Interview: Chip Kinman

Chip Kinman, along with his brother Tony who passed away in 2018, has had a rather colorful musical journey. Their band The Dils was a notable late-70’s punk rock band whose songs included “I Hate the Rich” and “Class War”. This was followed by Rank and File, a roots rock band which is heralded as one of the pioneers of the cowpunk genre. The Kinman brothers changed direction again for Blackbird, a drum machine-driven noise rock band. Then came their old-school Western music project, Cowboy Nation.

Which brings us to Ford Madox Ford, whose debut album This American Blues came out in 2018, and was produced by Tony. When I saw Ford Madox Ford at the Troubadour in April 2018, Chip kicked off the proceedings by saying, “We’re going to do something that’s never been done. We’re going to play some punk rock. We’re going to play some blues. And we’re going to do it at the same time.” They then launched into a cousin of the Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray”, followed by a punk-infused bluesy stomp.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the Ford Madox Ford performance at the Majestic Ventura Theater on 10/4/19, as one of the opening bands for the Dead Kennedys. It was done by email, with answers received 9/18/19. (“Taco” John Norman photo)

Interview: Lee “Scratch” Perry

Lee “Scratch” Perry’s productions were amongst the first to feature and popularize the reggae sound, including Bob Marley’s pivotal early singles and first album – after Perry threatened to kill Marley for stealing his best musicians. All told, he produced hundreds of songs by various artists spread over multiple labels, many at his Black Ark studio. (Later bad vibes at the studio caused Perry to burn it down, according to his own claim at least.) He also wrote and recorded his own songs, and along with King Tubby pioneered the dub genre. A genius, and perhaps a bit of a madman, Perry’s importance to the development of reggae music cannot be overstated.

This interview was for a preview article for Perry’s concert on 6/19/16 at Discovery Ventura. It was done by phone on 6/9/16. (Thanks to Arnold Smith for heroic assistance in transcribing this interview. L. Paul Mann photo)