Below is an interview with me from 2011 I believe - its long but will give you a glimpse into the how and why I do this... Bluebeard is ready to rock - again By Naughty Mickie [email protected] Hard rockers Bluebeard was formed in the 70s by six high school students in West Covina, California. The group included vocalist Robert Barry Leech, guitarists Vincent Bitetti and Vincent Thomas-Penny, bassist Gayle Hart, keyboardist Bob Campbell and drummer Danny Bogan. They practiced in the garage of Leechs parents home and went on to perform at almost every venue in the San Gabriel Valley and Hollywood. They received airplay on KROQ and KNAC and had received a few minimal offers from major labels. In 1979, Bluebeard independently released Bad Dream which sold 20,000 copies. Despondent with the scene, they split up, some keeping a semblance of the band in other projects and most gradually going on to other things in their lives. In 2001 Bitetti acquired the master recordings of Bluebeard and gathered up the original lineup. The group was jamming and toying with recording, but their plans hit bottom when Leech died. Instead of throwing in the towel, Bitetti thought that it would be fitting to honor Leech, the vibrant driving force of Bluebeard, with an album, Deluxe with Reverb (Shelter From the Storm), which was released this May. The album features vocals by Ellington Erin, along with Bitetti, Hart, guitarist Brian Barnum and keyboardist Barry Foz Fasman. Lee Gordon has since replaced Erin and Bluebeard is back, in fact recently they opened for Blue Oyster Cult at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills and the Grove in Anaheim. I sat over lunch with Bitetti to get the skinny on this inspiring story of loss and triumph. I began by asking him what was the high point for Bluebeard. I could almost argue that the high point is right now because it is such an incredible journey from where it went and to be able to do this right now and essentially relive your past is really amazing, Bitetti responds. The fact that I can still get on stage and rock and open for Blue Oyster Cult is an incredible high point now and I can also feel good about it because it is a tribute to a dear friend and musical genius who is no longer with us. So it has this high point now, but there was an incredible high point in 1979 when we released the Bad Dream album. We released an independent album before there were independent albums, we couldnt get a deal. The music scene was changing. Bitetti continues, We opened for Van Halen the night they were signed, it was us, the Motels and Van Halen at the Starwood nightclub. The Motels were incredible and Van Halen was loud and noisy and I couldnt really hear the songs. Everyone from Warner Bros. were there that night, they didnt get there until Van Halen got on stage, and the deal was pretty much done, but they were like the last hard rock band signed out of L.A. After that new wave came and thats how the Motels ended up getting signed. The punk came and disco came and so our real incredible high point was in 1978-1979, we were ready, we were really ready to plug in and go on tour. We could have been like Van Halen, but it didnt happen. From there on the band broke up. I push to learn more about why they parted ways. The band Bluebeard as a group, 1979 Bluebeard, there were six of us, that band couldnt sustain the rejection, Bitetti states. For us, looking back in time, we had a lot going on. We had an independent album out in the stores, we were selling out all of the nightclubs in L.A., we had airplay on KROQ, which was playing rock, we had airplay on a lot of radio stations. Not getting a major record deal, we viewed as failure. We were very popular selling out clubs, but we were in a fishbowl. We had no belief, since no one was going to take us on, that we would be anything nationally. So the band fell apart, imploded essentially. It was 1980, just a short time after their album, Bad Dream, had done so well. Its sales are quite phenomenal, as there wasnt a My Space, an Indie 911 or any Internet outlet to spread the musical word- the groups main promotions were their shows and word-of-mouth. We metamorphosized and became two other bands through 1987. Bitetti picks up his tale, Me, Barry, Danny, Vincent and Gayle, we changed our name to The Receivers because we had so much pressure from our managers to become a new wave band and we succumbed. In hindsight, it was a really stupid thing to do, but our band had imploded. We tried to stay in the music business, we were desperate to stay in the music business. We were a new wave band from 1980 to 1984 and it got even more condensed. It went from six members in 1979 to five members in 81 to four members in 84 and by 86 we were three guys and we were called Catwalk. Bitetti goes on, But Barry was still the central figure of the band, it was me and Barry and Gayle and it was new wave with a heaviness to it from Bluebeard, but it was still modern rock basically. Bitetti left what was left of the group by 1986. Before going forward, I think it would be interesting to learn more of where Bitetti came from. He moved to West Covina with his family at age 10 from Long Island, New York. I fell in love with Elvis Presley and I think Jail House Rock is what did it for me, Bitetti smiles. He played guitar and he sang and he