“Mad Project” Magazine Spain (Tribute to The Who issue) March 2006

CRACKLING NOISES O.K, DO NOT CORRECT!

Jim Wilson calls me up about a month ago. He said, “do you want to interview us about THE WHO?” Considering THE WHO are a religion with me, and considering MOTHER SUPERIOR are, by far, the most kick ass band around these days; he might as well have been asking me if I wanted to hook up with Scarlett Johannson. It took me about half a second before I ripped back, “When and where?!”

It was more of a “hang out”, than a formal interview. Which really means, it’s like any weekend at THE MOTHERSHIP. You hang out, drink some “jack and cokes”, listen to music, and talk about your favorite bands. But since that’s a tough read, I’ve kind of organized this recorded “hang out” into more of an interview format.

The first thing I noticed as I walked in the MOTHERSHIP was that the stereo was already cranking THE WHO. It was the album WHO’S NEXT. The second thing I noticed was that the TV showing MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL had a very fuzzy picture. It seems the boys in MOTHER SUPERIOR have no need for cable (MTV and TNT not being a big part of their lives). Since Jim’s girlfriend wanted to watch her home team (The Detroit Lions) play, Jim had to bust out the “rabbit ears” for the TV. Steve Martin would have been proud. But “rabbit ears” don’t matter right now, what matters is that we are here to talk about THE WHO, one of the (if not THE) greatest rock and roll bands of all time.

Right before we start recording (and after a few drinks), Jim takes off the WHO’S NEXT CD, and puts on the LIVE AT LEEDS LP I bought over. Free advice for the day; Clean vinyl is a great way to kick start an interview.

The participants.

JM = Jim Wilson, guitar and vocals
MB = Marcus Blake, bass and vocals
MT = Matt Tecu, drums and vocals
JB = James Beaton, your humble moderator

JB: Let’s start with the obvious question. Was there a song or an album that first got you into THE WHO?

JW: I know mine.

JB: You, go.

JW: I always knew about THE WHO, and I always heard them on the radio. So I kinda knew they were one of the greatest bands. So when I was a little kid in 1978, when WHO ARE YOU came out, I bought it. The same day I bought AMBROSIA and found out they sucked, I confirmed THE WHO were incredible. WHO ARE YOU was kind of the new and latest WHO record, so it felt really new to me, ya know?  It was current, not just classic rock.

MT: The first time I heard THE WHO was when I was about 8 or so. I had this baby-sitter, Marcia something?  Yeah, it was Marcia Dubet. All my baby sitters were these super hot 70’s teenage girls. Ya know, like Susan Partridge or something. Well, one day she sat me down, played TOMMY, and explained the whole thing to me. And I was like, “whoa, that is really cool.” Cus you know it’s a pretty trippy story anyway, but to an 8 year old it’s really mind-blowing hearing about some deaf, dumb, and blind Pinball Wizard. So then, the first album I got was that Christmas. I had this little tape recorder. Not a full-blown stereo, just a cassette tape player/recorder. My Dad wanted to get me some music I could listen to on it. My brother Pete told him that I liked THE WHO, so they got me QUADROPHENIA. Thing is, they fit that double length LP on one cassette, so the tape was stretched real thin. I can’t tell you how many times that tape snapped or got munched and I had to repair that cassette. But it was worth it. QUADROPHENIA is such a great album. My early teen years, like 12 – 14, that was like my punk rock expeerience.

MB: For me, it was like THE BEATLES, THE STONES and THE KINKS. You would just hear a lot of them on the radio. So it wasn’t really any one album. In the beginning I just got to know all their great songs from the radio. THE WHO was just a part of life. At first you’re just hearing more of the WHO’S NEXT stuff on the radio, then later when you started digging deeper, you get into all those great singles.

JW: Then when I first heard TOMMY, it was like “whoa!” It was just too much to digest. So I got into SELL OUT, and that was a little more accessible. I love QUAD too, but I was kind of a late bloomer with that one.

MB: I think once you see the movie KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, it’s guaranteed you’re a fan. I think that clinched it more than any one album did.

JW: Greatest documentary of all time.

MT: Yeah, once you see the visual side of THE WHO, especially in their prime, you are blown away. That film had a big impact on me.

JB: Yeah, it’s a great movie. So…

MT: Oh, one more thing I want to mention about THE WHO. When we were looking at that book (ANYWAY, ANYHOW, ANYWHERE), you could see they were extremely fashionable, especially in the early days. They had this look; the haircuts, the clothes with the targets and flags and stuff, it’s just so great. They put a lot of effort in to that, and they stuck out. Not content to be just another British band in suits.

JB: Thoughts on Keith Moon?

MT: The thing I like most about Keith’s playing is that he is IMPOSSIBLE to duplicate. I was in this band DIG, and we were recorded a cover PICTURES OF LILLY. And we wanted to do it just like THE WHO. Exactly like their version as an experiment. But it was so hard. It’s impossible to sound like Keith Moon. He doesn’t play like you think he plays.

MB: Moon’s playing on Bargain? I mean, it’s so him! You can tell it’s him instantly!

