INTERVIEW: Michael Monroe

Last heard earlier in the year adding the wonderful saxophone solo to Black Star Riders ‘Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down’ from ‘Another State of Grace’ (one of my contenders for album of the year), Michael Monroe has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons with the release of his latest solo offering ‘One Man Gang’ an album which in itself just might edge that crown. Over the last decade Michael has been in the creative form of his life and with this solo band around him he only gets better with each release. We caught up with him at home in Finland to talk all about the new record and to look back on the 30th anniversary of his global solo debut ‘Not Fakin’ It’ – one of our albums of 1989.

Michael: Hi Mark how are you?

Mark: I’m good thanks Michael, I hope you are too. Where are you at the moment?

Michael: I’m home in Finland, you?

Mark: We’re calling from Western Australia.

Michael: Western Australia wow! I’ve never been to Australia, I’ve always wanted to go.

Mark: Well there are plenty of fans Down-under that you’ve built up over the years. And there are plenty that would love to see you, and I think a few more when they hear an album like ‘One Man Gang.’

Michael: Oh thank you.

Mark: Fr me as a long time Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks fan, it’s so great to hear a record like this, I said in my review that over the last few years, I think since 2011’s ‘Sensory Overdrive’ you albums have just kept getting better and better with each release. Do you feel that yourself?

Michael: Oh yeah. I think so and it’s great to hear that at this point in my career. I just try to keep getting better at what I do and keep on moving. This band is really great and I’m really happy with those last few albums, I think they all have their own personality and I hope they just keep getting stronger. The last one people say is one of the best one’s I’ve done, but I do think that those last four albums are some of the best work of my career and that’s the best position to be in – making some of the best work I’ve done. Some bands just make records just as an excuse to go on the road and maybe play one song off the album and the rest is the old stuff (laughs)

Mark: One of the best things about the new record is that it does have a real diversity, you’ve got lots of different sounds on there even horns at one stage, it’s a real musical treat. Where did it all start? After the last album how quickly do you get into writing for the next?

Michael: We write all the time, some songs for this album we were working on already in 2016 – 2017, it depends you know. We all write and we get into serious writing before we get into the studio and see what we got, but in this case we put out a ‘Best of’ compilation album that came out in 2017 and that had a few previously unreleased songs as we weren’t sure what was going to go where. But for this album we had like 18 songs that we recorded so we had more than we needed and we chose to release 12, and we started shaving off a few for bonus tracks, because we didn’t have management for a while so we really weren’t in a hurry to put this one out. This album was actually recorded in 2018 but I wanted to wait until we had proper management and a label and a booking agent. And we have all that now. But the songs just come together all the time, everybody writes, I give everyone the freedom to write as much as possible. There’s so much creative energy and talent in this band I don’t want to stifle it, and the best songs make the album no matter what. Rich came over last summer and stayed in Helsinki and he came over to my house in Turku and we wrote right there right away – we did a new one that’s gonna be on the next album, but there were so many great songs that were left over when we only chose 12 for the album.  But we will put out three more – two as bonus tracks for Japan and one of them we’ll find a home somewhere. But the rest were too good and will make the next album.

Mark: On some of the songs on ‘One Man Gang’ you look back very affectionately at the past, ‘In the Tall Grass’ for example where you have those wonderful glimpses back over your shoulder. And this year of course is the 30^th Anniversary of ‘Not Fakin’ It.’ Over the year we’ve been talking to some of the people that we consider made the ten best albums of 1989, what memories do you have of that album? That I guess was the big one for you as a solo artist and just your second solo release?

Michael: Yeah it was the first worldwide deal I had, the first solo album released everywhere. I had been signed to Polygram records in New York and I think ‘Not Fakin’ It’ and ‘Demolition 23’ are probably the best records of the past. I didn’t realise it was the thirty years anniversary you’re the first to tell me that, that’s right! Wow its 2019 and that was back in ’89! (laughs) It’s a good record, I still think it stands the test of time and it was one of the last records I ever made that had that real ‘80’s sound. It was quite a long process though, ‘The Nights Are So Long’ album that I made with a small budget that just came out in Scandinavia I used that as a kind of international demo to get signed and when I did get signed I was gonna re-record it or use some of the tracks, but there were legalities, the record label in Finland they claimed that there was some problem and I wasn’t allowed to record some of those songs, which actually I was allowed to but Polygram who had just signed me didn’t want any kind of hassles so they put a stop to the whole project and said “well there’s a problem here” and so I decided to write new songs, which was cool. It took me about a year to write a bunch of new songs and the fact that ’She’s No Angel’ that was on the ‘Not Fakin’ It’ album proves that I had a right to use those songs. So after I’d written the new songs we went right back into the studio and recorded them with Phil Grande and Anton Fig who plays drums on some of the tracks.

Mark: There were some great moments on that album, I loved the song Little Steven wrote on there.

Michael: Yeah, Little Steven he wrote ‘While You Were Looking at Me’ for me! It was a great honour to read those lyrics. And ‘Dead Jail or Rock ‘N’ Roll’ we wrote with Steven, he was a great supporter of mine then and is a dear friend still.  I actually wanted Steven to produce me and the Record label wouldn’t go for it for some reason, I think they were afraid of him! (laughs) It was a very pleasant experience though.

Mark: He was down to see us earlier in the year and I requested that song but the band didn’t know it, now that would have been great.

Michael: (laughs) Last Summer not this summer we were in Madrid at the same time and I got to play ‘Dead Jail or Rock ‘N’ Roll’ with his band in the Botanical Gardens.

Mark: Now that would have been so cool.

