Interview with Thin Lizzy’s Marco Mendoza

I’ve just been lucky enough to have a chat with Thin Lizzy bassist Marco Mendoza about their upcoming new album (hopefully), the recording and also his solo project.

 

IR – The band is now recording new material for the first time since 1983 how is that going?

MM – Well I have to say the man that it’s been a labour of love. Everybody in the band understands the position we are in. It’s not like me getting in the studio which I often do, write, record and that’s it. We’re being very careful but at the same time we want to be as creative as possible, but it’s kind of like putting one foot in front of the other and learning to walk, but we’ve come a long way.

We have 19 ideas in the can, some of which are close to being finished. What everyone has to remember is that this is the first time the six of us have got together in this way, and it’s been a learning curve. From my own point of view I tend to sit back and look at everything from the outside, and then when the time is right have my input, but we came out of the studio feeling really proud.

IR – One of the criticisms always levelled at previous incarnations of the band was that although they were keeping the legacy of Thin Lizzy music alive, they never produced new material. When you all got together back in 2010 was this project always on the cards?

MM – Not really. Back to your comment, I’ve been with the band since 1994, although I left for a while to do some other gigs, I think I will say it just didn’t feel right. There were a lot of elements going round at the time that made it not possible.

When we first started working with Ricky, we knew it was going to be right, he is very strong at what he does. He is a Thin Lizzy fan as I am, which means he is coming from the right place. He has now grown into the role in such a big way that we go out there every night to win, there are no weak links in the band and it’s like wow classic Thin Lizzy at its best, done in the best way possible. After a while we knew he was the right man the job and shown that time after time.

IR – Yeah I understand, I spoke to Scott after the recent Carlisle gig, and he said it had taken him while to get into the role, but now he feels that he is right in there.

MM – Well just think of it, if you were a kid growing up in Ireland and Scotland as he did, and growing up with the Thin Lizzy sound and everything that inspires you musically is Thin Lizzy. Imagine years later actually being in that band, it can get a little overwhelming, and it can test you in a big way, but he has come through it with flying colours. But you know what it is he has such a big heart and I think that comes through every time you see him onstage. He’s a very talented cat who’s writing is inspirational, so it’s with that great feeling we all went into the studio and said let’s get in there and make some of the best music possible.

Another problem regarding the writing (again to answer your first question) was that when Vivian came in it was like well we have three or four months of work and then we were going to go away and do our own thing again. But the timing was so perfect and the fact that Ricky was there, that things were so perfect that the whole thing just took off.

IR – I think that the fact that you did so many big festivals in that first year just proved that.

MM – Ian, it took everyone by surprise, but then the question after doing 18 or 19 months of work was what was next? After doing all the biggest festivals around people were saying we love the music, we love the catalogue but what is next. The logical step was to go into the studio and create new music for the new generation. So that’s what we’re doing now, and it’s going great. There are no problems at the moment, just the usual niggles of getting to know each other and how each individual works in the studio. There are several record labels interested and it’s all good. We have secured Kevin Shirley to produce, we did have Bob Rock lined up but he got tied up with Michael Buble, but Kevin is really into it and like the rest of us he is a fan as well, so in a few weeks we start tracking and hope for the best.

IR – That was the next question. Have you got a recording contract yet or is it a case of producing the album and then just putting it out there?

MM – That’s a management question really, we try to stay out of that side of the business, we are just focused on producing the best music that we can, but I will say this, there is a lot of interest out there. This line-up is strong, the catalogue vast, the timing is right. The music is good sometimes great in my opinion, it’s uncanny. But in this business as you know, timing is everything and sometimes it’s like shooting dice out there. Our job is simply to go out and produce the best music possible and leave management to do the best job they can, as we are with the music. Without sounding pretentious I honestly think that this is going to fly really hard. And now Damon Johnson has joined the band he has also added some new impetus.

IR – Yeah again when I spoke to Scott he mentioned that he is really happy with his onstage partnership with Damon. He feels that they are building up a great rapport.

MM – You know the reason for that is that once again Damon is the ultimate Thin Lizzy fan. I know I keep going on about this, but it is a fact that we are all fans of the music, and that really does help. Damon has come in he’s a great player, singer and writer. Not only do we play together but were also all great friends. Damon and Scott hang out together quite a bit playing golf.

IR – (Laughs) they could go out as a threesome on the golf course with Alice Cooper.

MM – Exactly, they are going to drag me out there pretty soon I think, and I’m fine with that. But yeah they have a great way of working together there are no egos in the band, we all just go in there with the same common denominator which is to create the best music possible. I think when Damon came in he added even more to the process, so we said yep we really need to do this recording. So it’s all good, Brian is really excited, and he’s also playing great, which means its all good.

IR – Well let’s hope you can pull it together and this new album comes out soon

MM – Well we’re hoping that maybe next spring, but I don’t wanna get ahead of myself, because this is the music business at times have changed so much since the 80s, but everything is looking really really good, so fingers crossed.

IR – I for one can’t wait, because the last few gigs I have seen you play, the band  have been so tight and the vibe is incredible.

MM – We’ll get better Ian, and what is going to make it better is when we include new songs in the set list. Owning those songs on stage will be great, and I don’t see any problems with that. But it will all come down to the fans, hopefully they will come with their hearts open, eyes open and especially their ears open.

IR – Right just before we go your solo project. You told me that you were hoping to be over here October/November time.

MM – Yeah I was intending to go out there in the last week of October and the first week of November, but since we spoke there have been some offers for Thin Lizzy for November. So to be honest if I don’t confirm in the next two or three days we won’t be able to do it because there are some time constraints there. But I still hope to do it as I also love to sing and do some writing, and I just have to do it, not for the financial gain but because I love it. I did a solo album a few years ago “Live For Tomorrow” which was well received, and because of that started getting invitations to play various places. But given the time and no conflict with Thin Lizzy I will definitely be doing some dates, but if I can’t confirm the October/November dates within the next couple of days, then the next open date will be December 13, which will be England/Ireland hopefully may be a couple more.

IR – Thank you for taking the time out to speak to me, and you have a great day.

MM – I will man, speak to you soon.

Watch out for upcoming Thin Lizzy dates at http://www.thinlizzyband.com and for Marco’s solo project at http://www.marcomendoza.com