Jeff Dahl Interview

GB:When and where did you start to play in a rock n roll band? Vox Pop was your first try?
JD: Actually, I first started as a drummer when I was in school. But that would only be in small bands that no one ever knew about. But for playing guitar, I recorded my first single, Rock N Roll Critic, in 1976 and I played all the instruments - guitar, bass. drums and vocals. Vox Pop was started when I moved to Los Angeles in 1979 or 1980.

GB: How come and you released a record in the legendary Bomp label and what kind of person Greg Shaw was?
JD: Greg Shaw was one of the first people I met when I moved to Los Angeles and his label was the best label at that time. Bomp had released records by the Stooges and Flamin' Groovies so everyone wanted to be on this label! Greg was a very, very nice person and the biggest fan of music. Even though he knew so many famous musicians and bands he was still always excited about some new band he had just discovered. For my single, Suicide City, Greg just heard the tape and he called me and asked if he cold put it out as a 7" record.

GB: A lot of people think that Powertrip was the only band ever with a sound that blends, Stooges riffs and Motorhead’s speed, so perfectly. I also read in a metal magazine that lots of metal heads, finds Powertrip’s record as one of the best speed metal (!) of the 80s! What’s your opinion about this and tell me a few things about the band, because on the net there is not much information.
JD: Well, thank you for saying that. Yes, Powertrip wanted to blend the speed and power of the early Motorhead with the dangerous punk element of the Stooges. We used the word "Speedmetal" when we started in '82 or '83 because we played really fast songs and also as a reference to the Stooges album, Metallic KO. If you've ever seen the CD reissue of the Powertrip album, When We Cut We Bleed, there is a long history of the band with all the details. Powertrip was a really great live band. When we played a show it was always very crazy and I'm still proud of that album. It's very surprising to me that so many people still remember this band and a lot of young kids are now discovering the album. So the legend live on!

GB: Which album are you the most proud of? For me, “Ultra Under” and “I Kill Me” are two of the best punk records ever!
JD:I know it's an easy answer but I like all my albums for different reasons. If I had to pick just one I might say the 7" single I did with Poison Idea, A Tribute To Stiv Bator. We did that recording after Stiv died and because we wanted to show our respect. Stiv was also my friend so it was my way to say goodbye to him also.

GB: Why Motherfucker 666 didn’t last long? In my mind it’s a perfect street rock n roll record, from an underground super group!
JD: Originally, MF 666 was just going to record one single for fun. We were all friends and fans of each others music - Mike Metoff from the Pagans and Keith and Alan from the original Lazy Cowgirls. So we just wanted to play some songs for fun. After the single was a big success Get Hip Records asked us to record a full album so we did that in 2 days. But it's very difficult to continue because we all live in different parts of the country very far away from each other. It was never meant to be a continuing band. Just something special and fun for a short time!

GB: You were also for a year or something, member of the Angry Samoans. I thought that you never recorded something with them, till a found on eBay an LP by Shakin’ Street Records, with you singing some tracks in the studio and some from live shows. Please set the record straight about this.
JD: We recorded the full 2nd Angry Samoans album, Back To Samoa, with me on vocals. When I quit the band to start Powertrip, Metal Mike Saunders rejoined the Angry Samoans and they re-recorded the lead vocals with him. The Shakin' Street release is the original version with me on vocals. It's the same instrumental tracks, just the vocals are different. And the live tracks are from the Angry Samoans with me in New York and playing some songs with the Circle Jerks.

GB: I read somewhere that you didn’t care about file sharing and mp3s and I ‘m sure you’ve been asked about this a thousand times, but I really like to know your opinion for free music exchange.
JD: If its something old, out-of-print or rare I don't care. If it's just a few songs I don't care. But if people are downloading complete new albums when the album is available to buy then I don't agree with that. For my own music I really don't care. If people want to enjoy it then that's the reason I recorded it. I'm okay with it.



GB: The double 7” single you made with the American Soul Spiders, I think it’s one of the better examples of how a punk-rock n roll band, should sound! I also think of the stuff you’ve done together, you and the Lazy Cowgirls, as instant classics! The French TV Killers, backed you up, like they’d be your band for years! How those projects arranged and worked and what do you think about these bands?
JD: I like to record and play and tour with different bands and different musicians... people from different countries and cultures. For me it's just a lot of fun and it's interesting to see how it comes together. I think it would be very hard and boring to be in the same band with the same musicians for 10 year! For all of these projects it is a lot like the MF 666 thing... we just know each others music and want to play some songs together. It's a very natural and easy experience.

