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Interview with Chip Z'nuff - Enuff Z'nuff
Chip Z'nuff is one of the few guys I have met, who completely embodies the Rock 'n' Roll spirit. It shines through in his every characteristic, from his flamboyant dress code to his cool posture. Michael and I had the opportunity to talk to Chip in private one fine day in Nottingham on Enuff Z'nuff's 2005 UK tour. As we entered the hotel room next to the venue where the band was set to play a couple of hours later, Chip and the accompanying chick made the room comfortable by turning down the lights and as we sat down to begin the interview a familiar odour filled the air around us.
The beginning
Whether it was written in the stars or not, Chip Z'nuff realised pretty early on that music was his path of life.
"As a little kid, I was a jock. I played baseball, footbal, basketball and hockey. I love sports because of the comraderie, the team thing. I guess I inherited some athletisism from my father, he was a great athlete. My old man used to let me stay up once in a while and watch channels with concerts and I'd see bands like T-Rex, Bowie and Alice Cooper and I think that tripped my trigger when I was a little kid. I liked that kind of thing. Then at 14 I started playing gigs and after the first gig I just realised that you know what, I'm sick of fucking pitching my arm off all the time. I had more to say writing a song than throwing a curveball or a slider, I really did."
Chip paid his dues in his parents basement, experimenting and getting the feel for the music. He fondly remembers those late nights in the basement, his dad going "Who's the girl down there with you?" and the reply "No girl, just me". He continues, "I had two cassette players and I'd write the song and sing with the guitar and my voice and record that, then I'd play that back and sing again and have the other cassette player going so I could do the harmonies too. So I have two instruments and I could hear my voice and the harmonies and two different guitar parts. My father always thought I had somebody downstairs going 'ooohooooohooo', singing like a girl every day when it was 4 o'clock in the morning. But it paid of."
Taking on the challenge of making music he soon found the perfect musical companion and writing partner in Donnie Vie. Magic was created as they say and the rest is history, sort of. Enuff Z'nuff had a quick breakthrough in the early nineties when bands like Guns 'n' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Poison and Warrant were surfing the radio airwaves as well as MTV.
"We were just trying to get in the game..."
As Chip says, "All those guys were colorful so our first video was fucking over the top and that was why we got a chance. Two English guys, Ralph Seamon and Benji Howel came and shot the video for us. They had a great sense of balance. We didn't know what the fuck we were doing. Those guys were smart, but they made it too colorful I think. If we would have come out just as U2 in t-shirts and stuff, we might not be talking right now you and I. We needed some action right off the bat when we put that record out and the way to do it was to make a colorful and flamboyant video and follow it up with radio. That was what we did and it was a hit."
Enuff Z'nuff is a good example that success in the music business can be a double edged sword. The two videos from their debut album were hits on MTV, but they also had a negative impact later in their career as people only connected the band with those over-the-top videos.
"When we put the first video out we came out real flamboyant and glam and that was what we were in the beginning. We had no threads, no money, no nothing and we buffaloed our way onto TV because we did have a good band and we were colorful, but that hurt us in the long run because everybody said 'Ok it's a hair band' and they weren't listening to the music. They just looked at us as the substance of the band and saying 'Ok well look at the picture, you guys are this', instead of turning of the TV and listening to the fucking song, then we could be anybody. You look at us and you see Mötley Crüe. We really weren't that at all, we were just trying to get in the game."
"I geared this band up to be huge..."
Unfortunately the band ended up finding themselves out of the game as they got caught in a political shuffle between the leaders of their record company. Enuff Z'nuff were dealt the Ace of Spades.
"So we hit with both songs, but the record got cut short and that hurt us because we should have gotten a couple more deeper in the record. For now is a smash. That would have been a great song for us and then I could never be without you, should have been the next single. Those were the four. Or she wants more, that was a great single. Chicks loved that song. We walked into a strip club and they were dancing their ass off to that fucking song. So there were a lot of options on that record but the record company got caught... Well we got caught in the middle of a political shuffle with Atlantic records and Atco records. The president of Atco was saying to the president of Atlantic 'Look what I've got, I've got AC/DC, Bad Company and this new band I just signed up, Enuff Z'nuff and now my company is going to be huge'. Then the president from Atlantic got pissed at him for talking too much and he body slammed him and we just got caught right in the middle of it. So with the next record we found ourselves in the middle of a political shuffle between the two guys and ourselves, owing three quarters of a million dollars. We got fucked, but we didn't give up."
