To borrow a line from "Sleeping Giant," the hopeful first single off Copper Sails' upcoming, buzz-worthy long-player, Hiding Place, "the world is waking up" to this Richmond, Va., quartet and its intoxicating blend of dreamy atmospheres and well-crafted, starry-eyed indie-pop.

Made up of Boomer Muth (vocalist/bassist), Jonathan Crawley (vocalist/guitarist), Kyle Crosby (keyboardist) and Jim Courtney (drummer), Copper Sails borrows liberally from influences like U2 and Brit-pop supernovas Doves, while propping up the piano-driven epics of Snow Patrol with strong, dark surges of rock. And yet, there is something different about Copper Sails.

Perhaps it's how Crawley and Muth blend their lead vocals to heighten the emotional, searching drama of their lyrics. Or maybe its how they get their complex guitar parts and Crosby's fully realized keyboard schemes to dance so easily together, or how the rhythm section of Courtney and Muth engage in stunning dynamics that lasso listening ears. Then again, maybe it's all comes down to in how rich the songcraft is and how, despite Copper Sails' somewhat ethereal aesthetic, each song — from the tidal choruses of "Still Lost" to the glimmering guitars of the title track and the relentless build of "Reckless Motorist" — is build on a solid structure, with strong, undeniable hooks.

Opening slots for The Strokes and Switchfoot have given the band broad exposure that's only grown in recent months, with "Sleeping Giant" appearing on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight." Help from industry heavyweights like Mitch Easter and Greg Calbi (U2, Interpol, The Strokes) with the sound of Hiding Place certainly didn't hurt. Full of wonder, expectancy and light, Hiding Place begs to be heard, and Courtney tells how Copper Sails does it in a recent interview.

Tell us how Copper Sails came to be, and how your sound developed.
Jim Courtney: Copper Sails came to be in early 2003 in Richmond Va. Jonathan (guitar / vocals) and Boomer (bass / vocals) had recently gotten out of a previous project and were looking to find a drummer and a piano/keyboard player to start anew. I heard about the band through a friend of a friend and had recently gotten out of a project myself. I went out and tried out with the band, and by that time, they had already settled on Kyle (Keys) after jamming with a number of other keyboardists. When I got there, they had already tried out a number of drummers.

The interesting story about me getting in the band actually comes from a song on our previous album Silhouette, and the song is called "Silo." "Silo" was a complete song through in a 7/8 time signature, and apparently all of the other drummers were struggling with a drum part on the song. Like I didn't struggle, too? I guess I did what I try to do even today in writing drum parts, and that was lock into a melody, probably [with] Jonathan, and follow it. When I did that, I wrote a drum part they were excited about it. I jammed a few more times with them and they offered me the job. They were three of the nicest guys I had ever met, especially in the music business. I just enjoyed being around them, and we seemed to meld together well as musicians, so I decided it was the place I wanted to be, and with that, Copper Sails was formed. Everyone else really seemed like they wanted to be there too. It was just a great environment. It is a choice I am really happy I made.

As for our sound developing, I think the guys would all agree that during the writing of Silhouette we were still developing and searching for our specific sound. Boomer and Jon had very similar musical tastes, and influences. Kyle and I each had our own set as well. So it took us some time to meld those influences and styles together. Silhouette was the start of that conglomeration, and while we were all proud of the album, it was when we started writing the songs for Hiding Place that we realized we had really hit on something that we were all really pumped about. We just started getting more and more comfortable with each other. One of my favorite things about the band is that we all see ourselves as part writers. Everyone in the band writes a part that sounds the best for the song. Not necessarily the most complex and noticeable part that makes him stand out, but sometimes the subtle parts that don't necessarily reach out and grab you at first are actually what is best for the song. Musically, I think we share the load pretty evenly when it comes to our sound and writing.


