Maichael Hannon | Salty Dog | American Dog | June 2003 |
It's about time this interview finally happened..
I've now reviewed all 3 c.d.'s for these guys.. and just love there no frills, raw rock n roll sound.
I was a fan of Salty Dog back in the day.. they also had a fun rock n roll sound..
but the bass player Michael went a notch up with his new band American Dog..
He is not only the bass player now, but also the singer.. and main songwriter..
SO I finally caught up with Mr. Hannon before his road trip to Canada..
and took a trip down memory lane..
J-ok... Michael first off we are going to go backwards and talk about the Salty Dog days.. if that is ok..
M-Sure.. anything you want to talk about.. I'm wide open..
J-ok.. so how did you hook up with the guys back then?
M-Salty Dog?.. that was when I went out to L.A.. 84, 85.. cause everybody was going out there.. ya know.. we were just all people that met out there, none of us were from L.A..... we just met from the same old places, I was working at a hardware store.. through a temp service, and there was the guitar player.. and he was such a quiet little bastard, I thought he was a country western fan...being Mr.mellow, and he's like "no I'm not..and I know this drummer.." and that was it.. and I ended up being lucky , finding the right guy.. so then Salty Dog was instrumental for a yr. we didn't have a singer, till a buddy of mine, Mark Chapfield, from the Godz.. with a Z...he knew about a singer back here in Ohio.. so he calls me, I have the perfect singer for you, but you cant talk to him..cause he's too drunk.. so I'm like greeeaatt.. just what we need.. so about a month later, this guy comes knocking on my door, and it was Jimmy Bletcher, and that was pretty much it.
J-How long were you together, before getting signed?
M-oh geez.. well we were instrumental for a year,then probably another 2 or 3 years sluggin it out on the strip. and Orange County, we started out better in Orange County.. that's were I was living at the time, and it was good cause the people would travel up from Orange County to L.A.. for ya.. cause L.A. was a little more snooty... then Orange County.. Orange County was more like the real world, so we would always have this crowd that would come up and see us. so we started picking up the L.A.. people too..
J-Who was the main song writer?
M-That was Jimmy.. he wrote all the lyrics in Salty Dog.... and it was more of a group effort, although when Pete joined the band he brought allot to the band musically.. cause it was funny.. we had the other guitar player, the one I met in the hardware store, way up till we got signed.. then we fired him, cause he had a drug problem..then the first show we did with our new guitar player, Pete, is when we got signed..so he did alll the leg work.. but he fucked it up himself.. last I knew he was living out of his car, and selling crystal meth on the street..
J-ohhh.. great..so you pretty much came out at the end of the "hair band" era.. but how important was your look back then?
M-It was real important.. it was weird.. cause we were kinda in no-mans land, ya know that evil glam.. like Guns n Roses look.. that heroin Hanoi Rocks kinda thing.. then there was the pretty flashy.. bands like Poison.. and we were in the middle, kind of like a Tesla band... kinda a blue jean thing..
J-And how did everyone in the band get along?
M-Well at first.. good, then we turned into real assholes, and started fighting everybody.. and each other.. we were douche bags..
J-Do you still talk or know where any of them are?
M-Ya I know were all of them are as a matter of fact, we've all grow up now.. back then you go there, and your young and dumb, you get a record deal handed to you and a 25,000 check.. we turned into little arrogant assholes.. ill admit it now.. and you start doing heroin on top of that.. and your going to be a real asshole, and that's what happened to us..
J-What was your favorite tour back then? any good road stories?
M-oh geez.. we toured w/Robin Trower for 3 months and we were doing a photo shoot out by a pool in San Diego.. and we were sitting there and right next too us was the pool.. with a Jacuzzi type thing.. and next too it was Robin Trower in a pair of Speedos.. my god!!!! he got out of the pool.. we didn't even see him, he had his back to us.. he got out, in his Speedos.."how ya doing?"...hahaha.. he's smokin a joint.. Robin Trower in a pair of Speedos.. is not a good site.. and we just looked at him in this gasp of horror.. and that was the best picture we got out of the photo shoot..
J-What's the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you?
M-Well ya know..the usual, give the roadie a blow job.. but nothing really unusual.. that I can think of.. well ya, one chick did climb up on the balcony.. to meet Jimmy once, fell off and broke her leg.. that was in Hollywood... and she already knew him, I guess she was just addicted to him..
J-What's the biggest crowd you have played for..
M-There was 110,000 people in San Antonio TX. there is this thing they have called Happy Week... we were lucky to get on first.. we were at the peak of our carrier.. everybody was playing us on San Antonio radio.. San Antonio had taken over Cleveland a long time ago, as the capital of rock n roll.. and it was us.. we were the opener, then Eric Johnson, which is Texas.. then the Fabulous Thunderbirds.. which they were at there peak, and had there big hit at the time.. it was just packed.. and the other end of the place was Aerosmith and Ted Nugent.. and I think Dangerous Toys..it was that big.. there was 110,000 people all together.. it was just like Jesus Christ.. it was huge!
J-And what led to the break up of the band?
M-Heroin.. absolute heroin.. one of the guys got hooked on it bad.. and we went through 3 rehab units.. and as soon as he would get out.. he would get right back on the junk... and ill be quit honest.. I don't care what drugs you do.. cause I'm not the one to judge on that kind of shit... but when you do it, and you cant show up on time.. and you cant do your job anymore.. and that's when its done.. and the label wanted us to keep the original guy.. and we were broke, we couldn't tour.. we couldn't do anything.. so we got another singer.. then the magic was gone.. even though the new guy was a better singer.. but that has nothing to do with it, in a rock n roll band..ya know.. Dio is a better singer then Ozzy.. but you want Ozzy.. cause he is the original thing.. and has that madness.. and it just didn't work... we broke up within a year..cause it just didn't work.. So I had gotten a call from Dangerous Toys.. and they said they have a tour coming up..and wanted to know if I would play bass for them.. and I said ya!
J-So that's what you did after salty dog? did you do any other side projects.. or record anything?
M-I didn't record.. but I did a couple demos, with some local bands. I was mad at the world, ya know.. cause I had just put 10 years into Salty Dog.. so you get pretty angry when you flush all that time down the toilet.. I was in a band called Snake Rocks for a while, which was a boogie woogy band out of Cleveland, oh. and that fell apart.. so I played with a kinda metal punk band.. called Bogus Toms, for about 3 or 4 months.. that just didn't work either.. so I was just disgruntled with the world..
J-So if you were with Dangerous Toys.. how many tours did you do with them?
M-I just did one.. it was 3 legs..and probably did about 200 shows with them.. it was the "Pissed" tour.. whish was there 3rd album, that was a great album! it was one of those things where there bass player quit 12 days before the tour.. I had been real good friends w/the Dangerous Toys..cause Salty Dog had played w/them.. and we just kept in touch.. and I'm an Alice Cooper freak.. and so is Jason, and remember that song "Scared"..? with al that Alice Cooper stuff in it..
J-I see.. then how did you hook up with the guys in American Dog?
M-ok.. here ya go.. this is all working in order isn't it.. wow.. your like someone who has everything in order.. this is amazing.. I love organized people..hahaha.. we I did the tour w/Dangerous Toys, and it was right when grunge was taking over.. I'd say in 95' which was a real bleak time for rock n roll.. and we toured every where with them.. and I was like geez.. it was really bleak on the east and west coast. more so on the west coast.. it was just god awful for rock n roll..there was no more KNAC.. we went back to Orange County.. where Dangerous Toys or Salty Dog, could sell these places out easily and there was like 30 people there..
J-That's how things have changed, even down here in Florida..the Rocket Club.. and all these places have closed..
M-ya I played the Rocket-Club! I still have the ads, I save that shit.. it was us one night.. then Love/Hate, XYZ was a night..
J-Ya its not like that at all anymore, every place closed,
M-Ya and there was a place called Button something..
J-Ya the Button South.. that's in Miami, Ft.Lauderdale.. area..
M-There was all kinds of great places there.. Florida.. I'm a big southern rock kinda guy. so I have alot of friends down there it seems like.. but its more in Jacksonville area....
J-Right.. well back to your story.. hahaha
M-Oh ya.. where was I? oh.. ya we were touring.. it was bleak on the west coast.. the east coast was a little better.. but everywhere in the mid west.. Ohio, Illinois.. Nebraska, was like YAAAA... people don't care as much about fashion.. like in Kansas, compared to L.A..... nobody cares about who the flavor of the week is.. so as soon as that tour was done, cause I was just a hired gun.. I said I'm going back to Ohio... I'm gonna start from scratch again.. and its now been five years.. and I finally got my American record deal.. we have been playing small clubs just beating our heads against the wall.. making a name for our selves..
J-Has it been this line up since the beginning?
M-No.. we were called Hilljack right when I got back here...and I just changed guitar players, still same drummer..and me.. and since we got this guitar player, the magic has been just happening..
J-And your the singer now, have you always wanted to sing..?
M-No I never wanted to sing! like god damn it.. I was looking for a singer..and I'm like look guys..this is what I need... and I did demos, and I sang on them.. and id send them out to all these guys in local magazines.. and id say this is what I need.. and they were all coming back to me saying, well hell why don't you do it? it sounds good? sooo.. I never thought of that.. I'm a bass player, not a scientist.. hahaha.. and that was it?
