Marcel Anderson recently interviewed former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson. Keep in mind these excerpts are translated so the verbiage isn’t exactly right. Erlandson discussed the downfall of Hole.
Anders: Can you ask, why Hole failed as a band?
Erlandson: When we started, we had a specific goal and a lot of plans. I seriously thought we would change the world. But when I look back, I have to admit: we were just a band. We’ve achieved a bit, but I’ve also realized that you can only change the world if you really reach people.
Anders: Did not you succeed?
Erlandson: No. We had a song that was about to reach the top 40 in America. But then Courtney brought everything to a standstill. And that’s why I’m talking about a classic case of megalomania, with which she shot herself in the foot. So bad that it was incomprehensible to anyone. She went on stage in Vancouver and said, “This is our last show, I’m off to make a movie.”
An underground film about the life of William Burroughs, which hardly anyone has seen. Why did everyone ask: For that she broke off the tour and dissolved the band? It did not make sense. We have been scrounging for ten years. And I still lived in a bastard when we recorded “Celebrity Skin”. Our record company said we sold 1.5 million copies of Live Through This and 1.5 million of Celebrity Skin. But unlike them, I never saw a dime.
