20 Questions with Michael Hannon, 1/20/04

 

20 QUESTIONS WITH…

Ex-Salty Dog Bass Player Michael Hannon

Salty Dog were signed to Geffen records and had their debut CD come out in 1990. They had a minor hit with the song “Come Along,” blah blah blah, and we’re not doing 20 Questions with the bass player.

The bigger news is that we would like to announce that these 20 Questions with Michael Hannon resulted in the death of the official Metal Sludge Scanner. While scanning in photos for these 20 Questions, bastard boy floyd lifted up the official Metal Sludge Scanner by one end to reach for a disk that slipped underneath it, and the scanner slipped out from his hand and crashed to the floor, breaking the glass into a million piece as well as various other parts. The Hollywood Rocks book he was attempting to scan was still in the scanner! Needless to say, the scanner got more fucked up than Vince Neil during a show. Now other staff members have scanners, but this was the official scanner/fax machine/copier. So instead of throwing it out, we’ll take a picture of it and auction it off on Ebay!! Somebody must want it. Maybe it even still works. Who knows? That’ll be later in the week. All proceeds will go directly into our pocket so we can buy another fucking scanner.

Anyway, try to enjoy these 20 Questions despite our sad loss.

1. What are you currently up to? This is your only chance to promote your shit!
My new band (5 years now) is called American Dog, we have 3 cd’s out and have done 3 European tours and average about 100 shows a year, we’re not touring right now, we’re in “Writing mode” for our next album which should come out in late Spring/early summer, We play a very dirty rock, in the vein of the Four Horsemen , Nashville Pussy, Motorhead, Rose Tattoo ect. A lot of our shows are for the biker community (We’ve done Sturgis twice), you can check it out at www.americandog.net

2. There were many rumors that your singer Jimmi Bleacher was a junkie, and was borderline wasted much of the time. Finally the band fired him and looked to move on with a new frontman. What really took place & was there a replacement?
Nah, Jimmi was not a borderline waste most of the time, he worked his ass off like the rest of us for 5 years , it was after the “Every Dog” album tour that the Drugs became fashionable, this did send him on a downward spiral, and we did replace him after a year of downtime. His replacement was A guy from Dallas named Darrell Beach, who was a great singer but, the magic was gone and we folded.

3. Speaking of a waste, why did you guys spend the money to fly to Wales in the United Kingdom when there are dozens of studios on the street and around the corner from where you actually lived, played and the label was located?
We had no managment at the time of recording the album, and were naive to the workings of the system, Someone sez “Do ya wanna go to Wales?”, Hell Yeah! we’d say, There’s a bottomless sack of money, right?

4. What hard rock/heavy metal band should give it up and call it a day?
Def Leppard! Fuckin’ drum machines and harmonies, Gimmee a break, they haven’t done a rock album since “High and Dry”

5. Rate the following bass players on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a total mess and 10 being a Bass God.
Nikki Sixx = The King of Cool, for attitude alone 8
Jerry Dixon = Uncle Toms Cabin and Huge Eyebrows 6
Billy Sheenan = Frustrated Guitar Player, but still has groove, “Eat Em and Smile” 7
Michael Anthony = VH’s secret weapon, great background vocals 10
Robbie Crane = The Jizzy of Bass Players, is he on any cd’s? N/A
Bobby Dall = Grow Yer Hair again would ya? 6
Gene Simmons = Made Me what I am today, for 1974 to 1978 – 8
Eric Moore = A Rhythm Machine, He needs to take the guitar off and put the bass back on 10
Duff McKagan = Appetite is the best record of the “Sludge Generation” 8
Chip Z’Nuff = I don’t like the band……………….0

6. Geffen seemed to be selective in who they signed, and it also appeared that when they did take a band on, they really spent the money. Without being too nosey, how much money did Salty Dog get signed for, and how much of an advance did the band put into their pockets?
I can’t remember how much, but it was the most I’ve ever had, I didn’t have a day job for 5 years.

