Talbot-What's up with the "nice guy" rep? Where do you think it all started from? Have people declared you nice for years?
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP. I JUST TRY NOT TO BE A TOTAL DIRTBAG AND EVERYONE SAYS I'M THE NICEST GUY ALL THE DAMN TIME. I HAVE GOTTEN THAT REP FOR YEARS, LIKE BACK TO GRADE SCHOOL.
What's the last UN nice thing you've done?
I FLIPPED A FRAT BOY OFF THAT WAS DRIVING LIKE A MANIAC, OH AND I ATE ALL OF MY WIFE'S POTATO CHIPS WHILE SHE LEFT THE ROOM FOR A SECOND.
What's your take on the Ramones doc "End Of The Century"? Johnny Ramone-Un-nice? Did it altered your opinion on the band in anyway?
YEAH, GREAT MOVIE! JOHNNY RAMONE WAS BEYOND BEING A DICK AND WAS JUST WEIRD. YOU GO TO YOUR ROCK N' ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND YOU DON'T MENTION YOUR LEAD SINGER WHO JUST DIED, BUT YOU THANK GEORGE W. BUSH? I KINDA FELT SORRY FOR HIM AT THAT POINT. IT WENT BEYOND ASSHOLE. DID HE HATE JOEY THAT MUCH EVEN THOUGH HE STOLE JOEY'S TRUE LOVE SUPPOSEDLY, AND WOULDN'T EVEN VISIT JOEY ON HIS DEATH BEAD FROM WHAT I HEARD. WAS HE TRYING TO BE PUNK? WHO KNOWS? BUT, JOHNNY WAS A BADASS. NOBODY COULD SNEER LIKE HIM WHILE DOWN STROKIN' A MOSRITE IN THAT TOUGH FUCKIN' STANCE HE COPPED. HE WAS AWESOME. EASILY, THE RAMONES ARE THE ONE BAND THAT THE BLACK AND WHITES ALL AGREE ON AS BEING UTTERLY AMAZING.
I've tried to play a song in strictly downstrokes. It's not the easiest thing to do.
IT'S HARD AS HELL TO DO FOR 2 MINUTES STRAIGHT, ESPECIALLY OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BUT OUR GUITAR PLAYER JOHNNY VALIANT HAS NO PROBLEM WITH IT. HE IS EVEN BETTER ON THE GUITAR
THAN OUR DRUMMER PUNK ROCK PAT, WHO IS NORMALLY THE BEST GUITAR PLAYER IN
ANY BAND HE IS IN, EVEN IF HE CHOOSES TO PLAY DRUMS.
What was the first record you ever bought with your own money?
LED ZEPPELIN II
How old were you? How did you earn the money to buy it ?
I WAS 12. I THINK I HAD SOME MONEY LEFT OVER FROM BEING A "GO-FOR"
AT MY DAD'S OFFICE. I WENT TO SOUND WAREHOUSE ON
JEFFERSON AVE. IN NOLA AND BOUGHT THAT CASSETTE.
Did the orgasm part in "Whole Lotta Love" freak you out?
EVEN AS A KID, I THOUGHT THE ORGASM PART WAS SO CORNY
AND WOULD FAST FORWARD THROUGH IT TO HEAR JIMMY PAGE'S
GUITAR SOLO.
Okay, so what was the first "punk rock" record you bought?
I BOUGHT THE RAMONES FIRST ALBUM ON CASSETTE WHEN I
WAS 16 AT TOWER RECORDS IN PICADILLY CIRCUS, LONDON.
THE FUNNY THING IS THAT I THOUGHT I SHOULD BUY A
RECORD BY A BRITISH BAND WHILE I WAS IN ENGLAND,
SO I BOUGHT A RAMONES ALBUM!
Which one?
It was the first album, the self-titled.
Which of the first 4 is your favorite?
"Leave Home" is Johnny Valiant's favorite of the
first 4. Pat seems to like "Rocket to Russia" the
most, where I love "Road to Ruin" the best.
"End Of The Century" (the album)-I've read and head
a lot of bagging on that rec through the years but it's
one of my favorites by 'em. What's yr take on it?
I don't like "End of The Century" much, but Johnny Valiant loves it, but he likes all the later albums like "Pleasant Dreams" and "Too Tough To Die."
Do you have much use for the later albums-especially, say...umm..."Brain Drain" for example.
I never could get much into those records and I never even heard "Brain Drain."
I know you've been in some bands in the past but is this the first one you've been the frontman/leader of? How does it feel to be the king?
IT WAS NICE FOR AWHILE WHEN IT WAS JUST MY LITTLE RECORDING THING BECAUSE I COULD MAKE QUICK DECISIONS AND TURN STUFF OUT PRETTY FAST. IT IS A REAL BAND NOW AND IS PRETTY MUCH A DEMOCRACY. IT IS STILL THE MOST EFFICIENT BAND I HAVE EVER BEEN IN, AS FAR AS GETTING THINGS DONE THOUGH.
Are you benevolent dictator?
SEE NICE GUY REFERENCE ABOVE
So far you've metnioned buying a Led Zep TAPE and a Ramones TAPE. The B&W's put out a cass-single? Was this a nod to simpler times?