JB: Matt, was Keith Moon a big influence on your playing?

MT: Well, yeah. I mean, you steal from everyone when you’re learning. You form your vocabulary. It’s like a baby listening to everyone talk. Then the baby starts to form it’s own words. And yeah, I got a lot of “vocabulary” from Keith Moon. But the biggest thing I got from Keith Moon was the attitude. Most of the great 50’s drummers, who were really great, were content to kind of layback. Ya know? Almost going un-noticed. Keith Moon put an end to that. Before Keith Moon, I didn’t even know a drummer could have that attitude. I’m also a drummer that plays a lot with the guitar, and that’s what Keith does. I’ve been fortunate to have played with a lot of great bass players, like Marcus. Bass players that I don’t have to follow. In fact to some extent, they follow me, and I follow the guitarist.

JB: To me Keith Moon is a superb example of a drummer who plays for the song. A lot of people don’t think so and they assume he’s just going nuts, but he’s really playing “for the song” in the truest sense.

MT: Yeah. It’s less of a rhythmic funk groove, that a lot of the other drummers I love have, but yeah it’s still “for the song”. Those other guys were all about the “beat”. But Keith Moon, I mean the guy hardly ever played a high hat. What he did was more musical punctuation.  Things like an orchestra percussionist.  You see a great symphonic piece with an orchestra and they have a tympani player, a guy playing cymbals, a guy playing the bells, and a guy playing something like a snare drum. Well Keith Moon is doing ALL THESE JOBS AT ONCE!

JB: Townshend once said, “Keith Moon was not a timekeeper for the band, although he did have perfect timing.”

MT: More importantly than keeping time, is being tight with the band. So even though he wasn’t keeping perfect meter, he WAS perfectly in time with the band. When Pete would rush, he would rush. When everyone would pull back, so would Keith. It was all about drama. Keith Moon is a genius.

JB: Have you ever seen THE WHO live in concert?

MT: Yeah, I saw them, but it was like THE WHO ORCHESTRA. It was when Simon Phillips was playing drums. It was like a 17 piece band. Ya know, horn section, 2 chick backing singers, just a ton of people up there. It was huge. But it sounded great. The first set they did was TOMMY, the whole album. Then the second set was like their greatest hits.

JB: Did he play an acoustic all night?  Because I think he did when I saw them on that tour in Los Angeles .

MT: No, he played some acoustic, but he also played his Strat. It was St. Louis , Busch stadium. But that’s the great thing about Pete’s writing. He writes these big songs that are suited for an orchestra, but it’s usually these 4 drunk guys up on stage. And it suits them perfect too!

MB: I’ve never seen them. But I did meet John Entwistle, and talked to him for a few minutes.

JB: Where?

MB: I went to THE CHINA CLUB back in the 90’s. They were having a celebrity jam. I heard that Bowie might play there. So I went down there. It wasn’t Bowie , but it was a weird collection of people playing together. John Entwistle on bass, Slash on guitar, Sam Kinison on vocals, and some other jokers. After the show he was outside waiting for a cab or something and he was standing right next to me. So I just started talking to him. He was really nice.

JB: What did you talk about?

MB: Oh, ya know, basically just telling him how great he is. Nothing he hasn’t heard before. But I’ve never seen THE WHO live, always too broke when they come around!

JW: September 25’th 1981 I saw The Rolling Stones in Philadelphia , September 25’th 1982 I saw THE WHO in Philadelphia .  Amazing show! With Kenny Jones, not Keith Moon. With opening acts The Clash, Santana, and The Hooters. Glad I got to see The Clash; glad I got to see THE WHO. My sister and her boyfriend (now husband) took me to the show. It was an outside stadium and there was a cooler full of beers that someone brought. We were taking turns standing on the cooler. Towards the end when Townshend started smashing his guitar, my sister’s boyfriend got off the cooler and put me on it. He knew I was the one who needed to see this.

JB: Roger Daltrey, what comes to mind?

MT: I think he’s an amazing singer. He’s one of the most identifiable voices in rock and roll. And he had the power to match the music, which is no easy task! Not a bad harmonica player either.

MB: Daltrey gets a bad rap, and I don’t know why. He was the perfect candidate for vocals. In the early days they were playing R&B and trying to sound black. And he did sound black. He did his job.

JW: Yeah, and then Townshend got kind of arty and started writing weirder songs, which I love, and Daltrey had to struggle to try and pull that off.

JB: Yeah, until TOMMY. Then Daltrey kind of found his new voice, and Townshend started writing for that voice.

JW: That’s true, that’s true.

MT: Yeah, for two guys who didn’t really care for each other too much, they did compliment each other. Pete wrote beautiful parts for Roger to sing. Don’t get me wrong; I love Pete’s voice.  But when you sing along to those songs, you are singing along to the powerful voice of Roger. QUADROPHENIA is one of the greatest vocals albums ever.

Jim picks LIVE AT LEEDS off the turntable. “Oh check it out. It says THE Magic Bus instead of just Magic Bus.” Then Marcus comes in with some genius, “This should be the title of this interview…  Crackling noiises are o.k, do not correct.” At this point Jim puts on SELL OUT, Mono LP and I decide that will be the title of this interview!  Drinks ensue.

