InDepth InterView: Meat Loaf Talks New Las Vegas Residency, Plus Broadway, Hollywood, Upcoming Album & More

Today we are talking to one of the most notably theatrical and animated performers in music history known for his operatic onstage antics as well as his acting in a number of notable stage and screen properties over his forty-year career besides his legendary recording work - the one and only Meat Loaf. Analyzing the magical musical ingredients that have made BAT OUT OF HELL one of the best-selling albums of all time, as well as the worldwide success of its sequel and its lead single "I'd Do Anything For Love" and his ongoing relationship with the peerless rock visionary of a creator behind them both, Jim Steinman, Loaf nee Aday sheds some new light on his rich recording legacy, past, present and future. Additionally, Loaf shares first news of his upcoming re-teaming with Steinman on tracks for his new BRAVE & CRAZY album as well as shares some candid and vivid touring stories involving the incredibly idiosyncratic and iconic rock pair. Most importantly, Loaf gives us the 411 on his new Las Vegas residency at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, ROCKTELLZ & COCKTAILS PRESENTS Meat Loaf for six weeks beginning September 26 and also outlines what fans can expect when catching him on tour, too. Plus, Loaf recounts his various experiences on the Broadway and Hollywood adaptations of the ever-enduring ultimate cult classic as it marks its fortieth anniversary, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and also imparts memories from his early days in New York, recounting stage roles in musicals like HAIR and Steinman's own MORE THAN YOU DESERVE, as well as roles in Shakespearean drama and comedy byway of OTHELLO and AS YOU LIKE - not to mention the infamous '70s rock musical ROCKABYE HAMLET - among others. All of that, thoughts on the upcoming FIGHT CLUB sequel, choosing newcomer Michael Bay and casting Angelina Jolie for BAT 2 music videos, memories of appearing on GLEE as well as information on multiple upcoming film appearances and insights into show business in general - and much, much more!

For more information on ROCKTELLZ & COCKTAILS PRESENTS Meat Loaf at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas beginning September 26, visit the official site here.

Heaven Can Wait (But Hell Won't)

PC: It's so fascinating to me how passionate and freshly expressive you remain about the songs you perform, now, lo, nearly forty years after introducing them - BAT OUT OF HELL in full, specifically, as well as the other Jim Steinman songs.

ML: I actually sent Jimmy an e-mail a few weeks ago asking him to tell me some stories - I don't even know anymore since I've been so busy; probably two or three weeks ago. You see, the thing about Jim's songs and about me and Jim is that I've never asked him about the songs - any of them. Really - I've never asked him about them.

PC: You'd rather have your own interpretations of them when performing I assume?

ML: Well, I just don't want to know! It's like how I would never tell anybody about what a song is about and what it means to me - even in an interview like right now with you or something. [Pause.] It's not about me - it's about the listener.

PC: An instructive point.

ML: So, for that reason, I've never asked Jimmy what any of them are about. But, back to what I wrote to him in the e-mail, I asked him, you know, "I'm trying to get a couple of stories together for this show and I was wondering if you could tell me what the hell you did with 'On A Hot Summer Night' to make it sound like it did?" And, he wrote back, "I don't know." [Laughs.]

PC: It's all about the mystery! Your passion never dies, apparently.

ML: You know, sometimes I tell people, "If you understand playing in the moment, it's never the same song."

PC: Acting comes first.

ML: Oh, yeah. With any of these songs, it's like you're in the moment - you're standing in a moment in the time of that song and nothing else. You can't look at them like songs because they are not - they are pieces; they're magic.

PC: You can say that again - Steinman's songs are as epic as rock gets.

ML: They are. So, yeah - I think you have to play the moment; and, you have to live it new every night.

PC: Do you approach Jim's songs like you would Shakespeare - almost like a big monologue? You did a lot of theatre in New York in the old days, after all - including quite a bit of Shakespeare.

ML: Yeah - I mean, sure, I've done AS YOU LIKE IT; and OTHELLO, too! I guess you could say that it is like that. I mean, in talking about the theatre and what I did then, though... I had to do the Gregory Peck part in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, too! [Laughs.]

PC: That's pretty creative casting!

ML: I did a lot of theatre. As you know, Jimmy and I did NATIONAL LAMPOON on the road - and Jimmy made more money than I did, which really p*ssed me off!

PC: Could you recount the story of your first meeting?

