Gary James' Interview With Andy Babiuk Of
The Chesterfield Kings



They've been called "America's Rolling Stones" and their new CD, "Let's Go Get Stoned" lives up to that reputation. Based out of Rochester, New York, The Chesterfield Kings formed in the late '70s during the Punk and New Wave movement. Since then, they've become a major draw all over, and we do mean all over. In support of their latest CD they will be touring extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. We talked with The Chesterfield Kings' bass player and Brian Jones look-alike, Andy Babiuk.

Q - Your band has quite a following in just the Central New York area from what I've been told.

A - Well, we've been around since 1979. We originally started out back in the early '60s, playing New York City, Rochester, Buffalo, Albany. I don't think we've ever played in Syracuse. We did a lot of touring in the States, for years, out to California and every place in between. (laughs) We've played down South, We've done really well in Canada too. We've been to Europe quite a few times. So, we stay busy.

Q - The Chesterfield Kings are not a Rolling Stones clone act, are they?

A - No.

Q - "Let's Go Get Stoned" then is just a special project?

A - No. I couldn't even say it's that. I think we camped up the cover quite a bit 'cause we're fans, you know? If you're a fan of Chuck Berry you tend to play like Chuck Berry. We like Blues stuff. We did a whole Blues CD prior to this record. We did a thing called "Drunk on Muddy Water". We recorded an album in Berlin and then we brought the tapes back and finished it here in the States. It was called "The Berlin Wall of Sound". Between the time that it came out when we were actually done making it, and the time it came out, we had a lot of dead time, so we were listening to a lot of Blues at the time and we decided to do this Blues record. It was called "Drunk on Muddy Water". It was kind of fun. We've always had The Stones' kind of sound to us. I guess we can't help it 'cause the way Greg (Prevost, Chesterfield Kings' lead singer) sounds, the way he sings. As far as ripping off The Stones, on our second album, the back cover is an exact duplicate of "December's Children". (laughs) That came out in '83. People liked it at the time and we've done a lot of albums in between. People have always compared us to sounding like The Stones, but we really never capitalized on it. We never did a Stones' song on our record. Live, we were playing a couple of Stones' songs, depending on how we felt that night. It was fun. We said we should record this, and it was "Street Fighting Man", and it turned out great.

Q - How did you look on stage, like the back of this CD cover? Like your promotional picture?

A - Same thing. Back in late 1980, when our first album came out, we always had the bangs, the mop haircuts and the Beatle boots. That was always our look. We never really strayed from that. We've gone through some members now and then, but we've basically kept the roots of '50s and '60s stuff.

Q - Whose idea was it to record this Stones sounding CD of yours?

A - We were really cautious about doing the whole thing. It kind of just kept snowballing, the more we went long recording it. We wrote about forty songs for the record.

Q - And picked the best of 'em?

A - Yeah. It just seemed like we all liked the same kind of music. While we were recording it, the engineer and the people who would be around the studio said, "Man, you guys sound just like The Stones on this one." And it was like, "We weren't really intending to." One of the first songs we decided to record just for the hell of it was "Street Fighting Man". It sounded pretty good. We don't do a Stones' song unless you do it justice. We don't touch it. We really put no time stipulation on the record. We figured when it's done, it's done.

Q - So, when did you start it?

A - We started it about a year and a half ago. We ran into a lot of recording problems and technical problems. Then we hated some of the stuff we were doing and we went back and changed it. We changed guitar parts. We re-did a lot of things. But, we took our time. We were actually recording the song, "Let's Go Get Stoned". Ray Charles made it popular. It's actually and old R&B song from the '60s. I think Ashford and Simpson wrote it. We were actually gonna record it for the record, and we were rehearsing it, and it just didn't sound right. But we liked the song. We liked the lyrical content. As we were doing the record somebody said, "That sounds like The Stones. Why don't we call it, 'Let's Go Get Stoned'." People can take it different ways. We were really happy with the end product.

Q - When did you realize you looked like Brian Jones?

A - Sine I was a kid. I've always had bangs. When we started the band, we wanted to capitalize on everyone having mop haircuts 'cause at the time we started it was hip to have Punk or a New Wave haircut. We figured, let's go totally the other way. Let's have these mod looking mop tops. When we put our first record out, people said, "Man, you look just like Brian Jones." So then I figured I'd capitalize on it. I wore a lot of turtlenecks.

Q - How much did you know about Brian Jones?

A - I was always a fan of The Stones, but I never thought I looked like Brian Jones. I never thought that ever. Never in a million years.

Q - When you're walking down the street in England, people would stop you.

A - We have a pretty good fan base in Europe. Last time we were in London a guy who was a fan of the band stopped us and said, "Hey, you guys are the Chesterfield Kings!" Me and Greg were just hanging out. I don't know. We were going to Piccadilly Circus or something. It was kind of weird. Same thing happened when we were in Italy. Nobody ever stops you and says, "You're Brian Jones," because everyone knows he's dead. (laughs) I'd like to meet his kids though. His one kid looks just like him.

Q - How'd you get Mick Taylor to play on this CD?

A - It was a situation that was kind of cool. He was coming to Rochester for this show. He knew about The Chesterfield Kings from friends of ours. I hear rumors that Jeff Beck knows who we are. They know who we are and they heard us and and like us. And it's like, "How come I never get to meet these guys? I wanna meet Jeff Beck." And it was the same situation with Mick Taylor. We were in the midst or recording and had already put down a lot of basic tracks. I just called him up and said, "Hi. I'm in The Chesterfield Kings. We're recording a record and I know you're in town. Would you mind coming down to the studio and playing?" He said, "I'd love to. Can you come and get me?" (laughs) I said, "Sure. We'll come and get you." So, he came down. He played slide. We were just jammin' with him. We actually asked him in to play on "Street Fighting Man", play lead on it, and he said, "No, I couldn't do that to the guys. They'll get mad at me. I've never done stuff like that, just out of respect. I really still like The Stones a real lot. They're my friends and I can't do that."

Q - Are you the only act on Mirror Records?

A - No. There's quite a few acts on it. There's The Rumble Dogs, Bat McGrath. We've been on Mirror since the late '70s. We've got a good rapport with them. Our records get all over the world, so it's a good arrangement.

Q - Do The Stones know of The Chesterfield Kings?

A - I don't know. A guy like Jagger stays up on current music. He'll know anything that's out there. I think he makes it a point to know it. I don't know how obscure he gets. I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, unfortunately. I'd be honored if he did know about it. If not, hopefully someday I can meet the guy and say, "Hey, I did your records man." (laughs)

Official Website: www.TheChesterfieldKings.com

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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