GET YOUR ROCKS OFF!

Look out, Mammoth. Here comes Dick Swagger.

By Wolf

In our final installment of the Mammoth Rocks Tribute Band Interview Series we talk to Dick Swagger of the Hollywood Stones. Seeing as Keith Richards is in and out of rehab, your odds of seeing the actual Rolling Stones live are about as good seeing a Jonas Brothers greatest hits album. The Hollywood Stones (performing Aug. 28) have been around for 16 years.

Sheet: How did the idea for this tribute band come about, besides the obvious love for the Rolling Stones?
Swagger: I was in Hollywood trying to get a band together to play some original music and keep my voice in shape. I had some friends that were doing a Queen cover band and they were getting booked a lot. So I hooked up with their agent and got some guys together.
Sheet: What era of the Rolling Stones do you guys perform?
Swagger: We mostly do the Mick Taylor era, that’s the look we’re going for. But we play mostly ‘60s and ‘70s Stones as far as the songs are concerned.
Sheet: There’s a lot of Rolling Stones cover bands out there. How do you set yourselves apart?
Swagger: Over the last few years some other Stones cover bands have been popping up … I stay in contact with most of them, and we’re all good, there’s no beef. Except for this other group called Sticky Fingers. That was our original name, but we had to change it because they were stealing our gigs. They played in Mammoth last summer, and I’m positive that they were booked by the promoter with the idea that they were us.
Sheet: Tell me a bit about you’re resume, it’s seems like you’ve gotten a lot of accolades from people like Dick Clark, Slash from Guns ‘n Roses, and  the L.A. Times.
Swagger: We’ve been playin’ for 16 years so we’ve played just about everywhere. We were on the Dick Clark show “Your Big Break.” That was our connection with him.
Sheet: What about Slash?
Swagger: We did a show in Hollywood with Slash. He’s a pretty laid back dude. You know, he wears flannels and chucks. He’s definitely the opposite of Axl Rose. I don’t know how those guys were in the same band together.
Sheet: I think just about every human is the opposite of Axl Rose. Is this a full-time gig for you guys? I’ve always imagined a member of a tribute band who’s secretly a dentist during the week.
Swagger: It’s hard to get gigs midweek and California is expensive, especially when you’ve got car payments and a mortgage. It’s tough to be just an entertainer. I’m a contractor for a phone company on the side.
Sheet: Do you ever take the character “Swagger” beyond the stage?
Swagger: No, once the costume comes off that’s it. I mean, early on we did some crazy stuff but we’ve definitely mellowed out a bit.
Sheet: So have you  ever met the actual Rolling Stones?
Swagger: My brother has. He’s a professional photographer. I don’t know if he’s met Mick, but he’s met Keith Richards. He’s on tour with Ringo right now.
Sheet: How many times have you seen them perform?
Swagger: Ah man, probably 14 times. The first time I saw them was in 1981 for the “Tattoo You” tour, tickets were $12.50. You can’t even park for $12.50 anymore. I saw them on their last tour at the MGM Vegas and I bought two tickets and it ran me around $700!
Sheet: No tribute band discounts?
Swagger: Nope. No deals.
Sheet: If they ever saw you perform, do you think they would show you love?  Because Super Diamond has played with Neil Diamond a few times and he loves ‘em.
Swagger: Um, yeah it’s hard to say. I really don’t know. I don’t think they would go out of their way to check us out. But we used to play every Thursday at this club in LA, and I guess one night Mick Jagger showed to see us but he showed up on Tuesday instead. When we played that Thursday we we’re kinda hoping he would show. He never did.
Sheet: Typical Jagger … spacing on the date.
Swagger: It’s kind of a funny story. The manager at the club was pissed off at him because he supposedly walked out on his tab. But really it was his entourage just putting drinks on his tab. He never even ordered anything. The manager was venting for days about Jagger’s stupid looking sweater.
Sheet: When I see a tribute band of a group I’m a big fan of, I instinctively expect them to not live up to expectations. I’m sure you’re aware of this fan mindset. How do you deal with that kind of pressure?
Swagger: We just come out and kick ass straight away! A lot of times we don’t even have a set list. The Stones didn’t do that. We just work off the crowd.
Sheet: So you guys take requests?
Swagger: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. It’s impressive when you yell out a song and the band plays it.
Sheet: Are there any songs that you guys are sick of?
Swagger: Yeah, I’m a little tired of ‘Start Me Up.’ Mostly because they play it 3 or 4 times during football games. It’s always like, “Staaaart me up” every 5 minutes. I’m not tired of playing it, just tired of hearing it all the time. Besides a lot of our fans like the b-side stuff anyway.
Sheet: Being from the LA area it must have been pretty easy to find a group of musicians that also looked like the original members of the band.
Swagger: Well, you can do a lot with wigs and make-up. It was a bit of luck I guess. Everyone in the group is a musician first. But we try really hard to create the image, whether it’s the clothes the body movements or whatever.
Sheet: Do you think if you were ever in a room with a bunch of other Mick Jagger impersonators, a Jagger-off might ensue?
Swagger: If you can arrange it I’d show up. Instead of a room full of Elvises, it would just be too many Micks, we could even do the parachute thing. But I think I’d rather see a room full of Keiths.
Sheet: What are you going to open with at Mammoth Rocks? I know you at least pick your opener.
Swagger: It depends, probably something hard and kickin.’
Sheet: Come on, gimme something.
Swagger: I don’t know … maybe “Start Me Up.”