롭 락이 'Take It Magazine'이라는 매체와 장시간 이야기를 나눈 인터뷰이며 그의 음악적 발자취를 자세히 살펴볼 수 있는 인터뷰입니다. 인터뷰한 날짜가 기재되어있지않은데 인터뷰 맨하단 Rob Rock의 디스코그라피가 작성되어있는 것을 보면 1997년 Impellitteri의 "Eye Of The Hurricane"이 마지막으로 표기되어있는 것으로 보아 본 인터뷰는 1998년과 1999년 사이에 이루어진 것으로 보입니다.
ROB ROCK, vocalist of IMPELLITTERI, has already gone through many recording projects throughout the years. His charismatic powerful voice can also be heard on releases by DRIVER, JOSHUA, ANGELICA and AXEL RUDI PELL. For us this was reason enough to dedicate him and his current IMPELLITTERI activities an in-depth feature!
The first time I got to hear the name Rob Rock was when the M.A.R.S. album "Project: Driver" got issued back in 1986. How did you get together with such a tremendous line-up at the time? I mean, have you already been doing anything prior to that musically?
"Well, in 1985 (prior to "Project: Driver") I had my own band VICE back east. We were playing coversongs and original songs in the clubs. Chris Impellitteri was the guitarplayer of that band. We were playing out in the New York, New England area, but Chris was dying to go to L.A., because the guitarhero thing was starting to happen. And so he went and meanwhile I stayed back there, working with VICE. About eight or nine months later I got a call from Mike Varney, who said "We heard that you're a real good singer, Tony MacAlpine had seen you playing in the clubs, and he says, that we oughta check you out for this new band! Would you be interested in auditioning for DRIVER?" I said "Yeah!" so, l jumped on a plane, went out to L.A. and auditioned for the band. At that time they had already auditioned a few other players and stuff and now Tony was the guitarplayer. And I went out there and went through the audition and got the gig. So, I moved from Conneticut, where I was living at the time out to Los Angeles to do the M.A.R.S. "Project: Driver" album. And of course, during this whole time, I was still friends withChris, so..."
Was this whole M.A.R.S. thing planned to be a one off projectstraight from the start already?
"No, it was planned to be a band and we were actually putting together a tour when David Coverdale called Rudy Sarzo up and offered him and Tommy Aldridge a job in WHITESNAKE. And he offered them a job they just couldn't refuse and they took the job. Tony went back to his solo career and I was... You know, Chris was still looking for a singer in L.A., he couldn't find one that he liked, so I started writing songs with Chris again."
How was the response to the M.A.R.S. "Project: Driver" record generally?
"The response to that album was great! Everybody loved it,except for the big record companies. They said "Oh no, this is too heavy, it's not what we wanna sign right now." So, once Rudy and Tommy heard that, I think they decided that they better take the WHITESNAKE gig, which wasn't quite as heavy, but they tookit and did great!"
Have you never been approached to do a follow-up release?
"No, I have never been approached to do a follow-up, really. I mean, everyone's been pretty busy, but that would be pretty cool! I really loved that album, it was a great line-up and a great band!"
A year later you already had joined forces with Chris for the selftitled IMPELLITTERI debut EP. How did you actually get to know him and were the four songe already finished when you hooked up with him?
"Like I said, I knew Chris back east ... I've originally met Chris when I was playing a gig in Conneticut. My band was opening up for THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND at a nightclub. And Chris was at that gig and he saw me singing and he came up to me after the gig and said,"Hey man, I need a singer. So, would you be interested in hookin' up and seein' if we can write together?" and I said "Yeah! C'mon down to the club tomorrow." So, we met at the club... you know, we played and sang and fooled around with some songs and there was a great chemistry there, so... That's when we decided that we should get together and that's when he joined my band VICE. Then we had played the clubs for about a year and then he decided to go to L.A. So, after the M.A.R. S. project thing fell through, there was Chris in L.A. needin' a singer and I said, "Hey, let's write some more songs together." We proceeded to write about twelve songs together and then we went into the studio. In the studio we proceeded to write four brand new ones and those are the ones on the EP. So, we were writing a lot of songs, but the whole IMPELLITTERI gig at the time was focused on the guitar hero thing. And I don't really wanted to be in such a band, I was into songs, I wanted to hear songs and Chris, you know, he wanted to make sure that he stood out as a guitarplayer. At that time I got an offer from JOSHUA, who was on RCA and at the time IMPELLITTERI didn't have any label, we were just doing demos. That's what that EP originally was, it was our original demo! So, I took the JOSHUA gig. JOSHUA to me had some great songs and Chris continued on. And the demo that we had recorded, had gotten hirn a deal with Relativity. And then Relativity had the great idea to try to put together this allstar band and that's when they recruited Graham Bonnet, Pat Torpey and Chuck Wright, you know, the guys that were in Chris' band..."
