By Junkman
Recently, I had a chance to sit down and chat with one of my favorite vocalists, the great Paul Rodgers. It took place during my show on KNAC.COM in Hollywood, and he surprised me by bringing in his acoustic guitar and performing three songs. What a treat! He was promoting his latest CD and DVD entitled Live In Glasgow. I have been a fan of his for many years. The following interview was not only fun, but very informative. I hope you enjoy it.
Junkman: Paul, thank you for being here.
Paul: Thank you very much for having me, Mr. Junkman sir. Itâs very nice to be here.
Junkman: If I seem a little bit nervous, just understand that Iâve been a fan â you probably hear this quite a bit, I would imagine, from people all over the world. Your body of work is just astounding; I mean youâve worked for so long and everything is just amazing.
Paul: Thank you. You know I appreciate that because, for me, what itâs always been about, really is the excitement. Iâm still a music fan. I still listen to the people I grew up on, and I still get excited about meeting those people and listening to that music. And really, the enthusiasm is really what itâs all about.
Junkman: Absolutely. You know itâs funny â youâre talking about the people you grew up on. I have one of the guys I grew up on right here. I donât want to date myself or anything. In my first band we were playing Bad Company and Free songs.
Paul (laughs): Can you remember which ones?
Junkman: I do remember âCanât Get Enoughâ and I do remember we playedâŚ
Paul: âFeel Like Making Loveâ maybe?
Junkman: We played âThe Stealer,â we played âAll Right NowââŚ
Paul: Oh, OK.
Junkman: And I know we played âWishing Wellâ for sure.
Paul: Great, great, great (laughs).
Junkman: That was quite a band back then, bashing it out in the garage and everything. Trying to do your moves â that patented microphone thing.
Paul: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Junkman: Iâm a drummer, bashing it out, but I would sing a couple as well.
Paul: Oh thatâs good. Thatâs great.
Junkman: God, youâre here now, this is great. You have a brand new record, Live In Glasgow.
Paul: Yeah, Live In Glasgow. Itâs a CD and a DVD. The CD has been out a couple of weeks, and the DVD is just out. And the booklets are different on each.
Junkman: Why Glasgow?
Paul: Well, Glasgow was a good venue to film in. We thought of doing it in Newcastle the night before. All the shows were great â it was completely sold out. We could have done it anywhere, really. We had 13 cameras, and I wanted to catch the show without the cameras getting in the way of what we were going to be doing. Clyde Hall has this nice wide stage so that we could bring in the cameras, and they wouldnât be too intrusive. Also, the Glasgow crowds â bless them â have always been supportive.
Junkman: Iâm a partial Scot.
Paul: Are you?
Junkman: So, I know theyâre very enthusiastic.
Paul: They love their rock and roll, and they have from way, way back.
Junkman: Perfect. Youâve got a great band as well on this thing as well. I noticed our old friend Howard Leese is playing guitar.
Paul: Howard Leese, yes.
Junkman: And you also have Ryan Hoyle playing drums. Or is that Jeff Kathan?
Paul: Jeff Kathan is normally in my solo band. Ryan came along with me on the U.K. solo tour because I wanted to try him out. Heâs such a great drummer. He normally plays with Collective Soul. I watched their DVD and was just knocked out with his playing, so I wanted to try him out. And he was absolutely fantastic, especially with the new songs. But Jeff is there and playing with me live now. We just do about 15 dates a year. Iâm trying to pull back a little bit because I want to have a bit of a life. Itâs just so busy because Iâm proceeding on two fronts with the solo and with Queen as well.
Junkman: Thatâs the other thing. A lot of us who have been fans of your career for so long were completely flabbergasted when you went out and played with Queen. But, Iâm telling you, itâs amazing. And we knew it would be. How did that whole thing come about with you singing for Queen? I mean, those big shoes to fill and being able to do it 100%…110âŚ
Paul: We played together on a live TV show, and we had such a blast with it. They played my songs and I played theirs. We came off stage and said we have to do something. The enthusiasm was there from the start. Normally, I have jam sessions with people, and what often happens is: âOh yeah, we gotta do something. Iâll see you later, man.â And you get busy and nothing happens. But with this, we really did follow it up. And then Brian (May) called me up and said, âHow do you fancy doing a tour in Europe? Just a small tour as Queen plus Paul Rodgers?â And I was shocked actually for a second.
Junkman: We all were.
Paul: I had thought, âOh, thatâs kind of different.â I had thought that maybe just Roger, Brian and myself would get together and write some songs and do some shows just for fun. But this was different; it was somehow much bigger. And it really was. It grew from being a European tour into a worldwide tour, which took two years to get around. It took us all by surprise and itâs great.
Junkman: And people were just completely blown away. Iâve seen video of what you guys did together. I didnât get to see it live, but I plan on it. Whatâs the future hold for that? Recording-wise, touring-wiseâŚ
Paul: Iâm proceeding on two fronts. Iâm doing solo shows and Iâve also been in the studio with Brian and Roger and weâve been laying down some songs.
Junkman: Terrific.
Paul: Weâre very excited, actually. Yes, we are very excited.
Junkman: Look at me â Iâm shaking. Weâre all shaking (laughs). Weâre ready for it. Just bring it on. Any idea on when any kind of release would be for that?
