“HI, FOLKS! NICE TO BE HERE!”

Having contacted Thana Harris earlier in 2000 about her book, ‘Under The Same Moon’, I floated the idea of an interview with husband Bob. She said to try once he'd done with the latest Axe album. So, in August, I emailed a bunch of dumb questions. Bob promised to try and get them answered by Christmas. And he did. Just.

IB: Tell me about your audition for Frank.

BH: I was finishing up a tour with Warren Zevon, and we were back home in LA doing a 7-night stand at the Roxy that became the live album called ‘Stand in the Fire’. Mark Pinske (a long-time friend, band mate, matchmaker of Suzannah and I, and probably the one guy who knows more about Frank than just about anybody) called in the middle of the week and asked if I'd be into coming up to Frank's place to do some falsetto parts that Ike and Ray weren't comfortable doing – you know, fear of hernia. So I went up there (Thana waited in the car), walked in, Frank stuck out his hand and we shook on it. Frank had the coolest way of extending his hand for a handshake: just right out there in front – and what's really stuck with me through the years is that it was the same handshake for everyone. How many times have I seen, and probably done the same thing where, depending on how well you know someone etc., that it's a different kind of handshake. Frank would engage you from the start; you always started with a clean slate with Frank. He told Mark to play some of a track and told me that he wanted some doowappy kind of falsetto stuff in-between the melody. I said, “OK,” then he said “OK, there's a mike out there – go do it.” Some people strengthen you, some people the opposite – Frank was a joy from the start. In the short time that it took, he knew when to push, when to lay back and give you a little time to think. Frank was a fun amplifier. So we finished with what I learned during the recording of it, was called ‘Fine Girl’ – that was my audition.

IB: What was the subsequent tour like?

BH: The tour was first class. Great hotels, never a flight before noon, fun gigs, great people. I guess there was other stuff going on, but I didn't care; I was too busy enjoying it. And too busy cramming trying to learn the material because, before working with him, I was not very familiar with Frank's music.

IB: What really happened to all those lovely little under-garments donated at the concerts?

BH: They were made into a quilt by a lady in Fort Collins, Colorado, I think – unwashed from their original state. Need I say more?

IB: The 40-odd songs played on the tour included a number of premiere performances, including ‘Shall We Take Ourselves Seriously?’ and ‘Luigi & The Wise Guys’ (then known as ‘You Look Like A Dork’). Do you know anything about the origin of these tunes? Who worked out the vocal arrangement on the latter?

BH: I don't remember that one much, except that Frank either called the vocal arrangements, or would just say what he wanted, and we'd all fill our space.

IB: Did you sing lead on ‘Luigi’ on tour, and Roy Estrada in the studio?

BH: I'm sorry, but I can't remember that either.

IB: So who’s the best ‘boy soprano’ – you or Estrada?

BH: Roy, of course.

IB: When did you record in the studio with Frank – both before and after the Fall 80 tour?

BH: Before and after.

IB: Did he just use you as a vocalist in the studio?

BH: Mostly vocals. I did end up playing trumpet on a couple of things. Pinskie had this habit of telling Frank all the things you could do. That's cool, but I hadn't played trumpet in quite a while, and when Frank found out that I played, he asked how long it would take to get my lip in shape – I told him a couple of months minimum, and he said "Good, you've got three weeks." So three weeks later I'm doing the part for ‘Easy Meat’. It's not a very hard part, but it has some 16^th note concert C scales – elementary stuff – but my first valve kept sticking during those runs and we'd have to retake: very embarrassing. Frank said "I know there are many difficult things involved in playing a brass instrument, but I didn't think that playing a C major scale was one of them." I switched brands of valve oil.

IB: Like Thana’s contribution to ‘Sleep Dirt, did you sing over an old track on ‘The Planet Of My Dreams’ – or were George Duke and Patrick O’Hearn around during your tenure?

