Corey Parks and Samantha Maloney – Chelsea Girls Interview
Written by David Whistance
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 19:40
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK: WE SEDUCE YOU !!!!!
Take one Andy Warhol film title, and four of the hottest women in rock and put them together in one package and what do you get?
Why it’s the Chelsea Girls of course, and Samantha Maloney (ex Hole and Motley Crue), Corey Parks (ex Nashville Pussy), Allison Robertson (The Donnas) along with classically trained vocalist Tuesdae, are about to set the Rock ‘n’ Roll world on fire with their white hot set of classic metal and rock covers.
So who better to catch up with Corey (CP) and Samantha (SM) than Uber Rock’s very own David Whistance, who for one reason or another this time around couldn’t get this interview date in his ‘Metal Health’ black and white striped diary fast enough…. I wonder why?
Hey thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Uber Rock here in the UK. The Chelsea Girls are becoming a bit of an enigma for us over here so we hope you don’t mind answering a few questions about the here and now and a little about your illustrious pasts. So, with three Rock ‘n’ Roll female icons along with a former operatic soprano turned Playboy model, I suppose the obvious starter question is how did Chelsea Girls get together?
CP-I had the idea after playing shows here in LA with a band called Camp Freddy, which is a basically a cover band with a bunch of all-star guys like Dave Navarro and Matt Sorum who have a ton of guests and it’s a total party scene. Just lots of fun covering the tunes that made you want to play music growing up. Especially not having to worry about touring constantly to support and promote a record. I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if I got the dream team of women in rock to do the same thing, if the same thing went to 11! So I made a wish list…and the rest is KISStory.
So is this a full time project for you guys right now?
CP- Yes. But we all also have our fingers in a lot of pies. I’m a designer/outlaw seamstress and a single mom. Allison is in The Donnas and writing tunes, Tuesdae is a DJ and Promoter, and Miss Samantha is Acting, remixing songs and lending her chops to little bands like The Crystal Method. But yeah, we usually play once or twice a month.
You have some pretty heavy weight industry backing right now what’s the vision for The Chelsea Girls?
CP- To be a working band, and then a working BRAND. We’re trying to save the world from the Pussycat Dolls.
You also seem to own The Roxy gig wise right now, any plans to spread your wings further on the gig front?
CP- The Roxy has been our home from the very first show back in Feb. 2009. We love Nick and all the gang, who we came to know, working there over the last year. It was such a blast! We’ve never headlined anywhere else in LA, so we may take next year to dip our toes in some new ponds, who knows?
During your previous gigs at the Roxy, you’ve had quite an array of Rock Legends from bands such as Guns N Roses, Janes Addiction and The Cult joining you on stage, how did that all come about?
CP- They’re either all friends of ours, or people who have called us wanting to come up and jam with the big girls. Apparently, a lot of men like to be flanked by sexy, strong, blonde women whose sweat is even more Rock ‘n’ Roll than theirs, so you go figure.
And Carmen Electra’s quite a fan too, or so we’ve heard over here in the UK.
CP- Yup, Carmen’s an old buddy of mine and is now the secret fifth member of our band. That is, if the 5th member never had to rehearse, just showed up in a brand new, fully loaded Challenger that was a gift from Dodge (me and Sam’s dream car), and looked fucking ridiculously hot, to dance or sing when the mood took her. Actually she would probably say she was our first superfan.
Samantha you have been extremely successful in your chosen career from drumming with such musical greats as Hole, Eagles Of Death Metal and Peaches as well as starring in the US drama Californication. But there is one question I have to ask you, how was it touring with the mighty Motley Crue? Was it as decadent as the accounts in the ‘Dirt’ or had they calmed down by that stage in their career?
SM- The Mighty Motley Crue. Well it was a childhood dream come true for me. When I was 14 I would practice drums in my basement along to the albums “Shout at The Devil” and “Girls, Girls, Girls”, so when I got the call to come fill in for the entire tour in the year 2000 I had to do it! I still have yet to read ‘The Dirt’, but I was on tour while Neil Strauss was writing it, so I got to sit in the back of the bus and here the stories out of them horses’ mouths! And yes. We had some of our own dirt-esque decadent days and nights. When in Rome, as they say.
