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MOTORHEAD |
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FEATURE:by Tom Lounges god
speaks…an interview with Lemmy!
Lemmy Kilmister’s cigarette scarred voice never gave the likes of Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson or Priest’s Rob Halford a run for the money either. But such has never seemed to matter to metal fans. They love the aging icon’s leathery voice as it pleads for love like a reptile; shouts of how the chase is better than the catch; and hoarsely screams the praise for the Ace of Spades. After all, he is Lemmy!
He is the first British rocker since Eric Clapton some thirty-five years
ago, to be universally heralded by fans as “god.” He is the only rocker ever formally deified in a major
motion picture, when actor Steve Buscemi as a member of a fictional stoner band
in 1994’s “Airheads” poises the question –– “If Lemmy and God wrestled, who would win?” Buscemi
resolves it’s a “trick question,” because
–– “Lemmy IS God!” “I didn’t know about them putting that
in the film. They did it without me knowing.
It was very nice of them. I
got a big kick out of it,” said the 56-year-old Kilmister,
who was introduced to Middle America last year as a guest on “The Drew Carey Show.” “I
don’t know if America was ready for prime time Lemmy,” he
laughed of the experience. Kilmister takes all the hero worship in
stride, and admits he is flattered to have become such a big part of modern pop
culture. “As a lad I’d
always wanted to be famous. I love being famous. I’m grateful for all the
attention, because it enables me to keep doing what I love to do,” he rasps,
referring to keeping Motorhead alive and well. “I hate people who try like hell to be
famous and then bitch when they become famous,” he declared.
“If they don’t like it and don’t appreciate their fans, then they
should quit and go back to work at the sheet metal press or whatever they did
before.” Motorhead has just delivered unto us ––
Hammered –– their
first new studio album in over two years. While
the band has gotten two “Heavy Metal” Grammy nods in recent years, it is
interesting to note that Motorhead has never had a “single” chart on the
American pop/rock charts. Yet their
vast catalog continues to sell steadily here, as it does all over the world.
And U.S. concerts sell out in nearly every city. When they hit Chicago’s House of Blues
this month, Kilmister promises old favorites like “Ace
Of Spades,” “Motorhead,” “Killed By Death” and “Love Me Like A Reptile” will dominate their set.
“We’re doing the songs people expect to hear,” he said. “But we
have a new album we’re very proud of so we’re doing [new songs] ‘Brave
New World,’ ‘Shut Your Mouth’ and maybe ‘No
Remorse’.” Pondering his three decades in music,
Kilmister said – “It’s not the same as when you first start out, because
nobody stays 16 forever, but I’m sure that I enjoy playing Motorhead songs a
lot more after 27 years than I would enjoy being a plumber after 27 years.” A one time guitar tech/roadie for Jimi
Hendrix during the time he lived in England, Lemmy credits ‘50s rock ‘n’
roll pioneer Little Richard with sparking his love of rock music and says it was
his late boss, Jimi Hendrix, who most encouraged him to chase his rock ‘n’
roll dream. After a few years floundering around
in the space rock ensemble Hawkwind where he wrote two of that band’s most
famous songs –– “Motorhead”
and “Silver Machine” –– Kilmister left to form the first
incarnation of Motorhead in 1975. Today’s Motorhead includes guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mickey
Dee, who have been with the band since 1996 and 1991, respectively. MOTORHEAD play May 8 at Chicago’s House Of Blues with Morbid Angel and Speedealer.
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Motorhead
eschews the flashy guitar leads and soaring multi-octave vocals of most “old
school” metal bands that came up through the ranks with them in the 1970s and
1980s.