Rewind with Alexx Michael Bassist of SHAMELESS!

Rewind with Alexx Michael Bassist of SHAMELESS!

 

Alexx Michael of Shameless says have a coke and a smile!

We first talked to Alexx in 2002 >HERE< with our 20 Questions. Now he’s about to hit the roads of Europe with a SHAMELESS/TUFF tour in April. Let’s catch up and see what’s new.

1. We talked to you almost 7 years ago, what’s new, CDs, projects, websites, etc..?

We released a Live Disc back in 2003 called "The Super Shameless Hardcore Show" and a new studio disc called "Famous 4 Madness" in 2007 and did a 4 week tour all over Europe. We played England, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Well we still have the same 2 websites www.shamelessrock.com and of course on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/shamelessonline . At the moment i am also writing new material for the next Shameless disc that we hopefully gonna record by the end of this year  + all our music is now available thru Itunes but you have 2 search for the album titles for whatever reason.

 

2. Tell us about the ’09 European tour with Shameless & the circus of clowns your taking with?

We gonna play 7 shows in 8 days in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It gonna be B.C. on guitars, Stevie Rachelle on vox and T Burr on drums.  We all gonna miss our favourite Mr. Sex Steve Summers a lot on this tour but he is so busy with Kristy doing some Floyd Shows.

Sat. April 11th "Borderline Club" Pisa, Italy – Tuff/Shameless

Sun. April 12th "tba" Milano, Italy – Tuff/Shameless

Mon. April 13th "Sottotetto Sound Club" Bologna, Italy – Tuff/Shameless

Wed. April 15th "Underground Koln" Cologne Germany – Tuff/Shameless

Thur. April 16th "Garage Deluxe" Munich/Bayern Germany – Tuff/Shameless

Fri. April 17th "Paunchy Cats" Lichtenfels, Germany – Tuff/Shameless

Sat. April 18th "Rock City" Uster, Switzerland – Tuff/Shameless

3. How do you start the first 2 hours of your day?

I get up about 6:30 and then make breakfast 4 my daughter, make sure she is wearing not some Manson Shirt and bring her 2  school. Afterwards i read my Emails, look out for the latest Slduge  and check my current Ebay auctions. Ebay fuckin rules.

 

4. Since you did Rate a Bassist last time, and you’re a KISS nut. We’re gonna do Rate a KISS member 1-10. A 1 being someone who blows dicks, and 10 being someone who blows fire.

Paul Stanley (front man) = The best frontman ever. Great singer, songwriter, showman.

Mark St. John (guitarist) = RIP but he always seemed really strange. We tried 2 have him  play on a couple of tracks on our first disc Backstreet Anthems but when we tried 2 pick him up for recordings he was in no condition 2 even move or talk. That was really weird.

Eric Singer (drummer) = Eric is not only one of the best drummers on this planet but also one of the coolest and nicest guys i know. He is always ready 2 help and goes out of his way to make things possible. He is the best !! Eric rocks !!

Bruce Kulick (guitarist) = What can you say about Bruce Bruce is a great guitarplayer and really nice guy even i havent spoken 2 him for a long time.. I did a few tours with him and he is such a pro.

Gene Simmons (bassist) = My daughter thinks he is an Asshole caue he took his daughters horse and gave it away in one of the episodes of Family Jewels.

Vinnie Vincent (guitarist) = Really talented guy but probably the biggest Asshole i ever met. He still owes me money from a tour we did in 1996. After that tour he disapeared cause he ripped of a lot of people. The story about him and how he fucked over the promoter of the tour and other things was on the net for the longest time but i cant find it at the moment. He even took the promoters credit card, paid his bills with a fake signature and had roomservice bills for more then 2000 $ a night in a Hamburg hotel. That did not include hookers cause he was there with his wife at the point.

Peter Criss (drummer) = I think he was a real talented drummer with a great voice back in the 70’s. I love his style on the old albums but his last solodisc was the worst thing i ever heard.

Eric Carr (drummer) = RIP I only met him a few times in 1988 but he was a really nice guy.

Tommy Thayer (guitarist) = He must be real lucky to move on from playing Ace in a KISS tribute band to play with the real band now + he is a total pro, takes care of everything. I cant say anything about his style cause he doesnt really show it in KISS.

Ace Frehley (guitarist) = There is only one Ace. He might be fucked up as hell but he is still Ace !!

5. There was some rumors that you might play bass in Tigertailz for some shows after Pepsi passed away. Is this true, and what were the details?

