Susanna Hoffs Interview: ‘The Bangles’ Multitalented Songstress and Songwriter Talks... Past, Present & Future

                                      
By Ray Shasho

In-depth interview with The Bangles -Susanna Hoffs:

Susanna Hoffs is the beautiful, talented & iconic vocalist for the commercially successful all- female pop/rock/new wave/ band ‘The Bangles.’ Hoffs angelic and awe-inspiring vocals are definitive on such Bangles classics as …“Manic Monday” (1985 #2 US Billboard Hit), “Walk Like an Egyptian” (1986 #1 US Billboard Hit), “If She Knew What She Wants” (1986 #29 US Billboard Hit), “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987 #2 US Billboard Hit), “Walking Down Your Street” (1987 #11 US Billboard Hit),“In Your Room” (1988 #5 US Billboard Hit), and the breathtaking “Eternal Flame” (1988 #1 US Billboard Hit). Hoffs is also ‘The Bangles’ rhythm guitarist and songwriter.

THE BANGS: After Susanna Hoffs graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied theatre, dance, and art, she headed back to Los Angeles and placed an ad in The Recycler, an LA based classifieds newspaper. A trio began to form with the addition of Sisters Vicky Peterson (vocals/guitars) and Debbi Peterson (vocals/drums) while subsequently adding Annette Zilinskas on bass. After short stints with names such as ‘The Colours’ and ‘The Supersonic Bangs,’ the newly formed all-girl band eventually settled on ‘The Bangs’ while swiftly becoming a vital part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene. The Bangs debut single “Getting Out of Hand” was released on their label DownKiddie Records and caught the attention of KROQ deejay Rodney Bingenheimer who repeatedly played the record on his show.

THE BANGLES: ‘The Bangs’ were auspiciously mandated to change their name so the group dropped ‘The’ and added the letters ‘les’ to form ‘Bangles,’ a banner that would flourish into one of the greatest all-female groups in rock and roll history. In 1982, under new manager Miles Copeland, The Bangles supported The English Beat on a UK tour. In 1983, the group made its first appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
In 1984, ‘All Over the Place,’ The Bangles first full-length album was released on CBS (Columbia) Records. Michael Steele had replaced Annette Zilinskas on bass. Steele began her music career as Micki Steele with The Runaways. ‘All Over the Place,’ spawned the singles”Hero Takes a Fall,” and “Going Down to Liverpool” which featured Susanna’s childhood neighbor and family friend Leonard Nimoy. The Bangles popularity escalated and was asked to join such acts as ‘Cyndi Lauper’ and ‘Huey Lewis and the News’ on tour.

Susanna Hoffs and The Bangles had captivated the attention of R&B/Pop/Funk/ music artist & songwriter ‘Prince.’ Prince offered his penned single “Manic Monday” (1984) to The Bangles and the group promptly brought the tune into the recording studio. “Manic Monday” (1986) became The Bangles first big hit peaking at #2 on Billboards US Charts.
Their second studio album ‘Different Light’ (1986) produced by David Kahne peaked at #2 on the US Billboard Charts and is considered to be their most successful to date. Also in 1986, The Bangles opened for 'Queen' at Slane Castle, Ireland.

In 1987, “Walk like an Egyptian” won Best Video at the 15th Annual Music Awards and again at the 5th Annual American Video Awards. ‘Everything’ (1988) The Bangles third studio album spawned the Top 5 Hit “In Your Room,” and their worldwide #1 single “Eternal Flame” penned by Susanna Hoffs, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.
The Bangles attained a well-deserved hiatus throughout the 90’s but returned with rock and roll vengeance in 1999. They released their fourth studio album entitled ‘Doll Revolution’ in 2003. Bassist Michael Steele officially left The Bangles in 2005 and the band decided to use guest bassists while on tour. The Bangles most recent album ‘Sweetheart of the Sun’ was released in 2011.
In January of 2014, The Bangles returned to the legendary Whisky A GO GO to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary.

SUSANNA HOFFS: In 1991, Susanna released her debut solo album entitled ‘When You’re a Boy’ produced by David Kahne. The album spawned the Top 40 hit single “My Side of the Bed.” The release featured such musical luminaries as John Entwistle, Jim Keltner, and Donovan. In 1996, Susanna Hoffs released her second studio album entitled ‘Susanna Hoffs.’
Based on a Saturday Night Live stint in the early 1990’s, Hoffs performed in the band ‘Ming Tea’ with … Mike Myers, Matthew Sweet, Christopher Ward and Stuart Johnson. The SNL skit morphed into a three comedy film series ... Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Jay Roach, Susanna’s husband directed the Austin Power series and ‘Ming Tea’ performed in all three movies.

In 2006, Susanna collaborated with alternative rocker Matthew Sweet under the name ‘Sid n Susie,’ and released ‘Under the Covers’ Volumes 1, 2 &3 featuring classic rock cover songs of the 60’s,70’s, and 80's.
In 2012, Susanna released her critically-acclaimed studio album entitled ‘Someday.’ Susanna’s vocals are more radiant than ever. Hoffs collaborated with musical partner Andrew Brassell and producer Mitchell Froom on her best solo album to date. All the tracks are co-penned by Susanna Hoffs.

Hoffs & Brassell continue to co-write music and hope to release a new album sometime in 2015.
‘Susanna Hoffs’ performs at The Satellite in Los Angeles on July 18th with special guests Fred Armisen and Petra Haden.
‘The Bangles’ kicked off their summer concert series on June 6th at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California … click [Here] for a complete ‘Bangles’ tour listing.

Recently, I had the great pleasure of chatting with Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles and discussed … Her latest solo projects …Collaborating with Andrew Brassell … Producer Mitchell Froom … Early musical influences …The Bangles past & present … The inception of “Manic Monday,” “Eternal Flame,” “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” …and future plans as a solo artist & with ‘The Bangles.’

Here’s my interview with singer/songwriter/actress/ legendary songstress & guitarist of ‘The Bangles’ …SUSANNA HOFFS.
Ray Shasho: Hello Susanna, how are you doing?
Susanna Hoffs: “Hi Ray, I’m doing great thank you.”
Ray Shasho: Susanna, you and I are ten days apart in age, you being the oldest (laughing).
Susanna Hoffs: “Oh My Gosh …that’s so cool! It was a very good year wasn’t it?”
Ray Shasho: So did you graduate high school in 1977?
Susanna Hoffs: I was ’76 actually; I know I’m a little off from most of the people in our year. I skipped half of fifth grade; I was one of the youngest ones in my group. It was a thing they were doing in California or maybe just LA where they were trying to shift the starting age of school. So anybody that was my age that year had a choice to either repeat or move up to the next grade. My Brothers and I all moved up and were the youngest ones in our graduating classes of high school.”
Ray Shasho: When I was in 8th grade and before I entered high school, we were amongst the very firsts to be bussed into Black American neighborhoods.
Susanna Hoffs: “Our school was part of the bussing program too. It was a very interesting time wasn’t it, when you look back historically what was going on. I am very fascinated with the 70’s and part of that is the nostalgia of going back and wanting to understand what was going on around us when we were in our formative and coming of age years. There’s a famous book written about my school at Palisades High called ‘What Really Happened to the Class of ’65,’ and when I was in high school that book was fascinating to me. Everything about the ‘70’s is extremely interesting to me again. Now, I’m actually working my way up into the 80’s (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: Your third solo project and latest release is entitled ‘Someday.’ Some of my favorite tracks include “Holding My Breath” a very 60ish sounding tune with an orchestral background, co-penned by you and Andrew Brassell. I also thoroughly enjoyed “Picture Me” … Susanna your voice sounds better than ever, how do you do it?
Susanna Hoffs: “Thank you! I take pretty good care of myself and learned over the years to be careful with my voice and not go to a loud event on the night before I have to sing, and not be screaming over music, a sporting event, or a party, where I wake up the next day and can’t speak. I’ve gotten better at protecting my voice. I think one of the things about ‘Someday’ is that the writing was all done in a short period of time and working with Mitchell Froom we really tailored the arrangements to make room for the voice, so it’s not competing for sonic space to cut through. I use a capo, so I’ve also learned to key songs that feel right for my singing, to actually put the song in a key that makes sense, and I think that’s a huge thing when you get to that point when… wait a minute, this is too low, or this is too high, and you find that sweet spot where it fits perfectly in your vocal range. I think over the years of writing you just learn things as you go, and that was one of the things that I learned.”
Ray Shasho: You also found a great collaborating partner in Andrew Brassell.
Susanna Hoffs: “Yes definitely, that was a surprise, and we’re writing and recording now, so it’s ongoing. I actually met Andrew through my niece who grew up in Nashville. She had moved to LA from Nashville upon graduating from Vanderbilt University. I was spending a lot of time with her and she said I want you to meet my friend, he’s in a band and I’ve been a real fan of his work. It lead to a friendship with Andrew and then he needed a place to stay, so he stayed in our guest room for awhile, just one of those kids who was always playing music, he took a guitar wherever he went. I started to hear him just noodling around on chords and humming to something and I didn’t know if it was an existing song or not, he would say no, no, just something I’m messing around with. So that lead to me saying, oh, what if we put this melody on it, and before I knew it, we were writing songs together.”
Ray Shasho: You also have a great producer in Mitchell Froom. Mitchell goes way back to playing keyboards with ‘Gamma’ and Ronnie Montrose.
Susanna Hoffs: “I knew Mitchell in the 80’s when he worked with Crowded House and he actually played on the recording of “Manic Monday”. So that’s when I first met Mitchell, it was a chance meeting, we live very near each other in Los Angeles, so occasionally we’d run into one another at local restaurants and stuff like that, but then I ran into him at a really great music venue called Largo, and I was with Andrew, so that’s how the whole project sort of took shape of doing a record together. He’s great and super talented.”
Ray Shasho: So when can we expect the release of your current venture together?
Susanna Hoffs: “We’re just beginning it so probably 2015. It’s always a bit of a juggling act for me because I’ve got a lot of things going on with The Bangles and other projects that I’m working on, including creative things in my life outside of music, so it’s a little bit crazy but I enjoy the energy of it.”
Ray Shasho: Susanna, how old is your kids now?
Susanna Hoffs: “19 and 15.”
Ray Shasho: So you’re sort of veering away from worrying about them too much?
Susanna Hoffs: “I don’t think you ever stop worrying about your kids, I know my parents are still worrying about me. (All laughing) It’s definitely in a new phase, being very well launched now and becoming young adults. That definitely opens up more time in my schedule to focus on music and other creative endeavors.”
Ray Shasho: You’re 10 days older than me, yet my mom is 90 and yours only 79 … also my kids are 28 and 26 … what happened?
Susanna Hoffs: “You got married ten years earlier than I did. I think my 20’s were basically given over to life on the road and touring with The Bangles. That kept me so busy that I couldn’t consider doing anything but just hoping for a good night’s sleep. And then it was … What city am I in? Where am I? What hotel or room number am I in? I don’t know how I ever remembered where I was because it moved that fast.”
Ray Shasho: Record producer/songwriter Kim Fowley was distinguished for producing novelty acts and girl bands, hence The Runaways; did you ever cross paths with Kim Fowley?
Susanna Hoffs: “I knew who Kim Fowley was and actually talked with him on the phone once. Just after I graduated from UC Berkeley, I came back to LA and was trying to put together a band. I put an advertisement in The Recycler which was sort of the Craigslist of its time and had some flyers around town. Then I met the Petersons and we made a single for like thirty-five dollars at a ten-dollar an hour studio called Radio Tokyo in Venice, California. We really wanted our record to be on KROQ Radio. So I tracked down Rodney (Bingenheimer) and managed to get his phone number. I was extremely tenacious at that time to make it happen for The Bangles. I called Rodney and met him at the Odyssey Club where he was a deejay one night a week. I brought him the 45 single that The Bangles had done and he played it every weekend for about a year. Somehow Kim Fowley got my number and called me. Those guys were very much tastemakers and on the LA scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s.I never really got to know Kim but he’s worked with so many people that I know.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the music artists that influenced you while growing up?
Susanna Hoffs: “There were so-so many! Starting in the 60’s, I would say The Beatles being the toppermost of the poppermost for me. (All laughing) So many bands … The Byrds, the Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas and the Papas, The Kinks, The Zombies, along with a lot of the great female singers of that time and period like …Petula Clark, Lulu, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick … my mom had all the Burt Bacharach/Hal David music, many people covered their songs but we had all those Dionne Warwick records. To this day, those Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs move me so much. I love singing them; I got the chance to sing “Alfie” in the ‘Austin Powers’ movie and that was so much fun.”

“In the 70’s, singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, as well as bands like YES. At the end of the 70’s, where the whole Punk Rock revolution happened musically, I got very into those groups at a time when it started to be an idea in my head. I thought, wow, I could do this, especially after hearing a band like The Ramones because they were like Punk/Pop and I knew those same three or four chords. I could probably get an electric guitar and change my Folk-like sound to a Ramones style treatment of a Pop song.”

“Blondie, the Talking Heads, Television out of New York were all influences, and that whole scene. Bands like Television lead me back to bands like The Velvet Underground, who I kind of never knew about when I was just a kid. I had heard of Andy Warhol, my mom had been a painter and later became a screenwriter, but she started out as a teacher, so I knew a lot about the art scene of the 60’s through my parents. But I didn’t really know about The Velvet Underground’s music until the late 70’s when I rediscovered all of that.”

“But yea, even like Nick Lowe, early Elvis Costello … it was a really interesting time. The fact that I could go to local clubs and see the Talking Heads at the Whiskey A Go Go, probably on their first tour, the early Go-Go’s shows, The Undertones, The Jam, Blondie … it was a great time!”
Ray Shasho: Was there ever any kind of rivalry between The Bangles and The Go-Go’s?
Susanna Hoffs: “Not really, The Go-Go’s started before us so we got compared to them a lot, and when The Bangles were starting to take off by the mid 80’s, The Go-Go’s were actually winding down. It was kind of a funny rivalry fueled by the press obsessing over it so much. We all really got along, hung out together, and got to know them …to this day I ‘m in touch with Belinda, Charlotte, and Kathy.”
“I worked on some songs for Belinda’s first solo record and we were very good friends in the 80’s. Then I worked a lot with Charlotte, Kathy, and Jane. Jane is an incredible songwriter. I’ve spent a lot of time with Jane over the years and she’s incredible.”
Ray Shasho: Susanna, I’m reluctant to admit this, but I never knew that “Manic Monday” was written by Prince … how did that transpire?
Susanna Hoffs: “Oh no? Wow! We were recording at the time with Producer David Kahne and working with David and Peggy Leonard who were recording engineers and worked a lot with Prince. Somehow Peggy was working on Princes’ record at The Sound Factory on Sunset Boulevard and her husband David was working on our record at the sister studio Sunset Sound & Sound Factory. So we got word that Prince had some songs and wanted me to come over to The Sound Factory. So I drove over there, picked up a cassette, it had “Manic Monday” on it and we recorded it. I think Prince had seen the “Hero Takes A Fall” video on MTV and that’s how he kind of discovered The Bangles. Then he came to at least two shows and performed with us onstage. I think he may have watched us the first time, the second time performed with us, then performed with us again in San Francisco. So he was like an early fan of the band. It turned out to be an incredible thing for us because we were very much like the rest of the world … in awe of Prince, his talent, and magnificent stage presence. I really learned a lot watching him and the gift of “Manic Monday” was unexpected, it turned out to be so amazing because it worked its way up the charts, peaked at #2, and it really got our name out there.”
Ray Shasho: How did you get Leonard Nimoy involved in the “Going Down To Liverpool” music video?
Susanna Hoffs: “I grew up with the Nimoy’s; I went to preschool with his kids. At four years old I met Adam and Julie and our parents became really-really close friends pre-Star Trek, and remained very good family friends through all the Star Trek stuff. So we were looking to do a video and I thought… maybe I should call Leonard up and ask him. So I did. I got my nerve up and called him and he said sure.”
Ray Shasho: Do you think The Bangles biggest hit was “Eternal Flame?”
Susanna Hoffs: “Eternal Flame” or “Walk Like an Egyptian.” Both songs went to #1 which was pretty amazing. Sometimes I feel my life is very surreal when I look back.”
Ray Shasho: “Eternal Flame” was about the Elvis Presley gravesite at Graceland?
Susanna Hoffs: “Yes, we wanted to have a tour of Graceland and got what we were told was a special tour that was only given to rock bands. So we got to see things that everybody didn’t get to see and had our own tour guide dedicated to us. The eternal flame at Elvis’ tomb was out that day, so we stood around and sang “Heartbreak Hotel” ala Spinal Tap. Later on I recounted the story to my songwriting partner at the time Billy Steinberg and he said, wait-wait, stop-stop, it’s a great story but why don’t we write a song called “Eternal Flame”? And I said okay. So that’s how it started.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve got a sneaky suspicion based on your love for 60’s Top 40 music, that recording “A Hazy Shade of Winter” was your idea?
Susanna Hoffs: “Actually it was. During the very early days of The Bangles, we met through ‘The Recycler’ and decided to become a band, we were rehearsing and then started playing some parties and clubs around town. I was working for my Aunt and Uncle who owned a ceramic factory in Santa Monica. It was a very lonely job because I’d be down in this basement with just a radio and sanding ceramic pieces. I’d spent hours in this dark room by myself with nothing but the radio. Boy I’m glad I had the radio to keep me company because I had it set to an oldies station and very familiar with most of Simon & Garfunkel’s songs because I was really into their music when I was in high school. But I hadn’t heard “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” When it came on the radio I thought, oh wow, this is perfect for The Bangles. It has this riff that’s so catchy, has all these harmonies, and it’s kind of Folk Rock, just right up our ally. I think I had a rehearsal that very night and I mentioned it. Vicky was a huge Simon & Garfunkel fan and was familiar with the song. So we learned it and put it right in our set. The song became a staple in our setlist for years.”

“Then I had an opportunity in the 80’s to meet the producer of ‘Less Than Zero’ John Avnet, and we’re still friends to this day. Another friend of mine Thomas Newman who is just a brilliant composer that scores for movies, he and I were songwriting at the time and he said, you know, I’m doing the score for this film and I think the soundtrack’s going to be pretty fun, we’re getting together a really cool group of musicians and artists to contribute songs to the soundtrack and the movie. I mentioned the idea of “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and they loved it because it fit very well somatically with the movie. It ended up being a really great thing for us landing on that soundtrack. We also did a video. To this day we open our set with that song. We got to meet Paul Simon in the 80’s and he was very enthusiastic about our version of his song and that made us feel happy.”
Ray Shasho: The Bangles most recent release is ‘Sweetheart of the Sun’ (2011) … what’s up next for The Bangles?
Susanna Hoffs: “We’re rereleasing our first EP that was put out on Miles Copeland’s I.R.S. Records label, who was our manager at the time. He had a small division of I.R.S. called Faulty Products …it gets really complicated. It was released in 1982 and originally with our band named The Bangs, before we had to change to The Bangles. We had a weekend to come up with a new band name and that’s when we added a few letters and came up with The Bangles.”

“We’re also releasing never seen the light of day demos that we did around that same time. Our first demos, our first single that came out in 1981 which was “Getting Out Of Hand,” and “Call On Me” and we’ll include that in the package, then a cover of “7 and 7 Is” that we did at The Palace live, and anything else that we find between now and when we put it all together. It will be coming out in the fall digitally … so that’s exciting!”
Ray Shasho: How about The Bangles on tour in 2014?
Susanna Hoffs: “We’re doing a bunch of tour dates this summer and a two week run in the fall.”
Ray Shasho: Susanna, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us with The Bangles and as a solo artist and continue to bring.
Susanna Hoffs: “Thank you Ray!”

Purchase Susanna Hoffs latest solo CD with Andrew Brassell entitled ‘Someday’ available on amazon.com
Susanna Hoffs Official Website
The Bangles Official Website
The Bangles tour dates
Susanna Hoffs on Facebook
The Bangles on Facebook
Susanna Hoffs on Twitter
The Bangles on Twitter
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (aka Sid 'n Susie) on Facebook

Very special thanks to Andrew Brassell

Coming up NEXT … The legendary Jesse Colin Young of ‘The Youngbloods’
UP Coming …Pioneer of the electric violin Darryl Way of ‘Curved Air,’ Don Wilson legendary co-founder of ‘The Ventures,’ and Keyboard extraordinaire Patrick Moraz (YES/The Moody Blues)

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
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“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


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Arthur Brown Exclusive: ‘The God of Hellfire’ & ‘Mastermind of Theatrical Rock’ Talks New CD

By Ray Shasho

Exclusive Interview with Arthur Brown:

British theatrical rocker Arthur Brown has influenced innumerable music artists, especially lead singers in bands who searched for an edge or gimmick to enhance their stage presence. ‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ and his ensuing band ‘Kingdom Come’ became the creators and his disciples would soon follow suit … Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Kiss, George Clinton, and Marilyn Manson to name just a few.

