1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,520
What's up everybody, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast.
2
00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:09,640
I'm your host, Stanko Zovak, and I'm bringing you the best of Croatia from around the globe.
3
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,600
This episode is brought to you by Adriatic Tours, the best place since 1974 to book
4
00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:19,120
your cruises, tours, flights, and simply All Things Croatia.
5
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,520
Use the personalized code, allthingscroachia, to get a special discount and book your trip
6
00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,080
to Croatia today.
7
00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:31,800
For more information, go to www.adriatictours.com or click the link in the description.
8
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:37,720
Now eat a modalia and let's get started.
9
00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:38,720
That's awesome.
10
00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:39,720
Cheers.
11
00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:40,720
Zravo.
12
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:41,720
D'Ovo Jutro.
13
00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,160
And D'Ovo Jutro, yeah, over here it's what time is it?
14
00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:45,680
8pm right now.
15
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,680
Let me just go ahead, Milieko, with the intro and we'll get started here.
16
00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,160
I won't waste any time.
17
00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:52,880
Welcome back to the podcast everybody.
18
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,320
In this episode we have special guest Milieko Matjevic.
19
00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:01,040
Milieko is a Croatian born singer who moved to the US as a kid and became the lead singer
20
00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,680
of legendary rock band Steelheart.
21
00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,360
Among other projects, he also sang the vocals for Mark Wahlberg and the movie Rockstar.
22
00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,280
And in this episode we're going to learn more about him and his career.
23
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,280
Milieko, thanks for coming on the podcast.
24
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,280
Oh, thank you for having me.
25
00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:16,960
Finally, I get to connect with my country.
26
00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:19,080
Yeah, I really like to end the learn.
27
00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,160
Learn about your heritage.
28
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,080
Maybe 10, 9, 10 years ago I was scrolling on YouTube.
29
00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:29,760
I was going through like a glam metal type of phase and I came across a Steelheart video.
30
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,880
I said, oh, sounds like a cool band name Steelheart.
31
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:32,880
Clicked on it.
32
00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:33,880
It was never let you go.
33
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:38,480
And I was first thought, I was like, wow, this vocal range is crazy.
34
00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,760
It never in a million years, but I think 10 years later, first of all, I'd be living
35
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:42,760
in Croatia.
36
00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:44,640
I was in Los Angeles at the time.
37
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,640
And not only that, but I'd be interviewing you on the podcast.
38
00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,440
That's what I'd like to have you on.
39
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:52,440
Life is interesting.
40
00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,800
You've got to keep it alive.
41
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,480
So happy that we connected.
42
00:01:58,480 --> 00:01:59,480
Definitely, yeah.
43
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,440
And I said rock band just for the sake of ease in the intro.
44
00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,640
How would you classify your sound?
45
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,920
Are you more glam metal or hair metal?
46
00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:08,920
Steelheart?
47
00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:11,480
No, no, it's not glam.
48
00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:13,080
It's not hair.
49
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:14,720
It's rock and roll.
50
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:26,000
I mean, it's more like, I think it falls more into like, more of this Aerosmithy maybe,
51
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,000
or something like that.
52
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:28,000
You know what I mean?
53
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:29,000
It's not glam.
54
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:30,000
It's not glam.
55
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,600
Or it's funny that we were put in that category.
56
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,720
So as far as hair, I cut my hair.
57
00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,360
So I'm sure.
58
00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:40,840
Definitely not hair.
59
00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:42,360
No, that's for sure.
60
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,720
Yeah, I started growing it and I had it down to the shoulders again.
61
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:46,880
It's like, I look like shit.
62
00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,120
I was like, you know what?
63
00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:56,280
Let me stay rough and tough and just, what's the word, just clean.
64
00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,000
So my face is open.
65
00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,560
Changing of the times.
66
00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:00,560
Yeah, yeah.
67
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,680
Well, Milenko, you were born in Zagreb.
68
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,960
Is that something that a lot of people know about you in the States?
69
00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,520
Yeah, everybody knows.
70
00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,960
Basically the world knows that I was born in Zagreb.
71
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:12,960
It's interesting.
72
00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:19,240
I think the only country that really doesn't know me is my own country.
