Mother Head’s Family Reunion 20th Anniversary Retrospective Interview with Richie Kotzen, Atma Anur & Richie Zito

Today, October 11th marks the 20th anniversary of Richie Kotzen’s major label debut as a solo artist. The album, ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ helped break Richie out of the stereotype of being “A Shrapnel Shredder” and put the focus on his songwriting & vocal ability more so than his six-string wizardry. Now, twenty years later, ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ is heralded by a majority of his fans as his best album so far.

Sadly, Geffen Records dropped the ball with its release which you will soon find out as I had the pleasure of speaking with Richie Kotzen, drummer Atma Anur and producer Richie Zito about the making of this album. Thankfully MCA in Japan knew a true talent when they saw it & gave this sonic work of art a new life overseas. The album has been out-of-print in the U.S. since its only pressing in 1994 & fetches big money on eBay and other online music outlets. Hopefully, one day it will be re-issued.

This is a candid, no-holds barred discussion about what lead up to the making of the album, the songwriting & demo process, the search for a label, record label politics, the recording of and many never-before-known aspects about ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’. Thank you to Richie Zito, Atma Anur and Richie Kotzen for their time and contributions to this project! This has been a dream of mine for many years to learn more about the making of ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’! The album has been my all-time favorite since it came out, twenty years ago today!!!

 

 

Interview with Producer Richie Zito

LRI: You produced Poison’s ‘Native Tongue’ album that Richie was very instrumental in as a songwriter and musician. It was known at that time that Richie Kotzen would still release solo material while in Poison. Did you foresee one day producing any of Richie’s solo material while he was in Poison?

RZ: Richie came into ‘Native Tongue’ with ‘Stand’. I knew then that Richie was the whole package. Extraordinary musician, writer and performer.

LRI: What lead to you becoming the producer for what would become Richie’s ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ album?

At that time I made a deal to start ZITO/BMG Records. Richie was the first artist I tried to sign. He went to Geffen. They recommended he work with another Producer. When that didn’t work out, Richie convinced John Kalodner to hire me!

LRI: You recorded at Rumbo Recorders, did you decide on Rumbo due to your familiarity with the studio from recording the Native Tongue album there?

RZ: I always liked Rumbo! That was Studio B, where Guns N’ Roses made ‘Appetite for Destruction.’ It was a good Rock Room.

LRI: Richie Kotzen stated that it was Geffen who had decided not to allow John Moore to play on the ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ sessions, was it your idea to bring John Pierce in?

RZ: Yes!

LRI: Had you worked with John Pierce before?

RZ: I knew and had worked with John before ‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion.’

LRI: John Pierce played bass on every song but ‘Socialite’. How was he to work with?

RZ: John is a talented musician and a fun guy!

LRI: Tommy Funderburk and Timothy B. Schmit provided background vocals on several songs on the album, what was it like to work with them?

RZ: Throughout my career as both a musician and producer, I’ve worked with an array of extraordinary talents! Timothy and Tommy exemplify that. The Eagles’ “I Can’t Tell You Why”!!!

LRI: Now we will go through the album, track-by-track, can you give readers some insight on the recording process, gear used and anything else of interest of each track?

RZ: We recorded ‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion’ at Rumbo Recording, Studio “B” where Guns N’ Roses recorded ‘Appetite For Destruction.’ We used a Trident Console. I don’t remember Model Designation…..TSM /Series 80? It was Brown!

Other than that, I don’t remember, except that the equipment wasn’t the thing. To me, it was about the music and performances! The tools are just the tools, it’s about who uses them.

The thing about ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ was it was never meant to be a collection of 12 songs! It was meant to be a “Full Album”, a “complete thought” and a representation of Richie Kotzen, the artist, performing his music!! I think we were able to capture a “Live Sound” on this record with minimal overdubs. Not a lot of tricks. Nothing that would stand in the way of Richie’s talent!

Some of the Things that stand out to me:

‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion’, the title track captures the spirit of the album.

When I think of ‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion’, ‘A Love Divine’ immediately plays in my head!! Maybe my favorite track! Love the “no rhythm guitar” behind the solo. The solo still kicks my ass!!

‘Soul To Soul”, the ballad of the album. The vocal is believable as hell! His guitar through a Leslie is in such a great place in the song that it works great!

“Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, awesome solo. I’m a big fan of Richie singing along with his playing!

LRI: Do you have any funny in-studio moments from the recording of this album that you care to or can share?

RZ: Nah!!!

LRI: The album is considered amongst Richie Kotzen fans as his ‘Led Zeppelin:IV’ or ‘Kiss:Destroyer’ & now that 20 years has passed, what is your opinion of the album?

RZ: Wow! Led Zeppelin IV and Kiss’ Destroyer, good company! I’ve had the pleasure of working on ‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion’, Poison’s ‘Native Tongue’ & then a variety of other projects along the way…..Mr. Big, etc. Richie’s talent shines on all of them!

I guess ‘Mother’s Head Family Reunion’ sticks out in that it was Richie’s first major label album as musician, writer and singer. He was raring to go at that point in his career! Glad I was there.

LRI: Are you surprised that fans still hold that album in such high regard after 20 years?

RZ: I’m still a fan of Kotzen’s after 20 years! Not surprised at all!

LRI: You’ve written Richie and produced on a few more of his solo albums and did the Wilson Hawk album with him. Can you give readers some insight into the Wilson Hawk project?

RZ: One of the many musical influences Richie & I share is Soul Music! Richie grew up in Pennsylvania and was exposed to “Philly Soul”. The Spinners, The O’Jays, etc.

I grew up in New York and I was signed to Atlantic Records when I was 15. I grew up listening to a lot of R&B Records on Atlantic and Stax/Volt. Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin.

We always talked about making a RNB/Soul Influenced Record. That’s how Wilson Hawk happened!

LRI: Any chance of writing with or producing Richie again?

RZ: If and when it makes sense, I’d love to!

LRI: Let’s fast forward to today, what is Richie Zito up to and where can fans reach you at?

RZ: My background as a musician and producer was always rooted in artists that are excellent musicians, songwriters, singers, performers and capable of making a number of great albums that make up a body of work!

In addition to Richie, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with artists like Elton John, Tina Turner, Heart, Cheap Trick, Roger Daltry/Pete Townsend, Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc.

I’m waiting for the next one of those to call me!

– Official Richie Zito Website

http://www.richiezito.com/

Interview with Drummer Atma Anur

 

LRI: What led up to you becoming involved in what was to become Richie’s ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ album?

AA: Well Richie and I had been playing together for a few years already. Mike Varney introduced us in I think ’89. Over the years since then we have done some Shrapnel albums and records on other labels (Fever Dream, Electric Joy, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Time’s Gonna Tell, Wave of Emotion, Something to Say),some great live shows and lots of playing and jamming on various kinds of music (and 2 CDs with Greg Howe).

At some point after Richie had moved to LA in the early 90s, we spoke and he wanted to show me his new songs that he had been working on while still in Poison. We got together and worked quite a bit on that new material, I think he was planning a move from Poison if I remember correctly.

