|
ANGEL IN VAIN, NO MORE! |
 FULL-TIME ROCKSTAR, Mr.
Scarlet "Motherfuckin'"
Rowe, has played a vital part of every noteworthy "rock-scene" of the
past fifteen years. In the 80's, he was a pivotal member of both Sleazegrinder
favorites Sweet Pain and the legendary Angels In Vain, both the
darlings of the highly influential NYC gutter-glam underground. He was
also a much-beloved member of Saigon Saloon, a heavily hyped glam
band from the heyday of L.A.'s Metal Years. Back in NYC nowadays, his
current group, JOKER FIVE SPEED, are the hardest rockin' party machine
you've seen since Roth was on the cover of all the magazines. I don't
even know who to compare JOKER FIVE SPEED to! The Sleazegrinder sez, "Joker
Five Speed's sound can be quite accurately summed up as: the Supersuckers produced by Axl Rose, or maybe Van Halen covering
AC/DC, or
even Cheap Trick as a meth-eating biker gang. Their sound is enormous,
teeth rattling, and knee trembling, and every song is an anthem that
gets the fists pumping, the blood flowing, and the freak flags
waving...You can throw your fist in the air, can't ya?" JOKER
FIVE SPEED are the guys who ought to be out on the road, touring with
Hanoi Rocks, and Velvet Revolver, this summer. They probably
won't be
the ones to get the call to open for Poison and Kiss, because they'd
blow Poison and (1/2 of) Kiss off the stage. I recently had the
occasion to help Scarlet shake some glitter from his memories, by
asking him to indulge the flash-metal faithful with some free
association, streams of consciousness, first words that come to mind,
anecdotes, etc. This guy is a walking Trouser Press of rock history, his
memory's surprisingly still razor sharp, and he's probably one of the
last of the genuine article, bona fide, real motherfuckin' full-time
rockstars, our most endangered species. Crack open a beer, get
comfortable, bring your favorite ashtray over closer to your computer,
as Scarlet Rowe takes you on a free tour of the Real Rock'nroll Memory
Gutter...____________________________________________________________________________________________
ROXY ROLLER: Is Mister Scarlet Motherfuckin' Rowe available?
SCARLET ROWE: This is
Mister Scarlet Motherfuckin' Rowe. Who Is this?
RR: This is Gene Simmons, about this
summer tour, uh,
SR: I
don't talk to Gene Simmons. I gave up on you right after "Double
Platinum".
RR: But about this Kiss and Poison summer
tour?
SR: I
have no comment-that's too beneath me...(laughs)
RR: So how come all the REAL ROCKSTARS of today have to have dayjobs?
SR: Well, y'know, I'm a "method
player" and I need to feel the suffering of the common man. Rock'n'roll
don't pay the bills man, c'mon, you know that.
RR: But after all your years of
dedication to the greater good, you clearly deserve to be on the road
right now, being paid handsomely, for bringin' the real rock'n'roll back
to the people...
SR: You know what? You're
absolutely right! But you gotta remember that there was like a ten
year detour...so, considering, like, if you took away that ten year
detour, that WILL HAPPEN, probably like, within a year!
RR: What did this ten year detour
involve, precisely?
SR:
Uh, YOU know, man. We've all been there...
RR: You were neckdeep in
debauchery?
SR: Yeah, but not even like, in
a good way, you know-guitars sitting in the corner for years, not even
touched, while the curtains are drawn, you're watching six-hour- long
reruns of "Oprah", with your mouth, like, to the floor...pools of drool
collecting on your kneecaps, y'know?
 RR:
Uh, yeah, as a matter of fact...
SR:
So the way I look at it, if
you were to take that out, and then, y'know, seamlessly connect, where
that all started, and where I've picked up again, I'm right on track...
RR: Yeah we're so far behind, we're WAY
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!
