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I could go out on tour, actually,
and play by myself as far as...
2
00:00:32,842 --> 00:00:34,926
you know, most people know, but, uh...
3
00:00:34,927 --> 00:00:36,640
It works like an orchestra on-stage.
4
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I happen to write the songs.
5
00:00:41,553 --> 00:00:44,597
And I kind of conduct the band,
6
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and we work as an orchestra.
7
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I don't go out and...
8
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do a Tom Jones thing with a bunch of sidemen.
9
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A hired gun is an assassin.
10
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The best available musician
that gets hired to go on tour,
11
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to deliver that music for that artist.
12
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Nobody will know who he is.
13
00:01:05,285 --> 00:01:08,710
But he gets the gig because he is the elite player.
14
00:01:30,978 --> 00:01:33,646
It seems like there's about twenty
musicians we're talking about
15
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that have made every single
record that everybody owns.
16
00:01:50,372 --> 00:01:52,837
There's always somebody standing
by ready to take your place
17
00:01:52,838 --> 00:01:54,504
if things aren't going well.
18
00:01:54,505 --> 00:01:55,377
That's for sure.
19
00:02:11,143 --> 00:02:14,568
My job security was my awesomeness.
20
00:02:27,075 --> 00:02:30,545
You had to be even more focused than
somebody who's permanently in a band.
21
00:02:30,546 --> 00:02:33,080
Because, what you're doing today
22
00:02:33,081 --> 00:02:35,925
reflects on what you are going to be doing tomorrow.
23
00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,898
You have to play great all the time
because you're entertaining the name.
24
00:02:58,899 --> 00:03:00,945
And if you're not great tonight,
25
00:03:00,946 --> 00:03:02,740
you may lose your gig tomorrow.
26
00:03:08,575 --> 00:03:12,995
We know the riffs that they played
on guitar, or piano, or saxophone,
27
00:03:12,996 --> 00:03:14,669
but we don't know their face or their name.
28
00:03:18,168 --> 00:03:19,636
Being a hired gun,
29
00:03:19,637 --> 00:03:22,421
you're sitting in the front row,
30
00:03:22,422 --> 00:03:28,094
to a very glamorous, high
profile, exciting lifestyle.
31
00:03:28,095 --> 00:03:30,223
But it has nothing to do with you.
32
00:03:46,029 --> 00:03:47,950
My mother was always into music.
33
00:03:47,951 --> 00:03:51,669
We used to cut school to go see Frank
Sinatra and stuff like that...
34
00:03:51,670 --> 00:03:54,036
My father was a bit of a square.
35
00:03:54,037 --> 00:03:57,710
But, they bought me a set of drums when I was, maybe,
36
00:03:57,711 --> 00:03:59,500
twelve, eleven years old...
37
00:03:59,501 --> 00:04:02,004
Because, my father says, "Because
they didn't make Prozac back then."
38
00:04:10,929 --> 00:04:12,397
When I was 19 years old
39
00:04:12,398 --> 00:04:15,933
I was playing with a guy named Richie Supa.
40
00:04:15,934 --> 00:04:18,481
And Doug Stegmeyer and Russell Javors
41
00:04:18,482 --> 00:04:20,697
are in the audience watching me play.
42
00:04:23,650 --> 00:04:27,367
There was just something about
Lib that was very, very special.
43
00:04:27,368 --> 00:04:29,952
And I would go there as a kid and I'd say,
44
00:04:29,953 --> 00:04:31,787
"I'm going to start a band with this guy.
45
00:04:31,788 --> 00:04:33,829
That's the drummer I want to play with."
46
00:04:33,830 --> 00:04:34,919
And it just evolved.
47
00:04:39,124 --> 00:04:41,876
Eventually we started a band called Topper.
48
00:04:41,877 --> 00:04:44,592
Doug Stegmeyer got the gig with Billy first.
49
00:04:44,593 --> 00:04:47,717
He went on the Streetlife
Serenader tour with Billy Joel
50
00:04:47,718 --> 00:04:51,471
when Billy told Doug that he
wanted to move from California
51
00:04:51,472 --> 00:04:52,636
back to New York,
52
00:04:52,637 --> 00:04:54,810
and he wanted a New York style drummer.
53
00:04:54,811 --> 00:04:57,183
So, Doug said, "Well...
54
00:04:57,184 --> 00:04:59,355
We got the guy. I know the guy!"
55
00:04:59,356 --> 00:05:01,023
First one Doug brought in
56
00:05:01,024 --> 00:05:03,524
cause he was looking for a
rhythm section was Liberty.
57
00:05:03,525 --> 00:05:07,526
So they really started doing Turnstiles
together with the three of them.
58
00:05:07,527 --> 00:05:09,825
We got in the studio. The
three of us started to record,
59
00:05:09,826 --> 00:05:12,242
me, Doug and Billy, just bass, drums and piano.
60
00:05:12,243 --> 00:05:14,411
And when we listened back, Billy would say, "Well...
61
00:05:14,412 --> 00:05:16,499
You know, I could use some guitar on this."
62
00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,714
And we said, "Well, we know guitar players."
63
00:05:18,715 --> 00:05:19,872
So, eventually,
64
00:05:19,873 --> 00:05:22,750
Topper became Billy Joel's band.
65
00:05:22,751 --> 00:05:26,051
And that was the band that went on
and toured the Turnstiles album.
66
00:05:27,088 --> 00:05:28,055
The rest is history.
67
00:05:43,647 --> 00:05:47,026
As a hired gun you have to be on point all the time.
68
00:05:47,027 --> 00:05:49,365
Are you gonna be prepared and ready to go?
69
00:05:49,366 --> 00:05:52,160
The one most important thing that'll make it good
70
00:05:52,161 --> 00:05:53,405
is your attitude.
71
00:05:53,406 --> 00:05:56,033
Be damn sure you know,
72
00:05:56,034 --> 00:05:57,001
what the artist needs.
73
00:05:58,078 --> 00:05:59,286
That's the key.
74
00:05:59,287 --> 00:06:01,121
And then provide it.
75
00:06:01,122 --> 00:06:04,713
Being able to sing is always a plus.
If you can sing good, and play,
76
00:06:04,714 --> 00:06:07,381
you're gonna get the gig before
the guy that just plays good!
77
00:06:07,382 --> 00:06:09,723
You gotta be able to memorize stuff... fast.
78
00:06:09,724 --> 00:06:14,009
We get good at zeroing in on
exactly what we need to hit
79
00:06:14,010 --> 00:06:15,057
very quickly.
80
00:06:22,060 --> 00:06:24,233
There's no room for a B-game here.
81
00:06:24,234 --> 00:06:25,980
You gotta always bring A,
82
00:06:25,981 --> 00:06:28,274
and just knock teeth out.
83
00:06:28,275 --> 00:06:29,652
That's what you gotta do.
84
00:06:38,869 --> 00:06:41,122
I didn't really start playing metal or rock
85
00:06:41,123 --> 00:06:43,167
until I became part of Quiet Riot.
86
00:06:43,168 --> 00:06:45,916
And I'm talking about the Quiet
Riot version with Randy Rhoads
87
00:06:45,917 --> 00:06:48,460
which I was a member of in the 70s.
88
00:06:48,461 --> 00:06:52,923
That version of Quiet Riot
was more of a glam rock band.
89
00:06:52,924 --> 00:06:55,259
But the music scene at that time
90
00:06:55,260 --> 00:06:58,059
was very much centric on...
91
00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,180
New Wave and Punk.
92
00:07:00,181 --> 00:07:01,979
And bands like Quiet Riot...
93
00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:04,435
We were considered dinosaurs.
94
00:07:04,436 --> 00:07:07,777
There was word around town that
the singer from Black Sabbath
95
00:07:07,778 --> 00:07:10,776
was looking for new musicians, you
know, to put a band together.
96
00:07:10,777 --> 00:07:13,449
So, I was trying to get a hold of anybody.
97
00:07:13,450 --> 00:07:14,653
Meanwhile,
98
00:07:14,654 --> 00:07:17,075
Ozzy's management, his people, you know,
99
00:07:17,076 --> 00:07:18,541
were trying to get a hold of Randy
100
00:07:18,542 --> 00:07:20,534
to come and audition.
101
00:07:20,535 --> 00:07:23,037
He went out there, you know, met with Ozzy,
102
00:07:23,038 --> 00:07:26,668
and as he was tuning up and just
doodling around the guitar,
103
00:07:26,669 --> 00:07:28,334
he got the gig.
104
00:07:28,335 --> 00:07:30,628
And early 1981,
105
00:07:30,629 --> 00:07:32,550
I get the phone call from Ozzy,
106
00:07:32,551 --> 00:07:34,386
"Randy keeps telling me that you're the one"
107
00:07:34,387 --> 00:07:36,678
and I met with Ozzy that night, and Sharon,
108
00:07:36,679 --> 00:07:38,472
and I guess I passed the test.
109
00:07:38,473 --> 00:07:39,517
"You want the gig?"
110
00:07:40,055 --> 00:07:40,931
I said...
111
00:07:41,848 --> 00:07:42,890
"Yeah!"
112
00:07:42,891 --> 00:07:44,939
So, I went from sleeping on a floor,
113
00:07:44,940 --> 00:07:46,727
just a sheet,
114
00:07:46,728 --> 00:07:49,525
to all of a sudden... I'm, not
only am a member of Ozzy's band,
115
00:07:49,526 --> 00:07:51,570
but, I'm living with him and Sharon,
116
00:07:51,571 --> 00:07:54,234
up in a mansion in Beverly Hills.
117
00:07:54,235 --> 00:07:56,658
It's been an incredible ride ever since, you know.
118
00:08:05,455 --> 00:08:08,627
Good people don't stay
undiscovered for very long.
119
00:08:08,628 --> 00:08:11,845
That's what I always tell people
that think the business is so vast.
120
00:08:11,846 --> 00:08:13,253
It's not.
121
00:08:13,254 --> 00:08:16,256
Because if you're good you stand out quick.
122
00:08:16,257 --> 00:08:18,055
Everybody in the business from...
123
00:08:19,177 --> 00:08:21,762
From Marilyn Manson to Rob Zombie,
124
00:08:21,763 --> 00:08:25,474
to Ozzy Osbourne, to myself, who are lead singers...
125
00:08:25,475 --> 00:08:27,768
All know who...
126
00:08:27,769 --> 00:08:30,147
where the carrel... The A carrel is.
127
00:08:30,148 --> 00:08:32,069
So, you, of course, go for those guys first.
128
00:08:37,946 --> 00:08:39,539
All right. I broke two strings!
129
00:08:39,540 --> 00:08:40,614
Whoo!
130
00:08:40,615 --> 00:08:41,662
Two strings!
131
00:08:51,209 --> 00:08:52,631
I remember getting the paper,
132
00:08:52,632 --> 00:08:53,961
and opening it up.
133
00:08:53,962 --> 00:08:56,802
And I remember my tears hitting the newspaper...
134
00:08:56,803 --> 00:08:58,846
And, like, snot hitting the newspaper.
135
00:08:58,847 --> 00:09:01,391
Man, it's like, "Fuck, what? Fuck!"
136
00:09:07,267 --> 00:09:09,268
Anybody, especially at that
time they were into metal.
137
00:09:09,269 --> 00:09:10,477
He was our hero.
138
00:09:10,478 --> 00:09:12,067
He was Jimi Hendrix of the bass, man.
139
00:09:12,068 --> 00:09:14,316
I've told that to anybody, straight up.
140
00:09:14,317 --> 00:09:16,155
I don't care who you are, playing bass.
141
00:09:16,156 --> 00:09:18,279
You're not as good as Cliff, sorry.
142
00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,406
And, I had only seen him in concert, man.
143
00:09:20,407 --> 00:09:22,701
I'm standing right in front of Cliff, like...
144
00:09:22,702 --> 00:09:26,165
And spent my last 14 bucks on
my Metallica shirt, you know.
145
00:09:26,166 --> 00:09:27,750
The talk started happening.
146
00:09:27,751 --> 00:09:29,371
They were talking about auditions.
147
00:09:29,372 --> 00:09:31,215
"Okay, who's the bass player,
man? We gotta get somebody
148
00:09:31,216 --> 00:09:32,921
because we have to continue this tour."
149
00:09:32,922 --> 00:09:35,335
They have a big, big hit on her
hands, need to Rock n Roll.
150
00:09:35,336 --> 00:09:36,962
They've gotta push through. There's momentum,
151
00:09:36,963 --> 00:09:38,931
and you're never gonna get that momentum again.
152
00:09:38,932 --> 00:09:42,801
They call out 45 to 50 people from around the world.
153
00:09:42,802 --> 00:09:45,471
And I got an early flight, borrowed
money from all of my friends.
154
00:09:45,472 --> 00:09:47,065
Twenty from that person, ten from that person,
155
00:09:47,066 --> 00:09:48,521
seven, nine from that guy.
156
00:09:48,522 --> 00:09:51,520
Whatever they could give
me. "Dude, you got... "What?"
157
00:09:51,521 --> 00:09:54,354
An audition with Metallica? Are you..."
158
00:09:54,355 --> 00:09:57,483
Everybody's flipping the fuck out!
159
00:09:57,484 --> 00:10:00,450
And so, I was ready and I got there
early and I was there the first one.
160
00:10:00,451 --> 00:10:03,367
I was there before the band
got there on audition day.
161
00:10:03,368 --> 00:10:05,240
I look over and I poke my head in,
162
00:10:05,241 --> 00:10:07,117
"What have I got myself into?
163
00:10:07,118 --> 00:10:09,416
Like I'm actually going to step in and play with..."
164
00:10:09,417 --> 00:10:12,086
It hit me, like, "Metallica, dude!"
165
00:10:14,084 --> 00:10:17,544
Eleven days after that we were touring japan.
166
00:10:17,545 --> 00:10:20,640
Metallica touring Japan for the first
time and I was the bass player.
167
00:10:20,641 --> 00:10:22,007
And at that time,
168
00:10:22,008 --> 00:10:23,383
I was a hired gun,
169
00:10:23,384 --> 00:10:24,385
for $500 a week.
170
00:10:25,178 --> 00:10:26,386
"Okay."
171
00:10:26,387 --> 00:10:27,513
I mean, I would have done it for a sandwich.
172
00:10:27,514 --> 00:10:29,266
I mean, it wouldn't have mattered then.
173
00:10:29,267 --> 00:10:32,856
I would have paid you guys five
bucks to let me go. Shit, you know!
174
00:10:32,857 --> 00:10:34,728
So that was it. Five hundred dollars a week
175
00:10:34,729 --> 00:10:36,400
until April the next year,
176
00:10:36,401 --> 00:10:37,692
when I joined Metallica...
177
00:10:37,693 --> 00:10:40,155
And I was a full member for 14, 15 years.
178
00:10:40,156 --> 00:10:43,198
I was not gonna pass this up or take this for granted
179
00:10:43,199 --> 00:10:45,823
that I was given this opportunity by these guys.
180
00:10:45,824 --> 00:10:47,574
"Now you're in it, dude.
181
00:10:47,575 --> 00:10:49,414
You signed to be in this thing.
182
00:10:49,415 --> 00:10:50,956
You can't take that lightly.
183
00:10:50,957 --> 00:10:52,875
This is big responsibility now."
184
00:10:52,876 --> 00:10:54,543
Everybody's got their role in this band
185
00:10:54,544 --> 00:10:56,635
and nobody wants to be the weak link.
186
00:10:56,636 --> 00:10:59,920
That's why that band is still around.
187
00:10:59,921 --> 00:11:02,761
Finding the right person for
your band is almost impossible
188
00:11:02,762 --> 00:11:05,852
because you're looking for, to me, three things.
189
00:11:05,853 --> 00:11:08,095
You got to find somebody who...
190
00:11:08,096 --> 00:11:09,473
is an excellent musician
191
00:11:09,474 --> 00:11:11,600
which, that's the easiest thing to find.
192
00:11:11,601 --> 00:11:14,020
There's a million excellent musicians.
193
00:11:14,021 --> 00:11:16,940
Then you gotta find somebody who's really cool...
194
00:11:16,941 --> 00:11:18,277
who can stand on stage
195
00:11:18,278 --> 00:11:20,321
in front of you know 15... a 100,000 people,
196
00:11:20,322 --> 00:11:21,817
and be amazing.
197
00:11:21,818 --> 00:11:24,071
Then, it whittles it down to a smaller group,
198
00:11:24,072 --> 00:11:27,950
and then you gotta find somebody
you can stand to be around 24/7.
199
00:11:27,951 --> 00:11:31,247
Because, you know, you live
with them, day in and day out.
200
00:11:31,248 --> 00:11:32,791
Then it shrinks down to about...
201
00:11:32,792 --> 00:11:34,621
Here's the three people,
202
00:11:34,622 --> 00:11:36,545
in the music industry I can
actually stand to be around.
203
00:11:36,546 --> 00:11:38,417
So, know, that is the trick.
204
00:11:38,418 --> 00:11:41,090
You're gonna be traveling with
these guys for the next year.
205
00:11:41,091 --> 00:11:43,255
So, you're gonna really have to like these guys,
206
00:11:43,256 --> 00:11:45,132
because there are certain people, you just don't...
207
00:11:45,133 --> 00:11:47,429
It rubs you the wrong way... You know.
208
00:11:47,430 --> 00:11:50,556
It all comes down to the
chemistry between people and bang!
209
00:11:50,557 --> 00:11:52,431
And how you get along with each other.
210
00:11:52,432 --> 00:11:54,855
And what kind of person you present yourself as
211
00:11:54,856 --> 00:11:56,268
in the group.
212
00:11:56,269 --> 00:11:59,239
I've been lucky enough to not have to be on a tour
213
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,940
with any douchy people.
214
00:12:01,941 --> 00:12:04,237
I've talked to so many friends of mine
215
00:12:04,238 --> 00:12:06,907
who just were, you know, living hell on a tour,
216
00:12:06,908 --> 00:12:09,909
because of who they had
to deal with on a daily basis.
217
00:12:09,910 --> 00:12:12,286
There's been times where, you know, you've...
218
00:12:12,287 --> 00:12:15,251
had someone in the band who maybe
isn't the greatest musician,
219
00:12:15,252 --> 00:12:18,125
and they leave and you replace
them with somebody better,
220
00:12:18,126 --> 00:12:19,588
technically a better musician,
221
00:12:19,589 --> 00:12:20,879
but the chemistry is gone.
222
00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:22,716
There's just something about it, you know,
223
00:12:22,717 --> 00:12:25,047
because sometimes its just that wacky personalities,
224
00:12:25,048 --> 00:12:27,767
the glue that keeps the other three
people from killing each other.
225
00:12:27,768 --> 00:12:29,343
There's a...
226
00:12:29,344 --> 00:12:30,844
A bond with musicians
227
00:12:30,845 --> 00:12:32,971
when the chemistry is right,
228
00:12:32,972 --> 00:12:34,811
and it's an alchemic thing.
229
00:12:34,812 --> 00:12:36,855
It's like people playing together,
230
00:12:36,856 --> 00:12:41,563
and when some take happens that is just magic...
231
00:12:41,564 --> 00:12:43,403
it's undeniable. There it is.
232
00:12:43,404 --> 00:12:44,366
Right in front of you.
233
00:12:48,738 --> 00:12:50,786
When we got into the studio with Billy,
234
00:12:50,787 --> 00:12:53,325
we had this interesting chemistry,
235
00:12:53,326 --> 00:12:55,416
that you know, just kinda clicked.
