I’ve made no secret over the years how I was the stereotypical, Beavis and Butt-Head watching metal head type growing up in the ’90s. Yet by the time the late ’90s had arrived and I had relocated to Volusia County, FL, I had no idea at the time that I was neighboring at that point with legendary metal drummer Gar Samuelson of Megadeth, who was now residing right next door to me in nearby Orange City.
After performing on the first two, now-classic Megadeth albums – 1985’s Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good! and 1986’s Peace Sells…but Who’s Buying?, Samuelson was abruptly dismissed from the group along with guitarist Chris Poland for substance abuse issues in 1987. Yet his playing on each of these records was enough to earn him a rightful spot alongside the the greats within the thrash metal world.
Samuelson briefly played in an act called Metalist prior to relocating to central, FL and forming Fatal Opera in 1990, alongside his brother Stew Samuelson on guitar, Dave Inman on vocals (and later Andy Freeman), Travis Karcher on bass, and guitarist Jeff Bloom (and later, Billy Brehme). The band released two albums throughout the ’90s – 1995’s Self-Titled effort, and 1997’s The Eleventh Hour, before Samuelson’s untimely passing from liver failure in 1999 at the age of just 41. (Former Megadeth bandmate Dave Mustaine would later announce Gar’s death at the Woodstock festival that same year, and the reissue of the first album in 2002 would ultimately be dedicated to him). A belated third effort titled Fatal Opera 3 was also released years later in 2022.
Needless to say when I first heard about all of this sometime later in the 2000’s, I was intrigued, and eventually started slowly but surely checking out his work with Fatal Opera, which was all fairly solid enough in its own right. Fast forward to 2020, I started retracing of sorts some of Gar’s steps, visiting the area (as best as I could anyway – see photo below) where Gar turned a former barn in Orange City into a recording studio, and opening communication with bassist and former Fatal Opera bandmate Travis Karcher.
For whatever reason, life got in the way though, and the project more or less just fizzled out. But alas, I’m not one to let things go by the wayside no matter how much time might’ve passed, and it was finally time to pay tribute to Samuelson the only way I knew how (and in time for what would’ve been his 68th birthday on February 18th no less, too), and began talking to Karcher once more about resurrecting the project.
When I initially spoke with him nearly six years ago now, we of course discussed that previously-mentioned recording studio, to which Karcher said; “I think the band would be flattered to hear it called it a studio, since we built it out of an old tractor barn/metal shed. (Laughs) Gar called it Headstone Heavy Recorders, and most of the experience was self-taught. I’d be surprised if the building is still there, although it may be, but I doubt it’d still be in the condition it was when we used it.”
Location of the former Headstone Heavy Recorders in Orange City, FL, built and utilized by the metal band Fatal Opera in the 1990’s. (Photo by Jesse Striewski, October 2020)
Once I started talking with Travis again recently in late 2025, I wanted to go back even further, and hear how he and Gar had originally met. He informed me; “I met both Gar and Stew through a friend of mine, John, who was a rock memorabilia collector, specifically guitar pics. He was thumbing through the Volusia County phone book one day and found Gar and called him, and was surprised when he actually answered. Gar said he didn’t have anything for him, but that he was looking for a bass player for a band he was starting with his brother. I went and auditioned on a Tuesday, and came back again two days later for another rehearsal. After that, my equipment didn’t leave Gar’s house for ten years. I was nineteen at the time and fresh out of high school, and Gar and Stew were in their 30’s.”
He continued; “In that time there were a lot of lineup changes, but the core of Gar, Stew, and myself always stayed the same. We also had a record contract with the German label Massacre Records (which also had King Diamond on it), and put out two albums on their label.” He continued further; “I still talk to (guitarist) Bill Brehme, and actually asked him to play leads on some of the current material I’m working on. Bill and I were involved in a minimal role in Fatal Opera 3, but it was mostly Andy’s show. I really haven’t spoken to Andy in a few years. Most of us are not too thrilled with the way that project came out.”
Still unsure if I had ever caught the band live during their ’90s run, I was also wondering what venues the band had played “back in the day.” Karcher stated; “We played a lot of shows around Florida. We started at a small bar near the Naval training center in Orlando called the Sunburst Pub. We also played at the Fairbanks Inn, The Beacham Theater, The Fern Park Station, and probably a few more I’m forgetting about. And we also played a lot of Daytona gigs, a few shows in Tampa and Jacksonville, and some road trips down south to Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers.”
Fatal Opera flyer from the personal collection of bassist Travis Karcher.
A few more things I was definitely curious about was whether or not Fatal Opera ever played any Megadeth covers in their set lists or not, as well as what Gar’s thoughts were on the band’s material released after his tenure with them. Karcher explained; “We never played any of the Megadeth stuff, nor was it ever talked or thought about. I think we all understood that Fatal Opera was its own project.”
He continued; “Of course Gar thought So Far, So Good…So What! would’ve been better with him playing on it, but I think he liked Rust in Peace since we heard it before it came out via a demo and listened to it around the studio. I also remember him saying Countdown to Extinction was a little too commercial, though I know Gar really liked and respected Nick Menza.” And as far as what Gar might’ve (hypothetically) thought on Megadeth’s latest, final studio album if he were still here with us today? Karcher stated; “I think he would’ve thought that it was more or less Dave solo with hired guns?”
And last but not least, regarding what Travis has been up to himself these days musically that we touched upon earlier? He informed me; “I’ve been working with an electronic music producer friend of mine who comes from the EDM world. We are working on some crossover style music in the same vein as Nine Inch Nails or Stabbing Westward. I don’t really know what to call it at the moment, but it’s loud and aggressive, just the way I like it!”
We’ll definitely keep an eye out for any and all upcoming music from Travis (and be sure to do the same!), and happy heavenly birthday, Gar!
When it comes to elite rock/metal guitarists, there’s typically a select few that come to mind for most, whether it be Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, or the late, great, Eddie Van Halen. But for my money Great White lead guitarist Mark Kendall has always deserved a spot at the table nearby these greats, and the band he co-founded more than four decades ago now has been fairly underrated in many of the annals of rock history (at least in my opinion).
So when I had the chance to speak to Kendall from his home via phone this past Tuesday, July 15 ahead of Great White’s upcoming Orlando date at the Hard Rock Live on Saturday, August 23 (which Rewind It Magazine will also be there to cover), I was both completely prepared for it, and elated.
I was glad to hear that I was the first interview of the day for him as we each settled in for our morning (or in my case in the time zone I’m in, early afternoon) cups of coffees. One of the first things I asked was when the last time the band had hit the central, FL market, to which he replied, “I’m not really sure. I know we played some shows in Ft. Lauderdale, FL last year, but as far as Orlando itself I don’t think we’ve been there for awhile, so we’re pretty excited to be returning.”
He continued; “We used to play the Spring Break programs with MTV and at one point were kind of like the back up band playing on the beach, so a lot of memories there in that sense. Just Florida in general has always been a great experience with the best fans for us.”
Flyer for upcoming Great White/Slaughter show at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL on Saturday, August 23.
Great White have been more or less knocking out shows across the U.S. since the start of 2025 with various bands (namely current tour mates Slaughter), so I was curious what some of the highlights have been on the tour so far. He informed me; “We played kind of a small area called Elko, NV recently and the fans were just crazy, and it was really a good show! Since we don’t tour like we did back in the day on a bus where we’re gone from home and touring for like a year and a half, we’ll just go out and play maybe one or two shows then go back home, so there’s a lot more flying involved now. But the fun part about it though is getting to play with a lot of bands we never played with before back in the day that we respect like Styx and REO Speedwagon. So we’re meeting these guys that we knew from afar but never really knew personally, so that’s kind of fun.”
Kendall furthered his point; “And we basically grew up with our fans, so it’s fun to see fans from back then still rocking, and the new generations that come along with them, too. A lot of times like with our parents, the music was so far removed from what we were listening to as teenagers that we couldn’t really relate to their music. But with the parents of today that our introducing their kids to our stuff and the like, I think most of them realize ‘Hey, these guys rock pretty hard!'”