SR:
Actually, the stuff that JOKER is doing, we've got like, a couple
of guys that are REALLY into the band, and who they are, on their
own...they're really cool guys, number one, and we don't trust
ANYBODY, that's why we've done everything on our own. But they're really cool, and they've got
these insane connections, they know EVERYBODY, and y'know, we're just
takin' it as it comes, man. We're just keepin' our side of the street
clean, and we're just doin' what we can do, the BEST we can do, and if
anybody comes along, to help, it's... it looks like we're gonna have a
record out by summer, and GET ON THE ROAD. It's not gonna be anything
GLAMOUROUS, by any stretch of the imagination, and we're TOTALLY
realistic, but the fact that it looks like we're gonna be actually
touring, y'know, starting this summer is great, man, and who knows? If
we fuckin' bust our asses, and enough people listen to this fuckin'
thing, yeah-maybe we'll be un-lucky enough to open up for Poison!
(Laughs)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
RR: I remembered how we were
kindred spirits, when I read on some website about you guys believing in
some kinda long-lost, "American Dream". What happened to that classic
Van Halen ROCK'N' ROLL spirit, man? We've all lost touch. Where have all
the good times gone?
SR: I know, it's really funny,
um, MOBY came to see us, actually, MOBY'S come to see us like, three
times, in the last two months, and, uh, he was talkin' to a friend of
ours, and he would like, he was havin' such a great time! We had a
little after-party at this place called The Three Of Cups, Moby
was gettin' his drink-on, and he's like, "Man! I'm havin' such a great time,
man. I can't remember the last time I was like a regular Joe, drinkin' a
Budweiser, at a rockshow! I'm just havin' a great time, man, this is so
cool." Y'know? And he was like, "Those guys, JOKER FIVE SPEED, man, I
REALLY like them, man, they're just doin' there thing, no bullshit." And
the comment he made was, to our friend, he goes, "I'd love to sit down
with those guys and just talk to them, like, as musicians, and just
like, see where there heads are at. Cos, what they're doin' is great.
But, from where I'm standing, they need to decide if they wanna dumb it
down, or just take what they're doin' and just make it ridiculously
huge," and the person was like, "Oh, no, no , no. They're ALL ABOUT
making it just RIDICULOUSLY DUMB AND HUGE!" There's no like, ok, we're
trying to get some street credibility here, and be serious, and like,
make THE ROCK an honest and virtuous game...
 RR: JFS is pretension-free.
SR:
And he was like, "Oh, that's great!"
RR: The stripped down, unadorned,
stinky essence of rock isn't always some sort of politically correct,
academic pursuit....I was watchin' that JOKER FIVE SPEED video you guys
did for "LITTLE BIT". Man, I wish they'd play that on one of the video
channels. Whose idea was it to have the kid blow out the birthday
candles, like in all the old Ratt videos, or whatever? That's what rock
videos are supposed to look like.
SR: Oh that was me and the
singer...I just recently started thinking about doing videos
again...the guy that did it, is very cool, he's actually the bass-player
in the SEX-SLAVES now. So that's the guy who did that video. I just
haven't come across anybody else, yet, who's willing to take the time,
and the care, to actually do something properly, y'know? But I'd love to
do another one, man.
RR: Yeah, you guys looked like
you were havin' so much fun, I wanted to be there!
SR: It
was fun man, it was just
so stupid it was ridiculous, dude! Like, the house was a friend of
ours', who owns that bar we were havin' a party at, and it was just
perfect-the pool, y'know? But it was like the hottest day of the
year,man, and everybody was just like, SWEATING ALCOHOL, it was just
nuts, dude, but it was really fun. Moments like that, y'know, I FORGET!
That moments like that can still actually exist.
RR: Yeah, me, too, that's what I keep
realizing...
SR: I dunno, maybe it's just
like, being in New York, you get so wrapped-up in this N.Y. thing, and
you just go from A to B, from A to B, y'know, you're tryin' to get from
one point to another, all the time, and you forget that life's like,
y'know, that kind of a party. So to have that kind of a day was amazing!
It was such a great day, man. I wish so many more people could have been
there!