What can you tell us about the drummer on that recording, Toni Silva?
"He was the guy we were rehearsing the songs with... We were rehearsing in the valley and we went in and recorded the EP... I don't know what happened to Toni after I left."
Who actually played bass in IMPELLITTERI at the time?
"We had a guy playing bass that was rehearsing with us... But I don't think he's playing bass anymore... His name, I think, was Ted... Ted Hester I think."
Why didn't you just stay with the IMPELLITTERI band after the EP was released? Was it a mutual decision between Chris and yourself to go seperate ways at the time?
"I guess it was my decision to leave and to join JOSHUA, cause I seriously wanted to get signed and signed to a major label! And I also wanted to concentrate on songs and vocals at the time... So, the Relativity deal that Chris got came after I already had left JOSHUA."
How do you judge the "Intense Defense" album by JOSHUA nowadays? Was there a lot of record company and producer pressure involved in the making of it? I'm just asking, because to me that record sounds really polished, so...
"l think there's a lot of great songs on the "Intense Defense" album... But yeah, there was a lot of record company and producer pressure involved. We actually had recorded the album twice! We recorded it once with Eddy Kramer. And Dieter Dierks, who was the overall executive producer, he didn't like the results, so he then canned that and we started recording again with the German producer Frank Mono. So, I was overthere for like six months, living there at Dierks Studios. And in the end the result was a very polished record, but the band was pretty polished anyway, because we'd been rehearsing those songs for like two years in L.A., waiting for a chance to record at Dierks Studio. We had to wait for the SCORPIONS to finish their album at the time and also for ACCEPT to finish their album and then we got the chance to go in there. And then we were in there for six months, which was longer than I expected and in the end we got an album that has a lot of great songs on it. But unfortunately the band kinda fall apart after that, so it never really got off the ground."
In 1989 you sang on an album by the band ANGELICA, but weren't really credited for that. Why? I mean, it was quite obvious to many people that it's been your voice, so... Was it just a session job for you?
"I ain't got rnuch credit for that album, because I was really just a session guy. Ken Tamplin, my friend, was producing the album and he had already worked out the songs with the band. But when it came time to recording the lead vocals, I guess the singer had a lot of problems. So, Ken Tamplin went and finished all the backing vocals and even sang on a few songs. But Dennis Cameron didn't want it to be a Ken Tamplin album, so he asked Ken to find another singer to sing on some of the songs. So, Ken called me up. lt was good timing for me, so I said "Yeah, ok... I'll come in and do it!" So, I was in there, I think a total of eight hours, to sing that album. lt was basically a Saturday and a little bit of the next day and that was it. And it was really quick to me, they weren't my songs and Ken had me singing a lot lighter than I normally do. But I was glad to sing on Dennis' album. It was a good album and I happen to be a christian, so I didn't mind singing on that album for him."
Next came the "reformation" of the DRIVER project, but with a completely different line-up. Tell us how you got the idea and how everything developed from there!
"Yeah, right after ANGELICA I had reformed DRIVER with Roy Z. on guitar, Greg Shultz on keyboards, Emil Brando on bass and Butch Carlson on the drums. And that was the ultimate band for me, because I had a lot of control of the direction of the band and of the songwriting and the producing of it. We had spent over a year in L.A. trying to get signed and then I decided, "Well, maybe we're meant to get signed in New York!" and since I knew all the clubs back there, we could go back, make a living, while we're trying to shop a deal. So, we went back to the New York area, started playing the clubs there, tried to get signed and we came real close with East West Records. But they were afraid to take a chance on that band at the time. They were more interested in ENUFF 'Z NUFF I think at that time. The idea for DRIVER actually came after JOSHUA. I mean JOSHUA... it was very tough and a very emotional break-up I think in that band. We had worked so hard to do that album for two years and then when it was done, everyone was so frustrated and mad at each other, that we all kinda went ... aaarrrgh! So, Greg, the keyboardist and Emil, the bass player, were with me in JOSHUA and they said "C'mon man, let's just start a new band!" So, Emil had known Roy Z. and we heard Roy Z. playing and that was it. We said "Yeah, this is a cool band!" And he knew Butch Carlson on the drums, so everything came together pretty quick..."
