Hernan Rojas Interview
 

Hey gang,

I haven't listened yet, but this promises to be interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvrwgIaJ3o

Enjoy and discuss,
Nathan

I need to see the "movie" they made where Stevie was a stewardess and Lindsey and John were the pilots.

This appears to be part 2 of a 2 part interview.

Here is part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIc7JeE_L_E

Brown Eyes mention!

around the 30:00 minute mark on this part one, they finally get into FM (prior is Hernan's background) and the making of Tusk.

around 38:00 he discusses why/how Lindsey became the most powerful member of the band then.
Around 42:00 or so he talks about LB playing most of the drums and bass on his own songs, and the tension on this with John
Around 51:00 or so he mentions he started working more with LB because Lindseydidn't want to work with Ken, so it became LB, Hernan and Richard who worked on Lindsey's songs especially.
This leads around 52:00 to him discussing how he got into a relationship with Stevie and Stevie's relationship with the rest of the band at that time. He started helping her do demos for her solo career, which she was being pushed to do, and he goes into Sara which he says was originally 22 mins, and he cut it to 14 and played for Mick and got him to play on. And then same with John. Then he took it to Lindsey and began working it with LB. He said Stevie was very sad during this time, and not speaking up for herself in the studio or fighting for her songs.
About 56:00 he says to thank him for all his work on it Stevie gave him 50% of the songwriting royalties for Sara. And then they became romantically involved. And eventually she broke his heart. Unfortunately the interviewer is terrible, and he starts babbling and doesn't let Hernan tell more about the relationship that he seemed perfectly willing to go into...but the guy cut him off.


Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvrwgIaJ3o&t=49s

around 19:00 he discusses Brown Eyes. He says it was "dedicated to Christine's dog". it was one of the few songs on the album where the band all played together on.He talks a bit about Peter showing up, LB being a little jealous, but Peter ended up playing and the only bit left on the version that went out is at the end.

Around 22:20 they discuss Beautiful Child. He says there's a story behind it he can't tell. Then Storms is about her relationship with Mick.

24:20 they go back to talking about Sara. Stevie was down during that time; he encouraged her to fight for her songs more, she was not doing that then because she was so depressed. He repeats that he took her 20 mins. version, cut it down, got Mick to play brushes on it, then got John to play on it, then took it to LB and he worked on it with LB and then Richard and Ken. All the guitar layers LB did on it, and then all the layered voices.

around 28:15 he repeats how she gave him 50% of the song; and then he helped her with more demos, and it became romantic. He was seeing someone else but... started a secret romance with Stevie. They kept it secret for a month, trying to not have Lindsey find out, but Christine knew. Then LB found out, and took Hernan aside and said he was glad if Stevie was going with someone that it would be Hernan. Hernan was relieved, as he and LB had become close working with LB on his songs because Lindsey didn't want to work with Ken.

Around 32:00 he mentions that Ken was advocating for Chris and her songs the way Hernan was for Stevie.

around 35:00 he discusses having the documentary crew in the studio. He mentions someone in the band may have pushed back on using all the footage in the studio so a lot of it got left out and he thinks someone should find it and release it.

around 39:00 the interviewer talks about Chris has passed, and then Lindsey was out of the band but that he had read that they had made peace or something and Hernan is very "No. No." and shaking his head. Interviewer says we don't know if they will ever get back together and again Hernan is very "No." He says, the band won't tour but Stevie is always touring, and she will until she can't anymore. Doesn't know how much longer she can go.

Around 40:00 he talks about Save Me a Place... that it represents "the other side to Lindsey" on that album, as in not as hard, or punk, or even about Stevie, as many of his other songs. It was about Lindsey wanting to be remembered. SMAP is his softer side. They all cried the night he recorded it, it was so moving. He recorded it about 5 times that night. They discuss how LB can come off as very arrogant, but Hernan thought he was a really nice, he was a nice guy to Hernan, if not to the other members of the band. Musical genius. Maybe his solo albums haven't done as well, but he is an unrecognized musical genius.

