Bridge 11 – TK Harold Stein Interview, May 2001

Excerpt from radio interview on the Harold Stein Show.

HS – So we could talk your sex life all day, and we will get back to it,  but something I’ve always to know about is why when you left the Scene you didn’t go into acting. I thought that was where you were headed?

TK – Well, the thing is I never really wanted to leave The Scene.

HS – You got fired, right?

TK – … Yeah.

HS – So how’d that go? Did Gil do it?

TK – No, Nigel. Our manager.

HS – Did Gil call you after?

TK – No man. We never talked about it?

HS – Not even years later? I mean wow. Because you guys ran into each other, right? 

TK – Yeah, and we’ve been on stage again together, and it’s fine. I don’t hold grudges. In fact I don’t even know why we’re talking about this, I’ve talked about it all before anyway.

HS – Yeah but I just want to make sure me and my listeners know the story. So I seem to remember Gil saying that you didn’t care enough about the band.

TK – Sure, okay. So yeah, he said that. And maybe it seemed true to him. I mean I wasn’t always the easiest guy to deal with, none of us were. But man, to be honest, I kind of thought my crap didn’t stink, you know?

HS – Lead singers disease?

TK – Yeah man, I guess. And I think Gil just wanted a fresh start. I think he never really felt he got the credit he deserved, and maybe he didn’t? Who knows? He wrote all the hit songs.

HS – So without you Gil could finally be the star.

TK – Yeah, me and Kyng being gone Gil finally got the chance to really have his vision.

HS – But how well did that work out? I mean you guys were way bigger together.

TK – Yeah, I mean we all did some good stuff, but you just can’t recreate something that special. How many guys ever get lightning in a bottle twice?

HS – Not many.

TK – Exactly man. Like, it’s not easy.

HS – Okay. So you leave The Scene, or get kicked out or whatever, but you have this movie out, and it does pretty good.

TK – Did you see it?

HS – No, I mean it was a chick flick, right? Me and my wife were beyond that when it came out. With my girlfriend now we’d watch it, we watch all those types of movies and I honestly love them. But I mean it was pretty popular at the time, it has a cult following now doesn’t it?

TK – Yeah.

HS – So I mean it made money and people were saying good things, but instead of acting more you went and made Graceland. Your next film was in what, 1998 I think? 6 years later? And it was a pretty small part.

TK – Yeah, it’s just. I loved being part of The Scene, and when that fell apart, even though I know it wasn’t the full reason why, I just kind of blamed the acting on why I got kicked out. I lost my passion for it, so I tried to find it again with Grace. So that’s why I made the album Graceland.

HS – Was that a mistake? Should you have gone into acting? You must have been offered some pretty good parts.

TK – I guess. Honestly I never really looked at the scripts. But I’m proud of what we did with Grace. Proud of Graceland and the other albums. It’s just I have to wonder, if we never truly broke up, if we all had just stayed together, even if we needed a break from each other, what could have been? That still bugs me. Always will.