2020.07.16 - Appetite For Distortion - Interview with Tracey Amos

Transcript of relevant parts:

Tracey Amos: And so GN'R was amazing. It opened up my eyes to so many things. Like, you know, it wasn't just amazing to be part of that history and that amazing band but it was amazing to see the world. It was the first time... I traveled a little bit but it was the first time I had traveled the world. And I also met my husband on that tour. And I had two children from my husband that I met on that tour. Yeah, and so life evolved.

[...]

Brando: Do you ever reach out to Duff or any of the old guys and whether it's, we don't have to necessarily say reminisce about, I'm sure you all are not reminiscing because you get asked that in interviews all the time, but just to talk about, no, cause yeah, I've interviewed Susan, his wife a few times and she... That whole family is wonderful. Before the pandemic, with the Special Olympics. So is that a conversation? Obviously he has a massive platform as well.

TA: Yes. I've not talked to, the only person I've seen since the Guns N' Roses days and stayed in touch with has been Roberta and I've run into Slash a couple times. I ran into Matt one time and that's it. Yeah. So it's more like we happened to be in the same place at the same time when it came to Slash and Matt and then with Roberta we stayed in touch.

Brando: Is that just kind of life? Like this life happening?

TA: I think it's also because I didn't focus on staying more in the music industry. What I did was I did a lot of commercials and I wrote and sang for like the Rugrats and things like that. Like I did a lot of behind the movies work, you know, and then I put out my own album and I did, you know, well with that and I did a little couple specials and blah blah blah. But then I started working in nonprofits and for profits for change where Roberta and the rest of them, they just continued down working and focusing on music. So I think that's probably why I'm not as in touch as I could be or was.

[...]

TA: We had so much fun on that tour. It was such a fun, unique time.

Brando: What is the show that kind of stands out to you? Because it was a long time. Is there one in particular that, in a positive way, it could be something that maybe we don't even think of where maybe you went out to eat to a special place after, maybe the show like you met your husband like what, or you know, maybe you walked in on Slash going to the bathroom or something like silly is there anything that stands out to you like shows.

TA: Oh my gosh. There's so many things. Let me think. One of the things I love, Wimbledon was my favorite when we did the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. And the Paris pay-per-view was amazing. And doing all the preparation and all the rehearsals for that with Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz and Brian May is really amazing, amazing. But one of the funny quirky things is just, I was kind of mentioning it earlier today actually. I was sitting with Roberta backstage at the Wimbledon and I mean, Axl was singing with Elton John. And so we were right, you know, like probably like 12 feet away from them backstage and they're on the stage, you know, singing. And I've never, I've always, I meet so many people as you can imagine and that are very famous. And I've just thought of them as people and say, "Hi, how are you?" I screamed like a freaking Beatles fan, losing their mind. Like,
"Oh!" like when I saw Elton John start singing and Roberta punched me in my shoulder said, "Stop, be cool!" I'm like, "Okay." But I lost it when I saw Elton John. He was like my, ever since I've been little, like one of my biggest amazing, I can't, see, I get teared up. I have tears in my eyes just talking about him. I love Elton. So that would have to be my highlight, you know, like seeing Axl singing with him and Roberta punching me. I thought that was the funniest thing ever. And of course, like, you know, rehearsing with everybody was amazing.

When I first met them, I'll never forget how the whole tour came about. That's the other part that was really weird and amazing at the same time. I was singing in small bands and doing my own recordings in New York. And I was singing with a [?] band signed to TVT called Rise Robots Rise. And they have these very intricate, very interesting background parts. And we needed one more person for this big show at the Palladium and it was going to be our biggest show ever. And so we brought in this new girl that was Roberta. It was the first time I met her. And she was recommended by her sound guy. And she was really into it. And we just rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and did the show. And she kept saying, "I'm moving to LA after this. I'm just here in between tours." She was already on tour, I think it was with Motley Crue or it was with a couple of different-

Brando: Cinderella?

