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Chairman Ralph's Ministry Of Truth

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Band Interviews MThru Z

All entries here are archived by last name or subject heading (M-Z). Put another way...there's more than one page of content here, so just click the "Archive" button under this message. Then click on the relevant link to read the entry that interests you.
Latest Archive
YOUR BAND INTERVIEW HERE
Oct 30, 2012
This space will stay as a placeholder, so I can move content around more easily.
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DARRYL & RAY BLEEDING PARADISE CD COVER
RAY MANZAREK: A TRIP THROUGH BLEEDING PARADISE (4/19/07)
Oct 30, 2012
"People are afraid of poetry. Poetry's OK if it's rap, but we're not rappers, we're 'Beat Existentialists.'" Ray Manzarek explains how he defied those expectations on BLEEDING PARADISE, his improvised spoken word collaboration with proto-punk pioneer Darryl Read....and his secrets of working with other topflight lyricists, including Michael McClure, and Jim Morrison, of The Doors.
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LIVE+IN YOUR FACE LOUNGIN' AROUND WITH MOTORHEAD'S MAIN MAN...LEMMY KENNY "STINKER" GORDON, LIVE 'N' DIRECT TODAY
"I FEEL NATURAL WITH THE HORSE I RODE IN ON": 15 QUESTIONS FOR KENNY "STINKER" GORDON (PURE HELL) (9/4/12)
Oct 30, 2012
Kenny "Stinker" Gordon, lead vocalist for Pure Hell, touches on the band's contributions to the first wave of punk, his earliest musical influences, associations with Curtis Knight, and recollections of Sid Vicious...among other topics.
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DARRYL READ SOUNDS OFF ON RECORDING (THEN & NOW) (11/05)
Oct 30, 2012
"If you film on 35 mm, then you can achieve some cool and stunning effects when the film is processed and the chemicals mix in. Now people spend hours mixing and digitalise film and sound recordings to get a 35 mm-looking film or '60s sound in the recording studio." --Darryl Read, on the differences between '60s recording technology and today...one of many observations that he shares in this email chat.
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...1-2-3-4! MUSIKVERKET, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, SPRING 1979 1, 2, 3, 4: TAKE II (SPRING 1979) THE SINGLE THAT STARTED IT ALL: "RAGGARE" PIC SLEEVE "ABSOLUTE RULER" 45 (FRONT PICTURE SLEEVE) "ABSOLUTE RULER" 45 (REAR PICTURE SLEEVE) "STRANGLERS (IF IT'S QUIET WHY DO YOU PLAY?)": ULTRA-RARE COVER: "1984 IS HERE TO STAY"
"OUR SONGS WERE ABOUT OUR REALITY": OLA (SPACEMAN) NILSSON RECALLS THE RUDE KIDS (12/15/10)
Oct 30, 2012
"We only played one and a half gigs in England..." Former Rude Kids bassist Ola ("Spaceman") Nilsson recalls the band's beginnings, wars with Sweden's infamous Raggare, best-known records ("Raggare Is A Bunch of Motherfuckers," "Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play)", and how they hold up today, among other topics.
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RICK'S FIRST RECORDING PROJECT THE REDS: "JOEY" SINGLE SLEEVE (1979) THE REDS: "SELF-REDUCTION" SINGLE SLEEVE (1979)
"PLAY LIKE YOU FEEL IT": AN EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH RICK SHAFFER, PT. I
Oct 30, 2012
"I've been obsessed with the Joe Meek production style...For the last couple years, I've been listening to a lot of it -- just fascinated by his approach, and getting into his style." In this first installment of his conversation with Chairman Ralph, Reds guitarist Rick Shaffer touches on his recording philosophy...among other topics.
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 STRONGER SILENCE LP (1981) STRONGER SILENCE UK LP COVER (1981) EARLY NOTHING COVER
"IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE, AT SOME POINT": AN EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH RICK SHAFFER, PARTS II & III
Oct 30, 2012
"Robert Palmer used to write about us all the time. And he really, really liked the band." Rick Shaffer dishes on recording techniques, how the "hill country" blues sound influenced his approach, the inspiration behind some of his key tracks, and why having a work ethic is so important.
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AN ALL-AMERICAN BAND? SHAKE APPEAL (FRENCH COVER: 1985) THE REDS ENTER THE REAGAN ERA, EXHIBIT A: "MANHUNTER" LP COVER (1986) THE REDS ENTER THE REAGAN ERA, EXHIBIT B: "BAND OF THE HAND" LP COVER (1986)
"IT'S A COMBINATION OF OPPORTUNITY, AND PREPARATION": AN EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH RICK SHAFFER, PARTS IV & V
Oct 30, 2012
Chairman Ralph sits down for the final installment of his talk with former Reds guitarist Rick Shaffer, who touches on why the Reds aren't hitting the road, his motivations for working, why he'll never grab the rock 'n' roll brass ring...and why he couldn't care less.
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Standing in line behind London's old Marquee Club, on Wardour Street (where Paul Weller saw the A-Bomb, remember? but that's another story): shot by Ian Dickson. Does Damien Hirst hear the strains of this bygone bonafide ode against the art school joke in his sleep? Time will tell… The gang's all here: BIll Price, Frank Murray, Alan, Christer Sol and Paul Cook during the recording sessions for the Physicals' 1980 single ("Be Like Me"/"Pain In Love") at Wessex Studios...now gone, and left to memory amid the ever-rolling dominoes of encroaching development. (© Alan Lee Shaw). Ready for action in the heat of the bullring at Mont de Marsan (5/8/77). (Photo: Ian Dickson.). For classic guitar shapes, the Vox Teardrop is hard to beat...as Arthur Kane once explained to me, in recounting how he picked one up in a Leeds pawnshop for 20 quid (surely a steal at the time!). (©Alan Lee Shaw).
"PUNK FELT PERFECT AT THE TIME": ALAN LEE SHAW REMEMBERS (9/17/06)
Oct 30, 2012
Former Damned, Maniacs, Physicals and Rings guitarist Alan Lee Shaw answers Chairman Ralph's questions about his musical background, the dawning of punk and his experiences at the Mont de Marsan Punk Festival in this brief email interview.
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PETER STRIDE, GUITAR HERO, TAKE 2 ...AND NOW (COMPLETING THE POSE) NIGEL SWOOPS DOWN ON THE BASS ESSO AT THE KIT! PETER & NIGEL "IN SHADOW" (SO TO SPEAK)
"PUNK WAS NEW TO MOST PEOPLE THEN": PETER STRIDE SPEAKS OUT (6/11, 7/03+7/11/10)
Oct 30, 2012
“We did our whole set in 10 minutes and when we finished there was a kind of shocked silence…” Former Lurkers guitarist Peter Stride dishes on his musical inspirations, stories behind the best-known Lurkers songs, and his new band, God's Lonely Men.
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All content, words and music: � Ralph Heibutzki (except where noted). For specific questions about permissions or quotations, please contact the administrator of this website (me!).