Chuck Mosley is still best known as the original singer of Faith No More between 1985-88, during which time they released their first two albums. But he’s also been involved in plenty of great music both before and after then, which more than warrants the continued interest in his projects. His first band was The Animated, alongside Bill Gould, who released their own EP as far back as 1979. He later formed the wonderfully named Haircuts That Kill which continued until Chuck was co-opted into Faith No More, after their brief try-out with a certain Courtney Love. Their first album ‘We Care A Lot’, released on the independent Mordam label, generated enough interest to warrant them signing to Slash/London records, who went on to release ‘Introduce Yourself’. This brought them to much wider attention, particularly in the UK, but while their reputation seemed to be steadily building, internal problems were also escalating. At the end of touring to promote the album, Chuck was expelled from the band. It took him a while to get back on his feet, but in 1990 he joined Bad Brains as a replacement for the wayward HR. Although this line-up played a lot of shows together, unfortunately they didn’t release any albums and, inevitably, the line-up ceased playing when HR returned to the fold once more. This time, Chuck was quick to put his new project together, a great LA-based band called Cement who toured heavily and gradually built-up their own following with an original and very catchy mix of styles. Their second album, ‘The Man With The Action Hair’ looked set to establish them with a much wider audience when disaster struck. Whilst on tour in America, their van was involved in a serious accident which left Chuck with serious spinal injuries. Although after major surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation, he was able to make a full recovery, the enforced inactivity resulted in the demise of Cement.
Chuck eventually relocated to Cleveland, where he formed his next band VUA (Vanduls Ugainst Alliteracy.) As things started to come together for them, they were offered a deal with the Reversed Image label. This resulted in the release of the excellent ‘Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food’ album, featuring guest appearances from members of Korn, the Marilyn Manson band, and his former Faith No More bandmate, Roddy Bottum. In many ways, it was just the album that fans had been waiting for. The mix of styles was just as eclectic as ever but it also referenced the best moments of his previous bands (even including an updated version of ‘We Care A Lot’) and contained some of the best vocal performances he has ever recorded. Things look set for success, with the record receiving positive reviews and enthusiastic airplay, until fate struck again and the record label went bust, leaving them without any product to promote or sell. In an attempt to fill the gap, the band self-released their own album, ‘ Demos For Sale’, consisting of earlier but no less enjoyable versions of the tracks that eventually made up the ‘Will Rap’ album.
In between times, Chuck had also made several guest appearances with Faith No More, following their 2009 reunion. This recently culminated with the band playing two full sets with Chuck in Los Angeles and San Francisco, to celebrate the re-mastered and expanded reissue of the first Faith No More album, ‘We Care A Lot’.
Meanwhile, Mr Mosley has taken to touring acoustically with percussionist Doug Esper, as part of a ‘Reintroduce Yourself’ campaign. Having already played across America, the duo headed to the UK for several weeks’ worth of dates, the first time Chuck had played here in twenty years. The London date was booked for a Monday night at the Boston Arms, so I went along early and caught up with Chuck. While the support bands were soundchecking, we went ahead with an interview down in the depths of the recently-refurbished dressing room.
In between times, Chuck had also made several guest appearances with Faith No More, following their 2009 reunion. This recently culminated with the band playing two full sets with Chuck in Los Angeles and San Francisco, to celebrate the re-mastered and expanded reissue of the first Faith No More album, ‘We Care A Lot’.
Meanwhile, Mr Mosley has taken to touring acoustically with percussionist Doug Esper, as part of a ‘Reintroduce Yourself’ campaign. Having already played across America, the duo headed to the UK for several weeks’ worth of dates, the first time Chuck had played here in twenty years. The London date was booked for a Monday night at the Boston Arms, so I went along early and caught up with Chuck. While the support bands were soundchecking, we went ahead with an interview down in the depths of the recently-refurbished dressing room.
Although I’ve interviewed Chuck a few times over the years, we’ve always tended to talk about the band and music he was involved with at that time, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to do a more retrospective piece about his whole career. Starting right at the very beginning, I wanted to ask about how he first began to get interested in music ?
‘It started really early. My parents were always playing music and my sisters were teenagers, so I can remember hearing the first Beatles album when I was about three years old. Then came the Rolling Stones and things like the Jackson 5, but it wasn’t until I heard Jimi Hendrix that my tastes started going sideways. That was also about the same time that I started smoking weed which may have helped things along… But I’d probably have to say that it was hearing David Bowie that made me want to play guitar. I’d already been having piano lessons for quite a time, but when I heard ‘Hang On To Yourself’ I totally resolved to learn guitar. It just made me start thinking about music in a different way, like it was something I could be a part of. I’d always wanted to play music, but when I heard David Bowie it was something that I could really identify with, straight away.’
Bowie was always a really big influence on the LA music scene, especially through places like Rodney Bingenheimers English Disco…
‘Oh yeah, we’d go there all the time when I was about 15. But I’d already been to see David Bowie when I was about 13 or 14, and I also saw Iggy Pop around the same time. Then I saw The Tubes, and the Rocky Horror Show when it was at the Roxy, and this was all stuff that made me think, Woah ! But my parents banned me from going to concerts because I kept getting into trouble, so I had to pretend I was going to see some friends out in the Valley although really I’d be going to see The Runaways. There was just so much good stuff going on at that time. I had this whole secret life I was trying to keep from my parents and they had no idea what was going on. I used to smoke a lot of weed before we went to see shows, but when I started going to see punk bands, you didn’t really need to get high because of all the energy and stuff that was going on. I saw bands like Devo… I saw them twice, early on at the Starwood. They were really great and, just like The Tubes, they were throwing out all kinds of stuff. It was really crazy, you didn’t know if they were from another planet or something ! But all the de-evolution stuff they were talking about, they were right ! It’s so big, now, I don’t even like thinking about it, especially when you look at politics and stuff. The stuff they were saying between the songs was so poignant. It totally made sense, just the same way that it did when I heard their first records. And when you saw their videos, you could see that they got it, even if nobody else did.’
‘It started really early. My parents were always playing music and my sisters were teenagers, so I can remember hearing the first Beatles album when I was about three years old. Then came the Rolling Stones and things like the Jackson 5, but it wasn’t until I heard Jimi Hendrix that my tastes started going sideways. That was also about the same time that I started smoking weed which may have helped things along… But I’d probably have to say that it was hearing David Bowie that made me want to play guitar. I’d already been having piano lessons for quite a time, but when I heard ‘Hang On To Yourself’ I totally resolved to learn guitar. It just made me start thinking about music in a different way, like it was something I could be a part of. I’d always wanted to play music, but when I heard David Bowie it was something that I could really identify with, straight away.’
Bowie was always a really big influence on the LA music scene, especially through places like Rodney Bingenheimers English Disco…
‘Oh yeah, we’d go there all the time when I was about 15. But I’d already been to see David Bowie when I was about 13 or 14, and I also saw Iggy Pop around the same time. Then I saw The Tubes, and the Rocky Horror Show when it was at the Roxy, and this was all stuff that made me think, Woah ! But my parents banned me from going to concerts because I kept getting into trouble, so I had to pretend I was going to see some friends out in the Valley although really I’d be going to see The Runaways. There was just so much good stuff going on at that time. I had this whole secret life I was trying to keep from my parents and they had no idea what was going on. I used to smoke a lot of weed before we went to see shows, but when I started going to see punk bands, you didn’t really need to get high because of all the energy and stuff that was going on. I saw bands like Devo… I saw them twice, early on at the Starwood. They were really great and, just like The Tubes, they were throwing out all kinds of stuff. It was really crazy, you didn’t know if they were from another planet or something ! But all the de-evolution stuff they were talking about, they were right ! It’s so big, now, I don’t even like thinking about it, especially when you look at politics and stuff. The stuff they were saying between the songs was so poignant. It totally made sense, just the same way that it did when I heard their first records. And when you saw their videos, you could see that they got it, even if nobody else did.’
You first met Billy Gould when you were both going to punk gigs in Hollywood ?
‘Yeah, I met him when I was about 17 or 18, I think. He was the first one of those guys I met, because I didn’t even meet Roddy until Billy had moved up to Berkeley. We both had this friend, Mark Stewart, who I had known since Elementary school. He started to play guitar around the same time that I started playing piano, but I didn’t really see him play until we were in the 12th grade or something. Then one day we were hanging out and he started playing something and I discovered that he had got really good, so I said we should start a band. He asked Billy and two other friends, Paul and Kevin, and that was what became The Animated. As soon as me and Billy met, we pretty-much clicked. He was into all the same bands that I was into, so we started going to shows together. I think he liked going out to shows with me because I didn’t have any limits, so it was like going along to see how drunk I would get or if I was going to get in a fight or what was I going to knock over or what I was going to fuck-up… It was like that most nights, I was pretty-much out of control for various personal reasons. I always went out just to see the bands, that was all I intended to do, but it would often end up in those kind of situations.’
The record you made with The Animated, it’s quite a strange EP. There’s lots of different stuff going on with the songs…
‘It was just this Highschool thing we were doing, so it was all about that. At the time, the only band we were all into were The Dickies. If you ever got to see us when Billy was still there, before that other kid Jeff took over from him, we could get into a real groove. But after Billy left to go to Berkeley, Mark started wanting to expand things and get more conceptual. He wanted the band to get bigger, with Horns and stuff, while the music was also getting slower. We were always playing Pop songs, but in the beginning when we played live it was always super-fast. That’s why a lot of punks liked us, because it was a lot more like The Dickies than it became later on. It was our first band so we were playing with a lot of adrenalin, but after a while we started to play some slower songs and things started to change. It was total-bubblegum Highschool pop songs, but we were all friends and everyone could play well so we got to play at church halls and schools and colleges and then later on we were playing in Clubs. In fact, the Troubador was the first club we ever played at, so that made it kind of weird to be playing back there again last month…
‘Yeah, I met him when I was about 17 or 18, I think. He was the first one of those guys I met, because I didn’t even meet Roddy until Billy had moved up to Berkeley. We both had this friend, Mark Stewart, who I had known since Elementary school. He started to play guitar around the same time that I started playing piano, but I didn’t really see him play until we were in the 12th grade or something. Then one day we were hanging out and he started playing something and I discovered that he had got really good, so I said we should start a band. He asked Billy and two other friends, Paul and Kevin, and that was what became The Animated. As soon as me and Billy met, we pretty-much clicked. He was into all the same bands that I was into, so we started going to shows together. I think he liked going out to shows with me because I didn’t have any limits, so it was like going along to see how drunk I would get or if I was going to get in a fight or what was I going to knock over or what I was going to fuck-up… It was like that most nights, I was pretty-much out of control for various personal reasons. I always went out just to see the bands, that was all I intended to do, but it would often end up in those kind of situations.’
The record you made with The Animated, it’s quite a strange EP. There’s lots of different stuff going on with the songs…
‘It was just this Highschool thing we were doing, so it was all about that. At the time, the only band we were all into were The Dickies. If you ever got to see us when Billy was still there, before that other kid Jeff took over from him, we could get into a real groove. But after Billy left to go to Berkeley, Mark started wanting to expand things and get more conceptual. He wanted the band to get bigger, with Horns and stuff, while the music was also getting slower. We were always playing Pop songs, but in the beginning when we played live it was always super-fast. That’s why a lot of punks liked us, because it was a lot more like The Dickies than it became later on. It was our first band so we were playing with a lot of adrenalin, but after a while we started to play some slower songs and things started to change. It was total-bubblegum Highschool pop songs, but we were all friends and everyone could play well so we got to play at church halls and schools and colleges and then later on we were playing in Clubs. In fact, the Troubador was the first club we ever played at, so that made it kind of weird to be playing back there again last month…
I think it was while you were in The Animated that you first started dressing-up and creating your own style…
Well, the thing was that when I first got involved with The Animated, I was working at a JC Penney store and I had to wear a suit for that. So I started going to Thrift shops and finding my own suits, you know, nice ones. Then I got some cool shoes and got a hat, and that was how I went around for a time. I looked pretty different to everyone else in the band and I liked that. It was just for fun, really, but eventually people started saying that I was becoming a Mod, so I decided that I should try to do something else…’
After The Animated, you played in another band, Haircuts That Kill…
‘Yeah, but we only ever played around LA. It wasn’t bad, some of the songs were good. But it was that kind of young, angry stuff with pretty typical lyrics, you know, all of that ‘think for yourself’ stuff, although we were also kind of making fun of all that sort of thing. We played a few shows soon after we got together but they usually just deteriorated into a fight or something because we were always so fucked up by the time we went onstage. But when we got some different people in the band and wrote some more songs, we actually started getting pretty tight. We had a bit of a following because they thought it was always going to be crazy, funny or stupid, but when we got the new people in the band we started rehearsing a lot more. That’s when we recorded the demos and we started sounding pretty good. People started coming to see us because they liked the songs and we started opening-up for bands like Bad Religion, the Nip Drivers and Social Distortion. But this turned-out to be around the time that Faith No More fired Courtney from the band, so I got a call from them and they wanted me to sing with them for a couple of shows. That somehow turned into a full-time thing.’
Besides Billy, how did you meet the other members of Faith No More ?
