Most of the time I abide by the creed that I’m number one but for some reason I feel like number two today. I’m not really sure what I did to deserve this either. I mean, I woke up in a pretty good mood. I had the day off from work (always a good thing), the sun was shining on a cold, crisp day in mid January and I had just cleaned the Keurig the night before so I knew the coffee was going to be fresh. I anticipated a quiet day of doing absolutely nothing but being in my nice warm jammies and socks, drinking coffee and watching TV. Sadly, things just went down hill from there.
Although my initial thoughts were to spend the entire day on the couch my wife had other plans. Today, in addition to it being a holiday for her and a vacation day for me it was also garbage day and since I had the day off she I had decided that before coffee I should quickly go out into the yard and gather up the number two my Boston Terriers had deposited in the yard over the past week. Not a pleasant job mind you but one that needs to be done regularly before the mole-hills becomes mountains if you catch my drift. Number two is also not something you want lying around in your garage for another week until trash day rolls around again.
So, as the Keurig started to percolate I slipped on my best pair of sneakers, coat and rubber examination gloves, grabbed a large plastic bag and made my way out onto the frozen frontier. A man on a mission.
As I made haste around the perimeter of my yard extracting and being extra careful not to step into any stray number two I couldn’t help but think about the number one reason I hurried along: the fresh coffee that awaited me. The reward I’d receive for collecting number two.
Having finished the job I tied the bag of number two up and placed it into the garage. Feeling victorious, I quickly went upstairs to remove my sneakers and get back into full “day-off” mode. But just as I placed my sneaker on the bed to adjust my sock a disturbing aroma began to fill my nose. It was number two… but from where? I hastily looked to where my sneaker now sat and confirmed that even though I thought I was careful, number two had somehow made it onto my sneaker. And now, not just on my sneaker but also on my bed as well. And to make matters even worse, it was the side of the bed that I sleep on.
So I went into the bathroom and cleaned the number two off of my number one sneakers. Once finished, and with stage one of caffeine headache (or lack there of) beginning to set in, I tore the bed linen off, put it in the laundry basket and hastily made my way down to the laundry room to clean the number two linen.
As the hot wash cycle began I made my way to the powder room to wash up and finally partake in cup of coffee number one. I began to wash the last remnants of number two off of me and at that moment I heard my daughter yelling from the other side of the door. “DAD…Are you almost done?” Now I don’t know about you, but from my experience when someone is standing outside of the bathroom door asking if you are almost finished it usually only means one thing. Yup, number two.
“I’ll be out in a second”, I said as I finished rinsing my hands. But number two waits for no one and apparently she decided to go upstairs and use another bathroom instead. So, with number two now gone from the yard, my sneakers, and in the process of being cleaned off the linen I finally made my way to the kitchen to my awaiting coffee.
I slowly raised the coffee cup up to my lips fully anticipating heaven and the angels to start trumpeting but instead heard the heart wrenching call coming from upstairs:
“DAD, the toilet won’t flush!”… Yep, as if you haven’t already guessed, more number two.
Without even taking the time to enjoy the first sip I put down my #1 Dad coffee mug, grabbed the plunger from under the sink and made my way upstairs.
So that’s how my day has been so far and why I feel like number two. Oh, did I tell you that I had to take the dogs to the vet today too? And you’ll never guess what the vet wanted to do while we were there? I’ll give you a hint: It has to do with number two.
Wanna know why it’s so much fun to hang out with me? Nope, it’s not because I used to be able to cook a mean pierogie, or keep my eyes focused at all times in a gym locker room or even solve a rubiks cube. (All of which are TRUE by the way)
No, what makes me so cool is that every once in a while, if you’re really lucky, you’ll witness something crazy and unpredictable from me. Like the time I single handedly tried to stop a car from hitting my house as it rolled down the hill in neutral. It was the irristiable force and I was the immovable object. At least that’s what I thought. Ok, the car won….that time. I still have the battle scar to prove it.
But the real case in point is this: a few summer’s ago my niece had just moved in to a new apartment. It was in one of those cozy half-double houses. You know the ones I mean, where the upstairs part is one apartment and the downstairs another. The tenants then mutually share this tiny fenced in back yard.
Well, it was her son’s third birthday party and I was invited over. Having never been to this new place I was curious to see what it was like.
I parked out front and was immediately called by my niece into the back yard where the festivities were being set up. “Nice place” I thought to myself as I strolled past the front porch and into the backyard. I had lived in a place similar to this years ago and this seemed like a good first apartment.
After entering the small yard and greeting the aforementioned niece and birthday boy I asked where my brother was. “He’s inside”, I was told as I made my way towards the door.
As I’m sure you must know, with a last name of Wood it is only natural that at some point in your life someone would have given you the nickname “Woody”. Sure, there are lots of Woody’s that have held this title over the years but at this point in time, that honor now fell upon my brother, Louis. So as I strolled through the back door into the kitchen looking for “Woody”, I thought of just what I would say to greet my brother “Woody” when I met him this time.