Butch Carlson?! I remember that there's been a guy namod Bill Zampa mentioned on the DRIVER demo cover...
"Butch Carlson recorded the DRIVER demo and played live with us in L.A. When we moved to the East Coast, Bill Zampa played live and since he was now the drummer and we were selling tapes at the shows, we put his name on it..."
How many songs did you have to choose from at that time?
"We had written a lot of songs, like thirty or fourty songs that we had tracked on a four-track. And of course you've heard the demo that is out there..."
Yeah. As far as I know, this fantastic five track release had only been issued on cassette. Why didn't you put it out on vinyl and / or CD?
"The demo was released on cassette, we happened to sell it at the clubs we were playing. It never did come out on CD or vinyl, cause we were hoping to get a record deal."
Are you aware of the bootleg CD of it that is circulating?
"Yeah, I am aware of the bootleg CD that's out there and I'm disappointed with the quality of it, because it's from a cassette and I have the DAT masters right here. So, I'm trying to work out a way where I can release that in the future on a CD with an extra track or two, because there's a couple more tracks that we'd recorded that aren't on that demo."
What's your opinion about that bootleg in general?
"I'm flattered that there's bootlegs out there, that's great! I just wish, that everything that goes out could be up to the most professional level of quality. And that's what bothers me about bootlegs. The artist doesn't have any control of the recording or the artwork or any level of quality. It's just someone's stealing it from you. I don't like that they steal it from us, steal our rights, you know, to sell our own music. That's wrong! But you know, they are out there and there's not much you can do about it so... If I can re-release it, even if it's just a little underground CD, that would be pretty cool."
In 1991 you contributed your vocals in to the debut album of AXEL RUDI PELL. Was DRIVER already history again at the time? What lead to the break up and how did you get together with Axel?
"DRIVER was, like I said, playing around New York for over a year, trying to get a deal... We made a lot of demos for East West... To me, trying to get signed is like playing the lottery, you know. It's time and chance. If you're lucky, you're gonna get signed. I realize now, that it is not necessarily a matter of talent, it seems to be more a matter of who you know and also the timing of things. lf you can catch a wave. The American labels here, they seem to sign bands that are in waves, they are in like trends and stuff. You know, if the trend is funky music, they'll sign funky music, if the trend is Hardrock, they'll sign Hardrock, if the trend is alternative music, like it is now, they'll sign alternative music. DRIVER just couldn't catch a wave, you know. At that time, Chris had called me up for like the third time and said "Hey man, I need a singer again. I have this Japanese deal and I really want to have you as my singer. I'm not gonna keep calling you and asking you, so you need to decide if you wanna work with me again." So, after two and a half years of trying to get DRIVER signed, I was also going through a lot of turmoil in my life at that time, a lot of emotional stress, due to personal reasons, I decided that it would be the smartest thing for me to do personally, to take the gig with Chris. So, I decided to put down my DRIVER dreams and join Chris and try to reach my dreams with him. You know, the dream of getting signed and getting out there and getting heard. So, here I was in Conneticut basically broke, and I needed to fly out to L.A. to write a new album with Chris, so... There was some interest in Germany about signing DRIVER and the manager of AXEL RUDI PELL heard the DRIVER stuff and loved it and he needed a singer for the AXEL RUDI PELL album. lt wasn't AXEL RUDI PELL's debut album, I think he had an album before I did. The album I did is called "Nasty Reputation". So, I made an agreement with Axel that if I could be a part of the lyrics, that I would be out there and kinda re-write the songs that he had. He had songs with some melody ideas and some lyric ideas, but they all seemed to be the same for every song. So, I went in and helped him with the lyrics and some of the melodies, actually every day I would go into the studio. That was a great experience, by the way. And Axel is a lot of fun and I loved that guy, we just had a great time, you know. And I loved Germany too, by the way. That was fun! So, here we are, every day I go in the studio, he would play the track for me. I'd just sit in a chair and he would play a track and I was like "Oh, that's cool!" Then he'd make a cassette tape for me and I would sit in the kitchen of the studio, while they worked on the guitar parts and stuff. You know, basically it was me and Axel and the producer there and to be in the kitchen, all afternoon, from like noon to six, working on lyrics and melodies for these songs, trying to figure out what I wanted to sing. Axel was very good about that , he basically said "Do what you wanna do! I wanna hear how you sang on M.A.R. S. "Project: Driver", I want that on my album!" So, I was like "Yeah!". I got freedom and just went and kinde re-wrote all the lyrics with him. I actually re-wrote them and then he okayed them. And when we came back from dinner at six o'clock, I would sing the song for the first time. I sang the songs about three times. You know, first time it was good, second time it was usually the best and third time was really good, but a little raspy because it was such exciting heavy rock music, so... But I would do that every day, so we did one song a day and it was very quick, you know, one song a day is pretty fast, so... But it came out great because it was such a live album and I was so emotional sensitive at that time. I think my performance on that album comes across very live, very powerful and very good. I was in great shape vocally from singing in all the clubs back east . So, when I went to do the AXEL RUDI PELL album, the result... I really liked that album a lot, I really liked the vocal sound, the studio quality of the voice, but I also loved the performance of it. It's live, it's raw and it's energetic! That was a special moment for me."