"I geared this band up to be huge" Chip says, "and when it wasn't it wasn't as much of a let down because I had our peers and idols that we looked up to acknowleding us and that made me feel like, well I didn't see a big payday here but big stars like Robert Plant would say great things about us and I felt it was kinda cool that Bon Jovi loves our band. I ran into different musicians and heavy bands and they all gave us the thumbs up and that made me feel great, I gotta be honest with out cause without that we would have been doomed. I feel bad because we came inches away from being heavenly and fucking beating U2."
The present
Moving forward a decade in time, the past couple of years seem to have been very unkind to the band as well as Chip Z'nuff. After lead singer Donnie stopped touring with the band, drummer Ricky got diagnosed with cancer which he is still struggling with, guitarist Derek Frigo died of an overdose just as the band was set to go on tour with the original line-up and somewhere along the way Chip got divorced and lost his house too. So how does a guy keep going strong after things like those?
Chip is quick to respond "Good Lord, blessings from God, really. Sounds corny maybe to some people, but what else do you have but hope? I know a lot of guys who would probably turn the other way and give up after all the stuff that has happened but you don't gear up anything for failure, at least I don't. I still see fans coming down and going, 'Great you still got the band together, you're still going!' Till I'm dead I will still be playing."
When Michael asks how Ricky is doing Chip tells us that he is doing better. "He came out to New Jersey and sat in with us and played a couple of songs. He looked great. I don't think he is ready to come back into the fold just yet. It's not healthy in that way, but he's much better than he was. He was hurting bad. The doctors did a great job and Music Cares were kind enough to get down and help with some of the financial cost that ocurred during his hospital stay. Because we have a few albums out on a major label we are lucky enough to have their support throughout his ordeal. I also put together some benefits in Chicago, some friends of mine did stuff, running in marathons and putting together little group sessions where you donate to help pay his costs at the hospital. His bills were astronomical you guys, hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it's nice that everybody came out of the woodwork. All the fans sending cards and letters and cheques for Ricky. Even though he hasn't talked to anybody I will speak for him; He is very appreciative and grateful for the whole thing. He's going to be recouped in New York for a while and when he's ready to come back his seat is there."
"Eric Donner, The King of calm..."
"I'm happy the way the band is right now, it sounds good. I'm not so sure if this is the business for Ricky right now. He should just be cleaned up and stay away from the problems that the road brings to you when you are in a rock band or in any kind of musical group, or actor or actress. There is always some temptation out there that you do because you're bored to death with what you're doing and I think with time all wounds will heal as my grandfather said. He's already said it many times to me. And in the mean time you will se us as a three-piece with Eric Donner, the king of calm. His father was the late Ral Donner Great great singer and a great star in the sixties. Elvis Presley, Robert Plant, everybody has covered his songs and spoken very highly of him, so it's nice to have a guy in the band, who has got a nice history behind him. I think the band sounds strong right now as a three piece. Johnny Monaco is singing great and no one is complaining. We're really working hard. We're really into what we do. It's not a half-assed thing, cock-rock where you go out there and look for chicks. We want the songs to come off as good as they do on the record or at least as close to the record. We're one of the last bands out there who plays with no sequencers, no tapes, nobody backstage, we just sing and play and you get what you get and so far it's been going really well."
"We've got Donnie's blessings..."
In October 2002 the band suddenly found themselves in the middle of a tour, but without lead singer Donnie Vie, who stayed home and has not played with the band since. I ask Chip if he was just a little surprised when Donnie Vie decided to leave the band and Chip explains, "No not at all. He didn't really leave the band. He didn't show up for a tour. We all flew to Texas and he never showed up so we were stuck fucking playing the show as a three-piece. We played the concert and it went off well and we said, 'Let's try to go a week or so and do this and he's gonna come out here like he says' but he just never showed up. So we kept playing and getting better and better and better, so I'm saying, 'Maybe we just do it here too'."
"One of the reasons that we're still here and have a career is because of Donnie's beautiful voice. He's a great writing partner and I can't take away that from him. His contributions are astronomical, so even if he can't come out and tour he still makes the records with me. He still sings the songs and I think it works out well. When people hear the records and people come out and see us it sounds pretty close to the record cause Monaco has got the voice and he's studied Donnie really well. I mean you still got the same harmonies cause it's me there, so I think we're in pretty good shape right now. We've got Donnies blessings. He came out to see us in Los Angeles and played three songs with us. The crowd went nuts, they fucking loved it and if there was any animosity it's fucking gone now. We were real happy, hugging and kissing and having a great party. He's just entertaining as hell. He wasn't enibriated at all, he sang his ass of and gave us his blessing to go out there and do well. I think he asked for some merch money too (laughs). He knows it's bullshit."