Paul: Well, management would like us to record an album this year, then tour next year. And that would be sort of the perfect scenario. But weâve let the thing develop naturally up until now. And I think thatâs what weâll do. The priority has got to be: Do we really like? Is this strong enough? Is this how we feel? Is this what we want? So, it depends, really, on how quickly it comes together in the studio. And so far, itâs moving along at its own pace, naturally, very well. Thereâs such fire when we play together. Itâs very cool, actually.
Junkman: I donât doubt that for a moment. With the solo thing thatâs going on right now, I know youâve played a few selected dates in the area and around the world. Youâve got a benefit Iâm told youâre playing pretty soon. Thereâs two benefits coming up, right?
Paul: The first one is the L.A.P.D. â thatâs for the fallen officer. Thatâs something dear to my heart, and Iâd like to do that.
Junkman: Along with my good friend Stuart Smith and Heaven and Earth. How did you get involved with that?
Paul: Basically, they called and said, âWould you do it?â And I said, âWhatâs it all about?â And they said, âItâs for the fallen officers and that.â And I thought, âWow, thatâs definitely something Iâd love to do.â I think I get to be an honorary detective or something for the day. It means I can go around and arrest all these people who have been bothering me all these years (laughs).
Junkman: Write a few tickets here, write a few tickets there. Get away with a couple of speeding tickets âcause youâre in the know.
Paul: Yeah, itâs a bit nervy because they do a background check on you. So God knowsâŚ(laughs)
Junkman: You do have a history, my friend.
Paul: OK buddy (laughs).
Junkman: Thatâs awesome. I believe thatâs at the Avalon. It used to be the Palace over there on Vine in Hollywood. And youâve got another one?
Paul: The Earth Day Jam. It just came in. Theyâve asked us to do this. Itâs an environmental benefit.
Junkman: Where is that taking place?
Paul: Al Gore is behind this.
Junkman: Oh, the great big show. Cool.
Paul: Yeah, again thatâs a cause near to my heart. I think Al Gore has got a lot of good things to say. And I think itâs time that humanity woke up to what weâre doing to the planet. I mean, itâs really obvious, and we have to start doing something. So, itâs my little contribution.
Junkman: Can you imagine what it would have been like in the United States if he had just gotten a couple more votes? Just goes to show you â everyone counts (laughs).
Paul: You know itâs true â we actually have the power. You know, we put these people in power and then they go and do things in our name. So we have to be careful that we vote the right person in. Turn up and vote, yeah. Listen to me, Iâm on my soapbox here.
Junkman: You know what, you can do it.
Paul: Itâs true, isnât it? When I was a kid, you know, it was, who cares? You know, politicians, blah, blah, blah…
Junkman: Well, growing up in England, I would imagine, you have your monarchy. It was all a different story back then and still is, compared to the United States.
Paul: We still do have the monarchy, and we sort of love them, deep in our minds, you know. But I just wish there was a way that human beings could transcend this need to have war. Weâre all kind of sick to the back teeth about it, I think.
Junkman: Youâve got a new track called âWarboysâ…
Paul: ⌠itâs moving along quite smoothlyâŚ
Junkman: âŚthat deals with this particular subject. Thatâs quite the segue, huh?
Paul: Yeah, thatâs quite the segue, but itâs true. I called âWarboysâ as a sub-title âA Prayer To Peaceâ because I wanted people to understand that it is a prayer for peace; itâs not a glorification of war in any way. Iâm of the opinion, when you look back through the history of mankind, there always seems to have been hardwired into us this need for warfare. I wish, I really truly wish, we could transcend that. And live and work the earth as if it was a garden. You know what I mean? And share things. It would be so cool if we were more spiritually aware. In fact, maybe Iâll play it.
Junkman: Absolutely! Are you kidding me?
Paul: Let me just pull out a pick.
Junkman: I was going to play the one on the CD, but youâve got the guitar. Itâs not even a question. (To radio audience) Would you guys like to hear him play this live in the studio with his acoustic guitar? Iâm talking about the brand new single â itâs called âWarboysâ and itâs on the brand new CD Live In Glasgow. I think weâre gonna hear it here live.
Paul plays âWarboysâ
Junkman: Paul Rodgers live in the studio playing âWarboys.â That was beautiful my friend.
Paul: Thank you, thank you.
Junkman: A thrill for me to witness this live from this close.
Paul: All right.
Junkman: How long did it take you to write that song?
Paul: You know what? Itâs been on the backburner for a long time, actually. And I never really got it finished. Thereâs been a lot of wars, not just the current one. In between starting the writing of that song and its culmination right now, it just seems to be appropriate now. I was playing this for a wonderful lady friend of mine called Cynthia. And I was saying, âYou know Iâve got this song, and it just needs a middle eight and goes something like thisâŚâ(starts playing and humming) and I said, âThatâs what it needs.â And the song was finished right there, you know.
Junkman: Iâm flabbergasted right now. Thatâs the word that Iâm thinking of. If someone wants to know: âDo I need a Depends?â Yes, I do, I need an adult diaper right about now (laughs). Itâs just beautiful. My God, thereâs so many things that I want to talk to you about. For one, obviously youâve got this big powerful, bluesy, beautiful voice. When did you first realize that you wanted to be a singer? Or that you had some talent? Or did someone tell that this is what you need to do? How did this all start for you? I know itâs been awhile ago.
