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Axl to grind
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Jesse “the Devil” Hughes, mustachioed lead singer of California’s Eagles of Death Metal (alongside Josh “Baby Duck” Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame), may just have the power to save rock ’n’ roll from itself. He never takes the music too seriously, maintaining a chief objective of just bringing the party. Their third record, Heart On, continues in their rich tradition of keeping things perfectly stupid, getting your rump shakin’ while, as Hughes so succinctly puts it, “just singing about everything that’s rad.” The Mirror talked with this charming master of ceremonies over the phone from his home in Los Angeles. Mirror: You’ve always been known as quite the ladies’ man. Is there any advice you could give to some guys who maybe aren’t so lucky in getting attention from the fairer sex? Jesse Hughes: I think it helps to look like their father when they were about four years old. It’s called the “Paging Dr. Freud.” It’s also good to have a patsy talk to the girl in question so you can observe how she deals with him—it’s like testing an electrical fence for weaknesses. If all else fails, you can just use the surefire line, “I have a 11-inch tongue and I can breath through my ears.” M: We seem to be inundated lately with piss-poor sob-rock—what are the kids missing these days? JH: What’s missing is the majesty of rock and that’s what I want to bring back. Rock ’n’ roll forgot about ladies, first and foremost, and turned into a boy party, and I don’t know how you like your biscuits buttered but personally I sure as shit am not down with bummed-out dudes at a boy party. M: Where should kids go to check out the majesty of rock? JH: Little Richard, he started it all. He would show up in a pink silk suit and turned girls on while singing “Tutti Frutti,” and scared the world. That ain’t no small affair for a little queenie boy. M: Other heroes of yours were Guns N’ Roses, who you were to tour with, but Axl kicked you guys off of the tour after only one show in Cleveland. Was that disheartening? JH: Yeah, I mean, Appetite For Destruction was one of the last great dangerous rock ’n’ roll records and you just couldn’t fuck with Guns N’ Roses at that time. When we took that tour, I didn’t realize that the rock had actually gone to Velvet Revolver and the only thing Axl got was terminal baldness, with one of the worst weaves I have ever seen. I think Axl just doesn’t give a fuck anymore and that’s what really hurts. M: So you don’t think the release of Chinese Democracy [on Nov. 23] will save rock ’n’ roll? JH: I’ve heard it—it’s a train wreck. You can actually hear the insanity and the confusion in the tracks. If Axl were reading this right now, I would just like to say, “Wack-sl, take some Paxyl and come back to Axl.” The night he kicked us off, he called us the Pigeons of Shit Metal from the stage. We made up t-shirts that said that and they’ve actually outsold our regular shirts every night—as well as, he paid us for the whole tour in advance. I was crying all the way to the bank. The guy has just turned into the Michael Jackson of rock ’n’ roll. WITH MATT MAYS & EL TORPEDO AND |