ARTHUR BROWN: has had a fascinating music career. His first big gig was with a band called ‘The Ramong Sound’ where Brown shared vocals with Clem Curtis. He left to start his own band before the The Ramong Sound signed with Pye Records and eventually changed their name to ‘The Foundations.’ The British soul group went straight to Top 40 heaven with their releases “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” and “Build Me Up Buttercup.”

Leaving behind those successes hadn’t deterred Arthur Brown. His new psychedelic/progressive rock band had become extremely popular while earning creative and experimental endorsements from the likes of Track Records Kit Lambert & Chris Stamp, and The Who’s Pete Townshend. A music festival favorite, Brown’s bold and astonishing theatrical antics onstage became extraordinary and left audiences across the globe often flabbergasted. Arthur Brown became notorious for wearing a silver mask and extreme makeup while balancing his trademark flaming headdress on top of his head.

In 1968, Arthur Brown and his ‘Crazy World’ scored huge with a song that seemed to perfectly fit in one of the darkest and disturbing years of the decade. Even today, the intro of the song captivates our subconscious as Arthur Brown shouts out the immortal words … ‘I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you …Fire!’ His song “Fire” reached #1 in the UK and #2 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Also in 1968, Brown’s “Nightmare” was featured in the movie ‘The Committee,’ a British satire with soundtrack by Pink Floyd.

After 'Crazy World' disbanded, Arthur Brown formed the progressive rock group 'Kingdome Come.' The band is credited with recording the first rock album to incorporate a drum machine. Brown’s wild onstage theatrics endured. One of his many onstage props included a giant hypodermic syringe with white powder and Arthur Brown inside. Brown has collaborated on recordings with Alan Parsons, Hawkwind, and numerous other legendary artists. He also portrayed ‘The Priest’ in The Who’s rock opera movie ‘Tommy’ in 1975.

Arthur Brown is not just a theatrical rock phenomenon; Brown delivers commanding and unprecedented vocals covering an exceptionally wide range of tonality. He may even be called the 'Einstein of experimental music.' I fondly called Arthur … ‘Doc Brown’ (as in the movie ‘Back to the Future’) because of his latest brainchild called the brain hat helmet. You think and the thing plays what you’re thinking, you actually create a melody from your thoughts. It’s a bold new journey for music.

‘ZIM ZAM ZIM’ the new album by ‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ will be officially released on July 28th, thanks to an extremely successful pledge campaign. Brown and his ‘Crazy World’ will also be touring various dates in Europe in support of the new album.

Favorite tracks on ‘ZIM ZAM ZIM’… “Want to Love” a very Bowie-like rendition, exciting melody and amazing lyrics …“Jungle Fever” exhibits Brown’s impressive vocalizations, an absorbing old-time blues rendering … “Assun” just one word Bravo! A beautiful & mesmerizing track, Brown never ceases to amaze! ... “Muscle of Love” a bit wacky and avant- garde ala Frank Zappa with sexy horns, Brown again spotlights his commanding voice (there’s no way this guy is 71)… “Junkyard” is a remarkably catchy and intoxicating blues ditty … “Light Your Light” an alluring and tender track that substantiates Brown’s diverse musical ingenuity… “Touched By All” a very interesting progressive/jazzy piece with Moody Blues overtones.

‘ZIM ZAM ZIM’ … Innovative! …Extraordinary! …Masterful! …Awe-inspiring! … (5) Stars!

‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ is … Arthur Brown (Lead Vocals/Songwriter) Jim Mortimore (Musical Director), Samuel Walker (Drums), Lucie Rejchrtova (Keyboards), Nina Gromniac (Guitar), Angel Flame (Dancer), Z Star (Guest Vocals), Malcolm Dick (Artist), Neeta Pendersen (Artist),Paul Harrison (Artist), Pearl Bates (Artist in residence).

I had the very rare and wonderful privilege of chatting with Arthur Brown about … The amazing brain hat helmet … The inception of his mega hit “Fire”…Pioneering theatrical rock … Touring & creating a new ‘Experience’ with Jimi Hendrix… Pete Townshend’s influence … Lambert & Stamp… The latest album entitled ‘Zim Zam Zim’ …Frank Zappa … and much-much more!

Here’s my recent interview with lead singer & songwriter for ‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ … theatrical rock pioneer, and the ‘god of hellfire’ …ARTHUR BROWN.
Ray Shasho: Arthur it’s so good to hear you, thank you so much for being on the call today.
Arthur Brown: “Hi Ray, I’m driving back home and just pulled over into a place, I think it will be okay here … I’ve been doing some experiments on the brain hat helmet.”
Ray Shasho: Well, let’s begin about talking about the brain hat helmet.
Arthur Brown: “It’s one that allows you to monitor the rhythms of the brain and use to make music. You can use it to trigger things, and that’s kind of one thing, but this one is more like becoming a Theremin, so you think and the thing plays what you’re thinking and you can create a melody from your thoughts. So it’s actually kind of a brand new direction for music.”
Ray Shasho: That’s an impressive apparatus, are you the inventor?
Arthur Brown: “As far as the equipment that monitors the brain, I didn’t invent that obviously, they’ve been inspecting it for years, but the idea for having it in use this way was mine, I’m just using technology that’s around.”
Ray Shasho: Creating music using brainwaves is astonishing; this could be the birth of the next big thing for the music industry.
Arthur Brown: “I think it will be. Even with the speed of the internet, it’s going to take about 10-15 years. Triggering things with it, that’s very simple, but making music with it is another thing, without the use of hands and then it will all depend on what you attach to it, and how you do it.”
Ray Shasho: Have you already recorded music using the device?
Arthur Brown: “We’re in the process and sort of working hard on that at the moment. In the early 70’s when we were the first band to use the drum machine as a live instrument, and it was kind of a new direction, of course that was a Bentley Rhythm Ace, which at that time was part of a keyboard setup and we just tore it out and used it. Then of course out came LinnDrums, Oberheim, and then you could file and sample your own drums etc. Then people who were drummers started using them. At that time, I announced in the paper that I was going to use brainwaves and have it where anybody could play it, of course anybody that could think. For instance we could get on one of his visits, the Pope to come and think a solo (laughing).”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, you may be the real ‘Doc Brown,’ as in ‘Back to the Future.’
Arthur Brown: “Yes indeed, ‘Doc Brown’ or the ‘Nutty Professor’… that’s why it’s called the ‘Crazy World!’
Ray Shasho: After ‘Crazy World’ … you experimented with the psychedelic/progressive rock band ‘Kingdome Come’ becoming your next significant music venture.
Arthur Brown: “It was a kind of a multimedia setup. There was one point in the set where I had made a fourteen foot high hypodermic needle and I sang inside it, while it filled up with white powder (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: You’re the pioneer of theatrical rock and influenced so many legendary music artists. In ‘Kingdome Come’ all the band members painted their faces … influencing ‘Kiss’?
Arthur Brown: “‘Kiss’ are big fans of the ‘Crazy World’ and probably ‘Kingdome Come’ as well. It’s all good, and it’s probably the same way that I used to listen to all the old blues guys which affected my music. I’d seen a lot of theater, and I’ve seen a lot of African Travelogues with dancing witch doctors, and all of that had become an influence on me. So it’s kind of natural if you’re in the music field, everybody’s being influenced by something.”
Ray Shasho: I thoroughly enjoyed the You Tube video of you and Alice Cooper performing onstage together in London.
Arthur Brown: “Yea, Alice is an honest guy, very generous, and cool to work with. He said if you’re in my neck of the woods stop in and we’ll play a round of golf, any morning that I’m passing by his place to pop in, but I’m not exactly passing by his place often, it’s not like I could walk out of my house in Sussex and walk over to Alice Cooper’s place.(All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: ‘The Committee’ was a movie where you actually played yourself and sang “Nightmare,” while the majority of the music in the movie was performed by Pink Floyd. Talk about being in that 1968 British flick.
Arthur Brown: “Yea, it was a good movie, and they took a lot of care getting the right visual aspects. Of course it had Paul Jones from Manfred Mann in it … very enjoyable. As I remember there was a couple called Fran and Jay Landesman who were part of the beginning of the underground in England. They were friends with the producer Max Steuer. We’d go out to dinner occasionally and I struck up a nice relationship with them.

