A Conversation with Michael Rhodes (continued)

PM: When I was putting together questions, I remembered: didn't you, somewhere along the way, without seeking it out, run into work as a model for someone?

MR: Oh, Jesus.

PM: Can we cover that? I don't really know the story.

MR: Well, okay. Here's the story. You can't make this kind of stuff up. It's just so out of left field. So Kahoutek-like, you know, it's coming out of the sky.

I got a call to go and do a gig with Yohji Yamamoto. He's a clothing designer, one of the premier clothing designers, and one of my favorites, and many other people's favorites. Anyway, I got a call to go over and do a gig with him in Japan.

PM: A recording gig.

MR: It was a live gig. He wanted to be a songwriter, and he's not a bad songwriter.

PM: He wrote in English?

MR: No, it was Japanese, yeah, which is strange.

PM: But he can compose?

MR: Yeah, yeah, folk songs, kind of folk rock kind of stuff. But it was conceptual. And the staging of this was very, you know...

PM: It was a designer being a singer/songwriter.

MR: I mean, it was beautiful. The setup was beautiful. And we all put his clothes on. You know, for once that didn't suck. [laughs] And so anyway, we were at the dress rehearsal, and his assistant came up, very demurely Japanese, and said, "Mr. Yamamoto would very much like for you to model some clothing for him." So we did a photo shoot, and that was trippy.

PM: No kidding.

MR: And then it was in GQ.

PM: It was in GQ! [laughs] I didn't know that!

MR: And then it was part of a campaign they ran in several magazines for a period of time. Anyway, then they called me and wanted me to go to Paris to do a runway show.

PM: Unreal.

MR: I know. So this was during the Gulf War. And I said, "Well, look man, I'd love to, but I'm really pretty skittish right now about flying anything other than, you know, a Swedish airline or something like that."

PM: Here to Detroit.

MR: [laughs] Well, anyway, by that time, long story short, he flew me over on the Concord.

PM: [laughs]

MR: Which was great. And so I went over there. And John Cale was doing it. It was all musicians. Curt Smith from Tears for Fears. Ottmar Leibert was doing it.

PM: The flamenco guy?

MR: Right. And Charles Lloyd was there.

PM: Wow.

MR: So it was a trip. It was a trip because none of us are models, right?

PM: Yeah, right. [laughs] And so, how did everybody look going down the runway?

MR: Like non-models.

PM: How was Charles Lloyd getting down the runway?

MR: Charles Lloyd was good, man. Yeah, he was a pro. I mean, you know, probably John Cale was the most natural, because he'd been around that. He's a New York guy, so he kind of had it down. But anyway, that was fun, something different.

PM: And your modeling career, a meteoric rise and a quick exit.

MR: Exactly. It burned out quick, you know. Yeah, typical story.

PM: But to leave that batting a thousand never hurt anybody.

MR: [laughs]

PM: So after all the people that you've been graced to work with, whom have you not worked with yet that you would like to?

MR: Oh, man, I'd love to work with Aretha Franklin. That would be amazing.

PM: How does one hook that up?

MR: I don't know.

PM: It seems like if somebody could hook that up, you could hook that up.

MR: That's going to be one of those things where you just dream it and it comes true, or it doesn't, you know?

Who would I like to work with... That's a really good question. I'm going to be doing a record with Aaron Neville soon, so that's another one.

PM: That's a big one.

MR: Yeah. I know Aaron from a few years ago, but I've never recorded with him. I've done Etta James records, so there's that, you know. I want to do some playing with Bonnie Bramlett. We've talked about it. She's got a new record coming out, it's absolutely terrific. And, obviously, I would love to hook up with some of my childhood heroes. I mean, McCartney... Let me play bass with McCartney.

PM: He likes to play guitar.

MR: Sure, let me play bass. That would be great. You know, Pete Townsend. I'd like to record with Chrissie Hynde.

PM: Hell, yeah. She likes a good bass player.

MR: I'd work cheap for Chrissie.  continue

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