By Jeb Wright
Interview transcribed by Eric Sandberg

Eddie Money puts his money where his mouth is in the new ASX-TV series Real Money. Well…he runs his mouth anyway. And his twenty-something year old, live at home kids spend all his money—at least according to him! His wife has a different take on things as you will read below.

The 1970s and ‘80s rock singer gets run over worse than Ozzy did during his time in front of the camera. Eddie takes it…chews on it a while…spits it out and then gets scolded by Laurie, his ultra-attractive wife. In the meantime he plays music…with his kids in the band.

Yeah…this has reality show written all over it. It’s another dysfunctional, yet (mostly) loving family situation in the Money household. The show is funny, over the top and at times makes one root for Eddie, as those kids are out of control with attitude!

The Senior Money takes it in stride…and soberly. In fact, he’s been sober almost a decade. His troubled past is (mostly) behind him these days.

In the interview that follows Eddie tells us how spoiled his kids are…but admits they still love him. His wife, Laurie, jumps in to tell us the Eddie can’t take a joke before Eddie takes back over.

We also talk honestly about sobriety and the making of his landmark album, No Control.

WATCH EPISODE 1 HERE: http://www.axs.tv/featured/realmoney-episode1/

Real Money premieres Sunday, April 8 at 9:30/8:30c
 

Jeb: I've seen the first episode of your new reality show [Real Money, AXS-TV]. First off, I laughed my a## off. Secondly, it was very interesting, with the family dynamic. Husbands everywhere FEEL you. We understand...because I'm not in charge either.

Eddie Money: Then you know how miserable I am [laughter]! I've got five kids and a wife and when I think about it, I should've got that TV fixed.

Jeb: Seriously, though, you had to know the scrutiny. There was a famous guy named Ozzy that did this a while back. What made you want to do this, with all the craziness and everything else that comes with doing a reality show?

EM: We did the show for Oprah called Where Are They Now [2016]. I didn't realize that the cameras were on all the time. I was in my son's room and I found a bottle of whiskey that someone had bought him. Being an ex-alcoholic, I had a sh*t fit and started screaming at him and they taped it all. They thought it was super interesting because they had caught me off guard and saw the real Eddie Money, the real father, with the kids. They got a kick out of it.

My daughter, Jessica [Jesse Money], is very talented and my son, Dez [Dez Money and the Faze], he doesn't have a voice like mine, but he's a very talented young songwriter. But these days, these kids aren't going to sell a million songs. They say, "Video Killed the Radio Star" but the internet killed the recording artist. Now they don't even put CD players in cars. Now you have to email somebody the songs you have. It's crazy!

Jeb: I've been reviewing your albums for years. I used to enjoy getting them in the mail. Now I don't get mail. It's a stream. Technology has made things really hard.

EM: It's really insane what these kids are doing these days. Think of all the records Taylor Swift or Imagine Dragons would have sold [pre-internet]. Think about how much money…I've sold 42 million records for Christ's sake, and now all the record stores are closed. There's no more Tower Records, Zebra, Peaches...all the big record chains across the country have been closed for years.

Jeb: It is a shame. It's the end of an era for guys like us. Getting back to Real Money, I have to ask: Did everyone agree? Did all five kids and the wife say, “Yes, we want to do this” or was anyone saying, “Are you crazy?”

EM: Well, they were interested but with their father being a famous rock star…they are a bit jaded. I met Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, of my favorites, Led Zeppelin. I asked Jimmy if he could sign something to my son, Zach. I took it back to Zach and he said, "Who's Jimmy Page? Who's Robert Plant?" Just forget about it.

I just want Dez to get on stage because nobody sells records anymore. If these kids are going to make money they have to go over live. They have to have a good live show, like Imagine Dragons or me, or even Justin Bieber.

Jesse gets really animated on stage. When the two of us are together on stage you're going to get a really great show. Julian's a great drummer. Dez is is a good writer and he's got his own band. That's why I think it's going to be an interesting TV show.

Jeb: When did your family start playing with you? It's been a few years since I've seen you, but you had the hired guns backing you, you didn't have the family.

EM: I still go out with my band. I go out with the kids when they want to work with me. They don't always want to work with dad [laughter]. Three weeks ago, my regular drummer wasn't with me and Julian played drums for me. I'm looking for Julian, I don't see him anywhere. I sent somebody to go look for him and he was up in his hotel room, in his underwear, waiting for a pizza to show up. Seriously!? He's supposed to be on stage in three minutes and he's in his underwear, waiting for pizza! These kids don't have a clue.

Jeb: Were you the dad who had to be gone a lot because of touring? Is it nice to have something like this that gets the family together?

EM: It's great to go on the road with the kids because Desmond is a lot of fun and having Jessica out with me is great because they love me. They dote on me and are always making sure I get to the game on time. “Make sure you put dad's wheelchair in the sun.” [laughter]

Julian plays great in Desmond's band but when he plays for me, like on a song like "Give Me Some Water," he doesn't play it the way I want him to, but he plays everything for Dez outrageously fantastic. He doesn't have enough respect for me to learn to play the material the way I want it.

Jeb: Ouch.

EM: And when I complain to my wife about it she says, "Quit bitchin' about the kids. What are you, Joe Jackson?”

Jeb: That's funny. You're going to lose there, buddy. You're not going to have her on your side when it comes to the kids.

EM: The kids always come first. You know that. She's a mother.

One of the greatest things about this TV show is, hands down, I've got one of the prettiest wives in Rock ‘n’ Roll. And the kids are good. I think the show's going to be good because - talk to any father my age and who doesn't think their kids are dysfunctional.

Jeb: It goes with the territory.

EM: It's not like when we were growing up. These kids today…they're spoiled rotten. I don't know what's goin' on with them! They've got their cell phones, their cars…Laurie gives them money for gas. I don't know what's goin' on. If it was up to me I'd starve 'em all and whip 'em before they go to bed [laughter].

Jeb: I have to laugh because I told my wife, "You know our kids are some of their kid's age and, thank God, they don't still live at home."

EM: So you're one of the lucky ones! How many kids do you have, and how did you get rid of them?

Jeb: I've got two. The oldest one is just headstrong. She didn't want to live here and she wasn't going to be stopped, so she was easy. The younger one, and you'll relate to this…it was a girl.

EM: So he wanted to move in with his girlfriend. That's understandable. At least you don't have any grandkids yet so you're lucky there.

Jeb: We got one, two weeks ago! [Eddie laughs].

EM: I guess I spoke too soon, huh?

Jeb: You don't have any yet, do you?

EM: No, I don't. I'm looking forward to having grandkids around here…but my kids are so selfish I don't know when they're going to have any.

Jeb: What was the hardest thing about doing this show that caught you by surprise?

EM: You wanna know the truth? Every time they put a microphone on me, and I'm doing a segment with my wife and daughter, they were always pushing the envelope and sayin' sh#t to me that I couldn't say. Once you put the mics on them, they're in charge, they've got the power.

My wife was always tellin' me, “Wash your hair…don't wear that shirt…don't do this…don't do that.” You know how wives are…

Jeb: Is that how it is when the camera's off, too?

EM: At my house it's like the cameras are always on. I married a woman that knows everything, unfortunately.

Jeb: What I like about the show is that the kids appear to be having fun and they do rib you a bit, but you and your wife appear to be really genuine and, despite the cameras being there. We're really looking into your life.

EM: That's very true. I've gotta tell you one thing about my wife and myself. We don't agree on a lot of things. She doesn't, drink, smoke or use drugs - not that I do any of that anymore, myself, but I still have those traits. Once you're an alcoholic, you're always an alcoholic. Once you start on blow, you might not do it anymore, but you're still a blow freak.

When I met my wife she was Miss One for The Sun. She won this beauty contest in Nashville and I thought I was happily married at the time. Wrong! We've got four kids together and I've been a handful for her because it took me a while to get my act together. I haven't gotten loaded for the last nine years but we've been together thirty-one years. We haven't seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things...

Laurie Money: [in background] We like Baskets.

EM: She loves the show, Baskets [FX comedy series starring Zack Galifinackis and Louie Anderson]. Have you ever watched it?

Jeb: I've never heard of it!

EM: Don't even worry about it. My wife was born a day apart from my mother. I hate to say it, but it's like I married my mother [laughter]. When I was living with my mother I did everything in my power to get 3000 miles away from her, so I moved to California. I can't do that with my wife.

Jeb: I want to get serious for a moment, which is hard with you but, on March 19th, I will have had thirty-one years sober...

EM: Amen! I'm lovin' you, baby! Every day I'm alive, I thank God for my sobriety. The most important thing in my life is me being sober. I'm not going to take a drink.

Jeb: I have to be honest with you, I interviewed you about ten years ago and you were not sober.

EM: I can believe that.

Jeb: Honestly, I was worried. I know you do a lot of interviews, but I have been with you as a fan from your first self-titled album right up through Ready Eddie. I love your music.

