 And we are live, live on the metal voice. First time on the show, Alan. First time on the show. The attack. A lot of birth back. So you guys are like virgin colors. Oh. Let's not go on to that album of cover. I don't know, I still can't believe that. It was a big mistake, that's what Julie said. I mean, just that, I guess, yeah, you don't see that in a record store, but there aren't any record stores, so whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. James Kodak. Yes. Here on the metal voice, first time guest. It's an honor and everybody's looking forward to the show, glad you're here. You get a double. Yeah, that's right. You get the double horns right there to double horns. So, former Scorpion drummer. Yeah. Kingdom Come, founder, right? And still carrying on with the band. And you know what, look at this. Oh, right. Do you remember this sucker here? I know that. You know what? That sucker. That sucker is so great. The new revenge album. I'm very proud of it. I think it's great. I mean, where do we begin? James, I guess the first question is, what have you been up to? Well, we, Scorpions, We Party Ways, the end of 2017. And it was at McEvole. I'm still friends with the guys and everything's good. And then let's go back to about 2010. We were playing around and I went to Lenny, the original singer for Kingdom Come. We met up in Hamburg. He would come see us. And obviously I go on, cool. Cause we did a, it was Kingdom Come, Alice Cooper, Scorpion's tour of Russia. We did about, probably about 12, 13 dates. So I was seeing them a lot. And man, he's just still great. Always has been. And I was like, well, we just, and that's our retirement, Scorpion's. This is 2010. So two, three years, I'm going to have to have something to do. So I was going to work on my band at Kingdom Come, re-getting up, you know, talking to all the people. And it was going to be the original lineup. Then, gosh, I get a call one day and it's like passing, hey James, you know, we decided to not retire. We're going to make another record. I'm like going, yes. On one hand, I was like, oh my God, look all the stuff I've done on the other hand because I had a new revenge with Carrie Kelly and Tim Ripper Owens. And I was going to do, I was working on my band and doing, going to do Kingdom Come. That's three. And, but, you know, so I went back to Scorpion Land which I'm thrilled to death still to this day. And then finally, we did part ways in the 2017. And I was already kind of working on it, but honestly, I needed a break. So I took about a year, a year and a half and kind of just said, I'm staying home. I go swimming every day. I take my walks and go do this, ride my bike. And it was wonderful. But the show must go on. So I was, I was like on Kingdom Come. So we picked that up and next thing you know, Lenny calls me one day. I had some shows book and says, ah, you know what? I changed my mind. I think I don't want to do it. I'm like, oh, what? Like, blah, blah, blah. So it's the original four guys, me, Johnny B. Frecklebass, Danny Stagg on guitar, Rick Steyer on guitar and me. And I pushed really hard from the beginning to get Keith St. John to take Lenny's place. If anybody knows anything about Keith St. John, he's phenomenal singer, really cool, cool human. And you know, it just kind of fell into place. So we went and placed some shows and here we are, COVID. 2020, we had about, gosh, we had probably about 40 shows booked, which doesn't sound like a lot, but the planet is pretty big and you got a good point B and a lot of flying and all that. And then everything got put on hold, as you guys know. Yes. So we picked it up in 2021. Out of those 40 shows, maybe 15 of them got rebooked and a lot of people went under. So we played about four or five last year. And it just, it is what it is. We're trying to figure out our next move. Okay. All right. Yeah. So this could lead to the world. That's a wrap. That's a wrap for the show today. Good talking to you guys. Thank you. I'm hoping to let a record deal you. It's not just touring on that. Well, I mean, there, there's a couple of situations. You know, it's not what it used to be where you could go and get tons of money and go make an album and everybody got to shove some in their pocket. And you get enough basically to do an album and do it right. Plus, you know, even if you go out to tour, we got to pay up most times our own expenses, everything from flights to sometimes hotels and this and that. You know, we could make an album, but you know, I like to do it the right way. We could, my really good friend has a great studio and I've recorded a few albums there. And it's just, you know, like I said, the COVID thing sent us for a loop but we're kind of talking about pitching around some ideas and stuff and we'll see. Okay. Well, let me ask you this. Yes, sir. I remember, like, I'm going to repeat myself because I say this in other shows. Redivan Fleet, they come out, right? Everybody's going great band, but they sound like Led Zeppelin. Right. But I'll and I remember when Kingdom Come came out, came out, it was like the same friggin' deal. It was the exact same thing. Not that you sounded like Led Zeppelin, but you kind of borrowed that sound, we'll say, right? Well, you had a vocalist that, it was the vocalist. What vocalist? Redivan Fleet people, what do you say to them? Man, I'll tell you what, they're a great band. I saw clips of them live and I've never seen them live, but man, they're like great. Who cares? And watching it from this side and not from being in the band, I'm like, those guys handle it great. It's like, what are we supposed to do? This is what we're into. We may sound a little bit like that. They're a great band and they sound great and they have their own trip. So, man, I always said earlier, or years ago, back in 1942, I think of why. You know, if you're gonna be compared to somebody, be compared to the best, you know? And when we were giving those comparisons to Led Zeppelin, I was like, oh, this is awesome, you know? Unfortunately, our singer, he didn't like that at all and he tried to avoid it and kept saying, no, we don't. Why are you saying this? The interview is all, and I'm like, let me just say, babe. Babe, didn't he do that? Hey, man, he's not the only guy that did it. He was just gonna say the same thing as Robert Blatt. Come on. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but if you're gonna sort of get that vibe of it, be prepared for the criticism, right? Yeah, well, you know, everybody's different in that thing and I would have just said, thank you very much. Are you kidding me? Exactly, exactly. And that's what I said because I was, you know, I played that Led Zeppelin 4 8-track tape about 10,000 times and I'm going to play drums, you know? So I'm the first to say that, you kidding? Embrace it. It's funny, you know, back in the day, you know, I think Ozzie and Gary Moore wrote a song called Lead Clones and I think they were targeting you guys. And it was, you guys were vilified. And basically it was, you know, Lenny Wolfe's voice had some similarities, but their music was completely different. And I still love that second album. I listen to it all the time. I do too. And that's what we were doing when we started back up again here just a few years ago. We're playing songs from the first album and the second album. And some translate better live and some don't. And we just, man, the second album we did with Keith Olson was phenomenal. The first one we did with Bob Rock, who everybody knows now. And man, you know, I love it. That's why I came back to it because I'm like, hmm, I could do whatever I want. I couldn't do my band. I kind of did it. I did four albums of my own tour and stuff. But man, you know, it's a tough thing to get it. We, you know, we had to deal with a European label and stuff and the money's just gone downhill. You got to do it right. You really got to spend some money or you're going to get an album that does sound like a great album. And you know, I'm all about being great. I think I'm getting, I'm getting questions in the chat. And if you're okay, we could take them if you want, you know? And I mean, and sometimes you could show your side of the story too, right? I want, I came out saying I want to know about James's, what James thinks about the Scorpions legacy. Is legacy, you mean like their history and everything? Well, he should be a little more specific in the chat. Scorpions put out an album called Legacy that I don't know about. Here, let me look at, let me look. Cool to see James with his long hair. Oh yeah, speaking of, I need to chop this off, man. I got really lazy about a year ago and just said whatever. And so now I'm like, cousin it. All right. I want to know how James became such a showman from behind the kit. Who were his influences? A man, you know what? Main influences was Don Brewer, the drummer from Grandpunk Railroad. Still so underrated that band. And of course, John Bonham. And, you know, Tommy Aldridge was on Don Kershner's rock concert in the mid-70s with Black Oak Arkansas. And man, he was just phenomenal. He's all doing this. He's doing that. He's playing drums with these hands. He was just going nuts, knocked this over, knocked that over. And I would never forget it till I, it's like imprinted into my brain. And so when I was playing in clubs, which was a lot from about 79 onward, I was in bars six nights a week, five nights a week. I mean, you know, six nights a week, you know, four or five sets a night sometimes. And man, you know, you play and you're playing cover songs or playing the same stuff. So I just got to have it kind of flipping around because I don't want to say out of boredom. But, you know, you just invent new things. And when I started getting a response on it, I said, okay, I'm going to do this and go nuts. And then it just kept going. And when you're in a club situation, it's everybody notices it. So, hey, man, I like the attention. Oh, yeah, I mean, I'm watching you guys live. Last time you were here, month you were out at the Scorps and we were there and you can't keep your eyes off of you when you're playing. You know, I'm like, what did you say? Can you repeat that? No, I'm really flattered because I mean, sometimes, you know, thank God we got video screens and lights and this stuff blowing up and everything. But, yeah, man, we're putting on, it's called a rock show for a reason. You're showing off and doing whatever it is you can do to entertain people because I know when I go to see, man, I love going to see Kiss. I saw them just a few years back. They're great. They're better than ever. They put up the best show in rock and roll. You know. Here is, K-Man wants to know, and I guess I should clarify the question. It's not the Scorpions legacy, it's his legacy in the Scorpions. K-Man wants to know, what do you think about your legacy in the Scorpions? You've been in the band 21-something years, right? You're good. Yeah. You took over for Herman. You know, okay, you took over for Herman. Hey, we need a drummer here. Herman's out, you're in. What's going on? Oh, well, I record a lot with Keith Olson. Keith Olson produced the Crazy World album. That's the one with the change and all that on it. And I'd already done probably four albums with him before for other people, and he did the second Kingdom Come album. Anyway, you know, I'd go and hang out because the studio was like, I'm off from my house. I'd go visit, say, hey guys. And I'd already known that, got to know the Scorpions, how much to just rock tour and all that. And then, you know, I'm hanging out playing, doing this. I had my own band called Wild Horses. I think our album went nickel. I'm Josh. And, you know, literally the phone rang one day and it was the manager. Hey, this is the manager of Scorpions. The guys want to know if you'd like to come over and have a play. And we're going, sure. And I'm, what am I going to say? No, to the game. So I flew over man and it's always much cooler in those situations. I already knew the guys pretty well. I'd done the third McCauley-Schinker album. So I got to work with Michael and, you know, rock and roll is a really small world. And it just, it just fell into place. And all those years, I think of playing in bars and clubs. And I mean, I'd already played Rocky, like a hurricane, big city nights, the zoo and no one like you 1,000 hundred times. So when I went in to play the first time, I was like, oh, this is great, you know? And do you remember like a few songs in rehearsal? Oh yeah, of course. Rocky, like a hurricane, big city nights and the zoo, of course, just the ones, I'm like, oh, this is great. And I remember we did not play no one like you because they didn't want to play for somebody. But it was great. And then we started working on some new material right off the bat. And, but, you know, I hung out and we got on and then they called, said, hey, do you want to do this upcoming tour? And that was in support of the Pure Instinct album. And that started in May of 96 and it went on, gosh, forever of that year, up until Christmas time. So, and after that, then, you know, they said, well, you know, it looks like things are pretty good. But they never really say, hey, you're in the band. Who was that? There was somebody else who said that. We never got excited. Yes, you're in the band. Was that, it was Michael Kiske. Was that? Michael Kiske from Halloween. He kind of rehearsed with the band, but they never officially said you're in the band. I, yeah. He's kind of, you just kind of went along. It's a thing. But, I mean, I felt great about everything, but when the tour ended, it was not like, okay, we'll see you in February. It was like, all right, have a nice Christmas. And, but everyone did continue on. And they called, you know, then it was like on, hey, we're going to make another album. And that was the I to I, I can't even say that album. So, you know, when we did it in Austria, everyone went over, hung out a lot. I'd go over there for like 10 days at a time, record some tracks and everything was being written as we went, which is a luxury because it's very expensive in the studio. And it was phenomenal, man. And I got to put in, I have a lot of input on that. Not so much the loops cause I wasn't a fan of that, but the songs were