236
00:12:55,417 --> 00:12:56,787
You know, it was kinda cool.
237
00:12:56,788 --> 00:12:58,752
We were a very easy band to play with.
238
00:12:58,753 --> 00:13:02,628
Nobody ever went in there with
a "I'll show you" attitude.
239
00:13:02,629 --> 00:13:04,595
It was always about framing the song,
240
00:13:04,596 --> 00:13:05,921
framing Billy...
241
00:13:05,922 --> 00:13:08,550
We were very open minded as to how we would do it.
242
00:13:08,551 --> 00:13:11,143
So, George Martin that comes to one of the gigs,
243
00:13:11,144 --> 00:13:12,719
and we're all excited,
244
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,892
"George Martin's here, Oh my,
God! The Beatles producer!
245
00:13:15,893 --> 00:13:17,435
He's going to come and hear us play,
246
00:13:17,436 --> 00:13:19,479
and he's going to love it, it's gonna be great.
247
00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,194
I mean, this is fantastic, he's like
the greatest producer in the world!"
248
00:13:23,195 --> 00:13:25,610
He watches the show... After the show he says,
249
00:13:25,611 --> 00:13:29,281
"I love you, Billy. I want to produce
you, but I want to use studio guys."
250
00:13:29,282 --> 00:13:33,452
Billy was so loyal to the band
that he turned down George Martin.
251
00:13:33,453 --> 00:13:36,915
I just went off on my own and said,
"Look, I'm going to use my own guys.
252
00:13:36,916 --> 00:13:39,255
I don't care, politically,
what the ramifications are,
253
00:13:39,256 --> 00:13:41,248
I gotta use my own band."
254
00:13:41,249 --> 00:13:43,627
And, we went in with Phil to do The Stranger.
255
00:13:43,628 --> 00:13:45,966
He saw the guys and he went, "Wow, they're great!"
256
00:13:45,967 --> 00:13:48,133
He loved them, and the band went, "He likes us?"
257
00:13:48,134 --> 00:13:51,510
Certainly, Lib and Doug's contribution,
258
00:13:51,511 --> 00:13:54,136
is what stood out in those records,
259
00:13:54,137 --> 00:13:57,435
because, frequently, Billy would
record in a stripped down way,
260
00:13:57,436 --> 00:14:00,604
and we'd even do a lot of the basic
tracks with just basic drums.
261
00:14:00,605 --> 00:14:02,691
Phil came in and he said to Liberty,
262
00:14:02,692 --> 00:14:05,609
"Why don't you play this backwards samba?"
263
00:14:05,610 --> 00:14:08,233
And Liberty is a real Rock n Roll drummer, and he...
264
00:14:08,234 --> 00:14:11,283
it's against every grain in his body to play these...
265
00:14:11,284 --> 00:14:13,447
samba type line of beats.
266
00:14:13,448 --> 00:14:15,792
And he turned it around. It was like, boom...
267
00:14:18,578 --> 00:14:20,751
And he gave it more of a flow.
268
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:33,720
And it just...
269
00:14:33,721 --> 00:14:35,140
It flowed along a lot better.
270
00:14:38,056 --> 00:14:41,272
Lib was right at the core of those songs.
271
00:14:41,273 --> 00:14:45,192
And his mindset was just really
perfect for those records,
272
00:14:45,193 --> 00:14:48,273
because he had that tough Rock n Roll
273
00:14:48,274 --> 00:14:50,317
attitude about those songs.
274
00:14:50,318 --> 00:14:53,784
Yet, he knew when to put
it out there and when not to.
275
00:14:53,785 --> 00:14:57,751
So, these were really parts that really
brought the song out of the grooves.
276
00:15:01,454 --> 00:15:04,581
Liberty DeVitto, some people may not know,
277
00:15:04,582 --> 00:15:08,960
but this guy has got 30 plus
years with the same artist.
278
00:15:08,961 --> 00:15:11,338
Now, in the hired gun business,
279
00:15:11,339 --> 00:15:13,507
three years is a lot.
280
00:15:13,508 --> 00:15:15,467
Thirty, is unheard of.
281
00:15:15,468 --> 00:15:18,095
He, definitely is, one of those guys that made
282
00:15:18,096 --> 00:15:19,763
the band he was in.
283
00:15:19,764 --> 00:15:23,062
Billy Joel sounded like Billy
Joel because of Liberty DeVitto.
284
00:15:23,063 --> 00:15:24,898
The Keith Richards of that band.
285
00:15:24,899 --> 00:15:26,111
There's no question.
286
00:15:26,112 --> 00:15:28,188
Ow, right here,
287
00:15:28,189 --> 00:15:31,233
Topo Gigio, the Italian drummer...
288
00:15:31,234 --> 00:15:33,783
When you see a Billy Joel
album, if you look at the back
289
00:15:33,784 --> 00:15:36,873
of The Stranger, it will say,
"Words and music by Billy Joel."
290
00:15:36,874 --> 00:15:38,073
It won't say,
291
00:15:38,074 --> 00:15:39,826
"Music arranged by..."
292
00:15:40,284 --> 00:15:41,326
anywhere.
293
00:15:41,327 --> 00:15:43,829
Because we all arranged the songs.
294
00:15:43,830 --> 00:15:45,789
Only The Good Die Young,
295
00:15:45,790 --> 00:15:47,958
he wrote it as a Reggae tune.
296
00:15:47,959 --> 00:15:50,007
And then, I'm like, "This is terrible.
297
00:15:50,008 --> 00:15:51,837
It's really bad."
298
00:15:51,838 --> 00:15:53,340
I looked at Billy and I said,
299
00:15:53,341 --> 00:15:55,635
"You know, the closest you've
ever been to Jamaica is,
300
00:15:55,636 --> 00:15:59,308
Jamaica, Long Island, where you change
trains on Long Island railroad."
301
00:16:03,057 --> 00:16:04,683
My drum part, the intro,
302
00:16:04,684 --> 00:16:07,650
was I always loved the song called Up From The Skies,
303
00:16:07,651 --> 00:16:11,111
that is on the Jimi Hendrix,
Axis: Bold as Love album,
304
00:16:11,112 --> 00:16:13,530
And Up From The Skies starts like that...
305
00:16:14,777 --> 00:16:15,903
And has that quick...
306
00:16:17,780 --> 00:16:20,203
Sol kind of like thought about that song when I said,
307
00:16:20,204 --> 00:16:21,783
"Let's do it this way."
308
00:16:21,784 --> 00:16:24,536
And it turned out to be good.
309
00:16:53,566 --> 00:16:59,654
I had spent my entire younger years
trying to develop some kind of skill
310
00:16:59,655 --> 00:17:00,702
Playing guitar.
311
00:17:04,911 --> 00:17:06,538
That's the only thing I cared about.
312
00:17:06,539 --> 00:17:09,789
I practiced hours and hours and hours a clay.
313
00:17:09,790 --> 00:17:12,167
Not because I wanted to make sure I was good,
314
00:17:12,168 --> 00:17:14,044
I played because I really loved it.
315
00:17:14,045 --> 00:17:15,212
It was fun.
316
00:17:15,213 --> 00:17:16,884
You could hear yourself getting better.
317
00:17:16,885 --> 00:17:19,508
You could pick up things that
you couldn't do a week ago.
318
00:17:19,509 --> 00:17:21,718
By the time I was moving to LA
319
00:17:21,719 --> 00:17:24,221
I knew I had a certain skill level.
320
00:17:24,222 --> 00:17:27,474
So, any opportunity I had to
mingle with other musicians,
321
00:17:27,475 --> 00:17:28,770
and get up and play, be in it...
322
00:17:28,771 --> 00:17:30,566
I was like three bands, four bands at a time.
323
00:17:30,567 --> 00:17:32,607
I had played Tuesday nights with this band,
324
00:17:32,608 --> 00:17:35,026
I had played three nights
with this band... local stuff.
325
00:17:35,027 --> 00:17:37,526
Well, eventually, what happened was,
326
00:17:37,527 --> 00:17:41,031
one of the musicians in one of these
bands said, "Hey, you know, um,
327
00:17:42,490 --> 00:17:45,788
Mandy Moore is looking for an acoustic guitar player.
328
00:17:45,789 --> 00:17:48,208
And I think that'd you'd be perfect for the gig."
329
00:17:51,749 --> 00:17:54,628
Jason got the Mandy Moore gig and I
remember thinking, "Good for you."
330
00:17:54,629 --> 00:17:58,050
I mean, it's a little lighter than what I
thought he would probably go for but...
331
00:17:58,051 --> 00:18:00,343
He was working, making a good living.
332
00:18:00,344 --> 00:18:03,641
People might not understand
me in the Mandy Moore gig,
333
00:18:03,642 --> 00:18:07,931
but all I thought was, like, "Part
one of the plan in motion."
334
00:18:07,932 --> 00:18:11,480
Like most of those gigs, I'm
not in control of it at all.
335
00:18:11,481 --> 00:18:13,979
Right, I'm just the rented guitar player.
336
00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:15,647
So...
337
00:18:15,648 --> 00:18:19,276
At some point they decided to do
some left turn with business,
338
00:18:19,277 --> 00:18:20,620
she was going to go make a movie,
339
00:18:20,621 --> 00:18:22,487
or we're going to shut down the music part...
340
00:18:22,488 --> 00:18:24,784
She was going to focus on acting or whatever...
341
00:18:24,785 --> 00:18:26,375
Whatever the reason was.
342
00:18:26,376 --> 00:18:29,286
And you, just in one nano second,
343
00:18:29,287 --> 00:18:30,787
you're job is over.
344
00:18:30,788 --> 00:18:33,132
And then you start to realize, "Hmm, okay.
345
00:18:33,133 --> 00:18:35,343
There is no security here."
346
00:18:48,347 --> 00:18:51,062
When you're a kid, you're like,
"I want to be a rock star.
347
00:18:51,063 --> 00:18:52,230
I want to be a rock star."
348
00:18:52,231 --> 00:18:54,185
I never said that.
349
00:18:54,186 --> 00:18:56,733
I always said I want to be a session guy.
350
00:18:56,734 --> 00:18:59,321
To be a studio musician,
to be a great studio musician,
351
00:18:59,322 --> 00:19:00,864
you have to be a great musician.
352
00:19:00,865 --> 00:19:02,444
I mean, you just do.
353
00:19:02,445 --> 00:19:04,698
There's just no two ways about
it. You can't be mediocre.
354
00:19:04,699 --> 00:19:05,785
Because there's,
355
00:19:05,786 --> 00:19:07,704
you know, good is the enemy of great.
356
00:19:07,705 --> 00:19:09,367
So, if you're only good,
357
00:19:09,368 --> 00:19:11,369
there's a thousand great guys
that are gonna take your place.
358
00:19:11,370 --> 00:19:13,964
Our producer wants
to cast the right people
359
00:19:13,965 --> 00:19:16,416
for the right role of this record.
360
00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:18,670
So, they go out and they find the best player
361
00:19:18,671 --> 00:19:20,337
that fits the role.
362
00:19:20,338 --> 00:19:22,047
They find the best guy for the drums,
363
00:19:22,048 --> 00:19:23,673
they find the best guy for the bass, they find
364
00:19:23,674 --> 00:19:24,844
the best guy with the keyboards,
365
00:19:24,845 --> 00:19:26,435
they find the best guy for the guitars.
366
00:19:26,436 --> 00:19:29,387
But they also want these guys,
367
00:19:29,388 --> 00:19:32,724
to be able to blend as if they were in a band.
368
00:19:32,725 --> 00:19:35,522
The guys on the record not playing on the record,
369
00:19:35,523 --> 00:19:36,736
never cross my mind.
370
00:19:36,737 --> 00:19:38,480
In fact, when someone go,
371
00:19:38,481 --> 00:19:41,403
"You know, that's not even,
whatever Ace Frehley playing that?"
372
00:19:41,404 --> 00:19:43,071
That's so and so... That's... Than"
373
00:19:43,072 --> 00:19:45,159
"I don't think that's Joe Perry." it's so and so...
374
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,532
I go, "Well, how is that possible?"
375
00:19:47,533 --> 00:19:51,368
It never even crossed my mind that that ever went on.
376
00:19:51,369 --> 00:19:55,211
If you look at the whole dynamic
of the L.A sessions scene,
377
00:19:55,212 --> 00:19:58,046
all of us in that generation that-that replaced,
378
00:19:58,047 --> 00:19:59,840
obviously, the generation before us.
379
00:19:59,841 --> 00:20:02,504
We were all aspiring studio musicians.
380
00:20:02,505 --> 00:20:05,384
Everybody who was anybody had to
go through the record playing.
381
00:20:05,385 --> 00:20:08,011
So, I had my guitar in one hand,
my amp in the other hand,
382
00:20:08,012 --> 00:20:09,678
and my opening line
383
00:20:09,679 --> 00:20:11,554
which is the same line I'd use to sell songs was,
384
00:20:11,555 --> 00:20:13,774
"You can sit here and I could
tell you how great you are
385
00:20:13,775 --> 00:20:15,975
and we could talk for 20 minutes,
386
00:20:15,976 --> 00:20:17,774
or you could just let me play for five
minutes and I could get out of your hair.
387
00:20:17,775 --> 00:20:21,568
We didn't carry ourselves like
rock stars might carry themselves.
388
00:20:21,569 --> 00:20:23,405
We took a lot of shit for it in the press.
389
00:20:23,406 --> 00:20:26,492
They made it, like, being a session musician was bad.
390
00:20:26,493 --> 00:20:29,159
"Anybody can do that. You just
sit and read music all clay."
391
00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,160
Well, I said, "No man, that's not what we did.
392
00:20:32,161 --> 00:20:34,412
We often times polished the turd."
393
00:20:35,746 --> 00:20:38,957
Before pro tools there were pro's.
394
00:20:38,958 --> 00:20:41,084
I'm a studio musician.
395
00:20:41,085 --> 00:20:45,465
I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. I've
gotta save this, now, in real time.
396
00:20:45,466 --> 00:20:47,173
That's my job.
397
00:20:47,174 --> 00:20:51,054
Jay Graydon and I have
been buddies for 45 years.
398
00:20:52,847 --> 00:20:54,599
I came into a club and I saw him play,
399
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,521
and I had just moved to Los Angeles.
400
00:20:56,522 --> 00:20:59,811
I was so in awe of what I heard and what I saw.
401
00:20:59,812 --> 00:21:02,190
This amazing technician with heart.
402
00:21:02,191 --> 00:21:03,690
We became fast friends,
403
00:21:03,691 --> 00:21:07,610
and have worked together over the decades ever since.
404
00:21:07,611 --> 00:21:10,034
Jay is like a forensic scientist.
405
00:21:10,035 --> 00:21:12,073
He is so in to what he does,
406
00:21:12,074 --> 00:21:16,122
and he has such an inner ear
for production and for playing.
407
00:21:16,123 --> 00:21:18,460
You know, obviously, he's a great player.
408
00:21:18,461 --> 00:21:21,050
I'm working with Roger Nichols.
He's a recording engineer.
409
00:21:21,051 --> 00:21:25,003
And he realized I was a good
player in his eyes and said,
410
00:21:25,004 --> 00:21:28,427
"Steely Dan's having a really hard
time with this one guitar solo.
411
00:21:28,428 --> 00:21:30,514
I'm gonna recommend you for the gig."
412
00:21:30,515 --> 00:21:32,853
And I said, "Roger, that would be great."
413
00:21:32,854 --> 00:21:35,388
Because every studio musician,
414
00:21:35,389 --> 00:21:38,141
wants to be on a Steely Dan record.
415
00:21:38,142 --> 00:21:40,226
This is as good as it gets.
416
00:21:40,227 --> 00:21:43,354
Whether you like that band or not,
417
00:21:43,355 --> 00:21:46,359
you know that if they were ever
on a Steely Dan record,
418
00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,573
they are one of the baddest motherfuckers walking.
419
00:21:48,574 --> 00:21:51,914
I am five milliseconds away from
crashing in the middle of the solo
420
00:21:51,915 --> 00:21:53,323
and hitting a wall.
421
00:21:53,324 --> 00:21:55,998
So I'll take a chance and I'll step on my dick.
422
00:21:55,999 --> 00:21:58,453
Fagen says to me, the key words,
423
00:21:58,454 --> 00:21:59,546
"Think blues."
424
00:22:16,889 --> 00:22:21,017
And when I walked out of there I
had no idea I was the final guy.
425
00:22:21,018 --> 00:22:23,770
I'm thinking, "Well, I'm just probably
just another guy they're going to try."
426
00:22:23,771 --> 00:22:25,610
I know I was the seventh guy.
427
00:22:25,611 --> 00:22:28,358
And they were gonna, "Who's
eight, who's ninth, who's tenth?"
428
00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:29,698
They loved the solo.
429
00:22:29,699 --> 00:22:31,787
Record comes out and I'm on it.
430
00:22:31,788 --> 00:22:34,239
And I'm going, "Eh, good, I won!"
431
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,449
So, good for me.
432
00:22:36,450 --> 00:22:39,249
I was the guy that was, like,
if I said that's a hit record it was clue.
433
00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:42,624
When Africa... The song, Africa,
almost didn't make the record.
434
00:22:47,294 --> 00:22:49,509
When I played on Beat It
I thought that was hilarious.
435
00:22:49,510 --> 00:22:53,100
I heard just the lyric and I cracked up,
and I went, "Beat It! Oh, yeah, that's...
436
00:22:53,101 --> 00:22:54,759
destined for a hit."
437
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,183
And I played all the guitar
parts, and the bass parts.
438
00:23:02,893 --> 00:23:06,610
I said if this song's a hit I would run
naked down Hollywood boulevard, okay.
439
00:23:06,611 --> 00:23:09,700
Fortunately, at this point nobody's
ever called me out on that, but...
440
00:23:09,701 --> 00:23:11,860
We're seeing reviews saying
441
00:23:11,861 --> 00:23:16,162
Quincy Jones manages to get the members
of Toto to play with some kind of taste.
442
00:23:16,163 --> 00:23:17,740
On, you know, Thriller,
443
00:23:17,741 --> 00:23:23,121
They just hated the fact that
we were on something so huge.
444
00:23:23,122 --> 00:23:25,874
Most of us didn't stay
as studio musicians very long.
445
00:23:25,875 --> 00:23:29,004
We realized that it was kind of a dead
end even though it was a great living.
446
00:23:29,005 --> 00:23:31,004
But it was a dead end.
447
00:23:31,005 --> 00:23:33,508
And all of us would watch the producers
on the other side of the glass.
448
00:23:33,509 --> 00:23:35,635
And I just know, me personally, I was going, like,
449
00:23:35,636 --> 00:23:39,351
"Wow, I know I can do that. I'm
positive I can do what they're doing."
450
00:23:39,352 --> 00:23:41,642
They're relying on us to come up with the music.
451
00:23:41,643 --> 00:23:43,436
Anyway, so, I'm sure I can do that.
452
00:23:43,437 --> 00:23:45,398
I went from six figures a year,
453
00:23:45,399 --> 00:23:48,817
to the first year I produced,
I made a total of $5000.
454
00:23:48,818 --> 00:23:51,067
Three albums. All three of them stiffed.
455
00:23:51,068 --> 00:23:52,817
No sales. No nothing.
