Jimmy Steinfeldt: Tell me about your new album Jack Grisham and the Life undone.
Jack Grisham: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planned to quit. To be able to say I’m not doing music anymore. I’m only going to write books and direct films. But then something always wanders out. “Hey do you wanna go on tour?” This time I thought I was really done with music, but then I ran into this German guy in Las Vegas and we started talking. We ended up of all places in Frank Zappa’s old house. We’re standing in Frank’s old studio and Lars Triesch said to me “I bet you’d like to record here?” I said that would be great. He said we should do a record and that’s what happened. I ended up doing this record. Totally out of the blue. I didn’t expect it but then there it is.
Lars is in Berlin and I’m here in Huntington Beach. We were trying to write songs together on Zoom. It was crazy. First there’s a language barrier. As an example: If you ask me what chord I’m playing and I say D, over Zoom it could sound like B, G, C, or E. They all rhyme. We had to make up code words instead of saying the chord. Also, in German there is no B it’s an H. Maybe going back to medieval song writing times
JS: Was the code word for G Grisham?
JG: No, it was God. And that’s the only clean word we came up with.
JS: Tell me about the single Pieces of the Sun.
JG: I’m getting older. I didn’t think I’d last this long. I’m actually kinda pissed off that I worried about dying for so long. I wish someone had said “Don’t’ worry you’re going to make it to at least 64, so stop worrying.” I’m the kind of person who feels I’m going to die a 1000 times before I get to the other side. Even though I’m getting older I still write songs like I’m a fifteen-year-old boy. Songs about school and girls etc. My buddy Paul was laughing about this and asked me if I ever write songs about getting older? I said “No, I don’t.” So, I wrote this song about someone at the end of their life. I feel like a piece of the sun. I’m trying to slow down. The protagonist in the song says “Say my name, hold me in place for a moment, let me be right here.”
JS: In high school I took astronomy and the teacher said “You see all those stars in the sky? Many of them are not there. The light we see was sent here to earth millions or billions of years ago and many of those stars have burned out. One day our sun will burn out and that will be the end of life on earth.”
JG: That’s what this song is about. Some inspiration for this song came about because I saw a couple kissing on the beach. I thought this couple doesn’t realize how quick the kiss, their lives, and everything goes.
JS: Tell me about your song writing process.
JG: Lars would strum a couple guitar chords and send them to me. I would then start singing to that. Then I’d go to my piano and play a melody. We would go forward building on the melody. I believe a good song needs to sound good stripped down. Like just one person with an acoustic guitar. Or one person singing in their car. A simple melody is very important. That’s what we tried to do. Later the complexity would come in the production.
JS: Where did you record?
JG: In Lars’ house. He’s a fan of modern architecture and he had Ray Kappe design a house for him and Lars built it on the outskirts of Berlin. It’s gorgeous. All the guys went to Berlin and we stayed in the house. We recorded in the big studio room in the basement. Brought in all the gear including Neumann mics. German TV came over and filmed it. When I came home I re-worked a couple songs at a studio in L.A. and sent them back to Germany to be mixed.
JS: I photographed T.S.O.L. in 1986. Tell me about the band.
JG: I was in T.S.O.L. from the very start. There were four of us. We were kids and emotionally not even kids. Our attitude was “I see it, I want it.” Like a child. I was in the band from 1980-1983. At that time I wasn’t thinking straight. I was out of control. I played in other bands from 1983-1989. I got sober in 1989 and started playing with them again from 1989 until this year. A lot of records, a ton of tours. Movies all over the place. A lot of good, some bad. It’s been an adventure.
One of the reasons I wanted to step away from music was simply aging. Kids used to say: “My friend got me into you guys.” Then it was “My brother got me into you guys.” Then it was “My dad got me into you guys.” Now it’s “My grandfather turned me on to your band.” We’ve been together for 46 years. If someone 35 years old saw us at the beginning they are now 81 years old!
JS: What singers and musicians influenced you?
JG: It’s probably not what you think. I’m a Soul guy. I can’t sing like that but Luther Vandross was my favorite singer. The Motown stuff the Philadelphia sound. The Stylistics, the Spinners. I’ve always loved those singers and signing along with those songs is like doing Tai Chi. I wasn’t much of a rock guy. So much so that over the years I’d be hanging out with famous rock artists and I’d have no idea what songs they wrote or recorded. In fact, people would ask me if I knew a certain famous rock artist and I’d say no. And they would say you have to know him he lives in Huntington Beach. And I’d say no, I don’t know him. Then they showed me his picture and I realized it’s a guy I have coffee with all the time. I didn’t know he was a famous guy. Later I told him about this and he laughed and said “Yeh, but I knew who you were!”
JS: Tell me about writing a book.
JG: I just started writing a new book this morning! I don’t work well with others. I’m difficult. Some would say I’m an asshole. I’m not purposely an asshole. I’m good out on the street. I’m a politician, a baby kisser, a hand-shaker. I care about people. I remember what they say. I’m interested in other people. When it comes down to work, I struggle working with people. So, writing a book is the best for me. In the movie Grease they say to John Travolta’s character let’s see what sport you’re good at. He tries wrestling and he gets in a fight. He tries baseball and he swings the bat at someone. Then they say you should do long distance running. You’re out there by yourself, alone just running. That’s me. There’s no one to get in a hassle with. My publisher designs the cover and that’s it. I don’t work well with others.
JS: You also are involved in film. That’s a total commitment to working with others. Tell me about directing.