Paul: Yeah, itâs been awhile now. Itâs been like 30 years, I think. Thirty-nine (clears throat) Iâm told. (sings) Lordy, lordy. You know, I got interested, letâs see, in the charts any way, because there was always a radio on in my house. And I used to listen to all the vocalists â you know people like Frank Sinatra, Elvis â when Elvis came out because my older sisters were way into Elvis, of course. And it was just something that I gravitated towards. The Beatles came out and that blew my mind actually. The Beatles were great; they really helped me through my teenage years.
Junkman: Likewise.
Paul: Yeah. Through the Stones, I discovered a lot of blues and people like B.B. King and Muddy Waters, and that got deeper and deeper. When the Stones sang (sings), I donât want to be no slave/I donât want to work all day/I donât want you âcause Iâm sad and blue/I just want to make love to you⌠When I heard that, I thought, oh thatâs not (sings), She loves you/Yeah, yeah, yeah⌠No, itâs actually a little deeper, you know. So, thatâs how I discovered Muddy Waters and those blues things. I also found out that if I imitated Otis Redding, of courseâŚ
Junkman: One of my favorites.
Paul: Yeah, and there was the Temptations and the Four Tops. Then there was Aretha Franklin â all these great singers coming out. Sam and Dave. I just started to imitate those guys. I had a bass player who used to say, âIâll bet you canât do what he just did thereâŚâ And Iâd try it and it was a great way of learning. Because it was a challenge to go (sings), yea-a-a-a-a-a-ah⌠or whatever they were doing. And I learned from the masters, actually, in that respect.
Junkman: Awesome. I know that in the early 60s a lot of these blues pioneers were touring with a lot of the English rock bands in England because thatâs where they could actually pick up a rock tour and get paid for what they were doing, as opposed to the United States â they were playing crappy places and over there, you actually had bands like the Stones that would have like Muddy Waters opening for them.
Paul: Yeah, thatâs true. They were deeply respected over there, the blues guys.
Junkman: Sure.
Paul: I saw Muddy Waters at the famous Marquee Club in London. And I was completely blown away because up until then I bought his records and he existed on some other planet. But for him to be right there in front of meâŚ
Junkman: Now you know how Iâm feeling today. This is exactly what Iâm feeling like today.
Paul: But you know what I loved about him was that he didnât sit there and play to that glass window in front of him; he was there. And he was like talking to the people and he was reaching out and touching them. And it was, âWhoa!â You know?
Junkman: Itâs happening now.
Paul: I love that. The fact that it was so much an âin the momentâ thing â he was there tonight.
Junkman: Right, approachable, too.
Paul: Absolutely.
Junkman: To actually come up to somebody and listen to them in a small club like that â just one of your heroes.
Paul: I said I learn from them, Iâm still learning from those guys, I still put James Brown on and say, âMy God, how does he do that? How did he ever do that?â And Sam Moore. I actually recently recorded with Sam Moore and that was such a thrill. I was like a 13-year-old kid again. We both shared a mic; you know we had this song, we had the lyrics in front of us. Iâm used to that, you know. Then Sam goes, âWho-o-o-o-oh!â or something. And I went, âOh, my God â thatâs Sam Moore!â And I was in shorts (laughs) and my school uniform, and I was 13 again.
Junkman: Looking like Angus Young.
Paul: (laughs)Yeah.
Junkman: So, basically, it was out of that, that made you say, âIâve got to do this. This is just what I wanna to doâŚâ
Paul: There was never any question for me. It was definitely what I had to do. In my hometown at that time, my father and the older generation would always say, âYou have to get a trade.â Itâs a heavy industrial area up there, steel mills, ship building, coal mining, chemicals.
Junkman: Are you talking about Sheffield?
Paul: Middlesbrook. Itâs just up from Newcastle, which is a beautiful place. And you know you really have to get a trade because if you donât get your trade, youâll just be likeâŚyou wonât be nobody, you know. But I passed up on that opportunity because it was music that I wanted to do, and Iâm still doing it.
Junkman: When was the first time somebody actually said, âYou know what â you got something going â youâre good? This is what you need to be doing.â When was the first real support that you got? Was it someone you can remember who said, âYou know, you have a talent at this and you need to continueâ?
Paul: We had a class band and we were rehearsing in the living room and stuff like that. And it was OK. And then this guy came into the school called Colin Bradley, and he was really very good. He was playing all this stuff â Bob Dylan stuff and songs and things like that, and we had him in the band and his brother managed us â he had this older brother that managed us â and he was so knowledgeable. He was a long-distance driver and he really knew the music scene for some reason, He knew the world. He had a much bigger picture of the world itself. We lived in this small town, and thatâs all everything was about. He opened our minds to a lot of music. Heâs the one I should thank. Joe Bradley, my first manager, fantastic guy.
Junkman: He was the one that said, âKeep doing this kid, you know what youâre doing…â
Paul: Yeah, he stuck by us.
Junkman: And then through the late 60s, you hooked up with Paul Kossoff and formed Free.
Paul: Yeah, I did. Iâd been down in London. The thing was in those days, everything happened in London. Nothing really happened outside; all the studios were there, all the record companies and everything. I went and lived down there, and I would see Paul Kossoff around town. And finally I got to meet him. I had a band called Brown Sugar and we were playing in this blues club, and he just came up and his hair was down to the back of his knees and he looked very cool.