‘Well, Billy had moved up to Berkeley and he’d told me about Roddy when they started playing as Faith No Man. But I don’t think I actually met them until they came down to play in LA. I guess I met Mike Bordin right around the same time, although he and Billy were also playing with Joe Pop-O-Pies, so I may have met him first when they were doing that. I was a big fan of that group. They were really cool, so I always went to see them play. They were a fun-band to watch, and it was always cool to watch Billy and Mike playing together. They were doing their thing but it was different to the Faith No More thing, which was more like rock stuff. Joe had some really great songs even though a lot of people thought that they were just about the funny versions of ‘Truckin’. But I wasn’t really bothered with that side of it because I liked all of their own stuff a lot more’
Well, the thing was that when I first got involved with The Animated, I was working at a JC Penney store and I had to wear a suit for that. So I started going to Thrift shops and finding my own suits, you know, nice ones. Then I got some cool shoes and got a hat, and that was how I went around for a time. I looked pretty different to everyone else in the band and I liked that. It was just for fun, really, but eventually people started saying that I was becoming a Mod, so I decided that I should try to do something else…’
After The Animated, you played in another band, Haircuts That Kill…
‘Yeah, but we only ever played around LA. It wasn’t bad, some of the songs were good. But it was that kind of young, angry stuff with pretty typical lyrics, you know, all of that ‘think for yourself’ stuff, although we were also kind of making fun of all that sort of thing. We played a few shows soon after we got together but they usually just deteriorated into a fight or something because we were always so fucked up by the time we went onstage. But when we got some different people in the band and wrote some more songs, we actually started getting pretty tight. We had a bit of a following because they thought it was always going to be crazy, funny or stupid, but when we got the new people in the band we started rehearsing a lot more. That’s when we recorded the demos and we started sounding pretty good. People started coming to see us because they liked the songs and we started opening-up for bands like Bad Religion, the Nip Drivers and Social Distortion. But this turned-out to be around the time that Faith No More fired Courtney from the band, so I got a call from them and they wanted me to sing with them for a couple of shows. That somehow turned into a full-time thing.’
Besides Billy, how did you meet the other members of Faith No More ?
‘Well, Billy had moved up to Berkeley and he’d told me about Roddy when they started playing as Faith No Man. But I don’t think I actually met them until they came down to play in LA. I guess I met Mike Bordin right around the same time, although he and Billy were also playing with Joe Pop-O-Pies, so I may have met him first when they were doing that. I was a big fan of that group. They were really cool, so I always went to see them play. They were a fun-band to watch, and it was always cool to watch Billy and Mike playing together. They were doing their thing but it was different to the Faith No More thing, which was more like rock stuff. Joe had some really great songs even though a lot of people thought that they were just about the funny versions of ‘Truckin’. But I wasn’t really bothered with that side of it because I liked all of their own stuff a lot more’
You’d already sung with them on a couple of occasions, just as a temporary thing, hadn’t you ?
‘Yeah, because they were going through different singers and guitar players every other week. So they’d call me if they had a show in LA, and say, we haven’t got a singer, can you do it ? I’d get up and sing with them when they came down to LA without a singer. Billy always loved irony and I wasn’t a singer back then, so it made sense to him that they should ask me to sing !’
When you became a full-time member of Faith No More, did you ever consider moving up to San Francisco ?
‘Nope. They wanted me to move up there but I was totally stubborn. My job was in LA, my family, my friends and my own band, so I just said that I’d come up when they needed me. It was only 39 minutes on an airplane or I could drive up there but they kept saying they needed me to be there. For a while my girlfriend was living there so I’d go up maybe for a month or two and just hang out, but I didn’t think it mattered because I was always there when they needed me for practice or whatever. Plus, there has always this thing going on between LA and San Francisco. Like, San Francisco had punks but people in LA thought they were like hippies, and LA had punks but people in San Francisco thought they were regressive. It was a totally different mentality in each place. I had grown up with the hippy thing and I’d been on Peace marches with my parents in the Sixties, so I could get that side of it, but I also always hated people that were just whining about stuff. I always thought, well, you’re not handcuffed so go out there and do something rather than staying at home complaining about things.’
Faith No More had already existed with various line-ups before you joined. How much material that would eventually appear on the first album had they already written by the time that you joined ?
‘They had, like, sketches of stuff. I’ll always remember my first show with them because I was basically just spouting-off about things. One of the things I did that night was about working… My family were very blue collar and we always had that work mentality, so I’ve always worked apart from when I’ve been playing, which for the most-part is basically working for no money. So I just carried on about that and it was the basis for what became the ‘Worm’ song. We used to get everything on tape so I was able to go back to pick and choose the lines that had worked. I think that’s kind of the way that I usually work when I’m writing, even now. Anyway… I know the ‘Mark Bowen’ song hadn’t been written by then, because he was still playing with us at that time. There were just bits and pieces of other songs and there weren’t really any words so I had to start making things up. This was the first time that we’d really practised together before a show, so when we went to the rehearsals I had to try and put it together. I’d be trying to sound like David Bowie, or maybe crooning a little bit, and just trying to mix it all up. I guess it must have been about two years before we were ready to record the first album, so it did take a lot of work.’
‘Yeah, because they were going through different singers and guitar players every other week. So they’d call me if they had a show in LA, and say, we haven’t got a singer, can you do it ? I’d get up and sing with them when they came down to LA without a singer. Billy always loved irony and I wasn’t a singer back then, so it made sense to him that they should ask me to sing !’
When you became a full-time member of Faith No More, did you ever consider moving up to San Francisco ?
‘Nope. They wanted me to move up there but I was totally stubborn. My job was in LA, my family, my friends and my own band, so I just said that I’d come up when they needed me. It was only 39 minutes on an airplane or I could drive up there but they kept saying they needed me to be there. For a while my girlfriend was living there so I’d go up maybe for a month or two and just hang out, but I didn’t think it mattered because I was always there when they needed me for practice or whatever. Plus, there has always this thing going on between LA and San Francisco. Like, San Francisco had punks but people in LA thought they were like hippies, and LA had punks but people in San Francisco thought they were regressive. It was a totally different mentality in each place. I had grown up with the hippy thing and I’d been on Peace marches with my parents in the Sixties, so I could get that side of it, but I also always hated people that were just whining about stuff. I always thought, well, you’re not handcuffed so go out there and do something rather than staying at home complaining about things.’
Faith No More had already existed with various line-ups before you joined. How much material that would eventually appear on the first album had they already written by the time that you joined ?
‘They had, like, sketches of stuff. I’ll always remember my first show with them because I was basically just spouting-off about things. One of the things I did that night was about working… My family were very blue collar and we always had that work mentality, so I’ve always worked apart from when I’ve been playing, which for the most-part is basically working for no money. So I just carried on about that and it was the basis for what became the ‘Worm’ song. We used to get everything on tape so I was able to go back to pick and choose the lines that had worked. I think that’s kind of the way that I usually work when I’m writing, even now. Anyway… I know the ‘Mark Bowen’ song hadn’t been written by then, because he was still playing with us at that time. There were just bits and pieces of other songs and there weren’t really any words so I had to start making things up. This was the first time that we’d really practised together before a show, so when we went to the rehearsals I had to try and put it together. I’d be trying to sound like David Bowie, or maybe crooning a little bit, and just trying to mix it all up. I guess it must have been about two years before we were ready to record the first album, so it did take a lot of work.’
Did Mordam Records approach the band to make the first record ?
‘I think we had already started going in to a studio and recording stuff. Whenever we had something that was ready, we liked to try to and get it recorded even if it was only a demo. I could be wrong, but I think they made the offer to do an album after we had already started to make our own recordings, which meant that we already knew what we wanted to do and were able to go straight in and do it all in about one week.’
The album got a good response when it came out, but I think it also confused a lot of people initially, because it crossed so many different genres…
‘Yeah, post-punk, funk, metal… it was all punk rock to me, man ! I always thought that it doesn’t matter what something sounds like, it’s the attitude. I mean, you can be singing a ballad and it can still be punk rock. If you’re singing about how your heart has been ripped-out or something… It depends how pissed-off you are about what’s happened and how much you mean it !’