great, man. You know, if you dissect those songs and may be recorded in a different way, it would be great. But the climate- That was the biggest complaint at the time. Yeah. That was the biggest complaint at the time, sort of the loops. Yeah. And, but, you know, everybody was kind of doing it to be, cause just try to stay relevant. We have to go with this. I mean, everybody and, you know, producers, you know, pushing you in one direction and you're, he's like, oh, no, but this is whatever he's doing. You know, but no, it's like, but you know, you got to try to balance it. And I felt it was too unbalanced, but the songs are great. There you go. Only one year later. Yeah, I know. I just, it kept going in that. And then we did the orchestra album, the acoustica situation. And, and one thing I'm fortunate in this department, I'm able to play any genre. And that's from my, my years of, you know, I went to university school of music for three years. I mean, I didn't sleep for three years cause I was at school all day and then I was playing in bars all night. Sometimes, and I'd go to bed at like four in the morning, and get up and be at school at eight 30. So. Yeah, yeah. Tell me about, I guess the unbreakable, then you're at unbreakable, right? Oh, yeah. That was a return to sort of, did you tell them, hey guys, man, we got to really, I could see you're the new guy. You don't want to stir the waters on eye to eye, right? Like we're doing some lutes, you're like, okay. I don't want to bite my tongue here. Okay, okay. I'm the new guy. All right. Yeah. No, it was actually, Rudolph was mentioning a few things here and there. He's like, we got to make an album and get back to our roots. And I was like, yeah, let's do that. And sure enough, man, you know, we'd go down to Rudolph's basement studio and kind of jam around and he had all these ideas and stuff and then I get a cape and then we would do some more. And then there, he put scratch vocals on his things and then Matias wrote some things and cause of course the voice from Evan and it all just kind of came together. And I thought Unbreakable was a phenomenal album. It was very rock and very true to form of what you would think scorpions when you say get back to the roots, you know? When you're in a room with the scorpions, like, I mean, what's that feeling? Like here's, you know, there's Rudolph and there's, they're just jamming away. Is it like unreal? Is it surreal? I pinched myself thousands of times, like, oh, you know, I mean, especially in the first few years, but you know, you get to be, you know, friends with people and once you're in a band with them, it's like being married. And, but I was always like, like, wow, this is great. And every aspect of that band, I was able to contribute to be involved with, you know, it wasn't just like they didn't have their secret meeting and whatever. And they'd be, you know, looking at artwork and album cover stuff and pictures and photos we did and stuff. And I was welcome to always kind of look right at, however, I also knew better than to overstep my boundary. So I was, you know, I felt like now I'm part of the band, you know, and I could say this or you stop and know the song and go, hey man, what if you did this or whatever? And they'd say vice versa. So it was, yeah, huh? Pitch. When did, and again, if I'm overstepping here, when, tell me, and you don't have to answer, like when the drinking came in, right? It was always there, you know, but- Did it get worse over the years? And no, I mean, when my ex-wife was pregnant with the third child during that, she wasn't drinking, so I wasn't drinking. So there's many, many times over the years where I didn't drink for like from 2008 to the middle of 2010. It wasn't like I'm walking around with a bottle of vodka in my hand and slosh. It was just like, you know, if you're out or wherever or we're out as a band or whatever, everything's on the house. People are always coming up with you and going, hey man, I got you a bottle of this, I got you a bottle of that. So yeah, man, I overindulged a few times as too many people. I'm not saying it's right. And it was just, you know, it wasn't like I couldn't play. I mean, I was sweating everything out like crazy. You know, but yeah, of course. And see, when you read stuff like that in print- I want you to clarify all these things. I want you to clarify everything. I'm giving you a platform to clarify this. I'm clarifying. You know, about the time, everything's pretty cool. I had one incident where I was taking what's it called I anti-depressants, because I could not sleep and doctor prescribed me whatever. So I'm taking it for a couple of months. And then one day I took whatever, I'd usually take it around four o'clock. So I'd be whatever, at about seven, I go, I can't remember. And I took it again and had a few drinks. And so I was a little go-whoo. And that was one show that I remember that was just not happening. And but other than that, you know, it was just a steady stream of you just kind of hang out and have a few drinks or a few more, you know? And, but, you know, it is what it is. It just always sounds worse when you read it or read about it in the, you know, whatever the way, are you doing an interview and somebody takes it and twists it, the whatever way and stuff. And 21 years is a long time to be in a situation like that. And it just kind of, I mean, several years before we parted ways, the main manager who had been involved for like 12, 14 years passed away, tour manager passed away. And it was like everything kind of has changed a bit. Not for the worse, I would say it just changed a lot. And I don't know, I felt like I was kind of more on the outside at that point. So, by the way, do you find it was more of like, I'm parting too much versus, man, I'm starting to get this alcohol problem. And we all have friends who've had addictions, right? You're not alone if it was that case. We all have friends, you know? I'd say a little bit of both because, you know, there's so much downtime, you know, in which, you know, I had, I commuted to Europe forever. And, you know, I'd go over there and maybe rehearse on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or whatever, a Sunday Monday, we would play that weekend on Friday and Saturday. So I've got four days to kill. Fortunately, I like to exercise. I like to cruise around. I like to stay occupied. And we have this, there's this new thing called the internet. Oh, well, I, you know, thank God for all that. It's a fad. Get me out of the, sometimes, what? It's a fad. I, yeah, it's like the hula hoop. Yeah. Or as Al Gore called it, the interweb. We invented the interweb. So all in all, I mean, you know, we have our ways. And like I said, man, I would just not drink for a while. Never really went anywhere until 2016. I did go down to Antigua to Eric Clapton's Crossroads. And I was going to go down there for 30 days and then they asked if I wanted to stay two more weeks. And there was only like 12 of us at the place and it was beautiful. And there was a trainer three days a week and a swimming every day. And the counseling was, you had one on one. There was