Print - Interview - Joe - Forbes - 13Oct2019

[Greta]

This is an interview that was done right after iHeart. Seems like it was just published today.


Photo credit to Ethan Miller/Getty Images


Q&A: Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Takes An Incredible Walk Down Memory Lane

By Steve Baltin

“ If you’re still doing this in your 70s you’re even cooler than you were 20 years ago. Look at Aerosmith, look at the Stones, look at McCartney,” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says, “There’s a cred factor.”

Elliott knows of what he speaks. Having just turned 60 this year, Elliott is enjoying one of the best years of his iconic career. This past March he and his Def Leppard band mates got their long overdue induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, then this past August and September they celebrated with a sold-out 12 show residency at Zappos Theater at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood that was as much of an artistic triumph as it was commercially.

Finally, he is wrapping the banner year with a new studio album, This Is How We Roll, for his Down ‘n’ Outz band. It is the first collection of all-new studio material for the group, with the exception of a cover of the Tubes’ “White Punk On Dope.”

For Elliott, mixing new material from Down ‘n’ Outz with the Leppard year of triumph is the perfect artistic balance, as he gets the deserved victory lap, but isn’t resting on his considerable laurels.

For this, his sixtieth year on earth, I met with Elliott at the famed Nightbird studios at Sunset Marquis for a walk down memory lane. And what a memory lane, from early days at L.A.’s iconic Rainbow Bar & Grill to paying tribute to Freddie Mercury with David Bowie to Leppard’s recent appearance at the iHeart Radio festival in Vegas we covered a lot of terrain leading up to his decision to write new material for Down ‘n’ Outz.

Steve Baltin: How was iHeart?

Joe Elliott: It was great, The gig is important, but there’s so much pressing the flesh. It was great to be on the same bill as like Zac Brown, Miley Cyrus, Chance The Rapper. It was almost like Woodstock in the sense you’ve got Richie Havens, then you’ve got [Jimi] Hendrix. I enjoyed it. Green Day played.

Baltin: Does doing shows like that take you back to the early radio promo days of Def Leppard?

Elliott: We did our self-financed EP, which got us a record deal. While we were still working to make the album it was like, “Got to get them to do something.” So between the odd gig we did we got taken down to London and we did sessions, we never did one for John Peel, even though he was the first guy to ever play us on his show. But we did sessions for Andy Peebles and Tommy Vance on the Friday rock show. And when we played certain venues that I’d read about other artists playing, I’m like, “I’m standing where so and so used to stand.” As a music fan that was a big deal. There are a lot of people in bands will not admit to that. They actually do feel it, but it’s not cool to actually say it out loud. I don’t have that cool filter. I’m like the first to go, “Dude, can you believe this?” Prime example: first gig I ever saw was T. Rex at the Sheffield City Hall in 1971 on the Electric Warrior tour. Cut nine years, we’re playing there and I stood where Marc Bolan stood, looking back at where I stood watching Marc Bolan standing where I was standing. It was the life flashes before you where you’re about to die moment. Nine years of rewind, this little kid...that was a moment too, the first time I saw an audience. The swing doors flew open, I went through and the room is just full of people going completely nuts. Heads shaking and head banging, girls screaming and guys punching the air. It was just mind-blowing to see all these people and it’s only a 2,000 seater. And when I stood on the stage looking back I thought, “Wow, this place has shrunk.” Cause I thought it was Madison Square Garden as an 11 or 12-year-old kid. But where I stood where I was I could’ve almost spat to where I stood from the front of the stage. It was crazy. But that was another one of those, “Wow” moments for me.

Baltin: But what is so cool is you don’t lose that sense of fandom. And we talked about your love of Roxy Music for example before you were inducted into the Rock Hall with them. So I’m sure that was very special for you.

Elliott: I spoke with ]Phil] Manzanera and [Andy] Mackay. I was really bummed Paul Thompson didn’t make it. I know Paul, but he was ill. So I didn’t see [Bryan] Ferry, nobody did. He just magically appeared on the stage and disappeared like a ghost. He was never in the corridors. Andy played on Mott [The Hoople] songs. He played on “All The Way From Memphis” and a couple of other things. And when we did “All The Young Dudes” for the all-star encore if you like, Manzanera was doing backing vocals, so that was kind of neat. I was really impressed by Simon [LeBon] and John [Taylor’s] induction of Roxy Music, I thought they nailed it. And they definitely deserve that because the music is obviously more leaning that way. Made total sense they did it, but I really enjoyed their induction and Roxy’s set.

Baltin: It all started for you with “All The Young Dudes” and there you are singing it on stage at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Elliott: Yeah, that’s going full circle. That’s what I mean about that song. It was the most appropriate thing and everybody in our band got that. And that’s why everybody else wanted to be up there. Because it also, in its own way, affected Susanna Hoffs; there was mutual respect for that song from Steve [Van Zandt] and from Manzanera. They all kind of got it because it’s ground zero for that kind of music. There were no arguments. I’ve done it with Ian [Hunter] loads of times, he’s done it with us now two or three times. It’s not unusual. We did it at the Freddie Mercury tribute gig. Me and Phil were up there with [David] Bowie, [Mick] Ronson, Ian and Queen. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? If you look along the line, there are me and Phil and Brian singing the chorus and as I’m looking down there’s Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter, David Bowie and Roger Taylor and John Deacon. I’m thinking, “Yep, best three minutes of my life I’ll never waste.”

Baltin: For most people it’s hard to pick those defining moments.

Elliott: It’s hard to remember them! They’re just popping into my head now. There have been so many and I don’t ever take them for granted. But sometimes you just lock them away in a little box in your brain and they just come out randomly. Luckily you’re kind of fishing and these things are coming out because they’re hungry.

Baltin: I am sure what is nice for you now is you get the victory lap with Def Leppard, but you are also firmly in the present with Down N Outz since most bands find the victory lap boring.

Elliott: That’s the thing about victory laps, they’re great. But sooner or later it’s not a standing ovation when it just peters out. The Vegas shows were great fun because we did 12 and we didn’t ever do the same one twice. We changed things out. We did mini High ‘n’ Dry sets then we did mini Pyromania sets. Then obviously it’s always a pretty major Hysteria set no matter where we play. And doing the acoustic set in the middle was a really nice breather. It gave the set three dimensions — start, middle and end. And that really was what we wanted to do. That’s the place to do it. So much so that we were going, “It’d be great to take it on tour.” But I don’t know that it would. I’m not sure it would work the same way. When you’ve only gone one load in and one load out you can bring all the gear you like, which is difficult to do in certain venues. That was the great thing about Vegas. And from a selfish point of view, 27 nights in the same bed, hallelujah. You come to visit us, we don’t go to visit you. But it’s an event. They don’t just cone for us. They’ve spent 22 hours doing other things, maybe a little bit of sleep, but slot machines, Love, Absinthe, walking the strip, doing things. And then we’re the icing on the cake maybe. I’m okay with that. Vegas is a trip and it’s just one cog in many in that town. When you look at the history and how it’s turned itself around. When we first went there in 1983 I think it was just to do a regular in and out gig I just missed Dean Martin by two tickets. There were literally two left and by the time I tracked our tour manager down to get some money they’d gone. That’s what it was. Now it’s a totally sexed up town. It’s Aerosmith, Kiss and us. You’ve got Britney [Spears], Elton John and all sorts of people. I went to see Criss Angel, it’s a rock show without a band. He’s basically the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, but it’s a great show. I went to see Love again for the third time. And that catalog of songs I could be there all day every day and never get bored.

Baltin: I like those elements of Vegas past are still there. We’re here on Sunset and look at how much of the Strip is going.

Elliott: Nobody wants to admit to nostalgia but I keep reading these articles about the Sunset Strip and no matter how much they try and dress it up they miss it. They miss the ‘70s. It’s cause you’re taking away their childhood or their teenage years or early 20s. You’re taking away where it all got built. These are the building blocks of their future life so they can tell stories to people going, “Oh, you have no idea what was it like to be in the Riot House.” I do know what it was like to be in the Riot House, but I don’t know what it was like when Keith Moon was in it, or John Bonham or Jimmy Page or Robert Plant. I remember wandering the corridors looking for Little Richard and every time I missed him by like four hours. But I’ve spent time in there with Justin Timberlake and Chris Rock and Kid Rock and just the most bizarre people and it’s great. So that’s my version of 1974. It’s nowhere near as good.