But again, you didn't continue to work with that band... What went wrong there? Wasn't it a bit frustrating only to be judged as a type of session vocalist at the time?
"I didn't continue the work with the band, but I never intended to. You know, Axel knew that I was gonna be working with Chris Impellitteri and he wanted me to do this album. He told me that the M.A.R.S. "Project: Driver", album was his alltime favorite album, so... I think he was really excited about getting me to sing on his "Nasty Reputation" album. It was never intended to be a band, but it was frustrating, cause I was doing a lot of vocal sessions, just trying to survive, you know, trying to eam a living. I finally settled into Chris Impellitteri and together as the band IMPELLITTERI we have been there for quite a few years now and it's working out great. We've always had great chemistry writing together and I'm just glad that IMPELLITTERI is doing so well."
Since 1992 you are back together with Chris Impellitteri, fronting hin fantastic band. Did he call you up to re-join or how did that happen? Why didn't he continue to work with Graham Bonnet?
"Yeah, like I said before. He did call me up... And what happened with Graham Bonnet, I'm not too sure. All I know is that they had a tour planned behind the "Stand In Line" album and Graham Bonnet decided he didn't wanna tour. He decided that he wanted to stay in Australia or where ever he was at the time, and not tour! So, he wasn't into touring and Chris wasn't too happy about that, so they just never got together again to do the next album."
His line-up had also changed quite a bit... Everyone will probably know that Pat Torpey went on to join MR.BIG, but whatover happened to Phil Wolfs, the keyboard player?
"Yeah Chris' line-up had changed since "Stand In Line" obviously, but you have to remember that it was important for Chris and I both, when we got re-united, that we were the original seed, the original IMPELLITTERI sound. That EP was the first thing that came out for IMPELLITTERI, so that was a special thing. We both really dig that EP, that black EP. So, when we came back together, writing "Grin And Bear It", it was more of a continuation of what wo had previously started. As far as I know, Phil is still living in L.A., doing session work, but I'm not sure whatever happened to him really, though."
Why was Phil never replacad up until the "Screaming Symphony" album? What made you recruite a keyboard player again at that time?
"He wasn't replaced, because we didn't really feel the need for a keyboord player. Chris still wanted to make an impact as a guitarist and keyboards just weren't so involved at this point. We didn't have one when we started writing the album, so we just never worked the keyboards in as much. When we went on tour, after "Answer To The Master", we needed the keyboards to help fill in live. And once we did that, we said "Wow, we should have keyboords!" and we started writing again with keyboards. So, I would say that playing live on the "Answer To The Master" tour with keyboards sounded so good to us, that we decided to incorporate the keyboard into our sound. And that's when we found Ed Roth. Ed is a great keyboard player!"
Tell us a bit more about James Amelio Pulli, the guy who became your new bassplayer!
"James used to live in Philadelphia. He had moved to L.A. to find a band. And we had auditioned a lot of bassplayers, me and Chris. We had recorded the "Grin And Bear It" album and then started auditioning bassplayers for the next album, which was "Victim Of The System" and James was the best! He sounded great and since then James has been with us, writing every album."
How did you get together with Ken Mary to become a fulltime member of the band? He was previously probably earning a lot more money while doing all his session work, wasn't he?
"Chris knew Ken Mary from the HOUSE OF LORDS days. I guess Chris went and played a solo on one of their tracks and that's when he met Ken Mary. So, when we needed a drummer for "Grin And Bear It", we had called Ken. Originally though, we're writing with Eric Singer, but then Eric got the KISS gig. He went and did that and me and Chris called up Ken Mary. He's more of a session guy, he does IMPELLITTERI and he does every album, cause we work so well with him and there's such a great chemistry. But Ken also does session work and to this day he still does session work. He's also doing demos as a singer / songwriter and trying to produce bands too. I think he has a studio in his house, so Ken Mary is a busy guy. He doesn't like to tour so much. He doesn't wanna be away from home that much, so when we go on tour, we hire Glen Sobel as the drummer for the tours. Glen's a session drummer from L.A. and he also plays with JENNIFER BATTON and GARY HOEY."