Junkman: I know those guys.
Paul: Well, so was mine, so we had that in common, right? He says, âIâd like to have a jam.â And he got up and we played a couple of B.B. King songs. And I said to him, âMan, you and I are going to form a band.â And heâs like, âBut, Iâm with a band.â And I said, âNever mind about that â weâre gonna form a new band. And itâs going to be professional.â And thatâs how Free was born.
Junkman: Such legendary music that came out of that. Like I said, âWishing Wellâ was a part of all my bands. âAll Right Nowâ â still itâs one of those ones that when I get together with friends and they say, âHey, you want to come up and play some drums, letâs jam on something,â that usually is one of the first two or three songs I think about. Itâs got that whole backbeat thing going.
Paul: Itâs amazingly perennial, âAll Right Now.â I didnât play it. I left Free and formed Bad Company with Mick Ralphs, and went and wrote a whole new catalog for that â didnât go near âAll Right Nowâ or any of the Free stuff, except maybe âThe Stealer,â which I think we may have done. So it was a completely brand new unit, and then the Firm. And it was not until 1992 that I was on a blues tour â I was touring in support of the Muddy Waters tribute CD â and actually the band was calling for âAll Right Nowâ behind me. And I had the audience in front of me going,â Yeah, yeah, yeah â do âAll Right Nowâ.â Then I started to do the song. I did it one night and it took the roof right off the place. You know, I thought, âActually, itâs quite good.â (laughs) I hadnât played it for some 20 years, and I then I played it and thought, âOK, this is going to stay in the set.â And it kind of did.
Junkman: His (Paul Kossoffâs) death must have been devastating.
Paul: Yeah, it was. You know, I still donât think Iâm over that because it was such a shame. I wish that he and I could have gotten back together in some way, shape or form. I was in the middle of a Bad Company tour when I heard about his death, and I was ready to go home. I was ready to quit right there and go home, but Peter Grant (Bad Company/Led Zeppelin manager) talked some sense into me. Basically, he said, âYou can do that, but what will it do now? Itâs too late. And you will let so many people down â youâve got a sold-out tour and everybodyâs waiting.â And I said, âYouâre right. I should finish the tour.â But it was a terrible loss because you donât know what we might have done, what might have been.
Junkman: Well yeahâŚcouldâve, wouldâve, shouldâve â you know. Now, you mentioned Peter Grant, of course, he managed Led Zeppelin and you guys were on the Swan Song label. You were like the first band signed to Swan Song, if Iâm not mistaken.
Paul: Yeah, we were. Maggie Bell was on there, the Pretty Things and somebody called Detective was on there.
Junkman: Michael Des Barresâ band.
Paul: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they were very good to us. It was one of the best labels you could have been on because you actually had the directors â Jimmy Page. Robert Plant, John Paul Jones.
Junkman: At the height of their popularity. The Gods of rock!
Paul: They were the Gods of rock! Yeah, and they picked us and it was a real honor. We were like school kids in their school. Talk about going to the school of rock and roll.
Junkman: Itâs funny, weâre talking about Bad Company, the band after Free. A couple of weeks ago, I had Glenn Hughes on the show, and he was referring to when he joined Deep Purple. I had him and I had Ian Gillan both talking about when they had left the band, and then Deep Purple was looking for a singer and they actually wanted you. Ritchie Blackmore wanted you and you actually had the guts to say, âYou know what? Iâve got a band,â meaning Bad Company. Thatâs huge.
Paul: Yeah, well who knows â again itâs would have been, could have been. We met those guys in Australia when Free actually did their last shows. I think I was on the plane, going back with them or going out from Japan or something. We were all sitting on the plane and we got along really well. I thought about it for a bit, but I was pretty keen on forming what became Bad Company at that time. And I thought, âNo, I donât want to switch horses at this point.â
Junkman: Can we touch on Bad Company? How that got formed and you and Mick RalphsâŚ
Paul: Well, yeah I was touring with a band called Peace. Three of us, three-piece âHa ha.
Junkman: There you go.
Paul: And we were touring with Mott The Hoople, and Mick and I would get together in the band room. We just gravitated. And he played me âCanât Get Enoughâ and âMovinâ Onâ and a couple of other things. And I said, âThese are great songs. Is the band playing these?â And he said, âNah, itâs not really their cup of tea, you know. Itâs not really their style.â And I said, âWell, give it to me. Iâll do it.â I would play him a song, and he would say, âIâve got something similar, that would go with this.â And we started writing songs together. The guitar player and singer writing songs was the nucleus of what became Bad Company.
Junkman: Itâs history.
Paul: It is now.
Junkman: Iâd like to touch on some of that. I was planning on playing something from the CD, but youâve got the guitar in the studio, my friend. Iâve got to hear something, Can you play something from that era for us? From the Free/Bad Company, somethingâŚ
Paul: Hereâs something, because I started to write this with Free when I first came to California, and I didnât finish it until a couple of years later with Bad Company. And it goes like thisâŚ
Paul plays âFeels Like Making Loveâ with Junkman tapping out a beat on the console
Junkman: Paul Rodgers live on KNAC.COM.
Paul: Hey, thanks for the nice drumming there.
Junkman: Absolutely, I get to do a little jamming with Paul Rodgers right here on the table. God, I wish my friend Jill was here, a good friend of mine down in Orange County. Sheâs a singer and worships the ground that you walk on. If she was here, sheâd be singing background vocals.