LRI: John Pierce played bass on every song but ‘Socialite’. How was he to work with?

AA: Oh John was wonderful, a real pro and a very nice guy. He took everything very seriously and has a killer feel. I think he did a great job. I remember that he had the transcription book of Bass lines played by James Jamerson and used that on “I’ll be There”. He also rolled up to the sessions with a huge trap case on wheels with about 15 or 20 amazing basses in it.

I would also have been happy if John Moore had done the tracks, we spent quite a bit of time working on our grooves for those songs. The live shows with Moore were killer, great feel, great voice and the rock star look.

LRI: Tommy Funderburk and Timothy B. Schmit provided background vocals on several songs on the album, what was it like to work with them?

AA: I was not around much when the backing vocals were recorded but it all came together perfectly. I think Richie could also have done the backgrounds himself in any case, but having the other timbres was a very musical touch.

LRI: Now we will go through the album, track-by-track, can you give readers some insight on the recording process, gear used and anything else of interest of each track?

AA: I guess I can speak best about my perspectives as the drummer and what thoughts went into the parts. I don’t remember much about the recording process itself, I think we did very few takes for the drum tracks of these songs. This is because we had rehearsed the songs enough to know what we wanted beforehand.

I used my green DW kit (what would now be called the Collector’s Series) for these recordings with my 13 DW snare on almost everything. I think we used a couple of other snare drums for a few of the songs. The drums were mostly wide open except for the kick which had a pillow and the front head on (that is how I like to record and play my kick drums)as I remember.

A 22 bass drum with a double pedal, 10 and 12 rack toms and 14 and 16 floor toms on legs. Sabian cymbals and a drum set mounted tambourine. I think I used more than one ride cymbal on this CD, and my usual 14, 16, 18 crashes, 10/12 splashes, and 13 and 10 hi-hats (at that time).

For me Richie and I have great chemistry, this is just one of those things that come naturally in life, like meeting a good friend or a life partner. This is why we sound the way we sound together. I remember that we had a connection from the first notes we played together back at Prairie Sun Studios at our very first meeting. Another important factor is that we are the type of musician that takes his parts in any song quite seriously, working things out (to a larger extent) before we finalize the song, while still allowing the moment to influence how we manifest those parts (that is musical honesty for me).

I have a particular aesthetic when it comes to how I like the “time” to feel in a commercially oriented piece of music. For example John Bonham and Charlie Watts play a bit behind the beat… ala The Blues. And Tony Williams and Tony Thompson played a bit ahead of the beat. I used those guys as examples of this aesthetic because I love their playing (even though they each play very differently.

I see this effect as the difference between “Driving” the groove and “Steering” the groove. I am a “steering” kind of drummer.

Socialite-

AA: Here we have my version of a James Brown type of 16th note swinging funky groove on the verse. Then, I play a “re-grouped” 16thnote groove that follows the rhythm of the gtr/vocal line exactly, on the chorus. The chorus groove is possibly a bit unorthodox but fits the section quite nicely… and is very cool.

The chorus really moves, and this was my whole point. The bridge section is a Sly Stone vibe in my mind… worked out well.

Mother Head’s Family Reunion-

AA: This song has a great verse groove that Richie showed me on drums… very retro and still unique. I modified the groove to be played left hand lead on the hi-hat while keeping the tom hits on beat 1 and 3. The rest is just good old fashioned rock and roll. The video was great fun to make and this song always went over very well live.

Richie always had great ideas for drum patterns on his songs but always left huge space for me to create as I felt. Most great writers that I have worked with have an idea about how drums fit to what they write before they bring songs into the band. The key with most guitarists that I have worked with is that they use their “ears” more than their “brain” to make decisions on parts… that’s just good music in my opinion.

Where Did Our Love Go-

AA: This is another very natural 70’s vibe ballad with a straight forward funky drum approach. The bass and kick drum are very locked with the vocal accents. You may also notice that the 8th note hi-hat part is ever so slightly swung… keeps things moving nicely.

Natural Thing-

AA: This has a kind of signature “Atma” drum fill intro… melodic use of chops as I see it. The verse groove is again my swung interpretation of a 16th note groove, using the Jazz ride pattern on the hi-hat along with the right grace notes on the snare. I try to keep the accents within these patterns seeming to lean toward straight 8th notes (even though many more notes are actually being played).

A Love Divine-

AA: This is really a huge, old school R&B rock track. I use the floor tom ride pattern in the way I learned from playing with Journey for that very short time in the 80s.

I am again focusing on the way the snare drum grace notes keep the seemingly 8th note ride pattern moving forward from behind the beat. The chorus is plain old solid rock and roll… ala the 70s.

Soul To Soul-

AA: This one is really a Motown track to me. That cross stick intro tells the tale. You may also notice the slightly open hi-hats on the second verse and so on… that is true Motown R&B drumming right there.

I absolutely love this track… what a feeling it brings!

Reach Out I’ll Be There [cover of The Four Tops classic]-

AA: Here we have a real favorite of mine. I played the mounted tambourine part with the right hand while keeping the rest of the hi-hat and snare parts going with my left. I was going for the vibe the Motown guys got on those funky tracks from that Era. The rhythm arrangement on the chorus was my idea… to keep it in a harder rock vibe.

You may also notice that the hi-hat on the verse is played much harder and more ahead than the other sections of the song. This makes the sections pop out from one another.

John played the exact bass part from the transcription in the Jamerson bass lines book… wonderful.

Check the “breath” in the vibe of the solo section drum part. The second half of the solo section has the lick I borrowed from Steve Gadd. 32nd note triplets played RLL between the hi-hat and the snare as a groove, using the hi-hat as an up-beat accent… very funky and quite cool.

Testify-

AA: I thought of this track as an Arena Rock kind of vibe, with a dance groove for the chorus. The open hi-hat is played harder and more ahead in the chorus, while keeping the kick part quite swung.

This track really features my idea of putting The Funk in the Rock.

Used-

AA: This is a psychedelic song in a kind of Beatles/Hendrix style. I thought about how to be funky and work the 16ths while staying true to what I heard as a 60’s period groove. I wanted the track to feel mysterious but still almost danceable. The verse features my playing the ride as opposed to the hi-hat and using the closed hi-hat to play the grace notes with my left hand (notes that might usually be played on the snare drum).

The end solo section for me was a real return to our Shrapnel days, that is my bass line idea of “re-grouping” the rhythm of the 8th notes into 7/7/2 (played as 1,3,5/1,3,5/1). This end solo features a long improvised groovy section, with an intricate drum and bass groove and cool chops.

Richie played melodically while still showing that he has great facility on his instrument. This reminds me of those killer Jeff Beck instrumental albums of the 70s and 80s.

A Woman and A Man-

AA: The verse is and old school R&B kind of ballad where I focused on the 16th notes in the hi-hat part, and the grace notes in the snare… while keeping the back beat steady and strong. I was thinking Al Green for this song.

