LEMMY On Living In L.A., Studying History

Gustavo Turner of LA Weekly recently conducted an interview with MOTÖRHEAD frontman and rock icon Lemmy Kilmister. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

LA Weekly: How long have you been in L.A.?

Lemmy: 20 years now.

LA Weekly: What made you come to L.A.?

Lemmy: Well, there's the music scene, there's the music business, so it makes sense from that point of view. And also, when you've grown up in dingy rain-sodden England there's all this pictures about this sunshine, palm-trees, swimming-pool place, you think, I wonder if it's really that nice. And then we came here on tour and it was, you know. 'Cause you have no idea the difference, you know, the difference in mindset, the sunshine nearly all year round. In England it's drizzlin' rain all year round, right, so you know. And people say, "oh, it's so green." Say no wonder, it's all the fuckin' water out there, you know [laughs].

LA Weekly: Have you noticed a lot of change in LA in the last 20 years?

Lemmy: I mean, there comes somebody trying to stop you having a good time, you know it's incredible. And all the businesses close, not at 2... they close at 1:30. Some of them close at 1 even, you know. It's a shame, you know. I don't know what. They live in paradise and they keep shootin' themselves in the foot, you know. I don't get it. And how California can be in debt is beyond me. I mean, it's the richest state in the union and it's like trillions of dollars in debt. What kind of clowns are they voting for to represent them, you know. Wasting all that bread?

LA Weekly: How about the rest of your military outfit and your interest in the Civil War and World War II? Why do you think this war theme keeps coming back with British artists of your generation? Roger Waters seems fixated on it. Pete Townshend...

Lemmy: This is from a guy in a country that's at war in Iraq and Afghanistan! That's a good question. Because they keep doing it, that's why. Because we can't stop ourselves. We can't stop ourselves killing each other for no reason except ideology usually, religion, like it is in those places. Your still fightin' about fuckin' religion. I just don't get it, you know. What's a matter, you fuckin' stupid or something?

LA Weekly: So, studying the wars of the 20th century helps you understand about the wars now?

Lemmy: As you collect war relics and memorabilia you, like, you have to learn about the war itself. There's a whole lot to it. You have to find out about everything, and all I found out about the second world war was that everybody in it was fuckin' completely unprepared for it, said shit about the other side that they were doin' themselves, you know. And then the victors judged the losers and hanged 'em before they could say anything. [laughs]. You know, the whole thing, politics is bullshit. And the world has got even more political since then. And it's not doing us any favors. Politics is crap. All politicians are assholes. Imagine wanting to be a politician. What kind of fuckin' mindset must that be? I wanna kiss other peoples' babies for five years, and then get into a high position and retire? Great. And steal everybody's money. Or rather spend everybody's money. Same thing. It's fuckin' disgraceful, isn't it? Politicians. Look at California. Like I was saying, the debt in California. That guy over there. He didn't spend 50 billion dollars or whatever it is. I didn't do it. Those guys behind the counter [at the Rainbow] didn't do it. So what the fuck, who did it? Some asshole in a suit with a John F. Kennedy hairstyle, you know.

Read the entire interview from LA Weekly.