I was wondering how far back the band’s history with said tour mates Slaughter went, and he told me; “We have a lot of history with Slaughter! For one thing they’re on the same agency as us. We never toured with them per se, but I’ve known Mark (Slaughter, vocalist) since he was about nineteen when he was with Vinnie Vincent (in the Vinnie Vincent Invasion), so we’re pretty good friends. When we play together we always have a great night, and I think we give the fans their money’s worth.”
With a catalog that spans thirteen full studio albums, I was curious as to what songs he looked forward to playing the most each night, as well as any tracks from the vault he might possibly like to unearth someday. He told me; “Well, I like what they call the ‘deep cuts,’ you know songs that weren’t really on the radio maybe as much as some of the others (or at all). One thing I also like is when we maybe extend jams because we don’t really know what’s going to happen with those, so you know that makes it kind of exciting. Of course I still like playing “Rock Me” because it creates a lot of memories for me.”
He continued his thoughts further; “When you finish an album and the record company comes down to the studio, you kind of look at them to see how they’re reacting, and I remember them getting real excited when they first heard that song (“Rock Me”). It was our first really big hit, and it was our third album! Before that we had to grind it out, and went out and toured with Judas Priest, Whitesnake, and Europe for our first album. And when we came home, the record company wasn’t that excited, so they dropped us off the label! So now we have no record deal, no money, and we had just toured for almost a year and now we’ve got to start over? I mean how tough is this business?” (Laughs)
Kenndall explained some more; “So then we made our second record on our own by borrowing money and got a hit on a L.A. radio station, which was enough to get the attention of Capitol Records. They ended up coming down to see the band play, and now we’ve got our second opportunity, so now we’ve got to get it right! To get a second chance is a miracle, but we didn’t think a third chance was going to happen, so to come out with our third album and a song that excited a big label like Capitol like that was truly a wonderful situation. So we got our first big hit and sold a million records! (Laughs) And we’ve played that song a lot now, but it’s always for a different audience, and it’s always a nice feeling with all of those memories attached to it.”
He wrapped up his thoughts by saying; “This year we’ve pulled out some songs that we maybe haven’t played in twenty-five years. We’re playing “Stick It” in the set now, which is from our very first album. And even though it didn’t do too well at the time, we gained a fanbase, so it wasn’t a waste of time or like we were going out on those early tours totally cold. But believe it or not, when we change just two or three songs in the set list, it gives the set a whole new look just by doing that. We try to grab something from as many albums as we can, but we can easily get thirteen or fourteen songs in with a ninety minute set.”
While most people were busy tossing their VHS collections as soon as they went out of style, I continued to expand my own with anything and everything ‘old school’ I could find. One such film was 1987’s Maid to Order with the baby-faced Ally Sheedy, which also featured a brief appearance from Great White at a party scene as a backing band called the Loaded Blanks (which I honestly did not catch on to until maybe a few years back). So of course I had to pick Kendall’s brain a little on what that experience was like, and he filled me in; “It was a medium that we weren’t really used to (movie-making), so that was a lot of fun to be a part of. We played the backing band for the maid played by Merry Clayton, who’s actually a kick-ass singer!”
He continued; “We learned a few things along the way, and there were these guys on the crew who kept sneaking this little frog somewhere in every scene, but not telling the director! So you can watch the movie and be like, ‘Look there’s that frog!’ (Laughs) And the extras that played our roadies in our scenes were crazy! We would go out to the garage and be snipping on a bottle of whiskey with them after we had just got done talking with Ally Sheedy in the kitchen (Laughs), so it was a lot of fun.”
He continued; “And back then we were also in the Joe Piscopo special for HBO where we played the backing band while he played Frank Sinatra. And I came jumping threw the air while playing the solo and he said ‘Marvelous and wonderful guitar!’ (Laughs) So it was just a blast.”
Back in 2019, I was also able to speak with former Great White singer, the late Jack Russell for Rewind It Magazine, and I asked him a similar question at the time as one from earlier regarding what songs really affected him while performing live the most, to which he answered the power ballad “Save Your Love” was a very emotional/spiritual experience for him. I asked Mark if he felt somewhat similar while performing it, to which he stated; “For me it’s a great memory because I was working with a guy named Stephen who was in the band briefly on guitar and keyboards before Michael Lardie joined. We wrote that song and it was almost all Stephen’s music, and I kind of changed it around to be an acoustic song, but we didn’t use it until later. And Stephen passed away a few years ago, so that’s kind of a fond memory for me.”
He went on; “That’s cool that it was emotional for Jack. For me, it wasn’t a huge hit, but when we played arenas, every Bic lighter was going (Laughs). So with our fans that like our band, it was a hit to them. I don’t know if I’m as emotionally attached to it as Jack was – maybe the song meant something to him with a girlfriend or a wife or somebody in his life perhaps. But it was a nice song, and every band had their own ballad of sorts back in the day.”
Regarding Jack Russell, who left us nearly a year ago now last August, Kendall elaborated with hindsight; “We were the best of friends and did everything together. He had gotten into some trouble maybe three or four months after I first met him, so I had to start a band (Dante Fox) from scratch and even had a chick singer at first until he was able to get out, and then we took him over the singer we had and things kind of developed from there.”
He continued further; “A lot of the memories from when we first met, being at his parents house with these huge dreams – we were doing interviews like you and I are doing right now with cassette players acting like we had made it. (Laughs) We used to pretend like we were playing the Forum, and then we ended up actually playing it. All the stuff we dreamed about we really believed it. And it all happened, so that’s pretty surreal.”
Kendall ended his thoughts by saying; “We were very close. I don’t think we ever had a single argument our entire careers, but it’s just unfortunate that addiction is what separated us. It wasn’t anything personal, and I still loved him to death. But when we separated, I just wanted him to get well and come back to be the best, most kick-ass Jack Russell possible. And although it didn’t really happen that way, that does not take away decades of us touring the world, and all of the shared memories we had together. I’m not going to let addiction take that away from me, because those were just awesome years, man.”
There’s a handful of bands around these days that have caught the attention of rock and metal fans the world over (myself included) due to their abilities to not only rock as hard as the groups that came before and influenced them, but also create their own unique styles and sounds. Sweden’s Crazy Lixx are undoubtedly one of those acts, so when the chance to talk to band founder and Vocalist Danny Rexon presented itself, I leapt at it.
With a new album having just recently dropped, naturally one of the first things I had to ask Danny was how he felt the band’s latest effort, appropriately titled Thrill of the Bite, has been received so far. He told me; “It feels really good! We’ve had a lot of really great feedback, and looking at the numbers in both terms of video plays and streams and everything leading up to the release, everything has been very good. So it looks like early indications are that it’s going to be our most successful release that we’ve done in terms of the financial side of it at least.”
And as far as how he fells Thrill… stacks up alongside past releases? “You know, bands always tend to say that their latest release is the best one, so I’m going to leave it up to the fans to decide. I personally think that there’s a lot about this album that is an improvement on earlier works, but of course it’s also a matter of subjective; it’s a subjective thing what kind of songs you like and the production and everything, but for me personally I think it ranks quite high and by the numbers you can also see that the audience tends to agree.”
In terms of how the recording process went down, he filled me in; “We always record separately. We have done that for many years now, so we don’t meet up to do each other’s parts, but rather we record our own things in our own home studios and then as a producer I put it all together and make it into a coherent thing.”
I was also curious how the band found its newest member, drummer Robin Nilsson, to which he filled me in; “So Robin was a person that has figured in our scene as to say for many years, both as a drummer for his other band Cruel Intentions, but also as a session drummer for a lot of bands. So we knew of him and we were acquainted with him, we met him on tours and stuff like that, on festivals, so we knew what kind of guy he was and we knew that he was musically up for the challenge. He was actually the first one that we contacted and tried out, so there were never any real tryouts with other people.”