73
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,760
It's pretty interesting about it.
74
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:26,040
And I'm excited to really connect with my country.
75
00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:27,760
I really am.
76
00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:33,880
So I want to come and perform there and it'd be great for all of us to sing the songs together.
77
00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:34,880
So I'm ready.
78
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:35,880
That would be awesome.
79
00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:40,360
Yeah, I was looking through the Croatian news portals trying to find some information
80
00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:41,360
about you.
81
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:43,480
Yeah, I wasn't really seeing anything in the Croatian news.
82
00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,280
I had to go to the English.
83
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,240
Can you talk a little bit about your heritage and growing up in Zagreb?
84
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,360
When did you leave and why and things like that?
85
00:03:53,360 --> 00:04:00,680
Yeah, well, I was born in Zagreb and I was living in with my grandmother right outside
86
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:07,120
the city, not far from the center.
87
00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:12,440
And my parents left to the United States when I was really, really young.
88
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,760
They came back for me when I was about four or five years old.
89
00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:22,720
And then they took me away and brought me to the United States, to New York.
90
00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:30,880
And that's where I started singing and growing my career.
91
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,640
Funny enough, I started singing at, Jesus, three years old in my grandmother's kitchen.
92
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,920
I would sing to all the Croatian songs on the radio.
93
00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,200
I'd stand up on a chair and I'd sing.
94
00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:50,640
And so at five when I came to the United States, we started singing like songs like
95
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,720
from Johnny Cash, John Denver, all the country stuff.
96
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:55,560
My father really liked the country stuff.
97
00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,280
And I didn't know anything about rock or anything like that.
98
00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:04,880
As I got older, around 11 years old, I was, how would I say this?
99
00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,000
I was introduced to Led Zeppelin.
100
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:15,200
And when I heard Robert Planned singing, hey, mom's, it was just, okay, that's it.
101
00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:16,560
I'm done.
102
00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:26,640
And that's where I started going into the rock music, into Zeppelin, Van Halen, Bad Company,
103
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:28,560
Black Sabbath.
104
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,560
And that's what inspired me.
105
00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:40,680
And I kept going and going and I was, Jesus, my career, I was writing songs since I was
106
00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,560
literally 11 years old.
107
00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:51,320
And I got into a band called The Mission at the age of 15, which was really good because
108
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:52,320
they already signed.
109
00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,120
They were a lot older than I was.
110
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,080
And it really was a great band to join for a while and to learn.
111
00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:04,000
And then I met up with the other guys from Steelheart.
112
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,920
I think maybe 17.
113
00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:09,920
And that was it.
114
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:16,160
We just connected and we rehearsed like animals seemed like forever.
115
00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:24,360
And finally, at the age of 27, I connected with my manager and it happened overnight.
116
00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:32,000
So all those years from starting, I guess, from singing on top of the chair at three
117
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:37,720
years old to 27 years old is one of my, that long gaps.
118
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,280
So as soon as I got signed, it was like you make it overnight.
119
00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:47,480
So overnight success, 30 years, more than 30 years of going.
120
00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:48,480
Wow, yeah.
121
00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,040
Well, going back to when you first arrived in New York and then starting to live life
122
00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:59,960
as, say, an American, did you sort of have an identity crisis?
123
00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:01,160
Your name is Mili Enko.
124
00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,640
That's an unusual name in the US, of course.
125
00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:08,120
I don't know if you have an accent at that point or are you still learning English?
126
00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:09,120
Things like that.
127
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:11,840
You have another cultural background and then going to the US, did you feel like you had
128
00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,200
to adjust or was it easy for you?
129
00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:15,440
That was brutal.
130
00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:16,920
It was terrible.
131
00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:28,160
Here I am, this little Croatian kid coming to the most biggest country in the world.
132
00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:36,320
And growing up, it was always we would be imitating the cowboy movies.
133
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:42,000
Like, hey, Ryan, yeah, wow, Ryan, yeah, that's what we would have fun talking about.
134
00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:47,840
So America was like, wow, especially back in those days.
135
00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:52,840
And when I came here, it was very, very intimidating.