GB: What do you know about Greek Rock n Roll? Is there any band from my country that you dig?
JD:I've had some friends in Athens that have sent me some compilation cassettes from Greece and I know there is some great 60's garage style rock. I don't know the names of the bands but I know there is some good music. And it's impossible to find records or CDs from Greek bands in record shops in the USA.

GB:What made you print your own fanzine “Sonic Iguana” and why you stop printing it?
JD: I really enjoy writing about music and bands so I did Sonic Iguana magazine for a few years. But I just got too busy with my own music and my studio work to continue. When I got asked to be a contributing writer for Carbon 14 magazine I decided to stop making Sonic Iguana and to just write a column and reviews for them. So I am still writing.

GB: Why the “Glam Fag” CDs sold only to your fan club members? I download those albums and it was fucking fantastic! Do you have in mind a re-release of these recordings?
JD: This was just recording cover songs of the great bands that I grew up listening and that were an influence on my own music. It was the 70s glam-era before punk in '77... So bands like the Stooges, The New York Dolls, T-Rex and Little Richard... people know these bands very well. But some of the more obscure bands like Smokey, David Werner... I want to introduce this music to my own fans adn I want to show the connection of these bands to the early punk rock of the Pistols and Ramones. Plus, it's just fun to play these songs! There has been some talk about taking the best songs of Vol 1 and Vol 2 and putting them on one vinyl 12" album. That would be very cool!

GB: A couple of years ago, you made a split record with Sweden’s (amazing!) rock n rollers, The Diamond Dogs and it was the most frenetic thing I’ve heard in a very long time! How you met Sulo and the rest of the guys?
JD: I've never met those guys, but again, I know their music and they know my music so it's a natural thing to want to do something together. Sweden and the USA are so far apart in distance that the logical solution is to record some cool songs for a "split" CD together. And I covered one of their songs and they cover one of my songs.

GB: Once you have said, “As far as I’m concerned, there are only two types of music…Good music and bad music!” OK, give an all time top 5 of your favorite bands or records ever and another one, for the worst things you heard!
JD:

Stooges - Funhouse
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
Mott The Hoople - Brain Capers
Chuck Berry - The Great 28
Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
But I could list at least 100 more of my favorite albums. I have a big record collection! For the worst, I don't really pay attention or keep track of what I don't like, but anything that is really just a lot of studio production I hate.

GB: What are you planning now? There are thoughts in your mind for a record or a tour?
JD: There is a new Jeff Dahl acoustic album just released in April. It's called, Battered Stuff. And right now, I am just starting recording of a new album of all short, faster punk rock tunes. We're just starting the sessions in the studio. There are no solid tour plans at the moment but I've been asked to play in Europe in May of '08 but that's still a long time from now...

GB:What’s your opinion for the ’77 British punk rock like the Pistols, the Clash or the Boys? Do you find similar things in the scenes of London and New York?
JD: I love all that old UK punk & pop stuff. My favorites from that era were the Boys, The Adverts and The Vibrators. I still have all those old records! As far as New York goes... I've never lived there so I'm no expert. But I was a big Johnny Thunders fan!

GB: I know you’re a big fan of the New York Dolls, of The Stooges and Radio Birdman. I wonder what your opinion is about their recent reformations and their albums. With the exception of the Dolls, for me the other two records really suck and even the the Dolls cd, was just good. Don’t you think they never should have tried it?
JD: If they're doing it for fun and to try to make some good music then I wish them the best. If it's for money then I'm sure it would be a mistake. But I can't blame them for wanting to try to play again. And yes, it's never going to be the same as it was originally, is it?

GB: What do you think about the closing of CBGB's? Have you ever played or see a gig there?
JD: I did play there at CBGBs several times and it was always a great club. The sound system was fantastic! Even in this club it sounds like you're playing a big concert! It's very sad to see a place with so much history disappear. It's crazy that the City of New York did not make this place a part of the culture of the city.

interview by Mihaliz for GB issue #09_2007