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Over the last few months, we have posted several features on Cinderella and the Rock Never Stops Tour here at Glammetal.com. We have had exclusive interviews, show reviews and concert photos of all the bands on this tour. As many people know, Cinderella is currently headlining the Rock Never Stops Tour which is sponsored by VH1, and is still rocking its way across the country as we speak!
Cinderella have managed to build a huge fan base over the years, and still continue to do so today with their incredible live shows and their hard rocking songs, as well as their beautifully written rock ballads that we all know and love. Without a doubt, Cinderella is one of the greatest rock bands around today.
I recently caught up with guitarist Jeff LaBar, one of the driving forces behind this great band. Jeff has been with Cinderella since the beginning when their debut album titled “Night Songs” came out in 1986. It didn’t take Cinderella long to become one of the best known bands of that era and today as well, with big hits such as “Nobody’s Fool,” “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone),” “Heartbreak Station,” and the list goes on and on.
Aside from playing guitar in Cinderella, Jeff is also currently involved with a band called Naked Beggars. Naked Beggars also features Cinderella bass guitarist Eric Brittingham, along with his lovely wife and singer of the band, Inga Brittingham! The band plans to tour the country again in support of their second album titled “Spit It Out,” after the Cinderella tour winds down this fall.
During this exclusive interview, Inga Brittingham, co-founder and singer of the Nashville based band, Naked Beggars, joins in on part of the interview. So as a continuing part of our feature on Cinderella and the Rock Never Stops Tour here at Glam-Metal, we bring you the very talented and very funny Jeff LaBar! Enjoy!
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Jeff LaBar, how are you man?
I’m good!
Cinderella is currently headlining the Rock Never Stops Tour, how’s the tour going so far?
It’s going really good. We’ve been doing really well as far as ticket sales. You know, we’ve had a couple of slow shows, but that’s to be expected, you know? For the most part, it’s been really good so far. We’re having fun out here.
There are some really good bands on this tour as well. I’m sure you know many of the guys from some of the other bands, huh?
Oh yeah! This is a great tour. All of the bands are sounding awesome. The Firehouse guys are solid, Quiet Riot is kicking ass as usual. Ratt is great! Everyone gets along great together. It’s a really good mix of bands. You couldn’t ask for a better line-up than this.
What can Cinderella fans expect from this tour?
They can expect a fucking rock show man! We’re all the original members, we’re all still relatively thin, we all still have our hair...um, so we’re not fat and bald basically. (Laughs) We’re all still in good shape, we still put on a hell of a rock show, and we actually play better because we’re older and we’re sober. We bring out all the bells and whistles on this tour! We have the pyro thing going, we’ve got a killer light show, we’re playing the hits that everybody loves, and we’re playing them better than we did back in the day, because as I said...we’re sober! It’s a throw back to the glamorous rock shows of the 80's and 90's, rather than watching some gas station attendants up there standing and staring at their instruments and playing songs that aren’t very good to begin with.
How long is the tour expected to last?
We are trying to go through September. We started in June, now we’re going into August, but we’re still going to try and go through September, but it may not happen. We’re negotiating with Whitesnake about doing a co-headlining tour this fall. If that doesn’t happen, Eric and I, along with Inga, are going to put Naked Beggars out on tour, which we’re going to do regardless! It just depends on when Cinderella is done.
How does it feel to be back on stage with Cinderella again?
You want an honest answer, or would you like me to lie to ya? (Laughs)
(Laughs) Well yeah! Don’t hold anything back man!
When I first went into rehearsals with Cinderella, I was like “What the fuck!?” I was bored! After touring with Naked Beggars, it was like a creative outlet for me, I had a blast! Me, Eric and Inga tore up... just tore up clubs all over the country last summer! I had so much fun in a crappy RV, you know... we had so much fun just lugging our own gear, and as far as a creative outlet, it was just so much fun! So, when I went back to Cinderella rehearsing, I was like “Oh, the same old songs, oh boy, wow,” but I’m going to make money, so...that was my first thought, but once we got back together and started playing, I was like “Oh wow,” I remember my buddies. It was wonderful, I’m playing with all of my buddies again, and I fell back into the groove, and now it’s just a joy! It’s wonderful to play with the other three guys, and I’m having a lot of fun. I also look forward to getting back to Naked Beggars!
