Transcript From Interview On MM With Eric AND Melissa


(November 3, 1998)
Bill: WELCOME BACK TO Much, AND AS PROMISED MEMBERS OF HOLE ARE IN THE ENVIRONMENT. WE HAVE ERIC AND MELISSA. AS FAR AS MELISSA'S CONCERNED, I'VE GOT TO SAY WELCOME BACK TO CANADA.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Bill: BECAUSE IF ANYBODY KNOWS THE BAND AT ALL, THEY KNOW THAT YOU WERE BORN IN MONTREAL.

M:BORN AND BRED.

Bill: FROM MONTREAL.

M:OH, ABSOLUTELY.

Bill: DO YOU MISS CANADA AT ALL?

M:ALL THE TIME. BUT I COME BACK A LOT, YEAH.

Bill: GOOD. SO FOR ERIC, WERE YOU BORN IN L.A?

E:YEAH.

Bill: OKAY. YOU CAN BE AN HONOURARY CANADIAN FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.

M:ABSOLUTELY. I'M BRINGING HIM OUT WITH MY CANADIAN FRIENDS FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS, SLOAN AND RUFUS. EVERYONE'S PLAYING. HE'LL GET A GOOD TASTE OF THE CANADIANS.

Bill: OH, GOOD.

M:I'LL BE TORONTO; YOU BE FROM MONTREAL.

E:YEAH, THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

Bill: FREE HEALTH CARE. YOU GOTTA LIKE THAT. THAT'S A NICE THING. ANYWAY, I'M GONNA HOLD THIS UP. THIS IS "CELEBRITY SKIN" BY HOLE. FANS HAVE HAD TO HAVE A GOOD FOUR-YEAR WAIT FOR THIS. YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WORKING ON THE RECORD FOR FOUR YEARS, OF COURSE.

M:WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY VACATION TIME IN FOUR YEARS, THAT'S FOR SURE.

Bill: BECAUSE YOU'VE PLAYED. COURTNEY WAS DOING MOVIES AND STUFF. BUT AS FAR AS THE BAND IS CONCERNED, THOUGH, WERE YOU FEELING IMPATIENT AT ALL?

E:WE WERE CONSTANTLY WORKING.

M:YEAH. THAT TIME WAS NEEDED. IT WASN'T LIKE A WASTE OF TIME. A LOT OF GROWTH, A LOT OF LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR TOOLS, LEARNING THE CRAFT, STUDYING, HAVING THE LUXURY TO WORK WITH AMAZING PRODUCERS AND TAKE THE TIME TO DO IT.

Bill: AS FAR AS YOU WERE CONCERNED, THOUGH, YOUR FIRST DEALINGS WITH HOLE WERE LIVE, PLAYING FOR THE LAST RECORD, IN SUPPORT OF THE LAST RECORD.

E:YEAH.

Bill: HOW WAS THE WORK IN THE STUDIO THEN?

M:FUN. I MEAN, THAT WAS MY FIRST RECORD I'VE EVER MADE, SO I'VE NEVER KNOWN ANYTHING BUT PLAYING WITH THESE GUYS REALLY, OTHER THAN A COUPLE OF SMALL RECORDINGS WITH MY OLD BAND TINKER. YEAH, TOURING WITH THEM FOR A YEAR AND A HALF, WE GOT KIND OF PRETTY BONDED, MUSICALLY AT LEAST IN A LIVE SETTING. AND THEN RECORDING AND WRITING OF SONGS WAS JUST THE NATURAL NEXT STEP, AND IT WAS GREAT.

Bill: I CAN'T IMAGINE JOINING THIS BAND AND, YOU KNOW -- YEAH, I GUESS THERE'S AN AUDITION THAT TAKES PLACE OR SOMETHING. IF YOU HAVE THE MUSICAL CHOPS, YOU'RE IN. BUT THAT SEEMS TOO EASY. IS THERE KIND OF MAYBE AN INITIATION THAT TAKES PLACE? IT HAS TO BE MORE THAN JUST MUSIC.

M:WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER, YEAH, OF WHAT MADE IT BE SORT OF LIKE -- THE SECOND I MADE THE DECISION THAT I WAS WILLING TO DO IT, IT JUST HAPPENED, AND THE SECOND THEY KIND OF...

E:I THINK COURTNEY LOOKED AT WHAT SHE WAS WEARING AND DECIDED, OH, SHE'S THE RIGHT ONE.

M:IT WENT FROM THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE FACT THAT I SAID "NO" BECAUSE I HAD MY OWN LIFE GOING ON, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME REALIZING IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND TAKING IT, AND IT REALLY HAPPENED -- LIKE, I WENT OUT FOR, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE ONE HOUR THAT I THOUGHT WAS THE AUDITION TURNED INTO FOUR AND A BIT YEARS, SO...

Bill: PERFECT.

E:NOTHING EVER CHANGED.

Bill: NOW YOU CO-FOUNDED THE BAND WITH COURTNEY IN L.A. YEARS AGO. JUST WONDERING WHY IT TOOK THIS LONG TO USE L.A. AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR SO MANY IDEAS FOR A RECORD. 'CAUSE THE IDEA OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE MIND SET REALLY PERMEATES THE RECORD A LOT.

E:WELL, OUR FIRST ALBUM WAS A REACTION TO WHAT WAS GOING ON IN LOS ANGELES AT THAT TIME, IN 1989/1990. AND THEN -- BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WEREN'T AS PROFICIENT AT EXPRESSING -- IT WAS MORE OF A REACTION, YOU KNOW.

Bill: OKAY.

E:IT WAS MORE SUBVERSIVE IN REACTING TO IT. WHEREAS NOW, WE HAD ALL MOVED BACK TO L.A. WE HAD MOVED, YOU KNOW, TO SEATTLE, AND SHE CAME FROM CANADA; AND THEN WE DISCOVERED L.A., YOU KNOW, A NEW LIGHT.

Bill: YOU MUST SEE A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT COURTNEY WAS WRITING ABOUT, THOUGH, JUST THE REFERENCES TO, YOU KNOW, WAITRESSES; EVERYONE GOES THERE WITH THE SAME GOAL, THAT'S TO MEET A STAR.

E:YEAH.

Bill: AND IT'S SAD ALMOST BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY BROKEN DREAMS.

E:RIGHT. BUT, I MEAN, WE HAD TRIED A LOT OF DIFFERENT BACKDROPS. LIKE WE WORKED IN NEW ORLEANS FOR A WHILE. WE TRIED A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT PLACES TO INSPIRE THE RECORD, AND BASICALLY WHEN WE KIND OF ALL GOT TO LOS ANGELES, IT SEEMED REALLY CLEAR THAT THAT WAS A -- NOT ONLY A FULL OF COMPLEXITY PLACE TO USE AS A MUSE, BUT LIKE IT'S A ROCK TRADITION, TOO. AND TAKING PART OF, LIKE, OF ROCK TRADITION OF WRITING A LOS ANGELES RECORD WAS KIND OF A FUN, LIKE, AMBITION/GOAL TO DO. WE LIKE THE BEACH BOYS AND WE LIKE GUNS N ROSES, JANE'S ADDICTION, EAGLES.

Bill: FLEETWOOD MAC MAYBE.

E:ABSOLUTELY.

Bill: GOOD.

M:NO ONE HAD DONE IT FOR A WHILE.


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