Paul: That would have been cool.
Junkman: This room would have exploded.
Paul: Maybe next time.
Junkman: Absolutely. So, âFeel Like Making Loveâ actually started during the Free days?
Paul: Yeah, it was one of those. I do a lot of songwriting. I have a lot of ideas on the backburner, as it were, all the time. We got to do the album that we were recording at that time. Mick says to me, âWhat do you got? What do you got?â And I said, âWell, Iâve got this one (sings): Baby, when I think about youâŚbut it needs like something else.â And he went, âOh, I know what this needs: Ba-boo bow.â And I went, âOh yeah (sings), and I feel like making love.â And that was born right there. It was all there.
Junkman: Iâll always remember the microphone stand thing. Youâve got a patented move, man.
Paul: (laughs) It turned out that way. Itâs like the signature things you do. I think we all have them.
Junkman: Sure. I got my drum face.
Paul: (laughs) Yeah, and itâs nice, itâs part of your personality, itâs what you do, itâs what youâre known for, I guess.
Junkman: So, through Bad Company, you recorded six great records together. Unbelievable stuff. Maybe more, maybe less. I thought it was about six, correct?
Paul: I think six, and then maybe there were some âBest Ofâsâ types, like 10 From 6 and that kind of thing.
Junkman: Itâs classic rock, you hate to say it, but itâs classic.
Paul: Itâs interesting, really, that itâs become classic rock. Classic rock is now a title of its own.
Junkman: We had a discussion on the KNAC chat room. I wish people would stop classifying rock music. Rock is rock. Itâs good or itâs bad or whatever it is.
Paul: Thatâs so true. If you look back at all those albums, youâll find that thereâs an acoustic on every album. We always tried to get some dimension in it. Itâs not wall-to-wall screaming-up-there rock and roll, although some of it is. And I try to make the shows like that. So that thereâs a variety of light and shade. And I find that interesting â different things going on.
Junkman: Absolutely. During the 80s, leaving Bad Company to pursue other avenues, you did some solo touring, you were in the involved in the ARMS tour in 1983, which I attended. I actually have a T-shirt here with me.
Paul: Wow.
Junkman: Yeah, I wanted to show you it.
Paul: I should have kept some of this stuff. Itâs there, and you donât bother. But thatâs great.
Junkman: The Ronnie Lane Appeal for ARMS, which actually was the first charity tour in rock that people had done.
Paul: I think it was. Actually, the first I knew of.
Junkman: Ground-breaking?
Paul: In a way, yeah. Actually, what I had done â I left Bad Company because I had a young family, I had two young kids who are now grown up. (Junkman hands Paul a shirt) There it is, look at thatâŚJeff Beck, Eric Clapton.
Junkman: The ARMS tour, which came from my Junkman archives. One of the reasons Iâm called Junkman is because I collect stuff like that.
Paul: Oh, thatâs why. That makes sense.
Junkman: Well, I collect stuff.
Paul: Only good junk, right?
Junkman: Oh yeah. Well, good junk like this (points to shirt).
Paul: It was a great tour because everyone was in the right direction, in a way, in the same direction. Everyone mucked in together, and did things together.
Junkman: And it was all to help out Ronnie Lane, with his affliction, which eventually â he got betterâŚ
Paul: Well, for a while there, when we started the tour, he was in a wheelchair. By the end of the tour though, he got so involved in the music that he actually walked across to the center of the stage and sang. Everybody was on stage and there wasnât a dry eye in the house. It was unbelievable. Right across the stage and he started singing âMaggie Mayâ or something, and we all said, âOK, letâs hit it.â It was fantastic. Yeah, it was a magical tour.
Junkman: Like I said, he was actually feeling better from that. Right after this, you hooked up with your old mate Pagey (Jimmy Page) and decided to start a band.
Paul: The reason we were out there was because we were already in the studio, Jimmy and I. I had put studio together in my house in Kingston and I was making a solo album, which turned out to be Cut Loose, and Jimmy came around to see what I was up to. And we started writing songs together (handed a record) Oh look at that, Thatâs great. Heâs got Cut Loose as well.
Junkman: Iâve got it all, my friend. Iâve got the Paul Rodgers solo album Cut Loose album, which is out of print right now for some reason.
Paul: Oh well.
Junkman: You canât get it.
Paul: It adds to the rarity.
Junkman: Exactly.
Paul: So, we were already in the studio and we got a call from Ronnie Lane, and he said, âWeâre doing this thing. And we heard you were in the studio.â We didnât know how they heard. It wasnât a secret, but we didnât make a lot of noise about it. âAnd can you come out and put a band together and do something with us?â And I said, âOhâŚâ And Jimmy says, âYeah, yeah, letâs go do it, letâs go do itâŚâ He was very gun-ho to get on the road and do something, and I had just come off the road and wanted to stay off the road. Anyway, so we came to the conclusion, we said, âOk, letâs go out and do this. âAnd the Firm was born from that, basically, to cut a long story short.
Junkman: You have a couple albums out â at least a couple.
Paul: Should we mention who was involved with the ARMS tour? There was Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Ray Cooper, Jan Hammer, Kenny Jones, Ronnie Lane â of course â Andy Fairweather-Low, fantastic, Jimmy Page, Simon Phillips, this guy here Paul Rodgers.
