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Metal Edge Rockfest 2002
The package tour has been a mainstay of society
since the days of Lollapaloza and the Horde Festival. Each catering to a
different genre or style of music. Some do it out of neccesity, others
do it for the thrill of touring with some of their good friends and
favorite bands. The Metal Edge Rockfest 2002 Tour is no exception.
Bands like Warrant and Ratt have been going strong
since the eighties through the nineties and into the 21st century
although far from the public’s eye these days.
I had the opportunity to
talk with Bill Leverty of Firehouse and Jerry Dixon of Warrant to talk
about the tour and what the bands have planned for themselves. Also, I
spoke with local guitarist Mike Gallagher on the attraction to a dying
genre.
Most bands from the 90's have already broken up. How does it make you
feel knowing that Firehouse can still record an album and tour the
world?
Bill Leverty: It feels great. We've always had a strong work
ethic. We've also been lucky enough to have six Top 40 hits. However,
part of the reason bands don't stay together is because of the
economics. They need to decide what's important. Afterall, the bills
don't stop at tour expenses.
Will we ever see another home video?
BL: We hope so. We got some cameras out this summer plus some new
video editing software. The video we release prior was shot
live in Japan and funded by Sony. This time around it'll be more
of what fans want to see.
How has new bassist Bruce Waibel effected Firehouse?
BL: Bruce has taken us to a new level. He played in the Greg
Allman Band for ten years. He's a strong, diverse player. Hardcore,
southern, blues ... he very passionate. He's a great singer and
great guy to live with on the road. He fits right in.
What has been your greatest accomplishment?
BL: Being able to survive this long in an industry that
cannibalizes itself. Most bands only get one song and then they're gone.
We've been able to come back several times. I Live My Life For You was
in the Top 20 in 1994 when bands like Firehouse was being shunned by
radio and Mtv. Also winning an American Music Award in 1991. It was like
being validated by our piers.
How did Firehouse promote themselves in the early days?
BL: We didn't. We made a bunch of songs we thought we good and
made the best recordings possible. We always had a copy of the tapes and
gave them out to people. We gave copy to a radio station in Charlotte,
NC and Home is Where the Heart Is Went to #1 for 4 months on their
request show. Record companies started hear about us. We could draw
1,000 people anywhere in Charlotte and from there the record companies
started coming down. After they saw the audience
they wanted to talk.
What are you most looking forward to on this summers tour?
BL: Watching the other bands we respect. I’ll probably focus
on the guitars a lot- John Norum from Dokken and Warren Dimartini from
Ratt.
What’s your outlook on the tour?
Jerry Dixon: It’s gonna be a blast. It’s like a mini
festival.
Why do you think package tours have become
so popular over the past several years?
JD: Promoters like package tours. It’s power in numbers. Plus
there’s been a resurgence of rock which I think has opened some eyes.
Besides, they’re alot more fun and cooler to do.
Belly to Belly and Ultraphobic were both great
departures from the popular standards to which Warrant is known for. Do
you think these would have been better received had the band changed its
name?
JD: People would have got them and liked them. Unfortunately at
that time there was no outlet for the new music to be heard. Radio
wasn’t supporting it, Mtv told bands not to even bother making video
because they weren’t going to air them.
How do you go about selecting a set list and will Southern Comfort be
a part of it?
JD: At this point the set list writes itself. We only get an
hour-long set so we’ll just be doing the hits. We probably won’t be
doing Southern Comfort though.
What was his favorite video making experience with Warrant?
JD: Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Our part only took about two hours to
do. The worst was Cherry Pie. That took
about 3 days.
Will there be a new home video out soon or perhaps a VH1 Behind the
Music?
JD: We’ve been talking about a new homevideo or DVD. VH-1 asked
us to do a BTM but we declined for now since we’re still an active
band with new things always happening. On most of those shows the bands
are done and broken up- we’re still making music!
Why do you think bands like Firehouse and Warrant have survived for
so long?
Mike Gallagher: Contrary to popular belief, there are many people
out there who still love the music from bands like these. Not
everyone out there is jumping on the Creed, Limp Bizkit, Staind
bandwagon. There is still great music out there, you just have to
look a little harder to find it because it is not being shoved in your
face constantly. Lately, VH1 has been giving a lot
attention to bands that were popular in the 80’s with their “Behind
The Music” and “Top 40 Hair Band” shows, which helps to let people
know that bands are still touring and releasing CDs, whether they are
popular or not.
What is the appeal for this style of music?
MG: Bands that were popular in the 80’s didn’t write songs
about how depressed they are or about how unhappy they are about being
rock stars and making millions of dollars. Overall, they
wrote songs about life in general and I think there is definitely a fan
base out there that can relate to that. Bands like these also do
their best to put on a live show that will entertain the fans, which is
something that people want to see. This style of
music may be less popular than it was, but for the real fans that
don’t care about trends, it has always been around. Rock
music with good musicianship seems to finally be on it’s way back to
being accepted by the mainstream.
As a musician, how do you rate their style and skill?
MG: I personally think that bands that were popular in the 80’s
are not given nearly enough credit for their musicianship and
songwriting. From George Lynch to Paul Gilbert to Nuno
Bettencourt, there were many great musicians from that era that were
overlooked. Unfortunately, the image of these bands sometimes
overshadowed their talent. The thing that made this style less
popular was not Nirvana, but all the copycat bands that ripped off the
originators like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Poison. The
big record labels signed almost anyone with that same image and style
and a lot of the bands lacked in quality. Obviously, music fans
got sick of that and latched on to something new. The
same thing killed grunge and is happening with “nu-metal” now. Every
band looks and sounds the same, but the originators will always be
remembered. Most open-minded people would admit
that the musicians and vocalists that were popular in the 80’s were
far superior to anything that has been popular since then.
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