JB: Here’s the “record geek” question. Any thoughts on the fact that the main catalogue has been re-mixed?  Only one or two available right now in their ORIGINAL mix.

MT: I haven’t heard them. I’m not a collector so much. I just remember how I grew up with them, on vinyl. And those sounded perfect! I don’t really know about the re-issues.

JW: It’s fucking bull shit! The re-mix of THE WHO SELL OUT is completely wrong and I also just heard the original HAPPY JACK Mono LP and it sounds incredible. Why did it get re-mixed?

MB: Yeah, the Mono sounds almost punk rock in places, the drums are way out front. Then you get the re-mix versions and it’s all spread out. It kind of weakens it.

JW: It sounds so digital.

MB: The packaging is great though.

JB: Yeah, I dig that too. And the bonuses are good.

JW: The difference between the original mixes versus the re-mixes is like Heaven and Hell.

JB: John Entwistle. Marcus, has his playing influenced how you approach the bass?

MB: Absolutely. He’s one of my top three bass players. Isn’t he everybody’s?  I think that like all great bass players he’s melodic. He doesn’t just play the root. His bass parts are like songs within songs. Like McCartney does. That’s probably what I’ve tried to steal from him.

JW: That’s two, who’s the third?

MB: James Jamerson.

 (A collective nod from everyone for the MOTOWN genius)

MT: Entwistle plays with the strength of 10 bass players! What else can I say? Amazing player, amazing singer, amazing writer. He’s the musician’s musician.

JB: The thing that blows me away, is that he is simultaneously anchoring down the band from flying away AND playing crazy intricate parts. It’s like he solos and plays rhythm at the same time?  How does he do that?

MT: I have no idea how he does it. If more people knew, I think more people would sound like him. But practically know one can sound like him, that’s why he’s so great.

JB: Let’s talk about the man himself, Pete Townshend.

MB: Man, those chords. Those Townshend chords.

JW: Skewed Townshend chords rule my life.

MT: Pete Townshend’s guitar playing has such a signature style. And I love the fact that he had these walls of HIWATT cabinets cranked up super loud, but a real clean tone. He plays really clean and he plays these lush chords that are more like acoustic guitar chords. They just ring out, and are beautiful. But at blistering volume!

JW: In a way, Townshend is a better lead guitar player than most lead guitar players. But he doesn’t make you listen to a guitar solo for like ten minutes. And that’s deceptive, because his lead parts are amazing!

MB: Townshend is also the best strummer in rock and roll, period! He’s so precise.

JW: Yeah, back to the chords for a second. He’s like the equivalent to Stevie Wonder making up chords on keyboards; it’s just phenomenal.

MB: Yeah, and also like Stevie Wonder, Townshend didn’t invent those chords, but they are distinctively his.

JB: Is that an influence on your song writing.

MB: Absolutely.

JW: Why do the ordinary, when you can do the extraordinary?

JB: And the lyrics?

JW: Amazing! He changed the way people wrote rock and roll songs. What more can you say?

MT: Again to QUADROPHENIA. I’m just some kid in my room sitting there with my bong. But I could see everything from that record playing out like a movie in my head. A great lyricist is just like a great writer of a book. You capture the imagination of the reader (or the listener) to where they can literally see it in their head. Townshend does that while not too many do.

JB: Yep. In fact when you watch the QUADROPHENIA movie. Everything that’s in there, you can find where the film writers got that from the lyrics of the album. It’s all there.

MT: Actually the movie that was in my head from that album; I liked that better than the movie they finally made.

JW: Also, Townshend is the master of the capo. Using the capo to always have the “A” formation in songs. Always going for the big “A” rock!

(Jim picks up a nearby guitar. there’s always a few lying around every room of THE MOTHERSHIP, and gives a demonstration. Plays through a bunch of Townshend riffs)

 JB: If push comes to shove, what’s your favorite WHO album?

MT: QUADROPHENIA. I love LIVE AT LEEDS and TOMMY too, but it’s QUADROPHENIA.

JW: SELL OUT for me. I love the radio vibe, the funny ness, and great songs, just love everything about it.

MB: I’d have to say QUADROPHENIA. The band at their peak in terms of power and Townshend’s writing.

JW: That doesn’t mean I don’t love QUADROPHENIA!

(Everyone laughs!)

MB: Yeah, my opinion could change tomorrow.

JW: Every album, including FACE DANCES and IT’S HARD I love! I really do! I could never consider NOT having them in my possession. The song Athena? It gets a bad rap, but that’s a great song.

MB: You Better You Bet?

JW: Another great one nobody talks about.

MT: When music hits you on such a personal level, that’s when it really matters. I grew up listening to THE WHO alone in my room. I was very alone and THE WHO was my best friend. And when I left my bedroom after listening to THE WHO, I was walking tall. THE WHO gave you strength. You had bigger balls!  Let THE WHO do for you what you can’t do for yourself. God bless THE WHO!