like six, seven counselors for 12, 14 people. So you were always learning everything was, you know, this, that meditation yoga, you name it. So I got a lot of that end up staying there like 92 days or something. And, I mean, do you think today when you look yourself, you go, you know what? I do have a problem. I do have an addiction. Oh yeah. First of all, yeah, I'm an alcoholic. You know why? Because I like to drink. It makes me feel good. Where does it end? You know, and I'm not the only one, but I'm not, I'm not saying blaming anyone else but myself, but it's like, it's like when you have the gene, it's so to speak. In a lot of the meetings I've been to, the gene is like, it's something that's born into you. I mean, I've cruised for years. I mean, everything was cold, blah, blah, blah. Just, you know, really weird way. I took a couple of years and didn't drink. Another year I didn't drink. Year and a half didn't drink. And then I'd start back up slowly, of course. And in a way, that might have been a mistake because if I just kept drinking, it wouldn't have been a big issue. I don't know. I'm not complaining about it. Kids, don't try this at home. No, no, no, look. I mean, I used to smoke cigarettes and it was like the same sort of process. You know, you stop, you start, you stop. It's like a learning thing. Oh my God, my ex-wife, it was endless. And my thing was, I was, because I've always come in anti-smoking. If you could do whatever you want, just don't like it around. But she'd go, hey, will you pick me up some smokes at the store? And I'd go, no. And I tried that about 50 times and it was just hell to pay after that. So, I'd be going out of the door, I'd go, hey, you want some cigarettes? Hmm, anyway. Or get a really comfortable couch. Yeah. With that? Get a really comfortable couch, if you're gonna say no. I had really good friends with that. And since I paid for it, I thought, hmm, well, I'll get to know you a little better. James. Yes, sir. I had a headline yesterday in Blobbermouth and I'm just gonna say it, you know? Like, Mickey D was sort of in the waiting, watching the shows. Did you ever get that sense that, man, something's not right? Honestly, no. But I mean, if you're gonna replace me, get somebody really good. Mickey's a great drummer. I met him when he started with Don Dawkins. And great guy, and I see him play with King Diamond. And you know, over the years, running into each other. So, but like I said, I was in Antigua at the thing. And I talked to the guys about once a week or so, but I never had any indication that anything was gonna change. And because that year also, there was only a handful of shows booked for the whole year. It was only like maybe 10 shows. So, a couple went by and they got some kids from Greece to fill in and then they kept going, man, you've got to stay there. Stay there all you want. I'm like, oh, okay. So I did. And then things seemed cool. And then months, I came back to LA in July. And I mean, we didn't talk about splitting ways to like November or something. So I was actually really surprised about that. And, you know, they're smart guys, man. They got a business to run. And as they would say, they're in their twilight years, so to speak. And they just don't want to take any chances on any trouble. I don't blame them. So I said- That's a good attitude. That's a good attitude. Yeah, man. They're smart. They've been at it. But it must have hurt, though. Like, I mean, it's like the Scorpions, man. It's the Scorpions, man. Of course it did. But it was actually, I was really surprised, taken off guard. And I think we were on the phone that day for like two and a half hours, going back and forth, back and forth and stuff. And, but they were so good to me, man. You know, like that. That's why, like, aren't you pissed off? Why would I be pissed off? It just is what it is. It's like, you know, that's why somebody goes, well, why'd you guys get divorced? Or you and your wife get divorced? Well, what do you think? We didn't get along, or she punched me in the head, or who knows, you know. Yeah, yeah. But what's the dynamic? Is it like Klaus and Rudolph or Klaus, Rudolph and Matthias? And the others are considered side men? Or like you said, you were able to contribute. Do you think that's still the case moving forward? Sure. I mean, it's, of course, Klaus, and Rudolph and Matthias, they're the three amigos, right off the bat. You know, in a situation like that, you know when to not overstep your boundaries, and especially you learn a lot from being on the road, or on the tour bus, or on the plane, we're talking constantly. And my contributions to some of the songs that I co-wrote were mostly lyrics and arranging. And on Unbreakable, I co-wrote four songs, I think. And one of them, I wrote the lyrics too, and Klaus didn't change a word. I was like, oh, wow. Okay, but that took a little getting used to it. And when you're writing lyrics for a guy like that, you have his voice in your head and you've already got the track. It's pretty easy to do, you know. But it's still, I wouldn't insist on anything. You just kind of go, okay, cool. I was watching the moment of Glory DVD the other day and I called Jimmy and I don't like to get your impression. Mateus Jabs is his guitarist's own. How come nobody ever talks about those guys being one of the greatest guitarists around? Just his tone alone is unbelievable. It's a mystery to me because the guy's phenomenal. He's one of the very best guitarists I've ever played with or known or whatever. I mean, he's up here with all the other greats. And I don't know what it is. But, you know, I mean, the whole band's great. Everybody in the band's good at what they do. And then Mateus is outstanding, I think. What about, here's another question. What are your favorite songs from the Oolly John Roth era? Huh, so many great songs. We did a medley of four songs and one was Steam Rock Fever. I believe that was with Oolly and many other ones. Speedy's coming. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Yes. And if you were at the top of the list of songs from that era. That's a train. Yeah, God, that's good. There's three. There's one more or two more from that era. She's a woman here, man. Yeah, I love that song. Look at them. We're gonna nail them all. I know you guys know more than I do. But, man, Oolly was phenomenal, man. And I wasn't, I didn't really follow Scorpions up until, you know, the early 80s. Mateus was in and their songs were on the radio 24 seven. And I couldn't afford to go out and buy an album every time something cool came out of the radio. So it was just on the radio all the time here. And, but man, what a great, this part of Scorpions with Oolly, this part of Scorpions with Mateus, you know, and it's just like, wow. And Shankar, you forgot about Shankar. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and, you know, and it's drive. Wow. What a group of guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you played with them too, which is amazing. I know. Alan? No, I just, Yeah, that's it. I just, recent comments have really quite came out in Mickey D's very, very complimentary in all the interviews of your playing. But he had a gut feeling that you, you had a sense that something was going on and we're here learning today that that wasn't the case at all. Not, I said not one bit because I would, had I known something was going on, I would have checked out after the 30 days that I agreed to go down there to Antigua because there were two shows that I wasn't gonna do it. And I'm not sure if he built in or whatever, but that's all we got. And there was, we were talking all along and there was never indication of any that we were gonna part ways, but understand. All right, we got a question on Dubai. Let's clear, let's clear this all up. Dubai, what happened in Dubai? Let's clear this up. Let's clear it up here and now. No more headlines and this, that, what happened? Okay, so me and Pavel were flying from somewhere, Russia to Bahrain. It was our final destination. We had to lay over in Dubai. And once I hadn't been drinking at all and it was a long ass flight. I could not sleep. I had a few glasses of wine to get off the plane. And my compadre bass player, Pavel, he's always telling jokes. So we tried to get around it, it was just he and we never travel alone. This is why musicians don't travel alone. Always have something to do. The buddy system, the buddy system. So we get off the plane and we go one area and we're in this room and there's probably about a hundred people in there and they're, everybody's milling about whatever. And Pavel keeps cracking jokes. And man, I can't tell jokes, but he tells them and they're really funny. He goes, hey James, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. And I'm like, oh my God. Well, that's not a good thing to say anywhere. And it's not so much that. But then I go, man, something ain't right here. We should be getting on one of these buses to go. So I went over to ask the chick at the desk. I go, excuse me, you know, look at our ticket. And are we in the right place? And she goes, oh no, you're in the wrong terminal. I go, what the hell, F, like that. Didn't think anything about it. Cause I don't usually cuss at all. I don't ever, but we were like gonna, she goes, and if you don't run, you're gonna miss your plane. We're like, oh, what do we do? How do we get here? So Pavel and I got our gear. We started to head out the door and here comes Polis. And I guess she didn't know that term. She thought maybe I was doing it to her. And I'd never do it towards anyone. And they started talking to me and they said, here, come over here. Then we went a little few steps further. Then a few more steps further. And all of a sudden there's like three or four cops around me and they just kept questioning. I'm like, guys, what's going on? There's nothing going on here. I just, you know, I'm just pissed because we're gonna miss our flight. And from there, they just went on. And then knowing at this point, we were gonna have to fly the following day anyway. So they took me in the airport to like this police area. And they start talking to me. One guy's just sitting there like, yeah, yeah, because their English isn't so good. And so they kept me over and there was one American guy in the place. And so it's not like jail like you see on TV. This place is kind of open and stuff. And he goes, oh man, dude, you'll be out of here tomorrow. I go, oh, that's good news because we got a show in two days and I can't miss it. And it didn't happen like that. Then nobody would give me any information. Nobody would tell me nothing. You know, I had management calling. So I hung around and that's really about it. I mean, you know, it's- Was that a month? No, I ended up being there 33 days. Wow. And then what's really crazy is I didn't really get to see anybody. Some lawyer guy came and some other lady from the government came and they were talking to me and I go, yeah, but what's going on here? They go, oh, you have a court date. I go, yeah, I've been here now, five, six days. Yeah, it's in another eight days or 10 days, something like that. I go, I go, what's going on? At that point, I missed the shows and I was like, oh, Jesus. You didn't say, what the- Another 10 days, what the- Being in a Muslim country, you should probably not say Jesus either. And so it just went, you know, went to court and they go, oh yeah, you're getting sentenced to 28 days. Well, this time, but this time I'm already there, 20 days or 21 days or whatever. So they moved me to another place and I got out and split and never looked back. But- What was the charge at the end of the day? Just like public, public- Swearing or- What's the terminology? Something towards woman. Lude remark towards woman. That was the charge. Terminology, alcohol, whatever, it ended up being just- Were you inebriated at the time or like- No, I was probably halfway there. But, you know, we were just laughing and kind of like going whatever and just sitting there waiting for this flight that we weren't going to get on. And- The wrong terminal. Exactly. Like I said, musicians never travel alone. So that- Did you get out like that one phone call? Like, God, it's close, it's close. Get somebody over here. No, I called management and they did what they could do and there wasn't a lot because it's a different whole different world then. Even though, you know, and also what I didn't know is Dubai changed. We played there twice, I think. And it was like party central, are you kidding? But then they changed the laws and all the private places like Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, all of them closed down and that you could only have a bar within a hotel or something like that. And the second you walk out of the hotel, you're breaking the law. You have to physically get a license to drink. I'm not kidding. So we didn't know that and we didn't think it had changed or anything. So, yeah, things happen, man. Yeah, you know what? You gotta, I guess, you know what? Whatever we think of their laws, we just gotta respect their way of life, right? I mean, that's just what it is, right? Yeah, and you know, and what I found out later, what they were doing is, because when you're in the airport, you're in the neutral zone, they can't, whatever, they were walking me here, then they were walking me there, then they walked me to the doors to go out of the airport. And then they were able to, whatever, lock me up, whatever you wanna say. But it's not like it is here. It wasn't like a Turkish prison or anything like that, or was it like just a room? I mean, no, no, it was a- For 30 days, where they're like some mean-looking dudes in there or what? Yeah, it was every nationality, but the guy I met, the American dude who was there, he was a big burly dude, and I became friends with him right away. There you go. But it's not that type of vibe. It was really kickback and, you know, as good as jail can be. Let's put it that way. All right, jeez. Not good, not fun, but I did write a book while I was in there, I wrote 180 pages, front and back and didn't stop. And I think I should try to get that out, maybe. Well, why didn't you? Yeah, you should. I know, it's pretty good. Yeah. So I've been talking, I did send