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If it’s pleasure then it’s right on the threshold of pain. It’s a tantalizing bite. Bradley: This next question was posed to me by an undisclosed, absentee participant in this interview. Why don’t you grow a mustache, Cheetah? Chet: Because mustaches look goofy on me and I don’t want to. Bradley: It wouldn’t go well with the portobello mushroom? Chet: Yeah, I think a mushroom on my face would look bad, and I think a mustache also would look bad on my face, but that’s just my personal feeling. I mean I look sexy in many different looks and fashions, and I probably would look fucking great in a mustache, but I have to do things for me. I have to feel good about me. And when I see a mustache on my face I feel silly. And silly can be entertaining, but I want to entertain without being silly. And I think I have a nice upper lip. I don’t want to cover it up. Bradley: So mustaches are silly? I wonder how many people would cringe if I said the South, rather than the coasts, shapes America. Look through American History, brothers and sisters. You will be surprised. Chet: On me. In my eye. Now, like I said, another person could see a mustache on me and they will probably think that it looks beautiful, but when I see it on me I think it’s pretty silly. I’m a very self-conscious person. Bradley: J.R., do you think that a mustache might help you on the cell phone? You seem to have a way with the cell phone. (He doesn’t like to use them.) JR: Well, the mustache keeps your cell phone clean, I guess. Bradley: You have a reputation as a pizza dough tosser? JR: Well ol’ Token cain’t do much, but he can make you a mean pizza though. Bradley: Cain’t do much? Some would beg to differ JR. You have quite an underground reputation as being a formidable dog trainer. JR: Yeah, I can train dogs. Bradley: I remember one trick where you leashed your dog (Ozzy) to your belt, when you walked down the street. JR: Yeah, he learned how to heel good. Bradley: Learned how to heel good – Heel, Ozzy! JR: Yeah. Bradley: Who is the Worlds Greatest Drummer (WGD)? Chet: That would be J.R.R. Token. I’ll answer that one. Bradley: What constitutes a great drummer? I mean, there’s a lot of drummers, I’m sure you can’t be the fuckin’ best. JR: ‘Cause cain’t none of these damned little mealy-mouthed sons of bitches hold a torch to this man right here. Bradley: Mealy-mouthed? JR: Little bastards. Bradley: What you been reading here lately, Cheetah? Chet: Ah, I’ve read a book about the Doors. Light My Fire by Ray Manzarek. Bradley: It’s good stuff? Chet: It’s good stuff. I like the Doors. I like their story and I wanted to hear Ray Manzarek’s side, ‘cause I think he’s the one who’s really fucked up the Doors image. He was a great keyboard player and a great musician. Whether or not he knows, whether or not he realizes what he’s done to the Doors rep. He turned Jim Morrison into some sort of pop icon and so-called shaman when I think it’d be much better served to remember Jim Morrison as a great rock and roll singer. Bradley: More so than Jim Morrison the poet? Chet: No, I think Jim Morrison was working on some good poetry and if the dumbass hadn’t killed himself early, he probably would have become a good poet, but I don’t think calling him a religious shaman is fair. Saying that someone can lead people in a religious manner to save their souls or transfer their spirits is quite a burden to put on someone who’s twenty-seven years old. I think that’s kinda all blown up in a negative manner to where Morrison is emphasized, rather than the Doors music, and Morrison as a mystical figure has turned into Morrison as a teen-idol. The Doors have almost ended up becoming a parody of themselves, especially with this new stuff they’re doing. It’s a shame. Really, they’re just an innovative, great rock and roll band and there’s not many people who can say that, and it should have been left right there. That’s a pretty fuckin’ great achievement. But anyways, I was reading a book about the Pre-Raphaelites art movement. I want to know more about the people who were painting. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tour, they have a notebook of Morrison’s where he wrote lyrics. It was pretty cool. We saw Hendrix’s notebook of lyrics. Otis Redding’s airplane. That was sort of intense. Bradley: You’re here in Los Angeles, you know, “come on baby light my fire.” This is the land of the Doors. How’s that been for you? There’s a big ass painting of him over in Hollywood. Chet: Yeah, I saw that. I don’t know how I feel about big murals. I guess it’s not really any of my business. I just like to remind folks, every once in a while, that there’s a lot of hype. Bradley: Chet, with the 49