Livin’ Easy-

AA: This song has a Bowie-esque verse groove and moves into a 70s style Disco/Rock groove for the chorus.

There is quite an unusual motion between the vocal melody and the chords, I think it’s really wonderful. Once again the chorus really moves.

The solo section has a similar groove while riding the floor tom in a kind of Hendrix-ish fashion… Love me some Mitch Mitchell!

Cover Me-

AA: This one has my David Garibaldi influenced way of following the pre-verse guitar riff, into a Fusion/Rock vocal verse as far as drum parts are concerned. This is once again very moving.

The chorus on this track actually moves a bit less than the verse and retains a more traditional rock groove… this was the point and seemed to support the vocal melody and the emotion of the line best.

Then of course we have our quarter note becomes dotted quarter note (approximately), 6/8 “Blues” guitar solo section. Once again, a tribute to our Shrapnel “Guitar Master” days. This is really what Richie and I sound like just having solo-istic fun.

Wailing Wall [Japanese Bonus Track]-

AA: Straight Funk/Rock… Hendrix, Mother’s Finest, etc… with a touch of Free and Deep Purple thrown in.

LRI: What memories do you have of making the video for the title track?

AA: That was a crazy day, we had a bunch of family members there as well. It was super fun.
They tried to get the music in the room loud enough for me to actually play drums to… that was not so simple. Anyway that went fine since we had played the song so many times, and in those days I had just about every single note I played on the whole record embedded into my memory… lol

Doing the background vocal parts and dancing around was also a great time, we wanted to get a kind of 70s Rock/R&B band vibe back then.

LRI: You toured the US in support of the album. How long did you tour?

AA: I don’t remember how long we supported that record. I know we had a cool tour, a few bands and did many shows. John Moore and I became really good friends on that tour… we hung out just about all the time.

LRI: I know of bills that you shared with Jackyl, Bruce Dickinson and Type O Negative. Were there any other bands you shared the stage with during the touring cycle for the album? Any crazy road stories involving those bands that you’d care to share?

AA: I don’t remember any of the other bands but there could have been more. I was really thinking about our band and how to make the show better and better. I thought Richie was doing an amazing job fronting the band and I wanted John and I to continue to grow as an exciting rhythm section. We both took the whole thing very seriously.

We had fun with Jackyl for sure… lots of hanging after the shows and so on. There are most likely many stories but I don’t remember… hilarious.

Let’s say that life on the road is a trip… for all musicians.

LRI: The album is considered amongst Richie Kotzen fans as his ‘Led Zeppelin:IV’ or ‘Kiss:Destroyer’ & now that 20 years have passed, what is your opinion of the album?

AA: I love that record. I think we did something unusual and fresh… I am not sure that the label understood or expected what we did then.

LRI: Are you surprised that fans still hold that album in such high regard after 20 years?

AA: Not at all… it’s simply good music played very well… what’s not to enjoy about that?

LRI: In all, you have drummed on at least six other Richie Kotzen studio albums, do you have a personal favorite?

AA: I really love all the work I’ve done with Richie Kotzen, I think he is a unique talent and a wonderful musician. I especially like “Mother Head’s” and “Something to Say”. I remember at the time we were preparing to do “Something to Say”, Richie had two possible directions for song writing. One was another funky kind of record (like “Wave of Emotion”) and the other was the “Something to Say” vibe… a kind of retro rock vibe.

I am very glad he chose the retro vibe that we did.

LRI: Are you still in contact with Richie, Richie Zito, John Pierce or John Moore?

AA: I am in touch with Richie Kotzen, I get to see him when he comes to Europe, we have been friends for a really long time. We know each other’s family and so on. I consider him to be a close friend.

I have not seen or heard much about Moore over the years although I would love to be back in touch. We were quite close in those days.

I did see Richie Zito a bit in LA while I lived there, but not after that. Unfortunately John Pierce and I did not stay in touch. I am not in touch with the others… although I’d love to see them.

LRI: Let’s fast forward to today, what is Atma Anur up to and where can fans reach you at?

AA: I am currently living in Poland, in the beautiful city of Krakow. You can look me up on YouTube, Sound Cloud, Instagram and Twitter if you like as well. Apart from these, there is, of course, a Facebook Atma Anur fanpage and my blog (Phosphorous Heads).
I am teaching at schools in many countries and also privately on line. I have a few projects where I am playing some co-written compositions in the fusion vein, and also a couple of projects where I am playing drums and doing the lead vocals as well… something new for me.

I have returned to Pearl Drums after over 20 years & as of 2014, I’ve been using Sabian cymbals for 25 years! I am recording, teaching and touring with a variety of artists, and have my own drum recording facility. I keep my eyes and ears open for new musical adventures just as I have throughout my whole career, and I continue to support young and talented musicians from around the world.

– Official Atma Anur Website

http://www.atmaanur.com/

 

Richie Kotzen 1994

(Photo Courtesy of Richie Kotzen)

Interview with Richie Kotzen

LRI: In July 1993, you played your last show with Poison on their ‘Native Tongue’ tour before parting ways with the band. Had you planned on doing a solo while you were in Poison?

RK: I was writing while I was in the band. Some of the songs, I had the back room of the bus, it was my bedroom. I remember having a guitar back there and doing a quite a bit of writing. I don’t know exactly what songs I wrote back there but there are definitely a handful of songs that ended up on the record that were written while I was on tour.

When I joined Poison, the plan was for me to do an album cycle and during the down time I would do a solo album. I was definitely planning on doing a solo record. I was originally planning on re-signing with Interscope Records but they had went in a complete different direction with the rap thing & were focused on that so I went with Geffen for the ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ record.

LRI: After your departure from Poison, what labels were interested in signing you?

RK: It was an interesting time. When I left the band, I had about five or six songs I needed to record. The first thing I did, I didn’t have a place to live at the time so all my stuff was in storage in L.A. so I moved in with my girlfriend [Deanna Eve]. We flew to Philadelphia just to spend time with my family. I worked on some more songs when we were back there. Then, I think that is when I recorded some demos for these songs. I had sent the demos to Atma Anur who was living in San Francisco at the time. Then I flew back to California but I went up to San Francisco. We booked the studio time at a place called “Coast.”

That’s where I recorded the demos that got me my record deal. I didn’t really know who was going to put the record out. I had a phone conversation with a friend of mine in Boston who was a music business attorney. He put me on a conference call with a manager named Larry Mazer. Larry was a Philadelphia based manager. I knew his name from living back there. He was really in to what I did musically. He was planning on coming to L.A. the following week.

I went to a meeting with him and I think it might have been a Monday or Tuesday. By the end of that week we sat down in the Geffen offices with John Kalodner’s and he had listened to the demos. By the following week, we had a deal. It was the craziest thing, ever! We didn’t even go to any other labels, it happened so fast. At that moment, there was a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement.

