Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit King Kobra (28.04.2011)
HH: A new King Kobra-record in the original line-up has been on the top of my Metal-wishlists for many, many years, but the result exceeded all my expectations. King Kobra as a record not only represents how Heavy Hard Rock has to be played in 2011, but combines 80s' flair and attitude with a modern, but always very "warm" sound. How is the feedback so far and what was the main idea of the record before you started to write the songs?
Carmine: It has been a really great reaction... from the label, PR-people, journalists, they all are saying this record kills!! I'm very happy you like it also. Once an interviewer told me it is a better cd than the new Journey and Whitesnake. That's pretty cool.
HH: Although Ready To Strike turned me into a fan, I have to admit that King Kobra definitely is the most outstanding record you brought out so far. No fillers! It's the density of memorable hooks, refrains, verses and guitar-leads which even more than surprised me at first. So, how many songs have been written for the album, what did the songwriting-process look like and who was involved?
Carmine: The songs were written by me, Paul and Dave (Paul Shortino/Voc., David Michael-Phillips/Git.; Fuxx)... Mick (Mick Sweda/Git.; Fuxx) put in a couple which was late in the process. They will be on the next cd. The whole cd was done through the internet as all members live in different cities. Me, Dave and Paul did get together in Vegas a couple of times. Paul lives in Vegas, so we used his home and studio as the base of operations. Some songs like "Top Of The World" and "Midnight Woman" were written in 1984...
Frontiers wanted an 80s' vibe for us, that was easy for us.
HH: The record transports tons of good vibrations: "Rock This House" or "This Is How We Roll" are only two examples of a perfect way to get your party started. That's what I meant with 80s' attitude. The melancholic 90s with their whining misanthropes are gone and people are ready to claim their right to have fun, their right to rock as Mr. Keel would have said it, although the world around them is getting darker and darker. Would you agree?
Carmine: I agree... from the 50s onward rock music was party music. The 80s elevated that idea, it was all party music. This cd was made as a party cd for those who want to get away from the problems of the world. This is the way it was in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The 90s' music was depressing like the time. Today is financially depressing, but the 80s and party music are coming back strong.
HH: E.g. "Tear Down The Walls" literally breathes the spirit of the 80s. Was it difficult to recreate that certain kind of atmosphere while writing the songs or was it just a kind of re-discovering old composing strategies and combining them with a modern approach?
Carmine: We didn't think about it. We had in our minds to do an 80s' kind of cd. Along with that came the arrangements we came up with. Dave has always written positive songs and came up with the title ("Tear Down The Walls"; Fuxx) and chorus and music idea... me and Paul wrote the rest of the lyrics and melodies from the chorus. It flowed fairly easy. I even got to sing the bridge... the lyric idea came from the news, Michael Jackson and The Beatles.
HH: I guess any reunion is less or more a risk for the artists. What was the crucial experience to put King Kobra together again and what are your expectations, your wishes considering the near future of the band?
Carmine: Me and Dave heard some tracks being mixed by my engineer friend Pat Regan, they were Keel tracks, so Pat asked me if King Kobra may want to do a record. We thought that would be fun. So that's how the idea happened. I called all the band members to see if they would do it... they said yes. We needed a singer and thought of Paul. I called him, he said yes... then Adam Parson, the manager, got a deal on Frontiers and we went to work putting together the album. And I was very happy about the way it came out. With today's business, if get the chance to do another cd that would be fine. If we get to play some festivals that would be great also. We are not looking to sell a million copies, but enough to keep the record-making possible.
HH: Let's talk a little about the single members. David Michael-Philips played in Big Cock and Tunnel before the reunion. Does it mean the end for theses projects?
Carmine: No, because Dave is a computer programmer by trade. He would only have maybe four weeks a year, plus weekends to play, so, I'm sure he can do other things. No one is changing his life for King Kobra. Unless it sells a million copies.
HH: I guess Mick Sweda is running his own recording studio: Redcake Digital. Has he been playing in Hard Rock bands in the last couple of years and was he easy to convince to team up with his old fellows?
Carmine: As I said, I called Mick to do the cd, he said yes. If I call him to say we have some good shows, to make some $$ doing it, we would ALL do it.
HH: There's no doubt that you are not only one of the most influential drummers of the last two and a half decades, but also a workoholic who participated in countless projects over the years and also continously brought out solo-records such as Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus: Conquering Heroes (2009). But maybe it was the missing feeling to play in a Rock-band that stands for itself that initially stood behind the idea of bringing back King Kobra. Right guesswork? And does the band have priority for you at the moment?
Carmine: Well, as I said before, the idea of making a record was the whole inspiration to do this. This and Blue Murder were the only bands that I was a full member of, that haven't done a reunion, so I thought it would be fun. Unfortunately the gig offers and recording budgets for King Kobra at this time could not pay my bills and will not do it the near future... the priority for now is to finish our videos, do all the press try and help to sell the record, so we can get gigs that will pay us, so we can make some money with King Kobra. Right now the gig offers can't pay the plane fairs needed to do this... and there is no record company-tour-support anymore.
HH: Johnny Rod. It was back in 1992 when I saw him play The Crimson Idol-tour with W.A.S.P. and since that day the guy is something like the archetype of a bass-player for me. Pure energy on stage mixed with excellent abilities of treating his instrument the right way. I have to admit that I was a little shocked when he left that band not too long after the tour. Or was he forced to leave? There always have been many rumors about what Rod was doing in the last couple of years because I guess, although Mike Duda is doing an outstanding job in W.A.S.P., for many fans Rod will always be THE W.A.S.P.- and King Kobra-bassman. Maybe you can give us some hints about his actions in the last (damn!) 20 years. What was his reaction when he was confronted with the idea of the reunion?
Carmine: Johnny has always been high energy on the verge of crazy! He left King Kobra to join W.A.S.P. because our tour was over and W.A.S.P. were a bigger group and had a lot more touring going on than King Kobra did, so he left to get bigger and better things. He got caught up in drugs and has been doing different jobs. He was a paramedic, he was in jail... pretty crazy life. Even today he is a bit crazy. But has a great feeling on bass and is a really good player... he played fantastic on this cd.
HH: In picking Paul Shortino as the new King Kobra-singer you couldn't have done better. His voice, his vocal-performance is maybe one of the most important factors that make King Kobra not only a very good, but an outstanding record. How did you come together? How did his shows with Great White go?
Carmine: I think the Great White shows went ok. I remember when he went over there he said it was fun... I worked with Paul and I knew he was a great singer, but also a really nice person, him and his wife are great. He also is a great songwriter, lyric-writer and a great protools-engineer. I knew he could sing anything and that he would fit in with King Kobra really well.
HH: Was Marcie (former Mark) Free (original singer on the first two albums; Fuxx) contacted to be part of the reunion? She just brought out a very fine Melodic Rock/Metal-record with Unruly Child. Have you heard it?
Carmine: No, because Marcie Free did not want to play rocking hard and heavy music. Marcie Free wanted to play what Ted Nugent calls "Wimp Rock". That is why Marcie Free left the group in the 80s; we were to rocking. Unruly Child... quite honestly I've never heard much of them; I heard a track or two... it was ok, but for my taste it didn't rock hard... so Paul was in !!
HH: Ready To Strike is without any doubt an all time classic. It paved the way for King Kobra and the new record continues where Ready To Strike ended. Thrill Of A Lifetime has been definitely more commercial, but also has its moments. Can you tell us the story that led to the musical switch back in the 80s? From a distant view nowadays, would you have done things in a different way, as after Thrill the original line-up splitted?
Carmine: First of all... the Thrill album was dictated by Capital Records. They said if we didn't do a record with five single/commercial tracks we were not going to do another record and we would have suspended our contract, which would have broke up the band anyway. We gave them Ready To Strike... and they didn't know what to do with it. It was way too aggressive for Capital at the time. So Thrill with "Iron Eagle" on it gave Capital what we thought they needed to get a hit single, which at the time Capital was good at. In the end it sold more in Europe and the same in the States. So over all it sold more than Ready To Strike. But that is what happened to the difference in the direction of the two albums. Everything we did in those days, we thought was right. I guess the problem was the label. They didn't sell the albums.
HH: King Kobra always have been one of the most colourful faces of the 80s' Glam Rock era (although there has been much more musicianship and skill than in many, many acts of that time). As being a kickin' part of that scene could you assemble a little list of your ten alltime 80s Glam Metal records? And by the way: is it a true story that at the beginning you were lookin' for blonde musicians to surround you?
Carmine: Well actually most of these "Glam Bands" were not my favorite bands. I just put the image together because it was the 80s'. Image was important for MTV, I already had the colors (black; Fuxx) in my hair. While I was touring with Ozzy in 84, Mötley opened for us. I thought doing the opposite image of them would be cool. So when I abruptly left the tour I did my own band... all blondes except me, the leader with black hair. And so we all had the colors I had... which were our Kobra Kolors... but each one of my Kobra guys had to sing and play great. And be great on stage. Tell you the truth, I cannot name ten glam albums... I think Dr. Feelgood (Mötley Crüe; Fuxx) could be one!!!
HH: Not only I cannot wait to see you perform the new material and all the classics live on stage. So are there any plans for a European-tour or some festival-gigs in the near future?
Carmine: There is just talk and the management is looking for opportunities to get us playing. The problem is: the money being offered cannot even pay fro the plane ticket to get to Europe. There is no tour-support from the label so without enough fund, we cannot do gigs and will lose money. So we will see what comes up. If the cd sells, well, maybe we can do some gigs. So we are working on it.
HH: To prepare some questions to be answered by the King Kobra-chief is without any doubt something I couldn't imagine not too long ago and so this was more than an honor for me. The last words are reserved for you:
Carmine: I would love for all Rock- and Metal fans who like good kickass fun music to go out and get the new King Kobra cd so maybe we can get King Kobra playing live. I'm sure with the original guys and Paul we would kill on stage. And I want to thank everyone that has supported my career and King Kobra over the years. We truly love you all and hope to Rock Europe with KK soon.
Fuxx