Interview with Rob Rock - Metal-Zen (July 31, 2008)

METAL-ZEN

Celebrating the Sublime in Progressive and Power Metal at America’s PREMIERE Metal Festival

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본 인터뷰는 'ProgPower USA IX' (프로그레시브/파워 메틀 밴드를 중심으로 매년 미국에서 열리는 락페스티벌)를 위한 인터뷰로서 Bill Murphy(전 언론인, Marketing/PR 전문가)에 의해 진행되었습니다. 'ProgPower USA' 인터뷰는 각각 뮤지션만의 개성을 확인하기 위해 뮤지션 허락하에 편집없이 그대로 작성됩니다.

또한 웹사이트에 게시되는 인터뷰는 전체 인터뷰의 절반 분량이며, 전체 인터뷰는 '인쇄된 ProgPower USA 프로그램 책'에서만 확인할 수 있다고 합니다. 때문에 Rob Rock과 이루어진 본 인터뷰도 전체 내용이 아닙니다. 인터뷰를 진행한 Bill Murphy는 본인이 진행한 ProgPower USA IX 인터뷰 중에서 가장 긴 인터뷰였다고 합니다. 비록 절반 분량이라고 하지만 본 페이지에서 어마한 길이의 인터뷰 내용을 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Rob Rock: “The Lord Has Sustained Me For a Long Time…It’s Been a Blessing”

Posted on August 3rd, 2008 by Bill

During a career that spans some 25 years (and almost as many albums), Rob Rock has forged a reputation as being one of the finest metal singers in the world. He has worked with everyone from Tony MacAlpine, Tommy Aldridge, Rudy Sarzo, and Chris Impellitteri to Ken Tamplin, Gus G, Roy Z, Jake E. Lee, and Rick Renstrom – among other luminaries too numerous to name. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Rob Rock has rubbed shoulders with the top musicians in their respective fields.

Arguably best known for his work with Impellitteri, Rob has released four highly regarded albums on his own – the most recent of which is the jaw-dropping, riff-heavy Garden of Chaos [2007].

I first called Rob on April 2, 2008. It ended up being the longest of my ProgPower USA IX interviews, and one of the most comprehensive I’ve ever seen of Mr. R. and his career. My follow-up interview – to discuss events (the impending release of the new Driver album, and the surprise reformation of the classic Impellitteri line-up) subsequent to that interview – was held last Thursday, July 31.

Many thanks to Rob Rock for time spent with me. Thanks, also, for allowing me, exclusively, to hear songs from the upcoming releases from Driver and Impellitteri. All I can say is, fans are going to go nuts. Even after a quarter century in the business, Rob Rock can hit notes and sing with the kind of power found in guys half his age (if they’re lucky). Must be all that clean living and Florida sunshine. Special thanks to Rob and Liza for providing some of the photos that illustrate this interview.

First up: The 15-minute update interview conducted last Thursday…

BM(Bill Murphy): Thank you for your time tonight, Rob. I’ll make it really brief.

RR(Rob Rock): All right.

BM: First of all, this “Change of Heart” song is great. I like your version better than the one on the Bruce Dickinson’s Balls to Picasso [1994] album. What made you guys decide to re-work this one?

RR: Well, that song you hear there is the original song that me and Roy [Z, producer/guitarist] wrote together back in ’89.

BM: Ah, then Bruce recorded his version from yours?

RR: Yeah. Yeah. Roy had played Bruce a lot of old demos that Roy did and he played him that song and I guess Bruce liked it. He then he changed it up the way he wanted to do it.

BM: [laughs] Well, that’s great. That’s even cooler.

RR: [laughs] Yeah. So when we decided to do Driver, we decided to use the original version.

BM: Well, it sounds great. It’s really a beautiful melody.

RR: Thank you.

BM: I found it on my Bruce Dickinson CD. There it was.

RR: I’ll have to pull that up. I haven’t heard that…I only heard that way back –

BM: It’s paced a little slower. I actually prefer your version better.

RR: Well, that’s cool. I’ll have to dig it up. I haven’t heard it in ages.

BM: We talked the first time on April 2. Since then you got involved with two major projects, the Impellitteri thing really took everybody by surprise – I don’t know if you looked at the ProgPower forum, but –

RR: No, I haven’t. I haven’t been there in a while. I’ve been so busy.

BM: I can tell. [laughs] You’re doing a lot.

RR: [laughs]

BM: How did your gig with Impellitteri happen? You haven’t worked with him since the year 2000. How did a reunited Impellitteri album come together?

RR: Well, me and Chris have remained friends throughout the years. We talk once in a while. He had given me a call and said he was going to do another Impellitteri record and he wanted me to sing on it. I said, “Oh, well what have you got?” He says, “Well, it’s another JVC Victor Japan release.” He doesn’t have the rest of the world yet. But he wanted to go back and do the first line-up, basically, me and him and do this album. I think it’s the last album for his JVC Victor contract. So he wanted to finish the way we started, I guess. I’ve been waiting for a long time to hear from him in that regard. Whenever we’ve talked in the past six or seven years we never talked too much about music. More about family stuff. So this time he brought up the album and I said, “Yeah. It sounds cool. Let me hear your demos and stuff.” He sent me some music and it was really good. So I said, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

BM: Hmmm.

