Why So Blu?

Diggin’ Graves with Captain Clegg

From November up to now, there has been a lot of buzz on Why So Blu about Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures.  This holiday season, we were able to chat with the Captain about his early beginnings in music, his deadliness with a six-string and working with metal magician Rob Zombie.  For the faint at heart, here’s your fair warning to beware.  Clegg tells it like it is in his no-holds-barred delivery.  It was almost like talking with my dad after a Browns loss, just minus the anger.  So if you’re not such a feather duster, then tighten your belt and have a read of our exchange.  I learned a lot about the musician over the course of the dialogue and he has some serious bragging rights.  After all, it’s not everyday you get to talk with someone who worked along side Johnny Cash.  Rock on, brother!

Gregg:  How old were you when you started playing the guitar?

Captain:  I started guitar at 15 and could just play naturally, was shitty in baseball, even though I still love it, so I scrapped sports and immediately started a band.  I played drums and piano since 7.

 

Gregg:  What does the Gretsch guitar offer in your music that other guitars cannot?

Captain:  It’s common that people think I play Gretsch guitars, but I actually play King guitars.  A company in California builds them for me and they’re very influenced by Gretschs’, but have bigger bodies and I think a fatter tone.  The one I use onstage is the “Capt. Clegg” model and was built for me for my scenes in Halloween 2.

 

Gregg:  When did you first start playing and singing in a band?

Captain:  I went to a party when I was 15 after I’d been playing guitar for only 2 weeks and sat in with the band.  After hearing the girls at the party freak out over us, I knew I had found my calling.  That night we played a Stones song, one by Neil Young and a Hank Williams number.  I’ve been playing variations of those same damn songs my whole life.

 

Gregg:  How did the name ‘Captain Clegg & the Night Creatures’ come about?

Captain:  Rockstar/film director Rob Zombie gave us our name.  It’s from an old 60’s Hammer Film from an English horror movie.

 

Gregg:  From the Detroit show, it sounded like Johnny Cash influenced you.  Is that so and who are your other musical influences?

Captain:  Although I do have a lot of different influences, Johnny Cash is one of the main ones.  I actually got to meet and play with Johnny in 1997 at a Waylon Jennings session I was working on.  Type in ‘Jesse Dayton, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash’ on youtube.com and you’ll see footage of me playing with them in a studio when I was just a young’in!  I’m a huge Stones fan.  I love 60’s garage, 50’s country and western/rockabilly and of course dig 70’s and 80’s punk music.  I actually grew up on the Texas/Louisiana border listening to country and Cajun music.  What am I listening to now?  The new Rob Zombie single “What?”

 

Gregg:  You mentioned on your website that you and the band have had to work very hard to get to where you are today.  What hurdles have you had to clear to achieve the success you’ve earned?

Captain:  Wow, paying dues is something I know a lot about.  The music business has to be a “calling”…like the priesthood or something of that nature.  That’s why soooo many people give up because they simply can’t make a living.  I’ve slept in vans, airports, bus & train stations…I’ve literally starved before, but I’ve always been a good guitar player so those spells didn’t last long and I would get a gig.  I’ve played every kind of show you could imagine; from a tiny little country wedding to playing for 200,000 people at festivals.  If you love it and you know you’re good, then you just make it work.  Luckily, things have gotten a lot better for me.  I have a cult following, and thanks to Rob and Lew Temple, a new career doing movies.

 

Gregg:  When playing live music, there is a definite flow and there typically aren’t any ‘do-overs.’  How did this work for the filming of your scenes in Halloween 2?  Was the ‘cut!’ and ‘roll!’ frustrating to deal with?

Captain:  Rob wanted to make it as “live” as possible because he’s a musician/songwriter himself.  We did a lot of takes until we got it right and we we’re all damn glad to be there.  No bullshit, Rob had 300 extras jammed into this “club” that he decorated to look like we’re playing in hell and it was really hot out in the middle of nowhere in Georgia and seriously, not ONE SINGLE PERSON bitched about it.  Rob inspires you to wanna kick ass.  It was an amazing experience.

 

Gregg:  How did you get contacted to appear in the film?

Captain:  Rob and I had met briefly while working on the Banjo and Sullivan record for the Devils Rejects movie.  One day out of the blue he calls me and says that him and Sheri are coming down to this show I’m playing with Mike Ness from Social Distortion in LA.  So they show up and come backstage and we make small talk for awhile and right before I go out onstage, Rob says, “I’m making another movie and I want you to be IN it and do some songs for it.”  I was blown away.  It was one of those times that was very humbling, like hanging with Cash or something to that effect.

 

Gregg:  What are some pros and cons to the touring lifestyle?

Captain:  The “pros and cons” to touring are all right there in your face.  The Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Tour was a blast.  I partied some with the band and crew, but I started running awhile back, (inspired by a conversation I had with Willie Nelson who runs a lot), so I found a nice balance of everything.  Having a few drinks after the show or smoking a joint is one thing, but having addiction issues and letting it interfere with work is another.  I’m very sensitive to all that.  My best friend in the world has been sober for 17 years and she is the light of my life.  I’ve lost a lot of friends to drugs and alcohol and it sucks.  Luckily, I don’t have the “addiction gene.”  As far as sleeping on tour and living, I’m a total fuckin’ road-dog.  I could’ve stayed out with Rob for months just because everyone got along so well and we all kind of gave each other the space we needed, not to mention Zombie’s tour manager Fred treated me like a king the whole time.

 

Gregg:  Lastly, what’s next on the accomplishment to-do list for Captain Clegg?

Captain:  Clegg has become a real living entity.  We filmed a documentary about Clegg while we were on tour and it looks amazing, not to mention it’s a great hook; “How did a white-trash country crooner from Texas end up on one of the coolest heavy metal tours of the year?!”  The documentary titled Phantom Jammers on the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Tour will be out in January, and then in February I’m going to New Orleans to work on a Clegg film.  It’s a zombie movie, (yes, they’re fast zombies!), about the health care/pharmaceutical companies turning everyone into zombies with a drug called “Zombex”…ya know, like Zanex.  I’m doing it with a bunch of my friends from the Austin film scene.  Also, I’m doing  another film with a legendary director but I’ve been sworn to silence until he releases all the info on it.  I also have a new Jesse Dayton country record coming out with the new single titled Think Of Me Darlin’ When You Take Out The Trash.  If you hate contemporary country radio like me and LOVE Cash, Waylon and Willie, then this record is for YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!

 

Thanks, Captain!  There’s no doubt the guy’s got passion and it’s pretty obvious he has several irons in the fire.  We wish him the best of luck and look forward to seeing him perform live again!  As for the ‘legendary director’ he referred to, hmmm, I’m only going on an educated guess here, but could it be Mr. Night of the Living Dead himself?  What a pairing that would be!  Stay tuned for future details.

 

Visit Captain Clegg on the World Wide Web.

 

 

The diabolical debut from the uncontested king of carnage, the ghost host with the most, Captain Clegg and his band of nefarious Night Creatures! Featuring such psychobilly smash-hits as “Zombie A Go Go” and “Transylvania Terror Train,” this is the horror record to haunt your nightmares for eons to come!  To order your CD click on the image below.

 

Last but not least, check out the music video below for “Zombie A Go Go.”

Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures – “Zombie A Go Go” from Capt. Clegg on Vimeo.