Interview: Billy Morrison (Camp Freddy)

I’ve fallen asleep to the dulcet tones of Mr. Billy Morrison many times over the past few years. Sadly, this is not because he lays beside me at night, but because of his old weekly podcast, Camp Freddy Radio. It was through this music-based show – co-presented by Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro – that I discovered Morrison and his many musical projects, both past and present.

Morrison is widely known for his guitar-playing duties in Camp Freddy, the renowned LA cover band, which also includes Navarro, Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver), Chris Chaney (ex-Jane’s Addiction) and Donovan Leitch Jr. (son of famed 60s folk star, Donovan). Over the past seven years, Camp Freddy’s live shows – which include high-profile guest appearances – have, essentially, became mass musical gatherings that celebrate some of rock’s finest songs. Alongside his Camp Freddy duties, Morrison fronts hard rock outfit Circus Diablo, and has played bass in The Cult.

With the collapse of radio station Indie 103.1, Camp Freddy Radio no longer fills my ears, and I miss Billy. So to fill this void, I contacted Uncle Bilmo to discuss his career thus far, and his plans for the future.

Stereokill: How did Camp Freddy intitially form? How did you meet the other core members of the band

BM: Donovan [Leitch] called me one day and told me he was involved in the opening of the Downtown LA Standard Hotel. He suggested we get a few guys together and play some covers. Nothing fancy and certainly nothing long term. I called [Dave] Navarro and [Matt] Sorum and that was it. Seven years later, we’re still doing it!

Stereokill: Over the years, the band has performed with a large number of esteemed guests, for example Slash, Tom Morello and Chrissie Hynde. How does it feel, for you personally, to perform alongside living legends on a regular basis? Are there any guests, in particular, that you are proud to say you’ve played with?

BM: Playing New York with Lou Reed is a personal highlight: I shot tons of drugs listening to that guy! Also doing a few shows with Robbie Williams was great – he has a fantastic rock voice that doesn’t get heard. And doing Iron Man with Ozzy [Osbourne] at a small venue like The Roxy in LA – well, it doesn’t get much better than that! But there are so many other highlights: Ronnie Wood, Paul Stanley, every time Slash gets up. Pretty much every show has a highlight for me.

Stereokill: Are there any atists that you’d like to share a stage with in the future?

BM: I’ve always wanted to do a few songs with Madonna, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Madonna would so get the vibe of Freddy and I think she would kill a rock song with us!

Stereokill: The band’s Wikipedia entry states that Scott Ford was the band’s bassist prior to Chris Chaney. Is this true?

BM: Yes. Scott was the bass player for the first year or so. Chris came in somewhere around 03? I don’t know – the memory’s a little hazy these days!

Stereokill: Will Camp Freddy ever perform overseas?

BM: Of course! We are in discussions right now for a show in Mexico – not overseas but you get my point! – and Japan has always been on the radar. A couple of calls with some UK guys have also taken place so I am sure we’ll get there at some point too.

Stereokill: For years you hosted Camp Freddy Radio on Indie 103.1 with Dave Navarro. Do you miss the doing show?

BM: Totally! I miss everything about it: being able to play whatever music we liked, and especially hanging with Dave each week. Now that Jane’s Addiction are kicking up, we don’t get to hang out as much. But I’m so glad Jane’s are out again, and with Nine Inch Nails too – awesome! It’s a shame that something like Indie can’t last – it was truly a special time, and having a show on the station felt like we were a part of a cutting-edge, truly independent operation. It shall rise again!

Stereokill: Can you give us any updates on the long-awaited Camp Freddy studio album – is there still going to be one?

BM: Yes, there will be a record. One day! When we all get around to finishing what we started.

Stereokill: How did you end up joining The Cult?

BM: Billy Duffy asked me if I would want to play bass in the band. I auditioned, got the job and did the Beyond Good and Evil tour. Lots of fun.

Stereokill: At around this time you formed Doheny with Pitchshifter frontman J.S. Clayden. Whatever happened to this band?

BM: I love Jon as a frontman. Great lyrics and great stage presence. I was also a fan of his previous band, Pitchshifter. So we wrote some songs together, had a laugh and put a line-up together. But I think Doheny suffered from being over-rehearsed and under-funded! *laughs* We played every note perfectly – who wants to see that?! – and had no money to get out on the road and get out of L.A. That was it. But some great songs came out of those years. We should release them, right?

Stereokill: You recently stated in your blog that you’ve been writing some music for later in the year. Are Circus Diablo still together, or is the plan to release solo material from now on?