__________________________________________________________________________________
RR: So in the interest of me resource-ing your recollections of summa real- rock'n'roll's peak
moments, I figured I'd ask you if we could do a word association kinda
trip, where I got this list, and you just rattle-off the first thing
that jumps into your head , and I'll just sorta get you to rant, and
maybe interrupt, here and there ,to ask some follow-up questions.
SR:
I'll do my best, word association?
RR: Yeah, or anything you wanna
spout off about...Let's start with, "TOR"...
SR:
"Mister Charisma!"
RR: DAVE?
SR: Chaos.
RR: ROGER?
SR: Ooh...Roger's good...(*
Scarlet pauses for a second) "Charm!"
RR: Classic Van Halen?
SR:
"Atomic Punks".
RR: Sweet Pain?
SR:
Next Question.
RR: Corky Gunn?
 SR: ...I used to really enjoy
talking shit about people. I really did, I've grown to learn that that's
not cool. OK, interpret this as you will. Sweet Pain....first love, like
your first girlfriend...Sweet Pain will always have a place in my heart.
That was my band, that was TAKEN from me, so it kind of left a bitter
taste in my mouth, y'know? All Corky's bullshit aside, y'know, a perfect
example...OK, you've spoken of David Lee Roth and like, what happened to
that, right? Of David Lee Roth always having that sort of TV show host
quality, more than anything, and that was beautiful, and an endearing
quality that he had, y'know, and I loved that, and I miss that. Corky
had alot of that...I kid about it alot, but really, I have nothing but
love in my heart for that whole situation, it was great, C'mon, we were
young, and it was fantastic, and we were, like, a little ahead of our
time, and we had fun, and the SHEER FACT that YEARS LATER, people still
bring up that name! C'mon! That's amazing....Purely on instinct, for it
to still have had a ripple effect, all these years later, c'mon...
(*One of my favorite things about Scarlet
Rowe is this earnestness the dude has, you can sortof hear the wheels
turning in his head about any conflicting emotions he ever has, and
while he refuses to really bullshit about his feelings, you can feel
him, internally, processing all these memories, and ALWAYS TRYING to
take the higher road. Let this be an example, to all of us.-Roxy
Roller.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
RR:...Ronnie Taz?
SR: Sweetheart.
RR: Kelly Nichols?
SR:
Brother, Where Are You?
RR: What was your relationship with him
like? You two seemed to travel in the same circles...
SR: Kelly? Y'know, I always loved
Kelly, man! I always loved Kelly! I looked at him like a big brother.
RR: Where is he now?
SR:
You know, I haven't talked to Kelly in years. I heard a few years back
that he had sent word through the grapevine to say hello, and so on, and
so on, but that was about it. Last I had heard, he was involved with
computers...graphics, I believe, and doing really well.
 RR: Stiv Bators?
SR:...Aw...My man! (Sighs) Wow!
I could...Stiv...(takes another breath) Wow, I'm tryin' to find the
ONE
WORD, y'know? The one word it's like, Wow! Yeah, you stumped me with
that one! Cos-you know, it's so funny, I was just THINKING about Stiv,
in-depth, thinking about Stiv, the other night. And the time I spent
with him, y'know? Hmm...Uh..."CRUCIFIED."
RR: Cheetah Chrome?
SR: Y'know, I didn't know
Cheetah well at all. I only met him once, so I really don't feel like
I've got anything to say about him.
RR: Elka Brandt?
SR: Elka Brandt....Genuine
Sweetheart.
RR: Angels In Vain?
SR:
"We Could've Been Contenders!"
RR: Johnny Thunders?
SR:
The man you love to hate, and hate to love...
RR: Skin 'N' Bones?
SR:
Wow, am I compelled to tell the truth, or to be diplomatic?
RR: Just spit it out...
SR: Uh, Poor man's
Guns 'N'
Roses...
RR: Brian Keats?
SR:
Fantastic drummer! And...heart of gold.
RR: Smashed Gladys?
