Interview: Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee Jones is an acclaimed singer-songwriter who released her first album in 1979 and won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1980. Her song “Chuck E.’s In Love” was a huge hit, as were her first two albums, both of which reached the Top 5 in the U.S. She went on to release a dozen more albums in various styles, and her 1989 duet with Dr. John, “Makin’ Whoopee!”, won her another Grammy Award.

This interview was conducted by email, with answers received on May 20, 2011.

Concert Review: Mike Watt and the Missingmen Play Hyphenated Man

Review of Mike Watt concert at Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara, 3/10/11.

Photos: Mike Watt

Photos by L. Paul Mann: Mike Watt and The Missingmen, Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara, 3/10/11.

Interview: Mike Watt talks about Yoko Ono gigs

Mike Watt co-founded, played bass, and composed many of the songs for the influential indie-punk band The Minutemen, which sadly was silenced when guitarist D. Boon died in a car accident. Watt has also played with fIREHOSE and, since 2003, The Stooges.

On October 1 and 2, Watt was a guest musician for Yoko Ono’s performances in Los Angeles, the second of which was reviewed here. This interview, conducted 10/8/10, covered his thoughts on these concerts, plus his recent projects with The Missingmen and Floored By Four.

Concert Review: Mike Watt and the Missingmen

Review of Mike Watt and the Missingmen concert at Mercury Lounge 3/7/10, with openers oso and Lite.

Concert Preview: Mike Watt and the Missingmen

Preview of concert by Mike Watt and the Missingmen at the Mercury Lounge on 3/7/10.

Interview: Mike Watt

Mike Watt’s musical resume is about as cool as they come. He co-founded the influential San Pedro-based indie-punk band The Minutemen, playing bass and composing many of their songs. After Minutemen guitarist D. Boon tragically died in a car accident, guitarist Ed “fROMOHIO” Crawford joined up with Watt and Minutemen drummer George Hurley to form the somewhat underappreciated late-80′s and early-90′s band fIREHOSE. And since 2003, he has been playing bass with re-formed (but perhaps not reformed) punk rock godfathers The Stooges, fronted by Iggy Pop.

This interview was conducted by phone on 2/9/10.

Advice From Musicians

Songwriters and musicians answer the question: What advice would you give to an aspiring songwriter/musician? Responses from:

Pete Seeger
Sir George Martin
Steve Reich
Jeff Barry
Graham Nash
Fats Domino
Willie Nelson
George Clinton
Wanda Jackson
Jon Anderson
Chuck D
Rickie Lee Jones
Todd Rundgren
Alan Parsons
Mark Volman
Howard Kaylan
Richie Furay
Ted Nugent
Billy Corgan
Peter Buck
Bryan Adams
Maceo Parker
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Abdul “Duke” Fakir
David “Honeyboy” Edwards
Ray Manzarek
John Densmore
Paul Kantner
Jorma Kaukonen
Jack Casady
Martin Gore
Robben Ford
Bob Cowsill
John Cowsill
David Pack
David Lindley
T-Bone Burnett
Johnny Rivers
Gary Brooker
Robin Trower
Garland Jeffreys
Airto Moreira
June Millington
Jean Millington
Jake Shimabukuro
Country Joe McDonald
Jonathan Richman
Van Dyke Parks
Steve Wynn
Tony Kaye
Glen Phillips
Larry Ramos
Jim Yester
Gary Lucas
Charlie Musselwhite
Carl Giammarese
Martha High
Steve Vai
Thurston Moore
Bob Mould
Lou Barlow
Cris Kirkwood
Mike Watt
Will Oldham
Bill Callahan
Buzz Osborne
Dale Crover
Neil Hagerty
Bob Bert
Don Fleming
Ritzy Bryan
Kim Manning
Linnea Vedder
James Jackson Toth
John Doe
Henry Rollins
Jack Grisham
Ron Emory
Joey Burns
Dallas Good
Michael Chapman
Russell Ferrante
Jimmy Haslip
Eddie Tuduri
Brute Force
Mark Tulin
Ian Underwood
Billy Cox
Will Cullen Hart
Scott Spillane
Julian Koster
Bert Lams
Paul Richards
Seymour Duncan
Daniel Levitin
David Freiberg
Steve Young
Justin Roberts
Larkin Grimm
Jason Reeves
Buddy Miller
Black Francis
Alex Ebert
Al Kooper
Jeff Hanneman
Ira Kaplan