“Farner, man!” This phrase, or perhaps an explicit variation of it, has been used by rockers, metalheads, and heshers worldwide as a substitute for “Awesome!” and “Badass!” for 50 odd years. In those 50 odd years, the man himself has faced hardships that would be the demise of most mortals. Yet Mark Farner stands tall: A true hard rock warrior walking down the road of salvation. In this exclusive new interview, the former Grand Funk frontman leaves no stone unturned, touching on everything from his ex-bandmates and unorthodox autographs, to Homer Simpson and Ringo Starr. “Are You Ready?”
Greetings Mark and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing this afternoon?
Mark Farner: Hey brother Joe! It’s good! “Metal” Joe Miller, I like that title Defenders of the Faith. That’s nice, very nice. How are you doing today?
I’m doing great! This is an honor for me. Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the site and the first show that I ever reviewed for the site was you at the Arcada Theatre last January.
MF: Ahhhhh excellent!
You’ve got a brand new live DVD coming out entitled From Chile with Love. Give us some background on that show.
MF: It was cut in Santiago, Chile, at a venue called Teatro Caupolicán. It was a big theater in the round, kind of like coliseum rocking. It was sold out. There was an 8 camera shoot going on. When we hit the stage, I don’t remember if my feet were really on the stage. I might’ve been just about 3 feet over the top of that, floating the whole time we were up there. It was such an enthusiastic and excitement filled show. From the first note, when we walked out, it was just an incredible reception. And it’s all caught on this DVD which has 18 live performances, 2 bonus videos, and 5 new songs never released in this form before. There’s a lot of music.
My wife Leisa and I wanted to do something for our veterans, so $3 from every one of these DVDs that sell for $14.99 goes to the Veterans Support Foundation. It’s a group of veterans that help these guys that are down and out, that are living in the streets, living in the gutters, living in the alleys. They go and help these people. They house them, they put them in a place with other successful veterans. It’s all veteran run and they get these guys back on their feet. They give them some self esteem. They get them a job, they are back in society, they are producing as a family member.
I love this foundation because Keith King, who’s our coach and runs all the plays, has been running plays since 1968. He set up a show we did at Harpo’s in Detroit called The Guitar Army. It had Dick Wagner from Alice Cooper and The Frost, Randy California from Spirit, Rob Tyner from the MC5. There were so many Detroit bands, Savage Grace and The Rationals. Iggy (Pop) was there. It was a real good thing and here he is today, still doing it for the veterans. Keith King is a great guy. Everything that he has done has stayed and stuck. So we’re with him 100%. If you or any of the readers know of a veteran who needs or you’ve seen a veteran hanging out in an alley or something, give them this phone number. Dial 1-800-882-1316. It’s www.vsf-usa.org.
Did Grand Funk ever get around to playing Chile back in the day?
MF: No. We never played South America. But the first opportunity I had to go, I took it because I love playing for foreign audiences. I love to hear them sing. They speak Spanish down there. It’s a hispanic nation, Chile. But it wasn’t just Chileans at that show. There were a lot of people from Brazil there and Peru and Argentina. They were all singing my songs in American English louder than the P.A. dude! It was awesome! When the people hear this and see this show, they’re gonna realize what American rock n’ roll means to the rest of the world. We’re kind of fickle here brother. We get whatever we want, whenever we want it. Except this lockdown stuff has really put a boot in it. For the time being, we’ve just had to do it on video or this Zoom thing or do it over the wi-fi. But man, I cannot wait to get back on that stage and do it for a real live audience. This DVD is a good representation of what our relationship is with these fans. I wrote 92% of that music and I am who my songs say I am. When I come on that stage, they know who I am. They have learned American English to figure out who I am. It’s quite a thrill, but it’s a responsibility that I have paid to my heart because I really do have love. It’s real. And my love comes from forgiveness. And forgiveness lives in my sorry ass *laughs*.
When you speak of the energy and electricity from the crowd, considering Grand Funk never played South America, would you consider that making up for lost time?
MF: Yes, absolutely brother. That’s exactly what I’m doing down there. I’ve been back several times to South America and always have the same reception. They love me down there. They love my solo band. But they all talk about Grand Funk, which is where I came from. They pray that someday the original band will come. I do the same thing, but I don’t give it much hope because I’ve been trying to get those guys to put back the band for years. There’s only three of us that can do this and we’re all still sucking air so far. When The Beatles were out and then broke up, I was thinking, “Oh my God! I’m not gonna get to see them! This is BS dude! Why can’t I see The Beatles?!” Why can’t you just bury the hatchet and do it for the fans’ sake? That’s where I am with the Grand Funk fans. I would bury the hatchet because forgiveness is in me. It’s part of who I am and I’m proud of it. I like it because when I leave this bone suit, I’ll be standing right face to face with forgiveness. It’s a good mindset and it’s a good place to make music from.
When was the last time you spoke with Don Brewer and Mel Schacher?
