Interview No. 6 : James McKinney
Name: James McKinney
Age: 41
Where do you live? Valley Village, CA
C: What was your introduction to Morrissey? How did it all begin?
J: Well, my best friend Sonny and I (he’s still my best friend to this day) were skateboarding in the neighborhood one day. I think we were 12 or 13, and there was this older guy who apparently ran a ‘chop shop’ breaking into cars. We were skateboarding past his place and he called us over, “Hey, you guys want this?” It was one of those black Case Logic cassette holders. I could only assume that it came out of one of the cars he stole. “Yeah, I would.”
Inside was Joy Division, New Order, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the “Pretty in Pink” soundtrack, and then the Smiths “The Queen Is Dead.” I already knew about Siouxsie, but what actually captured me about the Smiths was the name- I thought it was a really cool name.
Later on that night, we went skateboarding again and the chop shop guy had a radio out in front of his house with a cassette player in it and we popped in “The Queen is Dead.” From there on it just took off. I remember waiting for “Strangeways, Here We Come” to come out.
C: So, it was during the Smiths?
J: Yeah, I mean it had to have been in 1986? It was the same time period when “The Queen Is Dead” came out because I remember thinking to myself that they had another album coming out and waiting for it to be released. How Keith and I met was at this record store in Virginia Beach called Electric Smiles. It was the only vinyl store around that dealt with independent music like, the Smiths and the Jesus and Mary Chain. But they’d only get one copy in [at a time], so whenever I would go to buy something they would say, “Oh, no. This guy Keith came in and bought it.”
C: (laughs)
J: I’d be pissed! Or, he would go there and they’d say, “I’m sorry Keith, this guy Jimmy got here before you and ended up getting the new single.” I remember one morning I pulled up to Electric Smiles an hour before they opened because I knew they had a shipment coming in and there was a guy standing outside the store, and we just got to talking.
“So, what are you here waiting for?” I asked.
“Oh, the new Smiths single.”
“That’s weird, so am I. What’s your name?”
“My name is Keith.”
“Oh, so your the guy that always gets ahead of me.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“I’m Jimmy.”
“Oh, you’re the guy…”
It was just so funny. We were the only two people standing outside and that’s how we ended up meeting 25 years ago. He’s one of my best friends now.
C: (laughs) That’s so random!
J: We went to our first Morrissey show together in 1991 in Mansfield, MA. A whole bunch of us carpooled. Sonny, Chris and I were in one car. Keith and a bunch of people were in another car. It was about a 12-13 hour drive. Morrissey only ended up playing for 28-40 minutes because it got so crazy with a lot of people going on the stage. And I believe some lights fell off into the crowd. It just erupted into so much chaos and panic that they had to stop the show. It was absolutely amazing. I didn’t mind it. I couldn’t ask for it to be more perfect! You had youth, the excitement of seeing him play for the first time, and a riot. It was just everything you could ever wish for as a kid. Afterward, there were about 13,000 to 14,000 people and everybody went to the parking lot and nobody left. Jumping on cars, partying in the parking lot. It was insane.
(Some of Jimmy’s magazine clippings from his scrap book. *Side note: Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit all of the pictures I wanted to include in this post of Jimmy’s magazine clippings. To view these wonderful rarities, visit the Photoset here. )
C: Which tour was that?
J: Kill Uncle.
C: Nice. So, you and Keith go way back?
J: Yeah, all because of the Smiths.
C: It’s almost like you guys were fated to meet each other. It was only a matter of time before you two met.
J: Yeah, and we lived in different cities at the time, too. He lived in Virginia Beach and I lived, at the time, in Chesapeake. It just happened to be that that one record store we knew about carried all the stuff that we listened to.
A year after the Kill Uncle tour, he played in my home town of Norfolk, VA and that was my favorite show because… Well, the first time I ever saw him play was pretty magical. They’re all magical, and the excitement of the first show was unbelievable. But to see him a year later, just three minutes from my house on the Your Arsenal tour where he actually dedicated “We’ll Let You Know to Keith” (https://youtu.be/Jybpepm0DQs) was special. The energy in the ’90’s was incredible. I honestly believe that the best time you could have seen him, if you had the chance to, was that mid ’90’s era. He was singing stuff like “Sister I’m a Poet” and “Mute Witness.”