BH: I sang over the track. We liked to think of it as Rudi Vallee meets Frankie Valli, by way of Tiny Tim.

IB: Was it a tough decision going to India for eight weeks rather than join Frank for the 81 tour of Europe?

BH: It was not a tough decision to leave. It felt like it was time to move on, and the opportunity to record with Frank was still there.

IB: Is Steve Vai just as enthusiastic about music now as he was when you first met him?

BH: Steve Vai is a true musician. There is no waning of love for music, that would be a waning of life. A waning of love for the music business, now that could or could not be a possibility though.

IB: When did the ‘Blue Powder’ session take place?

BH: ‘Blue Powder’ was when we lived at Steve's. I think that Suzannah has done a very good job of describing what that was like. Beautiful – both her and the time at Steve and Pia's.

IB: If the Tinsel Town band had been a country, where would it have been?

BH: The Tinsel Town band always had this New York City/Cotton Club vibe to me.

IB: When you played Harry-As-A-Boy, did you have any idea how the part fitted into the story as a whole and were able to ad-lib, or were you just basically reading lines scripted by Frank?

BH: Harry-As-A-Boy came about by reading lines – it really started with ‘Teenage Wind’, kind of an offshoot of Howard and Mark on the ‘Fillmore’ record.

IB: Do you recall Thana contributing to ‘Thing-Fish’?

BH: I thought that Thana did Plastic Rhonda.

IB: I don’t think the artificial Rhonda got to speak – she had her mouth full. Given that it was through him that both you and Thana got to work with FZ, do you know how Mark Pinske got the ‘very chocolate gig’ as Frank’s sound engineer?

BH: Mark got the gig. I don't know how he got in the door, but I know that he got hired because of his talent, knowledge, and gift, and work ethic.

IB: If Thana were an ice cream, what flavour would she be?

BH: If Thana were ice cream, she would be an indescribable flavour that would make you gain 10 pounds just thinking about her. Yum.

IB: Has she yet got you to commit your story to tape?

BH: I have not committed anything………to tape.

IB: What sort of music does Axe play?

BH: Axe does hard melodic rock. There's not much of a market for it these days.

IB: What do you and the band hope to achieve?

BH: The band hopes to keep making records, because it's fun making records.

IB: Do you think that getting on your knees in a bathhouse is the way to accelerate your rise to the top of the heap?

BH: It depends on the bathhouse, and how foggy it is. What do you think, Andrew?

IB: What’s been added to ‘The Great Nostalgia’, which you plan to reissue shortly?

BH: I'm adding one or two vocal tracks, and one more instrumental. One of the tracks I'm thinking of adding is a cover of Van Morrison's ‘Into the Mystic’.

IB: What was working with the Ant-Bee like?

BH: The Ant-Bee stuff was done through the mail. Billy James is a beautiful soul, gifted musician, great friend, and always ready to lend a helping hand.

IB: Are you happy with the way Thana’s album turned out?

BH: I think Thana's record came out great. One always wishes for more time, and bigger production budgets in almost every record, but I think there's a vibe there that can't be bought.

IB: Any news on that Rantin & Rayven album?

BH: A Rantin & Rayven project is always in the works - hopefully late 2001.

IB: Final question: is the FA Charity Shield worth getting excited about, or is it just an exhibition game for a bunch of show ponies?

BH: I think if the money raised goes to a worthy charity, then it's worth getting excited about.

***

Well, as I say, he got it done by Christmas. And by that time, Chelsea’s Charity Shield win over Manchester United had paled into insignificance. Bob added that he “would have liked to have some time to elaborate more on some of the questions, so let me know if you need any clarification – except about the bathhouse thing. Or if you've any other questions, I'll try and answer them before 2002. Happy holidays, mate.” What a nice guy. I think we’ll leave it there for now. A fredited version of this interview will probably appear in a future edition of T’Mershi Duween. Photo of Bob, with wife Thana, taken backstage at Zappanale #13 by The Idiot Bastard.

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