Best Izzy songs?

[D]

I recently got turned on to the song "Gotta Say" and it is one of my favorite songs EVER. not just Izzy songs but i am talking favorite songs period.

are there any other recommendations that are as good as this song?

[LunsJail]

I recently got turned on to the song "Gotta Say" and it is one of my favorite songs EVER. not just Izzy songs but i am talking favorite songs period.

are there any other recommendations that are as good as this song?

Don't have a recommendation but thanks for the tip on that tune. Checked it out and I love it too 

[Trist805]

I haven't heard that song, but I did buy one of his albums, Concrete, recently.    There are quite a few good songs on there like "Easy", "Concrete (feat. Duff McKagan ...great song)", "Drove", "Knuckleheads", and "I Know."   I have been listening to it a lot.   I actually like this one more than the Ju Ju Hounds one from '92.   It is on amazon mp3s for only like $8.     

[Sergott]

I am a big fan of the song Head On Out.  River is probably my favorite Izzy album.  Far Below Me is a pretty damn good song as well.

[FernandoR]

one of my favorites is the one called "Sweet Caress". i love that song

[D]

Awesome! gonna go grab some of these off Itunes!

[tippasaurus]

Some of my favorites are:

Up Jumped the Devil (117 Degrees)
Shuffle it All (Ju Ju Hounds)
Box (Fire)
Needles (Ride On)
The Groper (Ride On) -- written by Rick Richards
Coke'N (On Down the Road)

I'd say 117 Degrees is his most "essential album," but then I prefer his earlier stuff over his later stuff.  Incidently I think "Box" from Izzy's acoustic album "Fire" is the "Down by the Sea" song Axl had confirmed in one of his chats as an unreleased "new" Gn'R song; so might be worth checking out. 

[D]

Checked out Sweet Caress and i love it!

Gonna go find "The Box now

why do u think its Down By The Ocean?

Nevermind, just downloaded it

wow maybe it is.. could def hear Axl singing this.

[FernandoR]

Checked out Sweet Caress and i love it!

yeah, it's such a beautiful song

I also like "Win U lose" and "Hell song" (both from Like a Dog), "Partly Cloudy" (Miami), "Here Comes The Rain" (Ride On) and a lot more, but those are the ones that i would recommend
His first solo record is great, "Take a Look at the Guy" has an amazing Ronnie Wood guitar solo at the end, i love it. the first time i read its lyrics I thought this has to be about Axl! 

[IzzyDutch]

D you should just get every Izzy album.. each album has a few gems, mostly they are the tracks at #5 and #6 so it seems to me

Here's a short album description the way I see it.. but basically they're all good

Ju Ju Hounds (1992) - Very Stonesy and Faces sounding album, more vintage and different vocal style. All the post JJH albums sound more like Izzy himself imo. Highlights on this album are probably 'Somebody Knockin', 'Shuffle It All' and 'Train Tracks'.

117 degrees (1998) - It's got the most variety of all Izzy albums, acoustic, countryrock, rockabilly, surfrock, blues it's got it all. Production's more live and less dated sounding. Highlights are 'Old Hat', '117 degrees' and 'Methanol'.

Ride On (1999) - In the same vain as 117 degrees, only a bit less variety, more hardrock sounding. Lyrically it's got some very strong songs, Taz and Rick are playing just excellent on it.. to me it's a kind of desert sounding album. Highlights are 'Spazed', 'Needles' and 'Highway Zero'.

River (2001) - More country rock, bassy sounding album with 2 reggae cuts and acoustics. Not my personal favorite but to others it is. Highlights are 'Jump In Now', 'River' and 'Feelin' Alright'.

On Down The Road (2002) - This one is very Stonesy sounding, probably the most of all imo even more then JJH in a way. This one's usually rated in the top 3 of one's favorite list along with JJH and 117 degrees. Contains the song 'Sweet Caress' which is basically the most beautiful song Izzy has ever written.. the two covers on the album aren't listed on iTunes cause of legal rights. Other highlights are 'On Down The Road' and 'Coke'N'.

Like A Dog (2003) - The most GN'R and hardrock sounding album of all. This one is recorded right after Izzy spent time jamming with 'The Project' aka Slash and Duff. Actually he also brought these songs to them in ideas, but Izzy's own band worked them out to this. 'Bomb' is something Velvet Revolver also partially used on 'Do It For The Kids' and 'Snafu' is a song mentioned in Slash's bio. Other highlights are 'Just Don't Know' and 'Chop Away'.

