MY JOE STRUMMER STORY

Ifeel really fortunate to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer. In thespring of 2002, I had been working at VH1 for just a few months. I was hired asa “music expert” kind of guy. Which was odd, as it was a period where thechannel was really moving away from music. My boss at the time saw which waythe wind was blowing, so to speak, and while he appreciated my passionfor music, he was more worried about ratings, and rightfully so. Yet he didhire me – and happily for me, while working there I learned a ton about videoproduction.

Iremember seeing the listing in The Village Voice for Strummer's multi-night stand at Brooklyn’s ArtsAt St. Ann’s, and thinking "Man, it would becool to cover that." And then thinking, "Not happening." JoeStrummer – iconic leader of punk rock legends The Clash, defunct since the‘80s?  Exactly the type of thing I’doften pitched, only to be turned down. I really liked his 1999 comeback album, Rock Art & The X-Ray Style, and histhen-current album, Global A-Go-Go, butI knew that a mainstream organization couldn’t or wouldn't really support it too much (thisissue is central to a documentary about Strummer’s last tour, Let’s Rock Again).

Anyway,I was shocked and grateful when the boss asked me to cover one of the shows. Iremember before the interview, shooting b-roll of the huge lights that wereshining where the Twin Towers used to be. It was a weird time.  Standing in the haunting glow of that shrine to an event which changed the world – therewas definitely an electricity in the air.

Bythis time, I had done lots of interviews, but Joe Strummer was one of the fewartists who I both (a) really wanted to speak with and (b) had to admit I felta bit intimidated by. You just always got the sense that he didn't suffer foolslightly. But my attitude as an interviewer was, if anyone can do this, I can.Anyway, Joe was really, really cool. Kind of humble in a way. Super passionateabout music, not really at all. He loved his backing band, TheMescaleros. He felt they deserved more credit. Off camera, he told me he wished he could pay the band more, because they were so great. I was surprised that he offered that info (and I hope that he's not mad that I'm writing about it).  I told him thatthey were all in his band because they wanted to be there, and because it wasan honor to play with him. I remember feeling nervous about saying that.  Now, I’m really glad that I did.  I said that he kept the music alive by putting out music that still mattered, and that I would want to see him play "Tony Adams," "Yalla Yalla" and "Johnny Appleseed" at every concert, not just The Clash songs.  He thanked me for that. He felt people generally weren't aspassionate about music as they used to be: he asked why people weren't riotingover artists like Kylie Minogue, he just felt that most "pop" musicwas so awful. 

During the interview I asked him about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - word was The Clash were going to be on the ballot that year, and of course they weregoing to get voted in. He kind of scoffed at the idea of performing with them,or even showing up. He didn't want to wear a suit, he felt it was a betrayal ofeverything he and the band stood for to show up at the Waldorf, of all places,in a tux, and play to rich music industry people. I told him that not everyone wears tuxes, and that no one would tellhim what to wear (not that I was in any position to tell him what the Rock Halldoes and doesn't do - but I'd been to a few induction ceremonies, and noteveryone wears suits or tuxes). I also pointed out that Talking Headsreunited for a few songs at their induction, and it sort of served as a nice"last page" in the band's story. At least it would be on TV (on VH1 in fact!) and all of the fans would have access to see it, if not access to attend the performance. Then, he started being like,"Hmmmmm..." But then he got a bit annoyed on the topic of the band:he pointed out that he'd been working with The Mescaleros for the past coupleof years, and the other guys weren't even making music (not totally true: MickJones produced The Libertines, but hadn't recorded any of his ownmusic). But none of those guys had called him and asked him to make music withthem, which seemed to annoy him.

Iremember my camera guy was also a huge Clash fan. We walked out of there dazedand amazed. I felt like Joe Strummer was radiating electricity, and I hadabsorbed at least a tiny bit of it. I had goose bumps. So, we start shootingthe show, which was great. I really did (and do) feel that some of Joe's songs, like "Tony Adams" and"Johnny Appleseed," stood proudly alongside The Clash classics - it'sa shame that more people weren't familiar with his solo material, he worked sohard on it, and was rightfully proud of it. But what radio stations would playJoe Strummer's solo material in 2001?  (Again, check out the Let's RockAgain documentary.)

Themost shocking moment of the night was seeing this guy in the audience. Ithought to myself, "Is that Mick Jones?" I mean, in the audience.Not in some roped off V.I.P. area, he was just there. It was him. Not a lot ofpeople seemed to notice. I figured, I should probably try to get a quote out ofhim. But I made what I felt was a more moral choice. I didn't think the guywanted a camera in his face, it would certainly blow his cover. I decidedagainst it.  Had my boss at the time found out about this, I could have gotten in trouble, but I went with my gut.  

Afterthe show, people did start to notice that it was him and crowded around him. Hemade a beeline for the backstage door. I felt like, "That's nice, maybehe'll hang out with Joe." Potentially, I could have ruined that. It turnedout that they hung out for a little while. A few months later, Mick joined Joeand the band at a fundraiser concert in England. It was one of Joe Strummer'slast performances.

Afew weeks after that gig, Joe Strummer passed away unexpectedly. Bythen, he had heard the news that The Clash would be inducted into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame, but the induction ceremony was still a few weeks away. I'dheard that Joe and Mick wanted to perform, but Paul Simonon didn't want to. Theweek of the ceremony, I got to interview Mick and Paul. I told Mick my story.He looked at me and nodded slightly. Not being a sentimental seeming guy, Ithink he appreciated what I'd done (or didn't do).  I’m not putting too much weight on myactions, but I’m just glad I didn’t ruin anything. 

I’vementioned the Let’s Rock Again doctwice here, but I also have to recommend another Strummer documentary, The Future Is Unwritten, which is abouthis whole life (where Rock is reallyabout his final tour). It really is inspiring. Yes, he may be gone, but withoutbeing too abstract, I think his spirit is still with us, and you can see it inevery “occupy” rally, and really whenever people stick up for those who areless fortunate. Tom Morello said it best in his speech about The Clash at theRock and Roll Hall of Fame induction: “In fact, the Clash aren’t really gone atall. Because whenever a band cares more about its fans than its bank account,the spirit of the Clash is there. Whenever a band plays as if every singleperson’s soul in the room is at stake, the spirit of the Clash is there.Whenever a stadium band, or a garage band, has the guts to put their beliefs onthe line to make a difference, the spirit of the Clash is there. And wheneverpeople take to the streets to stop an unjust war, the spirit of the Clash isdefinitely there.”