456
00:23:52,818 --> 00:23:54,282
And I was very discouraged.
457
00:23:54,283 --> 00:23:56,112
Because I used to think that,
458
00:23:56,113 --> 00:23:58,615
producing meant just getting a
bunch of great musicians together
459
00:23:58,616 --> 00:23:59,704
and making a great track.
460
00:23:59,705 --> 00:24:01,077
But it's not what producing is.
461
00:24:01,078 --> 00:24:03,955
Producing, fundamentally, is finding great songs
462
00:24:03,956 --> 00:24:05,499
and pairing them with great artists.
463
00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:07,624
And I didn't have that part together yet.
464
00:24:07,625 --> 00:24:08,917
The break out,
465
00:24:08,918 --> 00:24:11,046
was when I met Earth, Wind and Fire.
466
00:24:11,047 --> 00:24:13,004
And again that ties in to jay Graydon
467
00:24:13,005 --> 00:24:15,724
because we wrote After the love is
Gone together along with Bill Chaplin.
468
00:24:21,931 --> 00:24:24,309
And it just... It propelled me into the 80s,
469
00:24:24,310 --> 00:24:25,850
into, uh,
470
00:24:25,851 --> 00:24:28,478
Alice Cooper, and Chicago, and Chaka Khan,
471
00:24:28,479 --> 00:24:30,275
and Kenny Rogers and Kenny Loggins...
472
00:24:30,276 --> 00:24:31,740
It was in a hell of a decade.
473
00:24:36,695 --> 00:24:39,414
I got called by Tommy LiPuma at Warner Brothers
474
00:24:39,415 --> 00:24:41,783
to produce George Benson.
475
00:24:41,784 --> 00:24:44,162
I've got four days to come up with a song.
476
00:24:44,163 --> 00:24:45,411
After two days,
477
00:24:45,412 --> 00:24:46,996
I have nothing.
478
00:24:46,997 --> 00:24:49,876
I'm trying to write something and I'm just a blank.
479
00:24:49,877 --> 00:24:51,589
I don't have anything I like.
480
00:24:51,590 --> 00:24:54,382
I came over and he goes, "Well,
let's write a song for Benson."
481
00:24:54,383 --> 00:24:56,720
And then afterwards, you know, we'd hang.
482
00:24:56,721 --> 00:24:58,466
"See if you can come up with a verse?"
483
00:24:58,467 --> 00:25:01,014
I said, like, "I'm just going to
walk away for 20, 30 minutes.
484
00:25:01,015 --> 00:25:02,261
I'll just go do something.
485
00:25:02,262 --> 00:25:03,855
And I'll come back and see where you're at."
486
00:25:03,856 --> 00:25:06,145
And I came up with a, you know...
487
00:25:14,483 --> 00:25:18,156
I had come back and he's got
the intro and the verse nailed.
488
00:25:18,157 --> 00:25:21,119
And I'm going, "This is great.
This tune is shaping up great."
489
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:23,286
And I came up with that part, and he says,
490
00:25:23,287 --> 00:25:25,411
"Hey, man, I gotta take a shit. I'll be right back."
491
00:25:27,287 --> 00:25:28,755
I'm sitting on the shitter,
492
00:25:29,331 --> 00:25:30,498
I pop a deuce,
493
00:25:30,499 --> 00:25:32,467
and the melody comes into my head.
494
00:25:32,468 --> 00:25:33,918
I've got the groove,
495
00:25:33,919 --> 00:25:35,258
I've got the melody,
496
00:25:35,259 --> 00:25:36,676
I've got the bass part...
497
00:25:36,677 --> 00:25:39,048
I've got the chorus to the song.
498
00:25:39,049 --> 00:25:41,846
And I'm going, "I've got to get off
the can as fast as I can, man."
499
00:25:41,847 --> 00:25:43,437
I'm doing my best to get off the can.
500
00:25:43,438 --> 00:25:45,304
And as fast as I can!
501
00:25:45,305 --> 00:25:46,681
And he comes back,
502
00:25:46,682 --> 00:25:49,185
and he starts singing Turn Your Love Around.
503
00:25:49,186 --> 00:25:51,230
And we were laughing because Jay when he'd...
504
00:25:51,231 --> 00:25:52,648
He had one of his 0CD things...
505
00:25:52,649 --> 00:25:54,272
He has to take of all of his clothes,
506
00:25:54,273 --> 00:25:55,946
be completely naked when he takes a shit.
507
00:25:58,027 --> 00:25:59,950
Jay is gonna kill me for that.
508
00:26:17,921 --> 00:26:19,589
Unlike Dave and Jay,
509
00:26:19,590 --> 00:26:20,842
I just wanted to be a star.
510
00:26:22,176 --> 00:26:24,391
I want to see my face on the TV screen.
511
00:26:24,392 --> 00:26:26,514
My mama didn't understand what I was doing.
512
00:26:26,515 --> 00:26:28,514
I came home with a record one time...
513
00:26:28,515 --> 00:26:29,640
and I was so excited.
514
00:26:29,641 --> 00:26:31,314
And she would look at the record and go,
515
00:26:32,770 --> 00:26:34,479
"I don't see you."
516
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,402
And you know what? In all fairness, she was right.
517
00:26:37,403 --> 00:26:38,738
I was wrong. She was right.
518
00:26:38,739 --> 00:26:40,530
Well, why don't you see me?
519
00:26:40,531 --> 00:26:42,028
And so, one day I thought about it.
520
00:26:42,029 --> 00:26:43,656
I said, "Well, you know what? I gotta cut a record
521
00:26:43,657 --> 00:26:45,782
where my face is on the front." Well, I did it.
522
00:26:45,783 --> 00:26:47,700
I've started writing songs,
523
00:26:47,701 --> 00:26:50,830
then I decided to cut my own music
which I thought I was going to record
524
00:26:50,831 --> 00:26:54,207
with this tune I wrote called
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.
525
00:26:58,884 --> 00:27:00,421
Number one record,
526
00:27:00,422 --> 00:27:02,220
won the Grammy which... That's a whole another story.
527
00:27:02,221 --> 00:27:04,092
And I had another tune called Jack and Jill.
528
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,688
So, Clive Davis got wind of Jack and
Jill, and he thought that was a smash.
529
00:27:13,689 --> 00:27:17,527
So he heard it, he loved it, and we
sold almost two million of those.
530
00:27:17,528 --> 00:27:19,362
Only a few people get phenomena,
531
00:27:19,363 --> 00:27:21,201
and only a couple of people get hits.
532
00:27:21,202 --> 00:27:23,152
And it's more important,
533
00:27:23,153 --> 00:27:24,946
to have a classic song
534
00:27:24,947 --> 00:27:26,745
that is to have a number one song.
535
00:27:36,667 --> 00:27:38,292
First of all,
536
00:27:38,293 --> 00:27:41,796
I never ever could possibly
imagine that I could write a song
537
00:27:41,797 --> 00:27:44,012
that would become part of worldwide folklores.
538
00:27:44,013 --> 00:27:45,600
It's not even American folklore.
539
00:27:47,803 --> 00:27:50,647
While I was in California,
I'll never forget, I had...
540
00:27:50,648 --> 00:27:51,973
dinner at Spagos,
541
00:27:51,974 --> 00:27:54,814
and across the street was this black billboard,
542
00:27:54,815 --> 00:27:58,189
and every week, or so many days,
they'd put different things around.
543
00:27:58,190 --> 00:28:00,027
So now they got the circle board up
544
00:28:00,028 --> 00:28:01,318
"I wonder what that is?"
545
00:28:01,319 --> 00:28:03,362
Well, guess what, the phone rings,
546
00:28:03,363 --> 00:28:06,739
Here's Gary LaMel from Columbia
Pictures and he's saying, "Ray,
547
00:28:06,740 --> 00:28:08,531
There's a movie coming out."
548
00:28:08,532 --> 00:28:11,081
He says, "Have you seen these black
posters where we got the circle?"
549
00:28:11,082 --> 00:28:12,997
He says, "By the time we get the ghost inside
550
00:28:12,998 --> 00:28:16,086
the movie's coming out, okay.
So, this is gonna happen fast."
551
00:28:16,087 --> 00:28:19,172
And he says, "We've now spent a year,
a year and a half calling everybody.
552
00:28:19,173 --> 00:28:21,717
We've hired everybody, we've
spent millions of dollars,
553
00:28:21,718 --> 00:28:25,965
but the director is insistent
upon the word Ghostbusters.
554
00:28:25,966 --> 00:28:27,508
Must be in the song."
555
00:28:30,262 --> 00:28:32,226
Well, I told Gary, I said, "Well, that's nice,
556
00:28:32,227 --> 00:28:33,517
but I'm going back to Detroit.
557
00:28:33,518 --> 00:28:35,188
I'm not doing this. I'm like, sorta...
558
00:28:35,189 --> 00:28:37,226
Not retired but sorta retired.
559
00:28:37,227 --> 00:28:39,525
And you mean if you don't like it I
get to keep the..." He says, "Yeah."
560
00:28:39,526 --> 00:28:43,488
"if we hate it, and you turn us the
music, you get to keep the fifty grand."
561
00:28:43,489 --> 00:28:46,449
Stayed up two or three clays, wrote
the song and gave it to him,
562
00:28:46,450 --> 00:28:49,665
and the director Ivan Reitman
called me at 3:30 in the morning.
563
00:28:49,666 --> 00:28:50,781
He loved it.
564
00:28:50,782 --> 00:28:52,371
Two weeks into this deal
565
00:28:52,372 --> 00:28:55,337
Clive Davis said, "We sold
four million records overseas
566
00:28:55,338 --> 00:28:56,871
just on imports."
567
00:28:56,872 --> 00:28:59,295
And at the meetup festival
they were already presenting me
568
00:28:59,296 --> 00:29:02,251
with a ten million selling album award.
569
00:29:02,252 --> 00:29:04,924
To this day people ask me, "Are
you tired of hearing people say,
570
00:29:04,925 --> 00:29:06,589
'Who you're gonna call?'" Well, no!
571
00:29:06,590 --> 00:29:08,684
It's like, "Am I tired of
holding the best lotto ticket,
572
00:29:08,685 --> 00:29:10,598
or the best thing that ever happened?" No.
573
00:30:13,365 --> 00:30:14,491
Whoo!
574
00:30:15,826 --> 00:30:17,169
Justin's amazing!
575
00:30:19,204 --> 00:30:22,126
Nearly ten years
I've been playing with Pink.
576
00:30:22,127 --> 00:30:25,878
It's been one of the most
amazing experiences of my life.
577
00:30:25,879 --> 00:30:28,504
It's a cool process because
we all have a lot of input.
578
00:30:28,505 --> 00:30:30,006
She really let's us be ourselves.
579
00:30:30,007 --> 00:30:31,177
And it comes across live.
580
00:30:31,178 --> 00:30:33,014
People feel that, people see that.
581
00:30:37,306 --> 00:30:42,935
For me it's important that I create
a family atmosphere for all of us
582
00:30:42,936 --> 00:30:46,564
because it just makes for a healthier environment.
583
00:30:52,487 --> 00:30:55,491
To be a musician and feel like
you're being looked after
584
00:30:55,492 --> 00:30:57,908
makes you want to do a better job and do a great job,
585
00:30:57,909 --> 00:31:00,286
because you know that you're being
looked after and you're appreciated,
586
00:31:00,287 --> 00:31:02,163
and you feel appreciated.
587
00:31:02,164 --> 00:31:06,169
So, it just makes everyone feel like
they wanna be their best at all times.
588
00:31:06,170 --> 00:31:07,256
The bar is high.
589
00:31:07,257 --> 00:31:09,220
So we have to be right there with her.
590
00:31:13,759 --> 00:31:16,010
As a hired gun,
591
00:31:16,011 --> 00:31:17,807
I'm there to be a supportive band member.
592
00:31:17,808 --> 00:31:20,056
To the artist, to the other musicians,
593
00:31:20,057 --> 00:31:21,390
to the audience.
594
00:31:21,391 --> 00:31:23,976
I have the most brilliant, wonderful,
595
00:31:23,977 --> 00:31:25,853
best ever band.
596
00:31:25,854 --> 00:31:26,946
Give them a hand.
597
00:31:28,357 --> 00:31:29,984
Mark Shulman on the drums!
598
00:31:36,573 --> 00:31:37,990
Sometimes,
599
00:31:37,991 --> 00:31:39,536
I look out at the audience
600
00:31:39,537 --> 00:31:41,662
and it doesn't look like anybody's looking at me.
601
00:31:41,663 --> 00:31:42,620
But I think,
602
00:31:42,621 --> 00:31:44,166
"Why should they look at me?"
603
00:31:44,167 --> 00:31:45,131
They can look at Pink!
604
00:32:06,395 --> 00:32:08,942
I'm so thankful I've got
all these people in my life
605
00:32:08,943 --> 00:32:11,235
because it's just been an awesome ride, man.
606
00:32:11,236 --> 00:32:12,530
You know, there's just...
607
00:32:13,485 --> 00:32:14,657
Fuckin' nothing like it, man.
608
00:33:18,008 --> 00:33:20,636
The first time I heard
something I did on the radio...
609
00:33:20,637 --> 00:33:22,475
It was definitely uncredited,
610
00:33:22,476 --> 00:33:23,596
I knew it was me.
611
00:33:23,597 --> 00:33:26,144
Well, you look at the Billboard top 100,
612
00:33:26,145 --> 00:33:29,520
and you're, like, on 30 of the songs in
the Top 100, or something like that.
613
00:33:29,521 --> 00:33:33,693
And they never include us in any of
the documentaries for these records.
614
00:33:33,694 --> 00:33:35,736
And we had a lot to do with them.
615
00:33:35,737 --> 00:33:37,323
More so than people realize.
616
00:33:37,324 --> 00:33:40,617
I'm of a mind where if anybody
does anything on a recording
617
00:33:40,618 --> 00:33:42,412
they should be credited for it.
618
00:33:42,413 --> 00:33:47,495
Whereas, there's a lot of records
that you think were made by bands
619
00:33:47,496 --> 00:33:50,789
by themselves in that era and before,
620
00:33:50,790 --> 00:33:53,130
where there were lots of the
side people playing on them.
621
00:33:53,131 --> 00:33:54,924
They just didn't credit them.
622
00:34:12,562 --> 00:34:15,152
You know, Stranglehold is a big song for him.
623
00:34:15,153 --> 00:34:17,867
And, of course, in turn a huge song for me.
624
00:34:17,868 --> 00:34:20,778
But most people think Ted sings it.
625
00:34:20,779 --> 00:34:24,240
What they don't realize is that I'm the voice,
626
00:34:24,241 --> 00:34:25,538
that everybody thinks is Ted's voice.
627
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,216
Songs like Snakeskin Cowboys, songs like Dog Eat Dog,
628
00:34:37,217 --> 00:34:38,757
Songs like Stormtroopin',
629
00:34:38,758 --> 00:34:40,849
songs like, of course, Stranglehold.
630
00:34:40,850 --> 00:34:42,758
The song I wrote, Hey Baby,
631
00:34:42,759 --> 00:34:44,849
songs like just What The Doctor Ordered.
632
00:34:44,850 --> 00:34:46,890
That's me singing all that stuff.
633
00:34:46,891 --> 00:34:49,767
One night a man in the audience
comes up to me and he goes,
634
00:34:49,768 --> 00:34:52,144
"Man, I'm sorry Ted's throat
wasn't feeling good tonight,
635
00:34:52,145 --> 00:34:55,363
but, you did a really good job singing the songs."
636
00:34:55,364 --> 00:35:01,068
So, the next time you hear this song
you're gonna know it was my voice.
637
00:35:01,069 --> 00:35:02,241
And not somebody else's.
638
00:35:35,353 --> 00:35:38,439
♪ Yes you know But I like it?
639
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:40,818
♪ Yeah, baby, yes I do
640
00:37:17,831 --> 00:37:19,123
Kenny, man...
641
00:37:19,124 --> 00:37:21,627
I love Kenny. He's got an energy, man.
642
00:37:21,628 --> 00:37:23,627
One of the most working dudes, right?
643
00:37:23,628 --> 00:37:25,424
Oh, that guy is so energetic!
644
00:37:25,425 --> 00:37:26,548
Kenny Aronoff, uh...
645
00:37:27,424 --> 00:37:28,924
He loud.
646
00:37:28,925 --> 00:37:31,098
I worked with him one time. He's loud.
647
00:37:31,099 --> 00:37:32,061
Fucking loud!
648
00:37:35,849 --> 00:37:38,189
He's a really well schooled musician.
649
00:37:38,190 --> 00:37:40,607
To the point where he writes out all of his parts.
650
00:37:40,608 --> 00:37:42,855
He's kind of like the Godfather
651
00:37:42,856 --> 00:37:44,982
of the hired gun of drums.
652
00:37:44,983 --> 00:37:47,361
I mean, he was doing this shit
when I was in junior high.
653
00:38:00,957 --> 00:38:03,051
Now, I grew up in a small town of 3000.
654
00:38:03,052 --> 00:38:07,171
How the fuck do you get out of a town of 3000
655
00:38:07,172 --> 00:38:10,802
into The Beatles, and on stage,
and touring and making records?
656
00:38:10,803 --> 00:38:11,925
I didn't know.
657
00:38:11,926 --> 00:38:14,850
I was gardening at 50 cents an hour.
658
00:38:15,472 --> 00:38:16,889
Gardening!
659
00:38:16,890 --> 00:38:19,391
And I saved up for the snare drum,
660
00:38:19,392 --> 00:38:21,101
and the cymbal.
661
00:38:21,102 --> 00:38:23,023
All I knew was I wanted to be in The Beatles.
662
00:38:23,024 --> 00:38:24,989
So the only thing I do is I started a band.
663
00:38:26,024 --> 00:38:28,358
I did five years at university.
664
00:38:28,359 --> 00:38:30,578
I was practicing nine hours a day,
665
00:38:30,579 --> 00:38:34,114
and playing five nights a week in a Jazz trio.
666
00:38:34,115 --> 00:38:36,492
One day I'm sitting eating dinner,
667
00:38:36,493 --> 00:38:37,826
I'm about to walk out and I go,
668
00:38:37,827 --> 00:38:39,453
"You know, I should just chill for a second."
669
00:38:39,454 --> 00:38:41,205
Had I not chilled for a second
670
00:38:41,206 --> 00:38:44,172
I wouldn't have run into this
singer/songwriter who said,
671
00:38:44,173 --> 00:38:45,918
"You know this guy johnny Cougar?
672
00:38:45,919 --> 00:38:47,628
He's looking for a drummer."
673
00:38:47,629 --> 00:38:49,848
So they said, "Do you know any
of the songs on the record?"
674
00:38:49,849 --> 00:38:51,423
I said, "I'm familiar
675
00:38:51,424 --> 00:38:52,633
with the album."
676
00:38:52,634 --> 00:38:54,555
They picked a song, I tore it up.
677
00:38:54,556 --> 00:38:56,473
Broke a cymbal, sticks flying...
678
00:38:56,474 --> 00:38:57,935
Looking at me smiling,
679
00:38:57,936 --> 00:38:59,524
shakes my hand and goes,
680
00:38:59,525 --> 00:39:01,099
"Welcome to hell!"
681
00:39:01,100 --> 00:39:03,102
I'm like, "Well, what does he mean by that?"
682
00:39:03,770 --> 00:39:05,729
Well, I found out.
