Chaotic Riffs Magazine - Issue 1 - The Rods

TaLk BaCk ........................................................................... 4 

FeaTuReD InTeRVIew: THe RODs ................................ 5 

TIM GIBsOn ........................................................................ 12 

JaMIe DeLeRICT ............................................................... 16 

THe CROssInG .................................................................. 20 

wRITInGs On THe waLL ................................................ 23 

PReTTy BOy FLOyD’s TROy FaRReL ......................... 34 

COLBy VeIL’s FReaksHOw .......................................... 44 

CD ReVIews: THe RODs ................................................. 46 

Editor/Graphics/Layout: 

Leith Taylor 

Illustrations: 

Oktobyr 

Interviews: 

JRock Houston 

Graphics: 

Oktobyr & Leith Taylor 

Chaotic Riffs Magazine is owned, created and published by: 

Vortexual Dreams Production, Inc. 

PO Box 32, Ocala, FL 34478 

Advertise With Us: 

advertise@chaoticriffsmagazine.com 

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we w a n t to H e a r f r o m yo u. 

Questions or Comments: 

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Issue 9 - January 07, 2010 Copyright 2009. Chaotic Riffs Magazine - www.chaoticriffsmagazine.com

Here at Chaotic Riff’s Magazine we really do hope that you all had a Rockin’ new years eve...............well in 

2010 we have big things planned for our readers....To start off with want to know what you think! we want to 

know how we are doing....we want your input on how we can make our magazine better than it already is.... 

we want to be sure you keep visiting our site which is why in 2010 we’re going to continue to cover the bands/ 

musicians that we really believe in and that we think you need to know about....This May will be our one year 

anniversary and in our May issue we’re planning to bring you up to date on several of the acts we’ve featured 

in our magazine over the last year. now to start off the new year we want to welcome you to a new feature 

TaLkBaCk....which is a monthly topic where we will talk about some music related topic and then ask for 

you to e-mail us back your thoughts/feedback which we in return will publish some of these letters at a later 

date. 

This month’s topic is Tribute Bands! 

now as anyone who has ever read a single issue knows we have featured some tribute bands in our magazine 

over the past year...I know some of you may have been scratching your heads wondering why we’d bother covering 

a tribute band in our magazine.................well let me tell you there’s more to tribute bands than meets the 

eye....I am here to tell you the long believed myth that anyone who plays in a tribute band is just a failed musician 

who has no talent and can’t hack it in an original act. In my years interviewing bands I have interviewed 

many tribute bands and I, myself was amazed at what great stories some of these bands have....For example, I 

once interviewed the Drummer from a Kiss tribute band and was amazed to learn that in the film Detroit Rock 

City it was this tribute band that filmed the concert scenes and not the actual band Kiss. 

In issue 2 I interviewed Hollywood Roses singer Colby Veil which is one decision that I have never regreted... 

not only in that interview did I accomplish the goal I set out to which was to tell that band’s story but after that 

interview was published Singer Colby Veil contacted m to first thank me for the interview and then to tell me 

that he would like to write a monthly column for Chaotic Riff’s Magazine which is how Colby Veil’s Freakshow 

came to life....I contacted the magazine’s Owner/editor Leith Taylor and ever since then Colby’s monthly 

column has been a welcome addition to Chaotic Riffs Magazine. since the interview in issue 2 I have gotten 

to know Colby Veil and I can tell you he’s one of the most down to earth, friendly guys that you can ever 

hope to meet and the guy is loaded with talent! Colby is not only in Hollywood Roses, La’s Premiere Guns n 

Roses tribute band but he has his own original band DOPesnake who will be making some serious noise in 

2010! Let’s not forget that Tim Owens was found in a Judas Priest tribute band and look at the success he’s 

gone on to have......and then this new years eve I had further proof to just how great a tribute band really can 

be! I experienced not just Hollywood Roses live at the whiskey in Los angeles but also another great tribute 

band..................Beggers and Hangers On....a Tribute to everything sLasH! expect Beggers and Hangers 

On to also make some serious noise in 2010! 

so now, what we’d like to know from you is.............what do you think of tribute bands? Do you have a favorite 

tribute band that you’d like to see featured in Chaotic Riffs Magazine? 

send Comments to: talkback@chaoticriffsmagazine.com 

4 Issue 9 - January 07, 2010 Copyright 2009. Chaotic Riffs Magazine - www.chaoticriffsmagazine.com

JROCk: If you don’t mind I’d like to go back in time 

and talk a little bit about back when you were in the band 

eLF w/Ronnie Dio. 

DF: - well I joined the band when it was still named 

Ronnie Dio and The Prophets which turned into electric 

elvis, which eventually turned into eLF. 

JROCk: now I know that you and Ronnie James Dio 

are Cousins....Did you guys grow up together, were you 

close when you were growing up? 

DF: - well Ronnie is a few years older than me so we 

treally didn’t grow up together but we lived next door 

together and then in High school we were both in band 

and played the Trumpet so we had that in common and I 

can also play the drums but when Ronnie learned that I 

could play the Guitar that was when he asked me to join 

his band. 

JROCk: so you actually played on some of the albums? 

DF: - Yeah I played on the first two albums and then I left 

the band. 

JROCk: so what led to your decision to leave elf? 

DF: - well there wasn’;t any animosity or anything between 

me and the other members of the band or anything 

like that. It was more about me wanting to do some non 

musical things for a while which I did back then. I took 

several years off from music.....I didn’t even pick up the 

guitar for years. 

JROCk: after leaving elf and seeing elf eventually 

break up and go their seperate ways what was it like for 

you to see all the success that came Ronnie’s way? 

DF: - I thought it was just great....I felt that Ronnie really 

desearved all the success that came his way because not 

only is he a great singer but he’s always been a very, 

hard worker and I have to say that Ronnie’s always been 

a great guy to me. 

JROCk: so what year was The Rods formed? 

DF: - 1980, I didn’t touch the guitar for years after I left 

elf but when I met Carl and Gary I knew I had met the 

prefect Drummer and Bass Player and that’s when The 

Rods came together. 

Interviews with 

singer/Guitarist David Feinstein 

& Drummer Carl Canedy 

JROCk: I was curious why you decided to be a trio 

when forming The Rods? 

DF: - I don’t know if becoming a trio is something 

that we really decided on but like I said when I met 

Carl I was just really impressed with what a phenomenal 

Drummer he was and then Gary was a fantastic 

Bassist. Before The Rods I really wasn’t a singer. I 

was known more for my Guitar Player....I became a 

singer almost out of necessity. we just didn’t have a 

singer so I became the singer/Guitarist. even today I 

don’t think I’m that good of a singer. 

JROCk: I understand that back in the day you had 

Managers who would tell you guys that your albums 

weren’t selling and that The Rods sucked....now 

these guys are supposed to help push the band so why 

do you think they did such an awful job? 

DF: - I really couldn’t tell you why........we even once 

had the opportunity to open for aC/DC in the u.k. 

and the management didn’t allow us to do the tour 

because they said that it would be too costly, cost too 

much for us to tour over there and to this day I think 

that was a really, big mistake on the management’s 

part because we got offered that tour because aC/ 

DC who was very big at the time wanted us on that 

tour! I think had we done that tour we would have 

been headlining shows after that. This was during the 

period after the first album was released on Arista Records 

and after the Managerment wouldn’t allow us to 

do the AC/DC tour we fired them but they held us to 

our contract which means our hands were tied and we 

were unable to do anything else for a year. 

JROCK: Who were some of your influences? 

DF: - Beck, Blackmoore, Hendrix, and Page. as a 

matter of fact I’ll tell you a funny story. Back in The 

elf days we toured w/Deep Purple which I just loved 

because I was such a fan of Rihie Blackmmore’s and 

I’d watch their show every, single night and I was just 

so impressed with the guy’s playing. 

JROCk: Did you ever get a chance to meet Blackmoore? 

I’ve heard stories that he’s always been very 

standoffish. 

DF: - I’ll tell you what, I had heard all kinds of horror 

stories about Ritchie Blackmoore before we did that 


tour. I heard things like if Blackmoore doesn’t like 

the Guitar Player he’ll throw the opening band off the 

tour......anyways because I’m such a huge Ritchie 

Blackmoore fan I wanted to meet the guy so one night 

I go up to a Deep Purple crew member and I ask “Hey 

where’s Ritchie’s dressing room?” They said “Over 

there, why though? you can’t bother him...anyways 

I walked over to Ritchie’s dressing room, introduced 

myself and I then asked him who was his favorite Guitar 

Player? he replied “Jeff Beck” I then said to him that’s 

great because Beck is my favorite guitarist too and then 

you’re my second favorite Guitarist...He laughed and 

was very friendly with me so that was my experience 

meeting Ritchie Blackmoore. 

JROCk: since the band has gotten back together are 

you discovering that there is more of a demand for the 

band and that maybe you are discovering that you have 

fans half way around the world in places where the band 

has never even performed before? 

DF: - I think it’s a little bit of both....I mean like I said 

back in the day The Management wasn’t really telling us 

how popular we were...It wasn’t until the band reformed 

with the Internet that we started getting all these e-mails 

from all around the world telling us how much they 

loved us, wanting us to come and play live in their City, 

and in some cases countries where we’ve never even 

played. 

JROCk: so I know that the band has been working on a 

new CD that you’re planning to release in the spring of 

2010 .......Have you guys signed with a label or what? 

DF: - Right now we’re not with a label and as a matter 

of fact since the band has been back together we’ve 

been booking all our own shows and managing the band 

ourselves. 

JROCk: It’s just amazes me how the music industry 

has changed...I mean today you have all these band on 

MysPaCe and the internet releasing their own music 

and marketing themselves these days. 

DF: - yeah it wasn’t like that when The Rods was starting 

out...I happen to think it’s just great the way bands 

have been able to cut out the middle man being the 

record labels and pretty much do things on their own. 

JROCk: In regards to the new Rods CD I understand 

that Ronnie James Dio appears on two tracks. 

DF: - Ronnie did sing on two tracks but it’s not for 

sure those songs are going to make the album....It really 

depends on what kind of deal we get worked out 

for the new album. 

JROCk: so once the new album gets released I 

imagine that the band will begin do a little more of an 

extensive tour? 

DF: - That would be nice, that is the goal, but it really 

depends on the success of the album. The new album 

will sound like tradional Rods music from the 80’s. 

There are a few songs that sound a little different but if 

you’ve liked the albums we’ve done in the past you’ll 

like this new album we have coming out. 

JROCK: I was listening to the first Rods album just 

last night and I was really impressed with the fact 

that you guys were a band from the 80’s and yet you 

sounded like this great, classic rock band out of the 

70’s. what really impressed me about the band on 

that first album is the way both your vocals and guitar 

playing really stand out. 

DF: - I think that shows the band’s power as a trio...I 

mean when there’s just Bass, drums, and one guitar 

every, single note really stands out...I mean as a Guitar 

Player I’m playing both the rhythm and the lead parts 

and if I make mistake and play a bad note believe me 

it’ll be heard. 

JROCk: you guys also toured with both Iron Maiden 

and Juda Priest early on in your career....what memories 

do you have from touring with both those bands? 

DF: - yes we toured with both those bands...we toured 

with Priest in the states which was just great...Rob 

Halford has always been one of my favorite singers 

so I really enjoyed touring with them...and then in regards 

to Iron Maiden we toured with them in the u.k. 

and I just remember how welcoming they were to us. 

