Kenny McGee | Julliet | Naked School Girls | Lefty | Heartless | January 2000 |

 

HI.. AND WELCOME TO MY FIRST INTERVIEW FOR THE NEW "WHERE THE HELL YA BEEN".I DECIDED TO START DOING THESE BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH GREAT TALENT OUT THERE FROM OUR OLD 80’S BANDS..AND NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT…SO IM HERE TO LET EVERYONE KNOW..SO ENOUGH OF ME…..GET READING….

 

MY FIRST CHOICE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS…KENNY McGEE….HE IS ABOUT AS TRUE TO HIS MUSIC AS THEY COME! EVERYTHING YOU HEAR COMES RIGHT FROM THE HEART..AND YOU CAN TELL..NOT ONLY IS HE A GREAT SONGWRITER.. BUT A GREAT PERFORMER.. HE GIVES 100% EVERY SHOW, I’VE SEEN HIM TONS OF TIMES IN THE MANY BANDS HE'S BEEN IN.. AND EVERYTIME WAS THE BEST…..I WELCOME TO YOU……..KENNY…………..

 

 

J-HI KENNY…FIRST OFF EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT THE JULLIET DAYS….WHO DID MOST OF THE WRITING IN THE BAND?

K-THAT WOULD BE ME…I DID MOST OF THE WRITING…I WROTE ALSO W/TY THE BASS PLAYER AND WHEN FRANKIE SULLIVAN CAME INTO THE PICTURE TO PRODUCE ON THE RECORD HE CO-WROTE ON A COUPLE OF THE SONGS.. HE'S A GREAT SONGWRITER….AND I ACTUALLY WROTE "LITTLE BIT OF PARTY" AND "HELP" W/CAL CURTIS..HE ACTUALLY HAD A BILLBOARD #1 SONG W/38 SPECIAL "YOUR HEART DESERVES A 2ND CHANCE" I BELIEVE IT WAS CALLED…BUT BASICALLY I WAS THE MAJOR SONG WRITER..

 

J-OK..AND HOW DID THE GUYS IN THE BAND GET ALONG? WAS THERE ANY FIGHTING OR ANYTHING?

K-THE JULLIET GUYS? WELL THAT WAS MORE BROTHERHOOD DAYS YA KNOW.. WE WERE ALL YOUNG AND FULL OF EVERYTHING.. THERE WASN’T REALLY MUCH FIGHTING IN THAT BAND, THAT’S FOR SURE… 

 

J-AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE LIVING IN L.A. MOVING FROM FLORIDA?

K-.. PROBABLY CAUSE OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BAND…THE EXCITEMENT LEVEL WAS TURNED UP.. BUT THE BAND AT THAT POINT WAS SUCH A POPULAR BAND IN FLORIDA…WHEN WE FIRST MOVED OUT TO L.A. IT WAS A CULTURE SHOCK AND WE WEREN'T USED TO NOT BEING THE TOP DOG…BUT…JULLIET ACTUALLY ONLY PLAYED 7 SHOWS IN L.A. BEFORE WE WERE SIGNED.. SO IT WASN’T MUCH.. I THINK IT WAS A YEAR TO THE DAY ACTUALLY…FROM WHEN WE GOT THERE TO WHEN WE GOT SIGNED.. (J-I HAVE SHOWS ON VIDEO FROM FL. AND L.A. LET ME KNOW IF YOUR INTERESTED..)

 

J-COOL….WELL WHAT FINALLY LED TO THE BREAK UP ?

K-I GUESS THE BREAKUP.. WAS ME LEAVING.. YA KNOW I GUESS THAT WAS IT.. THE ONLY REASON I LEFT THE BAND WAS BECAUSE ....WHEN WE WERE ORIGINALLY SIGNED WE WERE ON ENIGMA.. AND CAPITAL AT THAT TIME OWNED HALF OF ENIGMA.. AND IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THAT WE WERE ON THE ROAD TOURING.. AND EVERYTHING WAS GOING GOOD.. AND THE ALBUM WAS SELLING.. CAPITAL TOOK OVER ALL OF ENIGMA.. AND THEY GOT RID OF SOME OF THE BANDS.. BUT THE KEPT US.. PULLED US OFF THE ROAD TO PREPARE TO START MAKING THE 2ND ALBUM. IT WAS ALL THE SUDDEN OTHER PEOPLE WERE IN CONTROL OF US, THE WHOLE MUSIC SCENE WAS CHANGING, WHICH EVERYONE WHO WAS INTO THE 80’S SCENE KNOWS ABOUT THE CHANGE THAT CAME ABOUT.. AND IT WAS JUST SMOTHERING THE BAND. ME PERSONALLY…I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO FLORIDA AND WORK W/PEOPLE THAT I HAD KNOWN FROM MY PAST I JUST FELT THAT I HAD MORE OF A BETTER SHOT, BECAUSE L.A. WAS JUST FALLING APART AT THAT TIME…..

