RADAR
Out of New York City comes RADAR, the
latest new Female Fronted AOR sensation to attack the world.
Their debut CD 'RPM' is an amazing disc, completely in the style
of the classic 80s female fronted AOR of acts like WITNESS, VXN,
TANTRUM, HEART... I had an interview with the band, let's see
what they have to say...
Gabor: Please tell
us about RADAR and its members?
Debbie: I taught myself guitar when I was seventeen years old. My
first band was an all-girl band called Cheap Perfume. We were
playing in NYC clubs like Max's Kansas City & CBGB's fighting
for the #1 spot with The Go-Go's. Then I did a production deal
with Kingdom Studios in NY, wrote some songs with Joe James and
put an ad in a local music paper looking for a vocalist and a
drummer.
Steve: And I answered the ad. Before that, I was playing drums
since I was nine, went through many years of classical lessons,
concert band, jazz band, school plays and orchestra during my
high school years and started
jamming with Russ when I was twelve, in fact, I always better
than the drummers he brought over our house. I played in a few
cover bands as a teenager until I met Debbie.
Russ: I used to sneak into the high school auditorium and play
the 9 foot grand piano there. Later I bought an old PAIA synth
from a buddy who built it and could not get it in tune. I got it
working, and actually used it on gigs (laughs.) In college I took
composition and electronic music. I remember going to Radar's
gigs before joining the band and thinking "they NEED
me" ...and here I am. (smiles)
Gabor: Can you tell
us everything about your debut CD and it's songs?
Russ: Most of the songs were recorded and mixed in our studio,
Elmo's Dungeon Studios. We are very fortunate to have access to
some great mics, which makes all the difference in the world when
you're capturing a voice like Pam's.
Steve: It's funny, we recorded those songs in different
environments, and we even had a half dozen vocalists before Pam.
But we always had chemistry working for us, and we felt that is
what made us better than just about
every band we played clubs with.
My favorite songs are Mirror, Mirror and Looking for Love. We
always end our set with that song and the crowds love it.
Gabor: I heard
about a connection with VALENTINE, HUGO, can you tell me all
about it?
Steve: Craig, the keyboardist in Valentine, was the original
keyboardist in Radar. When he got into Valentine, he was always
borrowing Russell's gear, calling him to ask him advice, stealing
his patches, and so forth. They heard our demo and thought Russ
could do it for them too. So, the demo that got Valentine their
original record deal was recorded by Russ in my mom's house!
Russ: Working with Valentine was a real pleasure, and I have many
fond memories of working late into the light with the guys,
laughing our asses off!! They are really great, and had chemistry
and camaraderie. I ended up
doing nine songs with them, and about half of those songs made it
to the album. Craig combined my keyboard rig with his own for the
album, and I did a little sequencing for them also. Working with
Neil Kernon was a blast.
You can tell Neil loves what he does... born to make albums, that
Kernon lad.
Gabor: And one of
your songs was also recorded by DONNA CHRISTY, what was your
connection with her?
Deb: Donna Christy was recording at Kingdom Studios and was
connected to the same producer Bill (I forgot his last name) that
I was. When me and Joe finished recording Rockin' they heard it
and asked if they could do it for
Donna's LP and of course we said yes. Unfortunately that was the
last I heard of it.
Gabor: Can you tell
me everything about the time Pam was with QUEENSRYCHE?
Steve: This is a great story. We are all huge Queensr˙che fans.
When Operation Mindcrime came out, I was listening to the CD with
Debbie and when "Suite Sister Mary" came on, I
immediately noticed another singer on
the track, which was Pamela. I joked to Debbie that she would be
great for us - Debbie said, "Well let's track her
down"! That's Deb to a "T" - she's got a can-do
attitude that never quits. So, we tried everything. We sent a
tape to Queensr˙che's A&R rep at EMI who told us Pam hated
the tape. We called Q-Prime and they said they didn't know how to
find her. After trying every which way, we gave up, until one
year we were at the NAMM show in L.A. - we were at Pizza Hut with
a guy named Glen Huttenlocker... he used to make guitar cabinets
for Queensr˙che... well, we told him the story and he laughed
and said "Pamela? You mean the singer who works at Seattle
Music"? Well, our mouths dropped. We tracked her down, she
loved the tape and the rest is history. In fact Debbie &
Scott flew out to Seattle to meet her and work with her in the
studio on our demos. After she sang "In Your Eyes",
everyone in the room was so moved my the passion and emotion of
her vocals that there wasn't a dry eye in the place.