JROCk: Back in 2004 you released a solo album.... 

what was the biggest difference for you between that 

album and the other albums you’v recorded w/The 

Rods? 

DF: - well on my solo album I concentrated on my 


guitar playing and brought in another singer to do the vocals.........He was a 

really, fantastic singer who had done a lot of other stuff before. I’m planning 

to release another solo album and I think on the next solo album I’ll release it 

as David “Rock” Feinstein and make it more of a solo album in terms of me 

playing all the guitar/bass parts and doing all the vocals and then bringing in 

a Drummer that I’ve worked a lot with in the past. 

JROCk: so besides the number of strings is there much of a difference for 

you between playing Guitar and Bass? 

DF: - I can’t really play Bass lines, the next solo album won’t be Rush style 

music where you need a huge, precise bass sound. it’ll be more basic Rock n 

Roll where not a lot of technique is needed which is good because the strings 

are bigger and fatter than they are on the guitar. 

JROCk: Is there anything else that you’d like to let all The Rods fans all 

around the world know about? 

DF: - as a matter of fact there is......Before the new album hits in The spring 

we are planning to release a live CD/DVD combo pack and the DVD will 

have bonus stuff on it which will include interviews and things like that in 

addition to live footage. This is something that we are planning to release in 

early 2010 and it’s something that we’re releasing just for our fans and will 

probably be released in a limited edition....so be on the lookout for that. 

CaRL CanneDy 

JROCk: what year was your band The Rods formed? 

CC: - 1980 

JROCK: How did you guys first get together? 

CC: - David was in elf, and I was playing in a couple of other local bands 

so we would cross paths in these different bands with elf playing the same 

club circuit so we knew each other. we had started a band called Thunder 

and we played a little bit before and then out of the ashes of that band we 

decided to start The Rods. 

JROCK: I read on your webpage that when the band first started that it was 

your goal to kill Disco which was still real popular at the time...with that 

being said how successful do you feel the band was when you were first 

taking off? 

CC: - you know that’s funny because we started to play, and we would just 

try to get gigs, and we started recording just about 3-4 months after we 

started....so we would play gigs for just a little money and most of the 


times the club would just empty out, they just didn’t get it, 

there was just a big difference to what people were listening 

to. as time went on we started to get a following and 

little by little the fans started coming out and so we started 

to build an audience despite the fact that people weren’t 

used to initially then it grew from there and things started 

to go well for us. It was defintley an uphill battle. 

JROCK: When the band was first formed was there any 

specific reason you guys decided on being a trio? 

CC: - you know I don’t know why we did a trio thing. I 

think David is a strong Guitarist and I have always been 

influenced by Drummers from trios even though like Keith 

Moon, The who were a four piece band...The band was 

Guitar, bass, and Drums. Blue Cheer, you know when 

I saw Blue Cheer’s Dickie Peterson just passing away it 

was very sad for me because he was a great guy and it was 

an honor for me to work with him and Paul. I saw Blue 

Cheer on american Bandstand when I was a kid and they 

were just blowing the speakers out of my T.V. and I just 

stood there in awe these guys with these long hairs playing 

so loud, you could tell it was crazy loud and the speakers 

were vibrating. To see these guys play “summertime 

Blues” and I don’t know who was on that show but it was 

always the middle of the road kind of people on that show 

and then to see Blue Cheer come on and blow the doors 

off the place. Paul whaley had this huge drum kit and I 

was like “Ok I get it, That’s what I want to do.” so Hendrix, 

Cream, those were all the bands that I grew up on so 

for me being a trio was kind of a natural thing. It was the 

kind of drumming that I came from. 

JROCk: I read on your webpage that back when you 

released your debut album that initially you released it on 

your own label...How hard was that to do back in the day? 

CC: - It was hard, you know today it’s pretty easy to do, 

just go any number of places to upload your songs or get 

it manufactured but you know it was pretty weird setting 

it up but it was great, I think it was the best thing we could 

have done for ourselves. we only pressed like a thousand 

copies but they were gone immediatley. 

JROCk: Did you sell the albums at your shows back 

then? 

CC: - yeah it was mostly shows, and I think some local 

stores. I think we each had like one or two copies and 

now can’t even find them anywhere. 

JROCk: Have you given any thoughts to re-releasing 

the old albums? 

CC: - I think right now that album has been re-released 

on High-Voltage and distributed by Cherry Red 

In the u.k. and The wild Dogs album is being rereleased 

which will be out in January and that is beautiful, 

they’ve done a great job. we’ve done some new 

interviews with Malcom Dome for the liner notes. so 

that album is coming out and they did a great job of 

remastering it with bonus tracks and so on. 

JROCK: I was also reading that the first major label 

you guys were with was arista which is interesting 

because you would expect to find a metal act signed 

to that label...How did that come about? 

CC: - Mike Bone was our a&R guy, he was a great 

a&R guy and he was really into The Rods God Bless 

him and we went to sign with airiola but the Company 

was taken over by arista and Mike Bone was still 

the a&R guy so he pushed to have us so they kept us. 

so all of a sudden we went from a label in america 

that was German based that knew about Metal and 

now we were with air supply and aretha Franklin so 

it wasn’t exactly the best thing. 

JROCk: so with that being said did you guys get any 

kind of tour support from the label? 

CC: - The people at arista u.k. were phenomenal. 

Mike Bone really pushed for us, he really busted his 

ass to make sure we got everything we could possibly 

get but overall we didn’t get much from arista 

in america and it was unfortunate but they did what 

they felt they could do. we were a heavy metal band 

and they didn’t get that. 

JROCk: Of course David is the Cousin of Ronnie 

James Dio...you must get asked about that a lot. Did 

you ever find that a lot of people would check you 

guys out simply because of that connection? Do you 

ever get tired of answering questions about that? 

CC: - you know I think David and Ronnie are family 

so David never gets tired of that because he loves 

Ronnie and Ronnie’s just the greatest guy. I was in 

the band when we used to rehearse in the same house 

and used to say hi to Ronnie....and then only recently 

when he came to guest on these 


two new Rods songs that he sang on did I get to spend 

more time with him at some of the Heaven & Hell shows 

so I never get tired of talking about that because he’s 

just the greatest guy. I wish him well because I know 

what he’s battling right now...I know he’ll come through 

it. we don’t get tired of that at all and to answer the 

first part of your question I think maybe initially maybe 

people did come and look at us because Ronnie was 

David’s cousin so there was a connection but ultimately, 

musically we stood on our own. we were a real raw, 

balls to the wall kind of band and I think at some point 

we kind of just made our own name. 

JROCk: Have the two tracks with Ronnie already been 

recorded? 

CC: - They are recorded already yes. 

JROCk: and what is the status of the album? 

CC: - we’re looking for that album to be release in the 

spring. 

JROCk: what led to the band’s breakup? 

CC: - well I had started producing a lot of bands and at 

the time things were winding down for us. It wasn’t that 

we didn’t want to play or perform but the opportunities 

weren’t there so for me I was involved with producing 

and David started a Restraunt called The Hollywood 

that’s been very successfull and it’s a great place...It’s the 

official hangout for The Rods. Gary was playing with 

savoy Brown at the time and was on tour so it got to the 

point where we were just no longer doing anything. 

JROCk: so is that restaurant in new york? 

CC: - yes upstate new york. 

JROCk: so how did the band’s getting back together 

come about? 

CC: - well we decided it would fun to do a one off 

show. David had done a solo album, he had done a few 

dates and we talked about hey let’s do a live show, you 

know it’ll be fun. Once we got together to rehearse it 

was like the old days, nothing had changed and everyone 

was playing well, we were having fun, that’s how it 

got started and we decided that David and I had a lot of 

material so let’s put an album out. 

JROCk: Have you found since getting the band back 

together that there’s more of a demand for the band now 

than there was for the band at the time of the band’s 

breakup? 

CC: - you know I think for myself personally, we just 

played a show saturday night and it’s been a blast for 

me meeting all the fans and seeing it. I’ve been saying 

this when doing interviews but we didn’t know for a 

long time, our management not the most creative and 

supportive...They kept us from knowing that people 

really liked us. we were basically being told that we 

sucked and nobody cared about The Rods so as The 

internet started becoming more prominent in everyone’s 

lives we started getting e-mails from all around the 

world telling us that people really liked the band so The 

wild Dogs are still out there. now when we’ve been 

doing shows the fans are unbelievable and it’s just great 

to meet them. so that’s been the biggest highlight for 

me is playing with David and Gary again and meeting 

all the fans. 

JROCk: It must be great having the internet which 

wasn’t available back in the day as far as being able to 

market the band and communicate with fans? 

CC: - It is, you know we have fans, people who contact 

us that are really into the band . we know have more 

of an instant feedback. we didn’t know for years that 

people were out there and into us...so now we post 

things and things go up on yOuTuBe and comment 

about it and we get immediate feedback so it’s great. 

JROCk: so how do you feel about fans posting a live 

performance of yours on yOuTuBe? Do you have a 

problem with that? 

CC: - I personally don’t...we’ve been doing a lot of 

recording of shows. as a matter of fact we’re right now 

in the process of discussing and I think it is going to 

happen to put out just for the fans because everyone’s 

been asking us is a DVD/CD pack prior to the release of 

the new album so we’re hoping to get it out by January. 

It’ll be a live CD/DVD with some bonus features. 

I have no problem with fans putting stuff up, I think it’s 

great that they’re willing to take the time to film something 

and throw it up on the internet is just great. 

ROCK: Are you also finding out in your use of the 

internet that there are people who are just finding out 


about the band for the first time, or that people are 

finding out about the band for the first time in places 

that the band has never even performed before? 

CC: - Absolutely....I find here even in the States that 

we get e-mails, there was some kids at the shows that 

are only 18, 19 years old that weren’t even around 

when we first started and they’re like “We really love 

you guys and we just discovered the band recently.” 

so yeah we’re seeing those people come to the show 

which is really great. 

JROCk: so in regards to the new album that’ll be 

coming out in the spring were all the wongs written 

specifically for this album or was there any old material 

that had been laying around for a while that made 

it on to the new album? 

CC: - no, everything is brand new...David and I 

wrote all new material...we co-wrote the title track. 

JROCk: when the new album comes out are there 

plans for the band to start to do some more heavy 

touring? Get out there and do a real massive tour 

behind the album? 

CC: - That’s what we are hoping for. we’re doing 

Rock Tower in april and we’re hoping to do more 

festivals. 

JROCk: you guys performed at The Texas Rock 

Fest last year didn’t you? 

CC: - we did and that was cool. Texas has always 

been great, even at the lowest point they never gave 

up the metal. 

JROCk: Is there a place in the world that you 

haven’t performed yet that you’d like to perform one 

day? 

CC: - Japan 

JROCk: I know early on in your career you opened 

for both Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. what do you 

remember about those tours? 

CC: - I’ll start with the Iron Maiden guys were looking 

for an american band to open for them on The 

number Of The Beast tour and we wound up being 

chosen. They were fantastic...I mean the first night of the 

tour they came in with Champaign and introduced themselves. 

They could not have been nicer. They gave us 

all the time we wanted onstage, they were no ego trips by 

the band, they were just really great guys so it was just a 

really wonderful tour for us. It was our first major tour, 

they were just great to us, I can’t say enough about them. 

