"I
expect to answer a lot of questions, to play a good show and good
beer!"Cheetah Chrome on RFTT, Dead Boys and his Rock&Roll Life In my opinion it is a shame that Rocket From The Tombs (RFTT) did never get the chance to record a proper album back in the day. How do you feel about this point? I'm not sure the result would have been any different, as given the personalities and attitude we had back then, we would probably have achieved the same amount of success we did later.We were never meant for mass consumption. It would have been nice to record with Peter (Laughner) while the material was still fresh, though. How was the chemistry within the band and what was the reason for the split after nearly a year in the classic line-up? Did you stay in contact with the members of RFTT? I thought we had a pretty good vibe starting out ..... Peter was a good buffer between the various factions (I was my own faction once Blitz quit) and provided spirit and direction.The rest of us provided music, period . Cleveland is a weird place, the people think differently....one of the reasons I moved,actually.....and once Peter got too many outside influences and people started forming cliques, it was all spelled out. The rot was in. Yea, I stayed in touch with Blitz, obviously and saw Peter a month before he died. It was one of the best times we ever had. I also was in touch with Craig, as he lived in New Haven. I was in NYC and we did quite a few shows together at various times. We were always old drinking buddies from Cleveland. Still are! I think.... What was the reaction when you first heard the proposal to play live with RFTT after so many years? What can we expect from the band in September? Well, it goes back a little further ....Dave calling after all these years....I was suspicious....still am! I mean, we were friends, then all of a sudden we weren't ... then out of nowhere, the "Day the Earth" comes out, Dave and I jam,.......I still don't know the motivation behind it or how long it was planned, but I know who did the planning!......So the gig was a real nice chance to go the distance, make sure the name stayed in the record books! So I went along. I'm not sure we should have continued past the one show.... I do like the CD .... . but I think the aura of mystery might have been better, given the Coke machine mentality of the kids today. Maybe we should have left it where it was...But we do blow 90% of the bands today away.....always did.......... While doing research for this interview I found the band-slogan for Frankenstein „Fuck art, let´s rock!“ which was meant as a reaction to RFTT, but in recent interviews you always stated that the work with RFTT was the best you ever did musically. Was there a change of perspective over the years? The "Fuck Art" thing wasn't really my philosophy, I never put that much thought into it. Thinking interfered with playing my guitar! Tell me what happened in the transition time between RFTT and the Dead Boys? You joined Frankenstein which became the Dead Boys when the band moved to New York. There was only about a month between RFTT and Frankenstein. We played a few gigs and it was all over by Halloween `75. We took about 6 months off, during which we discovered the NYC scene and realized all we had to do was book a show and jump in the van! It had never occured to us before that our audience may not be in Cleveland. I’ve never claimed that we were the brightest bunch..... Have you been satisfied how the first two Dead Boys LP´s turned out? From what I know there was some friction between the band and Felix Pappalardi while recording the second LP. I’ve always loved „Young, Loud & Snotty“ and I believe it has stood the test of time. Genya (the producer) did a great job! I’ve always hated „We Have Come For Your Children“ and it hasn’t. Felix never had a clue. How did the Dead Boys come to an end? I read that there was a disastrous US-tour at the end and that Sire wanted you to change your sound into some kind of New Wave muzak and that you walked out of a meeting with Sire head honcho Seymore Stein while discussing the third LP for his label? Exactly. They called us to the Sire office on W. 74th street and we went in expecting the usual ass chewing. What we got was „I bet a lot of money on Punk Rock, and I was wrong. You need to change your image, your music and possibly the name of the band“. One member said:“ What do you mean, Seymour?“ and I knew that just by the fact one person even expressed interest that I was in the wrong place. So I told the room that they DEFINATELY needed to find a new guitarist, and took a subway home. Besides Stivs work after the Dead Boys (which is wellknown), what did the other guys in the band do after the split? Never really paid attention. Dunno. What did you do after the split of the band? I know you released one solo-7“ on Ork and worked as a session musician here and there (I got that brilliant Ronnie Spector 7“ on which she´s doing „Here today, gone tomorrow“ by the Ramones) but besides that you kinda kept a low profile. Well,that’s because I didn’t do all that much, due to a fairly debilitating heroin addiction! Just hung out at Max’s and got high, pretty much! Tell me about your time working with Nico? How long did you work together and how was it to work with her? We worked together for a summer, 6 months tops. She was a great personality, real spirit and humor! She could also be very depressing at times, but I saw that coming, having heard her records! A few times she shot up all the money before we got paid. A few times she didn’t and we got paid like kings. I have to say that no matter how it turned out I have very fond memories of working with her...she was the real thing. One of the more honest people I’ve met in this life. What are your feelings when you look back in time? Did you actually realize that you have been in the center of something that was going to change the cultural landscape forever? Can’t say I’ve really sat back and put it in perspective until recently....I was too busy just doing it! And then for a few years I just wanted to distance myself from it, forget it for awhile. It hasn’t exactly been easy for me, my life. A lot of paradoxes and a lot of lost years. I had to reinvent myself in order to even continue playing rock and roll. And I might have to again! Unfortunately, I’ve changed a hell of a lot, rock and roll hasn’t. I’m not sure I like it all that much anymore. How does it feel to read an obituary of your own in a NYC news paper and what´s it like to be still alive after some what I presume pretty rough times and seeing some of your best friends passing away along the way? What was the main reason for you to sober up? Who says I’ve sobered up? I still drink beer ,smoke pot! I just control it now and avoid white powders. Life is too short, I don’t wanna be sitting around all crabby and judgmental when there is no need. Reading my own obituary, to me, was just flat out funny. I had to call my wife…”Was I snoring last night? Have ya noticed anything different?” Just shits and giggles, a laugh! I couldn’t believe the dumbass hadn’t done his homework! Nowhere near as hard on me as reading Stiv’s or Johnny’s….Jerry’s…. What are the musical high and low points of your career and is there anything in your life that you would have made different if you had the chance to? Now that’s a fucking huge question, ain’t it!!!! The highs I’m not done with yet, I’m still suckin air ! I’ll wait to answer that one. The lows were some of the Dead Boys reunion gigs, making an audience wait for an encore while I got high in the bathroom, shit like that. The only thing I’d do differently would be to not sign with Sire and never try heroin. In 1996 you recorded a solo-record (produced by Genya Ravan) that never saw the light of day, what happened with it? It wasn’t what I heard in my head, and it was just going to get thrown against the wall to see if it stuck, it wasn’t going to get the promotion I think a Cheetah Chrome record should get. I’ve listened to it recently, and while I think it’s good, I don’t think it’s my best. I made the right decision by declining to release it. Tell me about the Ghetto Dogs. Was it a band that played out live or just a shortlived project? It was thrown together in order to open for the Lords in Cleveland. It ended up being so much fun that we continued awhile while I waited on a court date for possession of a butterfly knife. Then I screwed it up, and there ya go! I swear I never laughed as much or as hard as I did in that band! We had a hell of a lot of fun! Plus we kicked ass! What kind of life are you living right now? I read that you are happily married and even thinking about kids and you got a new band, Sweet Justice, which will play some shows in Europe and a new studio album is planned. I have a wonderful life right now, one I never thought was in my reach! I have been with Anna, my wife, going on 9 years, married going on 4. I won’t say that she civilized me, but I’ll say she made me want to civilize myself. We have a beautiful home in Nashville, 5 cats and a German Shepard and we hope to be parents very soon. Sweet Justice are actually a band without me, with some very good credentials. Frank Meyer (Streetwalking Cheetahs) on guitar/vocals, Bruce Duff (45 Grave/ADZ) on bass, and Chris Markwood (Bellrays) on drums. We play very well together, get along and travel well and see no reason not to continue. We just got back from doing a festival in Cedeira, Spain, that was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had in a band .Barring lost luggage and delays thanks to BA!!!! You’ll see more of this, as we have plans to record and tour in the future. I’ve also used a band called the Black Angels for some East Coast dates, who are total pros and comrades. How did you experience the Seventies and the beginning of the punk scene? What was it like to be in a place like New York at that time? Was there some kind of vibe in the air that hinted at bigger things to come? It seemed like the 60’s, but with more of an edge. It WASN’T violent, that came with the California/hardcore thing. It was all about the music. Richard Lloyd sums it up pretty well with “It was like a 4 year party where you were the host!”. Do you think that punk as a cultural phenomenon was the logical reaction to the times in which the first generation of punk bands emerged? Punk as the logical step in the progression of pop-culture that sooner or later could have happened everywhere? Yea, it was the last gasp of true rock and roll before total commercialization....a stone in the pathway of the people that had Clear Channel in mind even back then. We’ve all seen what punk has become...laughable, and pathetic unless it’s done by 50 year old men! The kids don’t own rock and roll anymore...they don’t even know what it is! But lately I see they are curious...they’re in the front rows again.....at all the shows…and it gives me hope! How would you compare the American punk scene to the British and the rest of the world? What did you think about the hype surrounding the Sex Pistols and punk in general that was generated in the UK? We got it all late and with a spin......so it was mythic by the time it got to Cleveland. We were already playing NYC by the time we heard „Anarchy“. I think it all comes from the early garage bands, American or Brit. Elvis was punk as hell, wearing eye makeup to high school talent contests! The Beatles and Stones came from a culture steeped in WWII, show tunes. They heard Elvis and Little Richard and took it to Hamburg and did it for fun, brought it home and did it for money. The Stones just blasted the blues and screwed yer sisters and never figured they’d make it outta London. But they ended up taking over the culture from within and reshaping it. Malcolm McLaren saw this, saw the Dolls in the States, saw a chink in the status quo,and sank the knife in. There were unsatisfied bands all through the US and UK that were more than willing for a chance….....Punk was born. What´s your opinion of the current state of culture and especially pop culture? Do you think that something like the punk movement of the seventies is still of relevance today? By looking at the Web and seeing the kids in the front rows at my shows, where there were none even 2 years ago, tells me the relevance of Punk music today. Music now is shit, commercial even past my expectations. With Clear Channel, George Bush and the Neocons making their last, best effort to return the USA to Moscow in the 50’s and the Cold War mentality, the kids HAVE to get online and look to the past for anything with a heartbeat or any human feeling or warmth. What do you expect from the Punk Kongress? I expect to answer a lot of questions, to play a good show and good beer! And I expect I won’t let ya down! Punk is...? ...NOT LIMP BIZKIT. Interview by Stefan Conrad © Schmidt productions GmbH |
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