136
00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,600
I didn't speak any English.
137
00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:03,360
And they put me in school and it was a completely different culture.
138
00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,360
I mean, the kids would come to school with nice little lunchboxes and a nice little sandwiches
139
00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,600
all cut with a little apple.
140
00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:18,240
And I'd get this big, huge, what do you call it, grocery bag rolled up with sandwiches like
141
00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:19,240
this big.
142
00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:24,680
It was like, I just slap, ah, yeah, they get out of here.
143
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,040
And so all of that stuff is just, you know, because you want to fit in.
144
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,760
You want to fit in as a kid and you can't.
145
00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:36,160
It's very, it was challenging.
146
00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,520
But I fell into it fairly quickly.
147
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:46,200
So yeah, it's definitely, I mean, they say as a kid, at least it's easier to adjust
148
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,680
and everything than being an adult, at least language wise and stuff and learning languages
149
00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:51,680
like that.
150
00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,680
Do you still speak Croatian or how, how much do you remember?
151
00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,840
You speak better than me.
152
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:00,840
I'm still learning.
153
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:05,840
Yeah, I understand a lot, but I need to practice more.
154
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:07,560
I don't have any conversation with anyone.
155
00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:12,280
Yeah, yeah, a lot of people, it's harder to speak than to understand everything.
156
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,440
Well, it's just, I don't have, I mean, I have a couple of people here, a couple of friends,
157
00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,680
you know, but I don't see them every day, like on a regular basis, you know what I mean?
158
00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:21,200
So we can talk.
159
00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:28,320
And but, you know, I'm, I'm okay to connect with my country and just start going there
160
00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,560
once a year, you know, so I'm okay with that.
161
00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:36,720
You know, we have a beautiful, we have a beautiful country.
162
00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,280
And the first, the first musician came to my mind when I was thinking, you know, because
163
00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,800
I was thinking about how cool would it be if you went to Croatia and, you know, perform
164
00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,400
with some people and stuff like that.
165
00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:50,600
I was thinking Dino Jelisic, if you've heard of him, Jelisic, he's just got into white
166
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:51,600
snake.
167
00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:52,600
He's now, he's not.
168
00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:53,600
Oh, Dino.
169
00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:54,600
Yeah, yeah, I saw him.
170
00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,080
I saw him not long ago.
171
00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,080
Oh, really?
172
00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,640
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I met him a couple of times.
173
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:01,640
Yeah, nice kid.
174
00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,520
Yeah, he's got a great voice too.
175
00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,280
I think maybe your guys' voices together would be something special.
176
00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:08,280
That would be cool.
177
00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:13,720
Yeah, definitely awesome to get you to play something over there, over here.
178
00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,520
Well, we'll see how it goes.
179
00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:17,520
We'll see.
180
00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,200
I'm open to, you know, whatever.
181
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:26,520
We're actually, right now we just did the 30th anniversary album and we're literally speaking
182
00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:31,400
to a couple of labels, Croatia Records and another label there to release the record
183
00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,600
in Croatia.
184
00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,600
So to start the whole process, let's bring Mili home.
185
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,160
You know what I mean?
186
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:40,160
Kind of awesome.
187
00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,400
I mean, I feel, I could definitely use coming home.
188
00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,240
So I hope everybody accepts me.
189
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:46,240
So we'll see.
190
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,520
I'm sure, yeah, no, that would be awesome to have you there.
191
00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,520
I want to go back a little bit to, you know, sort of your first album, Steelheart.
192
00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:58,360
As I understand, you guys were red alert before that and then changed your name to Steelheart
193
00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,440
and then come out with this first album and what was the result?
194
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:02,440
Was it huge for you guys?
195
00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,760
I mean, like you said, overnight success.
196
00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,360
Yeah, it was weird, right?
197
00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:13,760
So when we, when we first signed to Universal, it was, it was, it was a heck of a story,
198
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:18,440
I gotta tell you, but when we first signed Universal, we went and made the record and
199
00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,680
then we were doing nothing for nine months.
200
00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:21,680
Okay.
201
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:32,000
So, um, the label wasn't doing anything, but the song, She's Gone exploded in Japan.