Judas Priest I still have great memories of standing at 

the side of the stage watching Dave Holland play a huge 

set for screaming Of Vengeance Tour and we had done 

some shows with them before that. I think one of our first 

shows we did when we were looking for Management 

was at The Palace Theater in albany, new york but The 

screaming For Vengeance Tour was phenomenal and just 

watching night after night Halford, and everyone in the 

band was just wonderful. It was fun and a great tour to be 

part of. 

JROCk: I was curious why you decided to become a 

Drummer? why did you choose the drums as your instrument 

of choice? 

CC: - you know I play guitar and I play Piano as well. 

That’s why people ask me when they hear a song I wrote 

“you wrote this whole song?” They think someone else 

must have written the music but I play Guitar as well. I 

started playing Guitar shortly after I started playing the 

Drums. I started playing Drums because for some reason 

when I was a little kid 

I went to this wedding and he really showed off on this 

drum solo and was playing like with a Choir and I thought 

“that’s cool!” I always wanted to play Drums even 

though I didn’t actually start until I was 13. 

JROCk: you mentioned that you produced some other 

bands a few years ago...Do you think being a musician 

yourself helped you in being able to produce those bands? 

CC: - I think so yeah because you know what it’s like 

when you’re trying to go for something and it doesn’t happen. 

I’ve always tried to help capture the energy of the 

band and I’ve always tried to help them with their vision. 

JROCk: Have you ever thought about putting out an 

instructional DVD? 

CC: - you know I’ve thought about it but I don’t really 

know what I’d have to offer. I’ve watched them. I 

certainly have a pile of them that I have purchased . you 

know every Drummer is different. I just watched Terry 


Bozzio the other day and I have one from Chad smith and I’m like “They couldn’t be any different 

DVD’s”. and yet you learn something from each of them. 

JROCk: so what do you do for fun when you’re not touring with the band? 

CC: - I just write, I try and write as much music as I can, I practice, that’s a lot of what my fun is. 

JROCk: so for now the plan is for The Rods to release new music and stay together for the immediate 

future? 

CC: - That is correct. 

InTeRVIews By JROCk HOusTOn 




InTeRVIew By JROCk HOusTOn 



ROCk: you are the Lead singer/Guitarist for the u.k. 

based band Teenage Casket Company....what year was the 

band formed? 

JD: We formed very late on in 2003, played our first gig 

in May 2004 and released our debut album early 2005. 

we went full steam ahead until I decided to get sober in 

november 2006 and since then it’s been a bit of a sporadic 

band really! 

JROCk: what part of the u.k. are you from? Is there 

much of a music scene there? 

JD: we’re pretty much based in nottingham. It’s easy to 

say that when we’re asked, but in reality, we’re all spread 

out around the country these days. The uk music scene 

has been very steadily on the decline for the best part of ten 

years. It’s got to the point now where something has got to 

change. Venues are closing, promoters are losing money 

and bands are breaking up because there’s no money to be 

made. It’s really tough out there to try and make a name for 

yourself. It’s harder than it’s ever been and I’ve been doing 

this a long time. we’re down to the die-hard music fans 

now. God bless them all! 

JROCk: who were the bands/musicians who had the greatest 

influence on you? 

JD: I actually bought my first bass guitar just to play the 

riff to “unbelievable” by eMF. Before I knew it, I’d joined 

a hardcore punk band and we were supporting some of 

the underground greats like “sick Of It all” and “Born 

against”. I really didn’t know what the hell I was doing, 

but I knew enough to know that I’d found my calling in 

life. I was introduced to bands like the Ramones, the Misfits, 

Descendents, Germs, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Green 

Day and Operation Ivy and I’ve never looked back. I’ve 

always had quite a diverse taste in music, but in my heart 

I’ll always be a punk rocker. I like my music to have balls, 

attitude and loud guitars! The bands and artists turning me 

on right now are The Loved Ones, Dead To Me, Danko 

Jones, Jesse Malin, One Man army and D Generation. 

JROCk: Like I said you are a singer/Guitarist...which of 

those roles are you most comfortable in? 

JD: I’ve always said that I’m a jack of all trades, but master 

of none. I can play lots of instruments, just not very well! 

I’m totally from the Johnny Ramone school of guitar playing. 

I attack my guitar with basic chords and never play 

solos. There are millions of amazing “technical” guitarists 

out there that will probably never even get out of their 

bedrooms. I’m self-taught, I only know the basics, but I’ve 

done pretty well for myself and I beam with pride at the 

things that I’ve accomplished so far. There is nO substitute 

for passion, self-belief and hard work. 

I think I’m an ok vocalist and I really enjoy singing. I was 

the lead singer and guitarist in pop-punk three piece PanIC 

for ten years, but it got to the point where I needed someone 

else to share the load. That’s how TCC came about. I 

wanted someone else to sing other than me and also someone 

to play solos better than my crappy efforts! 

I also play bass for the Irish based rock n roll band the 

DANGERFIELDS. Bass was my first instrument and my 

first love, so I think that I’m most at home with the old fourstring. 

sometimes it’s nice just to rock the fuck out with 

your weapon of choice and sing a few backing vocals here 

and there. 

JROCK: How old were you when you first started playing 

the guitar? 

JD: I bought my first bass in 1991. I was sixteen. I guess 

that’s pretty late on in life to start learning an instrument by 

today’s standards. In 1993, the band I was in had a sudden 

line-up change, so I taught myself how to play guitar 

in one week and in another week, I learned how to play 

guitar anD sing at the same time. I can honestly say with 

my hand on my heart that I have not improved on those two 

weeks in sixteen years. 

JROCK: Do you remember what was the very, first song 

you learned to play on the guitar? 

JD: as I mentioned earlier, I learned how to play “unbelievable” 

by eMF on the bass. It was all wrong, but it was close 

enough for me at the time. On the guitar, it was an obscure 

song titled “Tied Down” by an old us hardcore band called 

negative approach. It was three chords, my friend taught 


me where to put my fingers and the pleasure that I got from 

finally nailing it was incredible! 

JROCK: What do you remember most about the very, first 

guitar you ever got? 

JD: I swapped my bass for my very first guitar in 1993. It was 

by aria and the model was called “The Cat”. Ha-ha! It was my 

first choice guitar until I got my Gordon Smith in 2002 which 

I still use to this day. I still also have “The Cat” although it’s 

pretty trashed now after a TCC groupie/stalker got her filthy 

hands on it…. 

JROCK: Can you briefly tell the readers of Chaotic Riffs 

Magazine how you first met the other members of Teenage 

Casket Company and came to form the band? 

JD: I used to run some rehearsal studios in nottingham and 

wylde’s old band used to practice there. They were a good 

band, but VeRy dated in soft-rock kind of way. we shared a 

mutual appreciation of Motley Crue, La Guns and Poison, and 

also a lot of great pop bands like Go west and a-Ha. we had 

a jam and found that our styles meshed quite well. Both of our 

bands were rapidly reaching their natural ends, so we decided 

to go for it. He brought in Laney 74, who in turn brought 

in Spike. It was fantastic chemistry right from our very first 

rehearsal. we recorded ten songs in a studio after only four 

months together which is just crazy looking back. Different 

versions of those ten songs went on to become the “Dial It up” 

album. 

JROCk: Is everyone in the band involved w/the song writing 

process? 

JD: usually myself or wylde will demo a song and give a copy 

to the other guys. By the time we rehearse it, everybody has a 

different idea of where the song is headed. Most of the time, 

we end up with a cracking tune! Laney and Mike are such 

great musicians, that the process wouldn’t work as well as it 

has done to this point without their valuable input. 

JROCk: when writing songs do you tend to write more about 

things that you’ve actually lived through/experienced or what? 

JD: nine times out of ten, yes. I’ve tried the “telling stories” 

I useD TO Run sOMe ReHeaRsaL 

sTuDIOs In nOTTInGHaM anD 

wyLDe’s OLD BanD useD TO 

PRaCTICe THeRe. 

route a few times, but it doesn’t tend to work out as well 

for me as the lyrics that are written about me and about 

how I’m feeling. 

JROCk: How did you come to name the band Teenage 

Casket Company? 

JD: I actually had the band name in my head for quite 

a while before meeting the other guys. I was in PanIC 

at the time and the internet was really kicking off at the 

turn of the new millenium. I thought that my next band 

name should be much more than a simple generic word 

and certainly not be a name that other bands around 

the world might also choose. I also liked the idea of a 

business that exclusively made coffins for dead children. 

That dark concept, juxtaposed with the logo using bright 

colours and our good time, feel good music….. a unique 

result! 

JROCk: Has anyone who has ever seen a Teenage Casket 

Company ad ever really thought you guys were an 

actual Casket Company? 

JD: we get emails all of the time from people wanting 

quotes for building them caskets. Really. 

JROCk: How many Cds has the band released to date? 

JD: Two CDs. The “Dial It up” album from 2005 and the 

“eat your Heart Out” eP from 2006. we haven’t been 

too prolific as of late, but we’ve all been ridiculously 

busy with other projects and of course, our “normal” 

lives. 

JROCk: what has been the reaction to Teenage Casket 

Company so far? 

JD: We’ve just recently played our first four shows in 

two years. They went down very well I think. Our friends 

and fans were certainly happy to see us back. But as individuals, 

we have changed. On stage, when we’re “on”, 

there’s no band better. But things do change, people have 

moved on, the “scene” is so different now and the kids 

have got shorter attention spans now than they have ever 

done! It’s all kind of subjective these days anyway. The 


internet means that in twenty years time, (when I’m a Grandad!) 

TCC will sTILL be picking up new fans! 

JROCk: who designed the band’s cool looking logo? 

I PROCeeDeD TO GeT IT On wITH 

THIs GIRL In FROnT OF HeR 

LIVID BOyFRIenD. 

JD: I could be wrong, but I think that I brought the concept and 

Laney 74 executed it perfectly! 

JROCk: what do you remember most about the band’s very, 

first professional gig? 

JD: I remember that we supported a Canadian band called 

The Mudmen and I had just returned that week from getting 

married in the us. I remember that I wore a bandana on stage 

for the first time just to differentiate myself from the Jamie 

Delerict that played in PanIC. I remember that the venue in 

nottingham has since become our “home turf” and that we’ve 

had some memorable nights there. I remember that James from 

Riot Promotions saw us at that gig and we’ve worked very 

closely with him ever since that night. I also remember feeling 

“free” for the first time on stage as I wasn’t anchored down by 

lead vocals on every single song. I remember that it was the 

start of a fantastic ride. 

JROCk: what is the craziest thing that has ever happened at 

one of your concerts? 

JD: I don’t remember much about it, but “The Boston Incident” 

of 2005 is always brought up when questions like this are 

asked. On the second date of our first US tour, I either hit the 

booze way harder than I thought, or I was spiked with something, 

but I put in a shambolic three song performance before 

crashing through the drum kit, abruptly ending our set. I then 

passed out inside a locked toilet, with spike and wylde accidently 

smashing up the sink and flooding the restroom in the 

process of trying to rescue me. whilst we tried to make a quick 

getaway from angry bouncers before the cops showed up, I 

proceeded to get it on with this girl in front of her livid boyfriend. 

I also “lost” my pedals and wireless system that night. 

There were many people angry with me after this show. Thank 

fuck I’m almost three years sober now. 

JROCk: what is currently going on w/Teenage Casket Company? 