C: So, they’re all your favorite shows?
J: Yes, but the first two were special. The first one because, it was the first. And the second one because it was actually in my home town. I’ve seen him play many times…
C: How many times have you seen him play?
J: I’ve probably seen them about 20 times. Most of them were in DC. And I actually got up on stage at the one in DC but was quickly thrown off. (https://youtu.be/YrhR151YPAU)
C: Really?! (laughs)
J: Yeah. During “First of the Gang.”
(http://www.cristocat.com/)
C: How many times have you made it on stage?
J: Twice.
C: And one of the times it was wearing that “Rank” jacket?
(“Rank” denim jacket, painted by Amanda James in VA, hand sketched in 20 minutes)
J: Yeah, I was wearing that jacket right there. [Speaking of “Rank,”] Craig Gannon sends me something for my birthday every year, for the past few years.
C: Really?! So, you know him?
J: No, I don’t know him. One day I was talking to him online and I said, “You know what would be really cool? You’ve always been a hero of mine, and my birthday is coming up. It would be great if I could get an autographed picture or something?” I was just joking and he responded, “Ok,” and he sent me one! The following year he sent me pictures of him with the Smiths onstage.
C: That’s awesome!
J: I hung out with Spencer once though. I was working in a bar and my house was directly across the street. For some odd reason, just out of the blue, Spencer Corbin and some other people walk into the bar. It was mind blowing. He happened to be in town talking about some music stuff, etc. and we had a Johnny Cash cover band that night at the bar (he likes Johnny Cash a lot). Of all the places he happens to just walk into, and I happen to be working at one of them. We ended up talking (I was off of work at that time watching the band, too), and we just hung out on the patio the rest of the night drinking Newcastle’s. He invited me to a party with him the following night at a friends house in my neighborhood. One of their friends’ there was a chef and cooked all of this amazing food, 30 bottles of wine… it was phenomenal. We basically hung out for three days straight. He was super super cool.
C: What a chance encounter! That’s amazing! So, what was the first song you fell in love with?
J: Well, the first album I had was “The Queen Is Dead,” but the one that hit me the hardest at first was “Reel Around The Fountain.” My best friend Sonny ended up with that tape [from the ‘chop shop’ Case Logic cassette holder]. So, I went to the record store the following week, saw their first album and thought I should start with that one. As soon as I heard that first kick of the drum, I was like “Whew!” I knew everything was going to change right then. It hit me that hard at such a young age. I’m kind of thankful I got to experience it during that time period.
C: What was it about the song?
J: I don’t know! It was just beautiful. It spoke to me. I don’t like to pick favorites but I guess everyone has one they always sort of lean toward and I would say that “Hatful of Hollow” is probably my favorite album on vinyl. I usually only ever listen to the Smiths on vinyl. There’s just something about that vinyl sound… There’s nothing more beautiful to me than a Smiths album that has been played so many times that it starts to wear out. You hear the scratches, the pops and the hisses. When you lay in bed at 12 o’clock at night and you listen to “Hatful” on vinyl and it kind of skips a little bit and crackles, it takes you to a whole other place.
C: It really does.
J: I’d rather have that than a brand new copy, you know?
C: Totally.
(This shirt [I’m wearing was] made at a place called Y Que Trading Post off of Vermont in Los Angeles. My friend, Brandon Kyle, is the one who makes the shirts. Morrissey comes into that shop sometimes and that’s where I bought it from.)
C: Why would you say you were drawn to them at such a young age?
J: I think it’s because it was so different from everything else that was playing at the time. It’s hard to explain… You think to yourself at 12 years old, how can you really relate to such deep lyrics? Take “Reel Around The Fountain.” You don’t even really understand what it means at the time but it just drew me in. It spoke to me. And then from that it got me into other things like the Jesus and the Mary Chain, Psychedelic Furs and that genre.
J: Here’s probably one of the most collectible things I own. It’s from the actual Queen Is Dead tour merchandise. These shirts, if it’s original, will say SMITHDOM at the bottom. And the more beat up they are, the more money people want for them. Do you know how much this particular shirt goes for?
C: How much?
J: Some people pay as much as $800 for it.
C: Where did you get it?
