Interview: Jesse Malin

This Saturday, NYC singer songwriter Jesse Malin will hold his annual holiday show at the Stone Pony. 2011 has been a very pleasing year for Malin whether he was touring in support of 2010's Love It To Life (Sideonedummy) or reuniting with his old band D Generation. He took some time to talk to us about his recent U.K. tour, opening for Guns N Roses and Saturday's show.

1) You recently came back from a U.K. tour. How did that go?

It was super fun. We were playing my first record, The Fine Art of Self Destruction, from top to bottom and then a grab bag encore insanity. Audiences over there are very enthusiastic. We’ve been on the road for 19 months but it breezed by pretty quickly.

 

2) How does the overseas crowd differ from the American crowd?

They come early, they watch the support bands, they sing and shout along and seem to get their money’s worth. The pound is worth more than the dollar anyway. They drink more tea than us. Sometimes they can even suck down beer at room temperature without seeming to notice.

 

3) Your other band D Generation recently performed with Guns N Roses. What was that like?

I flew from London Heathrow airport, dropped bags, switched gears, switched voices and switched pants and started the D Gen / GNR dates in Detroit. They put us on late so we played to almost as many people as Axl. It was a lot of fun running up and down the ramps and risers trying not to fall off the stage during our 60 minute slot.

 

4) D Generation played a handful of reunion shows this year. How was it jamming with the old band again?

At first I felt a little bit lost not knowing how to approach it, but by the third show it was a total blast. Just drink tequila, go crazy and sing songs I wrote when I was 25 with four guys that I know so well, through the war and back.

 

5) Your annual holiday show at The Stone Pony is coming up. What can we expect from the show?

We always end up with a few surprises at these shows, we’re still trying to figure that out. We definitely will be playing stuff off of all of my records and some holiday tunes. These are some of the last shows that we have booked for a long time. The crowd down there is good and that PA system is loud. We also have great support from U.S. Royalty, The Amboys and Joseph West.

 

6) What bands are you currently listening to?

Blood Red Roses, The Biters, Dropkick Murphys, and old Clash and Rolling Stones records over and over.

 

7) You've done plenty of collaborations in the past. Are there any artists that you'd like to work with in the future?

I’d like to do a spoken word record with Jimmy Carter about peanuts.

 

8) What plans do you have for 2012?

To make a new Jesse Malin record and a new St. Marks Social and a new D Generation record. Get some new sneakers too, while I’m at it.

Tickets for Saturday's show at the Stone Pony are on sale right now via Ticketmaster. Doors open at 7pm.