202
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,480
And it just, I don't know what happened.
203
00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,160
It blew up in almost all of Asia, but Japan especially.
204
00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,800
And so I went over there for some interviews and stuff.
205
00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,880
My manager said, oh, we got to go to Japan or do some interviews just to get the ball
206
00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:54,840
rolling over there, not knowing how, how big it actually was, you know, and, um, I got
207
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,640
off the plane and there was probably five, 600 people waiting for me there.
208
00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,400
Fans, I mean, paid first things blind.
209
00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:05,160
I was like, oh, I was like, whoa, I wasn't ready for that.
210
00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,720
And so I did a lot of interviews and then not long after we came there and did a, did
211
00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:11,720
a tour.
212
00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:21,080
We did three shows in Japan, then we went over to live Korea and, um, Taiwan or, I forgot.
213
00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:25,160
But anyway, so we did a bit of a tour and the band did really well, especially the song
214
00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:30,520
She's Gone is really, really famous in Asia.
215
00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:37,840
Korea, it's still the number one karaoke song since 1989, still today, number one.
216
00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,560
So it's, yeah.
217
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:40,560
So it's, um,
218
00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:41,560
Why is it?
219
00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:42,560
It's a song that's been uploaded.
220
00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:43,560
Why did it get so popular?
221
00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:44,560
Um, I don't know.
222
00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,440
Well, first of all, it's a very emotional song.
223
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:54,520
And second of all, it's, um, it's a song that a lot of singers want to sing or be able to
224
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,840
sing and it's definitely challenging.
225
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:06,080
And, um, what happens is that, um, um, like in Korea, if you could sing it, you'd probably
226
00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,920
get, you'd probably get lucky, which girlfriend.
227
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,320
It's funny because you're going to karaoke and they're singing their ass off, you know,
228
00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:16,920
and, um, yeah.
229
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:23,120
So I just, it just connected with the soul, you know, what I'm saying, the, you know,
230
00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:25,600
the lyrics, the whole thing, it just connected.
231
00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:32,400
So, um, yeah, Asia has always been a huge part of my career and, um, Europe, I mean the
232
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:39,400
world actually, but, um, I would say parts of Asia more than anything.
233
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,320
So time now to connect the rest of the dots.
234
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:44,320
Hmm.
235
00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:49,480
Well, you know, after that first album, you came out with the second album and I don't
236
00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,440
want to go over this too much, um, because, you know, I'm sure it's painful to think about,
237
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,120
but on tour you had a horrible accident.
238
00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:02,920
Um, I don't know in how much detail or just briefly if you can mention why.
239
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,040
I'm okay to talk about it.
240
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:06,040
I'm okay.
241
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,160
I mean, this is part of my journey, part of my life.
242
00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:13,760
You know, it's like I feel, I feel sometimes I look at it that I had to go through it in
243
00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:23,200
order to understand or feel and, you know, build the man that I want to be, man that,
244
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,560
that I am today, you know, that's all part of the building blocks, you know.
245
00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,080
So during that accident, I could have taken different roads.
246
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:36,680
I could have taken the, the complete depression road and the sour road and really fall deeper,
247
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:37,840
but I didn't.
248
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,080
What I did do is I, I always, I always felt I belonged there.
249
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,520
I had the long, you know, connecting with the people.
250
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:45,960
I belong singing.
251
00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:56,080
I belong there, you know, and I kept going and I did come out of it, but it was extremely
252
00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:04,120
difficult and it was a long, long time because I was in a, what happened is that when the
253
00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:09,640
lighting trust fell, it was falling this when I was walking, trying to walk away.
254
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:15,520
You can, you can see it on YouTube and it hit me right in the back of the head and cracked
255
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:21,040
my head open and I hit the stage face first, broke my nose, my cheekbone, my jaw, twisted
256
00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:22,800
my back, my knee.
257
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,920
I mean, it was a serious, I should have been dead.
258
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:31,640
I should have been dead in front of 18,000 people, you know, there's this massive accident.
259
00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:38,320
And anyway, I survived it, but what happened is that when I came home, my brain swelled
260
00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:44,160
two days later and the pain was so excruciating that I couldn't even blink.
