Maul Stanley Interviews Fred Coury!

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga, Maul Stanley has conducted a series of interviews with various rock stars regarding their own unique Star Wars experiences. What follows is a transcript of the intergalactic communiqué between Maul Stanley and Cinderella drummer Fred Coury, who may or may not be a little short for a Stormtrooper.

Fred Coury, are you a Star Wars fan?

Yes, I am a Star Wars fan! I love Mr. Spock and all the tribbles. And let's not forget Lt. Uhura! I love her, too. She had a Motorola Bluetooth before anyone else, way back in 1966!

What are your memories of the first time seeing a Star Wars movie?

The first time I saw Star Wars... not Star Trek... or as some people insist on pronouncing it, Star Track... the first time I saw Star Wars was at the Cinerama Dome here in Hollywood. It's a huge, domed theater and it's the ultimate place to see movies. This was the week the movie opened back in '77, when I was just a kid. My cousin took me to see Star Wars and it was the first time I had ever experienced surround sound. It was all just so insane and amazing.

Do you have a favorite Star Wars character?

You mean besides Lt. Uhura? Well, Han Solo was probably my favorite character because he was kind of the rocker of the bunch. Plus, he proved himself to be a true hero in the end. I liked him way more than other fellow... what was his name? Mark Hamill? He was the ice skater with the wedge haircut, right? He wasn't the manliest of men! So yes, I think Han Solo was my favorite.

Do you have a favorite line, moment or scene from any of the Star Wars films?

I think my favorite line is probably everybody's favorite line: "I am your father." Huh? What? Who? That was pure genius. Think of the possibilities! That one line made for years of speculation and entertainment.

Do you have any Star Wars collectibles?

Absolutely! I still have the original movie soundtrack on vinyl. That thing was badass! It was a double-record set and the cover was almost solid black. Star Wars came up with that idea years before Spinal Tap or Metallica did! Plus, it was just a really great record.

I also had a few lightsabers. I loved those things and always thought they were cool. One of them was actually a knock-off that I got at the circus! It was just a flashlight with a long tube on the end, but when you turned it on it glowed green. Unfortunately, it was taken away from me when I used it to chop down the neighbor's bushes.

Oh, and I even had one of those cool Star Wars belt buckles. You know, the kind from the '70s that turns all different colors when light shines on it. Most people I know had the Kiss belt buckle but I had the Star Wars one.

Maul Stanley had both the Kiss and Star Wars belt buckles.

Well, I also had Rush and Peter Frampton! So there!

Do you see any similarities between what you do with Cinderella and what George Lucas did with Star Wars?

Well, George Lucas took a little nothing of an idea and turned it into a movie goldmine. Me, I took a moderately talented fellow from upstate New York and turned myself into what I am today! I don't quite know what that is, but I'm sure it's more than what I was. Plus, George Lucas lives in California... and now so do I!

What did you think of the way the Star Wars saga wrapped up in Episode III?

I thought everything tied together nicely. I actually had a copy of Episode III while it was still in theaters. I'm not going to say how I got it and I'm not going to say where it came from... let's just say it was a gift! We watched it on our tour bus all summer on a big high-definition flatscreen TV! It was great. Sure, there might have been some time code running across the bottom of the screen, but at least we got to see the movie while we were busy on the road.

So that's something else I have in common with George Lucas -- we've both watched Star Wars with time code!

Further information on Fred Coury is available at his website: