Looking back at this interview
Jizzy Pearl has been another favorite of ours for many years. We are always partial to those artists who put out some great music but never quite hit the crazy huge mega star status. Jizzy had just released his solo album “Just A Boy”. We were selling autographed editions of this cd. Needless to say, they sold out rather quickly. We’ll throw out a parental advisory on this one.
Love/Hate, Adler’s Appetite, Ratt singer
Jizzy Pearl (March 2004)
How did you come up with the material for the new cd? Were all the songs written specifically for “Just a Boy” or did you dust off some older ideas?
I wrote the songs for this record in the free time I had between touring with RATT and writing my second book. One song “Extreme” was an old Love/Hate song that I rewrote some lyrics to, the others were current.
Do you generally see a song idea through to completion or do you always have stacks of unfinished material laying around?
I have a lot of crap laying around, cool verses that go nowhere, guitar parts that go nowhere—I’m sure a lot of people have the same thing. Having a good solid chorus is the key to having a good song and if you don’t have that then you don’t have shit.
Stylistically the cd has bits and pieces that would fit in with much of your previous body of work, but there are also some twists and turns. Was this something you were trying to capture on the album or are we just over analyzing?
I think it’s important to have a collection of songs that don’t all sound like the same song, only AC/DC can get away with that. I’m just trying not to be boring.
“I’m on Fire” has a very haunting quality to it. How’d you come up with the melody?
I don’t know, to me it sounds like classic Bad Company, bluesy & cool
Some old band mates and friends make appearances on the album including John E. Love, Johnny Crypt, Steve Stevens and Tracii Guns. How did they get involved?
Steve Stevens came to a Love/Hate show that I did in L.A. and commented how much he liked the new music–being the opportunist that I am I asked him if he would like to contribute and thankfully he said yes. His work really stands out. Tracii is a friend and I twisted his arm to play on my record. Jon came down so I could recapture some of that Love/Hate vibe. Everyone did a great job.
Each song on “Just a Boy” seems to convey a different emotion or mood yet they all flow together.
What were some of the inspirations behind the tunes?
“Better Days” was written for my ex-wife Josie who was ill at the time and I wanted her to feel better.
” Feed your Head” was my attempt to write a Joan Jett song ’cause I really dig her,
” Dad” was written about my dead father and so on.
Will you be doing a solo tour to support the album or will you incorporate the material into Love/Hate shows?
I’m going to try to play some of these songs in both Adler and L/H. I don’t think I could do a solo tour financially but it sure would be fun.
What’s the status of Ratt? There were rumors of a possible live album at one time but we haven’t heard anything about it for awhile. Does Ratt still have a future?
Everything has a future, it just depends on what you do with it. I don’t have any control over decisions in that band so I can’t really tell you what’s going to happen.
We do want to ask you a few questions pertaining to L.A. Guns and your time with the band. How would you best describe your run with L.A. Guns?
Satyricon…an excess of liquor and rampant sex. It was really fun being in that band, probably the most fun. Tracii was and is a great songwriter and I enjoyed our collaborations together.
“Shrinking Violet” is one of our top selling catalog titles. Can you tell us a little about the album and how it came together?
Half of the record was already written musically before I joined the band, songs Ralph didn’t put any lyrics to. I wrote the other half with Tracii at sound checks while on tour, a very Led Zeppelin thing to do. My favorite song off that record is “Dreamtime.”
You recently returned from another stretch of Love/Hate dates in Europe. You’ve made several successful runs over there recently. When you re-launched Love/Hate were you surprised by the interest in Europe?
Love/Hate was always very popular in the UK, I try to go there at least once a year to keep the torch burning. I dig the English because they buy a lot of my books.
How often do you find yourself on “The Wrong Side of the Grape”?
Not as often as I used to…the hangovers are just too hard.
We have a compilation tape we put together that we listen to around the office here when everybody’s in a pissed off mood. We call it our “Angry Tape”. The Love/Hate track “Die” is the first track and we usually play that song about 5 times before we move on to the next tune. We don’t need names, but how did this track come about?
That’s a Skid song, I guess he was feeling pissed off at that moment.
What’s the best decision you’ve made during your career?
To not give up.
What’s the worst decision you’ve made during your career?
To not give up.
With all the ups and downs of being a musician, we’ve all had to have a few “odd jobs” along the way. What was your worst “struggling musician” job?
I parked rich people’s cars for a while, that sucked. I worked at McDonalds when I was 15—I haven’t had to work a real job since 1989, that stands as my greatest achievement.
A Few Quick Hits:
First concert you ever saw:
The WHO
Most embarrassing album in your collection
Lords of Acid…is that embarrassing?
When crawling up the “Hollywood” sign always remember to..
Don’t look DOWN
Favorite tv shows when you were growing up
Monty Python–Kung Fu
“The Life and Times of King Jizzo” is being made into a multi million dollar movie. Who plays Jizzy and how does the movie end?
I play myself and the movie ends when I get discovered…BEFORE my death
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome during your career?
Keeping a roof over my head
Every musician has their personal favorite jam songs. Whether it be the last call, open mic night, or “Holy Crap Mister Rock Star is in the audience, let’s jam”!! So what are your top 5 all time jam songs ?
anything by Led Zep
You have 5 songs, spanning your entire recording career, to put into the “Jizzy Pearl Time Capsule”.
What 5 songs are in the time capsule?
The Blackout in the Red Room record and my latest CD
What’s the greatest life lesson you’ve learned over the years?
Tenacity is stronger than talent, stronger than luck, stronger than anything—the people that don’t give up are the people that make it.
What was your “Spinal Tap Moment”?
There have been hundreds—I’m not kidding…hundreds
Jizzy,
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us
You are another Warrior keeping the spirit alive.
Keep Defending The Faith !!
Thanks to all who’ve bought my record–hope you dig it…
Jizzy’s WebsiteJizzypearl.com
ARTIST UPDATE 2019: Since the Interview
We sold out of our autographed Jizzy Pearl cds
Jizzy eventually left Ratt once they reformed with Stephen Pearcy. Jizzy reunited with Tracii Guns for another tour of duty with L.A. Guns. He is currently fronting Quiet Riot. Jizzy is also back out there sharing the awesome tunes from Love/Hate. For the latest info on Jizzy and Love / Hate checkout Jizzy’s website jizzypearl.netYou can also find all the links to his Facebook and social media platforms on the page as well.
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