2002-12-04 - 12:44 p.m.
I just did an interview for a music mag in Spain called Popular 1. Since most of y'all probably don't have a subscription, I thought I'd share it. Enjoy.
-What's the best show you've seen in your life (artist, year, in which country, and any detail you can remember from that concert).
Patti Smith at Roskilde. I didn’t know what to expect, having never seen her live. She rocked the fucking house. She played some obscure stuff like “Pissin’ In A River” which was a pleasant surprise. She also covered Pearl Jam’s “Alive” in honor of the people who were crushed to death at the Roskilde Pearl Jam show the year before. When she came out for her encore and played “Gloria”, I thought the show was finished but then she did “Because The Night” and once again I thought, “That’s gotta be it, game over.” But no, she ripped an amazing version of “Rock And Roll Nigger”, it just blew me away. 70,000 people screaming, “Outside, it’s society!” Words can’t describe the energy this show had, it was magnificent.
-What's your favorite record of the last 30 years (from 1973 until now). Why is this record is so special for you?, what can you remember from the first time you listened it?
Wow, that’s a tough question. Like Samuel Beckett said, “Comparisons are odious.” It’s much too hard to pick just one record. All these albums are flashing through my mind: Tom Waits’ Raindogs, X - Under The Big Black Sun, Butthole Surfers - Hairway To Steven, The incredible punk rock compilation - Let Them Eat Jellybeans, Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True. Lately I’ve been listening to Johnny Cash - American Recordings III, Solitary Man. His interpretations of artists that I hardly ever listen to - Neil Diamond, Tom Petty and U2 are incredible. I never paid any attention to “One” when it was a hit for U2 but when I hear Johnny sing, “Did you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head?” it floors me. The most amazing song on that record is his cover of Nick Cave’s “The Mercy Seat”, when I heard that for the first time, I had to listen to it five times in a row before finishing the record. It still gives me chills.
-The highlight of your career? (an a little explanation about it) -What are you doing right now (new projects)?
Jeez, highlight? I don’t know. Maybe when I performed a poem at a Pantera show and got a standing ovation from 20,000 screaming metal heads, who had previously bood a comic off of the stage. I thought they were gonna kill me but they loved it. That felt pretty good. Then there’s the time the Asylum Street Spankers played the Strawberry Festival in California. We played a great set, then we all ate mushrooms and had a blast, freaking people out backstage and listening to incredible music. It was a great night.
As far as new projects go, the Asylum Street Spankers have a new record out and when I’m not on tour with them, I’m either in the studio working on my next solo album or at home, drawing nude pictures of my girlfriend.
For the Stones anniversary issue (in case you like the Stones): -Favorite Stones record?
Some Girls. Any record that has a disco and a country hit on it has some magic between the grooves. You gotta love it when Mick screams “Black girls just wanna get fucked all night but I don’t have that much jam!” Plus “Shattered” really makes you feel like you’re in New York, great groove on that track.
-How did you discover the Stones?
My older sister was a teeny bopper in the ‘60s, so I grew up on a healthy dose of Beatles, Stones, Cream, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Doors, etc...
-Did you have the chance to see them live? How was your first Stones concert?
I saw the Stones at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas with ZZ Top and The Fabulous Thunderbirds opening. I remember wanting to strangle the Stone’s sound man because their sound was far inferior to both opening bands. They were pretty fucking great though. Keith Richards is epitome of cool.
-Favorite Stones member?
Charlie Watts. He’s so fucking solid. I love the way he stops playing the hi-hat every time he hits the snare. You gotta hand it to a guy who just sits back and holds the beat while all hell is breaking loose around him.
-Did you had the chance to meet any member of the band?
No. Bring ‘em to a Spanker show. I’m sure they’d get a kick.
-Do you think they deserve the title of "Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band in the World", as people call them? Who's the greatest Rock band ever for you?
For me, the greatest rock and roll band is The Ramones. Three chord punk rock, stupid lyrics and do-wop melodies. That’s what rock and roll is all about, dude.
-Opinion about their career? And opinion about the Stones today?
A lot of people give the Stones shit for being old and still rocking but fuck that. If they want to keep playing and people want to see them, they should play till they’re all in wheelchairs and dragging around oxygen tanks.
-If you have the chance to give a present to the Stones for their anniversary, what kind of gift will be?
I’d give them a ride in my ‘65 Imperial. It’s the baddest fuckin’ ride and it’s big enough to fit all of them inside. We’d tool around Austin, pick up some tacos at the Tamale House and go to my favorite dive bar.