J: From a friend.
C: Would you say it’s your most coveted piece?
J: I’d definitely say it’s my coolest piece. But actually my favorite piece is one of these that came out of a jukebox in Manchester. It’s a 7” of “Suffer Little Children” and it’s completely scratched.
C: Whoa!
J: It skips, and it doesn’t have a sleeve but the reason why it’s so amazing to me is because whenever I do listen to it, I think about how many other people might have listened to it at a pub or a bar. Not that you’d want to listen to “Suffer Little Children” that much in a pub, but the point is it’s been played a bunch and is scratched up. You play it and you can definitely hear more of the crackling that the lyrics. And I just think about how many people listened to it, or sat and had conversations while that song was playing.. If anyone met somebody, perhaps the love of their life or maybe they broke up while it was playing, you know? It’s a little deep thinking but that’s how I look at it.
C: No, it’s awesome!
J: It’s probably my favorite piece and it probably has no value to anybody. [If I were to sell it] I’d probably only get a dollar for it or something.
C: Where did you buy it?
J: I bought it from someone who lived in Manchester years ago. That’s what description said anyway. There was a bar that was closing down and they had a jukebox in there and had to get rid of all of the records. So they posted them on eBay and I think I paid about $2 for this or something.
J: Speaking of England, this guy did a drawing and posted it online about a month ago or so. And I told him, “I love that! I’d like to have that.” And he sent it to me for free! It’s just an odd puppet Morrissey drawing. I told him I want to get it framed. He just drew it up and took a picture of it.
C: Oh, wow. How cool!
J: What’s funny is, I think Keith asked for it, too. And the guy said “Well, Jimmy asked for it first,” and he just sent it to me.
C: Have you kept in touch with him the artist?
J: Not really. He just said to take a picture of it when I get it framed and send it to him. I mean, I let him know I received it and everything. He’d be blown away if he knew someone like you were taking a picture of it.
C: Well, I’m gonna find him (laughs)!
J: I probably had about $25,000 worth of stuff at one time, collected overtime. I was a huge poster collector but I gave it all away.
C: Why is that?
J: Because you want someone else to appreciate it just as much as you. I know how it was not having it, and know what it felt like to get it. For me, when I give it to someone it reminds me of how I was when I first got it. I’ve given away lots and lots and lots of beautiful things.
C: Have you ever sold any of your collection?
J: I could have, but I didn’t. I never have. It means more to me to give it away. If I were to sell it, it would cheapen it.
C: It comes from the goodness of your heart and who knows, maybe they’ve passed it on, too. It becomes part of the story and a part of other peoples lives.
J: Just like that record I got out of the jukebox in Manchester. There’s something wonderful about it.
Keith sold his entire Smiths collection to be able to go on tour with him. I think he had one of the best Smiths collections I’ve ever seen. You trade all of these beautiful things for the experience of a lifetime. I mean, how many people can say they’ve literally hung out with him?
(Jimmy’s favorite Morrissey book, “How Soon Is Never?” by Marc Spitz, autographed by the author, and a picture of Keith in Hawaii during the Morrissey tour in 1992.)
C: What’s your favorite lyric or quote?
J: ”I’m just passing through here, On my way to somewhere civilized."
It's hard to pick an absolute favorite lyric but this is definitely one of my favorites.
C: Why?
J: Because it pretty much describes life: childhood to school to adulthood, everyone is just trying to get by the best they can to get through each of those phases in life and I think we can all agree they each shared/share their bizarre awkward moments we just wanted to pass as quickly as possible. Hence “I’m just passing through here on my way to 'somewhere' civilized , but I don't think we ever really find civilization....we just find moments in life and how civilized is that, really?
The irony to it all is that the older I get the more I wish I had those moments again at times.... I mean, life can be a beautiful place these days but will it ever be as beautiful as seeing Morrissey walking out on stage in ’91, starting off with the loop and throwing his tambourine out mid song to 10,000 kids going completely insane like I've seen so many times over? Probably not, but it never happening again like that is what makes it so beautiful, it was a special time, special place, special friends and for that I can honestly say, “Now my heart is full.”
Thankful we crossed paths, Jimmy, and thank you for your participation in the Viva Love Photo Project! Be well and safe travels to you!