683
00:39:05,730 --> 00:39:08,825
And five weeks later we were going
to go to L.A to make a record.
684
00:39:08,826 --> 00:39:11,235
In one day I was off the record.
685
00:39:11,236 --> 00:39:12,863
Life changing moment for me.
686
00:39:12,864 --> 00:39:14,580
Huge life changing moment!
687
00:39:14,581 --> 00:39:16,490
John tells me,
688
00:39:16,491 --> 00:39:17,908
"Well, you know,
689
00:39:17,909 --> 00:39:20,956
Kroppa wants to get this song, this album done fast.
690
00:39:20,957 --> 00:39:23,332
You haven't had quite enough
experience in the studio."
691
00:39:23,333 --> 00:39:24,915
And I'm thinking, "No,
692
00:39:24,916 --> 00:39:28,839
no, no, no, no, no. This is not
going to go down this way."
693
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,009
"And, you know, you go home, and..." And I just went,
694
00:39:32,010 --> 00:39:33,349
"Am I your drummer!"
695
00:39:34,926 --> 00:39:36,348
I'm going, "Did I just say that?"
696
00:39:37,178 --> 00:39:38,350
"I'm not going home."
697
00:39:39,430 --> 00:39:40,352
"Am I your drummer?"
698
00:39:40,353 --> 00:39:43,058
And he goes, "Uh, uh, uh, uh...
699
00:39:43,059 --> 00:39:44,026
Yeah, it's just..."
700
00:39:44,027 --> 00:39:45,894
"Well, find me a drummer.
701
00:39:45,895 --> 00:39:48,239
I'm gonna go to the studio. I'm gonna
watch these guys play my parts
702
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:49,945
and I'm gonna benefit from that.
703
00:39:49,946 --> 00:39:52,693
And you're gonna benefit because I'm your drummer.
704
00:39:52,694 --> 00:39:53,946
Because I'm gonna get better.
705
00:39:53,947 --> 00:39:55,904
And that's good for you.
706
00:39:55,905 --> 00:39:57,995
You don't have to pay me, I'll sleep on the floor.
707
00:39:57,996 --> 00:39:59,493
But I ain't going home."
708
00:39:59,494 --> 00:40:00,868
He didn't know what to say,
709
00:40:00,869 --> 00:40:02,953
he went, "Uh... All right."
710
00:40:02,954 --> 00:40:05,958
I did stay and I did watch, and I took notes.
711
00:40:05,959 --> 00:40:10,669
And that was the beginning of a 45 degree angle
712
00:40:10,670 --> 00:40:12,593
of my career which is still going
713
00:40:12,594 --> 00:40:14,256
at 45 degrees.
714
00:40:14,257 --> 00:40:15,802
He's just a creative drummer.
715
00:40:15,803 --> 00:40:18,552
You know, the thing in jack And Diane that he does...
716
00:40:18,553 --> 00:40:21,181
I don't care if it was like pulling
teeth to get it out of him.
717
00:40:21,182 --> 00:40:23,103
He made it up. It's brilliant.
718
00:40:23,104 --> 00:40:24,641
That's Kenny Aronoff.
719
00:40:24,642 --> 00:40:28,359
And, that drum fill right there
is that guy's personality.
720
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:29,605
"Aronoff, get in here.
721
00:40:29,606 --> 00:40:30,983
We need a drum solo."
722
00:40:30,984 --> 00:40:32,399
I'm like, "What!"
723
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,114
On a ballad?" I'm thinking,
724
00:40:34,115 --> 00:40:36,454
"How do you do a drum solo on a song that's like...
725
00:40:37,238 --> 00:40:38,780
A little diddy,
726
00:40:38,781 --> 00:40:41,074
about jack and Diane...
727
00:40:41,075 --> 00:40:43,744
You can't go..."
728
00:40:43,745 --> 00:40:47,750
Because nobody had done that.
Yeah, except for Phil Collins.
729
00:40:47,751 --> 00:40:49,968
You know, I'm walking towards the drums, I'm going,
730
00:40:49,969 --> 00:40:52,836
"You got 25 feet to save your career.
731
00:40:52,837 --> 00:40:53,963
You got 20,
732
00:40:54,923 --> 00:40:56,049
fifteen,
733
00:40:56,674 --> 00:40:57,841
ten.
734
00:40:57,842 --> 00:40:59,262
What are you going to do, Kenny?
735
00:40:59,263 --> 00:41:00,510
What are you going to do?"
736
00:41:00,511 --> 00:41:02,137
I'm at the drum stool facing that way...
737
00:41:02,138 --> 00:41:03,435
"Five." Now I'm like,
738
00:41:04,223 --> 00:41:05,599
"What am I gonna do?"
739
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:07,819
Ding! Something pops into my head.
740
00:41:14,484 --> 00:41:16,703
That was it. This short little concise thing.
741
00:41:17,612 --> 00:41:18,862
John's like,
742
00:41:18,863 --> 00:41:21,078
"Groove, stop playing the beats."
743
00:41:21,079 --> 00:41:22,872
So, you know...
744
00:41:24,661 --> 00:41:26,538
That song goes to number one.
745
00:41:26,539 --> 00:41:28,789
Instead of getting excited,
746
00:41:28,790 --> 00:41:30,332
I shit my pants.
747
00:41:30,333 --> 00:41:32,459
Because down I'm going, like,
748
00:41:32,460 --> 00:41:35,253
"Now you have to be, number one,
749
00:41:35,254 --> 00:41:37,506
and you have to do it again."
750
00:41:37,507 --> 00:41:38,884
And I don't know if I'm that...
751
00:41:38,885 --> 00:41:41,223
Am I good enough to do that again?
752
00:41:41,224 --> 00:41:43,390
I think out of all the drummers,
753
00:41:43,391 --> 00:41:45,180
when you people used to say,
754
00:41:45,181 --> 00:41:47,523
"if there was somebody to take your
place with Billy who would it be?
755
00:41:47,524 --> 00:41:49,110
And Kenny was the only one I could think of.
756
00:41:49,111 --> 00:41:51,196
Because I think me and him play a lot alike.
757
00:41:51,197 --> 00:41:54,064
Very aggressive and to the song.
758
00:41:54,065 --> 00:41:55,237
The great thing about it...
759
00:41:55,238 --> 00:41:56,650
About Kenny is...
760
00:41:56,651 --> 00:41:58,866
He is never satisfied with himself.
761
00:41:58,867 --> 00:42:01,658
So he will always give you that extra bit.
762
00:42:01,659 --> 00:42:03,249
He'll bother you to do it.
763
00:42:13,292 --> 00:42:16,339
I traveled around with guys in my band.
764
00:42:16,340 --> 00:42:17,882
It's like a New York street gang.
765
00:42:17,883 --> 00:42:19,970
But we kind of keep each other down to Earth.
766
00:42:19,971 --> 00:42:23,013
We're always putting each other down,
and smacking each other around.
767
00:42:23,014 --> 00:42:25,432
And we keep ourselves in line like that.
768
00:42:25,433 --> 00:42:27,601
We took a band attitude.
769
00:42:27,602 --> 00:42:30,067
We took a family attitude to what we did.
770
00:42:30,068 --> 00:42:34,104
Those tracks and those tours,
and that whole trajectory
771
00:42:34,105 --> 00:42:36,440
of what happened with Billy...
772
00:42:36,441 --> 00:42:38,531
That was part of our legacy too.
773
00:42:38,532 --> 00:42:40,870
We all had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun,
774
00:42:40,871 --> 00:42:43,071
but, uh, I'd heard
775
00:42:43,072 --> 00:42:46,326
a little scuttlebutt. You know,
that on the business side,
776
00:42:47,118 --> 00:42:48,461
there was a lot of weird,
777
00:42:49,871 --> 00:42:51,621
vibes going around.
778
00:42:51,622 --> 00:42:55,047
That's when he found out that his
manager screwed him out of money.
779
00:42:55,048 --> 00:42:57,512
I mean, there was millions lost.
780
00:42:58,212 --> 00:42:59,838
Millions!
781
00:42:59,839 --> 00:43:01,307
That will make you paranoid.
782
00:43:01,308 --> 00:43:03,633
Make you not trust anybody.
783
00:43:03,634 --> 00:43:06,558
Charges in the lawsuit are that they paid kickbacks
784
00:43:06,559 --> 00:43:08,805
to Billy Joel's manager,
785
00:43:08,806 --> 00:43:11,349
but never reported this to Mr. Joel.
786
00:43:11,350 --> 00:43:15,562
As a result of this Mr. Joel did not fire the manager
787
00:43:15,563 --> 00:43:18,529
until after he purported to defraud Mr. Joel
788
00:43:18,530 --> 00:43:20,945
out of tens of millions of dollars.
789
00:43:20,946 --> 00:43:22,911
When I got the phone call from Billy,
790
00:43:22,912 --> 00:43:26,698
he was... so... such a wreck. He was broke.
791
00:43:26,699 --> 00:43:28,075
He had no money.
792
00:43:28,076 --> 00:43:29,373
He was, like,
793
00:43:30,203 --> 00:43:31,495
broke!
794
00:43:31,496 --> 00:43:33,288
The thing he said to me
795
00:43:33,289 --> 00:43:36,124
was "I want everything back.
796
00:43:36,125 --> 00:43:38,877
You're not gonna get that
payment anymore on the records.
797
00:43:38,878 --> 00:43:41,969
You're not gonna get a percentage of the gross."
798
00:43:41,970 --> 00:43:45,889
And then he got this accounting firm
that was watching out for his money.
799
00:43:45,890 --> 00:43:47,594
And they decided that,
800
00:43:47,595 --> 00:43:50,388
"Well, you're name's on the marquee.
801
00:43:50,389 --> 00:43:52,560
Why are you paying these guys so much money?
802
00:43:52,561 --> 00:43:54,151
You can get anybody you want."
803
00:43:54,152 --> 00:43:57,437
And that's really when it started to get weird.
804
00:43:57,438 --> 00:44:00,692
I was tired of being pegged, I
was tired of being stereotyped.
805
00:44:00,693 --> 00:44:01,942
Tired of being pigeon holed.
806
00:44:01,943 --> 00:44:03,240
Tired of being bagged.
807
00:44:03,241 --> 00:44:04,736
As what?
808
00:44:04,737 --> 00:44:07,364
As Billy Joel and his band and his producer.
809
00:44:07,365 --> 00:44:10,869
And, no matter how much
of a different album we put out
810
00:44:10,870 --> 00:44:11,994
from the album before,
811
00:44:12,662 --> 00:44:13,504
um,
812
00:44:14,497 --> 00:44:15,794
it wasn't enough.
813
00:44:16,791 --> 00:44:18,885
On The Bridge album,
814
00:44:20,419 --> 00:44:22,921
I could kind of feel that,
815
00:44:22,922 --> 00:44:24,424
it was coming to an end.
816
00:44:24,425 --> 00:44:26,391
There was an undercurrent there that I kinda,
817
00:44:27,593 --> 00:44:29,307
in the back of my mind, you know...
818
00:44:29,308 --> 00:44:31,224
I could see the writing on the wall.
819
00:44:31,225 --> 00:44:33,268
I never felt it. I thought we were gonna go on
820
00:44:33,269 --> 00:44:35,356
and, you know, continue to go on.
821
00:44:35,357 --> 00:44:38,523
But we were in Australia and Billy said to me,
822
00:44:38,524 --> 00:44:42,488
"What if I go in the studio with
just you and all new players?"
823
00:44:42,489 --> 00:44:45,699
And I was like, "Man, what are you
gonna do with the other guys?"
824
00:44:45,700 --> 00:44:48,039
You know, he goes, "How am I
gonna get any new players?"
825
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:49,906
He just... cut them loose.
826
00:44:49,907 --> 00:44:52,242
Now I've got three children and I'm married,
827
00:44:52,243 --> 00:44:53,620
and I'm like, "What am I gonna say?
828
00:44:53,621 --> 00:44:56,037
Well, I quit. I'm out."
829
00:44:56,038 --> 00:44:59,461
We weren't making that much money
that I'm a millionaire, you know.
830
00:44:59,462 --> 00:45:02,380
The way it would work is
that we would do a tour or whatever,
831
00:45:02,381 --> 00:45:04,631
and then you wait around and you get the call.
832
00:45:04,632 --> 00:45:06,506
And you go in. There's a new batch of songs
833
00:45:06,507 --> 00:45:08,508
and you go bang em' out.
834
00:45:08,509 --> 00:45:11,975
So, you know, we were kind
of in that holding pattern.
835
00:45:11,976 --> 00:45:14,893
And one day I'm driving around
and I hear on the radio
836
00:45:14,894 --> 00:45:16,859
that Billy's got a new band and a new album.
837
00:45:16,860 --> 00:45:18,393
I said, "What?"
838
00:45:18,394 --> 00:45:21,066
I called up Doug, "You're not gonna believe this."
839
00:45:21,067 --> 00:45:22,480
And that's how I found out.
840
00:45:22,481 --> 00:45:24,575
Nobody ever said a word to me after all those years.
841
00:45:24,576 --> 00:45:27,194
I knew it was going to announced on MTV
842
00:45:27,195 --> 00:45:31,951
that Billy Joel was going in with just
me and a whole new bunch of players.
843
00:45:31,952 --> 00:45:33,992
The guys didn't know yet.
844
00:45:33,993 --> 00:45:36,119
And I told Billy, I said,
845
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:38,663
"You gotta call these guys
and tell them what's going on."
846
00:45:38,664 --> 00:45:41,042
And he was like, "I don't have
to do shit. I'm Billy Joel."
847
00:45:42,668 --> 00:45:44,839
It was just time to do something different.
848
00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:47,090
I worked with a different co-producer,
849
00:45:47,091 --> 00:45:51,094
and I worked with some different
musicians for the first time since 77.
850
00:45:54,513 --> 00:45:56,640
Doug and I got let go at the same time.
851
00:45:56,641 --> 00:45:59,392
I mean, I remember calling Doug,
852
00:45:59,393 --> 00:46:01,487
to tell him what I heard on the radio.
853
00:46:01,488 --> 00:46:04,481
You know, you think that you know...
854
00:46:04,482 --> 00:46:06,403
If you work for a company that many years
855
00:46:06,404 --> 00:46:08,026
you get a watch and a pension.
856
00:46:08,027 --> 00:46:09,324
So, um!
857
00:46:09,820 --> 00:46:11,071
You know,
858
00:46:11,072 --> 00:46:12,415
I didn't even get a phone call.
859
00:46:13,157 --> 00:46:15,408
Russell was upset,
860
00:46:15,409 --> 00:46:18,504
you know, I think it still gets under his skin.
861
00:46:18,505 --> 00:46:23,291
I can honestly say that I never had
any animosity towards Liberty.
862
00:46:23,292 --> 00:46:25,841
It's just... I just didn't get
it. You know, I just...
863
00:46:25,842 --> 00:46:27,587
You know, here we are,
864
00:46:27,588 --> 00:46:31,343
you know, we're all brothers
and now we're kind of out...
865
00:46:31,344 --> 00:46:32,887
of the loop here. It was just...
866
00:46:32,888 --> 00:46:35,851
You know, it was... That was
the toughest pill to swallow!
867
00:46:35,852 --> 00:46:38,098
You either accept it and move on
868
00:46:38,099 --> 00:46:39,641
or you don't.
869
00:46:39,642 --> 00:46:43,728
You are no longer the person
that you were the day before.
870
00:46:43,729 --> 00:46:47,440
You're no longer in Billy Joel's band.
871
00:46:47,441 --> 00:46:49,276
You're no longer,
872
00:46:49,277 --> 00:46:50,735
going on tour.
873
00:46:50,736 --> 00:46:53,740
You're no longer playing at Madison Square garden.
874
00:46:53,741 --> 00:46:56,908
Your identity is totally gone now.
875
00:46:56,909 --> 00:46:59,286
You're still the guy that played on the records,
876
00:46:59,287 --> 00:47:02,666
but you're not that person
that you were the day before.
877
00:47:02,667 --> 00:47:07,002
And Doug had a very, very diffi cult time with that.
878
00:47:07,003 --> 00:47:10,797
Doug tried and tried and tried to move on,
879
00:47:10,798 --> 00:47:15,429
but... His life just kept taking steps
backwards instead of steps forward.
880
00:47:15,430 --> 00:47:17,012
Then I went out,
881
00:47:17,013 --> 00:47:19,889
to do a gig and then I came home,
882
00:47:19,890 --> 00:47:22,142
and my wife then was crying on the couch,
883
00:47:22,143 --> 00:47:24,102
and something had happened in the afternoon.
884
00:47:24,103 --> 00:47:26,445
I said, "Come on, you're still crying
over what happened this afternoon?"
885
00:47:26,446 --> 00:47:28,282
She goes, "No, Doug Stegmeyer killed himself."
886
00:47:33,195 --> 00:47:35,285
Every time I spoke to Doug on the phone,
887
00:47:35,286 --> 00:47:37,746
it was always, "Hi, how are you doing?
888
00:47:37,747 --> 00:47:38,787
What's going on?"
889
00:47:38,788 --> 00:47:40,832
Blah, blah, blah... Small talk.
890
00:47:40,833 --> 00:47:42,787
And then,
891
00:47:42,788 --> 00:47:46,041
you know, "Yeah, I'm having a hard
time paying for this." Or whatever...
892
00:47:46,042 --> 00:47:48,716
"You at least... you still got
your fucking gig with Billy!
893
00:47:48,717 --> 00:47:50,211
Fucking..." You know,
894
00:47:50,212 --> 00:47:53,011
"I fucking lost my gig and you got your fucking gig.
895
00:47:53,012 --> 00:47:55,053
Remember, I got you that gig."
896
00:47:55,054 --> 00:47:57,052
And I was like, "Holy shit!"
897
00:47:57,053 --> 00:47:59,679
So, the one time that he called,
898
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:02,227
I'm listening to him on the answering machine,
899
00:48:02,228 --> 00:48:04,142
and I didn't pick up the phone
900
00:48:04,143 --> 00:48:06,612
because I didn't want it to turn
into one of those phone calls again.
901
00:48:06,613 --> 00:48:08,652
And that's when he ended his life.
902
00:48:18,783 --> 00:48:20,330
Doug did what he did to himself.
903
00:48:22,620 --> 00:48:23,872
We all could have been...
904
00:48:25,039 --> 00:48:26,040
better,
905
00:48:26,749 --> 00:48:28,296
and helped him.
906
00:48:28,876 --> 00:48:30,335
But...
907
00:48:30,336 --> 00:48:32,930
it's something I still can't come to grips with.
908
00:48:32,931 --> 00:48:35,220
I just don't understand,
909
00:48:36,092 --> 00:48:37,884
how you go there.
910
00:48:37,885 --> 00:48:39,979
It's been maybe one of the toughest
things I've had to deal with
911
00:48:39,980 --> 00:48:41,688
because I felt like I lost my brother.
912
00:48:41,689 --> 00:48:42,852
And it's...
913
00:48:51,190 --> 00:48:52,282
That's it.
914
00:49:05,579 --> 00:49:08,126
Right before I got the phone call from Ozzy,
915
00:49:08,127 --> 00:49:10,092
the lowest point in my life...
916
00:49:10,093 --> 00:49:12,669
I had just turned 30 years old.
917
00:49:12,670 --> 00:49:15,088
The way that the industry was,
918
00:49:15,089 --> 00:49:17,507
the music industry in those days.