ML: Well, I had two different piano players - the first one that came in with me to auditions was Paul Shaffer and the other was Steve Margoshes. So, I remember I took Steve with me - you see, I got an agent and he said, "OK. If you are going to anything worthwhile in New York, you have to go to The Public Theater," - and so I walked in and Jim was there in a room all by himself. So, Steve sat down and played and I sang a song called "I'd Love To Be As Heavy As Jesus". Then - and I'll always remember this - Jimmy's comment was "I think you're as heavy as three Jesuses." [Laughs.]

PC: Classic!

ML: Yeah, I remember after that he said, "So, can you stay for a minute?" and I said, "Yeah!" and he said, "I'll be right back." And he left! He was gone forever! So, after a while I was getting ready to leave when all of a sudden all these people came into the room - and Joe Papp was among them. So, I sang a little bit of the song for them and then Joe stopped me and said, "I want you to go with him;" meaning Jim, "And I want you to learn this chorus." So, I went across the hall with Jim and I sat with Jim at the piano and I learned the chorus to "More Than You Deserve" and then I came back in and sang it. Then, Joe goes, "OK. We're doing this play - well, it was a play, and, now, it's a play with a song; and, you're gonna sing it." Then, he said, "I'm gonna give you four characters and you tell me which one you want to play in the show." And, so, he did - and, that was that. It was just a matter of getting Jimmy to let me in to do BAT after that.

PC: He had other ideas for the songs that made up the album?

ML: Well, it took some finagling - you know, I didn't look like Rod Stewart! [Big Laugh.]

PC: Before that, do you have fond memories of actually doing MORE THAN YOU DESERVE at the Public? It was quite an impressive original cast, of course - Mary Beth Hurt, Stephen Collins, Fred Gwynne...

ML: Well, the very first one we did that we just did as a showcase and Ron Silver was in it - I remember that. At that point, it was just called THE VIETNAM PROJECT, though. Before that, people had said to me, "Oh, you can sing," but after the first night of that - I think we did it for four weekends; Thursday, Friday, Saturday - for like a hundred people at one of Joe's little showcase theaters... the first night I sang "More Than You Deserve" and it literally stopped the show - the entire audience of a hundred people stood up and applauded. And, I thought, "Oh, my God! Something is going on here, dude!" And, after that, that is when people started to say - actually, Joe himself said it first - "Oh, you two should really work together!" Meaning me and Jim. And, as a matter of fact, Lou Adler sat with me and Jimmy after we had started working together a little bit and said the same thing to us.

PC: It was destiny.

ML: That's what Lou Adler said! He said, "You two are meant to be with each other." He just knew it.

PC: So, is Lou Adler how you got involved with ROCKY HORROR during that period, as well?

ML: Yeah, it is. Lou called me on the phone for that, actually. [Pause.] Actually, Jimmy played piano for me at my ROCKY HORROR audition. Did you know that?

PC: No, I wasn't aware of that.

ML: Yeah, yeah - you can ask him. Actually, I wasn't even supposed to sing, but I took Jimmy anyway - and three background singers - and we did "Jailhouse Rock". [Laughs.]

PC: What a great memory!

ML: They didn't even want me to audition or sing or anything, they just wanted me to come talk to them - but we did it anyway! We just walked in wherever it was in New York and he said, "Oh, you don't have to sing," and I said, "Yeah, but we want to!" So, I remember we had three backup singers and Jimmy Pounding away on the piano and me singing it - it was pretty funny!

PC: Speaking of background trios, is it true you are attempting to get Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito and another famous Steinman lady to do the new Steinman single coming up?

ML: Well, I am gonna get Karla and Ellen - yeah. And, then, I am going to talk to Jimmy and see whether he wants to use Bonnie Tyler or the girl who did "Anything For Love", Lorraine [Crosby].

PC: It's so fantastic you will be recording a new Steinman song - and I can attest that "Braver Than We Are" is one of his best ever.

ML: I'll tell you, too, that I am trying to get another one, too - "Speaking In Tongues". I want him to finish another verse on it.

PC: That would be an ideal counterpoint to the more dramatic "Braver". Have you yet considered "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", finally?

ML: Nah - I don't think so. I'm not sure if you actually know this story or not, Pat, but I originally had gotten "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" and "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" and one other one from Jimmy, but... [Pause.] CBS said, "We are not paying you if you record those songs."

PC: What a conundrum! What did you say?

ML: Right?! I walked away from the project - that was that stupid album MIDNIGHT AT THE LOST AND FOUND, which was all demos.

PC: DEAD RINGER is a lost treasure from that era, though.