JD: Hmmm. we’re at a very strange point in our 

lives and ca reers right now. The comeback gigs were 

good, but things are never straight forward in the land 

of TCC. Behind the scenes, we’ve overcome some 

serious personal problems between various band 

members. Things that would make even the closest of 

friends the worst of enemies. But we’ve always managed 

to get through it. The chemistry is fantastic between 

us musically and especially on stage, but drama 

always seems to haunt our every move. unfortunately 

for the band, we lost a lot of momentum and started 

encountering problems when I decided to get sober in 

late 2006. It’s the second greatest accomplishment in 

my life (after my daughter) but it seemed to somehow 

hurt the band in the long run. In particular, the relationship 

between wylde and myself has never been the 

same since he lost his “drinking buddy”. In all honesty 

Jason, at this exact point in time, I’m not sure what the 

future holds for TCC. I know that there are many rock 

n roll bands throughout history that have hated each 

other and yet still managed to co-exist, but without 

the option of separate tour buses and lots of cash to 

keep us sweet, I’m not sure how much gas is left in the 

tank for TCC! I really don’t want to be cryptic. I’m an 

honest guy, who likes to give straight answers. But I 

think that we’ll know for definite in the next couple of 

months or so. 

JROCk: are you currently involved w/any other 

bands/projects that you’d like to mention? 

JD: yes! I’ve been the bassist in the DanGeRFIeLDs 

since January 2007. we’ve recently toured with the 

supersuckers, the Dwarves, stiff Little Fingers and 

many more. we’ll be recording our long awaited “difficult” 

second album in November. We have a singing 

drummer which isn’t something you see every day. aG 

has also been sober for five years, so that’s a HUGE 

help in keeping me sane when on long tours. 

Before I joined, I was a huge fan of the band and it’s 

always fun times on the road with the DFs. 

I also record with a Manchester based producer called 

Tim sawyer at least one day a week. It’s not exactly 

“solo” material, it’s more of a collaberative effort, but 


he has some great contacts and we have lots of exciting 

opportunities available to us. It’s the first ever time that I’ve 

recorded without a deadline and it’s all coming along very 

nicely. In between all that, I also run my own touring company, 

driving and tour managing other bands in my spare 

time. 

JROCk: I read on your webpage that you are a Vegetarian......Could 

you please briefly tell our readers the story of 

how and why you became a Vegetarian? 

JD: a big part of my musical awakening in 1991 was getting 

involved in the local Durham City hardcore scene. at the 

time, straight-edge was a fairly new concept in the uk and 

vegetarianism has always traditionally gone hand in hand 

with that movement. as is evident by some of my stories 

earlier, I never really identified with the Straight-Edge 

lifestyle at THaT point in my life, but I wholeheartedly 

embraced the vegetarian way. I’ve always been an animal 

lover, so as soon as I realised that it was actually possible 

to live a healthy life without meat, I jumped right on it and 

never looked back. My Mother was very supportive of my 

choice and even cooked me a separate meal every night. I’ll 

never forget that as in those days, interesting ingredients 

were very hard to find! 

JROCk: anything else that you’d like to say to your fans 

Jamie? 

JD: Thanks for the interview Jason, I’ve had fun answering 

your questions. Here’s some links for you all. suPPORT 

ROCk n ROLL! 

www.myspace.com/jamiedelerict 

www.myspace.com/teenagecasketcompany 

www.myspace.com/thedangerfields 

www.myspace.com/shuttleboytours 


a BIG PaRT OF My MusICaL 

awakenInG In 1991 was GeTTInG 

InVOLVeD In THe LOCaL DuRHaM 

CITy HaRDCORe sCene. 


an InTeRVIew wITH THe CROssInG GuITaRIsT/keyBOaRDIsT: JOHn BuLLaRO 

JROCk: you’re the Guitar Player and keyboardist for The 

Crossing.......I was curious which instrument have you been 

playing the longest and do you feel more comfortable playing 

the Guitar or the keyboards? 

JOHN: I am definitely more comfortable of guitar because I 

am really not a keyboard player at all. I play the easy chords 

and riffs on boards when it’s manageable, but for the real 

keyboard parts I either program what we’re looking for or 

get someone good to play the sections! we work with a guy 

named erik nelson of The Insomniaxs who is a world class 

keyboard player, so we use his talents whenever we can. 

JROCk: Did you take Guitar lessons or would you consider 

yourself to be self taught? 

JOHn: no, I never took lessons, but that is something I 

kind of regret. I’ve developed a lot of bad habits on the 

guitar over the years and there a million techniques that 

still elude me. at this point, I would hardly consider myself 

a complete player. It’s a work in progress. But I wouldn’t 

necessarily consider myself self taught, either. Pretty much 

everyone I was growing up with was playing guitar, so I fortunately 

just picked up stuff from a lot of different people. 

JROCK: Do you remember what was the very first song you 

learned to play on the guitar? 

JOHn: no, I really don’t. But if I had to guess, it would 

have been something like a Zeppelin, Priest, or sabbath riff. 

To this day, I am still not very adept at learning and playing 

other band’s songs all the way through. I know a lot of 

individual riffs, licks and chord progressions, but outside of 

having to actually cover a whole song, I never really figured 

out tunes completely. 

JROCK: Do you remember what was the very first song you 

learned to play on the piano? 

JOHn: Probably the same answer as before. I know a lot of 

little parts and passages, but no songs all the way through. 

It’s something I would like to do in the future, though. 

JROCK: How did you first meet the other members of The 

Crossing and come to form the band? 

JOHn: The Crossing was actually just steve Lazzara (lead 

vocals) and myself working on and off as a studio project 

for a long time. we played with a lot of talented musicians. 

It wasn’t until Denny Jett came on board that The Crossing 

really took shape. Denny was brought in by our old 

keyboardist as a temporary replacement for our previous 

bass player. with what Denny brought to the table in 

chops and songwriting, we kind of knew right way that we 

might have something permanent happening. The songs 

he’s brought to the table really transformed what the band 

was all about. Pat Ring joined the party on drums about 

eight months ago and we really hit it off with him personally 

and musically. The four of us make up the band. 

JROCk: what year was the band formed? 

JOHn: steve and I have been working together since the 

1990’s with different bands and lineups. Denny joined 

about three or four years ago. But ever since Pat came on 

board, we have really begun to move forward, so we kind 

of like to think of The Crossing as less than a year old. 

JROCk: How did you come to name the band The Crossing? 

JOHn: unfortunately, it may be a letdown, but there is no 

big meaning behind the name. It’s kind of ambiguous and 

we dig that. when we were trying to come up with a band 

name, I think it was the first one that Steve and I agreed 

on, so we just went with it. John Lange, one of our graphic 

designers, also came up with a pretty cool logo, so that 

helped, too. 

JROCk: The band is from Chicago...Is there much of a 

rock scene there these days? 

JOHn: Chicago loves it’s rock, but it also can be tough, 

because not a lot of rock acts break from here. It’s a great 

town if you’re somewhat established, but outside of 

Disturbed, Chevelle, and The smashing Pumpkins, I don’t 

know of many rock bands who break into the national and 

international scene. we hope we’re next! 

JROCk: who were the bands/musicians who were the 

greatest influence on you? 

JOHn: easy answer. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Rush 

were and continue to be huge influences on me. Those 

three bands really transformed the way I listen and think 

about music. I love Zeppelin, sabbath, alice In Chains, 

slayer, The Cars, and most things rock and metal. as a 

guitarist, there are way too many players to name, but I’m 

a big fan of satriani, Malmsteen, and Vai. Those dudes 

scare me. I am also a really big fan of 80’s pop and classic 

rock. It may bear mentioning that I also just love aBBa! 


Go figure. 

JROCk: I understand that the band recently got a new 

Drummer....Could you please tell the readers of Chaotic 

Riffs Magazine a little bit about the new Drummer and why 

the band parted ways with your original Drummer? 

JOHn: we had been auditioning drummers for almost a year 

without a lot of success. Pat Ring had seen an ad we were 

running and came in to try out. Pat had previously been in a 

Rush tribute band and he had just left a national touring act. 

after one audition, we knew he had what we were looking 

for on the drum kit, and we really made a connection on a 

personal level right away. Pat is a terrific guy and is already 

a key member of the band. The guy he replaced was actually 

not our original drummer. We have worked with five 

guys over the years, each who were tremendous players and 

helped us get to where we are now. some of the drummers 

moved away, some got married, and some just went on to 

other directions in their lives. a fairly common story. Luckily, 

all those partings were pretty amicable and we maintain 

friendly relationships with all of them. 

JROCk: The band’s debut Cd is titled Chemical Gods.... 

How did you come up with the CD title? How long did it 

take from start to finish to record the CD? 

JOHn: “Chemical Gods” is actually our second release. we 

put out a cd entitled “Daisies” in early 2008, which still does 

pretty well for us. “Chemical Gods” has forty songs on two 

cd’s, so working between two studios, it took the better part 

of a year to record, mix, and master. The title comes from 

one of the cuts on the recording. we just thought that title 

sounded cool and interesting. Plus, once the album art was 

chosen, it really clicked for us. 

JROCk: what do you remember most from the recording 

sessions for Chemical Gods? 

JOHn: with that many tunes being recorded, it’s hard to remember 

single moments. It was a whirlwind experience and 

a lot of ideas were just coming together. we had what we 

considered to be the songs and main styles we were looking 

to record, but as the writing progressed, we found we had 

over forty tunes that we really felt strongly about. Disc one 

became the rock disc we were originally shooting for, but 

we were convinced the songs that became disc two had to be 

recorded and released. The second disc is a lot of a/C, pop, 

and experimental stuff that is a world apart from the usual 

sound we do live. we probably wouldn’t try it again, but the 

way the tracks turned out made it totally worth it, and so far, 

it’s been pretty well received. 

JROCk: were all the songs on the CD written in the 

same time period? 

JOHn: we had been working on some of the tunes for 

a long time prior to hitting the studio. Once we committed 

to doing all forty songs, the writing went into 

high gear while we were in the process of recording. a 

couple of tunes actually didn’t even make it on to the 

disc. Personally, there are still a ton of tunes I have been 

trying to put to bed for years! 

JROCk: Is everyone in the band involved with the 

songwriting process? 

JOHn: steve, Denny, and I all write, so there’s never a 

lack of good ideas and variety. Pat has brought a lot to 

the sound, too. we are a band that likes to write in a lot 

of different styles. Most of our stuff falls in the rock and 

alternative range, but we don’t set out to write songs in 

any particular style. we write and record whatever we 

think can be a great song. It may be a bass line, a guitar 

riff, a drum groove, a vocal melody, or a lyric that gets 

the process started, but it becomes pretty clear early on 

where the tune is going stylistically. It doesn’t stop us 

from developing a song just because it isn’t going to be 

a heavy rock tune. 

JROCk: as far as songwriting goes does the band tend 

to write songs about real, true life experiences or what? 

JOHn: we spend a lot of time on trying to do different 

things with the lyrics which hopefully keep the cuts 

interesting. steve and I write a ton of lyrics, but I would 

consider Denny to be a premiere lyricist. He has a way 

of drawing on personal experience and making it really 

universal. There is a very clever way Denny uses language 

and his stuff ranges between very poignant and 

really funny. In the end, we hope that our lyrics offer 

something a little more diverse to a listener. 

JROCk: what has been the reaction to the band so far? 

