Enuff Z’Nuff may have started in the height of the hair metal boom, but their music was always a little deeper. Steeped in The Beatles, the band, led by Chip Z’Nuff, has weathered numerous lineup changes and just released their 20th studio record Xtra Cherries. Recently, Chip sat with me to talk about the record and upcoming plans.
Please press the PLAY icon below for the MisplacedStraws Chip Z’Nuff interview –
On the current lineup of Enuff Z’Nuff – I’ve been very lucky and fortunate to have put together a solid group. It’s Jason Camino, formerly of the Nelsons playing guitar, Luis Kalil is also the guitar player from a band called Red Devil Vortex. Terrific artist, protege guitarist, wonderful singer. The drummer from Mike Tramps White Lion is now playing with us. His name is Brentt Arcement. So that rounds out Enuff Z’Nuff…I’m pretty lucky, I’ve always been a cat that was able to find good musicians that would tote the line and respect the legacy of Enuff Z’Nuff. These guys are free thinkers. Solid as a rock players. They come from good stock. I’m very blessed and certainly lucky at the same time to have a rock-solid band of guys who are real soldiers when it comes to rock and roll. Because it’s a tough lifestyle. We all know that. But when it comes to music, these guys can play. They’re the real deal.
On keeping creative after all these years – Certainly, in this day and age right here, there’s a lot of fodder out in the streets. There’s plenty of things that singing, write, and talk about. There’s a plethora of knowledge out there. When I’m inspired, I’m inspired. Even in the old days, in the early Enuff Z’Nuff days of Donnie (Vie) and myself, we were always coming up with a lot of material because we seen what was happening around us and we were writing about everyday experiences that happened to us, and perhaps they happen to the audience as well.
So, no exception right now as we getting older. I think that I do take little breaks once in a while because dear Lord, I’ve been recording with a lot of different bands. The Zen from Mars Record came out, the Quireboys record I just did, which we call the Blackeyed Sons with Joe Elliot from Def Leppard played on all that stuff. It’s not just one song on these records. I’m playing on the whole records, a Dave Ellefson record from Megadeth That’s a solid couple songs we just recorded. I just did that Hair Supply record, which is all those Air Supply songs and that was certainly challenging as well. Then nonstop other records I’ve worked on…Other projects that I’ve done Beggars & Thieves over in England.
I get a chance to play these records and get a chance to write, and it keeps me going. It keeps me sharp. Then, when it’s time for an Enuff Z’nuff album, I’m prepared. By the way this is, we have this new record of Xtra Cherries that’s coming out right in the next couple weeks, but we also have Enuff Z’Nuff Live at the Whisky A Gogo. That’s gonna follow right behind that sometime at the end of the year. So I’m excited because there’s a lot of good music and we’re being creative and having a good time. Perhaps I’ll be able to share that with our audience out there. I think that Enuff Z’Nuff fans, for any groups that are out there, they want hear new music all the time.
On fan reaction to the new songs played live – Oh, it’s been absolutely fantastic. I’m blessed to have some of the greatest fans in the country. Remember, we share the fans with the other bands as well. Yeah, There’s people that like Queen and Cheap Trick and Aerosmith and Dirty Honey and The Lemon Twigs and all those different groups that are out right now that like Enuff Z’Nuff as well. It’s shocking when I go around the country and play these big shows and run into the guys from Lamb of God who acknowledge Enuff Z’Nuff It never seems to surprise me. People that love the music, we share all the fans out there. That’s why I tell the audience all the time, please go out and support your favorite bands because their life expectancy is not very long.
On the track “Heartbeat” – It’s got a little Elton John vibe to it as well. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. I don’t wanna repeat myself. Obviously, all bands have a certain sound and a timbre about them that they carry throughout their career, and we’re no different than that. But I think that our approach on a lot of the records that we have put out in the past couple dozen years has always been good songs solid songwriting, and a real, our nose to the grindstone, keep our ears to what’s happening on the street. On that first song, it’s real stripped down. I wanted to do something different on this new Enuff Z’Nuff album, and I think I captured that with an organic simple approach to a pop song, kind of a little bit of, like I said, the Elton John, McCartney feel to it, a colorful, flamboyant, it’s perfect track to start an Enuff Z’Nuff album out because we’ve never, ever started any records off like that throughout our career.
On covering a Rolling Stone’s song after being so associated with The Beatles – You’re very intuitive, Jeff. It certainly was a different approach. That Rolling Stones, “Star Star” song, otherwise known as around the country as “Star Fucker”, was probably the most promiscuous lyric that Mick Jagger’s ever written in his life. Great riff by Keith Richards as well. My approach to that one was keep it close to the vest. I went in the studio, we bashed that one out, live with Dax Nielsen playing drums, and I was fortunate enough to get Dax Nielsen to not only play a great drum track to it but to lend himself to talking Gunner Nelson to playing guitar on the record. My guitar player, Jason Camino, recommended Gunner, he said, “I think he’d do a fantastic job playing some guitar on his track”. The vocals were already in place, and we gave it to Gunner, and Gunner put down a great slide solo, and it sounds like Foghat. It’s absolutely terrific. It’s old Savoy Brown. It just slinky and sleazy and it’s just perfect for the track and melodic. That’s a different song because you’re right, we are associated a lot of times with our influences, which are Beatles, and you are what you eat. But the Rolling Stones, it’s something a little left of center for Enuff Z’Nuff. I like taking chances. I don’t want any handcuffs on me unless I’m in a bedroom around three young little trim that is not gonna tell anybody of the stories of what I’ve done behind closed doors.