You have to understand, in addition to the nickname, there are also certain, uh, shall we say, “customs” that come with being a member of the Wood family. Ones that can fill volumes of books in a library. But there’s only one that’s a rite of passage. One that keeps most of us out of jail. It’s the vernacular we use with each other. It’s our own form of “jive”. Similar to the ways insects communicate with each other through their antenna or birds chirp in certain patterns to send messages, we “Woods” have our own form of communication. Particularly Woods from the South Side of Easton. Go figure.
Over the years we’ve developed our primitive language too. We’ve grown away from pronouncing consonants as they should, dropping two letter words from sentences and using simple phrases like “How are you doing?”. Instead, when greeting each other, we prefer to use the more dramatic “WASSSUP?” with the emphasis being on dragging the “UP” part of the word out for as long as possible. So, “Wassup?” now becomes “WASSSSSUUUUUUUP?”….It was more than just salutation, it was brotherhood. And in this case, in the literal sense as well.
So as I’m walking into the kitchen I see this younger girl and another person walking out towards me. Obviously, these were friends of my niece and as friends I figured they would surely know where Woody was at. Everyone knows Woody! So, using all the power from years of experience in speaking “Woodese”, I asked them point-blank in the common tongue:
“YO….WASSSUPPP??? WHAT BE GOIN ON? WHERE WOODY AT?”….
They looked at me kind of puzzled in silence… Were they shocked at my skill level? Perhaps. So I said it again: “YO YO YO – WHERE BE WOODY”?
Again no reply. Hesitation…..awkwardness. Until finally, one of them spoke up. This time in English:
“Uhm, I think you have the wrong apartment”.
So, I am standing there in the middle of this stranger’s kitchen. Now knowing that my niece’s apartment was actually UPSTAIRS and having just violated the number one rule of Wood Club….”NEVER TALK LIKE WOOD CLUB OUTSIDE OF WOOD CLUB”.
The sweat began to bead down my brow and I knew I had to do something fast to make amends of the situation. So I said what any self-respecting individual would say:
“Oh, I’m so sorry” and then quietly did the walk of shame back into the yard.
Everyone got a big laugh out of it. My niece and the real Woody were in tears about it. Even my Mom came over laughing hysterically and said, “You know, this one ranks right up there with that pierogie episode”…
Ms. Retro Dixie on an Alan Brownfeld Chopper Original
I’ve been following Ms. Retro Dixie, Jessica Gahring, ever since the first episode of NY Ink and have noticed that she has been taking quite a lot of heat from some other viewers of the show. Mostly the hating seems to be focused on her having the desire to be a tattoo artist instead of just a “shop manager”. I find it rather odd that people would post detrimental things about someone just for having a dream. Would the same be said if she wanted to be say, a doctor or a lawyer?
I’m not sure how much of what we see is played up for television and quite frankly I don’t really care. It just grieves me to see people calling her a whiner whenever she shows any interest in pursuing her career and bettering herself. Haven’t we all been so passionate about something in our lives that we get emotional when roadblocks are thrown up in our pursuit of them? When I see this happen to Jessica and the tears that follow it only reinforces in me the belief that she is going to get there someday.
She already has all the elements necessary to make it happen:
1. She’s a great artist: Have any of the people who have been bashing her taken a look at her art portfolio? Or are your eyes too focused on her wiping away the tears while you cast stones?
2. She’s a dedicated role model: Just listen to the emotion when she talks about her daughter and how she has to travel to NYC for work while her family is upstate.
3. She won’t deviate from course: Even if given the opportunity to pose nude she won’t do it because she wants to be a good role model for her daughter. How can you hate on someone for that?
4. She’s smart: We all know from watching the show that she has a Master’s Degree but I can personally attest to her degree of smart by the battles I’ve lost to her on Words with Friends.
5. She’s always in pursuit: I’ve only ever met Jessica one time in person but I can tell you that just from that one encounter she is genuine. And you will never guess what she was doing when I introduced myself to her. Yup, DRAWING!
So please, stop hating on Jessica. She’s just like you and me. People trying to make their way through this wonderfully insane thing called life. And if you only take one thing away from reading this article I hope that it’s this:
In the end, the only real requirement there is for achieving your dream is having one.
Ah, there’s just something about going to the gym that’s exhilarating. I love the feel of pushing the plates. Getting that one last rep. Going beyond failure. Stretching the body to the limit. The magic of the “pump” and how good you feel afterwards. But alas, there is also one thing I hate and will never really understand about gyms.
Old man nudity.
It never fails. Every time I enter the dressing room at LA Fitness I am greeted by the sight of at least one fat, bare assed individual who one: absolutely seems to have no business being in the gym in the first place and second and more importantly, has no problem with taking extended periods of time to get dressed.
Now please don’t get me wrong. I’m as comfortable with my naked body as the next person. I have no problem with nudity. I was born that way. I also shower daily in said manner. In fact, on the opposite sex I even find it very attractive.
My problem is seeing individuals who should not be “skivee” or toweless at all in public let alone taking their good old sweet time to become “un-nude”…. I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that there should be some kind of requirement on the length of time a man can be naked when in front of a group of people in a social situation such as being in a gym locker room.
I figure thirty seconds from the time you remove your towel to put on at least your underpants isn’t being all that unreasonable.
