Interview with Bassist Rik Fox (Steeler, W.A.S.P., Sin)
By Mick Michaels
COSMIC
VIEW: Hello Rik!
Welcome to The Cosmic View. Thank you for taking some time out of your
day to chat with me, It’s greatly appreciated.
Rik Fox: The honor, pleasure and privilege is all mine,
thank you for having me. My answers are probably going to be as long as some of
your questions (laughs), so please bear with me, it’s difficult to encapsulate
some of this.
CV: 1975 saw your official induction into
the music industry with your debut performance on Halloween night in New York
City at the legendary club Max‘s Kansas City. What was going through
your head as you hit the stage for that very first time?
RF: Right,
as I’ve said on so many occasions, that was my introduction to and first step
and fall down into the rabbit hole. I never looked back since, except when
trying to remember the details (laughs). I’ll have to pre-amble this answer a
little to give it context. While still in high school, in 1972, I was a member
of the photo club and had access to all the film and developing accessories I
could get my hands on, so I was sneaking into a club in Queens (NY), called The Coventry and as a budding
photographer I was shooting lots of the early NYC glam bands like The Brats, The Harlot’s of 42nd Street, Spike, etc. I was rubbing shoulders with The New York Dolls and many of the bands there. So it was during
that time that I began dating one of the younger sisters of a pre-KISS drummer Peter Criss, whose family lived around the corner from me, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Peter gave me my
first English “shag” rock n’ roll
haircut and was sort of like a big brother that I never had…he was married to Lydia Criss back then, and he put an
ad in the NYC papers looking for a gig. He eventually met and began working
with both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, this was before Ace Frehley was in the band. And I and
some friends used to go watch them rehearse in their loft in NYC. Eventually Ace joined and we would continue to
watch them rehearse from the very beginning…then they became KISS. I got to see most of their early
first shows, and I shot a lot of photos of them at their early shows and the
infamous Fillmore East promotional Press show. This is all in the NY Times
Bestseller book by author Ken Sharp,
“Nothing to Lose; The Making of KISS
1972-1975.” Jumping ahead now to summer of 1975 a year after I graduated from high school, while working in Manhattan, I was introduced to the band
CV: A lot has been said and written about the electrifying energy of the NY music scene of the 70’s. So many bands were pounding the pavements to be the next big thing…you were there, in the thick of it all. What was it like from your viewpoint? Did you know then that something special was happening?
RF: Oh
yes, absolutely. It was very exciting. I had never seen anything like this
before. Just a few years before this I was a photographer in high school,
sneaking into the clubs watching these influential bands pounding the boards,
and just a couple of years later, I was playing the very same legendary stages
as my early influences were! And I was now among them and being recognized and
acknowledged by them. That’s pretty cool.
CV: During that iconic time, was the
competition fierce among the bands…was it a kill or be killed state so to
speak? Or was there a certain level of camaraderie among the bands, knowing
everyone was sort of in the same boat?
RF: Well,
like any scene where there’s performing artists, there’s going to be some
modicum of competition. However, in my opinion, this was a bit friendlier, or
so it seemed to me. I didn’t notice any specific ‘kill or be killed’ attitudes.
The viewpoint was that we were all sort of one huge extended family. At
Christmas time the owners of Max’s, Mike an Laura, would put on a free dinner
for all the bands who played there, and Peter
Crowley who was the booking agent there, was sort of the master of
ceremonies. Hilly Kristal over
at CBGB’s was equally kind to
the bands playing his club too. We “were” all in the same boat so to speak….All
starving, young, up-an-coming bands. It didn’t matter what genre you were we
were all in it together.
CV: An
all too common story unfortunately, that some bands never have their day. But
in your opinion Rik, was there a band back then that you personally felt
had what it took to go big but never seemed to get their shot?
RF: Good
question. There were SO many great bands. Even bands that later played a club
just a few doors down from CBGB’s; The
Great Gildersleeves. That was a huge and great club for up-and-coming
bands and bands who were just signed and breaking in on their first tours. When
I wasn’t performing, I worked with a lot of just-signed and almost-signed bands
doing concert lighting there; Face
Dancer, Trigger, Dina Regine, Lover, Thor, Sterling, etc. I was a regular at most
of the NYC clubs’ Trax, Privates, Copperfields, and so on, constantly networking with all the
connections I was friends with in the music business. I even bartended at The Nursery, a well-known and very hot
after-hours club, where everyone from every other club came after their clubs
closed at 4 AM. In my opinion, I think one of the bands who should have gotten
a better bigger shot was The Brats.
They were heavily influenced by a cross between Rod Stewart and the Faces and The Sweet. Great band, great, tight songs…great stage
presentation, but for whatever reason(s), they never were able to break out of
the NYC circuit.
CV: What did you see, that separated the
good bands from the great bands of that era? Was it a certain type of charisma
or a hefty amount of gall?
RF: I’d
have to say it was a little of both. You HAD to have something special,
something extra, because you were competing against so many other bands
congested into one small circuit. Now out on Long Island and in Jersey there
was a completely different scene, for cover bands, bar bands honing their craft
every night every week 4-5 sets a night. After the Martian Rock Band folded, I transferred to the Jersey circuit in
1976 with the original Virgin
who eventually became the first version of SIN in 1977. That’s where bands like Phantom’s Opera, Twisted
Sister, Rat Race Choir, Salty Dog, The Good Rats, etc, were packing the bars night after night. I was
in one of them, The E. Walker Band, playing
six nights a week from 1980 through 1981, playing everything from Joe Jackson
to Judas Priest, the Doors, Zeppelin, New Wave and Classic rock, and then we
toured in Toronto, Canada as Spitfire
doing original material we recorded, and then came back to Jersey.