it to a few people. What are the myths do we need to debunk here? But what else we got? What are the things you wanna explain to everybody that, you know, your point of view? I'm proud of every year I spent with the Scorpions. I'm still proud to have been there and I'm still playing drums like a Banshee when we do play. Kingdom Come is a hard sell. We were in the early days when we first started and now so because we're not like a slaughter or a Tesla or whatever. We never had those mega hits or whatever and we're still a hard sell. And we don't have our original singer which really didn't make any difference. We lost maybe two promoters out of like 20 who said, oh well, Lenny's not there where I could take the show. So other than that, you know, I'm feeling pretty good other than this, I tripped and fell and cracked my left hip. In November. How long ago was that? That was in early November and man, I didn't think anything about it but I couldn't get up and I was racing, not racing by water really fast to go see the World Series because I was out and about and I just tripped and fell, man and sober, thanks. And if I was drunk, I'd be riddled with guilt or if I'd been drinking, period but I'm just a klutz anyway. And I fall, zilling steps to my drum rise I've fallen up and down and more times than I can count or a fall off the drum thrown or whatever. And, but I lost track of what I was saying to the truth. You were rushing to get to the World Series. Oh yeah, the World Series, yeah, but I tripped and fell and man, I ended up being in the hospital for like six days, man. So they had big time surgery and put one of those rods in my left leg and my left knee was jacked. I had some fractures up here, hairline but they were still fractured. I know I'm a left lifting and my left arm but while being here in Louisville I did go out a couple of times and see some friends playing I sat and played and it's no problem. I could go play on a four and a half hour rock show right now, but it is what it is and I'm cruising every day. I'm up to about a little over a mile walking every day Are you like cutting down on the drinking? Is that, is that? No, I haven't been drinking. No, really good. No, part two of this story was the reason I came here was to visit my brother and sister and I was going into a joint here to hang out. Even though I'd been sober for a while I thought, this is a good time there's nothing booked for a checkup. So I did that and that happened the first week that I was at the place. And then I was back in the sister's place. You know, I mean, it was ugly, man. Walking was impossible. I had to use a walker. Then I graduated to a cane. Now I'm no cane and I'm cruising around and things are pretty good. Okay, good, good. And how long have you stopped drinking for? October 15th. Wow, look at you. You know what? Yeah, but you know what? The only reason I remember that is because when I checked into the rehab joint this last time, everybody's going, hey, I'm blah, blah, blah, I'm alcoholic. And they've recite their date and they'll do that everywhere. But here they said, okay, you need to blah, blah, blah. I go, yeah, but I don't know the date because I don't pay attention to that kind of stuff. They go, well, pick one. I go, okay. I'm gonna get that October 15th. October 15th. And so I've been cruising like, man, nobody's perfect, no, it's not easy. Of course not. But hey, man, I'm first to a day. I got a problem. When I was a kid, I had a problem. All I wanted to do was play drums and everything else, I don't care. How about like, they say when you stop any addiction, you sort of like, you know, you apologize to people that you maybe were, you're that lady in Dubai. Oh, you don't have a color of chick. That'd be getting trouble. You know, I don't, I have that immense thing going on. Immense, that's the word I was thinking about. Yeah, I mean, they talk about it in any meetings. I've been to tons of them. And I'm all for it, do whatever you want, but I don't have that list. I've never made a list like a lot. I need to call this sooner and apologize. I need to, I've never had that. And there's so many different levels of what you want to call alcoholism or you're screwed and you're that, whatever. Just kind of like, you know, it is what it is and, you know. Well, the first step is just admitting it, right? Yeah. The first step is admitting it. And then once you have admitted, then you can move forward, right? Yeah, I admitted that many, many years ago and many meetings ago and stuff. I mean, you know, I don't know if anybody out there if you're ever interested, go to an AA meeting, whether you're stopped drinking or not. They're actually very interesting. There's a lot to get out of it, good spirituality. And you know, there's always something and there's always a good story because everybody shares their stories. Sometimes it's, okay, are you good five minutes? Are you good five minutes? Oh, they have a speaker. It's always interesting, you know. Are you still friends with Athena Lee? We're civil? A good, good civil, you know. Yeah, she's, I mean, she's the mother of these wonderful children. And I talked to the youngest, my youngest today and you know, but we don't chit chat or I had just touched in base. Not that kind of a thing. We tried, when I got left Antigua, they are a clap of place. I went and moved back in with her actually because I talked to her while I was in there. And you know, that went along for a while was pretty, pretty good. And then, you know, she was doing some job where she didn't get older like around midnight. And I heard her rustling around in the bathroom and I know what she's doing in there. And then like, you know, what happens is you gradually go, ah, screw it, it's Thanksgiving. Oh, it's Christmas. I'll have a drink. It's just a cliche alcoholic story. Oh, man, I'll have another one. Okay, blah, blah, blah. And then I won't drink anything for a week. So, you know, there's so many more wonderful things to do with your life that, so anyway, your answer to the question. Yeah, she's cool. And her name is actually just Athena. Ali was never her official last name. What's her, Bass, I guess, right? Is it there? Yes. Yeah, and when I first got with her, I was, we'd be out and about, I go, look, I called her Bass. I know. Hey, but anything cool. What was the coolest myth she told you about like the Molly Crue guys that go over the years? You must have hung out with them, right? Oh, yeah. Crue guys? Yeah. Something that people say about the band that's really not true. I think the shooting up Coca-Cola thing might have been a made up story. Or he said something, or he might have said, well, it's not like we were shooting up Coca-Cola. I think Nicky said something to that effect, but it takes it and gets twisted. And then all of a sudden said, yeah, they ran out of what they were doing, so they had to resort to Coca-Cola. So who knows, and you never know about that stuff. And quite honestly, it's never like I sat around asking, we'd have Thanksgiving together, or Christmas, go over for Christmas, and the kids and the kids and all that. It's not like I ever, it's just