Jack became like my first mentor in the business. Not to sound like some hippie or something, but it was like Karma you know for us to be together. There used to be some sort of Ladies auxiliary or something to our fan club, and they would send all these weird photos into us, like of tombstones and shit like that. Well one time one of them sent in this picture of a tombstone of Fredrick Nietzsche, who was Jack's great uncle, and I showed him the picture, saying Jack isn't this great uncle and he said yeah.
Jack wasn't very well and he was going downhill slowly, and I remember they were throwing me this birthday party, and I found out Jack had died that day. It was the same day his great uncle had gone, the same day as my birthday, August 25th.
He was my first real professional friend, and I still feel like he's looking out for me
I've got to know, how you'd come up with the name Mink DeVille
Well we were sitting around talking of names, and some of them were really rude, and I was saying, guys we can't do that. Then one of the guys said how about Mink DeVille, there can't be anything cooler than a fur lined Cadillac can there?
Cool so it's true, I couldn't remember if I had read that somewhere or not, or if it was some sort of urban legend.
Nope it's true
The sound you described that Jack was doing with the percussion and castanets for the Ronettes and other bands, is that where those sounds in your music came from, the Latin rhythms and stuff?
Well you had to have that sort of sound if you wanted any street credibility in the lower east side where I came from you know. Everybody listens to the great music of Tito Puente, I love the sound of that stuff too, the congas and great percussion. It was the congas that hooked me into New Orleans, that great drumming.
...Part Two
Article comments
1 - Roy Trakin
Nice work, Richard. I'm an old fan of Mink's work back from the CBGB days, and I'm delighted he's kept going strong all these years. Truly one of the more underrated musicians of all time... And I never knew Frederich was Jack Nietzsche's great uncle. That was a truly great piece of information. Nietzsche, Jack that is, is one of rock's all-time great arrangers and producers.
2 - Raymond Plante
Richard
Thanks for your "black and white" interview of Willy DeVille, who follows that long line of great American artists who are "not without honour, save in (their) own country."
3 - virginie
thank you for this great interview; I just saw Willy in concert on Monday (in Luzern, Switzerland) and there's nothing I can say but that he is a hell of a musician. So thanks for letting us know more about talented artists we love.
4 - Allan Anfilow
Great interwiew,well done Richard! Informative+
Please bring it on Willy, to Australia I mean,can't wait. Been a fan since seeing Willy sitting on a stool singing "mixed up shook up girl" on a show called "countdown" in the 70's.This is still my favourite Willy song. Early records and cd's were very hard to access in Australia, but I have them all! Keep the music coming.
Allan Anfilow 28.01.07