Slash/London records signed Faith No More for the next album, ‘Introduce Yourself’. Did the band ever consider trying to stay on an independent label ?
‘No. I thought it was all cool and I don’t think any of us had a problem about going to a bigger label. But I didn’t like the way that when we got to a certain level all of these people started telling us what we had to do when they were supposed to be working for us. When that shit started happening, I guess I would have preferred not to be on that label. But in the beginning, the only thing they really insisted on was that they wanted ‘We Care A Lot’ to be included on ‘Introduce Yourself’ as well. Which was fine, because it gave us a chance to update the lyrics… and in turn, that gave me an excuse to do a third version with new lyrics on the VUA album ! I suppose it would have been alright to be getting told what to do if we were getting paid for it, but at that time I was getting, like, ten bucks a day if we were on tour and that’s not a lot of money to live on.’
I won’t go into the whole story of your departure from Faith No More, because I’m sure everyone has read all the different versions by now. But I just wondered, since you were the front-man, did the record label ever show any interest in working with you as a solo performer or together with a new band ?
‘Looking back, they certainly tried to talk the band out of firing me, because they didn’t want to have to start promoting them from scratch again with another singer. But the band had made their minds up. Once they realised that it was going to happen, I didn’t really hear anything else from the label. No-one called me about anything, although perhaps that was because they couldn’t find me. I pretty-much went into a rabbit-hole as soon as it all happened and I didn’t really come out again until a while later, when I started working as a roadie for my friends in Celebrity Skin. Really, I guess that I should have put a new band together straight away and tried to get back over here as soon as possible while the press were still interested in what I might do next. But I didn’t have anyone working with me or advising me anymore and I just didn’t know what I should do. I was still pretty pissed-off. The worst thing about all of that was that I was never really told why I was fired. First of all they said in the press that I had quit, but the bottom line was that I was fired and when that came out, the whole rumour mill started. That was when so much shit started up and people were saying all these things about me, but because I was laying-low, I didn’t give myself a chance to tell my side of things. I mean, for people who were already fans of what I was doing, all the rumours that were going around wouldn’t have bothered them. But in the music business, no-one was going to spend a dollar on me if they thought any of that stuff might be true. So it was pretty fucked-up and it really hurt. But in truth, as far as it went between us all as people, we had a rough patch of about a year and a half while we were going through all of the legal shit, but by 1990 or 1991, we were all fine and we all started to get along again.’
‘I think we had already started going in to a studio and recording stuff. Whenever we had something that was ready, we liked to try to and get it recorded even if it was only a demo. I could be wrong, but I think they made the offer to do an album after we had already started to make our own recordings, which meant that we already knew what we wanted to do and were able to go straight in and do it all in about one week.’
The album got a good response when it came out, but I think it also confused a lot of people initially, because it crossed so many different genres…
‘Yeah, post-punk, funk, metal… it was all punk rock to me, man ! I always thought that it doesn’t matter what something sounds like, it’s the attitude. I mean, you can be singing a ballad and it can still be punk rock. If you’re singing about how your heart has been ripped-out or something… It depends how pissed-off you are about what’s happened and how much you mean it !’
Slash/London records signed Faith No More for the next album, ‘Introduce Yourself’. Did the band ever consider trying to stay on an independent label ?
‘No. I thought it was all cool and I don’t think any of us had a problem about going to a bigger label. But I didn’t like the way that when we got to a certain level all of these people started telling us what we had to do when they were supposed to be working for us. When that shit started happening, I guess I would have preferred not to be on that label. But in the beginning, the only thing they really insisted on was that they wanted ‘We Care A Lot’ to be included on ‘Introduce Yourself’ as well. Which was fine, because it gave us a chance to update the lyrics… and in turn, that gave me an excuse to do a third version with new lyrics on the VUA album ! I suppose it would have been alright to be getting told what to do if we were getting paid for it, but at that time I was getting, like, ten bucks a day if we were on tour and that’s not a lot of money to live on.’
I won’t go into the whole story of your departure from Faith No More, because I’m sure everyone has read all the different versions by now. But I just wondered, since you were the front-man, did the record label ever show any interest in working with you as a solo performer or together with a new band ?
‘Looking back, they certainly tried to talk the band out of firing me, because they didn’t want to have to start promoting them from scratch again with another singer. But the band had made their minds up. Once they realised that it was going to happen, I didn’t really hear anything else from the label. No-one called me about anything, although perhaps that was because they couldn’t find me. I pretty-much went into a rabbit-hole as soon as it all happened and I didn’t really come out again until a while later, when I started working as a roadie for my friends in Celebrity Skin. Really, I guess that I should have put a new band together straight away and tried to get back over here as soon as possible while the press were still interested in what I might do next. But I didn’t have anyone working with me or advising me anymore and I just didn’t know what I should do. I was still pretty pissed-off. The worst thing about all of that was that I was never really told why I was fired. First of all they said in the press that I had quit, but the bottom line was that I was fired and when that came out, the whole rumour mill started. That was when so much shit started up and people were saying all these things about me, but because I was laying-low, I didn’t give myself a chance to tell my side of things. I mean, for people who were already fans of what I was doing, all the rumours that were going around wouldn’t have bothered them. But in the music business, no-one was going to spend a dollar on me if they thought any of that stuff might be true. So it was pretty fucked-up and it really hurt. But in truth, as far as it went between us all as people, we had a rough patch of about a year and a half while we were going through all of the legal shit, but by 1990 or 1991, we were all fine and we all started to get along again.’
I do remember back at the time that there were some reports that you were going to reform
Haircuts That Kill…
‘Well, I went back to playing with my buddy Troy and another friend called Joe, who had been a roadie for Faith No More. He had been fired when he got in a fight with Jim. That was one of the things that eventually led to my departure, because I tried to defend Joe when that happened. I did try to put something together and we played a few shows as Haircuts That Kill, but then Joe started to think that he was the boss and trying to say who should be in the band, so I just decided, fuck this shit. Troy and I wanted to try to be a bit more professional but the line-up kept changing and it wasn’t working out. At the same time, Celebrity Skin were getting ready to go on tour and I got offered a job to go and roadie for them, so that’s what happened.’
You joined Bad Brains between 1990-92 but unfortunately nothing was released while you were in the band. Considering the way things have worked out for them, with their on/off attempts to continue with HR, I still think they missed out a good opportunity to take the band forward in a steadier direction…
‘Yeah, I think so. I saw them a while ago when they asked VUA to support them in Cleveland and Detroit. In Cleveland, HR was doing that thing where he was onstage but tied up in a chair. At least he was singing at that show. When we saw them in Detroit, he was in the chair again but he was singing different songs to what the band were playing ! Darryl was already really pissed-off with him and they’d only been out on the road for a week. But that’s what happens with them every time. They get back together and make a record, but then it all implodes when they try to go out and tour. I really don’t know how they put up with all of that shit. I really enjoyed playing with those guys and I think we could have made some good records together. But whenever a record label wants to sign them, they always want HR to be in the band regardless of the inevitable problems it’s always going to cause.’