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You guys have recorded so many songs over the years and have numerous hits. How hard is it to pick the set list, and how long is your set?
How hard is it? It’s actually too easy! You have to play the hits, and then you have to pick the songs that go over well live. I tried to get these guys to play songs that we haven’t played in a long time. That would be cool for people that have seen us many times, to hear songs like “In From The Outside,” or “Back Home Again,” or hear some obscure songs, you know? But, they wouldn’t go for it.
What about any cover songs?
Cinderella is one band that doesn’t do cover songs.
I thought you did a couple of cover songs, but I’m not going to argue with the guy that knows better! (Laughs)
No, No, we did “Move Over” a Janis Joplin song...
Yes, that’s it!
That was for a benefit record, but we’ve never done it live. I don’t know why, I would love to do it live! I would love to do something like “Back Home Again,” something like “In from the Outside,” or “Winds of Change.” There’s a lot of cool songs that we don’t do live.
What’s a couple of your all-time favorite Cinderella songs?
I hate em all!
(Laughs) Oh come on, no you don’t!
You know what...I like “Coming Home” a lot. I like “Fallin’ Apart At The Seams” a lot. I think “Winds of Change” is an awesome song. Um...”Talk Is Cheap” I really like. My favorite songs are the ones that aren’t hits. “Once Around the Ride” is another good one, and “One for Rock And Roll.” You’ve probably never even heard of these songs.
(Laughs) Excuse me? Of course I’ve heard of these songs. We at Glam-Metal are huge Cinderella fans man!
Ok man, ok. By the way, my name LaBar is spelled with a capital B.
Oh, my mistake. I’ve never seen it spelled with a capital B. It’s also spelled wrong on your own website man. I’ll make sure that it’s spelled correctly on this interview.
My own band spells my name wrong, ok? I’ll get a record, or a tour program, or a poster, and it’s either spelled Lebar, or Labarr, and they never put the capital B!
Well then, Glam-Metal will be the first place that your name is spelled correctly dude. You have my word on it. (Laughs)
Thank you. It’s French for the saloon! (Laughs)
Inga Brittingham chimes in: (Laughs) No it’s not!
Does Cinderella plan to record another studio album, and if so when?
No.
Seriously? Cinderella has no plans on recording another album?
No. Cinderella gets offers to tour, ok? We had a record deal with Sony for about a minute...
(Laughing) A minute...
(Laughs) No actually, it was about three years. We never recorded, they never put us in the studio, and then they dropped us! Pretty much, they pay us to tour. We all have our own projects as far as creativity and recording, and even the 80's bands that are still recording, aren’t selling dick! Nobody buys the records, you know? So, it doesn’t really matter to us. If they wanna pay us to record, we would love to record together. Um...they pay us to tour, and that’s wonderful. Otherwise, Eric and I have Naked Beggars. We’re on our second cd. Tom’s got a solo cd coming out. Fred has a cd out. He does dance remix stuff for clubs, he works for Cleopatra Records. He produces bands out in L.A., and he’s an awesome producer. He also does film work, and computer animation...I mean, we all have our creative outlet that way. As soon as someone wants a Cinderella record, and wants to put some money behind it and promote it, we’ll be right there! But, right now they just want us to tour. We love touring together, and also love our individual projects.
What’s the writing process like in Cinderella?
Tom writes most of the songs and Eric and I arrange them.
On the “Rocked, Wired and Bluesed” DVD, is that all videos, or is there some live stuff as well on there?
I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. I think it’s all the home videos. It’s all the videos and home stuff. Cleopatra has an “In Concert” DVD out which is all concert clips, and that’s really good!
When was that released?
It came out the same time. It’s Cinderella in concert.
Inga: It’s the purple one.
Yeah, the purple one.
You’ve done quite a bit of touring over the years. Any wild or crazy stories from the road you care to share with us? Something that really comes to mind?
What do you think?
