Nardwuar: So Tommy, what ever happened, how did you ever end up playing on a Joni Mitchell record?
Tommy Chong: Oh right, yeah, well her and Cheech had an affair one time, she liked Mexicans, so uh they were, they were, a number then I guess. She actually liked tacos alot, so she asked us if we'd be on a record, and she was on one of ours so we returned the favor.
Have you ever heard of Maclean and Maclean before? Canadian comedians?
Maclean magazines?
Maclean and Maclean, they're a Canadian comedionic team, they had Burton Cummings sing for them once, I was just wondering if you new why he did, but I guess you've never heard of them.
I have heard of them as a matter of fact. They're Canadians aren't they?
Old school Canadians like yourself!
Are they from West Van?
No, I think that they're from out east.
Where, like Beggarville?
No I think it might be Halifax or something like that.
Halifax, well that's back east, eh!
Hey, who is Abe Stenanko, like he's a real guy isn't he?
Abe Stenanko is a cop from Vancouver, who busted every hippie in town, until I put him in the movies and got his ass transferred to Turkey.
His band the JB's?
The drummer, some famous guy.
Fred Wesley? Maceo Parker?
Maceo! No. Maceo played sax, didn't he, well they used to sit in. One
night this other promoter had a club upstairs trying to go psychedelic,
this is at the height of the Motown era, and he booked all these groups
that later went on to become mega superstars, like Janis Joplin and the
Rolling Stones, and he had this club upstairs and he couldn't make any
money with it. It's called the Red Nose Circus and my club was right below
that in the basement, and our club would be packed and his club would be
empty, with the Rolling Stones, they never drew anybody, it was amazing.
One night all the James Brown band was playing on stage and I look in the
back and I could see Mick Jagger and Keith Richards trying to get in the
club and they couldn't get in cause it was to crowded.
James Brown, what do you think his drug of preference was, cause he
was known to do angel dust.
Well James went through a bi-sexual period that was real funny, remember
that song Please Please Please, well James had a gay lover at the
time and he'd be on his knees, if you look at some film you'll see him
on his knees and this guy would run up and throw a fur coat over him, and
pick him up and carry him off the stage, remember that?, and then James
would break loose and come running back, "Please Please" , he'd
sing some more, the guy that would run out and grab him that was James'
lover, James was a very heavy bi-sexual for the longest time and then he,
James, I don't know what happened to him.
He was trying to open a bunch of burger restaurants in the ghettos,
did you hear about that, what was that about?
Ah, James, man, you know, he's a, he's from the south, and he was like
a down home brother, you know, not to many smarts, like the rest of 'em,
you know, like the rest of us, anybody in rock and roll, we just new one
thing, you know, music, and James was one of 'em. He's a cool guy though,
I met him.
Have you seen him since, or do any of the old rock and rollers phone
you up at all coming through town?
They got short memories, a lot of them, they don't remember, well,
they're old fuckers too you know, like Joe Jackson, Micheal Jackson's father
doesn't remember me, I met him one time -
Maybe he doesn't want to remember you,selective memory?
He's fuckin stupid man he doesn't remember me, he does not, I look
him in the eye and he doesn't remember me, it's weird man, I think he -
I don't know, whatever, you know Jermaine and all the rest, they do, cause
they were like half way - they had half a brain you know.
When did, like, the Vancouvers break-up, was that your last band before
movies started?
Ya, I got fired, I got fired, I had a, I was getting my green card,
I had Motown pay for it, myself and the bass player, because you know how
important a green card is, you know, working down in the States, so I had
gig, I was backing up, Bobby had left, he went on with Smokey, and the
Vancouvers were backing up a girl called Chris Clark, who was Barry Gordy's
white girl of the month club, you know, so I had to leave town in the middle
of the gig to go do an interview to get my green card, and uh, she fired
me for leaving the gig, this is after I told her what I had to do, so I
quit the band moved to Vancouver, and started an improv group, then I met
Cheech.
Had Cheech been in bands before?
Ya, he was Little Caesar and the Chicanos, or something, he had a chicano
band like a Ricky Valle kind of band, and he also was in Calgary, Brad
Creek outside of Calgary, and uh, he's in a lot of bands.