like a regular family, well, not really regular, get together and just, you know. I'd be asking all kinds of questions. I'd be in there, go, what's up with that? What's up with that? Yeah, I mean. I probably wouldn't, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding, I get it, I get it. Yeah, you would. Yeah, I would. I like your armored sink shirt, by the way. Thank you. Those guys are great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what else you got? Well, are we talking about it, about Molley Crew? We could talk about anything you want, Molley Crew's course. Once you got anything to promote it, is there anything? Oh yeah, of course. Well, like I said, we started back on the Kingdom Come thing, and man, COVID really set us back. The next year we picked up shows, and then this last year was kind of like, it was so iffy, we were making up a few shows, and like I said, since COVID, what? Back phone, since COVID happened, sorry about that, since COVID, promoters have to be doubly careful about who they book, and they want a guarantee. And Kingdom Come is maybe a risky type of a band. However, we're great. We show up, we play, we leave. And so there's some talk about some stuff coming up. We're just trying to figure out what we really want to do. What about any other new music that you're working on? Like? Not really. I mean, I do roll around, my sister has a piano, and I play guitar, of course. Well, if you would call it playing guitar, suck at it. And I mean, just this whole thing here, what I did coming here, and the tripping and falling, I said, I gotta focus on this, because I can multitask when I'm playing drums, and I could sing and all that, but for the most part, I gotta kind of really focus on one thing at a time, and I've been doing this. I mean, I've done like 15 physical therapy, whatever you think, massage, where they do put electrodes on your back in five weeks. It was three a week, now I'm down just doing two a week. And today I went to the dentist. Nice, cleaning. It's ongoing. Okay, what are your favorite, what are your personal favorite drum tracks with the scorpions? I guess as a catalog. You mean all scorpions are from my drum tracks? You could do both. You could do from yours, and you could do from just in general. My favorite scorpion song is that I can't stay. Ba da da da, da da da da da, ba da da da da, ba da da da, ba da da da da, ba da da da, ba da da da, ba da da. I had to bother them and be like, please, let's play that song, and they didn't like it. And I love my drums on Unbreakable. I really love them. Herman had some great tracks, man. And you know, some of the early stuff has some really inventive 70s style drumming that's, you know, but gosh, man, I'll tell you what, the orchestra thing was pretty difficult and the acoustic thing, I had to really adapt. So all those, those are understated type albums. The challenge was really there. And then we'd go play it live and we toured playing with orchestras all over the place. That's, you really got to stay on your toes. So any of that stuff, I'm super proud of. And I always go back to Unbreakable because man, that album just kills it back. That song, love them or leave them. Thank you, Michael. I'm trying to think of the, I'm leaving you. I'm trying to think of what the drums do on that song. Well, it starts off like this. Yeah. Boop boop boop boop. Boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop. I didn't even met Herman. Yeah, I mean. Of course. Yeah. Going back to the beginning, we did that first sponsors of Rock Tour. It was Kingdom Come We Open, then Metallica. Then Dock and then Scorpions, then Van Halen. And Scorpions and Kingdom Come, we were label mates. So we stayed at the same hotel a lot because we were all on Polymer Records. And you hang out and then during that time period, we had a lot of nights off. So we were having dinner with the Scorpions at least once a week because we were on the same label. And then just, you know, Herman was always around and he was always a super nice guy to me. And, you know, he's great. And a good drummer to beat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know what? He was their sort of translator, which you kind of became in a way, right? The English, right? Herman was helping with the lyrics all the time. Yeah, that's why he ended up writing a similar. Rocking like a hurricane. Yeah, I know. But what's cool about that on one hand, they had a quirky approach to English lyrics, which fit with their sound and everything. And, you know, they were saying words and singing words that you normally like us Americans or in your case, you canucks. Canadians. Oh, Canadians. Sorry. Dynamite, what did you eat right after? Dynamite. No, I know, I know. Dynamite again. I'm sorry, no. That's Holland's favorite song. I made that mistake live at a drum solo once in Canada somewhere. Yeah. All right, see, I was at a show, okay, Gas Mask says, I was at a show, I was at the Philly Monster Rock Show, and that show was stupid hot. They broke out fire hoses and dozed the crowd. It was humid and it was like 100 degrees that day. Oh yeah. I remember many like that and that Philadelphia show. I mean, these were all stadiums and it was all, it was sold out almost everywhere. And, but oh no, Pittsburgh at the Three Rivers Stadium didn't sell out. Oh, that's right. There was only 36,000 people there. So it was an incredible tour and it was mind-blowing to say the least. But I remember we played in Akron, Ohio two days at the Rubber Dome or Rubber Arena, whatever it was called, it was outdoors. I remember that specifically two days in a row just, it must have been 110. So. Ask him, came as, just ask him who had the idea to do his rock and roll t-shirts with the tattoo live? The, I got the tattoo, the Rock and Roll Forever tattoo which of course, and yes it hurt like big time. And then, well, actually I was trying to design a shirt and I drum tech Francis who's actually now the drummer with Buck Cherry which I've so thoroughly got that gig. He was a really good artist. He could draw anything and he came and showed me a few logos a few different times. We tweaked a few things and he, we ended up going with that and that's how it all came to be. And he, I'm not sure, tell you the truth. Matt, you asked me. I'm not sure if the shirt was first or the thing on my back was first. But either way, it has a message. All right, what's going on with Lenny Wolfe? Any idea? No idea at all. I know his, he lived on a boat for years because he loved being on a boat and riding around and because there's more rivers and tributaries in Hamburg, Germany and any other city in the world. Seriously, I mean, they count like there's like 4,000 something all over the country. So he enjoys his stuff. And he goes, J-mo, I'm just gonna stay home and hang out on my boat. And I think him and his girl run a hotel or something. I'm not sure. Great singer though. Somebody asked about your tweets. You regret any of your tweets sort of that you had? Of course. You don't have to get into the tweets themselves but I'm just saying, do you regret any of them? Not really. Cause I try to keep a low