Interview: Mr. Aday Himself for 'Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise'
Mar 18th 2008
When I was a teenager, my father took me to see Meat Loaf perform at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. We had amazing, front-row seats, and I remember being completely mesmerized for the entire show. Instead of well-choreographed dance moves that really have nothing to do with the song, or stoic, immobile singing, Meat Loaf Aday performed each song as if it was a short play. Even in my youth, I was exhausted just watching all of the heart and energy he put into it. Whether you're a fan of his music or not, this is one of the most dedicated performers that you can find.
All these years later, after wrapping up his tour for Bat Out of Hell 3, the unstoppable performer is the focus of his first concert documentary, Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise, which was directed by Bruce David Klein and just hit New York theaters late last week. The film follows the last-minute preparations for the tour, and specifically focuses on his troubles with the classic song: "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."
Here are Meat Loaf's thoughts on the project, as well as a few nibbles about his music and film career.
Cinematical: You've built your career on music and film work, but have kept them separate in the past. What made you agree to a tour documentary now?
Meat Loaf: Oh, I don't think that... It's still separate. The documentary is not playing a character. When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters. That's how I can watch them, because I never see myself. In these documentaries, it's hard for me to... I've seen it once, but it's not easy to watch because I'm watching myself. So, there's a huge difference. They don't correlate at all.
The documentary was just... We talked about doing various things before. There was a TV show called Classic Albums, and they went in and brought the tracks to Bat Out of Hell up and that was kind of a documentary / behind-the-scenes kind of thing. You know, thirty years after the fact. And I really liked it, and I thought it was really good. So I was doing a thing for the History Channel, and the two guys producing that said to me: "Look, let's do something." And so we just kinda, ya know, rode around with it for a while and we came up with this.
I didn't like it. [laugh] I have to tell ya, it's like... I laid pretty strict ground rules for them. There were no situations set up -- like on all those reality shows. They always set up situations, which doesn't make it reality. Everything was exactly what it was. I mean, there was a ton of footage that obviously is not in there because it's an hour and a half long. We shot for weeks.
They kept saying: "What's it about?" And I kept going: "Well, I don't know what it's about. Just shoot the footage without the storyline and it'll appear. It'll show itself." And, it eventually did. You know in the first day, you see me in the DVD sitting and talking to him. They didn't show you the whole piece. I said "You're outta your mind! We don't know what it is. Just shoot!" I wanted them to shoot more. We were going into Canada in the wintertime, and I said: "I'm gonna be stuck indoors." But.. It turned out. It's very good; I really like it. It turned out much better than I thought it was going to turn out.
You mentioned laying out rules for the filmmakers. What sort of rules were they?
They couldn't.... Well, they broke all the rules anyway. I told them they couldn't shoot any footage of the show, but they did, and it was really good. That's why I let them leave it in. So all that footage that you see of the show, that's like... they just got up in the stands and took that with a camera and a single microphone. We didn't do anything. It's just what it was. It's not mixed. It's just coming off this little microphone. And I thought it was really good, and I thought it was very real, so I let them... even though they weren't supposed to, they did and I let 'em keep it.
Did you watch any music documentaries in preparation, or are there any particular docs you had in mind for In Search of Paradise?
Umm.. you know what? I had my assistant order a whole bunch, and then I didn't watch them. I remember I wanted to see Truth or Dare, and I ordered some others, but then I didn't watch them.
Is being filmed for a documentary different than being under the celebrity spotlight, or your work as an actor and singer?
Oh yeah, because when you're doing a film, they don't follow you back to your trailer, except when they're doing those little behind-the-scenes packages. And they still don't. They go: "Well, can we have you for just fifteen minutes? For this thing?" "No." [laugh] They basically stay out of the way. They might shoot a scene being filmed, and they'll shoot you for 15 min for the interviews, and it's very different.
I know the documentary people wanted to come to my house, and I told them no. They said: "We want to see you live in your house and driving down the street." I said: "That's boring! It's a California freeway. It's nothing but cars." And so a couple of times they jumped into the car as I got close to the rehearsal. I said: "Well, just hop in the car 3 blocks before we get there and ask a couple of questions." But I let them come to the vocal coach, and you know, we did some stuff.
Was it a challenge to be recorded when you're not performing?
No, because you know what, once the cameras are around you for a few minutes... because I've done so much film, I ignore cameras. I can't pay attention to them. A lot of actors, they know the camera's there, and if somebody moves around or makes noise or whatever then they get all distracted, but I pretty much lock in. You can't distract me too much. Now there's a couple of times where I was doing stuff and the camera was going around me in circles, and I noticed that, and the next day I told em... I let them get away with it on Monday, and the next day I told them: "Don't think that you're going to do that again today."
The documentary shows that "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song that has brought you so much fan love, but also a number of headaches. Have you ever considered retiring it?
Nah. Absolutely not. "Bat Out of Hell," "Paradise"... The songs are too good. That's the great thing about them. They're so well written, and they're structured so well, and the visuals are so great, and the images that they portray are so strong... They don't get old. They don't seem like you've done them before. Some of the songs, like [laugh] you know, "Anything for Love," does. It's a song that I go: "Oh, god can I take this out?" But you have a hard time taking it out because it's such a huge hit. But with "Paradise" and "Bat Out of Hell," those two in particular -- no, there's no reason to take them out. They're so vivid and the colors are so strong on them. There's no need to. They come to life every night. Some things you have to force. You have to force the issue to bring them to life, those just ["tohh" explosion noise]. They explode.
For the songs that do get old, what do you do to pump yourself up and inspire yourself to perform them?
I change the arrangements all the time. I'm constantly changing them. The only song that I've played consistently for 30 years, exactly like the record, is "Bat Out of Hell." Everything else has changed in some form. Like in "Paradise," there's always improv, and I'm always changing the situation in the play-by-play. I can't even tell ya how much different stuff I've done... girl on rollerskates, cars, mistresses, cheerleaders, prom dates... I don't even know. It's gone through so many... that whole middle section.
There is so much improv. I mean, I had "Paradise" last 30 minutes before. I've done a lot of stage acting and improv classes, and acting classes, so I'm pretty comfortable with doing improv on stage. The problem I had, sometimes, is -- the one girl who I worked with for 13 years got really good at it, Patty Russo, and Aspen who came in and replaced her this year, wasn't used to it. So, I could improv, but I always had to lead her. I had to lead the improv to a scripted line. So I could go off, but I couldn't anticipate or expect her to follow suit. She wasn't versed in that. With Patty after 13 years, I could go off and she'd go right with me.
After seeing the documentary, is there anything that you wish they hadn't included, or was there something you wished they had?
I don't remember right now, no. When I saw it, I just had them put my dogs in. I said [laughing]: "Where are my dogs!?" So they put my dogs in. My wife and my dogs appeared.
Your songs are incredibly character driven. Have you ever given any thought to making them into a musical, especially now that musicals are so popular?
Oh, Jimmy has been trying to make them into a musical, but... He keeps saying that he's going to, but I don't know what's happening with that, and I don't keep up with that.
You've played Jack Black's father in the Tenacious D movie...
Oh yeah, I did. Didn't I?
And there was word that you wanted him to play you in a biopic...
No... They did a biopic; it's called To Hell and Back, and I've never seen it. My daughter saw it, and told me not to watch it, because I wouldn't like it. Originally, Jack Black had agreed to play me, but the movie got postponed and his career took off. So, I think that's how the whole thing about me playing his father came about, because he was going to play me.
Your fan site says that you're gearing up for some shows in the UK this year. What else is on your docket?
Oh, I'm shooting an AT&T commercial. I've been hosting, on Direct TV, this game show, and we're doing another 15 episodes of that. I'm going to shoot a film down in Florida in May, and they're changing the title, so it doesn't do any good to tell you the title.
Maybe you could share something about the plot?
[laugh] Oh, it's a stupid plot.
And we're doing some shows in the UK, and starting another record, and hopefully, you know, I'll get another film.
One last question... If someone wanted to get better acquainted with the work of Meat Loaf, which one of your songs would you lead them to, and which one of your movie roles would you suggest they watch?
Oh, what film role... Um, I don't know... My favorite film that I did was shot in Toronto, with Bill Mason and Laura Dern and it's called... Oh, what's it called? [laugh] It was written by Arthur Miller. ...Focus. And that's probably my favorite role.