Although I’ve never personally showered there, I do swim on occasion and unfortunately have the need to be sans clothes while changing out of my swimsuit. Not to brag, but I’ve clocked my time from the final towel drop (and exposure) to underwear at waist and came in at under ten seconds. That includes full drying of necessary areas prior to getting dressed. I’ve been working up to that time since swimming class in high school and am damn proud of it. In fact, I think if I were a woman I could get the bra on in another two or three seconds easy. That’s how good I am. My point being, if I can do it, anyone can.
I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve had to change my clothes from street to gym (or vice versa) to the view of old fat guys toweling off and letting it all hang out. Shaving, combing their hair, scratching their belly – doesn’t matter. It’s the Garden of Eden at the LA Fitness. And they are damned proud of it. No Eve’s reside here (although from what I hear, they have their own little sanctuary in the next room). But suffice to say, there are plenty of little snakes roaming around. And this sure ain’t no garden I want to be in.
What I don’t understand is why these people seem to have no care in the world that they are showcasing their belly rolls and “winkies” for the world to see. This isn’t Rio Pops. No nudist colonies in this part of town. I’m really glad you’re comfortable with your body. That makes one of us. But is it really too much to ask to put a towel around your waist while you’re standing in front of the mirror shaving?
I’ve even seen dudes having long conversations about work while just standing there in the nude. Without even the inkling to reach for their clothes. Does being in your birthday suit make the conversation more fun?
Maybe it’s like a game. You know, one where you engage someone in conversation while you’re nude knowing that sooner or later the other guy is going to look down at your manhood. And the challenge is to go as long as possible without looking down.
I really feel like complaining to management. But seriously, what would I say? I’ve gone over it many times in my head and the best I could come up with is: “Uhm yes, I am trying to change my clothes in the locker room and there’s this fat old Jewish man standing in the buff next to me having a serious conversation with his buddy and its making me uncomfortable….Can you please enforce the thirty second no nude rule? And NO, I will NOT tell you why I think he’s Jewish”……Yeah, like THAT would go over.
Why can’t there be a third locker room for these jokers? Put them in a dark room with black light. A disco ball. Let them towel slap each other and recite poetry for all I care. Something. ANYTHING! Just keep them away from me so I can change.
Sadly, aside from me setting up a home gym, which is not in the cards, there is ultimately no escape from watching these guys perform the full monty.
Sometimes I find myself changing at work in the men’s room prior to heading to the gym in the afternoon. Sure, the cleaning guy might catch me but at least he knows my name. These guys don’t care who you are. It’s more like: “Look at ME…Look at ME!!!!”. Unforunately, I can’t do that all the time and will inevitably find myself back in the bowels of the LA Fitness locker room. Where believe me, it’s only a matter of time until I reach down to tie my sneakers and rise up to find my head next to Jabba The Hut’s hairy ass. It will happen. Trust me.
A few days ago a friend of mine asked me to go online and check out a new CD the band he was in had just released. I quickly pointed my web browser to the CD Baby website to give a listen to a buddy whose cover band has been tearing up the local watering holes around town for years. Finally getting to hear his own original music was really going to be a treat.
CD Baby is a gold mine for independent artists. A website most local and regional bands use to promote their new music. It’s a great way for unknowns to get the word out to people who may not even know who they are.
But I never would have guessed that the CD Baby platform would ever be used in the opposite way.
Case in point: While listening to my boy’s uptempo bar songs I happened upon a CD listing for a band whose name sounded familiar to me. The album for sale was called “Replay” and the band was “The Outfield”.
“The Outfield?? It couldn’t be”, I said to myself. But by checking the band description it didn’t take long to realize that yes, this “Outfield” was the exact same Outfield who had been all over radio and MTV and sold five million records thirty-two years ago. Riding a stream of hits including “Say It Isn’t So”, “For You” and “Your Love” (a song which ironically has been in the set list of my buddy’s band for years). What the hell were these guys doing on CD Baby?
I gave a listen to some of the preview tracks just to verify that this was the band whose catchy hooks were a staple of the mid 1980’s. The new songs I heard were actually quite good. Just as good if not better than some of the ones I had heard from them during the Reagan administration. Music that brought back memories of blaring boom boxes, feathered hair and childhood summers. Music that, in my opinion, should now still be played on Top-40 radio and what ever the alternative is for MTV.
Sadly, there was no point in me picking up the phone and calling the local radio station to request California Sun, a track from the new record. Although it would personally be cool to request “The Outfield” again what were the odds that the DJ on the other end of the line would even know who this band was?
Now, had I said Bruno Mars, Katy Perry or Taylor Swift it would be a different story. There is a plethora of songs to choose from there. “Music” that saturates radio today. Song by artists that quite honestly are completely interchangeable with each other. All manufactured with the same chords, the same beat and the same theme. The only difference being the actual lyrics of the song and even most of those are cliché’.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing about skies full of lighters, a drunk party or crying out in the yard at two in the morning because my boyfriend broke up with me. They only make me long more for the days of Josie being on a vacation far away.
Music isn’t created anymore, its manufactured on an assembly line. The songwriters are gathered together with ideas already in place by the suits at the record company and the music is programmed in a high-tech studio in some big city. It makes me wonder how many actual musicians are playing their instruments on these tracks. Finally, it’s all put together, packaged and backed by a gigantic marketing team with deals already in place with major suppliers.
The days of the public deciding what music is good and bad are over – companies now tell you what you should buy and price their product appropriately.
Want proof? Just check out in stores and digital downloads. Ever notice that some new digital music singles sell for 30% less than standard 99-cent rate? And new CDs, for certain popular artists, which normally sell for $13.99 at a store, sell for $7.99? Not coincidence.
It’s no longer about the music or how much money sales generate, it’s only about how many physical units are sold. Selling a million physical copies of a single or a CD offsets the loss of millions of dollars in the art that created it.
Worst of all, this manufactured stuff gets top billing in stores, radio and I-Tunes while “real” new music gets pushed to Indie web sites to be stumbled upon by accident.
To help reinforce my point about the difference between real music and today’s manufactured material let’s do a quick comparison of #1 songs in the USA from the years 1982 and 2011.
Entire month of January 1982: Physical: Olivia-Newton John Entire month of January 2011:Grenade: Bruno Mars
Entire Month of April 1982:I Love Rock and Roll: Joan Jett and The Black Hearts
Entire Month of April 2011: ET (Katy Perry w. Kanye West) – No, it’s not about the little alien guy who ironically, first appeared in 1982.
Half of the month of July and all of August 1982: Eye of The Tiger (Survivor) Entire month of July and Half of August 2011: Party Rock (LMFAO Featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock)
Now, armed with this knowledge, ask yourself this question:
Thirty years from now, which songs will you still remember?
It was recently announced that 75% of the original members of Van-Halen would be releasing a long-awaited new album and embarking on a new tour. In an effort to give some high level members of the media a taste of what’s to come, the band performed a set of songs in New York City at an invitation only event where new songs and classic hits were showcased.
Now I am someone who would have begged, borrowed and stolen to be part of such an experience. But since someone at VH1 dropped the ball and forgot to mail me my ticket I instead voraciously sought out any and every review of the showcase I could find. Hoping to hear not only about the new music but also tid bits of how everyone in the band was holding up physically as well. Because, let’s face it, the members of this band have been through a lot.
Eddie Van-Halen, a revolutionary guitar hero, had been diagnosed and treated for cancer and had recently completed a stint in rehab. I wanted to know how his health was. And then there’s Diamond David Lee Roth. Would he still have the crazy gymnastic moves in his arsenal? And what about the booze? Has the band finally rid itself of the alcohol demons?
So many questions and I wanted them all answered immediately. But alas, the only conclusion I drew while reading these articles was that the ones in attendance at the showcase would have been better suited wearing diapers.
Instead of focusing on one of the most influential bands in the last 35 years and whether this will be their final hurrah, many media reviews I read seemed to focus on the fact that original bassist Michael Anthony wasn’t in the group. “Micheal’s not there, it’s not the same”….was a theme I read often.
My response? “DUDE, you just saw VAN-HALEN playing in a club atmosphere and this is what you write about? Don’t you know that people would KILL to be in your shoes right now? Stop being a baby!”
Did the people who actually get into this event not know that Michael hasn’t been in that band for over a decade? Or worse still, even if they were already armed with this knowledge, why would they not focus on all the positive and instead bring up only the negative?
These are the same forty somethings who, having now attained their dream job of working as part of the entertainment media, will bitch and moan all day long that THEIR kind of music is becoming obsolete. Yet when given the golden ticket and being able to be part of a unique experience such as an intimate showcase with Van-Halen, still find reason to hate on them.
Here’s a suggestion: Next time you folks in the media get tickets to a VIP event such as this, please allow me to go in your place. At least I’d be able to report on what people really want to know and not why someone who hasn’t been in the band for years couldn’t somehow magically be there that night.
No takers? Hmmm, how about if I throw in a pacifier?
In November of 2011 guitarist Frankie Sullivan and vocalist Jimi Jamison together announced that after a long hiatus Jimi would be returning as lead vocalist of the band Survivor. The group, which has a plethora of hits including “Eye of The Tiger”, “The Search is Over” and “I Can’t Hold Back” among others, will soon embark on a tour and begin work on their first album of new material with Jamison in more than five years.
The new lineup of Survivor includes Jimi Jamison (vocals), Frankie Sullivan (guitar), Marc Droubay (drums), Billy Ozzello (bass) and Walter Tolentino (keyboards/guitar).
In the second of my two-part interview with Frankie Sullivan I ask him about his approach to songwriting, the sessions for the album Vital Signs, his take on X-Factor/American Idol and why paying your dues as a musician is so important.
We’ll also discuss the upcoming 30th anniversary of “Eye of The Tiger”, the theme song from Rocky III, which earned the band an Academy Award nomination among other accolades, and still ranks as one of the biggest songs of all time.
It truly was an honor to speak with one of my all time favorite songwriters. I’m really looking forward to what Survivor has in store for 2012. As the band themselves have said: “Here’s to a year of new beginnings, determination and more great music!”