919
00:49:17,508 --> 00:49:19,342
Being thirty years old,
920
00:49:19,343 --> 00:49:23,012
being in a dinosaur type of musical genre
921
00:49:23,013 --> 00:49:26,141
like we were doing in Quiet
Riot wasn't very promising.
922
00:49:27,476 --> 00:49:29,227
You know, to say the least.
923
00:49:29,228 --> 00:49:33,648
But, what happened was that as I
was pursuing my musical career
924
00:49:33,649 --> 00:49:37,152
I was also pursuing my own spirituality.
925
00:49:37,153 --> 00:49:38,736
You know...
926
00:49:38,737 --> 00:49:40,780
Finding the meaning of life,
927
00:49:40,781 --> 00:49:42,740
I made peace with God,
928
00:49:42,741 --> 00:49:45,460
that if I didn't make it as a musician,
929
00:49:45,461 --> 00:49:46,619
it was all right.
930
00:49:46,620 --> 00:49:47,912
That's cool.
931
00:49:47,913 --> 00:49:50,503
But, as long as my fingers kept moving
932
00:49:50,504 --> 00:49:52,046
I was gonna keep playing.
933
00:49:52,047 --> 00:49:54,127
And within days I got a call
934
00:49:54,128 --> 00:49:55,503
from Ozzy.
935
00:49:55,504 --> 00:50:00,008
That phone call came in at the right moment.
936
00:50:00,009 --> 00:50:02,933
Joining Ozzy had a completely different meaning to me
937
00:50:02,934 --> 00:50:04,929
that it would had had...
938
00:50:04,930 --> 00:50:07,433
if I didn't had made peace with God.
939
00:50:09,018 --> 00:50:11,771
I understood the blessing that it was.
940
00:50:18,569 --> 00:50:20,945
I started my journey,
941
00:50:20,946 --> 00:50:25,200
in music as a hired gun for Nine Inch nails.
942
00:50:25,201 --> 00:50:27,291
Trent had this record contract,
943
00:50:27,292 --> 00:50:29,207
and he said, "I saw you in that band Collapse,
944
00:50:29,208 --> 00:50:31,044
and you were jumping around the stage
945
00:50:31,045 --> 00:50:33,041
and you looked like you were having a good time.
946
00:50:33,042 --> 00:50:36,085
Why don't you come and join Nine Inch Nails
947
00:50:36,086 --> 00:50:39,884
and use it as a stepping board to
get out and do your own thing?"
948
00:50:39,885 --> 00:50:43,054
And I was, like, "Okay, cool.
This sounds like a great idea."
949
00:50:43,055 --> 00:50:44,641
There was no negotiation.
950
00:50:44,642 --> 00:50:46,513
It was, like, "Hey, you want to go on tour?"
951
00:50:46,514 --> 00:50:47,889
"Sure." "Okay."
952
00:50:47,890 --> 00:50:50,188
I actually thought, "I'm a part of this, right?
953
00:50:50,189 --> 00:50:54,229
I'm allowed to work with you
and make some guitar stuff."
954
00:50:54,230 --> 00:50:56,983
I had said to Trent, I said "But
when is the record coming out?
955
00:50:56,984 --> 00:50:59,197
He's like, "Well, I'm almost done.
I'm mastering it-II
956
00:50:59,198 --> 00:51:00,864
I'm, like, "Fuck, I didn't play on it.
957
00:51:00,865 --> 00:51:03,032
Like, I didn't do anything on it."
958
00:51:03,033 --> 00:51:05,620
I said, "Trent, man, you're going to New Orleans.
959
00:51:05,621 --> 00:51:08,206
You're going to, you know,
to rebuild your whole life,
960
00:51:08,207 --> 00:51:10,203
rent a new house and put a studio in it."
961
00:51:10,204 --> 00:51:13,915
And I'm going back home and living
with my mom in a basement!"
962
00:51:13,916 --> 00:51:15,667
And he's like, he looked at me and he went,
963
00:51:15,668 --> 00:51:17,716
"Get off your butt, and go write a record."
964
00:51:17,717 --> 00:51:19,463
So... I did.
965
00:51:24,009 --> 00:51:27,512
I had written this song called Hey Man Nice Shot.
966
00:51:27,513 --> 00:51:30,932
There's a glass ceiling in Nine Inch Nails.
967
00:51:30,933 --> 00:51:33,893
There was a glass ceiling at that time of,
968
00:51:33,894 --> 00:51:37,063
even if you write you're never gonna own it.
969
00:51:37,064 --> 00:51:39,274
I was making $400 a month.
970
00:51:39,275 --> 00:51:41,696
John had called me up, who was their manager,
971
00:51:41,697 --> 00:51:42,864
and he said, "Hey,
972
00:51:42,865 --> 00:51:44,450
we're not seeing you that much,
973
00:51:44,451 --> 00:51:46,742
and we know you want some more money.
974
00:51:46,743 --> 00:51:48,413
We're not really sure what you're doing.
975
00:51:48,993 --> 00:51:50,994
But if you want,
976
00:51:50,995 --> 00:51:53,123
to make a little bit more money,
977
00:51:53,124 --> 00:51:55,039
there's a pizzeria,
978
00:51:55,040 --> 00:51:57,008
at the bottom of Cielo Drive,
979
00:51:59,587 --> 00:52:01,588
and they're looking for drivers.
980
00:52:01,589 --> 00:52:03,887
Would you want to go make some money,
981
00:52:04,842 --> 00:52:06,219
as a pizza delivery boy?"
982
00:52:09,263 --> 00:52:11,561
I took my little song Hey Man Nice Shot,
983
00:52:12,391 --> 00:52:14,058
I got a new manager,
984
00:52:14,059 --> 00:52:15,643
I've got a lawyer,
985
00:52:15,644 --> 00:52:18,864
and I'm now in negotiation with five labels.
986
00:52:19,565 --> 00:52:20,657
What would you go at?
987
00:52:21,609 --> 00:52:22,826
The pizza?
988
00:52:47,468 --> 00:52:52,347
The power of having a great song,
989
00:52:52,348 --> 00:52:55,022
and the fact that you're the singer,
990
00:52:55,726 --> 00:52:58,061
changes everything.
991
00:52:58,062 --> 00:53:02,815
All of a sudden it goes from me being hired gun,
992
00:53:02,816 --> 00:53:07,403
to me being the guy who has to hire a band.
993
00:53:07,404 --> 00:53:11,240
And I get why Trent was so heavy handed.
994
00:53:11,241 --> 00:53:14,494
Now I'm in the hiring position.
995
00:53:14,495 --> 00:53:17,667
To this day I sit him down and I say, "Listen,
996
00:53:17,668 --> 00:53:19,633
I'm not gonna offer you anything.
997
00:53:19,634 --> 00:53:21,459
You're gonna go on tour,
998
00:53:21,460 --> 00:53:24,382
you're gonna have a fucking good
time playing music that I wrote,
999
00:53:24,383 --> 00:53:27,596
as the drummer, as the bass
player, as the guitar player,
1000
00:53:27,597 --> 00:53:29,217
and that's what you're gonna do."
1001
00:53:29,218 --> 00:53:31,844
Oh, man, Filter was...
1002
00:53:31,845 --> 00:53:34,189
it's almost laughable what we got paid.
1003
00:53:34,190 --> 00:53:35,973
We were...
1004
00:53:35,974 --> 00:53:39,649
Of every band we toured with we
were the lowest paid band members,
1005
00:53:39,650 --> 00:53:43,189
even if we were making the most in guarantees.
1006
00:53:43,190 --> 00:53:46,069
You know, as a hired gun in a band at that level
1007
00:53:46,070 --> 00:53:49,534
you're not getting paid enough to sustain anything.
1008
00:53:49,535 --> 00:53:50,994
Why are you in Filter?
1009
00:53:50,995 --> 00:53:53,116
You know, what are you doing down here, like...
1010
00:53:53,117 --> 00:53:54,744
"We like to get in the muck.
1011
00:53:54,745 --> 00:53:56,082
We like to get dirty.
1012
00:53:56,083 --> 00:53:57,876
We play, fuckin', you know,
1013
00:53:57,877 --> 00:53:59,205
shitty clubs.
1014
00:53:59,206 --> 00:54:01,045
You know, we like to keep it real.
1015
00:54:01,046 --> 00:54:04,758
We have to do the paid meet
and greets unless they paid.
1016
00:54:04,759 --> 00:54:07,505
Like, the fans are paying money to meet the band.
1017
00:54:07,506 --> 00:54:09,095
We don't see any of that money.
1018
00:54:09,096 --> 00:54:10,805
I didn't see any of that money.
1019
00:54:10,806 --> 00:54:12,552
The singer keeps all to himself.
1020
00:54:12,553 --> 00:54:13,973
I like taking the money home.
1021
00:54:13,974 --> 00:54:15,642
I like just keeping it all at home.
1022
00:54:15,643 --> 00:54:18,017
You know what I mean? Like I'm
not... I don't give a shit.
1023
00:54:18,018 --> 00:54:19,892
Like, it's a bus, stay on the bus.
1024
00:54:19,893 --> 00:54:21,769
You don't need a fucking hotel room.
1025
00:54:21,770 --> 00:54:23,898
I'd rather just sit home and not be in a band
1026
00:54:23,899 --> 00:54:25,898
than have to deal with them for another day.
1027
00:54:25,899 --> 00:54:29,365
I know of guys that are hired guns that have great,
1028
00:54:29,366 --> 00:54:30,781
stories, great situations.
1029
00:54:30,782 --> 00:54:31,826
They love their jobs.
1030
00:54:33,657 --> 00:54:36,247
That in this situation it wasn't for me.
1031
00:54:36,248 --> 00:54:39,668
I had that aha moment of, "Is this really worth it?"
1032
00:54:39,669 --> 00:54:41,748
on stage, in Germany.
1033
00:54:41,749 --> 00:54:45,422
The show starts just like any other show
and I'm running and jumping, whatever,
1034
00:54:45,423 --> 00:54:48,009
and really just rocking out and enjoying it,
1035
00:54:48,010 --> 00:54:50,133
and I almost felt this wave come over me,
1036
00:54:51,133 --> 00:54:52,550
and I just...
1037
00:54:52,551 --> 00:54:54,594
I straightened up,
1038
00:54:54,595 --> 00:54:58,349
I turned to Jeff, our drummer,
and I just looked at him, I go,
1039
00:54:58,350 --> 00:54:59,894
"This isn't fun anymore."
1040
00:54:59,895 --> 00:55:02,145
Like, literally, that was the
moment where I was like,
1041
00:55:02,146 --> 00:55:04,818
"I need to find my exit from this project."
1042
00:55:04,819 --> 00:55:08,357
And I was gone from the band like, a month later.
1043
00:55:08,358 --> 00:55:10,452
Yeah, so we'll just start with the duo.
1044
00:55:10,453 --> 00:55:11,366
You got it.
1045
00:55:12,404 --> 00:55:14,155
Rollin on one.
1046
00:55:14,156 --> 00:55:15,829
The Philly cheese steak burger
1047
00:55:15,830 --> 00:55:17,575
on a fresh baked bun.
1048
00:55:17,576 --> 00:55:19,786
At Carl's Jr. and Hardy's.
1049
00:55:19,787 --> 00:55:22,461
And, I now am the voice on your TV and radio.
1050
00:55:22,462 --> 00:55:24,957
If they need stuff read, I read it.
1051
00:55:24,958 --> 00:55:27,507
The grilled cheese breakfast sandwich
1052
00:55:27,508 --> 00:55:29,337
only at Carl's Jr.
1053
00:55:29,338 --> 00:55:31,759
The most notable one is the Carl's Jr. voice
1054
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:34,306
"Without us, some guys would starve."
1055
00:55:45,562 --> 00:55:48,736
On our second leg of the Diary Of A Madman tour
1056
00:55:48,737 --> 00:55:50,566
we started in Atlanta.
1057
00:55:50,567 --> 00:55:53,616
We did one more show, and our third show,
1058
00:55:54,613 --> 00:55:56,906
was in Knoxville, Tennessee,
1059
00:55:56,907 --> 00:56:01,452
which is the last time that Randy Rhoads performed.
1060
00:56:01,453 --> 00:56:04,625
A 25 year old guitar player,
lead guitarist for Ozzy's band,
1061
00:56:04,626 --> 00:56:07,502
Randy Rhodes is dead along with two other passengers
1062
00:56:07,503 --> 00:56:10,505
in the single engine aircraft that spun out,
1063
00:56:10,506 --> 00:56:12,296
wing touching the tour bus,
1064
00:56:12,297 --> 00:56:14,800
cart wheeling into a two storey house
that you see in the background.
1065
00:56:17,052 --> 00:56:19,220
I wake up to this boom!
1066
00:56:19,221 --> 00:56:21,642
This huge boom by the middle of nowhere.
1067
00:56:21,643 --> 00:56:23,855
I mean, the last time I saw Randy,
1068
00:56:23,856 --> 00:56:26,523
he was standing on the doorway
getting out of the bus...
1069
00:56:26,524 --> 00:56:28,941
He was yelling, "Hey, come on, Jim. Come on in.
1070
00:56:28,942 --> 00:56:30,407
We're gonna go on a plane"
1071
00:56:30,408 --> 00:56:32,989
Then I say, "You know what, I just...
1072
00:56:32,990 --> 00:56:35,408
I'm going to get out of my bunk
when we get to the hotel."
1073
00:56:35,409 --> 00:56:37,989
And then it just lay by the pool.
1074
00:56:37,990 --> 00:56:39,407
And that's it.
1075
00:56:39,408 --> 00:56:42,201
And I closed the curtains,
1076
00:56:42,202 --> 00:56:44,078
and went back to sleep.
1077
00:56:44,079 --> 00:56:46,332
That was the last time I saw Randy.
1078
00:56:46,333 --> 00:56:48,546
It's usually we were like always hanging out together
1079
00:56:48,547 --> 00:56:51,045
and do adventures and do stuff together.
1080
00:56:51,046 --> 00:56:54,171
This was the only time that I decline,
1081
00:56:54,172 --> 00:56:58,134
went back to sleep, and I wake
up to glass everywhere.
1082
00:56:58,135 --> 00:57:00,011
There was glass shattered everywhere.
1083
00:57:00,012 --> 00:57:03,186
The window... The passenger back window,
1084
00:57:04,099 --> 00:57:06,684
was gone. And I...
1085
00:57:06,685 --> 00:57:09,437
looked out and there was our tour manager,
1086
00:57:09,438 --> 00:57:13,983
Jake Duncan, on his knees pulling his hair out,
1087
00:57:13,984 --> 00:57:16,203
crying, "They're gone, they're gone!"
1088
00:57:16,204 --> 00:57:18,070
I...
1089
00:57:18,071 --> 00:57:21,449
My thought, "We must have
been in a highway accident."
1090
00:57:21,450 --> 00:57:24,875
The last thing that I could imagine
was that the plane hit us.
1091
00:57:25,746 --> 00:57:27,043
And once you realize,
1092
00:57:28,123 --> 00:57:29,790
what's going on...
1093
00:57:29,791 --> 00:57:32,335
it's this huge hum...
1094
00:57:32,336 --> 00:57:34,754
Hum...
1095
00:57:34,755 --> 00:57:37,214
Really low frequency,
1096
00:57:37,215 --> 00:57:39,592
takes over and I couldn't hear anything.
1097
00:57:39,593 --> 00:57:41,470
All I heard was a hum.
1098
00:57:48,310 --> 00:57:49,810
There's no cellphones,
1099
00:57:49,811 --> 00:57:52,151
there's no way to communicate with any authorities
1100
00:57:52,152 --> 00:57:55,742
like the fire department or the
police, or anybody to come and help.
1101
00:57:55,743 --> 00:58:00,196
The plane, the Cessna just
crashed through some trees...
1102
00:58:00,197 --> 00:58:05,201
and exploded on impact on the garage
that was attached to the house.
1103
00:58:05,202 --> 00:58:07,328
So the house was also on fire.
1104
00:58:07,329 --> 00:58:09,669
We thought, "No, they must've jumped off the plane.
1105
00:58:09,670 --> 00:58:12,462
They must be somewhere,
maybe on a tree or something."
1106
00:58:12,463 --> 00:58:14,382
You know, we couldn't just...
1107
00:58:14,383 --> 00:58:18,089
accept the reality of it, you know,
1108
00:58:18,090 --> 00:58:21,640
that they had crashed inside the plane...
1109
00:58:24,471 --> 00:58:27,691
And their bodies were burning as
we were listening to the fire.
1110
00:58:35,524 --> 00:58:37,817
That was...
1111
00:58:37,818 --> 00:58:40,196
the worst experience I've ever had in my whole life.
1112
00:58:43,991 --> 00:58:46,744
Sometimes death doesn't give you a warning.
1113
00:58:46,745 --> 00:58:47,960
It doesn't say,
1114
00:58:48,787 --> 00:58:50,255
"Treat this night,
1115
00:58:51,081 --> 00:58:52,623
and savor it,
1116
00:58:52,624 --> 00:58:54,839
because it will be the last night."
1117
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:56,836
So, I play like there's no tomorrow.
1118
00:58:56,837 --> 00:58:59,431
I treat it like, "This is special."
1119
00:59:00,298 --> 00:59:01,265
Because...
1120
00:59:02,384 --> 00:59:03,761
There might not be a tomorrow.
1121
00:59:03,762 --> 00:59:05,761
This is it. This might be it.
1122
00:59:05,762 --> 00:59:11,058
Out of every tragedy there should be
something positive gained from it.
1123
00:59:11,059 --> 00:59:12,857
And that's one thing that I've gained from it.
1124
00:59:14,688 --> 00:59:16,110
Living like there's no tomorrow.
1125
00:59:23,405 --> 00:59:26,746
Has a replacement for
Randy been determined yet?
1126
00:59:26,747 --> 00:59:29,461
No, a replacement hasn't been determined yet,
1127
00:59:29,462 --> 00:59:31,787
but a decision will be made,
1128
00:59:31,788 --> 00:59:34,209
in the course of the next few days.
1129
00:59:34,210 --> 00:59:37,302
To be honest with you we really
didn't have much time to...
1130
00:59:37,961 --> 00:59:39,628
to mourn.
1131
00:59:39,629 --> 00:59:41,757
A decision was made to continue,
1132
00:59:43,425 --> 00:59:46,635
to keep Ozzy busy... occupied.
1133
00:59:46,636 --> 00:59:48,512
If Ozzy would have just gone home,
1134
00:59:48,513 --> 00:59:51,348
and canceled the tour,
1135
00:59:51,349 --> 00:59:53,272
he would have probably drank himself to death.
1136
00:59:54,394 --> 00:59:58,898
So, basically, we had about ten days
1137
00:59:58,899 --> 01:00:01,903
to find a guitar player that
could actually play the songs
1138
01:00:01,904 --> 01:00:04,367
the way that Randy composed them and recorded.
1139
01:00:04,368 --> 01:00:06,535
And fortunately that's when Brad Gillis,
1140
01:00:06,536 --> 01:00:09,450
came into the picture.
1141
01:00:09,451 --> 01:00:13,499
It was like the biggest gig in the
world that you could have at that time.
1142
01:00:13,500 --> 01:00:15,295
Because Ozzy was on top of the world,
1143
01:00:15,296 --> 01:00:16,373
with, you know,
1144
01:00:16,374 --> 01:00:18,420
coming out with his solo stuff...
