Love/Hate frontman Jizzy Pearl releases an excellent new album called “All You Need Is Soul” through Frontiers Music on 11th May. The album is being released amidst a UK tour that kicks off on 2nd May and which includes a show in the Diamond Rock Club, Ahoghill on 12th May. Jizzy has been a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show on a couple of occasions and I thought it’d be great to chat to him again to talk about the new album and the tour.
The interview was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show for 27th April. That Show is now available on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-jizzy-pearl-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-on-27th-april-2018/
The interview will be transcribed and posted here later.
Check out the previous interviews with Jizzy here –
http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/2975-ni-rocks-interview-with-jizzy-pearl-jan-2017.html
http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/2223-ni-rocks-interview-with-jizzy-pearl.html
Show 382) 27th April 2018 (Uploaded 26th April)
SCREAMING EAGLES – Save Me
BLACK STONE CHERRY – Southern Fried Friday Night
W.E.T. – Kings on Thunder Road
ELEVATION FALLS – Zombie
JIZZY PEARL – High For An Eye
Interview with JIZZY PEARL Part 1 (5 min)
JIZZY PEARL – All You Need Is Soul
Interview with JIZZY PEARL Part 2 (7 min)
JIZZY PEARL – You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
Interview with JIZZY PEARL Part 3 (6 min)
DOOMSDAY OUTLAW – Over and Over
STEVIE R PEARCE AND THE HOOLIGANS – Bad Day
TREMONTI – Take You With Me
MYLES KENNEDY – Year of the Tiger
GREYBEARDS – One in a Billion
SKINDRED – Promo for Album ‘Big Tings’
SKINDRED – That’s My Jam
BALEFUL CREED – The Wolf
SLAUGHTER – Move to the Music
GREAT WHITE – Save Your Love
GUNS N ROSES – 14 Years
SUNSTORM – Only The Good Will Survive
PRAYING MANTIS – Keep It Alive
A LITTLE BITTER – Feathers
HIGH PRIESTESS – Take The Blame
NI ROCKS – Hi Jizzy, thanks for taking some time to talk to Rock Radio NI. Your new album “All You Need Is Soul” is released on 11th May via Frontiers. We just played the latest track to be released, “High For An Eye”. Tell us something about that track.
JIZZY – Well, it’s my drinking song in the tradition of Love/Hate drinking songs. I expect that within six months everybody will be singing it! (Laughs)
NI ROCKS – When we last spoke in January of last year, you were in the midst of writing the album. You said you like to lock yourself away during that process, like the Unabomber. Did you involve anyone else in the writing process?
JIZZY – No, there’s only room for one in my Unabomber shack!
NI ROCKS – All your own work then?
JIZZY – Yeah, I’m the self-styled control freak, micro-manager. I have Garageband and I just write everything on it and when I give it to people they make it better.
NI ROCKS - When was the writing process complete and how many tracks did you come away with initially?
JIZZY – I did most of the writing in a month or two. I had some of the songs lying around but the majority of the songs were written in that period. I had a bunch of other ones that didn’t make the cut; but you’ll never hear them.
NI ROCKS – How difficult was it getting that down to 12 for the album?
JIZZY – Yeah definitely. For an album format. On this record I was pretty happy that I had 12 solid songs from front to back.
NI ROCKS – Where was the album actually recorded then and who did the mixing, mastering, production etc?
JIZZY – All the dirty details! I was originally going to do it in Las Vegas, but it ended up that I went to Los Angeles. It was recorded with my drummer Dave Moreno who is in the Puddle of Mudd band right now. He recorded drums and vocals at his place. You know everyone has their own Pro Tools rig these days, so I was able to take the tracks from place to place and save a little that way. It was mixed by me and a guy named Andy Howler who lives in Los Angeles.
NI ROCKS – And who have you got playing on the album?
JIZZY – Dave Moreno as I said on drums, Darren Housholder who is one of my Love/Hate guitar players from the “Spinning Wheel” days and Mark Dutton on bass. And I played some guitar and bass as well.
NI ROCKS – You’re over in the UK next month on tour; I’ve noticed posts from guitarist Stevie Pearce saying that he is involved again. Who else will you have in the band on the tour?
JIZZY – Oh he said that did he!
NI ROCKS – Yeah, he seems to be looking forward to it!
JIZZY – (Laughs). Yeah, I have a touring band that I use in England. Stevie Pearce on guitar, Christian Kimmett on bass and Mickey Richards on drums. It’s really cool for me to jump on a plane, which I’ll do in the next few days, and have those guys rehearsed and ready to jump in the van and start rocking.
NI ROCKS – Stevie Pearce released his first solo album a few months ago – it’s a great album.
JIZZY – Yes, it is.
NI ROCKS – The first track from the album to be promoted by Frontiers was the title track “All You Need Is Soul”. Was that the labels decision or did you want that one released first too?
JIZZY – Well, I did an official video for the song “You’re Going To Miss Me When I’m Gone”, that’s the first track on the record. Frontiers and I mutually agreed which songs would be released prior to the record’s release.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play “All You Need Is Soul” next. Can you tell us something about that track?
JIZZY – The title of the song is sort of a play on words. All you need is soul is like, all you need is million dollar legs to play for Manchester United. It’s no big deal. Everybody wants to have soul but not many people have it. When you have it, it means a passion for music and a passion for doing what you love.
NI ROCKS – The UK tour kicks off in Edinburgh on 2nd May, followed by 18 more shows across the country, including one in The Diamond Rock Club here on 12th May. Will you be performing a mix of tracks from the new album and some Love/Hate classics?
JIZZY – Yeah, I’ll be playing songs off the catalogue, from “Blackout in the Red Room” primarily and those records. And I’m playing a bunch of new tracks as well. It’s always nice to come to the Diamond Rock Club and hang out with the boys.
NI ROCKS – The last couple of UK tours have centred on the anniversary of the releases of Love/Hate albums. You must be looking forward to getting out and playing some new material?
JIZZY – Yeah, I’m all out of anniversaries! It is good and to be honest it’s really satisfying to feel that you’ve made a record that’s as good as the records that people know you for. So, yeah, it’s a very nice feeling.
NI ROCKS – Probably my favourite track is “When The Devil Comes”. Will that be included in the set-list?
JIZZY – No it isn’t. I wish it was. I’m glad you dig that song. It originally started out with me writing for television; or trying to! It was originally a song written on an acoustic guitar and kinda western themed. I was trying to see if it would fit into a Clint Eastwood movie or something; I don’t know (laughs). I had it and when Frontiers called me up and asked me to do a record I kinda turned it into a Led Zeppelin type epic if you know what I mean. It’s almost seven minutes long and it is one of my favourite songs. It’s got a cool vibe and the drums are killer. It’s a great song.
NI ROCKS – They’re all great tracks; I’ve listened to the album quite a few times and it’s a great album. You mentioned Led Zeppelin there. Some of the stories that you tell on social media are great. The Warner Brothers phone call, partying with Tattoo from Fantasy Island, touring with Ozzy are some recent ones I remember. I’m not aware of you ever having published some kinda memoir – is that something you’ve ever considered or been approached about?
JIZZY – I have written three books. They’re available on Amazon. They’re real books, but they’re fiction. They’re not a memoir in the traditional sense – the tell all, Gene Simmons shagathon or anything like that. It’s real fiction. They’re short stories, in the tradition of that series Black Mirror. That’s what they’re like. They’re dark! (laughs).
NI ROCKS – You’ve not been shy about criticising elements of the media and their tendency to label bands etc – your recent comments on media’s use of the phrase “the next Zeppelin” for example.
JIZZY – Yeah you know, I did take a little bit of heat for that! It’s obvious to someone like me, when you hear a new band you can hear their influences. If a band is sounding like Sabbath, obviously if you grew up with Black Sabbath you’re going to know that. I borrowed from people! I listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who and Pink Floyd and of course it will come out in the music. But there’s a fine line between sounding like Led Zeppelin and having that influence and the Kingdom Come sort of stigma. We were talking about that specific new band and I hope that they have success and that it doesn’t hurt them. When you sound too much like somebody it can also rebound.
NI ROCKS - Do you think the modern era, where everyone with access to a keyboard suddenly becomes a reviewer or reporter often makes it harder for bands or is the real danger from the more established press?
