Talk It Out with Jodi Leib

August 30, 2005
Tribeca, NYC

Jodi: This is really exciting. I’m talking it out with rock star, mad guitarist, brilliant, genius, rhythm and blues/ electric guitarist Ladell McLin. This is Ladell McLin, talkin it out! How would you describe your guitar work?

Ladell: I would describe it as still not knowing what I’m doing, still learning. Just letting the music play itself.

Jodi: If you’re still learning, what does it mean to be an expert then?

Ladell: That’s what it means to be an expert – still learning. You never stop learning, and an expert then is – no set rules to the music. Letting the music breathe. It’s like making a baby. You come together and make love with the music. The music produces a child. The child is always going to have its own way of living life, the way it wants to and the way it was meant to come and live its life. That’s the same as the music that you create. It’s going to come out in its own way, it’s going to have its own identity.

Jodi: What do you think about the baby boom that’s going on in the world? It’s almost like there’s a revolution of baby boomers, what do you think?

Ladell: Well, a revolution - we need a revolution. We need a revolution to last about a hundred years to correct what’s gone on the last four years or five years. So it’s going to take a hundred years to clean that up. A revolution for the planet, this time, and humanity is really going to have to find a way to live one with the planet. And make everything equal. All humans are equal no matter what color – black, white, orange, even if a green person, a purple person come down from out of the sky, we’re going to have to treat them equally and not be afraid of them, because of who they are and what they are. You know? We all on the same thing. We’re all living on this planet as one. So, what’s gone on the past four years, there’s going to have to be a revolution. The revolution is not necessarily that we’re gonna win or lose, or anything like that. It’s just that we need a revolution.

Jodi: We need a change, is that what you’re saying?

Ladell: A revolution brings many changes. That’s why it takes so long, man. Revolution – I think we stopped our 60s revolution and everyone wanted to disco and start a party and shakin’ their booties, instead of shaking their fists. All the drugs and stuff started to get more high society class type drugs, and then the 80s came in. That was a small revolution that went on during the 80s, but, and then there was another revolution that went on with the 90s, but the 2000s came up and everybody really forgot about the revolution. Everybody got into the bling bling, and these big motor cars started coming – the same ones they use in the wars. Now they’re charging so much money in gas for us to use over here. People ought to look at that. Some innocent kid is dying over there for you to drive this and afford this to drive around, and that’s not right. Mother Earth is like saying, “hey, that’s not right!” And, she’s doing her thing, and she’s going to come up and slap us one day because we’ve been stupid. She’s gonna do that. She’s the mother of us. The universe is the father. Either one of them is going to come down and chastise us. But, I just think that we need to get out of the ways of living how we think we’re supposed to live. We just need really need love to live by, and love one another. Some people make too much money, they don’t know how to love no more.

Jodi: Why? What is it about money that confuses us?

Ladell: It’s the money. The money brings you like, “I have this and you don’t.” They don’t have anything, really. That money really doesn’t mean anything in the real world reality. You know? An animal is the only one that can’t spend money, right? On the planet, animals and insects? Look at them, they’re beautiful. They’re in harmony with the Earth. We have money and we fall out of harmony and with the universe.

Jodi: I believe that is so true, however money is a spiritual journey if we can get to that level of consciousness. So when we talk about all people are created equal, does that include terrorists?

Ladell: Terrorists. I think we all could be terrorists at times. The people with money are terrorists, right? The ones who buy these big cars that drive over here are just as terrorist as the ones over there. The people who are killing rainforests and polluting the planet. The ones who have these big houses and take up so much land; they’re the terrorists. They’re terrorizing our kids everyday by brainwashing them. So, they’re just as much a terrorist as the ones doing the bombing. It’s like, “Don’t talk about my back yard, look at your back yard, dude.” That’s what I get from it, you know?

Jodi: So, when we pollute the population with brainwashing and propaganda, is it the same as killing innocent civilians?

Ladell: Yeah, you’re killing the soul! Once you take away the soul, you don’t have anything. You just have people that are taking up space now. They’ve got to find their souls back and become a part of what’s going on.