JOHn: well, based on our online platforms and how 

some of the shows have gone over, I like to think that 

the reaction has been great! we are trying to do something 

a little different, and I think people are digging 

that. we like to think the band has something to offer 

everyone, and we have been deeply gratified by those 

who have supported us. 

JROCk: what is the craziest thing that has ever happened 

at one of your concerts? 


JOHn: we have had our share of unforeseen technical problems 

on stage. I had my amp burst into flames once. Needless to say, 

that doesn’t help your sound! 

JROCk: Has the band toured outside of the Chicago area yet? 

JOHn: we have basically been in Chicago and the local Midwest 

until now, but there are plans in the works to take this 

show on the extended road. 

JROCk: what plans does the band have to promote Chemical 

Gods? 

JOHn: well, I must say that interviews such as these are a really 

big help to us. we have had a good amount of radio support 

so far and the cd has received a lot of good press. we have plans 

to shoot a video for “Rebellion”, one of the cuts off “Chemical 

Gods”. and of course, playing live for new audiences is key. 

JROCk: are you happy with the response Chemical Gods has 

got so far? 

JOHn: Very much so. The response from both the fans who 

have picked the cd up and the press reviews of “Chemical 

Gods” have been tremendous. with forty songs, we pretty much 

guarantee that everyone can find something they dig on this 

release. 

JROCk: anything left that you’d like to say John? 

JOHn: I would invite everybody to visit us at any of our online 

platforms. we are constantly writing and recording, so we usually 

put new material up on these sites. and The Crossing is 

about to hit the road, so hopefully the band will be on a stage 

near you soon! 

http://www.myspace.com/thecrossing1111 

http://www.facebook.com/thecrossing1111 

http://www.reverbnation.com/thecrossing1111 

http://www.ilike.com/thecrossing1111 

http://www.thecrossing.info 



InTeRVIews By JROCk HOusTOn 


an InTeRVIew wITH 

BReTT MORRIs OF CHInese DeMOCRaCy 

JROCk: How long have you been a professional 

musician? 

BM: well, professional implies you’ve been paid 

so not very long (laughs). I’ve been let’s say “in the 

market” here in La for about 5 years or so. I’ve been 

capable and serious about guitar for over a decade 

though. I had my first live, full band experience when I 

was 12 or something. 

JROCK: How old were you when you first started 

playing the guitar? 

BM: I was about 11 I think. I had been taking piano 

lessons for a few years, but my older brother had taken 

up guitar and was making it clear to me that piano 

wasn’t as cool (laughs). My dad also played rhythm 

guitar in a classic rock/oldies band, and still does. so, 

for my 5th grade talent show I decided to learn Metallica’s 

“The unforgiven” on guitar with all of about a 

month to learn the instrument (laughs). I pulled it off 

though. 

JROCk: Did you take guitar lessons or would you 

consider yourself to be self taught? 

BM: self taught. Though I gotta give credit to my dad 

and brother for getting me started and sort of influencing 

me. also, taking piano lessons had taught me 

basically how music worked and trained my ear a bit. 

But once I learned to cleanly pick a string, the bug bit 

me hard! I got totally obsessed. I’m glad I got started 

younger, because I had some time. I used to just lock 

myself in a room with a Jimi Hendrix or Metallica or 

Megadeth or whatever CD for hours and hours just 

working away. I took off pretty fast, especially because 

a lot of the music I liked (metal, hard rock) demanded 

a pretty high level of technique. you could say that my 

guitar heros taught me how to play, because I literally 

learned just studying every detail of the guitarists 

that I loved. Guitar magazines and tab books helped 

a lot too. I would just pick up everything I could get, 

and try to absorb everything I could. no lessons ever, 

though. actually, scratch that, there was one time after 

I had already been playing for a couple years I thought 

maybe lessons would be good so I went to this guy, 

who was some jazz geek. nothing against jazz but he 

wasn’t compatible at all. He literally taught me one 

jazz chord, and that’s it(laughs). One lesson, one chord, 

that was enough. still remember the chord though! 

JROCk: what do you remember most about getting 

your very first guitar? 

BM: I remember walking in the living room Christmas 

morning and seeing a beautiful black guitar not 

unlike the guitar I play today, thinking “Holy shit I got 

a Les Paul!!” but then getting closer and seeing the 

name “Hohner” on the headstock (laughs). no, it was 

actually a very decent first guitar to have. I put EMG 

81s in it too, which gave it a boost. It definitely got the 

job done for a number of years. The second guitar I got 

was a Marty Friedman signature Jackson kelly, and 

I still have that one. It’s actually a beautifully made 

guitar, better quality than my real Les Paul I’d say. The 

shape is a little silly to me now though, it’s really made 

for more metal environments. 

JROCK: What was the very first song you learned to 

play on the guitar? 

BM: I think the main riffs of enter sandman, or was 

it walk This way? Like I said before, The unforgiven 

was one of the first, and the first full song I learned. 

and also... 

JROCK: What was the very first GNR tune you 

learned to play on the guitar? 

BM: ...Don’t Cry. I distinctly remember learning that 

as one of my very first 3 or 4 riffs. 

JROCk: Have you ever given guitar lessons to other 

or have any interest in doing so? 

BM: yeah I’ve given lessons to quite a few people 

actually. I enjoy doing it. since I’m self-taught and 

don’t know tons and tons of theory, I have kind of an 

unconventional way of teaching that I think can actually 

be better and more fun for beginning to moderate 

guitarists than some of the stiffs you find in music 

stores. I grew up playing metal, but also Beatles and 

finger-picking folk and all sorts of diverse stuff, so I 

usually teach the style and songs that the student really 

wants to play, and mix theory into it subtly. I’m available 

for lessons now still. 

JROCK: Can you briefly tell me the story of how you 

first discovered the music of GNR and what was it 

about the band and their music that you found to be so 

influential? 


BM: I was young, born in ‘82. appetite came out in 

‘87 and I actually think I first took notice of them from 

the beginning. I heard welcome To The Jungle from my 

brother or sister and immediately loved them. They were 

just so kick ass and dangerous sounding. I remember road 

trips just playing appetite on repeat and I was just 5 or 6 

(laughs). axl’s voice had so much almost maniacal energy 

in it, and slash’s solos were so melodic and soulful, they’ve 

always just hit the spot for me. They’ve been one of my 

favorite bands as long as I can remember. They definitely 

were one of the bands that influenced me to really dive into 

hard rock and metal, and music in general, a few years later 

when the early 90s scene came around. 

JROCk: what do you feel is the best GnR album released 

to date? 

BM: They’re all perfect albums, in my opinion. you can’t 

really say anything is better than appetite, but I’ve always 

had a close connection with use your Illusion II. 

JROCk: How did you hook up w/the other members of 

Chinese Democracy and come to form the band? 

shawn, Chris and I had played together in a cover band 

right before Chinese Democracy and that sort of disintegrated. 

shawn had bounced the idea off of me to start an all 

GnR band. The previous cover band did a few GnR tunes, 

and those were always our favorite, and strongest ones anyway. 

I was a little bit reluctant to do it because I didn’t want 

to spend all my energy playing covers, but the fact was I 

knew all the songs anyway and shawn could sing them perfectly 

so it really was low maintenance for us. It’s rare to 

find someone who can sing Axl’s style like Shawn, and he 

didn’t want another guitarist so it was actually something I 

thought we could do really well. 

we also had been sharing all the new GnR leaks from 

Chinese Democracy the album, and had been following axl 

closely for the 100 years it’s felt like since he started the 

record. shawn might be the only guy I know who’s a bigger 

fan than I am (laughs)! a lot of people have been totally 

oblivious to the new stuff, so it was cool to find someone 

else as into it as I was. we thought it would be a novel idea 

to pay tribute to the new GnR as well as the old, it’d be 

challenging but also would set us apart from the other GnR 

tributes. 

Like I said, we had Chris from the old band and he’s hard 

working and very easy to get along with (a rarity in this 

business) so he was a founder as well. shawn brought his 

Domination 101 (Pantera tribute) bassist over, but he left 

after just a few rehearsals. we got aurick after auditioning 

some really weird dudes. Our original drummer, Matt left 

after our first gig. So, after auditioning a few drummers 

that didn’t click eventually I asked sean, 

who’s one of my best friends and a great drummer 

I’ve jammed with for years, if he’d by any chance 

want to join. I wasn’t sure he’d be interested, but 

he was down. The second he sat down with us there 

was no question he was a perfect fit, and played the 

songs better than anyone we’d played with before. 

JROCk: what do you remember most about the 

band’s very first live performance? 

BM: Our first performance was at Paladino’s in 

Tarzana sometime at the beginning of summer 

this last year I think. It actually went pretty well 

I think, no real problems. Paladino’s is actually a 

pretty sweet place with a nice big stage, and people 

really coming to see our kind of bands so it was 

cool. we always get a strong response there, so it 

was a good place for a first gig. Our second gig, 

at Martini Blues in Huntington Beach...that was a 

little rockier (laughs). 


Hollywood music scene when Chinese Democracy 

was just starting out? 

BM: well, it was just 2007 so it’s the same as it is 

now, that is to say, a lot of crap and a few awesome 

bands. 

JROCk: what do you believe sets Chinese Democracy 

apart from all the other GnR tribute bands 

out there? 

BM: namely the fact that we DO Chinese Democracy 

songs, before the album has even come out! If 

the album ever does come out, we’ll be ready. we 

need a keyboardist though! 

The other thing I think that sets us apart is that 

we’re not really a gimmick kind of tribute band, 

we show up as we are but we really try to nail the 

songs. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and 

say that when they closed their eyes, they couldn’t 

tell us apart from the real Guns n Roses. I’ve 

even had some say that we sound better than the 

old GnR concert they went to (laughs). GnR was 

always kind of hit or miss live, either they were the 

best band ever or it was kind of a train wreck and 

axl stormed off. I wouldn’t say in a million years 

that we’re even close to the real thing, but we try to 

be more consistent (laughs). But shawn sings axl 


like no one else I’ve seen personally, and I think that’s the 

most important thing you look for in a GnR tribute. 

JROCk: would you say when the band was just starting 

out that it took a while for the band to get a following or did 

things happen for the band right away? 

BM: well, we’re still trying to build a following. The 

people that come out love us though. everywhere we go, we 

get a pretty crazy response. even the smaller places where 

people are just sitting down for all the bands not really caring, 

when we play they come up to the stage and sing along 

and cheer all the solos which is great. 90% of the credit 

goes to the songs themselves being so classic, but I think we 

give them a good charge. we’re getting some good response 

on Myspace, and people love the live clips we posted. 

JROCk: why go the route of a tribute band rather than 

form a band that writes/records/performs original material? 

BM: well, for me it’s not either/or. I’ve always been set 

on writing/recording/performing original material, so this 

band is just sort of a fun thing for me, I love the songs and 

it keeps my live chops up while I do my own stuff. I’ve also 

had several people come up to me after shows and want to 

collaborate. It hasn’t worked out yet, but playing onstage 

and meeting people is definitely something that could lead 

to other opportunities. Playing originals is my real focus and 

passion, but this band is really low maintenance so I don’t 

see it being too much of a conflict down the line. I’m currently 

looking to join or form an original band so if anyone 

is reading this and interested, look me up. 

JROCk: who is your favorite GnR guitarist slash, Izzy, 

Gilby, or Bucket Head? 