CV: Let’s fast forward now from the NY and New
Jersey club circuit to 1982, and you make the move to Los Angeles. What
prompted that decision to change coastlines? Were prospects changing?
RF: Well,
actually, after I left the E. Walker
Band, I hooked up with one of the guitarists on Mike Varney’s U.S. Metal series
(Vol. IV), Davyd Ferrara and we
formed a band called Aggressor,
doing all the best Heavy Metal radio bands, like Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Van
Halen, Saxon, lots of the NWoBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal), and were
doing pretty well. That’s when I received a phone call from this guy named Blackie Lawless who was out in
California. He heard about me and got my phone number and a picture of me and
was interested in having me come to Los Angeles and audition for his band Sister. I didn’t know anything about
him except that he was also an ex-New Yorker. He sent me a demo of his material
which was pretty cool and very Heavy Metal. It reminded me a little of KISS but heavier, lots of energy.
Being in cover bands, I didn’t have a demo, so I sent him some advertising of
the bands I was in. He convinced me that it was a good opportunity to come to
Los Angeles where there was a big music scene developing in the clubs. So he
flew me out to L.A. which was an accomplishment, because he was broke at the
time and didn’t spend much money on anything. So, I guess, yes, prospects (and
fate) were changing once again.
CV: Rik, describe for us the L.A. music scene
in 1982...Did your experience any amount of culture shock being on the West
Coast? How different was it for you initially?
RF: I
guess you could say that, yes (laughs). In New York the attitude, vibe and
mentality is much different than Los Angeles.
In New York it’s very ‘tough, sarcastic, street level’. In L.A. it’s
very plastic, two-faced, back-stabbing, competitive
“crabs-in-a-barrel-mentality, (meaning, everyone climbing over each other,
pulling each other down over and over in a repeating pattern)…everyone smiling
to your face, complimenting you, but then, as soon as you turn around, they’re
talking shit about you, because you represent some sort of inferred territorial
threat, because the scene was packed with SO many bands per square capita. It
was definitely every band and man for themselves, and there was no such
thing
as loyalty; musicians changed bands as easily and as fast as you changed your
shirt. When I arrived and Blackie took me out to the clubs like The Troubadour and The Rainbow, heads turned. Maybe it
was my NY vibe, maybe what I looked like, I don’t know but I know that I didn’t
look like everyone else. I had a black motorcycle jacket and these black
leather gloves that I studded, that looked like the gloves from the film Rollerball. I’d stand at the packed
bar at the Troub and people would move away and give me space (laughs). I had
this hairstyle that looked like Punky
Meadows from Angel and at
that time he and I were the only two guys in rock that had that same look. Blackie said people were kinda scared because
New York had this tough mystique and Los Angelenos were intimidated by it
because they’d only hear stories about NY, so it sort of created a mystique for
me as well. But soon after, I began to fit right in, and everyone was curious
as to who I was and where I came from, because I literally dropped right out of
the sky onto the scene and stood out like a sore thumb (laughs). First night I
went to the clubs with Blackie, I was meeting and hanging out with David Lee Roth and the guys from Legs Diamond and I even saw Punky who was surprised to see me in L.A. Everyone was looking at
the both of us, looking like twins (laughs).
CV: Without much delay though, you found
yourself mingling amongst the scene’s most vibrant musical pulse; Hellion,
Warlord Ratt, Motley Crue and what would soon become W.A.S.P.,
teaming up with the likes of Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper.
What was it like working with them?
RF: Well,
like I said, in the previous answer, I was mingling all right (laughs). I was
hanging out with the guys in Motley
Crue, Ratt, Sarge, Kevin DuBrow, etc. The
Starwood had “just” closed right before I arrived from the east coast,
so I missed that entire legendary scene, but it lived on in the rest of the
other clubs. Now it was time to get down to work. Once again, for the record, I
arrived on February 4th, 1982. After getting over the jet lag,
Blackie brought me to the audition at Randy
Piper’s rehearsal space studio in Buena Park, Magnum Opus on February 6th. They went through their
set of about five songs; On Your Knees,
Hellion, B.A.D., Sleeping in the
Fire and School Daze.
Holy Shit! These guys sounded like THUNDER. There was definitely something
different about this band. I was about to step into my dream once again. I
listened twice and then he called me up to plug in and try out. Not only did I
pass the audition, but by February 8th, I was co-writing Master of Disaster with Blackie. We
continued rehearsing as often as Blackie could arrange a ride from Mike Solon (brother to Eddie Solon, Ace Frehley’s guitar tech
and early KISS soundman- Mike is the bartender in the W.A.S.P. video Blind in Texas). Because Blackie was
so broke, we built fog machines and stage
monitors to get a few bucks to live
and eat on. It was the first time in my life that I was forced to steal food
from the grocery store to survive; it was “that” bad. Blackie used to open his
electric meter and dial it back so he wouldn’t have to pay his DWP (electric
bill). I had a day job set up for me, transferring from another company in NYC,
but they reneged at the last minute and said there was no openings at that
time, which REALLY fucked me hard. Otherwise Blackie would have been living off
of my paycheck, making me more valuable to the band. Blackie said he wanted to
change the name of the band because there were other bands using the name Sister (White Sister, Twisted
Sister, etc.). So, It’s now March of 1982, and while I was on his phone
outside his Hollywood rental cottage, I was kicking over some leaves and
stepped on a hornet under one of the leaves. It wasn’t dead yet, but dying. It
looked like the curled-up logo from the 60’s TV show The Green Hornet. So I went in to the house and he’s watching the
ballgame on TV slumped in the chair, and I said “You said you were looking for
a new band name; I have a great name for the band.” Blackie looks up at me and says “what?” And I
said “Wasp. I just stepped on one outside, and I thought it’s a cool name.”