EM: Thank you. I've gotta thank the man upstairs. I've been blessed with a lot of hits. I've had fourteen or fifteen songs in the Top 100 and I've had eight or nine songs in the Top 40, "Baby Hold On," "Two Tickets To Paradise," "The Big Crash,"” I Wanna Go Back, "Shakin'"… I never ran out of hits, which was fantastic.

Jeb: Right before I quit drinking, I lived in a town that was full of hills and I had a car with a transmission that couldn't drive up them anymore. This is a true story...One night I wanted to get home and the car couldn't get up those hills and, guess what was playing on the radio..."Take Me home Tonight".

EM: [Laughing] Every day I wake up… I don't need a cigarette… I don't need a drink. I play golf. I play golf like Stevie Wonder… at night. Meanwhile, my wife is number one in her Spin class. She's worse than a Vegan, she doesn't eat anything. She'll have a little snack now and then but I don't know what she lives on.

Jeb: Without any spoilers, what do we have to look forward to watching the show? Are there any highlights you look back on and smile?

EM: There are a couple of times where Jessica's really late for work. There are episodes where my younger son, Julian, he's the son of the f#ckin' devil if you ask me…he drives me out of my mind. He listens to this rap music all the time. Is he a good kid? Don't ask me! But he's very talented. He's a great drummer.

One thing I'll say about the kids; they're not out ripping off houses, they're not on Oxycontin, they're not snorting heroin or getting DUIs. So what if they all live at home? At home I can keep an eye on them. And I don't trust any of 'em! [laughter].

Jeb: Is this your way of letting the world know that you're that tough, New York father?

EM: I gotta be. The kids all have their own little quirks. Jessica smokes too much, but I try to be a good dad. Sometimes I think they're all a bunch of ungrateful little bastards, if you wanna know the truth [laughter].

Jeb: You're a nut!

EM: I shouldn't say that but you do what you can. I know they all love me and that's important. It shows in the TV show that they sincerely care about their dad and that makes me feel good.

Jeb: Did your wife ever worry that maybe some of this stuff shouldn't be recorded?

EM: Yes. All the time. I'll let you talk to her. Here's my wife, Laurie.

Jeb: Hi Laurie, I was just asking Eddie a question about you. From the show, you seem to be the more level-headed one. Have you ever thought some of this should be on the cutting room floor and never make it into the show?

LM: Well you've seen it. We haven't seen it yet. I don't want to see it until everybody else sees it. I don't know. Do you want to tell us anything?

Jeb: There's nothing bad but there is a certain amount of...

LM: Tension?

Jeb: That's the word. There are times, in that first episode, when there is definite tension. As a mother, who is very protective of her kids, was there any time you wanted to step in?

LM: I was there and I had the opportunity to step in, but we all agreed it wasn't any big thing. It was their decision. They're all over twenty-two years old.

The producers are very thoughtful about asking us if they should stop filming, but we say, “Nah, go ahead, film it.” At the end of the day everything always ends up fine. People fight, they make up. People throw tantrums. They're all artists and musicians so there's a lot of drama that comes with that. If you're going to cover up too much then it's not really all that interesting, is it?

Jeb: On a lot of reality shows they try to prod people to act out a little more for the cameras, but you're telling me that your house is drama-intensive.

LM: It's the other way around. They're trying to hold it down [laughter].

EM: If it was up to me it would have been a whole lot better!

LM: Oh, he hasn't seen it. He doesn't even know what made it into the show.

Jeb: He might be thinking it should have had more of him in it.

LM: Oh yeah… “More me! More me!”

We are very protective of our family and that's why we decided to go with AXS-TV and this production company, Enchantment Media, because they allowed us to do it the way we wanted to do it. They don't tell us what to do and they don't try to guide us in any certain direction. They let us tell our story the way we want to tell it. We feel safe. That's why I didn't even ask to see any of the episodes. I'm sure it's going to be fine. I'm sure we'll say things like, “Oh my gosh look at my hair…what a mess!” Or maybe I'll look at Eddie's.

Just kidding, Eddie….you can joke about everybody but him. You've got to remember that.

Jeb: I didn't know that, Eddie.

EM: That's not true.

LM: That's so true. He can't take a joke.

EM: She said to me last week, "You look heavy on the video screen." I said, "The camera adds ten pounds." She said, "How many cameras did they use?" [Laughter]

Jeb: I'm getting the Rodney Dangerfield of Rock ‘n Roll vibe.

EM: Well you know, I can't get no respect. What am I supposed to do?

Jeb: It could be a song.

EM: By the way, we're going to send you the new song, "Brand New Day".

Jeb: I heard about this. Is this the one with Waddy Wachtel? Is he part of your band, now?