BM: you missed Bumblefoot! He’s the current one, and he 

smokes all those guys in my opinion. no one can replace 

slash at what he does, he’s an icon and will always be one 

of my biggest influences, but apart from him, Bumblefoot 

(his actual name is Ron Thal) absolutely blows my mind. 

Buckethead is crazy too, but I think Ron is better and much 

more underrated. I was actually a huge fan of him before he 

joined GnR, he’s a fucking monster and I hope axl fully 

utilizes his talents because he can sing disgustingly well, 

and his songwriting is awesome. a lot of solo virtuoso guitarists 

suffer in the songwriting department and just jerk off, 

but he actually writes and sings really good songs, but with 

just freakish guitar parts. He’s one of the only guitarists in 

the world who will play something so alien sounding with 

just his fingers, it’ll leave me with absolutely no clue what 

he just did. Most other virtuosos, I know in my mind what 

they’re doing...it’s just really fast or technical. with him, 

he’s as fast as anybody but more than that, he’s just bizarre. 

He’s got a huge sense of humor in his playing and 

writing too, which I love. His style is from another 

planet. In a way, I don’t really see how he fits in the 

Guns n Roses mold, but I’m so happy he’s getting 

the exposure he deserves and I guarantee he’ll play 

things you’ve never heard before on the record. 

I can’t recommend his solo albums enough to 

people. I’d start with 9.11 and Hands, and move 

from there. 

JROCk: what would you say is the hardest GnR 

song to perform live? 

BM: Locomotive. I’d say it’s definitely their most 

technically demanding song to play. From a guitarists 

perspective, it’s got about 8000 solos but the 

main verse riff actually gives your right hand a 

workout like no other GnR song. It’s got some interesting 

timing and changes too, getting it tight as 

a band was a challenge. I absolutely love that song. 

JROCk: what are some of your favorite GnR 

songs to play live? 

BM: I really like playing you Could Be Mine, 

it’s got a great solo and the song just rules for live 

performance. I like singing the chorus with shawn 

too. Don’t Damn Me is another one of my favorites, 

namely because the solo just wails. For our 

longer shows, I usually get a solo spot which is fun. 

sweet Child is fun for me because people really 

know and love that solo intimately, they can sing 

along with it almost. It really is a great solo, I play 

it pretty much note for note, and every time I do I 

realize why people like it so much. It’s constructed 

perfectly. notice a pattern? I like playing solos. Oh, 

and Locomotive for the reasons above. 

JROCk: what is the craziest thing that has ever 

happened during one of your live shows? 

BM: Hmmmm, I guess one of our 14 Below shows 

would have to have been the craziest. There was 

this weird drunk old bum without a shirt wearing 

ugg boots (??) going crazy right by the monitors, 

and then next thing I know he’s on stage right by 

me running around! keep in mind, it’s a small 

stage that barely fits even all of us, so he was not 

welcome and I had no idea what he was planning to 

do up there. Luckily he got down. During that same 

show, last call came up and we had to stop playing. 

But the crowd just kept chanting for more. we were 

halfway packed up, the lights were on but they 


wouldn’t stop. The house was cool enough to actually let us play another, I’ve never seen a bar turn the lights 

back down and fire up the PA again just for an encore. 

The craziest thing that happened aT a show, but not during was meeting God...er I mean Lemmy kilmister at 

our show at the Cathouse opening for Dizzy Reed’s starfuckers. what can you say about that guy? He’s the real 

deal, one of a kind. eric singer, from alice in Cooper and the guy who sang on slash’s snakepit’s “It’s 5 O’Clock 

somewhere” (fantastic album) was also there. super nice guy. 

JROCk: what is the hardest thing about putting on the show you put on? 

BM: Probably just not getting caught up in the energy so much that you’re not focused on what you’re playing. 

I’m a perfectionist, so I like to really be super tight and at the right tempo as a band. sometimes it’s so fun that 

you get a little sloppy. Even if the crowd doesn’t notice, I’m still hard on myself. Another difficult thing is forming 

a set list! There are so many songs we want to play, but we don’t always have the time to do them. 

JROCk: what is the most enjoyable part of putting on the show you put on? 

BM: Just nailing a solo or a song and getting that response from the crowd. There’s nothing like it. 

JROCk: are you involved w/any other bands/projects that you’d like to plug? 

BM: not at the moment, but I’m always writing and I might post some original music fairly soon. My intent is 

to find an original band too. Not necessarily Guns n Roses style, but definitely in the vein of hard rock, metal, 

grunge, and all the classic bands. again, if someone is reading this and is serious about music (and is good!), 

contact me. 

JROCk: where are you originally from? 

an InTeRVIew wITH PauL LaPLaCa 

PauL: Jamestown ny, Home of the 10,000 Maniacs and 

Lucille Ball. 

JROCk: How long have you been a professional musician? 

PauL: unfortunately, I don’t make a living as a musician so 

I’m only professional with regards to my work ethic. 

JROCk: who were the bands/musicians who had the greatest 

influence on you? 

PAUL: My greatest influences were from my friends and 

local musicians. Randy Deppas and Tom Luce (two friends 

from college) and my bandmates from one of my first bands, 

eric Gustavel and Jeff Cooke all helped to shape my foundations 

and were extremely important to my development as 

a player and songwriter. Dave Constantino from Talas and 

Rob Buck from the Maniacs were also huge influences. As 

far as bigger names go, I was a huge kIss fan as a kid and 

ace certainly was an inspiration followed by alex Lifeson, 

eddie Van Halen, David Gilmore, George Lynch, steve Vai, 

Jeff Beck, Billy sheehan, Geddy Lee, Chris squire and neil 

Peart were all important to me. I had a really good FM radio 

station growing up so I was exposed to a lot of variety 

everything from Blackfoot to Ted nugent, the 

Cars, Gary neuman, the B-52s, earth wind and 

Fire, steely Dan- The list is pretty endless. 

JROCk: you appear on the new Vinnie Vincent 

tribute CD Kiss My Ankh...Can you briefly tell me 

how you got the opportunity to take part in this 

project? 7. you appear on C.C. Banana’s parody 

cover of the kiss song “unholy” ....are you happy 

with the way the song came out? 

PauL: I met CC Banana at a kIss convention 

in Jersey, he’s this nut who dresses up in a banana 

costume and adopts a bit of a CC Deville persona- 

funny as hell. He contacted me with an idea to do 

the unholy Parody and told me the story behind it. 

Reader’s Digest, condensed version is Ted Poley 

of Danger Danger was on tour with kIss and was 

about to meet Paul Stanley for the first time, alone 

backstage in a long hallway. as they passed each 

other Ted lost his nerve and didn’t say anything 

but as Paul stanley continued on down the hall, 

Ted heard him sing (to the chorus of “unholy”) 

Ted Po-le-ey. I thought this was one of the coolest, 

funniest stories I’ve ever heard about someone 

meeting one of their biggest idols. I had been on 


the road with ZO2 opening for kIss in 2004 and I had 

similar, good experiences with Paul so I was thrilled to 

participate. CC did a fantastic job on vocals considering 

he’s never done anything more than drunk karaoke to my 

knowledge. Caffery burns a phenomenal solo and Dennis 

Leeflang did an amazing job on the drums and helped 

with the mix as well. I’m happy with the song but I would 

have loved to have had access to full blown studio to 

track and mix in. Considering it was mostly done in my 

apartment in Brooklyn on a Digi 003 we had some sonic 

limitations. 

I’ve heard some negative feedback about this track from 

fans that think we somehow are showing disrespect to 

Vinnie or kIss but this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

not only are we showing our appreciation for a great, well 

written song, we are also giving a nod and a thumbs up to 

stanley for having a sense of humor and for giving Ted a 

story to remember for a lifetime. nothing is more frustrating 

than working on something like this and having your 

intentions misread. 

JROCk: when you were approached about doing this 

project did you know who Vinnie Vincent was or anything 

about him? 

PAUL: The first time I saw/ heard Vinnie Vincent was the 

debut of the video for “Lick it up”. I was in High school 

at the time and hadn’t listened to kIss in years but was 

still on the edge of my seat to see them without make-up. 

My first thought was, “Holy cow, is that ACE? Put the 

make-up back on!!” 

ROCk: would you consider yourself to be a Vinnie 

Vincent fan? 

PauL: a fan of the man responsible for giving the world 

slaughter?!! 

seriously, I have a lot of respect for Vincent. He was 

extremely important to keeping kIss alive (see what I did 

there?) and all kIss fans owe him a debt of gratitude for 

some outstanding songs. I’m not that familiar with the Invasion 

era stuff, it wasn’t really my style but I know there 

are fans out there that strongly support Vinnie as a solo 

artist and feel that he should be recognized for his work 

outside of kIss. Hopefully this CD help in that regard. 

JROCk: what do you remember most about the recording 

of the track? 

PAUL: The vocals were finished last and I had the mix 

pretty much done at that point. I was working on the last 

bit of delay on the final scream and was about to hit stop 

when CC says in his best, Deville/ Jerry Lewis, “I 

think I hurt myself!” That and him breaking into that 

creepy pedophile rap from “Christine sixteen” is 

pretty damn funny. 

JROCk: what instruments do you play? 

PauL: I started at home on a console organ, then 

started playing the furniture with a borrowed pair of 

drums sticks. I moved on to guitar, bass and saxophone 

as necessity dictated. Give me a month and I 

will be able to play something on any instrument, just 

takes dedication and a deadline! 

JROCk: what do you remember most about your 

very, first, professional gig? 

PAUL: I guess the first national level gig I ever did 

was the kIss/ Poison tour in 2004. It is really indescribable 

the feeling of pulling up to the guard behind 

the venue, showing your backstage pass and driving 

up to the 5 huge red semi-trucks in the loading dock. 

I remember walking onto that stage for the first time 

and seeing the crew working on the huge kIss sign 

and knowing I would be playing on that stage that 

night is something I’ll never forget. Granted it was 

only one song but it was still pretty damn cool! 


very, first, original song you ever wrote? 

PAUL: The first song I ever wrote was for a girl 

named Laura when I was in Jr. High school. I had 

just gotten my first guitar and only knew a D chord 

and a C chord so it was a pretty short song. I played 

it at our “Gong show” and she threatened to sue me 

for using her name in the title. nope, didn’t get laid. 

ROCk: Can you tell me about some of the bands/ 

projects you’ve been involved w/in the past? 

PauL: I was in a few great bands in Buffalo, ny - 

The sparks Flight, wunderland and stealin’ and even 

did a stint with the self-proclaimed son of elvis Presley 

in a ‘50s band. when I moved to nyC I joined 

Von LMO an underground noise legend and was able 

to play some incredible shows headlining CBGBs 

and the reopening of Max’s kansas City. I went on 

to October Thorns, Grey skies Fallen, Zandelle and 

The Void and I’ve done some live work with ZO2. 

The bassist, David Z was with me in Thorns and was 

picked up for the Trans-siberian Orchestra when we 

played the savatage Convention in ‘99. Dave suggested 

me for Chris Caffery’s solo band and I have 


een with him ever since, the only 

player to not miss a single show with 

him! Chris is pretty much a one man 

band when it comes to recording so I 

haven’t had much of an opportunity to 

contribute to his CDs but I was able 

to do an orchestration for “winter in 

Hamburg” and I’m pretty happy with 

the way it came out. 