I’m sure you do, that’s why I’m asking. (Laughs)
Most of the stories are about me! I crashed up a tour bus once. I fell asleep on stage once. We generally don’t air our dirty laundry. Cinderella is one band that have gone through all the cliché’s that you’ve seen on behind the music with Motley Crue, with Bon Jovi, with whomever...We’ve gone through all of it, we just don’t publicize it. I’ve been arrested several times. I’ve gone through rehab, I’ve had the divorce where I’ve been taken for everything! As I said, I crashed up a bus, and passed out on stage, you know? I’ve done all the rock and roll things that are cliché’.
Tell me about the bus story. How did you happen to crash a fucking tour bus man? You were driving the bus?
Yes! I took my tour bus for a joy-ride with a bunch of chicks and some friends. I couldn’t find my room, I took out a couple of cars in the parking lot on the way, and woke up the next morning with my bus parked out front with the cops at my door. They said ‘did you take the bus?” I was like “Ah...did I?” The bus driver reported the bus stolen because it wasn’t there. He said “you’d better come out and sober up.” So, I came out and sobered up and was like “Yeah, I guess I did.” He said,” Well you managed to take out a few cars along the way!” I said ‘Oh, sorry...send me the bill.”
Now that’s Rock and Roll right there!
Yeah well...I paid out the ass, and worked that month for free.
(Laughing) I don’t mean to laugh, it’s just...
No, it’s ok, it’s a funny story, it’s a classic story. Fortunately, no one was hurt, you know? People heard about it that day! Kevin DuBrow told me he heard about it that day. What’s even funnier is it happened the night before the very first show of the tour. The guy that owned one of the cars, a Jeep Cherokee that I totaled, which was brand new, had it broken into the night before and his stereo was stolen. And, then the next night, I totaled this thing. I set the back tires of the bus into his motor. (Laughs) We can laugh now, because nobody was hurt, but I’ve done all kinds of stupid shit, you know? I’ve done all the rock and roll cliché’ things you can think of.
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Ok, I have a few Naked Beggars questions now. Since you are also here Inga, would you like to join in with these?
Inga: Yeah sure.
We work as a team. (Laughs)
Ok, cool! You are also currently playing in Naked Beggars. Have you been with this band from the beginning?
No. I’m going to go pee, and she can answer that.
Inga: Kris and I started the band, and then Eric got involved, and I think at the time we were looking for a drummer, and it kept evolving, and we decided that we really needed another guitar player, so Eric called Jeff, and Jeff was like “alright,” and he moved down and...
You are leaving so much out!
Inga: Well, you moved in with us! (Laughs)
(Laughs) He moved right in and everything huh?
Eric came in as the producer. He produced the band and decided that the bass player sucked, so he re-did the bass tracks and made himself the bass player. So, at the time, I was in jail, and trying to get out to tour with Cinderella last summer. I got myself out of jail, and Tom said “Never mind.” Now, they wanted to put Naked Beggars on tour, but their other guitar player Doc who’s an eye doctor wasn’t available, and he’s not going to give up his practice to tour and make no money...
He’s really an eye doctor?
Inga: Yes. (Laughs)
So, Eric calls me and goes, “Why don’t you come down and play with Naked Beggars.” I played on one track previously, and loved the shit, so I said, “I’ll be there tomorrow!” We rehearsed for one week and I learned like five songs...
Inga: Not even, and then we opened up for Skynyrd!
Yes, not even five songs, and in five days we opened up for Lynyrd Skynyrd at AmSouth or Starwood in Nashville. From then on, we started writing together, and we became a band. We got Kristine our keyboard player from Kansas, who wanted to be a country artist who plays keyboards and the fiddle, which she calls it. We call it a violin, but anyways, she ended up in a rock band. She can sing, she can write, and then that became Naked Beggars. Then they sat me on the couch and said “Book the band.” (Laughs) They gave me a box full of old Cinderella itineraries, and I just called every promoter and every club that I ever worked with, and said “Let me get you out a package and press kit.” People would say, “We’re not booking 80’s bands,” blah, blah, blah...We’re not an 80's band! I was like “look, we’re asking for a thousand dollars. Feed us, let us drink for free, and maybe throw in a hotel or two.” That was it. We’re a thousand dollar band. Eric got an RV, we got a trailer, and we lugged our own gear. There’s six people in the band, my girlfriend sold merchandise, and Brian my guitar tech out here, whom I taught how to be a guitar tech, he was the roadie. Eight of us, we split everything eight ways, you know? Sometimes we make a hundred dollars each per week! (Laughs) We stalk up on the Lean Cuisines, and stuff, and hit the road, but we had the time of our lives!