261
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:45,660
I couldn't blink.
262
00:15:45,660 --> 00:15:47,880
The pain was so insane.
263
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,880
So I didn't leave the house for about seven months, I would say.
264
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:56,320
I could, I mean, I try to go outside, but I'd have to tiptoe, you know, really walk
265
00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:02,280
out because any movement of the brain, it is just beyond painful.
266
00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:09,640
Anyway, so after that, when I got better from the injury of physical, what happened is then
267
00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:15,800
my mental happened is that I started losing memory and I lost a lot of memory.
268
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:23,760
And then I fell into this fog, like this fog of life, just kind of here, but not here,
269
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:29,920
you know, you know, you understand that.
270
00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:35,480
And that took me a long time to get clear it.
271
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:42,200
And I would say probably nothing like five years ago, even till then, but I wasn't fully
272
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:43,200
clear.
273
00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,800
Now, I feel I'm clearer than I ever was.
274
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,080
So shit, I'm back.
275
00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:54,600
It's been a long time, man, it's been a long time.
276
00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,480
But yeah, that's that's that's the story.
277
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:02,400
It's a very, very heavy journey.
278
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,360
But you know, it's my journey, it's my life.
279
00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:09,040
And this is who I am, I built the man that I am now.
280
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,680
And I'm okay with it.
281
00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:12,680
I like me.
282
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:13,680
It's okay.
283
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:14,680
It's good.
284
00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,960
I'll just say, I think it's very important to have that sort of perspective on things
285
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:23,200
that, you know, this happened to me for a reason or whatever, for whatever reason it
286
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:24,200
happened.
287
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,000
And, you know, through that, I am who I am and I've got through it.
288
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,440
And, you know, here I am.
289
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,000
It's a part of my story.
290
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,040
I think you have to have that outlook.
291
00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,600
Yeah, well, this is it.
292
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:35,600
This is life, man.
293
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:36,600
This is it.
294
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:37,600
Time's ticking.
295
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,800
Right now, you and I talking, this is life happening.
296
00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,840
And you could take it any which way you want.
297
00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,040
You could take it and, you know, feel sorry for yourself.
298
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:47,160
You could take it with anger.
299
00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:48,960
You could take it with depression.
300
00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,200
You could take it with any way you want.
301
00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,200
You choose.
302
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:59,080
To me, all those other ones seem to be a lot more work, you know, than to just be, okay,
303
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:00,080
well, here it is.
304
00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:01,080
It is what it is.
305
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:02,080
You know what I mean?
306
00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:03,080
It is what it is.
307
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:08,600
I hope nothing else happens to me, but I will say, you know, it is what it is.
308
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:15,120
It's life, you know, reach down between your legs, you know, grab some, grab some energy
309
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:18,960
there and keep going, let's go, you know.
310
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:19,960
That's right.
311
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:20,960
Yeah, it's life.
312
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:21,960
It's life.
313
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,080
Well, I'll move on to a little bit of a lighter topic here.
314
00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:29,400
I want to ask about the movie Rockstar, which is a movie with Mark Wahlberg, you know, he's
315
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:30,680
portraying a rock star.
316
00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:35,080
Actually, I saw it a few years ago and I just read today as I was doing some research, I
317
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:40,200
guess it's based on a guy who filled in for Rob Helfer, a Judas Priest, which I didn't
318
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:41,440
even know that happened.
319
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:46,480
So you provided, anyways, you provided some of the vocals for that, including, we all
320
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:47,480
die young.
321
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:48,480
What was that experience?
322
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:49,480
Yeah.
323
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:50,480
What kind of that happened?
324
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:51,960
Did they approach you on that?
325
00:18:51,960 --> 00:19:00,760
Yeah, what happened is that I was in Connecticut at the time and I was literally, my flight
326
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:06,120
was the next morning, I think like 8am or something, 9am to Los Angeles.
327
00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,120
I'm going back to Los Angeles and I was visiting Connecticut.
328
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:15,280
I was at my brother's house and Tom calls me, the producer of my second album, Tom
329
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,280
Werman.
330
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:17,800
And he goes, hey, what are you doing?
