Post by classic rock revival on Apr 24, 2011 12:28:39 GMT -6
Jim: Jimmy, when I contacted you about doing this interview you said you were going to Liverpool, England for a recording session. Was it a Muffin Men session?
Jimmy: No, It was with a band from Liverpool called Ella Guru. They are some very talented young musicians that I met the last time the Muffins played at the Cavern last year and they ask me if I would sing two songs on their new CD. They are NOT a Beefheart type band as their name suggests. The music on one of the songs was a sort of ballad, which is not really my style, but I pulled it off fine as far as they are concerned. The other song is a song called My Favorite Punk Tune and is more what I can do and it did come out great. Both songs did.
Jim: Do you still tour with the Grandmothers? If so, who else is in the band?
Jimmy: I do not play with the Grandmothers anymore and haven´t since the year 2000. I sat in with them at the Zappanalle in 2002 and sang two songs. Since they all live in California and I live in Germany it is impossible to play with them. Besides, I prefer playing with The Muffin Men. I also do a few shows a year with a Zappa cover band from Hungry called The Cosmic Debris Band. That´s enough Zappa music for me to do since I do have other musical tastes that I like doing.
Jim: Is it true that Frank Zappa once asked Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees to join M.O.I.?
Jimmy: I never heard that, as Mickey was really an actor and not a musician. To play with Zappa you had to be a pretty good musician or you didn´t play in his band.
Jim: Was the interchange between you and Frank on the "Uncle Meat" album (about the amount of money you were making at the time) spontaneous or canned?
Jimmy: It was definitely spontaneous and I didn´t even know it was being recorded. It was a band meeting at the studio where we were recording at the time. I had no idea it would ever be on the record as I didn´t know "Hi, boys and girls, My name is Jimmy Carl Black and I´m the Indian of the group" was going to be on "We´re Only In It For The Money".
Jim: Have you been in contact with Howard Kayland or Mark Volman (a.k.a. Flo & Eddie) recently? Also, do you have any stories with them that you can tell us?
Jimmy: I haven´t seen them since about 1980. They weren´t very close friends of mine and I really didn´t hang out with them. I was never really impressed with that era of Zappa music.
Jim: What was it like performing live with M.O.I. in their heyday?
Jimmy: It was absolutely amazing.
Jim: I understand that you and the other original Mothers don't receive any royalties from CD sales of the albums you played on. How can that be?
Jimmy: No we don´t. I can´t really discuss why we don´t get them. We will have to leave it at that, ok!
Jim: Your love of reefer is well known among the fans. Did Frank ever give you or any other band member a hard time about getting high?
Jimmy: He tried to in the beginning but it didn´t really work. I still did it as often as I could and still do.
Jim: For the next few questions I'd like to get your opinion of the following drummers. We'll start with Buddy Rich?
Jimmy: Buddy Rich was a great drummer. I understand he was very hard to work for from a musician standpoint. I never was a giant jazz fan so I didn´t listen to him that often.
Jim: Ginger Baker?
Jimmy: Ginger is great still. I loved him when he played with Cream and Blind Faith. The Mothers played a few shows in the 1960´s with the Cream and I got to know him a little.
Jim: Keith Moon?
Jimmy: Keith Moon was one of the best friends I ever had. He was a total wild man. I got to know him very well when we did the movie, 200 Motels in 1971. I had met him in the 1960´s when the Who and Mothers played some festivals together but I didn´t know him that well until we made the movie.
Jim: John Bonham?
Jimmy: I really didn´t know John Bonham but I respected his drumming in Led Zeppelin. I think he was one of the best from that era.
Jim: Jerry Edmonton ?
Jimmy: I didn´t know Jerry Edmonton at all. I did like Steppenwolf though.
Jim: Speaking of Steppenwolf, Goldy McJohn recorded a song "Set The World On Fire", at the Mothers studio in Laurel Canyon. Were you there or do you remember that session?
Jimmy: I wasn´t there and don´t know anything about that. The Mothers never really had a studio. Frank had one in the 1980´s in his home. I did record in that studio when we did the album "You Are What You Is". That is the last recording I did with Zappa.
Jim: Who's your favorite drummer in the world?
Jimmy: That would be Ringo Starr. I think he is one of the most underrated drummers that really changed the world of music. I am very good friends with him from when we made the movie,200 Motels. I´m also a huge Beatle fan.
Jim: You have your own record label now, Inkanish Records. How did that come about, and have you released any new CD's ?
Jimmy: Yes, I have a very small record company called Inkanish Records. It came about because I can´t get a record deal in these times. I wanted to archive all the music that I have done over the last 46 years I have been in this business. I have released three CD´s officially and the latest on is called "Hamburger Midnight". It features Roy Estrada on bass and vocals, Mick Pini on guitar and vocals, and me on drums and vocals. It´s a nice CD that was recorded in 2002 at a studio in Germany when Roy was visiting me after the Zappanalle festival. I will be releasing in a couple of months a CD of a rock band from here in Germany that I sing with sometimes called Boogie Stuff.
Jim: Any plans to go out on the road this year with the Muffin Men?
Jimmy: Yes, I will go out with The Muffin Men in April and May for a tour of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. We are also doing a three day festival in the U.S. during this tour. We will take off four days in the middle of the English part of the tour and go to Philly, PA. And then back and off to Ireland for two weeks. It is quite an extensive tour. We will go again in November and December to Holland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Jim: Jimmy, thanks so much for doing this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Jimmy: All I can think of is: Thank You All For Being Fans.
© classic rock revival. all rights reserved.