Interviews 2003 Reunion Tour Interview with Michael Lee Smith by Brynn Arens of Flipp Let me start by saying congratulations on the very successful reunion shows. The band was fantastic and it was a huge breath of fresh air to hear a real f*cking band rock again. Q: How did you personally prepare yourself and your voice for the shows? A: The only thing I could do was put the CD's into the stereo and sing along with them driving home every day after work. This was about an hour's worth of singing every day for about 3 weeks leading up to flying into New York for the gigs. If anyone saw a black SUV with tinted windows on Coldwater Canyon in L.A. and a guy who looked like he was screaming with the windows rolled up, that was me. Q: Did the band rehearse a lot before the first show? A: I'm not sure how much Richie, Dube and George rehearsed. I think Brendan rehearsed the night before I got there, and then we went through the songs ONCE when I got into town. That was it. Q: How did you feel in the dressing room just before going on for the the first show? A: I was kind of cool and dry. Q: How did you feel after the first show? A: I was REALLY hot and sweaty. Q: As the response from the audiences was so overwhelmingly strong, would you like to see more Starz shows in the future? A: I'd do a show every night for the rest of my life to feel the incredible vibe coming off the audiences we had. It was like there was some kind of feedback loop of happiness between us and the crowd. I looked out and just saw people GRINNING from ear to ear and singing every word along with me...unfortunately they knew some of the words better than I did. Mo' shows be mo' bettah! Q: Starz proves positive that the secret to a great band is chemistry, and the musical chemistry between you, Richie, Brenden and Dube is so apparent. Would you please explain if this happened by way of a "happy accident" or was it planed out? A: Definitely a happy accident. The four of us wouldn't be able to agree on a band we all liked, but we all like being in OUR band. When we stepped out on stage for the first time in over 20 years, I swear it seemed like it had only been a few days since the last time we played. I think we're all bonded for life in a certain way, and just fell back into it naturally. Q: How would you feel about going into the studio with Starz and writing and recording new music? (it's obvious that the chemistry is still there.) A: That would be so f*****g sweet. In fact Richie's 3 year old already came up with a possible album title..."I'm Naked in the Ball Pit Mommy". Q: What was the first big rock show you ever attended that made you go......mmm... I want to sing in a rock and roll band? A: The first show I ever went to was the Beach Boys around 1964. They came out on stage in those candy striped shirts riding Honda 50 scooters. I thought it was so cool. The second show was James Brown, the same year. If you listen to the end of "Detroit Girls" you'll hear my tribute to James B. The list of cities I call out at the end is straight off of "Night Train" by James Brown. There's a bunch of places you can probably hear my love of the Beach Boys in the pop harmonies. But I was a lot hornier than Brian Wilson I think so my lyrics are a little, um, different. Q: If you could put together a "fantasy band" with members alive or deceased who would be in it? A: I just played for a week in a total fantasy!! But it would be cool to be in a band with Charlie Watts on drums, and Dusty Hill on bass. I'd have Stevie Winwood playing keyboards. Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. The backup singers would be Mariah Carey and Pink . Pink and Mariah would fight all the time on the bus and I'd have to grab Mariah to separate them and hold her arms behind her back while the fabric on her tank top stretched tightly over her breasts as she gasped for air and....whoa, sorry, got carried away there. Oh and Hillary Duff. Q: If Richie and Brenden were to get into a fist fight who would win? A: I can't even imagine that. They'd both be laughing so hard they'd never be able to throw a punch. But if Pink and Mariah got into a fight...I'd have to grab Mariah and toss her on the ground and cover her body with mine to protect her and....damn, sorry, gotta watch that. Hey Brynn, great meeting you too and hope to see you again soon. Best of luck to you. Mickey Lee