TA: Cinderella, Cinderella. Yeah, and so she had already been on big tours and we sang together and it was great. And so then she's like, "Bye, moving." And she left. And so I'd only met her and knew her for a couple of weeks during that period of time and then she was gone. So I had wanted to go on a big tour while I was shopping my album to get an album deal. So my demo was done and I had it in the hands of the attorney to take it out. And so I don't know if you believe in this, but I believe in the power of intention and focus and bringing things into form. So I literally was sitting with a candle every night, saying, "I wanna go on tour. I wanna go on a big world tour and I wanna sing and I wanna be on stage and do that while my demo's being shot and then I wanna come back and record my album." And so literally while I was sitting there with my candle, the phone rings and it's Roberta and she's like, "Do you want to go on tours with Guns N' Roses?" And I was like, "Yeah!" that's how it went down. It was so funny. And then she was like, "You have to fly yourself out and if you get it, then they reimburse you. If you don't, they'll fly you back." I was like, "Oh, I'm getting it. It's my tour. What are you talking about?" And I went out and bought all my gear and went over there and there we went. It's great. Walked in and I felt like I was walking into like a MTV video because that's how they live is exactly what you see, is what you get. And Slash walks up to me with his hat on, his famous hat on, with his Jack Daniels in his hand. "Nice to meet you," and "Here we go."

Brando: I love it. I love that. Roberta often says because she she says Axl was so great to both of you, but she felt like and she's mentioned it a few times that he really fought for both of you to be there like the other guys, you know, not that they all were great, but I guess they wanted to be kind of it was that it was that big change with GN'R going from a good tight knit band rock and roll band to this orchestral monster which is the GN'R I grew up with. I'm gonna be 37 later this year. I grew up with Tracy and Roberta and November Rain. So that's yeah that's my GN'R. To also give them a plug I guess mygnrforum.com. I don't know if that came from me. Do you ever get that sense? How did you like feel on tour? That you were you know a part of the band or how did you-

TA: Well, the way it was is Axl wanted us, right? It was part of his vision, right? To have this add the horns and add the background vocals. But rest of the band, they were like, "No," they didn't want us. And so Roberta was there before I was helping, like, okay, well, "What kind of other background, if I get the gig, what do you want her, the other girl to look like," you know? "Do you want us to be bookends? Do you want us to have different types of voices? Or how do you want the blend to be?" So she was there before I came, helping them to conceptualize how to bring Axl's vision, which they didn't even want to bring to life, to life. He didn't even come to any of that. That was Roberta with the band, and then it was me and Roberta with the band. And then he came after the horns were there, after the girls were there to give his thumbs up or his thumbs down. And he gave us a thumbs up. But he basically was like, "This is what I want, you guys put it together, whether you like it or not, that's what I like." You know, and so-

Brando: It seems like a gladiator moment, you know, thumbs up.

TA: It was a kind of a love hate relationship, honestly, on the tour a bit. There was a bit of a, you know, we're costing more money. You know, we're costing more hotel rooms and they're girls and they're asking for stuff, you know, that the roadies don't ask for because they're not roadies. And things like that. Like they had us in these heels that were like this high on a ramp that was not designed for background singers like this. It was designed like this for them to run around. Right? So it's like this and we're in heels. So we're like in a slant ready to fall into the stage. And they're like, "Well, we want you wearing those heels." And I was like, "Well, do you want us to fall off the stage in the middle of the show and then you have a lawsuit?" Like it was like always a little bit of a tug of war in the beginning until we got it straight, then everyone got it and they saw Axls... I remember when actually it started clicking and the magic started happening and when the magic started happening and the band started seeing and understanding Axl's vision and not just seeing us as like an annoying addition to their, you know, taking away from their authentic rawness. When that magic started happening, the rapport changed. And everyone, there was less of a love-hate. It was more like an appreciation and a you know, we're kind of like part of the band in a way, feeling.

