Chelle: Where were you born/raised?

L.O.C.: I was born in Niagara Falls, Ny....moved to Cali when I was 11.

Chelle: What is your earliest memory?

L.O.C.: Getting stuffed into a dryer by my brother and sister.....(but I'm F-F-F-ine n-n-now.....)

Chelle: When did you first get into music?

L.O.C.: Listening to my mom play in a gospel trio, and stealing my brother's KI$$ and Aerosmith records....so I've been into it all my life.....didn't start my first 'band' till I was in my 20's though.

Chelle: Who were/are your musical influences?

L.O.C.: Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Zep, KI$$, Black Crowes....Beatles, too....Stones.....As a frontman, two people I really admire are DLR (overall), and Paul Rodgers (hell of a voice, great delivery) As a drummer, a couple of people I really dig are Bill Ward of Black Sabbath (who is fucking GOD), and Nicko McBrain from (Iron Maiden).....Anyone that says you need a double-kick to play hard rock drums......listen to either of those guys and get back to me in a year, ok??? I'll take early Sabbath or ANY Bruce-era Maiden over Dream Theater ANYday. Remember, all you shredders: "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD...."

Chelle: Were there any instruments you took up as a child that you no longer play?

L.O.C.: Yeah, a year of Violin, and a year of trumpet.....and I can't play a single note of EITHER, thank god!!!! ...and I ain't taking up no friggin' TUBA either!!!

Chelle: What instruments do you play now?

L.O.C.: I sing lead and I also play the drums.

Chelle: What was the first concert you ever attended? How old were you?

L.O.C.: I was like 8 or 9 and my mom took me to see The Manhattan Transfer, at a place called Melody Faire in Niagara Falls. I remember it had a revolving stage, and after the show, I made a point of running down so I could touch the stage.....I know that sounds weird, but at the time it made PERFECT sense!

Chelle: When did you first get into Van Halen?

L.O.C.: My first memory of listening to VH was after VHI came out...it was winter in 'The Falls'. My older brother's friend was taking us to the mall. We were waiting for the car to warm up.....it was a green Chevy Nova, with a rust-hole under the passenger floormat that went all the way through. Waiting for the windows to defrost, the heater on....and the new 6x9 speakers CRANKED!!! I remember the song RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL coming on the radio.... the car horn noise..that bass thump....what the fuck was THIS?????? This wasn't Ted Nugent.......Who IS this??? Van Who??? FUCK......that was ALL it took, daddy-o...I was HOOKED!!! That album (big, black piece of vinyl that you listened to music on...) got played EVERY where you went that whole year!!! Every skate rink, every pizza joint, every ...EVERYWHERE, you dig?? Soundtrack to a life, that music is....

Chelle: Do you think DLR and VH should reunite? Or do you think Dave is happier on his own?

L.O.C.: I ABSOLUTELY think the guys in Van Halen should do at least one show for broadcast......one huge fucking show....and maybe a few years of touring and an album or ten to go with it! If they never do, I don't mind, I can (and DO) still see the DLR band, who kicks much ass....but lets face it.....Me Wise Magic and Can't Get This Stuff No More are better than ANYTHING that band has done, post-84, and they STILL give me chills when I hear them. This is almost a DECADE after they were recorded!!!! It ain't about perfection, it's MAGIC. It ain't tangible, but it is VERY real, and EVH/DLR are FOREVER linked..........they absolutely bring the BEST out in each other. Dave should have NEVER FUCKING QUIT! Those dudes in Van Halen have never let him live it down, and obviously never forgiven him. Just my opinion. They are the Jagger/Richards of their time.....

Chelle: How many bands have you been in? How many are you in now?

L.O.C.: Quite a few...including drumming for a year and a half in a Jimi Hendrix tribute called The Purple Haze Experience......which I quit to take up the mic and start my OWN damm band, which I named after an old Van Halen song-LOSS OF CONTROL! (www.lossofcontrol.net). That was 3 years ago, and we are booked for at LEAST the next year! Repeat Business Speaks For Itself.....I also play drums for the L.A. area instrumentalist Ronny North (www.ronnynorth.com). This guy is someone to watch. I feel like his time is almost at hand, people. The first time I heard him play, I got goose bumps. The first time I saw him live, I made up my mind right then and there that I WOULD play drums with that dude. Took me two weeks to convince him, and I have been his drummer ever since. If you are a fan of players like Satriani, Vai, or Hoey ......see us one time, and you'll be hooked!

Chelle: What do you see yourself doing musically in 10 years?

L.O.C.: Still gigging.....I don't really care how...but hopefully I will be making enough $$ from music to support my family, and do it for a living. I don't have any delusions of fame or anything, but even if you sell songs for publishing...play casinos.......whatEVER....I'll take it. If not, I'll still be gigging in a cover band somewhere. The worst day playing music is better than any other job I can think of, aside from maybe being a pimp.....which is kind of the same, when you think about it, eh??

Chelle: What's the funniest/strangest thing that has happened at a gig?

L.O.C.: HMMMM........well, without the presence of a lawyer........I can tell you about the time I got my nipples pierced, onstage, at a gig........a place called The Firehouse in Oceanside, Ca. (no longer exists) My band at the time (FOUR86) was sponsored by Tracy's Body Piercing. I got them to give us a couple hundred bucks, in return for them being on all our flyers for 3 months. We took all the money and spent it on a gig at The Roxy Theater....our first time playing Hollywood! So, I convinced Tracy, the owner, that it would be good publicity for both her and my band to do this stunt at a local gig....she agreed, and did it for free! We hyped it up for weeks, and it went great! My guitarist played the Star Spangled Banner while it happened.....I was sitting on the edge of the stage with her standing in front of me, while the audience kept (at my urging) buying and bringing me drinks to help me get through it in fine, rock & roll form! That same club had fire-breathing bartenders (hence the name of the joint) and once saw us do a show with our own cage dancer!!!! Other stuff happened, too....but I ain't telling without legal counsel.......