7. Name us 3 bands from Sunset Strip who should’ve gotten signed, and the 3 that didn’t deserve their deal?
Everybody got signed except for SnakeRock and they were getting airplay from winning the KNAC album search, they deserved it, good midwest Rock…………Didn’t deserve it? I don’t know, but I didn’t like that Bitch from the Nymphs

8. Vicky Hamilton managed you guys. In 20 Questions we did with Vicky, we asked and she said this:
You claim to have managed Guns N’ Roses, Poison & Faster Pussycat. But we can’t seem to find your name under management on any of the CDs? Why is that?
“What is that they say: History gets rewritten every 10 years? I managed the early careers of these 3 bands before there was a record deal. Poison, I sold the contract to Howie Hubberman, Guns and Roses signed with Geffen and I took an A&R job there, Faster Pussycat I took to Peter Philbin when he was at Elektra and he signed them. Warren Entner bought out my management agreement.”
After reading that does it make you wish she had sold your contract to some other manager as well, that way you could’ve had some gold or platinum records?
We did sell our managment contract, we got picked up by US/Hit-n-Run managment, who took care of the U.S. business of Phil Collins and Genesis, who we’re pretty big at the time, Managment was not the problem with us not going Gold or Platinum, We were.

9. Of all the bands Salty Dog shared a stage with, who were the biggest dicks to deal with and who was the coolest?
The coolest was Winger! We only did one show with them, it was in Denver and was a “one-off”, meaning we flew in and played on rented gear, got paid and left, well the shit that I got rented was this Godawful Peavey Shit, which was sounding bad even for Peavey!! anway Kip sees me goin’ through hell with it and comes over and says I can use his gear, which is a Mountain of gear…He is the star of their band after all, pretty fuckin’ cool.

We didn’t run into many dicks, just lucky I guess.

10. Lyrics 101 w/ Metal Sludge. We write out a lyric, you tell us, what song and what band? No cheating.

“Swingin in the living room, Swingin’ in the kitchen, Most folks don’t, Cause they’re too busy bitchin'”
Band: Warrant
Song: Cherry Pie
Sludge Says: Correct

“I think of all the education that I missed. But then my homework was never quite like this.”
Band: Van Halen
Song: Hot for Teacher
Sludge Says: Correct

“I’m a shell shocked mongrel, battle fatigue, First you blister, then you bleed”
Band: ??????????
Song:
Sludge Says: Rhino Bucket, “Beat To Death Like A Dog”

“I went to bed too late, got up to soon, my poor heads still spinnin’ from too much booze.?
Band: Poison
Song: Cat Dragged In ?
Sludge Says: Correct

“Take my cock into your back door, I wanna fuck you, you fuckin’ whore.?
Band: The Mentors???
Song:
Sludge Says: Metal Shop, “Stripper Girl”

11. Speaking of cocks, did David Geffen ever try to suck off anyone in the band?
I only saw that prick once, and I didn’t even know who it was , the secretary told me it was him after he left. There WERE a lot of “Antique Dealers” , floating around the place though.

12. After Salty Dog broke up you also played bass in Dangerous Toys for a while. How did that come about?
We met the Toys guys for the first time in Austin at the Back room, Salty played and they were hanging out, Jason and I got along pretty well, so we exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch, I even sang background vocals on “Sticks and Stones” on their Hellacious Acres cd, a couple years later Salty was dead and their bassist Mike Watson quit, with only two weeks to go before their tour took off, so I got the phone call, put all my shit in storage, and went on the road for 200 shows…making $15.00 a week!!!

13. What rock star deserves a kick in the balls and why?
Steven Tyler! C’mon dude, layoff the ballads, get drunk and record an album, then go to rehab before you tour!

14. According to your American Dog website you and the band are big Cleveland Browns fans and have a side project called the “Dawgs.” Here is another chance at success for you musically. Imagine you’re granted a platinum ticket for guaranteed sales of 1 million units, a tour for American Dog in support of your choice on the arena level and money to live comfortably for five years. Here’s the catch, you have to shun the Browns and become a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan during this same time frame. What do you do?
AAAAAAAAAAHHH! First thing is I wouldn’t tell the other guys in the band about the “platinum ticket” , and keep on beating our heads against the wall, …..Pittsburgh? Have you ever tried to drive in that city? There’s only one way to get anywhere! I’ll be a Rapper before I become a “Squeeler” fan!