Ever since this reformation of yourself and Chris, each IMPELLITTERI album (except for the 1996 "Screaming Symphony" release) was issued in Japan exclusively, even though the quality had always been highly impressive. So, what was the reason for that? Is Japan maybe the only serious market for your type of music at the moment?
"The reason it's released in Japan exclusively is that we're signed with JVC Victor in Japan. They give us the recording budget and we go and record our albums in L.A. Thank you for noticing the quality, cause we work really hard to have high quality albums. We own the rights to the albums for the rest of the world and as you know, we were able to get "Screaming Symphony" released in Europe and we're hoping to release "Eye Of The Hurricane" there as well (which did happen in the meantime!- Ed.). Japan is definitely the most serious market for our type of music at the moment. I mean, they're fantastic fans, we really do extremely well there. It's our bread and butter! And we just thank God for Japan, because it has held us together, it has kept me and Chris and the band together for seven years now. JVC Victor in Japan has been there for the band and we've done some great great albums with JVC Victor. We're still trying to get the albums released here in America. I mean, you can get the albums through mailorder or record clubs and stuff, but we're still looking for that illusive American deal!"
The 1992 album "Grin And Bear It" was musically a little bit different from the usual IMPELLITTERI stuff, maybe even a little inspired by the type of style that a band like EXTREME establishod at the time...
"Yeah, "Grin And Bear It", was a little different. I mean, we had our manager at the time telling us "C'mon, if you wanna get signed, you need to be a little bit more commercial!" And you're right, GUNS'N ROSES and EXTREME were big at that time, so we found ourselves trying to lean towards that format. But when the album was done, about a year later, we realized, you know what?! This rock ain't the IMPELLITTERI thing! We're Hardrock, man! So, we decided that we're just gonna write what was true to us and the record company agreed with us, so they said "Hey, why don't we just put out an EP now and you guys can work on a killer album!?" So, we put out "Victim Of The System", which is a great little EP and started writing for "Answer To The Master", which to me is a great album!"
So, how was it for yourself, as a traditional Metal vocalist... Did you maybe have any problems with the change of direction on "Grin And Bear It"?
"You call me a traditional Metal vocalist but I actually sing a lot of styles in the rock vein, you know. So, for me to sing like I sing on "Grin And Bear It", I don't think was very much different than what I do. Most of my singing is actually a reaction, an accompaniment to the music that's behind it, you know. Like a chameleon... I get the vibe from the music. So, whatever comes out of me, to me, is still me! I'm still writing from my heart, I'm still singing from my heart, I'm still doing the best that I can! So, that slight change of direction was really no big deal for me. I mean, I really like the direction that we're doing now, I think it's a lot stronger, but on "Grin And Bear It" I like the songs "When The Well Runs Dry" and "Power Of Love". These to me are the two coolest songs on the album... and "Grin And Bear It" is cool too."
Wasn't the album accepted by the fans in the same way as the previous IMPELLITTERI material or what made you retum to the old style again with the 1993 five song EP "Victim Of The System"?
"It was accepted by the fans, but at the same time they noticed that it was slightly different, you know. So, we decided, you know, "Forget this! We never gonna be able to write for the style of music that's happening, so we just gonna be ourselves and see what happens." And what has happened since we are writing for ourselves and for our standard fans, Japan is just rock solid in our support and Europe is growing every day! Europe is another big market for us. And we hope one day America will open its eyes and see our talent and help us to get out there! "Victim Of The System" was a definite adjustement for us to say "Hey, forget the record company wishes!" and we told the manager that we're not gonna do this anymore. We're just gonna write what we write and whatever happens at least will be true blue to ourselves!"
Would you like to give us a few comments about each IMPELLITTERI release thus far? What was good, what was bad and stuff...?