BM: Circus Diablo is always together. We can get together and make music when we feel like it. I realized with Doheny that I needed to embrace a looser, more pliable, idea of what a “band” really is. Unless you’re 18 and still taking over the world, the time to rehearse every day for six hours, and trek around the world in a van, living off Ramen noodles and 7-Up, is over. At least, I don’t wanna’ do that anymore! So being able to find pockets of time in schedules to write, record and play shows with musicians that you respect and enjoy is a way better plan. I did that with the first Diablo album. I love Billy [Duffy] and Ricky [Warwick] and Matt [Sorum], and the timing worked out: we wrote and recorded that shit really quickly. Then we toured with a different line-up, and what does that matter? We played the songs and had fun. Then I got busy, the tour support dried up, and that was the end of round one.

Now I find myself wanting to record more music. So I began writing. And, of course, I am still very good friends with Billy and Matt. So the way I see it is this: write songs first, without worrying about what they’re for, or where they’re gonna’ come out. If the managers put a “Diablo Album Number Two” deal together, maybe we’ll do that. Who knows? All I care about is being creative and making some cool music, either solo or in a “band” environment.

Stereokill: Can you tell our readers the story behind the Stimulator record? How does it feel to finally release it?

BM: Stimulator was the name of a band that I had in the UK in the late 90s. We recorded an album for Geffen but it never came out. So when I read about Tunecore, and when the business started to lend itself to home releases – the indie, DIY approach – I wanted to finally release it. All the hard copies sold out and it still does good business on iTunes. I would call that a success. And that feels good.

Stereokill: What was the first album you ever bought, and what are your favourite albums of all time?

BM: The first album I ever had was a Gary Glitter album when I was about 9 years old. I think the first album I actually bought was a Slade album. Followed closely by Never Mind the Bollocks – that Pistols album is, as far as I’m concerned, the best record ever made. Behind that? Well, Bowie’s Ziggy, the Stooges’ Funhouse, any of the early Adam and the Ants demos. Maybe throw in a bit of Zeppelin, AC/DC and Sabbath, and then add the first NIN record [Pretty Hate Machine] and The Wildhearts’ Earth Vs The Wildhearts. Voila! – Billy Morrison’s Desert Island Discs!

Stereokill: Are you concerned with obtaining commercial success after so long in the business?

BM: *laughs* Well I doubt I’ll achieve commercial success now! If it hasn’t happened by now, it’s probably not coming! But who cares? I mean, I get to play with fantastic musicians, write, record and release stuff that I want to, and live a great life here in LA. What does commercial success matter? I pay the bills by working hard in many different areas – film, tv, radio, web, DJ, host, music – so achieving commercial success doesn’t really matter to me at all. As long as I can continue being happily married, earning a good living from the entertainment business, and stay drug free in the process, then I’m fucking winning!

Stereokill: What are your plans for the remainder of the year?

BM: I have a couple of exciting things happening later in the year that will become apparent. So I intend to release some music around those things – either another Diablo album or some solo stuff, whatever. So writing and recording is on the menu for me. I also hope to close a couple of things in the TV and film worlds that I have been concentrating on – and, again, once things are real, I’ll dish the details. Camp Freddy has some shows lined up which we’ll announce nearer the time, and the band also has plans for some “extra curricular activities.” So I suppose you could say that 2009 holds a lot of diverse possibilities for me.

Stereokill: What can you tell our readers about the recent screen-plays you’ve written with your wife, Jennifer?

BM: Nothing! No point in talking too much about stuff like that until they are on the screen.

Stereokill: Do you ever miss living in England?

BM: There’s a few people I miss, but the reality of living in the UK wasn’t really up my street. Call me crazy, but I prefer palm trees, swimming pools and blue skies.

Stereokill: Finally, what moments in your career do you consider to be highlights thus far, and where do you see yourself in ten years time?

BM: I think getting clean from smack and coke would be the absolute highlight of my life so far! Career-wise, I think being even a tiny part of The Cult’s history is pretty cool: I got to play Madison Square Garden, the main stage at Reading Festival, and Brixton Academy with them, and those are gigs that are pretty special. Playing on a roof in Times Square with Camp Freddy, with the police down below stopping traffic, and the neon billboards showing us playing, that was pretty spectacular. Circus Diablo on the Ozzfest tour felt pretty good. I was supporting a record that I was very proud of

10 Years from now? With any luck, Camp Freddy will still be playing the fun shit, I’ll be enjoying acting in movies, and the wife will be running our scuba diving business in Maui. Mmmm. Nothing wrong in dreaming!

Billy’s blog can be found here.