Interview - John Corabi

Photo by: Charlie Meister

Yesterday, I was lucky to have a quick chat with vocalist John Corabi (former vocalist of Motley Crue, The Scream, Union and The Dead Daisies). Little did I know, that I would wake up yesterday morning to a brand new rumor of Vince Neil being booted from the upcoming Mötley Crüe stadium tour due to the band's alleged dissatisfaction with Vince's ability to perform live. While Vince's vocal performances as of late haven't done much to quelle such a rumor, Corabi has put these idea to rest firmly during the outset of our discussion.

Over the years, I've seen so many interviews that seem to stay solely focused on John's time with Mötley Crüe and I was determined to give this guy a break and keep the topic on everything else (save for a personal story that we lead off with). Naturally, with the breaking rumor of the day, though, that itch had to be scratched.

We kicked off the discussion by throwing all the way back to the summer of 1994, when I attended a Mötley Crüe show at Darien Lake here in Western, New York. I was 14 and this was my very first rock show. As described in the interview, John left a lasting impression by taking on a heckling fan in the front row.

"The minute you spit on Nikki...I just said, ya know what, fuck you. You don't treat my friends like that."

After getting an unexpected vinyl release of Corabi's album with The Scream this past spring, it was later announced that both albums he made with Union would also be released. Social media later went silent about these releases, so I had to ask about this as well.

"We put it out there and then it's like...oh shit...9 months, are you kidding me? It's coming, be patient. The minute they start doing pre-orders...all of us will have it on our websites."

John Corabi performing with The Dead Daisies in 2016

On addressing negative Mötley Crüe fans that still get agitated by his prior role in the band:

"You're in a band (good band), but all of a sudden, one of the biggest bands in the world calls you and offers you a life changing opportunity. What would you do?"

We eventually moved on to John's current project and discussed his latest single "Cosi Bella (So Beautiful). He talks about the origins of the song as an early idea back when he was fronting the Dead Daisies. He proceeded to play the demo for me mid-interview, titled "AC/DC Beatles" as originally saved on his phone. Following "Cosi Bella," we got into what's next in the pipeline in terms of John's music.

I've got this new song...my son's going to record some drums for me...we're going to record that this weekend.

Teasing the inspiration for another upcoming song:

"I don't give a shit who you voted for. I don't give a shit if you believe in the vaccine of you don't believe in it. Just be nice to somebody that disagrees with you. You don't need to be an asshole to disagree."

This interview was an absolute blast and I'm incredibly appreciative to John for taking some time to catch up and re-hash some memories with me. If you've read this far, you probably already know what a gem John is to the rock world and I wish him nothing but the best! Check out the full interview below, and be sure to check his socials for his latest music and projects!