Your new album, Hiding Place, due out on Jan. 19, and yet, you've had a track on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," you've played with The Strokes and Switchfoot, and there's talk of a song appearing on an MTV reality show. How has word spread so fast about you?
JC: I don't know that I would say the word has "spread so fast" for us. We have been at this for quite a while. I think we have learned a lot since the previous album and surrounded ourselves this time with people that have guided us in a better direction. Don't get me wrong. We have always been very concerned about the quality of a recording and how well our albums are produced, but we were also much more cognizant of money back then, too. We thought that we could get a great sound but pinch the pennies here and there to save money. The truth of the matter is that if you are going to do it, go all out and do it right. An album needs a Mitch Easter or Greg Calbi on board to even have the chance of getting the recognition from the industry people that it deserves, or if you are really lucky, credentials like that just help get the A&R folks to give it a quick listen. We also had (producer) Ted Comerford on our side this time, and he is invaluable, not only from a production and engineering standpoint, but also from a knowledge and contact base.

We have also had some great help back in our home town and surrounding cities. We have had Brad Wells from the National Theater and Innsbrook After Hours in Richmond on our side for a lot of years, and he has really helped with shows that got us the Strokes and Switchfoot gigs. Bill Reid with the Norva in Norfolk, Va., too. We spent three years as the Richmond Budweiser True Music band as well, and that helped us with some recognition. Planetary is on board now as well and helping us on the marketing end. So, I wouldn't really say the word has spread so fast about us, but it has definitely helped to get the word out there now that we have so many great assets on our team, and a marketable product that we are really excited about. We are just excited and thankful for the whole experience.

The song that appeared on "Baseball Tonight" is called "Sleeping Giant," and it's on Hiding Place. Of all the identifiable traits of Copper Sails, the chiming guitars are perhaps the things that get noticed right away. You really use them to create kind of starry atmospheres. How do you come up with the guitar parts for that song and others? It definitely seems to have some basis in early U2 and Doves, and bands like that.
JC: This is a guitar question being answered by a drum guy. Jon would certainly be the better person to answer, but since I am answering the questions, I will do my best. Jon would probably be mad at me for saying it on record, but he is just an amazing guitarist. Hands down, [he's] the best one I personally have ever played with. Although you do notice starry atmospheres and intricate melodies in the guitar parts right away, there is also a nicely orchestrated conglomeration of guitar and keys in many, if not most, of our songs. Kyle and Jon work tirelessly together to create melodies that complement each other, and don't step on one another. Jon is a great writer as well, and the songs he brings into the band to develop are mostly guitar based, but our writing sessions in practice often times lend to guitar parts that become organ parts and visa-versa. Kyle and Jon both have the skill for creating powerful moods, textures and tones.

As for the influences, you sure hit that nail right on the head. Jon, Boomer and really now Kyle and myself are all staunch U2 fans, and actually are quite fond of the Doves as well. None of us would be upset that you hear those influences in our music; in fact, it is quite the compliment to us. I was never much of a Brit-rock fan before I got involved with Copper Sails. I never had an appreciation for U2, and I had never even heard of the Doves. I'm really glad these guys introduced me to that genre of music, and with all of the other bands that I have grown to like as a result, I realize how much I had been missing out on.

In a way, Hiding Place comes across as dream pop, especially on the atmospheric "Spinning," but there's not that amorphous quality to your sound that you sometimes hear with that genre. There's real definition to all the instrumentation and the melodies. Was that something that was important to you?
JC: Absolutely. I cannot tell you how many songs we tried to write but lacked one specific part that we felt like it needed to be really good, and those songs generally get put on the back burner or tossed completely. We seem to generally hold to the pattern of writing definitive verses, chorus, bridges and other sections that set themselves apart from each other. I think we feel like that the individuality of the parts make them interesting in and of themselves but also flow nicely with each other as a whole song. Again, this goes back to all of us being part writers and doing what is best for a song as a general whole. We tend to attack songs in sections and make sure that each section is distinguishable to the listener, as well as complementing the rest of the song. "Spinning," as you referred to, is one of those songs that is very atmospheric and ethereal, but it still has structure that is easily defined by the listener. None of our stuff is really all over the place in that regard.

