KING KHAN IN THE BEST OF MONGREL ZINE #1-3
KING KHAN INTERVIEW BY BOB SCOTT
This interview ran in the Best of Mongrel Zine #1-3 issue. Buy it here!
Old Gunga Din, a song King Khan sent me for the Best of Mongrel Zine compilation is by his new country group Khanwood Clarke. That’s Jeff Clarke (Demon’s Claws, Hellshovel) and Sean Spits! They need to raise $3000 in order to fly Sean Spits to Berlin by September 6th, 2011 to finish recording their LP at Khan’s Moon Studios. A Kickstarter page has been set up with a campaign video. I want to see this happen and hear more of these King Khan Kountry stylings! I hope he makes it there or they’ll have to record songs using the internet like Frank Black did and that won’t be as fun. It was a pleasure and relief to hear that King Khan is better after a much needed break and is back in top form ready to raise a shitstorm this year!
BOB SCOTT: Hello King Khan, nice to hear from you! Where does your appreciation of Country and Western music stem from?
KING KHAN: When I was growing up I used to think country music was embarrassing, as a child being brought up in the eighties country music to me was “funny” and not “bad ass”. I don’t know how old I was but Hank Williams Sr. changed that and opened my eyes to a much deeper world then what Dukes of Hazzard had introduced to me… not that i don’t appreciate a fine pair of daisy dukes on a lady. Hank Williams was as important to me as the Velvet Underground, and it was precisely those two artists that my little brother, little sister, and I shared a serious common love for without influencing each other. We kinda discovered that our Indian blood just gravitated towards the Velvets and Hank so much so that the first time we recorded together at Moon Studios in 2000, I thought we had invented a new genre called “velvet country”.
BS: You recorded Blind Boys of Alabama? Was that at Moon Studios Berlin too? What else has been piling up at your studio besides Jeff’s empties?
KK: I only hung out with the Blind Boys when I played at the Sydney Opera House and unfortunately they haven’t come over to record yet… hopefully some day… I saw them play the song “Jesus” with Lou Reed and it was pretty amazing. Since I had my nervous breakdown I went through one of the darkest periods of my life and wasn’t able to write any music for months. My brain was basically shut off by medications I was given at the mental hospital. Thanks to the love and support of my wife and kids I was able to really find out what my purpose in life is and like a phoenix rising out of its ashes I feel like I have come out stronger than I ever was. I have had an explosion of new ideas and songs. I am working on about 5 major projects…
The Black Jaspers, my scum punk band that I started in 2000 with Jasper Hood, is finally getting some respect…. Both of us are being flown in to Oakland California to do our first show ever with The Spits, Personal & The Pizzas, and Apache!!!! We even have an all-star line up with Russell Quan and Tina Lucchesi on drums, Darren from Supercharger on guitar and Oscar from the Gris Gris on bass… this is a serious dream come true and takes place in the end of July!
King Khan & The Gris Gris… yes I have officially reunited the Gris Gris and will be playing guitar with them. I have been very close friends with Greg and Oscar for years and I got them to reform and back me up a few years ago in San Fran. It is pretty funny cuz I never saw them live up until I got them back together and then they asked me to write the set list… it was like a dream come true. I have a bunch of songs that I have never done with any band that I will do with them. We will do a small west coast tour in July also with two gigs in Chicago also.
While I am in Oakland this summer Oscar (from the Gris Gris) and I have planned to do a cooking show with our favorite folks from the Bay Area. I also got in touch with Bobby Seale (co founder of the Black Panther) and Jello Biafra to come on my cooking show and do a revolution episode. Bobby Seale is the true master of BBQ. I couldn’t believe that he called me, he is one of the most inspiring people and to have him and Jello Biafra hanging with me cooking is gonna be great…. even though Jello told me he can’t cook. I said that I would like to film me and him making Jell-O… we’ll see what happens.
BS: Genius! You were dubbed Lord Khan by GZA, please tell me you’ll be MC-ing with him and his crew!
KK: I met GZA thru Fab 5 Freddy, who came to a KKBBQ show in Toronto and loved us. I got invited to a press conference that him and GZA were doing the next day in Toronto. During the conference Fab 5 Freddy gave me a shout out and we hung out a whole bunch after drinking bloody caesars with Gza. It was then that I proposed we try and play music together, so Gza invited me back to his hotel room on the top floor and I hooked up a guitar and amp (thanks Nyles from Moog Music). We smoked a ton of reef and he basically invited me to play as many songs as I could remember the next day. I never ever thought I would be dubbed a member of the Wu… but I guess I also never thought I would be cooking with Bobby Seale. The week before I met Gza I hung out with Cypress Hill in France. Their manager is a big fan of mine and invited me to come on stage and hang with Cypress in front of a crowd of 60,000 people. I was standing there smoking a million joints while they played. Sen Dog would just come and rap next to me and pass me a new joint.
Video by Janelle Hollyrock
BS: You had a good break I hope too. Everyone needs to chill sometimes. You had a brainscan, just checking shit out? I hope you are fine and enjoying parenthood and life.
KK: I had a full check up, mind, body and soul… I am feeling great and just chillin’… If anything I have turned into the sun with sunglasses on the Raisin Bran box…
BS: You played with the Shrines and DJ’d with Tim Warren on The Guilty Party Boat Cruise in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) in May 2011, what’s going on, is there a New King Khan & the Shrines album happening? You also played with Mark, that’s good to hear.
KK: New Shrines album is being finished now and should come out next February before the next booze cruise. Mark and I recorded a new single but I don’t think we will be touring together for a while… sometimes it’s better to just be buddies.
BS: Tandoori Knights are poised to tour with Bloodshot Bill in the USA this fall when he is going on his Comeback Tour, any Canadian Tandoori Knights dates planned? How will you be traveling? In a mobile deli I hope!
KK: We will be traveling in a mobile home called “LeperKHAN”. This tour will be the return of Bloodshot Bill in the USA so there will be maximum hijinxs. I will be cooking up tasty treats the whole way so be sure to come and support your Tandoori Knights…
Send me some Owls please!!!!!!
BS: I’ll get those Demon’s Claws Owl t-shirts out to you ASAP! Thanks!!!
