Exclusive Interview with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple: Now What?!

 

 By Ray Shasho

Ian Gillan is the legendary charismatic frontman for one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history. Deep Purple is essentially known for its hard rock pulse. Its musical schemes have encompassed progressive rock, blues, R&B and even jazz, but the ingenuity of Deep Purple has never been more evident than on its latest release entitled, Now What?!

Now What?! The brand new Deep Purple album is quarterbacked by producer and musician Bob Ezrin. Ezrin is a legend in his own right and one of a very few who can still make a difference in today’s convoluted music world. Ezrin produced highly successful albums for Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd and Lou Reed to name just a few.

It’s an incredible mix of progressive & hard rock genius. Deep Purple is triumphant with its band of virtuoso musicians featuring … Ian Gillan’s poetic and majestic vocalizations, Steve Morse’s incisive guitar licks, Roger Glover’s savvy bass lines, Ian Paice’s masterful drumming and Don Airey’s wizardry on the keyboards.

Notable tracks on the new release include … “Weirdistan” a mesmerizing blend of keyboards, synthesizers and wailing guitars accentuated with quixotic melody. Gillan, Morse and Airey especially shine on this track. “Bodyline” is vintage Purple supplemented with a jazzy guitar chant. “Above and Beyond” is an awe-inspiring and nobly performed progressive rock configuration, “Blood from a Stone” A slow-bluesy number that gets periodically barraged by heavy guitar riffs. The tune is an ideal intro for a James Bond movie. The slower keyboard strokes are reminiscent to Ray Manzarek (The Doors). It’s a magnificent song! “Uncommon Man” is definitely one of my favorite tracks. Steve Morse’s proficient guitar licks are definitely a spotlight on the track. It’s a powerful song that lifts the band into new horizons. “Apres Vous” is an incredible jam that exhibits why Deep Purple is still one of the best bands in the world.  “All the Time in the World” is a tailor-made Top 40 hit if mainstream radio was still any good.  

Now What?! is an exceptional album performed by an incomparable band of musicians. Deep Purple delivers an intellectual mix of music that will captivate the Purple fanbase, rock and prog aficionados, the contemporary listening audience and future generations to come … I gave Now What?! (5) Stars.

The Deep Purple Story: Keyboardist Jon Lord received a telegram from Tony Edwards stating that he’d back Lord in putting a band together; later Edwards called Ritchie Blackmore to meet with him. In December of 1967, the two musicians met up and collaborated for the first time. John Lord had already asked Nick Simper to play bass, a former bandmate with ‘The Flower Pot Men.’

While living in Hamburg, Germany, Ritchie Blackmore saw drummer Ian Paice performing onstage with his band The Maze. The group was fronted by singer Rod Evans. Evans auditioned for the lead vocalist role for a scheming new (Deep Purple) band and won the spot. Blackmore remembered Paice from Hamburg and asked Evans to bring him along. Blackmore and Lord were a bit worried that Evans mannerism was much like Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck. Jon Lord later stated, “We’d eventually beat him into shape.”

In 1968, Deep Purple was officially formed. The band was named after a Nino Tempo and April Stevens song of 1963, believed to be Ritchie Blackmore’s grandmother’s favorite song.

Deep Purple’s musical styles intentionally mimicked the American rock group Vanilla Fudge (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On”). The group quickly scored commercially with their Top 40 hit single “Hush” (#4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart) and became overnight sensations in the U.S.

Ritchie Blackmore’s vision for the band was to implement heavier rock techniques, and while Rod Evans and Nick Simper were in the group it may never have been accomplished. After Rod Evans was dismissed from Deep Purple, he went on to form Captain Beyond in 1971. 

Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover were performing at Woodford Green in London with their British pop rock band ‘Episode Six.’ Their lead singer Ian Gillan was noticed by Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord. After watching Gillan’s performance, they offered him the lead singer position for Deep Purple. Eventually Roger Glover would be asked to join the band, while securing one of the greatest music lineups in rock history.

Gillan and Glover’s first recording with the band was Deep Purple In Rock (1970), and according to band members, every song on the album made a statement. The band wrote and recorded crucial tracks immediately with their new lineup. The album featured Ian Gillan’s first penned song with his new band entitled, “Speed King.” Other notable tracks were … “Child in Time” and “Hard Lovin’ Man.”

The band toured extensively in Europe and followed the success of In Rock with Fireball in 1971. Fireball hadn’t reached the same success as its predecessor but did spawn the classic track “Strange Kind of Woman.”

“Smoke on the Water:” Deep Purple had always enjoyed making music that sounded live, so they recorded their next album with a mobile studio in a theater setting without the audience. They decided to record the album in Montreux, Switzerland at the Hall in the Grand Hotel at Lake Geneva. When they got there, the last function at the Casino hall before the band took over was a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention concert. The band decided to watch the show, but after an hour into the concert people began staring at the sparks on the bamboo ceiling. Then the music stopped and Frank Zappa walked up to the microphone and announced, “I don’t want to alarm anybody or cause any panic but …FIRE!” Within minutes the huge complex was an inferno. The huge blaze was caused by a man firing a flare gun into the ceiling.

The band went back to the hotel and watched the fire burning all day. A few mornings later, Roger Glover woke up half asleep and muttered the words …Smoke on the Water. The band always writes the music first so they already had a riff in place, and so they wrote the lyrics exactly as they witnessed the event.

The Machine Head album released in early 1972 (#7 on the U.S. Charts) would later be touted as an early influence to heavy metal music. The album became one of Deep Purple’s most significant releases spawning the classics … “Highway Star,” “Smoke on the Water,” “Lazy,” and “Space Truckin’.” Machine Head went platinum.

Also in 1972, under resistance by the band, they recorded a double live album in Japan entitled, Made In Japan. The album was essentially the Machine Head tour. The band recorded (3) concerts ... (2) in Osaka and (1) in Tokyo. Most of the material came from the second night in Osaka. Made In Japan also went platinum and the live version of “Smoke on the Water” became instrumental to the song’s success.

Smoke on the Water” (#4 Hit on Billboard’s Hot 100) was officially released as a single in 1973 and became one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock and roll history. Deep Purple were now international superstars in the studio and on the road.

At the peak of their success, Ian Gillan gave a six month notice and stated that he was leaving the band after fulfilling all of his commitments in 1973. The album Who Do We Think We Are was released in January of 1973. The release generated the hit single “Woman from Tokyo.” “Smoke on the Water” was also busy that year becoming Deep Purple’s biggest hit of all-time.  Who Do We Think We Are was the last studio album to feature Ian Gillan as their lead singer until the 1984 reunion LP Perfect Strangers.

Deep Purple did six American tours before Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left the band. The grueling touring schedule and fatigue became the reason for their early departure from the band. In 1973, the band had eleven different entries in Billboard and became the top-selling artists in the U.S. But without its lead singer and bass player the band felt like it was the end.

