SKID
"THE INTERVIEW" BY : UROTSUKIDOJI
U- Let's start with how things are going for you, how is your new job going
as a professional web page developer?
Skid- My career is going great. I must say, it has been a struggle starting over and getting into the mainstream. When I decided to get into multimedia, I had never clicked a mouse. Nor played a video game. You get the gist. Not only computer illiterate, I was plain starting from scratch. The digital revolution is fantastic. The way a newcomer can jump in and in a relatively short amount of time, gain considerable skills. I work at a very COOL company that promotes learning and provides a very nurturing environment. I've moved my way up to the position of production manager and now I get to do a lot of really cool stuff.
U- How are you enjoying family life as compared to the "drunken 24hr party"
life?
Skid- I love family life. It's sort of hard to compare the two because while both lifestyles offer handsome rewards, the rewards of family life are infinitely deeper. When all is said and done, being a drunken guitar player is great when you're young, but as you grow up, you find yourself wanting more out of life.
U- The LOVE/HATE web site is great, any big plans for it in the near future?
Skid- Thank you. Yes, we're planning a total overhaul, a head-to-toe redesign that emphasizes cutting-edge technologies and interactivity. As this will be a massive undertaking, unfortunately, it will probably come about slower than I would like.
U- There used to be a live CD available on your page, is there still any
way to get this item?
Skid- We have this great live CD, unfortunately, I don't have copy. It was one of Love/Hate's best performances recorded by the BBC at the Astoria in London in 1990. As far as I know, Joey has the only copy and he won't give me one. If he ever does, we'll make it available.
U- What made you give up (as in, not your full time job) music for a
living? At the time you were a delivery person, so the money, I would not think, could not have been the real draw.
Skid- I was making far more as a driver than I could from my music. Let me tell you a short story, I had always sworn that I would never give up writing music for a living. That no matter how bad I got, if I was penniless, drunk, in the gutter I would never give up. But as soon as I was unnable to make enough money, I said fuck this and abandoned ship.
U- How is your relationship with Jizzy? And what are your views on "Let's
Eat" the new LOVE/HATE CD written by Jizzy and performed by Jizzy and Joey Gold? Seeing as you have written all the other albums, and do not even perform on this one. I know as a fan I would rather have your input as well on a LOVE/HATE CD, but we (fans) are desperate and will take anything with Jizzy singing, or the words LOVE/HATE on the cover.
Skid- My relationship with Jizzy is fine. It's not like we hang out or anyting, because we're both busy, but we both share good feelings about each other. I think that Let's Eat is Jizzy's solo record, not a Love/Hate record. But I didn't fight or oppose it's release because often Jizzy and I agree to disagree.
U- Will there ever be another "real" LOVE/HATE CD with Skid and King Jizzo united?
Skid- I hope so. Stranger things have happened.
U- Will you play anymore live dates? And if so, do you think you ever might go on the road again?
Skid- I would love to play live dates. The five dates I played with Love/Hate earlier this year were a lot of fun. One of the shows was actually kick ass. But I'm afraid that I don't see myself going out on the road for more than an occasional one off.
U- Do you miss touring? Or is it "out of your system"?
Skid- For some, touring is a very dark enterprise. I know there were times when touring was fun, but honestly, all I remember is a dark empty blur. So the answer is yes, touring is definitely out of my system.
U- Is there any sort of communication between you and Joey after your falling out?
Skid- I'm afraid not. Both Joey and I are like brick walls. Sometimes we don't move very well.
U- Does everyone still hate Jon?
Skid- No. I love Jon. I just can't be in the same room with him.
U- Are you still writing music and playing bass?
Skid- I am writing music in earnest. I've got great audio software and the stuff that I'm doing now is sounding pretty darn good.
U-. Who are your musical influences?
Skid- I've always been into popular music and I still like the popular stuff: Korn, Kid Rock, Marilyn Manson, Beastie Boys, and all old gangster rap.
U- We know that when LOVE/HATE started out as DATACLAN, the style of music was more in the Duran Duran vein, later LOVE/HATE developed into more of a rock/metal band. Was this personal musical taste or just following the trends?
Skid- Both. In the early incarnation of the group, we always enjoyed and played different kinds of music. But one night, headlining the Whiskey, as a lark we played a Motley Crue cover of the song "Livewire." And the response was so over the top that right then and there we sort of changed direction. There was no getting around that heavy, simple guitar rock had the most power for us, so a direction change seemed natural and inevitable.
U- What bands did you listen to when you started the band? And who do you listen to now?
Skid- Then: The Cult, Bauhaus, Siouxie and the Banshees, NWA.
Now: the popular heavy stuff
U- I will ask you a question I also put to King Jizzo "If you had to label LOVE/HATE, most people would say Glam, but something I have found, with the fans I know, is that you are the only "Glam" band that any of us like. Most of us are into thrash, punk, death metal, goth, alternative, etc. So my question is, how do you explain LOVE/HATE'S cross over appeal?"
Skid- I never considered Love/Hate a Glam band. Like many bands from that generation, we were trying to get girls. And long hair at the time worked. I always thought it was funny that we would get clumped in with glam bands, but one's self-perception and the perception of others often differs.
U- If you had to put a label on your music, what would you call it?
Skid- Metal.
U- Do you like the fact that people see LOVE/HATE as a party band? Or does it piss you off, because people might not give your music the respect it deserves because of that.
Skid- One of the greatest achievements I have is that Love/Hate was and is regarded by many to be a truly stupid party band.
U- Between "I'm Not Happy" and "livin Off Layla" you formed the band Skoe, with all of LOVE/HATE accept for Jizzy. Can you tell us how this came about? And was there ever a plan to continue as LOVE/HATE with out him?
Skid- Jizzy was going through that solo record fever. And I wanted to stay busy while he was doing his record, but there was never a plan to make a Love/Hate record without Jizzy.
U- What brought about the demise of Skoe?
Skid- A lot of shit was going down in my personal life at the time because my father was dying from cancer and I was unnable to put in the energy that it takes to bring a band into the world class.
U- What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you or the band on the road?
Skid- It's impossible to say the most embarrasing experience because my entire life is a sequence of embarassments. At one point, I wrote a song to myself entitled "The Pharaoh of Embarassment." I'm one of those people who make life more difficult than it needs to be. It's almost as if I put myself in situations that are ripe for humiliation and other shit like that.
U- What's the worst thing that ever happened to you or the band on the
road?
Skid- One time I did a bad stage dive that resulted in a broken collar bone that never completely healed.
U- What's the best thing that ever happened to you or the band on the road?
Skid- The best thing that ever happened to me on the road is when I met my wife, Karen, for the first time. We were in Chicago and I picked her up at the airport. When I saw her, I knew she was my soul mate and that we would live happily ever after.
U- When you look back over your musical career, what regrets do you have, if any?
Skid- I regret that I didn't sell a whole lot more. Personally, I think I should have sold millions. And I should be stinking rich.
U- On the same track...when you look back, what makes you smile, or think "that was our greatest moment"?
Skid- When the band was sitting in a bus and our manager came in and told us we had landed a United States run with AC/DC, that was the high point. Right at that period, everything was going good for us.
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS VAN DAHL!
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY CRYPT!
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SINGER JIZZY PEARL!!
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JON E. LOVE!
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