was intense and the girls loved him. Of course he had a lot of hit songs going and that was it. His parents bought him a Saint George electric guitar for $69 from a local shop, West Covina Music Center: It was a piece of junk. Bitetti laughs, The strings were very high off the neck, but I still learned to play it. Bitetti recalls, I got thrown out of Edgewood High School for being rebellious, delinquent. I went to Coronado Continuation School, where I learned more there in a couple of years that I learned anywhere else. Bitetti began attending college, majoring in biology, but left his studies behind for the opportunities with Bluebeard. From 17 to about 30 years old I worked in music stores, Bitetti shares. I worked at Hamich Music in West Covina off and on from 17 to 28 years old, then I moved to West Los Angeles and I worked at West L.A. Music for a few years. Then when I was 30, I left West L.A. Music and became a consultant for Yamaha Corporation of America, a digital musical instrument consultant. I have a small record company (Shelter From the Storm). I still have some video game ties, I do consulting. His free time is devoted to his family and his computer. Ive learned a lot of new skills. Bitetti explains, Ive learned how to make videos, I have five MySpace pages I maintain. One of my hobbies in technology and immersing myself in technology. I like to keep up with it in a way that I have to do it, so user-generated content is the big buzz word. Hes constructed sites all over the Internet for Bluebeard, as well as himself. I go to bed by 10, I get up at 2 every night and then I go back to bed at 4 and I sleep till 6 or 7. Between 2 and 4 I play music every night in my little room on my computer and Im on the Internet, solo alter-ego music. Bitetti continues, I call my solo alter-ego Vger, thats from the first Star Trek movie because Im a science fiction junkie and a Star Trek fan. Vger was the satellite than merged with the alien life form in Star Trek II the motion picture. Bitettis My Space account is called vgercalifornia. Outside of music and technology, I dont have any hobbies. Im kind of boring that way, he laughs. By 2001, Bitetti had become a video game executive. He had been in a few bands, but had been out of the music industry for about 10 years. I decided to put music back into my life, so I got out my guitars, which I hadnt touched in a very long time. The other thing I got out was my Bluebeard master tapes, Bitetti remembers. I have them all, 24-track mastered tapes of Catwalk, The Receivers and Bluebeard. One of the amazing things about that band is we have an incredible library of video, photographs and recorded works. In 2001 I had invested some money into a recording studio and thats where I met my current partner, Barry Fasman, and I told him I wanted to remix some Bluebeard tapes. The tapes had degraded over time and, although most of the material could be salvaged, some was unusable. Fasman suggested getting the band back together to record. Bitetti had kept in touch with the guys, but hadnt played with them for 15 years. I called everybody and they came into the studio, Bitetti smiles. That day we recorded seven songs from the Bluebeard/Receivers/Catwalk library and we recorded another song that came out of a different library (from the Barry Leech Band, a band that was essentially Bluebeard with Leech and Barnum). From 2001-2003, they began rehearsing in the Van Nuys studio occasionally and thought about putting the band back together. They also began recording the current release. It includes original material, new material, old songs redone and more. Part of the reason we didnt jump back into completely was because we felt old was part of it, but we didnt feel relevant. We were doing it for ourselves and I realized during that time what incredible music Barry had written- there were 100 songs, Bitetti says. In 2004 Leech died in his home in Apple Valley. When I was at funeral at the viewing looking in the casket, my friend who was so stressed out in life and so haggard looking because he had been through hell and back literally, he was so at peace and he looked so young. Bitettis voice grows stronger, I had kind of an epiphany, number one, he was so young, 50 is really young, and therefore were not old and therefore were not irrelevant, we have something to say. Its part tribute to Barry and part my own salvation in this existence that we have here for such a brief time. We got back together and we needed a singer, we needed it to be relevant. I couldnt just repackage the material with Barry and try to put out an album and say heres a band that was, I wanted to say heres a band that is, sums up Bitetti. We discuss the obstacles Bluebeard had to overcome for Deluxe With Reverb. They used Ellington Erin (of local band Siddhartha) to channel Leech for the recording and he also performed live with the band until 2006. It was kind of a weird thing for 50 year old men to have this incident, but there was actually a really bad fist fight at rehearsal between Ellington and our drummer, Danny, and it was really incredible, Bitetti shares. Regardless of the why it happened, it happened in an instant and Ellington crossed the line. Hes twice Dannys size and took advantage of Danny and that was that. Prior to that Vincent Penny got married and left, so replaced