It was funny, I remember, the day I went to meet with Larry before we even met. There was a homeless guy on the side of the road and I had stopped & the guy was there. He was holding a sign and I don’t remember the exact wording but it was something to the effect of “If you do something good for someone, it’ll come back tenfold!” But, the way it was written just kind of struck me so I looked to see if I had any cash & all I had was a hundred dollar bill. I was like “Alright, I’ve done worse with money than giving it to someone who really needs it.” So, I handed him a hundred dollars and I drove away.

It’s weird because literally a week later after doing that, I had a deal from a major label that was a great deal. It was just interesting, I always think about that moment. Not that I’m superstitious but it was definitely one of those weird kind of things, the way the sign struck me, doing that in that moment not knowing what my future was going to bring. Then, seven days later I had a full career re-set so-to-speak with the solo deal on a major label. That was the initial chain of events that happened before we actually went in and started recording the record.

LRI: Wow! That is interesting how stuff works out like that sometimes!

RK: Yeah, true.

LRI: In 2009, on Eddie Trunk’s radio show you told the story about John Kalodner’s thoughts on the whole situation that went down in Poison, could you tell LRI’s readers the story? I thought it was pretty humorous.

RK: Yeah! This will tie back into more of the whole drama as to why I left the band but you know, I’ll go to a different place with this. The interesting thing was how exciting and amazing it was getting signed with Geffen. There was comments made like “this is a boxed set career”, “this is a twenty year investment” and “Richie’s a real artist.” There was all this kind of talk that you want to hear when you are doing a deal.

Somehow within the course of a year it went from that to being in the studio with my producer and no one from the label came down, not once, to see what we were doing. We could have been doing anything in there. I thought that was weird but then I thought “I kind of like that they are giving me all this creative freedom so I shouldn’t complain!”

The reality was by the time we delivered the record my A&R guy was leaving. He was the guy that was behind Aerosmith and their contract ended. So, when they left Geffen and went to Sony, they took him with him. Suddenly, I had no one at the label that really was focused on me or was aware of me. Unfortunately, they straight up told me “well, you know, we are just going to release this. We are going to print 15,000 copies and that is going to be it & we are going to let you out of your contract!” I was like “Wow!” In one year, we are talking twenty year boxed-set career to getting dropped and not even trying to promote the record.

I remember being in a meeting with my publisher and there was a song on that record called ‘A Woman & A Man.’ After that song came on he stopped the tape & said “This is a hit! This could be a huge song! What is your plan? I hope Geffen doesn’t fuck this up!” (Laughs) Exact words he said! We knew by then that they [Geffen] were in fact fucking it up! We were trying everything we could to save it but it just fell apart.

Now, what happened was when the record was delivered internationally, Japan got it. I think, back then, it was MCA who released the Geffen records. There team in Japan loved the record so they actually worked the record. That is what opened up the whole Japan thing for me that carried me through the 90’s. It was really devastating. There was a moment where RCA was going to pick up the record but I literally ruined that situation. Which is a whole other story. Unfortunately the record came out, appeared in Tower Records and when the initial 15,000 copies sold they never printed anymore & that was the end of it!

LRI: (Laughs) Well, that answers my next question. I was going to ask, John Kalodner:John Kalodner is known to be a taskmaster with his artists. How involved was John Kalodner:John Kalodner in the making on the album?

RK: That’s the thing that is so weird about it. He must have known soon after signing me what was going to happen. Normally, he was very involved but he didn’t come down to the studio once. To show you how involved he was in other projects. When I did the initial demos, I was a big fan of what The Black Crowes were doing & I wanted that kind of gospelly background vocal thing. My wife at the time, Deanna, is a singer so she sang on all the demos with me, all the background vocals. Those were the demos that got me signed. The label signed me based on hearing those recordings.

I had a meeting with a very famous record producer that came to my house. I was thinking about using him. He listened to my demos, he said to me “You know, there is very much an R&B, almost Gospel element to what you are doing. Are you sure you want that?” I’m like “Wow! Are you sure you want to produce me? What kind of question is that? Obviously, that is what I hear, that’s what I do! Yeah, I want that, that is why I recorded it!” He said “I hear a woman’s voice. Who is singing?” I said “That is my wife doing backgrounds.”

So, the next meeting I had with Geffen, John says to me “I didn’t know your wife sang on your demos with you.” I’m like “Yeah, she sang the gang vocals, the background vocals with me because I need other voices on there other than mine!” He said “Just so you know, you are not going to have any women recording on your record!” I was like “What?” He was like “Yeah, you’re not having your wife or any other women record on your record. If you want background singers, we will hire them but they will be men!”

I thought that was the most bizarre thing, it didn’t make any sense to me. I was listening to The Black Crowes thinking “Well, why are they allowed to do it? I don’t understand why you are putting this weird rule on me!” It was so bizarre! So we ending up hiring, actually, Timothy B. Schmit from The Eagles ended up singing a lot of the background vocals on that record. That was the only involvement he had in the making of that record. It was such a bizarre weird statement. I guess, my manager said that he had a couple female artists he worked with and had a lot of problems. So, he was just being a hard-ass about it. It was so counterproductive as it relates to being creative. It just goes to show, in a way, Thank God the music business changed because you had so many people making so many ridiculous choices based on their ego and not based on the art of making a great record. So, I guess everything happens for a reason but that was a very bizarre moment for me.

LRI: Richie Zito, who had produced Poison’s ‘Native Tongue’ album was brought on board to produce this album. Was he your only choice or did you look at other producers?

RK: I can talk more about. The reality was, I was insisting on producing the record myself because that was my thing. I didn’t believe I needed a record producer involved because I knew what I wanted to do musically. Again, the label was insisting I have a producer because no artist should produce themselves. I’m thinking in my head “I can name like 15 artists that are self-produced that have huge records. I’m like, ok, whatever, here we go again!”

So, because the situation went south with the first guy we were talking about using, I immediately said “How about Richie Zito?” At least I knew they had a track record they would endorse plus I had already worked with him on the Poison record. We had become friends and I knew he understood musically what I was about so I wasn’t worried that he was going to pull me off in to some strange direction so that is why I picked Richie Zito.

LRI: Atma Anur played drums on the album and did the tour. You two had previously worked on your ‘Fever Dream’ & ‘Electric Joy’ albums. Was he your first choice or did you audition other drummers?

RK: No, I didn’t audition anyone. When we did the ‘Fever Dream’ record we really hit it off well. I really like Atma and really respect him as a musician & as a person. Because we played so well together back then I never thought about auditioning drummers. I figured all along he was the guy I was going to make the record with. So, I never had an audition process.

LRI: John Moore would join the band and tour as the bassist. How did you meet John?