RR: The big difference is, though, when I’d do the albums with Chris, I would fly out to L.A. for a couple weeks. First I would demo the songs at home, and then I would fly out there. And Chris would be the guy recording the vocals, you know, we’d record it in his studio. But this time, I was really busy, I didn’t want to fly out from Florida for a couple weeks out there, and he didn’t even suggest that this time, which really surprised me, because Chris is a very hands-on kind of guy.

BM: [laughs]

RR: He said, “This album, you do your vocals in Florida, do whatever you want to do.”

BM: Really?

RR: Yeah, he says, “I’m still working on my guitars and these songs for like two years now.” So he says, “I got my parts down, and I’ll just trust you to come up with something great. And just demo it for me first, and then we’ll agree, and we’ll move forward with that.” So that’s what he did. I demoed them up at home, and then once we all said, you know, once we agreed that this was going to be the melody, he didn’t even bother with the lyrics, I went in and recorded them locally here. And then I sent my vocals to the mix guy, up in Canada. And so it’s being mixed right now in Canada, while Chris is in California, and I’m down here in Florida, and the mixing guy is just sending us [laughs] copies of mixes.

BM: [laughs]

RR: And saying, “Ok, what do you think?”

BM: How is he sending them, via email or something?

RR: Yeah, you know, like YouSendIt, like downloading it.

BM: Oh yeah, yeah. [laughs]

RR: It just amazes me how much has changed since, you know, when I used to do the Impellitteri records.

BM: Yeah.

RR: You know, we’d just fly out there and spend time together. Now it’s like, I still haven’t seen Chris in a long time. [laughs] I haven’t seen Chris probably in six years. [laughs] And here we are making a record together.

BM: [laughs] That’s wild. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can make a record 3000 miles apart. [laughs]

RR: Yeah, it’s amazing.

BM: Well, how does the stuff sound to you, compared to the older stuff you used to work on with him? What made you hear it and say, “Sign me up”?

RR: Well, I heard a couple songs that reminded me of, like, the Answer to the Master [1994] album. And the Screaming Symphony [1996] album. And those two albums, for me, were the best stuff we did. So [on the new one Chris] stopped chasing the MTV video sounds.

BM: [laughs]

RR: Like on his last album, he wanted to be modern, he wanted to be on MTV, and he just, I guess he just stopped chasing that and said, “Well, if I’m going to do it with Rob, I guess we’ll do what we always do together.” [laughs] And that’s what I really liked about it, it’s raw and it’s really more, to me, straight metal, not trying to cop on some new fad or something. So I really liked it.

BM: Well, when I sent you the e-mail about Chris’ announcement on Blabbermouth [”The goal of this record was to make a historic album that will rival ‘Van Halen 1′, OZZY’s ‘Blizzard of Oz’, PANTERA’s ‘Cowboys from Hell’, YNGWIE’s ‘Rising Force’, METALLICA’s ‘Master of Puppets’, and even new artists like CHILDREN OF BODOM and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.”] I wondered if that confidence is typical of Chris Impellitteri, if he’s that enthusiastic all the time? Or if this new stuff really is that good?

RR: Well, Chris is very enthusiastic about it. [laughs] Put it that way.

BM: [laughs]

RR: But I talked to him, I said, “What are you saying here, man? I don’t understand.” He said, “Well, it didn’t come out the way I meant it” is what he said. He said, “What I meant is this will be, you know, for those bands, like Metallica, say they put out 10 albums, and their, whatever album that you think is the greatest, or Van Halen might think their first album is the best one.” He thinks this album is his Metallica, it’s his Van Halen, it’s like your favorite album from those bands. This is his favorite album for his band. So yeah, I’m like, “Well, it don’t sound nothing like that, dude.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: I didn’t get that from that. Of course, people flag on him for it, but I’m just like, “Well, that’s Chris. He gets excited.”

BM: [laughs]

RR: [laughs] But no, it’s really good. I think it’s going to probably be our best album.

BM: Really?

RR: Yeah, I think it’s really strong. And Greg really mixing it, you know, it’s really, really solid. You know, with Impellitteri records, there’s always me and Chris in the mixing room battling it, you know, it’s funny. We’d be mixing it with Michael Wagner, and Chris would be like, “Guitar’s gotta be louder.” We’d sit there, and about an hour and a half later, I’d be like, “Ok, you done?” “Yeah.” “Ok, now turn the vocal up.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: We’d go back and forth. So by the end of the record, you know, the drums would be small, because the vocals and the guitars are up in your face, you know?

BM: Yep.

RR: But the new album, with Greg mixing it, the drums are in your face, everything’s in your face. It’s really coming out really good.

BM: Who is the drummer? According to Wiki, it doesn’t list the bass, keyboard, or drums for this album. Who are they?

RR: It’s the same guys. Glen Sobel on drums, James Pulli on bass, and Ed Roth on keyboards.

BM: Really?

RR: Yeah, yeah.

BM: That’s interesting. Whoever updates those Wiki entries neglected to do that this time. So it’s James Pulli, Ed Roth, and Glen Sobel – the classic line-up?

RR: Yep, the band we toured with. And we toured Japan, I don’t know, four or five times. It was always the same band, so it was cool to finally make an album all together too. Because we had Ken Mary in there playing drums in the beginning. You know, I don’t know what happened with him in the more recent years, but now it’s back to, to me, the prime lineup and the prime sound of the Impellitteri sound of Rob and Chris. That’s the real reason why I wanted to do it, because it was back to what me and him do naturally, you know. Not some contrived thing where we’re trying to chase a sound. I was happy about that. We’ve even got the typical 15, 16 tracks of backing vocals going on too. Just like the old sound. It sounds cool.