SR:...Wrong
side of New York City.
RR: STAR STAR?
SR: Uh, bad make-up!
RR: (Laughing,) Jeni Foster of
Princess Pang?
SR: Jeni Foster...uh... Janis'
illegitimate daughter!
RR: Aw! Cycle Sluts From Hell?
SR: "Raffaelle yum yum!"
RR: The Dictators?
SR:
Keeping It Alive...
RR: The Waldos...
SR: Hmmm...I dunno
WHAT to say
about the Waldos, man.
RR: Well, they're all dead.
Nolan, Jamie Heath,Tony...Did you know Tony Coiro, the bass player?
Lovely, lovely cat.
SR: I knew him briefly. I knew
of him, and you know, talked to him, and we've kinda circled a couple
times, but I didn't really know him that well. Y'know, I thought The Waldos were great. I think Walter, on his own, is lost.
RR: What about, "The Throbs"?
SR:
"Envy!"
RR: D-Generation?
SR: "Fan-tastic!"
RR: Motorcycle Boy...
SR:
"Francois: The Real Deal!"
________________________________________________________________________________________________  RR: GUNS N ROSES?
SR: OK...
Guns 'N' Roses...y'know,
it's like, wow, it's weird, because Guns 'n' Roses has become, recently,
and I mean, recently, like, in the last couple of years, or whatever,
has become so more prevalent in my life...NOW; then when they were
actually, IN MY LIFE...y'know? And it's amazing-like, I HATE to admit
it! I really hate to admit it. I'm not talkin 'bout Guns 'N' Roses when
they became bloated caricatures of themselves, y'know, I'm talkin 'bout
when they were...they really made A DIFFERENCE, man, and I wanna be able
to describe them in a really loving way....but it's kinda hard because,
y'know, they've almost gotten full-circle to alienating anybody who
really gave a fuck about them, y'know? Um, Guns 'N' Roses, Guns 'N'
Roses...Ok: "Careful What You Ask For"!
RR: Beautiful answer...deep...uh, Jinxx?
SR: Jinx? J-i-n-x? (laughs) you
don't mean like the guy from Saigon Saloon?
RR: Yeah!
SR: (surprised) Oh my god, dude! Uh,
"untapped talent".
RR: Tell me 'bout Saigon Saloon, I
remember tearing out a picture from RIP MAGAZINE. You guys made a
record?
SR: We never made a record, we
did some recordings, y'know, demos, here and there, and stuff like that,
but we never did an actual record. We were one of those bands that like,
y'know, at the time, y'know, that we were popular? We were a little
different than what was going on, y' know, a lot of the quote, unquote,
"glam bands" were real fluff, and not really like, I guess, raunchy, and
real enough? And I guess Saigon fit that bill, but, in hindsight, I have
to take complete blame for this, I was really young, I had no business
mind, whatsoever, I was really goin' on pure instinct...and I thought
that my ATTITUDE would get me everywhere I needed to go. And...I really
made some bad business decisions, and, y'know, I didn't sign, when I
SHOULD HAVE, I worked with people that I wanted to, and maybe shouldn't
have...
 RR: Fuck, man, that's been my life
story...
SR:...As opposed, to working
with those I should have, but didn't "want" to. One year turned
into...five, and after five years, and you go through a bunch of member
changes, people lose interest, y'know? The steam had just gone out of
the locomotive, and it was time to move on. It's kinda sad, we were a
family, so to speak, and y'know, and it felt great, and it was awesome,
and it was really like, "Rock School", like, I learned SO MUCH! But uh,
yeah, that's basically it, in a nutshell, man, it was a great band that
really lived the rockstar life without being famous. Or without being
rich, cos we GOT the treatment, and everywhere we went, everybody knew
who we were, and so on, but we just didn't care enough, maybe, to be
serious about the business end of it back then.
__________________________________________________________________________________ RR: Who were your favorite "Sunset Strip" bands?