Blackie looks away thoughtfully, and says “That’s a great band name, keep
thinking like that.” I drew up a logo of
the curled up Wasp, and a few days later at rehearsal it’s announced that the
new band name is WASP (no
periods yet). So, technically, since all four of us, (Randy, me, Tony and
Blackie), are standing there at the birth of the new band name, that makes all
four of us original, co-founding members of the band that was now WASP. On April 12, 1982, we recorded
the first (live, 3-track) WASP demo
at Randy’s studio, and it sounded like THUNDER!
(and NO, it was NOT
called “Face the Attack“- that
was the name I had drawn on my copy of the cassette which was stolen and tape
traded all over the world)…Blackie looks at me and says he’s glad that I worked
out, and that I was the missing piece they were looking for. Three days later,
on April 15th, Blackie had booked our first (and only) photo session
with local scene photographer Don
Adkins, whose infamous photos are all over the internet, and which had
caused a firestorm of controversy, because some 30 years later Blackie has
censored and denied that I was ever in the band, despite that all the other
members have gone on record admitting that I not only was in the band, but that
I created the band’s name. I had contacted some of my friends in the record
industry and they listened to the demo and liked it, but said it had no ‘hits’
on it, and they passed. I think that bugged Blackie. I was outliving my
usefulness perhaps? After seeing the first promo photo of Mel Gibson in the
newly released film ‘The Road Warrior’,
I suggested to Blackie that as a band, we should look like
that. Ironically, he
said “No, we’ll scare away the record people.” Little did I know, he was
keeping notes on all my suggestions. Blackie was a big fan of Hitler’s Nazi
generals and said “If you’re going to lie, lie BIG--the bigger the lie, the
more outrageous it is for people to believe it.” How prophetic that would be…By
the end of May, 1982 Blackie suddenly stopped talking to me, which was awkward
because I was still staying at his place. I would occasionally bring a date
back to his place and I believe that it was beginning to annoy him, which Randy
later confirmed, saying that Blackie is extremely jealous. Out of nowhere
Blackie says “you’re out of the band--it’s not working out, and you are to
surrender all your copies of the band photos.” I was stunned, shocked. Why?
What did I do? The band sounded great, listen to how tight that demo sounded.
So by the end of May, about four months -- sixteen weeks later, I was out of
the band. Welcome to Hollywood. That’s when I was staying with various friends,
and trying out for bands. I didn’t know that many people and didn’t know who to
trust. I eventually auditioned for Warlord
and played with them for about four months until they said they weren’t going
to be a live band, I walked out. I auditioned for Ratt, and The Greg Leon Invasion,
I hosted a couple of Rock n’ Roll BBQ’s, networking with various bands, and
jammed a couple of times with Hellion and
then put an ad in The Music Connection Magazine.
That story has been so misquoted and twisted over the years by bad gossip, that
it should look like a pretzel.
CV: But as prospects do, things changes,
you move on and landed a spot as the bass player with Ron Keel in Steeler.
Tell us a little of how it came together.
RF: Well,
as I said, I put an ad in The Music Connection Magazine, and got a call from a
guy named Ron Keel, who fronted
one of THE HOTTEST L.A. bands, Steeler…and
me and my friend, KISS drummer Eric Carr, had just seen them not long
before that at the Roxy. Now my
recollection, is that Ron said
he saw my bassist available ad and it looked the most pro out of all the other
ads, and that he’d heard my name around and said that he was looking for
someone that looked like a rock star, and that’s what
everyone was saying about
me” (laughs). He invited me to the “Steeler
mansion” which was an inside joke, because it was in one of the worst
parts of Los Angeles, in a dangerous part of mid-city L.A., and was the most
roach infested place you’d ever seen; thoroughly Spartan, no modern amenities
or conveniences anywhere, three, peeling, gutted storefronts all joined
together inside. Now Steeler was
a self-contained band; equipment truck, PA, lights, amps, road crew, all the
effects. When I walked in, and was (culture) shocked, Ron said that his
then-line-up couldn’t compete with the rest of the bigger bands, so he took
what I call a HUGE leap of faith, and fired the entire band, there went ALL the
gear, and he needed something to meet or surpass the competition, and that’s
where I came in. He said that I had “the look” whatever that was, and he hands
me a demo and says “no promises; learn the songs and we’ll talk from there.” I
learned the songs and we began rehearsing together just the two of us, until
his new drummer Mark Edwards came
back into town and we rehearsed three-piece and got so tight you couldn’t slip
a piece of paper between us. That was late summer/early fall of 1982. On my
birthday, December 28, 1982, Ron had me meet him at The Rainbow Bar & Grill and we sat down and he got a drink and
said “Welcome to Steeler, you
got the gig, you’re the new bassist.” What an awesome birthday present that was. That was about the same time
that Angel keyboardist Gregg Giuffria offered me the bass
position in Angel and it was ‘what do I do now?“ And so then, Ron thought we
were ready, so, he put in a phone call to Shrapnel Records producer Mike
Varney, looking for guitar recommendations. (oddly enough, drummer Mark Edwards was good friends with
later Steeler guitarist Mitch Perry, but, for some reason,
never mentioned it to us). Mike Varney sent us a tape of a young, new, Swedish
pistolero guitarist named Yngwie
Malmsteen and we had a three-way conference call and Yngwie said he very
much wanted to come to the U.S. and join Steeler. Ron’s then-girlfriend, and Roxy/Whisky booking agent, Dee
Dee (Keel), arranged to fly Malmsteen
to America. Like me, he too, was culture shocked beyond belief once he was at
the Steeler ‘mansion’. He stood
in the doorway with his jaw on the floor.
