Exclusive: Riot Survives Through The Storm
By
Larry Petro,
News Monkey
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 @ 7:00 AM
| Riot Vocalist Mike DiMeo On Ge
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“Swords and tequila carry me through the night...” “Swords & Tequila,” from Fire Down Under, 1981.
It took more than just swords and tequila to get the band Riot through the nights over the years, but there were probably ample occasions to be driven to drinking and they certainly had to slash their way through the different musical styles that have come and gone since the band’s inception.
Formed in 1976 by guitarist Mark Reale, the band immediately sought to establish themselves as a rock act with a hard edge and catchy riffs. Joined by Guy Speranza (vocals), L.A. Kouvaris (guitar), Peter Bitelli (drums) and Jimmy Iommi (bass), the band released their first album, Rock City in 1978. The band caught the attention of Capitol Records, who signed the band and released their second opus, Narita in 1979, but not before replacing Kouvaris on guitar with Rick Ventura. The band changed labels again, signing with Elektra Records and in 1981 released quite possibility the band’s most definitive album, Fire Down Under, which contained the above mentioned song “Swords & Tequila,” which by itself probably turned more fans on to this band than any other in their entire catalog. This recording again was preceded by member changes, this time adding Kip Leming on bass and Sandy Slavin on drums.
The following year Rhett Forrester joined the band as vocalist and this lineup stayed with them through the next two studio albums, Restless Breed (1982) and Born in America (1984). However, following this last release, the band disbanded due to problems with the record company and the band’s management. The band reformed in 1988, again changing lineups. Rhett was gone, replaced by Tony Moore, the second guitarist was also gone, and the band obtained Bobby Jarzombek on drums and Don Vanstavern on bass. Thunder Steel (1988) was released with this lineup before adding second guitarist Mike Flyntz for 1990’s Privilege of Power. The ever-revolving door of band members continued with the addition of vocalist Mike DiMeo in 1992 and bassist Pete Perez. After releasing another live album and greatest hits collection, the new lineup recorded Nightbreaker (1994), but not before tragedy would indirectly strike the band.
In January of ’94 vocalist Rhett Forrester was shot and killed while sitting in his car in a suburban Atlanta intersection. The band forged on, releasing five more albums between 1996 and 1999. This particular lineup would prove to be the most long-lived of all of Riot’s incarnations. But alas, as though jinxed in some way, the band lost drummer Bobby Jarzombek in 1999-2000 to the band Halford, namesake of founder and ex-Judas Priest throat Rob Halford. The vacancy was short-lived as the band found drummer Bobby Rondinelli of Blue Oyster Cult fame to fill the slot, which brings us to 2002 and the release of the band’s 17th total album, Through the Storm, which sees the return of Riot to the classic melodic sound that fans had been used to hearing from the band, and somewhat of a departure from the past couple of albums that had Riot sounding more like a thrash/power metal band than the straight ahead hard rock band they initially sought out to be.
I had the opportunity recently to chat with now long-time vocalist Mike DiMeo on what’s up with Riot these days, his time with the band, and what might transpire in the future for this American rock outfit.
KNAC.COM: Riot’s one of those great underrated bands that seems to have been around for ages, over twenty years in fact, and has released a plethora of great music. What’s going on with Riot in 2002?
MIKE: Well, let’s see, we have a new record out, we lost our drummer in 2001, Bobby Jarzombek, he went to play with Halford and we got Bobby Rondinelli on board who I consider probably one of the greatest hard rock drummers of all time. We have a new record out and it’s a little bit of a change for us, it’s not as heavy as maybe Sons of Society and maybe it isn’t as fast -- you know some people listen to Jarzombek and he’s an extremely intense drummer and his style lends itself to more of a thrash, power metal kind of style -- and I think we got labeled kind of awfully because of that. You know Jarzombek is an amazing drummer and I think that on this record it’s a little bit of a departure because Rondinelli is just a straight ahead rock, hard rock, drummer and I think that it made this record. You know, we’ve been getting some pretty good feedback and it’s pretty cool.
KNAC.COM: Speaking of the new album, given the trials and tribulations that the band has endured over the years, the title Through the Storm seems to typify where the band’s been and where it is now.
MIKE: Exactly. It’s funny that you point that out because pretty much everyone has been saying that to me, and I think that it applies pretty nicely with what we’ve been going through, especially in the last couple years. Last year for all intents and purposes I was out of the band -- it wasn’t gonna happen -- but we sort of rectified the situation and we came together and we had gotten an offer to do a Dio tour in the states, and at the last minute our management said ‘no’ and I strongly disagree with that.