Around 44:00 they get around to him going to Chile with Stevie, which the interviewer gets wrong. Hernan says they went together to Chile after the album was finished. It was risky, because political situation was bad in Chile then and they had some bad experiences. There were curfews, and he and Stevie were out when they shouldn't have been. Got surrounded by cops with machine guns, and Stevie put their car window down and the cops put an Uzi in her face. Hernan had to talk to the cops to get away. Afterwards Stevie called her manager, and the manager called a US Senator, and then someone called the US embassy, and embassy called her and said you have to get out. And so he and she flew to Brazil.

47:20 discuss Stevie and his mom, the mom told Stevie about some lost love relationships that she had had etc. Stevie kept a notebook during that time, and she gave it to Hernan after they split up. How it all turned into Bella Donna.
49:20 he says the song Destiny Rules is the story of his relationship with Stevie, and is like a "postcard to our time in Chile"
50:00 the Tusk tour had to start and he knew their relationship was over.

Around 51:00 they discuss how they knew mixing the Tusk album was done, and who decided, and he says mainly it was up to LB.

Around 55:00 he talks about he's writing some stuff. Earlier he had said he was already going thru his stuff and starting a book about working with FM when Ken had contacted him about collaborating on the Tusk book. But he still has ideas that he wants to write about and has multiple book ideas in mind, all about the world of music and the types of people who get into music. He worked with companies on building team work, creativity, collaboration etc based on his experience working with bands etc. Eventually he decided to shift his focus to schools and education and music.

Story about the uzi to SN's head was pretty wild. :shocked:

He says his memories of the Tusk sessions etc was clearer than Ken's.....

he does talk also throughout about the technical aspects of recording Tusk.

Overall the interviewer is pretty bad and doesn't add much to it at all, and he was lucky Hernan was so willing to just talk because this guy didn't ask intelligent questions or add any really useful comments. :sorry: But he did record it all and put it out so we could see it, so that's good.

And Nathan found it and shared it so thanks!!!!!!!!

I am sitting here having to wait for some important info and watching this and putting notes was a way to channel my nervous energy while having to sit here and wait..... sorry

My pleasure. TY for the timestamps. I agree; weak interviewer.

Sure would love to get a look at that journal though... I wonder if it's on the shelf right behind him.

I think John's name came up all of ONE TIME. Apparently, he was usually first in the studio, after Hernan.

Lindsey jealous of Peter Green
Calm down Lindsey
He really was tough in those days

The segment about being in Chile was quite a surprise. An uzi pointed at Stevie’s head?!

Didn’t know the connection between Hernan’s mother and the song “Bella Donna”—or how “Destiny Rules” was a postcard of their time in Chile.

Not nearly enough about Christine or her songs. Kudos to John for being the first to arrive in the studio!

And “Honey Hi”!

Hernan was very detailed about their trip in his (and Ken Caillat's) book Get Tusked. After I read it, it became clear "Destiny Rules" was about him...the six weeks in a foreign country right after recording Tusk. They also stayed at the Copacabana in Rio. Stevie was probably reflecting on that glittering coastal city, which looks like a diamond snake in a black sky.

https://stevienicks.info/wp-content/...copacabana.jpg

Hernan seems like very smart, kind, and good-looking guy. Not surprised Stevie fell for him.

“Ken was advocating for Christine and her songs”

Tusk is Christine’s worst album. They really let Lindsey’s Tusk madness get to Christine’s songs.

Over & Over is good, but the live versions are much better.

Brown Eyes is okay, but it needs way more pop.

Never Make Me Cry is good, but it’s too short and simple.

All of Christine’s Tusk songs needed to be popped up more to match the caliber of her songs on all the other albums.

Oh gosh...I actually have the opposite stance. I think Christine's songs are exactly what makes the album diverse, but more importantly...balanced! The calmness of her material is such a great counterweight to the more hectic-paced material from Lindsey (which I love). Had all of Christine's material been super pop tunes, I think the album would be even harder to get through. It would suffer from what Say You Will suffers from (and what critics said it lacked)

That's just my two cents, this stuff is different for everyone.

I agree. Christine is who always provided the balance FM needed, and it's no different here. I would've loved getting FIVE Think About Me's, but Never Forget and Honey Hi absolutely serve their purpose, in evening out Lindsey's weirdness.
That said, my least two favorite songs are Storms and Beautiful Child. There's practically no beat to them at all. Snoozeville.