CV: The classic Steeler line-up was
completed with the addition of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. Malmsteen has
received a multitude of criticism over the years for being difficult to work
with. Was this your experience? How was it working with the Swedish guitar
maestro?
RF: Actually,
yes, absolutely. The nice, enthusiastic guy we talked to over the phone,
disappeared somewhere during the flight over to Los Angeles. Ironically, he
arrived about the same time I did the year before in 1982, but one year later
in February of 1983. He comes down the ramp and it’s like “the Viking has
arrived man.” Total attitude… We‘re all looking at each other, like, "is this
the SAME guy?!” He was into all things paranormal, black magic, UFO’s
witchcraft, whatever was shocking, the more the better. Once we started
rehearsing, the integrity of the etiquette and manners filter between the brain
and mouth went south, and this guy was saying the most unbelievable things…like,
looking at Ron, Malmsteen says “hey man these songs are really quite BORING…can
you do something to make them more interesting man?” Mark and I look at each
other thinking did we just hear what we thought we heard? This ‘new guy’ just
insulted the boss’s songs, and Ron was PISSED. We started auditioning other
guitarists in front of Yngwie and he eventually said “OK, I’ll do it your way.”
So we get down to business and by March 11th, we were opening for Hughes/Thrall at The Country Club, debuting the new
‘classic’ line up of Steeler and
every mouth in the house dropped on the floor (laughs). The guys in Ratt are going “WHERE the FUCK did THESE guys come from?!”
(laughing). They didn’t remember me auditioning for them. And guitarist Pat Thrall is standing behind my amp
line with his jaw on the floor watching Malmsteen
rip Los Angeles a new ass. (laughing). It was pretty much the same way with
each successive gig, blowing away everyone. We played with Vandenberg, Quiet Riot and almost played with Judas Priest, but we were selling out, and headlining every other
gig we did up until May 30th of 1982, when, for reasons unknown, Ron
decided to fold the deck and start over, which, unfortunately, and not knowing
why, was my exit. I pushed on with two line-ups of my own extremely successful,
and internationally-known band SIN,
becoming almost-signed in 1984, under Jerry
Weintraub’s Beverly Hills Management
3, and putting out one KILLER album master demo that was turning heads
in the industry…when we were one of the biggest Heavy Metal bands in Los
Angeles, headlining everywhere and selling out the packed houses. I was now
freely able to flex my vision and creativity,
CV: Now in 2019, Steeler is coming
full circle. It’s definitely evident how much of an impact the band’s album has
had on the Metal community; laying the framework of what soon followed in the
years after its release. It was part of the turning point within the genre,
defining not only the L.A. scene but essentially, the 80’s Metal craze. How
does it look to you now so many years later? Were you aware then that the album
would have such long term staying power?
RF: You
know, at the time, you‘re too close to it to be objective about it. You’re
enthusiastic and you think you’re going to conquer the world, to paraphrase a
line from the film Apocalypse Now,
like “Jolly Green Giants walking the earth.” You feel like Superman and Batman
all rolled into one. But, yes, we did lay some extensive framework, and we
definitely were an active part of defining the Heavy Metal genre, no doubt
about it. At least, in my opinion, I never knew that the Steeler album would have the stamina
and non-stop going power that it did and does to this day. It was, the
largest-selling, independently released Heavy Metal record in the world, and
I’m extremely proud to be a part of that legacy. I still hear from fans who
consider the Steeler album to be
in the Top-Five-out-of-ten, of their “stranded on a desert island” albums.
THAT’S Staying Power. Steeler was
a pivotal, cornerstone of the Los Angeles rock scene. Nobody can touch that or
take that away from us. I, for one, was certainly very blessed and in the right
place at the right time. Conversely, however, and very sadly, today, there’s
still a LOT of jealous people, mostly, in my personal experience, some other
Los Angeles and Hollywood performers, (and even some ‘talent handlers’), who
seem to hang on to childish sand-box bias and grudges, and willfully choose to
keep me as a footnote, and ignore and forget about that aspect of what I
brought to the table, which is really sad and very unprofessional. I’ve always
had this abrasive, love-hate relationship with Hollywood, because I don’t
network in the circles that get high, which really narrows down my
opportunities, nor do I kiss ass and, (without being an asshole), I play the
game on my own terms and that pisses people off, but that‘s clearly their problem.