KNAC.COM: Well, what was the reason for that?
MIKE: Well, you know, their opinion was that we weren’t getting enough support from our label, and for all intents and purposes I thought we should have done it.
KNAC.COM: Now if other bands had had to deal with all of the issues that Riot has with the multiple member changes, the label changes, changes in the music trends as a whole, most would not have been able to survive that. How has Riot managed to stay focused and emerge from it all?
MIKE: Throughout it’s history Riot has produced some great music. It pretty much comes down to that. If you listen to the stuff over the years, I think it’s really, really quality stuff, I don’t think it’s junk, it’s not garbage, and I’m talking as a listener now. It’s stuff for people that are into hard music. They really dig our stuff.
KNAC.COM: I personally think that Through the Storm is a really great piece of music, it’s well written and really true to the classic Riot melodic sound. In today’s world with new bands popping up all the time and jumping on the bandwagon with the latest fads, Riot has stayed true to its original form for the most part. Has this always been a conscious effort by the band?
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"Throughout it’s history, Riot has produced some great music... I think it’s really, really quality stuff... It’s stuff for people that are into hard music."
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MIKE: Let me tell you something, there’s a lot of jumping on the bandwagon. Since I joined, the bandwagons have come and gone. When I joined this band, the flannel shirt, Eddie Vedder and all that stuff was just happening and it would have been easy for us to try something like that, and then with Nirvana and all that stuff and the several phases since then from Kid Rock to Godsmack. It’s all good stuff, but throughout all of that we’ve been doing exactly what we’ve been doing. Sticking to your guns is tough sometimes.
KNAC.COM: In addition to the great original tunes on the new album you guys did covers of UFO’s “Only You Can Rock Me” and an instrumental version of the Beatle’s hit “Here Comes the Sun.” Whose idea was it to do these tunes and why did “Here Comes the Sun” remain instrumental?
MIKE: Well, first off, “Here Comes the Sun”… Mark decided to do after George Harrison passed away, that was sort of his own personal tribute. That was the reason why Mark picked up a guitar, and it had a huge influence on his life. I just sort of think that he personally felt like he owed some sort of debt of gratitude and that was his repaying. And UFO, well it wasn’t hard to come up with one of their songs, with so many to choose from.
KNAC.COM: Now a lot of bands, as I mentioned, that endure numerous member changes usually end up in a situation where the core original member or members do the bulk of the songwriting. How much have you been able to contribute to the process since joining the band in 1992?
MIKE: Well, I write all of the words and the melodies. On this record it was pretty much all of the words and melodies. On a couple of albums like The Brethren of the Long House, I contributed a song called “Santa Maria.” As far as on the other end, Mark pretty much covers the music and I cover the vocals and melodies, words. It’s pretty easy for me because his style allows me to write lyrics easily.
KNAC.COM: Now, being in the band in 1992, you were a part of the band when original vocalist Rhett Forrester was killed. Did you know Rhett and how did his death affect the band?
MIKE: I didn’t know Rhett but, you know it’s funny that you ask that… I remember the night that we were in Green Street studios in Manhattan when someone called up the studios from Texas to tell Mark that Rhett had just been shot and killed. He was shot in Georgia, I believe.
KNAC.COM: Yeah, it was just outside Atlanta.
MIKE: Yeah, and I think that Mark was kind of upset. I think that Mark knew this guy was headed for trouble, I think he had some personal problems. I personally didn’t know the guy so I can’t comment about that.
KNAC.COM: Did that seem to give Mark or any of the other members more resolve to continue on with the band?
MIKE: Yeah, but think that band is resolved to continue on anyway, regardless of what sort of things happen.
KNAC.COM: Your vocal sound has been compared to Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner, among others. Who influenced you the most vocally when you were growing up?
MIKE: When I was a kid my main influence was Stevie Wonder. Maybe that comes from, I think, Glenn Hughes worshipped Stevie Wonder. I think that that’s where the similarity comes from. You know I grew up listening to soul and R&B and blues and stuff like Otis Clay and Otis Redding, Ray Charles even.
KNAC.COM: Dating yourself a little there, aren’t ya?
MIKE: Yeah, absolutely, but you know I think the real roots of rock are in the blues. And as I started to get into hard rock, I really started to focus in on the blues and the early guys like David Coverdale and those types of guys, I was just really into them when I was younger, and still am.
KNAC.COM: Does the band approach writing material to suit your singing style, or do you just write the songs and then let your vocals take them to a whole new level?