MF: I hate to say this, but it was in a courtroom about a year ago when they sued me and tried to get me to stop using my trademark which is “Mark Farner’s American Band”. I applied for that trademark. I was awarded the trademark by the federal government. And they took me to court and tried to say that it was gonna cause confusion in the marketplace or some kind of thing like that. Well the court didn’t see it that way and it cost me thousands. Not only did it cost me for my attorneys from California to come over here to Michigan and try this thing, but it cost me ⅓ of Don and Mel’s attorney fees because I’m a third shareholder of that corporation. They used my money to pay their attorneys to sue me *laughs*! Like I said, I got forgiveness in me. It’s a part of who I am and I think the audience knows that when I get on stage. My songs say that and they expect that from me. I’m still gonna pitch it at the corporate meeting this year. I’m a third shareholder. I’m not an officer in the corporation. I have no say so whatsoever over what goes down in that corporation or what they do or what they don’t do because they threw me out as an officer. So as a third shareholder, I’m gonna say at the meeting that we owe it to the fans to give them the original group while the three of us are still alive. We need to go do this for the sake of those fans, God bless ‘em.
Especially after the year we just had, I think that if you three were able to go out one more time and play every arena in the country, it’d might be the greatest triumph in rock n’ roll history.
MF: Yeah brother, I hear the seriousness in your voice! I am accelerated by that and I am encouraged to hear it in you. It might just happen this year! They might just snap out of it! Put a rubber band around their head and snap out of it *laughs*.
With a catalog as vast and legendary as yours, how do you choose which songs make the setlist and which don’t?
MF: Well with the advantage of the internet, we actually polled our audience and asked them to write down 10 songs they want to hear in the set. That was a pretty good model for coming up with a really enthusiastic set and something that’s gonna give the longtime fans some satisfaction. Being that they had a say so in what they’re gonna hear, that’s another plus. It really comes down to when we take that stage and it starts happening because we become involved. I’m not looking out over the top of my audience, I’m looking my audience in the eye. I am getting revved up just by the emotional waves, and you know what I’m talking about brother. It comes over the stage and you can see the performer just get that shot of energy. The emotional uplifting that we get…oh man, there’s nothing like it. I’ll tell you something “Metal” Joe. That’s my country. When I get on that stage, however big that stage is, I own that whole thing. I say who I am and I demonstrate who I am and I sing who I am. That’s my avenue. That’s how I get it out. I thank God I can still stand up, let alone jump around and dance on stage!
When I saw you last year, you performed a new song entitled “Hoochie Mama”, presumably off your upcoming solo album. What’s the status of this album and when can we expect it?
MF: Well, I’ve got 5 of those songs coming on this DVD. And “Hoochie Mama”…I don’t know if it will be a DVD or CD release, but it will be with another group of songs we are putting together. I’ve got some other ones that I’ve been working on, “Hansel and Gretel” and “A Long Hard Summer”. That might be a good one for this summer *laughs*. We’re still working on them though.
The first three Grand Funk albums were instrumental to the early development of heavy metal. How does it feel to know not just that people appreciate this music over 50 years later, but that it played a key role in the growth of a global music scene?
MF: I’m proud of it, of course, because I wrote 92% of the music. I think too our stage performance and being able to sell out stadiums and playing the big pop festivals, that all plays into who the people come to see. I think that because of the radio situation now…it was deregulated back in 1996 and it began to slip. We are now suffering under a monopoly. There was never supposed to be a monopoly because when they had the “7-7-7 rule” in place, you could only own 7 AM, 7 FM, and 7 television stations. The ownership of these stations were kept in the hands of families, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, patriotic folks who had moral conscience over what our children were seeing and hearing. Well in ‘96, the Clintons made sure that that moral conscience was erased and it has been a downhill slide with accelerated angle year after year after year as we’ve watched it go down. I thank God we put that music out in a time when the world could hear it and the stations would play it. But if it was put out now, I believe it would be censored to the point where people wouldn’t even know who the hell we were.
If I’m to speak from personal experience, I’m only 22. When I was growing up, the three Grand Funk songs that I knew because I heard them all the time on the radio were “We’re an American Band”, “The Loco-Motion”, and “Some Kind of Wonderful”. When I was about 9 or 10 and really started getting into metal, my dad played me “Sin’s a Good Man’s Brother”. My life hasn’t been the same since.
MF: God bless your heart *laughs*!
A song like that…the riffs and lyrics are just perfection. How was that song written?
MF: It was during a time when we were rehearsing. We were at the Flint Federation Musicians Union Hall on Averill Street in Flint, Michigan. Frank Dyer was the secretary of the union. We were all union members, so we said, “Hey. can we come in there and rehearse?” He said, “Oh yeah, come on in!” After the first song *laughs* he came out and said, “You boys better turn that damn thing down!!!” So we turned it down to a level where we could still hear and what have you. I started playing that jam, that acoustic thing at the beginning of it. Brewer’s like, “Wow man. That’s some nice chords.” I said, “Yeah and it goes with this.” and I start playing the lick. It just came out. He says, “You got words for that?” “They’re coming. I can hear them right now. ‘Ain’t seen a night. Things work out right, go by.’” “Well dude, write the song. Mel and I will go down to McDonald’s and grab some lunch. We’ll bring you back some cheeseburgers.” And while they were gone, I wrote it.