On a personal note, not to get off the subject, but, don’t be fooled,
disrespect is still alive and well in Los Angeles. There’s a nepotistic crew of
virtually unknown players (and the talent handlers), who, just because they
played with somebody else’s bigger name band, have this self-entitled, arrogant
attitude, thinking they’re some kind of famous star, but outside of L.A.,
nobody really knows who they are. They act like the whole world knows them and
it’s really sad when somebody that they don’t know walks in and would like to
participate, and the blow-off disrespect just flows everywhere. And there are
plenty of people who agree and back me on that assessment. People easily
misunderstand what Passion is all about. HOWEVER, “outside” of Los Angeles,
across our great nation and around the world, internationally, it’s a VERY
different picture and it’s the FANS who never forgot about the legacy of Steeler and their outstanding
enthusiasm has not waned one iota. And for THAT, I am eternally grateful. It’s
the FANS that are keeping us alive and with a bow of gratitude, I salute them,
they’re the GREATEST!
CV: Steeler recently made a long-overdue reunion
appearance at the Keelfest in May at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus, Ohio. What a
highlight for the event and for the fans. Rik, what led to the reunion,
and who was instrumental in making it happen?
RF: Well, Ron Keel and I have kept in touch over
the years and he began discussing the idea of a Steeler reunion going as far back as 2005 I believe, but for
whatever unknown reasons, it just remained on the back burner until the right
opportunity could present itself.
Obviously all things Steeler begin
and end with Ron. It’s always been his baby and rightfully so. Without Ron Keel there IS NO Steeler. Bottom line. I’ve toyed with
the idea of possibly getting together with another Steeler guitarist, Kurt
James and throwing something together, but, our schedules were
preventing that. There was talk of a thirty-year anniversary get-together but
that didn’t happen and there were several false starts. The dots just didn’t
connect up properly for whatever reason. Ron had asked me if I would be
interested in a reunion and I said “anytime, anywhere.” This time around, about
a year ago in 2018, Ron brainstormed with the idea of selling the KEELFEST concept, delivering several
bands spanning his career, with, naturally, Steeler being one of them. He discussed this with Columbus, Ohio
promoter Missie Tong, and once
everything was in place, Ron contacted me and said “I’m putting KEELFEST into play…are you in?”
Contracts were passed back and forth and everything was signed, sealed and
delivered, but this time, without Malmsteen
who seems to have outgrown the gratitude of being a part of the Steeler legacy with a vehement
abhorrence. This time, we were going to ace the day with one of the greatest
team-players in the business; legendary guitarist Mitch Perry who’s played almost literally with EVERYONE, from Edgar Winter, Talas, Montrose, Michael Schenker, Cher, etc., and a huge laundry list of
who’s-who, yet, one of the most humblest, down-to-earth guys you’ll ever meet.
Ron arranged everything, and, after the KEEL
rehearsal, (with Keel drummer Dwain
Miller), we entered the rehearsal room, looked around at each other, and
launched into the Steeler set,
like it was 1983 all over again, which included Heaven and Hell due to Ron’s involvement with Black Sabbath and a tribute to Ronnie James Dio’s influence on all of
us. (I’d performed twice onstage with Ronnie for two live versions of “We’re Stars” in 1987 while I was a
member of Surgical Steel). We
ran thru the set twice and Ron looked at us and said “This sounded
surprisingly better than I expected it to…See you all in Ohio boys.”
surprisingly better than I expected it to…See you all in Ohio boys.”
CV: Did you have any reservations about
signing on for the reunion? Or is it like riding a bike, where there are some
things you never forget?
RF: None
whatsoever. It was not only like riding a bike but like getting on a hot-rodded
jet-ski (laughs). Personally, I pull out the Steeler album and jam along to it just because, and I’m a much
better player now than I was back then, so I’ve updated and improved lots of
parts that I wish I could have thought of back then when we recorded the album.
I’ve played with a lot of different people and styles, and every once in a
while I’ll pull out the old Cactus, Humble
Pie, Uriah Heep and Steppenwolf albums and listen and play
along to those great bass lines of Tim
Bogart, Greg Ridley, Gary Thain and George Biondo respectively, and I keep learning something new
every time. Steeler drummer Mark Edwards taught me to LISTEN to
what the drummer is saying, and I can lock in pretty fast now with pretty much
any drummer and anticipate what he’s going to do and be there when he does
something cool, which is the sign of a good rhythm section performer. I’ve got
much more melodic runs and patterns and even Ron turned around at rehearsal and
gave me the thumbs up, he said ‘You haven’t missed a beat and it sounds even
better now.” So playing the Steeler material is like just like sliding right
back into that comfortable groove and laying it down, bottom style.
CV: Can fans expect to see something more
from Steeler down the road…maybe some new material?
RF: Who
knows? It would be great if it happens, Ron always says “never say never.” But
right now, for obvious reasons and the release of his new Ron Keel Band album Fight Like a Band (which is one
AWESOME piece of kick ass rock and roll), that’s his priority and rightfully
so. However, there might be something coming up the pike next year for KEELFEST 2020, but I can’t reveal
anything just yet, you’ll have to live with that teaser. (nudge, nudge, wink,
wink).
CV: Speaking of projects, you also did some
recording with Hair Nation vocalist Jim Crean for his new album The
London Fog. How did that come about?