MIKE: On this record, the music was completely done when I got cassettes and I just wrote around those songs. Mark knows my range and he knows what would sound good with my voice.
KNAC.COM: The very first Riot album I ever had, and probably everyone else’s as well, was Fire Down Under and you know, when I listened to the new album for the first time I thought the years had changed little at all as far as the band’s sound goes. A lot of the new songs could have been on Fire Down Under.
MIKE: It’s true, I couldn’t agree with you more. That’s one of the things I’ve been getting back to, though, because I think that it’s so important for a band to be consistent, if you put out quality stuff throughout your years it’s ultimately gonna pay off. Fire Down Under was a great record and you know, hopefully this new record is right up there with it. I think that we try to make a conscious effort to be soul oriented.
KNAC.COM: The new album has been out for a month or so now. Any ideas how it’s doing?
MIKE: To be honest with you, I’m not really sure, but that’s the next question I have for Metal Blade. I think it’s doing pretty good and I’m getting a lot of feedback and I’m starting to hear people playing it on the radio and I know a couple people that bought it, so I think it’s doing alright. I’m gonna find it out.
KNAC.COM: Does it ever frustrate you that, being an American band, you’ve never really garnered the following or enjoyed the success that you have overseas?
MIKE: For sure. Absolutely. It’s really tough, man, because we go to Japan and Europe all the time and we come home and it’s like, you know, almost nonexistent. We could be driving down the road in Greece and hear one of our songs come on. I live in New York and I never-- well, a couple times, but you know, it’s very rare that I’ll hear one of my own songs on the radio here.
KNAC.COM: Do you think that not being mega-successful then has allowed the band to be more comfortable in writing material, say, as opposed to what some corporate label types would have you write?
MIKE: You know what, I don’t know about that, because I think that sometimes we tend to worry a lot because a lot of people overseas know us as a power metal band I think that sometimes we try too hard. We were in Greece and in Italy and we want to keep those kids into the band, and yet we’re essentially a hard rock band and we want to sort of go in that direction more, but we’re sort of afraid to lose the following we have there. So, it’s kind of a catch-22, you don’t want to lose the fans you do have but you do want to gain new ones.
KNAC.COM: But then of course, if you were mega-successful like some of these other bands like Creed and Godsmack, for example, that have gotten successful fairly quickly, there’s pressure there to release an album at least as good as the last one, if not better, whereas in Riot’s situation you really don’t have that pressure.
MIKE: One thing for sure, we don’t have that record company pressure as far as what to release. I think that we sort of know what fans expect of us. It’s like, I don’t know if they’re going to be around in twenty years.
KNAC.COM: Exactly. When people think of bands that have been around for twenty years they think of KISS, Aerosmith and some of these other bands and here’s Riot right in there with them.
MIKE: Right.
KNAC.COM: Does it ever bother you at all that the band is probably best remembered for “Swords and Tequila,” when there are really so many other great Riot songs?
MIKE: No, it really doesn’t bother me at all, I love the song! I love playing it live, too, ‘cause the kids go fucking nuts.
KNAC.COM: When was the last time Riot toured the States, and are there any plans to tour with Through the Storm -- I know you mentioned the Dio thing that was called off at the last minute…
MIKE: Well, I’ve never done a full tour in the States with Riot.
KNAC.COM: So you guys are about due now?
MIKE: Oh, yeah. We’re looking for tours right now.
KNAC.COM: So what’s your take on all of these ‘80s style bands that are still out there today, some of which are trying to make a comeback?
MIKE: I would never take anything away from any of them; I think that if they’re playing rock-n-roll, it’s all good. I was never really into that glam type stuff.
KNAC.COM: Any final thoughts?
MIKE: I just want to say thanks to all the fans. We hope they’re really happy with this record and they show us, write to us and stuff. I think it’s really cool when people help us out, people like yourself, who show interest in the band and show interest in the music even more important.
KNAC.COM: Absolutely. There’s a lot of bands out there, a lot of them that were never really hugely successful, but yet they’re still out there and I try to give them all the support and exposure I can. Mike, I certainly appreciate your time. Have you checked out KNAC.COM yet?
MIKE: You know what, I have, and I’m gonna check it out again tonight!
KNAC.COM: Best of luck to everybody and we hope to see you all here in Houston and elsewhere real soon.
MIKE: Thank you very much for your support, man, I really appreciate your time as well.
KNAC.COM: My pleasure, Mike! Take care now.
MIKE: Later, dude!
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