A Conversation With Frankie Sullivan (Part Two):
gJg: You’ve written a lot of really big hit songs and one thing I’ve always wanted to ask you about was the process you use for songwriting.
FS: Actually it all depends. Sometimes I’ll start with a lyric if I’m inspired by the right thing, or a person or a place or you know, some experience. “I Can’t Hold Back” was like that. But sometimes it could be a guitar lick like the beginning of “I Can’t Hold Back”. I was just goofing around with the acoustic guitar one day and (Jim) Peterik was like, “Hey, what’s that you’re playing?” and we took it from there. The next day we finished writing it. That was “I Can’t Hold Back.” It’s what ever you feel at the moment.
I like to play the guitar a lot. I jam out on a lot of riffs. And it’s not really heavy or hard all the time. Sometimes it’s on acoustic or piano. I think it’s whatever strikes your chord at the moment. But as long as you can get it out there and then maybe get with someone who can relate to and finish it, that’s what matters.
gJg: So you and Jim would just sit in a room together and start bouncing ideas off of each other? Playing and writing things down on paper?
FS: Jim Peterik and I, back in the Vital Signs days and prior, would write Monday through Friday every day from 2 o’clock until six or seven no matter what. No excuses, it was like going to work. We were practicing and honing our craft trying to do the best we could do. Some days we’d write two songs, some only one but we always had the work ethic of how we wanted to go about it. I’m proud of the fact that we always worked hard.
You know, it’s really difficult to write good songs. But Jim and I were coming from two different places. We were like night and day so the stuff we wrote together would always have that extra spark to it.
gJg: Was “Eye of The Tiger” like that as well?
FS: You know, that was the easiest of them all… (laughs).
We had a ballad that we wrote called “Ever Since The World Began” (from the “Eye of The Tiger” album) and Jim and I both loved it. We thought this song was going to be great. “Tiger” we totally down played. We thought “Eh, this is going to be like “movie music” or something.”
I think we wrote the music for it in like half an hour and it took us three days to write the lyrics only because we couldn’t come up with the punch line. But we kind of had it down in half an hour.
gJg: So there’s no big story about how it was written?
FS: No, there’s no real brilliant story behind it. Some of the stuff I’ve seen on the Internet that people have written about it and I’m like, “No, it’s not like that…that’s ridiculous!” – That’s not what happened. It was real simple.
The president of our record company was friends with (Sylvester) Stallone. They were really good friends. He had the Queen song “Another One Bites The Dust” and Stallone wasn’t happy with it. So he said “Well you know, I have this band…” It was just two social guys having dinner. That’s what started it all.
I remember Jim Peterik had pneumonia at the time so I went out alone and spent ten days working with Stallone and it was just a blast. He was totally cool. He just wanted it to slam. He wanted it to sound just like the demo but with balls. So I played it for him and took it to the limit and he loved it.
And afterwards I remember seeing it in the movie theater and thinking to myself, “Man, this sounds raw, it sounds rock. It sounds basic.” There are a lot of cool things about it. It sounds like it was on the spot. You can hear a lot of spontaneity in it.
You can hear Dave (Bickler, the singer at the time) just going for it and you can tell some of the lines are just scratch lines. There’s a lot of good stuff going on.
gJg: And thirty years later?…(laughs)
FS: Doesn’t hurt (laughs).
You know, I can’t believe it’s been that long. And there’s still a lot of cool stuff going on with it. Even today I’m hearing that Stallone wants to go LIVE and take it to Broadway among other things.
We just got a plaque from Sony, it’s something like 2.8 million downloads. I don’t have an updated official number but I know it’s the 8th most downloaded song on the Internet right now.
gJg: Amazing.
People love the tune. They can identify with it. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to be part of Rocky.
gJg: Then you had success with “Burning Heart” a few years later.
FS: Yeah, Burning Heart was after Tiger. That was in Rocky IV. That one was actually just a phone call we got. They asked us if we could do another song and we were like “Of course!” We wanted to be part of Rocky too. That sure wouldn’t hurt us. (laughs). Not with a #2 record.
Photo Courtesy of: SherylRobPhotos.com
gJg: What was the story with “Fire Makes Steel”, the song from the “Reach” album that was rumored to be on the Rocky Balboa soundtrack a few years back (2006)?
FS: You know, I just think at certain times things are either meant to be or not meant to be. Looking back now, I think this was a case where it just wasn’t meant to be and I’m ok with that.
gJg: Let’s talk a little bit about my favorite Survivor record: Vital Signs. The first album I ever bought and subsequently wore out. That album has meant so much to me that I now have it framed and hanging on my wall.
FS: That’s really an intense album. Ron Nevison (producer) really was responsible for that record. In the beginning it came down to songwriting. Then it came down to Jim’s voice changing the whole landscape of Survivor. But in the end, Ron Nevison played such a huge part.
gJg: Yes, I read a lot of interviews where you were talking about his contributions to the success of it.
FS: Well, he’s really been underrated. I mean, I met this guy and he’s telling me that he had just finished up producing Physical Graffiti (Led Zeppelin) and was getting ready to go to work on The Baby’s new album. I mean, this guy is a MAJOR cat. He did Bad Company. I was like “Holy shit, the guys he’s produced are my idols!”
