ION INDIE MAGAZINE March 2015, Volume 10 | Page 67

have to depend on that. Everybody needs that. If you get enough technical knowledge to start doing things yourself, then you have enough power to really ruin what you’re doing, or make it truly unique and wonderful. LENNY KRAVITZ’ first album where he played everything on it, to me, will always be the greatest recording he ever made. But, he is also the exception to the rule (laughs). That's why I'm kind of fearful in doing so much of this myself because so many other people that I hear doing things themselves--let's just say most of us aren’t LENNY KRAVITZ. I think that if you have legitimate business where you can handle that side of it, that's great. But, I also think if you have someone that can handle that side of it for you, I actually think that's better for creativity. When KING’S X goes in to record these days, we always have an external producer for that reason--so we can go in and be musicians, because that's who we are. MU: One thing you can honestly say about KING’S X and even your solo material, is that you've never made the same album twice. What's your advice to a musician trying to follow their own path, and really maintain a unique sound for themselves? TT: That's a tough one. I mean, there's a real simple answer, and that's to just be yourself. But, even though the answer is very simple, the action of doing it is not. It takes deprogramming yourself in so many ways that you don’t even realize you’re programmed, to even be able to have just your own view. We're so influenced by every single thing we see every minute of the day, that it's very easy to be a human clone. The large majority of us, that's exactly what we are-- I'm guilty of it just as much as anyone; humans just tend to do that. For the few people out there like STING or ALEX HARVEY--Alex Harvey is a great example of this. He's a guy that would step on stage and there was nobody else like him. He didn't even have to open his mouth, he could just look at the audience and you knew he was comfortable in himself. That's the answer for everybody, but to actually do it is another thing. Some people are naturally gifted and storing in being themselves and not let all that other stuff clone them. Other people have a very hard time shaking the clone factor, including myself. MU: Is it ever tough after 30-plus years for you, personally, to find that wellspring of creativity? TT: Oh yeah. There have been times when I went into writer block like anybody. There was about a year, year and a half, where there was nothing coming out except for stuff I didn’t' care about at all. That comes and goes, I've had less of that in the last few years. It does come and go, and I've learned not to panic. If the creativity of not coming, I've learned to not force the issue, because then you get frustrated and it becomes a bigger deal that it should be. If that happens, then its' time to concentrate on something else - time to go do a scuba dive or some motorcycle riding, or playing with the dogs for a while and put music away. That getting away from things is the secret for me when I'm hitting a wall, because when I come back, it's exciting again. You've got to have that little bit of exciting spark in there to light it or you're wasting your time. MU: So, what can we expect in 2015 from you? I know you mentioned possibly some new JELLY JAM music? TT: Yeah, lots of stuff going on. We just announced that we're going to RAT PAK RECORDS for the next solo album--that's due in late spring, hopefully. I'm working on that right now. A lot of people have asked me, and I'm glad you brought this up