So, we have come to the third and final part of my interview with Michael Des Barres the other day. I was quite surprised how it ended up as three parts, because it was only meant to be a quicky. However, when Michael and I get chatting, we talk for ages. And we talk about Bob Dylan, Damon Albarn, John Lennon and what killed Elvis, as well as all the stuff that we were supposed to be talking about.If you have missed the rest of the interview check out Part One and Part Two...
MICHAEL: Well my aim in life is to piss of the moral majority because
the moral majority is an oxymoron – more moron than oxy.
JON: No, but you know what I mean.
MICHAEL: I do. But I just
wrote electronica song for this Irish girl called `Jesus was my boyfriend, our
love will never end`.
You know, I write
a lot of electronica, I love it. It’s not my personal taste but I love to write
pop songs and I’ve been doing a lot of that, and will be doing a lot more. And because
of the sound of Carnaby Street
a lot of people at the Recording
Academy
JON: Well I still really like Chequered Past.
MICHAEL: Well Jonesy called me the other day and said let’s do one
gig. Let’s reunite Chequered Past and do one gig.
JON: Hell yeah
MICHAEL: And you know, you know we might. If he wants to do it, I’ll
do it obviously and make time to do it. That is a band that is, you know,
live? Oh my God, Clem Burke and Steve
Jones. Unbelievable power.
JON: There are a couple of videos on YouTube that are absolutely
awesome.
MICHAEL: Yeah, it’s great. I
mean they’re much better than the record.
The record has a couple of cuts on it. Live... sometimes I felt like I
was in The Who or some massive rock band
What are you listening to right now?
JON: The new Bob Dylan album.
MICHAEL: Me too.
JON: That and... have you heard Damon Albarn’s album? You know,
the guy from Blur.
MICHAEL: I have not. Is it a
solo record?
JON: He’s written an opera about... you know John Dee, Queen
Elizabeth I’s court magician?
MICHAEL: Yes...of course...the great alchemist
JON: He’s written an opera
called Mr Dee. No, Dr. Dee. It’s absolutely brilliant. That and the Bob Dylan album are my two favourites at the
moment
MICHAEL: I’ve been trying to get into Tempest. It’s Bob Dylan so it
transcends all critique, no question but I swear to God, Jonathan, listening to
it gives me nodules.
JON: Really? I think it’s
the most accessible thing he’s done in years
MICHAEL: Yeah, his voice is all crunchy to me...it hurts my throat
when I hear him sing
JON: I tell you what, Michael, I think I’ll go as far as to say
it’s my favourite of his albums since Blood on the Tracks.
MICHAEL: I think that you are not alone. I mean, people adore it – it’s
the only CD I’ve bought in years because it’s Saint Bob, you know. But I listen
to it and sometimes I’m so swept up in the experience and age of his voice, and
then other times as a singer, I think Oh my God, he’s ripping his throat to
shreds but lyrically it’s ridiculously clever and hard core... Roll on John. I
listened to in the car and I literally sat at wept – I pulled over, parked my
car and listened to the fucking song and it’s just unbelievable – what is it,
your light is still shining – you know just beautiful.
Two slices of the new Bob Dylan album; his tribute to John Lennon which made Michael cry and his post-apocalyptic rewrite of the old folk standard Barbara Allen which is my favourite..
JON: I tell you another album which is out this year which is so much better than I thought it was going to be is the new Public Image album. The first one since about 1990 I think.
MICHAEL: I’m going to go see them on Saturday.
JON: Oh you lucky man. Their guitarist, Lu Edmonds, who I’ve known of, I’ve met him a couple of times, he’s been around for years. He was with The Damned – he became The Damned’s second guitarist in 1976 or something. He’s absolutely extraordinary. He plays this weird Turkish thing and he makes Hendrixy noises out of a Turkish mandolin called a saz – it’s absolutely wonderful, a stunning record.
MICHAEL: Yeah, Lydon is something else man. How a kid from the East End of London could come up with this brilliant, you know this perception of the world it’s so fantastic, brilliant. I’m going to see them on Saturday at the ?? Steam ballroom, Manhattan, New York city.
JON: Well you’ve got to tell me all about it. The record’s wonderful and I’ve seen them on television doing a couple of songs from it.
MICHAEL: And you know what? He did it all himself. I am sure you know the story. He’s financed it all himself. He’s got no label, he’s got no management, he’s doing it all himself. Very similar to me, although
I’ve got Rob and you guys, you know, but in essence I have no manager. You know, I’ve managed this whole thing. I just don’t trust anybody. I don’t trust management because I do this all day, and all night. Rehearsing, writing, playing or selling, it’s all the same organism and I just think that I work harder for me than anybody else could
JON: Well yeah, it’s the 21st Century business model isn’t it? The music business as a business, is dead.
MICHAEL: But the music is very much alive.
JON: Exactly, music is alive, and it’s up to people like you and me celebrating the sort of liberation of having got rid of the music business.
MICHAEL: That’s it man and you know, it’s good. It’s so healthy – you might not sell as many records, but how much money do you fucking want? I mean do you want to be autonomous in your life- do you want to own your own life or do you want to give 60% of it away?
JON: You’ll probably make just as much money because you’re not having an enormous fucking entourage
MICHAEL: There’s no question. And entourages are so...they’re a bit like cigarettes, you know they are so uncool. What is this the
JON: That is the perfect place to stop Michael. When
your life calms down a bit, we’ll talk again and you can tell me all about how
the weekend went and...
MICHAEL: I’ll look forward to it.
If you have not done so already, check out Michael's Gonzo Artist Page
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