Post by classic rock revival on Apr 24, 2011 13:52:46 GMT -6
This is an interview I did with Ken Hensley in 2004.
Jim: You have a new CD coming out soon, "The Last Dance", can you tell us a little about it? Also, the title suggests it may be your last solo release, is it?
Ken: "The Last Dance" will be released world-wide between January and March this year and that makes me very happy! I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and my partnership with Dani Saiz (engineer and co-producer) was extremely challenging and satisfying. He encouraged me to try a lot of different things on this CD like not playing ALL of the slide guitar and using different voices in the backing vocals. Positioning acoustic guitar arpeggios in heavy songs effectively was his idea and I didn´t think it would work... but it does! Like all of my solo work it contains songs of very different moods and messages and it has inspired me to already look forward to the next one which will be entitled "One Word". I am really pleased that major record companies feel strongly enough about the CD to sign it and at the end of the day it should have a decent shot at reaching its target markets. It will not be my last CD as far as I know but ultimately that´s out of my hands!!
Jim: What new songs will you be featuring in your live shows?
Ken: We are featuring "Give me a Reason" and "The Last Dance" in the current show but we may add "I know who you are" and "Who Knows" beginning in April. It depends on how they work when we rehearse them really. Besides that we are doing songs from the last two CDs (Running Blind and A Glimpse of Glory) as well.
Jim: Who are the members of your current band?
Ken: Tommi Lopez (drums) and Fabian Santangelo (guitar) are the only permanent members. John Smithson (ex-Jason Bonham) and Pepe Bournay alternate on bass depending on their availability. John and Tommi were the rhythm section for "The Last Dance".
Jim: Will you be doing any live dates in the U.S. this year?
Ken: I would love to but I doubt it. It would take something extremely freaky to create the demand and, without that, it would be impossible I think!
Jim: You use to live in the U.S. in (St.Louis), and worked for the St.Louis Music Company. Can you tell us about that?
Ken: I quit Blackfoot after David Byron died and really had no appetite for touring at that time so I did some writing and production work. When the offer came along from St. Louis Music I was attracted to the idea of some stability in my life whilst still remaining in close contact with the business that had become my life. To begin with I set up their artist endorsement program and in the end I was running their export department so I learned a lot. Their flagship product is Ampeg but they also had some cool acoustic guitars.
Jim: Did you ever get a chance to meet Chuck Berry when you were in St.Louis?
Ken: No... I did go to the filming that he did with Keith Richards but I wasn´t actually involved. I really can´t imagine what I would have said to him if I did meet him to be honest!
Jim: I became a Uriah Heep fan when the "Look At Yourself", album was released. That album along with, "Demons & Wizards", Magician's Birthday", and "Live", are classic Uriah Heep and remain my favorites. Do you have any favorites?
Ken: "Demons & Wizards" has always been my one favourite because, for me at least, it was the high point for the band musically. But I still like to listen to the Live album from ´73 (great energy and a great story) and "High & Mighty" has some of my favourite songs on it too!
Jim: Who do you think was the better vocalist in the band, David Byron or Peter Goalby?
Ken: David was the ONLY vocalist for me! I admired David´s talent and showmanship. I wrote for David and, even though I was the main force behind having him removed, I missed him terribly. After he was gone I still wrote for him which was probably a little unfair on the guys who followed him! I think Pete Goalby is (or at least was) an excellent singer and would have been a far better choice than John Sloman but I think that Bernie Shaw does the best job with the old songs actually.
Jim: When you were in the band was anyone considered the leader as far as deciding the musicial direction or was it a band effort?
Ken: That's a tough question and I don´t know if I have a direct answer. Obviously I wrote most of the songs and David was the front man but, if anything, I think we tried to avoid the "leader" thing. There was a lot of jealousy and politics that only really surfaced after we started making serious money and at times I think we (Gerry Bron and I) went too far in trying to appease people in the band.
Jim: A lot of bands in the late 60's and early 70's lost a large portion (if not all) of their royalties to unscrupulous management and/or record companies. Did that happen with Uriah Heep?
Ken: You tempt me!! I am quite sure that stuff fell through cracks somewhere and there are on-going legal things in the air even now so I had better not say too much. From my point of view there were never any large-scale discrepancies. I am not too fond of money to be honest or should I say not too fond of some of the effects of it so it´s not real high on any of my agendas (or should that be agendae?)
Jim: You left Uriah Heep after the "Fallen Angel" album. What made you decide to leave the band at that point?