him with Brian Barnum, who I met for the first time at Barrys funeral and Barry was always telling me what a nice guy Brian was and what a good guitar player he was. Barnum knew all the songs and was pleased to be involved. And when the incident happened with Ellington, they had two shows with Blue Oyster Cult about one month away. Not only did we need a new vocalist for those two shows, but we needed a new vocalist, somebody who would fit in and somebody who would get it, says Bitetti. We had four or five that were interested and we settled on Lee Gordon, who is a phenomenal songwriter and plays a few different instruments. Hes also one of the disenfranchised guys over 40 in the hard rock business who still does it because his heart tells him to do it. I ask Bitetti how the groups writing has changed since the first time around. Theres not a lot of difference, its more sophisticated. Bitetti elaborates, Typically somebody will bring in a song with or without lyrics. If its a complete song with lyrics, then the band arranges the song. If its a song without lyrics somebody will volunteer to write the lyrics. Sometimes its lyrics and no music. It has to fit Bluebeard. Right now were working on a concept album, its called The Other Side of Heaven and it emanates from a song written by Barry Leech and Bluebeard in 1979, Bitetti goes on. Its a 10-minute little rock opera called The Other Side of Heaven, about heaven and hell. Its probably very relevant today, the lyrically content of the song. Theres song lyrics like, The doorbell rings quietly, you think that its a friend of the family, he tells you he believes in God, hes not just another fraud, he sells religious magazines and other such materialistic things. Essentially your life is being interrupted by these people who have either false gods or have a different god than you and if you dont see it their way, they turn into very evil people. These people who are supposedly god-fearing, god-believing, if you dont believe what they believe, then you become the enemy and thats essentially what the song is about. The whole new album is going to be focused around that central theme. So anything that anyone brings to the table that doesnt fit within the concept, it doesnt get done, Bitetti concludes. Of course, you have to wonder how Gordon feels stepping in to a completed project. Hes really great, Bitetti grins. Hes a professional musician and hes done those kind of things. Hes not like us, hes not an evolved garage musician, he is a professional musician that makes his living doing different things and some of those things are doing other peoples music. Bluebeards sound is becoming heavier harder rock with a lot of musical passages, similar to Evanescence. Yes, there is less 70s vibe, but some will be retained as it is their roots. I ask how they fit in the scene today. We dont, were misfits. Were trying to figure out how to fit into the scene or what scene. Bitetti states, I think music outside of the major label system is incredible. I think music within the system, 90 percent of it is extremely homogenized and force-fed to the population, but 10 percent of it is amazing. I think kids are more talented today than theyve ever been. But as far as where Bluebeard fits in, its tough. We have almost 17,000 friends on MySpace and about 80 percent are in their 20s or lower, so when we headline a show in L.A., the audience tends to be 80 percent younger people. But when we play with Blue Oyster Cult that has a crowd thats primarily over 40, they relate to us as well. Kids today get their music from the Internet not the radio, so the record companies have lost control of the business because they resist the technology for one part and they follow trends for the other part and they try to anticipate trends, continues Bitetti. At the end of the day, you cant run a business based on marketing and marketing research. The record business breaks everything down into categories and they try to fit everything into categories. If youre a square peg and you dont fit into a round hole, then you dont fit into the record business and thats being rejected by kids. Bitetti says, The future might lie in artists themselves, not having labels, but you need everything. You need marketing, publicity, distribution, even if its all online. You need more than the band and a few of its friends. So why is Bluebeard important today? I think were important for two reasons. One, we view ourselves as being in position to help younger bands, replies Bitetti. Theres Bluebeard the band and Bluebeard the music. I think the musics there to remind people that great music is here today, its more underground. Theres a whole scene of underground great music that doesnt see the light of day because theres only so much room for entertainment to fit into a schedule thats only feeding someone elses agenda and so forth. To get music put into the mainstream, thats so competitive, thats why the Internet brings in all these new foreign, random elements and thats why kids discover Led Zeppelin... Whats standing out is its great music... Bitetti says, If you can focus on the music, Bluebeard is very relevant musically and lyrically. A lot of people in the music people in the record business cant get past age... Listener-wise there is no age discrimination. Bluebeard is competent at promotion, but