We did have a hard time finding a Bass player. One day or one night rather, we were out. It was Atma, me and my friend Stevie Salas. I had just two years earlier sang a lead vocal on a cover song [Dorothy Moore’s ‘I Don’t Want To Be With Nobody But You’] that came out on Stevie’s record called ‘The Electric Pow Wow’ which featured a bunch of different musicians. This cool lookin’ guy comes up with long hair and dressed kind of like I dressed so I thought he was cool. He started talking to Stevie because he recognized him. He was like “Man, I love that song that is on your record. Who is that? Is that Terence Trent D’Arby?” Well, I knew Terence wasn’t on the record and I figured I had been ripping off Terence Trent D’Arby the whole time I was singing back then. I figured he must be talking about me. Stevie’s like “No, that’s Richie Kotzen.” I’m standing right there. John said “The guitar player?” Stevie said “Yeah, that is him. He sings like that.”

John started talking to me, telling me more, he was like “Oh my God, I love the way you sing. I am a singer too but actually, I’m really a bass player but I am really focusing more on singing.” I said “That is amazing because we are looking for a bass player for our band.” So, we started playing with John & he became the bass player!

Stevie Salas with Richie Kotzen – I Don’t Want To Be With Nobody But You

LRI: John Pierce played bass on the album but was not in the band featured in the album artwork and subsequent tour. How did he become involved?

RK: The saddest thing, for me, about making that record is the three of us, John, Atma and I had a great hang & played really well together. We were a really good trio. For some reason when we got in the studio, I think this was common back then but producers and labels used to like to sign bands & then not let certain members play on the record. It was such a bizarre thing the way rock records were made back then. So, immediately it was like they were looking for a weak link which he wasn’t a weak link. John was a great player back then and was able to play everything I threw at him back then. Somehow they were able to get in his head to the point where they convinced everyone involved that we needed a different bass player to play on the record.

It was like “This is ridiculous! There is no reason, first of all, if you don’t want John to play on the record, that’s not cool & there is no reason for that! If you are insisting on that then give me the bass because I wrote the fucking bass lines, I’ll play them, I know how they are supposed to be played!” It was the beginning of this weird, like, no worries, blah blah blah. Jesus Christ, there were so many weird little rules back then! That was something that always bothered me because, you know, I wished he would have played on the record. I couldn’t really control that element because they were the one writing the checks back then.

It always kind of bothered me because we had that great live vibe. Even though that record is a cool record, it is not nearly as good as it could have been. As a matter of fact, the demos, when we were trying to do vocals, we actually ended up flying in the lead vocals from MHFR in to the session with a 1/2″ tape machine. That was really tricky to fly in stuff like that back then, now it is easy with Pro-Tools! When you listen to that song, some of the key lines in the verse were the performances done on the demo in San Francisco. Then I went back in L.A. when we recorded the record, I think I replaced some of the lines. It is a hybrid track.

The demos had a certain kind of magic to them. We went up to San Francisco, sat there for three or four days & knocked off like six songs. Once we got to L.A. to make the record suddenly we can’t have women singing on the record, you can’t use your bass player & you have to work with a producer and all these elements, you know, I think were just wrong choices that were put in to play. Even though it is a record that a lot of people like, the record is not as good as it should have been or could have been.

LRI: You recorded at Rumbo Recorders, did you decide on Rumbo due to your familiarity with the studio from recording the Native Tongue album there?

RK: Rumbo was a spot where a lot of rock records were made back then. It was a great studio back then. We would always do drums at A&M, I don’t remember back then if we did the drums at A&M or if we did everything at Rumbo. I just don’t remember. The producer usually deals with what studio we were going to record at. Richie [Zito] wanted to work at Rumbo & I had already worked there before so it wasn’t an issue for me. I would have worked pretty much anywhere he suggested.

LRI: Tommy Funderburk and Timothy B. Schmit provided background vocals on several songs on the album, you already answered this indirectly but whose idea was it to bring them in & what was it like to work with them?

RK: (Laughs) I remember, it was kind of embarrassing but I didn’t realize who was singing. I knew Tommy was a guy who was doing a lot of sessions in L.A. & his voice is on a lot of big records either as a ghost singer or as a background singer. I didn’t realize Timothy was Timothy when he was in the session, you know? (Laughs)

When they were figuring out parts I was just kind of talking to him like he was a normal, not that I have to talk to someone different, this is going to come across wrong but I was kind of like more aggressive than I would have been had I known who he was. You know what I am trying to say?

LRI: Yeah! (Laughs)

RK: Like “No, no, no, stop, stop, stop! That is not the right part! Go back!” All that kind of shit! If I would have realized who he was I would have just let him sing the lines alone! I wouldn’t have given it anymore attention. When the session was over they were like “Do you realize who that was that just sang on your record?” I was like “Oh my God! Why am I so ignorant?” You know, to be honest with you, I was already in a fucked up mindset because of all these rules they put on me that I didn’t agree with so my mood during a lot of the record wasn’t the healthiest.

LRI: How long did it take to record, mix and master the album?

RK: From start to finish?

LRI: Yes!

RK: I think maybe a couple of months from start to finish. What happened was, when I started doing lead vocals, I was so used to working on an independent label, like with Shrapnel Records for example. Back then, you didn’t have much time so you had to do things really quick because we didn’t have a lot of money. We would do, in one day, we’d have four guitar solos done, rhythm guitars done on three songs. It was like lightning speed. So, when we started lead vocals, I had that mentality.

I remember, in one day, I did five lead vocals. On the fifth one, I think it ‘Socialite’, I started losing my voice. Richie [Zito, producer] was like “We got to stop dude! I’m fucking tired! It’s like three in the morning and you are still trying to sing. We’ve got enough done. You have a whole week to do this!”

I lost my voice and it never came back. Well, it came back but when it came back, there was something wrong. Every time I would go to sing, my voice would freak out and do this really weird thing that I wasn’t telling it to do. I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. I really struggled through the vocal performances from then on. I got through it but it was really a laboring process.

Finally, I’m thinking “Alright, this is going to get better.” We had a tour lined up, I went to the doctor, I think it was after the tour so I’m still struggling on that tour to sing. It was a nightmare! I went to the doctor afterwards and I had a node on my left vocal cord. I did surgery. He fixed it and my voice came back. I recorded another record in 1995 and then, after I recorded that record, I had the same problem. I was like “What the hell?” So, I went back to the doctor, he said “Yup, it’s there again!” He said “You are doing something wrong.” So, I did another surgery. I had two surgeries on my throat for a node that was appearing in the same place.

Then, I figured “This is not cool!” so I went back to Ron Anderson who was my original vocal coach. I told him what happened and he said “Well, let me listen to your recordings.” He told me exactly what I was doing. He said “You are singing with rasp, which is fine but the way you are achieving it is an unnatural way and you are going to ruin your voice.” He deconstructed the entire architecture of how I was singing and put it back together. Knock on wood, that was a long time ago, almost twenty years ago, almost, since I had that surgery. After I went back to Ron Anderson, he fixed everything for me. He taught me how to sing correctly, still get the same sound but do it without hurting myself.

LRI: Now we will go through the album, track-by-track, can you give readers some insight on the songwriting process, recording, gear used and anything else of interest of each track?