Unfortunately, the first time we got him on board it didn’t work out. But the second time we got him (for Vital Signs) he was really hungry and just wanted to work again. I mean, he always works hard but on ours, he worked so hard I can’t tell you.
gJg: It paid off for sure.
FS: It absolutely did. Nevison worked so hard at making us all do the best we could do. He was very demanding with us. Not difficult, but demanding. There’s a difference. Always demanding that we did our best. And it really did pay off.
We already had the songs but Ron helped us arrange them and helped us deal with this new voice that I loved. I remember when he first committed to do the record with us that he didn’t know what to expect.
I sent him over a cassette tape of our rehearsal with some of the songs. I think “Broken Promises” was one of them. He said “That sounds great, I’ll do it”.
And the thing is, he’s very picky about what he does so we really got lucky. It’s like I said earlier, everything is always kind of either meant to be or not but at that point all of us were working together towards the same goal and that’s what mattered most.
What’s funny is that even though we worked really hard there was a lot of fun with it too. It’s true dude. People sometimes become jaded and forget that. They forget the one thing that makes it all worthwhile: It’s fun.
People sometimes ask me what I do it for and I tell them: “Because it’s fun as hell to get up there on stage and play the guitar, have people act crazy and have a good time and sing along with your songs. That’s really, really enjoying.
gJg: What do you think about those shows like “The X-factor” and “American Idol”? The ones where they get some unknown up there who wins a contest and then all of a sudden they’re famous. What are your thoughts on that?
FS: I’ve kind of been down on that ever since Tyler did it (current American Idol judge Steven Tyler). I don’t know why. I guess I’m a Joe Perry kind of guy (guitarist from Aerosmith).
I think it’s all kind of manufactured in a way. I think it’s seen its day. I think Simon Cowell has something to say and I think he really wants to matter. I don’t know if you can find it in a TV show and giving some kid five million dollars though. If you would have given me five million dollars I probably wouldn’t even be around. (laughs)…
Seriously though, I really think that you can’t short-cut the process. What it’s really all about, at the end of the day, for any and every artist is paying your dues.
Shows like those sure as hell try to short-cut it. Sometimes they succeed but most times they fail. Most of the time when something is manufactured, especially where music’s concerned, you can tell its been short-cutted.
gJg: I read somewhere where Brittany Spears’ last album had something like 25 songwriters on it, 10 producers or something outrageous like that.
FS: (Laughs): They’re all great songwriters but still, TEN great producers? I mean, at the end of the day, you really only want ONE….not one producer for each cut. (laughs)
I think that’s part of where things are really different now as opposed to the “old days”. It’s too manufactured. It’s like, “What is this stuff?”
Authenticity is obvious. It’s something you can’t always explain but you can feel it in your gut. That’s when I put on “Houses of The Holy”. You know what I mean? Jimmy Page and Robert Plant used to write from the heart and soul. Now that was real talent. Guys that just went in and jammed on the great tunes. Through their feel and relating to each other. Throwing down the best stuff they had to offer.
People, like Jimmy Page. I mean, the kids out there obviously know of his work but if they saw him play they would “get it” it one second .They’ll probably never get to see him play but if they did, they’d “get it” in one second.
I mean, here’s the guy who came up with “Whole Lotta Love”,”Black Dog” and all those riffs. We overlook that but man, there’s a GENIUS at work there. I mean just with guitar riffs.
gJg: It seems that contributions from artists like that are now just taken for granted.
FS: Well, I guess that’s human nature. But with music you just can’t take anything for granted.
I think you just close your eyes, put blinders on and then just go to the woodshed. You make an agreement with yourself that you’re just going to do the best you can do. You say, “I’m going to the write the best songs I can write. Put down on the table the best I have to offer.” If you do that, and really try hard you’re probably going to come close.
But if you sit around and you’re complacent and lazy and not really sure well then that’s how it’s going to come out. I really don’t have much of that in me. I really want to work.
It’s kind of a void now-a-days. I mean, except for the Chili Peppers and people like, say Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). I really like him. They throw down. I just don’t have the stomach for a lot of this contrived new stuff.
gJg: Well I just hope you guys make it around to my neck of the woods this year.
FS: I’m sure we will man. If we get our way, both Jim and myself are gonna make it to every neck of the woods. That’s what we’d like to do.
gJg: I have to tell you the best show that I ever remember seeing was when you guys were with REO Speedwagon back in 1985 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA. Both of you were at the top of your game. You guys had “I Can’t Hold Back”, “High on You” and “The Search is Over” out and REO had just hit #1 with “Can’t Fight This Feeling”.
FS: That was THE tour man.
Photo Credit: Tim Hardgrove
gJg: That was the best show I ever saw. I say that only because the impact of it still sticks with me today. No other show has done that for me.
FS: That’s nice of you to say. We were really at our peak. We were just on the road having a good time. We realized that the harder we tried to make something happen it just wasn’t going to. So we just decided to have the best time we could. People still like spontaneity. People can tell.
gJg: How will you choose what songs you’re going to do this time around? I mean, aside from the hits.