Baltin: It’s like when you go to the upstairs bar at the Rainbow and see the Hollywood Vampires inscription on the wall. I still geek out on that.

Elliott: Who wouldn’t? That was the first place I ever set foot, other than the airport and the hotel. We checked into the Chateau Marmont. It was the eighteenth of May, 1980, when we landed in America for the first time. We were gonna open for Pat Travers at the Santa Monica Civic and we said, “We’re off to the Rainbow.” We went upstairs and there was nobody there. We went upstairs and there were four girls, classic American 1980 girls over in the corner. And me and Steve Clark walked up to the bar man and he said, “Can I help you boys?” We answer and all of a sudden, “Hey, you guys English?” “Yep.” “Are you in a band?” “Yep.” Boom, hello America. It was wonderful. But yeah, this victory lap thing. What it is is we’re in a temporary holding orbit cause we’re not done. We’re not going out there, with the greatest of respect, maybe Fleetwood Mac will make another record, maybe the Eagles will make a record, Elton John, these acts that are well within their rights to just keep playing live because that’s what people want. They don’t really want new music. That’s the way it’s been this entire century.

Baltin: Are you going to tour at all for Down ‘n’ Outz as this is the first time it is new material?

Elliott: It is, all new material except for one song. We cover “White Punks On Dope,” by the Tubes of course, which was the first thing we said we were gonna do anyway. Then the songwriting came after that. Here’s the problem with playing live: everybody has a mother ship that’s extremely busy. I’m not worried about that. I’m more happy that I’m about to give birth. It’s been gestating now for six or seven years and we’ve literally attacked it a bit at a time whenever we’ve had holes in our mother ship schedule.

Baltin: At what point did you decide to make this original material?

Elliott: Once I started writing I was writing on the piano. I just had these songs that I needed them to be heard, I wanted them to be heard, but they weren’t written with Def Leppard in mind. So I played the demos to guys in 2014, when we finished the last tour, and they said, “Call us when you need us.” That’s how we did it.

Baltin: What do you want people to take from this record?

Elliott: I want people to hear this and go, “Quality wise, it’s up there with anything he’s ever done.”


SOURCE

[lynnrt]

Oct 13, 2019 0:27:51 GMT -8 Greta said:

This is an interview that was done right after iHeart. Seems like it was just published today.


Photo credit to Ethan Miller/Getty Images


Q&A: Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Takes An Incredible Walk Down Memory Lane

By Steve Baltin

“ If you’re still doing this in your 70s you’re even cooler than you were 20 years ago. Look at Aerosmith, look at the Stones, look at McCartney,” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says, “There’s a cred factor.”

Elliott knows of what he speaks. Having just turned 60 this year, Elliott is enjoying one of the best years of his iconic career. This past March he and his Def Leppard band mates got their long overdue induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, then this past August and September they celebrated with a sold-out 12 show residency at Zappos Theater at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood that was as much of an artistic triumph as it was commercially.

Finally, he is wrapping the banner year with a new studio album, This Is How We Roll, for his Down ‘n’ Outz band. It is the first collection of all-new studio material for the group, with the exception of a cover of the Tubes’ “White Punk On Dope.”

For Elliott, mixing new material from Down ‘n’ Outz with the Leppard year of triumph is the perfect artistic balance, as he gets the deserved victory lap, but isn’t resting on his considerable laurels.

For this, his sixtieth year on earth, I met with Elliott at the famed Nightbird studios at Sunset Marquis for a walk down memory lane. And what a memory lane, from early days at L.A.’s iconic Rainbow Bar & Grill to paying tribute to Freddie Mercury with David Bowie to Leppard’s recent appearance at the iHeart Radio festival in Vegas we covered a lot of terrain leading up to his decision to write new material for Down ‘n’ Outz.

Steve Baltin: How was iHeart?

Joe Elliott: It was great, The gig is important, but there’s so much pressing the flesh. It was great to be on the same bill as like Zac Brown, Miley Cyrus, Chance The Rapper. It was almost like Woodstock in the sense you’ve got Richie Havens, then you’ve got [Jimi] Hendrix. I enjoyed it. Green Day played.

Baltin: Does doing shows like that take you back to the early radio promo days of Def Leppard?

