| INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN from SHOWBIZBLAST.COM |
| I: And the big show continues. You're in an upcoming movie with Jennifer Anniston and Mark Wahlberg. B: That's right. I: Called Rock Star. Pretty impressive, huh? B: How 'bout that? I: How'd you land that role? I know you've been in some other stuff. B: Yeah, well, I did a lot of independent work, a lot of independent film work. I just really did it for fun and then the opportunity came up to write a song for this movie I heard about that was based in the 80's and I thought, well, I'm all about the 80's, so, uh, I, uh, they wanted the, maybe the first grunge ballad ever written and so, of course, they go straight to the well for that one, to me, and you know, that damn ballad of mine, cursed Freshmen. Umm, and, uh, so I wrote this song called Colorful and then, you know, I submitted it, and I said, listen, you know, I'd love to, I'd love to grow my hair in to a mullet and uh, be a part of this whole thing. They said, well, come on over and audition. I did and I got the part. I: So is it a hair band, I mean, is it like you're, like you're a Poison type of, uh...? B: Yeah, it like, uh, it's like, uh, it's really like a hybrid, you know, it's a combination of like a Judas Priest and a Poison, uh, band, which is, you know, very middle-of-the-road, uh, 80's uh, rock 'n' roll. It's not really heavy metal, but it's not really glam, uh, glamour puss, you know. I: Right. The 80's music is coming back. B: Oh, there's no doubt. I: And everybody's kind of repulsed (?) against the alternative movement of the 90's, especially the Seattle sound. B: I know, but I mean, we can look forward to that , I think coming up soon, the whole resurgence of grunge and then I mean, it's funny how like you know in the 80's, really the 50's were popular again and then the 90's, the 60's and the 70's, and now the 80's are coming back. Pretty soon it's gonna catch up and we're all gonna just start being creative again, you know. That's the scary thing. I: "We glorify the past," as Bono would sing "while the future dries up." B: Wow. Nice. You can (?) just pull that one out. That was great. I: I don't know about that. So let's, I mean, can you tell us anything more about the movie? B: Umm, all I can tell you its it's based on the Judas Priest story, you know, with Ripper Owens when Rob Halpert left the band and they went and got a guy from a tribute band which is Mark Wahlberg, and he plays in my band, which is a tribute band to this giant band called Steel Dragon. I: Uh-huh. B: And, uh, it's a bit of a love story, too, between himself and Jennifer, and, uh, that's about it, you know. We end up getting in a fight with another tribute band that tributes the same band we do, so we're all dressed the same and we're fighting each other and it's pretty funny. I: So now, let me get this right. There's a band and like, Rob Halpert, quote unquote, leaves and Mark Wahlberg wants to be the replacement and he was in your band, or you were the actual band? B: Yeah, he was origiannly in our band, he grew up, yeah, being a tribute, let's just call it Judas Priest. We're a Judas Priest tribute band and we kick him out of our band because he's too obsessed with Priest, you know, or Steel Dragon is the name of the band, and we give him the boot, and a couple days later, he get the call to, uh, replace the lead singer of that band. I: Oh, I see. B: And we're all very jealous. I: So how much screen time you gonna get, do you think? B: I tell you what, I think, uh, you know, between me mugging it up, uh, behind Mark all the time, uh, you know, maybe 15-20 minutes. I: Really? B: Yeah. Why, is that good? I: Yeah, that's pretty good, isn't it. That's quite a bit, I think. B: I'll tell you what I learned everything from Tim. I don't know if you who Tim Olephant is, he was the killer in Scream, Scream 2, and, uh, the drug dealer in Go. Anyway, he's in it with us and I learned everything from him. He's like "Listen, you gotta know two things: how you're being lit and where the camera is at all times. And I, uh, certainly learned. I: Do you have any scenes with Jennifer Anniston then? B: Do I have any what with Jennifer Anniston? I: You have any scenes...? B: Did you say "seeds?" No, I got all my own seeds! I: There you go. No, I mean, I said "scenes." You wish! B: Uh, oh, of course, yeah, she's our manager, she's the manager of our band. I: Oh, okay. B: Yeah, so, uh... I: Any love scenes? B: Well... I: ...or love seeds? B: Yeah. Um, well, not with me and Jennifer, you know. Not with Mark around, you know. And Brad of course is all over the place during the filming, so what are you going to do? I: Oh, is he? B: Yeah. I: Oh, really? B: He was around. Yeah. I: You got to meet him? B: Yeah. Super-nice guy. I: Really? B: Yeah. I: Was Mark Wahlberg wearing the prosthetic again this movie? B: I certainly wished. I'd hoped. I think it's a keychain now. I: Oh, jeez! So what's the sound track gonna be like? You guys are obviously going to be on the sound track. B: Yeah. I: Is it you or... B: For the sound track, you know, I think it's basically going to be the songs of the, you know, Steel Dragon, the big band. I think one of the songs is by Lit, uh, one song is written by Sammy Hagar, so it's kind of a smorgasborg of delightful rock 'n' roll. And then, uh, our ballad is on there, uh, and then that song of course will be on our record coming out around the same time. I: Oh, okay. B: Yeah. I: Well, that's cool. So, all right. Well, that sounds great, I mean, that sounds like a helluva nice roll for you. Sounds like the kind of movie, uh, I grew up with in the 80's and was like a big fan of like your Van Halens, your Def Leppards... B: Sure. I: ...Bon Jovis and, you know, that sounds like my kind of movie. B: Oh, dude, I mean, I got to hang out with Zak Wild everyday. I mean, you know, how do you beat that? It was great. I: Yeah, Blas... B: It's great. I: ...My girlfriend's a big fan of Slaughter and Blas Elias is in the movie. B: Yeah, Blas is our drummer in the movie. Great thing was that, you know, I had to play bass, I had to be the bass player in the movie, so I had to learn how to play bass and, uh, and, uh, none other than Jeff Pilson was my instructor, from Dokken. I: Wow. B: Which is great. Rockin' like Dokken, right? I don't think he heard that enough. I: I actually know that name, I recognize that name. Whaddaya say 'bout that? B: How 'bout that? So it was a good time all around. Now I can play bass, I know what I look like in a mullet, and what more do you need in life? I: My favourite Dokken story of all time...I went to see 'em, they were opening for Lover Boy in, like, 1985... B: Oh, nice! I: ...and there was some other band that was gonna open in front of Dokken. They get booed off the stage, basically 'cause everybody's like "We want Dokken, we want Dokken." The lead singer of this band goes nuts, starts cussing at the audience, just "Fuck you, fuck this..." B: Wow. I: ...then he just finally walks off. B: That reminds me of our days, you know, we toured with KISS for two months. I: You did? B: Well, uh, we never, we never got booed off the stage, we were really, really accepted after a couple of songs, which was great, but, you know, we were in Germany and the Germans wanted nothing to do with us. And it was the same thing, we go spit on and, uh, stuff thrown at us and, but, we never, we never left the stage, and the very last night of the tour, I was so frustrated that I, at the end of the show, I, I sang, uh, "We Are the Champions" acappella to 20,000 booing Germans. I: (laugh) B: And we have it on video tape and, Malcolm, I'd love to show it to you some time. If we ever hook up, you have to see this because it's, it's so fun. I: (still laughing) B: They thought I was being serious, you know. I took my shirt off, I, I, and, uh, actually cut out some, uh, styrofoam teeth out of a styrofoam cup, some buck teeth, and put 'em in so I looked a little like, uh, a little more like Freddie Mercury, and I did it and, uh, the band loved it and the crowd hated it. I: (still laughing) B: Whaddaya do? I: Oh, that is an all-timer! B: Oh, I love it. I: Oh, man! Anyways, lets talk about the new album. You guys are going in to record it in, uh, December here. B: Actually, we're in right now. I: Oh, you're in? B: Yeah, we got a jump on it. Um, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne glory is, uh, producing this one. I: I've heard that name, but it doesn't ring any bells. B: Um, they wrote "That Thing You Do" for the movie. I: Oh, okay. B: A great poppy, uh, tune and then they had a, you know, uh, Radiation Vibe was a decent hit for them and, uh, but