One of the most exciting moments of this year was having Shameless play
live over here in the UK. Here we catch up with the man behind the dream,
the man who made it all happen, the driving force behind the whole
Shameless story.
Ladies and
Gentlemen lets hear a warm welcome for your favourite and mine ... Mr.
Alexx (Skunk) Michaels !!!
MM - We've just seen you complete a full UK tour with Tuff. How did it go
and how did you find the UK crowd?
Some bands find us a little reserved when they meet us for the first time.
England rules. We had such a blast there. Everything was great. The shows,
the fans, the promoters, press, Everybody. No one seemed to be reserved. I
just think that some people didn't know us before but that's OK. We make
sure that they remember us.
MM - For those readers out there that
aren't familiar with Shameless, would you like to introduce the members of
the band and tell us where you all hail from.
The tour band featured Steve from Pretty Boy Floyd, B.C. who also played
on all our records, Harry a long time friend of mine on drums, and Zee Zee
Dean on guitars. Zee Zee also plays in a band called "Fame"
MM - Are you really Shameless? What does the bands name represent to you
and was it you who chose it?
I LOVE that name. It says it all. It's a statement. I do what I wanna do
and what I have to do. Maybe sometimes I take a little longer but I try my
best to do my best.
MM - Shameless are awesome live and from looking at your audience, people
have a positive response to your performances as well as your music. What
do you guys hope your fans will get out of your shows?
Nothing but a good time. I love to see that smile on the peoples faces. I
was amazed about all the people who came to so many shows and the ones
that came from Japan, Australia, Italy and the rest of the world.
MM - What are you like as a person away from the music, what do you do for
fun or work? Do you have a day job or is music your every waking hour?
Yes I work sometimes for other companies cause SHAMELESS is not as big as
some people maybe think. I also think it's not that important. Everybody
needs money to live. I just wanna play the music I love for the people who
care about it. Music is my life and nothing will ever change my addiction
to Rock N' Roll. When I'm not doing music I love to restore my 198 Trans
Am pace Car. I just bought it and will probably take 2 years until I'm
done with it.
MM - Are there any funny or weird things that happened this tour? What
memories in particular will you remember from your recent visit to the UK?
Every place was great. I loved to play at the "Marrs Bar". One of the
coolest and cleanest clubs I've ever been to and the people who worked
there took pretty good care of us. The only 2 bad things on this tour
where when Brian hurt his leg in Newcastle and when we had 2 leave. I've
travelled all my life to England and I always loved it.
MM -
What do you have planned for Shameless next? Where do you see yourselves
going from here?
I will start to work on the KISS Tribute Undressed featuring only songs
from the Kiss Record Unmasked including bands from all over the world
including of course also SHAMELESS.
We'll hopefully also release a live CD next year from this tour and we
wanna come back to England, Germany, Holland and Italy next April. We also
wanna try to Rock in Japan next year for the first time. After that, I
will start work on the next studio album which we will probably record in
January 2004.
MM - How do you make sure people stay interested in your music and make
sure that the band is hear? Tell us a bit about the new album!!!
I Just try to come up with what I like myself. I can't do stuff that I
don't like. I know some people complained that some of the songs off
Splashed sound different to those songs from Queens 4 A Day but that was
just the mood I was in when I wrote those songs. I make sure to keep the
songs interesting for me and hope that people like them also.
MM - Do you think we'll be seeing you guys returning to the UK in the near
future?
Next April !!! We wanna come back !!!.
MM - Are there any places in particular that you think would be cool to
tour but haven't had the opportunity to do so yet?
Any place on this planet. We wanna play everywhere!!! Just email us -
alexx@shamelessrock.com.
MM - How would you describe your music and how do you think it fits it into
today's music scene?
Shameless is just Rock N' Roll. Nothing else. We sing about Sex, Freedom &
Beautiful Girls. Most of the songs I write come from the things that
happened to me or friends of mine. I don't think that SHAMELESS fits at
all into today's music scene. I just couldn't care less if I'm trendy or
not. I just love the music we do and that's all that matters to me.
