vhnd.com: What equipment are you playing these days?
Mike Hartman: VHT amps, I just signed a exclusive deal with Washburn guitars. They are putting me on a clinic tour this summer. Washburn are taking out full page ads in Guitar Player 3 months in a row.
vhnd.com: Any guitar magazine interviews lined up?
MH: Metal Edge is reviewing the disc for the issue on stands April 20th. The actual interview hits newstands in May. Guitar is covering it, as well as Associated Press.... By the way, I "left" Ibanez.
vhnd.com: Why?
MH: Ibanez has Vai, Satriani and HIGH profile cats. They aren't going to take out ads with me. Lowery is in (Marilyn) Manson, a HUGE gig, of course he will be in ads. He is a great player too.
vhnd.com: Are you doing any live shows?
MH: Washburn has Paul Stanley, Nuno, and Dimebag. They needed a new posterboy, lol, a shredder!
vhnd.com: Well, I have 3 Washburn guitars. I paid for mine though.... :)
MH: Shows are in the works, a possible package, can't talk yet though. Free guitars are a perk, lol!
vhnd.com: I need a Marshall endorsement. My old 1976 JMP has plenty of scars. Even some wheels for the cabinet would be nice!
MH: I was born in '76.
vhnd.com: I bet my amp looks older :)
MH: Yep, I get carded to see R-rated movies, lol!
vhnd.com: You've decided to release a track from the album as an MP3 file on the Internet (see bottom of this page). Why did you decide to do this?
MH: My label thought it was a good idea. I am not greedy. I am donating proceeds from each album to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation.
vhnd.com: Plenty of other artists are doing it. Just yesterday I saw Tom Petty's new song over at MP3.com.
MH: It lets the public hear it before they make a decision. Free samples!
vhnd.com: No offense, but it's not like your songs will be saturating radio, so MP3 is a great alternative.
MH: Yeah, but the label and Warner Bros. are targeting all stations that play Satriani and Eric Johnson, that is about 150 nationwide.
vhnd.com: Will there be a Mike Hartman web site to promote the album? I hear you're a bit of a computer nut....
MH: Yes, but of course, it will be up by March 25th! Merchandise, CD's, updates, contest, we've got it all.
vhnd.com: The album is out on March 23, right?
MH: Nope, April 6th. It was pushed back because of label stuff.
vhnd.com: LOL, my promo disc says the 23rd - I guess the readers will have to wait a little longer. It says here (on the promo disc) that the single will be "Pooh's Day Off". Who is Pooh? Not Winnie The Pooh?
MH: Yes!!! WINNIE the POOH!!
vhnd.com: Will there be a video? I can just picture Winnie and Tigger jumping around to the song!
MH: Washburn is building me a guitar with Pooh all over it, it will be in the ads! No video, too much red tape at Disney, darn.
vhnd.com: Bummer (no pun intended!) Will the album be released worldwide on April 6, or just in North America?
MH: Jeanie is my pooh bear, lol. America through Universal/MCA, it looks like Japan will be through BMG, Europe is still up in the air.
vhnd.com: We (in Australia) had to get DLR Band via import when it came out. There's always CDNOW for those overseas.
MH: My lawyer is working out details.
vhnd.com: Are the songs "Feel My Pain" and "Why Me?" about your illness?
MH: More about the emotions involved in living a life with a terminal illness. Knowing I will be without Jeanie one day.
vhnd.com: How old were you when you found out you had Cystic Fibrosis?
MH: 6 weeks, I stopped breathing, mom freaked out, I almost died. I have been in and out of hospitals all my life.
vhnd.com: Has it been bothering you much recently?
MH: Sadly yes, the doctors claim I need a double lung transplant and heart surgery.
vhnd.com: Is that a "cure", ie. will new lungs rid you of the disease?
MH: It will stop the lung problems, but the anti-rejection drugs will kill my immune system, hence I will die from a different type of infection. I am trying to put it off for another 2 years though, prayer and therapy man...
vhnd.com: Do you have to take enzymes with every meal?
MH: 15 pills per meal, 4 treatments a day. 7 aerosal inhalers a day. Various antibiotic pills a day too. Vitamins out the ass. It isnt easy...
vhnd.com: I kinda got that impression.
MH: I neglected a lot of it while in Dave's band, it almost killed me. I wanted to keep it a secret. Ed Anderson (Dave's manager) knew I had it, they didn't know how bad I was until I started losing weight and went into the hospital. They knew, just not how bad.
vhnd.com: Is there much research being done to find a cure?
MH: Yeah, a lot of research.
vhnd.com: I read that 1 in 25 carry the gene that triggers CF. That's pretty scary.
MH: Yeah, I feel like a timebomb sometimes. It affects the reproductive system, pancreas and lungs. I can't have kids - I would have to have surgery to do that, it cost 10 grand. I don't want to at this point, lol. I don't think it would be fair to have a son, and know that he will lose me while he is a child. Man, this interview is getting heavy.
vhnd.com: Or a daughter.... Let's brighten the interview up a bit then!