JIZZY – I think it’s generally harder these days to make a living doing music. Bands that are young – there are no real record companies and no tour support; and really no radio in the pure sense or no MTV. Those were the elements of a gigantic machine that was able to crank out music. You’d go to record companies, radio stations and MTV etc etc. Nowadays it’s really just the internet and internet radio and stuff like that. It’s probably a lot harder for bands to make a living and sell records. Obviously no one gets record royalties anymore, that’s also a thing of the past. I try and look at the positives – it’s really easy to record these days. You can make a record for one tenth of what it used to cost back in the day and that’s great for me. New bands I think have a harder time trying to scratch it out.
NI ROCKS – We’ll get back to talking about the new album. The second track released by Frontiers was “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” which you mentioned you’d done a video for. We’ll play that one next, but tell u something about the track.
JIZZY – That’s kinda one of my favourite songs as well. I think everyone can relate to that title if you know what I mean. You’re going to miss me when I’m gone – I think everyone has had experiences being on the receiving end of that (laughs). It’s not specifically written about anybody, it’s just an amalgam of experiences.
NI ROCKS – We mentioned the UK tour which of course includes a date in the Diamond Rock Club here in Northern Ireland on 12th May. What plans for touring and promoting the new album do you have beyond that?
JIZZY – As you said, I’ve the nineteen shows which start on May 2nd. Then I’ve got a festival in November and a couple more shows, then I’ve Hard Rock Hell next March. These are just the dates that have been confirmed, so you build stuff around them. I’m sure when the record comes out there will be more of these sort of dates coming up. I’m playing The Whiskey A Go-Go in Hollywood with my original drummer Joey Gold which will be really, really fun because we haven’t played together in..forever! That’s where we got our record deal and that’s going to be a special night.
NI ROCKS – It must be nice, or different certainly, having a label like Frontiers onboard in terms of promotion this time around?
JIZZY – Yeah, you know a lot of the Frontiers people are Love/Hate fans; which I found out! I’d get these e-mails, for example the guy that did the record cover, his name is Stan Decker; he wrote ‘number one, Love/Hate fan’. You find these people that you didn’t know dug you! I gave the guy a picture of my tattoo, the stick-man guy, and he turned that into a record cover. Because he’s a fan of the Skid art from “Blackout” he went and did it one better, That record cover jumps off the computer screen and is just an amazing piece of art. It’s kind of Picasso-ish and Salvadore Dali-ish. The guy did a great job and it’s so cool.
NI ROCKS – There have been three tracks released so far. Is there likely to be another before the album appears on 11th May?
JIZZY – I think not. The three singles we’ve released and the video that I did which was the first rock video that I’ve done since dinosaurs walked the earth! The album comes out May 11th and I’m real excited. If you’re a Love/Hate fan and you dug the “Blackout in the Red Room” album you’re going to love this record, I’d imagine. You’ve heard it?
NI ROCKS – Yeah, it’s brilliant. I really like it. It comes out the day before you play The Diamond Rock Club. Will you have merchandise etc?
JIZZY – Yip, I’ll have all sorts of swag for guys and gals.
NI ROCKS – Other than the tracks we’ve already talked about, is there one that particularly means something to you or which took longer to get the way that you wanted?
JIZZY – There’s a song called “Frustrated” which was one of the first that I wrote for the record. I wrote the song and it sounded like a punk rock song because that’s how I play guitar! Kinda, challenged, shall we say! (laughs). Anyway, it came out as kind of a punk rock song and it was good, but then when I showed it to Darren! Now it sounds like Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher”! He was able to lift that guitar part and it is just so killer! There are certain songs that when the intro comes up, like that one or “High For An Eye” ; when they kick in it just sucks me right in! I love it and I’ve heard it a million times and I still love it, That gives me joy.
NI ROCKS – Looking ahead, are there any other projects that you’re going to be working on or is the focus very much on the solo album?
JIZZY – Well, obviously I’m doing the dance for this record now and I’m going to continue dancing for months and months hopefully. I’m going to book tours and tour behind it and depending on the rock gods we’ll see where that takes us.
NI ROCKS - Which brings me on to my next question. Any thought of doing a follow up to “All You Need Is Soul”?
JIZZY – That again is up to the rock gods! If you have some pull with them, maybe you can make a trip up to Mount Olympus and see where they’re at!
NI ROCKS – Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We can’t play anymore songs from the new album at the moment so I’m going to finish off with a track from Doomsday Outlaw who are your support band on the mainland UK part of the tour.