BM: Yeah. It ought to be great. I’m excited to hear it. Is it going to be called Good and Evil?

RR: Yeah.

BM: Ok, good. When is that coming out, do you know?

RR: I don’t know. Originally, I think it was supposed to come out at the end of the summer, but we’re still mixing it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: But probably in the fall. I don’t know, maybe next year. I really don’t know.

BM: Sometime soon?

RR: Chris is like, you know, “When it’s done, it’s done.” He said, “I’ve always been rushed.” He said he’s always rushed his albums in the end, trying to make deadlines, and this time, he’s just like, when he’s done, then they can set the deadline.

BM: Yeah. Well, let’s switch gears to Driver a second [no pun intended]. Fascinating stuff, the tracks you sent, I just love the way it sounds. Great sound. What was it like working with Roy Z again, and tell me how Driver is different from Impellitteri? What are you doing the same, what are you doing differently?

RR: Well, Driver is really, really live sounding. I mean, everything’s played live, and when I go out there and sing with Roy, I sing the song two or three times, and I say, “Alright, ok, let’s do it now.” He says, “What are you talking about? You’re done man.” Like, “What are you talking about?

BM: [laughs]

RR: He grabs it live. He just pulls things out of the air, out of you. And then he says, “Come back in an hour.” And he’ll play it for you, and he does his magic. And that, to me, is a lot different approach, as opposed to sitting there, straining over every note and every tone, you know. Roy goes for much, much more instinctual thing. He’s not…I don’t know how you say it. The best way to explain it, I think, is the perfect record isn’t perfect. The perfect record has raw edges, it has emotion in it, it has straining in it, it has elements of someone’s sweat and personality on there, you know. As opposed to a Boston album where every note is perfect.

BM: [laughs] Yeah.

RR: But I love those albums too.

BM: Oh yeah.

RR: But I’m just saying, it’s a whole different style. It’s like a different style, and then the Impellitteri is more toward that Boston style, where Driver’s more towards the Jimi Hendrix style, you know.

BM: Yeah.

RR: Hi son. [talking to his son, Alexander, who just entered the room] I’m on the phone, can I talk to you later? He wants to play [talking to me]. [laughs]

BM: I can let you go.

RR: Oh no, it’s all right. He just wants to play.

BM: [laughs]

RR: Oh see? Now he’s shutting me out. [laughs] Ok, he’s gone.

BM: How did it feel to be back with Roy in Driver again? What was that like?

RR: Oh, that was fun. I mean, it was just like going back home. I mean, when you hang out with Roy, it’s always a fun time. Laughing and making jokes and just, it’s like a freestyle thing. He’s really back to, “Man, this is rock and roll, let’s just do it. Don’t sit there and sweat about it, just do it.” Basically letting the natural talent carry you, instead of getting into your, I think in my experience sometimes you get in your own way. You’re thinking about it too hard, and it’s not about thinking. It’s about emotions, it’s about playing and performing.

BM: Were you working on these two almost simultaneously, or did Driver come first and then you got into the Impellitteri mode of thinking?

RR: It wasn’t at the same time. I had the Driver done, basically, except for a couple songs. And then I actually went out to L.A. and did the Driver thing with Roy for a couple of weeks, and we ended up writing two or three songs there, for the album, quick. Just sit down and, “We’re going to write this song today. Here it is.” Sit there and bang it out.

BM: [laughs]

RR: Sweat over it all day and night, and then next day, record it. And so I had all the Driver recording done before I started the Impellitteri.

BM: Good.

RR: But then I had to record Impellitteri, and then when my recording for Impellitteri was done, I went back and started doing the mixing on the Driver [titled Sons of Thunder].

BM: I see.

RR: And now the Driver’s done, all that’s done, and right now, I’m mixing Impellitteri. So it’s like going back and forth.

BM: [laughs] Wow. Was that hard at all to switch gears, going back and forth like that?

RR: Yeah, yeah, I didn’t have to switch too bad. I just got in the world that I was in, and I’ve been used to doing it both ways most of my career anyway. It wasn’t a hard thing to do. And when I do my solo albums, I kind of in between. I go for that live performance, but I also kind of put it under the microscope, like Chris does too. It’s kind of like a mixture. But you’re right, Driver’s one extreme to the live side, and Impellitteri’s the other extreme to the perfection side.

BM: [laughs] Is this a typical summer for you? Is this atypical and you’re just abnormally busy?

RR: I think it’s abnormally busy for me. [laughs]

BM: Yeah. Well, it’s all really good stuff. I can’t wait to hear both of these, have both albums in my hand.

RR: Well, thank you.

BM: It’s going to be great. I appreciate your time tonight. I don’t want to keep you from the little one there, especially. Playtime’s important, man. [laughs]

RR: Yeah. [son talking in the background]

BM: Thanks a lot for your time, Rob. I appreciate it.

RR: All right, Bill, thank you.

BM: Bye bye.

RR: Bye.

Now, without further ado, here’s my original interview with Rob Rock, conducted on April 2, 2008:

RR: Larry’s Pizza, can I take your order?