JG: With film the director is the director. That’s it. The crew is supposed to do their work under the director. When I direct I totally respect those working for me. I’m not an editor, I don’t want to be an editor. There’s a mutual respect across the whole set. From the guy who is out parking cars to the Cinematographer. I don’t have any problem in that situation. Catering is not gonna tell me how to direct a scene and I’m not going to tell them how to make the rolls. I did learn something worthwhile from an actor. I had written a short film and the actor was off script. Then I realized what he was doing. This actor was being the character. He hit the spots he needed to hit. He was riffing but I hired that actor because he’s the kind of actor who can make the scene better. This was a good lesson in letting people do what they do.
It’s not the same when you are playing in a band. Four equal parts and everyone wants a different sound. Everyone wants a different set list. Compromise is a no-win situation. You both lose. One thing on a film does bother me. Notes! I just wrote a book called “Fuck Your Notes.” It’s about people giving notes. I can come up with an idea for a movie. Then to get it made you have to be totally committed. Nothing else in the world is as important as this film. Your driven, out of control. You have to be crazy. So, then you got somebody coming up to you with a note telling you what to do when they don’t even know what you are planning to do. David Lynch was shooting a scene once and a producer said the scenes too long. Lynch said “How the hell do you know!”
JS: You’ve worked with several people that I’ve come to know including Geza X.
JG: I love Geza. I did a soundtrack for a film. The original song was not good and I re-wrote it and it turned out great. I worked with Geza on that. He’s crazy as hell and a great guy.
JS: My photo studio was in Laurel Canyon for 20 years and one of my neighbors was Penelope Spheeris.
JG: I love her, she’s just wonderful. She was real nice to me. I directed a film call Ignore Heroes. It’s a T.S.O.L. documentary. It’s a bit out there. It’s me doing standup to an audience of police, nuns and priests. There’s animation. There are the other band members. People who expected a standard music documentary have a tough time with it. There isn’t even any T.S.O.L. music in it. I wanted to use a clip from Suburbia and Penelope let me use it in my film.
JS: Tell me about your many aliases.
JG: It was a joke. I was always using different names. I went through this whole thing where I felt it doesn’t matter who’s in the band. Some people are worried about credit. I don’t really give a shit. I know it’s hurt me financially. I just think it’s ridiculous. So, I just made-up names. On one record I’m this guy. On another record I’m another guy. I wrote a book and put it out under a fake name. I just don’t care. So, I’ve used fake names and people call me other names. I was in jail one time and they wanted to know if I had aliases and I said yes and listed maybe 30 aliases. The cops were thinking really? really? This many? I kept reeling them off because I think it’s funny. Then we walk past the first cell and there’s a guy in there I know and he says to me “Hey, Big Man!” That was an alias I hadn’t given the police.
JS: What’s the current status of the bands T.S.O.L., Joykiller and Manic Low?
JG: They’re all on long hiatus. They are just stuff I do. I’m very claustrophobic. I don’t like being put into one thing and be expected to have one sound. I like screwing around, different things all the time. T.S.O.L. is on a long, long hold. I’m 65 so I don’t know how long that will be, probably done. Manic Low and Joykiller, done. I’m doing this thing with Lars and I said I’d do one record.
JS: There are currently ten people running for governor of California. In 2003 you were one of 135 people running for governor. Any thoughts about the state of politics today?
JG: It’s a joke. What’s it gonna take? A strong moderate from either party. There has to be balance. A stronger third party. It’s a total mess. I don’t know what will straighten it out. The internet has caused an unbelievable amount of problems. Everything’s a lie, nothings true. It’s a complete shit show as far as I’m concerned.
JS: I wish for the days of Edward R. Murrow and even Cronkite. Where can you get honest news today?
JG: It’s almost like they have to put something together. They need something. However, you can’t even trust that. If you have someone from the outside bringing in a crazy idea. The internet is the devil.
JS: Tell me about the punk rock museum.
JG: I wasn’t a fan when I first heard about it. They wanted me to send them stuff and I didn’t want to do it. It just sounded crazy. Then I went out there and the cool thing is I was like a docent. Walking through that museum it was like looking through an old photo album. I’d see a display and I’d remember that club and the scene around it. I saw a lot of my friends who are dead. It was really emotional for me. The cool thing they do is get these old punks to lead tours through it. As long as they are still alive there’s an ability to do it.
JS: My friend Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats gave a tour.
JG: He was at my daughter’s birthday party when she was five or six.
JS: What advice would you have for a young person who wants to have a career in music?
JG: (Laughs) I don’t know. The word career, that’s the scary thing. I was forced into this. If somebody’s gonna play music they’re gonna play music. Doesn’t matter if it’s a job or not. whether they make money or not. They gotta play. Follow your heart. Lars who I did the new album with was in a band. His wife got pregnant and he gave up music. He created a great life with his wife and kids and yet he always wanted to play music. We got this chance to work together on this record. He’s stoked. It was always in his heart. That’s the most important thing.
There was a study where people were interviewed before they died. A lot of the people said they regretted not doing the things they wanted to do. It’s not the things that we did that we are bummed out about. It’s the things we didn’t do.
JS: That relates back to Pieces of the Sun.
JG: You bet it does.
JS: Jack is there a cause you support that our readers should know about?
JG: Kindness. There’s a scripture that says If your heart’s full, put your light on the table. Just be kind. So many people forget that. Smile at someone and just be helpful. I walk every day on the beach. I consider myself an ambassador of my city. I smile at people. If I see people taking photos, I help take a photo of them. I say hello if I hear someone speaking a different language. I’ll walk up and say hi because I’ve traveled all over the world. Chances are I’ve been near where they live. I suggest restaurants. Tell them what to watch out for. Basic kindnesses.
A guy came up to me today and he said “One time I was trying to get gas and all I had was 40 cents and I asked you for a dollar and you filled up my bike for me.” I forgot that I had met this guy before but he remembered. So, Jimmy, if you want a cause, that’s a cause, Kindness. It’s a currency that’s good anywhere.
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