Socialite-

RK: Kind of a crazy song. The chorus was reassembled, when we cut the tune, I remember there was some comments from Richie [Zito] about it not being all it could be. So, I changed it and his advice was right. We made it much better than the original demo. I remember there was a sound to the demo that we had a hard time capturing. There was a certain vocal sound. I remember when I recorded the demo, I sang through a 57 with a wind screen & one of those DDX Compressors. It had this really percussive, over-compressed sound that sounded killer. It was really interesting. We had a hard time capturing the sound and we never really did, unfortunately but we improve the song.

We improved the actual composition but I never felt like we achieved the vibe it had of the demo. Sometimes when you do stuff quickly and it is Lo-Fi, you are not thinking. There is a realness that you capture. Then when you are trying to re-produce that in the studio and you’ve got a $10,000 U-47 microphone, amazing pre-amps and that is great. Sometimes to get the other sound, a lot of time engineers are reluctant to do those things. I never got the sound I wanted on the song but we actually made the song better. I think that is the most important thing is getting the composition right.

Lyrically, it is a self-explanatory song. I know when I first came to L.A., especially coming from Pennsylvania. It was a major culture shock. The first thing I noticed and it was never about my personal friends but there was an element of people just trying to put themselves over in a insecure way. It was like “I won’t be friends with you because you can’t help me but I’ll be friends with you because you can further me!” There was a lot of that and I always was just disgusted by that mentality. It lacked realness. So, when I wrote that song that was the….those were the thoughts in my mind. I was just writing about the observations when I first moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.

Mother Head’s Family Reunion-

RK: (Laughs) That is kind of an interesting song. The title, I guess it just sounds like nonsense. The reality is, before my Mother met my Dad, she dated a musician and they had a band. The band was called The Mother Head’s Family Reunion. It was this hippie band and I remember her telling me about it. I just loved that name. It reminded me of Sly & The Family Stone. Which I was really into Sly back then. I had that riff and I just thought, well, I’m not going to call my band this but maybe I can write a song around this. That’s what I did and I think it came out well. It’s a cool track and that was the song that got me signed to Geffen. That was the first thing they heard when the listened to my demo. I think, stylistically, it sent a message of who my influences were and what it was that I was trying to do.

Where Did Our Love Go-

RK: That song started from a guitar riff. It is a love song but it is kind of a reversal. I say “I don’t want to ever ask the question, where did our love go?” In another words, I want this feeling to last and continue on. Being that I was very much in love at that time, a lot of these songs on that record are tied to that relationship and this is one of them.

Natural Thing-

RK: Actually, this is one of those songs that I actually forgot I wrote. We’ve had this conversation before or maybe another journalist where they asked “what is it like to have done so many records?” I said “Actually, I have songs I’ve forgot about!” That is one of them but as I talk about it, it is more of an up-tempo song. Again, you know, writing from the perspective of being in love and having a strong relationship. I think that song has a cool breakdown where I play Clavinet. I was allowed to play keyboards on the record but they wouldn’t allow me to play bass, but anyways! (Laughs)

That song was not on the original demo, that was written after I got my deal. As far as the timeline, that song is a newer song. Considering what I initially recorded, there were initially six songs on the demo and that wasn’t one of them.

A Love Divine-

RK: ‘A Love Divine’, I’m pretty sure was on the original demo. I’m pretty sure it was. I don’t play a lot of this material live anymore but this song often creeps its way into the set. I think, stylistically, there is something in that song that still consistent with the way I write, now. It is a fun song for me to play live. It is also a song that when we play it live, we tend to stretch out the solo section. It has evolved, the treatment of the song has changed over the years from playing it live so much. I’m pretty sure that was one of the original demo songs. I may have even written it on the tour bus back in the day.

Soul To Soul-

RK: That is one of my favorite songs actually and one that was off my radar, I actually forgot about it until you just mentioned it. Another riff based song. It was one of those songs that kind of just wrote itself, it was really easy to write. Sometimes when you are writing you have a melody idea or you have a guitar riff or a lyrical concept. Then other times you just pick up the instrument & start playing and the song just happens. That song was written that way.

Reach Out I’ll Be There [cover of The Four Tops classic]-

RK: That was a song that I wanted to cover. I wasn’t necessarily planning on recording it at any time but when we used to jam with Atma, John and I, we used to play that. I was a big fan of The Four Tops and a lot of those R&B acts. I heard a version of that that would have translated in a rock way that I thought would be cool! We ended up playing that live and jamming that out at the rehearsal room. I think we ended up putting it on the record because it had some sensibility that reflected where I was getting my influence from. A lot of people, especially back then, people like to pigeonhole me as to who I sound like or who I listen to but nobody really knows unless they are inside your head. Taking a song like that and reinterpreting it, it is something that is fun for me because that music is in my roots but at the same time it gives the listener some insight as to where is this guy coming from or who did he listen to growing up? I thought it was a good choice for us to include on our record.

LRI: Definitely! My Senior Year in High School, I was at home listening to the album and my Mom was like “Who the hell is that singing?”

RK: (Laughs)

LRI: I said it is Richie Kotzen, he is a singer and guitar player I really digg! Back then I was big into Motley, Poison, Pantera, Megadeth, etc. It took her for a loop. I told her she needed to listen to the whole album because I knew she would digg it! I told her it sounds like something that may have come out during her younger years. She was into old R&B, the Oldies, Creedence and stuff like that. She said “I just can’t believe somebody you like can sing like that!” One day, I got her to listen to it and she dugg it and asked for a copy of it. She became a fan of that record!

RK: Oh cool! So, I’m reaching multiple generations. That is awesome!

Testify-

RK: That song, I remember recording on my little eight track. I recorded that demo in L.A. That was definitely written and recorded around the same time of ‘Socialite.’ I had rented this little house in the valley, actually Doug Aldrich ended up buying the house and I think he still lives there to this day. In the back yard there was a pool back there and there was a little pool house. I had that pool house in a very crude way. (Laughs) Atma & I used to live back there. We were in there all the time, recording, playing and jamming. ‘Testify’ was one of the songs I had written when I moved in to that house. I think that song really ties in well with the whole direction of that record. When you put it up against the title track, ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’, it ties in to that whole Sly & The Family Stone thing. I was really obsessed with that kind of music back then. So, that’s another, I think the writing style of that song is clearly from the influence of listening to Sly.

Used-

RK: That is another one I forgot about but I’ve played that in recent times. Not with my present lineup but with the previous lineup. That was also written in that pool house studio that I just mentioned. The arrangement is interesting to that song because it had the verse, chorus, verse, chorus but then it goes in to a whole other thing at the end. It was something I did a lot more in my writing back then than I do now. If you listen to that song or you listen to ‘Soul To Soul’, they have these extra sections that come in the end. Which is kind of cool. ‘Used’ was one that is fun to play live because I like the songs where the verses are more mellow and let me open up as a singer then suddenly there is a big chorus that appears. So, that is a fun song play and a fun writing formula to use.

LRI: Actually this next song is my favorite song on the record and I am aware of what it is about but I have to ask, how tight were your pants when you hit those notes at the beginning?