1145
01:00:18,421 --> 01:00:19,886
And I got the call and I thought,
1146
01:00:20,629 --> 01:00:22,797
"I gotta do this."
1147
01:00:22,798 --> 01:00:25,551
And the first night I stood at the
sound boards singing The Castle,
1148
01:00:25,552 --> 01:00:27,676
and the big huge stage.
1149
01:00:27,677 --> 01:00:29,637
The pyro and the lighting,
1150
01:00:29,638 --> 01:00:31,305
and the sound.
1151
01:00:31,306 --> 01:00:33,432
I was at the soundboard going,
1152
01:00:33,433 --> 01:00:37,019
"Oh, my gosh. This is huge!"
1153
01:00:37,020 --> 01:00:39,105
I've never even played with the band,
1154
01:00:39,106 --> 01:00:40,107
hardly even met the guys,
1155
01:00:41,900 --> 01:00:44,360
And here I'm playing my first show.
1156
01:00:44,361 --> 01:00:46,362
So, I didn't know what to wear.
1157
01:00:46,363 --> 01:00:48,991
They gave me a... They got a
Ferrari jumpsuit they let me wear.
1158
01:00:48,992 --> 01:00:51,709
It was kinda cool. Wore that for the first show.
1159
01:00:51,710 --> 01:00:53,619
And they put make-up on me,
1160
01:00:53,620 --> 01:00:56,085
you know, I never really did make-up before,
1161
01:00:56,086 --> 01:00:57,708
and that was kinda strange.
1162
01:00:57,709 --> 01:00:59,917
And I tell you, for anybody,
1163
01:00:59,918 --> 01:01:02,089
that would have been a tough gig.
1164
01:01:02,090 --> 01:01:04,181
But, you know, I was a hired gun,
1165
01:01:04,182 --> 01:01:05,886
and been put on the spot,
1166
01:01:05,887 --> 01:01:07,427
and thrown into the fire.
1167
01:01:07,428 --> 01:01:09,176
It was either shit or get off the pot.
1168
01:01:09,177 --> 01:01:11,642
You know, I thought if I didn't
follow through with this,
1169
01:01:11,643 --> 01:01:14,103
I'll kick myself in the ass the rest of my life.
1170
01:01:14,104 --> 01:01:17,603
One big issue that we were confronting at the time,
1171
01:01:17,604 --> 01:01:21,193
was that Randy's style of playing
was so new, so cutting edge,
1172
01:01:21,194 --> 01:01:24,534
that very few musicians
could actually play like that.
1173
01:01:24,535 --> 01:01:27,319
And Brad did a fantastic job.
1174
01:01:27,320 --> 01:01:30,620
There was so much pressure.
He had so much pressure on him.
1175
01:01:30,621 --> 01:01:32,783
And he was incredibly graceful.
1176
01:01:32,784 --> 01:01:34,451
Talking to the rest of the band
1177
01:01:34,452 --> 01:01:36,829
they said, "Hey, man, you can
branch out and do your own thing.
1178
01:01:36,830 --> 01:01:39,039
Just stick to the major solos,
1179
01:01:39,040 --> 01:01:41,584
and keep them as best as you can."
1180
01:01:41,585 --> 01:01:44,545
So, you know, I did that.
1181
01:01:44,546 --> 01:01:46,422
I tried my best to learn note for note.
1182
01:01:46,423 --> 01:01:47,965
But, with four days,
1183
01:01:47,966 --> 01:01:50,176
and 19 songs,
1184
01:01:50,177 --> 01:01:51,766
and I was learning on the spot.
1185
01:01:51,767 --> 01:01:54,513
I was... Everyday I'd practice on the road
1186
01:01:54,514 --> 01:01:56,515
even after I started gigging with Ozzy.
1187
01:01:56,516 --> 01:01:58,437
But from the start it was tough for me.
1188
01:01:58,438 --> 01:02:00,311
It was tough for everybody seeing me.
1189
01:02:00,312 --> 01:02:01,562
And I knew that.
1190
01:02:01,563 --> 01:02:04,487
And I just had to do what I was there to do,
1191
01:02:04,488 --> 01:02:06,525
and to do the best I could,
1192
01:02:06,526 --> 01:02:10,070
and to get them through this tour.
1193
01:02:10,071 --> 01:02:14,783
I remember performing at Madison Square garden,
1194
01:02:14,784 --> 01:02:17,661
packed house, and it was like a wake
1195
01:02:17,662 --> 01:02:19,079
for Randy Rhoads.
1196
01:02:19,080 --> 01:02:21,999
Every banner, every sign,
1197
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:25,544
was about how much people loved Randy.
1198
01:02:25,545 --> 01:02:28,968
You know, a lot of kids in the audience,
man, they were flipping me off,
1199
01:02:28,969 --> 01:02:31,180
and "Randy Rhoads lives forever" signs,
1200
01:02:31,181 --> 01:02:32,769
and guys with their arms crossed.
1201
01:02:32,770 --> 01:02:34,970
I had to expect that. I'm...
1202
01:02:34,971 --> 01:02:37,311
filling in for the late great Randy Rhoads,
1203
01:02:37,312 --> 01:02:39,975
and I'm just trying to help this tour move along.
1204
01:02:39,976 --> 01:02:41,398
After a couple of days I went to Rudy,
1205
01:02:41,399 --> 01:02:43,646
I said, "I don't know if I could do this anymore.
1206
01:02:43,647 --> 01:02:45,361
It's tough that people don't like me."
1207
01:02:45,362 --> 01:02:47,701
And he goes, "Man, they'll start to respect you, man.
1208
01:02:47,702 --> 01:02:49,865
You just... just keep moving."
1209
01:02:50,445 --> 01:02:52,363
Brad Gillis...
1210
01:02:52,364 --> 01:02:55,334
We have to give him respect no matter what.
1211
01:02:55,335 --> 01:02:58,661
He and I have a lot of common thread.
1212
01:02:58,662 --> 01:03:01,288
We had that thing, like a beloved...
1213
01:03:01,289 --> 01:03:03,082
instrumentalist,
1214
01:03:03,083 --> 01:03:05,177
that reinvented their instrument,
Randy Rhoads/Cliff Burton.
1215
01:03:06,878 --> 01:03:10,348
We had to step into those shoes
that could not be filled.
1216
01:03:10,349 --> 01:03:13,008
Not everybody is made for that.
1217
01:03:13,009 --> 01:03:14,852
Metallica was already established
1218
01:03:14,853 --> 01:03:18,514
as a giant touring band by when ljoined them.
1219
01:03:18,515 --> 01:03:22,520
So, you go into these countries where
they got to see Cliff dominate, right?
1220
01:03:22,521 --> 01:03:24,988
So, who is this guy standing in Cliff's place now?
1221
01:03:26,314 --> 01:03:28,524
Some places I got tortured,
1222
01:03:28,525 --> 01:03:30,619
for the first couple of times we went there.
1223
01:03:30,620 --> 01:03:33,445
But because I stood my ground,
1224
01:03:33,446 --> 01:03:34,780
and took it to em',
1225
01:03:34,781 --> 01:03:36,996
and didn't let them get to me like I didn't.
1226
01:03:36,997 --> 01:03:39,288
You don't react back cause then they win.
1227
01:03:39,289 --> 01:03:41,958
The only way you react is by
hanging in there and being better
1228
01:03:41,959 --> 01:03:44,208
and singing stronger and that kind of thing.
1229
01:03:44,209 --> 01:03:47,626
So, I went through that kind of trial by fire,
1230
01:03:47,627 --> 01:03:49,049
for a couple of years,
1231
01:03:49,050 --> 01:03:51,213
besides doing the band,
1232
01:03:51,214 --> 01:03:52,340
trial by fire.
1233
01:03:54,092 --> 01:03:56,307
Going on stage after Randy died,
1234
01:03:56,308 --> 01:03:59,022
it was just a matter of surviving each show,
1235
01:03:59,023 --> 01:04:01,515
emotionally.
1236
01:04:01,516 --> 01:04:05,439
I watch myself perform, and I'm going,
"I'm not connecting with anybody here."
1237
01:04:05,440 --> 01:04:07,777
I'm not even looking at... around.
1238
01:04:07,778 --> 01:04:11,151
I'm not even looking at the audience.
I'm just going through the motions.
1239
01:04:12,527 --> 01:04:15,279
That's not the reason why I started playing.
1240
01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:16,869
I didn't want to be a robot.
1241
01:04:16,870 --> 01:04:20,460
I didn't want to be disconnected
with music, with my soul.
1242
01:04:23,705 --> 01:04:25,082
So, I had to move on.
1243
01:04:25,083 --> 01:04:26,790
I had to move on.
1244
01:04:26,791 --> 01:04:29,340
It was the toughest decision
I've ever made in my whole life,
1245
01:04:29,341 --> 01:04:32,463
to go from, like, people that I love,
1246
01:04:32,464 --> 01:04:34,679
because Sharon and Ozzy, they...
1247
01:04:34,680 --> 01:04:36,426
took incredible care of me.
1248
01:04:37,510 --> 01:04:39,512
They were gracious, you know.
1249
01:04:40,889 --> 01:04:44,393
But, I had to get joy back in my playing again.
1250
01:04:45,393 --> 01:04:46,565
I really did.
1251
01:04:55,320 --> 01:05:00,491
After having lost a certain gig where
it was all shut down without warning,
1252
01:05:00,492 --> 01:05:03,539
and then there's that sort of
gap where you're scrambling,
1253
01:05:03,540 --> 01:05:05,664
like a fish out of water trying...
1254
01:05:05,665 --> 01:05:07,165
to get back into something,
1255
01:05:08,500 --> 01:05:11,418
just so you can pay your bills.
1256
01:05:11,419 --> 01:05:14,760
I get a call from one of the
guys that I used to play with
1257
01:05:14,761 --> 01:05:16,220
in Mandy Moore's band,
1258
01:05:16,221 --> 01:05:18,218
and he says, "I'm now the musical director
1259
01:05:19,135 --> 01:05:20,728
for Lizzy McGuire,
1260
01:05:21,471 --> 01:05:22,721
a Disney artist."
1261
01:05:22,722 --> 01:05:24,348
I'm like,
1262
01:05:24,349 --> 01:05:26,602
"Who? I don't even know who that is.
1263
01:05:26,603 --> 01:05:28,018
Tell me more."
1264
01:05:28,019 --> 01:05:31,522
So I find out later that
Lizzy McGuire is Hillary Duff.
1265
01:05:31,523 --> 01:05:33,613
And, "They're trying to mold her into a singer,
1266
01:05:33,614 --> 01:05:36,280
and they kind of want to make her edgy.
1267
01:05:36,281 --> 01:05:37,948
They want a rock guitar player.
1268
01:05:37,949 --> 01:05:39,992
I thought of you. What are you doing?"
1269
01:05:39,993 --> 01:05:43,789
I had just come from two years on
the road playing with Vince Neil,
1270
01:05:43,790 --> 01:05:46,120
where it was drunk, rowdy,
1271
01:05:46,121 --> 01:05:47,919
you know... Big theaters, bars,
1272
01:05:48,498 --> 01:05:49,706
tits.
1273
01:05:49,707 --> 01:05:51,834
Girls French kissing in the front row.
1274
01:05:51,835 --> 01:05:55,087
All kinds of Rock n Roll stuff.
1275
01:05:55,088 --> 01:05:58,173
And then, now I'm touring stadiums packed,
1276
01:05:58,174 --> 01:05:59,970
but it's, like, little kids.
1277
01:05:59,971 --> 01:06:03,563
Some... In most cases it was their
first time ever at a concert.
1278
01:06:03,564 --> 01:06:06,390
The line backstage for me became,
1279
01:06:06,391 --> 01:06:09,643
"Okay, guys, time to scare the kids."
1280
01:06:09,644 --> 01:06:11,897
You know, I'll get the, "Ahhh, who's this guy?"
1281
01:06:13,815 --> 01:06:16,155
It was funny because I took my daughter
1282
01:06:16,156 --> 01:06:20,952
down to a venue in Phoenix, Arizona,
where we live to go see Hilary Duff.
1283
01:06:20,953 --> 01:06:24,658
And stage, left, is this, like, really cool looking,
1284
01:06:24,659 --> 01:06:26,878
Rock n Roll, like, heavy metal guitar player.
1285
01:06:26,879 --> 01:06:29,663
He's got on black jeans,
1286
01:06:29,664 --> 01:06:32,918
like Doc Martin, he's got a
chain hanging down, I mean...
1287
01:06:32,919 --> 01:06:37,171
He looked like he should have been
playing in Metallica or something.
1288
01:06:37,172 --> 01:06:41,014
When I saw Hilary Duff's show, and
I said, "Who's the guitar player?"
1289
01:06:41,015 --> 01:06:42,973
And somebody finally said, "That's Jason Hook."
1290
01:06:42,974 --> 01:06:45,012
And I said, "Yeah, write that name down."
1291
01:06:45,013 --> 01:06:46,390
Cause when I go to see other bands
1292
01:06:46,391 --> 01:06:50,726
I always kinda make a note of who people are.
1293
01:06:50,727 --> 01:06:53,321
The second year that I was in that gig,
1294
01:06:53,322 --> 01:06:57,274
the craze for Hilary went off the charts.
1295
01:06:57,275 --> 01:07:00,027
She was so successful that the band was on retainer
1296
01:07:00,028 --> 01:07:03,032
which is something that doesn't happen very often.
1297
01:07:03,033 --> 01:07:05,784
And essentially what that means is that,
1298
01:07:05,785 --> 01:07:08,127
they pay you whether you're touring or not.
1299
01:07:08,128 --> 01:07:11,079
I did something sort of foolish.
1300
01:07:11,080 --> 01:07:13,299
I said, "I'm gonna be an adult now.
1301
01:07:13,300 --> 01:07:15,792
I'm gonna buy a house."
1302
01:07:15,793 --> 01:07:18,295
It wasn't long after that where I was stunned
1303
01:07:18,296 --> 01:07:20,717
because you literally get out of bed one day
1304
01:07:20,718 --> 01:07:23,309
and you open the e-mail that says, "Hey, all.
1305
01:07:23,310 --> 01:07:25,135
After several meetings,
1306
01:07:25,136 --> 01:07:27,971
with the label and the movie department,
1307
01:07:27,972 --> 01:07:32,142
we've decided to take Hilary's
career in a new direction,
1308
01:07:32,143 --> 01:07:35,103
and we're gonna shut down touring.
1309
01:07:35,104 --> 01:07:38,527
Thank you very much for all your support and loyalty.
1310
01:07:38,528 --> 01:07:42,075
And we wish all of you the best
of luck for your future."
1311
01:07:42,862 --> 01:07:44,034
The end.
1312
01:07:44,989 --> 01:07:46,036
I'm like...
1313
01:07:48,868 --> 01:07:50,666
Sheer terror.
1314
01:07:59,087 --> 01:08:01,008
It's one thing being Billy _loel's drummer,
1315
01:08:01,009 --> 01:08:04,430
but it's another thing being the
wife of Billy _loel's drummer.
1316
01:08:06,261 --> 01:08:09,183
I was getting divorced from my second wife.
1317
01:08:09,184 --> 01:08:12,229
I ended up telling her to take
everything and just leave me alone.
1318
01:08:13,393 --> 01:08:15,769
So, I went to Billy and I said,
1319
01:08:15,770 --> 01:08:18,148
"You know, if any scraps fall on the floor
1320
01:08:18,149 --> 01:08:19,648
maybe you could sweep them my way."
1321
01:08:19,649 --> 01:08:22,446
And he just looked at me and said, "I can't do that."
1322
01:08:22,447 --> 01:08:24,945
"I wished you'd never asked me
that. I can't do that."
1323
01:08:24,946 --> 01:08:28,412
lrrelative of my success
is complicating things because
1324
01:08:28,413 --> 01:08:31,207
everybody wants more money, more money, more more...
1325
01:08:34,163 --> 01:08:36,039
And I continued on the tour doing the tour,
1326
01:08:36,040 --> 01:08:38,134
but we didn't... Never spoke after that.
1327
01:08:38,135 --> 01:08:39,960
The tour ends.
1328
01:08:39,961 --> 01:08:42,714
And the next thing I know is
Billy's getting married again,
1329
01:08:43,381 --> 01:08:44,756
to his third wife.
1330
01:08:44,757 --> 01:08:47,554
So, I call up the keyboard player and I said...
1331
01:08:47,555 --> 01:08:49,428
"I guess we're not invited to the wedding?"
1332
01:08:49,429 --> 01:08:51,227
And he says, "I got my invitation."
1333
01:08:55,643 --> 01:08:57,436
You're never fired.
1334
01:08:57,437 --> 01:09:00,647
You're just not asked to do the next thing.
1335
01:09:00,648 --> 01:09:03,777
I knew it was over when
he played Madison Square garden
1336
01:09:03,778 --> 01:09:08,450
and I was getting calls from people
that wanted to get tickets to go.
1337
01:09:08,451 --> 01:09:11,163
Or, or... "Hey, I heard you're playing in my town?"
1338
01:09:11,164 --> 01:09:13,412
"Billy's coming to town. You're with him, right?"
1339
01:09:13,413 --> 01:09:15,621
"No, I'm not."
1340
01:09:15,622 --> 01:09:18,091
You know when, it's like saying it is like,
1341
01:09:18,092 --> 01:09:21,501
it could happen, but once you say it, it's like,
1342
01:09:21,502 --> 01:09:23,800
"Fuck, yeah, I'm not that guy anymore."
1343
01:09:29,844 --> 01:09:32,684
So, the divorce and that happened at the same time.
1344
01:09:32,685 --> 01:09:35,307
So, my wife buried me in sand up to my neck,
1345
01:09:35,308 --> 01:09:37,310
and then Billy kicked me in the face.
1346
01:09:46,069 --> 01:09:47,912
What do you think now that
you are a Rock n Roll star?
1347
01:09:50,948 --> 01:09:52,788
I don't think too much about it.
1348
01:09:52,789 --> 01:09:53,910
Because if I did,
1349
01:09:55,078 --> 01:09:57,080
I'd probably get a real swell head.
1350
01:10:00,291 --> 01:10:02,587
The question is, when did it go from,
1351
01:10:02,588 --> 01:10:05,429
"Love me, love my band," to "Get
the fuck out of my dressing room!"
1352
01:10:10,635 --> 01:10:12,260
We played in Fargo.
1353
01:10:12,261 --> 01:10:14,434
It was Easter Sunday the next clay,
1354
01:10:15,306 --> 01:10:18,266
and Billy had a private plane.
1355
01:10:18,267 --> 01:10:21,353
And I wanted to get on the plane.
1356
01:10:21,354 --> 01:10:24,528
And I was told, "No, there's
not enough room for you."
1357
01:10:24,529 --> 01:10:26,733
"What... What do you mean?
1358
01:10:26,734 --> 01:10:30,159
I know there's so many seats on the plane
and there's only so many people going?"
1359
01:10:30,160 --> 01:10:31,822
"No, not enough room.
1360
01:10:31,823 --> 01:10:33,200
Billy might want to lay down."
1361
01:10:37,078 --> 01:10:38,453
"What?"
1362
01:10:38,454 --> 01:10:40,539
"Billy might wanna lay down.