RF: Thanks
for asking. Here’s what happened. You know, I think Jim reached out and
contacted me back some time in 2017 or 2018, and we talked on the phone. He’s
from Buffalo, NY and I’m from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, so immediately, we hit it
off because we have that same regional mindset and upbringing. I really didn’t
have any idea who he was because I’d never heard of him. He explained that he
has an 80’s tribute band called Hair
Nation and they support all the national touring acts that come through
Buffalo, and he’s made friends with all these performers. He records albums
with all these big A-list industry recording stars, like, really huge stars.
We’re talking Carmine and Vinny Appice (Jim is the vocalist for
all the Appice Brother’s projects), Tony
Franklin, Rudy Sarzo, Mike Tramp, Phil Lewis, Frank DiMino,
Rowan Robertson, Steph Honde, Jimmy Bain, and like that. So, in true, typical, sarcastic, New
York smart-
ass fashion, I jokingly asked him “why are you calling me…what, did
you run out of big stars and now you’re scraping the barrel?” (Laughing). And
we laughed, Jimmy says “no, I know exactly who you are and what bands and
people you’ve played and recorded with, I really like your work and I’ve been
watching you on Facebook, and I’m really sick and tired of seeing you getting
dismissed, disrespected and bashed on social media and Facebook…I would really
like you to record on my next album because, well, basically, because you’re Rik Fox and most of all, you DESERVE
it.” Well, that really stunned me. I’ve never been told that
before. Nobody
ever said that to me. Despite whatever project I’ve recorded on, You should hear
my bass tracks on the 2014 Spiders and
Snakes release Year of the Snake,
on the Rascals/Angel cut “Ain’t Gonna Eat Out my Heart Anymore.”
I’ve never really been acknowledged or recognized for my playing,
quite honestly. And one person, a complete stranger stood out and respected me
for that. I was humbled and crushed. I didn’t know what to say. I looked around
the room and said “are you SURE you mean ME?” and Jim was serious as a heart
attack and said “absolutely, I want you on my next record.” So, I ‘met’ Hollywood Monsters guitarist Steph Honde over Facebook and he asked
me if I was going to record on the song with Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.)
and I said ‘No I didn’t know Chris was going to be on the album.” So Steph said
we should ask Jim, and Jim thought it would be a great idea to have two former
members of WASP on the same
song, plus Jim totally honored me by telling me that he wanted me on the
album’s first single, “Broken.” He sent me a rough mix of both songs
and Vinny Appice is on it, along
with Jack Russell’s Great White guitarist
Robby Lochner. So I immediately
went to work creating my bass lines. When I heard Broken, I immediately thought
“this is a Bob Daisley style
song and needs a Bob Daisley style
bass line.” Now, I’m a HUGE fan of Bob’s body of work, but I didn’t outright
try to copy him. I just listened and let it flow and worked on it every day for
months, perfecting what I was going to lay down in the studio. I just hope I do
the song justice and the fans can decide when they hear it. Jim said he and
producer Steve Majors said they
loved my bass tracks on the song. I also worked on the song with Chris Holmes, which I also recorded a
pretty cool bass track to, but there was a technical problem with the song
before I got to it, and Jim took it back and had to re-record it again from
scratch using his own band members of Hair
Nation. So, us both being huge fans of Angel, Jim knew that I had been friends with the guys in the band
for many years, and I had several near-misses in playing with them, so then
sent me a rough mix of a song by Angel that
is going to be covered on the new album, and, again, Jim honored me by having
me record on the Angel cover
with Steph Honde and Angel vocalist Frank DiMino! How COOL is THAT!
I think he tried to get Punky Meadows to play a guest spot on the song too, but Steph Honde did a fantastic job on it. In the meantime, I was contacting every major star in my book whose phone numbers I had and sent them to Jim to see if we could get them interested in doing some guest performance tracks. Jim was doing so much to help re-launch my standing in the business that I set him up with some of my contacts and, as a sort of way of showing my gratitude for his generosity, I hooked Jim up with Anthony Esola and Sola Custom Guitars (Thank You London guitarist Ronee Peña!), who I recently signed with for endorsement deals, as well as Angela Gambino of Pro Player Art Custom Amp screens, again with Chris Gale of MyStringKing (dot com), and we have string endorsements, and now I‘m using some of the best strings in the business; DR Bass Strings. And recently, we’re both now using the new Nexxus Airbridge Wireless Guitar Systems. Although that’s what I do, and have helped dozens of people in this business over the years, and gotten walked over again and again, I still believed that there was some good people out there and when someone gets behind me and believes in me, I
CV: It goes without saying, you keep and
remain busy. What do you think is the one key to keeping an artist working and
relevant with both peers and fans?
RF: Luck...Lots of Luck (laughs). And interaction with the fans, most definitely. The market’s
completely changed since the 80’s and it goes the same with many of the people
in the business. It’s not as easy anymore to get people behind you and to
believe in you so that they invest in and
support you in some way. If you have
a kick ass product and lots of really cool merch (merchandise), CD’s, T-shirts,
swag, etc.) that really helps, but many of the attitudes have changed over the
years. Like, for instance, when you’re at the NAMM show music merchants convention, and you’re trying to talk to
one of the merchants, if you’re not a fully recognized Tier One artist, with a
gazillion hits on all these media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, You Tube
and Face book, then they’re not looking you in the eye, but past you, over your
shoulder for someone more important to talk to. That kind of mentality and it’s
really sad. Any really busy fully touring performer doesn’t have the time to be
spending all that time on all those platforms, they just post their tour dates
and that’s pretty much it from what I’ve seen. If you’re a fan, you’re lucky if
they even respond to you. But that’s what they’re looking at now, numbers of media
hits. That’s really ridiculous, in my opinion…that proves nothing except a
popularity contest. You get true artists like bassist Billy Sheehan who recognizes and actually replies to the fans.