A Woman & A Man-

RK: (Laughs) I think I hit a G. I can still hit that note. The only thing is I go through phases of smoking and when I’m in my cigarette phase then I lose some of my top range but when I am healthy….actually, there is a new song coming out called ‘Shake It Off’ that is on my new solo record & I think I hit the highest note I have ever recorded in that chorus. I’m trying to think, where is my guitar? (grabs guitar that is nearby and picks a few notes) Yeah, it is still a G, I hit another high G!

That falsetto is something I’ve always really liked the sound of. Probably from listening to R&B singers all these years. It is something that has been easy for me to use and incorporate. One of the things in my style, I like the sound when singers move in-and-out of falsetto, from falsetto to real voice. There is a break point there that if you can learn to sing over that and have it be smooth, it is a cool sound. It is another way of expressing. I combine that a lot, especially now. I didn’t do it as much back then but as years went on I’ve really focused on that. I do that a lot on my recordings where I move from my normal voice in to falsetto. Actually, the lead track for my next solo record, ‘Cannibals’, there is a lot of that going on where it is like, regular voice in to the falsetto and back down.

That song you are talking about. I wrote that in Pennsylvania in my old bedroom that I grew up in. I remember sitting and there is a spot in that room where I’d always sit by the window and play. I wrote that song there. That song wrote itself again, much like a previous song I spoke about. I didn’t know if it was done. I wasn’t sure if it was done because in my mind, the chorus, when I wrote it, I was like “Is this really a chorus?”, I didn’t know but it wrote itself so easy.

When I played it for Richie [Zito]. He loved it & thought it was great! I talked about the story early when I went back to my publisher and played that song then stopped everything after that song played & said “This is a hit! This could be a huge song! What is your plan? I hope Geffen doesn’t fuck this up!” The thing that is very interesting and it happens all the time & I don’t quite understand it. You have these songs, like that song on that album that could cross over in to other genres. Which is kind of what an artist needs to break in to another level. You need those cross over songs. Record companies are always focused on, at least in my experience, they focus on “You are a rock act so we need to lead with a rock track!” It’s like “Yeah, ok, but at some point real soon, you should, since you have limited budget to spend, you should go for the obvious cross over because if you take that gamble and it pops then you’re in a whole other world. Everything you release now the gates are open and the eyes are on you & you have a doorway to go through in to that new format.”

It is frustrating as hell to have a song like that or other songs I’ve put out where there were labels involved they just get ignored. I’m like “This is the song that everyone is going to talk about!” It is just bizarre! It gets really mindboggling frustrating to be writer and have your music in someone’s hands and them picking the song, is like that is kind of a B-Level song as far as they are concerned. Not that it is bad but it is not something I would want to tell the world “Hey, look at me!” and play that song.

There is so many elements that come in to play when trying to break a record. I just kind of give up thinking about it. The reality is, is my focus is making music that I connect with. If I finish a record & I listen back & I like it and I feel it represents my creative vision then it is done and it successful. Anything else that happens after that is just a bonus. To look at the situation any other way as an artist, you will spiral in to complete madness!

Livin’ Easy-

RK: Trying to remember where I was when I wrote that. I don’t know. For some reason, it must have when I was back in Pennsylvania on that break. That is an interesting song on that record because it has this…..there is a funky element to it but there is almost a….not country but there is another style in that song and I don’t know where it came from. It has this bouncy, you know, kind of cascading guitar line. I don’t know what to say about it but I can hear it in my head right now. Somehow, that song adds another kind of depth to the record stylistically, yet it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, it is just like another side.

When I think about that record, I think you have songs like ‘Testify’, ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ and even ‘Natural Thing’ that are sort of cut from the same stone then you have songs like ‘Soul To Soul’, ‘A Love Divine’ and ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ that are cut from a similar stone. This song and ‘A Woman & A Man’ both seem like they are coming from yet another stone so to speak, a stone that is equally part of my makeup but definitely another side.

Cover Me-

RK: ‘Cover Me’ is one of the most difficult songs for me to perform just because of the vocal. That chorus, I have to be one hundred percent healthy to pull that chorus off, it is not an easy one. It was another one that was demoed in my pool house studio in California. It is a similar kind of thing like ‘Testify’ and ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’, there are similarities there. There is also a certain jamminess to it. It is not sloppy but there is a certain kind of looseness to that song that creates excitement. There is a whole improv section that we did that was always fun to play live. I remember when we were playing that I’d look at the setlist and say “Oh God! Here we go! I don’t know what is going to happen but let’s try and do it!” It was never the guitar parts, it was the vocal parts sometimes where I’d think “I don’t know if I am going to be able to finish it!”

Wailing Wall [Japanese Bonus Track]-

RK: That was a song recorded on the original demo. Matter of fact, that IS the original demo. We never cut that song at Rumbo. That was done in San Francisco. That wasn’t part of the recorded sessions for Geffen, that was before the deal. That was the demo I recorded up in San Francisco at Coast.

Japan always wants a bonus track. Now, it is not as relevant but back when people were actually buying physical cd’s and that was the only way to get music. We had a huge problem with imports. It was a situation back then that a person in Japan could get the US record and it’d be cheaper than buying it straight from Japan. I’m not sure how that works because it was never explained to me. So, they would ask for bonus content for that territory because that was a strong territory for our kind of music.

That is how that got released. It would have never been released if they didn’t need a bonus track. Not that it is a bad song but I never felt like, I felt like it was kind of redundant when you put it up against the other material. There were other songs that I thought were similar but they were better so I left it off but it was done & it is a good recording so we gave it to them as a bonus track.

LRI: What memories do you have of making the video for the title track?

RK: Just jumping around like a crazy person & acting like a fool, pretty much that was the premise! (Laughs) There was never going to be a video because Geffen was squashing the record but the Japanese label asked for a video. They gave us the money to make a video and actually, the director’s name was August so that is how I ended up naming my daughter so I got something good out of it. The video was just us acting like a bunch of clowns. I was way more into the theatrics visually as a performer. I was able to do the full-on James Brown splits with my guitar, play behind my back, behind my head and all that craziness so we tried to incorporate all the elements of our live show into it the video. My ex-wife is in there dancing and singing, acting like a lunatic. It is a cool video so I like it!

Mother Head’s Family Reunion (Promo Video)

LRI: I know of bills that you shared with Jackyl, Bruce Dickinson and Type O Negative. Were there any other bands you shared the stage with during the touring cycle for the album? Any crazy road stories involving those bands that you’d care to share?

RK: That was my first full tour. We went out in a van and traveled around with those guys. For some reason, I remember playing in Detroit, it was a Type O Negative show. Our band come out and oh, they hated us! They were literally booing, we got booed off the stage! I guess they probably didn’t know what the hell they were watching because we were like this noisy power trio with long instrumental jams. There were sections where I’d fucking dance around like James Brown & do my splits and all that nonsense. They were probably looking at us like “What the hell?” You know, it didn’t go over so well that night! Some of the other nights we had some really great shows.