ILCK2 you seem to have focused more on influences that were hinted at with the Quadrajets (the previous band Chet was in) i.e. songs like “John Lee Hooker Is My Heavy Metal.” Are you able to focus more on your influences with the ILCK2? Chet: Absolutely. The Quadrajets definitely functioned as a group. The whole equaled more than the sum of the parts. Meaning, the group mind wrote the best music. Therefore, my personal wants, needs, and contributions did not manifest. I did sneak some blues into the Q-jets, like the song you mentioned. Also, we did an original called “She Likes It,” which swung like Hound Dog Taylor. We did a great Howlin’ Wolf song and a Johnny Shines song. But most of the guys weren’t as into blues as myself. We converged somewhere in ‘70s Detroit, Rolling Stones, and Southern Rock. Great experience. Bradley: From the Essential Fucked Up Blues, to Love is a Charm of Powerful Trouble, has there been any transformation in your sound? Chet: Yes. Essential bridged the Q-jets and ILCK. The first ILCK record is loud, noisy, and fast almost all the way through. I still was working on a new song writing direction. We also wanted to leave room for something new for the follow up, which would be Love. We didn’t want to put all the cards on the table first round. Not wise for gamblers to do. Bradley: What factors are at work here? Looking at the song titles, we see themes of love, pain, and the blues, not just as a state of being, but as blatant nods to the greats. Chet: Great art always contains an emotional charge. That charge gives the piece energy and life. We try to put ourselves wholly into our songs. I still think I have some way to go before I can bear all to an audience. It’s hard to put everything on the line for strangers. But, I’m much closer now 50 than in the Quadrajets to tell all. Human beings appreciate the truth. They appreciate others who are willing to share their being and feeling. The reason why is simple: we’re all going through similar trials and tribulations on our way toward our first death and transference. We like to hear of other’s personal victories and defeats. Helps us with our own struggle. The struggle makes for the human passion I so dearly love and makes for a fucking fun time. Individuals make up our world. No one knows better what to do for themselves than themselves. On a different level, ILCK is stirring up the socio-ethnic pot by blatantly referencing known blues greats. And sometimes with a little bit of irreverence. Gotta keep things evolving. Gotta let people know that everything comes from the heart. Doesn’t matter if you’re from white suburbia, like myself, or the juke joints of Mississippi, like R. Johnson; anyone can play blues. But the blues changes from individual to individual. Our experiences are different. The key to the highway is honesty. Also, ILCK mix references between blues and so called “finer” or “trained” arts. The title Love Is a Charm of Powerful Trouble is derived from Bill Shakespeare (Macbeth). And I mine William Carlos Williams, WB Yeats, and Dylan Thomas for lyrics just as much as JL Hooker. They are all great artists and poets. ILCK2 is not interested in ethnocentrism, racism, purism, or self-righteous intellectualism. We’re interested in good music. Sound is a form of communication. The spoken language allows for direct communication. Music allows for empathy. Both are used in art. Art saves lives. When I kick my amp and the feedback goes “whooom,” someone in the audience is going to say, “That dork feels like me.” Bradley: How do the practices of Jeet Kun Do factor in? How much a part of your song writing is pulled from the fighting philosophy of Bruce Lee? Chet: This could be a whole interview unto itself. Sifu Bruce Lee turned the martial arts world upside down. First, he trained westerners. Something unheard of at the time. Second, and most important, he created a new style of martial arts catering to the individual and free of limitations. The world of martial arts is steeped in tradition and dogma comparable to religion. Lee acted as a heretic to create an all-encompassing style which covered all ranges of fighting, from kicking to grappling. And there is true emotional content in his style. “The only limitation is no limitation.” Martial arts, like music, is an artistic expression. Consider why one fighter will choose to use his fists against an opponent while another may decide to use chokes and submissions. One draws blood while another does not. Along with JKD, I also love Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Martial arts differs from naked violence because of the ability to express individuality. There’s a difference between indiscriminate and intimate violence. There aren’t guns, missiles, professional armies and criminals, or weapons of mass killing
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