Hereīs an Interview with Tod Howarth That most of you might know from 707 & Ace Frehley.He has also played with Cheap Trick,Ted Nugent..and many more.Coca Blue(1977) was his first,real band.
Hello Tod! Could you please start with telling us about Coca Blue & Dartanyan.How would you describe your sound?
THESE BANDS WERE TOP FORTY, OR SO WE
USED TO CALL IT BACK IN THE DAY (HAR) WE PLAYED ZZ TOP, KANSAS, AEROSMITH, AND
ALL OTHER KINDS OF STUFF, AND WE
PLAYED SOME ORIGINALS TOO, THEY WERE REALLY
GOOD MUSICALLY, BUT SOMEWHAT LAME IN THE OVERALL SONG DEPARTMENT, WE JUST NEEDED
MORE EXPERIENCE..COCA BLUE WAS MORE ROCKIN' AND DARTANYAN WAS MORE
PROGRESSIVE..
Did you release any albums???
NOT QUITE! (HAH!) WE DID DO SOME
CASSETTE
RECORDING, AND ON ONE OF THE RECORDINGS I FOUND US DOING "CALIFORNIA
MAN" BY CHEAP TRICK, I PLAYED THAT FOR THE BOYS ONCE WHILE WE (TRICK) WERE ON
TOUR, AND THEY GOT A KICK OUT OF IT..
How did you end up in 707.What do you think about the songs today ? And do you have any contact with any of the members ??
I AUDITIONED FOR THE BAND, TWICE, AND
WAS RECOMMENDED BY SOME INDUSTRY PEOPLE AS WELL.
THE TUNES WERE NOT AS HEAVY
AS I WANTED TO BE, WITH VAN HALEN BEING THE SHIT AT THE TIME, BUT THEY HAD POP
ROCKIN' KINDA' FEEL, SOMETHING THAT I DON'T
WRITE ANYMORE...
YES I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH KEVIN RUSSELL, THE GUITAR PLAYER, HE RESIDES IN SAN FRANCISCO STILL, THE WHOLE BAND MOVED UP THERE BACK IN 1981. WE STARTED TALKING JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE SURPRISE SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE....I'VE ALSO SPOKEN WITH JIM McCLARTY THE DRUMMER, HE'S GOT A STUDIO THAT HE RUNS DOWN IN NASHVILLE DOING WELL BUT DOESN'T PLAY DRUMS MUCH ANYMORE
Do you have any funny(crazy)stories(That you can tell)About your time in Ted "Triggerhappy" Nugent Band or Cheap Trick
OL' TED BOY ONE TIME THOUGHT IT WOULD
BE FUNNY TO COME RIPPING OUT OF THE BATHROOM OF THE DRESSING ROOM IN GERMANY(
WHICH WAS AN OLD BOMB SHELTER)
WITH HIS PANTS DOWN AROUND HIS ANKLES AND A
LONG STREAM OF TOILET PAPER STUCK AND DANGLING FROM HIS ASS SCREAMING "ARE
WE LATE?!!". WHAT HE DIDN'T
KNOW WAS THAT A WOMEN REPORTER WAS DOWN IN THERE
SITTING WITH THE REST OF THE BAND GETTING AN INTERVIEW......SHE SAW IT
ALL....
TRICK,.....HMM LET'S SEE......THERE
WAS QUITE A FEW THINGS BUT SWEAR TO GOD .A COUPLE OF TIMES WE COULD NOT FIND THE
STAGE JUST LIKE IN SPINAL
TAPE,..LOST UNDER THE VENUE..AND ANOTHER TIME WE
WERE SNOWED IN UP IN SEATTLE, AND ALMOST DIDN'T MAKE THE SHOW WITH THE BAND
"HEART" BUT THEY
HEARD ABOUT OUR DILEMMA AND LET US FLY ON THEIR PRIVATE LEAR
JET TO THE GIG........NICE...
What was the real reason.That you left the Frehleyīs Comet ?
I LEFT THE COMET BECAUSE IT WAS RUMORED BY THE "SUITS" THAT THE NEXT COMET RECORD SHOULD BE ALL ACE VOCALS AND ALL ACE "SONGWRITING" SO WHERE WAS I TO FIT IN AND EARN A LIVING?, WE DIDN'T MAKE A LOT TOURING...IT WAS A HARD DECISION AND ACE HAD TOLD ME THAT HE WAS SORRY TO SEE ME GO, BUT AT THE TIME I FELT IT BEST FOR MY CAREER..and of course now I'm rolling in it!
It wasīnt because ACE.Thought that you kinda"took over the show"? NO, NOT AT ALL.......NOT AS FAR AS I EVER HEARD AND I HEARD PLENTY..
Well,I think that you wrote.All the
REALLY good songs.On the Second sighting album...like Time ainīt running
out,Itīs over now,Fallen angel(btw..Iīm a big KISS fan.Have nothin against Ace
:-) THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HEAR THAT A LOT FROM THE
KISS/COMET FANS AND IT REALLY WARMS THE HEART! AND KEEPS ME
GOING!
Something that i always wanted to ask you is..Why you(and
Ace) re-wrote the 707 song: Megaforce..to "Calling to you" ?
