PAUL OF ROCK
With a third appearance at the Zappanale looming, and the recent UK
release of the
In
Though
it has always been a business, there was still room for art and exploration in
those days. This was not out of the kindness of the record labels' hearts, but
rather out of their self-aware ignorance; they knew that to a significant
extent they did not know what would sell, so there was more of a willingness to
take chances and let artistic visions develop.
Obviously Freak Out! would not have gotten made
today, or at least released once made, and certainly not on a major label.
But I would argue this point even further - Dark Side Of The Moon would not have been
made, either. Pink Floyd would have been dropped after their second or third
album for non-performance. That is really what is missing most of all - letting
artists develop over time, over several albums and tours.
In our little way, that is what our
school does; synthesize this experience so that when our kids are turned
loose to make their own music and forge their own careers, this cutting of the
teeth period has been simulated. In Almost
Famous, the story revolves around a band at just this point - touring the
country, climbing the marquee, supported and cultivated by its record label.
Nowadays that is practically science fiction.
One of the albums you’d
pull out of a burning house would be Uncle
Meat – what is it you particularly like about that Zappa album compared to
others?
For me,
Uncle Meat is Frank Zappa's ultimate
masterpiece. It is, for all intents and purposes, his first
major classical work but, unlike his later 'serious music', it is the
benefactor of its own imposed limitations, and thus suffers none of the
excesses of, say, Jazz From
Hell (which is an album I love). When practically
anything is possible, as in the case of the latter album, there is a tendency
by the composer or artist to over-embellish. It is the classic case of
knowing when to put the painting away.
In the case of Uncle Meat, you get the sense that every note, sound, voice, squonk, etc. was meant to be there, and it could not have
been any other way. Recorded during the infancy of multi-track recording and
various techniques, the listener is left simply to marvel at the rich musical
tapestry woven before your ears, while, intellectually, standing in awe of
the time, care, and love that it must have taken to put those notes to
tape.
Would you pull Imaginary Diseases out of the burning
house?
Sure,
but only after 50 or so other Zappa titles – not to mention 150 or so non-Zappa
ones.
When and how did the
idea for the
I saw
this movie starring Jack Black and decided to start my own school.
Yes, of course! Did the
makers of
They
did not, going so far as to say that they never heard of me. Considering our
website is schoolofrock.com,
something is certainly rotten in Denmark.
What about Gene Simmons'
Rock School (shown recently on the
UK’s Channel 4)?
Never
saw it, but I hear that one REALLY stinks.
What sort of music did
you play before teaching?
Very prog, lots of fake Hendrix solos.
Do you write music, or
do you just prefer to play?
I still
write a bit, but my writing always arose from a place of bitter desperation,
and I have been pretty happy now with my life for some time.
The film ‘soundtrack’
album must’ve been a dream come true – did you get to
pick the track list?
Actually,
I was a little disappointed in the end. I did not pick the songs. As a matter
of fact, artists were confirming while we were in the studio, meaning that most
of what you hear was learned by the kids just hours
before we recorded. I would have preferred something more adventurous -maybe
the artists doing each others songs, or letting the kids doing some
rearranging. I would also have loved some Zappa on there, but that was not to
be.
How did you persuade
some of the special guests to participate?
It was
all the record label, and they paid them.
Was the album a one-off,
or can we expect more albums from the School?
There
will definitely be future recordings. I am also starting to get heavily into
artist development, so there may even be a SOR label in the near future,
featuring graduates playing their own music.
You said that by 2007,
you hoped to start seeing the fruits of your labours – what has happened to the
likes of Madi Diaz?
She is
at
Do you think that
learning the classic stuff influences the sort of music the kids will go on to
create, or - to paraphrase Robert Plant - are we all just chipping away at the
same piece of rock and this will just give them a good grounding to go away and
make their own shapes?
It is
really even more fundamental than that. In that music, there are great examples
of chord movement, meter, etc. And I feel that, by studying the classics, the
kids are assembling the tools that will help make their own music sublime.
What happened to Will
from the film?
Will
has pretty much divorced himself from the whole thing, and I honour that. I
will say that last I heard, he was doing great.
I know that Gail is
anti-Zappanale, and FZ cover bands in
general. But she seems to tolerate you and your participation in that festival.
Is it true she personally advised you on the songs not to play at Zappanale #14? And that she okayed the use of Frank’s songs in the movie?
She
used to tolerate us, but that is over. I managed to piss her off along the way,
which is unfortunate. I really like Gail. She had us to the office two years
ago and we got to see a rough cut of the forthcoming FZ composer documentary,
which is very, very good. When we were at Zappanale
#14, we were there with her blessing, and we have always honoured the three
forbidden songs. And yes, she was gracious enough to license three songs for
the doc, which I will always be grateful for.
I’m a huge Zeppelin fan
– what should we expect you guys to play at this year's Zappanale?
Me too!
We are digging pretty deep into the catalogue, and skipping most of the hits.
Some highlights: In My Time Of Dying, The Crunge, Gallows Pole,
and Down By The Seaside. Now that we
have 13 schools to draw our all-stars from, this is the strongest group I have
brought over yet, so I know you will be impressed.
Which Zep album would you pull from the burning house - the
choice is Houses Of The
Holy or Physical Graffiti?!
Tough
one.
I would say 4 - it is the cliché
choice, but there is a reason for that. In this scenario, I will have to go
with the double album, Physical Graffiti.
Me too – but it’s a
close thing. Given that you’re also playing some Sabbath, will we see Asa & Tucker Collins on stage in Bad Doberan?
Asa and Tucker are no
longer in the school. They never practiced. I am bringing a five year-old
wonder child from our
Will you be focussing on
Ozzy-era Sabbath – or will you stray into Ronnie
James Dio territory and beyond?
For
this show it is all Ozzy, but only a few hits.
Some of your teaching
methods seem a little unorthodox in today's nannying/politically
correct society. Would you agree?
Absolutely.
It's clear you piss off
the kids on occasion, but they still seem to respect you - is that a difficult
balance to maintain?
My
pedagogical theory is that the key is to push your students as far as you can without
turning them off, a difficult balance indeed.
With new schools
blossoming and management being brought in to help guide the kids as they
leave, from humble beginnings the venture now seems to be taking on a life of
its own. What more do you hope to do – or are you content to simply sit back
and carry on doing what you do best – teaching kids how to rock – and let
business take care of business?
We have
hired a fantastic CEO, Matt Ross, who comes from Clear Channel and radio
station management. That being said, I am still deeply involved in the business
end of things, and will remain so for some time to come. I do, however, have a
personal commitment to spending 12 hours a week teaching, which is what I do
best.
What other established musicians
would you like the kids to work with?
Jimmy
Page (of course), John Paul Jones, Ian Anderson, Ian Gillan,
Terry Bozzio, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford,
Steve Howe, Billy Gibbons, George Duke, Flo & Eddie…
Well, my fingers are
crossed for you there. You've done the Guitar Gods (Santana, Van Halen, etc), Floyd, Sabbath, Zappa, Beatles, Crimson, Zeppelin – any old faves left
to tackle?
In our
manual for all of our schools, there are 54 approved shows, and this list is
always growing. In addition to the dinosaurs, we have done Radiohead (who I
LOVE), Jesus Christ Superstar, and we
have a U2 show planned for the Fall.
Ah, Radiohead – now
they’ve kind of slipped through the net and been allowed to develop
artistically. Do you pretty much dictate the songs you play live?
Almost
entirely.
Veteran kids, like CJ, do get some say.
What of CJ - no longer
the precocious kid we saw at Zappanale
#14; is he set to fulfil his dream of becoming the next guitar god or was
too much placed on his young shoulders?
Absolutely
not.
That kid has his head bolted on straight like none I have ever seen.
Will you be seeing any
of the upcoming Zappa Plays Zappa
shows?
I saw the
preview at BB King’s, and will be going to the NYC Beacon show in June.
I’ll catch it in June,
too; looking forward to that. Finally, can you give me any clues as to the two
people “who should have been” part of the tour that you’ll be playing with in
the Fall?
Not
right now. But when I close the deal, you will be the first to know.
Okay, Paul - thanks very
much for your time. See you in Bad Doberan.
***
Sadly,
it seems unlikely that this interview will ever appear in a future edition of T’Mershi
Duween, but you never know. Photo
of J-Roc, Paul and The Idiot taken at Zappanale
#16 by Uncle Ian.
***