SR: My favorite Sunset Strip Bands...it's
funny, because when you say Sunset Strip, are you referring to L.A., at
the time, in general, or do you really mean like, the "Sunset Strip"?
RR: Let's just say the L.A. bands...
SR: I'd have to say
JUNKYARD,
the ANTJA-MIMES: yeah, they were fantastic, they were one of those
bands, dude, you know what? They were so original, they were so
different, they were so ahead of their time...They were tapping into
some things that nobody could comprehend at the time. And that's why
they didn't "make it". They were brilliant. Let's see, who else?
MOTORCYCLE BOY was always a favorite, that's for sure. I wouldn't say
they were one of my favorite bands, but I had to respect everything they
were doing, because at the time, when I saw them, they were unsigned,
yet, when I went to go see them, it was like I was watching KISS at the
Garden or something, and that was POISON. They really blew me away. They
had it together. And of course, without a doubt, and you have to stress,
the ORIGINAL, in capital letters, the ORIGINAL LINE-UP of
L.A. GUNS!
RR: The first album line-up?
SR: No, before that,
RR: That's what I hoped you meant, PAUL
BLACK...
SR: Paul Black,
Robert Stoddard from the
original Dogs, Mick Cripps on bass, and Nicky Beat on
drums.
RR: From THE JONESES?
SR: Yeah, yeah, now that was amaz...I mean, if anybody remembers that, it blew the
L.A. GUNS that
came out later, it just blew 'em away!
RR: Thoughts on HANOI ROCKS?
SR: Ahh! My Religion!
________________________________________________________________________________
RR: OK...How 'bout, "Too Fast For Love"...
SR: Changed my life...
 RR: Yeah, me, too...It was near
total perfection. But what can we do with those guys now, though? I
mean, with Nikki Sixx attacking Michael Monroe and everything , even
after all that happened ,and all they've they've already put everybody
through? Have you been reading about the Brides Of Destruction calling
Mike a fag and shit? What The Fuck Is Wrong With These People? Nikki Sixx just titled called their box-set, "Music To Crash Your Car To". No
remorse, no integrity, whatever happened to dignity? Whatever happened
to decency? Is somebody gonna talk to him? Who could even reach that
kind of unremorseful megalomaniac to help set him straight, and help get
him back on some higher path? Does he think he's bigger than EVERYONE,
now? I can't buy his shit anymore, man. SR: My friend, (* Had to turn tape over here, I think he said, A.C Slade?) from the MURDER DOLLS, just asked me the exact same question...and after thinking about it for a real long time, the conclusion I came to was, I think what it really boils down to, and this is my simple solution. I think Nikki Sixx, and I have to preface this, by saying, that Nikki is, and has always been, or could possibly be, one of my all-time heroes, but even I'm almost to the point, where I wanna disown him, as one of my heroes, only because, it seems to me like Nikki, at all costs, will just do whatever it takes, to forever, in the public eye, remain a bad-ass, and I think it's high-time, he's sold enough records, he's made enough money, and his name is related with the word "badass" enough, where he could just be big enough, to admit that at the time, y'know, the Crue, WAS WRONG. Y'know? That they were wrong, in that they hurt people, and they walked over people, and they never apologized. They never truly took responsibility for---even just, the EMOTIONAL damage. They never took responsibility for the emotional damage they've caused. They've never done that. I think that's what it's all about, man. It's all about, you know, being a big enough man to acknowledge something, and he's never been big enough to acknowledge it. That's what it boils down to man...I think that's all anyone's really lookin' for.
RR: Yeah, I'm personally more
upset, at this point, with Nikki, because of how disgracefully he's
always treated the accident, and all the contempt, and childish
disrespect, he's shown towards all the families, and survivors...and
because of how he's STILL always trying to generate more publicity, by
cashing-in on it...than I am with Vince, at this point, who's at least,
expressed some minimal degree of regret, publicly. I feel sorry for
Nikki, almost. Five kids, and all that money, but he apparently, doesn't
have one real friend with the heart to tell him the truth, or really try
to discourage him, when he's, obviously, (being) a complete asshole, or
to try to help him grow...He just seems to surround himself with
employees. How sad. You said it: "Be careful what you wish for".