J-So who writes the songs?
M-Well its been me writing all the lyrics so far... and musically my guitar player Steve, is just fantastic..we practice in a basement.. and Steve will just come up with a riff.. and Keith comes in on the drums..and I come in..making a melody to it.. with really no words.. just making it rhyme.. and that's it... we split the song writing credits right down the middle.. 33% each, that way it keeps everybody happy.. cause ya know the drummers always get ripped off.. they deserve more.. like Bonham was certainly a big sound of Zeppelin.. its like geez he should get sound writing credit..and it will only have Page and Plant on it... drummers deserve more..or just as much as some of these assholes that play bass.
J-OK.. and how would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it yet?
M-hmmm.. I don't know.. its rock n roll.. its fun, it has a bit of a southern twang to it.. and just straight ahead rock n roll.. hmm.. a southern rock AC/DC maybe? with the fun element of Van Halen's first 2 or 3 albums..
J-ok..thats very good! and what is your different releases?
M-Ok.. the first one was "Last of the Dying Breed".. which was a statement of the music I was hearing on the radio.. I cant find a god damn band out there that I even wanna buy, that's new.. I find myself buying re issues, and remasters.. and some of these bands.. like Jackyl.. they had an album out.. called "Stayin Alive", that nobody even knew was out..thats the only thing I like is these older things..I can't find anything new on the radio that I like.. all the sudden the bands I grew up on.. is classic rock now.. they are not metal and hard rock.. so that's basically what that song is about.. apart of the past..that was us basically getting something out.. we were playing all over Ohio we would branch out to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and that's about it .. hooking up with all the biker groups..and play lots of little biker parties.. kinda like Van Halen played little keg parties..we were doing biker shows.. which really got us going.. cause the clubs had the nu-metal.. or grunge, or whatever was in. and that's how we got our crowd going.. cause that's were they all went. then we got in with Sturgis from playing the biker shows, and its really hard to get in to Sturgis..and everybody wants to play there, cause its such a big crowd.. and this will be our 6th year playing for the Vietnam Veterans Show in Zanesville Ohio.. its all these guys in wheel chairs..and we were the first band to not take money from them.. we are like no we are not taking money from Vietnam Vets.. its a benefit for god sake.. and we have done that every year now, for six years..and they.. I think they are called the Southeastern Ohio Bikers Association they faxed a certificate of appreciating to the buffalo chip out at Sturgis.. and now because of that.. we helped people.. and they helped us..and now its our 3rd year straight at Sturgis.. its like wow.. you feel good about people for a change.. its the whole karma thing there..
J-Right... So did the "6-pack" c.d. come out after these.. or in between?
M-After "dying breed" we did that.. cause we were going to Sturgis.. and it had been a year since "Dying Breed" and we weren't quiet ready for a full album of all new studio tracks..so we said why don't we do some of these Hilljack tracks..which we still have in the live show then we don't have to waste any time..so we went to the studio.. brought our friends, and our crowd.. and recoded it live.. and packaged it..and brought it to Sturgis with us..and we sold it across the country and back..and it really opened peoples eyes.. that "6-pack" because even if you don't like us.. or never heard of us.. your going to pick it up and look at it.. cause its got a god damn bottle opener..it draws your attention.. even all the magazines..and internet sites I send it to, has to mention that.. so it got us in the press everywhere.. and all we had to do was the one , two punch, and come back with a really good studio album, which I really think we did with "Red White Black and White"..its defiantly our strongest album so far.. so every one goes.. oh ya.. these are the guys with the bottle opener! so we get a serious review..its really worked for us..
J-Ok.. what is your favorite song to do ..right now.. live?
M-Well the fun stuff is "Drank too Much" live.. and the whole crowd yells fuck.. out loud..its on the "6-pack" c.d. like that..thats really effective when you have 10,000 people.. we opened up for Billy Idol last year..at Sturgis..and ill tell you what it will give you goose bumps when 10,000 people yell fuck. its funny as hell.. you go into a public place and yell fuck.. people frown on you.. but you do it in a bar..and its really cool.. so that's fun..
J-What's your least favorite.. or just didn't turn out like you would have liked? on all your recordings?
M-hmmm....everything came out pretty good..
J-There is no least favorite..
M-Least favorite.. is from "Dying Breed".. we did an Angel City cover called "Straight Jacket".. and we were out of time and money.. so ya.. the vocals are a little weak on that one..
J-ok.. and how about touring plans..
