Gary James' Interview With Alex Mitchell Of
Circus Of Power



Circus Of Power, or C.O.P. for short, are a force to be reckoned with. You won't catch this group taking a back seat to anybody. Currently on tour in support of their debut album on RCA Records, singer Alex Mitchell talked with us about his group.

Q - Am I correct in saying that three of the band members are from New York, yet you met in Florida in 1984?

A - We met a long time ago, before that I think. The guys I met in Florida were Gary (Sunshine, bassist), and Ricky (Mahler, guitarist) and the other guys I met in New York.

Q - What were you doing in Florida? Working in a band?

A - I was pretty much brought up in Florida. I moved over from Toronto as a kid and spent my time sailing, surfing and driving cars. I was in a couple of bands down there. When I came back to New York I had seen Ricky and Gary hanging out at the bars in New York. One day on the street, Rick just said he'd been playing with a couple of guys and tried to get me to come by and sing. They didn't have any set material together. I was, "Oh, sure. Why not?" We put a couple of songs together that we could jam with at rehearsal, some originals. We took it in a lighthearted way about getting a band together because everybody else had been in bands and gotten so serious about everything. It gets too heavy emotionally or whatever, and people freak out and the band breaks up. We took ourselves lightly and got a little more serious about the music.

Q - While you were putting this group together, how did you guys support yourselves?

A - We were working construction. A couple of us were driving trucks. The thing with the band got busy, so busy that we'd be missing work. A couple of us were out of work when it came down to when we were signing, which was good timing for us. We were all getting pretty damn broke and getting evicted from apartments.

Q - Is it true that record company reps won't come to New York to see bands?

A - It's changing. I think there's some more talent for them to come out and look at. The blame cannot be on the record companies. New York hasn't been a hotbed for Rock 'n' Roll. Now you've got some bands that are starting to happen. They'll come out when it's worth their while. Damn sure.

Q - What brought the RCA A&R reps to see Circus Of Power?

A - Our A&R person at RCA we thought really cared about the band and was a pretty solid person at RCA; she wasn't going nowhere. In one respect it was a little chancy because we were the only act of our kind on the label. But in another respect, if we'd gotten on another label with all those other bands, we might not have gotten as much attention or have gotten so much support. We just said, "Let's get signed. We'll take it from there. We'll go out. We'll play. We'll make people see where we're coming from. As long as they treat us good and don't tell us what to do, then all the record companies are the same to me."

Q - Does Circus Of Power have any special meaning?

A - Well, yeah. It's what this band is. That's what the world is (laughs) That's exactly what it is.

Q - How would you describe your music?

A - It's Rock 'n' Roll. It's not safe Rock 'n' Roll. It's not stuff that'll get you on all the radio and TV stations. That's not really Rock 'n' Roll to me. That's corporate music made by yuppies.

Q - Albert Goldman, the biographer of John Lennon, said, "To the public, Rock stars represent vitality, youth, innocence, and joy. But in private life they represent despair and an infatuation with death." What do you think about what Mr. Goldman had to say?

A - He's an ignorant asshole. That's what I've got to say about him. How the hell does he know what's going on in my head? He's trying to make money off of somebody. I've heard the guy's a rip-off. It's not a real biography. So, I don't have much to say about that guy. Let's not even give him any press. He doesn't deserve it. Artists in general are people who think. So, people who think are gonna deal with life and death and despair and hope and agony and euphoria and all of that. He just wishes he was one of 'em. I guess that's his problem.

Q - Do you see Circus Of Power as having an advantage over other groups seeing as how you're a New York group?

A - No. We're just doing our thing. They can do their thing. We could even do it together if they want. We're not concerned with what other bands are doing or where they're coming from. We've got enough on our own heads, on our own shoulders. It's a 24 hour thing. There's no time to worry about bands from L.A., bands from New York. What's the difference? It's all the same for us.

See Circus Of Power on Facebook

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed by individuals interviewed for this web site are the sole responsibility of the individual making the comment and / or appearing in interviews and do not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone associated with the website ClassicBands.com.