The Rolling Stone Interview

Rolling Stone magazine is 40 years old and is celebrating this week with interviews with a number of luminaries. I would like to take the liberty here to publish my own interview here.

RS: What do you remember about 1967?

ME: My clearest memory is of Expo '67 in Montreal. We didn't go but it was Canada's Centennial Year and I remember the commemorative money. I still have a couple of 1967 dollar bills and dimes.

RS: Did the music of the 60's have a effect on you?

ME: Oh sure. I can still picture my older brother and sister dancing around the living room the first time The Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show. A few years later, I became a big fan of The Monkees. I didn't listen to a lot of rock and roll back then but I was aware of it and my brother brought Rolling Stone into the house.

RS: Are there any early covers that stick in your head?

ME: You know it's hard to separate reality from historical perspective. So many of the famous covers like Lennon in the army helmet, Joplin, Hendrix and that Meryl Streep shot have become so familiar but I can't remember if they were actually in the house. But I do remember the newsprint and folded format of the magazine. I was one of those people that thought the magazine was named after the band.

RS: When did Rolling Stone start to matter to you?

ME: In got into rock and roll in the mid-seventies and started reading all of the popular magazines of the time including Hit Parader, Creem, Circus and Rock Scene. I always felt that Rolling Stone had the most insightful articles and I poured over every word in every article about music. I learned so much more about the history of music that way.

By the late seventies I had started reading more of the political commentary and formed my opinions from the views of Hunter S Thompson and P.J. O'Rourke. It doesn't mean I always agreed with them but they did get me thinking.