Jesse Malin

eGigs catches up with Jesse Malin as he promotes new album ‘Glitter In The Gutter’, and builds a playlist for between sets.



How’s the Tour going?

Really good. The record came out in March, and we did a small UK tour in January. This tour has bigger rooms, and it’s nice to be able to pull a setlist from three albums. It’s a high energy show, even though we’ve been out every night without a day off, but the crowds around these parts are very enthusiastic.

You’ve been a musician since you were twelve, how did you get into music?

I started in a band called Heart Attack which was hardcore thrash; we had our first EP at fourteen. We opened for Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Brains. My father and mother used to play music in the house, then they separated, and my babysitter used to play a lot of Elton John, Kiss, Zepellin, then I got into The Ramones, and then it was The Sex Pistols, Clash; opened up my whole world. Before that though Kiss was pretty influential, the power, the blood, the fire, the hair, the boots, the make up, the songs; believe it or not. Then it was the storytellers; the songwriters.

You cite Neil Young as an influence, I can hear a bit of his style in your vocals (not from the D Generation days).

Definitely, back then it was tight, angry, and hurt my throat. I was trying to find my voice on ‘Fine Art’ [‘Of Self Destruction’ – first solo album], and now I think I’ve mixed the screaming with a softer voice. Neil Young, Adam Duritz, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Paul Simon are all influences.

Do you miss being in D Generation, or as part of a band, or do you prefer solo work?

I do miss the guys and the jokes; they were kids I grew up with. When it was bad it was horrid, but when it was good it was wonderful. It was a weird time; we were misunderstood, people were listening to grunge and we were playing punky rock and roll.

You were friends with Joe Strummer; there’s a lot of stuff about him at the moment; a new documentary ‘The Future Is Unwritten’, and a festival called Strummercamp. How did you hook up?

I can’t wait to see that film. I was glad I got to know him a bit; he was such a giving person, the way he was with his fans. We hooked up through a photographer, Bob Gruen, who took him to see a D Generation gig. He came by this bar I’m involved in in New York called Niagara, and we drank til the sun came up.

You recorded ‘Glitter In The Gutter’ in LA; if you could would you have liked to record it in New York?

I’d always made records in New York and when I lost my apartment because I couldn’t afford to buy it when it was turned in condos I decided to go to LA. The producers were there, I have friends out there, the weather’s warm. I tried it; it was very lonely but good for focusing.

I’m not going to ask about Ryan Adams, you’re safe! But the other people who appear on this album; Josh Hommes, Chris Shiflett, Bruce Springsteen, were you all friends to start with or did they approach you?

Bruce was a fan of Fine Art, we did some shows together. I went to see him play two weeks before I started ‘Glitter In the Gutter’ and mentioned it to him, he offered and said if something comes up he would love to get involved. So we thought real long and hard and ‘Broken Radio’ seemed like the most appropriate song. I sent him a rough copy of the vocals, didn’t hear anything for two weeks, then got a call from him whilst driving, and I went to New Jersey to record the track with him.

You must have played CBGB’s too many times to remember, do you miss the place or are you glad that it is no more?

It was one of those things; when somebody dies you know it’s a pain in the arse and once they’re gone it’s nice that they’re always there; knowing they are around ‘cos you might wanna hang out with them. Nobody really went there but it’s a landmark and a stepping stone for younger bands, like myself when I was twelve. To have it gone feels like a part of New York culture and history has disappeared.

I read that you used to be a “Man with a Van”, and moved equipment belonging to The Ramones and Barbara Streisand. What do you think about her ticket prices of £100 to £500 pounds? Could you do that to fans?

I used to do anything to get out of a straight job. I figured I needed a van to move my own heavy equipment so I put posters up advertising and got a beeper, like the drug dealers had before cell phones. I worked for students moving to university, moving The Ramones t-shirts on their tour, Barbara Streisand needed a coach moving, people needed all sorts of shit lifting up five flights of stairs so we would turn up and get ourselves a big hernia! We did it for nine years and bought a lot of vans that died. We started doing it for a lot of bands; The Swans, Raging Slabs. It kept me humble, and makes you appreciate the people that work for you.

I can’t imagine that she [Barbara Streisand] needs the money, and I think it limits tickets for everybody. I think its some real class level, rich, weird thing. I like her songs and voice but it cuts people out and it’s discriminating, selfish and weird. I’d love to know what the thinking behind it is but you would have to ask the evils I guess.

You have a “Top Ten List” on your website. How often is that updated? I liked the Hold Steady at number 2 a little while ago.

Not as much as I should, I try to do it once every two months or when I get sick of the stuff on there.

The Hold Steady are great. I’ve been playing ‘You Can Make Them Like You’ in my set, I may play it tonight.

Can you see yourself going back into performing as a band, or do you enjoy the freedom of solo work too much?

I’d like to do a project in a band but I think I’m too much of a control freak and I’m in that path of getting my own way, but I would like to work communally and share it with some people at some point. I miss the gang and the jokes so who knows, maybe in the future.

FUTURE GIGS

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