331
00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:18,800
What are you up to?
332
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,520
I said, I'm going out late tomorrow and I'm putting a new band together.
333
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:24,040
I got to get my shit together.
334
00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:25,440
I feel like I'm not happening.
335
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,120
It's got to, you know, go into work.
336
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:35,760
He goes, well, before you do that, maybe I'm doing this movie and it's a pretty big movie.
337
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:44,000
It's very substantial, a lot of people involved and we need a singer to sing for the actor,
338
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,000
for the main actor.
339
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,960
And you know, Milly, I think you'd be good for this.
340
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:51,960
Would you be interested in auditioning?
341
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,560
And I was like, yeah, sure, it went up.
342
00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:55,840
I'll come in.
343
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,680
So I came in, I flew in, I believe like around 11.30am.
344
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,760
I went to the studio at one o'clock.
345
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,600
I went right from the airport to the studio.
346
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,320
I got to the studio.
347
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,320
I sang from one to two at three o'clock and said, hey, you got the gig.
348
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,960
You want to do this, you want to do the show.
349
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:13,800
You know, I'm going to be at the movie.
350
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,920
So I was like, absolutely great.
351
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:23,360
So we started working on the movie and then the music director came in during rehearsal
352
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:24,360
one day.
353
00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:28,360
So it's me, Zach Wilde, Jason Bonham and Jeff Pilsen.
354
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:29,360
That's the band.
355
00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:30,360
Okay.
356
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,480
That's the Steel Dragon band.
357
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,920
And we're sitting there rehearsing and she comes in and says, hey, does anybody have
358
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,400
any songs that want to contribute to the movie?
359
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,000
And I was like, yeah, sure.
360
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,000
I got some.
361
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:42,160
Here, listen to this album.
362
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:43,320
And she heard we all die young.
363
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,320
And when she heard we all die young, we were like, we got to have this song.
364
00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,560
So it's like, got to have it.
365
00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,480
So that's how that song ended up in the movie.
366
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,720
And I did the vocals that the only thing is that, you know, what's really sucked is that
367
00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:59,960
I couldn't talk about.
368
00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:01,440
That was, that was a big thing.
369
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,560
I couldn't say anything that I was the voice that I did it.
370
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,760
I couldn't tell a press or anything like that.
371
00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:12,000
So that's why it took a long time for the world to find out it was me.
372
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,000
So movie business.
373
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,000
Yeah, yeah.
374
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,080
Well, I have to admit that version is my, my favorite version of the song.
375
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:23,040
I think with Zach Wilde, you know, providing some pinch harmonics and everything.
376
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,040
I think it really went well.
377
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,640
And yeah, that's like the main, that song is the main scene kind of where Mark Wahlberg,
378
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,320
you know, writes, writes for the band and he comes and sings that in the studio and
379
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,800
everyone's like blown away.
380
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,640
Did you go like to the theaters when that first came out and watch that in theaters?
381
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:40,640
Or?
382
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:41,640
I did.
383
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:42,640
I did go to the theaters.
384
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,040
It was, you know, what was, that was okay.
385
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,880
It was just very, again, you know, you're going there.
386
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,120
You got a room.
387
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:58,600
You got a theater full of rock stars, movie stars and producers and everything.
388
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:06,640
And I'm sitting there going, I can't say anything, you know, I mean, I would have
389
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:07,640
pressed them.
390
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,080
So, hey, what was your involvement in the movie?
391
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:18,960
I'm like, nothing, you know, also, we, when we did the, the live show, you know, the live
392
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,640
scenes and they shot it here at the forum, the Coliseum.
393
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,360
That was, that was, you know, I have to say that was Andrews because I'm sitting in the
394
00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:33,960
front row or whatever, everyone's in the front, standing, whatever.
395
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,920
And when Mark singing, well, I'm singing, but he's mimicking me and the whole crowd
396
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:49,680
is losing their shit, you know, and I'm like, ah, you know, but again, here's what it is.
397
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,240
You know, we got to go with the punches.
398
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:52,240
That's that was the deal.
399
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:53,760
So moving on, you know.
400
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:54,760
Yeah.
401
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:55,760
Yeah.
