Q: How long's the tour been happening ?
JD: We actually started touring; the first leg of touring we did was months ago, and that was when we went out and jumped on the Queensryche tour. They were covering a good bit of south-east and mid-west dates. We actually share the same booking agency, and they called and said "Hey, Queensryche's out doing a bunch of south-eastern dates, and we know that your record's not out yet, but this leg of the tour starts 2 days from now, and they don't have an opening act, do you want to go do it?" So we just were going out to get everything greased up, and knock it out, have a lot of fun with it. And what was cool about it was Queensryche is more of a technical type of band, and a lot of their crowd was musicians, who came to check out all their licks and other singers, technical singers, that came to hear Geoff Tate do his stuff. So, anyway the lights would go out, and with no advertising, nobody knowing I was there or nothing, the lights would come on and there would be me up there screaming bloody hell, and jamming and stuff, because we're much more of a rootsy rock band, a blues based rock band. But it really made for a great night, because I think if you would've had another band that was more technical like Queensryche - it would end up being mundane; so the night had a little more dynamic to it with us doing what we did first. And the girls seemed to like that fact that we could play music that they could shake their asses to, and groove into it; and then the guys ended up diggin' it because they were looking at the girls shaking their ass, and it's kind of a healthy rock n roll thing. That was like in February and March, and then the first single went to radio about 6 weeks ago. We toured across Texas, and through the mid-West, and here we are up in Canada, and letting everybody know that the record is coming out here. I just wanna spread the word, because I'm real proud about the album itself. It's not an album that if you've heard the first 2 or 3 tracks you've heard the whole thing -- it's an album that goes in different places. I almost called the album "Influences" because it's got a great deal of my history as far, as stuff i like -- the famous Sly and the Family Stone - type groove, or the Who -- I'm a huge Who fanatic; and then just some great straight up rock stuff that knocks your teeth down your throat, like it's supposed to.

Q: How did you put this together, as far as getting away from the Jackyll stuff .... ?
JD: I didn't get away from the Jackyll stuff; it's just that like Jackyll came out in 1992, and since '92 til last year we tore the road a new ass. We were out there, and like the first album got certified double platinum last year. It was a whirl wind, and we went in to the Steak House in Georgia to surprise a lot of radio personalities, and we ended up with a class action lawsuit filed against us that cost us a couple of million dollars, and we're still paying for that one. And I went to jail several times for indecent exposure, and then I ended up doing that Playgirl magazine layout - which I was kind referred to as the 'point and giggle issue'; but the cool thing about it was that the photo-shoot was done live in front of 5000 at the Long Beach Arena where Jim Morrison had gotten nude years before. So it ain't about seeing me laying on a bear skin rug, that's not what the shoot was about, it was me singing completely naked, and the expressions on the people's faces as they were out in the crowd looking and wondering "what the hell's this guy doing up on stage!?" Then we played Woodstock '94 and made that a Jackyll Awareness day; I set the stage on fire back then, and got pounded with the fire extinguishers and stuff. Then we went on from there and Brian Johnson from AC/DC sang a track on "Locked And Loaded" with us ;which was the only time anybody from that band had worked outside of the group; so that was a big group for me. Then we did 100 shows in 50 days - setting a Guiness Book World record, and we did 21 shows in 24 hours - setting another Guiness book record. So from 92 until now it was pretty crazy; a pretty crazy 7 years; so when I finally had what many people call "down time" - which is not in my vocabulary, I started recording this record, and hooked up with Roman Glick who played with Brother Kane, and his career kind of paralleled mine with Jackyll - we spent a lot of time on the road crossing paths. So it was a natural for he and I to work together. And then John Hayes and I actually played in a band prior to Jackyll, and he's gotten a couple of co-writes on a couple of Jackyll albums, so he's always been a Jackyll family member in-directly. And this just happened out of the blue because V2 [Records] had gotten of some stuff I'd turned a friend on to and they approached me about putting out a solo record. So that's how it came to be.

Q: How does it compare to the Jackyll stuff?
JD: Well it's still rock n roll; I didn't try to do anything that I'm not. But I'd have to say that there's a little different groove to, and it goes a little deeper in to a groove - with the Sly & The Family Stone stuff, and that kind of thing - the more soulful groups. But it's still rock, and it's still me doing what I do, and I can be is be loud, proud, hard and honest, so it's just another extension of that.

Q: What did you draw on for lyrical ideas?
JD: Well I'm primarily about the booty factor. I touch on different subjects, but I don't get too deep in to it. I think that 'saving the whales' or that type of thing is an admiral cause, but I don't think it mixes too well with rock n roll. I think that when people work their ass off for 40 hours a week they want to put in music that gets them fired up, and I think that's what's been missing from rock. I think the music that's out there today that gets people fired up is more anger driven, but I'm more about the booty factor. I like to see people get all worked up and then wanna go home and tear each other up - in a good way.

Q: With all the things you've done in the past, such as the arrests, how do you see yourself as far as a singer - performer - entertainer -- that sort of thing. What do you see yourself as first and foremost ?
JD: It's constantly a 'checks and balance' thing for me, more so in the early days because I was so full of piss and vinegar and so exited about getting our first [couple of] albums out when everything was brand new to me. I was ten foot tall and could overthrow the Federal Government if I wanted to, so I'd be constantly pulling myself back into check, and not to let the crazy stuff over-shadow the music. I don't think it did. With Jackyll, especially, and even with this record here, we've had success with radio. American radio has especially embraced Jackyll, and the first track off this album is at number 15 [I think] this week. It was actually my first number one most added rock track, and I'd never had that before.