Brando: Do you feel like it motivated you to be like kind of, I mean, in essence, other than being Axl's vision to kind of, I don't want to say prove yourself, but just to show them that you belong there, I guess, was there or were you were you say, you know, you know what doesn't even matter what you think. This is Axl's, you know, whatever he wants is going to happen. Like is where-

TA: Well, it wasn't really it wasn't really obviously clear that that was the situation in the beginning. We learned that as we were there. So in the beginning we did... I didn't realize anyway. I don't think Roberta did either that they didn't really want us to be there, you know, but then after they accepted us then they were like, you know, "We really didn't want you to be here, but we like you now," kind of thing. So it wasn't like they... you know what I mean? The tug of war in the beginning, I didn't understand it until the middle when I understood why we had that tug of war over little things, you know, figuring out logistics and how to, you know, treat ladies on the road kind of thing. So, we didn't really, they weren't overt about it. They were gentlemen. They didn't tell us, "We don't want you here," man. And they weren't like that. They were kind to us. It was just more like with their management, working out things that there's always a tug of war. The guys were always kind and were always really cool. But Axl, it was his vision. And then as we were there and it started clicking and they started seeing the vision and they started getting used to us and started really opening and communicating with us, that's when we realized that we really weren't invited in the beginning by everyone, we were demanded by Axl. But then it started becoming part of who they were and Use Your Illusion.... You know, that's how it is with music, I find, I've been in several different types of relationships in music, like with different producers, being a producer, helping different artists with their music, being produced by people that don't get me as an artist, you know, singing and background for a lot of different people in different situations where you can't you can't just push your vision because then the music will be a discombobulated group of visions. It has to come to a cohesive magic and sometimes you have to give and sometimes you have to take and sometimes you have to push because you know that's what it is and sometimes you have to acquiesce because you have to trust that other person in the process. So what I'm speaking about is the natural musical process that always happens when you're creating, especially something as powerful and magical as Use Your Illusion in the tour. It's just a natural part of the process. And you don't often know what's going on while it's going on. You're just, I was just like, "Wow, I'm here. They're amazing. I'm gonna get down and have the best time and just be my full self on stage." So I just wanted to give my full artist self to help do what they wanted me to do. I wanted my voice to create and my movements on stage to create what they were expressing. So I kind of just delved my whole self into their music so that I would become a part of it. You know, it would be inside of me while I was doing it. I feel all of that.

Brando: Yeah, I feel all of that. I'm sure, I mean, you said a lot of insane, you know, "I can't believe this is happening to me" stories, whether it's like a candle giving you Guns N' Roses, or, you know, just Slash showing up in his top hat, like it's a, you know, a cartoon. Is anything compared to Venezuela, that Venezuela show? Or-

TA: I was not in Venezuela.

Brando: You were not you were not at that that infamous show?

TA: There is a period I was I was not on tour for one month. We had had a falling out for like one month over pay actually. And that's when they went to South America.

Brando: So you missed that? Oh, wow.

TA: Yeah, I missed that. My husband, my ex-husband, but my husband, was on that part of the tour. So I know about it, but I wasn't there.

Brando: What was going through your mind? Like were you kind of worried about your friends and your, I don't know if he was your boyfriend at the time or husband at the time, but that's gotta be crazy. Like I could have been there and you see like a military coup going to the country. It must've been, I don't know. That seems like an other worldly.

TA: You know? Being on tour with Guns N' Roses was always kind of an epic, crazy adventure. Like, I remember it didn't scare me, it didn't shock me, it was kind of normal actually by that point because we were backstage a lot of times when Axl was late getting to the venue. And they were telling us, if a riot breaks out, this is where you run to and this is where the cars are, have your stuff packed, be prepared, you know, for, you know, craziness, you know? So always kind of like that.

Brando: How often would that happen? Every show they would say be prepared for a riot?

TA: Not every show, but I can remember at least four or five times vividly.

Brando: Do you know, was there ever like a specific... I guess for what you remember or if you feel like it's sharing that he, why he was late during that, that time?