 

J-DO YOU EVER TALK TO ANY OF THE MEMBERS ANYMORE, OR KNOW WHERE THEY ARE? 

K-GREG…IS STILL IN L.A. I TALK TO HIM A LOT, HE MANAGES BANDS NOW.. HES A GREAT GUY.. WE ARE ALL STILL GREAT FRIENDS.. WE’RE LIKE BROTHERS…JIMMY LIVES IN SARASOTA AND ACTUALLY I GOT HIM GIG PLAYING GUITAR WHEN I WAS DOING THE BRIAN JOHNSON (J-AC/DC FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW) PROJECT.. THE NAKED SCHOOL GIRLS.. (WHICH I ALSO HAVE ON VIDEO.. W/KENNY SINGING) AND TY LIVES IN TENNESSEE…YES I SPEAK TO THEM ALL…

 

J-OK… WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST THING A FAN HAS EVER DONE TO MEET YOU?

K-I GUESS THE CRAZIEST THING WOULD BE THE WORST THING….WAS TO SHOW UP AT MY FRONT DOOR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND PERSIST TO KICK THE DOOR IN…..SO I HAD TO CALL 911…

 

J-WAS THAT IN L.A.?

NO.. THAT WAS IN FLORIDA……

 

J-WOW….THAT’S NICE…OK.. WHATS THE BIGGEST CROWD YOU’VE EVER PLAYED FOR.. AND WHERE?

K-ACTUALLY THE BIGGEST CROWD I EVER PLAYED FOR WAS IN TAMPA FLORIDA, IT WAS WHEN I FIRST CAME BACK FROM L.A. AND THAT’S WHEN “BABY JANE” WAS A BIG HIT HERE IN FLORIDA. .AND IT WAS AT LIVESTOCK! I BELIEVE IT WAS LIKE 56,000 PEOPLE…56,00 PEOPLE SINGING “BABY JANE”…IT WAS A HUGE CROWD..

 

J-TELL US ABOUT HEARTLESS..AND HOW YOU HOOKED UP W/THEM ..

K-WELL SEE THAT’S WHAT WAS GOING ON.. FRED GALOPA.. MANAGED HEARTLESS.. AND ACTUALLY STILL MANAGES ME NOW.. HE WAS THE OWNER OF THE ROCKET CLUB.. THE WORLD FAMOUS ROCKET CLUB. WHEN ALL THE BAD STUFF WAS HAPPENING TO JULLIET.. WELL I DON’T WANNA SAY BAD STUFF WAS HAPPENING TO JULLIET....IT WAS HAPPENING TO ALL THE BANDS, IN OUR KIND OF MUSIC.. FROM US TO GREAT WHITE.. TO WHITE LION.. RATT TO MOTLEY.. EVERYONE WAS GETTING IT…PEARL JAM AND ALL THAT WAS COMING IN..IT JUST WASN’T WHAT WE DID..AND LIKE I SAID..CAPITAL PULLED JULLIET OFF THE ROAD AND WAS READY FOR US TO START MAKING A SECOND RECORD,WHICH WE ALL THOUGHT WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA..CAUSE AT THAT TIME WE WERE SELLING RECORDS, AND WE WERE ON THE ROAD..AND DOING GREAT..THEY FELT THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE 1ST ALBUM AND WANTED US TO DO THE SECOND…SO DURING ALL THAT..FRED IS CALLING ME DOWN IN FLORIDA..SAYING COME BACK TO FLORIDA….I GOT A PROJECT FOR YOU,EVERYTHING WILL BE BETTER HERE, WE HAVE A RECORDING STUDIO…I WOULD HAVE ALL THE FREEDOM IN THE WORLD AND AT THE TIME HE WAS SAYING ALL THESE THINGS TO ME…EVERYONE IN L.A. AND THE NEW RECORD COMPANY WAS SAYING DO THIS..DO THAT…DO THIS…FRED WAS OFFERING ME COMPLETE FREEDOM,AND THAT’S WHAT WAS IMPORTANT.SO FINALLY I BROKE DOWN AND MOVED BACK TO FLORIDA..AND EVERYTHING HE PROMISED ME WAS TRUE..SOME OF THE STUFF I DID W/HEARTLESS WAS BEING PREPARED TO BE ON THE JULLIET 2ND ALBUM..