1363
01:10:40,540 --> 01:10:42,463
So, you can't go home for Easter."
1364
01:10:46,671 --> 01:10:48,342
I thought I was part of something,
1365
01:10:48,343 --> 01:10:51,809
that was going to write
"payoff" at the end, but, uh...
1366
01:10:51,810 --> 01:10:55,804
Fuck, I guess it's never going to happen!
1367
01:10:55,805 --> 01:10:58,896
I told him. I said, "I understand
why you're doing what you're doing.
1368
01:10:58,897 --> 01:11:01,485
You are Billy Joel. Your name is on the album cover.
1369
01:11:02,520 --> 01:11:04,443
But, if you ever need my help,
1370
01:11:05,690 --> 01:11:06,907
I'm there for you."
1371
01:11:21,080 --> 01:11:22,914
When you're touring,
1372
01:11:22,915 --> 01:11:25,009
and you're getting all those checks
and they're just stacking up,
1373
01:11:25,010 --> 01:11:26,752
you're like, "Ah, I'm good!"
1374
01:11:26,753 --> 01:11:28,380
But when the tour is over it's over.
1375
01:11:28,381 --> 01:11:30,632
The money you have left in your account you need,
1376
01:11:30,633 --> 01:11:32,758
and all of a sudden it's like, "Whoa,
1377
01:11:32,759 --> 01:11:36,344
like, I have less than a $1000 in my account now.
1378
01:11:36,345 --> 01:11:40,223
And I don't know when my next gig is coming up."
1379
01:11:40,224 --> 01:11:42,270
You know, you're living the life, you're on tour,
1380
01:11:42,271 --> 01:11:43,732
everything is really great,
1381
01:11:43,733 --> 01:11:46,106
that check is deposited in your account every Friday.
1382
01:11:46,107 --> 01:11:47,322
And then it stops.
1383
01:11:48,024 --> 01:11:49,274
And you're like,
1384
01:11:49,275 --> 01:11:51,276
"Hmmm,
1385
01:11:51,277 --> 01:11:55,282
maybe I got a little cushion, but I
still gotta provide for my family."
1386
01:11:55,283 --> 01:11:58,033
Throughout the journey of being a player,
1387
01:11:58,034 --> 01:11:59,284
sure,
1388
01:11:59,285 --> 01:12:01,750
there have been lean moments along the way.
1389
01:12:01,751 --> 01:12:03,748
And you know that moment where you go to the ATM
1390
01:12:04,540 --> 01:12:06,167
and you realize,
1391
01:12:08,002 --> 01:12:11,922
"Wow, somebody around here has go to get a job."
1392
01:12:11,923 --> 01:12:15,014
Th funniest thing is my friends
from high school think I'm rich.
1393
01:12:15,015 --> 01:12:16,134
"Are you kidding me?"
1394
01:12:16,135 --> 01:12:17,761
I go on the road,
1395
01:12:17,762 --> 01:12:19,429
I come back,
1396
01:12:19,430 --> 01:12:21,398
I have to get a job. My buddy
and I are painting houses.
1397
01:12:21,399 --> 01:12:22,812
I remember painting this house,
1398
01:12:22,813 --> 01:12:24,684
and I'm taking a break.
1399
01:12:24,685 --> 01:12:26,278
I'm sitting on a bucket eating a sandwich,
1400
01:12:26,279 --> 01:12:27,738
I look up and Matt Sorum walks in.
1401
01:12:29,106 --> 01:12:31,107
I'm like, "Holy shit! Matt Sorum."
1402
01:12:31,108 --> 01:12:33,735
He's like, "Hey, man." And then
he's like, "Looks good, looks good.
1403
01:12:33,736 --> 01:12:35,826
And he looks down on me, he was like,
1404
01:12:35,827 --> 01:12:37,449
"I know you from somewhere."
1405
01:12:37,450 --> 01:12:39,369
I was like, "Yeah, we met at Hamburg.
1406
01:12:39,370 --> 01:12:40,869
We were on tour with Soundgarden."
1407
01:12:40,870 --> 01:12:42,994
He's like, "Shit, that's right.
1408
01:12:42,995 --> 01:12:43,995
How you been?"
1409
01:12:43,996 --> 01:12:45,247
I'm like,
1410
01:12:45,248 --> 01:12:47,091
"Well, I'm painting your fuckin house, man."
1411
01:12:50,878 --> 01:12:55,349
The only reason why I sorta fell
into hired gun type work is because,
1412
01:12:55,350 --> 01:12:58,593
I was failing, you know, to get to the dream.
1413
01:12:58,594 --> 01:13:01,473
The A dream I kinda call it... The A dream for me,
1414
01:13:01,474 --> 01:13:04,432
was to be in a band with four, five guys
1415
01:13:04,433 --> 01:13:06,855
writing original music and everyone loved it,
1416
01:13:06,856 --> 01:13:08,943
and everyone wanted to buy a ticket to the concert.
1417
01:13:08,944 --> 01:13:09,901
That's the A dream.
1418
01:13:09,902 --> 01:13:11,648
So, the B dream to me was, like,
1419
01:13:11,649 --> 01:13:14,364
"Well, nobody... All the bands
that I'm putting together
1420
01:13:14,365 --> 01:13:15,861
nobody gives a shit about.
1421
01:13:15,862 --> 01:13:18,822
So, I'll just look after myself,"
1422
01:13:18,823 --> 01:13:21,366
and go rent myself to somebody,
1423
01:13:21,367 --> 01:13:23,451
because I know that I can deliver.
1424
01:13:23,452 --> 01:13:26,171
You know, if somebody would have told me
Hilary Duff's guitar player was coming
1425
01:13:26,172 --> 01:13:29,836
and I go, "Yeah?" And he's going out the back door...
1426
01:13:29,837 --> 01:13:32,756
But, I also knew about Jason Hook's playing.
1427
01:13:32,757 --> 01:13:34,254
I didn't have to audition him.
1428
01:13:34,255 --> 01:13:35,928
I already knew he was going to be fine.
1429
01:14:00,448 --> 01:14:03,452
Alice has always had a fantastic band.
1430
01:14:03,453 --> 01:14:05,294
And even when I wasn't working with him,
1431
01:14:05,295 --> 01:14:10,040
he had... Davey Johnstone who's with Elton john,
1432
01:14:10,041 --> 01:14:13,376
Kip Winger who's just a fantastic musician,
1433
01:14:13,377 --> 01:14:16,922
and Eric Singer, lots of great drummers...
1434
01:14:16,923 --> 01:14:21,224
and yeah, he's always attracted the
best of the best of the sidemen.
1435
01:14:21,225 --> 01:14:25,096
Always surround yourself with A-list players.
1436
01:14:25,097 --> 01:14:28,475
I mean, everybody in my band's an A-list player.
1437
01:14:28,476 --> 01:14:30,899
It's that... I just don't have time for B-list guys.
1438
01:14:42,698 --> 01:14:45,951
I got a phone call from a
national number that I didn't know.
1439
01:14:45,952 --> 01:14:47,795
And he said, "This is Kip Winger."
1440
01:14:49,705 --> 01:14:52,709
And he goes, "Are you available this summer?"
1441
01:14:52,710 --> 01:14:55,543
And I said, "I would have got some gigs.
Why, what's going on?"
1442
01:14:55,544 --> 01:14:57,420
And he goes, "Well, I hope you can cancel them
1443
01:14:57,421 --> 01:15:00,300
because I just got you an audition
to play guitar for Alice Cooper."
1444
01:15:00,301 --> 01:15:03,677
I went back at the phone, I said,
"Ah, my schedule just cleared up."
1445
01:15:03,678 --> 01:15:06,644
I just had a feeling about
her and she was so eager.
1446
01:15:06,645 --> 01:15:09,686
And she was so pumped about doing this, you know.
1447
01:15:09,687 --> 01:15:11,561
She wood shedded, she had studied...
1448
01:15:11,562 --> 01:15:13,733
She came in and, well, she was perfect.
1449
01:15:13,734 --> 01:15:16,898
Now Nita will be in that A-list carrel now.
1450
01:15:16,899 --> 01:15:18,650
All the guys now will look,
1451
01:15:18,651 --> 01:15:20,240
and they've heard her now and they go,
1452
01:15:20,241 --> 01:15:22,951
"Okay, she's a proven... She's a proven thing now."
1453
01:15:22,952 --> 01:15:24,367
It says a lot about you,
1454
01:15:24,368 --> 01:15:26,912
if you've been selected to be in Alice's band.
1455
01:15:26,913 --> 01:15:28,660
I know this because I was.
1456
01:15:28,661 --> 01:15:32,205
And I saw the other guys around me that were.
1457
01:15:32,206 --> 01:15:34,584
It says a lot about you and your ability,
1458
01:15:34,585 --> 01:15:36,754
because those shows were exhausting.
1459
01:15:36,755 --> 01:15:38,216
There is no backing vocals,
1460
01:15:38,217 --> 01:15:40,759
there is no click track,
like, we do everything, live.
1461
01:15:40,760 --> 01:15:44,259
When it comes to the stage
show I let them have their movement.
1462
01:15:44,260 --> 01:15:46,431
When I back up, they move forward.
1463
01:15:46,432 --> 01:15:49,683
When you're playing the lead
you are now Alice Cooper.
1464
01:15:49,684 --> 01:15:50,974
So you take over.
1465
01:15:50,975 --> 01:15:52,272
Guitar players,
1466
01:15:52,893 --> 01:15:54,185
are show offs.
1467
01:15:54,186 --> 01:15:56,526
Anybody that says they're not is lying.
1468
01:15:56,527 --> 01:15:58,606
We all want to show off all the time
1469
01:15:58,607 --> 01:16:01,156
and if we could just stand in the middle
and just do tricks the whole time
1470
01:16:01,157 --> 01:16:02,948
we would. At least I would.
1471
01:16:02,949 --> 01:16:05,116
So, you know, and you learn as a guitar player
1472
01:16:05,117 --> 01:16:07,115
till you show some restraint on stage
1473
01:16:07,116 --> 01:16:10,582
and let the singer do their thing,
and especially as a hired musician.
1474
01:16:10,583 --> 01:16:13,750
I've shown an unbelievable
amount of restraint sometimes.
1475
01:16:13,751 --> 01:16:15,341
Alice let you be yourself.
1476
01:16:15,342 --> 01:16:17,167
If you were flashy,
1477
01:16:17,168 --> 01:16:19,136
and wanted to be flamboyant, a real performer,
1478
01:16:19,137 --> 01:16:20,220
he didn't care.
1479
01:16:26,177 --> 01:16:27,677
I played with Alice,
1480
01:16:27,678 --> 01:16:30,055
all the way through up until 2008.
1481
01:16:30,056 --> 01:16:33,185
And Alice would be cool enough
to let me get a replacement
1482
01:16:33,186 --> 01:16:34,811
to come in for him for a week or two
1483
01:16:34,812 --> 01:16:36,524
while I would go and play with Kiss.
1484
01:16:36,525 --> 01:16:39,272
Kiss and Alice never toured at the same time.
1485
01:16:39,273 --> 01:16:41,069
We were sharing the same drummer.
1486
01:16:41,070 --> 01:16:43,820
So Kiss would go out for four or five months,
1487
01:16:43,821 --> 01:16:46,534
and then my tour would start
right when the Kiss tour ended.
1488
01:16:46,535 --> 01:16:47,906
Eric never got a break.
1489
01:16:47,907 --> 01:16:49,866
There's no better compliment
1490
01:16:49,867 --> 01:16:51,534
than to be in demand
1491
01:16:51,535 --> 01:16:54,459
by two of the most legendary,
1492
01:16:54,997 --> 01:16:56,873
bands, ever!
1493
01:16:56,874 --> 01:16:59,667
I think finally Eric just said, "I...
1494
01:16:59,668 --> 01:17:01,878
I can't do this anymore."
1495
01:17:01,879 --> 01:17:04,052
And I just said, "Go with Kiss."
1496
01:17:14,934 --> 01:17:17,904
When I was a kid I always said
I wanna be in a band like...
1497
01:17:17,905 --> 01:17:18,853
like a Kiss.
1498
01:17:18,854 --> 01:17:20,193
I want to be in an Alice Cooper.
1499
01:17:20,194 --> 01:17:21,653
I didn't know I'd end up in Kiss.
1500
01:17:21,654 --> 01:17:23,902
You tell that son of a bitch when he was 18,
1501
01:17:23,903 --> 01:17:25,865
"You're one day you're gonna be in Kiss."
1502
01:17:25,866 --> 01:17:27,826
He'd be, like, "Get outta here."
1503
01:17:27,827 --> 01:17:30,871
I always looked up to him
ever since I saw him in Badlands.
1504
01:17:30,872 --> 01:17:33,326
Now he's in Kiss.
1505
01:17:33,327 --> 01:17:34,874
It's like, incredible.
1506
01:17:36,914 --> 01:17:40,043
I don't ever try to play like somebody, per Se,
1507
01:17:40,044 --> 01:17:41,381
but you want to at least be...
1508
01:17:41,382 --> 01:17:43,717
Be reasonably respectful to the part.
1509
01:17:43,718 --> 01:17:45,588
People think just because I wear,
1510
01:17:45,589 --> 01:17:49,512
make up that was associated with
Peter Criss as the original drummer,
1511
01:17:49,513 --> 01:17:51,638
all of a sudden they think, automatically, that I'm
1512
01:17:51,639 --> 01:17:54,060
trying to act like him and play
like him. It's, like, "No.
1513
01:17:54,061 --> 01:17:55,974
Gene and Paul never said,
1514
01:17:55,975 --> 01:17:59,022
Oh, Eric, we want you to watch videos.
We need you to play more like Peter.
1515
01:17:59,023 --> 01:18:00,236
You need to do some..."
1516
01:18:00,237 --> 01:18:01,437
Never once!
1517
01:18:01,438 --> 01:18:03,031
It's so ridiculous that people say that.
1518
01:18:03,032 --> 01:18:05,238
I don't play like him at all, actually.
1519
01:18:05,239 --> 01:18:06,985
The only thing that I do in common
1520
01:18:06,986 --> 01:18:09,279
is I wear that cat make-up.
1521
01:18:09,280 --> 01:18:10,619
That's where it stops.
1522
01:18:10,620 --> 01:18:12,535
And the irony of the whole thing is that,
1523
01:18:12,536 --> 01:18:14,742
Peter and Ace didn't care about the make-up.
1524
01:18:14,743 --> 01:18:16,995
They sold the rights to Gene and Paul
because they thought it was worth nothing.
1525
01:18:16,996 --> 01:18:18,964
Hey, who wants to sit out there and play in clubs
1526
01:18:18,965 --> 01:18:20,665
and struggling their whole life? I don't.
1527
01:18:20,666 --> 01:18:22,839
All I ever wanted to do was play
in a big band since I was a kid.
1528
01:18:22,840 --> 01:18:24,212
That's what I dreamed of doing.
1529
01:18:24,213 --> 01:18:26,087
And that's what I've ended up doing,
1530
01:18:26,088 --> 01:18:28,511
and I'm very proud and happy about
all the things I've gotten to do.
1531
01:18:28,512 --> 01:18:29,429
I think it's cool.
1532
01:18:32,887 --> 01:18:35,982
The Alice Cooper Five finger death punch transition,
1533
01:18:35,983 --> 01:18:40,476
it really all comes down to my
relationship with Jeremy Spencer.
1534
01:18:40,477 --> 01:18:43,151
I was out there touring with Alice Cooper,
1535
01:18:43,152 --> 01:18:46,065
and he was in LA playing the clubs.
1536
01:18:46,066 --> 01:18:50,408
And they were starting to pick up
heat and momentum quite quickly.
1537
01:18:50,409 --> 01:18:53,031
And when I would come off the road with Cooper,
1538
01:18:53,032 --> 01:18:55,742
I would go see them play in the clubs.
1539
01:18:55,743 --> 01:18:58,661
And I remember sitting there
watching them play, going,
1540
01:18:58,662 --> 01:18:59,914
"I don't want to be left out of this.
1541
01:19:00,581 --> 01:19:02,207
This sucks."
1542
01:19:02,208 --> 01:19:05,212
Jason, you know, he was supportive from day one.
1543
01:19:05,213 --> 01:19:07,632
He was at our showcase that we got signed,
1544
01:19:07,633 --> 01:19:09,594
and he was at our first gig we played.
1545
01:19:09,595 --> 01:19:13,013
And we were starting to have
problems with our guitar player.
1546
01:19:13,014 --> 01:19:15,306
So, I'm like, "Hey, man, there may be
1547
01:19:15,307 --> 01:19:17,475
an opportunity for me to get you in this thing
1548
01:19:17,476 --> 01:19:19,265
if you're serious about it."
1549
01:19:19,266 --> 01:19:21,439
And he was like, "Well,
I just wanted to let you know.
1550
01:19:21,440 --> 01:19:25,230
We can't afford to pay you Alice Cooper salary."
1551
01:19:25,231 --> 01:19:27,074
And I was like, "I don't care about that.
1552
01:19:27,075 --> 01:19:28,399
Money will come.
1553
01:19:28,400 --> 01:19:30,860
Money can be earned in other ways.
1554
01:19:30,861 --> 01:19:33,780
It's not about... it's about grabbing,
1555
01:19:33,781 --> 01:19:35,823
the right wave.
1556
01:19:35,824 --> 01:19:37,413
The one that you believe in,
1557
01:19:37,414 --> 01:19:39,958
and have a great time riding it to the shore."
1558
01:19:40,913 --> 01:19:43,665
Everybody was, like,
1559
01:19:43,666 --> 01:19:45,756
"You really understand what you're saying, right?"
1560
01:19:45,757 --> 01:19:47,879
Like, "Do you really wanna go do that?
1561
01:19:47,880 --> 01:19:52,177
Do you really wanna travel around in a van
and eat bologna, and play heavy metal?"
1562
01:19:52,178 --> 01:19:54,552
I was like, "Yes, I do.
Absolutely, one hundred percent."
1563
01:19:54,553 --> 01:19:57,679
Because I knew their potential.
1564
01:19:57,680 --> 01:20:00,024
I had arranged to speak with Alice.
1565
01:20:00,025 --> 01:20:01,599
And he was so cool,
1566
01:20:01,600 --> 01:20:04,440
he was just, like, "You know,
I always encourage my guys
1567
01:20:04,441 --> 01:20:05,812
to swing the bat, man,
1568
01:20:05,813 --> 01:20:06,938
go out there,
1569
01:20:06,939 --> 01:20:08,152
take your best shot."
1570
01:20:08,153 --> 01:20:09,899
All these guys leave with my blessing.
1571
01:20:09,900 --> 01:20:12,360
"Go, and be a big star."
1572
01:20:12,361 --> 01:20:15,113
Jason took that step and now he goes,
1573
01:20:15,114 --> 01:20:18,994
and jumps into a band that's
just on the cusp of making it.
1574
01:20:18,995 --> 01:20:21,577
And he puts that final...
1575
01:20:21,578 --> 01:20:23,501
That final touch that makes it happen.
1576
01:20:48,689 --> 01:20:50,610
So Jason had joined Five finger, I'm thinking,
1577
01:20:50,611 --> 01:20:53,404
"Okay, you're joining on the trajectory
on the way up, so there's...
1578
01:20:53,405 --> 01:20:56,070
You're taking a shot that this
thing is gonna win big."
