Early in the summer of 1998, I was invited down to Hollywood to speak to the band about the new album, Celebrity Skin. This was a much-anticipated released given that (a) it was the first album from the Widow Cobain since her husband’s death and Hole’s Live Through This album in 1994; and (b) a number of people—including Billy Corgan—had sprinkled their magic pixie dust on some of the songs.
When I arrived, I was told that my slot would be the second-to-last interview at the very end of a three-day press junket that involved journalists from all over the world. In between, Hole was up late shooting the video for the title track. Great.
Naturally, the interviews took place at the Chateau Marmont, the hulking gothic building that looms over the east end of the Sunset Strip. It’s was (and still is) a favourite hang-out for rockers (Scott Weiland, Marilyn Manson) who need privacy to do...stuff. It’s also where some people go to overdose and die (John Belushi).
When I arrived, was escorted to a big suite in the old parThe t of the hotel. The place was a madhouse.
There were racks and racks of designer clothing being wheeled in and out. There were bowls and platters of vaguely vegan food scattered on just about every flat surface. PA’s—and there were a lot of them—barked orders into cell phones, fear and confusion stretched across their faces.
In the middle was a couch, a coffee table and a folding chair. Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was at one end of the couch, looking at her nails; guitarist Eric Erlandson was at the other, looking tremendously bored as he stared out over Sunset.
And Courtney? She was stomping around in a bare feet wearing clamdiggers and a lacey blouse, screaming at someone through a cordless phone. Riding high on the reviews for her performance alongside Woody Harrelson in Milos Forman-directed The People Vs. Larry Flynt and now being taken seriously as a Hollywood actress, she was at her most Courtney-ness.
After taking my spot in the folding chair and spreading out my stuff on the coffee table that offered the only protection from Courtney from her middle position on the couch, she flounced in, plopped on the couch and started at me. “Let’s get this over with.”
She then looked down at the coffee table where I spread my notes. Somehow managed to read what I’d written upside down, she noticed the name “Billy Corgan” in one of my first questions. This is where it kind of all went...wrong.
Somehow, though, we managed to get back on track. The 20 minutes that had been allotted for me went by quickly.
At last, it was over. I packed up my stuff and skulked into a back room to make a call back to Toronto confirming that the interview had actually happened. The last thing I remember is Courtney picking up the extension and yelling “Get off the phone! Milos is trying to call me!”
That was the first and only time I’ve formally interviewed Courtney Love. Naturally, I’ve asked to talk to her about the new record. This should be fun.