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Taypeworms Interview with Le Roi Jones Le Roi Jones was a singer and dancer for The Tubes from 1974 to 1977 as a member of what was then known as the "Lewdettes". Le Roi then went on to sing with members of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, in a band which was named "Zal" or "The Zal Band" after SAHB guitarist Zal Cleminson. I met Le Roi when he e-mailed me about my site, which of course features The Tubes and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band! What do you suppose that led to? The Le Roi Jones Interview!!! Neil: Hey Le Roi!...Much was made of The Tubes fantastic stage show, and you were a big part of that in the band's early years. What was your relationship to the band and how was it that you became a part of one of the most brilliant rock shows of the seventies, if not of all-time? ...And tell us about the name "Lewdettes". Le Roi: Well I was brought into the Tubes by Prairie and Mike (Cotten). I first started out being an extra onstage and taking care of all the costumes. I roller-skated into the Tubes show somehow! My first big break was on the first tour when Michael Holman, one of the dancers slipped and broke his foot. Kenny immediatly put me in his place and without any thought I took up his role naturally, so I got the job as dancer. After a while Kenny Ortega (Tubes choreographer) decided that the two of us could sing on more than just the end song "White Punks On Dope" and the both of us intercepted Bill after a "Bimbo's" gig and convinced Bill to let us have a try. Bill gave us the green light. So we became the Lewdettes, hence Quay Lewd and the Lewdettes! Neil: Exactly who were the members of the Lewdettes, for the record? I would like to pay tribute to anyone that you remember contributing to the show in your days with The Tubes! Le Roi: Kenny Ortega and I were the Lewdettes. Other great people and dancers were Helen, Mary, Michael Springer, Michael Holman and the Great Leila T. Snake, Re Styles,Mingo Lewis and there was one girl who's name totally escapes me, sorry! These people and the band made a great family on tour, and in San Francisco! Neil: Ok then, what were your main responsibilities and how much of the show was rehearsed? Le Roi: Whew! What a lot of work! ...I sang and danced with Kenny, and took care of all the costumes in the show, from the suites in "Slip My Disco" to The 19 inch platforms that Fee wore in "W.P.O.D." Also somehow I turned out to be Fee's personal helper, and I'm sure he appreciated that! The whole show was rehearsed and choreographed to the last detail. We got to know the show inside-out. I just lived the show! We all made the costumes and spent late nights devising things at Mike Cotten's studio. Later Kenny and I moved into the studio next door. Neil: Did you and the others attempt to hold steady jobs during this time, or was this pretty much it during this period of your life? Le Roi: The Tubes were a full time job. I think for those years it was all time consuming and even the big parties were somehow choreographed. Come to think about it, life was choreographed! Neil: What was the most fun you had as a member of the Lewdettes, and what are your fondest or most outstanding recollections? Le Roi: Singing and dancing onstage with the power of the Tubes' sound right behind me, and the movement all around was so much fun that after the shows ended I felt deflated because returning to real life was just a let down! It was "The Big Seduction", being on that stage with all that energy! There were so many great shows and even if they somehow didn't go right they still turned out to be memorable! I loved the Alice Cooper show at Anahiem Stadium. Over 100,000 people and we stole the show! There were The Kinks, Shanana, Nazareth and others. We played at the Boarding House in San Fran and after the show the backstage door opened and Annie Lebowitz ushered in Mick Jagger who gave me a big kiss. That was super cool! There were always so many famous rock stars and people at the shows and even just the fans that it made it great to be in the Tubes...and especially be a "Lewdette"! One night we played in Chicago at a big theater and there was a pre-bought seat in the front row. During "Rock 'n Roll Hospital" I would sneak out of the dressing room, and dressed as a regular, I would take up my place there. Fee would be starting up the chainsaw (without a chain of course, but it looked real with the smoke spurting out and all), and at that time I would flip him the bird. All the people around me would start to get uneasy when they noticed Fee notice me. Soon enough Fee would jump off the stage with that wild look in his eyes and chase me all the way out of the theater! One night he actually caught me and ripped the back of my jacket out! I think that was the night someone in the audience went and called the police. That, and all the other events that were staged had a lasting effect on so many people. Neil: I can't imagine what it was like to be a part of such a fantastic show, how did it all come to an end as far as yourself and The Tubes, and were you sad? Le Roi: I will always regret that big mistake of going back to my old group and not listening to my close friends in the Tubes. Prairie, Mike, Kenny and Bill all asked me to stay. I got off the bus and it went into the sunset. I'll never know that which happened later. Maybe I could have in some small way helped Bill in keeping "the greatest" rock and roll show alive, but I think that I probably would have lost out to the drugs that seemed to follow everywhere. Le Roi, Fee, and Kenny Ortega. Encore! Encore! Encore! Neil: Ok, well what was life like for you in the years immediately following your stint with The Tubes, what did you do? Le Roi: Well I was lucky that I met the Sensational Alex Harvey Band on one of the Tubes tours. In London Chris Glenn asked me if I would like to sing with them because Alex had quit or retired or something. I said yes and that turned out ot be a lot of fun and I learned a lot more about music and the music business. Also it was my first try at the big time being a lead singer. After it was evident that there was not much interest in continuing the Zal band, Zal left unannounced and I went back to S.F. After a while I moved to L.A. and Prairie, Mike, Earl Slick and I did a record for John Slocom of Thin Lizy fame. After that I just went on my own... Neil: As I may have told you Le Roi, I am on a mailing list that contains fans of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, which you have just mentioned. Tell us the details if you would, concerning your involvement with some of the members of SAHB. I know a lot of my friends are interested in knowing all about this! Le Roi: Chris Glen asked me to sing with Zal, Ted, and himself. It was very cool and we rehearsed in the tiny garage in back of Chris' house in Bounds Green. They were on Mountain Records and I made a good salary, plus we toured Sweden and England to good reviews. We did most of the material on the unreleased Rock Drill album. Chris was my friend in this great band. They brought in a cool young guitarist named Billy from Kirkintilloch. It was better than the Sex Pistols or Van Halen, those great Scots! Above and below, Le Roi with "Zal"! Neil: What have you been doing with yourself since your involvement with what many of us consider "rock and roll legends"? Le Roi: I live in France and have a family. My son is beautiful and speaks English and French. I am working on music from SSEYO.COM, the Generative Music company that works with Brian Eno. I also create music with my computer, not midi! I have two records out and will do another with a friend here. I am putting up my first web site at the end of May and would of course like to link with you! You have the most informative site I have seen, although I only started surfing last year. Neil: Thanks Le Roi, I'm really flattered and I'll take all the compliments I can get! Haha!...Ok, one last question... a two-parter!!! If you are familiar with The Tubes "Completion Backward" video disc, there are some old clips of a performance of "White Punks On Dope" contained within. In the end a guy in make-up punches Fee (Quay Lewd) in the face...who is he, any idea? ....And part two is, is there any chance that you would like to join our SAHB mailing list? We'd love to have you!!! Le Roi: Yes, that is me! This show was so intricate that it involved unsuspecting people in the audience, and when you do that you get incredible responses. That was the magic of the Tubes, "to include everyone" . And to answer the second part, yes I would love to join the SAHB mailing list! Although it won't replace singing in front of those crazy Scots! Neil: Hey Le Roi, this has really been a lot of fun doing this interview! It's really special because I think you had an opportunity to be a part of something that is regarded by many of us as the ultimate Rock 'n Roll experience, yet you're bringing us the story from a totally different angle. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of these questions and sharing your extraordinary experiences with us. I'd also like to thank yourself and Prairie for all of the pictures you've shared with me, some of which I have published on this page. Take care my man, and I hope we can talk again real soon! The many faces and places of Le Roi Jones! I want to say a special "hello" to my friends on the SAHB mail list with a very special "thank you" to Lindsey for the second "Zal" band pic! "" FROM PARCAN... quotes from ParCan warehouse interview with Prairie Prince; "PP: LeRoi Jones, we met him way early. He grew up in Tucson, Japan, New York, London and Paris... the Sadistic came from the Japanese band "Sadistic Mika Band". He loved that band and turned us on to that whole "Thin White Duke" (Bowie thing) and Japanese techno pop thing (years before anyone knew about it). So, we just called him"Sadistic LeRoi". He was one of the two Lewdettes, the male backup singer/dancers of the Tubes. He and Kenny Ortega just kicked ass. They stormed over Fee on a few occasions, just totally crazy, sexy lewdettes. What a guy, Sadistic LeRoi.FROM THE FATHERLAND RED DVD's

Add to My Profile | More Videos "From San Francisco to L.A. to Paris to Ha Noi - TP Ho Chi Minh" Now back from 20,000k's in two weeks from TPHCM to Tokyo to Paris to Kansai to TP HCM to Ha Noi and back to TP HCM.

(DELTA and HaNoiLeRoi has expanded their area of coverage in Vietnam and now all of S.E. Asia) Yes, just when you thought the Red River was the most well known delta in the north, the MEKONG DELTA BAND with HaNoi*LeRoi, hit Hanoi in its final trek to the north of Vietnam. This was possibly your only chance to see this exciting band currently causing waves throughout South East Asia with its infectious, crushing, lovable and refreshing approach to rock music. For 5 consecutive nights only, commencing on WED JUNE 21st at Jay's R & R Tavern, (including a Private Party at the Hanoi Lake View complex on Thurs 22), the band demonstrated in Hanoi what all the fuss down south was all about. Since then, Pete and his wife moved back to Canberra and the drummer and guitarist continue to troll the VN club scene for gigs. Le Roi is a free agent (lol) and heading back to France to wreck havoc...Stay tuned...