Deep Purple brought in several lineups through the years. Lead singers that included David Coverdale and Joe Lynn Turner, guitarists Tommy Bolin and Joe Satriani and bassist Glenn Hughes. There have also been band reunions that have included the original Deep Purple core lineup. 

Sadly, founding member, keyboardist and songwriter Jon Lord died in 2012.

Ritchie Blackmore and his wife Candice Night currently perform together with their medieval folk rock band Blackmore’s Night.

Ian Gillan is the son of a school teacher mother and a factory worker father. Gillan came from a musical family; his grandfather was a bass-baritone and sang opera, and his uncle was a jazz pianist. Ian was a boy soprano in the church choir when he was young.

Besides being the legendary voice of Deep Purple, Gillan also sang the role of Jesus on the original recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. He also recorded with his solo bands the Ian Gillan Band (1975-1978) and Gillan (1978-1982).

Gillan was also the lead singer of Black Sabbath (1982-1984). 

Ian Gillan performed in the charity group Rock Aid Armenia and later (2011) participated in the supergroup ‘WhoCares,’ a continuing effort by Gillan to help the people of Armenia after a devastating earthquake. The group was comprised of Gillan, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Jason Newsted (Metallica), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) and Mikko “Linde” Lindstrӧm (HIM). They recorded the songs … “Out of My Mind” and “Holy Water” which is included in a 2-CD compilation of rarities from the music careers of Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi. Proceeds from the CD helped rebuild a music school in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia. Gillan and Iommi received the Armenian Presidential Medal of Honor for their humanitarian efforts.

I had the rare pleasure of chatting with Ian Gillan recently about Deep Purple’s incredible new album, working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, their current tour, and the components that make Deep Purple such a great band.

Here’s my interview with singer/songwriter/ humanitarian/ and the legendary voice of Deep Purple and Jesus Christ Superstar …IAN GILLAN.

Ian was in Portugal during this call …

Ray Shasho: Ian thank you for being on the call today. Deep Purple has plenty of international dates coming up are there any U.S. dates in the near future? 

Ian Gillan: “I’m not sure; I haven’t seen any American dates either (All laughing). We’re flat out until Christmas. I know we’re in all kinds of places … Morocco, Iceland, all over Europe, Russia and the Eastern European countries right through to the UK, then in Japan and South America, but I don’t see any American dates.”

Ray Shasho: Many of the legendary British rock bands who used to tour extensively in the states have either stopped coming to the U.S. or choose restricted dates. I’m hoping the decision not to tour in the U.S. is a financial decision and not because the American music scene has gone to crap.

Ian Gillan: “They seem to have gotten stuck in the mud, that’s for sure. No support on the radio, they just want to play something from the 70’s. Once you get that label of classic rock around your head in America it’s like a tombstone. It’s had an effect; nobody wants to be represented like that. I think it’s your decision to handle it as you want but the rest of the world doesn’t handle it like that.”

“It’s really funny, I heard from somebody that was on the committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination, which we didn’t get; describing us as one hit wonders (laughing). Of course this might be the same group that decided The Monkees were America’s answer to The Beatles. But I’ve been fighting my whole life against being institutionalized and have no reason to stop at the moment. You just need to see the funny side of it really. But it doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference to our lives or what we do. We’re on the road nonstop, we played in forty eight countries last year and life is a ball, we’re just having the greatest time doing what we do best, which is playing live.”  

Ray Shasho: “Ian, congratulations on the recording of Deep Purple’s nineteenth studio album. Was this the first time Purple had worked with Bob Ezrin?

Ian Gillan: “Yes it is he was the catalyst for getting us back in the studio after seven years. We were quite happily drifting on.  It would come up in conversation now and again about a new album … yea man, maybe next year-maybe next year. But he reminded us of a few things, he came out to see us in Canada, we were on a tour there in February of 2012 and it was quite a good conversation, everyone started remembering who we are and what we do. So primarily we’re an instrumental band and he said just concentrate on the music and just let it develop as you used to. Don’t worry about three or four minute tracks; they’re not going to play it on the bloody radio anyway … just make your music. So that was the trigger.”

“So we arrived in Nashville for the writing session in great shape. Having been through a very long unsettling period, there was a great empathy among musicians and almost like a family again. So the music came quickly and the whole thing was written in four weeks. Then we took another four weeks to record it.”

Ray Shasho: Bob Ezrin is one of a few trailblazers still making a difference in today’s music world.

Ian Gillan: “He’s a great musician as well as a great technician. The first time we went there, we went to see the Nashville Symphony. We listen to a lot of jazz, blues and rock and roll. Bob’s got the same taste in music as us, which is diverse. I don’t think anyone in the band listens to what you call genre music or anything like that; I listen to a whole variety of stuff when I’m at home. So it was great having him onboard with his experience of course and he immediately became a member of the band, so there was a great deal of mutual respect and that helps a lot when you’re expecting someone to guide you along. He encouraged us to be expressive, which was a good thing, and at the same time he held on quite tightly to the reins and steered us in the right direction without us even being aware of it, so it was very subtle and a manipulate job, but I give Bob Ezrin a lot of credit.”

“I can’t obviously say anything about the music because it’s too subjective, but what I can say with confidence is this is the best sounding Deep Purple record that we ever made by a long shot.”

Ray Shasho: The title and cover art for the new album was also interesting, is there a special meaning behind the title?

Ian Gillan: “Not really, I designed it originally … there’s us guys reluctant to go into the studio and we keep getting nudged, go on and make another record … no-no we’re fine having a great time, every night is a big adventure, and it’s like the phone rings and you go …Now what?  Eventually you have to do what is demanded. So it’s kind of a grumpy reaction to constant prodding by the record label and by management etc. I just doodled around with it one day on the computer and it kind of caught on and I guess it was just a phrase that seemed right at the time, as with everything, and our album is a collection of ideas that represent that moment in time.”

“Above and Beyond” is a track that’s got Jon Lord’s spirit in there. I had written the lyrics, almost finished the lyrics when we heard the news about Jon dying. We kind of sat around the studio and then started talking about the good old days and some good memories of Jon. It was just like when my dad died actually, his body went away and then suddenly his spirit just filled me up and he has been travelling with me ever since. The same thing kind of happened with Jon, he filled the room and I wrote these words …souls had been touched are forever entwined.  I sang them at his funeral and then I included them in the song, which was finished pretty much apart from that line. But when I wrote those words, it all made sense, and there was Jon Lord singing to us all.”

“The song is kind of a burlesque waltz in three four time and has a glorious key change. I just find it spiritually uplifting and I think it’s definitely going to be in the show.”  

Ray Shasho: “Above and Beyond” is definitely one of my favorite tracks and should be a favorite among fans and critics.

Ian Gillan: “It’s difficult to pin down our kind of music, somebody was saying early on … You’re playing Wacken in Germany this summer; it’s the biggest heavy metal rock festival in Europe, just a huge annual event and they said, does Deep Purple fit into that heavy metal thing? Two weeks before that we’re headlining the Montreux Jazz Festival … go figure (All laughing).”

“We’ve headlined the Jazz Festival about four times I think. If you describe jazz as free form or adventurous music, that’s what happens in Deep Purple in a rock format every night and these guys are just unbelievable musicians and they just extemporize, every night, the same old songs but their different, they go out there and improvise. That’s what makes it so constantly exciting …it’s a thrill.”

Ray Shasho: The track “Bodyline” has a lot of those jazzy riffs that you’re talking about.

Ian Gillan: “Very sexy song that one.”

Ray Shasho: “Vincent Price” is a cool tune … any influence from Bob Ezrin’s days with Alice Cooper?

Ian Gillan: “(Laughing) No I don’t think so. We write jam sessions every day. Nobody brings any songs to a Deep Purple session ever. We start from scratch. We start at midday and go through till six, day after day after day. The ideas emerge and we record them and then after four or five days we start working on the ideas… on the arrangement and stuff like that. Every song that we start to develop has a working title, not necessarily the one we end up with, but it has a working title. So this sounded like a horror movie so we called it “Vincent Price.” We’ve all worked with Vincent Price over the years in different ways. Roger flew over to Portugal to fine tune the lyrics and so we said what would a film director want as essential ingredients in a horror movie in the 60’s with Vincent Price? So we started a list… thunder and lightning, chains rattling, creaking gates, dogs howling, vampires, sacrificial virgins, zombies …and hang on a second the song is finished. So we just put a list of film clichés and it seemed to work perfectly.”

Ray Shasho: Did the music come first on “Smoke on the Water?”

Ian Gillan: “When the casino began to be burnt down then we were short of time and the engineer said… hey guys we’ve got one day left and we’re still seven minutes short of an album.  So we dug out the soundcheck tape which didn’t have a title and then we wrote the biographical story of what happened in Montreux. It was the very last thing that was added and then I sang it of course. The music came first.”

Ray Shasho: Ian, Here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview, If you had a “Field of Dreams” wish, like the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?

Ian Gillan: “Oh man! It would have to be either Cliff Bennett or Ella Fitzgerald, one of those two.”

Ray Shasho: Ian thank you so much for being on the call today and more importantly for all the great music you’ve given the world.

Ian Gillan: “Thank you very much Ray, I really enjoyed talking with you.”

Order Deep Purple’s latest CD … Now What?! at amazon.com

Ian Gillan official website www.gillan.com

Deep Purple official website www.deeppurple.com

Visit Deep Purple on Facebook 

Visit Ian Gillan on Facebook 

Very special thanks to Carol Kaye of Kayos Productions

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 so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 

~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray.  So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book!  It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.

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Exclusive Interview: Mick Box of Uriah Heep “When We Were Onstage, We Were Untouched and Unbeatable."

 

By Ray Shasho
An Interview with Uriah Heep's Mick Box

Legendary British guitarist Mick Box has devotedly performed with his quintessential hard rock band Uriah Heep for nearly 45 years. Box is the only original member of the band that remains since its inception in 1969, but the mastery of Uriah Heep endures while preserving its rightful place in rock and roll folklore.

1972 thru1976 became Uriah Heep’s most successful era worldwide. The band was spearheaded by their manager and producer Gerry Bron. All of Uriah Heep’s albums through 1983 were released on Gerry Bron’s ‘Bronze Records’ label in the UK. Bron had been producing Uriah Heep for Vertigo Records before starting his own record label.

Heep’s essence became David Byron’s majestic vocalizations and showmanship, Mick Box’s commanding guitar riffs, Ken Hensley’s keyboard wizardry, while culminated by amazing instrumentalists like Gary Thain on bass guitar and Lee Kerslake on drums.

Sadly, Thain died in 1975 from a heroin overdose and was replaced with King Crimson’s John Wetton. New Zealander Gary Thain was 27 years old.
 
 Notable tracks during their heyday period include … “Gypsy” (written by Box and Byron) it’s the bands heavy metal anthem and fan favorite, “Lady in Black” (written by Hensley), “Look at Yourself ” (Hensley), “July Morning” (Byron, Hensley), “Tears in My Eyes” (Hensley), “Traveller In Time” (Box, Byron, Kerslake), “Easy Livin’”(Hensley), “Circle of Hands”(Hensley), “Sunrise” (Hensley), “Sweet Lorraine” (Box, Byron, Thain), “The Magicians Birthday”(Box, Hensley, Kerslake), “Stealin’” (Hensley) and “Return to Fantasy” (Byron, Hensley).

Uriah Heep’s fourth studio album Demons and Wizards became their most successful release selling over three- million copies worldwide and spawned the hit single “Easy Livin’” (#39 on Billboard’s Hot 100). Although Demons and Wizards (1972) was considered the bands breakout album, it was actually their double live LP, Uriah Heep Live (January1973) that launched them into superstardom status.

The Uriah Heep Live album was recorded in 1973 at Town Hall in Birmingham, England. The double-live album featured gatefold sleeves with picture pages resembling a concert program of the band performing. The idea was for the listener to receive the full concert experience while relaxing at home. (Kiss Alive! mimicked the format of the Uriah Heep Live release.) The album’s immaculate sound engineering was equally matched by the bands impeccable live performance and the vitality of the audience. It was the Uriah Heep Live album that enabled the group to headline and sell-out the huge arenas worldwide.

In July of 1976, the band fired their lead singer David Byron. Byron’s alcohol abuse became relentless, and to satisfy the bands better interests was let go. Bassist John Wetton also announced he was leaving the group. Trevor Bolder (David Bowie/The Spiders from Mars) replaced Wetton on bass. Uriah Heep auditioned several singers for the lead role on vocals, including David Coverdale, who recently relinquished his frontman duties from a dismantled Deep Purple.

Uriah Heep finally decided on John Lawton (Lucifer’s Friend). Heep’s choice inadequately satisfied a distinguished rock and roll legacy left my Byron, but Lawton’s pipes were exactly what they needed at the time. A new scheme materialized as Uriah Heep recorded their tenth studio album Firefly (released in 1977) and began touring as the supporting act for Kiss. The track “Wise Man” was their first successful single with the new lineup.
The bands distinct hard rockin’ reverberation was abandoned with the ‘poppy’ release of their single “Free Me.” But the tune became an international hit. Friction between Hensley and Lawton developed and escalated to the point where Lawton was forced to leave the band.

Uriah Heep brought in Lone Star singer John Sloman to replace Lawton. Longtime Drummer Lee Kerslake left the band and was replaced with Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band).
In 1980, longtime keyboardist and songwriter Ken Hensley quit the band. After a 23-date UK tour, Sloman quit. The following year, with the band in turmoil and quickly crumbling … Mick Box and Trevor Bolder made an urgent appeal to David Byron to rejoin the band. Byron refused. Then Bolder left to join Wishbone Ash. After Heep’s newest keyboardist Gregg Dechert left, Mick Box stood alone with a contract and the rights to the Uriah Heep name.