BM: [laughs] Pepperoni and mushrooms, extra cheese.

RR: [laughs] Yeah. No anchovies, please.

BM: No, no anchovies. [laughs]

RR: [laughs]

BM: How you doin’?

RR: All right. How you been?

BM: Great, great.

RR: Cool.

BM: So you made it home today. All your out and about stuff, and you got home in time.

RR: Yeah, yeah I did.

BM: Cool. Very cool. I appreciate your time this evening.

RR: Oh, you’re welcome.

BM: It’s, you’ve had quite a career here. [laughs] It’s hard to try to get my head around a career that goes back 20 some years and 16 billion albums.

RR: [laughs]

BM: It’s a lot of fun.

RR: Yeah, it’s been a while.

BM: The hot news right now that has everybody sort of buzzing, is the live DVD shoot. Tell me how that came about. Did you plan it the second you got the spot on the bill, or did it sort of evolve over time?

RR: Well, the last tour I did for Holy Hell [2005], I discussed with my label about shooting a DVD, a live DVD. And they weren’t sure they wanted to invest in a DVD at this time, so we went on tour and everything. And then we got a headlining gig at a festival over there, and then they said, “Ok, yeah, we’ll do it. We want to do it.” So we had everything booked. They wanted to give us a final decision in a couple weeks, so we had booked all the crew and everything like that. And then, like, two weeks before the show, we had to know whether or not they were committed or not.

BM: Yeah?

RR: Well, they for some reason couldn’t get back to us in time, so we ended up canceling it, and then a week later they said, “Ok, yeah, let’s do it.”

BM: [laughs]

RR: And it’s, like, “It’s too late now, dudes.” [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: And so that was, you know, I was extremely disappointed by that, but the tour went well, the gig went well. And I’m, like, “Man, this would have been a great show.” And so I’ve been waiting since then and since the release of the latest album, Garden of Chaos [2007] for an opportunity to film a DVD. So when I got the ProgPower gig, I went back to AFM and said, “Ok, you blew it the first time, let’s, we’ve got another chance here at a good venue and a great crowd, and I think we should do it now. It’s the right time in my career. I’m overdue for a live CD and a DVD.” And basically we discussed it and they agreed, and so now, now we’re going to go ahead.

BM: Wow.

RR: And I look forward to filming the show and putting it together and getting it out for next year.

BM: Well, it’s going to be a killer crowd. Have you ever been to one of these ProgPower gigs?

RR: Yeah, yeah. I went to one or two and did some signings and stuff like that. Both times it was a great gig, yeah.

BM: ProgPower fans are rabid. They’re going to go nuts. [laughs] I mean it’s a great, it’s like when the rock stars used to go to Japan, and you know, for all the live albums, so they would go nuts over there. It’s going to be the same kind of thing at ProgPower with your shoot. I’m pretty sure of that.

RR: Well I hope, if they’re as crazy as Japan, I’ll be happy. I’ve done a lot of shows in Japan. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: That’d be great.

BM: Well does this add any pressure on you? I mean, is it going to be extra pressure on top of wanting to put on a killer show, like now you’ve got cameras and tape rolling. Is that more pressure?

RR: Just, it makes the, yeah, it adds a lot of different angles to it. I mean, I have to bring my band over from Sweden, and we have to rehearse. We have to hopefully do some kind of, you know, live gigging, whether it’s in the rehearsal room, or maybe I can book something locally around my house here in Daytona just to get, you know, get back together and shake out any cobwebs. Because, the band plays together a lot in Sweden, but when I go on tour, usually I’m rehearsing at home, and then I meet them.

BM: Yeah.

RR: And we’ll rehearse once or twice before the show. So we have to do the same thing here, at least. You know, I would love to have a tour in front of this, so when I get to ProgPower, everything is well-rehearsed and played over and over. You know, we’ve got 20 shows under our belt, now let’s film it. With this one right now, I’m hoping I can get some gigs in front of it or around it so it’s not just going in for one show and filming one show or whatever. Because it’s, that adds to the pressure, when it’s your first gig in a while. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: And now you’re trying to film it all.

BM: Yeah. [laughs]

RR: But I’ll be fun. Not too worried about it, we’ve done it enough times.

BM: Yeah. [laughs]

RR: So it’s not a new thing.

BM: Well, what can audiences expect from you guys at ProgPower? What are you going to give them? Especially for the ones who might not be familiar with you, what kind of show can they expect to see from Rob Rock?

RR: Oh, high-energy, melodic metal, basically. Yeah. We only have an hour set there, so we’re going to try to pack in as many songs as we can in that hour.

BM: Yeah.

RR: And we’ll play a lot of stuff from my solo albums, but we’ll also probably take some stuff from previous bands I’ve been in to. I haven’t worked out the set list, though.

BM: Well, you know I’ve read a lot of interviews with you online, doing some research for this. And I don’t recall seeing anything that describes how you became a Christian. Were you raised one, or was there a transformation along the way? When did that occur?

RR: Probably when I was a young teenager, I would think. I was brought up in the Christian church, in a Baptist church up in Massachusetts. So I’ve had a Christian family all my life as well, so it’s, yeah, you grow up and you live your life with your family the way you’re expected to, but then there’s always a point in life where you decide for yourself that this is who I am and this is what I believe, and that’s it. That point for me happened when, the major point, when I did the M.A.R.S. Project Driver [1986], here I was, I was playing in a cover band back east.