After you left Bad Brains you put a new band, Cement, together. You started touring and released the first album, which had a pretty good response. The band seemed to be building up their own name and developing their own sound and the second album really showed how good you had become. I think it would have established a much bigger audience, were it not for the van-accident you had which left you unable to play for the next 18 months…
‘Yeah, but what are you going to do ? Such is my life… Sometimes the only positive thing there is to say is… Fuck it ! Cement was a cool band and it really started to become something great. We could’ve been a contender, hahaha ! Maybe it would’ve been better for us if we had tried to get a support slot on someone else’s tour, so we could have been seen by more people, but we just wanted to get on with it by ourselves and not have to wait around for someone else to offer us something. If that accident hadn’t happened, I think we could have made something of it because we were just starting out on tour and we were going to be playing all around the world for the next year. Things might have turned out very differently, but there’s no way of changing something like that once it’s happened.’
Haircuts That Kill…
‘Well, I went back to playing with my buddy Troy and another friend called Joe, who had been a roadie for Faith No More. He had been fired when he got in a fight with Jim. That was one of the things that eventually led to my departure, because I tried to defend Joe when that happened. I did try to put something together and we played a few shows as Haircuts That Kill, but then Joe started to think that he was the boss and trying to say who should be in the band, so I just decided, fuck this shit. Troy and I wanted to try to be a bit more professional but the line-up kept changing and it wasn’t working out. At the same time, Celebrity Skin were getting ready to go on tour and I got offered a job to go and roadie for them, so that’s what happened.’
You joined Bad Brains between 1990-92 but unfortunately nothing was released while you were in the band. Considering the way things have worked out for them, with their on/off attempts to continue with HR, I still think they missed out a good opportunity to take the band forward in a steadier direction…
‘Yeah, I think so. I saw them a while ago when they asked VUA to support them in Cleveland and Detroit. In Cleveland, HR was doing that thing where he was onstage but tied up in a chair. At least he was singing at that show. When we saw them in Detroit, he was in the chair again but he was singing different songs to what the band were playing ! Darryl was already really pissed-off with him and they’d only been out on the road for a week. But that’s what happens with them every time. They get back together and make a record, but then it all implodes when they try to go out and tour. I really don’t know how they put up with all of that shit. I really enjoyed playing with those guys and I think we could have made some good records together. But whenever a record label wants to sign them, they always want HR to be in the band regardless of the inevitable problems it’s always going to cause.’
After you left Bad Brains you put a new band, Cement, together. You started touring and released the first album, which had a pretty good response. The band seemed to be building up their own name and developing their own sound and the second album really showed how good you had become. I think it would have established a much bigger audience, were it not for the van-accident you had which left you unable to play for the next 18 months…
‘Yeah, but what are you going to do ? Such is my life… Sometimes the only positive thing there is to say is… Fuck it ! Cement was a cool band and it really started to become something great. We could’ve been a contender, hahaha ! Maybe it would’ve been better for us if we had tried to get a support slot on someone else’s tour, so we could have been seen by more people, but we just wanted to get on with it by ourselves and not have to wait around for someone else to offer us something. If that accident hadn’t happened, I think we could have made something of it because we were just starting out on tour and we were going to be playing all around the world for the next year. Things might have turned out very differently, but there’s no way of changing something like that once it’s happened.’
After you moved to Cleveland, you started to put your current band together, VUA…
‘It was literally the week after we moved there and I was in a bar where I saw some graffiti, ‘Vanduls Ugainst Alliteracy’, spelt just like that. I thought it was really funny, so I kept that name in my head and when I eventually met Tim and we started playing together, I knew that was the name we had to use. It just made total sense, you know ? Especially with all the education and healthcare issues we’re having in America at the moment.’
You were able to include quite a few special guest appearances on the VUA album. How did they all come about ?
‘I think I’d met John 5 a long time ago, somewhere, but he was the one person I didn’t know was going to be on the record until he showed up to play. I was pleasantly surprised with that. I already knew Jonathan Davis from when I first moved to Cleveland as one of my friends took me to see Korn. I knew about them but I hadn’t listened to a lot of their music, so that was the first time I met them. I didn’t even know they had that kind of fan thing going on, until I ended up signing autographs for them ! They were telling me that if I had never made those records with Faith No More, they would probably never have formed a band ! That was the first time I realised there was that whole influence thing going on.’
The album sounds great and got good reviews. Along with the guest appearances on there, it seemed as if it was really going to generate a lot of interest. But the record label just didn’t get it out there…
‘Yeah, I know. It was really annoying. We had over 50 local radio stations out on the West Coast playing tracks from the album and they were getting in touch to tell us that they wanted us to come out and play. They were saying us that they’d promote it with the local clubs and guarantee that it would sell-out. We had a great tour lined-up, maybe 40 shows just on the West Coast. The album was being played on the radio and getting in the local charts, so all we had to do was get out there. But the label turned it down ! We got an invite to play at South-By-South-West and they turned that down. We had enquiries about playing in Europe and Japan that they turned down, but we only found out about all of this stuff afterwards. It turned out that they weren’t interested in promoting us anymore because they had all started fighting over the million dollars of investment money that was being embezzled. They all started suing each other, so no-one was doing anything for any of the bands.Eventually, the label just fell-apart and they shut everything down.’
You ended-up releasing an album of the original VUA demos, so at least there is something still available that you have control over…
‘Yeah, that was the album that we started making by ourselves, before the label was involved, so we still had all of the tapes. We put it out ourselves so at least people can get to hear something by us and we also wanted to try and make back some of our own money, because the label had folded before we even had a chance to recoup what we had put into making the album.’
‘It was literally the week after we moved there and I was in a bar where I saw some graffiti, ‘Vanduls Ugainst Alliteracy’, spelt just like that. I thought it was really funny, so I kept that name in my head and when I eventually met Tim and we started playing together, I knew that was the name we had to use. It just made total sense, you know ? Especially with all the education and healthcare issues we’re having in America at the moment.’
You were able to include quite a few special guest appearances on the VUA album. How did they all come about ?
‘I think I’d met John 5 a long time ago, somewhere, but he was the one person I didn’t know was going to be on the record until he showed up to play. I was pleasantly surprised with that. I already knew Jonathan Davis from when I first moved to Cleveland as one of my friends took me to see Korn. I knew about them but I hadn’t listened to a lot of their music, so that was the first time I met them. I didn’t even know they had that kind of fan thing going on, until I ended up signing autographs for them ! They were telling me that if I had never made those records with Faith No More, they would probably never have formed a band ! That was the first time I realised there was that whole influence thing going on.’
The album sounds great and got good reviews. Along with the guest appearances on there, it seemed as if it was really going to generate a lot of interest. But the record label just didn’t get it out there…
‘Yeah, I know. It was really annoying. We had over 50 local radio stations out on the West Coast playing tracks from the album and they were getting in touch to tell us that they wanted us to come out and play. They were saying us that they’d promote it with the local clubs and guarantee that it would sell-out. We had a great tour lined-up, maybe 40 shows just on the West Coast. The album was being played on the radio and getting in the local charts, so all we had to do was get out there. But the label turned it down ! We got an invite to play at South-By-South-West and they turned that down. We had enquiries about playing in Europe and Japan that they turned down, but we only found out about all of this stuff afterwards. It turned out that they weren’t interested in promoting us anymore because they had all started fighting over the million dollars of investment money that was being embezzled. They all started suing each other, so no-one was doing anything for any of the bands.Eventually, the label just fell-apart and they shut everything down.’
You ended-up releasing an album of the original VUA demos, so at least there is something still available that you have control over…
‘Yeah, that was the album that we started making by ourselves, before the label was involved, so we still had all of the tapes. We put it out ourselves so at least people can get to hear something by us and we also wanted to try and make back some of our own money, because the label had folded before we even had a chance to recoup what we had put into making the album.’
When Faith No More reformed in 2009, you were invited to sing with them at one of the shows in San Francisco. I think this surprised a lot of people, who had assumed that you were still on bad terms with the band, but the event certainly created a buzz amongst Faith No More fans…
‘I was actually quite surprised when they first called to ask if I’d like to do it. I think Roddy called me first, and then their manager got in touch to set it up. I think they also tried to get Jim to do it, but he was being awkward or something. But I said, yeah, I’ll do it and I went out there… At first, I was just going to do two songs but eventually it turned into six and I think we all really enjoyed doing it. The second time I sang with them, we were just going to go and see them play in Detroit, but while we were driving out there and I got a text from Roddy saying, ‘We want you to sing ‘Mark Bowen’ for the encore…’ I thought, oh shit, because I wouldn’t have a chance to run through it before the show. The thing with that song is that it doesn’t have any regular verses or choruses, so I messed up one line early-on and that put me out for the rest of the song. Once I lost my place there wasn’t an easy way to get back into it, so I fucked up the second half of the song. But the thing I really loved about that show was that they had me dress up in a white suit, just like the rest of them. I even tried to steal it at the end of the night, but the wardrobe lady backstage spotted me and made sure that I put it back. I told her that I’d put it back already, but then she came over and said, ‘oh, it still seems to be in your bag…’ She was so polite about it, but I was totally busted !’
And then, even more surprisingly, earlier this year you played two full shows with them in Los Angeles and San Francisco. You were already playing an acoustic tour, and Billy was just about to reissue the first Faith No More album on his Kool Arrow label, so it was appropriate timing. But who came up with the idea to do it ?
‘It was all tied in with the reissue. Again, we originally wanted to do these shows with Jim as well but he wouldn’t come along, so the two dates were attached to the tour that me and Doug were already doing. We only announced it a few days before it was due to happen, so it would sell out both places but we could just keep it like that. It was real fun and we got to practise for a few days so I didn’t fuck-up anything. Both shows went down really well and everyone enjoyed doing them. I’m happy to do things like that any time that they want to do it and I think there’s a chance it might happen again. But there are a lot of things that we’d have to sort-out just to be able to do it, as they’re all busy with other things as well as Faith No More. I think it’s also something they’d prefer to do in smaller venues, so we’d have to be able to sort out the money side of things. They might also have wanted to play those two shows to see if I could still do it without fucking-up, before they decided whether they might do anything else. I think if Jim was going to do it with us there’d be a much bigger demand for more shows , but people still want to see this line-up and I hope we’ll be able to do something else together.’
The reissue of 'We Care A Lot' sounds really great and the extra material really adds to the overall package. Are you pleased with it ?
'Yeah, I think Billy did a really good job. Too many of these things come out and they just re-package the old material that everyone already has. This version was remastered and sounds a lot better and there's a whole CD of extra material that has never been released before which fans would want to hear. I'm really glad it came out like this and it's great that it gave us an opportunity to play together again
‘I was actually quite surprised when they first called to ask if I’d like to do it. I think Roddy called me first, and then their manager got in touch to set it up. I think they also tried to get Jim to do it, but he was being awkward or something. But I said, yeah, I’ll do it and I went out there… At first, I was just going to do two songs but eventually it turned into six and I think we all really enjoyed doing it. The second time I sang with them, we were just going to go and see them play in Detroit, but while we were driving out there and I got a text from Roddy saying, ‘We want you to sing ‘Mark Bowen’ for the encore…’ I thought, oh shit, because I wouldn’t have a chance to run through it before the show. The thing with that song is that it doesn’t have any regular verses or choruses, so I messed up one line early-on and that put me out for the rest of the song. Once I lost my place there wasn’t an easy way to get back into it, so I fucked up the second half of the song. But the thing I really loved about that show was that they had me dress up in a white suit, just like the rest of them. I even tried to steal it at the end of the night, but the wardrobe lady backstage spotted me and made sure that I put it back. I told her that I’d put it back already, but then she came over and said, ‘oh, it still seems to be in your bag…’ She was so polite about it, but I was totally busted !’
And then, even more surprisingly, earlier this year you played two full shows with them in Los Angeles and San Francisco. You were already playing an acoustic tour, and Billy was just about to reissue the first Faith No More album on his Kool Arrow label, so it was appropriate timing. But who came up with the idea to do it ?
‘It was all tied in with the reissue. Again, we originally wanted to do these shows with Jim as well but he wouldn’t come along, so the two dates were attached to the tour that me and Doug were already doing. We only announced it a few days before it was due to happen, so it would sell out both places but we could just keep it like that. It was real fun and we got to practise for a few days so I didn’t fuck-up anything. Both shows went down really well and everyone enjoyed doing them. I’m happy to do things like that any time that they want to do it and I think there’s a chance it might happen again. But there are a lot of things that we’d have to sort-out just to be able to do it, as they’re all busy with other things as well as Faith No More. I think it’s also something they’d prefer to do in smaller venues, so we’d have to be able to sort out the money side of things. They might also have wanted to play those two shows to see if I could still do it without fucking-up, before they decided whether they might do anything else. I think if Jim was going to do it with us there’d be a much bigger demand for more shows , but people still want to see this line-up and I hope we’ll be able to do something else together.’
The reissue of 'We Care A Lot' sounds really great and the extra material really adds to the overall package. Are you pleased with it ?
'Yeah, I think Billy did a really good job. Too many of these things come out and they just re-package the old material that everyone already has. This version was remastered and sounds a lot better and there's a whole CD of extra material that has never been released before which fans would want to hear. I'm really glad it came out like this and it's great that it gave us an opportunity to play together again
Your most recent recordings have been with the band Indoria, singing on several tracks on their recent album, ‘You’ll Never Make The Six’.
‘Well, that’s basically Doug, who’s playing conga drums with me on this tour, and his wife Michele. They’re good friends so I was happy to record with them. I just sing on a few of the tracks, but I think it’s a really good album. I’m not totally happy with my vocals, I think I could have done better, but I always say that…’
Bringing everything up to date, this tour is the first time you’ve been back in the UK for about 20 years, so it’s appropriately named the ‘Reintroduce Yourself’ Tour. Was this something that you were already planning to do before the dates with Faith No More ?
