Bill Bateman: ‘Do I remember any of it? Hell no!’

“William Raymond Bateman. Born in the city of Orange …”

A great, 10-minute interview with Bill Bateman gives a rare chance to hear from the legendary drummer in his own words, voice and cadence.

Though recorded on Nov. 9, 2015, for the documentary “Tales of the American,” the Bateman interview video was only uploaded to YouTube until 2019.

The full documentary tells the story of The American, L.A.’s first Black hotel that, during the 20th century, became a gathering ground for the city’s artists, musicians, poets, writers and other characters. (Bateman ticks a couple of those boxes.)

Though The Red Devils are not mentioned, there is plenty to love in this interview vid. A quick rundown:

• Gigging with Edwin Starr
• “The Phil and Bill Show”
• Hessians MC in the crowd
• “Everybody watched the freaks, the Alvin brothers.”
• Circle Jerks, Black Flag and Fear
• Checking out the legendary Frank Frost
• Mario Melendez and the King King
• Grand World Class Drum-A-Thon: DJ Bonebrake + Bill Bateman + John Densmore
• The Blasters: “It’s a family.”

You don’t need me to sell you on this video. Watch the Bateman video below or on YouTube.

Check out “Tales of the American” on Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes, Xbox and Vudu.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Jan. 12, 2020.