BM: Vice?

RR: Six to seven nights a week, yep, in Vice. You know, we, I was running the band, and we had the big truck, the big PA, the big lights, you know, road crew. We were all living on it, doing very well. Then I got an offer from Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge and Tony MacAlpine to do this project in LA. So I was like, “Wow, I’m going to actually be singing for Ozzy’s band?”

BM: [laughs]

RR: “This is unreal.” You know. And Tony MacAlpine was like the hot new guitar player at the time too. And so it was a fantastic chance. And I flew out there and auditioned, I got the gig, and I was like, “Wow, I finally made it.” Everything was going great, we did the album, we started booking a worldwide tour. But while we were making contacts for the tour, David Coverdale was looking for a touring band as well for his new album that was coming out. That 1987 album. And he decided he would cherry pick Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge for his band. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: So that big dream I had that was flashed before my eyes, was in a different direction than I expected. You know, I was able to get my first real, professional recording out, with real seasoned players. And I’m really grateful for such a strong start in my recording career from a cover band to my recording, you know, it was a pivotal moment. To start being on this, however many albums I have now, I don’t know, 20, 25 albums, whatever it is now, is, that was the point. But at that point, I thought, “Wow, I finally made it to the big time.” And when it all went separate ways a year later, I was pretty down about that. I was bummed out. And that’s when I realized, you know what? I believe in Jesus Christ, and I’m a Christian, and I think I was selling my soul to rock and roll or something. Because nothing else mattered at that point. For the years leading up to that point, it was like it was in my hand and it slipped through my fingers right there in an instant. And you kind of get a little, I guess I could have gotten jaded about it, but I didn’t. I guess at that point I realized that life is very fleeting, and you have to look at the bigger pictures. You’ve have to have, you can’t just depend your whole life on, in one day it’s all gone, whatever you think is going to satisfy you, it’s gone, you know.

BM: Well—

RR: At that point, I decided that I would, obviously carry on as a musician. I was given this great opportunity and it definitely put me in a big spotlight. But from that point on, I always tried to filter in my Christian beliefs as a tie and a tribute to my faith and how I was brought up and I tried to live my life from that, at this time.

BM: Well that’s pretty cool. I was going to say, I betcha something occurred after M.A.R.S., simply because I can see the progression of lyrics and boldness through the Impellitteri [1987- ] years, then from Joshua [1988] and Angelica [1989] onward, you’re getting bolder and bolder as time goes on, and I could see it started right after that. [laughs]

RR: Yeah. [laughs]

BM: So now you’re just blazing bold, like in this Fires of Babylon [2008] thing.

RR: Yeah, it doesn’t matter no more. I sing about what’s on my heart, what’s on my mind. People know who I am. They love it. I mean, I’ve had a lot of, not Satanists, but people who don’t care about religion and stuff, they don’t care either. They just want good metal, they want good tunes, they want good melodies, and that’s what I try to deliver as well.

BM: Oh yeah. Well you know, back in that day, the M.A.R.S. was kind of ’86 or so.

RR: Yeah.

BM: Christian rock, Christian metal, there were a lot of bands. That was the pivotal point. You had the Petras and the Rez Bands and the Strypers and Bloodgoods and Barren Crosses, but they were coming under some heavy fire, man. There were protests outside their gigs and all that. And Christian metal bands around at the time, they really had to make a choice. They could either be signed to a Christian label and play for Christians and have their records sold in Christian bookstores, or they signed to secular labels and sang for just regular people everywhere. You seem to have gotten pretty lucky in that you didn’t go the Christian label route, and sort of then labeled, you know, stuck in that little box. Was that a conscious decision on your part, or were you just lucky in that you just played with world-class musicians no matter what, on regular labels.

RR: I think that’s part of the, well, I’ll call it a blessing I received when I got that gig with M.A.R.S. Project Driver, that it was such a, I mean, Ozzy Osbourne, man. That’s the biggest metal band there is. I actually later on, Angelica was actually a studio project, but after that I checked into getting signed on a Christian label, they wouldn’t have me.

BM: Really?

RR: They said, “Well, you need to have a church affiliation.”

BM: Yeah.

RR: “You need to have a pastor that you can be accountable to, and a ministry. We’re about ministering and having a ministry.” I’m like, “What? I’ve been doing covers for five years professionally, and now I’m doing this stuff. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just want to rock and roll, man.”

BM: [laughs]

RR: And because of the position I was in, I’d been able to do that and just be who I am. And I think the reason for my longevity and the success I’ve had is I’ve been true to myself, and I think people actually know that.

BM: Yeah.

RR: You know, I’m not singing about the usual sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but I think that makes me different as well. [laughs]

BM: Oh yeah.

RR: I’m not complaining, you know.

BM: No, you got lucky. There was a lot of, I don’t know if you remember Kerry Livgren [Kansas guitarist/songwriter] at all.

RR: Yeah, oh yeah. He’s awesome.

BM: His first solo album [Seeds of Change, 1980], he caught flak like you wouldn’t believe for having Dio singing on it. The Christian music business was a tough business to be in back then. You couldn’t do anything.

RR: Yeah, and I don’t agree with that philosophy. That is unbiblical, man, if you know your Bible.

BM: Sure.

