the read of the interview, click here. |
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It’s funny how a lack of mainstream success can be a good thing. Supergrass was one of the titans of England’s Brit Pop scene in the mid ‘90s, but while their peers went on to varying degrees of stardom in the States (Oasis had the big album, Blur had the big single, Elastica had the big beer jingle), the closest Supergrass got to mainstream success in the US was the inclusion of “Alright” on the “Clueless” soundtrack. Call it a happy accident, then. Where those other bands have either imploded or become a shell of their former selves, Supergrass are still going strong. Their newest album, Road to Rouen, is one of their best yet. Bullz-Eye had a chat by phone with ‘Grass drummer Danny Goffey, who was at his home in merry old England, making dinner for his kids. Bullz-Eye: Well, let’s get right to it, and talk about the new record. This is the album that I expected you to make the last time around. Danny Goffey: Uh huh. BE: It just seemed like a more logical progression from the third album than the previous one. DG: We weren’t really too sure what we were doing (when making Life on Other Planets, the band’s previous album). Maybe if we didn’t have a producer last time, we may have been more accustomed to making an album like this. Um, we just wanted to do another kind of pop album rather than a straight-ahead album. BE: That’s interesting, the comment about the producer. Was he forcing you to do more I Should Coco kind of stuff? DG: Not really. I think at that time, we were more up for playing some hectic songs, the faster kind of songs, you know. I don’t think he forced us to do anything, we were just in a certain frame of mind. BE: The songwriting on this album seems a lot different to me. Your songs have always been really direct in the past, but the song structures on this album felt a little more exploratory. Was that a conscious decision on your part, or did it just kind of happen? DG: It was a kind of conscious decision to make an album that didn’t have a three- minute single, something that had more of a mellow vibe about it. There have been those obscure tracks that have been on the album that no one probably had heard, because people just buy our singles or see just what’s on the charts or on the radio. So yeah, we wanted to make sure that that side of us come out of us a bit more, you know, and that we didn’t just pick some radio friendly song to release. You can read the rest of the interview with Danny Goffey here. |
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The bad boys from Boston are back in vintage fashion with a new concert CD and DVD (on the Sony dual disc format) called Rockin’ the Joint: Live at the Hard Rock Hotel. Performed in 2002, this show finds Aerosmith returning to their sweaty roots by blowing the dust off several old relics and laying them down in a small club setting like it was 1972 again. Breaking from their rehearsal schedule as the road vets prepare for a year-long world tour, original bass player Tom Hamilton afforded Bullz-Eye’s Red Rocker a few minutes recently to tout the strengths of Rockin’ the Joint, share his take on illegal downloads, and explain why his son might already be a better musician than he is. “Bullz-Eye: A record like this (Rockin’ the Joint) comes out and it just makes me want to go home and dig out Get Your Wings and Toys in the Attic. I had a cassette copy of Live Bootleg back in, what, ’78, ’79 when that thing came out…? Tom Hamilton: (chuckling) BE: I flat wore that thing out! So are you allowed to have a favorite Aerosmith album? TH: Yeah, sure. Picking one is really hard. But I’ll say Rocks. Toys or Rocks, it’s pretty hard to nail down which was a favorite. BE: I saw a quote from your website recently. It was Little Richard saying, “I looooove Aerosmith! They’re one of my favorite rock and roll bands. They’re full of filth and full of soul.” Why are you guys so strong and so vital 35 years later? TH: I just think we were so drastically imprinted during the ‘60s. You know, when you’re a kid and you go see a really powerful rock band, it goes deep. At least for me it did. So the next thing is, “Man, I’d really like to do that. I wanna be on stage!” And you just always keep that point of view. We’ve managed to keep that point of view, wanting to spit out the kind of stuff that really inspired us when we were just learning how to play, and do it in a way that we really love. BE: Looks like you guys are going to be touring now through the end of the year. What’s next for you guys? What does 2006 and 2007 hold for Aerosmith? TH: Well, the rest of this year and next year we’re gonna be touring pretty much straight through, but we’re gonna try and get an album out. BE: Of new material? TH: Yeah.” Read the rest of Red’s interview with Tom Hamilton here. |