Elliott: We did our self-financed EP, which got us a record deal. While we were still working to make the album it was like, “Got to get them to do something.” So between the odd gig we did we got taken down to London and we did sessions, we never did one for John Peel, even though he was the first guy to ever play us on his show. But we did sessions for Andy Peebles and Tommy Vance on the Friday rock show. And when we played certain venues that I’d read about other artists playing, I’m like, “I’m standing where so and so used to stand.” As a music fan that was a big deal. There are a lot of people in bands will not admit to that. They actually do feel it, but it’s not cool to actually say it out loud. I don’t have that cool filter. I’m like the first to go, “Dude, can you believe this?” Prime example: first gig I ever saw was T. Rex at the Sheffield City Hall in 1971 on the Electric Warrior tour. Cut nine years, we’re playing there and I stood where Marc Bolan stood, looking back at where I stood watching Marc Bolan standing where I was standing. It was the life flashes before you where you’re about to die moment. Nine years of rewind, this little kid...that was a moment too, the first time I saw an audience. The swing doors flew open, I went through and the room is just full of people going completely nuts. Heads shaking and head banging, girls screaming and guys punching the air. It was just mind-blowing to see all these people and it’s only a 2,000 seater. And when I stood on the stage looking back I thought, “Wow, this place has shrunk.” Cause I thought it was Madison Square Garden as an 11 or 12-year-old kid. But where I stood where I was I could’ve almost spat to where I stood from the front of the stage. It was crazy. But that was another one of those, “Wow” moments for me.

Baltin: But what is so cool is you don’t lose that sense of fandom. And we talked about your love of Roxy Music for example before you were inducted into the Rock Hall with them. So I’m sure that was very special for you.

Elliott: I spoke with ]Phil] Manzanera and [Andy] Mackay. I was really bummed Paul Thompson didn’t make it. I know Paul, but he was ill. So I didn’t see [Bryan] Ferry, nobody did. He just magically appeared on the stage and disappeared like a ghost. He was never in the corridors. Andy played on Mott [The Hoople] songs. He played on “All The Way From Memphis” and a couple of other things. And when we did “All The Young Dudes” for the all-star encore if you like, Manzanera was doing backing vocals, so that was kind of neat. I was really impressed by Simon [LeBon] and John [Taylor’s] induction of Roxy Music, I thought they nailed it. And they definitely deserve that because the music is obviously more leaning that way. Made total sense they did it, but I really enjoyed their induction and Roxy’s set.

Baltin: It all started for you with “All The Young Dudes” and there you are singing it on stage at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Elliott: Yeah, that’s going full circle. That’s what I mean about that song. It was the most appropriate thing and everybody in our band got that. And that’s why everybody else wanted to be up there. Because it also, in its own way, affected Susanna Hoffs; there was mutual respect for that song from Steve [Van Zandt] and from Manzanera. They all kind of got it because it’s ground zero for that kind of music. There were no arguments. I’ve done it with Ian [Hunter] loads of times, he’s done it with us now two or three times. It’s not unusual. We did it at the Freddie Mercury tribute gig. Me and Phil were up there with [David] Bowie, [Mick] Ronson, Ian and Queen. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? If you look along the line, there are me and Phil and Brian singing the chorus and as I’m looking down there’s Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter, David Bowie and Roger Taylor and John Deacon. I’m thinking, “Yep, best three minutes of my life I’ll never waste.”

Baltin: For most people it’s hard to pick those defining moments.

Elliott: It’s hard to remember them! They’re just popping into my head now. There have been so many and I don’t ever take them for granted. But sometimes you just lock them away in a little box in your brain and they just come out randomly. Luckily you’re kind of fishing and these things are coming out because they’re hungry.

Baltin: I am sure what is nice for you now is you get the victory lap with Def Leppard, but you are also firmly in the present with Down N Outz since most bands find the victory lap boring.