JROCk: I understand that you toured 

w/Doro last summer...How did you 

land the gig w/Doro? 

PauL: Caffery was subbing for her 

guitarist and was able to get on the bill 

as the opener as well. I was tapped to 

mix Doro to help with the tour. 

JROCk: what have you enjoyed most 

about working w/Doro? 

PauL: They are such an incredibly 

dynamic band. as an engineer you can 

really have an impact if you follow 

their lead. They usually close with 

“Love Me In Black”, this amazing 

power ballad that goes literally from a 

whisper to a scream. I’d start the mix 

off at a pin drop level but by the last 

chorus you could see people getting 

their hair dried by the air we were 

moving. extremely satisfying professionally 

and we had a blast on the bus 

as well. 

JROCk: are you currently involved 

w/any other bands/projects you’d like 

to mention? 

JROCk: what can fans expect from 

Paul LaPlaca in the year 2008 and 

beyond? 

PauL: I’m working on my own 

studio and will probably be doing a lot 

more mixing and producing this year. 

Caffery has some shows in the works 

for next spring and summer and I have 

my own projects that i hope to have on 

stage by the spring. expect the unexpected, 

lol!!! 

an InTeRVIew wITH 

ex-anTHRax sInGeR: Dan neLsOn 

JROCk: where are you originally from? 

Dan: I’m originally from ny 

JROCk: I know that you’re a Lead singer but I was curious if you 

play any instruments as well? 

Dan: I do, I play guitar, bass and drums. 

JROCk: what were some odd jobs you had early on in your career 

to help support your musical dream? 

Dan: I’ve worked construction, as a mover, store manager, guitar 

teacher and personal trainer. 

JROCK: Who were the bands/musicians who had the greatest influence 

on you? 

Dan: everything from elvis to Metallica. I am a big classic rock guy 

as well. I just love a good song. 

JROCK: What do you remember most about your very, first, professional 

gig? 

Dan: My first gig was at 11 or 12 years old in front of 300-400 

people...I remember being a nervous wreck, haha... but afterwards 

being completely hooked. 

JROCk: Most people know you of course Dan because you’re the 

singer who replaced Joey Beladonna in anthrax when the anthrax 

re-union w/Joey fell apart. Prior to joining anthrax what were you 

doing? were you in any other bands at the time? 

Dan: I was singing and playing guitar in the band Devilsize. 

JROCk: what year was it when you got the anthrax gig? How did 

you get the gig with anthrax? I mean did you have to audition for the 

band and compete among a cattle call of other singers who were also 

trying out for the gig? 

Dan: I got the gig in sept. of 2007, although it was announced I think 

in December. I had been in talks with members of the band since 

april/May 2007 though about auditioning after working on a different 

project with Rob Caggiano. 

JROCk: what was the audition process like for you? 

Dan: what do you remember most about your audition? I just remember 

being ready. 

JROCk: How did you learn that you were the new Lead singer of 


anthrax? 

Dan: Through an Internet chat, same as the fans. 

JROCk: after you found out you were in the band....How 

long did it take for you to learn all the classic anthrax 

material? 

Dan: I never learned all the classic material, just the songs 

that were in the set. Plus a few extra songs in case of encores, 

surprises, etc. 

JROCk: were you an anthrax fan prior to joining the 

band? 

Dan: yes I was. 

JROCK: What was your first impression of all the other 

guys in the band when you met them for the very, first 

time? 

Dan: everything seemed to gel well between us. 

JROCk: was there any one member of the band that you 

ever felt closest to? 

Dan: no, I wouldn’t say so. 

JROCK: What do you remember most about your first, 

show w/anthrax? 

Dan: The fans were amazing, the energy was awesome, 

great gig. 

JROCk: Once you started writing material with anthrax 

for what was intended to be your first album with the 

band....what were the writing sessions like.....Did you 

write all the lyrics or did you collaborate w/the other members 

of the band on all the songs? 

Dan: we all worked on music, melodies and lyrics together. 

There were about five songs written musically 

prior to me joining, three of which were ditched early on 

in the writing process. The other two that were kept went 

through many changes before becoming the songs that 

were to be on “worship Music”. 

JROCk: Of all the recording you did with the band what 

do you remember most about those recording sessions? 

Dan: working very hard to make a great album for the 

fans. 

JROCk: you played last year’s Rocklahoma festival w/ 

anthrax...what memories do you have from that show? 

Dan: The crowd was great and the show was great. nothing 

but good memories from my time on stage there. 

JROCk: Of course by now everyone knows that you 

are no longer with anthrax....Most fans know that 

initially the band made some press statement where 

they basically said you had to leave the band because 

of some mystery illness you had....Later in your own 

press statement you denied having any kind of illness. 

so I want to give you the opportunity now to 

tell your side of the story in regards to what do you 

believe is the reason for the band’s abrupt decision to 

split with you? 

Dan: I’m not sure, and honestly don’t care any longer. 

I’ve moved onto to the next chapter in my life. 

JROCk: Have you heard anything in regards what 

will happen with all the material you recorded w/ 

the band? any chance they may hire a new singer 

to rerecord over your vocals....If they were to do that 

how would you feel about that? 

Dan: I haven’t heard anything about what plans there 

are for “worship Music” it would be a shame for fans 

not to hear it as is though, because it is truly a great 

album. 

JROCk: what have you been up to since leaving 

anthrax? 

Dan: I’ve been working on starting a family with my 

wife kim, playing hockey again as well. On the musical 

side of things I have been singing and playing 

guitar in the rock band Inside Hollow as well as singing 

for a yet untitled metal project with Paul Bostaph 

on drums and Jeremy epp on guitar. Both bands are 

sounding amazing, and I can’t wait to get out there 

and play with those guys. 

JROCk: what should fans expect from Dan nelson 

in the year ahead? 

Dan: Lots more music and shows, hopefully some 

babies! Ha-ha 

JROCk: anything left that you’d like to say to your 

fans Dan? 

Dan: I can’t thank you guys enough for the support 

that you’ve all shown me both in and out of 

anthrax...you all rule and I look forward to hanging 

with you all again real soon!! 



32 Issue 1 - May 07, 2009 Copyright 2009. Chaotic Riffs Magazine - www.chaoticriffsmagazine.com










By purchasing this album, up to 50% of the net profits will be use to help people and communities in need. Our goal each year is to provide a 

means to combine local music and talent to generate proceeds to be used to help the community at large by selecting bands who are willing to 

participate in the cause to help raise monies to assist in the funding of the United Song Alliance projects. These services are available for anybody 

in need of assistance with a variety of issues, such as, food, mortgage payments, car payments, home improvements and a list too long to list here. 

For full details for obtaining assistance from the United Song Alliance please visit the www.unitedsongalliance.com website. 

War Remnants is available for purchase at Amazon for 

$8.99 via digital download. 

Get yours today!


neal Moser grew up in a generation that came out of the military during the 

Vietnam war searching for meaning in their lives. He found his meaning in 

playing and singing in a band. However, he was not happy with the standard 

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guitar electronics at warwick electronics, Vox Guitar division, in 1966, just 

before he went into the military. On returning from service he started working 

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tech. while working there neal Moser worked on the guitars of many 

of the most famous players and bands of that era including, Jimi Hendrix, 

Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge etc. It was during this time that Neal Moser came up with electronic modifications to meet 

the needs these famous players had for innovation in guitar sounds. In 1971 neal developed special electronic circuits for 

his own use and found that many of his customers were very interested in what he had developed. One of his customers 

took his guitar to Bernie Rico of BC Rich Guitars to get it painted and when Bernie saw the electronics he called neal and 

the rest is history. a unique collaboration between Bernie Rico and neal Moser was the beginning of the Metal Guitar 

market. It was during this time that neal Moser designed guitars for BC Rich that were pointy and unique and earned him 

the title of “Father of Metal Guitars”. 

when neal Moser left BC Rich in 1985 he was introduced to Lee Garver by wayne Charvel and at that time neal and 

Lee produced instruments under the name “neal Moser Guitars/GMw Guitar works”. after retiring in 1995 and due to 

many requests from old customers and fans for highly customized handmade, neck through guitars he started thinking 

about building again. Moser Custom shop was born in 2003 in the hills north of Los angeles in the san Fernando Valley. 

Now in his 60s Neal has decided that it is his turn to pass on the many skills he has acquired over his long and prolific 

career as a guitar designer and builder. He has decided to offer intensive seminars that are 2 weeks in duration to a maximum 

of four students at a time. neal realizes that many, who have the same love for guitar building that he has, need 

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and you can also learn more about neal Moser’s career and life at www.nealmoser.com. 

For class dates call 818-834-6616 or visit our website at: www.mosercustomshop.com 


VOLuMe 8 

It’s the end of an era…or at least a decade, as our Earth makes its final terrestrial lap around the Sun. Hopefully 

that last few months have been filled with oodles of “Holiday Cheer” for all! But for those of us whose 

holiday spirit was a little less than merry, don’t be too discouraged. The cold weather can sometimes bring 

out the worst in some people. I’m talking about the spiteful, ignorant, small-minded folk that slip through 

the cracks I myself find it hard to keep my mouth shut, but depending on the circumstance, it is usually best 

just to bite your tongue. with that being said, 2010 is fast approaching, and I can’t think of a better time 

than right now to pitch in any last minute “Resolutions” for the “new year”. Of course if you happen to 

have the gift of Clairvoyance, then you will already have full coverage issued well into the next decade. 

all joking aside, I am personally looking forward to another year/decade. 

so, before the ink is dry, we turn the page, and close out this chapter of our lives, I wanted to take a quick 

look back on the end of the first decade of the “New Millennium” with bullet point precision. 

Let us Begin…. 

- TuesDay, JanuaRy 20TH 2009 

Barack Obama became the 44th “President of The united states Of america”. The inauguration set an attendance 

record for any event held in washington D.C. also, based on combined attendance numbers, television 

viewership, and internet traffic put this among the most observed events ever by the global audience. 

- THuRsDay, June 25TH 2009 

The world was stunned when news broke that one the favorite sons of american music “The king of Pop” 

Michael Jackson, had passed away. On a global scale the world mourned the loss of a legendary, talented, 

and innovative icon. as a result, an unexpected fallout ensued… The life and death of Michael Jackson became 

the TOP InTeRneT seaRCH OF 2009. 

Meanwhile, somewhere amongst the haze of the before mentioned tragedy, Hollywood finally said farewell 

to Farrah Fawcett & Patrick swayze. Both whom tragically lost their long winded battles with cancer. 

- JuLy, 17TH 2009 

Legendary television personality, journalist, and anchorman walter Cronkite also passed away. 

Cronkite, best known for his historic coverage of the Vietnam war, Moon Landing, The assassination of 

President John F. Kennedy, Watergate, and covering the historic first American television broadcast of “The 

Beatles”…. all of these were carried across the wire via radio and television from the “Golden age of Television” 

to the “Digital age” of the present. about now, I am sure that you are feeling as though that you’re 

smack dab in the middle of a fill-in-the-blank community college….So, now is the point where I feel that I 

should draw a fine line in the sand to assure everyone that the “obituary section” of this 2009 retrospective 

is drawing to a close. But before I can do that, I wouldn’t be who I am without saying farewell to to Rock 

n’ Roll’s indisputable king of Innovation – Les Paul. 