The 2005 tours
Right before the European tour Enuff Z'nuff had been touring the States along with Mike Tramp's White Lion. 12 guys were piled on the old Marilyn Manson tour bus and as they arrived in New York it was time to hook up with an old friend of the band.
"When we got to New York we did the Howard Stern show and after that it blew up man. Howard announced the tour and people started getting into it and all the shows were sold out. We were playing small rooms of course. 500 - 800 seaters but none the less it was all packed and that was good. Made the bands feel welcomed and loved. We cut the tour kinda short because Mike had had some business to attend to out in Indonesia, but from what I hear they are talking about extending the tour and doing 25-30 shows in the summertime, so we'll see what happens there. Mike Tramp was great. He played a great show, a real professional and Enuff Z'nuff got the chance to do 45-60 minutes every night and everybody seemed to embrace us. It worked out good. I'd do it again."
Moving right on the band headed overseas to tour the UK for the third time in 5 years and this time they decided to mix things up a little, bringing in several newer tunes as well as a cover version of the classic Beatles song 'A day in the life'. Chip is very happy with the way things have gone so far and explains how the whole thing got together.
"I was talking to the agency and said that we should probably do a tour over in Europe and bring a couple of bands with us and make the package a little stronger. The agency was kind enough to enquire and found out that there were a lot of promoters out here in the UK and through Europe that wanted a tour. We probably could have done a lot more shows than the ones we are doing but this leaves it open for another tour, so.... "
"I think it has been a good tour so far. Steve Summers from Pretty Boy Floyd comes out every night, real professional. I admire Strut, very colorful. Bang Tango comes out. Joe Lestete is a veteran. They do a lot of cover stuff and the fans seem to like that. He sings that AC/DC stuff really well. It sets it up for us real nicely I think. It is a nice blend. We are playing some good rooms so far on this UK tour and I think the crowds have been great. I have no complaints. Especially this time of year when it is cold. People coming out when it is raining out and shit London was packed. It's been a pleasant surprise the whole tour."
Material for 7 more albums is just sitting there...
Asking Chip if he will be working with Donnie on future albums, I let out a surprised "Really?!!?" when he tells me that he has enough material lying around to release another 7 Enuff Z'nuff albums. "Yeah, it's just sitting there and I haven't done anything with it yet because I just felt that recording-wise it isn't at it's optimum level. A lot of bands would put out demos of 4-track and 8-track recordings. Maybe I'll do that in the future but right now, if we're going to do a record I want to do it right. Every single record we have done has been in a big studio, analog recorded, doing it the right way and letting the big boys do it. It's quite expensive but if there is anybody out there, if there are any labels out there that really want to hear the band and want to hear those records I'm sure we can put another one out, but right now we've got a brand new record out and I don't want to look past that. Donnies's got a solo record he is working on. I'm doing some recordings and playing around with some stuff, so we all have our hands full and I think when next year comes around we'll see what our record companies wanna do. If they're interested in another record then let's give it to them and if they're not I can put out stuff that's unreleased. So there is a quantity of options. I can always go to L.A. and play with Donnie. We have hundreds of songs that are unreleased."
The new album
The new album ?, has a ton of older songs on it, which many hard core fans already have in some kind of demo version. Knowing that Enuff Z'nuff have an abundance of unreleased demo material, we were interested to know how the songs that ended up on the record were selected as well some details on the whole recording process.
"The songs on ? are songs that we never finished and they were done on two-inch. Those were great recordings that we demoed out but we just never took it further than that. Then when Pony Canyon said that we had a contractual obligation for two more records, we said 'Well, we can't put out a half-assed record', so what I did was that I recorded my stuff in Chicago. Some of the stuff, like the basics for 5 or 6 songs were recorded with his vocal and I went back into the studio or he went to the studio in L.A. and played guitar. Frigo played guitar on it and then they'd send it back to me and I'd sing the harmonies. I pretty much kept it to basics, played the bass one time on every song as on all our records. I've never really spent a lot of time on bass guitar on any of the records that we do. Maybe it's because I'm ... (pauses) A: I'm lazy or B: I nail it every time."
As we laugh and agree on B, Chip continues...
