September 08, 2010 Casey Stoddard

casey@connectstatesboro.com

It's been a busy summer for Satisfaction. They've played at Disney, and in Tuscan and Phoenix in the last few weeks, and they will have a couple of other stops in Georgia this week after performing in Statesboro. And that's just in the U.S. The group will be leaving the States in 60 days to play shows in Russia.
    Wednesday we caught up with Chris LeGrand, the Mick Jagger of the group for an interview.
When did you begin this group?
    "I started the group in 2001, after many years of trying to do my own thing and after many years of, since I was a teenager, of people telling me, “you look alot like Mick Jagger.” I brushed it off for so long and was trying to do my own thing and it eventually just caught up with me," said LeGrand to Tommy Palmer on Mornings UnPhiltered.

How did you prepare to take on this role?
    "Some things come naturally and some things you have to work at. It takess a lot of time and dedication to impersonate someone."

How did you find guys that wanted to play Rolling Stones’ stuff every night?
    "Well, again, I was a little frustrated with trying to do my own thing and the tribute industry was really reall taking off. I was looking around and there were several Beatles shows that had been around for many years that were very successful. And upon research, I saw that there wasn’t a Rolling Stones show that was a national touring act and I was a real opportunity. So I started recruiting some people that believed in the concept and thought they wanted to be a part of something special and unique. Now I have guys in the band that are from all over the country."

Where are the guys from?
    We have a guy from Charlotte, San Francisco, Detroit, Cleveland. We’re pretty spread out.

Where are you from?
    "I grew up in Texas, but I’ve lived in Louisiana for more than 20 years."

How many times have you seen the Rolling Stones in persons?
    "Four times You’re looking at a show that the band was started in ’62. … and they hit their stride in ‘64 and ‘65. Through the decades the show’s changed. The members have changed. Certainly Mick Jagger’s changed his style and performance which is always a challenge for me because you look at what he was doing the ‘60s and what he did in the ‘70s and so it’s gone through a lot of changes over the years. We try to bring people a greatest hits package, and give them a little overview of all the music."  

The Beatles?
    "We all love and respect the Beatles for what they’ve done. And, you know, a lot of people say you’re either a Beatles fan or a Stones fan. I don’t necessarily agree with that. I mean, certainly the Beatles were a little cleaner image and the Stones were certainly the first bad boys. I think that plays well into the history of rock. I think it’s a nice pairing. Certainly they were the two biggest groups to come out of that era, and I think it’s to be respected along with all the other great groups. We’re all blessed to have been able to be a part of that music or experience that music."

In your opinion, how good of musicians were the Rolling Stones?
    "They certainly came in their own. I think early on they were still finding their way. I think Brian Jones, was at the time, and even Bill Wyman might have been the best musicians in the band. I think Mick and Keith were very young and learning. Certainly, the first few albums were mostly cover songs. They were trying to learn how to write songs. I think the Beagles were a little swifter in the getting into the original music. But you can certainly see a couple years down the road when they got into the Painted Blacks and Jumpin’ Jack Flash, then on into the early ‘70s … the songwriting really evolved. So they came into their own.  They startyed a little slower. But went on to write some of the greatest hits of rock ‘n’ roll  history."

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