You know, most people know Fight Club or Rocky Horror, or some people [laugh] know The Spice Girls... Yeah, that was a joke. I was joking with the president of the label, going: "God, I can't believe you're filming the Spice Girls movie, and you didn't even ask me to be in it!" I was having breakfast with him, and I mean I was totally putting him on. That afternoon, I'm sitting in London and they go: "We're getting you into the Spice Girls," and I said: "I'm joking." And they said: "No, no, it's important! They fired somebody and we want you to replace him." So I said "Oh, great." It wasn't scripted. It was all improv. And it was very silly.
And then song wise? I don't know... "For Crying Out Loud." Yeah, last song on Bat Out of Hell.
__________________
Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
Meat Loaf has had a long, hugely successful career with a lot to be proud of.
There's his album Bat Out of Hell, which has sold almost 40 million copies, stayed on the charts for close to a decade and still moves about 200,000 copies a year over 30 years after it was released.
There's Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
There are the Top 40 singles, including "Paradise By The Dashboard Light," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and the No. 1 smash "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)."
And then there was the time a few years ago when Meat Loaf drafted Minor Leaguer Ryan Braun, protected him on his roster and put him in the starting lineup when Braun was called up to the Milwaukee Brewers last year, kick-starting an improbable Rookie of the Year campaign.
Huh?
Yep, in addition to being a larger-than-life rock star, an actor who appeared in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a searing stage presence to this day, the man who calls himself "Meat" is a bona fide fantasy baseball freak and New York Yankees fanatic.
"I do so much fantasy baseball that it's ridiculous," he says. "So what I do is I root for the Yankees, and on any given night, my pitcher might be pitching against the Yankees, so I root for the Yankees to win, 1-0.
"In that situation, I don't want my starter to give up runs. I want the middle reliever to give up that run. Or I want any hitters I have going against the Yankees to get four hits but never score."
Meat Loaf's love for the Yankees began when he was a kid growing up in Dallas. The Metroplex area didn't yet have the Rangers, but CBS owned the Yankees and they were on television every Saturday.
"We didn't have any other team, so it had to be the Yankees," Meat Loaf says. "I mean, Dallas-Fort Worth had the Rangers Triple-A team, but Mickey Mantle was living in Dallas. That kind of sealed the deal for me."
When it comes to fantasy baseball, Meat Loaf offered a few opinions and tips. He said he'd much prefer to pick in the middle of a draft and not have the overall first selection.
"I prefer to be fifth or sixth in a draft of 10 teams or so because you'll get a really top guy in the first round, like a David Wright or a Matt Holliday, and then you can get a decent player coming back. Even 10th is OK. You get two picks at once. And as long as you get (Boston closer Jonathan) Papelbon, you're OK, too."
But as Meat Loaf suggested, he'll do anything for an obscure selection in the late rounds that ends up being a breakout star. One could say he might even do "that."
"That's the most fun, when you find those sleepers," he says. "Like Braun last year. I picked him up and sat him until he came up from Triple-A. If I had picked 10th this year, I might have gotten Ryan Howard and him, too."
Meat Loaf's baseball fandom goes far beyond the fantasy world, though.
He enlisted the late Yankees great Phil Rizzuto to narrate the spoken-word bridge in "Paradise By The Dashboard Light," in which Rizzuto "announces" a baseball play that metaphorically details the travails of adolescent love.
He realizes that the song "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" definitely applies to baseball teams in three-game series.
He's friends with Yogi Berra.
And he says he'll occasionally go to the ballpark when he's on the road touring - if he can find the time and it's convenient.
"Every once in a while, if we have a day off, like in Cleveland or Baltimore, somewhere where the hotel is like two blocks away, I'll do it," he says. "I love Camden Yards, just love the aesthetics of it. And you gotta love Yankee Stadium for the history. And what can you say about Wrigley Field?"
Meat Loaf says one of his best days at the ballpark came when he sat in the Wrigley dugout with then-Cubs manager Dusty Baker and chatted for an hour before a game.
"We just sat there and looked out at the ivy, and seeing it on TV just doesn't do it justice," Meat Loaf says.
"That place is pure baseball. It's just magical."
-- Edited by Caryl at 17:22, 2008-03-20
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Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
Another good review of Meat's newly released documentary ...
'Meat Loaf' film well done
By JEFF FARANCE Film CriticMarvin Lee Aday is as enduring -- and can be as endearing -- as the diner fare from which he drew his stage name: Meat Loaf. In Bruce David Klein's documentary "Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise," we get many insights into the artistry and temperament of Meat Loaf. Given how little can be crammed into a movie running less than 1 1/2 hours, it's probably unfair to wish for more of Meat's fascinating life story to be presented.
