This interview
has been improvised on a chat, sailing through the web,
in the middle of the night. I found myself facing this
great man, the guitarist and singer Rhoades D'Ablo (ex-Rock
City Morgue), whom I've been in contact with for a long
time. The following lines are a piece of real life made
of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, lead by a sincere person,
a "bro'"! "The Rock Explosion" can
assure all of you that Rhoades is just like a kick in
the mouth with his EP "Truckerspeed And Other Vices",
an amazing mix between rock'n'ìroll, punk e country.
Check it out!
Rhoades tell me about your story,
when did you start to play?
I was a high school fuck up with no future, I was turned
on to The Ramones and The Dead Boys, one summer day
and I got a guitar and started to annoy me parents.
And what did they think about
ya?
My parents thought I was gay and sent me to a shrink!
(laughs). I moved out and went to Hollywood. My parents
were very religious and they were a thorn in my rock'n'roll
side.
Now you're out with a cd, why
don't you tell us something more about it, describing
the songs for example
It's a 6 song EP "Truckerspeed And Other Vices",
avaliable at www.statuerecords.com.
The songs are about my life. The failed marriages, my
drinkin' problem, my drug problem, women who love to
suck cock...you know the basics...(laughs)! Well..."Truckerspeed"
is from a short story that I wrote and plan on publishing
soon. It's about a serial killer. "Barstool Or
The Floor", is about my first marriage, I was thrown
out of my own house after a tour and I was drunk in
a bar looking at the neon lights and a friend basically
saved me from killin' myself. "Even Jesus"
is basically about alcohol. "Gloryfountain"
is about self discovery, spiritulism, and alcohol. "My
Mysery" is about the demon...women! Umm, it's all
pretty self evident if you listen to the lyrics. I forgot
to mention "Don't Take Me For A Ride"...that
was about an old band. yeah, I'd rather keep that on
the down low... they'll figure it out...the band that
is. It was a band I put alot of myself into and got
nothing in return. Same ole rock'n'roll story... just
a different storyteller! Yes, it was a band I thought
would go places, but a couple of members had a bad trip
with cocaine and fucked everything up. Lost a major
record deal, tour, etc. The name of the band was Paradise
Lost, but not the same Paradise Lost from the early
90's that Gene Simmons worked with another... we just
had the same name. we were a goth band that Daniel Ash
from Bauhaus was trying to help out... but like I said
before, cocaine! Did you know the last band I was in
was Rock City Morgue, and Sean Yseult, from White Zombie,
was a member?
Yeah i remember about them. After
that further experience would you say that rock'n'roll
fucked your life or would you rather say that it set
your life on fire?
It set my life on Hell-fire!!!
Ok Rhoades I can imagine. Let's
introduce the other members of your today's band now.
The members of the band now are Eric Hemmens on bass,
Jimmy Ford, on drums. The CD was recorded with a different
band, that band was x-members of Cry Of Love and Whiskeytown.
The guys who recorded the CD with me didn't want to
tour and do the do, so I took my songs and they took
theirs. The band was origanilly called Festus. Now the
band is fuckin' Rawk!!! We sound more like a punked
out Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Very garage rock and
country... lots of insanity on stage!
And which have been the artists
of the past that influenced the most your way to play
and to sing?
Link Wray, Stooges, T-Rex, Alice Cooper, Steve Earle,
Gram Parsons, The Cramps, Johnny Cash, Black Sabbath...
the list goes on, I'm a rock'n'roll slut! And the first
two Iron Maiden Cd's are the shit! They were the mad
bomb!
Hey, I'm just coming back from
the Stooges reunion gig in Turin, the only one in Italy,
and I'm wondering what you think about all these reunions
of the past artists...
Umm, my mother told me "If you don't have something
nice to say about something... don't speak", I'll
keep quiet. The Dictators reunion was kewl, but the
Stooges and the MC5 thing and countless others, blah.
Oh and don't get me started about the bogus Kiss reunion...
What's the songwriting process
that you use the most to compose your songs? I think
you're the main songwriter...
Yes, but now with the new lineup, I'm writing more music
and Eric is writing lyrics... cuz he's "the Shit"...(laughs)!