Mick Box miraculously compiled a new lineup from the falling ashes. Box convinced drummer Lee Kerslake to return and hired Peter Goalby (Trapeze) as the bands new lead singer. Box also hired John Sinclair (The Babys, Black Sabbath) on keyboards and Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osbourne’s band) on bass guitar.
Uriah Heep released the critically acclaimed album, Abominog in 1982. The album produced by Ashley Howe, spawned the U.S. Hits, “On the Rebound” and “That’s the Way That It Is,” which became the band’s highest charting single at #25 on the Billboard charts. Howe and Heep followed the success of Abominog with Head First in 1983. Bassist Bob Daisley left to rejoin Ozzy Osbourne, but Trevor Bolder rejoined Uriah Heep for good.
The band regained much of its popularity and toured the U.S. supporting bands like Rush, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. During this period, Bronze Records collapsed and the band’s financial condition was in question. They secured a new deal with CBS’s Portrait Label. They also hired Harry Maloney to replace Gerry Bron their longtime manager and producer.

In February of 1985, legendary Uriah Heep vocalist and frontman David Byron died of alcohol related complications including liver disease. David Byron was 38 years old.

After the release of the Equator (1985) album, more lineup changes ensued. After incurring voice related issues, Peter Goalby left Uriah Heep. Then John Sinclair left returning to Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Stephen “Steff” Fontaine was briefly brought in to be the band’s new lead singer but wasn’t disciplined enough to remain with the band.

From 1986 thru 2007 the Uriah Heep lineup remained unscathed. The second consistent Heep lineup became leader Mick Box on guitars, Canadian rock singer Bernie Shaw (Stratus) on lead vocals, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, Lee Kerslake on drums and Phil Lanzon on keyboards.

While changes were happening in the American music scene …Uriah Heep shifted their principal touring circuit to Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Japan and Russia. The band returned to Britain in 1988 to play the Reading Festival and eventually toured the UK.

Ken Hensley and John Lawton rejoined the band for a reunion gig in London in December of 2001.

Drummer Lee Kerslake left Uriah Heep due to health reasons in 2007.

In October 2009, Uriah Heep released their 40th anniversary celebration album. It’s the bands 22nd album and features re-released classics by the group as well as two specially recorded tracks for the album.

The band performed at The High Voltage Festival in London’s Victoria Park in July of 2010.

Today Uriah Heep periodically plays U.S. dates at the smaller venues. The band’s latest release is entitled … Into the Wild (released in 2011) on Frontiers Records.

Uriah Heep is Mick Box (guitars, vocals), Trevor Bolder (bass guitar, vocals), Bernie Shaw (lead vocals), Phil Lanzon (keyboards, vocals) and Russell Gilbrook on (drums, vocals.)
The band is currently touring dates in Europe and will eventually join forces with Status Quo.
John Lawton is temporarily filling in on lead vocals for Bernie Shaw while he recuperates from a medical procedure.

It may seem like ages since Uriah Heep’s first American show in Indianapolis supporting Three Dog Night, but Mick Box and Uriah Heep have affirmed that the band can withstand the test of time.

Box says, “I came in to be a musician for life …that was my focus, it’s been a brilliant ride so far and long may it last.”

I had the rare pleasure of chatting with guitarist Mick Box recently about his incredible journey with Uriah Heep.

Here’s my interview with legendary guitarist/ songwriter/ singer/ philanthropist/ longest member of classic rock legends Uriah Heep …MICK BOX.
Ray Shasho: Mick thank for being on the call today.
Mick Box: “Thanks for having me mate”
Ray Shasho: First, I’d like to say congratulations on recording 23 studio albums and celebrating nearly forty five years with Uriah Heep, that’s quite an amazing accomplishment!
Mick Box: “When anybody tells it like that, it’s almost like it’s someone else. (All laughing) It’s just amazing because it feels like that time has just flown. To be still doing it is the best feeling in the world. You can’t get a better job anywhere in the world to do something you love, so we really appreciate that more than anything. Plus, we play over fifty six countries, and our friendship is all over the world, which is wonderful.”
Ray Shasho: John Lawton will be rejoining the band for some dates?
Mick Box: “Bernie will be going into the hospital for a little bit of surgery. So I asked John …What are you doing mate? He said he was doing a thing in Bulgaria and could move some things around. I said will you fancy coming on and having a jam with us, and he said yea, fantastic! So we’re going to go out around Wednesday and then start, I think its Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy. It will be great fun. We had one rehearsal and we’re doing all the Byron stuff up to when John was in the band, so no new music at all, but we’ll be hitting nostalgia very hard.”
Ray Shasho: I’m finding many classic rock bands that are based overseas either stopped coming to the U.S. or are performing very limited dates. Some examples are … Deep Purple… and Status Quo and Golden Earring never come to the U.S.?
Mick Box: “We’re trying to come; it just doesn’t always work out. I think the dynamic of touring in America … most American bands only work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then fly home. But we’d have a whole crew out there and the expense of having them go into hotels …and financially it gets quite difficult. Therefore we’d have to fill in those gaps where we’d be doing the weekend work and also work the midweek dates. And it doesn’t always get pretty; you end up in some very strange places. It’s not to say that we’re giving in, we’re still looking at the U.S.A. as a viable market. The last three times we’ve been there it proved to be very successful.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, I’ve been a fan of Uriah Heep since 1972. My first Heep concert was back in Baltimore around 1973, Uriah Heep was the headliner and supported by Earth Wind and Fire and a new and upcoming band called ZZ Top … Strange lineup?
Mick Box: “You know what, I remember that vividly. We used to have a great promoter down there and used to book us in those areas. When I tell people nowadays, they can’t believe that sort of lineup. In those days it was just good or bad music. There were no genres or pigeon holes, you went along and enjoyed it all. And the beauty of it all was you turned-on the Earth Wind and Fire audience and visa versa. So you widened your audience each time. It worked very well on all levels but of course you can’t do that today.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve been disgruntled with the music scene for quite a long time.
Mick Box: “It’s changed with the business end of it. The internet explosion and there’s less heart in it now, it’s all very disposable. Listen to it today and gone tomorrow. Where we used to buy albums and live with them forever. And you bought an album perhaps because of the one track, but by the time you dug into the album, that track fell by the waist side and other ones grew on you and became your favorites. That doesn’t happen nowadays people just go for the front-end of things.”
Ray Shasho: When I saw Uriah Heep that first time in 1973, the arena sold-out over 13,000 people. A few years later the band played the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland and sold-out over 18,000 people. What do you think was the turning point in the U.S. when Uriah Heep stopped drawing those kinds of numbers of people?
Mick Box: “Just different times, the whole music industry has gone through quite a few changes along the way hasn’t it. In those days, especially in Europe, people only got involved in three things … sports, fashion and music. Those were the interests. It was really those three things that people got involved in. But things are so diverse now where in those days it was quite defined.”
“The other big change of course is we go into the studio and record something and spend a ridiculous amount of money to get the best possible sound we can, and it gets squashed down to an MP3. (All Laughing) But it’s our art and we chose to do it that way.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, what musicians got you interested in playing the guitar?
Mick Box: “Going way back, I liked jazz … Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel …people like that. Then I sort of grew into Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, The Shadows and Hank Marvin. Moving on from there … Jeff Beck was a turning point for me. He has been my favorite guitarist for many-many years and above all the others who have come along. He’s just amazing, he’s the type of person who puts the guitar on and is absolutely one with the guitar. It’s not a guitar and a person, they are just one. And he ekes sounds out that nobody else can get. He does with one note what others do with a thousand notes. Music is meant to move you and he does that to me. The hairs stand up on my arms and I get shivers down the back of my spine and that’s what music is all about.”
Ray Shasho: I made the mistake of asking Robin Trower if he’d ever play acoustic guitar. Of course he said no way, I play electric. But you’ve adapted well in playing the acoustic guitar.
Mick Box: “Since our first album …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble , the reason it was called that because the very early song was called “Gypsy” where we’re pounding at a hundred miles an hour and then we’ve got something as beautiful as the acoustic “Come Away Melinda” which is just as powerful but on acoustic. So it’s always been something we’ve always done.”
Ray Shasho: I thought the Uriah Heep Live album is what I remember turning the band into superstars in the U.S. It was an incredible double-album release, engineered perfectly, great photos of the band. I’d definitely rate the Uriah Heep Live album in the top three of all-time!
Mick Box: “Even Kiss said they copied the idea and loved the album too. It was recorded exactly the way it was that night. Nowadays people will go in and change things and it sounds less than a live album than ever. It was recorded at one date at Town Hall in Birmingham in 1973. It was unbelievable. Actually we did have three or four shows booked to record and after each one there was always a disaster … microphones have gone down or the mobile truck hadn’t recorded something properly, there was always a technical fault, just one after another. We got to Birmingham Town Hall which was actually the smallest of the dates and I think everyone started to relax. Afterwards I know the people who were sitting in the truck were saying … this is it, the mikes are up, this is sounding fantastic and we’ve got it. So it was very exciting to hear it all played back. It was real and that’s where it wins out. And the idea of having the gatefold like that on the album was almost like you were sitting down at a concert and reading a program, which was a good idea too.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, imagine a DVD of that live performance.
Mick Box: “That would have been amazing wouldn’t it? But in those days of course we wouldn’t have even think that far (All Laughing).”
Ray Shasho: After experiencing the live album, I was like a little kid waiting for the Sweet Freedom album to be distributed to my local record store. And when “Stealin’” was played on Top 40 radio stations, I was ecstatic.
Mick Box: “It was on Top 40 radio for awhile and then it got taken off because people started complaining about the lyric … I’d done the ranchers daughter and I sure did hurt his pride. It was a radio hit but then taken off the radio rather quickly. But we still play it today. Ken wrote some tremendous songs in that time, very powerful.”
Ray Shasho: What happened on that day when Gary Thain got electrocuted?
Mick Box: “He went up to the microphone to sing, it was live, and don’t forget in those days there were no testers like we have nowadays, so the crew had no idea that it was going to be live. Quite often you got static shocks, but when Gary went up to sing he put his mouth right on the microphone, got thrown backwards and landed into the drum riser and damaged his knee. He was a very frail person so it didn’t mode very well with him. Gary was such an innovator and a great bass player.”
Ray Shasho: That core lineup during the heyday of Uriah Heep was incredible.
Mick Box: “In our eyes we were unbeatable; you had the power of the drums with Lee who was very John Bonham-ish if you like, and you had Gary coming in with the power bass lines and melodic bass lines that other people weren’t playing at the time. Ken was at his writing peak and the band was just on form. We felt when we were onstage, we were untouched and unbeatable.”
Ray Shasho: How difficult was it for the band to fire David Byron?
Mick Box: “It was very tough but you get to a point where you couldn’t handle it anymore and it had to happen. You’ve got to move forward. If not, it was just going to drag everything down. With the difficulties he was having, you can sit up all night and talk with someone and agree with you and go out and do it, and you know what you’ve said. It was only him that could ever put it right at the end. But I do feel our management let us down a little bit because we were pushed very-very hard with all the touring we were doing. We were doing nine month tours and going three months in the studio, then straight on the road again. Sometimes we’d do two albums a year, so it was immense pressure all around and also to get that level of performance every night onstage.”
“I think if the management wasn’t chasing the almighty dollar like it was and we could have just come off the road, give us some thought to ourselves and our families, I think it might not have ended like it ended. I can give you an example … Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Somebody took the time to put them somewhere to get sorted out and here they are today still rockin’. ’It’s just that someone cared enough. I think the people looking after us were going away from the band and into other areas.”
Ray Shasho: When David Byron was fired, did you guys interview David Coverdale?
Mick Box: “We did indeed, yea. David wasn’t sure which direction he wanted to go with his career at the time and he came down and jammed with us. He was a fantastic guy; he brought a bottle of Remy Martin down and we jammed. David has a very powerful presence on that microphone and apart from that a fantastic voice. I think he would have fit very well. So before we could make up our minds, David got the offer to put Whitesnake together, which was always his first love. So that’s obviously what he wanted to do.”
Ray Shasho: What was it like playing with Kiss?
Mick Box: “Great fun, it was a situation where Kiss supported us throughout America and I think it wasn’t long before where we were supporting Kiss years later. We made one major mistake once. We were using pyrotechnics at the time and I think Kiss convinced our management that we weren’t able to use pyros on the tour. But in this particular instance, Kiss did all there explosions and they were about ten times more than ours and we were headlining. But it was quite funny really. There’s was a fireworks display and ours was a damp squib in comparison. (All laughing) But the guys were great fun. As far as Gene and Paul were concerned, they were just so focused, it was frightening.”
Ray Shasho: What happened when Bronze Records collapsed… did that hurt the band?
Mick Box: “It did to a certain degree, that whole era was when Gerry Bron was losing interest in the band and all the things that made him successful in the first place. He started diversifying into having his own airline. He started an airline where people could fly it from England to say Zurich, do a day’s business and fly home. It was very innovative but he just didn’t get the business. He also got into the computer world but didn’t have the finances to follow through. So at the end, what happened were those two things and a few other ventures he was involved in just dragged it all under ,‘the whole lot,’ along with all of our royalties and everything else. He filed for bankruptcy and we were stuck on the outside saying goodbye royalties. Because there’s nothing you can do when someone declares bankruptcy. So it was a very hard time.”
“In fact … Richard Branson used to look up to Gerry because he had Bronze Records, the publishing, the agency, the recording studios, Girlschool, Sally Oldfield, Manfred Man … and to let all that die was shameful. Because he should have been as big as Richard Branson is today. But he took a few wrong turns.”
Ray Shasho: How’s Lee Kerslake doing, I heard he was ill?
Mick Box: “He’s doing fine and we’re still the best of mates. We play all the time and have a good ol’ laugh. I think he’s in Scandinavia now. He’s got a friend in Sweden or Norway who he’s writing an album with. So he’s pretty active. Nothing concrete, he goes out and does a few shows. He couldn’t possibly do the touring that we do now. But he’s out there doing it and he’s here with us, which is fantastic. And he sounds better than ever. I’ve always loved him like a brother, he’s my mate and that’s it. But he’s doing great.”
Ray Shasho: What inspired you and David to write “Gypsy?”
Mick Box: “We were in a rehearsal studio, where it used to be us in one room and Deep Purple in the other room rehearsing. It was a hell of a racket. I came up with a riff and it was very-very powerful. In those days we were working around using harmonies as an instrument. In the 60’s harmonies were always very sweet and they just sang along with the chorus … just following the melody line and singing harmony to it, were as we wanted to use it more as an instrument. So we came up with the idea of the block harmonies that are on “Gypsy.” And it came together rather quickly. David was always intrigued with Gypsies anyway because there was a big Gypsy culture in Europe. So it just came together very quickly.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, Here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a “Field of Dreams” wish, like the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Mick Box: “Oh my God, only one? … Django Reinhardt, Buddy Holly and Jeff Beck ... all three. Django just to see how he played like that. And the year that he grew up in and all those jazz clubs were just amazing. Buddy Holly’s writing was tremendous and still stand the test of time even today. Jeff Beck has been there every decade and has always done something to blow me away.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, talk about ‘Shirt Off My Back’ auctions for Cancer.
Mick Box: “I started this awhile back, I lost my wife to Cancer, my guitar tech, lots of friends, my mother …many-many people. I started this little thing on my website and call it ‘The Shirt Off My Back.’ And mostly a shirt I’d wear on a tour for a few months and there would be a lot of pictures showing me wearing it, I’d auction it off and put the money towards the Cancer charity. The Nightingale Cancer Centre in London and they do such great work and its all unpaid workers there. So I started with that and then started putting wah-wah’s, signed guitars and all that sort of thing. So it started with my shirt and now it’s anything but. Now its Bernie’s old microphones, wah-wah’s, amps, bits and pieces and it’s grown now and really cool.”
“We’re going to Holland Wednesday, on Thursday’s show day we’re having a fan meet and I’m auctioning off lots of shirts, guitars and things so the fans can buy it and we’re flying in the lady from Nightingale to oversee it. So it’s fantastic. It’s just one of those things that mean a lot to me. Cancer is very indiscriminate in age and everything else and you don’t know when it will strike or how severe it will be. So every little bit helps. My mother used to say, “Mick, every little bit helps.”
Ray Shasho: Mick, thank you so much for being on the call today and more importantly for all the incredible Uriah Heep music you’ve given us and continue to bring to all of us.
Mick Box: “Thank you for your support mate, and I just hope we’ll be able to see you out there in that sunshine. Thanks Ray, bye-bye!