As a huge fan of the band’s inventive music videos (including their latest ones, “Little Miss Dangerous” and “Hunt For Danger”), I also wanted to know more about their creative processes. He enlightened me; “So, we the band, do a lot of the work when it comes to the music videos. Basically we hire a guy to do the actual filming since we’re in front of the camera, so we have a guy showing up with the gear and doing the actual filming. But other than that, all the concepts, the scripts, most of the sets, a lot of the lighting, the contacts with the different actors or actresses and clothing, everything falls on the band. So it’s very much a DIY thing when it comes to music videos, so there’s a lot of work that we put down to make them look the way they do and then afterwards I do the editing and cut the video into what you finally see. So yeah, we’re very involved in it and do most of it ourselves. They were both filmed in or around my hometown of Malmö, Sweden, and that’s usually the case. We don’t have the budgets to be able to travel far.”
He continued; “I’ve always wanted to do a video with a desert setting that you see a lot of it, especially with the American bands from the ’80s. But the geography around here just doesn’t look like that, so that would have become quite an expensive trip for us to do. But who knows, maybe in the future. But as for now, we usually tend to stay quite close around these parts, southern Sweden.”
I’ve often heard the term “sleaze rock” to describe the sound of Crazy Lixx, but in comparison to many of their contemporaies (who often take things to over the top, crass levels), I never felt this was a fair analogy. I inquired Danny’s thoughts on the matter, and he informed me; “I think for every genre, there are things that just become very stereotypical, and I think for our genre, the stereotype is probably a lot of focus on decadence and partying, and blatant references to sex or something like that. So I tend to stay away from those. The song can still be about those things, but I think it’s better to kind of hide them in metaphors or make it interesting in some way, rather than just being very outspoken about it, because I think that falls flat. And you can see that in a lot of the bands, I would say a lot of the poorer bands around that time, that ultimately the only thing they ever sing about is drinking and doing drugs and girls. The sex, drug and rock and roll myth. So yeah, I try to stay away from those.”
He continued further; “Also, I’d say I try to not be overly political or ideological for that matter, because I think that’s usually just divisive for the audience to be. And maybe if you’re a punk band, that would serve you right, but not for me.”
With Friday the 13th: The Game, recently making news again after its online service shut down at the end of last year, I was also interested in some insight on how the band originally got involved with contributing music to it, and how big of a fan of the series Rexon personally was prior to it. He told me; “When it comes to the movie series, I was actually more into the Nightmare onElmStreet franchise. And of course, the character of Jason is so iconic, so I was very much familiar with them. But in terms of the movies, I wasn’t the biggest fan. But of course, it was very cool to get the opportunity to do that, since it was at the time a official licensed Friday the 13th product.”
He reflected further; “So we are now a part of the whole legacy and a part of the (Friday the 13th) franchise. Even if legal matters have been complicated after that, from what I understand. But yeah, we got involved basically because the team behind The Game, the producers of The Game, they had a programmer on their team that was a fan of our music. And when they started working on The Game, they decided quite early on to make it an ’80s setting. And the initial plan was to license music from that era, like, you know, real music from that era. They were in touch with Alice Cooper about “The Man Behind the Mask” and stuff like that. But they figured very quickly that it was just too expensive. So instead, they started reaching out to contemporary artists, but that had a very retro sounding style. So they had a bunch of synth wave there, I know, some like ’80s flavored pop, and of course, also us doing the rock side of it.”
He concluded; “So it was pure luck, I guess. Someone on the team knew about us and they suggested reaching out to us about it. And I ended up writing three songs with The Game in mind. And it was a bit tough, because I was also told that I couldn’t make any really blatant references to Jason or Friday the 13th, because the license didn’t cover that. So I couldn’t name him, I couldn’t say, you know, Crystal Lake or whatever. I couldn’t do his iconic sound that he does. So I had to kind of beat about the bush and still make it about him. So that’s something I think you can hear in the lyrics as well. It’s pretty obvious what it’s about, but I don’t say it out loud.”
I also inquired with Danny if there were any bands on his bucket list he’d still like to share the stage with, and he filled me in; “Well, one of my dream come true bands that was on my bucket list was Kiss, but I think that maybe that opportunity has now passed. But that’s one of my favorite bands that I would really like to have had the chance to play with. Another one would be Iron Maiden, even if I’m not sure that their audience is like, you know, totally geared towards our music. But as a big fan of the band, that would be awesome as well. We haven’t actually toured a lot with bands, so apart from festival stages, I can’t really say that we’ve had the opportunity to play with any like, you know, dream come true bands yet. But I may be setting the bar quite high, because a lot of my favorite bands are quite big bands. For some reason, I’ve always been very into the ones that were very successful, you know, your Bon Jovi or Def Leppard or you know, Alice Cooper or whatever.”
As far as any upcoming gigs go? “We have a lot of stuff in the pipeline. A lot of stuff is already confirmed, but we can’t reveal it yet, because we’re waiting for the festivals to do that. But we’re looking at coming to the US finally. Well, we’ve been there before, but it was quite a long time ago, and we’ve only played, you know, the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which is not really mainland USA. But now we’re going to do a trip that will incorporate a few gigs on land this time. So that’s looking promising. And as I said, you know, we’ll be announcing a lot of stuff in the coming weeks, I assume. So it’s going to be a good summer.”
And lastly, I asked Danny what the future holds for him and Crazy Lixx. He stated; “I think, you know, I’m happy if we just keep growing and keep getting opportunities to come out and play to more people, visit more countries. And, you know, when you start out as a young person with a band, you have plans of world domination. And at some point, you kind of, you know, take a step back and realize what you can realistically achieve. And for me, it’s always been the goal of having this band or music in general as my, you know, my livelihood. And that has become the case in recent years. So I’m very happy with the situation as it is.”
He ended by saying; “And even if the band would just stay at this level, I’d be happy and content. But of course, I want it to become bigger and achieve more success. So we’ll see what happens. I have a good feeling about this album, and maybe we can build something from it. But you never know.”
Long before I ever met my wife/Rewind It Magazine Photographer Brooke (or even founding Rewind It itself, for that matter) there was a period of much uncertainty and loneliness for me. For several years I was a single father hustling to keep my head above water, working full time (often overnights) while freelancing as a music journalist on the side and raising my son (thank God for the likes of my parents and certain other friends and family for being there during that time period, too).
But one thing was always a definite; I could always count on the likes of Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine to be there for me each and every Saturday night via That MetalShow on VH1 Classic. It was a small bright spot that I always looked forward to to help ease the void that was still very much present back in those days.
Needless to say, when the chance to speak to one of the aforementioned hosts of this show that once provided me with so much comic relief way back when, I couldn’t say no. I was able to speak with Jim from his New Jersey home (yet another thing we share in common aside from our love of heavy metal – I too originally hail from the Garden State) this past Monday, February 17, where the subject matter encompassed much of his past and present endeavors.
Knowing Jim would be performing at The Social in Orlando, FL this upcoming Saturday, February 22, one of the first things I asked was how familiar he was with central FL. He told me; “I’ve been to Orlando a bunch of times and recorded two of my comedy albums there. It’s a great market for comedy – Florida just in general is really – there’s always great crowds there. I’ll be in Atlanta the night before on Friday as well, and I’m looking forward to just getting down there and out of the cold!” (Laughs).
Of course I had to inquire about his time on That Metal Show and what originally lead to it. He filled me in; “Eddie Trunk had a radio show in New York, and I became friends with him as well as Don Jamieson. One day he just said ‘I know someone over at VH1 that we’re going to pitch this heavy metal talk show idea to and see if they go for it or not.’ And they pitched it and got it, and it wound up being on for eight years or so. It was great little run we had.”
In the span of those eight years, the three co-hosts were able to interview some of rock’s greatest icons, and I wanted to know if there were any that really stuck out more than others for him. Florentine said; “Almost every episode we did there was someone there I couldn’t believe we were talking to! Whether it was Angus Young of AC/DC, Marilyn Manson, Ted Nugent, the guys from Rush, or even the late, great, Ronnie James Dio. And I didn’t even have to do any research because I’ve been wanting to ask these guys questions for years, which was great!”