His career is now in its fourth decade, and the 59-year-old Dallas native has rebounded nicely, thank you, from the depths to which he sank a few times after some phenomenal triumphs.
As he and his band prepared for an 18-month world tour, "Bat Out of Hell III," early last year, he allowed a documentary crew unfettered backstage access to the stresses and minor successes.
"What's at stake is what's always at stake: my reputation," Meat Loaf rasps to the camera. "And I'm always trying to improve."
Many of those around Meat Loaf have been associated for years with him and his music, and are able to ride out his mood swings and micromanagement of most aspects of the tour.
When early reviews of the performance castigate his routine with a very young-looking singer costumed as a cheerleader Meat Loaf explodes: "Critics: You can't pay any attention to 'em, and you can't believe 'em."
One of the many comments from his bandmates notes, "Meat Loaf's used to being alone. His whole social life is his performance."
And he is seen suffering for his art -- lying on his back, breathing in pure oxygen, noshing and fretting. It's easy to pity his plight, and just as easy to forget the monstrous rewards of his career. True fans will have (never enough) glimpses and snippets of his performances. But the Meat Loaf persona that develops in the documentary is no surprise. Rather it's a logical outgrowth of the stage icon and his memorable music.
Before they take the stage, Meat Loaf and his entourage huddle like a football team, arms outstretched, fists together, chanting, "What're we gonna do? Kill. What do we always do? Kill. What do big dogs do? Kill."
After a few gigs and some wardrobe changes, the tour suddenly clicks with critics. But Meat Loaf never seems pleased or even relieved.
"He's an angst-er," says pal Dennis Quaid, who visits the tour when it arrives where he's filming, and joins Meat Loaf onstage. "He enjoys angst."
When the tour reaches Toronto, it's time to film it for a DVD. All goes well. Everyone congratulates Meat Loaf, who remains glum, his doughy face all but expressionless whenever he's off the stage.
"He's an eternal character, like Falstaff or Cyrano," suggests an associate.
Soon after the filming was completed on the documentary, an on-screen postscript notes, Meat Loaf canceled several North America stops on the tour, then went on to "24 triumphant shows in Europe."
The film ends, giving Meat Loaf, appropriately, the last words. As he's escorted, shuffling and looking dazed, backstage after performing, he mumbles, "I tried."
'Meat Loaf: InSearch of Paradise'
NJ: **** 88 minutes
DOCUMENTARY BY: Bruce David Klein
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Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
Lovely interview with Meat about his talented daughter, Pearl, in the UK Guardian's series Raising A Rock Child.
Meat Loaf rock singer: father of Pearl Aday rock singer
When I was growing up in the 1960s rock music was seen as an undesirable field for one's children to go into. When I was asked to play a gig with a rock band my mother said: "There is no way you're going 90 miles to play a gig with THEM!" My mother and father had passed away by the time I started having the crazy adventures, but my mother would have greatly disapproved of me using the F-word on stage. My grandfather would have had a stroke.
It was different for Pearl. She has a song about sleeping in a guitar case, which was pretty much how it was - she was always around. When she was a kid she'd sit in her bedroom, mimicking singers, but she wouldn't come out of the bedroom and sing. She wanted to walk straight on a stage with me but she didn't understand that it's not that simple. You have to work and get good first. Finally she got it, and when she was old enough I put her on the road with us. She was fine doing backing but very timid doing anything solo. Gradually she got louder and decided she was going to do her own band, which brought her out of her shell.
She is named after an album by Janis Joplin, who was my biggest influence - not vocally, but how she attacked the stage - so it's uncanny that she sounds a bit like Janis. When you're on stage, it's emotion. You're not going through the motions. It's like [Laurence] Olivier - as an actor, it always felt like his life depended on every scene. Pearl has grasped that - if you're really angry before a performance, you can use it in the performance.
On stage, people can drop their shoulders and turn around and walk away, and I've instilled in her never to do that because it breaks the tension with the audience, and she's learned from me to play to the back, not the front row. But it's obvious the apple fell close to the tree. She's got it. The difference between me and her is I sang loud and I wanted everyone to know it. She had to overcome her shyness, but now she sings incredibly loud!
