The Day I Interviewed The Clash
Yes, THAT Clash. Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, et al.
In 1982, just out of high school and not much to do, I went to see The Clash every chance I got. I drove with a friend out to The Cape Cod Coliseum, a tin roofed hell-hole in MA. Middle of summer, no air conditioning, general admission and a bad-ass Combat Rock crowd made it a life-threatening and life-altering event.
We got there hours early cause, like I said, not much to do. Hung out in the parking lot and took turns walking around the building looking for something to do. My friend snuck into the coliseum on his scouting patrol and came back with a story of meeting Mick Jones and the Clash's manager, Kosmo Vinyl, (can I get a witness!), and getting permission to conduct an interview after the show. This would be the only interview they allowed during this entire tour, which turned out a general disaster, and was the beginning of the end for the band.
Well, after the show we were instructed to follow them to the hotel. We get there and the band backs out. Too tired. Such divas The Clash!!! The manager invited us to the Boston show a few weeks later. We were already going anyway -- like I said, not much to do.
We go to the show, which had seating this time, and luckily we were up in the balcony, cause the 'seating' didn't last long. It was a mad-ass mosh pit complete with multiple fights breaking out. At one point Joe Strummer put down his Tele midsong and climbed into (on top of) the audience to separate two people, then crowd surfed back to the stage, picked up his guitar, and picked the song back up. It was one of the coolest and gutsiest things I've ever seen.
This time we had success getting backstage and interviewing the band. First was the manager, Kosmo, about the security, then Paul, Terry the drummer, Mick, and finally a very, very out-of-it Joe Strummer.
We asked Joe 2 questions, he got confused and thought they were one. We clarified, and he put his head down for about 5-6 minutes. (You'll hear the tape deck get turned off, then back on.) His answers when he came out of his stupor were interesting, to say the least. He had postponed this entire tour for 6 weeks by disappearing off the face of the Earth, then came back with a Mohawk and an attitude.
It was a fascinating experience, and I recently unearthed the tape and MP3'ed it down. It's about 30 min, 20 Megs.
There are two of us asking question.
Order is:
Manager, Kosmo Vinyl
Bass, Paul Simonon
Drums, Terry Chimes
Guitar, Mick Jones
Guitar, Joe Strummer
ENJOY IT HERE!
In 1982, just out of high school and not much to do, I went to see The Clash every chance I got. I drove with a friend out to The Cape Cod Coliseum, a tin roofed hell-hole in MA. Middle of summer, no air conditioning, general admission and a bad-ass Combat Rock crowd made it a life-threatening and life-altering event.
We got there hours early cause, like I said, not much to do. Hung out in the parking lot and took turns walking around the building looking for something to do. My friend snuck into the coliseum on his scouting patrol and came back with a story of meeting Mick Jones and the Clash's manager, Kosmo Vinyl, (can I get a witness!), and getting permission to conduct an interview after the show. This would be the only interview they allowed during this entire tour, which turned out a general disaster, and was the beginning of the end for the band.
Well, after the show we were instructed to follow them to the hotel. We get there and the band backs out. Too tired. Such divas The Clash!!! The manager invited us to the Boston show a few weeks later. We were already going anyway -- like I said, not much to do.
We go to the show, which had seating this time, and luckily we were up in the balcony, cause the 'seating' didn't last long. It was a mad-ass mosh pit complete with multiple fights breaking out. At one point Joe Strummer put down his Tele midsong and climbed into (on top of) the audience to separate two people, then crowd surfed back to the stage, picked up his guitar, and picked the song back up. It was one of the coolest and gutsiest things I've ever seen.
This time we had success getting backstage and interviewing the band. First was the manager, Kosmo, about the security, then Paul, Terry the drummer, Mick, and finally a very, very out-of-it Joe Strummer.
We asked Joe 2 questions, he got confused and thought they were one. We clarified, and he put his head down for about 5-6 minutes. (You'll hear the tape deck get turned off, then back on.) His answers when he came out of his stupor were interesting, to say the least. He had postponed this entire tour for 6 weeks by disappearing off the face of the Earth, then came back with a Mohawk and an attitude.
It was a fascinating experience, and I recently unearthed the tape and MP3'ed it down. It's about 30 min, 20 Megs.
There are two of us asking question.
Order is:
Manager, Kosmo Vinyl
Bass, Paul Simonon
Drums, Terry Chimes
Guitar, Mick Jones
Guitar, Joe Strummer
ENJOY IT HERE!
posted by MTURLO at 7:04 AM
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