A Conversation with New York Dolls’ David Johansen – HuffPost 3.14.11
Mike Ragogna: David, what went into the recording of your newest New York Dolls album, Dancing Backward In High Heels?
David Johansen: Well, we made this record in New Castle, England, we were there for about three weeks. The first week we were there, we did a few shows just to soften the crowd up a bit since we were going to be hanging around, then we went into the studio and just started recording and kind of made it up as we went along.
MR: You were working with producer Jason Hill.
DJ: That’s right, he also played bass for us.
MR: The New York Dolls’ music is considered essential, and though it’s been categorized as “Glam Rock,” it’s essentially rock rock. Most enthusiasts know your classic recordings stood the test of time.
DJ: Well, that’s good then! (laughs) That’s why we are able to perform and be greeted with bouquets rather than hand grenades.
MR: Robert Christgau said that One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This was 2006’s best album, so your later work also gets critics raving. What do you see New York Dolls’ place in musical history?
DJ: You know, I don’t know. I never really thought about us in terms of musical history–we just really enjoy playing together. Myself, Sylvain, and our drummer Brian Delaney have a pretty good thing going on, and we just like to get together under a lot of duress to make a new record, write a bunch of songs, and add them to our repertoire. We play live all year long, so we like to have a lot of new songs. That is really all we think about as far as our place in the history of music or whatever. I think Sylvain probably gives that a little more thought than I do. (laughs)
MR: Everyone has their favorite early New York Dolls song, but I enjoy some of the more recent albums’ tracks, well, a little more.
DJ: They’re what we like to call “listen-able”. (laughs)
MR: Would you say they’re less Warhol and have more of a pop sensitivity?
DJ: Yeah, I would say there’s more of a postmodern sensibility as far as elements that one can faintly detect in the songs. They’re good for daydreaming.
MR: I think one of the more fun tracks on your new album is “I’m So Fabulous,” and it starts out with a snippet titled “The Fabulous Rant.”
DJ: Well, just before I recorded the vocals for the song, Sylvain asked what the song was about, and I was in a fairly excited state and started to describe what I thought the song was about. I didn’t realize that I was being taped at the time. Afterwards, they played back the tape and everyone said, “We’ve gotta put this on the record,” and I didn’t want to. (laughs) But obviously, they prevailed.
MR: It’s obvious you guys had fun making this record. Are there any stories of goofiness that go along with these songs?
DJ: Well, when you’re making a record like this, every other thing that happens on the record is goofy. You kind of have to deal with the constraints of time, and you want to get things done while trying to keep the album as lithe and enjoyable as possible. So, it’s continually pretty goofy.
MR: The album includes a cover of “Funky But Chic,” do you like this one more than the original?
DJ: Well, I haven’t hearhttps://blogger.huffingtonpost.com/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=3#d the original lately, but it was a song that Sylvain and I wrote years ago–it was composed to be on a New York Dolls record, but never got to be.
MR: But it did end up being a David Johansen trademark song.
DJ: Yeah, it did. We played it one day, but realized that it wasn’t quite finished.
MR: Over the years, you’ve recorded with the New York Dolls, had a solo career, and even recorded as Buster Poindexter, The Harry Smiths–you’re just bored aren’t you.
DJ: I just really love singing, you know? If I’m not singing, I’m sort of like a golden retriever without a frisbee.
MR: (laughs) I would also like to talk about your biggest hit, “Hot, Hot, Hot,” your soca single from a few years back. Were you surprised by how hot that record ended up being?
DJ: Yeah, actually. I had no idea that it was going to be quite that popular. I was a part of the band Buster Poindexter at the time, and we were playing mostly jump blues and things of that nature. Then, I went to the Caribbean and heard that record and brought it back and we started playing it because we had that horn section. It was always a popular dance song, but when it was released as a record, it kind of took off.
MR: Okay, what’s your favorite song?
DJ: “O Mio Babino, Caro” a Puccini song sung by Maria Callas from Madame Butterfly.
MR: Favorite movie?
DJ: Wow, um…Shakes the Clown.
MR: (laughs) Wow. What about your favorite recording artist?
DJ: Boubacar Traoré. He’s a blue singer from Mali, and he’s my current favorite. But Armando Garzon comes in a close second. He is from Cuba and has the voice of an angel.
MR: Yeah, I’m familiar with Kar Kar and Armando, very nice. You seem to have a very global perspective on music. What’s your personal musical background or influences?
DJ: I don’t know, I just love to listen to lots of music and there’s so much music that I love that it all kind of washes over me and refreshes my spirit, you know? It gives me the where-with-all to, despite all I know, face another day. (laughs)
MR: Now, when you aren’t writing and recording, you also could be found acting, right? Like, you were in Scrooged as the wise-ass ghost.
DJ: (laughs) That’s right. I was doing The Mr. Poindexter Show at a nightclub in New York on a regular basis, and Bill Murray used to come down and see the show. Then one day, he asked me if I wanted to be in a movie and I said, “With you? Sure!” and we had such a great time making that film.
MR: Are there any great stories from the set?
DJ: Not that I dare repeat! I have taken the omerta. (laughs) We just had a lot of fun. He was a really great guy and it was a really enjoyable experience. As far as movies are concerned, I don’t go out and audition for roles, but occasionally, someone approaches me with an offer to do a movie because they think that I’d be good for a part. If that’s the case, and I don’t have many other things going on, I usually like to do it because it’s a lot of fun–but it’s not something that I really pursue.
MR: But you seem to have quite a history in film–you were in Looney with Richard Dreyfus, Car 54, Where Are You? and you were in one of my favorite TV shows ever–The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
DJ: (laughs) Yeah, I was.
MR: I am such a huge fan of that show, can you share your experience with that show?
DJ: Well, the creators of the show would just get a lot of rock ‘n’ roll people in the New York area to come and do cameos on the show. They really dug the music that was going on, and they would ask people to do it and almost everyone they asked agreed to (appear). It was very pleasant working with everyone there.
MR: Let’s discuss the history of the New York Dolls a little. You guys came together as a group in 1971.
DJ: Yeah, 1971 or ’72. I don’t remember.
MR: The band was credited with being underground influential. For instance, “Personality Crisis,” “Trash,” and your cover of The Cadets’ “Stranded In The Jungle” are played to this day on college and Internet radio. When you play live these days, you’re obviously going out and promoting your new record, but do you tend to play a lot of the older material as well?
DJ: Yeah, it’s very much a mix of the old and new.
MR: And do you break out some David Johansen material as well?
DJ: Not really, no.
MR: Do you do solo tours while touring with the Dolls?
DJ: Well, when we’re not touring with the Dolls, Sylvain goes out with a band called The Batusis, and I go around and play in different places with my accompanist. But when we get together with the Dolls, it tends to be strictly Dolls because that’s really all there is time for. Like right now, we are about to hit the road and it will be strictly Dolls because the album will be released on March 15th.
MR: Where are you headed first?
DJ: We’re going to play New York first, then England, Japan, and all around Europe. Then, we will come back and tour the US this summer.
MR: If you had any advice for new artists, what would that be?
DJ: Gee. Personally, I tend to live by my own advice–which is “If it’s not fun, it’s over.” So, just as long as we keep having fun, I enjoy doing it.
MR: Where do you see the New York Dolls in five years?
DJ: Five years? Oh, we’ll probably have two more records by then. We’ll have an even larger repertoire.
MR: Do you have any words of wisdom for our readers?
DJ: Yes, stay off “the stuff” and you’ll go far. (laughs)
Transcribed by Evan Martin