A Girl, A Man (Raze) And A Leppard
Former Girl turned Def Leppard guitarist, Phil Collen, took valuable time away from the band’s busy schedule of photo shoots, rehearsals and other preparations that go along with a big summer tour (with Journey) and the release of a new covers album (Yeah!) to talk about his new band Man-Raze and toss in a quote or two about Girl and Def Leppard.
BW&BK: Let’s talk about Man-Raze. How does a Girl (Simon Laffy), a Sex Pistol (Paul Cook) and a (Def) Leppard get together and start making music?
PHIL COLLEN: I was over in London (my dad past away a year and a half ago) and I was over there for a couple of months just hanging out with my dad and I just re-connected with Simon. We had always been in touch, but musically... even when he was in Girl we never used to write together, but we like the same stuff. We’re both huge (The) Police fans and love really good reggae. Anyways, I was with Simon and said ‘it would be fucking great to have a band. A three piece... a heavy rock version of The Police or something and it would be great if Paul Cook was the drummer.’ Then I bumped into Paul in the street. I kind of knew him since we’re all from London and had bumped into him over the years. I really liked his playing. The whole vibe of the (Sex) Pistols stuff and his sound. When he hits the snare you can tell it’s him, it’s just really unique. So, we got together, wrote a couple of songs and rehearsed and it was like ‘bang’. It just fucking clicked and was really really cool. It just had this energy, so we carried on recording and we’d done our first gig last July. After, we had done that, our sound just morphed. It was a bit of the Pistols plus a bit of Nirvana, and a bit of The Police... I tried to keep the Def Leppard thing out of it because we didn’t want to go there really. It’s not that kind of band. I’m the singer in this band and it’s a three piece. It’s not multi-tracked guitars... it’s stuff you can do as a classic three piece. That in itself was very rewarding ‘cause I had never really done that. It’s incredible fucking freedom.”
BW&BK: Was it refreshing to record like that instead of the Def Leppard way?
PC: “Very refreshing. I do get a bit frustrated with the Def Leppard way of recording. Some is self-inflicted... I’m one of the main writers/ producers of the band and over the years we’ve kind of gotten into that... So, the cool thing about this (Man-Raze) is that we wanted to record it a different way. We would only do one or two takes so you get the excitement. Even if it was rough around the edges, you make up for it... I honestly believe you lose so much of the spirit by doing it too many times.”
BW&BK: I believe that. Some of the best albums were made in a short period of time. Sabbath would lock themselves away for nine hours and come out with Paranoid or whatever. I spoke to Vivian (Campbell) when he did his solo album and he also said he was frustrated with the Def Leppard way. Do you think the ‘Def Leppard way’ might change?
PC: “We keep saying this.. yeah I do. From my point of view, it’s essential. It’s a whole different story if you’re dealing with “Mutt” Lange – he can tell when someone’s not got the vibe going and will say ‘try this’. He’s the only person in the world I’ve ever met that can actually do that and he’s very diplomatic about it. He’ll never say ‘this is really sucking and you sound like a bunch of pansies,’ but he’ll say ‘let’s try this. Try putting your finger out. Try singing this. Try singing this a bit harder. Try and back-up on this syllable.’ Just amazing shit and it usually works.”
BW&BK: Sounds like you miss working with Mutt. Do you want to work with him again?
PC: “YEAH! Would love to, but he’s pretty busy. He’s got the whole Shania thing.”
BW&BK: Let’s talk about you taking the vocal duties in Man-Raze. You’ve done some with Def Leppard (like 'Miss You In A Heartbeat' live). Would you like to sing more in Def Leppard and how is it singing in Man-Raze. It puts more focus on you.
PC: “It’s very exciting and everybody said I’d get real nervous the night we’d done the gig, but it was fun and I really enjoyed it. The great thing with Def Leppard is that ‘the vocals’ is actually an instrument. Joe is the lead singer and we’re this other instrument that accompanies him or plays off of him and that’s part of the sound of Def Leppard. I don’t really want to sing in Def Leppard because I’m really happy with what I do vocally and I really like the way Joe sounds. He’s unique and that’s the sound. However, I am singing a song on the new album.”