I talked to the drummer Matt while Pepsi was still alive about helping out on their tour they had to do in October 2007. Pepsi was in no condition to do the tour so we talked about it but then he passed away and it was hard to even deal with it. I couldnt picture myself replacing someone who just died.  He was also supposed to do the artwork of our last disc "Famous 4 Madness" but thru his sickness he was not able 2 do it.

6. Name the 3 high points and the 3 low points of your music career to date with Shameless?

1. Doing the first record in LA and 2 work with Gilby Clarke and to get all the respect from people all over the planet who like what we do.

2. 2 meet Keri Kelli for the first time. He is probably the most talented musican and one of the coolest guys i know. He always plays for the song and makes sure that everything works out great. He is always honest and also a very close friend. I am glad 2 have a friend like him.

3. Seeing fans that fly from Japan to England just 2 see some of our shows.

Lowpoints

I dont see any real lowpoints besides canceling a japanese tour in 2003 because of my stupid divorce.

7. You’ve got a history with KISS. Including some early KISS Konventions in Europe with former members. Tell us a good exciting story about touring with Ace or Peter.

We traveled with Peter in 1994 and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Germany/Berlin. After we had dinner he wanted to give the owner a pair of his trademark drumsticks and was hoping for a free meal. The owner just told him he could leave the sticks on the table but he still had to pay for his food. He got really mad about that. Peter also had a lot of fun in Amsterdam

Ace couldnt find back to his table in a restaurant in Copenhagen/Denmark and ended up outside of the Restaurant not having any clue where he was.

8. You’ve also got a history with glam band Grandpa’s like Steve “Sex” Summers of Pretty Boy Floyd and Stevie Rachelle of Tuff. Please tell something exciting about these clowns?

Stevie is worse then any kid i know. He asks about 20 questions every 3 minutes, farts like no other human. But other then that he is a fuckin pro that always takes care of everything and always knows exactly what he is doing.

Steve is like some Alien from another planet. I dont know any person who is like him but he is very very easy to handle and a great performer and a real nice and funny guy as well . He just wants to check out all the food in every gasstation while on the road and he is a big fan of dogs

Other then that he is just great. Never forgets any lyrics, knows his parts and all he wants 2 be happy is a blowjob by some chicks and a few shots of vodka before every show.

9. Memory Lane: What do you recall about the following years:

1978 = Getting my first KISS record "Alive II"

1982 = Discovering Motley Crue

1985 = Getting my first BC Rich Bass

1988 = Starting the original version of Shameless. We had a blast . All the other guys hated us cause we did steal all their girlfriends and clubowners even warned people about us.

1991 = The death of Freddy Mercury and Eric Carr. Driving in an old VW to London to see Tigertailz.

1994 = 4 weeks on the road with Peter Criss on a  KISS Convention tour.

1998 = Beeing in NY for most of the time,

2002 = Recording Splashed which was a disaster cause we had 2 finish the recordings in germany which didnt work out. Touring thru England, meeting T Burr for the first time and of course the famous Dudley Dwarf (Dan we love u)

2005 = I cant recall anything of that year besides buying a Corvette .

2007 = Recording Famous 4 Madness, touring all over Europe, getting fucked over by some fucked up record label (Fuck you Fat Eddie if you read this), my daughter starting school and some crazy Sexaction in Belgium

10. Kill, fuck, marry. (Pink, Paula Abdul, Paul Stanley)

I really hate Pink but would still fuck her, dont care about Paula Abdul and i wouldnt kill anyone but i would love to fuck Marisa Tomei !! She  is still fuckin hot.

 

11. What Shameless song(s) do you regret recording and should get erased from the planet and never to be heard again?

One is from the first disc called "Realize" . I dont really like that kind of Love Songs. I am more into the nasty stuff.

 

12. Some of our musical comrades are no longer here. What do you remember about:

Joey Ramone of The Ramones = My daughter is a huge Ramones fan. Joey was great. I dont think anyone could say anything negative about him or the Ramones.

Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott of Pantera = I think its really crazy and insane how he died.

Robin Crosby of Ratt = I always thought he was fuckin cool as hell. His death was a pretty sad story. Another bad example of how drugs can ruin your life.

Cliff Burton of Metallica = Tragic death as well but i dont know anything about him. I never owned any Metallica record and never liked their music.

Tracii Michaelz of The Peppermint Creeps = He was the first person i ever met when i did visit the Rainbow. He was inventory of the rainbow. The Rainbow will never be the same again knowing that he wont be there. Very nice guy and great drummer. Always laughing, smiling and a fuckin great drummer live as well.