There's a real flash of sonic light in the choruses, especially on the title track and "Still Lost." And I think people relate to the combination of vulnerability and the summoning up inner strength found in the lyrics, especially in these times. I've always loved that combination of sonic grandeur and lyrics that look inward to gauge just how strong or weak you are. I think that's a contrast that results in something epic, because that struggle within — as self-absorbed as it sounds — is an epic one. Do you find that as well?  
JC: Jon and Boomer have written the majority of our lyrics. The band pretty much maintains the idea of democracy in this arena as well. Meaning that when we write a song in a practice session, Boomer or Jon or both generally come up with a natural vocal melody in conjunction with the music we are writing. Along with a rough vocal melody generally come rough, scratch lyrics to fill the melody until we figure out where the song is going, and what we want it to say. With that said, the scratch lyrics over the melody are pretty much open game for anyone in the band to write lyrics for. Jon and Boomer tend to be the ones that do this, and tend to be the ones that lyrically get their message out. I think you will see more of Kyle and myself writing lyrics as new songs come to fruition, but most of the lyrics you hear on Hiding Place came from the minds of Jon and Boomer.

As this is the case, I think you hear a lot of these "epic" internal battles and conflicts because that is where they were in their lives. The concepts of relationships and life-direction struggles. The "what am I supposed to do" and "why am I here" type things. Even though Kyle and I are both six or seven years older than the other two, we still relate to a lot of the issues that are in Copper Sails' lyrics, being as that it wasn't that long ago that we sat in similar shoes. I think that is why we don't feel the need to be so lyrically involved, and to let the two of them do most of the writing, because the issues they write about can hit home to the 21-year-old college student as well as the 50-year- old businessman. I hear that from fans of the band and my own friends when they listen to our music, and they are all over the board in ages. With that kind of feedback, I would say you are correct, many of our songs are a bit epic. I like that.

You had quite a recording team help out on this record. Talk about working with Mitch Easter (mixing), Greg Calbi (mastering) and Ted Comerford (producer).
JC: This is such an easy question to answer. I mean how could we have been more lucky? Talk about being in the right place at the right time. It all started with a relationship we developed with a band out of DC, and our good friends, No Second Troy. They were releasing their last album up in DC, and we were fortunate enough to get on the bill for the release show. Ted had been working with No Second Troy, as well as a number of other up-and-coming bands that were doing really well in the region. Ted heard us at that show, as he was present, and approached us about doing a record with him. I think it took us a couple of weeks to realize the magnitude of this opportunity. I mean, he is truly one of the great up-and-coming producers in the industry, who has already established a stellar resume for himself. Working with Ted was just an amazing experience. He is so good at what he does, and he has an ear for what makes the music better. We went in with the attitude that we would let Ted be the expert and follow his advice, which is what we did. I can't think of any ideas or changes he suggested that we didn't capitalize on, and those ideas only made the record better. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

As for Mitch Easter and Greg Calbi, I can only say what an amazing feeling it is to have the two of them like the music enough to be willing to work on the project. The support of those two guys energized us and gave us so much confidence that we had a marketable product. We all know those guys can pick and choose who they work with. Mitch Easter has to be the nicest person on the planet Earth. His studio is absolutely amazing, and he was just so nice about letting us in there and opening up his doors. It is a privilege just to have Greg Calbi and Sterling Sound's credentials on the CD, but what was so great about the combination of Mitch and Greg is that they really took the album to the next level. What's even better is the way people in the industry's ears perk up when they hear those three names. What an honor to have all three of them on the album.