BW&BK: You’re doing the Rod Stewart cover ‘Stay With Me’ on the new album. Let’s talk about the covers album in a minute, but for Man-Raze – did you want to be the singer or were you not able to find...
PC: “Oh, I wouldn’t want to find a singer because I can sing (without blowing my own trumpet) better than most singers in bands. I do it all the time and I’ve had great coaching from Mutt and all of that. Mutt is the most amazing singer. So, that wasn’t even an issue. A lot of musician/guitarist get very frustrated because they can’t find their own voice and the classic example of that would be The Who’s Pete Townsend. He wrote these great songs... lovely everything about them lyrically, passion, but his voice sucked. In his mind’s eye his voice sounds like Roger Daltrey so that’s perfect. Won’t Get Fooled Again is like Pete Townsend channeling through Roger Daltrey. I know loads of guitar players that have to get someone in their band like Slash, Steve Vai, or Jimmy Page... it’s really frustrating. It’ a confidence thing in that they just haven’t had enough experience in actually getting up in front of a room of people and just going ‘waaaaaaa’. It’s very easy to hide behind a guitar.”
BW&BK: Let me ask you a question that’s ‘off the map’- you reconnected with Simon (from Girl). Do you still talk to Phil Lewis (Girl / LA Guns singer)? Do you think you might ever work with him again?
PC: “We’ve just done an interview with Classic Rock magazine and he’s great... he’s cool. The weird thing is that he lives close to me, but no... I can’t see that happening... the Girl thing.”
BW&BK: Not necessarily Girl. Just any project... What are your thoughts of LA Guns?
PC: “I think they’re great and for Phil it’s really really good. That’s his thing and that’s where he went with it. After Girl, I don’t think it would really work.”
BW&BK: You don’t want to put the mascara back on?
PC: “I’ve actually gotten pretty comfortable putting on (inaudible) and people are like ‘hey Phil, you back in Girl again?’ .... Part of the reason, is that we were 20 years old, anorexic, inexperienced and pretty debauched... That’s what GIRL was about and you know I haven’t had a drink in what 18 years? I’m a vegetarian and all this shit just doesn’t go with it. I think everyone’s moved on and for it to really work it has to have those elements.”
BW&BK: To work in Girl – you have to get totally wasted...
PC: “You have to get fucked up...yeah!”
BW&BK: Back to Man-Raze. After you finished the Def Leppard/ Bryan Adams tour, you had some down time and the idea was to complete a full album... now, you’re back with Leppard. Is their a full length? When is it coming out....
PC: “ I was talking to Paul (Cook – drummer) a minute ago and we’re going to cut four more tracks live.”
BW&BK: Live on a stage or live in the studio?
PC: “In the studio. That’s the magic of that band is us playing live and the sound it gives. We’ve got three new songs and two we are going to redo. They’re going to be completely different versions. We just have to figure out when. We’ll do the live backing tracks next month (April). Then we’ll go to Joe’s house in Dublin because he’s been gracious enough to invite us to go play there. He’s been really supportive which is really nice.”
BW&BK: Do you think the album will be out by Christmas 2006?
PC: “I think it’ll come out before that. We’ve got all the stuff, but I think it would be really good if we had some backing at a real label. It would get a little more profile.”
BW&BK: Do labels still provide backing?
PC: “They don’t. They certainly didn’t do it for Def Leppard.”
BW&BK: Or Vivian’s album...
PC: "No... No – they’re very bad at that, but what’s the alternative?”
BW&BK: I hope it gets a major label release. What are we looking at? Ten... twelve songs?
PC: “We’ve actually got seventeen to go actually. We’ll choose the best twelve I imagine.”
BW&BK: Let me ask you a few Def Leppard questions – last year you toured with Bryan Adams. In the ‘80s, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard were two different worlds. This summer it’s Journey. Back in the day, you were lumped in with the Bon Jovis, Motley Crues, Cinderellas and all that. How did it come about going out with Bryan Adams and now Journey? Are you excited?