Uriah Heep official website http://www.uriah-heep.com
Mick Box official website www.mick-box.net
Uriah Heep on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/uheep
Shirt Off My Back Auction www.shirtoffmybackauctions.com
Check out Mick's daily diary on his Appy Days Blog
Purchase Uriah Heep’s latest album … Into the Wild at amazon.com
Very special thanks to Chris Hewlett.

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 so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 
~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.

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Marky Ramone Interview: Ramones Drummer Talks ‘Dust to Punk’ Saga

 

By Ray Shasho

Brooklyn native Marky Ramone is known best for his high-powered drumming and streetwise tenacity with legendary rock and roll punkers the Ramones. But the Marc Bell/ Marky Ramone ‘Dust to Punk’ transformation is an amazing story that most are not familiar with.

In 1969, Marc Bell (drums), Richie Wise (guitars and vocals) and Kenny Aaronson (bass guitar) formed the Brooklyn based power trio Dust. Marc and Kenny were still teenagers in high school during the bands inception. Dust was signed to Kama Sutra Records and released their self-titled debut album Dust in 1971. Their second and final album Hard Attack was released the following year.

The band toured extensively with legendary acts like Alice Cooper, John Mayall and Uriah Heep. Dust was a phenomenal band and should have mimicked the success of many of those legendary rock groups of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Unfortunately the impatience of youth and a record label accustomed to bubblegum music, split-up the band after only two contributions to the music world.

On April 16th and after more than forty years, Sony/ Legacy released both Dust albums in its entirety on a single CD. The ‘Dust’ and ‘Hard Attack’ albums have been out of print and sought-out by collectors worldwide for decades. Many tracks are considered a precursor to Heavy Metal music. The Dust collection features an incredible mix of music …

Notable tracks from Hard Attack (10 tracks) … “Thusly Spoken” shades of early Pink Floyd highlighting the bands ingenuity. “Learning to Die” Is a Black Sabbath riffed tune and perhaps a precursor to early Kiss music. “Ivory” is an incredible progressive/hard rock instrumental piece. “How Many Horses” is an awesome tune showcasing the bands diversity while bordering on southern rock & rhythm and blues.
 *Fred Singer played keyboards on Hard Attack

Notable tracks from Dust (7 tracks) … “Stone Woman” and “Goin’ Easy” spotlights Richie Wises’ proficient electric slide work. “Love Me Hard” is an excellent tune with heavier riffs reminiscent to Mountain and Deep Purple. “From a Dry Camel” is a very cool psychedelic track. “Loose Goose” is sort of a “Hot Rod Lincoln” meets Hendrix in an instrumental jam.

I gave this rare two-album- single CD collection by Dust(5) stars.