I know at one point I thought I had alcohol poisoning during that tour. A LOT of drinking going on with Richie Kotzen back then! One of our road guys, somehow, there was never any beer at the end of the show. Towards the end of the show, the Tour Manager, at the time, kept beating up this guy verbally the whole time. He was like our Stage Tech. He would drive and we had a Ryder truck with all our gear in it. Him and another guy were in there & my band and the tour manager were in the van. This tour manager was constantly giving this roadie a hard time.

One of the things that was going on was, we would have all this Corona that was supposed to be on our rider. We’d see it but when we got off stage, it’d be all gone! We were like “What the hell is going on?” It turned out this roadie was stealing the beer. I don’t even know if this is true but they said they were trading the beer for drugs. It just doesn’t seem like a realistic trade to me, but that’s what they said he was doing. I mean, trading beer for drugs. (Laughs)

He was definitely out of his mind! I have these “Master Built” Fender guitars and one of them, he broke the truss rod. He didn’t even touch the truss rod but he fucking broke it…..probably because he was all cracked out of his mind & needed something to do! The other guitar had the logo, the “Master Built” logo that defined that it was a special guitar and he sanded it off the neck. He did all this really weird shit!

At the end of the tour, I don’t know what happened but the Tour Manager said the last thing to him that he wanted to hear and he snapped! I remember, he literally pulled the Tour Manager out of the window of the van and proceeded to beat the shit out of him. (Laughs) So, I jumped out & jumped on top of them to try and pull them apart. Somehow my foot got caught up in the chaos. I fell on the ground, they are still fighting & I’m stuck on the ground because I can’t get my foot out of this mess. Suddenly, my bass comes over and he pulls me out. Then they stop.

I got into the back of the Ryder truck & I see all these coolers and there’s all the beer! So I started pulling beer bottles out & I’m screaming at the guy “What the fuck! Why have you been taking all our beer?” He was supposed to drive all of our equipment home, like from Oklahoma City back to L.A. So I started smashing all the beer while I am screaming at him so he didn’t have any beers to drink! It was so childish and insane but that was the craziest story.

LRI: The album is considered amongst your fans as your ‘Led Zeppelin:IV’ or ‘Kiss:Destroyer’ & now that 20 years has passed, what is your opinion of the album?

RK: I totally appreciate the record. It was a pretty important period of my life, there was a lot going on with me. I think that was reflected well, artistically, on the record. Perhaps people pick up on that, I don’t know. It was really a very cohesive record in the sense of direction. I think that comes down to the way it was produced and I think that Richie [Zito] did a great job producing on it. I will say that when I listen to it, I hear the growth, in other words, as good as the record is, I’m miles better of a singer than I was then. I have way more connection to what I hear in my head and what I’m able to do with my voice. Same thing with the guitar. It is interesting that a lot of artists will make a record and they constantly go backwards from there. Even with that, I understand what makes that record special. It has a lot to do with when it was done and what was happening. I can definitely hear my evolution as an artist if I compare ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ to a record like ‘Peace Sign’ for example or even ‘Go Faster.’ Which is a good thing because I don’t ever want to get stuck in time sort of speak.

LRI: Are you surprised that fans still hold that album in such high regard after 20 years?

RK: I think it is nice that they think of it that way. You have to remember, my awareness of what people think is my best work is not always on my radar. I know a lot of people talk about ‘Into The Black’ as one of the favorites & they say the same thing about the ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ and I know why they say it, I get it, you know. As a record, both those records feel like there is a certain consistency in the production and the sound where a lot of times when I make records I go off that. I might have a Rock song or a R&B song or whatever and this is a collection of songs.

My identity is what I write, how I sing and how I play. So, I don’t really feel like I need to be locked in to making sure the record is done in a way where everything sounds relatively the same as far as instrumentation. As an artist, I find that more interesting but for whatever reason on those two records they really got pushed that way. I think that is a big part of why they talk about them. I think it has to do with the songs. Like ‘You Can’t Save Me’ is my most downloaded song and for whatever reason people connect with that song so therefore it shines a light on the entire album!

Also, what I’ll say about the ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ record is that was a turning point because up until then I had two instrumental records released, one vocal record and a stint in Poison. I wasn’t clearly defined as an artist back then until I released that record. I think that is the record that set the foundation for who I am and who I became. In a way, ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ should have been my first record! If I think about it, if the first three records wouldn’t have existed and ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ was my first record, it would make total sense to me. I’m not saying that I am sorry I put out the first three records but artistically I didn’t really find myself until that stage in my life.

LRI: Have you ever thought of doing a concert or a tour where you’d perform the album in its entirety?

RK: Yeah, you know, people have talked about doing these things. Eddie Trunk said I should do a show where I did ‘Into The Black’ from top to bottom. There all cool ideas! I don’t know why I haven’t done that yet? It is something I almost did. I do these shows at The Baked Potato here in L.A. just because they are so convenient for me & they are fun and intimate. We were talking about that. The three of us, my band, talked about doing two nights, back-to-back, one night do ‘Into The Black’ and the next night do ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion.’ I just haven’t done it. It’d require a certain level of work for me. The real reason why I don’t do it is the energy involved. I’ll go on tour now and I’ll do two or three songs from ‘Into The Black’ and maybe one song from ‘Mother Head’s Family Reunion’ record, maybe two but I play those songs because they still completely tie in to where I am at today. So, the other tunes I’d have to go back & re-learn and get my head around again but some, I can’t do that. I think there is a laziness for me of having to sit down with the record and having to re-learn my own material that I did twenty years ago. (Laughs) It’d be cool to do it, to re-interpret it & I probably should do it but it is just a matter of putting the time in. I think that is the only reason I haven’t done it is because with everything else going on, I just haven’t had the energy to and when I do have time I am usually pretty exhausted from the previous thing I just did. So that time just needs to be filled with absolutely nothing that relates to music.

LRI: As of October 11, 2014, what is next for Richie Kotzen?

RK: The good news is the ‘Cannibals’ is finished, mastered and ready to be delivered. I haven’t picked a date yet but I’m anticipating a release date sometime in January but of course, Japan will get it first. So, I think it will be on the street there sometime in November. The plan is a lot of touring from now until the end of November.

I did a September run in Europe, I’m on a South American run this month and an United States run in November. I think we are going to look in to Japan as well which I haven’t done a solo gig there since 2006 when I did The Rolling Stones tour! Actually wait, that is not true, I did do one small show there a few years ago. Nevermind, scratch that! (Laughs) That is the plan, touring and the new record!

Richie Kotzen 2014
(Photo Courtesy of UEG, Inc.)

– Official Richie Kotzen Website

http://www.richiekotzen.com/

Walk With Me (2014 Promo Video)

Tags: Atma Anur, full-image, Geffen, John Kalodner, John Moore, John Pierce, Richie Kotzen, Richie Zito, Timothy B. Schmit, Tommy Funderburk

Category: Interviews