‘It was something that Doug had been trying to make me do for ever and ever, but I was always afraid of doing it and kept rejecting his plans. But it finally made sense to do it, especially when we figured a way to do it without having to bring a whole band along. We knew there was going to be a bit of a buzz about the first Faith No More album being reissued and especially after I played those two shows with them, so I knew we had to catch the wave. And it’s all gone pretty well, so when I get home after this I want to start working on some new songs and hopefully we can make a new record next year. We just have to figure out the best way to do it, but if we can then we’ll be able to come back out here again pretty soon. We want to carry-on touring as much as possible as that’s always the best way to let people hear the new songs. We’ve already been invited to play in South America and I’d really like to get to Australia, so we’ll be trying to get to places like that. It’s just a case of sorting out the economics of travelling abroad, but that’s what this is all about, with just me and Doug playing together, as it gives us a way of getting-out to the places where people want to see us. If we can build-up enough interest like this, eventually we’ll be able to bring the whole band over. But these dates have been a lot of fun, so we’re happy to carry on like this until we get an offer to do something else.’
‘Well, that’s basically Doug, who’s playing conga drums with me on this tour, and his wife Michele. They’re good friends so I was happy to record with them. I just sing on a few of the tracks, but I think it’s a really good album. I’m not totally happy with my vocals, I think I could have done better, but I always say that…’
Bringing everything up to date, this tour is the first time you’ve been back in the UK for about 20 years, so it’s appropriately named the ‘Reintroduce Yourself’ Tour. Was this something that you were already planning to do before the dates with Faith No More ?
‘It was something that Doug had been trying to make me do for ever and ever, but I was always afraid of doing it and kept rejecting his plans. But it finally made sense to do it, especially when we figured a way to do it without having to bring a whole band along. We knew there was going to be a bit of a buzz about the first Faith No More album being reissued and especially after I played those two shows with them, so I knew we had to catch the wave. And it’s all gone pretty well, so when I get home after this I want to start working on some new songs and hopefully we can make a new record next year. We just have to figure out the best way to do it, but if we can then we’ll be able to come back out here again pretty soon. We want to carry-on touring as much as possible as that’s always the best way to let people hear the new songs. We’ve already been invited to play in South America and I’d really like to get to Australia, so we’ll be trying to get to places like that. It’s just a case of sorting out the economics of travelling abroad, but that’s what this is all about, with just me and Doug playing together, as it gives us a way of getting-out to the places where people want to see us. If we can build-up enough interest like this, eventually we’ll be able to bring the whole band over. But these dates have been a lot of fun, so we’re happy to carry on like this until we get an offer to do something else.’
This seems like a good time to end the interview, as we both have to go up and meet people in the pub next door. Our mutual friend Steve is waiting for us, the first time he’s seen Chuck for some twenty years, so they have plenty of things to discuss. But typically, less than one beer into the reunion, Steve’s phone rings and he’s called back to work due to an emergency of Biblical proportions (well, it did involve a flood…) Prompt hugs and farewells and Steve departs. After spending some more time in the pub and then meeting Doug and Michele, it soon becomes time for the gig to begin, so I make my way to the front of the stage to get a good view.
Considering it’s a Monday evening and the gig hasn’t been as thoroughly advertised as it could have been, there’s a really good crowd in attendance and I could tell straight away that there was a lot of anticipation for Chuck’s return to a London stage. With only sparse equipment to set-up, it doesn’t take long before everyone is ready and Chuck makes his appearance. With only an acoustic guitar (played through various effects) he introduces himself to an enthusiastic reception and performs the first song, ‘Chip Away’ (from the first Cement album) totally alone. The guitar and vocals are clear but not too loud, demanding attention. Fortunately this audience are more than happy to listen and enjoy, so it goes really well. For the second song, VUA’s ‘Sophie’ (named after his second daughter) he’s joined by Doug who adds Conga beats to the proceedings. Michele joins them for the emotive duet ‘Nameless’ before the final crew-member, Andy, joins them to play acoustic bass. This results in a more uptempo turn, with a great version of ‘Tractor’. The first surprise of the evening comes when Chuck twists the chords he had been playing at the end of the previous song and gradually segues into the Faith No More classic, ‘Death March’. It works really well in this stripped-down format and it’s great to hear him singing this song again. A mix of titles ensues, with Doug and Chuck bantering between songs and although it probably isn’t the most note-perfect performance you’ll ever see, it’s perfect for this evening and these songs. The audience are very responsive and everyone is really enjoying themselves. Another selection of Faith No More songs come in the form of a medley, featuring ‘The Crab Song’, ‘Faster Disco’ and perhaps most surprisingly, ‘Take This Bottle’ from the later FNM ‘King For A Day’ album. Well, why not ? FNM still play songs that Chuck wrote, why shouldn’t he borrow one of their later ones ? Plus, he really sings it well, putting his best bluesy-croon to full effect. The set comes to a close with several more songs including an unreleased track, ‘Wisdom Comes’, from his time with Bad Brains, before a well-deserved encore delivers Chuck’s haunting cover of the Marc Bolan classic, ‘Life’s A Gas’. The audience claps along with the rhythm and it’s a great end to the set.
After only a few minutes, Chuck returns to the room and is immediately surrounded by fans, thanking him, asking for photographs and autographs and generally just wishing him well. He makes time for all of them and it certainly seems that this has been a very successful return to London. It was a really enjoyable evening, maybe not what everyone expected, but highly effective none the less. I wish I’d been able to see more of the dates on this tour. Fortunately, I am at least able to catch the last one.
Considering it’s a Monday evening and the gig hasn’t been as thoroughly advertised as it could have been, there’s a really good crowd in attendance and I could tell straight away that there was a lot of anticipation for Chuck’s return to a London stage. With only sparse equipment to set-up, it doesn’t take long before everyone is ready and Chuck makes his appearance. With only an acoustic guitar (played through various effects) he introduces himself to an enthusiastic reception and performs the first song, ‘Chip Away’ (from the first Cement album) totally alone. The guitar and vocals are clear but not too loud, demanding attention. Fortunately this audience are more than happy to listen and enjoy, so it goes really well. For the second song, VUA’s ‘Sophie’ (named after his second daughter) he’s joined by Doug who adds Conga beats to the proceedings. Michele joins them for the emotive duet ‘Nameless’ before the final crew-member, Andy, joins them to play acoustic bass. This results in a more uptempo turn, with a great version of ‘Tractor’. The first surprise of the evening comes when Chuck twists the chords he had been playing at the end of the previous song and gradually segues into the Faith No More classic, ‘Death March’. It works really well in this stripped-down format and it’s great to hear him singing this song again. A mix of titles ensues, with Doug and Chuck bantering between songs and although it probably isn’t the most note-perfect performance you’ll ever see, it’s perfect for this evening and these songs. The audience are very responsive and everyone is really enjoying themselves. Another selection of Faith No More songs come in the form of a medley, featuring ‘The Crab Song’, ‘Faster Disco’ and perhaps most surprisingly, ‘Take This Bottle’ from the later FNM ‘King For A Day’ album. Well, why not ? FNM still play songs that Chuck wrote, why shouldn’t he borrow one of their later ones ? Plus, he really sings it well, putting his best bluesy-croon to full effect. The set comes to a close with several more songs including an unreleased track, ‘Wisdom Comes’, from his time with Bad Brains, before a well-deserved encore delivers Chuck’s haunting cover of the Marc Bolan classic, ‘Life’s A Gas’. The audience claps along with the rhythm and it’s a great end to the set.
After only a few minutes, Chuck returns to the room and is immediately surrounded by fans, thanking him, asking for photographs and autographs and generally just wishing him well. He makes time for all of them and it certainly seems that this has been a very successful return to London. It was a really enjoyable evening, maybe not what everyone expected, but highly effective none the less. I wish I’d been able to see more of the dates on this tour. Fortunately, I am at least able to catch the last one.
By a strange quirk of coincidence, the final date of Chuck’s tour found him playing at The Lady Luck pub in Canterbury. This is very odd as I remember this place being a very conservative, ‘old man’s’ pub in the days when I was living in Canterbury. So the opportunity to see Chuck in such an establishment is more than I can resist. As chance would have it, my old mate Phil also offers to drive down for the gig, so we meet up after work and head down Ye Olde Pilgrim’s Way (that’s the M2 to you lot.)
Canterbury looks pretty different every time I return there, these days. We park in front of some houses that I’m sure were small workshops the last time I was there. Talk about a makeover… And as for The Lady Luck – well, it now seems to be a regular venue, with suitable rock’n’roll posters covering the walls. It’s a lot nicer than it ever was before, so I’m not complaining. We meet up with Chuck and enjoy a few drinks, before wandering outside to wait for more arrivals. Kerry and Karen are another couple of old friends who haven’t seen Chuck for ages so it’s fun to meet up on a nice warm evening like this.
The venue is tiny, only 100 tickets were available and sold-out in less than a day so it’s already packed (another reason why it’s preferable to stay outside) but I still manage to catch some of the set from support band, Magic Eight Ball. They’re apparently playing in a more stripped-down form this evening, appropriate in the circumstances. They seem to have a quirky brand of rock with plenty of catchy hooks and a sharp dress sense. I’m intrigued enough to want to see them again and also claimed a CD afterwards (see the review elsewhere.) Certainly an interesting prospect.
Canterbury looks pretty different every time I return there, these days. We park in front of some houses that I’m sure were small workshops the last time I was there. Talk about a makeover… And as for The Lady Luck – well, it now seems to be a regular venue, with suitable rock’n’roll posters covering the walls. It’s a lot nicer than it ever was before, so I’m not complaining. We meet up with Chuck and enjoy a few drinks, before wandering outside to wait for more arrivals. Kerry and Karen are another couple of old friends who haven’t seen Chuck for ages so it’s fun to meet up on a nice warm evening like this.
The venue is tiny, only 100 tickets were available and sold-out in less than a day so it’s already packed (another reason why it’s preferable to stay outside) but I still manage to catch some of the set from support band, Magic Eight Ball. They’re apparently playing in a more stripped-down form this evening, appropriate in the circumstances. They seem to have a quirky brand of rock with plenty of catchy hooks and a sharp dress sense. I’m intrigued enough to want to see them again and also claimed a CD afterwards (see the review elsewhere.) Certainly an interesting prospect.
Again, Chuck and Doug and set-up quickly. It’s nice to see them play in such an intimate venue but the confined space also causes problems from the outset. There isn’t a stage so they play right in front of the audience and the lack of room means that Doug has to set-up his drums (is the plural of conga, ‘congi’ ?) behind Chuck, which makes their verbal interaction a lot less effective. Chuck is also suffering nerves about being so close to the front-row (literally, inches between their faces) so it’s a hesitant start to the set, but he gradually gets into it. After ‘Chip Away’ he introduces ‘Sophie’ with a nice tale about his daughters’ birth, and again ‘Nameless’ features a duet with Michele. ‘Tractor’ and ‘Death March’ introduce a livelier element to the set, while the medley of Faith No More songs get the best response of the evening. But it’s the audience, or at least some of them, that mar the proceedings. Rather than enjoying their chance to see Chuck perform his songs in such close proximity, there are several people who just seem intent to talk all the way through the set. It’s an acoustic performance so it isn’t loud and their constant inane chatter is irritating everyone else. Chuck even stops during one song and looks over at one couple until they notice. ‘You don’t have to stop’, he tells them. ‘I was just wondering what you were talking about ?’ They’re quiet for a while and then gradually start again, oblivious to everyone around them. By the time it gets to the point where they’re discussing their best friends upcoming birthday party, I can see Kerry glaring at them and I’m concerned that he’s about to burst into one of his infamous Ragin’ Furies ! I turn to them, wave to get their attention and ask if the can be a bit quieter, please. I’ve been polite about it so I’m hoping they’ll be considerate. It takes about thirty seconds before I realise that the diplomatic approach has failed. I should have left them to Kerry… Now they start slagging-off me for asking them to be quieter. I turn around and tell them, if they’re not there to listen to the music, why did they come to the gig ? ‘We paid to come to this gig, we can do what we want. We’re not bothering anyone else…’ This was when they sunk themselves. Several people standing next to them turn around, glare at them and one tells them ‘You’ve been pissing me off all night !’ Faced with a majority verdict, they finally slouch away and the rest of us get the chance to enjoy the remainder of the set without the ongoing commentary.
It’s a shorter set than the one in London, but ends with a similarly enthusiastic response. Calls from the crowd give Doug the chance to tease with an impromptu intro for ‘We Care A Lot’, but the remainder of the song unfortunately doesn’t materialise. Instead, the encore gives us another great version of ‘Life’s A Gas’, with many of the audience singing along. It may not be one of Bolans’ biggest hits, but it’s a song that everyone remembers and Chuck has always sung it well. It’s a perfect end to the gig.
Afterwards, Chuck is again happy to meet and chat with various fans and we get to say our farewells before heading back to the car. Even despite the less-then-ideal location of this gig, it had still been a great evening for those of us who wanted to hear his songs and by all accounts, that’s been the general reaction to all the gigs on this tour. I hope this will spur him on to complete a new album and come back as soon as possible. Chuck has a unique talent as a songwriter and a performer, so I really hope we won’t have to wait so long to see him again.
It’s a shorter set than the one in London, but ends with a similarly enthusiastic response. Calls from the crowd give Doug the chance to tease with an impromptu intro for ‘We Care A Lot’, but the remainder of the song unfortunately doesn’t materialise. Instead, the encore gives us another great version of ‘Life’s A Gas’, with many of the audience singing along. It may not be one of Bolans’ biggest hits, but it’s a song that everyone remembers and Chuck has always sung it well. It’s a perfect end to the gig.
Afterwards, Chuck is again happy to meet and chat with various fans and we get to say our farewells before heading back to the car. Even despite the less-then-ideal location of this gig, it had still been a great evening for those of us who wanted to hear his songs and by all accounts, that’s been the general reaction to all the gigs on this tour. I hope this will spur him on to complete a new album and come back as soon as possible. Chuck has a unique talent as a songwriter and a performer, so I really hope we won’t have to wait so long to see him again.
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