ML: Well, it's not one of my favorite because I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown when we were recording it.

PC: What about a re-release of that album someday, though? Those songs deserve to live on as much as any other Steinman songs do, don't they?

ML: I have seriously considered re-recording DEAD RINGER three or four times now, actually, since you mention it - but, I'd have to have Cher again if I did it. I don't know where those original tapes are - if I did, I would use those tapes and pull Cher off [and use it].

PC: You would just re-record the album, start to finish, except using her vocal track for "Dead Ringer"?

ML: Yep. If I could find those tapes I'd do it! I sing better now than I do in '81.

PC: It's captivating to see you sing along with the original tracks in the CLASSIC ALBUMS documentary, I must say.

ML: Thanks for saying that, man - I mean, I still do "Bat", "Paradise" and "Took The Words" in the original keys that we cut them in!

PC: How amazing. What about tackling the tremendous "For Crying Out Loud" after all these years every night?

ML: Oh, I don't do that in the original key anymore! [Laughs.]

PC: I'd imagine not! It's an incredibly tough sing, yes?

ML: Oh, well, Jimmy's songs get into three-and-a-half octave ranges - that's just how they are. You know, people pick on my voice more than they pick on anybody else's, I think, but you have to remember that most rock songs cover an octave or maybe an octave-and-a-half - I mean if you listen to Elton's "Rocket Man" now versus then, the tone is so different; or, if you listen to Rod Stewart, he pretty much whispers now. No offense to these guys - they're great; they're friends. Springsteen wants his voice to sound completely shattered, so it does. And, Tom Jones, too - I love Tom, but his voiced has changed. So, I think they pick on my voice more than the others - I mean, if you really listen, you can hear it for yourself...

PC: The proof is in the pudding - and the bootlegs!

ML: Oh, yeah - you can look up stuff I did on YouTube from this weekend if you want and if you listen to "Paradise" you can hear that the voice is not that far off from 1976 when we recorded it.

PC: Have you ever considered re-instating any of the extra verses and sections of the original, longer "Paradise"?

ML: Oh, well, the show is so long as it is! And, now, we're doing Vegas and all of that, so they want an hour and a half tops - even though it's gonna be an hour and forty, they want it to be an hour and a half. Shh, Pat - don't say anything! [Laughs.]

PC: I won't! What can you tell us about the RockTellz & CockTails show?

ML: Well, we're gonna do "Bat", the song, in a very big way - and it will not be edited, I promise! And, then, we're gonna do some of "[Life Is A] Lemon" and we do "Dead Ringer", too, and everything else is Jimmy's except one or two - one I wrote at the beginning of the show, "Running For The Red Light"; and my ROCKY HORROR song. This show ends with "Bat", though - and it's a real extravaganza!

PC: Speaking of your own songwriting, have you and Jim ever collaborated on a song?

ML: Not yet! Actually, since we are doing this show in Vegas now I have been trying to get him to tell me some stories - there are some things that he will remember that I won't!

PC: You recently posted a picture of you and Brian May on Twitter - could a future collaboration be in the cards?

ML: Oh, I love Brian. Brian's played on a couple records - he did three albums now with us, I think.

PC: He was awesome on "Bad For Good".

ML: Yeah, he did "Bad For Good" and he did stuff with Rob Cavallo and me on HANG COOL TEDDY BEAR. Brian has sat in on a lot of stuff with us - a lot of people have, actually. It's a little harder with Brian because he's over there [in the UK] and we're over here.

PC: Given the residency being in Vegas, will you be utilizing your gigantic Three Bats Tour blow-up bat in the show?

ML: Oh, yeah! I've got "Happy Bob" - that's his name, by the way! [Laughs.]

PC: What are your thoughts on AutoTune and the live pitch perfection technology that is available and widely used now by a lot of artists?

ML: Oh, I will not use it - I won't use them. The only time I used it, I hated it - I hate them; I hate them. I wouldn't let them use it on the last two records, either - HANG COOL TEDDY BEAR and HELL IN A HANDBASKET. Now, on HELL IN A HANDBASKET we did use it on one song - we had just finished a show in Milwaukee and it was one of the hardest songs to sing and we had started to mix it at ten in the morning and it was four in the morning by the time I was recording it and I was trying to sing these high notes and I was a hair under; I got so tired that I just gave up at one point and said, "Just tune the damn thing."

PC: You gave in.