You're going to be lumped in with the Death Cab For Cuties, Doves, Snow Patrols and Rogue Waves. How do you see yourselves establishing your own identity?
JC: I would really like to think that we have already done that. I hear all of these bands that you have mentioned here, and I do hear their influences stylistically, but I think we have worked really hard to develop our own sound. I think that myself and Kyle bring a fresh element to the music as our past musical influences are so different than those bands. So, the sounds might be buried in there, but I think it is still unique. I think Jon and Boomer have very unique and distinct voices, and myself, as well in the harmonies. The way Copper Sails regularly trades vocal parts and melodies between Jon and Boomer is unique as well — sometimes having two different vocal parts and two different melodies simultaneously. I'm certainly not suggesting that this has never been done before, but the combination of it all I believe gives us a unique sound and keeps it interesting. We can only hope that fans of the bands you have mentioned will gravitate to our music because they hear things they like, but at the same time they hear something new. I think the music shows the unique style in the range of age groups of fans we have, as they range from teenagers to middle aged adults.

A lot of people talk about dynamics at work in certain various songs. How would you describe the dynamics of Copper Sails? Is that just one of those nebulous concepts that hard to put into words?
JC: Dynamics is definitely not a nebulous concept to us. In fact, dynamics also play a significant part in our writing sessions. As a drummer, I play a large role in this. I think when you listen to our music you will hear definitive dynamic movement throughout the songs. None of us are really in favor of writing a song that stays on the same dynamic plane from beginning to end. It seems more interesting to us to move that dynamic around. The highs and lows so to speak take the listener to a much more interesting place in my opinion. This is not to say that songs can't be written without dynamics; it happens all the time. We just pay attention to it and try to vary the energy throughout the song dynamically. I think it works for us and makes the songs stronger.

What's next for Copper Sails? What's on the immediate horizon?
JC: Right now, our push is Hiding Place. We have invested a lot of time and energy in the album, and we really want to get it out there and give it the chance that we feel it deserves. So right now, we are working with Planetary and trying to capitalize on all of the things they are doing for us. We are marketing hard on Myspace and Facebook, as well as our newly updated website www.coppersails.com. We are still working with Ted and using his contacts to try and keep good, solid high-profile shows on the books, as well as continuing to work on licensing deals such as the ESPN opportunity that we had. Our big push now, after we released Hiding Place, is to keep the buzz going, and try to move this to the next level. We all have worked hard to get where we are, and only hope to continue to push the band and the music higher and higher. We really appreciate people such as yourself taking the time to ask us these questions and put us out there. We can't thank you enough.

The whole world has Nov. 23 circled on the calendar, and it's not because they're all in a twitter about gorging on turkey in the coming days.

That day, of course, is when the long-awaited Guns & Roses' album Chinese Democracy is scheduled to finally... finally, drop. Many, undoubtedly, are expecting disaster. That's understandable considering how long Axl and his band of merry mercenaries have been working on the damn thing. It's been years in the making, and it's release has been delayed over and over again.

One man who believes Chinese Democracy will absolutely blow everybody's preconceived notions is Greg Hampton, producer of Alice Cooper's strong 2008 comeback album, Along Came a Spider, and a member of Science Faxtion, the Bootsy Collins-led, freak funk-metal supergroup that includes G&R members Buckethead, he of the blazing guitar fretwork, and Brain, one of the world's wildest drummers.

Hampton, through his G&R connections, has actually heard some of Chinese Democracy, and he's impressed.

"The songs that I've heard I think are amazing," says Hampton, whose Science Faxtion project has an insanely creative bit of volatile musical chemistry called Living On Another Frequency coming out on Nov. 11. "You know, I'm friends with Slash, and I know a lot of these other guys that have been in that band, and there's a heritage there. It's a natural progression I think in the music, even though it's different band members, those records will always stand... I mean, that's going to be a cornerstone in music history, those {G&R] records. But, now, the stuff that Axl did with Brain, and with Buckethead involved and Richard Fortis, and Robin Finck and all those guys, there's some amazing songs. So, I mean, I'll be surprised if it doesn't have a great, great reception."

His bandmate Brain was heavily involved in the making of Chinese Democracy.