As far as the trio’s relationships goes today? Jim stated; “Don and I still tour together sometimes doing stand-up. We’re all still friends, all still in New Jersey, so we still talk and hang out from time to time.” He continued; “If you grow up together liking heavy metal and still like it later in life, you still have those friends. You just bond over that music.”
Many of you may also recall Florentine voiced the characters of Bobby and Special Ed on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers. I asked what that experience was like doing as well, to which he replied; “Well it was Jimmy Kimmel’s and Adam Carolla’s show, so when I would go in to record in the studio to make the calls, they would always be there as the producers of the show. Either way I couldn’t believe I was there getting paid to make prank phone calls (Laughs). I was just happy I had two characters though.”
As far as what else occupies much of his time now, Jim informed me; “I’ve been doing my podcast, Everybody’s Awful since 2011. I also do a music show on Ozzy’s Boneyard on Sirus XM. So I keep myself busy for sure.” Be sure to check all of these out, as well as Florentine’s Orlando show on Saturday night!
Up until about a week ago, I truly thought the closest I would ever come to having any contact with a member of legendary ’60s rockers The Doors would be when I saw Ian Astbury – who at one time stepped in the shoes of late frontman Jim Morrison with The Doors of the 21st Century (a.k.a. Manzarek-Krieger) in the early 2000’s – on stage with The Cult back in 2001.
But alas, as fate would have it, the chance to pick away at the brain of Doors co-founder and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Robby Kreiger presented itself recently, and it was impossible to resist. Krieger just recently released a new album with The Soul Savages, an instrumental effort infused with jazz, and psychedelic rock that became our initial main topic of conversation.
One of the first things I wanted to know was what fans could expect from said new album. He stated; “I hope they can expect to hear me grow as a guitar player and writer…otherwise why bother?” He continued enlightening me with his personal favorite track from the record, saying “My fave lately is “Contrary Motion,” I think it’s pretty advanced musically.”
Krieger filled me in on the lineup of the band as well; “Kevin Brandon – who has played with me on other projects in the past – plays bass (quite well I might add). And (Lenny Kravitz drummer) Franklin Vanderbilt handles drums, and Ed Roth (keyboards) was the first guy I hooked up with for this project.” As far as any touring plans might go for the group he informed me; “Depending on how much radio play, I hope so. We’ll definitely do the local (California-based) clubs like The Baked Potato and Vibrato.”
I was also curious what his relationship with former bandmate and Doors drummer John Densmore was like today, and if there were any potential plans to possibly play together again someday. He told me; “We talk quite often and I’m sure we’ll play together again.”
There were two things regarding Krieger’s work while in The Doors that I really wanted to know; what his personal favorite track from the band’s catalog was, and how he felt looking back on the post-Jim Morrison albums Other Voices and Full Circle that he and late keyboardist Ray Manzarek each shared vocal duties on. He stated; “My fav lately is “Wishful Sinful.” And we wrote that stuff fully expecting Jim to come back from Paris and record. Would’ve helped a bit to have his voice there.”
If I had to pinpoint my introduction to The Doors, it likely came via the 1987 film The LostBoys, in which Echo & the Bunnymen’s cover of “People Are Strange” plays a big part in the beginning. I was curious what his opinion of said cover was, and he declared; “Not bad! In fact I recently sat in with them at a festival in Long Beach. Was fun!” And keeping with the theme of The Doors in film, I also wanted to know how he felt about Actor Frank Whaley’s portrayal of him in the 1991 Oliver Stone film TheDoors. He responded; “I thought he was pretty good, but not good-looking enough (Laughs).”
And lastly, I wanted to know what else was on the bucket list for Krieger; “Need to have an instrumental hit like Booker T…maybe it will come from this album!”
For many years now, bassist Jeff Pilson has been someone I’ve held much respect for (as one bass player to another), and has been on my radar to interview for quite some time now. But with someone with as many fires consistently burning as Pilson has, that is not always an easy feat. Currently, Pilson is still rocking stages with classic rockers Foreigner, and has two new albums soon to drop with both “supergroups” Revolution Saints, and The End Machine.
My patience finally paid off this past Tuesday, January 30, when I was finally able to sit down and speak with Jeff regarding all of the previously-mentioned projects of his, as well as touch upon other aspects of his storied career, including playing in such other legendary acts as Dokken and Dio.
With new music from Revolution Saints looming on the horizon, I wanted to jump right on the subject of that group right away, and asked a little about how his involvement with them initially came about. He explained; “It was a project originally conceived by (Frontiers President and mastermind) Serafino Perugino, and just one of those things that I just couldn’t resist. I had already met and worked with (Whitesnake guitarist) Joel Hoekstra over the years, and (Journey drummer) Deen Castronovo is just a total powerhouse in everything he does. It’s all come together fairly organically, and definitely looking forward to the new album.” (AgainsttheWinds will be dropping via Frontiers Music s.r.l. on February 9.)
Having a chance to already preview said upcoming album, I personally had a favorite track from it in mind already, and wondered if Jeff possibly had one as well. He told me; “I wouldn’t say I necessarily have a favorite track per se, since I tend to gauge things as a whole. I’d say the entire record is really solid overall.”
As previously alluded to, Pilson has also been busy once more with The End Machine, a project he started with former Dokken bandmate George Lynch in 2018. I asked him what could be expected with their upcoming third album, The Quantum Phase (set to be released in March), and he explained; “Well, it’s our first album with our new singer Girish Pradhan, who’s just such an amazing young talent that brings so much to the table. His vocal styles really compliment the band, and we’re extremely excited for everyone to hear the end results!”
2024 also marks twenty solid years for Pilson as a member of Foreigner, and I had to know what it was like for him when he first joined a band of such stature. He told me; “It’s been nothing short of phenomenal, having grown up listening to so many of those classic songs over the years and then having the chance to be up there actually playing them live has been such a joy. And we’re definitely excited to be getting out there this year and doing one last major stretch of the whole nine-months-out-of-the-year touring cycle.”
I was also curious what it was like playing quite possibly one of the greatest power ballads of all time every night in the form of “I Want to Know What Love Is” (which actually turns forty years old this year), and Pilson stated; “To this day I still get goosebumps from playing it and hearing the crowd sing it back to us. It’s just one of those timeless songs that everyone knows and loves, I’ve always personally loved it, along with “Waiting For a Girl Like You.”‘
And speaking of power ballads, I also wanted to know if he felt “Alone Again,” the very first ballad he had ever co-written while a member of Dokken, still holds up to this day. Pilson explained; “Don (Dokken, lead singer) already had the bare bones for that song for quite some time, and I just came in and helped complete it. I’d say it definitely holds up though – being told from the perspective of someone longing for something they cannot have will always no doubt be a fairly universal theme.”
Of course I wouldn’t be a good journalist if I didn’t at least inquire if the chance for a reunion (or even possibly a one-off show or two) with Dokken could someday be a possibility in the distant horizon. Pilson stated; “I wouldn’t ever rule anything out entirely (because there’s always a chance), but I know he currently has his new album out that he’s still promoting at the moment, and I’m definitely busy with all of the projects I currently have going on right now as well, so it’s definitely not a necessity at this given time.”
I also couldn’t resist to ask what it was like filming the video for “Dream Warriors” (from 1987’s ANightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), and if he was a fan of horror films prior to that moment. He told me; “I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan of horror films before that, but I always liked the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and working with Robert (Englund) and being around him as Freddy was a ton of fun, and just a total blast on set!”
As if being a member of each of the previously-mentioned bands was not enough already, Pilson also spent some time on-and-off with the legendary Dio in the ’90s and early 2000’s. I asked him to tell me a little about what that experience was like for him, and, of the three albums he recorded with them, if he had a personal favorite. He enlightened me; “That was another dream come true, to be up there alongside someone like Ronnie James Dio – what more can you ask for?! But I’d have to say (1993’s) Strange Highways was probably my favorite to record; I’d say I was definitely more involved with that one over the others, and truly captured where the band was at at the time the most.”