I have another CD almost fully recorded and it will
be quite different from this one. It also has John Stirrat
from Wilco on bass, but the rest of the recordings will
be Eric on bass and some newer songs. The new stuff
sounds like a country version of the New York Dolls.
And don't ask about the Dolls reunion (laughs).
But why can't I ask you about
that?
Remember what my mother told me... (laughs)!
We are two crazy men, do you
agree?
Do you guys drink absinthe in Italy?
I don't drink, i'm always sober,
i hate alcohol...
But absinthe is more than alcohol. But my hat is off
to you my friend. I wish I had never had the taste of
fuckin' booze. It has been the cause and solution to
all my problems! (laughs) Yes we are crazy!I had some
good absinthe in Barcelona last year...good times, I
think!
My girlfriend really likes absinthe!
Your girlfriend and I will get loaded but I promise
not to hit on her! (laughs). My girlfriend doesn't like
absinthe... go figure!
I understand, but let's just
try to be serious...
I think you and I are blessed men. The lady in my life
has goten me off drugs, saved me from suicide, and helped
me get this CD goin'. I'm sure your lady has done something
monumental for your life as well. For the first time
in my life, my girlfriend is the focus...everything
else just falls into place. Know what I mean?
Yes, I love my girl, and she
loves me, she helps me with the 'zine, we share the
same dreams, and actually we're trying to realise them?
Seems to me, you're reachin' 'em. Would you be interested
in my novel?
Of course, tell us about it...
It's called "Truckerspeed", like I mentioned
earlier, it's about a twisted, junkie who goes on a
very violent killing spree. It has a lot of Southern
dialogues, so if you need help with some understanding...
don't hesitate to contact me.
What do you usually do before
going on stage? Do you have any particular usage or
kind of spell against bad luck?
I usually sacrifice a vestal virgin, then I fuck her
dead corpse and smoke some weed, spit on the sound guy,
and demand whiskey shots for the boys. (laughs). Seriously,
I have a few drinks, pray to Satan, pray to God, kiss
my girl... and go rawk!
Can you spend few words telling
us about your local scene, in Louisiana?
The scene here is kewl, lots of great bands, but not
enough venues to support them. And people here are kinda
apathetic, so you gotta bust your balls for attention.
I love Supagroup, Rock City Morgue, Hazard County Girls,
Detonations, Susan Cowsill, Bipolariod, and The Real
Pretenders, Quintron, and Baby Rosebud... everyone else,
suxs!! Cowboy Mouth and Better Than Ezra...suck!! Lots
of white boy funk bullshit too... blah! Ah shit, my
mother told me...
What kind of instrumentation
do you prefer to use in studio and on stage? Is there
some brand in particular you love the most?
I play Gibson SG's , Ibanez Flying V's and Hamer Explorers,
I perfer Fender amps...old ones and Marsahll slant cabinets.
The older the gear the better chance you have with sex
in the rear!!
Which are the most singular,
craziest things happened during your way to rock? Can
you tell us about these mad experiences or can you tell
us some anectode?
I was once pulled up on stage in L.A. to sing a Sex
Pistols song with Steve Jones, Iggy grabbed me once
to duet to "I Wanna Be Your Dog"... I played
my favourite Dream Syndicate song with Steve Wynn once...
that made my life! I met you on the fuckin' internet...
the madness never stops!
So do ya know Iggy in person?
I knew Iggy's son Eric, in L.A. He was a fan of my band
then. I actually turned Iggy on to Run DMC, I turned
Iggy on to the "Raising Hell" Cd, and drank
beer with him one night at English Acid.
Ok we've already finished. Thank
you so much for this interview, but I suppose you've
still something more to say something to The Rock Explosion
readers.
Yes I would... Fuck George Bush! And don't blame America
for the war! And stay true to Rock! Thanks Bruno, you
are a friend, much love in my heart my brother! The
language and the distance barrier will never let rock'n'roll
die! Long live Rawk! Long live the decadence!
Intervista realizzata da Bruno
Rossi
Traduzione e supervisione di Margherita
Realmonte
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