In one afternoon.
MF: Yeah.
Talk about American enginuity!
MF: *laughs* Right on brother!
Another song I’ve recently been hooked on is your rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”. You guys didn’t do a lot of covers. How did you decide on doing that one?
MF: I was just playing that riff at the beginning. Brewer says, “That’s “Gimme Shelter”.” I said, “Yeah, but I would do it like this.” I started playing the riff and he started singing it. I said, “Damn! We need to do this! Let’s record it!” And the rest is history. People loved it.
I love it. It’s a heavy song lyrically, but you guys made it heavy musically.
MF: Thank you. I appreciate it.
This summer marks 50 years since Grand Funk played Shea Stadium, where you not only sold out faster than The Beatles, but broke their attendance record as well. Was this ever a topic of discussion with Ringo Starr when you were part of his All Starr Band?
MF: As a matter of fact, I did bring it up as one of the players in the All Starr Band said, “Yeah, you guys played Shea Stadium too, didn’t you?” And I just happened to be about two feet from Ringo’s ear when I said, “Yeah and we sold it out faster than The Beatles!” He just looked over at me *laughs*. He’s a great hearted guy and he can take a jab because he can give a jab. We always kept it on the lighter side. Those poor guys. Ringo, if he puts a ball cap and sunglasses on and tries to go incognito, he walks outside and looks like Ringo with a ball cap and sunglasses on. I ain’t kidding you. He cannot disguise himself. Everybody wants an autograph from him. Even when we were flying over to Japan to do our first run, we were sitting up in first class and these kids came up and said, “Mr. Ringo, can you please sign this autograph?” He had had enough. He’d eventually post that video on YouTube telling people not to send him things. “Don’t expect to get it back. You send me something, I’m not gonna sign it.” He just got worn out. It’s an inconvenience when you’re trying to eat and somebody’s standing there with an ink pen and something in their hands. That’s what it became.
But when we went to Japan and were sitting in Tokyo at a press conference, we were at a table up on a stage. All the newscasters and the people that were doing articles in their rags were sitting down in front of us. Ringo sat in the middle and the band sat down on both sides of him. It looked like The Last Supper. This little girl comes up and says, “I want to ask Mr. Farner question.” “Okay!” “What is it like playing with Beatle?” “Well let me tell you something honey. Ringo puts his pants one leg at a time, just like I do.” Ringo gets up and says, “Thank you brother!” He came over and gave me a big hug because I recognized him as a man. Not this icon, not this Beatle. I just brought him down to earth for the benefit of those people that were there in that audience so they’d know he’s a guy. He’s got problems like everybody else has got problems. Money don’t solve all your problems.
It can’t buy you love either!
MF: Exactly.
Unlike Ringo, you hang out after the shows where you meet the fans and sign autographs. What is the strangest item someone has asked you to autograph?
MF: Body parts *laughs*. We’ve seen some pretty strange body parts in our time. I have signed all kinds of things. For the sake of any children, I have refused to do anything below the waist or if somebody’s gonna flop their thing out of the top of their bra, I’m not gonna do that with kids around. But I will sign their arm or I’ll sign their chest up above, just to say I did it and so that they can have whoever’s taking the picture get me right in the act of doing it. That’s what they want.
Grand Funk’s music and likeness has long been a staple of pop culture. Perhaps the most popular example is that you guys are Homer Simpson’s favorite band. Did The Simpsons’ creators reach out to you beforehand about this or was it a surprise?
MF: It was a total surprise. I had heard of this clip. We were playing in Detroit at Pine Knob. (Ted) Nugent was on the show with us. It was a big show, it was sold out. And what happened? They played that clip on the big screen just before we hit the stage and I got to see it. I went, “Oh my God! That’s great!” “The bare chested lyrics! The bong rattling bass! The competent drumming!” *laughs* Wow. It was good.
Despite scoring tons of hits, multiple gold and platinum albums, and selling out arenas and stadiums the world over, Grand Funk still has yet to even be considered for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Why?
MF: Because we don’t have that brown ring around our lips. We don’t play that game. We don’t bow to that god.
Hypothetically, if that ever did happen, would that be the catalyst for you, Don and Mel to get together again?
MF: I would hope so, but I couldn’t tell you for sure if that would do it. I certainly hope it would, but can’t say. I don’t know where they sit on that. Every time I bring it up, they put it down.
Well I hope their minds change for your sake and more importantly, the fans. I thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview.
MF: I appreciate you and all the readers at Defenders of the Faith: Your online place to give the people the truth and rock them alive!
For more information on Mark Farner, visit www.markfarner.com