Junkman: Yeah, some guy named Paul Rodgers.
Paul: Fernando Saunders, great bass player, Chris Stainton, Ian Stewart from the Stones, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. Great, what a lineup.
Junkman: What a lot of people were talking about with that tour was that this would be the first time that the three big guitar players from the Yardbirds had gotten on stage together at the same time.
Paul: Yeah.
Junkman: It was Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton all at once.
Paul: Yes.
Junkman: Refresh my memory â were you on stage playing with all three of those members at the same time?
Paul: What happened was, we each did a set.
Junkman: I remember you were playing âBoogie Momma.â
Paul: Do you remember that? What happened was we each did our little separate entities, if you like. Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer would do their thing together, and myself and Jimmy would do our thing, and Joe Cocker would come out and do his thing, and at the very end, we came on for a big jam and thatâs when you would have seen the three guitarists. I donât think it had ever happened on stage prior to that.
Junkman: Eric had a bright blue suit on.
Paul: Yeah. For the entire tour.
Junkman: Yeah.
Paul: It was a very nice suit.
Junkman: Every tour heâs done, he always looks completely different. Heâs either got a different hair style or a different stylist. But he had this bright, shiny suit I remember. I canât recall what you were wearing..
Paul: We wore different things for different nights. But Eric decided this was going to be it for the entire tour. It was good actuallyâŚinstead of thinking, âWhat am I going to wear tonight.â It was gonna be the suit, you know.
Junkman: You had a few hits with the Firm, like âRadioactive,â which is on the new CD.
Paul: Well, we made some interesting music, I think. The first song that Jimmy and I wrote together was âMidnight Moonlight Lady.â He brought a little cassette along of this incredible piece of music. And he said, âDo you think you could write some lyrics to this?â And the chorus is in some weird tempo, like 9/4. Thereâs like an extra beat there, somehow. I hadnât realized that until after Iâd written the lyrics. I said, âYou know, itâs very strange working on that, Jimmy. I had to put an extra line in there.â And he just smiled and goes, âOh yeah, itâs kind of in 9/4.â Thanks for telling me, you know. But it was a beautiful piece of music. We did some good things, I thought.
Junkman: Along with Tony Franklin on bass.
Paul: Yes, Tony, great bass player.
Junkman: I see Tony every now and again, jamming with somebody, and heâs always got charts written up. And the rest of the band is just jamming away, and he has his charts written out.
Paul: Yeah, heâs a good bass player. Actually, we were gonna have Pino Palladino on bass. Tony was just there for rehearsals â bless him. And we got to the end of the rehearsal and were about to tour, and Pino couldnât make it. So Jim said to me, âLook, Tony knows all the songs, Heâs rehearsed with us, letâs take him.â And it was kind of a no-brainer, really, because he was very good.
Junkman: Iâm looking at my list. I want to get everything in order. The Law. The Law was a one CD thing I think you guys did. I still have my copy. I donât know where it is.
Paul: Yeah.
Junkman: : Itâs in my pile at “Junk Land” (Junkman’s house) someplace, along with the rest of the stuff. How did the Law come about?
Paul: Well, it all came about when I met Kenny Jones in a nightclub in London and we had a couple of drinks â probably a couple of drinks too many â and we decided to put a band together, and thatâs what became the Law. And we went to Atlantic Records and they said, âOK, letâs get behind it.â And we did a record and that was that.
Junkman: And this police benefit is taking the Law to a whole other level.
Paul: Yeah, I wonder if I should do something (sings) layinâ down the law, thatâs what this badge is forâŚ.
Junkman: You can have that idea, my friend, Take it away, play it live.
Paul: I could actually wear the CD.
Junkman: Bad Company reunited briefly in 1999. You guys did a box set. Was that a record company thing? Or did you say, âYou know what? Itâs time.â
Paul: I think it was time. A lot of water had flowed under the bridge and the record company did want to put this out, the box set. And it seemed like a good idea, and we wanted to do some new things. The result of that was we got together in the studio, and we recorded a couple of new songs, which went Number One to radio. That was very gratifying. âHey Heyâ and âHammer Of Love.â
Junkman: Unfortunately, this past year, Boz Burrell passed on.
Paul: Yeah..
Junkman: Another band mate of yours. You know, I donât want to bring up bad things like that, but what are your thoughts on Boz Burrell?
Paul: They broke the mold when they made Boz. He was a unique person. He loved touring and all of that. But I think, in many respects, Boz regarded himself as sort of a jazz musician and really thatâs where he wanted to be at, so we were kind of lucky to have him because he added such a great musicality to what we were doing. And I think in the end, thatâs where he went off to do. The last I heard of him, before he sadly passed, was that he was playing jazz and having a great time.
Junkman: The Muddy Waters blues record was amazing. How did it all come about? Was it, âThis is my roots, this is what I want to do. Can I do it?â Or was there someone who approached you and said, âWould you?â
Paul: I was approached by Victory Music, and they said, âWeâd like to do a blues album. Would you like to do that? Weâll give you free rein. You can do anything you like.â And it sounded like a great offer to me because I do have strong blues roots. I fixed on Muddy Waters. I could have really have done a tribute to Howlinâ Wolf in many respects too, or Elmore James or Albert King. But I chose Muddy because in many respects, heâs the Elvis of the blues. I think Elvis was deeply influenced by him actually. If you look at some of the early footage with the boots and hips swiveling, itâs very Muddy Waters. I focused on Muddy to keep the thing under control, and just give it free rein. We had a great time. I had Pino Palladino on bass, Jason Bonham on drums.