RR: You know. [laughs] It’s just, why would you, you’re supposed to go out into the mission field, which is the world. You’re not supposed to have your own little club, you know.

BM: [laughs]

RR: That was the thing. Christians selling to Christians is like turning around and singing—

BM: To the choir. [laughs] Yep, yep.

RR: I got my start in the secular world, I had a great springboard, and from then, the Lord has sustained me for a long time, man. And every, and it’s still stronger than ever for me, and it’s been a blessing.

BM: Yeah, I was going to say, you really did dodge a bullet with that, because Kerry Livgren, Mark Farner, [Grand Funk Railroad guitarist/songwriter] all these people who sort of left secular music and got into the Christian stuff were just churned and burned, I mean they got burned badly by labels and Christians. And they almost lost it for a while. Now they’re coming back and doing their own thing, about like how you are, but for a while, they got really sucked into a bad gig. So you really sidestepped a truck there, man. [laughs]

RR: Yeah, yeah. I guess I did. I’m lucky in that sense. [laughs]

BM: What do you say now? This latest project, you sent me an email in which you said this Fires of Babylon thing is a hired-gun project for you.

RR: Yeah.

BM: What is your criteria for that? What does it take to be a hired gun? What do you look for when you sign on to do some vocals for somebody?

RR: I look for the freedom to sing any lyrics that I want to sing. That they have faith in me that it’ll definitely work with the music. [laughs]

BM: Yeah.

RR: And basically, I get a fee for doing vocals. And if I’m writing the lyrics and melodies, I just want the freedom to do what I do.

BM: Yeah.

RR: Like the Angelica gig I did back in, I think it was ’87, I think it was. A friend of mine, Ken Tamplin [killer vocalist and guitarist], was producing that album. Their singer [Andy Lyon], he had trouble in the studio, so Ken called me up and said, “Hey, want to make a quick buck?” I said, “Well, doing what?” He said, “Singing a Christian album.” I said, “Oh, I’d love to sing a Christian album.” And so I did. But that was never my band. I’d met Dennis [Cameron], the guitar player, but I never even met the band.

BM: Yeah. Actually—

RR: I was signing what they expected me to sing, but I don’t really do that anymore, when I’m a hired gun anymore. Usually I’m more hired to help with the songwriting. And like with Fires of Babylon, I wrote with Lou St. Paul. You know, he would send me music, and I would write my stuff to it. But I haven’t met the band, you know, I never met those guys yet.

BM: Yeah.

RR: The modern day of doing records. [laughs]

BM: Yeah, I know.

RR: Is a lot different than it used to be.

BM: I bought the Angelica album when it came out. The liner notes say, “All lead vocals were performed this time ‘round by: ROB ROCK. Except lead vocals on ‘Face to Face’ by Ken Tamplin.” Was he just not able to sing the gig? You did better? What? I mean, how did Ken bring you in? What did he say?

RR: When I got there, the songs were already written, Ken had sang all the backing vocals already, and he told me that Dennis didn’t want it to be a Ken Tamplin album, so he wanted to find another singer.

BM: [laughs] Yeah.

RR: And Ken knew me, and so he called me up. And Dennis was very pleased, because he was a big M.A.R.S. Project Driver fan.

BM: Oh cool.

RR: And that’s how it went from there. I don’t know the deeper story about Andy. Like I said, I haven’t met him or anything.

BM: Well tell me about Ken Tamplin. I mean, his, how did you know Ken? His Shout [band, 1987-1999] stuff and his solo stuff back then were just amazing. I remember thinking this guy was a guitar and vocal god. I mean, wow. Range and everything like that. How did you get to be friends with Ken Tamplin?

RR: I was in a band with him for a while. [laughs]

BM: Oh really? Which band was that?

RR: Yeah, yeah. Joshua.

BM: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That came out in ’88. Yeah. I forgot all about that one. See? Too many albums to keep track of. [laughs]

RR: Yep. When I joined Joshua, it was like ’87. It’s funny, it was after M.A.R.S. broke up, here I was in LA. I just, I had moved out there for the whole thing. And like so everything I had on the coast. So there I was sitting there with nothing, and I saw an ad for RCA recording artist Joshua looking for a singer. And all I had was a cassette tape of the M.A.R.S. Project Driver, I don’t even think it was out yet, I just had a cassette, homemade cassette version of it. And I wrote on my napkin my name and phone number. And I just put the napkin, and the tape in the package and sent it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs] Gee whiz.

RR: And I got a call, because I didn’t care at that point. I was like, “What am I doing? I don’t know what I’m doing. RCA Records? I’ll go do an RCA Records thing.”

BM: Yeah.

RR: You know, as long as the songs are good and stuff. So I sent it off and then I heard the songs, and I thought the songs were great. Ken Tamplin was in the band, he was doing a lot of the singing for Joshua. But Joshua [Perahia, guitarist] didn’t, I don’t think he wanted Ken to be the lead singer. He wanted Ken to be the second singer/songwriter. I guess they had toured previously, and the band had been together, so I guess their issues were they wanted just a front man, and that’s when I came in.

BM: Yeah.

RR: And my the time we did the album, in Ken’s defense, Ken had left and started Shout and stuff. And I think he left because he probably didn’t want to be controlled by Joshua, you know.

BM: [laughs]

RR: Or whatever was going on there was between them before I got there.