M-Well where is my book..we are playing so many places, I leave today for Canada.. we are playing the Vancouver area.. and we need a booking agent really bad! in fact yesterday was the day our American release came out.. so lets see we leave today to go to Canada.. then get back and do Cleveland.. then Columbus.. then do a show w/Ron Keels band, Iron Horse.. then up to Youngstown, and do a showcase for a booking agent.. then to Boston, Maine.. them more shows in Ohio.. then we got some shows w/the Godz.. then we go to North Carolina.. thennnnn....an outside show w/38 special.. and the Godz.. then a bunch of biker shows..then off to Sturgis.. then a week off..and some local shows.. then of to Germany.. the first show there is Aug. 31st.. we will be there till October 2nd.. then we hit France, and we are booked till about the 12th.. and that's all with out a booking agent.. other then Europe.. we gotta have one there..
J-Well you sound busy..
M-Ya we are.. its been great.
J-How do you feel about all these 80's bands getting back together with different members?
M-hmm.. we ya gotta do what you do.. for a living.. ya know.. I hate when I hear guys.. why don't you just give it up.. well say you were a plumber.. why would you stop doing that? its fuckin what you do.. so what if your not as popular.. you gottta just keep doing what you do.. what you just give up and die? no you play your god damn bass.. so you don't give it up..and some of them sound really good.. like Tesla, they sound great.. Jackyl.. they sound amazing..
J-Ya I just saw Jackyl a couple months ago.. and it was amazing..
M-ya I like the new bass player, alot.. Brother Cane was a real good band.. he certainly has credibility.. that guy.. and ya know..sometimes people change there pattern in life..i don't know if its true or not.. but I heard a couple of the guys in Jackyl went religious..is that true?
J-That's what I heard too.. but I cant seem to find them anywhere.. I saw the bass player in a new band.. on a website.. then I lost it, and cant find either on of them any where now..
M-ya me either..and some people change there lifestyle and don't fit in with you anymore, you cant just surrender..you get somebody to fill there shoes.. I had no problem with changing members.. but I think its kinda silly.. when there is one member left.. but then again look at Jizzy Pearl..he just did the UK.. just him and some hired guns..and they called it Love/Hate.. if your playing all Love/Hate music..its the only way you can draw a crowd.. if he called it the Jizzy Pearl experience.. I doubt people would show up..haha
J-How do you feel about the music downloading..and file sharing?
M-Well if the band wants it out there.. well good for them.. but if some asshole that works for you.. puts it out there and you didn't want it out there.. I can see you would be really offended about that.. I mean I think is pretty much bull shit, your stealing from someone.. I mean you sacrifice alot to be in a band.. I mean I'm not married.. I don have any children, I've sacrificed everything just to do this.. then some asshole, after I've worked 10yrs. on a band to put things out.. and some asshole takes it and puts it all over the web.. that's like pissin on my whole life isn't it?
J-Yep..... it is.. ok lets see what else.. what new bands are you into?
M-Hardly any.. that I can think of.. is Nashville Pussy count as being new.. I mean they have 3 albums out..
J-Well I guess.. its newer then the old old stuff..
M-ya Nashville Pussy I think is fantastic.. I would love to play w/them..and wouldnt the names go together well.. Nashville Pussy and American Dog.. that just sounds right.. lets see ..who else.. oh ya.. Blackberry Smoke..have you ever heard these motherfuckers..
J-Nope..
M-Jessie James Dupree.. produced there demo..and I think he manages them too.. they are out of Atlanta.. they have a full length album done, but I don't think its out yet.. they are amazing! that's probably the best new band I've heard in a long time.. they had all the gigs at Full Throttle last year.. we tried to get that gig.. and we went down there.. ready to hate them.. and they were so god damn good.. and such nice guys.. I was like damn, I can't hate them now..hahaha I guess Jackyl.. they are putting out new albums that are good..
J-Ya I love the new album "Relentless"...
M-oh ya.. its fantastic.. and they are great on this tour.. I'm hoping the new Skid Row is good..
J-ya me too..
M-I don't know if you consider them new, that solinger guy has been down in Texas for years doing his stuff..he has like 3 solos.. I hope Jason's new Gadzilla Moter Company does good..but I have no idea.. have you heard any of that yet? well they had to change there name,it was godzilla.. and he got sued by some guys in Japan.. so now its gadzilla.. haha..
J-ok..and where can people find you on the net?
J-Well that's about it.. anything you want to say to your fans reading this?
M-Thanks for the support.. we are doing our best to keep rock n roll alive..and we are trying to get on the big shows.. we are getting alot of support from the web.. people like you, by the way thank you so much.. I found you through Jackyl by the way.. when you posted on there site that you had new pictures.. so its people like you, that keep it alive..radio cant do it.. cause they are owned by Clear Channel or something, so unless your a major label.. they cant play you... the djs don't have a choice..