402
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,720
So you were able to tell people that it was you?
403
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:05,000
Never, never, but the world knows it's all over the place with the P it's all over the
404
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,000
internet.
405
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,360
So now I can, you know, basically talk about it, but I can't.
406
00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:13,400
But yeah, because it's, it's already publicly known.
407
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,240
It's not me talking about it.
408
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,400
So here we are.
409
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:20,400
Here we are.
410
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,360
Well, we got a couple of minutes left here.
411
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:29,360
You mentioned you want to come to Croatia, you know, every year, once a year you mentioned
412
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:34,520
I saw, I forget how many years ago on YouTube you were filming a promo performing one song
413
00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,360
right in front of St. Mark's Cathedral up in Zagreb.
414
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:41,200
How often have you, have you been back to Croatia?
415
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:48,280
I guess I think right before the pandemic, I did what we did a Sweden rock concert.
416
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:49,560
Then we went right from there.
417
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,040
We went to Croatia.
418
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:57,320
We went to the square and I did, I did something there and we did, we never released that video
419
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:58,320
yet.
420
00:23:58,320 --> 00:23:59,320
So we still have that.
421
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,000
We'll probably release it during this whole, we're releasing videos, a lot of videos for
422
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,000
this record.
423
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,800
And I shot the rest of it in Pula in the Coliseum.
424
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,240
So it's, oh, it's, it's intense.
425
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:14,960
It was, it's beautiful.
426
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,120
Absolutely beautiful.
427
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:22,000
So yeah, I mean, let's face it, I mean, our country is gorgeous, right?
428
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:29,040
You know, the ocean, the seaside, you know, that's, I mean, how many of you beat that?
429
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:36,800
You know, I don't know, I'm ready to, what's the word, reconnect more with my country.
430
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,600
I've been gone for a long time.
431
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:40,600
Not my fault.
432
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,960
You know, I was taken away from the country.
433
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:49,240
And it, I think it'd be really good for me to reconnect.
434
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:50,240
I want to.
435
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:59,080
So, and I hope, again, I hope I'm accepted, welcome back, you know, you know, for, to my
436
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:00,080
country.
437
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:01,080
That's all.
438
00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:02,080
Yeah.
439
00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,840
Do you still have people over there, extended family or?
440
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,480
I have, yeah, I have a few cousins left.
441
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:09,240
It's not very big.
442
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,200
It's not very big, but I do have a few.
443
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:13,480
And they're wonderful.
444
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,480
I speak to them occasionally.
445
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,760
We do zoom and, you know, so, and then I keep them in track with all the music.
446
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,360
I try to give them music.
447
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:25,440
I try to send them stuff and they don't want any because it's like, because the, the post
448
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,800
office is just a nightmare over there from what they're telling me.
449
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:30,680
So, yeah, the post.
450
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:31,680
Yeah.
451
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:37,560
So anyway, but yeah, that's it.
452
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,160
That's my, that's my big speech of the day.
453
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:44,440
Well, you know, you mentioned the new album, what's the release date?
454
00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,880
Is there a date plan for that?
455
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:53,840
So we haven't released it digitally and we're working on releasing it to Croatia now.
456
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,680
Let's see how that comes together.
457
00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:01,040
We released the CDs, which is only available through my website.
458
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:05,320
And now we're expanding the whole project worldwide.
459
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:13,760
So there's not really a release date, you know, official still, which we are working
460
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:14,760
towards.
461
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,320
We'll let you know soon.
462
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:17,320
Nice.
463
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:22,080
We need to do, we need to do the right promotion with Croatia so they know it's coming.
464
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,040
Yeah, I'd love to, I mean, I'll share this everywhere again.
465
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,920
I'd love to see you come over here in Croatia and do some shows and be incredible.
466
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:31,920
Yeah.
467
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:37,480
Just as we're down to our last couple of minutes here, favorite, I got two quick questions
468
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:38,480
for you.
469
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:43,480
Favorite thing to eat in Croatia or favorite Croatia?
470
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:51,320
I mean, I have some recipes that are like amazing.
471
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:55,040
Yeah, I would say that's, that's my favorite.
472
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:56,040
Yeah.