After Dust split-up, all three band members and its manager attained greater success…
 
Kenny Kerner (The bands producer and manager) became a sought –out producer and arranger while partnering musically with Richie Wise. Kerner was also instrumental in getting Kiss signed to Casablanca Records. (All of Kenny Kerner’s credits can be found at allmusic.com)

Kenny Aaronson (bassist) joined The Stories (“Brother Louie” #1 Hit on Billboard’s Top 100), was named… “Bassist of the Year” in 1988 by Rolling Stone Magazine, toured with Bob Dylan, backed up artists such as Steve Cropper, David Gilmour, Johnny Winter and Tony Iommi, auditioned for The Rolling Stones in 1994, he’s a producer and songwriter, was a regular member of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and New York Dolls. (All of Kenny Aaronson’s credits can be found at allmusic.com)
 
Richie Wise (guitarist) became a successful producer and arranger while sharing production credits with his partner Kenny Kerner. He produced various Kiss albums including …their debut album Kiss, Hotter than Hell, Double Platinum, Killers, and Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. He’s also produced albums for such artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jose Feliciano, Steve Marriott, Badfinger, Savoy Brown, James Brown and Teena Maria. (All of Ritchie Wises’ credits can be found at allmusic.com)

Marc Bell (Ramone) (drummer) joined forces with Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys fronted by rock’s first transsexual singer Jayne County. In 1976, Marc was introduced to Richard Hell and they eventually formed Richard Hell & the Voidoids. After the conclusion of the bands U.K. tour with The Clash, Bell met Dee Dee Ramone at the infamous CBGB music club. Dee Dee Ramone asked Bell if he’d like to join the Ramones.


In 1978, Marc Bell became Marky Ramone, the Ramones new drummer. Marky’s first task at hand was to record the Road to Ruin album which featured one of the Ramones biggest hits “I Wanna Be Sedated.” The next year the Ramones filmed Rock ‘n’ Roll High School and later joined forces with producer Phil Spector to record the End of the Century album.

After several tours and recording the albums Pleasant Dreams and Subterranean Jungle, Marky Ramone was asked to leave the band in 1983. He was replaced by Richie Ramone.

In 1987, Marky rejoined the Ramones and recorded with the band on Brain Drain (1989), Mondo Bizarro (1992), Acid Eaters(1994) and Adios Amigos(1995) the Ramones farewell release.

Marky joined a Ramones tribute band called The Ramainz (Live in N.Y.C. album released- 1999) with Dee Dee Ramone and his wife Barbara.

After the Ramones …Marky formed the bands Marky Ramone & The Intruders (albums released … Marky Ramone And The Intruders (1996), The Answer To Your Problems? (1999), Start of the Century (2006). And Marky Ramone & The Speedkings (Legends Bleed album released in 2002).

In 2000, Marky collaborated with longtime friend and bandmate Joey Ramone on his debut solo album, Don’t Worry About Me.

The Ramones were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Lead singer and songwriter Joey Ramone died of Lymphoma in 2001. Bass guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Dee Dee Ramone died of a Heroin overdose in 2002. Guitarist Johnny Ramone died of prostate cancer in 2004.

The Raw DVD, a compilation of home footage of the Ramones was released in 2004. Most of the certified gold video was filmed by Marky Ramone and is currently the best selling Ramones DVD to date.

In 2009, Marky released his first worldwide clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger and the following year Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce was launched.

In 2011, the Ramones received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Today …Marky is enjoying his eighth year on the air as a radio deejay hosting Marky Ramone’s Punk Rock Blitzkrieg and can be heard on SiriusXM Satellite Radio faction channel 41 on Tuesdays from 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. EST and rebroadcasts on Saturdays from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. EST.

His latest band is called Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. The band launches a worldwide tour beginning May 3rd from Santos Party House in New York City.
The 2013 tour will feature Andrew W.K. on lead vocals.

I had a rare opportunity to chat with Marky Ramone about the recently remasterd Dust CD, the Blitzkrieg world tour, his incredible musical journey with the Ramones and the truth about Phil Spector.
Here’s my recent interview with drummer/songwriter/entrepreneur/legendary member of the Ramones … MARKY RAMONE.