Jodi: I hear you, man. Who’s your greatest influence in the world?

Ladell: Me.

Jodi: Alright. Which musician do you identify with the most?

Ladell: People probably want to say Hendrix. I identify with him, I know his music and I know what he was fighting for, but I identify a lot with the musicians of the day. The musicians that I get to meet, and the ones like a friend of mine Michael Paris. He’s a great musician. Another one – James Blood Ulmer, Vernon Reid. I kind of identify with them because I am in contact with them. I know them. I identify with politicians – the newly elected Illinois senator, Obama. He’s very identifiable. I identify with Hillary, and still the ex-president Clinton. They’ve got compassion for the human race. Even though all politicians fuck up, they never do anything right, but still these people have got compassion and they know what’s the real deal.

Jodi: How do you feel about saying that you are the next Jimi Hendrix, or Jimi Hendrix, Chapter 2? Or you are Jimi Hendrix. What does that mean to you?

Ladell: Oh, that’s hard to live up to. The guy did so much. Just so little time, you know? He had the hippie population. They was fightin’. They was fightin to die, for us to continue. If he wasn’t there, if King wasn’t there, Lennon and the Beatles, Marvin Gaye, if he wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have this. They died for us. They became Christ. If you want to identify me, I would love to be the Christ part of them. You know? They went to their Christ part, and that’s the highest that you can reach on the planet. It’s beautiful. I identify with stuff like, people breaking us out of these type of prison. Prince was a good example of that with his 80 recordings. He did a lot of great work for the population. That’s what musicians are for. We’re for the population. We’re not for the corporation. We’re for the population.

Jodi: I like that. That’s fabulous. That’s beautiful. We are for the population. I agree with that a hundred percent. What’s your goal? What do you see yourself doing in the next year? What is your vision?

Ladell: I want to rule the world, man.

Jodi: Madonna said that and look at her!

Ladell: Yeah, well. I really want to take it over. The world is given to me. I’m free to do whatever I want. Sometimes, I suffer myself with things. But, I decided to become a human when I came down here. I didn’t decide to become an animal or a tree or something like that or a rose. I decided to become a human, so I’m going to have to live out all of these emotions. I’m going to have to evolve as a human. My goal is really to just drop the hugest love bomb ever that the planet has ever seen ~! Yeah! Just to wipe out all that stuff, man. It’s like, the devil has walked away, man. It’s begun to get so stupid. He like, “I can’t do nuttin’ no more!” You know? It’s outta my hands. He’s like, “Man, dude, these dudes are so stupid. They do stupid stuff. It wasn’t me that made them do it now. They are on their own doing stupid stuff. They way beyond.” You know? So, I don’t know.

Jodi: Do you think you’ve seen God?

Ladell: I think I am God. I’m a part of God. I have the same elements as the universe and the Earth. I’m a part, so I get to see him in you too. I think you are too.

Jodi: Thank you.

Ladell: I get to see him in everybody. Anybody that has love is a part of God. And I get to see God in them. I’m not saying that as an ego thing – “I am God.” Like, no one is am God. We are God. God is a we.

Jodi: No hierarchy.

Ladell: Yeah. If you see nature, can feel the rain, everything. The only thing is man – we’re sitting in the middle of Tribeca right now, these buildings…you see man. You see God in just little specs now. Little small trees now. We walk down the street, we’re still small like insects and stuff. But we have all this concrete going on around us.

Jodi: Is there a spiritual revolution going on right? Is that what the revolution is today – a spiritual one?

Ladell: As quiet as it’s kept, it is a huge spiritual revolution going on. It needs someone to exercise its rights to come out, and I hope I get the opportunity to help with that.

Jodi: Most definitely. Anything else you want to share? Take me to the next level, Ladell.

Ladell: Well, we are at the next level. We are at the next level.

Jodi Leib's Talk It Out Interview with Ladell McLin was taped on August 30, 2005. Talk It Out (c) Jodi Leib, 2005. Reprint by Permission at talkitout@jodileib.com

Special thanks to David Birch.