Ken: It was June 1980 and we had just finished a European tour. I remember waking up in my room after the Portuguese finale and saying to myself that this was finally it! I had tried to quit a couple of times before but Gerry always talked me out of it so this time I called a meeting and just did it! The reasons? Well, I was never in agreement with John Sloman joining the band but I was out-voted. I believed his was totally the wrong voice for Uriah Heep and a rift developed within the band that left me out in the cold really. The band occasionally sounded like Heep but it never felt like it (it had pretty much been that way since Gary left) and I simply wasn´t enjoying it. Being in a rock band is not something you can do if you´re not enjoying it! I had other things I wanted to do and so I just decided it was time. Soon after that they fired John Sloman and hired Pete Goalby whom I had preferred in the first place so you can read anything you want into their real motivations. To be absolutely honest I was not at my personal best during this period and my cocaine addiction was also an obstacle and something I clearly needed to deal with.
Jim: In 1982 you joined the southern-hard rockers, Blackfoot, a great band and you made them sound even better. How did you come to join Blackfoot?
Ken: I received an anonymous call from someone saying that, if I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, they would give me a B3! After sifting through the cryptic crap they invited me to play on their new album, saying that their goal(s) was to "bring their music into the ´80s and shed their Southern Rock image somewhat". After finishing the album we went on tour with The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet so I guess they didn´t want to shed that image too much!! I didn´t really enjoy that time very much although I did think that Ricky was one of the most talented people I had ever met! Just badly managed.
Jim: Why did Blackfoot break up in 1984?
Ken: I don't really know. I left earlier than that but it did seem rather doomed after their manager´s sister left the record company!
Jim: Looking back on your career with Uriah Heep, Blackfoot, and as a solo artist, which has been the most satisfying period of your career musically for you?
Ken: Actually there have been many and this present period is certainly one of them. I am enjoying living in Spain, the peace and tranquility of my surroundings and the artistic freedom that can only come from being as "detached" as I choose. I have a new and excellent publisher and we have talked about some exciting things like writing for movies and TV and I am working on my first book too so the longer-term future looks interesting. At this point of my life and career, to have so much to look forward to is a happy place to be!
Jim: Ken, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Ken: It's been a pleasure and yes I always have something to say to the fans. They have been the driving force behind my successful career, behind the enormous success of Uriah Heep and without them none of us (and by that I mean artists, writers, bands, record companies etc...) would have any of what we have. They don´t get enough credit and I would like to say that they have been such an inspiration to me throughout my career. I have a new life now and they know about that. My faith is my compass and music is the ocean on which I sail. And they, the fans, will always be a part of what I do. God bless and keep all of you.
© classic rock revival. all rights reserved.
Jim: You have a new CD coming out soon, "The Last Dance", can you tell us a little about it? Also, the title suggests it may be your last solo release, is it?
Ken: "The Last Dance" will be released world-wide between January and March this year and that makes me very happy! I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and my partnership with Dani Saiz (engineer and co-producer) was extremely challenging and satisfying. He encouraged me to try a lot of different things on this CD like not playing ALL of the slide guitar and using different voices in the backing vocals. Positioning acoustic guitar arpeggios in heavy songs effectively was his idea and I didn´t think it would work... but it does! Like all of my solo work it contains songs of very different moods and messages and it has inspired me to already look forward to the next one which will be entitled "One Word". I am really pleased that major record companies feel strongly enough about the CD to sign it and at the end of the day it should have a decent shot at reaching its target markets. It will not be my last CD as far as I know but ultimately that´s out of my hands!!
Jim: What new songs will you be featuring in your live shows?
Ken: We are featuring "Give me a Reason" and "The Last Dance" in the current show but we may add "I know who you are" and "Who Knows" beginning in April. It depends on how they work when we rehearse them really. Besides that we are doing songs from the last two CDs (Running Blind and A Glimpse of Glory) as well.
Jim: Who are the members of your current band?
Ken: Tommi Lopez (drums) and Fabian Santangelo (guitar) are the only permanent members. John Smithson (ex-Jason Bonham) and Pepe Bournay alternate on bass depending on their availability. John and Tommi were the rhythm section for "The Last Dance".
Jim: Will you be doing any live dates in the U.S. this year?
Ken: I would love to but I doubt it. It would take something extremely freaky to create the demand and, without that, it would be impossible I think!
Jim: You use to live in the U.S. in (St.Louis), and worked for the St.Louis Music Company. Can you tell us about that?
Ken: I quit Blackfoot after David Byron died and really had no appetite for touring at that time so I did some writing and production work. When the offer came along from St. Louis Music I was attracted to the idea of some stability in my life whilst still remaining in close contact with the business that had become my life. To begin with I set up their artist endorsement program and in the end I was running their export department so I learned a lot. Their flagship product is Ampeg but they also had some cool acoustic guitars.
Jim: Did you ever get a chance to meet Chuck Berry when you were in St.Louis?