their album, I love their albums, you know, it's very indie rock but very pop and likable stuff, so he's taken a little bit to us and we're in Chicago, which is close to home, and we're recording it very cheaply and, and in a fun manner, you know. I: Well, you guys... B: Which is new for us. I: So when's the album going to be out? Right around April? B: Yeah, it'll definitely be, it should be early April, right around the time of the movie. I: Do you have all the songs written for it now? B: Oh, yeah. We've whittled it down to 14, 15 songs right now. I: Oh, really? Got any song titles? B: Oh, my gawd, yeah. Happiness is... is a good one. Now we're starting to embrace, uh, you know, being a little more happy than we were in the old days, the angst-ridden days. I: Right. B: Um, that's, you know, that and, uh, I think, um, "I Will Never Let You Down," these are ones that'll, uh, probably go over pretty good. I: Everybody's said you guys kind of went out with the last album, the self-titled album, kind of went off on a different direction, so to speak, but everybody, at least the critics, seemed to like it. B: Yeah, I think, you know, that's, that's what usually happens, you know, and at least, we kind of expected that because we knew that this album wasn't going to be that radio or commercial friendly. Uh, we were really trying to get to who we were as a band, you know, and to really get to the nitty-gritty and we recorded for 8 months in New York with Michael Beinhorn, which is like boot camp, you know. I: Uh-hmm B: It was very, very difficult to record that record. And then we did it, you know, we put it out there, and here's our baby, you know, 12 of our babies, you know, and, uh, you know, one of 'em did, you know, Hero did okay but for the most part, you know, the critics loved it and, you know, nobody bought it. You know, and what do you do, you know? We had to define ourselves as a band and now, now that we know who we are, we're making a record that I think is a little more commercial friendly. I: On of the, the, my favourite songs off that album is actually "Headlines." I like that song. B: Oh, thanks, yeah, that's, uh, that almost didn't make the record. I: Oh, really? B: So funny. Yeah, there was a bit of, uh, bit of a quarrel over that one, which there's always a quarrel though (unintelligible). I: Kind of has, like a, almost a Police sound to it... B: Love that. I: ...in some ways. B: I love that. That's a huge influence. There's some more of that kind of stuff on the new record. I: So is this album going to be a little more, uh, main stream as far as pop sensibilities or...? B: I think so. I don't think intentionally, I just think that, that Donny, our drummer, wrote, umm, he wrote like 5 songs that're going to be on the record and he's a very, very...very pop guy and has a really good sense of what, what, what, uh, the public likes because he loves music so much. I: Right. B: So his songs are very, very pop and I believe 2 of them will be singles, you know, and these are very radio. I'm a bit darker, you know, uh, I still enjoy doing that, but I enjoy singing his songs, too, so I think it's gonna be, it's gonna be really a hodge-podge of, of our styles, you know. I really think that it's gonna be a successful record, though, I mean, I can't imagine, these songs are so singable, you know. I: Mmm B: So... I: You know, one of the things I like about drummers who write is that I always think it makes the band better over all, because you look at, like, some of the drummers that write music, like Lars Ulrich from Metallica, Neil Pert from Rush... ROCK STAR Brian's interview from the Rock Star movie site "I completely would've not been involved if this had not rung true, if this group had not rung true, because there are a lot of really bad rock 'n' roll movies that've been made, very cliche things, and I don't think...there's no cliche in this. It doesn't happen the way it would in Movieland, you know, it's a very, very tight, funny script. And the things that happen really have happened to us and filming a lot of these scenes, we all really felt that, especially the musicians, really felt that pain of a band breakup or of, you know, whatever...a bad show, and when the show is good, we all felt that joy, too. So it really rang true to me. It was very easy to perform this. Very easy." |