That’s what’s important; artist/fan interaction. Badlands bassist Greg
Chaisson is the same way. So am I. So is Jim. Fans NEED that
accessibility, they appreciate it.
CV: If you had to choose one single pivotal
moment in your career where what had happened made you change direction, take
on a new perspective or gave you clarity, what would that moment be?
RF: That
can’t be answered that simply; it’s too complex and it’s actually a combination
of things. If you follow the trail of events that have happened to me from the
beginning, from one to the next, you’ll start to notice key events that connect
the dots and all tie-in to one another. There’s several high points, such as
performing with the late Sam Kinison who
had Randy Castillo, Jean Beauvoir, Little Steven Van Zant, Randy
Hansen and John Goodman in
the band at Hollywood’s China Club in
the 90’s, And also performing the live version of “We’re Stars” twice in 1987
as I said earlier with Ronnie James Dio,
jamming with KISS guitarist Mark St. John, joining Warrant, Guns ’n Roses and others onstage at Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium,
Being in a national television commercial for Western Union, destroying a stage smashing a bass into the amps, Being
the founder of an award-winning, historical re-enactment group and first
officially-recognized representation of my noble, ancestral Polish Winged Hussar knights in the
United States, making U.S. History in
the 2002 NYC Pulaski Parade, and
being featured in a cable television documentary Museum Secrets, about the Winged Hussars in the English language
for the mainstream public, (Hence: “The
Winged Knight of Heavy Metal”)…meeting my wife, being there for the
passing of my father, these are all definitive, life-altering pivotal events
that have had some kind of profound impact on my life. Each one is an integral
and connected pivotal moment in and of itself. It’s the sum of the parts. I’ve
had some pretty traumatic things happen to me as a child that left some pretty
deep scars that made me who I am today. Those were some pretty horrific pivotal
moments. I’ve had to work myself through all that, some of which I haven’t been
properly debriefed on yet. But the clarity is there, you just have to be ‘tuned
in’ to recognize and see it. We’re bombarded every day with so much crap that
it takes a lot to clear your mind and look within to see the reality. It’s said
that “The measure of success is the ability to bring value to another person’s
life.” In the film Kingdom of Heaven,
the character Balian says “What man is a man who does not make the world a
better place.” That’s absolutely true. If you can make a positive difference in
the life of someone else, then you’ve done your job. That’s what really
matters, and, in using my talents, everything at my disposal, if I can make
that happen, then, at the end of the day, I’ve done my job, and nobody can take
that away from me. I think I turned out OK, so far.
CV: Rik, with now some 45 years into the music
business, how differently do you view the industry now compared to back then?
Have things changed?
RF: Obviously.
Absolutely. The only thing that changes is change, nothing remains constant
except change, and, we’re forced to change with it. You need to grow and learn
from everything that life throws at you. You have to or you die. In the film “Decline of Western Civilization, The Metal Years”, I said “The
minute you doubt is the moment you lose it. “ The business is essentially made
up of agents who recognize that if you have the talent to generate the
potential to create a cash flow, if it’s guided properly, then you can advance.
Some people can’t handle all the
peripherals that come with success and go off
the deep end. Some people are greedy sharks who want everything they can, pimp
off you and bleed you dry and spit you out. I’ve experienced that first hand
with the Vinnie Vincent breach-of-trust
/song theft issue and his then-bassist / producer who plays with Slaughter and Vince Neil. You need to develop some kind of inner tenacity
ability to pick yourself up, and get back on the horse and get back in the
melee, or you’re going to get run over. My problem, has been, after taking a
decade-long hiatus to do other things away from the music business during the
90’s, and around 2012, when I started to try to get back into business, I
found myself running into all kinds of weird opposition and obstacles. Like the
wagons were circled tighter and refusing to let me back in. Lots of confusing
residual bias and disrespect. I really don’t understand what kind of mentality
expects to progress from that. It’s juvenile really. It’s like people suddenly
developed this personal attitude and ‘selective amnesia’ and forgot that, at
one point, I was the first bassist on US soil to go toe-to-toe with Malmsteen on a daily basis and
survive. It’s a badge of honor that I’ve EARNED; you can’t take that away from
me. Don’t open a can of worms that you’re going to have to eat. I’ll crawl all
over you and eat your lunch (laughs). It’s like some people create this
imaginary perceived territorial threat about me, and I really don‘t understand
why. Maybe they’re intimidated by me? Maybe it‘s my smart-ass NY attitude?
(laughs). People need to step out of their egos and reach out and be cool to, and
with me. They’ll find that I’m not some kind of demon that bad gossip has made
out of me. I’m pretty good at what I do, and bring to the table. I’ve proven
that time and again, but if somebody is going to adversely try to stand in my
way and prevent me, then at some point, they’re going to get run over. And it’s
going to get pretty embarrassing for them. It’s better that people just render
me my due respect and we’ll get along just fine. But, It’s a choice, just make
sure that you make the right one. Once I’m onstage, delivering the goods, then,
suddenly, they’re going “oh wow!, that‘s pretty cool!”
CV: How differently do you see yourself?
Have you changed?