ML: I gave in - and, it was like three notes that were tuned. I won't let them touch the tracks, though - I remember Cavallo was sending the tracks out to this guy who tunes everybody; everybody! They tune people who don't even need to be tuned now. I remember being like, "This is not going to happen! I am going to sing it until I hit the note." And, so, I did.

PC: Lest we forget, how many takes did it require for Jim to get the perfect first line of "I'd Do Anything For Love"?

ML: [Laughs. Pause.] Forty-eight takes, man! Forty-eight takes. He drove me completely insane. After every take, I'd say, "OK, Jimmy, what do you want me to do this time?" and, he'd say, "Well... [Pause.] I've heard you do it better." And, I'd say, "That's not a note! Give me something!" And, he'd just say, "I know you can do it better." And, I'm like, "Aww! C'mon, man!"

PC: "A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste" is the last song I believe you and Jim have recorded together in the studio, yes?

ML: Yeah, I think so.

PC: Was Bonnie Tyler in the studio with you to record the "Tire Tracks" vocals or were they taken from another source?

ML: Oh, I didn't remember Bonnie was on that; I never even heard that - yeah, I guess it was just added in.

PC: Your performance of that on the STORYTELLERS DVD is fantastic. Have you considered doing that live anymore?

ML: Yeah, that was a great version on the STORYTELLERS thing - but, the show is long enough as it is!

PC: Speaking of which, how does this new RockTellz & CockTails show compare?

ML: Oh, it's totally different [than STORYTELLERS]- this RockTellz & CockTails show is not intimate at all! Not at all. When we do some of these songs with the band, it's really rocking! We're gonna be doing "Bat" and "Paradise" and "Hot Patootie" - all the hits - and they really rock. As I said, it's all Jimmy except for one or two, so you know what you're gonna get. This show is on full blast though - I mean, we're nailin' you to the wall!

PC: Sounds like it's going to be big.

ML: Oh, yeah - and it goes off into that crazy, silly sense of humor that Jimmy and I both have, too; that silly NATIONAL LAMPOON, vaudeville type stuff. Basically, what happens is that you can't predict what is going to happen from night to night because this is all based on an improv situation where there is a foundation but every night a different house is built.

PC: "Paradise" is different every night - that's your trademark!

ML: Oh, Pat, it's really, really different in this show - you have no idea! [Laughs.]

PC: Do you still enjoy personally casting that role in the show?

ML: Oh, yeah - of course! And, we have a great girl doing it for us in Vegas, too. We actually just filmed a video for it yesterday - so, that's all I'm gonna say about the new "Paradise"! [Laughs.]

PC: You famously appeared on GLEE for the ROCKY HORROR tribute. Do you have any memories of working with Cory Monteith?

ML: I don't, actually. We - Barry Bostwick and I - worked with Jane Lynch, so that's basically all we got to do. I had talked to Jane Lynch on several occasions before that, though, so I knew what she was going to be like to work with - and, so, it was a lot of fun. And, I know Barry from way back in the day - from theatre in New York and all that. Jane rides like me - however it turns, that's where we turn - and Barry is a little more set; he likes to set it. So, when we did it, I waited for Barry to set it and then I kind of knew where he was going to go and so Jane and I could just sort of play off each other.

PC: Would you be open to returning to the show at some point in the future?

ML: Well, they had us as recurring, but then they changed the whole thing - they dropped the TV station storyline. I'll tell you one thing about GLEE, though: we had the best time on that set! Barry and I just had a blast. You see, they had given us a recurring contract for five or six episodes and we were so looking forward to coming back - Barry and I were really working well together and I loved doing scenes with Jane Lynch - but then they blew off the whole TV station storyline. I hate that they did that.

PC: McKinley High won Nationals with "Paradise" in Season Four actually, so they have paid homage to you and Jim since, at least.

ML: Oh, they did?! I didn't know that! I must have missed it.

PC: Have you ever considered returning to Broadway? It is well known that you have received many offers. Is that something you would like to pursue in the future?

ML: Well, what we have been talking about is actually bringing this show to Broadway...

PC: A limited run, I assume?

ML: Yeah, probably. But, if Jimmy gets BAT OUT OF HELL onstage, obviously I want to play Hook in that.

PC: Obviously. Have you two discussed that possibility?

ML: No. Right now, we're so crazy busy with BRAVE & CRAZY and getting Jimmy to do "Braver Than We Are" and another one with us in the studio with us that we haven't talked about it yet.

PC: In touching upon your film roles, I was curious what your thoughts are on the recently resurfaced DEAD RINGER movie?