profile on that and just kind of like, you know, I'm like, this thing with Carmine and Nikki recently, you say one little thing and it's taken out of context and it turns into like, oh, did you hear what Carmine said about Motley Crue? They're all using tapes. Well, geez, they're not the first band somebody said that about. I mean, I remember ELO in the late 70s, early 80s touring and they had tapes, big job. That doesn't mean Motley Crue is. But things like that, I stay away from. I'm just kind of across the board. Anything about animals, you know, anything about rock and roll, I'm hip too. And I follow a lot of people you probably wouldn't think I'd follow. And so go to my at Jay Kotak, K-O-T-T-A-K out there in TV land. And hit me up man. And I actually do, and on my Facebook as well try to respond to every message. Okay. All right. Well, that's good to know. And I guess is there any last stuff there, Alan? You want to go and mention ask? No, no, I'm glad you're, I'm glad you're recuperating and that's going well for your falling down and you're feeling good and you're sober. And we got some exciting, you know, hopefully that'll work out with Kingdom Come. And maybe, you know, see you do a small tour or something, make some money. Absolutely. And mostly what we were setting out to do was to get on festivals. Like we did the M3 festival a few years ago. And, you know, they put us on kind of right in the middle which is about the five o'clock time, or six o'clock time, which is great because everybody in the audience isn't plowed yet and they'll remember you. And then we get to hang out for the rest of the night and watch everybody else and goof off. But, you know, you know, getting in a van and just cruising around the country playing at concert bars, which is what a lot of guys have to do. That doesn't appeal to me. It's, you know, I'm a creature of comfort but I don't mind getting all sweaty and dirty either. So, you know, we'll see what happens with this Kingdom Come thing. Any ideas out there? Let me know. What about, actually, here's the last question. You supported Wasp on their second album, right? What was that tour like? Kingdom Come? Yeah, Kingdom Come supported Wasp. Do you remember that? Or maybe you weren't in the band by then. It was after the second album. I don't think so. And I don't think Lenny would agree to playing on a bill with Wasp. I know we toured with Black Sabbath, which was phenomenal. And that was the Black Sabbath, Tony Martin on vocals. And yeah, it was cool. But I don't recall playing any shows with Wasp. Maybe it was like after it was on a third album. Maybe it could have been, you know, you never know. Yeah, all right. All right, guys. Well, you know, I think everybody out there enjoyed the chat. You know, thank you for being honest and, you know, straight up. I mean, yeah, well, I appreciate you guys taking the time. We got a Jimmy K. We got an Alan Dixon. So you're the cousin of Jerry Dixon, right? Oh, we never even brought it. We never mentioned Warren. I just want to say, man, my time with Warren was excellent. I'm still sad about Janie Lane. And that ultraphobic album is still one of my favorites, as well as Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti. Yeah. Yeah. And Grand Funk Railroad Live, man, is like my drumming Bible. Anybody out there wants to learn how to play drums? ACDC, Back in Black, Grand Funk Railroad Live, Physical Graffiti. That's all you need to know. Learn about Rush. How about about Rush? Yeah. No, I love Rush. I went through, yeah. When I saw Rush three times before I even moved to LA. And I had the full on double bass. I had all that stuff. And I went from that one extreme to another. And actually, it was Lenny's insistence when we got King and Combo. And then I only played for him bass drum. He goes, don't you want to look different? I go, I never really thought about it. I just went double bass. So that's when I switched to single kick. So would you go see the Scorpions now? Would it feel kind of awkward? No, I saw them. Gosh. I saw them, I want to say, three years ago when they played in Anaheim. Me and the guys from King and Com, or no, me and Rick and his wife and my girlfriend, Tina, and a few others who we all went down to saw them. And you know, I remember I was also really good friends with a lot of the crew guys. Because you don't hang around. I'd go bother them. They're working on the guitars and go, hey, man. They go, go away. And the crew guys, you know, we're great. And you know, it was great seeing everyone. You know, and I go see them again. I don't think they're coming around any time soon. Well, you know what? I think both of you, both you, Mickey and yourself did a great job when you played with the Scorpions. You both did a great job. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate the compliment. Because it was just a phenomenal time. And I had a lot of great direction from the great producers we worked with. And from Rudolph and Claes and Matthias, and we all somehow worked very well. I'm super proud of all of it. Was Dieter really tough to work with? Did you ever work with him? We had never really worked with him. He came around, where did we? No, he came around. He was quite the disciplinary guy, you know? He was quite, you know. Yeah, but you know what happened with that? We were going to go do a rock album and get Dieter and he came a few times and something happened and we ended up with doing it with, oh, God dang it. Ah, I can't think of anything. Anyway, we ended up not doing it with Dieter. All right, okay. And on that note, here's a last message to you. Stay sober, James, it's better path, stay healthy. That's a last message to you. And they get double killed with that. Double horns, double horns, double horns, right there. Yeah, and you guys, thank you so much for having me. And you know, I don't know if anybody's ever said this. You know, doing an interview is like great therapy for myself, doing any interview, whether you talk for five minutes, 50 minutes or whatever. And it really, it reminds you of things and it keeps you focused on what you should be doing as opposed to what you did do or whatever. So, but hey. Well, that's why we're here. We're here for positive reinforcement. So, you know, you can, like you said, stay sober, stay on a healthy path because there'll probably be a lot of goodness when we're going that way, you know? Yeah, and again, I've talked to a few people about this and that and all that and playing with this or that. And I've been asked to play on a few, you know, it's not so much a tour, but it's what I was asked to do, which was going to be lengthy. It was, I didn't like their music and it's a little difficult, you know, to, I can't do it just to play something I don't like. And yeah, great, thank you, give me the money. I've never had been able to do that. And that's gotta be hard. Yeah, I'll keep you guys posted. We can talk on the interweb and. Sure, sure. Good old interweb. As we're hula hooping. Yeah. You know, thank you. Great talking to you, James. All the best. All right, all the best. Stay well. Stay healthy. All right, have a great day.