Q: Who are your main influences as far as the act goes ? Do you see yourself up alongside the rock n roll rebellion types like Ozzy and Alice Cooper ?
JD: That's the stuff I grew up on, so that's the stuff I like to draw from. I grew up on everything.... I was a huge Elvis fan and Little Richard, but I got more heavily in to Wilson Pickett and James Brown, and a lot of the bluesier stuff because I had the ability to do up a scream like those guys and not screw up or hurt my voice. I could scream bloody hell all night and do it again the next night, and the next night. I was blessed with barbed wire vocal chords. So I got off on the power and ability to be able to do that. So i naturally migrated to the Steve Marriotts and AC/DC, and as I said Wilson Pickett and James Brown and those singers that had that same characteristics in their voice.

Q: As far as other bands and stuff growing up ?
JD: I'm a huge WHO fan! I think The Who is the greatest rock band of all time. Individually the 4 of those guys were everything that technically you're not supposed to be to be in a band. The drummer would play drum fills sporadically at any given time; the guitar player didn't really play lead he was just a great rhythm player, and the bass player didn't really play bass lines he played lead bass, and then the singer was just a balls-out guy that had more emotion than technical control of his voice, and that combination of everything that wasn't supposed to be, coming together, I think made them the greatest British rock band of all time. The "Quadrophenia" album specifically, I can't even judge that as the greatest album of all-time because that would kind of insult the album; I think like - Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon, Quadrophenia... I look at it as wonders of nature. That's more where the Quadrophenia album belongs.

Q: What's the whole title and concept behind the "Foot Fetish" thing ?
JD: Well, I almost called the album "Influences", because it taps in to all the stuff that I grew up loving, as far as music that influenced me in to that type of music. But that's kind of a mundane title. Foot Fetish is kinda kinky in a new Millennium way. You mention it to people and you get the damnedest reaction. Some guys will say "Oh yeah, I love to have a foot shoved clean down my throat before I can enjoy sex!" For some guys it doesn't matter. Some girls - the same way. Some people get tripped out about feet, some people think it's great. It's just funny to get the reactions. I'm personally am not one of those people that needs a foot shoved down the throat to enjoy an encounter with a lady, but I do like to look down and see a nice little French manicure, and if the feet are taken care of then generally the rest of it's in order as well, if ya know what I mean [ha ha]. But it's just something we can have fun with, which is what music's supposed to about.

Q: Any stories or incidents from the road so far with this band [your own band] ?
JD: Well not really any bad incidents. We've had some incredible shows. When you come out of the gate and people hear 'solo record' they don't know what to think. You know Jackyll's not broke up, and this isn't about a competitive thing with Jackyll, this is just something that I'm doing with another group of guys that i love, and I love playing, and I'm going to go with this with all the balls-out attitude that i go with everything. And there's people out there that may not get it until the second single hits radio, or whatever, but I'm just going to go door to door and let people know that this is a real deal, and I'm very proud of it. I think that when they hear the whole album they'll see that that's the case.

Q: Future plans for this project or Jackyll ?
JD: I don't know yet what the future plans are for Jackyll, as far as a time frame goes, because it's hard to say, that would mean I'd have to put a definite ending on this thing, and it's too early in the beginning for me to even think of stopping doing this, because I'm having too much fun.

Q: As far as the new album, what stands out for you ? Any favorites ?
JD: That's like asking what kid do you love most? I'm digging on "Losing My Mind", just because I'm having so much fun playing that one live; it was one of the last ones I'd written in the studio. I played a lot more guitar on this stuff than I did with Jackyll too.

Q:Thoughts on the current scene ?
JD: I think as long as people do what they do good - I'm into it. I went and saw Tommy Lee doing his new thing. Tommy Lee, to me, is not the world's best black person, which to me he's trying really hard to be an urban rapper or whatever...but I have a hard time buying it. That's like me coming out and doing that, it's just not me. He's a great rock drummer. But still he does what he's doing good; I can appreciate that. He tore the place up; the crowd seemed to really enjoy his show. But it gets a little strange, but I wish him all the luck in the world with it. I'll check it out, whether it be him or Kid Rock, or Rage. And I never really appreciated Rage until so many other bands came out trying to sound like them; and now I can appreciate those guys a lot more than i did before because they're good at what they do.

Q: Philosophies of life, words to live by.. ?
JD: Just wring every last ounce of life out of every single day - whether you're pouring concrete or rocking out - whatever the case may be!? Make the most of it; that's what I try to do, and I've poured my share of concrete. It's not as good as making love for a living, but it is what you make it, you know.

Q: Got any favorite AC/DC tracks ?
JD: I always liked "Have A Drink On Me" and "Let Me Put My Love In To You" . But I like the new record too. I was actually in the studio with them when they recorded "Stiff Upper Lip", so it was a big deal for me to hang out with them like a little kid.

Interview by Kevin J. Julie, 2000 Copyright 2000