Meat Loaf — Hair of the Dog Tour 2005

What first got you noticed—acting or singing? Playing Eddie, the brain-dead zombie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, was my first big break. I’d created the role in the original stage production, but it was the film that got me noticed. I also did Hair on Broadway, and while auditioning for an off-Broadway musical I met songwriter Jim Steinman. We struck up a partnership that eventually led to the release of Bat Out of Hell in 1977.

Do you get annoyed when people spell your name Meatloaf?It’s the only thing that makes me annoyed. As an artist, I’m low-key. I’m not a prima donna. I’m not demanding. I have manners and my management only hear from me if there’s a crisis. When I see my name spelled with one word, I want to slap and choke people. If you do that, you got to be a moron, you got to have an IQ of minus two. It’s on every poster, every album andevery ticket as two words. If you spell it as one word, you’re an idiot. Bottom line.

Aren’t you sick of Bat Out of Hell?Absolutely not. I couldn’t possibly be. Do classical musicians get tired of playing great Mahler pieces? They do not because there’s so much inspiration inside every note. It’s like, I’ve seen the play Death of a Salesman so many times, but I’ll keep seeing it. Listen to me, there is so much quality, so much intrigue and so much passion inside those lyrics and that music that I could never get tired of singing it. It’s a new moment every time I do it. I have Bat Out of Hell in my car and I listen to it there. It’s magic.

Is it true you once went to an Indian restaurant on the south coast and liked the food so much you had it flown to you for ages afterwards? I love that question. I love the story. Does she mind if I use it in the future? It’s in the same category as this picture of Billy Joel with a black eye and caption saying I punched him. The classic one was on the front of the National Enquirer: MEAT LOAF THROWS BUTLER THROUGH PLATE GLASS WINDOW. It went: The butler had locked the refrigerator and wouldn’t give him the key, so Meat Loaf in a tirade threw the butler through the plate glass window and the proceeded to rip the door off the refrigerator so he could get to the German chocolate cake.

What do you think of the modern music industry? It’s ridiculous. Everything has changed dramatically in the last five years and hardly anyone is doing origian stuff. I’ve always sounded like me, Elton John has always sounded like Elton John, so our fans recognize us. But although we still may sound the same, we haven’t stayed the same. The longer you’re in the business, the better your shows get and the more you learn about your craft. Today’s music business is like putting on an art exhibition with 100 pictures that are all the same. It’s no wonder fans don’t stick around for long.

When did you first start singing? My mother, Wilma, was a preacher’s daughter and a gospel singer, so I inherited a love of music from her. My father on the other hand, was a hard man to be around. He was an alcoholic who mixed with Jack Ruby, the guy who shot President Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvee Oswald, and once when I was a teenager, he attacked me with a knife. After my mother died of cancer, I left Dallas for good and moved to L.A. It was 1967 and the 60’s music scene was swinging so I joined in, fronting bands who opened for The Who, Joe Cocker and Iggy Pop. Four years later, I recorded an album for Motown, by which time I’d taken up acting as well.

Have you any recipes for meatloaf? Good Lord help us, no. Do I look like the Two Fat Ladies?

Do you need to keep fit to cope with the demands of a long tour? Touring makes you fit. Doing what I do is so aerobic and so stressful that I don’t need to work out. At the beginning, Deborah, my fiancée, made me go to the gym with her but now she says she’s too tired to go anymore, as I’m so much work I wear her out. I’ve probably done 75 concerts since we got together, and she’s only missed a couple. She gives me fantastic support and it makes an incredible difference to my life having her around.

After the last tour, will you give up singing to concentrate on acting? I’m not going to give up singing, just the big, long tours. I’m going to record Bat Out of Hell III and I’ll promote that by giving, say, 20 concerts around the world rather than the 170 I’m involved in now.

Credits

The Band

Meat Loaf
Kasim Sulton: Bass/Music Director
John Miceli: Drummer
Mark Alexander: Keyboards
Paul Crook: Guitar
Randy Flowers: Keyboards/Guitar
Patti Russo: Vocals/Backing Vocals
CC: Backing Vocals

Production Team

Bob Quant: Tour Manager
Cheryl Hall: Assist. Tour Manager
Joe Lennane: Production Manager
Donny Gordon: Stage Manager/Set Carpenter
William Sheldon: Lighting Director
George Wehrlin: Front of House Engineer
Tim Coakley: Monitor Engineer
Charlie Milton: Guitar Technician
Joe Libretti: Drum Technician
George Bade: Guitar Technician
Dan Weingartner: Keyboard Technician
Patrick Ryan: Tour Rigger
Pam Lewis: Wardrobe
Mark McArthur: Sound System Technician

Management: 10th Street Entertainment
Business Management: Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman
U.S. Booking Agent: WAGI — Denis Arfa, Pete Pappalardo
International Booking Agent: Solo Agency — John Giddings
Travel Agency: The Tour Company — Tina Waters
U.S. Travel Agent: Air Apparent — Michelle Kramer
Sound: Scorpio Sound Systems — Gary King
Set & Back Drops: B & R Scenery
Lighting: Neg Earth — Dave Ridgeway (Europe); Creative Stage Lighting — James Martin (US)
Trucking: EST Ltd. — Del Roll (Europe); JANCO Trucking — Rick Rosenthaul (US)
Drivers: Pete "Butchie" Marra, Mike Serlletti
Freight Forwarding: Sound Moves — Wayde Daniel, Chris Seroukas
Radios: AAA Comunications — Jackie Mosolgo
Buses: Coach Service GmbH — Clemens Behle (Europe); Florida Coaches — Caleb Calhoun (Band Buses); Celebrity Coach — Phil Dunlap (Crew Buses)
U.S. Drivers: Dale Byrd, Tim Dunlap, Jodi Wadsworth (Meat’s Driver)
Tour Production: Live Oak Concerts, Inc. — Joe Lennane
Passes: Access Passes & Desgin — Shet Sheck
Itineraries: Smart Art — Lon and Donna
Merchandising: Signatures Network, Inc. — Dell Furano, Don Hunt, Rick Fish, Pete Weber, David Seltzer, Al Sitchon; De-Lux Merchanding — Jeremy Joseph, Tim Whittaker
Road Merchandiser: Stuart Graham
Tourbook Design: Martin Heirakuji Design
Photography: Jon Super Photography, Andy Buchanan, Chris McKay, Piers Allardyce, Michael Brent

Meat Loaf endorsed by Korg
Kasim Sulton endorsed by Interstate Music, Euphonic Audio, Elixir Strings and EMG Pickups
John Miceli endorsed by Zildjian Cymbals, Sonor Drums, Evans Drumheads, Vic Firth Sticks, Gibraltar Hardware
Mark Alexander endorsed by KORG
Paul Crook endorsed by Ed Roman Guitars/Beck Guitars, Hughes & Kettner Amps, DR Strings, DIGI Tech, Levy Guitar Straps
Randy Flowers endorsed by Dean Markley Strings, Hughes & Kettner Amps
Patti Russo endorsed by Daisy Rock Guitar

Official Meat Loaf Website: http://www.meatloaf.net

Printed in England by Hill Shorter Limited