 

J-THAT’S WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK NEXT…..SO DID U ACTUALLY RELEASE CD’S W/HEARTLESS?

K-ACTUALLY..CD’S..W/HEARTLESS..NO..I DIDN’T RELEASE CDS W/HEARTLESS…THEY HAD RELEASED A CD BEFORE ME..BUT EVERYTHING..OR ANYTHING PEOPLE HAVE THAT HEARTLESS RECORDED…WAS DEMOS..WE DIDN’T ACTUALLY RELEASE ANYTHING.. (J-I HAVE THESE CD’S AVAILABLE FOR SALE..THEY ARE AWESOME..AND SURE DON’T SOUND LIKE DEMO RECORDINGS…LET ME KNOW IF YOUR INTERESTED IN ANY---->)

 

J-OK..WHAT LET TO THE BREAK UP OF HEARTLESS…?

K-ONCE AGAIN IT WAS…

 

J-WELL ACTUALLY YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME FROM HEARTLESS TO DYING BREED..AND IT WAS THE SAME LINE-UP…

K-WELL ACTUALLY..WE NEVER REALLY CHANGED THE NAME..WE CHANGED THE NAME CAUSE THE BAND DID A SHOWCASE IN NEW YORK..W/THE OLD SINGER..AND THEY DIDN’T WANNA GO BACK YA KNOW..AND TRY AND BRING OUT PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT LABELS UNDER THE SAME NAME..CAUSE A LOT OF THE LABELS HAD ALREADY SEEN THE BAND W/THE OTHER SINGER..SO IT WAS KINDA LIKE..LETS CHANGE THE NAME SO THEY WONT BE LIKE…OH WE’VE ALREADY SEEN THEM…CAUSE THEY HADN’T SEEN US..CAUSE WE WERE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT W/ME BECAUSE I WAS DEFINATLY THE SONGWRITER IN HEARTLESS...(J-AND YES I HAVE SOME HEARTLESS & DYING BREED VIDEO TOO..FROM PROSHOTS..TO TV APPEARANCES..TO CLUB SHOWS...EMAIL ME..)

 

J-AND WHAT FINALLY LED TO THE BREAK UP OF THE LINEUP?

K-WELL I TELL YA..ONCE AGAIN..IT WAS ME LEAVING…I DON’T WANNA KEEP SAYING IT LIKE IM A QUITTER..BY ANY MEANS CAUSE IM NOT..AND I DON’T MEAN THIS IN ANY KIND OF DEROGATORY STATEMENT…..OTHER PEOPLE GAVE UP..SO IM NOT WILLING TO HANG AROUND WHILE OTHER PEOPLE ARNT GIVING IT THERE ALL..CAUSE IM NOT GONNA STOP PLAYING MUSIC..

 

J-DO YOU TALK TO ANY OF THOSE MEMBERS..AND DO YOU KNOW WHERE ANY OF THEM ARE?

K-I TALK TO CHRISTAN..THE BASS PLAYER..I TALK TO DEAN THE DRUMMER PROBLEY 6 OR 7 MONTHS AGO…TOMMY IS IN LAUDERDALE..AND I TALK TO BILLY VIA EMAIL..HES IN CONNECTICUT…BUT NONE OF THEM ARE IN MUSIC..THAT I KNOW OF THEY COULD BE…I KNOW BILLY ISNT,AND I KNOW TOMMY ISNT..MAYBE THEY ARE DOING IT AS A HOBBY..BUT I DON’T WANNA SPEAK FOR THEM, THEY DEFINATLEY DIDN’T WANNA KEEP GOING HARD LIKE I WANTED TO..

 

J-OK..NOW ONTO THE PRESENT…AS EVERYONE CAN SEE…YOU’VE BEEN DOING ROCK N ROLL THE WHOLE TIME W/NO BREAKS..DO YOU EVER THINK IVE HAD ENOUGH..I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE?

K-NEVER ENTERS MY MIND…

 

J-OK..AND WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY UP TO?

