 Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks are, when it comes to glam rock, two of the biggest names your going to hear. Cited by people as far apart as the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and Green Day as influences, contemporaries of Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses, friends of Stiv Bators, and one of Finland's most famous exports.
Since reforming in 2002, Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy, along with
former members of the Electric Boys have released three albums, the
latest, 'Street Poetry', released in September last year, and have
proved that the band is once again a force to be reckoned with.
While they may no longer be Finland's biggest band, with the emergence
of Nightwish and HIM over recent years for example, they still remain
highly placed in the upper echelons of rock n roll royalty. \
With the band heading to the UK in February in support of Street
Poetry, Komodo Rock's Mike Elliott caught up with Michael Monroe to
discuss the album, the bands plans for the future, and to look back on
the work Monroe has done over the years, including the much under rated
Demolition 23 album which came out in 1994.
Mike Elliott: Your new album Street Poetry came out back in September. How do you think it's done so far?
Michael Monroe: So far so good, it's a good record and it's gotten a good response. We're touring on it now.
ME: You're heading to the UK during February.
MM: Yeah, 25th February and ending on the 7th March in London at the Astoria.
ME: Is that a show your particularly looking forward to?
MM: Oh of course, I'm looking forward to all of them, but London of
course. All the other cities are great too. It's great to be in England
for a change.
ME: You hit Europe before the UK?
MM: Yeah we're going to Germany and Sweden before that. We did Japan last November.
ME: And how was that?
MM: It was great, all the shows were sold out, really did well.
ME: You've always had a quite a big fan base in Japan.
MM: Yeah and we still do. We're just touring on the record and trying to expand our fame!
ME: That's always the goal isn't it!
[Both Laugh]
MM: That's what we're doing, doing our thing, playing our gigs and
having a great time, because the band are in such good shape. It's
really worth coming to check out.
ME: Street Poetry is the third album you've released since the band
reformed. Was there any specific direction you were hoping to take on
the record.
MM: Yeah, for this one the band is really established, chemistry and
all, we've toured for quite a while now. We really wanted to capture
the live vibe of the band, the live sound, and record it as simple as
possible, like a live record. Pretty much in your face, ya know, bass,
drums, guitars and vocals with only overdubs and solos. That's how it
turned out, and we really think we succeeded in capturing the live
sound and keeping it simple.
ME: That's obviously important to you.
MM: To rock n roll! I think we're succeeding in that, and we're all really happy with the record.
ME: Being that you've been making music for many years now, what inspires you to keep making records?
 MM:
The fact that you can only get better at what you do, your evolving all
the time, and you just trying to write better songs, and play better,
and perform better. You're never good enough, there's always room for
improvement no matter how good you are. That's what keeps you going,
you strive for perfection.
Talking about perfection, as a band we're perfectly flawed as I always
say. Rock n roll is not supposed to be a classical concert.
ME: It's not supposed to be note perfect, it's...
MM: ... supposed to be perfectly flawed! There's got to be spontaneity.
We always change songs in every set, but even if we played the same
set, we end up doing it differently. Every show is different and that's
what keeps you going.
ME: Back to the album, before it came out you released the single and
video for 'Fashion'. You were saying earlier about a very cut down feel
to the album, and that really comes across in the video for 'Fashion'.
Was that intentional?
MM: Yeah,we wanted to make it cool and classy looking, based on the
song. We had a pretty good team doing it, these two guys, they did a
great job, made the band look good, and fitted the song perfectly.
ME: It's a great video because of it's simplicity. Are their any plans to do any more videos off the album.
MM: Yeah, we just haven't decided on the song yet. There's going to
another single, we have some stuff, bonus tracks too that we want to
include, but we haven't decided the song yet. We might do it after the
tour, but there is another video coming, and possibly even two.
ME: A lot to look forward to on that front then. You won an award in Finland at the end of last year, a Rock Finlandia Award.
MM: Yeah, they gave us a Metal Rooster! It was nice to get recognition, for once.
ME: Is it something your proud of to get that recognition back home?
MM: Well we weren't holding our breaths, but it was like the first time
that we ever got any award in Finland. People appreciate us here, but
they haven't shown it in that sort of way. We never got any grants or
any kinda help from the Government like other bands have. We were the
pioneers.
ME: Back when you first started, you made your major name here in the UK.
MM: Yeah, in Finland they didn't want to touch us, they were like what
the hell, junkies and fagots and whatever, until we started to get a
name abroad, we started to get good press in the UK, in Sweden, and
everywhere. Then they started saying their our boys, their Finnish!
Even though our drummer was English. It's nice to show the
appreciation, that was nice, especially as people voted for that.