MM - What's your local scene like? Is it a healthy place for bands to be?
No there is no local scene here.
MM - Are there any bands that you guys look up to and respect, or perhaps
draw inspiration from? Who are your heroes of rock?
KISS are the Best. They changed Rock N' Roll forever.
MM - Who would you say was the most underrated band of all time and why?
Enuff Znuff - I can't believe that they are not one of the biggest bands
on this planet. Why is OASIS so big and they are not. Oasis is great but
nothing compared to Enuff Znuff. They rule!!!
MM - Where does all that energy come from when it's time to perform? Do any
of you have any pre-show rituals you do before hitting the stage?
It comes from the fans. I can't stand still. Nothing gives me more power
than seeing someone singing our songs or dancing to it. I can't understand
musicians that stand still on stage. How do they do this? I love to be
onstage and look at this beautiful girl in front of me.
MM - How do you feel about people who bash what you do?
Andy, the guy who does our website told me about some people who did that
on the message board and he had to take those posts off since they where a
little bit too extreme. If you don't like me I can't change it, and I
won't change for anyone. Some people say I wouldn't answer my fan mail but
that's total bullshit. I answer all my mails it just takes a little bit of
time sometimes since I have a lot to do and not always in front of my
computer.
MM - What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of Rock N' Roll?
Forming SHAMELESS.
MM - Do you get much time to make yourself available to the 'online
community'? Just how accessible are you to your fans?
Like I said before, I answer all my mail and it's important to me what the
fans think. I try to listen to everything people tell me. But I also try
to stay true to myself.
MM - How do you feel about your band mates on a personal level? Is it
strictly business or do you have lads nights out together?
I love my guys. Steve is the best. We always have a real good time
together. Sure sometimes there is an argument but that just happens.
MM - What are Shameless fans like? Do you see the same familiar faces at
every show? Do you find the crowds continue to grow as the band tours
further afar?
There are people that follow us but it's different people everywhere too.
They are all Rock N' Roll fans as we are ourselves. The female fans are
always really cute. Especially the ones from Bradford!!!!
MM - What's the biggest compliment someone's ever said about you?
That they love my music. That's the best.
MM - So we've established you're cute and talented, but nobodies perfect so
tell us what's your most annoying or unhealthy habit?
Well I don't smoke and hardly drink but on my day's off I love to just lay
on the couch and watch videos.
MM - When you first started out did you ever dream you'd make it as
successfully as you have?
I'm not sure if I'm successful but I'm more than happy that there are
people out there who love what I started and that I have people around me
who support me with SHAMELESS.
MM - Having been around for a number of years, do you ever suffer from a
lack of lyrical subject matter?
No, cause there is always something going on. There are new stories
happening almost every day. Before we did Splashed I stayed in N.Y. for a
while and a friend told me about all his troubles with his ex-girlfriend.
That gave me the stories for 'Love Game', 'Wild In The Night' and 'Love
The Way (U Make Me Sick)'.
MM - OK, a fun question here for all your female fans out there. I've
turned up to one of your gigs, seen you perform and I've totally got the hots for you. As a young, single female looking for fun, what do I need to
do to get your attention?
Just be yourself, that 's all that's important but of course I love long
hair.
MM - What words of wisdom would you like to share with others who have just
bought a ticket on this crazy train of rock. What have you learned about
the music industry that you think they should know?
Just do what U wanna do but expect nothing. The industry is so tuff in
these days. The record labels care only about profit. Everybody just pays
safe. There are no guarantees. Look at Enuff Znuff. They are one of the
greatest bands but hardly anyone cares or knows about them.
MM - Tell us one thing about yourself that not many people know.
I can't think of anything. I love Sushi and Diet Coke and I hate drugs and
drunk driving.
MM - Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to al your fans out
there?
Thanxs 4 all your support. I will try my best to keep you all SHAMELESS
!!!
Ladies and
Gentlemen lets hear a warm welcome for your favourite and mine ... Mr.
Alexx (Skunk) Michaels !!!