“On performing “Nightmare” …we had played the night before somewhere in Europe and our equipment got held up at the border. So at the last minute… Jay, Max, and his team had to rustle around and find some new equipment. It was a film that didn’t get the big push like ‘Tommy,’ ‘If’ or all of those, but it was still a good movie. I think it’s gotten more popular now than when it came out.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, you were a brief member of the British soul group ‘The Ramong Sound’ which became ‘The Foundations’ (“Baby, Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup”).
Arthur Brown: “I was co-lead singer with Clem Curtis.”
Ray Shasho: So you were also influenced by R&B?
Arthur Brown: “Oh yea, and in those days R&B was Ike & Tina Turner… and a completely different style than it is today. But it had a kind of energy and the dance grooves that I loved. I was also influenced by early James Brown and even then was phenomenal. I used to love all the old country blues too … Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sleepy John Estes and all those people, brilliant music!”
Ray Shasho: Let’s talk about “Fire” your huge hit in 1968, which I believe reached #1 in the UK and #2 on the U.S. charts.
Arthur Brown: There were some charts in the U.S. where it reached #1… but was generally #2 behind “Hey Jude.” In fact, when The Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper’s they spent some time running around the studio with candles on their heads. (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: What was the writing and recording scheme behind “Fire” … who would have ever thought that shouting … “I am the god of hellfire” in an intro to a song would be so successful commercially?
Arthur Brown: “In those days, yea …nowadays you’ve got all the rap guys taking on that kind of personality. I suppose it came out partly because in the war my parents both suffered. My mother was at a hotel with her mother on Whitby bay that was blown to dust. Then moved to London and that was blown to dust, and her father was blown across the street and developed Parkinson’s. Her brother was killed in a submarine. My father was out shooting planes down and taking speed to stay awake, that’s what they gave him in those days. So when they both came back to the family, it wasn’t the easiest emotional family to be in. When I was around 11-12 years old, my father brought in this guy one day and said this guy is going to teach you how to empty your mind, so you can handle the family better, so I learned a form of meditation. By the time I was 16-17 years old, life was different.”

“When I began writing stuff, I didn’t really want to write about cars or let’s do it baby, so I decided (here’s the first album) to write a story about a character’s inner journey. It starts with “Nightmare” which is kind of the world how it is, and that drives him to go on the inner journey. In that journey, I wrote the songs and knew I couldn’t just stand up and sing it alone because people wouldn’t understand it …so I decided that I would need to add characters that carry the movement of it. There was the god of hellfire, the god of pure fire, the god of wisdom … a series of deities. So that was the background of it. Having done that it was obvious that if I was going to sing those in normal clubs, then I was going to have to again vindicate that this was a character thing. I was going to have to put on costumes and so I did. I had the costume for the god of hellfire which was a silver mask and I had the makeup under it with the body paint, robes, cloaks, and men that were different characters. The god of pure fire wore these gowns with ancient symbols that were just enormous and very beautiful under the light, and it was a different mood. So that’s how it grew.”

“I recently went down to Salvador Dali’s house and what struck me was that a lot of the things he did was the kind of things you think about in certain moods but you never do, you just think oh, that’s a great idea. But the difference was Dali did it. I think that’s just what I do. Ideas that some people might think …oh I can’t do that … I just do.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, did you receive any kind of resistance by management for creating an avant-garde/ theatrical/ concept album?
Arthur Brown: “Lambert & Stamp (Track Records) loved it because they were themselves film makers and saw it as performance art. There was resistance by Lambert about doing the whole story on an album; he said nobody’s going to be interested in album all about fire. So we had a big argument over a few weeks and eventually decided, okay look, I Arthur will keep the one side totally about fire, on the ‘B’ side we’ll put a couple of songs about fire and then three stage numbers. So that was Kit’s side and how the album became what it was. It was originally all about fire.”
Ray Shasho: Was Pete Townshend involved with the record at all?
Arthur Brown: “He was indeed. Pete was the one that introduced us. He came down and said we want to sign you, my record company just lost a couple of people that I thought we should’ve signed including the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band with Vivian Stanshall. So he rushed us into the studio and we made demos. On some of the demos he played guitar but were taken out because it was going to be an organ based band, a trio. So he was very helpful and creative in the studio and helped us a lot because we didn’t know anything about recording. That’s why we went with Track. Track Records with Lambert & Stamp were the only ones who had some connection with any idea to what we were actually trying to do as oppose to trying to make us a Pop Band. Pete Townshend was the one who actually brought us in there, so he was very instrumental in starting my career.”
Ray Shasho: The single “Fire” was such a cool but ominous tune, but I guess it fit perfectly in 1968 culture, an extremely horrifying year brimming with turmoil … but an incredible year for music.
Arthur Brown: “We were on tour in America when the single was put out. I got a letter from Pete … we really considered this hard, and for us it was a choice between “Give Him a Flower” which was a song about taking the piss out of the hippie thing, and it was funny and the audience loved singing it, but that would have put us down the comedy route. We thought the god of hellfire, a much darker image; we were really going to be able to push into the market. It was a time of the Bobby Kennedy assassination and all of that … The French Revolution …it seemed to be right for the time. I opened the act with a crown of flames singing “Nightmare” and the closing number ended with smoke. In the TV performance video, all of it was put together into the one number. The fire helmet was in one number, and the smoke in another number, but for the sake of TV, it was all put into one. That was one of the reasons it was such a blockbuster.”
Ray Shasho: Did Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones) play bass on any of the versions of “Fire”?
Arthur Brown: “We did a live version for John Peel and Ronnie Wood indeed was the bass player, he played the whole set. I remember the drummer Drachen Theaker, an excellent and very discriminating musician saying that he thought he was the best one we’d ever come across.”
Ray Shasho: Talk about touring with Jimi Hendrix?
Arthur Brown: “What actually happened was … in the earlier days before “Fire,” that was when we were first proposed to go on tour with Hendrix. We had the first single out “Devils Grip,” and in the stage act we were already using the flame. We had the pictures and Lambert & Stamp proposed to Hendrix that we go on tour together. Hendrix took one look at the visuals and said, hmm, I’m not going to go on after that. So we were cancelled out of the tour. But later we played with him, by then he started to light his guitar on fire and then felt it was okay. So we did go on to do concerts with him and did TV shows… and swap numbers.”

“There was a point where we forming a band together. It was going to be the ‘Experience’ with Vincent Crane on organ. Jimi was at a point where he knew he had to do something new or something different. So his idea was that we all get together and there would be tapes of Richard Wagner in the background and visual projections. Jimi liked my singing and we used to jam together. He liked to play bass and some absolutely beautiful music came out of that. So we had a good friendly relationship.”
Ray Shasho: It seemed that Hendrix was experimenting musically while branching out into other genres towards the end of his life; I think you and he would have musically conspired very well in a band together.
Arthur Brown: “I think so. John Coltrane started with jazz and all the normal things and then decided … well obviously blues and jazz were influenced by classical, so I’ll explore classical music. So he did that. And then decided that his roots were deeper than that and went off and did Indian music. Hendrix was just starting to explore classical music, hence the Wagner and the idea for the band we were doing. I’m sure he would have gone off to find all kinds of musical roots and would have found them everywhere …it’s a pity.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve interviewed Eric Burdon and followed his career for quite some time, so when I heard your version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” it was a very nice surprise and enjoyed it immensely.
Arthur Brown: “I was probably listening to it at the same time as Eric, I think we both heard Nina Simone’s version and that was a killer song. I remember she was upset that Eric’s version got to be a hit and hers wasn’t. Eric was a great singer in those years and would experiment with phrasing while he was singing.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, you’re an awesome singer! You have an incredible range and I really dig the way you wail out a song. I’ve been very fortunate lately to be able to interview so many legendary lead singers from the 60’s and 70’s.
Arthur Brown: “Music doesn’t quite have the same pull as it did in the times of the 60’s, when everything was just beginning to do the kind of change that happened, when it was a beacon for all the future changes that was going to happen. Now we’re in the middle of them, so music doesn’t have the same function at all. In that time the voices were very important, whether it was someone who went kind of mainstream like Tom Jones … it didn’t really matter. If you think about the underground scene in California in the 60’s, all of those people had listened to Elvis Presley, and what most people don’t realize was that he was on a spiritual journey. So he influenced all of those people just by the feeling he presented in his music, and it was all done through his voice.”
Ray Shasho: Did you connect with other experimental musicians such as Frank Zappa?
Arthur Brown: “Frank was an amazing fellow …more especially because he never took any drugs. He really didn’t have to, but surrounded himself with people that did. (All laughing) He’d shut the studio door and record what they’d say, then put it on the record. (All laughing) I spent some time with Frank and we did play together at one point. At the Miami Pop Festival, and Frank and I went down to a Go-Go place where the dancers were dancing on the tables. We had quite a wild time then. He was into theater; he was into politics … yea, extraordinary. But it’s just reminded me, there was a time when John Lee Hooker and Jimi Hendrix was on the festival and so we ended up with a jam with Hendrix, me, John Lee Hooker, and it might have been that Frank joined in on that jam. It was just an amazing event … I’m standing there saying ‘Good God,’ I’m singing with John Lee Hooker, particularly being one of my greatest influences.”
Ray Shasho: The early blues players were certainly the roots for rock and roll … but the Brits sort of reintroduced their incredible music back into the public eye.
Arthur Brown: “We took it and couldn’t quite make the looseness of the rhythms, just a little uptight, and became our version of rock and roll. I remember when Alexis Korner, who of course was one of the original people who employed the Stones, he and Alan Lomax went out into the field in America and found all these guys working there … laborers, and recorded them. Alexis went around and then found other people and brought out a series on the English radio called ‘Kings of the Blues’ and that just turned everyone around, because at that time most people were into ‘Trad,’ New Orleans & Modern Jazz, and a sprinkling of Folk. Also one of the ones who discovered a lot of the early blues was Alan Lomax in the field with a lady called Shirley Collins. She was England’s prime folk singer at the time of Fairport Convention and all of those. She was the one they sort of modeled themselves under.”
Ray Shasho: I think the British label ‘Pye Records’ was also instrumental in introducing the world to amazing artists.
Arthur Brown: “Yea they did, as I recall they started the Skiffle craze with Lonnie Donegan, who was the only English artist in the 50’s to have a hit in America. Some of the songs he’d sing, you’d swear it sounded a bit like Dylan. But he was before Dylan. It was because he used to do a lot of Woody Guthrie songs. Of course Dylan loved Woody Guthrie. So ‘Pye Records’ started all kinds of stuff, yea.”
Ray Shasho: I ask a lot of artists about different ways they relax and release tension … and meditation is usually a popular answer.
Arthur Brown: “I kind of arrived at a place where life itself is a meditation, just living, it’s not a separate thing that I do. I think when you get to the root of your consciousness; everything is there and includes creation. At the point that appears, there’s kind of an observer up there, and that is the real meditation. Some people kind of express it in the moment or in the now, and watching it unfold… that’s meditation.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur what do you think about UFO’s, have we been visited by extraterrestrials?
Arthur Brown: “Probably everything that has been imagined has existed and there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be beings everywhere around us that we don’t see. And there’s no reason why they wouldn’t have visited here. There’s also a good likelihood that any government that wish to hold on to power would not let people know about that. So I think it’s highly likely.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Arthur Brown: “There was a guy in ancient England called Caedmon and I think he made up songs, and one of the things I love is the improvised art of music. Indian music uses a lot more of that then we do except in jazz. So the fact that he was someone that improvised music on the spot, which is something that I’ve kind of developed as well. Apart from that it would have been fun to work with Mozart.”

“In a more modern era … one of the people that actually agreed to produce an album of mine and then got all strung out with management was Stevie Wonder. He’s somebody that I would love to work with. Nina Hagen, the female singer is another one … that would be a pairing. A band I’d like to sing with is the Gipsy Kings. I really like the passion in their music.”
Ray Shasho: Arthur, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring.
Arthur Brown: “Yeehaw! Thank you so much Ray.”

