Call It Rock n' Roll
In the hectic few moments between Great White’s backstage press conference and taking the Rocklahoma stage, Michael Lardie, Mark Kendall and Audie Desbrow were sweet enough to chat with Bring Back Glam!. During the interview, the boys discuss seeing old friends all summer, Starbucks, and Internet radio. Transcription follows.
Bring Back Glam! Let’s get right into this. Tell me about your upcoming show at Rocklahoma.
Michael Lardie: Well, here we are at Rocklahoma. We’re planning on playing a good cross mixture of all our albums. How many albums do we have now? 14, 15? It’s really great to play with all these bands. It’s like an 80s Woodstock for rock and heavy metal bands. You look at the lists, and you go “Oh my God, they’re playing?!?”
Mark Kendall: Almost every band today (Sunday, July 15) we played with at some point.
BBG: How long have you been at Rocklahoma?
Michael: Well, we flew in this morning.
BBG: So, you’re not watching the other bands?
Michael: Well, we played a show last night and then we came on over here. We’re tired.
Audie Desbrow: We’re running on pure adrenaline right now.
Michael: Soon, Starbucks!
BBG: Is there even a Starbucks here?
Michael: (Laughs). No, but there’s one in Tulsa. We have connections.
BBG: Well, I was going to ask if you were excited to see anyone, but you just arrived so you’ve missed most the festival.
Michael: No, but a couple of the guys, we’ve recently played with. Like Kendall said, we tour around. We just did a show with Vince Neil in Colorado. It’s kind of like, we’re around…if we don’t see them here (at Rocklahoma), we’ll definitely seem them on the road this summer.
BBG: What do you think about radio shows like Hairball John? What does it do for your type of music?
Michael: I think it keeps it in the pipeline in a good way. All the Internet radio stations seem to host special programs…there’s a market for it obviously. Just look how many people are here to see these bands. It gives people an alternative to regular radio.
Audie: I’ve noticed a lot of younger kids at our gigs, you know, like, the parents bring their kids, the kids say “This does rock!” They are not music research people, but when they do hear this, they know there’s something to it. “It’s not just my lame parent’s music.”
Mark: The different generations get into something, that they are not force fed.
Michael: That’s an excellent point, too. The generation coming up is very Internet savvy. The fact that they can access a lot of these shows, because they’re driven. It flips my parents how I’m into it…and my nephews are into it. The computer thing…it’s a whole other vehicle to keep this music alive.
Mark: I met a 23 year old kid with like 100 face piercings, and he swears by the Doors. “The Doors rock man!”
BBG: Well, what do you think all this says about today’s modern rock music?
Michael: I think it’s like anything: it will stand the test of time if it’s a great song. We’ll know in 15 or 20 years…If it’s all just kill your parents—
Mark: Negativity!
Audie: (Cackles). I remember when I wanted to kill my parents. I moved on. (Laughs).
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