"I want to take more time out on producing the record, getting every part of it good. The bass always is easier than fuck, I mean that is the fastest thing we do. Everything is recorded live in the studio on all our records, the bass, drumms and the guitars. It's like 1, 2, 3, 4 and we all play together and then when we're finished there we embellish it and make overdubs here and there whereever it's needed. So the process is pretty quick. When we're in the studio you'd be pleasantly surprised how fast we record. We will do the whole record in a week. What takes time is to get another studio to mix the record. It's a song a day, 10-12 hours a day and then when you're done mixing it then there's the mastering of the record, then the artwork. There are a lot of little elements to put a record out. The fastest thing is to write the songs and record them. Very quick. There are 5 songs on this record that are fresh and brand new, which no one even knew about, I just had them, like Gorgeous, and How are you? is an older one which we tweaked up a little bit, Donnie fixed his vocals. No Place like home, the same thing. Derek came in and played all the guitars. The bass and the drums were all we had and I sent the tape to L.A. and he did the best of it. Hang on for life is a brand new song. I was going to put it on another record but decided that it was such a good rocker and we needed something like that."
"The only reason we recorded Stone Cold Crazy, the bonus track, was that we did a Queen tribute record and we sent the song to the people who were putting it out and they didn't accept it. I don't know why they didn't because I think it's a strong track but the jack-off that was putting the record out thought that it wasn't strong enough so... Got back in the studio and put some guitars on it and called it a day, Donnie was singing great on it I thought. One of those one-take vocals, three-o'clock in the morning when we recorded it."
"The shittiest song on the record..."
"When the record was completely compiled I sent it to Donnie and he was pissed because all the best songs he said were the ones I was singing. It's not true, even though Gorgeous is a hit I think. How are you? is great, he just really sings his ass off on that one. Some of the radios in the states have really embraced Joni Woni believe it or not. The shittiest song on the record. It's a good rocker, it's like Kiss, like old Kiss or something. People loved the tune. I heard the song when he first sent me the demo and I was like "It's kinda weak but there's something about it that's catchy. There is something charming about it"
I tell Chip that Joni Woni is my least favorite Enuff Z'nuff song ever and he says, "It's my least favorite song but it's being played like crazy on radio right now in the states. I don't know about here, I don't think anybody is playing it here because your radio is way different than ours. But that one has been embraced because it's got that old Kiss thing to it. But it's not really us. It's one of the shittiest songs by us really. It just figures, that's how life it. Put a record out and you got ten great songs and one that's questionable and really gravitates towards the question mark on it. Who cares who drives the bus, let's get to the picnic that's what I say. When the album first comes out when the big money first comes in on that one he'll be seeing all the chips. He wrote the fucking thing, I just keep in there and sing some harmonies and try to fix it up a little bit. Trust me before I sang on it it was...."
As I tell Chip that I heard an early demo version of the song from the Vie Club he says "Our early Demo version stinks. What I got now is way better don't you think?" I manage a polite "An improvement but still...." and Chip continues "I did everything I could to try to make it great you guys... to make it better... I knew I couldn't make it great cause it's not a great song to me. But he wanted to have that song on the record cause it's close to him because of his wife. Then after I put on the record he was like 'Oh thanks a lot. Figures it's on the record, it makes my wife sound like she's a slut'. 'Hey man no one's perfect bro'. (Laughs) I got a good chance to give him a punch there."
A reunion tour
To the uninitiated it might be confusing to see a band who recorded their new album with one line-up and playes live with another. As Michael asks for details, Chip explains that Monaco didn't want to do the ? album and a reunion tour was actually very much in progress.
"I called Monaco and I said, 'Ok, I'm gonna go an do it anyway. If you wanna play guitar on it you can but I'm gonna go over there and do Japan with the guys, the original guys.' So I talked to Fox and I talked to Derek and Derek was so into it. He was so happy, like 'Dude, I can't wait to go to Japan with you bro. We're gonna have so much fun'. I just couldn't wait to see him. I was going 'Man this is going to be great. You played great on the record, I'm so proud of you. Just keep it together man. Be safe out there. Don't fuck around. We're gonna get out of here in a couple of months and we're going to tour Japan and if it goes well, then maybe we'll do Europe. But right now we're concentrating on 7-8 shows in Japan'. Very profitable for us. We do really good in that country and the fans really wanna see him because they love this guitar player so..."