"On "Grin And Bear It", like I said, "When The Well Runs Dry", "Power Of Love", "Grin And Bear It"... I also really like "Ball And Chain" and "Wake Up Sally" is cool, too. I mean, every album for me marks time, you know. At that time that's where my head sat, that's where my heart sat, that's where my lyrics come from, you know. What's going on in my life at that time and where I am emotionally, spiritually... So, each album marks time and "Grin And Bear It" was good for its time, for me. But when we did "Victim Of The System", that was an album that kicks, you know! I really like "Victim Of The System", I really love singing the ballad on that album... "Cross To Bear" is one of my favorite songs. I think this was a very strong EP and, again, that was us getting focused on what we wanted to do. "Answer To The Master" is a really good album too.But if we could do it again, I would have Michael Wagner mix it. Michael Wagner has mixed the last two albums and it's come out great! He does a great job. I think songwise "Answer To The Master", is a great album, it's really good! I really love "The Future Is Black" and "Answer To The Master"... "The King Is Rising" is a great live song and as you'll notice, the song "Warrior" on "Answer To The Master", you might recognize that song from the DRIVER demo. What happened was, Chris and I wrote the original version of "Warrior" during the time that we wrote the EP back in '87. So, when I did DRIVER, I said "Hey Chris, do you remember that cool song that we wrote when we were doing the EP?" and he said "Yeah!" And I said, "Well, I would like to re-do that with Roy Z. and DRIVER." And he said, "Sure, go ahead!" So, I brought it to the DRIVER band and we re-wrote the musical side of it with DRIVER, you know, kinda keeping the integrity of the song, but Roy Z. did some different stuff with it, which is cool. And when we recorded that demo, that's what you hear on the DRIVER EP, that version of "Warrior"! But the original version that I wrote with Chris is much more similar to the version that you hear on "Answer To The Master"! Chris is playing a more crunchier, a more driving guitar, a more rhythmic orientated song. Speaking of that black EP, me and Chris were thrilled when Sony Records decided to re-release it! That was two years ago in Japan! They re-released it as a CD. And those four songs... "Lost In The Rain" to me is a cool song. I mean, we do "Lost In The Rain" and "Burning" live and they are really strong live and they are fun to play and they are just wild, you know. This album was done really quick, it is really raw and I really like the energy in it! It's a cool little EP! Next album we recorded was "Screaming Symphony" and that to me is quite the achievement! We had said to ourselves after "Answer To The Master", we really wanna make a kick butt record! And I believe we accomplished that with "Screaming Symphony"! That's probably my favorite album right now. Right up there with "Eye Of The Hurricane". I really like "Eye Of The Hurricane" too! The special thing about "Eye Of The Hurricane" is that I get to sing two ballads on the album. We were so focused on making a strong impact musically and of course vocally on "Screaming Symphony" that we said, "Hey, we don't wanna make "Screaming Symphony" Part 2, but we do wanna make an album that kicks butt!" So, we decided to add a couple of ballads to the "Eye Of The Hurricane" album. And what we did was, we got "Paradise", which is a power ballad, it's like the single they released in Thailand. And that to me is probably my favorite song, because you get to hear my voice so well (laughs)! And also "On And On" too. That was the last song we wrote and it was a quick song to write, but it's got a great melody and it was really fun to sing in that way. Of course "Eye Of The Hurricane" has some great songs like "Master Of Disguise", which is an epic song to me. It starts out with this really cool intro and goes into a great power song and just has some cool parts in it, some great parts! Even the ending... The ending sounds live, you know. To me "Eye Of The Hurricane" is just a great album which has a lot of different flavors and which stretches out in a lot of different ways. "Screaming Symphony" was very focused in one direction. "Eye Of The Hurricane" is a just as strong album, probably a greater album, because it has much more variety on it. And we go to places vocally that we weren't at before and we also go to places musically, cause there's a lot of cool rnusical passages on "Eye Of The Hurricane" and also in the two instrumentals that are on that album."
I've also seen an IMPELLITTERI live album... Is that an official release or just a bootleg?
"The IMPELLITTERI "Live Fast Loud!" CD is just another bootleg. It is actually a bootleg of the Japanese bootlegs. It is not an official release!"
There's some unreleased bonus tracks on the EP release for "Fuel For The Fire". Who's idea was that? Why didn't you simply include them on the new full length? Don't you think, that it looks a little bit like an easy cash in this way?
"I can honestly say that easy cash, that whole money thing never even came up! It has nothing to do with money! It was the record company's idea, but the reason why they had to come up with that idea was because we had the "Eye Of The Hurricane" album plus these two tracks. But when we tried to put the album together in a cohesive order, in an order that worked, that made the album stand apart and stand alone, like a good listening session, if you know what I mean, to make the album work, we couldn't figure out a good way and a good order of songs. There were always one or two songs that kinda messed up the order, that either brought the album down or made it a little too slow. You know, we like to have intense albums. And the record company said, "Hey, we have an idea. Why aren't we add these two songs to the single and then, there's an order of songs that really works?!" So, what happened is, we came up with a great order of songs for the album and it worked! But then there were these two songs left over, that we really like, so... The record company said, "Let's put it out with the single "Fuel For The Fire" and with the single "Paradise"... Because "Fuel For The Fire" was the single for Japan and "Paradise" was the single for Thailand. So, that's what they did! And we thought that was a great idea, because we get all the songs out and we get an album that flows really good from song to song and is a great body of work in itself!"