PC: “I’m excited for the tour. Journey is a class act. The reason that Nirvana and all these bands came out was because it got so lame in the ‘80s. It was all the bands copying – first Def Leppard then Bon Jovi then da da da. It just goes down and down and down.”
BW&BK: Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake are definitely “A” list bands... then you got into the “B” list bands and then into the “C” list bands like Pretty Boy Floyd and Tuff...
PC: “Well, I think that was an ‘F’ list band. Look Journey is a class act band and whether you like them or not they’re fucking great. I was in England, just before I joined Def Leppard and ‘Who’s Crying Now’ came out and I remember thinking ‘this is cool. This is just fucking phenomenal,’ and now we’re going out with them and it’s really cool and way better than some of these packages... some of these old...”
BW&BK: Well, it’s different and that’s what I like. Plus, you’re attracting two separate crowds...
PC: “Absolutely.”
BW&BK: Is there anything else you can tell me about the package? Do you want to see yourself doing more packages with bands that you were not associated with in the ‘80s?
PC: “This all came about because of Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan going out together. You wouldn’t really pair them off, but it was such a successful tour because it peaked people’s curiosity. It done great and the Bryan Adams tour really puts us back on the map. So, this is just moving up. I just saw Aerosmith and they had Lenny (Kravitz) opening up for them. That’s cool and it’s slightly different and it works. When I first came to the States I would see these classic line-ups with different bands. We’ve done shows with us, India Arie and Train and people have gone fucking nuts. People who wouldn’t go see one of those bands just had a really good time when we’re all together. They actually appreciate it for what it is and being a music fan... I love that shit!.”
BW&BK: What’s the format? A flip flop like with Bryan Adams...
PC: “No, we’re the headliner.”
BW&BK: All the way through?
PC: “Yeah! WE’RE DEF FUCKING LEPPARD! (laughs)”
BW&BK: Are you doing 50 minutes? 70 minutes?
PC: “We’ll split it because they’ve got so many great hits. What happened with the Bryan Adams thing is that we both ran out of time and we’d both go ‘oh, fuck. Is that it?’ So, unfortunately, it’ll be 90 minutes each. It would be great if we could do two hours each, but you know... there you go.”
BW&BK: 90 minutes works for me. It’ll be a fantastic tour. Let’s talk quickly about the covers album,Yeah!. Started off with a little controversy. It was leaked went around the world, hasn’t been released, but it’s coming out soon...
PC: “Yes, May the 15th.”
BW&BK: Has it changed? There were fourteen songs that were leaked. Have you done more? Re-done them? Has it changed?
PC: “We’ve re-done them and I actually can’t believe that anyone would even bother having that (a leaked copy). It’s stuff with a bunch of things missing... not real drum tracks with a crappy drum sound. Now, it actually sounds like a Def Leppard album. A lot of people are surprised by that. They thought it was just a covers album. Well, no and for someone who doesn’t know these songs they’ll go - this is a Def Leppard record.”
BW&BK: How many songs?
PC: “I think it’s fourteen.”
BW&BK: I hear on your version of ‘Stay With Me’ you sound a lot like Rod Stewart...
PC: “Apparently. I think it’s done in ‘the spirit of’. Not on every song and some of the songs we completely changed, but on that one...”
BW&BK: Tried to stay to the original...
PC: “Yeah, loved it. It was great.”
BW&BK: Covers album in May, tour to support... then what? An album of all new material?
PC: “Yesterday, I was doing a bit of that. I was demoing for the new record. We’re going to start doing it on tour. I actually recorded part of the Yeah! album backstage at some of the gigs – straight into a lap top MAC and ‘boom’ there you go. So, this is going to be lots of fun actually to start a record on tour.”
BW&BK: Which you’ve never done. You’ve always locked yourself away in a room. You’ve never done the ‘road thing’.
PC: “No and it’s about time we change that because it got to the point where it’s a little bit uninspiring. You get off tour and ‘it’s ok come up with some ideas,’ and that’s so fucking bogus. The best time a band... is really cooking is when they’re on tour. Especially half way into the tour, but when you come off you lose all of that fire, enthusiasm and motivation and I feel that’s really important. Just like with the Man-Raze thing is to capture it early on and to catch that spark... that disappears otherwise.”
