Last year I had a chance to talk with Martyn LeNoble – the bassist who worked with Scott on 12 Bar Blues, toured with him promoting the album as part of The Action Girls, the founding member of Porno for Pyros and just a great guy.
Here’s the first part of our conversation. The second part will be posted within The Wondergirls exclusive somewhere in the future.- How did you first meet Scott and how did you get involved in the making of 12 Bar Blues?Scott and I had known each other for many years before that record. I remember meeting Scott when I was playing Thelonious Monster in 1990. He was handing out stickers for his band Mighty Joe Young (I think it had a picture of a gorilla on it). We continued to cross path over the years while he was touring with STP and I was playing with Porno For Pyros.
I got involved with 12 bar blues through Victor Indrizzo. Victor had been working with Scott and had written and recorded a lot of the music for that record. Victor played me some of the stuff they had been working on, and I was blown away by how good it was. I think the first song I heard was Barbarella. I loved the Bowie/Beatles vibe it had, but at the same time it sounded unique.
Victor by the way not only wrote a lot of the music, he also played drums, guitar, bass, piano and all kinds of other stuff. He's such a talented guy.
Anyway, Victor asked me to play some bass on the record. In some cases he had already tracked the bass himself and did such an amazing job that I refused to replace his parts (Lady Your Roof Brings Me Down).
- What were the 12 Bar Blues recording sessions like?The sessions were very loose. Scott had this cool warehouse that he'd put a studio in.
Scott was rarely there when I was tracking. It was mainly Victor and Blair Lamb who were there while I was recording the bass.
After those sessions, I left town for a bit, but got a call from Scott a few months later to do some more tracks. That was an interesting session (Let's just say that not everyone there was sober, although I was).
- As far as I know, Jimmy Was A Stimulator is the only 12 Bar Blues song never performed live. Did you ever try to rehearse it?I don't remember, a lot of time has passed since. However...I do have the muscle memory of playing that song. I don't know if it's from tracking it or rehearsing it.
I imagine we must have tried it, and if we didn't play it live it is probably because it didn't work well in a live setting.
- Are there any rough/unfinished/unreleased tracks from the 12 Bar Blues recording sessions? Do you still have any of them?I don't. But, I do have a demo of great song that Victor, Scott and I worked on a few years later called Pretty Mess.
- What is this song? For what project it was written and recorded?Martyn LeNoble: I don't remember who it was written for.
Victor Indrizzo: We wrote that song for a female artist. I don't remember who it was.
Tyrant: The song is registered with the American Society of Composers, Artists and Performers (
Click). Looking at the publishers, I would say that this female artist was Macy Gray, but it’s just my wild guess.
- What is you favorite 12 Bar Blues song?My favorite is Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down. Although I really do love a lot of the songs on that record. Where's The Man, Barbarella, Son, Jimmy Was A Stimulator...a lot of good songs.
- What your are up to these days? I do studio work and the occasional tour (recently with the Soulsavers/Mark Lanegan). I produce and write. I surf, and spend a lot of time with my family and loved ones.
- Anything else you would like to say, that I didn't ask you about?I think the people involved, including Scott, were all extremely talented and I look back with fondness on most of that experience. I mean...We had a touring band with Scott, an amazing singer and great frontman who at that time was his own worst enemy, but still a great guy. We had Daniel Lanois on guitar who is a genius. Victor Indrizzo is still one of my best friends today. We have done many other things together since, and he is truly one of my (if not the...) favorite drummers ever. His feel, his pocket and his taste are just the best. We had the wonderful Aaron Embry on piano/keyboard/ guitar…
It was a good freakin band!
The mysterious video of "Divider" that appeared on Youtube a few years ago right out of nowhere was not only a pleasant surprise, but also puzzled us a bit. To learn everything about it and more, read the interview with its creator, visual artist, a friend of Scott and really nice person - James Carbone. - Can you tell us about yourself and how you became who you are today? I was born in Los Angeles, and presently I work as a photojournalist/visual Artist. My family and friends are the most important and influential part of my life. First, my family always supports me and raised me to be a good person. Second, being an "Angelino," and growing up hanging out in Hollywood, I have been lucky to become close friends with musicians, artists, photographers, filmmakers, and just lot of unique cool people. The combination of all this has influenced me and sculpted me into the person I am today.
- How did you first meet Scott and how did you get involved in filming his recording sessions? What was the original purpose of the footage? I have known Scott since the early 90's and the start of Mighty Joe Young and then STP. He dated and then married Janina Castaneda - my best friend's sister. We became good friends. I remember Scott was very passionate about his new band "Mighty Joe Young." He would call people at home on the telephone (no cell phones) and invite them personally to his gigs. He would call me for every gig, and he would put me on the list. I thought that was the coolest. In 1997 Scott was taking a break from STP and decided to start a solo project. He needed an engineer/producer so I introduced him to my friend Blair Lamb, who is a producer and worked with many famous musicians at that time. They hit it off and started writing songs and recording them immediately. I wanted to make a documentary out of it, and they asked me to come by and film and photograph their recording session. After, that session we got together for another time where I interviewed Scott about making the album. I wanted to make a "rockumentary," but at that time the business was crazy, and the project stopped. I knew we had great footage of Scott and his band so I made the "Divider" video. There was no YouTube at the time so it was difficult for fans to see it. It sat in my closet for years until I uploaded it onto YouTube two years ago.
- Can you tell us about the whole experience of working with him during this period?Scott is a great artist, and filming him was great. He is very professional and passionate about his music. It is very inspiring to be around an artist who is great at what they do.
- Your Divider video is really great. It's not only extremely well done, but it also features the early version of the song with the different vocal take and mixing. There are a few early 12 Bar Blues demos floating around, but this one is even earlier. The noticeable hiss leads me to think that it was sourced from the audio cassette.Yes, the Divider song is taken from an early demo they made. Producer Blair Lamb gave it to me. I made this video in 1997. I wanted to mix things up. It's more fun that way. I thought if they wanted to use the video, we could put the album version at any time.
- So do you have enough of material to finish Rockumentary one day?Yes, I do have enough footage to make the rockumentary. I have been wanting to make this for years. I thought to give it time though. Let wounds heal, and see how fans will react to the Divider video I posted on You Tube. I want to make this a different documentary. Not your typical and cliché sit down answer questions with music clips documentary. It won’t be your typical 90 min. show. It will be shorter. Scott is really funny in this. I want to show that. It should be finished sometime this year.
- A lot of us are curious to know how Janina is doing. I hope she's alright. Have you heard from her lately?Janina is doing great. I see her and her family often. She's been remarried now for at least 10 years, living in Pasadena, California. She recently had her second child.
Thanks to James, here are some of the previously unreleased photos from the 12 Bar Blues sessions:
