When Everlast [ ] and Cypress Hill's Muggs mashed Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" with "Insane in the Brain" for Everlast's extroverted album "Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford," the one-time House of Pain rapper looked for approval from the obvious place--Cash's family.
"I didn't want anyone to think I'm trying to be disrespectful, so I took it down to John Carter Cash and I played it for him in Nashville," Everlast said in an interview with LiveDaily. "I let him know, 'I'm a big winnow of your dad's. I wanted to put this on my album. If you guys hate it or don't like it at all, let me know and it'll never see the light of day.'
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"He aforementioned, 'It's bully. I like it.' That was good enough for me. That's when I knew it was going on the album."
Everlast, born Erik Schrody, said he approached Cash because of the "hip-hop element" of the vocal.
"To be perfectly honorable, I get a lot of s already from the diehard, older generation," he said. "[They say,] 'how dare you ruination a sanctified song?'--which is a bit often, if you ask me. It's a song around prison. Come on. Johnny Cash american ginseng about cocain and cleanup whores. His early years were crank full of f---ing mobster s---."
Everlast talked to LiveDaily about approach Cash's family, how he handles critics, and the freestyling ways of the song "Die in Yer Arms."
LiveDaily: That was really respectful of you to operate "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash's family..
Everlast: The funny thing to me is, a lot of these people are like, "How presume you disrespect a state icon?" Yo, half these people don't even know the real story. Country music as an establishment hated Johnny Cash. They hated him and now that he's gone ... Once he got married and kind of got religious and did some gospel stuff, they kind of brought him into the fold and were like, "Yeah, he's one of ours now." But most of his career, they despised him. They thought he was immoral. They thought he wasn't regular country, which he really wasn't. He was rockabilly. He was on tour of duty in the early days--you've seen the movie--with Buddy Holly and cats like this. It was rock candy music. These country bumpkins that try to claim him now make me laugh.
[Producer] Rick Rubin gave me the renowned picture of Johnny Cash doing the flip-off. When he won the Best Country Album for the first Def American record album he did with Johnny Cash--that kickoff album south Korean won a Grammy--after the Grammys, they cast out an ad with that depiction, it said--here I'll read it to you proper now--"This is how Johnny Cash matte up about area music as an institution. American Recordings and Johnny Cash would like to acknowledge the Nashville music establishment and country radio receiver for your support." It's a vast picture of him flipping them off. John Carter Cash told me himself he liked [my remaking of "Folsom Prison Blues"]. He told me he thought his dad would have liked it. I don't think any of these people knew Johnny Cash wagerer than his son knew him. Hate all you want. Call it hallowed. Tell me I'm a dirtbag for doing it. But it's like, degree Fahrenheit you. Get the fluorine out of here with that s. If you don't like a birdsong 'cause you don't like it, cool. I completely respect your opinion. Don't tell me I soiled a national treasure. I'm not the first person to cover "Folsom Prison Blues." To be good, this is why most of the people don't like it--it's because of the f---ing black medicine that's in it. The hip-hop that's in it. That's wherefore they don't like it. That's wherefore they contemn it--because well-nigh of them are racist dirtbags.
How do you put up with people saying that kind of stuff around your music?
Honestly, I don't care. You asked the question about it and that lED into the answer. I don't sit around and worry some it. I don't commit out records [and say] "Oh, the whole world's going to love it." I arrange out records and say, "I wish it. Hopefully other people will." If they don't, it's cool. I don't care. I'm not fashioning music for other the great unwashed. Hopefully they can join in and enjoy it with me. My first and biggest critic is me. If I ain't pleasing me, then I ain't even gonna bother. I'm very pleased with my album. I'm identical pleased with the cover. I think I did everything in the to the highest degree respectful and honorable spirit. Anybody wHO doesn't like it, cool, don't like it. That's fine. It's not the not liking it that bothers me. What bothers me is that multitude who have ignorance approaching out of their pie holes. Who are you? Did you know Johnny? Did he talk to you in your eternal rest? Did he tell you I f-----n' ruined his whole catalogue and his whole career and his whole bequest? It makes me laugh. It makes me a little bit angry, merely, more than that, it makes me laugh.