15. The Last of Michael Hannon…
Last show Salty Dog played together was = 1991??
Last rock star you shook hands with = Paul Di Anno
Last autograph you gave to a Salty Dog fan = Two weeks ago
Last fast food you ate = Wendy’s
Last CD you purchased = David Lee Roth – Diamond Dave
Amount of your last royalty check = royalty check? I ain’t from England.
Last time you changed your bass strings = Last Saturday
Last cover song you played live = Motorhead’s “Bomber”
Last time you yakked from drinking = About a month ago, Jagermeister strikes again!
Last movie you saw = 28 Days Later

16. Is it possible for you to think up any career high points or is it all just the drizzling shits?
I’ve been playing in bars, clubs and theaters since 1981, I’ve played 43 states and 7 different countries, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, sure I’d like the band to get bigger, but I’ve got a job I enjoy, where it’s okay to get drunk on the job! Drizziling Shits?………only after a meal of Milwaukees Best Light and White Castles!

17. Yes or no, have you ever:
Delivered a pizza in 30 minutes or less = No
Seen a salty dog = I’ve got the Procul Harum disc
Done heroin = Hell No!
Had dinner with Billy Morris = Bud Light and Pizza at the Revolution
Boiled your bass strings = Yeah, It doesn’t work
Seen a Salty Dog CD in a store within the last year = No, but they’re on e-bay all the time
Had sex with Vicky Hamilton = No, but I would if given the opportunity
Worked in a McDonald?s Drive-Thru = No
Had an STD = No
Shit your pants on stage = No

18. Sludge math. Your on tour for 6 weeks, you have 25 shows, 3 basses, and 12 sets of (4) strings for those basses. You need to change strings on your main bass every 5 shows. The back up bass get’s changed once a week. How many sets of strings are left for the 3rd bass?
One Set, but I’d change the strings on the main bass every other day and hope for the best.

19. You?ve been in Salty Dog and now American Dog. What the fuck is up with Dog this and Dog that? Ever think of mixing it up with maybe ?Cat? or perhaps ?Ferret??
Or maybe the Garden Weasel’s? nah, American Dog was a phrase I saw in a Captain America comic book and it stuck.

20. Time for Metal Sludge?s Word Association. We mention a name and you give us your thoughts.
Vicky Hamilton = She doesn’t have a mean bone in her, nice as Hell, she’s into weird shit like crystal balls ect.
Bill Gazzarri = That was the only guy on the strip that stood up to the cops when they started to try and “clean-up” the strip, I hope when I’m as old as him I get young chicks too!
Jason McMasters = Helluva voice, hard workin’ son of a Bitch
Billy Morris = Never met this guy, or heard him play ’til last year when American Dog played The Classic Metal Show with him in Cleveland, Great Guitarist (much better than I expected) and he’s a Browns fan , so he’s okay with me.
Gerri Miller = Very fucking pale!
Axl Rose = The first show I ever did in So. Cal was when I was in Doll, we played with G-n-R, and they did “Nice Boys” for sound check, afterwords I told him how cool it was hearing somebody do Rose Tattoo, He told me I was the only Son of a Bitch who knew it was Rose Tattoo, and was always cool to me after that. He was the best frontman on the L.A. scene.
Jani Lane = I met Jani in his pre-Warrant days, He was in a band called “Plain Jane”, with Steve (then called Sticky!) and they came over to our place and a lot when they were down in the Orange County area, He’s everybodys whipping boy now it seems!
Gene Simmons = My Idol growing up, made me want to play bass, I’d like to see a real album from the bastard and not another greatest hits or “Live” contractual fullfillment!
Nikki Sixx = Loved those first two records, I hope he doesn’t turn into Gene Simmons!

For more info on Michael you can visit www.AmericanDog.net!