BW&BK: Well, I hope like Man-Raze or Vivian’s album that you can capture something live or as live as possible with Def Leppard...
PC: “Absolutely and I think there’s ways. On Yeah! me and Viv played some of the stuff together which we normally wouldn’t do. Everything is completely separate and you’re playing along to an imaginary drummer and you have to pretend that’s Rick and it’s just weird. At least, with the two of us we got a little vibe going which was very cool. So, the basic rhythm track was that.”
BW&BK: When will we see a new album out?
PC: “Probably next year. To be quite honest, we’ll be touring this year, but I think we may have a song or two ready.”
BW&BK: Throw them in the tour set?
PC: “I don’t know... maybe! It would be really cool, but the problem with that is that you give so much away. But perhaps that would be a good thing. It could be a fun thing to do and we’ll certainly do them at soundchecks.”
BW&BK: Next year, will be the 20th anniversary of Hysteria.
PC: “’87, yeah that’s right actually. Fuck... wow....”
BW&BK: Anything planned? And a new album might be well placed or very much mis-placed depending on how you look at it, but will there be a box-set? A special 20th anniversary tour? A remastered re-release with extra tracks?
PC: “All the above, but we’ve actually been talking... Cheap Trick done this thing a few years ago where they went to select theatres and played a whole album.”
BW&BK: I’m a big Cheap Trick fan...
PC: “They’re actually touring with us this year in England. They did some shows on this tour we’ve just done. They were fucking killer and on the last night Joe & I went up and did a song with them. That was really cool.”
BW&BK: They did a tour where they did three albums from top to bottom. Do you think you might want to do a tour where you play all of Hysteria?
PC: “I’d like too, but that would be a challenge. That’s very much a studio album. We went in with no regard for ‘how are we going to play this live?’ In fact, we’d done Love Bites and it was such a studio song... and the song went to #1 and we were like ‘fuck, we’re going to have to play this thing live.’ It’s all just done in the studio – me and Steve had done the original guitar tracks together and then everything else was just stacked up and all these different parts and vocals and stuff... trying to sing and play that stuff is the real killer.”
BW&BK: I think ‘Excitable’ would be very difficult to bring to a stage...
PC: “We’ve done that one and it’s ok. We just really struggled with 'Love Bites' and now we do it easy since we figured out who does what parts and what parts actually work in a live format. That whole album, you’ve got other songs...”
BW&BK: Like 'Run Riot'...
PC: “We’ve played that live – that’s pretty simple. There’s something else that was a struggle...”
BW&BK: There’s 'Don’t Shoot Shotgun', 'Gods Of War', 'Love & Affection'...
PC: “We actually played that at the Donnington festival before we recorded it.”
BW&BK: So, is there some kind of special 20th anniversary Hysteria thing?
PC: “Oh, I hope so. We’ve been talking about doing this gig thing. We’ll do Hysteria this night and Pyromania that night and perhaps the greatest hits the third night. So, you’re in a town for three nights.”
BW&BK: That would be fantastic...
PC: “It would be fun, huh? And in theatres so it’s more close or something. Just something not ordinary. The Cheap Trick thing was a great idea, but it would be a lot of rehearsing for the band.”
BW&BK: I say start at High ‘N Dry, Pyromania and cap it off with Hysteria. There’s your tour.
PC: “Absolutely.”
BW&BK: Def Leppard box set?
PC: “We’d spoke about that a bunch of times actually and we kind of got shot down... it’s a bit funny when you deal with labels because you’re dealing with a business entity... but from an artist’s point of view, we would love to do that.”
BW&BK : Any last words?
PC: “I’m excited about going on tour, but I’m really excited about the Yeah! album because it turned out exactly like we wanted it to and I’m ultra-excited about Man-Raze. If I have enough energy and when we have breaks on the Def Leppard tour – we may throw in club dates with Man-Raze.”
BW&BK: And catch all the updates at http://man-raze.com
posted by ES84 @ 6:07 PM |
<< Home