Purchase the latest CD by ‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ entitled ‘Zim Zam Zim’ very soon at amazon.com … the official release date is July 28th
Arthur Brown (‘Crazy World of Arthur Brown’) official website
'Crazy World of Arthur Brown' on tour
Arthur Brown on Facebook
Arthur Brown on Myspace

Coming up NEXT … Susanna Hoffs the remarkable and proficient lead singer of The Bangles
Upcoming Interviews … The legendary Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods …Pioneer of the electric violin Darryl Way of Curved Air, and Don Wilson legendary co-founder of The Ventures

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

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“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


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Dan McCafferty Interview: Nazareth Quintessential Rocker Celebrates 45 Years with New CD

By Ray Shasho

An Interview with Nazareth legendary singer Dan McCafferty:

Scottish Rocker Dan McCafferty has been the quintessential and charismatic frontman for hard rock veterans Nazareth since the bands inception in 1968. McCafferty has fired up live audiences across the globe for 45 years with a heavy dose of undisputed hardcore crooning power. Most recently McCafferty has retired from touring with Nazareth due to a lung disease that makes breathing extremely difficult called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Dan McCafferty will pass the microphone over to Nazareth’s new frontman, 41 year old Linton Osborne of Rosyth, Scotland.

McCafferty will cease touring, but will not cease from recording in the studio. In fact, McCafferty and Nazareth have recently released a mammoth new hard rock gem entitled ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone.’ The album features Dan McCafferty on lead vocals, Pete Agnew on bass, Jimmy Murrison on guitars, and Lee Agnew on drums. It’s the band’s 23rd studio album and their first since 2011.The CD features 11 original heavy rockers and bluesy ballads. The deluxe digipack edition will include a second disc with two additional studio recordings and five live tracks, and will also be available in a double LP gatefold vinyl version.
Invigorating and commanding hardcore rock ‘n’ roll is back, just the way we remembered it ...It's the rock we all listened to and partied with in high school …I gave ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ by Nazareth (5) Stars.

NAZARETH: Over the years …critics and music aficionados alike have correlated Dan McCafferty’s vocal styles with such artists as AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Slade’s Noddy Holder, and Humble Pie’s Steve Marriott. The band supported Deep Purple on tour during several occasions which led to Purple’s bassist Roger Glover producing their third studio album entitled Razamanaz (1973). Subsequent Glover produced albums included … Loud ‘N’ Proud (1973) and Rampant (1974).
In 1975, while looking for a new direction, Nazareth appointed lead guitarist Many Charlton as their new producer. The band’s new order resulted in their biggest selling album to date entitled …Hair of the Dog. The album spawned the self-titled hard rock classic “Hair of the Dog” and their popular Top 40 hit “Love Hurts” (1975 #8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100) a cover track penned by Boudleaux Bryant and first recorded by The Everly Brothers (1960) and Roy Orbison (1961).

Nazareth has maintained modest popularity in the U.S. while enjoying significant acceptance in Europe. Across the globe, Nazareth remains a consistent concert-pleaser.

Former band members that have contributed to the success of Nazareth were … original drummer Darrell Sweet (1968- 1999,Sweet died in 1999), original lead guitarist Manny Charlton (1968-1990), Zal Cleminson on guitars (1978-1980), Billy Rankin on guitars (1980-83,1990-94), John Locke on keyboards (1980-82, Locke died in 2006), and Ronnie Leahy on keyboards (1994-2002).

I had the great pleasure of chatting with legendary Nazareth frontman Dan McCafferty recently about the band’s brilliant new CD entitled… ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ … The inception of Nazareth … ‘Hair of the Dog’ album … COPD … and of course my infamous ‘Field of Dreams’ question.