Miami (2004/2005) - A bit sounding like 117 degrees or Ride On. Got much varation and some strong songs, but hasn't really been many's favorite as far as I can tell. Highlights are 'Buildings In The Sky', 'JR's Song' and 'Partly Cloudy'.

Fire (2007) - An awesome laidback acoustic rock album. Very basic a bit sounding like the Stones' acoustic Beggars Banquet songs. Highlights are 'Infrastruk', 'Seems To Me' and 'Box'. The latter two also feature Timo Kaltio on guitar.

Concrete (2008) - This one's got the less variety of all albums, eventhough it's got a dub and acoustic song. These songs are full of single note guitarlines all over the places compared to previous stuff. Highlights are 'Easy', 'Drove' and 'I Know'.

Smoke (2009) - This one is in terms of style inbetween JJH and 117 degrees I'd say, but the general sound is different then those (which goes for all Izzy's albums - each a unique sound/vibe) and more raw with vintage sounding guitars. Less modern ounding then Concrete or Like A Dog for example. Just like on the Fire' album Timo Kaltio plays on three songs. Highlights are 'Comfort Zone', 'Snow' and 'I'm Breathing In'.

'Gotta Say' is about Axl very likely.. it's about people bullshitting you and you seeing right through them. Another song similar to 'Gotta Sayt' is 'Good Enough' which is also on the 117 degrees album. It's about a time in Izzy's life when he got a lot of flack about what he did and he just said 'I don't care about what you say, this shit's good enough for me'. There are two interviews where Izzy talks about each song on the album, of both the JJH and 117 degrees album. What inspired the song, where and how it was recorded etc. I'll dig it up soon and will post it here.

[IzzyDutch]

Incidently I think "Box" from Izzy's acoustic album "Fire" is the "Down by the Sea" song Axl had confirmed in one of his chats as an unreleased "new" Gn'R song; so might be worth checking out. 

It's not the same song, 'Seems To Me' and 'Box' are written by Timo Kaltio and Izzy when Izzy invited him to Calfornia to his house. They wrote and recorded the songs there (the whole album's recorded there). And those two songs were the spark that eventually led into 'Fire.. the acoustic album'.

[IzzyDutch]

Source: http://www.chopaway.com/viewforum.php?id=19

Ju Ju Hounds

THE ALBUM

Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds was recorded in Chicago and Los Angeles, with mixes done in Copenhagen and was co-produced by Izzy and Eddie Ashworth. Stradlin discussed the making of the record and offered the following track-by-track comments:

"Somebody Knockin" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "Most of these songs are pretty vague and abstract because, when I write, I end up throwing together a bunch of thoughts that don't really blend together in a story. This one started as a guitar rhythm. It's probably a flashback on all the different visitors I've had over the last seven years since the success of G N'R."

"Pressure Drop" (Frederick Hibbert): "That's one of my favorite reggae songs ever. Originally we were going to cover it reggae style, but it was just too good. I figued we'd just fuck it up, so we just turned it completely around. But to give people an idea of where it came from, we put a little bit of the original version at the end."

"Time Gone By" (Stradlin/Richards): "We found ourselves going back to the music we were brought up on. This is a root-ish song I co-wrote with Rick Richards. He popped that riff, Charlie had a real cool drum thing he was doing. I wrote some lyrics and we put it all together. This one came real easy. A collaboration I was really happy with."

"Bucket O' Trouble" (Stradlin): "That's a real slammer."

"Got Away" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "It's just a mood; not about anything in particular, more like a collection of thoughts. Which doesn't make this any easier for you, does it? It's one of the first collaborations I've ever done with someone outside Guns N' Roses. Since '85 and that band started, I hadn't done anything with any other group or artist as far as songwriteing goes. It was a little weird at first. Once we bagan recording the material I came out with, new stuff kept coming up."

"Train Tracks" (Stradlin): "That's the only song which is really autobiographical in a nutshell. Where I grew up in Indiana, we used to live by the realroad. That's where we hung out and smoked pot. If you weren't in school or working, that's where you were...down by the train track."