Last but not least, I had to ask about his involvement with the 2001 Mark Wahlberg film Rock Star (one of my personal favorites), where he played the part of Jorgen in the fictional band Steel Dragon. He informed me; “Well, I was already involved with working on the music for the film at the time, so it seemed only a natural fit to play in the band on screen. I still had to audition for the role like anyone else, but I must’ve done something right…though I’m still not holding my breath for Hollywood to knock down my door again to this day” (Laughs).
Sometimes, projects will present themselves across my desk that are hard to say “no” to, and it almost always turns out for the better when I do agree to say “yes,” no matter who the artist may be. A perfect example; Firefall guitarist and co-founder Jock Bartley, who, thanks to the assistance of an old “friend” of the Rewind It fam, the opportunity to pick Bartley’s brain recently presented itself, and turned out to be another eye-opening experience that I’m glad to have jumped on.
First and foremost I was curious what was in store for him and Firefall in 2024. He informed me; “Firefall are in the process of making our new album Friends & Family 2 right now – it’ll most likely be released by May of 2024. The first Friends & Family album was released in early 2023 and had an amazing ‘concept’. Many of the original FF members – Mark Andes, Michael Clarke, Rick Roberts & I – played in other famous bands of the day: The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Spirit, JoJo Gunne, Heart, Dan Fogelberg, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, etc. And secondly, Firefall toured a lot (and got to be friends with) many top groups in 1976 after our first album hit real big – Doobie Bros., Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Loggins & Messina, etc. So the Friends & Family album was our band lovingly and respectfully re-creating songs by all those other famous band It got quite a bit of attention in 2023 and consequently, we decided to record a follow-up album for 2024. Same concept, playing great songs by other great bands we either toured with or we’re ‘in’ for a spell. It’s a new group of songs we compiled originally by Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys, America, Kenny Loggins and others. I’m in the studio this week finishing solos and vocals on a few of those new songs. It’s exciting to be doing this!!!”
He then added; “And as for touring in 2024 – We will be doing a 6-day ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise’ again in the Caribbean in March 2024 with 12-15 other famous bands. And playing a big number of co-headlining and headlining concerts across the U.S.A.”
I asked how he felt said latest release was received, and he told me; “Well, we got quite a lot of interviews and press on Friends & Family which was really fantastic since FF, other than touring a lot, has been out of the public consciousness with any of our newer recordings. But we made a few entertainment waves. We didn’t get much “radio” airplay, which was not a surprise (getting a song on any radio stations is a very tough proposition these days, much harder than back in the ‘70s when good songs could get played without being on a corporate playlist). But the album was VERY well received and got many fantastic reviews nationwide and even worldwide. Those positive reviews made me personally, as producer/band leader/lead guitarist, feel satisfied and thankful. Many of them said that our versions of those songs by other artists were “true” to the original band’s versions, recorded with respect and love for those songs (and the ’70s music they belonged to), and that those ‘cover songs’ still sounded like Firefall music and how great our band’s songs have been on record. And I was congratulated by some to have kept the guitar solos on our new versions, true and very reminiscent of the original soloists. On a few songs like Fogelberg’s ‘Part Of The Plan’ or Spirit’s “I Got A Line On You’, I pretty much learned and played verbatim Dan’s or Randy California’s original signature solos like they originally played them – that’s what those solos needed to be (and as you may already know, I asked Howard Lesse of Heart and Badfinger if he would play the solo on ‘What About Love’, the Heart song we covered). On other songs like Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” or Marshall Tucker’s “Can’t You See,” I just played guitar solos ‘reminiscent’ of those great solos played by the Skynyrd boys or Toy Caldwell. Friends & Family was a labor of love (and respect for that great music of the ’70s that Firefall played a small but vibrant role in). We’re lucky in that sense, to have toured with many of those bands and had saturation radio airplay of our own FF songs in the ‘70s, written by Rick Roberts and Larry Burnett.”
I also wanted to know of all the tracks on Friends & Family, if he had a favorite. He replied; “Tough question! The one song that still stands out as the perfect song to have chosen, and the perfect re-imagining and ‘alteration’ of the original tune I think is “Angry Eyes” by Loggins & Messina; that song is so like FF and what we sound like to start with; it was a natural selection (where other song choices like Heart and the Doobies were quite difficult). The original L&M version is probably about eight minutes long with long 1970’s segways of solos and instrumentation – I had to really try to capture the essence of the sax solo and guitar solos, while at the same time, pairing the arrangement down pretty significantly. Other favorites of mine are: “Part of the Plan” by Dan Fogelberg; just because we kept right to the original script of his recording and ours’ is energetic and fun, and sounds just right. My other fav is “What About Love” by Heart. That was a tough selection; what song by the Wilson sisters should we do??!! Yikes. New FF Lead singer John Bisaha said he could sing the hell out of ‘What About Love’ and bingo!! As it turns out, we deliberately made the intro sound like our hit “Strange Way” from 1978 and also kept that in mind on the acoustic guitars on the verses. And both John And I are good friends with Howard Lesse from Heart – who played the original great solo on the Heart version – and taking his solo, I learned it and played in unison with my lead guitar sound, so there are two of Howards solo tracks and one of mine (all playing his same unison melodic solo), and we ended up with a very striking and unique guitar solo on ‘our’ version.
With decades worth of memories in the music industry as a member of Firefall, I was curious to know what some of his favorite actually were. He enlightened me; “There are a few of those songs with great memories attached to them for me; “Chest Fever” by The Band makes me remember opening dozens of shows for that great group in 1976, one of America’s greatest ever musical groups. And all those times after FF had played our opening act set, I sat behind the curtain and watched close-up the amazing Levon Helm play drums and sing, and Garth Hudson weave his magical keyboard parts. And of course Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson, and Richard Manuel – they were my heroes!!! And also of course ‘Feel A Whole Lot Better’ by The Byrds has a special place in my heart. Not only did Byrds drummer Michael Clarke play drums for Firefall, but bassist Chris Hillman contributed quite a lot to our band’s inception and sound. Chris produced our 3-song demo tape (paid for by Warner Bros) that would lead to getting our record deal with Atlantic. And that Byrds songs (to me) was one of their best, written by the late great Gene Clark. The Byrds were/are at the center of Firefall’s ‘Family Tree’!!”
I asked if he’d elaborate a little on how all of the original members initially got involved, and he further explained; “Cool story!! It’s an example of the inter-meshing, intertwining and ’synergy’ of so many musicians and bands back in the 1960s and ’70s!! Gram Parsons joined the rock and roll Byrds and took them for one album in a very ‘country’ direction. Soon-thereafter, Gram quit the Byrds, and Byrds’ bassist Chris Hillman joined Gram in forming the Flying Burrito Bros. That core of L.A. musicians (in addition to The Buffalo Springfield & later Poco) pretty much invented the new genre of music at the time, ‘country’ rock (Rick Nelson and Michael Nesmith were in that ‘country rock’ musical experimentation in Los Angeles, too). When Gram Parsons quit the Flying Burrito Bros., Chris Hillman hired ‘new kid in L.A.’ Rick Roberts to replace GP. They made records together and toured the U.S. and Europe. While in Washington DC, after a Burrito Bros concert at the Cellar Door, Rick Roberts went to a club to hear local folksinger Emmylou Harris, she was amazing and Rick called Chris to come down and hear this phenomenal singer, which he did. They ‘ discovered’ Emmylou Harris and Chris called his friend Gram in L.A., and Chris quit the Burritos. For me – to have fallen into Gram & Emmylou’s band, The Fallen Angels, was a stroke of pure luck and ‘being at the right place at the right time’. On the road with Gram & Emmylou, in NYC Rick Roberts came to hear us and I met him at that show. We discovered we both lived in Boulder, Colo. and vowed to get together to jam. Rick thought he’d be making his third solo album on A&M Records, but when bassist Mark Andes joined our jam sessions, it felt like a BAND!!! Rick flew singer/songwriter Larry Burnett out to Boulder, and in that first week of rehearsals, we had 20-25 original songs by Rick and Larry to work out, WOW! Unheard of. Then Michael Clarke joined the band and we were set (Keyboard/sax/flute player David Muse joined the band to make our first album too). That’s the origins of Firefall.”