1579
01:20:56,071 --> 01:20:57,539
And I tell you, you gotta hand it to him, man,
1580
01:20:57,540 --> 01:21:00,783
because he signed in at the exact right time.
1581
01:21:00,784 --> 01:21:03,708
A lot of the core ideas
of some of our radio hits,
1582
01:21:03,709 --> 01:21:05,496
have been from Jason...
1583
01:21:05,497 --> 01:21:07,293
and you know, I'm really grateful that he's
1584
01:21:07,294 --> 01:21:08,634
has the ability to do that.
1585
01:21:08,635 --> 01:21:09,917
Six years later,
1586
01:21:09,918 --> 01:21:11,669
you have seven gold records,
1587
01:21:11,670 --> 01:21:13,338
one platinum single,
1588
01:21:13,339 --> 01:21:15,089
five number one songs,
1589
01:21:15,090 --> 01:21:17,809
and we're embarking on the
biggest tour we've ever done
1590
01:21:17,810 --> 01:21:20,178
headlining arenas.
1591
01:21:20,179 --> 01:21:22,102
Death Punch is one of the last few
1592
01:21:22,103 --> 01:21:24,057
hard rock metal bands
1593
01:21:24,058 --> 01:21:27,187
that is actually able to make the
amount of money that we're able to make
1594
01:21:27,188 --> 01:21:29,145
and have the huge audiences that we have.
1595
01:21:29,146 --> 01:21:30,772
I mean, people are still buying our records.
1596
01:21:30,773 --> 01:21:34,108
In a time when nobody's buying records
1597
01:21:34,109 --> 01:21:35,735
we're still going gold,
1598
01:21:35,736 --> 01:21:37,904
as a hard rock heavy metal act
1599
01:21:37,905 --> 01:21:41,449
with songs called Burn Motherfucker.
1600
01:21:41,450 --> 01:21:44,165
Five hundred thousand copies of Burn Motherfucker?
1601
01:21:44,166 --> 01:21:45,583
Very, very fortunate.
1602
01:21:45,584 --> 01:21:46,788
it's like,
1603
01:21:46,789 --> 01:21:49,874
your whole life you are writing songs
1604
01:21:49,875 --> 01:21:52,799
trying to perfect the craft of making music,
1605
01:21:52,800 --> 01:21:54,837
try to develop your skill.
1606
01:21:54,838 --> 01:21:58,433
And when you finally get a chance to do it for real,
1607
01:21:58,434 --> 01:22:00,301
and people respond to it,
1608
01:22:00,302 --> 01:22:02,646
to the point where they're willing
to show up at an airport for,
1609
01:22:02,647 --> 01:22:05,185
and wait for eight hours for your plane to arrive
1610
01:22:05,186 --> 01:22:07,150
just so they can see you in person.
1611
01:22:08,685 --> 01:22:09,936
That's...
1612
01:22:09,937 --> 01:22:11,029
You can't pay for that.
1613
01:22:18,487 --> 01:22:21,741
For years I've been like, "I don't
wanna be a side guy anymore."
1614
01:22:21,742 --> 01:22:24,038
And even if my band remains underground
1615
01:22:24,039 --> 01:22:25,660
I'm cool with that.
1616
01:22:25,661 --> 01:22:27,834
I can do sessions playing on cool records,
1617
01:22:27,835 --> 01:22:29,330
meet cool people,
1618
01:22:29,331 --> 01:22:30,583
and do my own band.
1619
01:22:30,584 --> 01:22:31,925
But, how the fuck,
1620
01:22:32,793 --> 01:22:34,386
do you say no to Bon Jovi?
1621
01:22:48,725 --> 01:22:50,560
I love making music.
1622
01:22:50,561 --> 01:22:53,610
And if somebody calls me up and says,
1623
01:22:54,815 --> 01:22:56,566
"I have $200
1624
01:22:56,567 --> 01:22:59,036
and I really, really would love you to do,
1625
01:23:00,279 --> 01:23:01,699
guitars on this track."
1626
01:23:01,700 --> 01:23:03,036
And I'm, like, "Send it to me."
1627
01:23:03,037 --> 01:23:05,032
And they send me the song, and the song's good
1628
01:23:05,033 --> 01:23:06,580
and the person was really sweet,
1629
01:23:06,581 --> 01:23:08,119
I'll do it for nothin.
1630
01:23:08,120 --> 01:23:10,166
But if somebody sends me, "I have $300,
1631
01:23:10,167 --> 01:23:13,168
and I want you to play on this. I
know you'll take it to the next leve."
1632
01:23:13,169 --> 01:23:14,167
And I listen to it,
1633
01:23:14,168 --> 01:23:15,511
and I can't stand the song,
1634
01:23:15,512 --> 01:23:17,211
"I can't do it."
1635
01:23:17,212 --> 01:23:20,256
I feel like I'm nickel and diming my soul.
1636
01:23:20,257 --> 01:23:22,884
Because, when you pay me 300 bucks,
1637
01:23:22,885 --> 01:23:26,012
you're not getting Phil X for three hours.
1638
01:23:26,013 --> 01:23:30,349
You're getting what it took me my entire life,
1639
01:23:30,350 --> 01:23:33,936
to cultivate into these hands in this heart.
1640
01:23:33,937 --> 01:23:37,407
I can't play on a piece of shit for $300.
1641
01:25:00,566 --> 01:25:03,945
I made the decision to go
from the biggest band in the world,
1642
01:25:04,778 --> 01:25:06,028
Ozzy Osbourne,
1643
01:25:06,029 --> 01:25:09,490
to the total unknown Quiet Riot.
1644
01:25:09,491 --> 01:25:12,243
It wasn't even really a leap of faith because,
1645
01:25:12,244 --> 01:25:14,372
I mean, I have faith in Quiet Riot,
1646
01:25:14,373 --> 01:25:17,375
that we could sell maybe 50,000 records a year
1647
01:25:17,376 --> 01:25:19,593
and make a living, play, you know...
1648
01:25:19,594 --> 01:25:23,212
We didn't aspire for anything bigger than that.
1649
01:25:23,213 --> 01:25:25,011
We just wanted to make another record.
1650
01:25:26,174 --> 01:25:29,969
So, we have Metal Health finished.
1651
01:25:29,970 --> 01:25:31,062
Ready to be released.
1652
01:25:32,139 --> 01:25:33,732
And we couldn't find a manager.
1653
01:25:35,767 --> 01:25:37,643
We would say, "Listen to this record."
1654
01:25:37,644 --> 01:25:39,315
"Eh, I don't know, that kind of music
1655
01:25:39,316 --> 01:25:42,066
I don't think is really ever gonna come back."
1656
01:25:42,067 --> 01:25:46,694
So, our beginning with Quiet Riot
was very, very humble beginnings.
1657
01:25:46,695 --> 01:25:49,574
We were driving ourselves in a station wagon,
1658
01:25:49,575 --> 01:25:52,617
playing up and down the pacific coast.
1659
01:25:52,618 --> 01:25:54,952
And by the time the tour ended,
1660
01:25:54,953 --> 01:25:57,750
we were in Denver and the promoter Barry Faith,
1661
01:25:57,751 --> 01:26:01,127
who was actually booking
the acts for the US festival,
1662
01:26:01,128 --> 01:26:03,461
needed a band for the metal day
1663
01:26:03,462 --> 01:26:04,962
because somebody,
1664
01:26:04,963 --> 01:26:07,678
was out of the line-up and they had a gap,
1665
01:26:07,679 --> 01:26:10,051
so, it's like they asked us to do it.
1666
01:26:10,052 --> 01:26:12,680
So, we say, "Yeah, we'd love to do it."
1667
01:26:12,681 --> 01:26:14,807
So, we were the first band to go on.
1668
01:26:43,715 --> 01:26:46,882
And, that was incredible exposure for us.
1669
01:26:46,883 --> 01:26:49,051
You know, just phenomenal. Phenomenal!
1670
01:26:49,052 --> 01:26:51,676
And by then the record was double platinum.
1671
01:26:51,677 --> 01:26:56,180
You know, we had Come On Feel The
Noise was in rotation on MTV
1672
01:26:56,181 --> 01:26:58,434
every half hour. I could set my watch.
1673
01:26:58,435 --> 01:27:01,107
Because every half hour
Come On Feel The Noise came on
1674
01:27:01,108 --> 01:27:03,604
on MTV, you know, Music Television.
1675
01:27:03,605 --> 01:27:04,605
Who knew?
1676
01:27:04,606 --> 01:27:05,949
And by November,
1677
01:27:07,150 --> 01:27:08,984
we had a number one album.
1678
01:27:08,985 --> 01:27:12,956
We're talking number one when
your competition is Thriller,
1679
01:27:12,957 --> 01:27:15,282
Synchroncity by the Police,
1680
01:27:15,283 --> 01:27:17,535
and all those those incredible albums.
1681
01:27:17,536 --> 01:27:20,079
So, to me it wasn't just about,
1682
01:27:20,080 --> 01:27:21,457
having a number one album...
1683
01:27:21,458 --> 01:27:23,254
It was about being in such
1684
01:27:24,251 --> 01:27:26,168
great company.
1685
01:27:26,169 --> 01:27:30,005
What's really interesting about going to the top,
1686
01:27:30,006 --> 01:27:32,299
with any group is that,
1687
01:27:32,300 --> 01:27:35,469
your landscape is exactly the same,
1688
01:27:35,470 --> 01:27:38,565
because I've experienced that with three bands.
1689
01:27:38,566 --> 01:27:40,355
Going from the bottom,
1690
01:27:40,976 --> 01:27:42,560
to the very top.
1691
01:27:42,561 --> 01:27:44,562
I did it with Ozzy,
1692
01:27:44,563 --> 01:27:47,658
I experienced that with Quiet Riot,
and then later on with Whitesnake.
1693
01:27:47,659 --> 01:27:49,567
And then once you get there,
1694
01:27:49,568 --> 01:27:52,403
the trick is to stay there.
1695
01:27:52,404 --> 01:27:53,946
To stay on the top,
1696
01:27:53,947 --> 01:27:56,198
which is because there's
plenty of room at the bottom.
1697
01:27:56,199 --> 01:27:57,667
There's only so much room at the top.
1698
01:27:57,668 --> 01:27:59,955
There's only gonna be people trying to push you,
1699
01:27:59,956 --> 01:28:01,792
you know, shove you off the the top.
1700
01:28:01,793 --> 01:28:04,257
So, that is the toughest thing to accomplish.
1701
01:28:04,258 --> 01:28:06,167
Getting to the top is hard.
1702
01:28:06,168 --> 01:28:08,546
Staying at the top is virtually impossible.
1703
01:28:10,130 --> 01:28:12,224
I wish I would have the foresight,
1704
01:28:12,225 --> 01:28:15,092
to predict any of the band's successes,
1705
01:28:15,093 --> 01:28:17,057
or you would just have to follow your heart.
1706
01:28:17,058 --> 01:28:20,431
And after doing this for a while
I began to see the signs.
1707
01:28:20,432 --> 01:28:22,478
You know, I began to realize that,
1708
01:28:22,479 --> 01:28:24,477
all of these opportunities, to be...
1709
01:28:24,478 --> 01:28:26,731
To be playing with some of the greatest musicians,
1710
01:28:27,481 --> 01:28:28,522
in the world,
1711
01:28:28,523 --> 01:28:29,774
actually are...
1712
01:28:29,775 --> 01:28:31,527
it's a blessing to do that.
1713
01:28:32,319 --> 01:28:34,111
The Ozzy Band.
1714
01:28:34,112 --> 01:28:37,537
I played with Quiet Riot and
achieved such incredible heights,
1715
01:28:37,538 --> 01:28:39,325
you know, success.
1716
01:28:39,326 --> 01:28:41,619
To go on stage with Whitesnake,
1717
01:28:41,620 --> 01:28:43,746
a band that I'd been a fan of.
1718
01:28:43,747 --> 01:28:45,247
My God!
1719
01:28:45,248 --> 01:28:48,172
So, it took me a few years to actually have the time,
1720
01:28:48,173 --> 01:28:50,795
to look back and really relish,
1721
01:28:50,796 --> 01:28:53,800
in all of the success that I've been blessed with.
1722
01:28:53,801 --> 01:28:56,717
And after all said and clone,
1723
01:28:56,718 --> 01:29:00,063
the most important thing that you have to remember,
1724
01:29:01,056 --> 01:29:03,057
is the journey itself.
1725
01:29:03,058 --> 01:29:04,767
That's when you say,
1726
01:29:04,768 --> 01:29:06,519
"Oh, wow, check this out.
1727
01:29:06,520 --> 01:29:08,065
I've accomplished this."
1728
01:29:08,066 --> 01:29:09,440
But I've gotta tell you,
1729
01:29:09,441 --> 01:29:10,898
it's the people,
1730
01:29:10,899 --> 01:29:13,818
that I am on the journey along with.
1731
01:29:13,819 --> 01:29:15,653
That is priceless!
1732
01:29:15,654 --> 01:29:16,862
That really is.
1733
01:29:16,863 --> 01:29:17,989
And that is...
1734
01:29:18,907 --> 01:29:21,285
why I get out of bed everyday.
1735
01:29:22,369 --> 01:29:24,411
Since I made God a promise
1736
01:29:24,412 --> 01:29:28,541
that as long as my fingers were gonna
keep moving I was gonna keep playing.
1737
01:29:28,542 --> 01:29:30,636
I can't go back on my promise, you know.
1738
01:29:30,637 --> 01:29:33,254
This is what I do. I am a musician.
1739
01:29:33,255 --> 01:29:34,256
I must play.
1740
01:29:38,969 --> 01:29:43,065
I'd like to introduce you to, Liberty DeVitto!
1741
01:29:50,981 --> 01:29:52,231
How's it going?
1742
01:29:52,232 --> 01:29:53,482
Good!
1743
01:29:53,483 --> 01:29:55,952
One of the last things that was ever said to me
1744
01:29:55,953 --> 01:29:58,487
while I was on the road with Billy,
1745
01:29:58,488 --> 01:30:00,447
came from the piano tuner.
1746
01:30:00,448 --> 01:30:01,824
We were walking down the street
1747
01:30:01,825 --> 01:30:04,121
I remember coming from breakfast or something.
1748
01:30:04,122 --> 01:30:06,040
We weren't even talking, just silent,
1749
01:30:06,041 --> 01:30:07,583
He just turned to me and he goes,
1750
01:30:07,584 --> 01:30:09,295
"You know what your problem is?
1751
01:30:09,296 --> 01:30:10,463
You're a nice guy."
1752
01:30:18,758 --> 01:30:22,303
You're the drums. The center of everything.
1753
01:30:22,304 --> 01:30:24,432
Like almost being the center of the universe.
1754
01:30:24,433 --> 01:30:28,773
We're the ones that make people get
up when they dance. it's our beat.
1755
01:30:28,774 --> 01:30:33,399
So' Little Kids Rock puts instruments
and gives free lessons to kids,
1756
01:30:33,400 --> 01:30:36,493
where their school program has
been taken out of the school
1757
01:30:36,494 --> 01:30:39,945
in underprivileged schools, like in Harlem...
1758
01:30:39,946 --> 01:30:42,950
and you know, down and out areas in different cities.
1759
01:30:42,951 --> 01:30:45,451
Little Kids Rock has been a saving grace for me.
1760
01:30:45,452 --> 01:30:46,624
That was fun, right?
1761
01:30:46,625 --> 01:30:47,828
Yeah!
1762
01:30:47,829 --> 01:30:49,705
Music is always fun. It's a lot of fun.
1763
01:30:49,706 --> 01:30:52,127
It's a great way to burn off
energy and stuff like that.
1764
01:30:52,128 --> 01:30:56,175
And, you know whats great about it
is going from emotion to emotion.
1765
01:30:56,176 --> 01:30:58,839
Like a fast song to a slow song.
1766
01:30:58,840 --> 01:31:00,382
Reflecting back,
1767
01:31:00,383 --> 01:31:01,805
we made great records.
1768
01:31:01,806 --> 01:31:02,927
We really did.
1769
01:31:02,928 --> 01:31:05,522
I mean, those records will last forever.
1770
01:31:05,523 --> 01:31:08,098
People still get off on that stuff.
1771
01:31:08,099 --> 01:31:10,814
Every time I'm driving in the
car and the station plays,
1772
01:31:10,815 --> 01:31:14,276
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,
like, "Yeah, that's me playing."
1773
01:31:14,277 --> 01:31:17,151
You know, and when I hear that stuff, people say,
1774
01:31:17,152 --> 01:31:18,692
"Does it upset you?"
1775
01:31:18,693 --> 01:31:21,490
And I say, "No, I just go right back to the studio,
1776
01:31:21,491 --> 01:31:24,537
and what it was like in the
studio making that record."
1777
01:31:24,538 --> 01:31:26,492
We were like brothers.
1778
01:31:26,493 --> 01:31:29,588
It was like going to war and we've
got very successful at what we did.
1779
01:31:30,622 --> 01:31:33,165
If Billy is the father,
1780
01:31:33,166 --> 01:31:34,713
the parent of those songs,
1781
01:31:34,714 --> 01:31:37,044
I'm at least the uncle, you know.
1782
01:31:37,045 --> 01:31:39,719
But now if I saw Billy I'd hug
him and tell him I love him.
1783
01:31:39,720 --> 01:31:42,675
If he called me up and said,
1784
01:31:42,676 --> 01:31:44,849
"I'm sorry. Do you want to play again?"
1785
01:31:45,845 --> 01:31:47,388
I'd say, "Yeah."
1786
01:31:47,389 --> 01:31:50,557
Playing music gives you an identity.
1787
01:31:50,558 --> 01:31:53,769
It really, like, "look what I can do!
1788
01:31:53,770 --> 01:31:56,110
It took me a long time to learn how to do this.
1789
01:31:56,111 --> 01:31:57,902
But look what I can do now."
1790
01:31:57,903 --> 01:32:01,529
So, it's a great, great thing to
learn how to play an instrument.
1791
01:32:01,530 --> 01:32:03,028
And it's not too bad.
1792
01:32:03,029 --> 01:32:05,282
I got my shot. My mother
used to tell me all the time,
1793
01:32:05,283 --> 01:32:08,125
"Lib, you had your turn.
Now it's the young guys turns."
1794
01:32:09,202 --> 01:32:10,916
But right now life is good.
1795
01:32:10,917 --> 01:32:13,131
I play all the time, great people.
1796
01:32:13,132 --> 01:32:14,206
You know.
1797
01:32:14,207 --> 01:32:15,333
It's cool.
1798
01:32:34,602 --> 01:32:37,818
I want to see Bucket-head
get together with the other guy
1799
01:32:37,819 --> 01:32:39,109
that's in the other band,
1800
01:32:39,110 --> 01:32:41,235
and the other drummer that's in that band,
1801
01:32:41,236 --> 01:32:42,531
and put together a band,
1802
01:32:43,194 --> 01:32:44,616
of side guys.
1803
01:32:45,822 --> 01:32:48,037
They're all great players, why not?
1804
01:32:48,038 --> 01:32:49,535
Why not put their own band together?
1805
01:32:50,618 --> 01:32:52,369
Nobody's done that yet.
1806
01:32:52,370 --> 01:32:54,041
Just call themselves On The Side.
1807
01:32:54,042 --> 01:32:55,507
Like French fries on the side.
1808
01:32:55,508 --> 01:32:58,001
One, two, one two, three four.
142354
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