Gabor: Your music
is very 80s based Melodic Rock, which bands inspired you?
Steve: Def Leppard, Queensr˙che, Dokken - bands like that.
Debbie : Guitar-wise: Michael Schenker, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff
Beck. Song wise: "Mutt" Lange, Desmond Child, Van
Halen, Def Lep, Queensr˙che.
Russ: For me it was Deep Purple - Jon Lord is one of my favorite
players, he's got amazing chops and attitude. Jan Hammer is
another one of my very favorites. I also thrived on Zeppelin,
ELP, and later Queensr˙che. Rammstein is pretty cool. They use
analog-sounding keyboards in a very modern, yet human way. I'm
also fond of the early 70's style of pop music - Hamilton, Joe
Frank & Reynolds, Steam, The Blues Image. Those amazing
three-minute songs with hooks that lock into your brain
immediately and are never forgotten.
Gabor: Do you think
your kind of music (80s AOR/Melodic rock) will ever come back and
become as popular as it was in The States back in the 80s?
Steve: Well, that's a tough question. Music is more about a
"sound bite" than anything else right now. The
perception of the 80's "hair" bands is that they all
couldn't play their instruments and no one wants to admit
they liked the music or dressed like any of them, which is a
crock of shit. Yet, some of the biggest selling albums of all
times came from that genre... Bon Jovi & Def Leppard to name
two.
Russ: Among the people who still enjoy good rock with a hook,
it's as popular as ever. Many people can't stand the crap that's
being rammed down everyone's throat lately. They love 80's style
music and we're happy to oblige. We also are very grateful to
John Kivel of Kivel records for his support and dedication to
melodic rock.
Deb: I thought it already was back! Gosh all the reunions, new
Def Lep CD, David Lee Roth back in Van Halen, you tell me!
Russ: To a certain extent, "big 80s" style rock fell
into disfavor because production costs went out of control. After
labels figured out they could sell platinum albums recorded with
little more than a TR-808 and an SM-57,
what do you suppose happened to 32-track digital harmonies? I
also believe the music industry has evolved into more of a
fashion industry than an artistic industry, sadly. By this I mean
they're always peddling something different for the sake of being
different, fabricating some buzz, pushing some lame act that
you're expected to like so you'll be in style. I suppose the
record industry has always been this way, but lately they've
gotten pretty obvious about it.
Gabor: Did you know
your kind of music is becoming very popular in some parts of
Europe at the moment? And have you been in touch with and/or are
you aware of European labels that are completely based on AOR and
Melodic Rock?
Steve: We are now! It is really nice to hear that people will be
enjoying our music, it really is. We always thought we wrote good
songs... meaning that we were so tough on ourselves when writing,
that we wouldn't play anything that wasn't as good as what we
were already doing. We could have written 20 songs a month like
most bands, but most of those songs sucked. We didn't want to be
like that. Also - back in the 80s, no one wanted a AOR band with
a female singer... now, look at the Grammy winners and see how
many females are getting their due. We're now a part of that.
Russ: I'm glad at least one continent still has good taste!
(everyone laughs.) Seriously, we have John Kivel to thank for
believing in us and getting us in touch with the European music
scene.
Gabor: What are the
plans for the next coming months? Have you written any new songs?
Steve: We have a
few trick up our sleeves! There's a new song called
"Lies" that I have always liked that we're finishing
and yea, we have other new songs for the world!
Russ: We do a killer live cover of Radar Love which we're going
to record, and we've got plenty of good hooks in the works...
stay tuned.
Deb: My style of writing will never change. I have lots of
rehearsal tapes and have started on three new songs taken from
some of our jams.
Gabor: Thanks for
the interview and good luck in the future!
Steve: No - Thank YOU for the kinds words and the opportunity to
share our music with others!
Russ: Thanks Gabor.