473
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:57,040
Okay.
474
00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:58,040
Yeah.
475
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:03,200
I mean, it was always, there was this restaurant down the street, you know, when I was living
476
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:09,760
with my grandmother, forgot the name of the little city town.
477
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,880
Anyway, but right around the corner is always the restaurant.
478
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,680
Every Friday and Saturday night, you know, they're cooking.
479
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,880
You could smell it for miles.
480
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,920
You know what I mean?
481
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:24,280
It was like, yeah, too expensive, you know, we can have a lot of money.
482
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:30,360
But it was like, that reminds me of, you know, life, which is good.
483
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:31,360
I like that.
484
00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:32,360
I like that.
485
00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:34,360
They can be hungry right now.
486
00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:40,440
Last, I guess this isn't sort of a quick question, but I was wondering if, because, you know,
487
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:45,480
your steel heart sort of peak came at the end of that, that sort of era of music, you
488
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,720
know, right as grunge was kicking in.
489
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,760
Do you have any hard feelings against grunge?
490
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:51,760
Yeah.
491
00:27:51,760 --> 00:28:00,640
Yeah, again, it's life, you know, it switched, it turned, it spins, it's sideways, up, down,
492
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:01,640
it's what it is.
493
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,680
I mean, was it upsetting?
494
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:13,720
I guess it was, yeah, it was a little disappointing, you know, that what I didn't like is how easily
495
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,200
and quickly the people shifted.
496
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,120
You know, all of a sudden they were having this amazing time with the 80s, just like
497
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:27,800
literally living so much, having so much fun that you can't even think straight the amount
498
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:28,800
of fun you have.
499
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:29,800
And right.
500
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,160
And then the grunge came in and everyone just went, it was like, whoa, wait a minute,
501
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,440
hold on a second, whatever happened to all the fun we were just having, you know.
502
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:45,440
So, but I think also, you know, people, they just got, they were ready for something new.
503
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:46,440
That's all.
504
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,600
The grunge came in, it's some great music, some great artists.
505
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:57,360
It was a little depressing, I would say, but still, it is what it is.
506
00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,840
And you move on and you keep going.
507
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:04,760
So the music is very, very interesting now too, you know what I mean?
508
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:09,760
It's like up, down, it's all over the place.
509
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,440
I feel like there's too many people making music.
510
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:13,440
Yeah.
511
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:14,440
Everybody's, everybody.
512
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,680
It's like the accountants are making music, the lawyers are making music, the plumbers
513
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,520
and it's like, guys, let the artist be the artist.
514
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,040
You guys do the plumbing and everything else, you know.
515
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:30,640
So unless that's what you, let me rephrase that, unless that's how you're surviving to
516
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,720
make it and you're the true artist.
517
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:37,760
I have nothing but beautiful things and I'm support every artist that really is going
518
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:39,960
for it and that's who they are.
519
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:44,560
That's just the, what I say, it's just the guys that are, or the women that are creating
520
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,960
things, I've got to, what the hell, I'll throw it up on Spotify, maybe something happens.
521
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,880
Who knows, maybe I get lucky.
522
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:50,880
Without passion.
523
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:51,880
Not cool.
524
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:52,880
Not cool.
525
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:58,160
That's not cool because that's just, that's just in the way of the true artist who is,
526
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:04,680
who has information for you, you know, coming from the spirits and the gods is sharing lyrics
527
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,960
and emotion and all that stuff, you know, it's important.
528
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:09,960
Yeah, agreed.
529
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,280
Well, Mili and Ko, I want to thank you so much again for, you know, coming here on the
530
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,960
All Things Croatia podcast and I'm really looking forward to what the future brings for you,
531
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:19,440
especially in Croatia.
532
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:25,600
I'm excited to see what, what becomes of that and to see that music video in Pula, in the
533
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:26,600
Coliseum.
534
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:27,600
Yes.
535
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:28,600
Thank you.
536
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:29,600
Thank you for having me.
537
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:30,600
Thank you, Mili.
538
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:31,600
It was a pleasure.
539
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:32,600
It was easy.
540
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:33,600
Book.
541
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:34,600
Book.