(Nightwatcher) In a brand new exclusive interview conducted by Nightwatcher's House Of Rock with rock legend Mark Farner, the ex Grand Funk Railroad frontman discusses his latest album, 'For The People', his days in Grand Funk, the possibilities of a reunion of the original band, the chances of the band being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and much more. A short excerpt from the interview follows below :NHOR : I've got to ask you the inevitable question Mark... what do you feel the chances are of the original Grand Funk reuniting again for even a few shows? When I talked with Don Brewer about it he seemed to tense up at the mention of the subject. What's the situation, and do you ever feel it will happen again?
MF : As for me, I've been trying to put the band back together. I talked to Capitol Records prior to that DVD that you spoke of,(Grand Funk's Greatest Hits) with the Shea footage and the companion CD that accompanied it. I sat across the table from those guys in California, and told them I wanted to promote this. I thought that the three original members should be promoting this product, because it would get the most sales. Isn't that what putting the product out there is all about? I went to Capitol because I knew if I went to the other two guys that Don would keep it from Mel, and they wouldn't even entertain it. Just because of what's going on there. I went to Capitol, and they called those guys, Don told them that they didn't want to do it, and that they would use their version of Grand Funk to promote it. And of course, Capitol passed.
NHOR : There are a lot of fans who feel that without you it just isn't Grand Funk Railroad....
MF : Well, I appreciate that, and it isn't. That's what I've always said. Grand Funk has been three amigos and nobody else. There's no other three people on this earth that can make that sound.
NHOR : What do you feel at this point are the chances of Grand Funk Railroad ever getting into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame? Why do you think the band isn't in there already?
MF : I think it's political. I think it's because we haven't obtained the brown ring around the mouth from kissing somebody's hind end. That's not who I am. I'm not going to bow to that god. It's only important to me at all for the fans, for the sake of the fans. From that viewpoint, yes. Because it is something which is supposed to be representative, but it's the same thing as where the Congress of the United States is supposed to be representative of us by coining and controlling the money. But that ain't happening either.
- Read the entire interview here