Junkman: An amazing drummer.
Paul: Which is some rhythm section, and we just let it rip and had fun and invited all these great guitar players and everybody said, âYes, love to do it.â
Junkman: Youâve played with so many great guitarists, and you play guitar yourself.
Paul: Like who? Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, Dave Gilmore, Slash, Trevor Rabin, whoâs fantastic.
Junkman: Sure, you got âem all, a veritable whoâs who. Brian MayâŚ
Paul: My mate, Brian. Yes.
Junkman: You got emâ all. Steve Miller, bluesy.
Paul: Yeah, Stevie. Great.
Junkman: Lots of blues guys on there.
Paul: It was nice, really, because everyone was able to pay homage in their own way to the blues. Itâs definitely there. I do feel that without the blues, thereâd be no rock and roll.
Junkman: Thatâs a given.
Paul: Sure.
Junkman: Youâve worked with so many of your idols. Is there anyone you havenât worked with but would love to one of these days?
Paul: Heâs died now, but George Harrison would have been someone I would have loved to have worked with. Unfortunately, heâs gone from us. We owe so much to that guy, heâs so underrated in a way â if you can be a Beatle and be underrated. He was awesome, you know. He was so brave to bring up the sitar and all that kind of esoteric music from the East, and bring that to our consciousness. I would have never discovered it.
Junkman: Completely in the public realm in 1967 or something like that. Nobody had ever listened to a sitar, especially on a rock record before he came along. But somebody living, who would be somebody contemporary youâd like to work with?
Paul: Aretha Franklin. How about Aretha? That would be cool. She is the Queen of SoulâŚ
Junkman: No doubt about it.
Paul: I have been on stage with Aretha, but we didnât actually sing together except on the encore when everybody was there. The Four Tops were doing a 50 year celebration, 50 years in the music business, which is longer than the Stones, and they did it in Detroit. And everyone from the soul world was there. All my heroes â Sam Moore, the Temptations, the Four Tops, of course, Aretha â all these great people. I actually sang a couple of their songs (sings), I remember just before we met, when every night and day I had to live the life⌠âLoving You Is Sweeter Than Ever.â I love that song. And âLove Music,â (sings) we need music, love musicâŚThose guys were writing thoughtful, deep music back then. We need more love music. Itâs cool. Aretha â thatâd be cool. (sings) Yeah, yeahâŚ
Junkman: If Aretha Franklinâs people are listnening (or reading) to this, I really have a great duet for you, this is someone you need to record with. So, anybody out there whoâs involved with Aretha Franklin, any which way you know how to get a hold of her, have her get a hold of Mr. Paul Rodgers.
Paul: That would be nice. That would be beautiful.
Junkman: Weâve been touching so much on this CD, and we havenât played anything yet. I have you here in the studio with a guitar. Is there something else youâd care to play off the CD, or would you just like to listen to something?
Paul: I think itâs time to listen to a bit of the CD.
Junkman: You pick a track, my friend. I want to hear what Paul Rodgers would like you to hear, the listening public. Heâs perusing the CD right now (laughs). Someone listening said you resemble Danny Bonaduce without the red hair (laughs). Not a compliment, OK. Some one else says you look like Sully from Godsmack as well.
Paul: Heâs a great singer. Unfortunately, we canât see these people to see what they look like. OK, letâs be different, I think itâs track nine, âI Just Want To See You Smile.â
Junkman: Could you give us an intro to thatâŚ
Paul: Well, actually, this is a song I wrote in Jamaica many years ago. I was out there with a friend of mine, Chris Blackwell, and he said, âAh, letâs go down and record this with the Maytals in the studio.â So I recorded this as a reggae song originally..
Junkman: He (Chris) was the president of Island Records. Heâs all about that.
Paul: Yeah, and we were on Island Records at the time. So, we went along and it was amazing, a different experience. It was very cool. This is more of how the song was originally written, with more of a Hendrixy vibe to it. (points to Junkmanâs Jimi Hendrix T-shirt) There he is, the man himself.
Junkman: Iâm wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt today, by the way here in the studio. Weâre touching on all the same things, my friend, and Iâm thrilled to death about that.
Plays âI Just Want To See You Smileâ from the CD
Junkman: You (also) have some new songs on Live In Glasgow, including (one with) your son.
Paul: Yeah, Stevenâs on there. He came up to Newcastle and Glasgow, and opened the show for us with his acoustic guitar, so we included one of the songs on there. I think itâs called âSunshine.â Itâs not on the CD; itâs on the DVD.
Junkman: Thatâs got to be such a thrill for you. You also have a daughter whoâs a musician.
Paul: I do, Jasmine. You know, they were brought up with music all around them and they were writing songs when they were very young. It is great to see them. But they have other interests as well. Jasmine has a degree in zoology, and Steve is doing other things as well. But actually, Steven is very, very keen now to make his solo CD. So I think youâll be hearing from him very soon.
Junkman: And you can find him on a web site in particular or My Space? Steven Rodgers?
Paul: Yeah..