"How Will It Go" (Stradlin): "Definitely a song about change that you feel. I listen to so many different types of music, I guess it just rubs off on me. This was another song written in one sitting. Originally, I was going to record it with just me and an acoustic guitar. After I played it in the studio, we added keyboards and drums."

"Cuttin' A Rug" (Stradlin): "We had a real good time recording this. When we went to Chicago, the hotel we stayed at would have live music every night and all these people would be there, laughing, buzzing and dancing. When we went out, we'd pass all these reggae, rock, thrash, punk and jazz clubs on Clark street where people were just having a good time. Being in L.A. I'd forgotten how it was in some towns where the music scene thrives seven days a week and people are cuttin' a rug. This is just a fun song about loosening up."

"Take A Look At The Guy" (Wood): "That's from Ronnie Wood's solo album, I've Got My Own Album To Do. We collared him when he was having a listening party for his new album over at A&M Studios. Ian McLagan knew him from the Faces days. We went out to dinner and I asked if he wanted to do a duet on the song. It took a couple of days, but we got it together. We took turns singing. That's his guitar solo at the end. Four in the morning..."

"Come On Now Inside" (Stradlin): "That's a really soft, moody song with piano. It's the slowest tune on the record. It's about winter in Indiana, which is both dark and cold."

For good measure, Stradlin also commented on the rest of the Pressure Drop EP tracks:

"Been A Fix" (Stradlin): "That was sort of an angst song. I thing I was reflecting back to when I was first taking a look around after the success of G N'R and what a fuckin' mess it felt like I was living in. We left Hollywood dirtbags and we came back heroes. What a fuckin' trip. Originally, the track was called 'Sure Been A Trip.' Then I changed it to 'Sure Been A Bitch,' then we mixed it up so some of the vocals are 'been a trip' and some are 'been a fix,' as in jam, like you're in a fix."

"Came Unglued" (Stradlin): "That's the fastest song I've ever written in my entire life. I'd just gotten off the phone with somebody and I went back into my bedroom and recorded this in one take with my guitar and a little miniature buzz amp at full distortion. Then I went back and wrote down what I played, divided it into verse and shoruses and wrote the lyrics the next day. It's sort of fragmented, but it's about coming apart completely. Because that's how I felt at the time. Like I was coming unglued. Then I wrote the song and I felt just fine."

"Can't Hear 'Em" (Stradlin/Ashhurst): "I like reggae because you can listen to it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. When ever I get a little wound-up, I put on a reggae tape and I can just kick back. Whenever we'd finish up a song in the studio, we'd go straight into a 15-20 minute reggae jam. Of course, our version of reggae doesn't sound like the stuff from Jamaica. It's kind of like our version of it."

[IzzyDutch]

117 degrees

THE ALBUM

Izzy Stradlin recently discussed the songs on 117� (Geffen Records). Produced by Stradlin, Eddie Ashworth (Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Sublime), and Bill Price (the Sex Pistols, the Clash), the disc was recorded in England, Trinidad and California and released March 10, 1998

"Ain't It a Bitch": That's one of the last songs I wrote for the album. It's a frustration song, dealing with some of the hassles involved in putting a record together. It's a very Stonsy thing. The open-G tuning - if you do that, you'll get that Stonesy sound.

"Gotta Say": We recorded that in London. It's about people who bullshit you, and seeing right through them. Someone I knew was doing that, being a real pain in the ass. That was kind of a moody time. But, you know, it passes. Eddie [Ashworth] plays mandolin on there. (EDIT by IzzyDutch: This track was actually recorded with the Ju Ju Hounds '93 - 1 of 3 total, suppose to be on the 2nd JJH album)

"Memphis": This was written by Chuck Berry. He was a true innovator, and he's got such an incredible history. I love his stuff. It's never too heavy. You never put on a Chuck Berry record and go, "God, this is depressing." It's all fun. (EDIT by IzzyDutch: This track was actually recorded with the Ju Ju Hounds '93 - 1 of 3 total, suppose to be on the 2nd JJH album)

"Old Hat": That's a piss-take, kind of riffing on some stupid, clich�d stuff. The cocaine line is a reference to the old rock star bullshit, and how you just get over it. While we were tracking the song, the North Hollywood bank robbery was happening. And I was thinking how even stuff like that, you see it so much on TV that it becomes old news. You just kind of bet on the car chases. You become cold.