Derek & Johnny Frigo
"The game plan was to make this record and go over there and support it with the tour and then when Derek died it just killed all the plans. There was nothing we could do there because he was a big part of the record. Even though he wasn't in the band for all those years. After he died I didn't know what I was gonna do. I was very.... I felt selfish for worrying about the Japan tour when my brother's life is the most important thing. Fuck the tour. If it's a matter of losing a guy, your best friend, then let's not do the tour and keep him alive, that goes witout saying. After he died I sat down with his father and Johnny was like 'You gotta keep playing, that's what you do. We're built to play'. Look at him, he's 70 years old and he's still playing all the time and travelling all around the world playing violin. His advice is right. Just keep going and playing."
"We did a benefit for Derek in Chicago. 1.000 people showed up and it was jam-packed. It was unbelievable. It wasn't even announced. Just through the fan club. Everybody showed up, I've forgotten the club we were playing, but lo and behold, Johnny Frigo showed up and it was so touching to see his dad and all the fans coming around him and getting autographs from Johnny and sending their condolences. A very touching night. We generated a couple of thousand dollars and put it in a fund for Derek for substance abuse in his name. That was a nice gesture. If this record does well of course I would be glad to help him, but I think Johnny is in pretty good shape, of course he lost his son, but financially he's okay. Any time you loose a family member it takes years of your life. People all across the world know who we are because of him. He's a big part of what we've done. He's a part of the reason why I'm still here. So I'd like to go on and at least leave a footnote, leave a good legacy. For me to say that there are many more records left in us, who knows? If I wanna put out demos I can do that for the next ten years. But I prefer to put out good records every year and put an Enuff Z'nuff logo on the front of it. It's gotta be the band. It's gotta be Donnie's pipes or me."
Signing to Frontiers Records
Enuff Z'nuff recently signed to the well known Frontiers Records in Europe and as Michael says that is the best label the band has had for a long time. Turns out that Frontiers pursued the band for a while and in the end it was the right choice to switch. "We could have stayed with TB, the record label we were with. He's a real nice guy and he offered us more money but Frontiers have got a whole staff. Publicists, A&R people and marketing people to work the record and distribution. Getting the record out all over the place. Our last label couldn't do that. So we said, we'll take less dough for more push. And I feel that breath already. Classic Rock did a feature on us and we're real happy about that. I'm real happy about Frontiers. I haven't even met the president yet, and I'm sure I won't until we sell enough records but for them to pursue us like they did shows me that they embrace the band's music and they take their chance on us. That's nice."
Moments in time
Looking back on his proudest moments with Enuff Z'nuff Chip remembers, "I look back in the past on us doing the David Letterman shows, the Howard Stern shows and stuff. Those were all great. Radio City Music Hall, we played that show in the theater. I can't really pinpoint one show but I can say that pride highlights for me would be touring with the bigger bands like Cheap Trick or Def Leppard. Those were big ones for us. Every time we have played with big bands, like the Poison tour, that kept us going up to this point that Poison package tour with Warrant and Quiet Riot. I think that gave us a little bit of legs. But we need something now. We really need something good happening for the band, whether it be getting a single in a movie or soundtrack, or a cover, some kind of a story. Stern helped a lot. That was good, but we need more than that. It was a good punch but we need like two or three of those. Like a single out there on the radio. I was talking to Little Steven Van Zant from Sprinsteen's band and he goes 'One song away from being back in' and I agree, I believe him."
One lucky punch...
One lucky punch is all any band needs. "Yeah just someone grabbing onto Gorgeous or How are you. I'd prefer a Rock song like Gorgeous or Hang on for life, not because I'm singing them either but because the best song on the record is How are you for sure. I think that's a smash, but I wouldn't want to come out of the box with this record with a fucking pussy single." As Michael says Gourgeous is the hit and a song he would play to someone who is not familiar with the band. Chip explains that the song was not originally meant to be an Enuff Z'nuff song. "When I first wrote the song I was writing for another artist, a band called Ivory. The guy needed a tune and then I said 'I'm gonna put it on my record too'. I played it over the phone for Donnie. I just played a version of the chorus and I turned it down and he goes 'What's that' and I say 'A new one I just wrote' and he goes 'Who did you write it with' I say 'nobody and he goes, 'Send it to me' and then he sings in the beginning with that old out of tune piano thing. Fucking great. I never would have thought of that. The guy is brilliant. He sent it back to me and I listened to it and I go 'Man this stinks. What the fuck is he doing. He's out of his mind' The piano track sounded like an old 1920 Würlitzer and I pushed his voice in there and it was all working together and I started getting it then you know. Because it works with the lyric play again."
The 'state' of radio in the States
So one song short of being back in the game it still feels like a long way to go since it takes a lot of money to just get a song played on the radio in the States. "I'm not saying that one song is gonna cure everything but one song for sure could set the tone for us. Cause we've got more than one. There's more than one hit on this new record. Gorgeous would be the first one and then we would come out of the box with How are you probably, cause Donnie's voice is on that. It's just the perfect, beautiful contemporary pop song and radio would embrace that one, but you need to have one first. So there's a story. That's how it works in America, I don't know about here but you need a story in the States if you wanna get airplay, because most bands that are getting airplay on radio, like Pearl Jam and Green Day and stuff, don't think that is fucking free. Are you kidding me? Every station that has that record pays 1.500 bucks for once it's played, so for instance if an independent company takes your song and goes to BBC and it gets played on the BBC the guy gets payed to get it placed on BBC and just one song for each station is like 1.500 bucks, so imagine the money that goes around. Record companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their artists played on radio and now it's changed, the climate has changed in the last six months because Clear Channel has bought up most of the stations in the United States, so they have monopolised the business so to speak. I think there are 1.700 stations and they have 1.400 or so. That's a lot."
"They ceased any promotion from any independents as of last November, so Bill Mcathy who is a big independent guy out in New York and Jeff McClusky, another guy, huge guy in Chicago. These guys have broken bands like U2 and 'Franz Ferdinand and the Killers'. These are the guys that made Pearl Jam, Soundgarten, Oasis, all were pushed by these two guys. Now they are not getting any support because Clear Channel has bought up all the stations so it's gonna be interesting to see how bands are going to get airplay in radio and who is going to be working the records and who can make things happen. Right now for the States they are very embracing of any English stuff. It started with Travis and they've got Oasis going now, Keane. I endorse that band by the way, good fucking writers, the whole record is real strong. I bought it and I don't buy a lot of records. If I go out and buy a record it's Queen or Pink Floyd or Bob Marley or something I already have, a copy because I wore them out. I'm not really buying a lot of stuff. I'm sure there are a lot of good groups, nothing just trips my trigger. It's really rare for me to hear a band and go 'Man, I really love this', but that Keane record is fucking strong. There is no guitar in it, but don't let that scare you. It's still got a vibe to it."
"My whole life consists of music..."
Pretty much everything Chip does has got something to do with music. "I produce bands and I write songs and I have my band Enuff Z'nuff and I do stuff on the side. I work with other artists. I worked with Twista, good guy. I'm getting ready to do a band when I get back home, so my whole life consists of music. It's all I do, I'm not a phoney, I don't work plumbing jobs like I used to do in the early days, where I was working on anything I could to make money while we were struggling as a band. Ever since Enuff Z'nuff has been signed I have pretty much done music.
"Doomed..."
When Michael asks where Chip sees himself and Enuff Z'nuff in 5 years his reply is "Doomed..." and laughter spreads around the smoke filled room. "A black cloud hanging over us I don't know. I'm sick of predicting. I think there is still gas in the tank. But only time is gonna tell what the future holds for Enuff Z'nuff or myself. I'm just trying to enjoy the road as much as I can right now. I don't wanna think about it too much because it's very stressful. I've got a lot of responsibility. More than you guys could imagine. I'm sure you guys have it too. There are many more things more important than Enuff Z'nuff and me. There are mothers working two jobs a day trying to support their family, there are people out there with disabilitating illnesses and just having a really rough time and that is really more important than what I'm doing. But if I can bring a bright spot in somebody's life with one of my songs or something that we recorded that means the world and that me feel happy. Music is universal. There is no color barrier there, no prejudice there. We've got good songs and people gravitate to it, so that's my contribution to society, to write good songs and treat people fine.
A song for every mood
One of the amazing things about Enuff Z'nuff is their huge catalogue of songs. As Michael says, no matter what mood you are in Enuff Z'nuff has written a song that fits that particular mood. "Yeah, well we have always written songs about everyday experiences that we went through and maybe you guys went through. That is why they catch on I think, because it's real and sometimes when I write songs I got, maybe it's a little too smart, not to sound unmodest or anything, but Donnie's a pretty sharp guy too, good lyricist and I think some of our stuff is a little too smart sometimes but it's just real. It's not just smart, it's real. It's what we went through and experienced and I know that a lot of people have gone through the same stuff we have, so maybe it's better that we put pen to paper and put words to it and you hear it and go 'I've been there before'. Or 'I haven't been there yet'. I think what you're supposed to do as a songwriter is to take people to another place and most songs have already been written John Lennon used to say, but it's up to us to grab on to them and turn you guys on to them. We've always had good influences and listened to good bands that have helped us with our life."