And how did that compare from working with the seemingly equally mental Josh Homme, Courtney Love, and Peaches??? (You certainly look like you like a musical challenge)
SM-Josh Homme and Peaches are not mental. They are incredibly talented musicians that make music because they were born to and they are great at it. Being in a band with Courtney Love on the other hand was an amazing experience in a different way. I owe Courtney a lot for sending my career into the stratosphere.
Corey it’s been a number of years since you parted company with Nashville Pussy (a band we love here at Uber Rock), do you still keep in contact with the band? And if you what do you think of their most recent musical output?
CP-I love the new line up (best one yet I think for sure!). Karen is awesome and is actually a friend of mine. Chelsea Girls got a chance to play with Nashville Pussy and MOTORHEAD in Oct 2009, for a few shows, and it was so great to hang out with everyone for the first time in almost 10 years! I shared almost 6 years of my life with Blaine, Ruyter and Jeremy. Lived together, toured together, and build something together from scratch. We went through a lot, ya know? It was very powerful for me to spend time with them again. Amazing!!
You mentioned this briefly earlier but you have spent a number of years as a fashion designer for some extremely big names in the music business, Steven Tyler, Bono, Britney Spears and Rhianna to a name a few, firstly how did such a larger than life fire breathing Rock N Roll bass player take up the sewing machine?
CP- My mom, my Aunt Vicki, and my grandmother all sewed. I have always carried a needle and thread with me on the road. I just sort of fell into this career when I came back to LA after Nashville Pussy to sober up and figure out what my next move was gonna be. It’s been going and growing every since. Fashion and music has always been very closely related though, one influences the other, I think. You Brits should know that better than anyone!
And you have a solid life at home right now, but do you ever miss the hedonistic life style that you once had (you must miss touring with the like of Turbonegro and The Toilet Boys for example), or is it a welcome relief to pursue other avenues of the music industry and have a more settled lifestyle?
CP- Well, Duane and me split about a year and a half ago, but one could say (or anyone who knows Duane) my home life is actually more solid. ha,ha, ha. No, I’m kidding. Duane and I have a 5-year-old son together; his name is Clash and he is the best thing that ever happened to me. So we talk all the time and all is well. Do I miss the lifestyle? Sometimes, hell yes. I LOVE touring, and being on the road. Now I just miss Clash, even when it’s for one night! I’ve gotten pretty square to be honest, but you know what, I’ve done it all, all the drunken, drug fueled debauchery you can cram into 6 nights a week, 11 months a year for over half a decade, every night was Saturday night. It’s like being a teenager, your body is new, resilient, and you don’t have a care in the world, no responsibilities, and even though it was awesome, I have no desire to be 19 again.
And finally what’s next for the Chelsea Girls? And more importantly are you going to be visiting our shores in 2010?
CP- Well it’s the TV show, then we’re playing some dates with Kid Rock, and then we’ll move on to take over the world and show little girls that guitars are not necklaces. Chelsea Girls will be a brand, just like the Pussycat Dolls, except besides singing and shaking our asses, we’ve actually learned how to play something and play it well. Imagine where we could go with that? Lets start with an all girl version of Guitar Hero, or Chelsea girls Barbie dolls (instruments included) and a whole generation of little girls who will grow up knowing who Joan Jett is, that’s if we have anything to say about it.
And will we be coming to the UK? Hell yes, as soon as someone calls our UK booking agent Steve Strange and gets us over there! LOnDOn CaLliNg baby. muah! Xo
And with that David had to say goodbye to his Chelsea Girls. We at Uber Rock would like to thank the girls for taking the time to do this with us, and to Corey in particular for helping set this up. At the time of press the Girls were also mid management change, having recently split with Morey Management, so we’d also like to thank Bill Gaal from Morey for pulling everything together so quickly and efficiently.
So what you waiting for guys and gals let’s start the campaign to get the girls over to the UK right here and now…Who’s with us?
http://www.myspace.com/chelseagirlsrock
Roxy picture kudos to Genie Sanchez
Corey solo picture kudos to Travis Shinn