Sleaze Roxx (www.sleazeroxx.com) has issued an interview with guitarist Ron Yocom (POWER OF 3, ex-SEA HAGS). The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Q: How did the band (Sea Hags) hook up with METALLICA's Kirk Hammett for production of your first demo?

A: "We got a call from a mutual friend - a very wild guy, but cool. His name was Derrick Patton. He gave us a call and said that Kirk was working with some friends of ours (VAIN) and doing some recording. He said that he thought we would be a perfect band for Kirk to record. We thought, 'cool!' and told him we'd get back to him. Then Courtney Love, a friend of Chris', who was staying at our house for awhile, told us that the movie she was working on, Love Kills, was going to be needing tracks for the soundtrack, and that we should write a song called 'Love Kills' and send it to Alex Cox. So we then called Kirk back and told him about the song and he decided to produce the session for $1,500. We then recorded 'Love Kills' and, since we had him there, we also did 'Bunkbed Creek', 'In The Mood For Love', 'Doghouse' and 'Walkin' The Cat'. We were thrilled to have the chance to work with Kirk. We had no idea that he was going to actually play on the recording and with us in the studio, because he had told us that he hadn't yet decided - until the end of the session. The song was sent to Alex Cox and we got a reply telling us that he already had 7'Love Kills' recordings from 7 other bands, including THE RAMONES, JOE STRUMMER and a bunch of other people that Courtney had told to write a song called 'Love Kills'."

Q: Was the band aware that Ian Astbury of THE CULT was interested in producing the debut, and how did you finally secure Mike Clink?

A: "Yes. Ian was a close friend and big supporter of The Sea Hags. He offered to produce and I personally think that was a great idea. But the idea was very early on and I think that he was making a point as much as applying for the job... you know, just helping the band get some press and stuff was really what it was about.

The Mike Clink situation came about at a big meeting with Chrysalis about producers. I had a list in my pocket that was half a joke and half dead-serious. I wanted to wake up these executives to the fact that I could ask for a Mutt Lange or a Sir George Martin... so third on my list, Mike Clink, was not totally out of the question. Other names that were mentioned were Rick Rubin, a great producer, and a guy who was offered the job and declined. Also, Steve Brown, The Cult's producer on Love. I said, 'how 'bout Mike Clink?', and my manager, Chris Coyle, said 'what makes you think that we can get Clink?'... and I said 'if he likes our music, why not?'. So Kate Hyman, an executive at Chrysalis, said she had his number and she thought it was a good idea. They called him and he came and saw us in Long Beach and he liked the show. We got Mike Clink."

SR: Do any stories from the recording of the debut stand out, and what were your thoughts on how the finished product sounded?

A: "Yes. When we were recording, the band - for the first month - was in the main studio doing the bass and drums. I would do some scratch

guitars just so Chris and Adam knew where they were at. But when we went back into the control room to hear the playbacks, Clink would be blasting the

speakers so loud and I thought for awhile - like a week - that this guy just rocks harder than us and that we couldn't take it. But then I noticed after we walked down the hall the volume would come back down to a more reasonable level. So I told Chris, 'it's not that he's the ultimate rocker with the volume, he's just blowing us out of the room cuz he doesn't wanna hear our bullshit comments'.

Then when we were recording the vocals to 'Three Is A Charm' - this is basically a Chris Schlosshardt solo spot... he does the lead vocals and most of the back-ups - Chris and I were singing in the vocal booth and I had been punching in vocal parts to 'Back To The Grind' all day, so my voice was kinda harsh. The back-ups were these high Stones-style 'hoo-hoos' and as I was recording, Clink was looking at me real funny through the glass. After I blew it about 3 times, he just put his thumb up and swung it over his shoulder and told me to get out of there. So we switched places and I was in there watching Clink sing my lines... it was funny... he was real good. No overdubs.

Thoughts on the finished product... I wasn't quite sure what to think. It was so different from the 3-piece Greg version of the band that it was all very new. Even though the songs had some age to them, they were all rearranged to some degree. Some even re-written completely. So when the record was finished I sat down with Clink and I asked him, 'Seriously, is this good? I think it is, but I can't tell anymore, my ears are burnt.' And he said, 'It is so good'. In fact, he said that he was much prouder of this album than Appetite For Destruction. He said, 'don't feel bad cuz it took so long because you essentially did 90% of this record... it directly involved you and these things had to be done one at a time'. So at the end of the record, I was exhausted with it. But I knew we had at least 5 or 6 great tracks. I mean songs that were well-written, well-recorded, well-performed and would have a staying power."

Check out the full interview at this location.