Meltdown of the WRIF radio station in Detroit, Michigan recently conducted an interview with AEROSMITH and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES guitarist Joe Pery. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
Speaking about HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES‘ tribute to late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister in the form of a performance of the MOTÖRHEAD classic “Ace Of Spades” at this year’s Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Joe said: “I think that if there was a band that you could call hardcore, hard rock and that lived the life, it was [MOTÖRHEAD]. And you could always still count on [Lemmy] to be up at the Rainbow [in West Hollywood], which was kind of the tribute that the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES… you know, the whole thing started with that, with the guys that would hang out there in the ’60s. And he was one of those guys that you could still go up there any night of the week and he would be there hanging out, living that life. And it was unfortunate he passed the way he did, but it was really good to be able to be the band that paid tribute.”
In addition to Perry, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES features international film star and musician Johnny Depp and legendary rocker Alice Cooper.
Dave Grohl introduced the VAMPIRES‘ appearance by saying: “Many of us play rock and roll, but very few of us are rock and roll. Lemmy Kilmister was rock and roll. He was a rebel and an outsider, one of a kind and a way of life. He was MOTÖRHEAD. He was a legend and I was proud to call him my friend. I have an ‘Ace Of Spades’ tattoo, but the truth is Lemmy and MOTÖRHEAD left their mark on me a long time ago, just as they did for everybody who’s ever loved rock and roll. As Lemmy taught us in ‘Ace Of Spades’, the pleasure is to play. So tonight, I wanna thank Lemmy and the late Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor for their music and everything it meant.”
Cooper, Perry and Depp, along with Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan then hit the stage, performing their own song, “As Bad As I Am”, followed by “Ace Of Spades” in front of a bass rig featuring Lemmy’s trademark high mic stand and cowboy hat and bass.
“We started this band as a means to toast our ‘dead drunk friends’ at the Rainbow, all the ghosts in the bar, and now I guess Lemmy is involved in that, too,” Cooper told Rolling Stone.
“He was always funny,” he continued. “I’m a ‘healed’ alcoholic and I haven’t had anything to drink in 35 years. A lot of people that drink always feel a little bit like they owe an explanation to me. A couple weeks before his death, Lemmy came up to me and said, ‘Alice, I’ve quit drinking.’ And he’s got a glass in his hand. And I go, ‘Really?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I don’t drink whiskey anymore. I drink vodka.’ And I went, ‘Lemmy, do you think your liver has any idea what color the alcohol is?’ He said, well it’s a step down from whiskey.’ And I went, ‘Okay. Any step’s a good step.'”
Interview (audio):
Source: Blabbermouth