ME: It's recognition form the public rather than the industry?
MM: Yeah, the Rock Finlandia listeners, the people who listen to that
Channel, they voted for us, and I guess it's because we have so much
history, and we're still doing it better than ever.
ME: As a band, you've had a huge effect over the years on other bands,
and especially over the last few years, bands have been coming out and
saying we were hugely influenced by Hanoi. Is that something you very
proud of?
MM: It's nice to be appreciated, and it's nice to inspire other bands.
Other bands inspired us, from Little Richard, The Rolling Stones, to
the Ramones. Lots of bands that we liked, so it's nice that people can
get something out of it, if we've inspired other bands, it's only
flattering. Especially bands that find their own thing, there's no
point trying to be second like someone else.
ME: If you try, you'll never succeed because you can never be as good
as the original, and you don't want to be seen as ripping off someone
else's thing?
MM: That's right, there can only be one original. Everybody takes
something from somone, and passes it on. Some bands think it's enough
to have a big hair do and makeup, and pose, you need substance, you
need the attitude. It's not enough to be posing.
ME: You can look the part but if you haven't got anything to back it up, you'll fall flat on your face.
MM: Yeah exactly. That's what it comes down to really. The songs, the performance, your attitude, your whole thing.
ME: Once the tours in support of Street Poetry comes to an end, are you going to be looking to maybe do another solo record?
MM: Well, funny you should say that. Right now I'm concentrating on
Hanoi, full on. I'm keeping that on the back burner, it's not out of
the question that I'd do a solo album in the future, but right now I'm
concentrating on Hanoi. The band is the priority.
 ME: As it should be, Hanoi should be the priority.
MM: So to answer the question, no, a solo records not out of the question in the future sometime, but right now I have no plans.
ME: To stay on the no Hanoi subject just briefly still, my personal favorite album you've recorded is the Demolition 23 album.
MM: Oh really? That's a great record.
ME: Is there any chance you might go back and revisit the Demolition 23 again one day?
MM: Well that's not out of the question, that would be cool. You mean like do a tour with Demolition 23?
ME: Yeah a tour, or maybe even another album?
MM: They say Never Say Never [Laughs], I've learnt to say never say never since Hanoi was reborn.
ME: I never though I'd see the day that happened.
MM: Neither did I. I thought Hanoi Rocks the name would never be used
again, it was just born again. So, I'm not going to say never to
anything.
ME: Musically, what inspired you to become a musician, both a vocalist and a saxophonist?
MM: The saxophone came from Little Richard records. As a singer, when I
was eight years old, I was watching TV and I saw Black Sabbath with
Ozzy Osborune, and I thought wow, I want to be seen like that, and go
crazy. Then I saw this rock n roll documentary about Little Richard and
The Rolling Stones, and everything, and I was like wow, these are cool
bands. Little Richard was crazy. And Alice Cooper, Love it to Death, I
got that album, and was like wow, there's a singer. I wanted to do
makeup like him and Little Richard and the Stones. I got into bands in
the earlier 70's.
Slade was the first band I saw live. I saw the Sweet and Suzi Quatro.
Then I got into the Faces and Mott the Hoople and great bands like
that, T-Rex, Marc Bolan was great. Then the punk thing came too. Stiv
Bators, The Deadboys, Lords of the New Church. They're good friends of
ours, Stiv was a good friend, I always loved Stiv's work. Like on the
Demolition 23 record there's a tribute to Stiv, the last song on the
album Deadtime Stories. Great production on that record too.
ME: That album never gets talked about, and I think that's a real shame.
MM: Yeah. It's been voted on the website I think, the fans like that
one the best, that one and Not Fakin' It. I love Demolition 23 because
it's punk, it's straight, so simple. That's what I wanted for this
album, for Hanoi, even though Hanoi songs are more complicated, the way
their written, still I wanted to have that simplicity.
ME: I think it's certainly the strongest album you've put out since reforming.
MM: We think so too.
A big thank you to Michael for taking the time to talk with us.
Hanoi Rocks will hit the UK in support of 'Street Poetry' on February
25th at the Plug in Sheffield, and continuing into March before
bringing the tour to a close at the Astoria 2 in London on March 7th.
The bands full UK schedule shapes up as follows.
February
25th Sheffield, The Plug
26th Glasgow, Cathouse
27th Aberdeen, Moshulu
28th Newcastle, Academy 2
29th Manchester, Academy 2
March
1st Leeds, Rios
3rd Nottingham, Rock City
4th Dudley, JB’s
5th Bristol, Academy
6th Brighton, Concorde 2
7th London, Astoria 2
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