Interview with Michael Monroe

Interview by: Louie Bones
Big Wheel Staff Reporter


You have a new record out that is taking the world by storm, your first solo album in quite a few years, Tell us - Who besides You and Sami Yaffa are in the band, and how did this lineup come about?

The album is "Sensory Overdrive" and the other players on the record, besides Sami Yaffa, are Steve Conte on Guitar, Karl Rockfist on drums and Ginger Wildheart on guitar.  The same line up is on tour with me, except just last June Ginger was replaced by Dregen (Backyard Babies, Helicopters) on Guitar.  Me and Sami met in the summer 2009 and started putting the band together.  In early 2010 we had the band together and going for it full blast.

This is also your first North American tour since the album has come out, how much of your live setlist is comprised of songs off "Sensory Overdrive"? How are the fans digging the new songs, is the response as chaotic as you would hope for? What are the live standout tracks that fans are already singing along to?

Live we're playing more than half the "Sensory Overdrive" songs and they're all getting a great response.

Your career is going on it's 30th year, you've fronted rock and roll bands longer than some of your fans have even been alive, what  do you owe your longevity to, and how have you managed to still sing with the same passionate voice?

I think it's due to maintaining my integrity throughout the years and staying in good shape physically.

Can you describe the typical Michael Monroe fan in America? Are you looking out into the crowd and finding more Hanoi fans from the 80's still supporting the music, or are there more new school fans who've discovered your must post Hanoi Rocks?

I'm not sure...I don't like to think of any fan as "typical". I respect and appreciate every single one of my fans individually. However, I do think that American fans are especially cool because they truly appreciate good authentic Rock'n'Roll.  That maybe because Rock'n'Roll really is a serious part of the American culture.  On this latest US tour the audiences just seemed very enthusiastic and impressed by the shows, no matter what song we play.

We caught your concert in Redondo Beach in 2010, you threw in Johnny Thunders / Dead Boys / The Stooges covers in your set, are there any similar classic punk cover surprises for fans who will be catching your 2011 North American Tour?

You never know what's gonna happen with this band live, which is one of the coolest things/qualities of this band.  That keeps things fun and interesting.  We have been varying the set somewhat according to the gig and its surroundings.  For example, in Cleveland we played The Dead Boys' "Ain't Nothin' To Do" in honour of Stiv Bators & The Dead Boys, since Cleveland was the Dead Boys' hometown.

Are there any bands coming out of your native Finland that you think American rock and roll fans should be looking up and checking out?

There are, and has been a lot of cool Finnish bands throughout the years, but only over the past 20 years or so, more of them have gained worldwide recognition and success.  There is one classic Finnish Rock'n'Roll album called "Roadrunner" by a legendary band called Hurriganes back in 1974.  That was the band's 2nd album and it features an exceptionally fantastic guitarist Albert Järvinen. He does some outstanding guitar playing on the record.  That album just has a certain magic about it and is definitely worth checking out.

I've noticed you've played some very large festivals across Europe over the past 2 summers, is there a traveling festival in America or a set of bands you'd hope to do a package tour across the states with? Perhaps with Motorhead or Slash?

Those 2 would be fantastic to tour with.  Or any other cool rock band or artist alike.  I would LOVE to go on a package tour with a bunch of cool bands like that in America. Mind you, we did open up for Motörhead for 3 weeks in the UK in November 2010 and that was a total blast!

You have covered many songs throughout your career in music, you seem to have a lot of musical flavoring from all over the spectrum. Can you name your favorite/influential albums from the following decades.

Oh man...that's too hard to do right off the bat, there's so many of them, especially in the 60's & 70's - I'll just pick one for each deacade, the first one that comes to mind right now, ok?

a. 1960's -  MC 5: "Kick Out The Jams"
b. 1970's - Little Feat: "Sailing Shoes"
c. 1980's - Little Steven:  "Voice OF America"
d. 1990's - Warrior Soul: "Drugs God and the New Republic"
e. 2000's  -  Alice Cooper: "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper"

That's just barely scratching the surface, but the best I can do at this moment, as I'm really pressed for time.  Sorry!

Are there any final notes.. Anything you want to tell your American fans reading this ?

I wanna thank everyone out there for your continuing support and all of you, who came to the shows during our recent American Tour, which we just finished a few days ago.  Don't forget us!  We'll be back soon!

          www.michaelmonroe.com


Big Wheel would like to thank Michael Monroe for taking the time to answer our questions, and remember to pick up his latest album "Sensory Overdrive", in stores now!

 

 

 

 

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