Ken: No... I did go to the filming that he did with Keith Richards but I wasn´t actually involved. I really can´t imagine what I would have said to him if I did meet him to be honest!
Jim: I became a Uriah Heep fan when the "Look At Yourself", album was released. That album along with, "Demons & Wizards", Magician's Birthday", and "Live", are classic Uriah Heep and remain my favorites. Do you have any favorites?
Ken: "Demons & Wizards" has always been my one favourite because, for me at least, it was the high point for the band musically. But I still like to listen to the Live album from ´73 (great energy and a great story) and "High & Mighty" has some of my favourite songs on it too!
Jim: Who do you think was the better vocalist in the band, David Byron or Peter Goalby?
Ken: David was the ONLY vocalist for me! I admired David´s talent and showmanship. I wrote for David and, even though I was the main force behind having him removed, I missed him terribly. After he was gone I still wrote for him which was probably a little unfair on the guys who followed him! I think Pete Goalby is (or at least was) an excellent singer and would have been a far better choice than John Sloman but I think that Bernie Shaw does the best job with the old songs actually.
Jim: When you were in the band was anyone considered the leader as far as deciding the musicial direction or was it a band effort?
Ken: That's a tough question and I don´t know if I have a direct answer. Obviously I wrote most of the songs and David was the front man but, if anything, I think we tried to avoid the "leader" thing. There was a lot of jealousy and politics that only really surfaced after we started making serious money and at times I think we (Gerry Bron and I) went too far in trying to appease people in the band.
Jim: A lot of bands in the late 60's and early 70's lost a large portion (if not all) of their royalties to unscrupulous management and/or record companies. Did that happen with Uriah Heep?
Ken: You tempt me!! I am quite sure that stuff fell through cracks somewhere and there are on-going legal things in the air even now so I had better not say too much. From my point of view there were never any large-scale discrepancies. I am not too fond of money to be honest or should I say not too fond of some of the effects of it so it´s not real high on any of my agendas (or should that be agendae?)
Jim: You left Uriah Heep after the "Fallen Angel" album. What made you decide to leave the band at that point?
Ken: It was June 1980 and we had just finished a European tour. I remember waking up in my room after the Portuguese finale and saying to myself that this was finally it! I had tried to quit a couple of times before but Gerry always talked me out of it so this time I called a meeting and just did it! The reasons? Well, I was never in agreement with John Sloman joining the band but I was out-voted. I believed his was totally the wrong voice for Uriah Heep and a rift developed within the band that left me out in the cold really. The band occasionally sounded like Heep but it never felt like it (it had pretty much been that way since Gary left) and I simply wasn´t enjoying it. Being in a rock band is not something you can do if you´re not enjoying it! I had other things I wanted to do and so I just decided it was time. Soon after that they fired John Sloman and hired Pete Goalby whom I had preferred in the first place so you can read anything you want into their real motivations. To be absolutely honest I was not at my personal best during this period and my cocaine addiction was also an obstacle and something I clearly needed to deal with.
Jim: In 1982 you joined the southern-hard rockers, Blackfoot, a great band and you made them sound even better. How did you come to join Blackfoot?
Ken: I received an anonymous call from someone saying that, if I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, they would give me a B3! After sifting through the cryptic crap they invited me to play on their new album, saying that their goal(s) was to "bring their music into the ´80s and shed their Southern Rock image somewhat". After finishing the album we went on tour with The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet so I guess they didn´t want to shed that image too much!! I didn´t really enjoy that time very much although I did think that Ricky was one of the most talented people I had ever met! Just badly managed.
Jim: Why did Blackfoot break up in 1984?
Ken: I don't really know. I left earlier than that but it did seem rather doomed after their manager´s sister left the record company!
Jim: Looking back on your career with Uriah Heep, Blackfoot, and as a solo artist, which has been the most satisfying period of your career musically for you?
Ken: Actually there have been many and this present period is certainly one of them. I am enjoying living in Spain, the peace and tranquility of my surroundings and the artistic freedom that can only come from being as "detached" as I choose. I have a new and excellent publisher and we have talked about some exciting things like writing for movies and TV and I am working on my first book too so the longer-term future looks interesting. At this point of my life and career, to have so much to look forward to is a happy place to be!
Jim: Ken, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Ken: It's been a pleasure and yes I always have something to say to the fans. They have been the driving force behind my successful career, behind the enormous success of Uriah Heep and without them none of us (and by that I mean artists, writers, bands, record companies etc...) would have any of what we have. They don´t get enough credit and I would like to say that they have been such an inspiration to me throughout my career. I have a new life now and they know about that. My faith is my compass and music is the ocean on which I sail. And they, the fans, will always be a part of what I do. God bless and keep all of you.
© classic rock revival. all rights reserved.