TA: Well, actually, yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember it now. So, it only happened like four or five times in the beginning because the head of the crew sat down with Axl and explained to him what happens when he's late. And once he realized that Axl's really, they're all gentlemen, actually, every single guy in the band is an astute gentleman. They're wild, you know, but they're rock and roll, but they're gentlemen. And so when Axl realized, you know, what his lateness was causing, he wasn't late anymore, you know, but he was basically what I would say was cause, would cause it is different things, a variety of different things. You know, he was doing something, catching the jet and flying in. And for whatever reasons, it was late, you know, all kinds of different things, all different reasons, but you know, often rock stars are divas. And like, and that's normal. We're always late. I'm always late.

[...]

Brando: And speaking of, because I've heard nothing buts from Roberta and former and even current members who I've had on the show that say nothing but you could tell it's genuine. It's not just like, "Oh, he's a great person," like they're falling in line. You can see that, you know, when Gilby talks about Axl or Roberta talks about Axl or Duff, like see that there's like real, these are great people. You know, if we all have, I didn't want to call them false, just everyday life shit happens. They just happen to have it on a grand scale. So it's kind of, I want to use this opportunity to ask you when it's based upon a little bit of my previous conversation with Roberta Freeman. Thankfully, they banned the Confederate flag from a lot of places like NASCAR. You know, I guess it could be, you know, I'm ignorant to it. I just grew up with thinking like it's and I'm a northerner. I'm a New Yorker. I was like Duke's a hazard. I'm like, I don't know. It's a southern thing. I had no idea how bad it was. I look back at like there are clips of like the Golden Girl episodes about this. And I'm obviously using just pop culture. I had no idea how offensive it was. I look at like the Axl Rose or Tom Petty. No way were they doing it to be offensive wearing Confederate flags. That's my view of it. When he went on stage in a Confederate jacket, did they make you feel a certain way? Because I asked her about One In A Million, then something that I have to learn. Maybe just using that word in a poetic way doesn't make it okay. So I don't know if you have any... I know it's a big transition of questions as far as depth, but I don't know if you, given everything that you work on, something tells me that you're passionate about this stuff. Am I wrong?

TA: Yeah, no, I'm very, very, very passionate about it. But you know, I would say that, you know, him using the N word, the way I took it when he said it, it was not being used, it was using, in the context of how he was saying it, he wasn't using it in a way that was defaming black people. But at the same time, it was lacking in the sensitivity of understanding the inappropriateness of that line. And I think that's the whole thing. I think I look at it as like we're souls in human form. So it really doesn't matter what color your human form is, except for the lessons you gain from that human form. What family, what even your religion, they're all lessons for your soul. That's just my way of looking at it. So when I see someone that's into confederate flag, does it bother me, does it offend me? I feel a little twinge. If they're not being prejudiced on top of it, I just let it go as part of their, "Okay, they'll figure out that's not cool. It's part of their path." But if they're using it in a manner that is directly hateful, that's a different story, then I usually will not be in their presence. I would quit. I would speak to them about it. I would speak against it. You know, it's really I'm mixed, right, just like Roberta. I have actually some Jewish blood along long ago, but maybe that's why I look at as we're souls and you know colors and the thing. But the biggest lesson for all souls, right? While we're here is, why do you think you little teeny tiny ant on this big huge planet in this huge universe that you're better than anybody else? And why do you think that it's appropriate to hate on someone in their little teeny bit of time of magic and miracle of being alive? Why would you think it's appropriate to hurt them? Or, you know, I just think that it's a illness in humanity. I really think racism, and it's on all sides, it's not just whites against blacks, or blacks against whites, it's in every society and all across the world, in every way. People just wanna be better than someone else. To think someone's less than them is judgment. It's just judging, judging, judging in a way that puts you in a better position than someone else. And I just think that that's the whole lesson. We're not in the position to do that. It's inappropriate. It's hurtful and it has to stop, period.

Finished this.