ML: Oh, the DEAD RINGER movie - the one we did a long time ago? You saw that?!

PC: It was on YouTube briefly and parts of it still are - what was that project all about?!

ML: Oh, I hate YouTube - that's what that's about! [Laughs.]

PC: You recently partnered with a horror icon for PELTS - Dario Argento. Were you a fan of his prior to filming that?

ML: Oh, no - I never watch horror movies!

PC: No way!

ML: Yeah! I remember they were on the phone with me and I told them that - I said, "Oh, I don't watch horror movies, really." And, so, then they called me back and said, "Well, hang on," and he got on the phone himself and said, "I'm not sure you're the right person for this," and I said, "Why not?" And, he said, "You don't like horror movies!" And, I said, "What's that got to do with acting?"

PC: A provocative point.

ML: He didn't say anything after that and so I said, "What's that got to do with it? That's got nothing to do with it!" I said, "It's about telling the truth - the more you act, the more human you get and the more it humanizes you." I said, "What's that got to do with the truth of the character - whether or not I like horror movies? I'll give you anything you want, dude." And, so, then, he went, "OK." And, after that, he was really happy that we did it.

PC: Were you pleased with the final film? I think it's quite extraordinary and dynamic.

ML: Oh, yeah! You see, part of this RockTalez & CockTails show is that we show clips from all the movies I've made - most people don't realize all of the film that I've done...

PC: This is true.

ML: So, we show a lot of film clips and at one point I was thinking about using the part of PELTS where I make the vest... [Laughs.]

PC: Of your own flesh!

ML: That was one take! One take! Can you believe it?

PC: Unreal.

ML: I was so into it that I remember when it was over I just collapsed. They just moved on after it and I remember that they left one person with me to make sure that I was OK. And, so, it was probably close to thirty-five or forty minutes later that I finally came to and said, "Are we doing it again?" and the guy said to me, "No way, man! They're gone." So, I looked around and saw that nobody was there and said, "You're kidding! We're done?" and he said, "Oh, yeah!" [Laughs.]

PC: Did the make-up application process take a long time?

ML: Oh, yeah - but, at this point, I've done so much make-up that I don't even know...

PC: On that note, have you decided if you will be willing to participate in a FIGHT CLUB sequel if a film gets made of the new book?

ML: Yeah, yeah, I know - but Bob [my character] is dead. Bob is dead already in the movie.

PC: What if there are prequel elements involved, though?

ML: If he goes back in time... if he goes back in time, then I guess Bob can come back. But, as you know from the movie, Bob's brains spilled out of the floor, so he can't come back.

PC: You have a few films coming out soon that I wanted to touch on, as well - first, what can you tell me about AN ALL-AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CAROL?

ML: Oh, that was just two days that I did on that - it was insanity. With Beverly D'Angelo, actually...

PC: Your ROCKABYE HAMLET Broadway cast-mate from long ago!

ML: Yeah! Yeah - ROCKABYE HAMLET. We did that together - that's right.

PC: What about STAGE FRIGHT?

ML: Oh, STAGE FRIGHT - that's another one we did. [Pause. Sighs.] That's one where it's either going to be really good or really bad.

PC: Do you sing in it?

ML: Yes, I sing in it - and, it was all sung live onset, too.

PC: So, what do you think of the LES MIZ treatment?

ML: Well, I didn't even know they were going to do it that way till we showed up! Then, I was like, "Hmm." So, they rigged me up and I said, "Guys, I can't hear anything!" And, so, then they had to figure it out for me - I mean, I am used to a rock band behind me; I am used to loud!

PC: They didn't provide you with an earpiece?

ML: Well, they did, but they were really bad!

PC: Would you have preferred a piano onset?

ML: Oh, yeah - I would have liked that a lot better, I think. What they had was just this lame duck track. So, we'd do several takes and I heard it all back after and I approved - I liked it. It ended up working out, but I wasn't sure it was going to.

PC: Would you consider doing another big movie musical again ala ROCKY HORROR?

ML: Oh, I don't know - I don't know anymore. Actually, I was supposed to be doing a movie right now called RELATIVE STRANGER - which was one of the best scripts that I ever read - and they recently postponed it, so I am really upset about that. That was a great, great role and a great script. They were waiting for a certain actor and he kept saying, "I'm not available. I'm not available," and then he finally pulled out. A friend of mine named James Badge Dale is doing it, too, and when I heard that it just killed me - I said, "Are you kidding me?!" So, now I don't know what they're doing with it.