"Bleedin'": That's about someone I knew who was still bellyachin' about this chick who'd split a long time before. It's kind of a "get over it" song. I haven't even told the guy it's about that it's about him. Maybe if I tell him, he'll finally get on with his life.

"Parasite": Angry - that says it all.

"Good Enough": This was recorded in Trinidad. I felt like everything in my life was fine, but I was getting a lot of flak, a lot of judgement calls on my life from other people. And I thought, "Wait a minute, man. This shit's GOOD ENOUGH for me! I'm happy with it. Fuck you!" (EDIT by IzzyDutch: This track was actually recorded with the Ju Ju Hounds '93 - 1 of 3 total, suppose to be on the 2nd JJH album)

"117�": That's a full-on roead-trip song. My dad, brothers, uncle and I all rode Harleys from Lafayette [Ind.] to New Orleans, then down to Texas. Then just my brother Joe and I rode to L.A. We were out for eight or nine days total, ridin' eight to ten hours a day, cruising along with nothing to think about. Riding all day is like therapy. By the time we got to Yuma [California], though, it was 117�.

"Here Before You": I have no idea what this song's about. I just woke up one morning with the chorus in my head. I think I'd heard that song "I Saw You First," by John Cougar Mellencamp, and it stuck with me. That line seemed to describe a real innocent, childlike mentality. But then the song turned into a car-oriented song. I was gonna call it "The Parking Lot Song." You know how people get in parking lots - "I saw that space first!"

"Up Jumped the Devil": That's a Ronnie Dawson song. He's got a great record called Ronnie Dawson: Monkey Beat that I got turned onto in Indiana. There are about ten real rockabilly tunes on there - simple, basic stuff - that really stick. On this version, the guitar's tuned down to a low D, which gives it a thick, swampy sound.

"Grunt": This is my favorite song on the record. I worked on it for quite a while. I started it in Indiana, and we tracked it in Santa Monica. I wanted something like "Frankenstein," by Edgar Winter.

"Freight Train": I have a thing about trains because I grew up by the railroad tracks. I've always loved 'em, the sound of the whistle, the way you can feel it go by the house. In fact, I still live by the railroad tracks.

"Methanol": We had a speedway motorcycle that ran on methanol. It's really high-octane stuff - highly explosive. Those bikes will go from zero to 60 in three seconds, just wicked fast. I had jugs of methanol in my garage, which is how I got the idea for the song. It started out with the fast riff, and then Rick came up with the drop-down riff we sing over. Then it turned into a song about cars.

"Surf Roach": I wrote this with my brother Joe. He lives in Lafayette and he's a real good musician. We've always jammed, but it's the little-brother syndrome, where you smack him in the head and say, "You can't play!" We hang together all the time when I'm back home. He was helping us out as a guitar tech when we were recording in Santa Monica. We were jamming on acoustics, and hi came up with this really cool, fast part that ended up in the song. It really made it work. Before that, this was a little three-chord thing I was gonna toss. I've always liked surf guitar, and over the past couple of years I've really gotten into the Ventures, all that stuff. Then I saw "Pulp Fiction" and it got me really fired up - I headed straight for the guitar.

[IzzyDutch]

Miami Part I

IZZY

You�ve mentioned before that you used a Fender Pro Jr. and Rick a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL401 on the album, what kind of guitars did you use?

I used a tv yellow Gibson SG on most of the songs and Rick his regular....Paul Reed Smith I believe...ask him though!

Who did the rant & backing vocals on �JR�s Song� and vocal speeches on �FSO Ragga�?

Taz does the opera (hilarious) voice and rant on JR�s Song... He�s quite a talent....he paints as well.

Did you write all the songs or where there any co-written by someone else (e.g. Rick)?

I did write the songs on Miami but its the group that makes them sound like they do.... Its a unique chemistry that�s stuck for 15 years with Rick and I and 12 years with Taz... JT�s new since the Like A Dog cd and he�s also a very talented musician..... They each bring their own special sound and style to these recordings and that�s what I love about the music we end up with at the end of the day.... Rick Richards came up with the line �our ministry needs your money" during a band�s �piss take� session that we recorded live. I thought it was brilliant .... we used it as a main line in �FSO Raga� aka "Fuck Straight Off"...