FS: I think this time around we’ll look at around 45 or 50. I think we’ll actually look at the whole catalog. You can look at the fact that the keyboard player just doesn’t play keyboards but is also a killer guitar player. So now you say ok, now we can do “Love is On My Side”, “Take You On A Saturday” (from the “Premonition” album). You can go down the whole list.
Then you can think “Nothing Can Shake Me” and “Somewhere in America” from the first record and before you know it you’re saying “Hell, we’ve got 45 songs to learn!”
And then you can say, “Well, isn’t this fun? We don’t have to play the exact same set all the time. We can change it up every night.” And people can kind of be re inspired. It will be like playing a different show every night. I think that’s where both Jamo and my heads are at. It’s a good place to be, where we’re at right now.
gJg: I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me Frankie.
FS: No problem James.
gJg: Back in the day, my guitar teacher thought I was crazy coming in there to learn songs from the Vital Signs record and me telling him that I wanted to learn “See You In Everyone” note for note… (laughs)
FS: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s kind of like me with “Black Dog” saying “Yeah, how do I play like this guy?” But I found it didn’t sound exactly the same. Then I realized it’s because Jimmy Page has got different fingers and a different soul.
gJg: I felt the same way playing your stuff.
FS: Well, that’s nice to hear. I’m glad you enjoyed it though. I really am. Thanks for your time. I really appreciate it.
gJg: No problem. It’s been great talking with you. Looking forward to what’s next with Survivor. Happy New Year to you.
In November of 2011 guitarist Frankie Sullivan and vocalist Jimi Jamison together announced that after a five-year hiatus Jimi would be returning as lead vocalist of the band Survivor. The group, which has a plethora of hits including “Eye of The Tiger”, “The Search is Over” and “I Can’t Hold Back” among others, has been recording and touring sporadically the past few years with vocalist Robin McAuley.
The news of McAuley’s departure and Jamison’s return also coincides with the announcement that Survivor will embark on a new tour in the summer of 2012. In addition, the band also plans to start work on their first album of new material since 2006’s “Reach”.
The new lineup of Survivor includes Jimi Jamison (vocals), Frankie Sullivan (guitar), Marc Droubay (drums), Billy Ozzello (bass) and Walter Tolentino (keyboards/guitar).
I was fortunate to be able to speak with Frankie Sullivan and get the inside scoop on the reunion with Jamison and a lot more. In the interest of space I’ve divided this interview into two parts. In part one Frankie will discuss the decision to go back to the classic voice of Survivor and talk about the group’s plans for 2012 and beyond.
As you read this interview you may discover that at times it sounds as if I’m being a bit biased and for that I apologize. You must understand that this band’s music has had a huge influence on me as both a fellow musician and as a person. What follows surely reflects that. For me, the excitement of having both the classic voice of Survivor back and the opportunity to speak with Mr. Sullivan personally is a dream come true.
Photo by M. Hanley
A Conversation With Frankie Sullivan (Part One)
goJimmygo (gJg):Hey Frankie, how are you?
Frankie Sullivan (FS): I’m just fine, how are you?
gJg: I’m doing good. It’s great to be able talk to you.
FS: You too man. What’s shakin’?
gjg: Right now, pretty much everything is actually (laughs). When I heard you guys were coming back with Jimi (Jamison) I was stoked.
FS: Yeah, that was the call of the century (laughs). It was a decision that wasn’t that hard to make. It took me about two seconds. I was like (referring to Jamison): “Dude, what are we doing here? C’mon”.
gJg: When I was out seeing concerts last summer I noticed that all of the bands that I loved from the 80’s were teaming up together on hugely successful tours. Packages like Journey, Foreigner & Night Ranger; REO Speedwagon and Styx. All of these groups out there and I’m there thinking to myself “Where’s Survivor? These are the only guys that are missing!”
FS: Yes and now we can finally team up with them.
gJg: What I thought was even cooler was that bands like Journey and Night Ranger, who both had released new albums, were mixing new songs into the set list instead of just playing all of the hits. It was nostalgic and it was new at the same time.
FS: Yes, it’s really cool because now they want us out there again.
gJg: Well, truth be told, I’ve been wanting you for years. (laughs)
FS: It actually took a while to get Jimi into it though. He was trying to do his own thing and sometimes you just have to try and give people space. Eventually, it all comes full circle and so now, here we are.
Jimi and I were actually talking on the phone a lot the past few years just keeping in touch. Then one day I just said to him “Dude, we should just do it again.” I know most of those players in those other bands and they all want to know what we’re doing because they want us to be on the dates with them. So I’m like,“Well, ok let’s go do it!”
So now we’re just waiting. You’ve just got to let things take their course. Jimi still has some obligations to fulfill and ours (Survivor) are done.
gJg: I noticed that Jimi seems to be playing a lot of dates in Europe and very select shows here in the states. Is there a reason for this?
FS: Oh yeah, Europe is a huge market for us. For both Jimi and Survivor. It’s a huge market.
gJg: I have to be honest, I was really starting to miss not having you guys come around a lot.
FS: Well, we’re going to be doing that again. Jimi and I just want to play forever you know? Now we can go and do that again. We just haven’t done it as a band. I think the last time we did was around 2006.
gJg: The last time I saw you guys was at Hershey Park (Hershey, Pennsylvania)
FS: Oh did ya?
gJg: Yeah, that’s where I got my Vital Signs record signed by you and Marc (Droubay, drummer).
FS: Oh really, at Hershey Park? (laughs). All the chocolate all over the place. That’s great. It will be great to get back out there again.
gJg: Oh man, I’m really excited for this.
FS: Right now we’re really having a lot of fun with just the idea of it. Once Jimi’s done with his obligations then we’ll really start picking things up. You have to finish all of your obligations otherwise it reflects on the whole rather than the individual you know?
He’s got about three or four weeks left and then we can get together, start rehearsing and go to work.
gJg: Do you have plans for a record after the tour? Have you been writing or anything like that?
FS: I’m always writing and Jimi’s actually become a good writer too. Plus he can sing anything. We’ll probably end up doing both. Spend the summer playing dates and getting on a tour package and then maybe recording during the fall/winter.
gJg: From the moment I first heard him back on the Vital Signs record right up until his newest album this year with Bobby Kimball he still sounds exactly the same. Not a sign of slowing down. He’s just unbelievable.
FS: He was actually the very first guy we tried out. (Survivor replaced original vocalist Dave Bickler following a vocal condition that would require extensive rest). I loved him from the start and everyone else in the band would say “Ok, that’s cool but let’s try out the next three or four singers”.
I was like, “Wh…wh…why?” (laughs)
So after the fourth guy I can remember saying “Man, I don’t want to do this anymore. Let’s just bring the first cat from Memphis back!” (Memphis, TN – Jimi Jamison’s hometown).
So I think it will work better in terms of new music with Jimi being more involved in the writing rather than just having to show him and say “Here, sing it this way.” He’s always better when left to his own devices.
gJg: It’s the singer not the song right?
FS: That’s what it is. That’s what it is man.
gJg: I’ve always loved the way yours and Jimi’s voices sounded. They blended so well together.
FS: We’ve always sang well together and had fun on stage. Again, it’s all just a matter of timing. People have to go off sometimes and do their own thing. Everyone at some point has to try something on their own. It only makes them bring more to the table when they do come back.
gJg: Do you have any plans to work with Jim Peterik or Stephan Ellis again this time around? (Peterik and Ellis were also part of the “classic “Survivor line-up in the 1980’s).
FS: Well you know, Marc (Droubay, drums) is still with us and Stephan doesn’t really play much anymore. I’ve seen him a few times over the past few months. He’s a really good guy. It looks like it’s going to be me, Marc and Jamo (nickname for Jimi Jamison, pronounced “jay-moe”).
Jim Peterik I’ll always call my partner. I call him that because we’ve written so many songs together over the years. But Jim’s always been trying to do his own thing. He really wants to do that.
gJg: Was it difficult letting Robin (McAuley) know of the decision to go back to the classic voice of Survivor?
I wanted to let Robin know right away of the situation with Jimi. I didn’t want to lead him on and have him possibly miss out on any opportunities that may be coming. But I’ve always loved working with Robin. He’s a real hard worker.
gJg: I see that he’s back with Michael Schenker now doing some tour dates.
FS: Yeah, he has some dates in February and March lined up. He always has a great time and I know he’ll do his best.
gJg: I remember reading on Survivor’s website not so long ago that you had a new single coming out called “How Do You Feel”. What’s the status of that?
FS: That’s a song we recorded with Robin. I told him not too long ago that I was thinking about releasing it on our website for New Year’s because people will flip when they hear it. It’s really good. But now with Jamo back I think it might get people confused.
gJg: Were plans ever made to record an entire album with Robin?
FS: Yeah, we actually had about six songs in the can and they’re all REALLY good. Robin is a great singer and a hard worker. He’s always been. I remember thinking that while working with him on his solo record back in the 90’s. I just think the real “voice” of the band has always been Jamison to give the fans what they really want.
They (the fans) kind of made it clear that’s what they wanted and this is exactly what I needed.
****
In Part Two:
I ask Frankie how he feels about the upcoming 30th Anniversary of “Eye of The Tiger”, the theme song from Rocky III which earned the band an Academy Award nomination, among other accolades, and still ranks as one of the biggest songs of all time.
I’ll also ask him about his approach to songwriting, the sessions for Vital Signs (one of the band’s biggest albums), his thoughts on current reality based music talent shows and why he believes paying your dues as a musician is so important. Good stuff.
Most of the time I abide by the creed that I’m number one but for some reason I feel like number two today. I’m not really sure what I did to deserve this either. I mean, I woke up in a pretty good mood. I had the day off from work (always a good thing), the sun was shining on a cold, crisp day in mid January and I had just cleaned the Keurig the night before so I knew the coffee was going to be fresh. I anticipated a quiet day of doing absolutely nothing but being in my nice warm jammies and socks, drinking coffee and watching TV. Sadly, things just went down hill from there.
go.Jimmy.go 