"I mean, I don't know how many songs he played with Axl, but I know they had recorded, and he played on at least 30 or 40 songs for that thing that's about to be unleashed on us I think it's on Sunday, Nov. 23," says Hampton. "We're all excited about that. I can't wait to go buy that record."
 
Hampton is also excited about another new album, namely Todd Rundgren's surprising blast of heavy guitar rock titled Arena.

"I'll tell you a record I was completely blown away by was the new Todd Rundgren," says Hampton. "I saw him play the whole record a while back, and I'm friends with Prairie Prince and those guys [in Rundgren's band], too, and I said it to Todd I said, 'You gave them the ultimate finger, bud.' Everybody out there in the audience was standing out there with their jaws opening, waiting. They were in shock, 'cause he rocked so hard and so... I mean, the songs were so just flawless. Played the whole record, every single song from top to bottom and all these guys and these older couples waiting to hear "Hello, It's Me," and all these other songs, they're like, "Wha... wha... What is this?" 'Cause Todd had told me about that one, too, before he had finished it. He had told me like earlier the previous summer that he was making that kind of record. And those kinds of guys, it gives guys like me, and my age... you know I grew up with all these guys, but I see ... you know, Todd just turned 60. Alice just turned 60, right? These guys are in amazing shape, and they're still out there making amazing records and touring and really getting all the rest of us to set a higher bar for our standards."

Stay tuned for more on Science Faxtion's new release, as we prepare to post a podcast of our interview with Hampton and run a story on Science Faxtion in the Dec. 19 issue of Goldmine. In the meantime, to find out what mad musical science Science Faxtion is up to, go to http://www.myspace.com/sciencefaxtion

So, what does everyone else think? Is Chinese Democracy going to be a boom or a bust for Axl? Let me know your thoughts.

Trying to keep track of all the bizarre plot twists, surprise endings and head-spinning character development on the hit TV series "Lost" can cause an otherwise sane person to completely crack. 

Not for the casual watcher, "Lost" is so dense with labyrinthian turns and intrigue that it practically dares followers to stay committed. And in doing so, the obsessed among us who accept that challenge should be given the TV equivalent of a Medal of Honor.

The first recipients of such an award would have to be Adam Schatz and Jeff Curtin, who make up the duo Previously On Lost (check out http://www.myspace.com/previouslyonlostmusic to learn more about them and hear some of their music). Together, the two review each episode from Season 4 of the show in song. In a 24-hour period the day after an episode of "Lost" airs, the two piece together everything that happened on the show in one, concise musical construct — think of it as the musical equivalent of the show "24." And they have a name for what they do: It's called "recap-rock," and it could just be the next big thing in music. Or, it could be a novelty that flames out faster than trip-hop.

But, really, such concerns don't matter. Not when Previously On Lost has to meet its self-imposed deadline. Amazingly, what Previously On Lost accomplished musically — and they have an album out called The Tale of Season 4 and the Oceanic 6 that collects Previously On Lost's obsessive output — in such a short time-frame is pretty remarkable. Its buoyant, frenzied electro-pop is not only incredibly infectious and laced with smart humor, but there are almost as many tempo changes and crazy dynamics within a given single song as there are plot twists in "Lost."

Schatz took the time to answer a few e-mailed questions about the Previously On Lost project and what it has in store for the future. Sadly, it won't involve recapitulating what goes on in the final two seasons of "Lost."

This seems to be one of those ideas that crop up when friends are drinking or what have you, and it strikes you as genius when you're inebriated, and then you wake up the next day, and it doesn't seem quite as great. And yet you guys went ahead and did it. How did you get to this point where this became a project you just had to do?
Adam Schatz: Well, we woke up, and it still seemed just as great as the night before! We had planned to make some music related to "Lost" for a few months prior to the start of Season 4; initially we were going to record a concept album bridging the seasons together. When we realized the season premiere was right around the corner, Jeff and I decided that the best way to keep ourselves on the game as far as great quality and consistent output was to embark on an ambitious weekly release program, one song per episode, [that] premiered online mid-week between each episode.

