I interviewed Melvins drummer Dale Crover in the dressing room of the now defunct Ritz nightclub shortly after their set one night in late 1994. At the time I had been listening to the Melvins religiously for about a year. To this day Gluey Porch Treatments and Houdini stand as some of my favorite albums. Their influence on the early 90’s Grunge sound has been well documented. Countless bands have paid homage to them. Particularly Nirvana whose first drummer just happened to be Dale Crover. They are still going strong today. JD

James: Has being on a major like Atlantic Records changed the band or it’s direction at all?

We just did some demos for our new record in Europe. Something we would never be able to do before with an independent because we never had the money. I think it makes things better for us musically. We’re also able to do videos and other stuff we were never able to do before.

James: Tell me about the video you just did.

Dale: We actually did three. The first video was for Honey Bucket. . Then we did one for Hooch. We just finished one for Lizzy.

James: How did that feel? I am sure making videos is a new experience for the band.

Dale: I’d say it was weird. We did the first one with a bunch of sheep. We got to play underwater for the second video. That was a new one for us. And the last video had a bunch of bull dykes from San Francisco going crazy

James: Musically speaking the Melvins are unlike any band out there. What does Atlantic expect from you? Are their certain sales expectations

Dale: I don’t know. I don’t think they have any great expectations. I think they are just looking for us to do our own thing. Which is cool. That’s one of the reasons we signed with them.

Because they just said you guys are cool. We’re going to let you do what you want. You obviously know what your doing. Here’s some money. Go for it.

James: What’s your view of what’s being called Alternative these days?

Dale: It’s an alternative to good music.

James: What happened with Laurie?  (former Bass player with the Melvins)

Dale: She quit because she didn’t like touring that much. There were both musical and personal differences.

James: I had heard she became seriously ill.

Dale: Yes, she has Hepatitis C. She’s had it for a long time. It really made it hard for her to tour.

James: Are you still in touch with her?

Dale: Not that much.

James: The band was amazing tonight. Seeing as how things have gone. Are you thinking of changing the bands name to The Mighty Mighty Melvins?

Dale: I don’t think so. The new name should be The Dale Crover Experience.

James: Give me a day in the life of the Melvins.

Dale: Well, we wake up and shower. (pause) Well some of us don’t shower. We hop in the van and drive to the local A&P to buy porn and some Jolt Cola. Listen to a lot of Skynard and Nugent. Get to the gig, sit around and drink Jolt Cola and of course play our show. Then we go backstage and have a big party. Like we are now.

James: You’ve obviously been influenced by the band KISS. What’s your favorite album?

Dale: Studio album would be “Hotter than Hell” Live album would be “KISS Alive”

James: Tell me about the KISS style solo albums you did.

Dale: It was great. I was Peter Chris.

James: What about the current state of KISS?

Dale: KISS rocks!!!!! They did a show in Los Angeles this past August. They did all old stuff. It was amazing.

James: You just got back from touring Europe.  What was that like?

Dale: It was great. The crowds were great. Lot’s of crazy Germans who like to smoke cigarettes and drink a lot of beer.

James: Where else in Europe did you go?

Dale: We played Germany, Italy, France, Holland and Slovenia. We played with Nirvana in Slovenia which was a great show. We also played England and Belgium.

James: So do you usually play shows in your underwear?

Dale: I’ve played more than five hundred shows in my underwear. It’s liberating.

James: What’s the wildest thing that’s ever happened to the band on the road?

Dale: Because of legal issues I couldn’t really tell you. But back in 1986 we stayed at this skinheads house. We all had long hair and there were a whole crew of skinheads there. I will tell you we were lucky to get out of there alive. They don’t like long hairs.

James: What makes the Melvins tick?

Dale: Money!!!! We don’t do drugs or drink. (there was no sight of either backstage that night.)

I’m almost married. That son of a bitch Mark is married. Our man Buzz just got married.

James: What’s next for the band?

Dale: World domination. It’s all that’s left.

(interview James Damion and was to appear in the fourth issue of Unite.)

Note: (All Photos posted on this interview were taken from the web)