Do you have any Brian Wilson stories?
(laughs) Cheech and I we were playing Vegas one time, we walked in
the elevator and Brian was huddled in the corner, and I don't know how
long he'd been riding the elevator for, but he just, kind of comatose in
the corner, we never said anything we just kinda looked over and I said
"Oh Brian".
Didn't you want to help him?
Naw, what can you do, he's fucked up...met Ted Nugent one time that
was funny, just recently, I said in the elevator "Hey Ted, how are
ya doin', I'm Tommy Chong" and Ted says "No, I'm Ted Nugent".
And I said "No, Ted, I'm Tommy Chong" , and he goes "Oh,
I'm sorry man, I'm deaf." He's deaf, he can't hardly hear!
What about Elvis?
Elvis sent us a Christmas card one time, and that's the closest I ever
got to Elvis.
Who would send you Christmas cards, and why, just, who, celebrity to
celebrity or any particular reason?
I think Elvis probably got into our movies and that was his way of
saying, you know, hello, and that's about all I can think of.
What about Margaret Trudeau?
No, nothing on Margaret, no, I was doing movies when she was fucking
Mick.
Did you get to go to the White House and meet Nixon? Any white house---
The closest I got to the White House, I was in the Swedish embassy
with Peter Sellers, Peter was going with the daughter of the ambassador,
I had a gig in Washington and Peter called me up and he said, he sent me
a telegram saying that the Swedish Ambassador requests the presence of
Sir Ashely Roachclip at the residence, and Ashely Roachclip was a character
from one of our records. I went there and we had a great time, we played
record, we got stoned, they kept ringing these bells that the maids would
come in, you know, there's a bell there and it would say service, so we'd
push it and a sleepy maid would show up about ten minutes later, we'd look
around, "oh", "ya get us a beer", so she'd get us a
beer, we had a good time, it was legal cause we were on Swedish territory
so we could smoke dope.
So Tommy Chong, how were the Beatles, it's been rumored that Paul and
John had some wild escapades in different rooms, did you ever hear anything
about that?
I met John and Rod Stewart in a bedroom the same night at a party in
Lou Athers house, and they were in there, I was going to find a place to
smoke a joint, they were in there, John was sitting on the floor, he was
into his Mai Ling era, you know, the chinese secretary and Rod was sitting
on the bed, I think he was going or he had just met Brit Eckland at the
time, and I come in and I "hey how are ya doin you guys" light
up a joint and they freaked, they were afraid of the immigration, and John
wouldn't take a toke and Rod wouldn't take a toke, so I said fuck ya, and
I smoked it myself ! That's the only time I've met those guys.
Bruno Gerussi?
Who's Bruno Gerussi?
The Beachcombers! A canadian superstar. Leslie Nielson?
I seen Leslie, I rode the plane with Leslie, recently, that was a weird
feeling man, it was like being in the plane in the movie, you know, it
was like Airplane, you know, he's sitting in the you know, it was
like Airplane.
So what are you doing now?
Trying to get paid.
By Paul Hughes? How are you trying to get paid?
For the gig! That's why the bands are here, they're all trying to get
paid.
How much does it, if I dare may ask, does it take to get Tommy Chong
to come MC a concert like this ?
Not quite two figures, well close, but ya, two figures.
Never one?
Oh ya.
So are you living here right now, like do you go home right now to your
house in Edmonton, do you have anywhere to stay?
I don't think so man, Edmonton?
No relatives anywhere? You said you were from Edmonton, or you went
to school here?
Na, no more relatives anymore, they tore Chinatown down man, whatever
relatives I had, they were living there, they're gone, in Calgary, I got
some nieces.
Stompin' Tom Connors.
I like him man, I like his Ketchup song, is that him, yeah.
Pierre Berton.
Good writer, great Canadian - , he knows more about Canadian bullshit
than anybody.
All right, well, anything else you would like to add to our video documentation
of Tommy Chong's evening here at Highwood 1993?
If I don't get paid I'm going to take a whole lot of Marshall amps
home with me on the plane.
All right Tommy Chong....doot doola doot doo
Uh, doot doo.
Interview done in person, Edmonton, Alberta, Aug 14 1993.