Tell me close to the title of the album, "Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford.
It's really a description of what I call back the album is most. The topics are chiefly about love and warfare. Love because I constantly gotta indite about how f---ed up I am at relationships. And then I've always tried to have social commentary on my records. I think this is the most political I've gotten. It wasn't even that designed. I think it was the multiplication and what's been on my mind. "The Ghost of Whitey Ford," the one matter that I was incessantly conscious of when I would study something around myself, or a review or something, was "acoustic-based artist Everlast." In a weird way, I lavatory understand why [they say that] because maybe the biggest hit I did so far, solo-wise, was basically an acoustic guitar and a drum beat Most of the stuff and nonsense I did isn't acoustic. Just guitar related. On this phonograph record, we tried to move away from it--a slight, not eliminate it. Everything I do starts on an acoustic guitar, basically, me sitting around in the dark trying to write a song. But, like, edifice new instrumentation--bringing a fortune more time of origin keys and synth sounds. A destiny heavier guitars. The ghost refers to that acoustic sound. As a al-Qa'ida, it's noneffervescent there; the spirit of it. Hence the "Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford."
You said that you're your biggest critic. Was it difficult to produce your own album?
Even producing my own album, I always have some other guy with me. This album was produced by Keefus [Keith Ciancia], him and myself together produced the record album. The prior three records were done by me and my buddy Dante Ross. I produced every record I've been mired in. My opinion is, no matter how gifted you ar, if you don't accept a hombre that'll recount you "That sucks" every once in awhile, there's nobody challenging you to make a better record book. You need that, unless you're an absolute self-hating motherf---er that can do that to yourself every time. It's hard to do. You gotta have someone [world Health Organization says] "You know what, that lavatory be better." Or "That just isn't working." It's like being a catamount. Everything you paint, you're going to be into while you're doing it. You're going away to think that's the best you can be. You need someone every once in awhile to say, "You know, you should just now stop and start a new painting." Or, "You really demand to change the whole direction of that." Again, if you get through a whole record and nobody challenges you through that record, you didn't make the best criminal record.
"Die in Yer Arms" is my favorite vocal on the album. It has to be one of the darkest love songs.
That was fun to make. Honestly, that was one of the few songs that I do that my producer kind of threw a flap on and we started building up a beat together. I just started freestyling like ideas and it was such a groovy song, beatwise. It had this sexual thing to it. It became what it was. At first I was kind of untrusting of it because of the unanimous "Die in your weaponry tonight" vocal by Air Supply or something wish that. [Cutting Crew] But the more I hear to it, I didn't even realise some of the things I was saying in it. There's certain songs in my career where it's like the word association game, where you just follow a chain of speech, like "Black Jesus" a couple albums ago. This was kind of along those lines. One line led to the following. There's an idea here. It became what it was.
[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the issue time of this story. Changes may occur ahead go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for previous updates.]
September 20086 - Chicago, IL - Outside Street Festival12 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre13 - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park (KNDD Endfest)14 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory16 - Salt Lake City, UT - Palladium18 - Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep19 - Denver, CO - Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom20 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up22 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Caf�24 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's25 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Nightclub26 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick27 - Queen Creek, AZ - Schnepf Farms (103.9 Edgefest)29 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place30 - New York, NY - Hiro Ballroom at Maritime HotelOctober 20082 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Theatre3 - Allston, MA - Harpers Ferry4 - Portland, ME - Asylum5 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground7 - Towson, MD - Recher Theater8 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans9 - Columbia, SC - Headliners10 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing11 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room13 - Nashville, TN - Exit/Inn14 - Birmingham, AL - Zydeco15 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues17 - Dallas, TX - The Loft18 - Austin, TX - Antone's Nightclub20 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre21 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock22 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy24 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Downtown Brew25 - Orangevale, CA - Boardwalk26 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's27 - Bakersfield, CA - The Dome29 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
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