Les Paul was an american jazz and country guitarist, songwriter, and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development 

of the solid body electric guitar which “made the sound of Rock n’ Roll possible”. He has been 

credited with many recording innovations including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects 

such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multi track recording. among his many honors, Paul is one of 

a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the “Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame”. This legacy 

is not only a testament to his ingenuity and love of music, but will forever continue to not only be heard by 

legendary guitar players such as slash, Jimmy Page, Zakk wylde, Joe Perry, Ted nugent….But by every kid 

that knows what it feels like to pick up, strap on, and plug in a “Gibson Les Paul” for the very first time. 


2010 is already shaping up to be a busy year for me and my bands “HOLLywOOD ROses” & “DOPesnake”. 

we’re kicking off the new year by having both bands on the same bill at “whisky-a-Go-Go“ 

on December 31st “new years eve!” “DOPesnake” is currently working on new material for our 

second record entitled “What Would Iggy Do?” Followed by a Tour this Spring with N. Carolina Misfits 

“CRank COunTy DaReDeVILs”. Be sure to check them out at myspace.com/crankcountydaredevils 

also the “DOPesnake” song “HeLL yeaH!” is currently featured in the Trailer for the upcoming Cinematic 

release “easy RIDeR – THe RIDe BaCk”. 

*Type in the title above into yOuTuBe.COM to see the trailer now! Otherwise it will be coming to a 

television near you in 2010! 

- “HOLLywOOD ROses” will be playing HOnDuRas on JanuaRy 23RD 2010 

Hollywood Roses sites: 

www.hollywoodroses.net 

www.hollywoodroses.org 

www.myspace.com/hollywoodroses 

www.facebook.com/hollywoodroses 

www.twitter.com/hollywoodrosesx 

OR FInD Me HeRe…. 

veilfreak@yahoo.com 

www.myspace.com/veilfreak 

www.facebook.com/veilfreak 

www.twitter.com/veilfreak 

also, Check out “DOPesnake” on “Reverb nation” 

www.myspace.com/dopesnake666 

with a glance I can see an ominous glow coming in sharp and swift over the horizon…. 

….My Heart feels broken already from the candy sweet bruises that are rotten from the inside out. see you 

all in February…. 

That’s it for now! One more HuGe “THank yOu” to all of my family, friends, & fans for making 2009 

so aMaZInG! also, a special “THank yOu” to my wonderful beautiful best friend and wife, erica. 

Thank you for not only your brilliance & patience, but how always see the “ReaL” me, even when I can’t 

or to stubborn to try. you Put up with Me – and I know that’s sometimes a fulltime job in itself … Lost 

without you…all my love and life shines within our union…. 

Rock n’ Roll Til’ Death! 

Colby Veil 


artist: The Rods Title: The Rods Release year: 1981 

Track Listing 

1. Power Lover 

2. Crank It up 

3. Hungry For some Love 

4. Music Man 

5. woman 

6. nothing Going On 

7. Get Ready To Rock n Roll 

8. ace In The Hole 

9. Rock Hard 

10.Roll with The night 

11.Getting Higher 

12.wings Of Fire 

The Rods is a great classic Rock band that chances are you 

just might not have heard of..........The band is from new york 

and was formed on the ashes of elf, that would be Ronnie James 

Dio’s pre-Rainbow/Black sabbath band...and oddly enough the 

Dio connection doesn’t end there....Rods Guitarist/Vocalist David 

“Rock” Feinstein is the cousin of Ronnie James Dio and was also 

in elf w/Ronnie. 

Don’t let the fact that David “Rock” Feinstein is related to 

Ronnie James Dio be your only reason for checking this band out 

because I can tell you that The Rods is one band that really is a 

class act all on their own.....While at first glance it may seem like 

this new york trio is a pretty, simple act with just Bass, Drums, 

and Guitar but let me tell you that The Rod is a real Power trio 

that needs no flash or tricks because their music is just that good 

all on it’s own.........Feinstein would give any Guitar Player a run 

for their money and his masterful guitar playing is all over this 

album.....The musicianship is flawless and the band as a whole 

just really plays together as a 

tight unit. 

The Rods are a band that is all about delivering great classic 

Rock. with The Rod’s 

what you get here is an album loaded with 12 rockin tunes that 

will Rock you for years to come..............while I love all 12 

tracks on the album I have to tell you that the 3 that really stand 

out to me are..........”Hungry For some Love” which has a bit of a 

Led Zep vibe to it........Then there’s “Music Man” which sounds 

a bit like Deep Purple to me, kind of sounds a bit like “Highway 

star” to my ears......and then “nothing Going On” just might be 

my favorite song on the album because it’s the fastest song on the 

album and David Fienstein’s Guitar Playing is on fire! If you’ve 

never heard of The Rods before let this be the album to introduce 

them to you because this is an album that will no doubt Rock 

your world! 

artist: The Rods album Title: wild Dogs Release year: 1982 

After listening to the first to albums by The Rods I am just it 

utter amazement that this band never became bigger than they 

did...This is one band that should have became a major 

act on the hard rock/metal scene back in the 80’s. what’s a real 

shame is that The Rods is one band that is not lacking when it 

comes to talent and yet what most people seem to know this 

band mostly for is the fact that Lead singer/Guitarist: David 

Feinstein is the Cousin of legendary Black sabbath/Rainbow 

singer: Ronnie James Dio...while that may be an interesting 

side note like I said it’s time that people really started to pay 

attention with their ears and take notice that The Rods is one 

band that not only oozes talent but at this point and time in the 

year 2009 should already be a band considered to be true Metal 

Legends! 

Now after listening to the first two albums by The Rods I 

have to tell you that both albums really Rock and while both 

albums were recorded by the same band, very same lineup that 

both albums sound very different.......The band’s first album had 

more of a classic Rock feel to it and is a great way to introduce 

andyone to this Rockin band from new york if you’ve never 

heard the band’s music before.................On the wild Dogs, The 

Rods returned with an album that had more of a metal/hard rock 

sound and that’s good because with Feinstein’s fiery Guitar playing 

this band is best when they play it lous, hard and fast...now 

when I say that This album has a real metal/hard rock sound 

don’t think for a minute that these guys sound anything at all 

like sLayeR.....Just great, pure hard rock driven metal that any 

headbanger could ROCk to! wild Dogs is a must have for any 

true Metal Head so show your love for The Rods and all things 

Metal and find the Wild Dog in you when you listen to the classic 

1982 album wild Dogs by The Rods! 


artist: The Rods Title: In The Raw Release year: 1983 

After listening to the first Three albums by Legendary New York Rock 

bands I’m more convinced than ever that the music Industry screwed 

itself over in a big way and is to blame for many talented bands such as 

The Rods falling by the wayside and not becoming the huge stars that 

they could have....Let me start off by saying that The Rods may have 

not ever reached the legendary statous of bands such as Deep 

Purple, Black sabbath, or even the mighty Led Zepelin but this is one 

band that was never lacking when it came to talent...This is a band that 

should have been a lot huger than they ever were but like so many, great 

bands before them just didn’t have the right group of people working 

behind the scenes to really help push this band to the next level that 

after hearing their first three albums I don’t doubt for a minute that they 

could have reached if they would have had the propper people working 

behind the scenes. 

Let’s now get to taking a look at the band’s 1983 album In The Raw......I 

must say that the title itself is a fitting discription of the music that is 

featured throughout the entire album...That is to say that there’s nothing 

less than 100% metal on this album.......This is an album that any true 

hard rock/metal fan could really sink their teeth into and never get tired 

of....now I have to make it really clear when I say Metal here we’re not 

talking about full, throttle speed metal like say slayer or exodous but 

more in line with say The scorpions.....Throughout this entire albums 

as well as with the band’s previous release wild Dogs I heard a very 

strong Scorpions influence running through this album...That’s not to 

say that they’re trying to sound like The scorpions but rather to say 

that there is a real strong Scorpions influence/vibe that runs through the 

entire album. On In The Raw the band has really progressed in all areas 

which is already saying something because this is a band that has never 

lacked when it came to talent.................all I can say is that on In The 

Raw the band really come alive and I think the most noticible thing on 

the entire album is the way the band plays as a real tight unit.............. 

As far as the songs go there’s no filler material on the entire album.... 

The hardest thing for me was finding one track I liked the best and yet at 

the same time I think my favorite track on the album would be “whole 

Lotta Led” which is quite interesting when you consider it’s the longest 

track on the album coming in at 12 minutes..............wOw That is a 

long song! The interesting thing is this is The Rods paying tribute to 

the mighty Led Zep.............while the music is unquestionably very Led 

Zep influenced to my ears it came across as The Rods trying to pay tribute 

to one of their favorite bands of all times...Best way I can describe 

this song is it’s a Medley of many great Led Zep songs and yet it also 

features some original lyrices by The Rods...............with out a doubt a 

very, long track and yet I enjoyed it very much because I can honestly 

say that I’ve never heard a song done quite like this before, and yet it 

accomplishes what I think the band set out to do which is to simply 

pay tribute to one of their favorite bands of all time. This song alone is 

reason enough to check out In The Raw by The Rods! 

artitst: The Rods Title: Let Them eat Metal 

Release year: 1984 

Track Listing 

1. Let Them eat Metal 

2. white Lightning 

3. nuclear skies 

4. Rock warriors 

5. Bad Blood 

6. she’s so Tight 

7. Got The Fire Burnin 

8. I’m a Rocker 

9. she’s such a Bitch 

10. you’d Better Run 

11. Life On The edge 

Now on the first three albums by The Rods the band was 

trying to find their idenity, that is to say that they were trying 

to find a sound that was really all their own.....Now let me 

make one thing very clear here....On the first three albums the 

band did a mighty find job of delivering the goods...That is 

to say that they delivered some mighty, fine music that to my 

ears should have been heard by even more people back when 

these albums were first released. I want to make it known that 

while I had heard of The Rods prior to my interviewing the 

band for this issue of Chaotic Riff’s Magazine that I was not 

fammiliar at all with the band’s music..........But in listening 

to these albums and now reviewing them I can honestly say 

that The Rods is one band that really knows how to Rock and 

if you have never heard of the Rods before I highly recomend 

you do yourself a favor and give the band and their back catalog 

a real, good listen! You might find out for yourself that 

this is one band that desearves to be ignored no more! 

now as I said on the band’s fourth album Let Them eat 

Metal I think the band’s most, crowning accheivement is 

that the band on this album has finally found a sound that is 

truthfully all their own. Let’s take a deeper look at this album 

though..........The album kicks off with the Heavy and Hard 

Rockin title track “Let Them eat Metal” to let fans know 

what they’re in store for is an album full of nothing but pure 

rock, hard Rockin Metal! You won’t find any wimpy ballads 

here..........The closest thing the band has to anything that 

sounds like it could be a radio oriented track is the final track 

on the album which is “Life On The edge” I really also liked 

the song “she’s so Tight” and there’s also a cool cover of the 

song “you’d Better Run” which was originally made famous 

by The Rascals....Most Rock fans are probably more fammiliar 

with the version that Pat Benatar released. Original kiss 

Drummer: Peter Criss also featured a cover version of the 

song on his 1980 solo album Out Of Control. I also must say 

that Drummer Carl Canedy really came alive on this album 

and that is to say that there’s a real, heavy, huge drum sound 

throughout the entire album. 


www.YoHoWear.com

Chaotic Riffs Magazine - Issue 1 - The Rods

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