Junkman: So, Steven Rodgers, go look âem up. Outstanding, thereâs so many things. Tell us what else you got going on. I know you got your people over here, and theyâre feeding me a little information.
Paul: One of the good things to do is to check the web site. Iâm very proud of the web site.
Junkman: Paulrodgers.com.
Paul: Yeah, thereâs current pictures all the time. We like to take pictures of the current shows, so theyâre all updated, and thereâs shots of the fans and everything. And thereâs a lot of things going on there.
Junkman: People here are dying to have you play some more stuff live. Would you do some more songs for us?
Paul: Oh, can you play something while I think about what I can do.
Junkman: Sure, letâs play another track off CD while heâs thinking about it over here, picking up the guitar. What should I play?
Paul: âAll Right Nowâ maybe?
Junkman: Yeah, we can do âAll Right Now.â You wanna do that live?
Paul: Well, Iâll need a second to tune this up. Iâm gonna do a drop D.
Junkman: Paul Rodgers, in the studio, tuning for us.
Paul: Weâre there.
Junkman: Heâs there.
Paul strums a few bars and plays “Seagull”
Junkman: Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Rodgers live in KNAC.COMâs studio.
Paul: Thank you very much. Iâd like to thank the Guitar Center for lending me this wonderful Taylor.
Junkman: We have some very good friends there. A couple of years ago at the NAMM convention, I saw you on a Sunday morning. I used to brag about this â the fact that I got there on a Sunday morning, a lot of people werenât up â and over at the Dean Markley booth, they had a band set up, a little teeny set, probably about half the size of this studio.
Paul: Oh yes.
Junkman: And it was Anton Fig on drums, it was Will Lee on bass, it was Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Johnny Rivers on the other guitar, and you were singing.
Paul: Wow! You remember that?
Junkman: Are you kidding, Iâll never forget it. Now, up till now, that was greatest live performance I ever saw in a small place. Look at this, I got Paul Rodgers in my studio, right here singing âSeagull.â Oh my God. Going back to that first Bad Company record right there.
Paul: And again, that first album â we didnât plan it or anything. It was just all the music we had. It was about passion and enthusiasm and into what youâre doing. We just did all our songs. I remember when we were getting ready and rehearsing and we finally found a bass player, which was Boz, you know. Our manager Peter Grant said, âLed Zeppelin have got a recording studio set up.â It was a mobile set up outside of a big old mansion in Hedley Grange. So he said, âLed Zeppelin is delayed so if you guys get in there, you can have 10 days, you can record a couple of songs.â So we said, âRight. In we go.â And we made the whole album, everything we knew, we werenât wasting any opportunities because it was a great atmosphere. Strangely enough, it was Ronnie Laneâs mobile studio. The world is so small some times.
Junkman: Six degrees of separation.
Paul: Itâs true. And there it was. It was a beautiful little mobile studio, and we had the guitar set up in the living room, the vocals on the veranda, and this, that and the other and it was great. We just put everything we knew down. Even the song, âBad Company.â We played around with different ideas to get different vocal sounds. We took a microphone way out in the middle of this field. And stuck it out there and waited until a full moon at midnight and thatâs where I sang the song to get that atmosphere.
Junkman: Really?
Paul: At the very end, thereâs an ad lib that goes (sings), whooahâŚthereâs a cold wind blowing⌠cause I heard the wind blow (makes a blowing sound) across the mic. I donât know whether it picked up on it, but I heard it. Things like that â there were little magic things going on all the time.
Junkman: Iâm never gonna listen to the song the same way ever. After a million years of playing that on my record player â like back in the day, smoking pot and trying to analyze every record like that. Now, Iâm gonna listen to it like itâs the real deal. There actually was a cold wind blowingâŚ
Paul: Yeah, it was very organic in that respect.
Junkman: Sure, it was the 70s, after all.
Paul: We finished the whole album. We got all the basic tracks, any way. We probably did some overdubs. There were some magic things going on. I remember when we did the guitar solo for âCanât Get Enoughâ (hums). Mick showed me the harmony part. We just got together and there was this fantastic blend because there was this huge living room with a fireplace at the end of it. And these huge Marshall cabinets set up. And we were just blasting away, full volume. And we did it in one take..
Junkman: The live counting on that â thatâs what gives it that (taps desk) 1âŚ2âŚa 1, 2, 3 (hits desk). You know, that whole deal. You could tell right away â you canât overdub that! Come on.
Paul: No, no, no. Itâs got the atmosphere. We just left it on..
Junkman: Wonderful. Paul, Iâm so absolutely blown away by the fact that youâre actually here. I canât thank you enough, on behalf of your fans, everybody whoâs ever listened to your stuff. Please keep it coming.
Paul: Thank you..
Junkman: Is there anything that you might want to add? Anything you want. You want me to go out and Simonize your car? Iâll do that for you, my friend.
Paul: Oh, thatâs all right. I appreciate you having me on. Itâs been really a pleasure because I love the enthusiasm that you have. And thatâs really what makes the rock and roll world go around. Thank you for having me.
Junkman: Any time, my friend.
Paul: I want to thank all the fans for their beautiful support and all the great messages. Letâs keep together and we will rock the world.
This article was transcribed and reprinted by kind permission of Junkman and KNAC.COM.
E-mail Junkman at: junkman@knac.com
Visit Junkman on the web at: www.myspace.com/junkmanknac