On the mini-Journey reunion of Robert Fleischman and Neal Schon on “Shine” – What happened, Jeff, was back in the early nineties, I produced a record called the Sy Klopps Blues Band. Herbie Herbert hired me to produce this record, and it was Greg Erico from Sly & The Family Stone, Norton Buffalo from Steve Miller Band, Prairie Prince from The Tubes, Ross Valerie and Neal Schon, of course, were in there. One of the cats from Europe was in there, and we were doing a blues record. They came to Chicago to hang out with us, and we had a four- or five-hour lockout over at Chicago Recording Company, the old studio that housed some great bands, a lot of blues artists and rock artists that were in there. Plant & Page did a record over there. The late Steve Albini produced tons of records out of there. Pearl Jam did stuff. Iconic studio, a wonderful place. We all plugged in, and in the evening and recorded one song with no vocals at all. Just record the track. We just had a great time playing. That’s what’s so beautiful about music and being creative. It’s all live, no overdubs. Let’s not fix this note. Let’s not touch this. Let’s just let it play and see what we come up with.
Then the track just sat, and I had it on a hard drive at my studio where I live in Blue Island. When I was looking for songs for the record, I wanted to do something that was different, in the old days to quote the great Steven Tyler, “If it’s 20 years old, it’s new again”. I just thought, maybe I just go through here and see if I could find some old stuff that would really trip my trigger that would maybe fit on this record. We found that track after weeks of going through different hard drives through my library of material. Then a green light went off.
I said, “Call Robert Fleischman”. Because I just finished doing the Robert Fleischman Emotional Atlas record. There’s not many musicians on that record. It’s the only real instruments on that record be besides Robert’s beautiful voice is my bass guitar. Everything else is all Moog synthesizers. So, I thought maybe he’d be interested in doing it, and I told him a story that recorded it with Neal years ago over at Chicago Recording Company, and I think this would be a great acquaintance getting back together again and paying homage to your forebearers. Remember, Robert co-wrote with Neal, “Wheel In The Sky” and “Anytime”, a bunch of songs for Journey, actually. He had a Brincks truck full of money. If I pushed him off his fucking wall, he’d break his neck three, four times. He lives right in Lake Michigan. He’s got a beautiful house. It’s so clean and pristine, you can eat off the floors.
Anyway, Robert long story longer Robert said, “I’d love to sing on it”. He came down to Chicago, and honest-to-God, he wrote that lyric and sing that melody line in maybe two takes. The track was done and I sang with the acapella in the studio, and then I decided I just don’t want my voice to be as loud. I really wanna focus on the Journey connection right there. Obviously, we co-wrote the song along with Donnie Vie, my old partner in Enuff Z’Nuff. He played beautiful piano on that; it’s very like Little Richard. Okay. He sounds fantastic guy. It’s all one take. Like I said, no fixing, no overdubs, nothing to the contrary. Just a bunch of guys in the studio smoking a couple joints and playing some music together. I think we captured some magic right there, Jeff. I’m looking forward to,putting that record out there and letting people share that with the all the Journey fans around the country and the Vinnie Vincent fans as well, because Robert’s a terrific talent.
On if Donnie’s recording was new – No. Donnie was in the studio with Neal Schon and myself when we tracked that song and it just sat there for years. Donnie doesn’t even know until recently that he was even on the record. I always try to throw him on stuff because I wanna see him get paid too. You never know, one of these songs gets picked up in a movie, a soundtrack, a TV show, a commercial and it’s a nice little payday for that little jag off. I wanna see him do good. I’m a fan, so that’s why I did it. It’s a chance to share with the audience a brand-new Enuff Z’Nuff with a wonderful collaboration with great musicians. That’s what it’s all about the end of the day, Jeff. Who cares who drives the bus? Let’s get to the picnic. I wanna celebrate.
On playing with a lot of artists – I’m pillaging off the hip hop guys and I’ve done records of Kanye West, Crucial Conflict. A lot of the older guys that were doing hip hop stuff, Twista, I’ve played on those records. I’m one of the only rock guys that have done all that stuff. I’m not a six-trick pony, but I certainly like to think of myself as one. When I was putting this record together, I said, “I see these hip hop guys all sharing a stage together, what real brothers and the common unity those guys have”. I just, I admire it beyond belief and more rock musicians need to do that kind of stuff. As I mentioned to you earlier, all the records I’ve played on in just the last year. I’m sharing a stage with some cool guys out there. The approach on this record was, I could do it all myself. I really don’t need a lot of guys. I can make records, I can do solo records. I can do records. I like to compete and play with my fellow constituents. That’s what gives me a rig. Okay. That makes me excited to get out there and play with my brothers.