Squeezing the serpentine plots of an episode of "Lost" into a single song would seem to be a pretty monumental task. To come up with the lyrics, do you take notes while watching the show and then put them in some cohesive order? And, noting that you do this all the day after a show, is it easier than it sounds?
AS: It was certainly a daunting task each week. The first weeks were more experiments, and by Episode 6, we really knew what worked and had a sort of compositional procedure worked out. Jeff and I each watch the episode separately, sometimes multiple times. We never tell each other the full span of our viewing process, so I can't expose his techniques, but I can tell you that for me, I usually watch the episode once and take notes, and then we watch it again piece by piece together on the Sunday after when we write the song. My notes consist of chicken scratch across multiple pages, highlighting and circling the ideas I think are the funniest or the most promising as a basis for the whole song. I also usually write down any line from the show that strikes me as being powerful or ridiculous in any way.

As you see it, is it your job to somehow make sense of what happened on the show and to try to make it easy to understand for listeners, or would that kill the spontaneity and fun of what you're trying to do?
AS: We recaps what we sees. You won't know everything about the show after listening to our songs, but you WILL know everything that we think you need to know. And that's what matters. We can only make sense of what the show's creators provide us; we don't claim to know the truth or the inside. We're on the side of the rest of the viewers; we just happen to put our recaps in musical form.


What has been the response of fans of the show? And have any people associated with the show contacted you to tell you what they think of it?
AS: Fans embraced us immediately. We maintain a strong belief that if you love "Lost," you'll love our band. MySpace plays were through the roof from the get-go, and once the season concluded and our debut album was subsequently completed, we received orders from all across the U.S., Ireland, and New Zealand requesting copies of the record. We recently played in L.A. and a few of the show's producers came out and had a blast. They bought a bunch of shirts, and a few of them made their way back to head producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff. We're honored that they know about us and enjoy our music; we can only dream of working with them one day.

There's kind of a frenzied, sugar-rush quality to parts of the songs, especially "The Island Won't Let You Die," and it's all really catchy, and then you'll shift into another gear almost on a dime. The music really twists and turns. In that way, do you think it mirrors the show?
AS: The show is most certainly all over the place, with ideas and characters coming at you from all angles. It wasn't a conscious compositional decision; we just were fueled by the excitable Disney Casio future pop that this show inspired in us. The music was never a challenge; it was really tying all of the lyrics together in a cohesive manner that made sense. Subconsciously though, we must have been doing something right, because listening back to the album, as well as playing the season live in its entirety, we recognized how well the songs flowed in the sequence we wrote them in, keeping in mind the sounds of the the parts, tempos, and dynamics.

Hearing about this, some might think of this as only a curiosity or a novelty record. And I suppose that's not such a bad thing. But, these songs do have a cohesion and really good arrangements, too. Are you afraid people won't get that from these songs and be dismissive of the project?
AS: It's a given that folks will write us off as a gimmick, but I think if they give the record a listen, they'll realize that there's a pretty special, new sound buried in what we're doing. Even if people consider us a gimmick, they'll enjoy it, but we do hope that people will give the album a chance and listen to it musically as well as humorously. The result is an overall feeling of ecstasy similar to winning the lottery, or saving a cat out of a tree.

The songs have been described as "gently mocking," and there's undoubtedly a lot of humor in this. But, is that really what you're trying to do?
AS: The show "Lost" is quite dark, but within the depth of the fear and death in the show lies much humor. We've just unmasked the humor. We're definitely being funny, but not in a negative way. Sometimes we take an absurdist approach, picking out [a] tiny piece of an episode and blowing them up until they're the centerpiece of our song — such as Episode 2 when Jack winks at Kate; it inspired the entirety of "Just Wink." We also have a great jab at how all the extras on the show get promptly killed off without allowing the viewer to get to know them, which we sing about in a later song, but we do have faith that the producers include everything for a reason, and that we aren't insulting the show in any way by being funny in regards to even the smallest details.

