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Fateful Fortune
of F8
No, it's not Justin Timberlake or Aaron Carter that I'm in search of, because the year is 1976. It's not even Shaun Cassidy, Davy Jones or Andy Gibb (popular heartthrobs back in the day) that's the subject of my mission. It's a particular blue-eyed, blonde-haired gorgeous male by the name of Leif Garrett that has captured my attention. Fast forward
a couple of decades. I'm sitting in my office with the stereo pumping,
thumbing through the current issue of TigerBeat. Here I am, more
than twenty years later, working in the same entertainment industry
that absorbed every penny of my allowance all those years ago. I'm
enjoying the irony of the morning when my thoughts are interrupted
by a telephone call. "Hi Shari," the caller says, "it's
Leif… Leif Garrett." Leif Garrett
Interview What fans didn't realize was that while the handsome young man was singing bubble-gum tunes such as "I Was Made for Dancin'" and covering "Surfing U.S.A." Garrett was actually into the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. Taking control over his own destiny, Garrett has joined Karl D'Amico, Chuck Billings and Darrell 'D' Arnold to form F8. A band dedicated to draw the listener into the emotions of each song and hold their audience captive. No longer dictated by media moguls, Garrett and this group are devoted to the music, not the image. The Interview: TeenMusic: Leif, I admire your ambition. It seems like through all of the hardships and difficulties you've gone through, nothing has stopped you. Where does that drive come from? Leif Garrett: I do what I like what I do and I want to keep doing it, so it might be ignorance or stubbornness more than anything. I've gone through the addictions and had the managers who ripped me off, and I think in a lot of ways my career has been a cliché. But on the same token, it's been totally off the beaten path from anybody else's. I think I've lived a much different lifestyle than most teen idols. Even from the day I started doing music, I was never doing the music I wanted to do… and now I'm finally doing the music I always wanted to do. TeenMusic: Critics may say doing VH1's Behind the Music is the death rattle of one's career… Leif Garrett: Really? TeenMusic: … yeah ... you've done a segment on BTM, but did you think about the possibility of it hurting future projects? Leif Garrett: I think it's just the opposite. There's no such thing as bad publicity, not that that's my goal, but people become celebrity or stars even from bad media. For one thing, I was able to get a lot of things off my chest that I was harboring for a long time. It really was somewhat of a rebirth because I was able to get out there and tell the truth. They didn't keep the Scottie Brothers stuff in like I wished they had, but they know you sell more by talking about crashing your car and Quaaludes… than helping the March of Dimes or whatever. TeenMusic: It was therapeutic for you? Leif Garrett: Yeah, it was. It was almost like a couch session for me, you know--to get it off my chest and put it out there. Whether they even used all of it or not, which they didn't, I was able to verbalize it myself… it was almost like a healing mantra. TeenMusic: I read recently where you blasted some of today's hottest Pop stars... Leif Garrett: Ya know, I've got it sitting right here on my desk in front of me, it's from Spin Magazine, and I'm looking at the quote. It says "Christina sux…" First of all, I never said that. I never once said Christina Aguilera sucks. I did say, the next time Christina wants to think about out scatting Aretha Franklin on stage, she might want to think twice about it. She can sing, and she's a very attractive young lady, and she can sing her ass off… but I'm sorry, but she can't hold a candle to Aretha Franklin. The rest of them, I don't know. I like Mandy Moore. I think she was the best out of the stuff as far as production goes on the record and whatnot. As far as O-Town and those guys... they just do absolutely nothing for me. TeenMusic: Well, you've been in their shoes… Leif Garrett:
Well, yeah. And more than anything I also know it's not from
them. I'd have so much more respect from them… and I understand…
I wouldn't have had respect for me! Because that's not what I was
into and not the kind of music that I liked and not the artists
I liked. They weren't really artists-- and I'm including myself
in that-- as much as we were pinups. Sure, I did perform live on
stage and I think I was pretty decent, but on the whole I didn't
like the music I did, so how could anyone else like it? TeenMusic:
Not long ago, you were part of another band, Godspeed. What happened
with that project? Leif Garrett:
Godspeed was so much work and the other members basically wanted
to rely on my name to get gigs, and not work as a band. To them
it was just a paycheck. The band eventually imploded. When they
said they didn't want to go on the road with the Melvins, that was
the last straw. But I'm really happy with the new band. Leif Garrett: Really good. The bass player [Darrell 'D' Arnold] used to be in a band called Trash Wednesday and I went to see them at The Roxy. We became friends and I really liked his bass playing, he's a really f-ing cool guy. Our drummer is Chuck Billings who is from the band Virgins, back in the day, and I've known him for twenty-three years. When Godspeed was breaking up at our last gig at the Viking Room, he came up to me and said if I wasn't happy here, he was putting something together and wanted me to come sing with them. Then we found Karl [Karl D'Amico], and became F8. I was in Connecticut, sitting in a theater getting notes from a director and I looked down and the seat number was F8. That's how the name came about. I thought that was kind of fateful to have it happen that way… I was like "F8 ... fate, cool!" Then there have
been a lot of weird similarities. Like I was born on November 8th
and then there are all these other eights. Our studio number is
422, which add up to 8. The way we look at it is that this band
is meant to be. TeenMusic:
Please do. We are doing
two cover songs in the set. We've been practicing for a couple of
months and one of the songs we're doing is the old Buffalo Springfield
songs, and it's called "For What It's Worth." It's so
poignant right now with the war going on and the way we need to
step back to take a look at ourselves. The other night
I specifically stayed home to watch the special episode of West
Wing, it's like one of my favorite shows, and during the end credits,
they started playing that song. TeenMusic: That's when you know it's right. Leif Garrett: Yeah, I really think so. I won't tell you what the other cover is. We want to keep that one a surprise. TeenMusic: Awww! Leif Garrett: Yeah, but everything else is all original. There are definitely some Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains influence as well. We're trying to incorporate that true rock and roll, as well as the melodiousness of classical music, if you will, and just sort of ballady songs, without being ballady songs, if you know what I mean. We've got the peaks and valleys. Each song is a lifetime, it begins and ends, and there's a journey taken within the songs. TeenMusic:
Did you write all the lyrics? TeenMusic: You're a very busy person, but what do you like to do when you're not working? Leif Garrett: I really like to swim, go to the beach, I do a lot of bodysurfing. I love taking my dogs for a walk, I love hiking and I love writing songs and playing with the band. TeenMusic: Leif, for those people that may have a preconceived notion about F8, what do you want to tell them? What would you like for them to know? Leif Garrett: Whatever your preconceived idea may be, you're wrong. [laughs] We're not doing anything I think anyone would expect from me. There's those who may think, okay, I toured with the Melvins and I'm kind of heading towards Agro, but it's not all Agro. Like I said earlier, the whole set is such a journey of highs and lows. TeenMusic: Cool. F8 will be hitting the road soon, right? Leif Garrett: Yeah, I'm psyched. I'm totally excited about. I love being on the road. It really inspires me and I actually write more when I'm on the road. TeenMusic: Great, I can't wait to see you guys later this month. And on behalf of About Music for Teens, we wish you the best of luck. Leif Garrett:
Thank you so much. news
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