BM: Before I continue on the timeline we’re on, I’d like to jump ahead to your latest solo album, Garden of Chaos. It’s a killer album. It really is really very cool.

RR: Thank you.

BM: And again, you’re with Roy Z [guitarist/songwriter/producer]. You first got with Roy Z back in the Driver days, in 1990. Is that correct?

RR: Yeah. Well, when I got back from Germany and recording Intense Defense [1988] with Joshua, after that things went south with the band and stuff, and I decided to leave the band and start my own band. And I decided to call it Driver. And I actually called Rudy and said, “Do you mind if I use that name, Driver?” We used M.A.R.S. as the artist name on our album, and so he said, “No, I don’t care.” So I started Driver. I had a couple guys from Joshua, the bass player and keyboard player, with me. And we found a drummer, and then the drummer knew a guitar player, his name was Roy Z. And once I heard Roy Z play, it was like, “Yeeeah. This guy’s awesome.”

BM: [laughs]

RR: And he’s a great songwriter. So we proceeded to write 30 or 40 songs together, and that was, for two years solid we just wrote songs, played live gigs. We played like a year on the west coast, and then we moved back east and those guys came with me, we played here on the east coast. We did a lot of demos for Atlantic records. At that point, grunge was coming in, and they said, “Oh, you know, things are changing and we’re not sure what we want to find yet. Do us some demos.” We wrote even more songs, and eventually I went back to Axel Rudi Pell [1991]. But yeah, I met Roy in LA, and we have a great chemistry with songwriting. So when I became a solo artist, I said, “Man, we’ve got 30 or 40 songs we wrote, why don’t we cherry-pick those and make an album, make my solo album.” So that’s what we did. And since then, we just carried on our relationship, and we’re good friends since 1990, 1989, actually. And he’s since become a great producer.

BM: Oh yeah.

RR: He used to make, in 1989, he made four-tracks sound like records, man. He was awesome just with a four-track.

BM: [laughs] Yeah. I’ve heard a lot of his stuff with Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford, and he’s got a great reputation as a producer, let alone a guitarist/songwriter.

RR: Yep. So it’s been, you know, he’s been a great blessing to my career and we’ve been great friends too. And our relationship’s much deeper than just music, but you know, it’s a longevity and it’s been really good chemistry.

BM: Did you have any idea, back in ’89, when you first met this guy, you’d still be hanging out with him 20 years later, making— First Impelliteri Album

RR: No clue.

BM: [laughs]

RR: Not even. [laughs] Funny how life works out.

BM: It is, isn’t it? What do you guys bring to the table? What is your chemistry? Describe that for me. How does your relationship with Roy Z differ from your relationship with Chris, Impellitteri? How is your chemistry different from what you had with Chris for almost 10 years?

RR: Well, Chris is another good friend, and he was with me back in Vice [y’all gotta see this YouTube video of Vice doing “Tom Sawyer”]. And we’ve stayed in touch throughout the years as well.

BM: Yeah.

RR: But with Chris, Chris is very focused. He’s got one thing he wants to prove, and that’s that he’s the fastest guitar player there is. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: So he writes the songs around that.

BM: [laughs]

RR: So when he gives me songs, he goes, “This is what I’m playing, I don’t care what you do, but I’m not changing a note.”

BM: [laughs]

RR: [laughs] So I was forced to learn how to write songs with parameters. You know, “Here’s the music, I’m not changing it for you, you make it happen with your voice.” And that’s ended up being a great asset for me throughout the years, especially when I’m doing hired gun stuff.

BM: Wow.

RR: So that chemistry is a lot different than with Roy Z, who says, “Whaddya got for me? You got any lyrics, melodies?” “Yes.” “Ok, sing it for me.”

BM: Yeah.

RR: And I’ll just sing it in midair, he’ll sit there with his guitar and get all crazy and come up with music underneath what I’m singing. You know, we write songs that way, like “The Sun Will Rise Again” from [Rage of] Creation [2000] was written that way, just straight off the vocal. And then other songs are written off the riffs or some song parts that he has, or parts of songs that we had written together back in ’89 and ’90, when we were driving around in a van doing a gig every night. So it’s different, because Roy says, “I’m here to make you look good, I’m here to make you sound good. Don’t sing that, sing this, do this, yeah, that’s the way to go.” And he encourages you more as a song-oriented person and a producer. And he’s more about lifting you up. It’s all about the singer, it’s all about the song. Where with Chris, it’s all about Chris. You’re there too, but it’s your ball, you’ve have to make it happen. It’s a different thing.

BM: [laughs] You’re still pretty good friends with Chris?

RR: Yeah.

BM: And you can say that to him? You can say, “Chris, here’s how it is. You wanted to be the fastest guitar player, and I had to play around you.” I mean, you guys have that kind of relationship where you can just say that and he’s not going to freak out or anything.

RR: No.

BM: [laughs] That’s pretty good.

RR: No, he knows.

BM: He knows. [laughs]

RR: He’d say it, not me. He says, “This is what I’m doing, man.” He says, “You’re good enough to do it.” He’s, like, “I’ll trust you with my stuff. Here you go. You make it happen as the vocalist. I’m making it happen as a guitar player.”

BM: That’s cool.

RR: It’s more, with Chris and my relationship, it’s more about mutual respect. We both know we’re really good at what we do. So when we do things together, it’s like, “Here, do your thing.” It’s very, it’s liberating, but at the same time, it takes a lot of trust.