PC: What can you tell me about THE MOMENT?

ML: Yeah, that's another one I did a while ago. You see, I just had surgery and they needed me to come in to do ADR and I was incapable of doing ADR so I don't know what's happenning with that, actually. That I did with Jennifer Jason Leigh and that one was at Tribeca. I think I might have been cut out of it a little bit because I couldn't come in for the ADR - I know that they had some problems with the sound quality in some of my scenes.

PC: Given that you are still getting great scripts, are you planning on continuing to keep a relatively high profile in film?

ML: Oh, yeah - I've got an offer for November right now, actually, but I don't know if we are going to end up extending this run out in Vegas or not. We'll see.

PC: BRAVE & CRAZY is next after Vegas then, right?

ML: Yeah, BRAVE & CRAZY is next and "Braver Than We Are" is going to be the first song on the record - we will open with that; whatever we end up calling it.

PC: Hopefully another Jennifer Hudson duet is possible, too - "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be" is a standout track out of your recent albums, in my opinion. Did you enjoy working with her?

ML: Yeah, yeah - she was really great when she did that, wasn't she?! I've tried to talk to her since then but she's busy or something I guess.

PC: Speaking of Jennifer Hudson, what about judging on AMERICAN IDOL someday?

ML: Well, they asked me to be a judge in their third season, actually, but I turned them down.

PC: You are not a fan, I assume, then?

ML: No, I'm not - but, I love SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE; I think that show is fantastic. To get on that show and do good on that show you have to be trained, you have to be disciplined and you have to have worked your a*s off to get to that point. You know, there are thousands of people who can sing, but they have no foundation - they don't know who they are. But, those dancers on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? Most of them know who they are and what they can do. They have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort getting to where they are. So, I admire that a lot more than somebody who gets up there and thinks they can hum a little, you know?

PC: Do you feel one artform - or the training behind it - is more worthy of respect, then, given that viewpoint?

ML: Well, I've been around dancers for years - especially all through my Broadway years. It's not easy what they do - it's not easy at all. I mean, they get, what, four days for those numbers that they pull off on that show? Holy smokes! So, yeah - I am in awe of those people.

PC: You're a devotee.

ML: I mean, I sat with one of the choreographers once and I wanted her to do one of my videos and she wanted to do it but they winded up having to do it in England and they wouldn't pay for her to come over. It was too bad.

PC: Having starred in one of the most iconic music videos of the 90s, what do you think of the lack of focus on promotion given to many albums and their videos these days?

ML: Well, listen, with "Anything For Love", Jimmy and I put Michael Bay on the map.

PC: To say the least! "Rock N Roll Dreams" had Anjelina Jolie in one of her first roles, as well.

ML: There's a funny story about that: Paul Crook, who plays guitar for me, saw Jon Voight in an elevator a while ago and Paul introduced himself and Jon said, "You play guitar for Meat Loaf, huh? Thanks for getting my daughter's career started." [Laughs.]

PC: ROCKY HORROR is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year - are you celebrating in any special way?

ML: Oh, I can tell you this: we are really celebrating it! I actually talked to Lou Adler earlier today...

PC: Would you appear in a sequel?

ML: A ROCKY HORROR sequel? I'm outta sequels, Pat! [Laughs.] The only sequel I wanna do is JAWS 8!

PC: Aww! So, no BAT 4, then?

ML: Just JAWS 8 - and FRIDAY THE 13th PART 15! [Big Laugh.]

PC: Vegas first!

ML: Let me tell you, man, this Vegas show... we kind of know what is going to happen, but we really have no idea what is going to happen. It's really exciting. It's going to be different every night, although the songs will remain the same. There's a song that says that - "The Song Remains The Same". But, how we get from one song to another is going to be different every night. I'm really excited to see how it turns out.

PC: Are you a fan of the Vegas weather in general? You have a six-week residency either way!

ML: The only thing I don't like about Vegas weather is it is too dry - the dryness kills me. As long as I live in humidifiers, I'm OK.

PC: Does air conditioning wreak havoc on your voice?

ML: Na - I need air conditioning!

PC: You are from Texas, after all...

ML: Yeah, man! I live in a meat locker! [Laughs.]

PC: What a line to go out on! This was a true blue rock n roll dream come true - and come through - for me. Thank you.

ML: Thank you, thank you, Pat - this was a lot of fun. Bye.

Check out the trailer for ROCKTELLZ & COCKTAILS PRESENTS Meat Loaf below.

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