"I feel like we're just good stealers, sometimes..."
Part of what gives Enuff Z'nuff songs their longevity and timeless feel is that many songs have several layers. Reading the lyrics you suddenly notice double meanings and word plays that you didn't notice before. Chip agrees, "I think that you hear the songs and it comes to you Sesame Street. It's not for everybody's palet. There's a whole different scene out there and I think there is room for a lot of different bands but our stuff kinda like doesn't fit in one category. We try to encompass all different styles in our music. Unconsciously I think it happens just like that from all the bands we listen to. I hate taking credit for it all the time because a lot of time I feel like we're just good stealers, sometimes I really do."
"I remember Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) saying to me 'You're a good stealer'. And he's the best stealer in the world. I've learnt from guys like him. I mean I never really sat down and hung out with him all day and played guitar and stuff because musicians don't do that when we hang out together. We hang out and watch movies and smoke pot and do cocain and drink and stuff. It's not always about just getting together and plugging in and playing because we do that with our bands all the time. But when we do plug in and play together, if there's a comraderie then something will come out of it. It know for me it works because for I've been with Zander, Rick Nielsen, trying to do some stuff with Steven Tyler as well, but I guess he's too busy. He wanted to write he said. Gave him my telephone number and said we'd get together. These guys, sometimes they wanna do stuff for dirt but they get sidetracked, they've got families and responsibilities, but as long as we can connect and get one song to any of these cats and they acknowledge that I feel like we've won the game. Donnie wouldn't say that but that's how I feel."
Donnie Vie & The Vie Club
As most fans know, Donnie Vie started his own Internet club a couple of years ago. I was interested in knowing what Chip thinks about it, so I ask Chip if he's a member of The Vie Club.
"Donnie's Club? No I'm not. No disrespect, I'm not a member of really any club to be honest with you. But I endorse what he does. The solo record was good. I mean some of those songs are killing me. I wanna cry when I listen to them. They're fucking great. But they could be so much better. If he would have saved those songs and given them to me and said 'Ok, let's go to the studio', then we would have had a fucking unbelieveable record. I don't wanna brag, but I know what I could do to those songs. There's a couple of them I co-wrote Better Days and Jesus in drag. Those songs should have been on an Enuff Z'nuff album for sure and there was this other one called Forever. That's fantastic. But he didn't want to do it with me, he wanted to do it on his own. He didn't give me credit on the record as well, I got no credit on it or anything, but no biggie. That's his baby. The guy writes good songs, but it helps when he is my partner. Lennon had trouble when he was still with The Beatles, but he didn't have a writing partner after he left The Beatles, he just sat by himself. McCartney, now he had fucking Denny Laine. That Wings stuff, come on, that stuff was fantastic."
"He's a better writer than Steven Tyler..."
"So I think it is good to have a partner, someone to play off with. It's one thing that he missed me on the solo record and I'm sure that if I put a record out without him I would feel the same way too because you can't beat his pipes and you can't beat his writing abilities. One of the best writer I have ever worked with. He's a better writer than Steven Tyler, better writer than Robin Zander, better writer than most rock stars that I have hung out and played with. He's right up there with the top guys. He's effortless. I've sat in a room with him and it's effortless with every instrument. We walk into a guitar center and I hear someone playing a fucking horn (makes horn sound) and I look back and it's him. Banjo, everything (makes noise like a banjo) playing the Beverly Hillbillies. Whereever we go, whatever instrument there is he can fucking play it. Really good. Bass guitar, even drums."
"He looked like a retarded guy but he sounded great..."
"I was at CC Deville's house one day and they were playing this song. All these guys were downstairs partying. Steve Lukather from Toto was there, Donnie, Vikki Fox, Sam Kinison, a bunch of guys from other bands. All these people hanging out at this house and I was upstairs and they were playing this groove. I hear the drummer and I go 'The drummer is solid as a rock' and he goes 'Oh, that's Fox downstairs, that's your guy playing drums' and I go 'That sounds great right now'. Then the song keeps playing and I walk downstairs and I see what's going on and it's fucking Donnie, he's got a cigaret in both his hands and the cigaret is burnt all the way down. He looked like a retarded guy but he sounded great. He was fucking god. He was breaking his ass off and by the look on his face he was so into it. One cigaret in his mouth and one in each hand, with the drumsticks, burning all down, it was ridiculous. He couldn't take the cigarets out of his hands and stop playing, he was playing with big league guys in CC's house."