K-RIGHT NOW….WELL IN THE LAST 4 YRS. IVE PLAYED 1,200 SHOWS..WHICH TO ME IS REMARKABLE THAT I CAN EVEN SPEAK TO YOU RIGHT NOW..AND IVE BEEN RECORDING THE WHOLE TIME, AND IVE SAID THISFOR THE LAST 2 YEARS..THE NEW ALBUM WILL BE DONE PROBABLY THE END OF JANUARY.. BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY.. WE HAD TO CHANGE STUDIOS CAUSE WE WERE UNHAPPY..WHICH DID CAUSE A DELAY, BUT IT SPAWNED 2 NEW SONGS SO IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.

 

J-THAT’S WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK NEXT..HOW OFTEN DO YOU PLAY OUT LIVE…?

K-ALL THE TIME…ALLL THE TIME…

 

J-AND DO YOU STILL PLAY JULLIET AND HEARTLESS SONGS?

K-ABSOLUTELY…I CONSIDER THOSE MY SONGS.. AND WHEN PEOPLE COME TO SEE ME PLAY.. THAT’S WHAT THEY REALLY WANT..

 

J-ALSO I SEE THAT YOU PLAY GUITAR ABOUT 50% OF THE TIME LIVE NOW..WHY DIDN’T YOU PLAY MORE IN JULLIET?

K-WELL…I DID ON “LOVE CAN CHANGE YOU” AND “CHIP AWAY” BUT I DON’T KNOW…I PLAY GUITAR AND PIANO..THAT’S HOW I WRITE MY SONGS, BUT I PICKED IT UP FOR A COUPLE OF THE SONGS.AS IVE GROWN AND AGED.. AND MATURED AS A PERSON AND A MUSICIAN MADE ME WANNA PERSUE IT EVEN MORE….I LOVE PLAYING GUITAR ON STAGE..

 

J-YA I HAD NO IDEA..ALL THE YEARS I SAW HEARTLESS..AND DYING BREED..IT WOULD BE ACOUSTICLY ONCE IN A WHILE..BUT YOU CAN REALLY PLAY!

K- YA I CAN PLAY..MY ONLY COME BACK TO THAT IS…HOW DO YOU THINK I WROTE THE SONGS?

 

J-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG OR RELEASE THAT YOU HAVE DONE?

K-THAT WOULD BE VERY,VERY TOUGH…I PROBLEY HAVE TO GO WITH..”CHIP AWAY”.

.I WROTE FOR MY MOTHER..

 

J-OK..WHAT WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE..SONG..OR YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE MADE SOUND BETTER?

K- PROBLEY JUST OLD DEMOS.. PROBLEY THE WHOLE DEMO I DID W/KEVIN DEBROW FROM QUIET RIOT..BEFORE I MOVED TO L.A. W/JULLIET..HE DID A GREAT JOB PRODUCING IT..AND I LOVE KEVIN, BUT THE WAY MY VOCALS CAME OUT..I WAS YOUNG THEN,I WAS LISTENING TO TOO MANY PEOPLE..

 

J-AND WHAT DO YOU SEE MUSICALLY FOR YOU IN THE YR. 2000?

K-WELL WHAT IM HEARING IN THE STUDIO RIGHT NOW..WILL DEFINETLY BE IN THE YR. 2000..I REALLY KNOW THIS NEW RECORD IS GOING TO BE A REALLY DIFFERENT ALBUM..AND IM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT..BUT ITS GOING TO SHOW SOME OTHER SIDES OF ME..AND SOME OF IT WILL BE DIFFERENT FOR PEOPLE,BUT IF YOU LISTEN TO THE ALBUM AS A WHOLE IT’S A VERY EXCITING RECORD..

 

J-WELL THAT ANSWERS THE NEXT QUESTION..ANY NEW CDS COMING OUT THIS YEAR…

K-YES..HEART BODY AND SOUL.. AND STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEART..BUT THAT’S STUFF THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN RECORDED ..PART OF THE COLLECTION FROM THE PAST..THAT HAS NEVER BEEN RELEASED, BUT I HAD PLANNED ON RELEASING THAT BEFORE HEART BODY AND SOUL,BUT ITS NOT GOING TO BE THAT WAY, SO LATER ON MAYBE NEXT YEAR ILL RELEASE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEART, BUT LIKE I SAID THOSE SONGS ARE FROM YEARS AGO…

 

J-WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FOR SONGS?