Michael: Yeah it was so good, so much fun, the first encore of a three hour set, and he’d made this different arrangement with the five horns and the three girl singers, the whole band just did this great very cool new arrangement. But it still rocked you know! It was great to sing it with him.

Mark: I’ll have to try and find a clip of that one.

Michael: It was a great gig and great to be part of it, he’s a great guy, a saint, a hero and all of that and he knows all about Rock and Roll, I was surprised when I got to know him what a real rocker he is (laughs).

Mark: Getting back to what just might be the album of the year though, it starts out perfectly ‘One Man Gang’ the title track I absolutely love.

Michael: (laughs) Cool!

Mark: What does that phrase mean to you? Is that you against the world?

Michael: Well there’s that as well but it’s also that I’ve been referred to as a nice bunch of guys at times! But when that song was born and I heard the title I thought that was just the perfect album title for this band because it’s a band, even though it has my name it’s a real band situation which I’ve created so it’s the perfect title for this album – we’re a gang and that’s me, you know. I mean I don’t walk on water but I know a trick or two, Jesus walked on water but I don’t know that trick, but I do have a few up my sleeve of my own. And riding on the PMA (positive mental attitude) I try to concentrate on the positive because what you concentrate on tends to multiply

Mark: That’s right. I get all kinds of tastes of great sounds and great bands on the album, there’s Hanoi Rocks of course, but also touches of ‘The Damned’ and ‘Mott The Hoople’ too, maybe even a bit of ‘The Clash…’

Michael: Oh yes.

Mark: … But one of the songs on there ‘Low Life in High Places’ I felt like I’d known it forever, I thought – this has to be a song that was written in the sixties?

Michael: Yes I know what you mean, it’s one of my favourites too but it’s hard to put a finger on it. There’s also a bit of Stiv Bators in there too, you know The Dead Boys, Lords of the New Church, he was a big influence also. That’s definitely one of my favourites and a really good ending for the album with the explosion and all.

Mark: It is, and the real wild card on there ‘Heaven is a Free State’ I absolutely loved too. Who came up with that one with the horns and the Mexican feel? It’s wonderful.

Michael: Oh I wrote that, that one is one me surprisingly. I had the verse and the beat for a long time and I hadn’t used it because I thought it was a little too weird and then we came up with a chorus for that. The first demo I made I had a saxophone but it didn’t sound quite right, and when it was done I said to the guys “does it sound like tequila or what!?” It’s just a good change of sound.  So in the end I just decided to go full on mariachi and I think it’s good to have a change like that rather than another slow ballad. It’s nice to show a glimpse of a different musical world to keep things interesting.

Mark: So what are the plans for taking the new album out on the road, I know you’re playing close to home I saw some European dates on the internet, are you sticking to Europe, I saw you mention the other day that the US wasn’t really doable unless there was a big stadium support?

Michael: Yes. We just want to play as much as possible everywhere and the States is just a situation, it is what it is. If it was up to me I would be playing Australia tomorrow (laughs). We have a new booking agency too, UTA is booking us, so we have a good label and a good booking agency so I have faith in them that they’ll come up with something cool.

Mark: So come on Australia let’s hit up UTA to get in a decent offer for you!

Michael: Absolutely. We play in Japan a lot, it’s not far.

Mark: That’s right only a short trip from Japan. Friday and Saturday nights in Sydney and Melbourne are looking good!

Michael: That would be lovely I’ve always wanted to come there, to Australia, Bon Scott is a big hero of course.  Hit UTA!

Mark: Definitely!

Mark: One of the things I’ve always wanted to ask you and I’ve never known the answer so I’m intrigued is – what is your favourite thing to do outside of music?

Michael: Outside of music, oh, just music! (laughs)

Mark: (laughs)

Michael: I like movies though, when I’m chilling out I’m a movie fan, mainly older movies classics and that, good movies I like to watch and I like to take walks, but just simple things, nothing special I’m just a regular guy in my time off. I don’t like to travel too much because I travel because of my work so my favourite thing to do to recharge my batteries is just to stay at home with my wife and two cats and watch TV (laughs)

Mark: (laughs)

Michael: That’s special to me (laughs)

Mark: You’ve got to the stage in your career now where as I said at the start of the interview I think you’re putting out some of your best work. Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions or are you just doing what you love and makes you happy now?

Michael: Well I’m doing what I love but I’d like to see this band get more of a chance for more visibility, to play more, or to get on a real big tour or something, you know. You said you love the last few records and I think we’re doing really good work and we’re really great live too, the band has such a strong vibe and people who aren’t really even into rock and roll come and see us and they say ‘wow’ even though they never really listened to rock they love the show so I’d like to see this band get more exposure that’s one of my dreams, I’m curious to see what a bigger audience would think of this if we had a chance for more visibility, maybe on a big tour like you said.

Mark: To me that’s one of the worst aspects about music these days there’s so much really great music that really does get underappreciated and under-heard, the internet these days is so full and so diverse and so constant that it’s so hard to build momentum when everyone is bombarded with so many different things. Rest assured though anyone who talks tome this year is going to be told about this great album and we can’t wait till it comes out on the 18^th October.

Michael: Thank you. People like you make it worthwhile.

Mark: Thank you so much, and it’s people like you that keep me listening and I honestly do think that this one is up there with your very best, and I find myself saying that less and less often to people thirty years into their career, it’s not meant to happen that way is it?

Michael: Right! It normally doesn’t usually, but I’m very happy to be in that position.

Mark: Well thank you so much for talking to the Rockpit today Michael and thank you for ‘One Man Gang’ out everywhere on October 18^th.

Michael: Thank you, thank you so much it’s great to talk to you again Mark.  All the best.