Visiting CC Deville's mansion
"CC had this huge beautiful mansion on Mulholland Drive and he used to invite all his rock buddes over there in the middle of the night, so from midnight till 6 or 8 in the morning it was just fucking out of control. Not meaning chicks would be down there. None of these guys cared, they wanted to rock and party. Zander would be down there singing and fucking Lukather blowing guitar. The guy is a great player and he really embraced Donnie and any time we came to town they would go over there. I wouldn't go usually and then they finally got me over there one day. I thought I would check it out. I know what they were doing there and I didn't want to be around for all the partying. I just don't like it when people are gone. It's hard for me to relate to them, they're all over my face talking and if you don't do drugs you don't understand being around drug addicts. At that time it was very prevalent in L.A. Everybody was doing blow, it was huge, but that was the one escape for everybody. It wasn't just about the blow, it was about getting together and playing and hanging out and I liked that part of it."
"His house was finer than sin you guys, Phew it was beautiful. With one of them long real thin pools in his back yard. His next door neighbourgh was Madonna and then Diana Ross and then two houses down was the manager of Black Crowes, Pete Angelus. So he's living in great company, it's ridiculous. Mercedes and killer cars out there, but you couldn't really tell how fine the house was until you went inside in the back of the long fucking olympic sized pool overlooking all of L.A. it was unbelievable. No chicks there or nothing it was weird, I remember I thought all these guys here and no girls, What was going on and I thought 'They just wanna play and get away from the chicks. They just want to get together all of us here and smoke a little pot and whatever you wanna do and not worry about shit'. But I found out later on that he was married and he was fucking sneaking out of the house. But at least there was no girls there, we were playing and having a good time and we didn't care about any extra curricular activities except for the music and that has always been the most important thing. The music. Because at the end of the day that's all you got really as a rock band or a pop band or whatever it is not like we're going to change the world. If we leave a good dent, a good song, that says a lot."
Time to let you go
Enuff Z'nuff have put out 13 records in a career that spans three decades. Looking back Chip says, "I've had a successful career. I've been very lucky, very blessed. The average life expectancy of any group is about 5 years, so to be going on 21 is pretty lucky, I gotta be honest with you. Luck and preparation meets opportunity and god knows I sat in the fucking basement in my mom and dad's house for years smoking pot in the middle of the night, writing songs on a little tape recorder like the one we're talking on right now. And from that to playing a sold out show tonight in Nottingham, getting ready to go to Italy and Spain. It paid of, all those years in the basement."
As we wrap up the interview Chip sends out his greeting to the fans with his last words "May the best thing that happened to everybody last year be the worst thing that happens to you this year."
We would like to thank Chip for taking time out to talk with us. He is a guy who lives for music and hopefully he will keep going strong for many years to come.
The interview was done by Michael & Steen
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Written by Steen - 5/28/2005 |
This article has been shown 6800 times. Go to the complete list.
RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by cc (Anonymous) - Monday, May 30, 2005 | "Hail to the Bus Driver Man!"
Cool Interview, cheers guys!
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| Comment by Pat (Anonymous) - Monday, June 6, 2005 | great interview
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| Comment by Davidk (Anonymous) - Saturday, June 18, 2005 | Killer interview ! thanks for putting it up , nice to hear all that's going on in Chip's head , Now if the rest of the planet would wake up & realize he's the real deal.....Hopefully the new cd sell's lot's ! Nice job , David k.
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| Comment by Gabriel (Anonymous) - Friday, February 17, 2006 | Enuff Z' Nuff Rules!!!
Loved the interview. Felt like I was in the same room with him.
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| Comment by ralee grey (Anonymous) - Friday, July 20, 2007 | Im from chicago originally and i got to meet Chip in Portland, Or. I love you guys and will always listen to you!
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| Comment by Daniel Taylor, Portland Oregon (Anonymous) - Friday, July 20, 2007 | Chip I told you at Outlaw's that your band does not get the credit you deserve. I am sorry for your personal losses of friends and just want to say your music takes me out of my depressing days! You make a difference to me! Thank you!
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| Comment by Lorena (Anonymous) - Monday, August 6, 2007 | Not only a great musician, also an excelent person!
Saw him recently with Adler's Appetite, and Mr. Chip rocks the stage off!!!!Rock on!!!!!!
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