Onto brighter topics, though, Have you heard the recently released
comeback record by Hanoi Rocks?
SR: Well, of course, you're talkin' to a purist, y'know? I mean, for me, there will always be, only one Hanoi. I mean, of course, to have Andy and Mike workin' together again, is wonderful. I think for that alone, it's a wonderful record. I don't think it's a Hanoi Rocks record, but it's a great Mike and Andy record.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
RR: Alot of us have had to boycott the Brides Of Destruction, have you heard their record?
SR:
Yeah, I have, actually... I'd have to say that...they should be... less
in a rush to try to prove something, and they should be...they should
care a little bit more, maybe, about the music.
RR: What do you know about Velvet
Revolver?
SR: I really don't know much,
you know, I bumped into Slash about six months ago, and they were
recording the record, but we were really just playing catch-up, and kinda, how ya doin', but I will tell you this...I did hear it. I did
hear it. I sat with Matt Sorum in his truck, and he played it for me,
and I listened to about twenty minutes of it, and, um, it's a wonderful
record, the playing is phenomenal, and the production on it is great,
uh, but, maybe because of who I am, or where I came from, but, I was
expecting maybe, Guns 'N' Roses Part Two? But it sounds more like, a
Stone Temple Pilots record, than the sum of it's parts, y'know? If
that's the correct terminology. It's a good record, it's a good record,
I don't know if it'll be...a classic record. But I wish 'em the best,
y'know, I REALLY want them to change something, if anybody can do it,
they're the ones that can do it.
 RR: I was gonna ask you about Axl
Rose, if you ever met him, or anything...
SR: Yeah, yeah, yeah, me and Axl
were friends, we were friends, I mean, in the Grand Picture, you can't
say that we spent an incredible amount of time together, but the times
when we did talk, it was no bullshit, we really talked as genuine
people, so I'm pretty confident in saying we WERE friends, y'know?
RR: I think alot of the fans
whose lives were touched, and even inspired, somewhat, by the impact of
Axl's songs, and by whom he, himself, seemed to be, like, a decade ago,
we kinda, lament, that he's become so, uh, unreachably cloistered, in
that millionaire coccoon. I can no longer relate to the guy with the Bo
Derek braids, in the football jersies, and the bucket-heads in his
backup band. I still listen to "Appetite For Destruction", and feel this
deeply personal relationship to those songs, but I couldn't even get
into more than a couple songs off "Use Your Illusion". Once the money
came, it seemed to change those guy's outlook, so fast. I'd rather see
Joker Five Speed, or the Disruptors, or something, now. I just can't
relate to no "Velvet Revolvers". I'd rather hear "The
Revolvers". But I suppose there's probably no way
to NOT get weird, under that kind of constant scrutiny. I always said,
"I'd rather be lonely at the top", cos it's already been lonely at the
bottom, but at least, nobody's really trying to take anything from you,
because they're all more worried about you, taking from them, so I dunno....In
this life, it seems like, you're always bound to be some kind of a
target-no matter where you are. From here, it often seems like a little
money would buy me certain freedoms, but he's maybe wishing, he
could just have back some mere anonymity, with which, to seize those
glorious moments we talked about earlier, like that day you were making
that video, with all your friends in the backyard. I'm here tonight with
the window open, listening to .38 Special on the lame classic-rock
station, and I still wanna invite him over for a cook-out.