So, when my approach on the record, when I was first recording it, we were talking with, the powers that be, Brian Pereira, who carries a large stick over at Cleopatra. He even said to me, I said, “I’m gonna get some guys to play on the record. I got some tracks that I’ve done with a few guys from the past. I think it might be nice to have ’em on the record”. He goes, “Chip, get as many as those guys as you can for the album. It’s gonna help elevate your perception”. And that’s what I did.
On if he would reunite with Donnie Vie – We spent a lot of time together and we really worked hard through the years. There’s a lot of peaks and valleys and we, we’ve definitely found ourselves behind the eight ball quite a bit and there’s a black cloud following us. But nonetheless, those songs are timeless as far as I’m concerned. It can house 20 bands that are out there right now. We gave the songs to other artists to record. Quite challenging too. So those performances, those are one and two takes records that we’ve done. We had wonderful chemistry together for 20 something years. He quit the band two, three times. The last time I realized, I can’t keep pushing him and begging him to come on back, he still goes out and does solo stuff. He plays with my old guitar player, Alex Kane from Life, Sex and Death. They got some solid shows and they do a lot of the Enuff Z’Nuff stuff with the Donnie Vie Band. It’s very good. But for him to come back there, I think that would be a confusing motion or progress at this point.
That being said though September 14th, Enuff Z’Nuff is being inducted into Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When they called me to ask me if I was interested, of course I was, I said, “I’d like to bring my brother in there ’cause he’s a big part of the history of the band”. They accepted it and they said, “Yeah, it’d be great, Chip.” I called Donnie and he’s gonna sing a couple songs. It’s Enuff Z’Nuff, Disturbed Smashing Pumpkins, Head East, Richard Marx, and a host of other great artists that are all gonna be inducted at the Rialto Theater in Joliet, September 14th, 2025.
So yeah, he will be back for a couple of songs. I’m proud of that and I’ll always include him on stuff on the records as well. But I just don’t ever see him (coming back). He’s mentioned to me, he goes, he is not interested in getting in the Oscar Mayer Weiner wagon and playing six, seven days a week on the road, because it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s a tough job. Donnie’s last tours with Enuff Z’Nuff, we were on a tour bus with an ounce of cocaine, a couple of big bottles of Jack Daniels with King’s X cranked in the front of the bus, listening to Gretchen Goes Nebraska. It was the great little party that we had. All things must end as all things must pass, as the great George Harrison has written.
I’m so proud of our heritage and our history together. He does solo stuff. He told me if I want to continue Enuff Z’Nuff that I should go out and sing the songs myself and write ’em there, and that’s what I’m doing. But I still share that with him because I wanna see him be respected and be compensated for his hard work and his dedication to rock and roll throughout the years.
On how hard it is to keep a lineup together – Well, it’s a challenging time for everybody. Any bands that can stay together, the big bands that are out there, it’s real fucking simple for those cats. All they gotta do is just show up there. They’re gonna get paid a thousand, $2000, $5,000, $10,000 a night, $20 grand maybe more. That’s gonna motivate them for sure, and it’s one set. Then you get up and you get on your tour bus, or you get in your Learjet and you go, and then you find yourself some nice trim. Go back to the, to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. There’s Creme Brule and Manhattan’s for you and it’s a rock and roll party and it’s wash, rinse, repeat. For bands like us very difficult and challenging. Sometimes the lineups do change and that’s why bands are get paid a Brinks truck full of money when they stay together because it’s a miracle at the end of the day to have all the original guys there.
I went through pain and suffering through my career with Enuff Z’Nuff, I lost my bro, Derek Frigo in 2004. Then right after that, three years later, the great Ricky Parent, he succumbed to cancer and then Donnie split again for the last time. It was me against, I had nobody. It was Chip. If you don’t move forward, you’re gonna fail and fall apart. Failure, perhaps, is not in my vocabulary because to me it means let’s get it right the next time.
On the upcoming documentary – Jeff, real quick, shout out to Amanda and my friends over at ABC for helping me put together all these Zoom calls and interviews. It’s been wonderful reacquainting myself with people like you. Another shout out to of course, Cleopatra Records. To let the fans know out there that we have a documentary coming out next year. It’s called Strength and Innocence. It exposes all the war scars and tattoos of what Enuff Z’Nuff is all about. Make sure you have some tissues next to the TV set because this one will make you cry. There’s some wonderful moments in there, not only showcasing the great songs that Don and I have written, but showing all the things that we had to go through to get to this point in our careers. I thank the fans out there for lovely support. God bless everyone out there, and I hope you all live to be a hundred years old and healthy.