Even though she's a woman in a very tough, male-dominated industry, the only time I was concerned was when she went on the road with Mötley Crüe. I went to a gig and she was wearing a little G-string. It was hard to watch. I went up to [bassist] Nikki Sixx and said "I wanna talk to you NOW!" and scared the hell out of him. But it was a joke.
I've warned her about lifestyle, but she's a grown woman. In the 1970s I'd have two beers before going on stage, but I'd get so angsty I'd have a beta blocker or something to just back me off a hair. But I've never really drunk. Pearl was in that Hollywood scene, but now she'll say: "I'm going to bed to rest my voice." She's engaged to guitarist Scott Ian who plays in her band, Pearl, and also in Anthrax. It took me a while to approve, but I have a lot of respect for Scott now because he really loves her. I tease him that I'm going to sneak into his room and shave his beard off.
Pearl knows that the only way she's gonna get better now is to keep doing it. She's always going to be known as Meat Loaf's daughter like [songwriter-producer] Jim Steinman's name is always mentioned alongside mine, but she'll get over that and stand on her own, because she's really good.
-- Edited by Caryl at 07:50, 2008-08-10
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Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
Interview with a Danish Newspaper. After tonight's concert in Sweden, Meat's next two, and last in Europe, shows are in Denmark ..
Rock legend and multi faceted talent Meat Loaf is performing in concert at Hillerod stadium on Saturday the 16th of august.
The audience can expect a fantastic show, said Meat Loaf in an exlusive interview.
For 40 years legend Meat Loaf has been striving for the perfect show, he says in an interview with Frederiksborg Amts avis, in which he also reveals what he ate for breakfast. The phone rings exactly at 3pm. Suddenly there is dead silence, and I answer the phone.
"Hey is this Kathrine?, says a voice at the other end. It is Meat Loaf who has agreed to do a 15 minute interview before the concert in Hillerod.
For some reason the conversation takes a unexpected turn to what we had for breakfast. Meat Loaf tells me that today he had a meusli bar, because he is on a diet.
Meat Loaf says that he has visited Denmark before, actually about 15 times, but he can't remember exactly where he has played.
"I really can't recall exactly the names of the cities and the places; certainly I've been to Copenhagen, but I can remember that I thought it was a nice country", he says.
Maybe there is a good reason that the man can't remember exactly where he has been, because for more than 40 years he has been touring most of the world, and has seen so many different cities.
What is it that has kept Meat Loaf going for more than 40 years?
"It is like the hunt for the holy grail. You keep looking to do the very best you can do. Everything can always be a bit better, and trying to achieve perfection is what drives me", says Meat Loaf. He explains that that's why no two shows never are the same.
Meat Loaf will not be alone when he takes the stage in Hillerod stadium. With him he has, he says, a truly excellent band
. "I have one of the best bands in the world, and I spend many hours listening to tapes and analysing and thinking about how it's gone and working with them, so we do the very best we can", says Meat Loaf. The band has included different players over the years, but Meat Loaf says that the band he has with him on this tour this year cannot be bettered!
The tour "Meat Loaf - Casa De Carne" has played this summer in many different European locations. They have for example been in Liverpool, Berlin and Lisbon, and before they visit Denmark, they are playing London, Amsterdam, Bergen, Helsinki and Linkoping (Sweden). As well as Hillerod, Meat Loaf and the band will also play Kolding in Denmark on the 15th of august.
According to the British newspaper the Daily Mail, Meat Loaf´s classic rock hit "Bat out of Hell" was voted top of the list of songs the British listen to when they are driving, so what does Meat Loaf think about that?
"Yes I´ve heard that. I'm sure the police like it as well, because I bet the car drivers go very fast when they listen to it", he says and laughs.
Now that we are talking about songs I ask Meat Loaf if he himself would do anything for love, referring to the song "Id do Anything for Love".
"I have done some good things in my life, and have probably gone a long way for love", he says.
Meat Loaf can't promise that he will visit Denmark again, but if he does it will be with a different show, he promises. The next 2 years are going to be busy for Meat Loaf, during which time he will be filming a movie. Besides his singing career Meat Loaf has appeared in many movies and tv-shows.
"Im going to work with a director who has won a lot of awards, and it is a fantastic script, but I can't remember what the movie is called", he says.
Meat Loaf turned 60 last year, but it seems like he has a lot more to offer before he leaves the stage.
The audience in Hillerod can expect a show with a lot of "power and drama", to use the rock legend's own words.
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Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