OUR FRIENDS WES AND KC FROM JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI HAVE A LABEL CALLED HISS LAB AND ALL THEY DO IS CASSINGLES. THEIR SLOGAN IS "PUTTING THE ASS BACK IN CASSETTES."
They also came in hand sewn sleeves, right? Who's idea was that and who did all the sewing?
IT WAS THEIR IDEA. MS. KC SEWED ALL THE SLEEVES. AND MR. WES WAS THE MASTERMIND, THE AHMET ERTEGUN OF 21ST CENTURY CASSINGLES IF YOU WILL.
You're originally from NOLA, right?
I am from NOLA. Jon is from Northern Mississippi. Patrick is from St. Louis.
What IS the defining connection of Memphis, Oxford and NOLA rockers...especially those of the Goner cloth?
The Defining Southern Connection goes like so: In the 90's, The Royal Pendletons from NOLA were friends with The Oblivians from Memphis who were also pals with The Neckbones from Oxford. These 3 bands have shared members with ensuing bands in this decade such as The Reigning Sound, The Tearjerkers, The Darkest Hours, The Preacher's Kids, The Cool Jerks, The Dutch Masters, The Jenny Jeans, Knaughty Knights, Haunted Hearts, New Memphis Legs, Bad Times, Black Rose Band, TSOT, Loose Diamonds, KLOMB, 10-4 Backdoor, The French Licks, The Tip Tops, and the list goes on....I am leaving out a lotta bands, but Peg O'Neill from The Gories deserves a nod because she has lived in NOLA for a long time and was part of this Axis of Rock as well.
Is the song "Jackson" written about the town ya live in? Is that song about Jackson, MS? Does it hit the mark? When the day is done which most famous version do you like the best? Johnny and June or Lee and Nancy?
OXFORD, MS., IS WAY UP NORTH CLOSER TO MEMPHIS THAN JACKSON. HOWEVER A FRIEND OF A FRIEND MET JOHNNY CASH AND HE SAID THAT MR. CASH SAID THAT THE SONG IS DEFINITELY ABOUT JACKSON, MS. WE HAVE DEFINITELY HAD SOME GREAT NIGHTS IN JACKSON HANGING AND PARTYING WITH THE OVERNIGHT LOWS, LOS BUDDIES, TUFF LUVS AND NOT TO MENTION THE EUNUCHS! OH, AND I PREFER THE JOHNNY AND JUNE VERSION.
Do girls in Jackson dance on a pony keg on a regular basis?
HELL YEAH. AND YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT JAPAN FAN.
Sorry about the Jackson questions. All I could think of about Oxford off the top of my head about the town was the Neckbones, the Fat Possum stable, that one Bob Dylan song on "Freewheeling" and William Faulkner.
THE NECKBONES ARE EASILY MY FAVORITE BAND OF THE 1990'S. FAT POSSUM IS NOW AN INDIE ROCK LABEL. NO ONE IN OXFORD LIKES "OXFORD TOWN" BY DYLAN, EVEN THOUGH EVERYONE IN OXFORD SEEMS TO LIKE DYLAN.
Is Faulkner madatory reading there? There's a law in Michigan that everyone must have at least one Bob Seger title in their homes-is it something like that?
THE FAULKNER THING IS RIDICULOUS HERE. IT IS SO TIRED AND PLAYED OUT. I LIVE 100 YARDS FROM HIS GRAVE AND EVERY OTHER NIGHT THERE IS A NEW BOTTLE OF JACK ON HIS GRAVE.
Ya ever been in the mood for some Jack and gone over there a swiped one of the bottles?
Unfortunately, the bottles of Jack left on Faulkner's Grave are empty. I think a handful of people go over there at night every now and then, usually tourists, and drink a bottle in his honor, huddled around his grave.
I'm finally getting around to reading 'the Reivers' the past couple of days. I inteded on reading it in high school but did get around to it til now. What's your take on Southern lit in general?
I knew a girl who walked around a party screaming "Who wants to Fuck me on Faulkner's Grave!" She had no takers. I can't get into Faulkner. I have tried to read several of his books and just haven't found the right one. Southern Lit is essential though. Capote is great: "Other Voices, Other Rooms" is an excellent book. I love Willie Morris' books, especially "North Toward Home." Curtis Wilke is a great journalist. Larry Brown was a fantastic novelist, his best book "Father and Son" is a motherfucker. Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer" is an amazing novel. I could go on. The South has produced Great Writers in general.
On to more important things...RIBS! Where would you point out of towners to if they were looking for the best ribs in Oxford.
COZY CORNER IN MEMPHIS!
Did you ever turn to your dad for advice for dealing with girls? What kind of advice Did any of it really work?
NO ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED ABOUT GIRLS EVER WORKED...WELL MAYBE SOME...BUT VERY LITTLE. I HAD TO LEARN MYSELF ABOUT HOW TO TRY TO GET ALONG AND UNDERSTAND WOMEN.
-So what type of lessons in "girl problems" do you think a person will take in after listening to one of your songs?
MAYBE THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU. MAYBE THE PERSON THAT SHATTERED YOU HAS A FUCKED UP HEART.