K-EVERYDAY LIFE..RELATIONSHIPS..DREAMS…

 

J-WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 80’S BANDS GETTING BACK TOGETHER..THINK ITS FOR THE MONEY OR THE LOVE OF THE MUSIC? 

K-I HOPE ITS FOR THE LOVE OF THE MUSIC..I LOVE THEM GETTING BACK TOGETHER..THAT’S THE GREATEST THING..THAT’S HELP BRING BACK ATTENTION TO ME..BUT I FEEL SLIGHTLY CHEATED..CAUSE I NEVER QUIT PLAYING..AND THAT’S WHAT ID EVER SAY TO ANY OF THE REUNIONS…I NEVER STOPPED..I DON’T HAVE TO DO A REUNION W/ANYONE..CAUSE I NEVER QUIT PLAYING..BUT I THANK THEM FOR DOING IT..THE 80’S BANDS WERE AWESOME BANDS..THAT SOLD MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF RECORDS, FOR ANYONE TO TAKE THAT LIGHTLY IS CRAZY..

 

J-IS THERE ANY NEW BANDS YOUR INTO?

K-I LIKE MATCHBOX 20, I LIKE COLLECTIVE SOUL…WALLFLOWERS..BUT I STILL LIKE MY ROCK N ROLL..

 

J-LIKE WHAT WOULD BE IN YOUR CD PLAYER RIGHT NOW?,

K-PROBLEY BE ALLMAN BROTHERS…

 

J-IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO YOUR FANS THAT WILL BE READING THIS?

K-I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THEM..WELL THE LOCALS..NOT THE LOCALS..BUT THE SOUTHEAST FANS..I DEFENATLY HAVE TO TELL THEM THE SUPPORT OF THE LIVE SHOWS IS INCREDIBLE,FOR ME TO DO AS MANY SHOWS AS I DO..IN THIS STATE AND GEORGIA..ITS JUST INCREDIBLE THE TURN OUT I GET. AND HOW THANKFUL I AM. AND SINCE THE INTERNET..AND ME DIVING INTO THE INTERNET PERSONALLY…THE RESPONSE ALL OTHER THE WORLD,PEOPLE ARE BUYING MY CDS FROM ITALY,SPAIN,GERMANY,NETHERLANDS, THAT MAKES ME FEEL INCREDILE..AND THE FACT THAT ITS ALWAYS GOING BACK TO JULLIET..AND KNOWING THAT THAT WAS 10 YEARS AGO…I HAVE THIS GUY NICK..AND GOD BLESS HIM IF HE IS TO READ THIS..HES FROM URALIA,IA. HE PUSHES ME ALL OVER THE WORLD..THE GUY DESERVES A MEDAL.AS FAR AS MY NEW CD COMING OUT…GIVE IT A CHANCE,LITEN TO IT, ITS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT..I DIDN’T WANT TO CONTINUE TO PUT OUT THE SAME SOUNDING CDS ALL THE TIME..AND I DID EXPERIMENT W/MY BLUESY PARTS..AND SOUTHERN STUFF, BUT THERE IS STILL SOME REALLY SERIOUSLY ROCKIN STUFF ON THERE ALSO..AND THE LINE UP I HAVE NOW IS SMOKIN….

 

J-COOL…WHERE DID U FIND THE GUYS FOR THE NEW LINE UP? IN LEFTY?

K-BASICALLY…NIKI, I HAVE WORKED W/BEFORE..MY DRUMMER….AND MY BASS PLAYER SENT ME A RESUME,J.J. MY LEAD GUITAR PLAYER, I SAW IN ANOTHER BAND..AND I KNEW HE WAS GREAT,I SIMPLE ASKED HIM TO JOIN MY BAND..AND MY KEYBOARD PLAYER PLAYED W/A STEVIE RAY VAUGHN TRIBUTE BAND…AND THAT’S WHERE I SAW HIM...(J-GUESS WHAT I HAVE TONS OF VIDEOS OF THESE GUYS NOW..FROM NIKKIS STICKS ON FIRE DRUM SOLO..TO ALL THE OLDIES BUT GOODIES FROM KEENY...YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO...EMAIL ME)

 

J-OK…AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WILL BE AT THE END OF THIS INTERVIEW,WILL YOU ANSWER ANY EMAILS IF YOUR FANS WRITE YOU?

K-I ANSWER ALL MY EMAILS PERSONALLY….

 

J-OK..KENNY THATS IT...THANK YOU VERY MUCH....

K-WOW.. THAT WAS EASY....