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Ever wonder how music is chosen for a certain television show? As the music supervisor for “The O.C.”, Alexandra Patsavas has one of the coolest gigs around. But while she receives submissions from some great bands, she admitted in her interview with Mike Farley that she also also gets bombarded by some crappy music. Even with those distractions, Alexandra has developed a reputation for putting new artists on the map and helping to launch their careers. “Bullz-Eye: …what do you look for in a band or in a song? Alexandra Patsavas: I don’t know. I just want to like it. Music is so personal. I don’t know how to really define what it is that I look for, but I definitely know it when I hear it. BE: Just something that moves you personally? AP: Yeah! Or you look for music that will sit well under dialogue. It’s a very different set of criteria to look for music that works with a picture. You’re enhancing something that’s already there. So it’s different, you’re not listening for a full album; I’m listening for a song. It’s just different. BE: Do you get bombarded with submissions from crappy bands? AP: Yes! (laughs) But I also get bombarded with submissions from really great bands. BE: (laughs) Right. What would you say is a percentage of what gets used from what’s sent? AP: Well what actually gets used is such a small amount. I think I probably keep about 50 percent of what comes into my office. But as far as what actually makes it to air is unfortunately a really small percentage because we can only use so many things. Really good music doesn’t get placed sometimes just because the appropriate scene didn’t present itself for whatever reason. It might be a great song by itself, but with the dialogue wasn’t quite the right mood.” Read the rest of Mike’s interview here. |
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As frontman for the legendary rap group Run-DMC, Reverend Run – born Joseph Simmons – has kept it on the down-low for the past few years, since the tragic death of his bandmate, Jam Master Jay. But 2005 brought the Reverend’s first-ever solo album, Distortion, as well as the debut of his MTV “reality sitcom,” called – what else – “Run’s House.” The good Reverend took time to speak to Will Harris from Bullz-Eye.com about these things, the VH-1 Hip Hop Honors, and his Words of Wisdom. “Bullz-Eye: Obviously, you’ve got a history with the rock and rap combo there. Was that, like, an intentional choice to… Reverend Run: Yeah, we were the first to do it with “Rock Box,” and then we made “King of Rock,” and finally “Walk This Way” was the biggest. BE: So was that an intentional choice, to continue that bridge to this new album? RR: Uh, it’s just intentional to make what I make, to do what I do, to do what I’m put on this earth to do. So it was a very simple process because I just did…me. I was inspired by me, and that whole Run-DMC type of Rick Rubin-ish, Russell Simmons, Larry Smith era, where we made these types of records, and I just went there and camped out there and made records from that day. BE: I heard the single’s being included in “Madden ’06 Football.” How… RR: Yeah, that’s a breakthrough for me…and, then, I have the television show coming on MTV, which is a major breakthrough. BE: Right… RR: It’s called “Run’s House.” It’s replacing “The Osbournes.” I’m very excited about that.” Check out everything the good Reverend had to say here. |
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The members of Our Lady Peace had just put the finishing touches on Healthy in Paranoid Times and were camping out at the infamous Viper Room in L.A., doing a series of shows in preparation for their upcoming opening dates with the Rolling Stones, when drummer extraordinaire Jeremy Taggart sat down with Bullz-Eye’s Red Rocker to talk about the new record and his utter disdain for “Rock Star: INXS.” Bullz-Eye: Looks like you guys have been making a second home at the Viper Room lately? Jeremy Taggart: Yeah, we’re just doing a bunch of small shows, kinda helping to get the bugs out. Good to play stuff in a small place and in front of people real close. Helps us get a better feel for this new record. BE: How much have you been playing live the past few months? JT: These are the first five or six shows we’ve done in a long time. We did a small show in Buffalo, one in Toronto, one in San Diego, and these Viper Room shows. BE: Must feel good to sweat again behind the kit? JT: Yeah, it’s awesome. BE: How’s the new stuff being received at these shows? JT: Really well, I mean, everything’s been overwhelming. Playing it feels great, and the reaction has been, like, they’re getting it the way we’re getting it, you know. It’s been great. BE: You guys really toiled over this new record. It was three years in the making and, from what I’ve read, it was quite a struggle. JT: Yeah, it was a struggle, but this whole record is a resolution of that struggle. It’s all the turmoil and adversity and bullshit we went through kinda behind us, and this is what we came up with at the end. Find the full interview here, and see what Red had to say about Healthy in Paranoid Times. |