Category: Interviews (Page 5 of 7)

Given how long ago he left his heart in San Francisco…

November 18, 2006 / Will Harris

…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!

Artists, External Music, Interviews, Pop

Tony Bennett Tony Bennett interview

Although the headline is awful…

June 26, 2006 / Will Harris

…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.

Alternative, Artists, Interviews, Rock

Nick Lachey revealed to be a big, whiny baby…on the next “Entertainment Tonight”!

April 19, 2006 / Will Harris

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.

Artists, Interviews, News, Pop

Checks, Thugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll

March 6, 2006 / Jason Zingale

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.

Hip Hop, Interviews, Rap

Are you with me? Interview with Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth

February 17, 2006 / David Medsker

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.

Interviews, Rock