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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
!!!
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