Elliott: That’s the thing about victory laps, they’re great. But sooner or later it’s not a standing ovation when it just peters out. The Vegas shows were great fun because we did 12 and we didn’t ever do the same one twice. We changed things out. We did mini High ‘n’ Dry sets then we did mini Pyromania sets. Then obviously it’s always a pretty major Hysteria set no matter where we play. And doing the acoustic set in the middle was a really nice breather. It gave the set three dimensions — start, middle and end. And that really was what we wanted to do. That’s the place to do it. So much so that we were going, “It’d be great to take it on tour.” But I don’t know that it would. I’m not sure it would work the same way. When you’ve only gone one load in and one load out you can bring all the gear you like, which is difficult to do in certain venues. That was the great thing about Vegas. And from a selfish point of view, 27 nights in the same bed, hallelujah. You come to visit us, we don’t go to visit you. But it’s an event. They don’t just cone for us. They’ve spent 22 hours doing other things, maybe a little bit of sleep, but slot machines, Love, Absinthe, walking the strip, doing things. And then we’re the icing on the cake maybe. I’m okay with that. Vegas is a trip and it’s just one cog in many in that town. When you look at the history and how it’s turned itself around. When we first went there in 1983 I think it was just to do a regular in and out gig I just missed Dean Martin by two tickets. There were literally two left and by the time I tracked our tour manager down to get some money they’d gone. That’s what it was. Now it’s a totally sexed up town. It’s Aerosmith, Kiss and us. You’ve got Britney [Spears], Elton John and all sorts of people. I went to see Criss Angel, it’s a rock show without a band. He’s basically the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, but it’s a great show. I went to see Love again for the third time. And that catalog of songs I could be there all day every day and never get bored.

Baltin: I like those elements of Vegas past are still there. We’re here on Sunset and look at how much of the Strip is going.

Elliott: Nobody wants to admit to nostalgia but I keep reading these articles about the Sunset Strip and no matter how much they try and dress it up they miss it. They miss the ‘70s. It’s cause you’re taking away their childhood or their teenage years or early 20s. You’re taking away where it all got built. These are the building blocks of their future life so they can tell stories to people going, “Oh, you have no idea what was it like to be in the Riot House.” I do know what it was like to be in the Riot House, but I don’t know what it was like when Keith Moon was in it, or John Bonham or Jimmy Page or Robert Plant. I remember wandering the corridors looking for Little Richard and every time I missed him by like four hours. But I’ve spent time in there with Justin Timberlake and Chris Rock and Kid Rock and just the most bizarre people and it’s great. So that’s my version of 1974. It’s nowhere near as good.

Baltin: It’s like when you go to the upstairs bar at the Rainbow and see the Hollywood Vampires inscription on the wall. I still geek out on that.

Elliott: Who wouldn’t? That was the first place I ever set foot, other than the airport and the hotel. We checked into the Chateau Marmont. It was the eighteenth of May, 1980, when we landed in America for the first time. We were gonna open for Pat Travers at the Santa Monica Civic and we said, “We’re off to the Rainbow.” We went upstairs and there was nobody there. We went upstairs and there were four girls, classic American 1980 girls over in the corner. And me and Steve Clark walked up to the bar man and he said, “Can I help you boys?” We answer and all of a sudden, “Hey, you guys English?” “Yep.” “Are you in a band?” “Yep.” Boom, hello America. It was wonderful. But yeah, this victory lap thing. What it is is we’re in a temporary holding orbit cause we’re not done. We’re not going out there, with the greatest of respect, maybe Fleetwood Mac will make another record, maybe the Eagles will make a record, Elton John, these acts that are well within their rights to just keep playing live because that’s what people want. They don’t really want new music. That’s the way it’s been this entire century.

Baltin: Are you going to tour at all for Down ‘n’ Outz as this is the first time it is new material?

Elliott: It is, all new material except for one song. We cover “White Punks On Dope,” by the Tubes of course, which was the first thing we said we were gonna do anyway. Then the songwriting came after that. Here’s the problem with playing live: everybody has a mother ship that’s extremely busy. I’m not worried about that. I’m more happy that I’m about to give birth. It’s been gestating now for six or seven years and we’ve literally attacked it a bit at a time whenever we’ve had holes in our mother ship schedule.

Baltin: At what point did you decide to make this original material?

Elliott: Once I started writing I was writing on the piano. I just had these songs that I needed them to be heard, I wanted them to be heard, but they weren’t written with Def Leppard in mind. So I played the demos to guys in 2014, when we finished the last tour, and they said, “Call us when you need us.” That’s how we did it.

Baltin: What do you want people to take from this record?

Elliott: I want people to hear this and go, “Quality wise, it’s up there with anything he’s ever done.”


SOURCE

[lynnrt]

Thanks for sharing this. I always love to hear what he has to say. So many memories locked in that special compartment in his brain!