BM: Oh yeah.

RR: And mutual respect to get it done.

BM: Well, tell me about Garden of Chaos. Out of the four solo albums you’ve had with Roy Z at the helm, this is the first one that says, “Produced by CJ.” What did you guys decide to change in your chemistry and your working relationship to let CJ [Carl Johan Grimmark, Swedish guitarist/producer] produce the thing?

RR: Well, I guess that depends on your definition of producing. That’s a term that’s loosely thrown around, and I don’t think anyone knows the meaning. But producing in this case of Garden of Chaos means that CJ took the songs that Roy and I demoed, rehearsed them with the band, recorded the band, and then put it all together with the editing and all the technical issues and the recording and all that stuff. So he did all the legwork. He’s the one that actually put what Roy and I, we wrote seven of the songs together, when I sat down in the beginning with Roy, I said, “This is what we want the album to sound like. This is our direction.” And we wrote seven songs together, and then I wrote songs with other players to finish up the album. But then Roy was like, “Dude, I got Halford and Dickinson to do. You know, what do I do? I can try to cram you in there, but I don’t want to rush through it, you know?”

BM: [laughs] Yeah.

RR: I said, “Well CJ, he just recorded and produced his last Narnia album. It came out really good, man. I’m confident he could do a great job.” He said, “You know what, I think he is too.” So that’s what we did. We gave the ball to CJ, and like I said, the band’s in Sweden. They got little rough demos that Roy and I made, and they rehearsed them, and then they recorded the drums over there. They recorded the bass and recorded the guitars, and then CJ flew over here with the, I was going to say tapes, but [laughs] you know, with the hard disk.

BM: [laughs]

RR: And I’d been over here writing my vocals and melodies, and he came to my house, and we just recorded them at my house, the vocals.

BM: One of the things I like to do with the people I interview for ProgPower, especially if they have a career that spans the range yours does, is ask them what they remember most about the recording of certain albums or periods of time. Like Garden of Chaos. When you think about how that thing came together, what is it that stands out in your mind the most? Do you have a favorite track? Was anything really difficult to lay down?

RR: Um, let’s see. Well, this sounds weird, but you asked it. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: What stands out most is that I recorded that song in my parents’ house, but nobody was living in the house. You know, my dad died in ’04, and since then, my mom had remarried. So the house was empty. But it was on the market to be sold, but there weren’t any buyers yet. And I was like, “Well we could either rent a studio and spend money, or we could go to the house and set up my vocal chain, and make a booth on our own, and make it happen.” So that’s what we did. And so here I am in this house where my parents used to live, and I’ve got walls of blankets hanging up all over the place. [laughs]

BM: Wow. [laughs]

RR: So it didn’t look anything like it used to. And I’m in there blasting out heavy metal songs with some Swedish guy in the other room with a laptop and a hard drive. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

RR: So that, to me, when I think of the album, I think, “Man, that was trippy.” It was weird. You know, and since then, the house has sold, so I’ll never do another recording in that house. But it worked out really good and you know, that’s what I think about when I think about those sessions, was the vocal sessions being the last thing I ever did in that house.

BM: Wow. Is there one track, and by the way, I noticed that let’s see here, there was a change in personnel from album to album between Holy Hell [2005], Liza Schecter became Liza Rock?

RR: Liza Schecter became Liza Rock? Oh yeah, between Garden of Chaos [2007 and Holy Hell. [laughs]

BM: Yeah. In between that time.

RR: Yeah, you got that right.

BM: See, that’s what, I’m looking at the credits thinking, “Ok, she’s playing some background keyboards and vocals.” And then all of a sudden, the same person named Liza is named Rock, and she’s doing the same thing on Garden of Chaos. [laughs] I’m thinking, “Hmm, what happened there?” [laughs]

RR: Hmm. Yeah, what happened there? [laughs]

BM: That’s cool.

RR: No, that’s the same person. Yeah.

BM: You guys work pretty well together, I take it?

RR: Yeah, very well. She’s a very, very good pianist, and she’s a good keyboard player, and she sings great. And you know, when the talent’s sitting right next to you, I’m like, “C’mon, get on the mic, I need some backing vocals.”

BM: [laughs] Yeah. That’s cool.

RR: [laughs]

BM: Well tell me, before I ask you about the other albums in your solo career, is there one song off Garden of Chaos that really, really touches you the most? Really moves you or just really gets your blood pumping, or what? What, is there one song on there that if people had to, if somebody said, “Rob, I don’t know what you’re all about, I only have this one album of yours, I only have time to hear one song, what should it be?” [laughs]

RR: Oh man. You’re pinning the whole career on one song?

BM: [laughs]

RR: [laughs]

BM: Let’s say that’s too broad a question. [laughs]

RR: [laughs] I think the title track, “Garden of Chaos” is pretty strong about what I do.

BM: You did that with Gus G, didn’t you.

RR: Yeah. Yeah, actually.

BM: How’d you work that gig out? I interviewed him last year, he’s a cool guy.

RR: Yeah. He’s good, he’s real good. He’s a good friend of mine, actually, and we’ve talked about working together. And when I needed a few more songs for my album, I asked him if he had any cuts that he thought might be

- end part one

NOTE: The entire interview can be found in the ProgPower USA IX program given to all attendees at this year’s metal fest.

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