Did the writing take you along time? Were the songs worked out alot before entering the studio as in demos? And could you tell us some info on what some songs are about?

I wrote � of the material prior to the sessions and the rest during the time we spent in Miami....... the place itself inspired a few tunes.......... �Buildings In The Sky� came about from these big high rise buildings that spring up out of the beach... they�re imposing......... Huge contrast to the palm trees and the beautiful turquoise colored ocean.... Some pimped out Rolls Royce cars, street girls walkin� by at lunch time in heels..... it�s a trip....................�TJ� aka Tijuana is about this guy I know who kept goin� down to TJ to get clean......... but the detox is not an FDA approved treatment...... You could only get it in Mexico..... He said he would hallucinate for about 6-12 hours, sleep for about 48-72 hours and then wake up and feel pretty good, considering................and he was on the methadone program in America for almost 4 years prior to these treatments! I think he just liked the hallucination/tripping part of it because he ended up goin� back a bunch of times..... He�s clean last I heard 06/07

Over the years you�ve seen the inside of a lot of recording studios when recording your albums, which would be your favourite, if there is any?

Favourite studios....... �Criteria� is top notch...... �Nomad studios� in Dallas great vibe, cozy place to work........ There was a place in Trinidad �Caribbean Sound Basin� we tracked at back w/ Ju Ju Hounds that was cool..... Middle of the island, iguana lizards in the trees outside. The studio had nice hotel rooms built in....great carribean food in house as well. Nice crew of people running it.

And last but not least, what is your favourite track off of Miami?

.............? Not sure..................


RICK

What kind of equipment did you use on Miami?

Standard Marshall 900 amp, some Mesa Boogie's and Fender amps as well. The guitars are mainly Paul Reed Smith, Les Paul, Telecasters, Gibson 135 and Gibson SG. The acoustics were all Izzy's Gibsons.

Most Izzy albums contain songs which mention your name as a co-writer or writer like the song 'Jump In Now' were you came up with the music, have you written or co-written any of the Miami songs?

No, Izzy came in with the songs pretty much completed. My only contributions were the guitar and backing vocals.

We've heard you came up with the line 'our minestry needs your money' that was used for "FSO Ragga", is it about something particular?   

That line is a take on motivational speakers and Baptist ministers. It started out as a joke, then remained in the song for affect.

The 'Miami' album is only available on iTunes where there's no extra hassle with record labels, some find it frustrating and some think this way the music is much more widely available for the fans. What do you think of the music industry today and just releasing albums on iTunes?

I can understand the consumers frustrations, but by eliminating industry-types you are afforded complete freedom.

How was it recording Miami? Any cool/ funny stories during the recording process of it?

We pretty much worked constantly, but did get a chance to see Velvet Revolver and have dinner and laughs with Duff. A couple other things happened, but printing them would be incriminating.
Topless German girls, frolicking the beach was inspiring.

What's your favorite track off of Miami?

All of them.

Why is the new album called �Miami�?

We cut at Criteria Studios in Miami. A very historic studio indeed.

Are there many 'leftovers' a.k.a outtakes from the Miami sessions?

Every track is out, nothing left over to my knowledge.

JT LONGORIA

You�ve played bass on Miami, did you come up with all the bass parts on the reggae tunes (�Partly Cloudy� ending & �FSO Ragga�) aswell?

Yes, I did. We just kinda jammed those reggae bits. In fact, what you hear (instrumentally) on the reggae tunes is completely live in the studio. All first (and only) takes.

What kind off bass and amp did you use on the album?

I primarily used a Fender P-Bass through SWR amplification. On occasion I'd use Izzy's Rickenbacker. The SWR was a small amp but it had some punch to it!

Taz has mentioned that the �Miami� songs where jammed out a pinch more then normally, where there many songs that where written on the spot in the studio?

I believe all the arrangements were just kinda jammed out based on Izzy's riffs and ideas. The only two I can remember that had some sort of structure before recording were 'Going To Tijuana' and 'JR�s Song'. Izzy and I demo'ed those two songs before the Miami sessions (without vocals).

Which is your favourite song on the album?

Definitely 'Going To Tijuana'. That one hit a very special chord with me...

It�s been mentioned in the past that Izzy likes to write the lyrics just before recording vocals, were you guys around when the vocals where recorded?

We were all around for the recording of the entire record except for a handful of vocal overdubs tracked in LA.

The Miami album is only available on iTunes where there's no extra hassle with record labels, some find it frustrating and some think this way the music is much more widely available for the fans. What do you think of the music industry today and just releasing albums on iTunes?

I've got mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it's pretty cool that albums put out on iTunes only are easily available to anyone with a computer without the extra expense of an 'import' album. On the other hand, it kinda sucks to have no album artwork, no production notes and no thank-you lists or anything like that. I grew up listening to records as Ii read the liner notes or possibly followed along with the lyrics. The next generation wont have that. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it puts an interesting spin on the idea of knowing the band members, the producer, the band's friends (as found in the thank-you�s). Even as a kid far before I knew anything about how a record was made, I knew who produced my favourite records, where they were recorded and who the guest musicians were. that very well may be a thing of the past. Well, I suppose all that can be looked up on the inter-web...

You've also engineered again on the Miami album and the sound is pretty different compared to the Like A Dog album. Did you aproach it the same way as on the Like A Dog album? Were you also involved with the mixing, production or other similar aspects of the album?

Actually, the approach on the recording and mixing sides of this record were a bit different from 'Like A Dog'. 'Miami' was mixed at Nomad Recording Studio (refering to the re-mixes) , but it was recorded in studio E of Criteria Studios (in Miami) which has a very big cutting room. This allowed for very roomy drums which translated to the mix beautifully. You can hear it in the mixes. With the exception of "Everything's Alright", I used no reverb at all on the record though it sounds like the drums have it. The verb is all natural. 'Miami' has a different vibe, too, so the mixes were approached differently from that aspect.

[IzzyDutch]

TAZ BENTLEY

Could you tell us something about how the �Miami� recordings went down?

We had such a good time recording this one. We did it before Christmas and when we got back home decided it was so much fun that we should go back and do some more so that�s what we did. The studio "The Hit Factory", (aka Criteria) is world famous. I mean everyone has recorded there from The Bee Gees to Black Sabbath. While we were there Missy Elliot and the Black Eyed Peas were recording as well. This recording is more loose. We spent time Jamming the songs out a pinch more than normal. I was in a great place mentally so I think that carried over into the recordings. Izzy, Rick and I found a hole in the wall Cuban restaurant that we would walk to every day for lunch. The vibe was relaxed and the songs are as strong and diverse as always. I have only heard a couple of the tracks and I myself can�t wait to hear everything.

Did it take a long time to work out/arrange a demo into a real song?

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. It depends on how complete the song sounds when you begin writing it. Some are simply more easy than others.

What kind of kit do you use, and what preference of head do you like, studio and live?

I play DW drums. I use Remo coated emperor heads. In the studio and live. Sometimes coated ambassador in the studio just to get a quicker decay because they are one ply thinner than the emperors.

Do you play any other instruments besides drums?

I play a little guitar, but only enough to write music.

JOEY HUFFMAN

For Izzys fans who are perhaps unaware of how you came to work with Izzy could you provide a little background information? Does your further involvement with �Miami� stem from your production work on �River�?

I actually toured for a few dates with the Ju Ju Hounds in 1993. They picked me up in Atlanta toward the end of the tour. I think I did two weeks of dates with them before the tour came to an abrupt end and I went on to play with Soul Asylum. I recorded Rick's guitar parts on River so he didn't have to fly to LA. Izzy wanted me to put some keyboard parts down too as well as long as we were in the studio which I did. But due to a patching error my keyboard parts were recorded to the wrong hard drive so when I sent the Master hard drive back for mixing there were no keyboard parts there. I didn't know there had been an error until the record was released with no keyboard parts. As far as playing keyboards on Miami, Izzy and I always talked about working together again sometime so I just called Izzy and asked to play on the record and he said yes.

What kind of keyboard & organ setup did you use for the recording of "Miami"?

I used a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie 122 speaker and the studio's grand piano. I think it was a Yamaha but I'm not sure. I also used my Wurlitzer model 200 electric piano. We ran it through an amplifier to dirty it up a little and give it a bite. You can hear it really well on the song �Partly Cloudy�.

Songs like �Partly Cloudy� give the album a positive "jam-session" sound. Is this how the recording felt at the time, or had the band already planned the songs before entering the studio?

The whole session was kind of loose and comfortable. We recorded as a band. Izzy would just say "this is how this one goes" and we'd roll tape. I think it's a very organic record. We actually had to listen to each other as well as learn the songs at the same time. I think that's what gives it that jam band feel.

Some of Izzys fans find it frustrating that "Miami" was only available on iTunes, however we're of the opinion that it makes the music much more widely available to fans, without needing the extra hassle of a record label. What is your opinion of the music industry today, and do you feel the internet has helped smaller artists like Izzy?

I feel the internet is an essential tool for an artist to take advantage of. I think iTunes leaveled the playing field with the major labels. You don't need a label anymore. With iTunes there are no manufacturing costs which is passed along as savings to the consumer. When you cut out the record label then the artist gets one hundred percent of the profit after expenses.

It used to cost from a hundred thousand up to a million dollars to make a record. Now you can make a great sounding record for around forty thousand. Obviously the less you spend to record the sooner you start seeing a profit. You don't have to sell a million records anymore to have a successfull record anymore. An artist can be a success by selling as few as ten thousand records or downloads. An artist doesn't need a major label to promote their record anymore either. With vehicles like Myspace a band can target market their music and develope a substantial fan base and it's free. Some unsigned artists are getting five hundred thousand plays in a month. You can't  get that kind of exposure the traditional way. You'd have to pay an independent record promoter to pander to radio stations and then there is no guarantee an artist will get that range of exposure. I think when the smoke clears the internet and iTunes will be the standard.

Have you heard the final cut of the album, and if so do you feel the songs could be easily adjusted for a live performance?

Yeah, I actually downloaded it from iTunes. I think it's a good sounding record. It lends itself to live performance. We basically recorded it live in the studio. I'd love to get the chance to play this record live. Who knows, it just might happen.

[tippasaurus]

Incidently I think "Box" from Izzy's acoustic album "Fire" is the "Down by the Sea" song Axl had confirmed in one of his chats as an unreleased "new" Gn'R song; so might be worth checking out. 

It's not the same song, 'Seems To Me' and 'Box' are written by Timo Kaltio and Izzy when Izzy invited him to Calfornia to his house. They wrote and recorded the songs there (the whole album's recorded there). And those two songs were the spark that eventually led into 'Fire.. the acoustic album'.

Ahh, I see!  I just thought it was an interesting coincidence since the main hook of the song contained the words "down by the ocean"...seemed like a probable similarity.

[D]

Thank u so much IzzyDutch... im trying to locate Ju Ju Hounds and 117 but they are hard to find.

But I appreciate the time u took posting all that

[journey]

'Gotta Say' is about Axl very likely..

This being my favorite for a long time, I never made that connection. I try not to think about the politics of the band's breakup when listening to the music.

Just heard Sweet Caress recently. Amazing song!

[IzzyDutch]

Thank u so much IzzyDutch... im trying to locate Ju Ju Hounds and 117 but they are hard to find.

But I appreciate the time u took posting all that

Sure no problem

Here you can listen to some tunes: http://www.myspace.com/izzystradlinfansite

'Gotta Say' is about Axl very likely..

This being my favorite for a long time, I never made that connection. I try not to think about the politics of the band's breakup when listening to the music.

Just heard Sweet Caress recently. Amazing song!

I don't really pay attention to all that kind of politics when listening to Izzy's or other people's songs either to be honest, but Izzy has several songs were you just can't think it's about Axl / GN'R. For the rest it's pretty straight forward, it's usually about airplanes, cars, heat and a bit of everything else  There's 'Parasite' on 117 degrees "You're justa maggot in a one horse town, you're such a loser, ya sold my guns" and 'Jump In Now' on River "Why you're so lonely is you piss and you moan, any lessons you're shown doesn't it show, year after year you keep going nowhere". But these kinf of lyrics stopped after 2001, On Down The Road from 2002 also has some bitter lyrics but they're about his divorce (You Betcha, Got Some News) and also his new love at the time (Sweet Carress).

[Trist805]

Thank you, too, IzzyDutch.   I had no idea that Ronnie Wood played on a song for  the Ju Ju Hounds CD and I actually own it lol  Guess I didn't read the notes, I usually just put it in and listen to it.   Will have to go back and check that one out now.