WHEN ACE AND I WERE HANGING OUT AT HIS PLACE IN NEW YORK, HE WANTED TO HEAR SOME OF MY PAST RECORDINGS, TO KIND OF LOOK INTO THE STUFF I'D BE WRITING FOR THE NEW RECORD...I PLAYED "MEGAFORCE" AND HE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY THAT THE SONG HAD THE SAME NAME AS HIS NEW LABEL, BUT HE ALSO REALIZED THAT HE DUG THE TUNE........
How would you describe the style.On your 2 solo-albums(to the ones that haveīnt heard them)
"SILHOUETTE"
IS A COLLECTION OF SONGS THAT WERE SOMEWHAT DATED, I FELT, BUT I WANTED TO GET
THEM OUT TO THE FANS OF THE COMET,...AND OF MINE, AFTER I
STARTED
PLAYING WITH CHEAP TRICK AGAIN IN 1990. I RECORDED THEM AT MY THEN NEW HOME
STUDIO, BETWEEN BREAKS IN TOURING, JUST A DIGITAL 8 TRACK AND RELEASED IT
MYSELF....THE SONGS WERE GOOD AND A LOT OF THE FANS STILL PREFER THIS STYLE OF
MY WRITING.
"COBALT
PARLOR'' IS A DARKER SIDE TO ME MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE THINGS I WAS
GOING THROUGH AT THE TIME, AND BECAUSE OF SOME OF MY "NEW" INFLUENCES,
BUT IT
SLAMS! THE PRODUCTION IS WAY BETTER THAN SILHOUETTE AND THE LYRICS ARE SOME OF
THE BEST I'VE EVER WRITTEN,AND AGAIN I PLAYED EVERYTHING AGAIN, BUT WITH REAL
DRUMS,..I USED TO BE A DRUMMER FOR A SHORT TIME IN MY EARLIER YEARS!!
What can you tell us about your new album ? When will it be ready ?? And what do your kids think about your "Melodic" music ...are they like: OH NO! ..No more "Dino-rock" :-)
THE NEW CD IS FUN, ROCKIN', SLAMMIN', AND STARTED OFF AS A BAND PROJECT WITH A DRUMMER, ANOTHER GUITAR PLAYER, BASS/ VOCALIST, BUT NOW IT WILL BE ANOTHER SOLO EFFORT, I WROTE ALL THE SONGS SO THERE'S NO PROBLEM THERE, BUT I HAD TO LET THE BASS PLAYER GO, AND IN DOING THAT I HAD TO RE-RECORD ALL THE BASS TRACKS AND BACKING VOCALS...THE CD SHOULD BE READY IN ABOUT TWO MONTHS, IT SEEMS EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD GETS IN THE WAY WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO FINISH SOMETHING.....
MY KIDS LIKE THE MUSIC ALRIGHT,
THEY'RE JUST INTO DIFFERENT STUFF,..MY SON LIKES A COUPLE OF SONGS THOUGH, AND
HE'S INTO (OR WAS) KORN, DEFTONES
MARILYN,....THE GIRLS ARE INTO "LIGHTER"
STUFF..BUT THERE'S PROBABLY NO GETTING AROUND THE "DINO" STIGMA THAT WOULD
SURROUND DAD'S MUSIC...I MEAN
THINK ABOUT IT...DAD'S
MUSIC,....YEEECH.....(HAH)
What are your future plans.And what do you think about the Hardrock scene today ???
MY FUTURE PLANS ARE UP IN THE AIR,
I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF IDEAS, BUT IT'S GETTING TOUGHER TO BE AT THE MERCY OF
TASTE,.....AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE REALLY IS A HARD ROCK SCENE THAT IS
VIABLE..... IT'LL COME BACK BIG TIME, BUT IT WILL BE ENDORSED AND CREATED BY A
YOUNG BAND REDISCOVERING THE MERITS OF HAIR/GLAM/BIG ROCK SOUNDS THEREFORE
GIVING IT THE REBIRTH THAT SO MANY OF THE "OLD" FOLK HOPE AND DREAM FOR, BUT IT
WILL BE THEIR'S NOT OURS FOR IT
WILL HAVE A TWIST AS WELL, GIVING IT IDENTITY
MAKING IT YOUTHFUL........but then I could be wrong!!
If there is anything else..that you
wanna tell.Please do.And no, i donīt
I FOUND THE PANTS, NOW WHO'S GOT THE SHOE?
mean if you found your pants :-)
NAW, REALLY, JUST A HEARTFELT
THANKS TO ALL THE COMET FANS AGAIN FOR ENJOYING MY MUSIC AND TELLING ME
SO,..THAT MAKES IT PRETTY MUCH ALL WORTH THE WHILE......YOU PEOPLE ARE THE REAL
ROCKERS!
Well.i donīt wanna "kiss up " too much.But like i said
before..It was your songs that made Second sighting A Great
album (honestly)
MAN I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT!! REALLY, I GUESS IT WASN'T
ALL IN VAIN THEN,WHEN I GET BACK INTO THE STUDIO TOMORROW IT'LL GIVE ME THE
BOOST THAT I NEED AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DO IT ALL
YOURSELF,.............KICK ASS AND THANKS TO "CATCHY HOOKS"
A BIG Thank You! to Mr.Howarth
:-) For taking the time to answer our stupid questions :-) (Heīs busy in the
Studio,right now) Make sure to check out his site at http://www.todhowarth.com/ Where
you can listen to some of his songs.And BUY the CDīS .../ Originally published in Catchy
Hooks