With the band’s 1976 hit “You Are The Woman” remaining their most popular to date, I asked if the track was ever a hindrance at all for the band. He stated; “Funny you should ask that! That question is a double-edged sword. A huge positive and a minor restricting ‘negative.’ On the one side, having a song as big a hit as “You Are The Woman” was and is fantastic and has kept the band working for 30 years – it got to be #1 on the Easy Listening charts!!! Top Ten on the regular charts in 1976. On the other side of it though, that song is kind of white bread pop music and isn’t a ‘rock’ song (like the band is really a ‘rock’ band), and has been somewhat of a ‘hindrance,’ with potential fans and the music industry thinking that Firefall is simply a light poppy band with a few big hit love ballads. But we’re a diverse rock band with ‘folk rock’ and ‘country rock’ roots, and our material (which gave us two platinum and three gold records) with a wide range of ’styles’ and impacts. We go a lot deeper than that, and unfortunately lots of people don’t know that. I thank my lucky starts to have “You Are the Woman” and “Just Remember I Love You” be as big as hit songs as they were/are. But the band has much wider range than those love ballads and can hold our own on stage on a bill with the likes of 38 Special, Doobies & REO Speedwagon!
And lastly, with original bassist Mark Andes having recently retired in 2022, I asked what it was like not having him by his side on stage any more. He told me; “Mark’s a few years older than I am, he totally got fed up with the physical grind of touring – airports, long drives, hotels, etc. I get that. The only ‘fun’ part of being on the road now is the GIG itself, being on stage for 45 or 90 minutes, everything else is a physical, mental and psychic DRAIN. So I get it. And the band greatly misses Mark’s amazing and unique bass playing on stage and in the studio. Mark Andes is one of the best bassists on the planet – he’s been in rock star bands in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and beyond – over five decades! But he wanted to be done with it all. And because Mark left the band, I suddenly was forced into finding a bassist who could sing high vocals (or maybe have Steve Weinmeister move over to bass and then find a second lead guitarist who could sing high). Then all of a sudden John Bisaha, lead vocalist and bassist for The Babys, became available. First time I heard him sing a lead vocal, I was astounded by how great a singer he was!!! And he was a very good bassist too. Fortunately The Babys weren’t touring much or recording at all…and it became a perfect fit for John. Having John Bisaha and Steven Weinmeister be the two lead vocalists now in Firefall, who sounded fantastic on our new 2023 album Friends & Family and currently making a F&F2 album featuring their lead vocals – is amazing, fantastic, the best lead vocal pairing FF’s had since the ’70s. Steve and John have become best of friends and – Voila! – Firefall vocals are as good if not better than they’ve ever been live AND in the studio since the 1970s heyday of the band (and as third lead singer in the ‘vocal blend’ and producer of these albums, I’m in high heaven working with these two!). They can sing anything, high or low, tough or tender. Here comes Firefall’s Friends & Family 2 album in mid-2024!!!
Many moons ago, long before Facebook had taken over as the social media giants they would soon become, there was this little site people connected on called Myspace. At the time, I was new to navigating it, and just starting to feel my way around the world of journalism. Looking to score my first interview piece for the magazine I was writing for at the same time, one of the first celebrities I ever followed and reached out to was one I had always been a fan of growing up; Courtney Gains of The‘Burbs and Children of the Corn fame.
I cannot recall if I ever did hear back regarding my interview inquiry back then or not, but for whatever reason, the moment was simply not meant to be. Fast forward to 2023, where after a solid fifteen years of writing about entertainment for various media outlets has lead to a number of interview opportunities actually presenting themselves to my desktop on nearly a daily basis. One of those recently being none other than Gains, who admittedly I did not realize until fairly recently was also an accomplished musician with a new studio release on the way at the time (in addition to still being a talented actor).
So I jumped at the chance to finally speak with Gains one-on-one, and after finally settling on a mutual day and time, sat down for a phone conversation with him. With a body of work in film that stretches all the way back to the early ’80s, I decided to start off with his music endeavors first, and asked just how long he had been playing for, and what instrument he originally started off with. He told me; “I started taking (guitar) lessons when I was thirteen years old. I’ve been in bands in LA for a number of years, probably from about the time I was eighteen. So it’s always been my side hustle/hobby; it wasn’t how I was making a living (back then), but I was always pursuing it. But this time around I’m really doing my own project as opposed to being in ‘a band.’ The last project that I had before this current one was a band called Ripple Street, and the last album we put out was just a straight break-up record. I played guitar and sang with them, but in this band I really wanted a better guitar player, so I actually play bass and sing, which has been an interesting process for me.”
I decided to dive right into his new EP, Safe Haven, which he had just started officially promoting the week prior to our conversation. Regarding it he informed me; “It’s a six-song EP, all rock ‘n roll and blues, and all things I want to talk about that I think are a little whacked out. For example, I have a song called “The Healer” that’s the point of view of an egotistical plastic surgeon (Laughs). Then there’s songs like “Bills in Space” about the billionaire space race, stuff like that.”
He continued his point regarding the latter song; “I think it’s funny some of the ‘greater minds’ spend all this money so they can go out into space…how about solve some of the problems right here first? (Laughs). What I’ve learned though is you just never know the impact something’s going to have on someone. By talking about/promoting this and getting it out there, there might be at least one person that it effects. If you just put yourself out there, you just never know the impact it’s going to make.”
I wanted to know if he had a personal favorite track from the record, to which he said; “Someone else recently asked me a similar question, and I had to go with “Good Times;” I’ve been playing that song for over twenty years. Three of the songs on the record are songs I’ve had around for awhile, and they all appeared in a movie called Benny Bliss and the Disciples of Greatness from 2009 that I produced and starred in that had an anti-technology message, so there’s definitely a theme there of things that I’m not too keen on (Laughs). But that song has been around forever and is the type of song that just gets people up on their feet, so it’s good to finally get that one out there.”
Gains informed me; “We’ve been really gigging for the last eight or nine months, and it’s all been gearing up for hitting the road next year to really promote the record, that’s what this has all been really heading towards. It also ties in with Children of the Corn’s 40th anniversary next year, so it will definitely be a big convention year for me in 2024. I’ve been doing horror conventions for fifteen years or so now, and it’s been a good run. But I’m getting kind of tired of the traveling and jumping on plans and all that, so I think I’m going to call it and go out on a big note.”
Gains continued; “But it’s good timing-wise, because I can also promote the music during this same run. We’re even talking about doing some 35mm print screenings of the film with some Q&A’s and the band playing.” And as far as if this might make it to Florida, he told me; “We’re going to start coordinating all that soon. I don’t know for sure if there’s any art houses or places in Florida that want to screen it yet, but if they do, we’ll show up!”
As far as landing the role of Malachai in Children… all those years ago, Gains enlightened me of the process; “I had to audition, which I still often do. There was this casting director named Linda Francis who had seen me in a showcase, which were just starting to happen in LA. They would invite agents and casting directors down and you’d present a scene, and if they liked you they might take your picture or whatever. And she took a liking to me and was really the first person to become a ‘fan.’ She cast me in this one film that ended up not happening, but she was the one that kept pushing for me, and really made a big difference in my life.”
He continued further; “But the famous story goes that in the first reading for Children…, I pulled a fake knife on the reader, who didn’t know that it was fake and about wet himself! He’s since gone on to be a huge casting director, and to this day will use that moment as an example at his lectures and tell people to never do that…which I agree, but at the time I was just young and hungry, although that’s a good way to never get called back again (Laughs)! Then the second audition was with John Franklin who played Issac, and I was grabbing/lifting him up by his lapels, and he said I was by far the scariest one in the room, and the rest is history! That was both his and mine’s first film, and we’re still tight and do conventions together to this day.”
