One of the few topics I found that he would take entirely seriously when I asked him about it was that of his musical influences. Music – its potential and power, its past, its future – was one of his favorite conversation topics, in fact, and for a guy that blustered about most everything else, he had an intimate and sophisticated knowledge for the songs and artists he loved.
“…as a kid, my parents… it was more just Mo-town in general. My Mom is from… alot of places, but she claims she’s from Detroit, and so, like, she brought Mo-Town into our house… I remember that very early, the Temptations especially. So that was cool… that vibe, that happy… like, it doesn’t have to be a happy topic, but it’s gotta move a little bit, y’know? So I think that’s where that comes from.”
Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and other figures of 90s alternative rock, he would go on to say, informed much of his playing in his earliest bands, but, especially as a bass player, it was always the dance groove that kept him moving. As we talk he casually wanders over to his bass guitar that most of the time sits on a stand in the corner of his home studio, and begins playing a line that I think I recognize, though I’ve never been that great at picking out bass parts. I can’t recall actually having seen him play before that day and it was somewhat invigorating to watch him lose himself in his instrument having seen him spend so much time as a solo front man. I began to ask him about other influences on his songwriting, but he wasn’t listening anymore.
“Frank, do you think hookers can claim any write-offs?”