Eric Carr of KISS = As a huge KISS fan i followed the band for 10 shows thru Europe back in 1988. He always asked me how i pay for this trip so one evening he gave me an envelope with 30 tickets for the Monsters Of Rock Festival and told me to sell them so i could afford a nice hotelroom.

Tim Kelly of Slaughter = He died the same weekend as Falco !! I really liked his guitarplaying and i also never understood all the hate for Slaughter cause their first 3 albums really rocked. Especially "Fear no Evil" is a great album.

Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot = Kevin was supposed to sing the song "We wont take it anymore" on our last album Famous 4 Madness but he couldnt make it to recordings because he had some other stuff going on. We said we gonna record something together on the next album but then he passed away. Really sad cause i always loved his voice !!

Randy Castillo of the Ozzy Osbourne Band = I went with him and Zakk 2 the little octoberfest in munich back in 1988. He was a really nice guy

Pepsi Tate of Tigertailz = He was Mr. Rockstar. The guy with the coolest Hair, great artist who did all the Tigertailz artworks and a great musican and songwriter as well.

 

13.  Most people consider 13 to be unlucky, what is your most UN-LUCKY experience in life?

?left blank?

 

14. If Paul Stanley of KISS had to be replaced for a stadium show tomorrow who would be the most suitable replacement of the following & why?

A. Jim Gillette (X-NITRO)

B. Robert Fleischman (X-Vinnie Vincent)

C. Steevi Jaimz (X-Tigertailz) or

D. Carrot Top (That flaming buff comedian)

You picked the worst replacements that could be !! Truth is that nobody can replace him. I watched some of the footage of that one show were Paul was sick and they went on as a trio. They seemed so lost like Charles Heston on the Planet of the Apes.

15. Of all the bands you shared the stage with, who were the coolest and who were the dicks?

Everyone was cool. The biggest dick was a so called female Manager for a band called "Toxxin" we played with in 2000. That bitch was a mix of that chick from Spinal Tap and Yoko Ono. She had no clue of what the hell she was doing and went to the hairdresser instead of taking care of her band. Then she lost her wallet somewhere and asked us to return to another city while we had 2 be in duesseldorf to get ready for the next show. So we just kicked her off the bus.

16.. If you had your reality show in Germany, what would it be called, “Rock of Schnitzel”?

HAHA. Im not even a big fan of Schnitzel but i would simply call it Famous 4 Madness

17. Touring  memory of Europe, (list 10 cities, and tell us what happened?)

London England = Going on stage without a rehearsal cause our drummers flight got delayed

Berlin Germany = Getting kicked out of the venue after 6 songs cause Sex Summers kicked one of the monitors of the stage

Madrid Spain = Celebrating my B-Day on stage with my crazy Bandmates

Sheffield England = The weirdest City in Europe – Hunting for food in the middle of the night

Torino Italy = Playing for more then 800 crazy fans and stealing the girlfriend of the drummer from the opening band

Munich Germany =Munich is always great and its the place where it all started.

Nottingham England = The rearwindow of our tourvan broke and no way of finding a parking lot for car thats bigger then a VW Fox.

Muehlheim Germany =  Steve throwing up in the middle of the set

Lichtenfels Germany = Paunchy Cats is probably the smalest venue on this planet but just the coolet place. The owner is such a great guy. We always love 2 play there.

Bilbao Spain = searchin for Paella !!

 

18. If you could be a fully functioning toilet seat for any chick who would it be and why?

Amber Smith cause she rocks !!

 

19. What was the biggest music check you’ve received & what did you buy with it?

about $ 12000 and i bought my 1983 Trans Am for it and some other stuff

20. The Last of Alex Michaels: Part 2.

Last fast food you ate = Nutella Bread

Last time you put those dumb blond streaks in your hair = 2007

Last song you bought off iTunes = Bryan Terfel and Tigertailz – "I believe" which was recorded

to raise awareness and money for the registered charity Amser Justin Time, set up to provide care and support for pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

Last KISS item you sold = A KISS Belt Buckle

Last porn site you visited on the net = www.youporn.com

Last time you cried = When i got the message about Pepsi’s death

Last famous person you took a photo with = Steve Summers

Last country you visited outside of Germany = Belgium last summer

Last time you had full blown diarrhea = i never have cause i eat the right food

Last time you logged onto the Sludge Gossip Boards = today

We thank Alexx for being down with the Sludge! Go see the SHAMELESS/TUFF tour if you’re in Europe we heard the singer is amazing! Lol.

For more info on Alex & Shameless visit the myspace >HERE<

Metal Sludge

Famous 4 Sludge