SR: Ya know what? I think you're not alone on that. I think the beauty of Guns 'N' Roses man, and I can only attest to this, because I can say that I knew them, I generally knew who they were, at a time, when they WERE the downtrodden. That was the beauty of Guns 'N' Roses, they WERE the outcasts, they WERE the genuine misfits of wherever they came from! Whether it was Indiana, or it was fuckin' Hollywood! Y'know, I mean, I know that Slash grew up, right there, outside of Beverly Hills, and on some level, they were ALL outcasts, and I think, alot of the reason that they achieved success was that I think that ninety percent of all of us, identify with that, man. So I think you're not alone in that, alot of people out there, feel like, "Yeah! If anybody can talk to them, it's me, because I'm one of them, and they're one of me!" And I think what happened was that, maybe not-um, I'm not gonna single out Axl, and say that it was just him, but I think that anybody who finds themselves in that situation they've found themselves in, I think that a person believes they're no longer the misfit and the outcast, they think they actually have transformed into this "other being", that they really aren't, y'know; and when you really aren't, you don't have the tools that, that "other being" would have, to deal with your situation, y'know? You're still just that downtrodden, misfit, and outcast, just, you're in a golden caste, now. So that's gotta be really weird and strange. _______________________________________________________________________________________________  RR: So what's going on with the
steady climb of JOKER FIVE SPEED to the proverbial top of the
pops?SR: We're doin' a couple more shows, we've got a show coming up that I'm really excited about, we're playing with THE DRAGONS who I really love, a great fuckin' band, and that's the thing, man! I mean, ya know what? I've never ceased, or stopped being, a fan! Of rock'n'roll, so it's very easy for me to like, fall in love with a band, and I don't care if I'm in a band that's doing well, dude, I'll be the first person who's up in front of the stage, just screaming my head off, you know what I mean?
RR:
Me and my girlfriend were
just talking about how the REAL rock'n'roll people ALWAYS maintain that
pure love of rock'n'roll, I know musicians who are too bitter to ever
acknowledge ANYBODY else. They can just never lose themselves in the
moment, they're too caught-up in the rat-race aspect of it, to really
appreciate any of it, once it becomes a contest, they quit being fans,
they're just little social-climbers, whereas, I've met absolute legends
who wax all giddy about some old Cult song.
SR: Yeah, that's the way you gotta be! If you lose that, then, forget it! You might as well just quit now, because, God Forbid you ever get any kind of success, man, you'll lose it... RR: So what's the important stuff for fans of real rock to know about JOKER FIVE SPEED? SR: Well, it's funny, like, let's imagine that here, I have the platform, and the whole world's listening. It's like, y'know, I could hype it, I could hype anything until the cows come home, but I think, to use a cliche', the proof is in the pudding. The bottom-line is, y'know what man, JOKER FIVE SPEED... Yeah, I believe! I KNOW we're the Greatest Rock Band On The Planet. I have no doubt about that! And I'm not putting anybody else down, I'm just talking about, for the stuff that we do, for the purity in it, and how we go about it, and what we believe in, we ARE the Greatest Rock Band In The World. It's only a matter of time before we're the biggest...and if anybody doubts that, just come see the band, live. That's all I ask, man, and y'know, if you really don't walk out of that room, believing the same, I'll refund your money.
RR: What current bands do you see as
contemporaries, like, who would you love to share a stage with?
SR: I LOVE
MOTOCHRIST! They've got somethin'. I really like them
alot.
RR: "Danny Nordahl"?
SR: The illegitimate son of Stiv.
RR: Any other bands?
SR: The Hellacopters, the
Backyard Babies...
RR: I didn't know the YO-YO's
broke up until, I think, I read it on your website, yesterday.
SR: Oh yeah, that was one of
those classic things of discovering someone who was no longer together
and thinking, I missed that boat...That record is just PHENOMENAL! And
is there anybody else whom I'm really hot on? the
WILDHEARTS!
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Anybody who longs for the
halcyon roller coaster real-rock eras, when you were still able to seize
the moment, and really be there, and allow yourself to really let your
hair down, and actually lose it, and enjoy life "a little bit", is urged
to seek out any and all performances by these New York Rockers, even if
it means having to travel. Catch 'em while they're still playin' clubs.
These cats are among the the last of the full-time rockers, don't be
fooled by no cheap substitutions.
(-Roxy Roller)
Scarlet photos: Bryan Mechutan, Robert Lund
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