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OFF the cuff w/claiborne gary “dee dee” james
Lenny Kravit z , Paula Abdul, Bootsy Collins, Jesse Johnson—these are just a handful of the ar tists Gar y “Dee Dee” James has worked with. The accomplished guitarist is currently putting his years of experience on stage and touring to good use as the leader of his own band, Dir t y Muggs. WHAT ’S THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME DIRT Y MUGGS? I toured with Bootsy Collins for around 15 years. He’s given a lot of people he’s worked with over the years nicknames like Baby face Edmonds. When I first joined his band, he star ted calling me Dir t y Muggs. That ’s how he would announce me at shows: “And on guitar, Dir t y Muggs.” He told me that if I ever star ted a new band, that ’s what I should call it . It has really stuck with me. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO SOMEONE WHO’S NOT SEEN YOU PL AY ? We play prett y much ever y thing. We’ll go from The Beatles to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre to Joe Cocker to James Brown to Al Green. We cover all of the genres because our gigs require us to. We tr y to give ever yone a little something. HOW DID YOU GE T INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS? I star ted in high school. Some of the guys I grew up with had a band. I was an athlete, but I star ted playing guitar and fell in love with it . I really got my break with a guy named Charles Stone. He was the production and road manager for Kool & the Gang. DIRT Y MUGGS HA S A NEW MEMBER. We had Nikko Smith join the band. Ever ybody knows he’s Oz zie Smith’s kid, and he was on American Idol. He’s a great addition to the group. We’ ve been working harder than ever, and we’ ve got some original music coming. The band is looking great , sounding great . WHERE DO YOU SHOP FOR YOUR ON- AND OFF-STAGE AT TIRE? I’ ve had a lot of my clothes for years. I’m a guy who is still wearing bell bottoms. I’ll have things made and get some items at Bespoke. I don’ t like stuff that looks like what you see ever y day on the street . I’ ve always been kind of different . I actually buy women’s clothes off the rack when I can find stuff that fits me. DO YOU COLLECT ANY THING? Vintage guitars. I have about 200. I’m left-handed, so they ’re rare and can be hard to come by. I never thought I would have so many. I also have a few vintage cars. I like working on them when I’m not doing music. WHAT ’S THE TOUGHEST AND MOST REWARDING THING ABOUT HAVING YOUR OWN BAND? You control your own destiny. It goes as you go. Working for a lot of people over the years, I found they come off of tours and sit at home wondering what to do nex t . I love to work and play. I’m a lifer. I’ll pass on the stage playing guitar. I’m lucky to have a hard working crew that loves to play music. WHAT ’S THE L ARGEST CROWD YOU’ VE PL AYED IN FRONT OF ? When I was on the road with Color Me Badd and Paula Abdul, I played in front of 60,000 to 80,000 people for a whole year on a stadium tour. I’m not really fazed by much, but that really shocked me.
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Read the entire interview on townandstyle.com.
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