Legendary rock guitarist Skunk Davies
interviewed by Ralph Smeg
Skunk, you’ve had a long, eventful, and occasionally successful career. What do you put your longevity down to?
Just two words, Ralph: organ transplants.
Actually, I was thinking more in terms of your musical longevity.
Oh… right. Well, I guess I’ve survived by being prepared to play with people that I don’t necessarily like, and also, I’ll play whatever style is currently in vogue.
So, what you’re saying is that you’ve got absolutely no artistic integrity.
Yeah… I think that’s a fair assessment.
What style are you playing with your current band?
I guess you could
describe it as a neo-metal, hip-hop, boy band with a blond, midriff-baring
Sounds like you’ve got nearly all the bases covered with that one.
Yeah… the record company’s research people carried out surveys before coming up with the ideal mix in order to maximize sales.
Do you ever hanker for the old days when a band was just four people who actually played their instruments, did whatever songs they wanted to, and it didn’t matter what they looked like in videos?
What, you mean when there were four of us crammed into a dingy flat above a Chinese restaurant, lugged our own crappy gear to each gig, and were paid just enough to cover the rent and a few cans of baked beans? Yeah… I cry about it most nights.
During the latter part of your career, you’ve been compared with Beethoven —
Yeah… that’s right. I’ve never listened to any of his stuff… but, I’m told he was a pretty talented muso.
Um… what I was going to say was that, like Beethoven, you’ve lost a fair bit of your hearing.
Oh… right.
I suppose that’s just an inevitable downside of playing in rock bands over a long period of time?
No, it’s the inevitable downside of standing next to freakin’ Bruce Springsteen at one of those all-star charity recording sessions. I think he thought it was a competition… “We Are The World”… more like, “I Am The Foghorn”. Have you ever noticed how, in some of those videos, a few of the performers wear headphones? Well, they’re the ones who’ve wised up about The Boss. And don’t get me started about those ones who always insist on that sustained, high-pitched, wobbly wailing.
Obviously, we’ve struck a bit of a nerve there. While you’re naming names, have you got any other dirt that you’d like to share with the readers?
Well… I don’t really want to go down that path…
I didn’t realize you’d take the high moral ground on the issue of spreading scurrilous gossip.
Nah… it’s nothing to do with morals. It’s because most people have got just as much on me as I have on them — there’d be no winners in that little war. I can give you this little snippet, however. I was having a few drinks the other night with Keith Richards and Britney Spears, and believe it or not, after a few solid hours, Keith and I were semi-conscious under the table while Britney was still going strong — belting out a ribald version of Honky Tonk Woman while dancing on top of the table! Then, apparently, security was called, who, quite understandably, asked us to leave. So, Britney started taking them out, Bruce Lee style, with karate kicks and what not. Luckily, Madonna came over and managed to smooth everything out. Well, Keith and I wanted to call it a night at that stage. But not Britney. She dragged us off to another nightclub… but, mercifully, I don’t remember anything else until the next morning when I woke to find myself naked and handcuffed to Keith in Ozzy Osbourne’s spare bedroom.
Wow! Sounds like there’s more to Britney than she’d have us believe?
Yeah… but remember, you didn’t hear it from me.
Speaking of Ozzy, have you ever bitten the head off a live animal as part of your on-stage performance?
No, definitely not! I like to think of myself as both a professional musician and someone who has respect for all of God’s creatures.
What about off-stage?
Well… that’s a different matter entirely. Look, if we are honest, we’ve all done crazy things from time to time, especially under the influence of strange moldy substances that can be found in a person’s refrigerator after they return from a three-month road trip. In my own case I plead self-defense. You know that David Bowie song on Diamond Dogs where he talks about, “Fleas the size of rats suck on rats the size of cats”? Well, most people think he was talking about some imaginary, post-apocalyptic future; but, in actual fact, he’d just spent a few nights sleeping at my flat in the early seventies. We lived by the law of the jungle, man — eat, or be eaten!
Just one final question, Skunk, do you have any regrets?
Ah… there’s so many, Ralph. If I could pick just one, it would be when I recently thought I could keep up with Britney when drinking those Tequila slammers.