RF: Again, obviously. That’s a foregone conclusion. Everybody changes. You have to or you become stagnant. You (hopefully) live and learn and grow. I’m probably funnier (laughs). If you get my sense of humor which is right out of the Golden Age of Comedy, then you’ll get me. If not, you’ll probably feel insulted if you can’t keep up with me, like Groucho Marx. I’m like a cross between Jack Nicolson and Groucho (laughs), with a little Rodney Dangerfield (laughs)… My wife got me on this great Health and Wellness program and it helped me rebalance my nutrition and I lost a LOT of weight, so now, the only losers who are still fat-shaming me in Facebook are the ones who are still fat losers themselves (laughs). They’ve got nothing better to do than keep trying to dismiss my
achievements because they don’t really have any
themselves (laughs). And I’ve really tried to keep learning my craft and
improving my playing, which I think has really come along over the years. I
probably drive my wife nuts (laughs). But anybody who’s got the tenacity and
patience and fortitude to put up with me has GOT to win some kind of longevity
award. If not for her, I wouldn’t even BE here; despite having been diagnosed
with breast cancer herself, and survived…she’s saved me on numerous occasions.
But TWO alpha personalities under one roof…stand back! It can be like Blackhawk Down, (laughs)…She’s my rock
and I love her dearly for it. Everything I’ve learned about equestrian natural
horsemanship, I’ve learned through her. Getting close to, and connected with,
nature’s powerful creatures certainly has its advantages.
CV: What else can fans expect to be seeing from you this year and into the next? Where do you go from here?
RF: Let’s look forward and project ahead. Everything starts with gratitude each day, then there’s tomorrow. I’ve certainly wasted a few brief moments with some real dysfunctional Doozies (laughs), everyone knows about that (laughs). So, I’d like to look forward to working with REAL positive professionals and hopefully some more KEELFEST concerts with Ron Keel and his family and crew, and continuing more projects with Jim Crean. There are a few projects I’m looking at working with friends on, like actor/metal head, Ed Gage.
RF: Again, obviously. That’s a foregone conclusion. Everybody changes. You have to or you become stagnant. You (hopefully) live and learn and grow. I’m probably funnier (laughs). If you get my sense of humor which is right out of the Golden Age of Comedy, then you’ll get me. If not, you’ll probably feel insulted if you can’t keep up with me, like Groucho Marx. I’m like a cross between Jack Nicolson and Groucho (laughs), with a little Rodney Dangerfield (laughs)… My wife got me on this great Health and Wellness program and it helped me rebalance my nutrition and I lost a LOT of weight, so now, the only losers who are still fat-shaming me in Facebook are the ones who are still fat losers themselves (laughs). They’ve got nothing better to do than keep trying to dismiss my
CV: What else can fans expect to be seeing from you this year and into the next? Where do you go from here?
RF: Let’s look forward and project ahead. Everything starts with gratitude each day, then there’s tomorrow. I’ve certainly wasted a few brief moments with some real dysfunctional Doozies (laughs), everyone knows about that (laughs). So, I’d like to look forward to working with REAL positive professionals and hopefully some more KEELFEST concerts with Ron Keel and his family and crew, and continuing more projects with Jim Crean. There are a few projects I’m looking at working with friends on, like actor/metal head, Ed Gage.
I really love working with cool people, it really brings out the creativity in me and allows me to share what I bring to the table into their lives. Again, there’s that bringing value to another person’s life advantage. Doing it thru music is definitely a blessing. Just make good use of your talents. I’d REALLY like to finally get all my past musical contributions properly mixed and mastered and released. The fans have been after me to please do this and so, I’d really like the opportunity to finally release my SIN and Thunderball material for the fans. I hope these people will still be around (laughs). I certainly have a huge box of gratitude bows to pass out to those who’ve done so much for me. My sciatica back is going to be killing me in the process (laughs). But there’s a few people that I do have to acknowledge, before we conclude this scenic journey; the Memory of my Father, Chevalier Leonard J. Suligowski, Tamara Fox / Business Mgt., Tommy Armstrong-Leavitt @ EMG pickups, Anthony Esola @ Sola Custom Guitars, Jeffrey Dbury graphics, and Rock Casserole / Digital Radio, Christina Avila Artists Promotion, Stephen Talbott @ Lids, Graphics, Angela Gambino @ Pro Player Art / Kick Lidz, Chris Gale @ MyStringKing (dot com) / DR Strings, Dunlop Picks, Nickle Pierce @ Studs & Spikes, Jeff Carano @ Babicz/Full Contact Hardware, Mark Bass and Ampeg Amplifiers, Loren Molinare @ Blackstar Amps, Robert & Lisa Linthicum @ Sew Perfect, Daniel @ Mono Cases, George Contreras, Zizi Friesen and Don Adkins photos, Jim Crean, Ron Keel and the KEELFEST family, Missie Tong, Winged Knight Stage Fashions, Jake Perry @ The Whisky a Go-Go, and The Polish Winged Hussars…Niech Zyjie Rzeczpospolita. (I hope I didn’t forget anyone, sorry).
CV: Thank you again Rik, for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. I
wish you all the best and continued success.
RF: It’s
been a pleasure, privilege and an honor, thanks again, so much for having me as
a guest on The Cosmick View! I salute you, everyone who’s kept the faith and
support, and all the fans! (Gratitude Bow).
Check out Rik at:
Official: www.rikfoxbass.wix.com/rikfox
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rik-Fox-136813996474042/
Like The Cosmic View on Facebook at:
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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