I was also curious if Gains had been a Stephen King fan prior to appearing in a film based off of the writer’s work. He told me; “I didn’t really realize how big he was (or was going to be) at the time, but thank God for that, we’ve been riding Stephen King’s coat tails for almost forty years now (Laughs).” And as far as the numerous entries in the franchise that have come since? Gains told me; I saw the sixth one which John (Franklin) returned for, and I did see the Sy Fy reboot that the producer of the original one, Don Borchers, also returned for – and that was alright. I was supposed to actually do a cameo for that, but I wasn’t able to do it because I was actually at a con in Florida at the time, and the weather didn’t permit, so it didn’t end up happening.”
I asked about his follow up to Children…, the 1984 sex comedy Hardbodies, and what that was like filming, and Gains joked; “It was terrible! I got to hang out on the beach all day with hot girls, so it was just absolutely brutal! (Laughs). But I got that part because I would go to this class that the director (Mark Griffiths) would have on Sunday nights, and he took a real liking to me. So when he got greenlit to do that film, he more or less tailored made that role for me, which was basically mine to not blow.”
As far as that sweet checkered hat he wore in the film and hanging out with the all-female rock group Vixen at the time, he informed me; “I put that whole outfit together, and remember actually getting in a fight with the wardrobe lady (Laughs). She was living closer to the south beach areas and what was going on with the kids down there, but I was going for more of a skateboarder vibe. I’d say a good seventy percent of that wardrobe was all stuff of mine, and I had that checkered hat for a number of years afterwards, but I’m not sure whatever happened to it. I do remember the first day driving in Malibu like that though and people were just laughing. But hey, it was already getting a reaction, so I must’ve been on to something! (Laughs).”
And when it came to seeing a pre-famous Vixen on the set; “I was walking from a trailer down this alleyway in Venice Beach, and I heard them as they were actually in the garage rehearsing (just like the scene they appear in the movie), and I thought they’re pretty cool! Then I remember a few years later seeing their poster up somewhere and being blown away by how huge they had become. I thought they were just a band they had put together for the movie (Laughs).”
The following year Gains appeared in the film that would kick off one of the biggest trilogies of all time, 1985’s Back to the Future. Although his role was brief, I asked how it felt to be a part of such a blockbuster series. He explained; “To be associated with that franchise in anyway is a pretty mind-blowing, amazing thing. My character had already been dropped one time, and if you’re doing a movie they can only drop you one time, and if they bring you back they can’t drop you again. So they had already dropped me once in the middle of all the chaos of re-shooting everything after dropping Eric Stoltz in the lead role and replacing him with Michael J. Fox. Still to this day, one of the top residual checks I get is from Back to the Future, so it’s been a financial blessing in my life.”
Ironically Gains would go on to co-star with Stoltz after all in the somewhat forgotten classic, 1990’s Memphis Belle. I asked his thoughts on the film today; “The timing was bad because it came out right when the first Iraqi war broke out, and no one wanted to go see a war movie at the time. But still a very good film with some top-notch people involved with it.”
Of course one cannot forget his role as the nerdy best friend to Patrick Dempsey in 1987’s Can’tBuy Me Love. Regarding the film he stated; “Well, it’s definitely had an impact. It was a just the second film for this little indie company called Apollo Pictures which I had already done another movie for. It was originally this low budget film called Boy Meets Girl, and then Disney picked it up with their new division called Touchstone Pictures, and they dumped some more money into it to do some re-shoots and take all of the bad jokes out of it (Laughs). And then they bought the rights to (The Beatles song) “Can’t Buy Me Love” – which was not cheap – and then they made that the title, which really took it to the next level. But that movie was like the the number three movie that summer, and really launched Patrick Dempsey’s career.”
But perhaps the most memorable role of Gains’ career to this day (aside from Malachai) will always be Hans Klopek, creepy neighbor to Tom Hanks in 1989’s The ‘Burbs. Gains stated; “That’s the one that I think is really the most underrated. While we were shooting it, Big had just come out, which was just a huge hit for Tom Hanks. Comparatively they were disappointed, but thanks to home video and all that it really kept getting out there, and it wasn’t until I started doing conventions years later that I realized that there was a whole like dedicated, underground, ‘Burbs community out there (Laughs). There’s people that tell me stories that this was the movie they used to watch with their parents, and now watch with their own kids. It seems to be the movie the whole family agrees on, and I even had a guy tell me it’s the movie his mom watches when she gets depressed! You can never underestimate the impact that a movie can have on people. It’s pretty cool.”
He continued his thoughts on the film; “I had a good time working on it, though. Joe Dante was a nice guy to work for, and Tom Hanks was the most down-to-Earth A-lister you’re ever going to meet. I was (and still am) a huge Bruce Dern fan, so for him to recognize my work at all meant the world to me (and still does). And ironically there was a writer’s strike going on at the time (which we have one going on right now), and it was just us and Fletch Lives shooting on the entire Universal lot, and we got those movies in right before the strike.”
Bruce Dern puts Gains in a chokehold in a still shot from The ‘Burbs (1989).
He then briefly stayed on the topic of the current writer’s strike; “I’ve been seeing the writing on the wall for this coming for a long time now. I was very aware that the residual checks had been becoming less and less and the industry was getting worse for awhile. That’s why I moved out to the southeast, it’s more live-able and also opened me up to the whole east market including, New York. Last year I did a movie in New Jersey called The Wrath of Becky, and that was a great role, and I’m pretty happy with it.”
With Halloween just around the corner, I also wanted to know Gains’ thoughts on his cameo appearance in Rob Zombie’s 2007 version of Halloween. He stated; “It’s pretty crazy how many times they’ve re-booted the movies at this point! But I think that Rob knows his horror, and does try to make a point to bring people from the genre into his films, so I was happy to be a part of that. I had a friend of mine who had worked with Rob before that gave me a really great piece of advice, which was to be prepared that Rob might just completely go off script if he doesn’t like the way something is going. And that turned out to be the greatest advice, because what Rob’s trying to find is the truth of a scene, and I really appreciate that. A lot of times directors get so caught up in the process of moving things along, they don’t stay in the process and try to make something good out of it.”
He went into greater detail; “So what was supposed to be one day’s worth of work turned into another because we kept working it and adding stuff to it. It was such a nasty, disturbing scene though that nobody wanted to hang around the monitor to watch it, and I’ve never seen that before. But I like the way Rob works, and he has a great sense of the vibe and design of a scene. He knows what he likes and what his audience likes, and has a very great sense of all that.
This very weekend (which happens to kick off with a Friday the 13th!) is primed to be a busy one for Gains, as he informed me; “There’s a haunted house out in the woods in North Carolina called the Haunted Pyramids, and my band will be playing two nights there on the 14th and 15th. So we’ll be playing for a bunch of horror fans out there. All the rest of the bands are going to be metal except ours, but we’re going to go out there and rock their asses off anyway! (Laughs).”
And with Halloween just around the corner, the last thing I wanted to know was whether or not Gains had any sort of personal annual traditions for the holiday at all (it should be noted, in addition to all of the films previously mentioned, Gains has also appeared in the likes of more recent seasonal films such as 2015’s The Funhouse Massacre and 2019’s Candy Corn). He told me; “I’m the worst (laughs), because like, what do I do for a living? I get dressed up in costumes! And I’m usually doing conventions around this time, so Halloween is usually my day off! (Laughs).”
Nicholas Caruso is a busy man to say the least; not only is he co-owner of one of the best local places around to find band shirts, Rock Stop (which has multiple locations in the central, FL area), he’s also a part of not one, but three separate tribute bands, including his most recent one, the Pearl Jam-inspired act, Black Ledbetter, which he leads.