are seeking an agent. Theyre also seeking more bookings, but require venues that can support the album with minimum sound and light requirements needed for a big type of show. It doesnt have to be huge, just nice systems, like the Grove, Canyon Club, Key Club. They also dont want to play with seven other bands using backline equipment for a 15 minute set on a Tuesday night. The band would prefer weekend gigs, such as opening for bands from the 70s. They are quite dedicated, practicing 10 hours every Saturday in Burbank and the guys come from Apple Valley, Hemet Ventura and West Covina. For the unfamiliar, this is quite a large spread of Southern California. Deluxe With Reverb can be found in stores such as Best Buy, as well as at Amazon and iTunes. A physical CD sounds incredible compared to a mp3, Bitetti says. When I was a kid, I had a transistor radio and you had an earplug in your ear to listen to the radio. It was really fuzzy. It was convenient, but an mp3 is like listening to a transistor radio, a CD is like being at a concert. I buy a lot of music. For another point of view on Bluebeard, I gave guitarist Brian Barnum a call and asked why he joined the band. I had played with Robert Barry Leech previously and I loved his music and I loved his enthusiasm, Barnum says. The style of music that I like is classic rock, hard-driving rock. I had gone and seen Bluebeard in concert at the Golden Bear way back in 74 or something like that and was impressed with them then. After meeting Barry and seeing the album they came out with and the history with the other bands, Receiver and Catwalk, and listening to that music as well, I just felt honored. It was a perfect time in my life to get involved with a band that already has some things set. Every other band Ive been in, Ive been pretty much the go-getter. The other good thing was when they approached me they were already involved with Shelter From the Storm records, which is their company in a way. Barnum goes on, Also Barry Fasman to me is an extremely talented man and I respect his talents very much. Hes got unbelievable credits. Its just an honor to play with some musicians whose lives arent all about getting stoned and partying all the time. Barnums previous band was the Victorville-based Fear of Change. It was another situation where I was doing all the recording and everything, states Barnum. It gets tiring having to work full-time on top of all that and having to deal with my mothers failing health. She finally passed away so that left a lot of time open because helping her and taking care of her was my main thing, my main reason for staying in California and staying in this area where she was living. I ask Barnum why he thinks Bluebeard is important today. Because we have an extreme, unbelievable amount of energy, Barnum responds. When we get together and play its so amazingly electric. For me, it brings my whole life to a peak. Its wonderful because we all feel the same way and enjoy it the same way. We travel great distances once a week just to get together and play. He adds another thought, Because anybody who likes classic rock along the lines of Jethro Tull and all this type of music, especially now with our new singer and the edge that I throw into the music that Bluebeard was playing. I give it a lot of flavor that I used to give to the music when I was playing with Barry Leech because it was just a four piece band and Bluebeards always been a large production with six members. So it was a lot more basic when I was playing with Barry and I have a different style than either Vince Bitetti or Vince Penny and I couldnt believe that I would even have a chance to fit in with the band. Penny was a wonderful guitar player. It just seems almost like destiny that I was able to fill his shoes and fit in with these guys and play the music, especially since we have the same leading man in in spirit in all of our hearts. Barnum is looking forward to a good future with Bluebeard. I ask him what hes hoping for the group. I hope a lot. I really hope a lot because with the singer also, Lee Gordon, hes an extremely talented guy as well and his style of vocals is, Barnum laughs, I guess to compare with anybody, his style I guess you could only compare with David Lee Roth. He loves to get those high off-the-wall screams in the right places and intensity. He really has a lot of emphasis with his voice, he puts an extreme amount of feeling into the lyrics and the presentation and that just drives all of us that much more. We totally feed off each other that way. I think we really present an exciting show. Barnum has some good words for Bluebeard fans too. I can guarantee if they like classic rock and they come to one of our shows, they will not walk away disappointed. Barnum goes on, One other thing, even though the majority of what weve been doing up to now has centered around the existing Bluebeard music that was written, were now, especially with Lee and myself, in the process of coming up with new songs, completely new material. It extends to a little more updated sound, but not so much the classic sound, maybe more a 90s deal, but its extremely energetic and driving and Im excited to see where it goes from here.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 23:41:29 +0000
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