The Mooney Suzuki
Interview with Sammy James, Jr.
Words: Shawn Kyle

Appearing:
July 27, 2007
Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville

July 28, 2007
1982, Gainesville

July 29, 2007
BackBooth, Orlando

July 30, 2007
Crowbar, Ybor City

July 31, 2007
Beta Bar, Tallahassee

Since forming in 1996 The Mooney Suzuki have released five records, spent countless months on the road, shuffled a deck of various members, and still remained true to their rock n' roll roots.  What was once the poster band for the D.I.Y. garage rock revival has evolved into a different animal.  With their new record Have Mercy channeling a gritty & earthier sound, we have a conversation with front man and songwriter Sammy James, Jr. and try to figure out why people have such a problem with plain old "rock n' roll."

REAX:  The Mooney Suzuki were originally known for their relentless touring and out of control live shows.  What should we expect from the group on this tour?
Sammy James, Jr.:  The Mooney Suzuki show is even MORE mind blowing than ever!  We keep coming up with new ways to blow people's minds on stage.  Like James Bond's Q, we always have new gadgets.

REAX:  What do you mean by "gadgets?”
SJJ:  Like psychic energy gadgets.  Tricks up the proverbial sleeve as they say.  It's show business!  You can be a songwriter with all the integrity in the world, but because you put on a good show too doesn't mean you can't be a showman with all the integrity in the world.  People think that because you put on a good show that you're a huckster with no integrity.  I'm a huckster that has a lot of integrity: A lot of integrity to the huckstering.  I'd much rather be a descendant of P.T. Barnum, than of some tortured poet.

REAX:  Your last album, Alive and Amplified, had retro “Walls of Sound” reminiscent of ELO, while the new record is more Americana tinted.
SJJ:  It is the quintessential Americana roots acoustic excursion album that is part of any great classic rock band's repertoire.  You love the Rolling Stone's Beggar's Banquet and Led Zeppelin’s 3 just as much as you love any of their heavier albums. As fans of those great classic bands, we wanted to do our take on that sort of album.  It fell into place, just me and an acoustic guitar.  I said, “Well, now is about as good a time as any to delve into the acoustic rootsy album.”

REAX:  In the past your sound has been described as everything from rock revival to garage to glam punk.  If you had to describe your sound to a deaf person that had no hope of ever actually hearing you, what would you tell them?
SJJ:  That's the easiest question to answer in the world, but before I do, first I want to say exactly how much I hate the fact that the "Glam" tag got pulled into the mix.  One of our aims on Alive and Amplified was to express our love for Funkadelic, Zappa and Sly Stone. To a lot of people, when you hear a black female backing vocal instantly think it’s got to be glam.  The whole glam thing is just so distasteful to me, not that I think that it’s bad, but it's just not an aesthetic that I am drawn to.  What we have called ourselves all the way from the beginning to right now is a Rock ‘n' Roll band.  With an "N".  It's a Rock ‘n' Roll band.  It's not a soulless heavy rock: R-O-C–K.  It’s got a shake to it.  It’s got rhythm to it.  It’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!  And that's all it has to be: Rock ‘n’ Roll. People have such a problem with just plain old Rock ‘n’ Roll. It's okay just to say, "Rock ‘n’ Roll.”  That's the end.  Hey, Rock ‘n’ Roll!  Anyways, that's the answer to your question.

REAX:  You have always been the front man and primary songwriter.  What effect does it have when the band’s lineup is constantly changing?
SJJ:  Well, Have Mercy was recorded with the original lineup, but every record we have ever done has a different line up in the studio, and then on tour we have a different lineup, so for me it's just business as usual at this point.  Of course it affects the material and the sound. The new music I am working on is influenced by the band I am playing with now.  I love the idea of a band that has the same members from cradle to grave.  Everybody knows 'em by first name. I would've loved it had that been the case, but it's not.  That's not what I ended up with.  There are a lot of great things about all the line up changes, and infusions of new blood and casting off of old members like so much dried snake skin. It had a lot of advantages too but it's not like I had so much a choice.

REAX:  With such changes in each record, where do you think The Mooney Suzuki will go next?
SJJ:  The new material I have been writing is an integration.  Alive and Amplified we named for the idea behind it: Take everything to the top and then amplify even more- as amplified as it gets.  Have Mercy is when, after you've turned it up to 11, there's nowhere else to go but break thru the black hole time warp of “maximalism” and come back down to an earthier, rootsier start from scratch again sound.  That's the idea of the last pendulum’s arc.  Playing on all the acoustics has got my juices flowing to get back into some idiotic guitar riffage; let my fingers do the talking a bit more.  The band has the best rhythm section of all time.  There's no way I want to waste that strumming an acoustic guitar when I could be pummeling the molecules with ferocious rhythm and blues onslaughts.