Chelle: What is your biggest pet peeve?

L.O.C.: Negative, sour people. Life is too short...fucking lighten UP, people!! When I see someone at the mall, on a nice day, with a shitty look on their face, like the world is annoying them...I want to walk up to them out of the blue and SHAKE THE $@#% out of them, and tell them to SMILE, DAMMIT!!! (I admit that probably wouldn't help THEIR mood, but I know I would feel MUCH better!!!

Chelle: What do you like to do in your spare time?

L.O.C.: Play with my son, and sit on the computer.

Chelle: I hear you got to go to NAMM this year, what can you tell us about that?

L.O.C.: This was my second year in attendance, this year's NAMM convention was outstanding!

First and foremost, I talked to a number of Brazillian music manufacturers about trying some of their gear.  I am very interested in the Brazilian culture, especially as it relates to music.  They are very percussion oriented, and being a drummer I can certainly relate to that.  I will be trying out LUEN drumheads, and if they get my stamp of approval, then I will personally see to it that they become widely available in SoCal.  I've also got my eyes on RMV drums.  Made from Bapeva wood, which only grows in the humid Amazon climate, these drums are one-of-a-kind, and I am definitely interested in getting some.  After all, who knows drums better than the country that brought us Samba Schools??

On the way out of the convention on Friday, as everybody was dragging their feet from exhaustion......REMO was holding court in the parking lot, with hundreds of percussion instruments laid out on chairs.... Have a seat, rest your tired feet, we're having a drum circle!!!!!!!  Led by three amazing people, they had hundreds of people, musicians and non-musicians alike, pounding out rhythms together and sharing one hell of an experience.  I'll never forget it.

This trip was a mix of business and pleasure for me.  On the latter side of things, I was there to see one of my absolute favorite drummers.....Mr Ray Luzier, who performed with current DLR guitarist Toshi Hiketa and former DLR bassist Billy Sheehan, in a concert for Sabian Cymbals.  This show was the highlight of my two day visit, I have to say!
  The first act was a band led by drummer Billy Cobham.  What a treat that was!  I had never seen this legend, and was in school the entire time he played!  His style is so incredible, and he makes it look so damm easy that it drives me insane!

Next up was a band featuring the drummer for the Average White Band, Steve Ferrone, a killer horn section, and the guitarist/bassist from Stone Temple Pilots, Robert and Dean DeLeo!  To see them in this kind of setting really underscored the musicianship, and closeness of these two musical brothers.  One hell of a team.  They did some STP numbers, as well as some jazzier stuff, and it was great.

Last but not least......Luzier, Hiketa & Sheehan.  THIS is what I came to see.  I am a HUGE DLR fan from way back.....and loved the Hideous Sun Demons stuff as well.  They did NOT disappoint!  Right out of the gate BAM!.....they rip into Shyboy, a Talas tune that Sheehan brought with him onto the great Eat 'Em & Smile album from David Lee Roth.  The sound and Fury kept up for the duration, playing H.S.D. stuff, and stuff from Billy Sheehan's solo efforts, the most recent of which features Ray on the drumtracks.  Just a hell of a gig.....and it was good to see Toshi Hiketa unleashed!  I've seen some DLR guitarist's that did the EVH stuff well, but when it came to the Vai stuff, they fell short of the mark......not Toshi!  He stood toe-to-toe with the incredible Mr Sheehan, and MORE than held his own!
They ended the night by inviting a local club singer up and doing the best version of Deep Purple's "Burn" that I have ever heard.  Ray Luzier is one of the best drummers I have ever seen, and it's a fucking workout just WATCHING him. 

Other highlights of the convention included meeting the one-and-only Michael Anthony from Van Halen!!!  Always a man of the people, very nice guy......I told him I named my band after one of his old songs (Loss Of Control), and gave him a CD.  I told him it was all their fault that I even am IN a band.............he apologized with a laugh!!!  Saw Vinnie Paul (Dimebag Darrell's brother), shook his hand and said what I am sure he heard a lot that day...."We're with ya, bro".  Zakk Wylde and Jerry Cantrell stopped by while Damageplan was signing, picked up some Sharpie markers, and got into it with their friends in the band and the fans for a bit. Zakk is definitely a man of the people as well.  Very cool.  Saw Nicko McBrian from Iron Maiden, who was a big influence on me as a drummer.

All in all,  I had a KILLER time at this year's NAMM convention, and I can't wait for next year.  It's my goal to be performing at the next one!!! Let's see if I make it happen!

Chelle: What would people be most surprised to know about you?

L.O.C.: I am a really good cook........not to brag, but I RULE my kitchen. I even got my former drummer started cooking, now he is an Emeril disciple.....BAM!

Chelle: Anything else you'd like to mention that I haven't asked about?

L.O.C.: Yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to follow up the fakkin Hamster!! He's a tough act to follow. He fakkin RUUUUULES!!!!!!

GO TO MORE SHOWS NEXT YEAR, PEOPLE!!! It's time to have fun again!

One last thought:

Life is short, live it like you know that.

Thanks, see you at my next gig (or DLR show)!!!