As far as I know, you all consider yourselves as christians... Have you been a real christian your whole life already? If not, what turned you into it?
"Well, the IMPELLITTERI band is not a christian band. Chris and I and Ken Mary are all christians, but James and Ed and Glen, our touring drummer, don't necessarily proclaim themselves as christians, so it's not a christian band! Our christian walk is personal to our personal lifes and we just happen to be musicians that make rock albums and that's our professional lifes. So, obviously, when you're writing songs from your heart and performing from your heart, what's in your soul comes out and what's in our soul of course is Jesus Christ! So, yeah, we're christians and it does come across lyrically in the music, so... I was born and raised in a christian home, so I had the advantage of knowing all about Christ and being brought up that way. And there was a point in my life when I was so obsessed with making it as a rockstar, you know, in those early eighty years, that I didn't really walk with Christ. I just wanted to make it and that's what I was gonna do. And when the M.A.R.S. "Project: Driver", album didn't work out, when that fell apart, at that point I realized that I should really follow my christian roots and my christian up-bringing. It's just taking me years to become bolder and bolder for Christ and to grow mature as a christian and that's where I'm at right now. I love Jesus Christ, he's blessed me with a great band and a great life. I have a great wife and I love living in America here. It's a personal thing for me that I like to share with people that are really genially interested in getting to know me. But as far as labelling the band as a christian band, there's really no advantage to that. Christian bands play for christian audiences, on christian festivals and in christian churches. We don't do that! What we do is, we play Rock'n'Roll and Jesus Christ is in our soul and that comes out in our music. So, we don't wanna be labelled as a christian band! We just wanna be known es a great Hardrock band! And some of us love Jesus Christ..."
It's quite an easy thing to name influences when you are a guitarist, and Chris obviously is influenced by many great players, but how about you as a vocalist and probably even more interesting, as a lyricist? Have you been impressed by anyone's writings in a big way?
"My influences as a vocalist are kinda strange in a way, because before I was a singer, I was actually a drummer, a fulltime professional drummer, quite young, I might have been seventeen, playing in my brother's band in the bar circuit in New England. So, I grew up as a drummer and at that time Neil Peart was big. He was out with the "The Spirit Of Radio" song, double bass drumming and all that stuff... I was a single bassdrum player as a drummer and because I wasn't into the double bass stuff I decided that... "Man, I better be a singer!" So, I'd learn all the backing vocals to every cover song that we did and we were doing a lot of STYX and KANSAS and BOSTON songs, with alot of vocal parts. That was really great and I fell in love with the vocals! And then, one day the band I was in said "Hey man, you're a better singer than you're a drummer, so why don't you come upfront and sing?!" And once I did that, I never went back to the drums. So, for my influences, they were STYX and KANSAS and BOSTON vocally and when I went upfront as the singer, I was really getting into the Hardrock stuff. I really liked JUDAS PRIEST, I really liked Ronnie James Dio and I really liked FOREIGNER. So, I would say, I really took the time to develop my vibrato when I was doing all the backing vocals from the STYX albums. But I really loved the power of Ronnie James Dio, so I picked up on his power and I really liked the high range and the melody of FOREIGNER, so I started concentrating on Lou Gramm stuff. I really wanted to be the best singer that I could be and take the best elements that I heard out there. You know, the vibrato and tone quality of STYX, the power of DIO and the range and the melody of FOREIGNER! And just basically tried to add those three elements to my talent, that God gave me to sing. The other thing that I did was, every night that we played live, which was usually five nights a week, I recorded every show and as I drove home that night from the gig, I would listen to the show. And anything that I didn't like vocally, that I heard, I would fix! So, after doing that for a few years I got really good by eliminating what was weak and strengthening what was weak, making it sound good every night. So, I think that was a big advantage for me to be able to sing every night and then critique my own singing and work on it for actually two and a half years, before I did the M.A.R.S. "Project: Driver" album. Lyrically, like I said, the songs that I grew up on. I thought that DIO had some cool lyrics, I really liked the imagery that he used, but I would say lyrically right now, my main influences are my own life experiences and what's on my heart and mind. I also have a lot of input from the Bible. I read the Bible every day and I studied the Bible. I