ROCKNATION ISSUE 22
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
Interview with Don Brewer
by Tom Mathers
Lets me start off with I’m looking forward to seeing your band in Houston, TX with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Eddie Money on
Sept 26th. How many shows a year are you doing?
We do try to do 40 shows every year we’ve been doing that since 2000 with this incarnation of the band, it is some where between
35 and 40 but we always shoot for 40. We don’t want to do 100 shows, allot of bands are doing that is just not us that is too much
work.
You have your longtime bud Mel Schacher on Bass a original founding member, who else is in the band?
We have Tim Cashion from the Bob Seger and Robert Palmers band is playing keyboards and singing backups with us. Bruce
Kulick who played lead guitar for Kiss for 12 years when they took their makeup off and he is our lead player. And we got a great
singer Max Carl formerly of 38 Special and Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Max he wrote and sang 38’s biggest hit “Second
Chance”.
I know you’ve had so many but what is one of your most memorable epic moment’s of the band?
I got to say playing Shea Stadium that we sold out faster than the Beatles that was one of them. Playing in Tokyo in a huge
baseball stadium there in a middle of a typhoon, that was incredible everybody stayed for that it was amazing show. I got to say
now going out on stage and seeing 3 to 4 generations of people sing along with your songs is got to be one of my biggest thrills of
my life so that’s terrific.
When the band played Shea Stadium what were you thinking before you went on stage in front of all those fans?
Oh we were scarred you know we was just kids 19-20 years old. Here we are flying in a helicopter from the west side of New York
out to and over Shea Stadium, Humble Pie is on stage and all those people are there to see you, it was incredible a rock n’ roll
fantasy moment.
What bands does Don Brewer enjoy listening to now days?
You know one of my all time favorite bands is still the band Free. I don’t know if you know that band Paul Rodgers is the singer
and Simon Kirke is the drummer. Later on they went on to become Bad Company with some other people. Free I love that band
I thought they were terrific. I still listen to that album if you can listen to albums that is the one I listen to.
I loved the Simpson’s show and Grand Funk Railroad was Homer Simpson’s favorite band, please tell us about that
show.
They contacted us they wanted to use a song I co wrote “Shinin’ On” in one of the episodes. We would always hear for a couple of
years they would mention Grand Funk Railroad all the time in the episodes. We came to find out one of the writers for the
Simpson’s was a huge Grand Funk Fan so he was always working the name Grand Funk into the script. I was honoured when
they want to use one of our songs. Homer is driving his kids some place and “Shinin’ On” comes on the radio and he starts telling
his kids about Grand Funk Railroad was just amazing.