Here’s my interview with the quintessential voice of rock, songwriter, and legendary frontman of 45 years with Nazareth …DAN McCAFFERTY.
Ray Shasho: Hi Dan, thank you for being on the call today … where am I calling anyway?
Dan McCafferty: “Hi Ray, I’m in Scotland near Edinburgh.”
Ray Shasho: Dan, first of all, I’d like to say congratulations on a remarkable career with Nazareth that has spanned over 45 years. You’ve recently decided not to tour with the band anymore is that true?
Dan McCafferty: “That’s true. I’ve got COPD, which is a lung disease, and I can’t sing on tour like I used to anymore. I figure if you can’t do the job then you really shouldn’t be there. But they’ve got somebody else, a guy named Linton Osborne and he sings really well. I’m sad about it but I just can’t sing a whole set live anymore.”
Ray Shasho: I always notice advertisements on television regarding medications to help battle COPD, what have you been doing to improve your condition?
Dan McCafferty: “I’m taking all the meds they can give you and going to rehab classes to help learn how to breathe again. So we’ll wait and see. At the moment there’s no cure for it. I exercise up to a point but because it’s COPD, if you do anything physical it makes you breathless and therefore you panic, so it’s a kind of a Catch-22. I feel great, but you’ve got to remember I’m sitting at home on my ass.”
Ray Shasho: Where did the band find Linton Osborne your new lead singer?
Dan McCafferty: “He was from the same area that we all grew up in, somewhat younger of course. He’s been involved in the local scene for years in different bands.”
Ray Shasho: Was Linton involved on the new album at all?
Dan McCafferty: “No, he was not, but I guess he will be on the next one though.
Ray Shasho: Dan, this doesn’t mean that you’re giving up recording?
Dan McCafferty: “No, no, no, I hope not, I plan to continue on recording. I’ll just need someone to support me or accompany me while I’m doing it.”
Ray Shasho: Dan, for years you’ve delivered that quintessential, commanding, raw rocker voice on stage and in the studio … and I know people sometimes compare your vocalist style to AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. But I hear a lot of Steve Marriott and Noddy Holder in those pipes as well.
Dan McCafferty: “I think if you listen to these guys you’re talking about, we all kind of grew up at the same time and probably influenced by the same people, so I think for some reason it all makes sense.”
Ray Shasho: Brian Johnson lives about twenty minutes from me here in Sarasota.
Dan McCafferty: “I see … the last time we played around there, years and years ago, Brian came along for the gig. We used to do a lot with Brian when he was with Geordie, it was great fun. We did college gigs in Britain and had a lot of laughs together. He’s a Newcastle guy, a Geordie, they’re really cool people.”
Ray Shasho: I always wondered about the true origin behind the Nazareth band name … did it actually derive from the classic tune “The Weight” by The Band?
Dan McCafferty: “(Dan began singing) … ‘I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead’ …yup, that’s where it comes from. We were sitting around in the place we used to rehearse in when we first got together and we couldn’t agree on a name, there must have been four hundred different names. We were listening to “The Weight” when it first came out and Pete Agnew our bass player said what about Nazareth …and that was it, we all agreed on that one. So any rumors that God came down and spoke to me about it would be a lie. (In a Godly tonality, Dan utters) … ‘You will call your band NAZARETH!’ (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: Nazareth was actually formed in 1968, what were those very early days like?
Dan McCafferty: “In the early days we were just playing in a band. We weren’t trying to be famous or trying to change the world or anything. We lived in a small town, loved music, and all the guys in the band liked different things. It was the chemistry of everybody that we eventually ended up with. It wasn’t something that someone came up with by saying … I have a plan! (All laughing) It was just a bunch of guys trying to meet girls basically …we were terrible spokesmen.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the bands you shared the stage with back then?
Dan McCafferty: “We used to play at a place in Dunfermline called the Kinema Ballroom and a lot of bands used to come up from London before they went out on the road. They’d play Glastonbury on a Saturday and the Kinema Ballroom on a Sunday to try out their new album or set. It was always a big draw on Sunday’s. We opened up for everybody man … The Who; the second time they did ‘Tommy’ was in Dunfermline. We played with Deep Purple, Cream, Jethro Tull … you name it … everybody!”
Ray Shasho: Let’s talk about your final studio album with Nazareth entitled ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Telephone.’ Invigorating and commanding hardcore rock ‘n’ roll is back, just the way we remembered it. It's the rock we all listened to and partied with in high school.
Dan McCafferty: “What we managed to do was to capture the feel of the music from back in the day, and it’s not an easy thing to do, you can’t do it forever. It’s kind of hard to maintain your identity with all the technology and what people expect to hear. It’s difficult, but I think we did it really well.”
Ray Shasho: Tried-and-True rock fans are going to cherish ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Telephone’ for years to come, because you sure as hell can’t find pure/fresh rock ‘n’ roll on your radio anymore. The legends of rock are unfortunately classified as 'classic rock' artists and those morons that run mainstream radio nowadays refuse to play anything new by rock folklore.
Dan McCafferty: I was talking to Billy, a local music guy that writes for a lot of music magazines and does radio shows, and I asked Billy, what happened to the music scene? Part of his job was to notice whose coming up, and he said nothing actually. He’s got colleagues around the world and he said unfortunately there’s nothing much to here right now, and that’s really sad. Music has become more of a visual thing. The last band that I got excited about from the states was ‘Kings of Leon,’ I liked them. Caleb has a very good voice you know.”
Ray Shasho: Straight off, from the very clever first track entitled “Boom Bang Bang,” the album delivers a long-awaited rock manifesto to all music fans.
Dan McCafferty: “It is a fact man, once you get a certain age like me, and you’ve spent a lot of time in hotel bars, you wait for something to happen. Or when you go to the show, going for a plane or waiting for the bus … I’ve become a people watcher these days and I’ve seen “Boom Bang Bang” go down more than a few times.”
Ray Shasho: “Speakeasy” was another favorite tune, what was the origin behind the track?
Dan McCafferty: “I was sitting around with Lee Agnew having a beer and imagining what it would have been like in the 1920’s in America when you couldn’t get a legal beer. So it was good because we went into this whole discussion and it developed with a Speakeasy in mind. We had a laugh about it at first, but the more he worked on that tune, the more serious the song got, and all of a sudden… this is a good tune man!”
Ray Shasho: My favorite song on the new release is “Just a Ride” because your vocals shine brilliantly on the track!
Dan McCafferty: “That’s a good vocals track. I liked it because it’s about Bill Hicks, he gave me many a good laugh that young man. We envisioned the track to show how epic the guy really was.”
Ray Shasho: “Love Hurts” became a huge hit for Nazareth reaching #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts in 1976. It was a hard rock ballad and a cover tune. Was it The Everly Brothers or Roy Orbison’s recording that inspired Nazareth to record it?
Dan McCafferty: “Obviously The Everly Brothers, we used to sing the song in bars when we were sixteen. Like most groups we started out as a cover band, so you played what people liked. It was a massive hit for us and just amazing.”
Ray Shasho: I understand there was some controversy surrounding the title of the ‘Hair of the Dog’ album?
Dan McCafferty: “We wanted to call it ‘Son of A Bitch’ and A&M Records who we were with at the time said, oh no, you can’t do that, they won’t sell it. We said why won’t they sell it? We weren’t American so you see we didn’t know. It was Jerry Morris, God love him, who told us that it was a cussword here in America. So then we called it ‘Heir of the Dog’ which is ‘Son of A Bitch’ anyway, but the title eventually became ‘Hair of the Dog’ on the album. It was a good record for us and a good record anyway.”
Ray Shasho: Sources around the internet state that the album was released for a short while with the title ‘Heir of the Dog’ and is a heavily sought out collector’s item … any truth to that or just another worldwide web misconception?
Dan McCafferty: “(Laughing) it was never called ‘Heir of the Dog’ anywhere and never released under a different title, always ‘Hair of the Dog,’ but I guess it gives it some mystery.”
Ray Shasho: The most successful album by Nazareth was recorded immediately after Roger Glover stepped-down as the bands producer. ‘Hair of the Dog’ was produced by guitarist Manny Charlton. Did Roger Glover perplex about the album’s enormous success after his departure?
Dan McCafferty: “No, I don’t think so. We all wanted to have a change and Roger’s attitude was, yea, I can take that. We had done three together. The albums we did with him were all good and opened up a lot of doors.”
Ray Shasho: Dan, do you have any good road stories from back in the heyday of Nazareth?
Dan McCafferty: “The weirdest thing that ever happened to us was … we were playing Brazil and our gear got kidnapped and held for ransom. The guy’s were freaking out because you know how guitar players are without their guitars. They caught the guys but money was gone! Generally Brazil is a pretty cool place but there was some guy just trying to be a smart ass … there always is one isn’t there.”
Ray Shasho: Nazareth will be hitting the road beginning in June and tour throughout the summer including various dates in the Czech Republic, Canada, Europe and Brazil. Now that you’re not touring with the band anymore, bassist Pete Agnew remains to be the only original member left.
Dan McCafferty: “Yea, Pete is the only original member left, but you’ve got to remember, Jimmy Murrison the guitar player has been with the band for seventeen years, and our drummer Lee Agnew has been with us since Darrell Sweet died. So they’re not exactly new kids. It’s pretty much the same band with a new singer.”
Ray Shasho: Dan, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Dan McCafferty: “I would have liked to been around Bob Dylan when he first started out and kind of picked up on the vibe he was getting, because he just had something that was totally magic. I liked all the changes he went through. Yea, I think I would have liked to hang out with Bob.”
Ray Shasho: Final thoughts Dan?
Dan McCafferty: “Look out for yourselves and be kind to each other.”
Ray Shasho: Dan, thank you for being on the call today, but more importantly for all the incredible Nazareth music you’ve brought us all these years and continue to bring.
Dan McCafferty: “Thank you very much indeed Ray … Cheers!”

Purchase the hard rockin' new CD by Dan McCafferty and Nazareth entitled Rock 'N' Roll Telephone at amazon.com
Nazareth official website
Nazareth on tour
Nazareth on Facebook
Nazareth on Myspace
Very special thanks to Clint Weiler of MVD Entertainment Group

Coming up NEXT … Arthur Brown of ‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ (‘The God of Hell Fire’)
Upcoming Interviews … My recent interviews with Susanna Hoffs the incredible lead singer of The Bangles … The legendary Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods … and pioneer of the electric violin Darryl Way of Curved Air

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


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