think it's the coolest book on earth, because it has truth in it and the truth is relevant today and it will always be relevant! And that is so cool to me that I like to use a lot of Bible influenced lyrics. I also like to watch the news on TV and be relateable to the world, about the world events that are going on. Plus I hang out a lot with my nephews, as I like to find out what's happening on the street level, too. So, I like to take the elements of the street, the elements of the world news and the elements of the Bible and add that to what's going on in my life, the feelings and the mental state and emotional state that I'm in. I also add that and bounce it of the feeling of the song and what the song dictates for a vocal. So, I try to incorporate all these things and write the best lyrics I can. Lyrics that can be taken on different levels, not only on the straight level. I also like to write lyrics that are like parables, that have meaning behind them, or have other stories that can go right along the same meaning, so it's like a double meaning. You hear a lot of that in "Screaming Symphony" and "Eye Of The Hurricane". I think it's cool. I really try my best to come up with the coolest lyrics. On "Answer To The Master" there's a line in the song "Something's Wrong With The World Today" that says "Life is just a mist before the late autumn breeze..." and that to me is really cool. And it has a kind of a biblical relation too. The Bible says that life is just a mist that quickly vanishes away. To me that's the double meaning of the biblical influence, but it also had a cool imagery to it as well. That's one example, there's other examples but I think if the fans out there have the albums and start listening to the lyrics even deeper, they will find some great truth in there."
Do you think that IMPELLITTERI will manage to secure a record deal (at least) for Europe these days, now as traditional Metal seems to be on its way back overhere more and more?
"Yes, I do think we will get a European deal. I'm pretty convident in that and we're still trying to get America, but we're also looking at sorne European labels as we speak. And there's some interested labels, so I'm hoping to get the album out in the next few months, maybe this summer. And I'm hoping that we can go overthere and do some shows later this year. You know, it's so hard to judge the future, no one knows what it holds, but we are definitely seeking out a European deal at this time! And I'm really happy to hear that traditional Metal seems to be on its way back overthere. I hope it comes back overhere in the States as well."
By the way, isn't it a bit frustrating being from America and having your own records available there only as expensive imports?
"Yes it is very frustrating! It's very frustrating, you know. I tried to get records personally from Japan and then I get them to my fans and friends here in the States. But Chris and I really would like to get an American record deal and really get the chance that we deserve to tour the world and get our albums heard all over the world. That's our dream and that's our goal!"
Thanx a lot for taking the time Rob. I highly appreciate it and wish you and the band all the best! If there's anything else you'd like to add here, please go ahead.
"You're welcome for the time to do this interview! I'm glad I could do it, I do have to get to rehearsal. I do my vocal rehearsals here in Florida and soon I'll be going to L.A. to rehearse with the band who's already rehearsing there, so we hope to have a great Japan tour and we hope that we can bring the show to Europe too this year! I would like to add something for the European fans overthere. Please talk to the people you know there, you know, record stores or where ever you're buying your albums and say "Hey, where's the new IMPELLITTERI album? We wanna get it!" And hopefully we can create a buzz there, a bigger buzz than what's going on among the industry. Just get street buzz going, so that we can get our records out there even quicker and get a demand for a show and a tour going, so that we can come over and tour! I really appreciate the fans that have followed me throughout my career and the eleven or twelve albums that I've done. I just wanna thank you. I'll always do my best to give you the best Rock'n'Roll that I can! And IMPELLITTERI is a very strong band and we plan on continuing on and we'd just like to thank all the fans for supporting us and we hope to see you real soon!"
Rob Rock Discography:
w / M.A.R.S.: 1986 - Project: Driver
w / JOSHUA: 1988 - Intense Defense
w / ANGELICA: 1989 - Angelica
w / DRIVER: 1989 - Driver EP Cassette
w / AXEL RUDI PELL: 1991 - Nasty Reputation
w / IMPELLITTERI: 1987 - Impellitteri (MCD)
1988 - Stand In Line (not with Rob Rock)
1992 - Grin And Bear It
1993 - Victim Of The System (MCD)
1994 - Answer To The Master
1996 - Screaming Symphony
1997 - Fuel For The Fire (MCD)
1997 - Eye Of The Hurricane
Contact:
Rob Rock
P.O. Box 720425
Orlando, FL 32872
U.S.A.
e-mail: rob@robrock.com
http://www.rapture.net/neme
Interview: Frank Stöver
Live Pics: Ramon Claassen
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