EM: Waddy's doing a great job with it. It's fantastic. Waddy and I are very, very good friends. He's out with Stevie Nicks and he tours with Joe Walsh and, when he's not working with them, he's over in England working. Waddy and I have been friends for over thirty years. We have lunch together, we wrote a couple of new songs together. We're just buddies.

Jeb: Getting back to the show, I'm going to put you on the spot, Eddie. Do you think your daughter could follow in your footsteps and be a lead vocalist? She seems to have a lot of talent.

EM: You know what? You should hear her sing, "At Last!" by Etta James. She does it better than Etta on a good night. My daughter is an amazing singer, but she likes to smoke her cigarettes. She reminds me of myself when I was her age. Like Bill Graham used to be pissed off at me, I turn around and I'm pissed off at her. But she's very good, she very talented.

She's got some new boots that cost me $50, and all these outfits...I think, if she put her mind to it, she could start writing songs and start putting it all together. Google her. She's done a lot of great things. She has a song called, "I Wanna Take You Higher", and some others. But when she's on tour with me…she's lazy. She wants to sing the high parts and get off the stage. "Where's my money?"

Jeb: I wasn't trying to single her out from the other kids. They're all talented, but, as someone who has seen a lot of concerts and bands, when I saw her I said, "Whoa!

EM: Yeah, she's very good. I bought her a new Jeep Cherokee.

LM: She bought it.

EM: She bought it with the money I gave her, OK?

LM: When people work for you, you pay 'em.

EM: There you go!

Jeb: She is right, Eddie.

LM: He thinks everybody should be so honored to work for him that they shouldn't get paid…including his kids...and me.

EM: Don't listen to her. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Jeb: I'm going to step away from the show for a second because, as a lifelong music and Eddie Money fan, I want to know: do you have one particular album of yours that is special to you?

EM: I think the No Control album was my best record. I did it with Tom Dowd. It's got great songs. It has "No Control" and "Shakin'" on it. It's a fantastic record.

I did it after I had overdosed on fentanyl. That's the thing that killed Tom Petty and Prince. I did Fentanyl back in 1981. I woke up one morning and I thought my leg was asleep. I had killed the sciatic nerve in my left leg and I blew out my kidneys. I couldn't walk for eleven months.

Jeb: I remember it being reported in the media that Eddie Money had a bout with food poisoning.

EM: Yeah…food poisoning that lasted eleven months! What the hell was I eating?

Tom Dowd, one of the greatest producers in the world, watched me use a walker to get from my bedroom to my music room to write the No Control album. What more can I say? I worked with Tom Dowd. It's just a great record. That song, “No Control” is about that you don't have to be rich and famous to get drunk and drive your car off a bridge…or have a major drug overdose.

I'm like you. The best thing about me today is that I appreciate my sobriety, and I'm sure you do too. I love my wife and kids but, what I appreciate more than anything in the world is the fact that I get up in the morning and I don't have to get high. I don't have to snort blow. I don't have to drink, or smoke pot. I can get up and be a normal person and play a sh#tty game of golf.

Jeb: I love hearing that because there was a time I was really worried about you and it's good to know you've bounced back. Whenever you make it back to Wichita, I'd love to shake your hand.

EM: Wichita, that's a great little Rock ‘n Roll town. I got a DUI in Wichita about forty years ago. That's a real party town. I still go to Wichita and have a good time.

Jeb. Last one Eddie…I have a bet with a friend. He says it's true, I say it isn't. He says the original lyrics of the song, "Shakin'" were, "her tits were shakin'.”

EM: That's true. That's why it was never a hit on AM radio. That could've been a #1 single and the reason isn’t is because I was very sophomoric. I said, "Her tits were shakin'" and it kept me off AM radio. It could have been a big f#ckin' hit for me and Bill Graham. If he was still alive he would still be saying to me, "You hadda say tits! We coulda had a f#ckin' #1 single!"

Jeb: Well I wish you success with this show and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

EM: It's gonna be good. I think you're going to enjoy it.

Jeb: Call me crazy, but I think you may have enjoyed it.

EM: I had a good time. The reason I like the show so much is…look…I'm a macho guy. I have a lot of Gold and Platinum records on the wall. I've got such a good looking wife…she looks fantastic on TV and she's got so much class.

People will be saying, “See that chick Eddie Money's married to? She's really f#ckin' hot!” Then I have I have to tell them, "Yeah, try livin' with her!" [Laughter]

 
WATCH EPISODE 1 HERE: http://www.axs.tv/featured/realmoney-episode1/

Real Money premieres Sunday, April 8 at 9:30/8:30c