Doing It Their Way : Motorhead has been cruising down the heavy-metal highway since 1975. Now they’ve got “March or Die.”

Where would the world be without Capricorns? Stubborn as goats, but fun, too. Who can forget Mao Tse-tung? Josef Stalin? Nixon? Also, Ben Franklin, Cary Grant, Elvis, Jesus, Rick Nelson were noted Capricorns. One thing is clear, the world would’ve been a much quieter place without one Capricorn, Ian Kilminster, a.k.a. Lemmy, the brain to blame for Motorhead.

This guy is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll Party Animal. Motorhead has just released “March or Die,” its zillionth album of raucous speed metal, sure to anger parents the world over. The band was on the “The Tonight Show” last week.

Lemmy is the guy who once said: “If we moved in next door, your lawn would die.” Since Motorhead is just passing through Sunday, there’s no need for any horticultural paranoia, but if all the dogs are howling within a 12-block radius of the Ventura Theatre, then you’ll know their set has begun.

Lemmy has been in bands since the mid-60s. His group, the Rocking Vikars, was the first Western band to play behind the Iron Curtain. Later, he was in the very spacey British sci-fi, art rock, what-the-heck band, Hawkwind. Since 1975, Lemmy’s been doing the Motorhead thing with varying degrees of success.

Lemmy has been living in L.A. for a couple of years now, doesn’t give a damn about the Dodgers and no one’s yet made a dent in that British accent. He’s heading to South America for awhile soon. But let’s let Lemmy tell it.

*

How’s “March or Die” doing?

It’s picking up a bit. Our last two albums have been very different from the others. There’s been 100% improvement, maybe more.

*

How many Motorhead albums are there?

Legally, there’s 16. Illegally, there are 20 bootlegs. You have to be tough to complete your Motorhead collection. There’s been, let’s see, 10 different members in Motorhead, not bad for 17 years.

*

So you’re a Los Angeles kind of guy now. What’s it like compared to London?

I’ve been here two years and a couple of months now, and I think it’s very much like London except the girls wear less clothes.

*

How many of these interviews have you done?

Oh, very many, but none for the L.A. Times.

*

What is the rock ‘n’ roll attitude?

You mean, what’s my attitude? Don’t listen to people who say it won’t work, and just do it your own way. I’ve gone around the world and been to fabulous places that people only dream of. Tomorrow, we’re leaving for Argentina and Brazil.

*

Is there such a thing as too much fun?

Yeah, there is. People die from heroin. It’s too much fun. I won’t allow it in my house. A lot of my friends have died from it.

*

Who goes to Motorhead gigs?

Well, I go to every one. My mom goes sometimes. We even get completely normal people who have smartened up and actually got jobs now. Then we get the typical metal yabbo (pronounced ya-bow), with a beer clutched in a greasy fist.

*

What’s the best thing about your job?

It’s not a job, it’s a life. You don’t stop doing it at 5:30--I’m Lemmy 24 hours a day. You create your presence, then it sort of takes over and you become that person 24 hours a day.

*

How did you get started in all this?

In the music biz? I saw Little Richard in the ‘50s when he toured England. That’s why I sing like this--I’m doing Little Richard. That’s why John Lennon sang the way he did--he thought he was doing Elvis.

*

You were in the first Western band to play behind the Iron Curtain. What was that like?

We played Yugoslavia in 1965. It was very bleak. We had dinner with Tito, but by then, he was sort of over the hill. England got the the Red Army Choir, and they got us.

*

Can music change the world?

It already has changed the world. Imagine a world without rock ‘n’ roll; what would people be doing instead of going to concerts?

*

Has the music biz changed Lemmy?

It’s made me more smug. It makes you cynical, being artistic and being exploited as musicians are. And the musician’s union is just hopeless.

*

Longhairs used to be mellow. What happened?

They all became like Jerry Brown; I don’t know. They weren’t so mellow. There was Abbie Hoffman and that Baader-Meinhof gang who were always blowing everything up. I guess everyone is an anarchist after all. Also, no one can see your ears if you have long hair.

*

What was your strangest gig?

I was on an island made out of garbage off the coast of Holland. They dumped their garbage in the ocean and put dirt over it--it was great. It’s a good idea--don’t you hate the word “landfill”? Anyway, a storm was blowing around the north coast and I thought we’d get washed into the sea. There were four people and a dog there, and one of them clapped.

*

There’s a song called “Ain’t No Nice Guy” on your new CD. So are you becoming a nice guy in your old age?

I have to think so, although I could find 10 people right now who would disagree.

*

So what’s next?

Well, tonight, we’re playing the Cathouse. We’re leaving for Brazil and Argentina tomorrow. Then I’d like to get the Ramones and tour; that would be a helluva show.