[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e here at Vanyaland talked to a lot of people this year, from comedians to television personalities to — obvz — musicians. Looking back at the whirlwind since May, here are 13 of the best lines relayed to me by our interviewees.
“I am a nutcase to managing music, so let me share a few things with you; and some of these things people may take offense to, some people will argue with me, but I’m gonna tell you this: I am absolutely right, I’ve got 35 years and a track record to prove it.”
— Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer.
“Who jumps Aaron Carter? Why? Look at the poor guy. And “angry New Kids fans”? Holy shit, that’s hilarious!”
— Local H frontman Scott Lucas on the alleged jumping of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s younger brother in Boston.
“I wasn’t repping Aaron at that time.”
– Aaron Carter’s former and current publicist, Brad Taylor, on said jumping, in relation to another story that involved the singer of the Calling getting his ass kicked right after they announced their “comeback.”
“I think a lot of people get facials, that’s how we celebrate that day [laughs], but you can choose your own kind — whatever that is — it’s totally up to you. For some it means skincare, for some it means something totally different.”
-Comedian Margaret Cho on how people should spend April 30th – “Margaret Cho Day” in San Francisco.
“The legacy of Pantera stands pretty firmly on its own. I don’t really dwell on the negative things within Pantera. To me, Pantera is about a whole lot more than the breakup; when I think of Pantera I think of really, really awesome times and great, great, great things and fantastic brotherhood and camaraderie.”
— Phil Anselmo on Pantera’s legacy.
“Usually you don’t let things like that trip you out, but when it’s right in front of you doing it… one guy was sitting on the side of the stage eating cake [laughs] and that tripped me out too, but I went over and ate his cake.”
-The Cult singer Ian Astbury on fans not paying attention at shows.
“I hate Prince and I hate INXS and I hate Duran Duran; if I hear “Union of the Snake” one more time I’ll throw myself off a hill.”
— Adam Carolla.
“Even if I was still drinking, I wouldn’t sing “Raspberry Beret.’”
“Halloween, for us, is really an epiphany for what we do and is an homage to our fans.”
— The Misfits’ Jerry Only before this year’s Halloween performance at The Wilbur Theatre.
“That’s pretty fucking rock n’ roll. That’s what I’d do; it’s proper rock n’ roll right there.”
– Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen on Boston’s Kyle Nesson of Cocked ‘N Loaded and his legendary performance where he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon early in the band’s 10 year anniversary set — but finished anyway.
“Basing it on the last year, it would be pretty foolish to never do that again. We’ve definitely left the door open and we’ll see what happens.”
–INVSN, International Noise Conspiracy frontman Dennis Lyxzén on what the future holds for Refused.
“Their manager said they wouldn’t come to America until they could sell out Shea Stadium – they wanted to be like the Beatles.”
— Simon Spence, author of The Stone Roses: War and Peace.
“Oh! He’s a genius, yeah. I went to the Sub Pop Silver Jubilee, the 25th anniversary thing? It was a great fucking thing with three stages and outside and great weather and bands – but I went to see Dulli.”
— Ex-Guns ‘N Roses, current Walking Papers bassist Duff McKagan on his love for Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli