I hit upon the
idea of setting up an interview with Roy Estrada while chatting with Jimmy Carl
Black before a Muffin Man concert at the Manor, Biggin Hill in November 2002. It
helped that I’d just gotten the new BEP CD from Jimmy, which includes
IB: First of all,
tell me a little about The Vi-Counts and how Jimmy Carl Black became their
drummer.
RE: Jimmy Carl Black was never the Vi-Counts
drummer.
IB: Oh?
RE: The Vi-Counts were an 11-piece band that
was put together by an early friend and myself, in which I played and managed.
I was 17 years old at the time. The band consisted of two trumpets, four
saxophones, piano, guitar, bass, drums and a singer. Later, I put together a
4-piece group named the Soul Giants. Our Vi-Count drummer did not want to do
the club scene, so I was looking for a drummer, and Jimmy had an ad at a local
music store. He and his family had just moved into the area, from New Mexico.
We obtained a gig at a club called The Broadside, where we met Ray Collins and
added him to the group – as a singer, of course.
IB: Can you remember your first meeting with
Frank?
RE: Our guitar player was being drafted into
the armed forces. Ray Collins said he knew a guitar player that was looking for
a group to play with. So, Frank came during a week and sat in with us. At that
time, it was like meeting another guitar player, but with original music.
IB: Didn’t you first suggest the name
‘Muthas’?
RE: After reaching the point of playing
mostly original music, Frank asked for suggestions for giving the group a
different name. I recall mentioning the name ‘The Mothers’ (referring to
motherfuckers). He said, “No! It will not be accepted.” We fiddled around with
other names, but later, when he went into Hollywood, he settled on The Mothers.
When we signed with MGM, they added ‘Of Invention’.
IB: I read in Billy James’s book that you
have a penchant for dismantling hotel rooms but, unlike Led Zeppelin, you put
them back together again afterwards!
RE: When the window air conditioner was not
operating, I could not wait for their maintenance person…
IB: Aside from the sex and drugs, what are
your fondest memories of those early days?
RE: The fun we had on stage, especially when
we made Frank laugh – to the point of falling over. Then his eyes would get
glassy, and he would go into the realms of uncharted music.
IB: Okay, now tell me about the sex and
drugs.
RE: We did not do drugs, for the simple fact
of having to play this music. At times, there was no time for extra activities.
IB: What was your reaction when you first
heard Arthur Barrow’s overdubs on Ruben and Money?
RE: What can I say; Arthur Barrow is a great
bass player.
IB: True. What is your favourite of the
early Mothers albums?
RE: One is Freak Out!…
IB: Any idea why Frank never released In
The Sky?
RE: No!
IB: You are generally regarded as the funny
one; tell us a joke.
RE: You have the Queen – we have our Bush.
IB: Why did you follow Lowell George into
Little Feat, before Frank disbanded the Mothers?
RE: I quit The Mothers, the last part of
1969. Frank didn't want me to quit.
Towards the middle of 1970, I got together with Lowell, Richie and Billy,
forming Little Feat.
IB: Why did you quit Little Feat?
RE: I wanted to get away from the hustle and
bustle and pollution of the Los Angeles area. So when Don Van Vliet found out,
he asked me to join their group, who lived in Northern California by the ocean
and in the redwoods.
IB: Artie Tripp didn’t have many nice things
to say about Frank after his stint as a Mother. Did you agree to disagree, or
just not talk about it?
RE: Art Tripp’s musical ability was not given
any appreciation by Frank. The original members were not either, after all the
struggles we went through playing Frank's music. We all respected Frank's
musical abilities but, evidently, Frank was on his own time frame.
IB: What do you think about FZ:OZ
being the first release from Vaulternative Records?
RE: We were showcasing some new material;
they are showcasing the Vault contents.
IB: What was that band like in 76 compared
to the original Mothers?
RE: The members were all great – they were
in a different musical area.
IB: You must be the only person to have
performed with Frank in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Did you remain friends up till
his death?
RE: Yes! I hoped I could have been with him
towards the end.
IB: Does your asthma contribute in any way
to your distinctive ‘weasel’ vocal stylings? And does it limit your number of
performances? I guess what I’m trying to say is: why don’t you sing more often
– I like it? We only got one song at Zappanale, and one lead vocal on Hamburger
Midnight.
RE: I get short winded. It's hard to hold
long vocal notes with any strength.
IB: How was going into the studio again with Jimmy Carl Black
after all these years?
RE: Hamburger Midnight was an all
together other reuniting party. For Jimmy and myself, it’s been since 1969…no
one knows that I had quit The Mothers before Frank disbanded the group. Anyway,
we had fun recording this CD. Mick Pini is a great guitar player. And thee
Indian? Well, need I say more?
IB: What version of the Grandmothers will be
playing these gigs next year with the Dresden Philharmonic?
RE: Bunk Gardner, Don Preston, Napoleon
Murphy Brock, Ken Rosser, Chris Garcia and myself. The Classic-Jazz division of
Warner Bros. Records will be recording the whole crust of the matter. It will
be a H-Mungus party!
***
A fredited version of this interview may appear in a future
edition of T’Mershi Duween. Who knows? Photo of Roy on stage with Napoleon at the Borderline on 31 January 2004
taken by the Idiot Bastard.