Inga: And we built our fan base that way!
Yeah! We sold our cd’s and tee-shirts across the country, and I learned how to be a booking agent. Inga would go on websites and look up other bands schedules and give me my home work... (Laughs) Inga is pretty much the driving force of the band! She tells everybody what to do! (Laughs) But, she’s the right person for the job, you know? I don’t question it because I know she’s right and I should be doing it! (Laughs) Eric will take responsibility of the routing and the maintenance on the RV, or whatever...
Inga: (Laughs) And he’s good!
She’s got the whip and I’ll do the booking, Eric will do the routing, Kris will do the website, Shawn our drummer has connections with record labels and stuff, and Kristine helps out where she can. She is a really good writer, Kris is a really good writer. Everybody’s got their own niche, you know?
So, ya’ll are like the Partridge Family going down the road huh? (Laughs)
Oh yeah!
Inga: They don’t want too, but I’m bringing the cats next time!
No, no animals.
Inga: Well then you can’t ride. (Laughs)
It’s hard enough, there are eight of us, there are six of us in the band, and then we’ve got Brian and Debbie...
I’d just like to comment on the fact that you guys have toured the world in Cinderella, sold millions of records, have had huge hits on MTV and major radio. You guys have pretty much rode in luxury like this bus we’re sitting on now everywhere you went, and now you go out and travel in an RV with eight people, lugging your own gear and promoting yourselves with Naked Beggars. That’s amazing man! I respect the fact that you can go out and do that!
Thanks! It’s a lot of fun being on the road with naked beggars. It’s like an adventure, you know?
Who came up with the name Naked Beggars, and what exactly does it mean? Was that your idea Inga?
Inga: No, we had fought about names for friggin eons! It means strippers.
Kris Casamento used to be a DJ in a strip club, ok? One day there was this old disgruntled toothless guy sitting there, and he ran out of money, and he was bitching, and got up to walk out and he said to one of the customers as he was leaving,” They’re nothing but a bunch of Naked Beggars!” And Kris was like, hmm....
Inga: (Laughs) I didn’t know that part of the story!
I made it up! (Laughs)
Inga: Oh, you’re an ass!
Is that a true story, or what?
Yeah! No really, the guy got up and said, “They’re nothing but a bunch of Naked Beggars!” And, pretty much they are, right? And, that’s what we are, she gets naked...
Wait, you get naked on stage as part of your act Inga?
Yes, absolutely she does!
Inga: Not naked, but in lingerie...
Close enough man! I get the from behind view! (Laughs)
Inga: I try to get everybody to take off their shirts...
Yeah, but the guy’s getting naked ain't quite...you know? (Laughs)
Inga: Our old drummer used to strip down to his underwear and run around the stage! (Laughs)
It was funny, but it wasn’t sexy! When Inga and Kristine get down to their skivvies, yeah, it’s a good thing! Sometimes I forget what I’m playing! (Laughs)
So you forget and go into a Cinderella song huh? (Laughs)
No, I go into like porn music... (Laughs)
Inga: Oh stop it! (Laughs)
Actually, I just stop playing and start beating on it! (Laughs)
Inga: (Laughs) We have fun though...
Jeff: We do, we have so much fun playing together though! We do everything together, we’re like a family.
How much of the writing are you involved in with this band Jeff?
Everything!
Inga: He is involved a hundred percent.
In this band, everybody writes. We all get together and write, or the musicians will start working on music and the girls will go and start writing lyrics as we’re writing a song. It’s really cool!
When will the new naked Beggars record come out, and how does it compare to the first?
It will probably be out in the fall. As far as comparison to the first record, it’s much better. The production will be a lot better, and I think the songs will be much better as well.
What style of music would you consider it?
I think it’s like 70's rock.
Inga: Some of the songs are more southern. I think there’s a lot of mix in it. We write the songs how we believe the song should sound like. We aren’t trying to peg any certain style, we all like different things. Jeff brings out a lot of the heaviness in some of the songs.
Inga and Jeff, what are some of your favorite songs from the new Naked Beggars CD?
