Black Stripes in New York?
Interviewed: Tony Mann

Tony Mann is a drummer from N.Y. who first got in contact with us back in May '03. He sent us a photo of himself and Rolan when they played The Cutting Room (which has now been moved here from the gallery page). Tony plays with two bands in N.Y. the "She wolves" and "Mad Juana". I caught up with him in Camden London when he was playing with the "She wolves" in June. Tony told me that he was a big Marc Bolan fan, he also told me about the first time he had met Rolan back in 2002. Tony has kindly sent some more photos and this article below, enjoy his thoughts about Rolan.
~ CosmicFighter

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"I guess I've played with Rolan half a dozen shows - maybe a few more. My friend Jesse Malin has a club called Niagara in the East Village. Jesse told me Rolan would be playing, so I went to see him... He came up and introduced himself, and he played a nice show as well. There is always a good vibe in the room when he performs - as you may well know! I gave him my phone number and told him to call me if he ever wanted some accompaniment, or just to hang out. He called the next time he came to town.

We played at Niagara. He also brought Courteney Jordan with him. We hung out and played a really fun show! We jammed in my apartment and jammed a bit before the show. He's not big on rehearsing though. Rolan is a natural musician; his spirit really comes out of his music. A lot of musicians rehearse all the life out of their songs before they ever perform them and it shows! This is not the case with Rolan.
That visit we also tried to play a little at an East Village party. It was fun, but they didn't have much of a sound system (none actually!), so we kept it short. The next time he came, he brought Courteny and his friend Kyle, who played Bass. We played at Niagara again, and it was fun - the people dug it.

Last time he came , he told me the day he got here that he was playing electric guitar now ( the other shows I had only played congas and percussion - he was on acoustic ), he asked if I could bring congas and a drum kit to play at The Knitting Factory and The Cutting Room . I did and we had a rocking time! Richard Barone was at the Knitting Factory show and gave us some kind words about our performance. He's a real nice guy, and has known Gloria a long time. He just played an amazing show with Donovan!

I really respect Rolan, and I wish him all the luck. He's got his heart in what he does - that's very infectious! He's got a great sense of humor as well; we always have a laugh about something silly. I consider him a friend. I hope to play with him again - it's always fun!
Rock on Rolan!
Goodbye for now, and take care!"
~ Tony