Where do you record this music? It seems you have quite a variety of instrumentation, from bongos to vibes to electric keyboards and guitars.
AS: All in Jeff's house in Brooklyn. When we tracked live drums, we do it to a great tape machine he has; otherwise, we employ all the instruments we can get our hands on and record them in different, creative ways to build up the instrumentation for each song. Most parts were improvised and recorded on the first take.

How fast do these songs come together?
AS: Each song was conceived, written and recorded in 13 hours every Sunday after the episode aired.

Are there any plans to do this for any other shows?
AS: The future of "Recap Rock" is a bright one, and we don't want to be confined to the world of television. Some future recaps we have planned are a musical "choose your own adventure" recap of the Oregon Trail computer game, an educational recap of a few major historical wars, the process of photosynthesis, the New York City marathon, and the 2010 World Cup Olympics. Surely, some spontaneous current event will inspire other recaps.

We'll be performing on Nov. 10 at the Mark Twain Comedy Awards in Washington D.C. honoring George Carlin. In the spirit of the evening, we'll be writing and performing a George Carlin-themed recap.

We also recap Bar Mitzvahs and birthday parties.

Following the initial demise of Deep Purple in 1976, Glenn Hughes, then the band's bassist/vocalist, not only set about establishing himself as a solo artist, but he also developed a nasty drug addiction.

Throughout the '80s, Hughes' health was cause for concern as his habit grew out of control. Through sheer force of will, he got that monkey off his back and threw it in a headlock.

"Let me just say that you either get clean or sober or you go to institutions, jail or you die," says Hughes. "I chose the first one. I chose to get clean and sober because... I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So tired of waking up not knowing where I was, or waking up looking at myself and saying, 'What the hell is this today?' And I think having prayed — and I'm not going to get religious on you — but having prayed to God for a couple of years, let's say in the late '80s, that I just was praying to rid myself of this bloody temptation, and I was desperate enough to turn my life around."

Getting rid of the drugs was just part of his rehabilitation. He had to change almost everything about his life to get sober.

"I had to completely change my phone numbers, people who I'd spoken to, people like my friends... I even had to change my girlfriend," says Hughes. "Everybody had to go. When one wants to become centered, one has to do everything 100 percent. You cannot do things in half measures. Was I desperate? Yes. Did I want to change my life? Absolutely... It wasn't a career move for me. It was a humanity move. I wanted to change everything, from the floor up. Greatest thing I ever did.

For the artist who'd emerged with the funk-rock outfit Trapeze in the early '70s and then gained fame with Deep Purple, Hughes surprised everybody by teaming with The KLF in the '90s.

"They were looking for a rock singer to sing... they had Tammy Wynette on the country song in '91, No. 1 song in Europe," says Hughes. 'And they were doing, the same month, they were doing another song, when they wanted... I think they were talking to Robert Plant and [Roger] Daltrey. And they came to me first. I was in London. They said, 'We've got this song called "What Time is Love?" And we'd like you to come down and sing on this song.' Now, I'd already known about The KLF — if any Brits are listening to this or European, they were the biggest acid-house, garage-rock, funk dance band of that era, selling millions and millions of copies. For me to be acknowledged by these guys was like a real good thing for me. I knew, once I got this track, it was going to go to the Top 10. And, of course, when you get a song in the Top 10, it has a video clip. The video clip was shot on the James Bond set in Shepperdton — great video clip. So, I knew at this point working with these guys... and at this point, by the way, I'd become known as the voice of rock. So, since that period of '91, hence the title of 'Voice of Rock' worldwide, which is kind of a cool thing to be called I guess. And I went and did the video clip and I knew I had to go into treatment and get sorted out with myself."

To read more about Glenn Hughes' latest record, First Underground Nuclear Kitchen, read the Nov. 21 issue of Goldmine, or visit www.glennhughes.com