I think for me, probably “Hole In The Wall,” and “Creep,” I like a lot.
Inga: Those are heavy.
Yeah, those are the heavy ones, “Hole In The Wall,” and “Creep.”
Inga: I like “Nothin but Trouble.” And, I like “Lullaby.”
“Lullaby” is awesome!
Is Naked Beggars going to tour after the Rock Never Stops Tour?
Inga: Yes.
Absolutely.
You guys aren’t going to waste any time then huh?
Inga: Nope.
Hell no! As soon as Cinderella is done, we’re going right into pre-production for Naked Beggars.
Aside from Naked Beggars, do you have any other projects going on?
Inga: He doesn’t have time.
Aside from my family, no. All of my side projects have something to do with Naked Beggars, like Merchandise, booking and stuff like that. The side projects I have going, are keeping my girlfriend happy, and raising my son.
Is there anything else you guys would like to mention about Naked Beggars that I didn’t ask?
Inga: We’re giving away CD samplers at Cinderella shows.
We’re looking into re-mixing the whole CD. We’re looking into having Fred Coury remix it. He’s very good at that. Ah...as I said, it should be out in the fall, and look for us out on the road after the Cinderella tour.
Any idea where you are touring yet?
Hopefully the whole country.
We don’t know if we’re going to be doing clubs yet, or if we’re going to be opening for someone.
We’re looking to get on a major tour. There have been some names thrown out. We’re going to try and get on the Saliva tour. They’re going out in October, so that would be cool. Any of these bands that will have us basically.
Ok, I guess that’s it for the Naked Beggars questions. Thank you Inga, for joining in on these questions.
Inga: Oh, thank you.
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At what age Jeff did you first pick up a guitar, and who influenced you musically growing up?
I was about nine or ten, my older brother Jack influenced me. He played guitar, and when he worked after School, I would borrow his guitar and dance in front of a mirror to my Led Zeppelin and Alice Cooper records.
Any newer bands that you really dig these days?
Saliva I really like. SR71...Hmm...I still like silly shit like Kelly Clarkson, I watch American Idol. I still like Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, and Alice In Chains...As far as new, I don’t really know what’s that new. Um...Avril Lavigne, I like that shit. 3 Doors Down I like, Creed I like, even though they’re not really around anymore. I really can’t think of anybody newer than that, you know?
What advice would you give to any aspiring musicians trying to get into the music business today?
Have no illusions. Have no illusions of rock stardom. Do it because you enjoy doing it. Write and record. If you’ve got what it takes, people will notice. As far as management, agents and record labels, if you’ve got what it takes, they will take notice, and just keep plugging away.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working or touring Jeff?
I love to spend time with my son Sebastian. He’s learning how to play guitar, and he’s getting really good. Also I love to spend time with my girlfriend Debinique.
Anything you’d like to say to your fans out there in Glam-Metal world?
Yes! Thank you all for supporting Cinderella over the years. I enjoy performing for you all, and I’d like to see more people taking interest in Naked Beggars. I think people will really enjoy this bands music and live performance. You can look for us on the road after the Cinderella tour. Thank You!
Jeff, Thanks for talking with Glam-Metal tonight, and thanks for your hospitality man. Also, Good luck with the tour and with Naked Beggars as well!
Thank you Doobie!
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I would also like to add, this interview started off a bit shaky. About three questions into the interview, I noticed that the tape had stopped running. Stupid me, I forgot to check my batteries, which died. Then I realized I didn’t have the proper size batteries with me, which was very embarrassing! Fortunately, Jeff found some batteries for me, and we were able to continue with the interview.
If that wasn’t enough, there was a huge misunderstanding with press passes, and I and my photographer almost weren’t allowed into the venue because of a lack of guest passes! Jeff again saved us by making sure we got into the show. So, I want to send out a big thanks to Jeff for all of his hospitality and help in making a bad situation good. I also want to thank Inga Brittingham as well for joining in on this great interview! So, thanks Jeff and Inga, you are two very sweet people. Rock On!
Anyone interested in finding out more about Cinderella and the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour, can go to www.cinderella.net
You can also find out more on Naked Beggars and their new CD titled “Spit It Out” at www.nakedbeggars.net
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