Tell it like it is

Last night I got to meet one of my heroes. Mick Jones came through town with his buddy Tony James and their new band, Carbon/Silicon. Through Giant Robot, I've had a pleasure of meeting a lot of people that I look up to, but this was really special. When I was in junior high and high school, I bought all of The Clash's albums on vinyl and studied the inserts while I listened to the songs over and over. Looking back, the British punk band affected not only my view of music but also informed me on politics, art, fashion, and society in general. (All this for the better, I think.) The first concert I attended was The US Festival in 1983, which The Clash headlined, and I've seen documentaries on the band, bought expensive bootlegs, read books about them, and lived through the deserved hoopla about the death of the group's front man Joe Strummer.


So I was more than a little worried about meeting Mick. What if, after all this time, he turned out to be a jaded rock star or an arrogant dick? The interview began ominously. Tony James was a great, affable guy--I had no pressure there--but Mick was busy on the phone when I entered The Troubadour's green room. It turned out that he was talking with Billy Idol, who was calling to say he couldn't make it to the show, and apologized about not meeting up with them and Steve Jones. You'd think the singer would have called his ex-Generation X bandmate Tony about that, but that's another story. Mick was a nice guy, too. When I mentioned that the US Festival was my first concert, he countered, "That was my last one!" The interview with the two of them was one of the easiest and hopefully one of the better ones I've ever done.


You'll have to wait for GR52 to read the entire conversation. The concert? It was Carbon/Silicon's first in the U.S. and it was great to finally hear the songs with a full band, and not relying on samples, loops, or effects in any way. With rhythm by Leo "Eazykill" Williams (B.A.D.) and Dominic Greensmith (Reef), the live versions have a lot more punch than the MP3s. They're more realized, deeper, and tougher. If you have to compare them to other songs from Mick Jones' canon, I'd say they mix the stripped down, vulnerable sound of The Clash's "Stay Free" with the wordplay of No. 10 Upping Street-era B.A.D. A lot has been said about the new band's use of technology to write and distribute their songs, but onstage the performance was entirely live, and so was the chemistry between the players who interacted, jammed, and smiled throughout the 75-minute set. Amazing musicianship and energy--you could tell the band would rather be nowhere else on the planet.


Although "What the Fuck" has a huge "Clash City Rockers" riff in it, Carbon/Silicon has a policy of playing no old songs–so no Generation X or Clash songs. The separation seems to be one element that keeps the shows fun for the band--not having to repeat the hits, but staying creative and letting their new songs evolve according to their age and experience. One of the noteworthy aspects of Jones and James' careers is that they've always allowed themselves to evolve. The Clash delved into funk, hip-hop, and reggae, while Gen X was the first punk band to have a dub. Afterwards, Jones and James further explored hip-hop (B.A.D.) and electronic music (Sigue Sigue Sputnik), and Carbon/Silicon is the next step. It connects the tech elements of their later bands and the raw energy of their original groups, and is cemented by the confidence of having a huge musical track record--not giving a shit about needing to prove one's musical mettle or establishing a musical career. The excitement is as pure as can be, and the songs were made with hi-tech tools but are ultimately more human than ever. I feel like they read the morning paper, put down their coffee, pick up guitars, and record a song. But it's not depressing; it's quite astute, incredibly melodic, and actually hopeful--but shockingly unedited. I'm not going to go into every song but download the rough MP3s of "The News" and "War on Culture" or, better yet, buy the finished CD to see what I'm getting at.


A few faces in the crowd: My friend and photographer Ben (that's his lens peeking out of the corner in the first photo) saw his pal and Bones Brigade vet Lance Mountain in the crowd, along with his son Lance Jr. The two Lances are huge Clash fans, and the elder one showed us some movies on his camera of his new skating pool. Along with his current gear, check out his art (as seen on Ray Barbee CD packaging) at lancemountain.com.


This is Lawrence, who was handling press for the the band and happens to be a longtime GR reader. The band was in high demand and on a super tight schedule, but he squeezed us in between the guys' soundcheck and dinner because he digs our mag. Thanks, Lawrence!