Over the years, I’ve caught up with Nicholas (or “Nicko,” as he often goes by) a time or two, but had still yet to do an “official” interview with him (though the subject had been brought up on more than one occasion). Thankfully, we were able to finally put an end to that with a recent chat, just ahead of Caruso pulling double-duty with both Black Ledbetter and Nirvanna at Daytona’s Hard Rock Hotel this Friday, September 1.
I started our conversation off by inquiring about all three of Caruso’s acts and asking him to tell me a little more about each of them. He stated; “I’ve been a featured performer with Nirvanna as the Meat Puppets guitarist Curt Kirkwood. I’ve been doing that for eight years since this past February (wow time FLIES). I approached my band leader Ryan Salamone about starting a Linkin park tribute cause our singer for Nirvanna sounds EXACTLY like Chester Bennington, so honestly it was a no-brainer. His name is Eli Mitchell, and he’s so talented it’s disgusting! Ryan agreed wholeheartedly with the idea, and quickly put it into motion. We are called The Linkin Park Tribute Band (kept the name simple for marketing reasons I believe). I’m the guitarist and fill Brad Delson’s role.”
He continued; “It came to fruition rather quickly, and we’ve been touring all over the southeast U.S. Mainly Florida thus far, with respects to House of Blues New Orleans, but we are going to be all over the place in the upcoming year. I am also the merch manager for both bands. During the same conversation I had when I approached Ryan with the Linkin Park idea, I also informed him that last December I started a Pearl Jam tribute called Black Ledbetter, which I’m the singer and band leader for (Ryan owns the other two projects, while Black Ledbetter is mine).”
I wanted to know which one of said three acts was his personal favorite, and he informed me; “Black Ledbetter is my favorite – I get to be more animated as Eddie Vedder. I enjoy moving around a lot on stage, and the other two bands don’t leave much room for that by their design. Linkin park is also a lot of fun and the music is very rewarding when executed right. We are really tight, so it’s always an awesome experience. Nirvanna I also enjoy, however, I usually only play two, and on rare occasions three songs with them since the Meat Puppets only played three songs on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York. But nonetheless, it’s really cool and adds a great intimate moment to the Nirvanna set.”
As far as how long he’s been playing for, he told me; “I started learning guitar at age nine, but like most nine-year-old’s, I wasn’t mature enough to keep a practice schedule, and didn’t really start gaining any real skill until I was around twelve. Ironically the first song I ever learned on guitar was Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Laughs). Never played that particular song in Nirvanna, but it’s still kinda neat that it was my first. My first passions though are power metal and prog metal, particularly Iron Maiden and Helloween, so my first bands for the first 15 years of my career focused on ’80s covers and older songs that were very responsible for the ’80s metal style (The Who, Arthur Lee and Love, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, many others from the ’60s and ’70s. All the finest that influenced all of my ’80s metal heroes).”
Of course I had to ask him about his childhood acting as well, which he stated; “I’ve done a lot of acting jobs as a child actor. My favorites would have to be Welcome Freshmen, a Pepsi commercial in 1992 with Lou Pinella when he managed the Cincinnati Reds, and the 1993 movie Cop and a Half. Henry Winkler directed that and he absolutely loved me, so it was an unparalleled experience and a great honor for me to work with such a legend.”
He elaborated; “I was a lead character in Welcome Freshmen, and at thirteen years old, that was a trip. I was “corrupted” during that time, and damn near grew up overnight. I was tutored during the film schedule for about five months, and when I came back to school all my friends had become my bullies and all my bullies had become my friends. It was WEIRD. But soon after that I started taking guitar really seriously and was learning Iron Maiden songs at sixteen, so I was about to enter the rabbit hole that has brought me where I am today.”
I also wanted to know who he would share the stage with if he had the choice between anyone (living or dead). He responded; “Oof, that’s a tough one! A small list would be Tina Turner, Arthur Lee, the Obscured by Clouds era of Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, The Who, the Guess Who, the 1964 Brian Wilson Beach Boys lineup, the 1952 Four Freshmen lineup, Helloween, Filter, Cannibal Corpse, Midnight Oil, Living Colour, Katie Melua, Taylor Swift, and Mike Patton. I would include Candlebox among that list but I’ve played “Cover Me” with Kevin Martin and the Hi Watts at a sold out show in Tampa in 2003. So I’ve done that. And at this stage of the hand with Black Ledbetter, I would LOVE to play with stone Gossard and Mike McCready. I would also include Dying Fetus and Cattle Decapitation, but honestly I would only be able to bring merch sales ability and waterboy responsibilities to those two tables! (Laughs)”
As far as the Daytona Hard Rock show on the September 1 goes, Caruso assured me; “At Hard Rock Daytona Black Ledbetter opens up for Nirvanna. I will be performing with both bands. The fans can expect to have their faces melted off…”
Caruso also filled me in on some additional upcoming shows; “Black Ledbetter plays the Alley in Sanford on Sunday, November 5 with the Smashing Pixies. Nirvanna and the Linkin Park tribute has a multitude of gigs all over the state and I think a couple across the US soon too. Honestly we are all working SO much the easiest thing to do is go to our social media pages. Black Ledbetter has a Facebook page where we list EVERYTHING. Nirvanna and The Linkin Park Tribute Band have both Facebook and Instagrams and I believe our Linkin park tour schedule for the rest of the year is up, though it’s always subject to change since hurricanes and illness can strike sometimes, but also many more gigs are being booked daily so the schedule gets heavier often. Again any one interested should go to our Facebook pages and follow us!”
He ended with; “Thanks for talking with me today! I’m always down to answer any questions you may have and look forward to seeing you and everyone else in the future! Up The Irons, brother Jesse! And all the fans past, present and future! Viva Black Ledbetter!”
Monster Magnet have always been one of those bands (from my home state of New Jersey, nonetheless) that I’ve always admired. While seeing the band live may still be one thing that alludes me, I couldn’t help but jump at picking the brain of longtime guitarist Phil Caivano once the chance to interview him presented itself to me, just after his debut solo album – simply titled Caivano – reached my desk.
One of the first things I wanted to ask Caivano was what made him decide to release solo music at this junction in time. He responded; “I finally had the time to explore the option of doing it. With Wendigo Productions involved it all started moving. I had some riffs and a few songs together. It was a matter of just committing to the process.”
I asked Phil who else performed on the record with him, and if it were fully recorded in New Jersey. He informed me; “[Monster Magnet drummer] Bob Pantella played drums and mixed. He’s the only other person involved with it. So fun working with Bob. Yes everything was recorded in NJ and Bob’s Freakshop Studio, and my Studio 13.”
I asked Caivano in his opinion which would be the go-to song for someone who had not yet heard the album, and he replied; “I’d say “Now Is Forever;” it’s the first song we released, and the first one I recorded with Bob.”
As far as taking the songs out live he informed me; “I’m thinking about doing it live if it makes sense. Some people have reached out to me to play if that’s the road I’m gonna go down. I have some people in mind as well.”
I was also curious as to how he felt the music on the album compared to his work in Monster Magnet, to which he stated; “Nothing really compares to Monster Magnet because Dave is so special. Such a great artist. The comparison is my guitar work. I play the way I play. I tried a few different things but my playing is how I do it.”
And as far as future touring with Monster Magnet goes? “Dave (Wyndorf) and I are talking about that now. Hopefully we can tour the USA and get back to Europe by 2024.”
I was always curious how Caivano originally came about the job as Monster Magnet guitarist back in 1998, and how familiar he was with their music at the time. He explained; “I was very familiar. Dave and I were friends long before Monster Magnet. I was at a lot of the early shows and around some of the records. Dave asked me to join after Powertrip was finished. I was living in LA when he made the record. I was back in NJ visiting when he asked.”
Lastly, I wondered if there were any obscure Monster Magnet songs that he’d want to pull from out of the vault, which ones they might be. He told me; “I love “Black Balloon” and “I Control, I Fly.” We’ve played them in the past. Always loved those songs.”
And with that, Caivano left with these parting words; “Thank You as well! Hope ya enjoy the record!! Rock ON!!!”