MH: Yeah, a daughter too, she can't date musicians.
vhnd.com: LOL! Do you plan to record another album soon?
MH: Yes, my contract with Universal, Fuel 2000 is for 5 years. I plan on 1 disc a year.
vhnd.com: Just like the old Van Halen!
MH: Yep, I hate it when bands disappear for 2 years without a trace.
vhnd.com: So you won't be joining Def Leppard anytime soon? ;)
MH: No, but I had offers to audition for Alice Cooper when Reb Beach left.
vhnd.com: That would be a cool gig!
MH: I also spoke with Whitesnake, but nothing materialized, damnit. I gravitate towards classic rock gods, lol!
vhnd.com: Everyone's been in Whitesnake!
MH: I can tour despite my health, my wife accompanies me and takes care of me. She is really my manager as well. She helped with all my deals too. Her and my lawyer handle it all.
vhnd.com: So if someone like Coverdale came along and offered you a job as the schredder in a high-profile band, would you take it?
MH: As long as my wife could go on the road to assist with me as my manager/tech/wife/nurse!!! I have a band for my next CD though. My attorney is trying to get Sebastian Bach to guest on the song with Sheehan and Castillo. Hartman, Bach, Randy Castillo, Sheehan. Just on my album though.
vhnd.com: It's a pity you're so young, it seems like the "guitar hero" genre was left behind in the 80's. Now it's trendy to play sloppily.
MH: Yes, but things are looking up for heavy guitar music.
vhnd.com: Baz reminds me so much of David Lee Roth.
MH: Korn, Ozzfest....Bach is a great guy too.
vhnd.com: Is Dave really serious in the studio, or his he just "on" 24/7?
MH: He is very intelligent and very attentive to detail. He could sing my parts. But, he is an entertainer too, keeps the morale high, keeps the boys smiling at all times.
vhnd.com: Did he intend to go on the road with the album?
MH: I thought so, but like I said, I was out by the time it was an issue.
vhnd.com: Have you ever met any of the guys from Van Halen?
MH: Eddie
vhnd.com: When was that? What were the circumstances?
MH: NAMM shows. I don't think he knew who I was at the time, lol!
vhnd.com: Was this after you'd worked with Dave?
MH: Before and after. I didn't want to walk up and say, hey, I am Mike Hartman, I worked with your ex singer, lol! The people around would have been like, yeah right!
vhnd.com: heh.. :) Has he heard any of your playing?
MH: God bless Eddie for taking a stand though....Eddie heard King (Of The Hill/Stomp) - That is what I was told.
vhnd.com: What do you mean by "taking a stand"?
MH: They really took heat for VH3, but they stood strong and kept Gary. That is a real musician. VH3 had some great playing and ideas. I think the next one will be even better.
vhnd.com: Ever see Dave live?
MH: Filthy Little Mouth tour... Saw videos of Eat 'Em and Skyscraper.
vhnd.com: Did you see any of the VH shows last year? Ed's live tone never sounded so good.
MH: I was in the hospital both times they were around, darn. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital in January, March, July, October, November and December of 1998. I was in this January too. Last year sucked health wise...
vhnd.com: Your wife must be very dedicated.
MH: She has to be, most couldn't accept the fact that their loved one is dying.
vhnd.com: How did you guys meet?
MH: L.A. club scene, lol! She also has a degree in audio engeneering, she can run a studio.
vhnd.com: So she's kind of like your Yoko? :)
MH: She can actually sing though.
vhnd.com: Maybe she could do a vocal on the next album? Or produce it!
MH: Her and (Sebastian) Bach. She is going to engineer a lot of the acoustic stuff at our house, we have a studio too.
vhnd.com: Do you have any type of computer setup for writing or recording?
MH: Well, I am installing 24 track Protools next month, as well as a Roland digital 8 track mastering mixing board. Korn used Protools to do their entire new disc, so did Satriani.
vhnd.com: Is that for PC or Mac?
MH: With good pre-amps like the dbx206A, digital can sound analog. Mac. I think you can get a PC version too.
vhnd.com: Beats the old cassette 4-track! Bouncing tracks used to suck.
MH: I am getting Wave Lab too, it has libraries of drum loops, orchestras, horns etc. Yeah, beats 4-track!!
vhnd.com: What's the address of your web site?
vhnd.com: Thanks for your time, Mike. It was good to talk to you for the last 2.5 hours!
MH: Yeah, time flew!
Black Glue was released today (April 6, 1999) on Fuel 2000/Universal Records. Look for A Song For Jeanie in the Dreamworks film Forces of Nature, now playing in cinemas all over the world. You can download the first single, Pooh's Day Off, in MP3 format from the links below:
A Washburn radio/clinic tour is planned for this summer, along with live dates.