Ray Shasho: Hello Marky! Are you calling from New York?
Marky Ramone: “Yea from New York City.”
Ray Shasho: Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg with W.K. on lead vocals is set to launch on a world tour from New York in a few weeks.
Marky Ramone: “We’re going to do New York and the states and South America for now. Later on we’ll end up in Asia and doing some Russian dates.”
Ray Shasho: What is it like to perform in Russia?
Marky Ramone: “Great! Russia is great. They love western culture, they love rock music and they love the Ramones … and they’re all into that.”
Ray Shasho: I’ll be totally honest with you Marky … I’ve listened to a lot of music in my time but this was the first time I heard Dust. Great band!
Marky Ramone: “We were seventeen/eighteen years old and met at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, it’s one of the oldest schools in America, so we rehearsed and that’s the result of those two albums. Now they’re finally out on a big legitimate label, so it can be out there, and Sony/ Legacy remastered it. We were there during the remaster to make sure it didn’t take away from the original intent of making those albums. So they’re finally out. But we were young skilled teenagers who knew how to play really well… I don’t know where I got it or where the other artists got the gift, but we got it, and we formed the group and that’s what happened.”
Ray Shasho: It’s amazing the resume you guys developed after Dust disbanded.
Marky Ramone: “Kenny with the Stories, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, Billy Idol. Richie ended up producing the first two Kiss albums, Gladys Knight & the Pips … you name it. Then I started hanging out with a bunch of guys to help change music.”
“Bands like the New York Dolls and Rainbow/Wicked Lester (Kiss) and future members of the Ramones used to come see Dust when we played at the Village Gate in New York; they were all in the audience. We were all basically the same age. Johnny Thunders and I were born on the same day but he was a little older. The guys from Kiss were older but they were Dust fans, and then everything came together and that’s why Richie ended up producing them.”
Ray Shasho: Critics have labeled the CD as a Heavy Metal album and I believe it’s an injustice. The Dust CD is an ingenious mix of musical styles performed by young talented musicians.
Marky Ramone: “Around that time in 1970, when Dust wrote the first album, the only Metal that was really out was stuff from England. So that year in America, who could you really call the beginnings of Heavy Metal, there were maybe only a handful, so we showed that we could do our thing in America.”
Ray Shasho: But the band was so diverse …here’s an example… the track “Thusly Spoken” had shades of early Pink Floyd. It’s a track that doesn’t reflect the heaver riffs.
Marky Ramone: “We liked everybody. We liked Hendrix, The Who, The Kinks, Cream, Jethro Tull … and you bring that altogether and you’ve got Dust.”
Ray Shasho: The tune “How Many Horses” had early implications of southern rock and the track “Ivory” is an incredible instrumental piece.
Marky Ramone: “Ivory” was 5/4 time and no other band back then was doing that, so we wanted to do it. And the other one was country and kind of bluesy.”
Ray Shasho: The other instrumental “Loose Goose” is what I call … “Hot Rod Lincoln” meets Hendrix in an instrumental jam.
Mary Ramone: “And that was before all that came out.”
Ray Shasho: So Dust were early rock pioneers after all.
Mary Ramone: “We didn’t know it but now we can show it.”
(All Laughing)
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the bands Dust toured with?
Marky Ramone: “We toured with Alice Cooper, John Mayall, Uriah Heep and a lot of those kinds of bands. The record company at the time was bubblegum music … The Ohio Express, The Lemon Pipers and stuff like that, so they didn’t really know how to handle Heavy Metal. So after the two albums were up, we went our own ways, it was that quick and that simple.”
Ray Shasho: What was the transition like for you coming from ‘hard rock’ Dust …to ‘punk rock’ bands Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, Richard Hell & the Voidoids and finally the Ramones?
Marky Ramone: “It was a breeze because what I was playing in Dust was so technically intricate and joining bands like Richard Hell and the Ramones was very simple. That stuff is easy to play and that’s why I liked it. The songs were short, to the point, and it was the beginning of a new genre called punk rock and we were at the forefront of it at CBGB. There was nowhere else to hang out so we hung out at CBGB and Max’s.”
Ray Shasho: I was a Top 40 deejay when the Ramones were popular.
Marky Ramone: “Did you play us?”
Ray Shasho: (Laughing) Actually no.
Mary Ramone: “There you go.”
Ray Shasho: We played a lot of the “New wave” bands of the late 70s … The Cars, Blondie, The Pretenders, Joe Jackson, Cheap Trick, The Knack etc.
Marky Ramone: “How come they didn’t play the Ramones?”
Ray Shasho: They were never on the playlist.
Marky Ramone: “Now I guess they regret it.”
Ray Shasho: I always veered off the playlist from time to time but I don’t remember seeing the Ramones in our music library.
Mary Ramone: “Now it’s bigger than ever …they say better late than never.”
Ray Shasho: The Ramones influenced so many bands … I asked Chris Stein (Blondie) last year …Who were some of the bands you followed when you were part of the ‘Punk’ and New wave’ scene? Chris said …the Ramones and Television when Richard Hell was still with them.
Marky Ramone: “A very important part of the punk scene. Then they took Richard’s image and brought it to England and that’s how you got the Sex Pistols.”
Ray Shasho: Chris Stein also said that he thought bands like ‘The Stones’ and ‘The Who’ were early punks.
Marky Ramone: “They had punk elements, but they didn’t solidify punk. The Ramones solidified it at CBGB. But that’s where everyone got the foundation with Richard Hell and the New York Dolls with Johnny Thunders guitar playing.”
“It was the Ramones, Richard Hell, The Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders), Blondie and Patti Smith.”
Ray Shasho: I always thought ‘The Clash’ took it to another level.
Marky Ramone: “The Clash ended up doing dance music … (Marky singing “Rock the Casbah”) I guess they had to because the record company wanted a hit, so they catered to the dance thing. They were like Blondie, they liked disco. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but they changed and we didn’t, we stuck to our guns and now we are where we are.”
Ray Shasho: The Ramones didn’t get pressured by the record company to alter their style a bit to generate a Top 40 hit on the radio?
Marky Ramone: “No way. They know we wouldn’t have done it. (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: So you beat the record company … that’s a first.
Mary Ramone: “Well, we would have broken up or something like that.”
Ray Shasho: What do remember the most when you were with the Ramones?
Marky Ramone: “The US Festival in 1982. There was more than 150,000 people under a scorching sun in San Bernardino and with their leather jackets on. We played a whole set and me and Dee Dee the night before with all the parties …it was insane. I remember us partying and it was pretty funny to see us up there.”
Ray Shasho: Were there rivalries between bands?
Marky Ramone: “No, there were no rivalries; we liked the fact that we influenced the punk scene in England. And when we went there, they liked the fact that we were there. They would come see us … the real deal from CBGB. But they really liked The Heartbreakers and that was something very close to them over there. They really loved Johnny Thunders guitar playing, his image and everything. He was Johnny Ramone’s idol.”
Ray Shasho: Marky, what was it like working with Phil Spector?
Marky Ramone: “I loved it, Joey loved it … he didn’t like Dee Dee and Johnny. Phil never pointed a gun at us, it was all bullsh*t. We were the only ones allowed in the studio, no road crew, no road managers and no wives … just the band, the engineer and Phil.”
Ray Shasho: When you joined the Ramones you replaced Tommy?
Marky Ramone: “He was only in the band for about three and a half years, the problem with Tommy was they wanted him to leave the group but in reality wanted to kick him out because they weren’t getting along with him. They bullied him, he didn’t like it and I don’t blame him. So one day, he did the right thing and left, and he ended up producing which is great. He produced the first album that they asked me to play on as a Ramone … Road to Ruin and the first song I recorded was, “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
Ray Shasho: That was a great tune and should have made the Top 40 playlist.
Marky Ramone: “But who knew why or why not?”
Ray Shasho: What are your thoughts about the music industry today?
Marky Ramone: “Different than it was …and I’m still involved with it today more than ever. Bands or individuals have to find new ways to promote themselves. They have to get off their ass and get into the van and tour. They can’t rely on a little Facebook thing or a Myspace or Twittering … they have to get out there Live. The problem is … a lot of bands have a YouTube, and then they have this thing where they can add numbers to it artificially. And you’re not fooling anybody. Booking agents know that you’re adding numbers to your site just to attract interest. They know that you’re doing that, and you shouldn’t do that, because in the end, when you do play, only ten people will show up instead of what you think will show up, because of the numbers you put up on the website. So you’ve got to be careful with that sh*t.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve got a book coming out soon?
Marky Ramone: “It’s 90% finished. It’ll probably be out late 2013-early 2014. I’m writing this myself and its through Simon & Schuster, they’re the ones who are going to distribute the book. I had two guys who were working with me and I fired them because they weren’t sounding like me. They were sounding too much like themselves …so I just took it upon myself.”
Ray Shasho: Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce?
Marky Ramone: “Yup, which 10% goes towards ‘Autism Speaks,’ a charity that I’m very proud to be part of and the sauce has really took off.”
Ray Shasho: You also designed a clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger?
Marky Ramone: “That was just a six month clothing design that I did. I designed my own leather jacket and chain and you can’t get them anymore because they sold it out. I can’t even get one. I had two or three that I gave away … one was an auction for charity.”
Ray Shasho: What kind of sneakers did the Ramones wear?
Marky Ramone: “Originally we liked Keds and then we went to Converse. Converse was too pointy at the toe, so we went to PF Flyers.”
Ray Shasho: Marky, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a “Field of Dreams” wish … like the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Marky Ramone: “Paul McCartney in the present and Jimi Hendrix from the past.”
Ray Shasho: Marky, thank you for being on the call today and for all the great music you’ve given to all of us and continue to bring. Good luck on the tour.
Marky Ramone: “Thank you Ray …enjoy the Dust albums.”

Purchase the Sony/ Legacy remastered Dust albums on a single CD. ‘Dust’ and ‘Hard Attack’ have been out of print and sought-out by collectors worldwide for decades. Order your copy here.
Marky Ramone official website www.markyramone.com
Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg tour information at www.markyramone.com/tour/
Marky Ramone on Facebook www.facebook.com/OfficialMarkyRamone
Marky Ramone on Myspace www.myspace.com/markyramone

Very special thanks to Chipster PR & Consulting.

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 so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 


~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television, politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.

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