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01/02/2006-Things are really shaping up for ex-Talas vocalist/songwriter Phil Naro. This year, 2007, is gearing up to be one of his busiest ever. In addition to his many planned projects, Naro’s two bands- D:Drive and Tango Down will be releasing new CD’s in 2007. Also, Naro’s amazing acoustic duo known as The Phil And John show will be releasing their second CD this year. And by the end of 2007, Naro plans to release a solo CD. We will be paying very close attention to Phil Naro this year and his many projects that he is involved with. So to start off 2007, I decided to repost an interview that I conducted with Phil Naro on Feb 7, 2005.
 ‘Carpe diem.’ Seize the day, that’s been rock vocalist/guitarist Phil Naro’s personal motto for his entire twenty year plus career. Naro is one of the most dedicated and motivated musicians in the business today. His career began in the late 70’s, as vocalist for the Rochester NY based band Chain Reaction. From there, he was recruited by bassist Billy Sheehan in 1983 to be the frontman of the legendary Buffalo NY based band -Talas. Naro recorded a live CD with Talas, after only being in the group for six weeks. That release, “Live Speed on Ice” was an energetic, in-your face, hard rock masterpiece. Talas was on a roll. They hooked up with Yngwie Malmsteen for a co-headlining national tour and they were signed to Gold Mountain Records. However, just when Talas was about to break big time, band leader Billy Sheehan accepted an offer from David Lee Roth to join his solo band. Naro was devastated. He attempted to continue Talas in 1986, with the help of Al Pitrelli-guitar, Jimmy Degrasso-drums and Bruno Ravel-bass, but it just wasn’t the same.
Since then, Naro has been involved in many projects, including one with ex-Kiss drummer Peter Criss. He has also recorded a couple amazing solo CD’s, the most recent being “Glass Mountain” which was released in 2002. Currently, Naro is living in Toronto Ont. and working on a new CD. And he is also performing with Dan Mancuso’s D Drive. The Naro/Mancuso project D Drive released an incredible CD late last year. This CD features vocalist Lou Gramm on four tracks. There are not enough hours in the day for this living rock n’ roll machine. But, make no doubt about it, Naro is dedicated to his art and soon the whole world will know once again about Phil Naro.
What follows is an exclusive GlamMetal.com interview with the one and only Phil Naro.
You just released a new CD with guitarist Don Mancuso called D Drive. Lou Gramm formerly of Foreigner also appears on this CD. It’s a good old fashion rock release. How did you get involved in this project?
Don and Lou were good friends in high school and they were in a band called "Black Sheep" back in 70's. When Lou left them to join Foreigner, Don ask me to join up a start a band, but it never work out. Don has always been my friend and he kept in touch with Lou and I over the years hoping that we could record and possibly even do a few gigs together. When the right moment finally came along, we jumped at he first opportunity to make the dream a reality
How long did the CD take to write and record?
Writing, rehearsing and recording took a year to be precise"
Lou Gramm appears on four of the tracks, he's had some health problems, how is he doing now?
If you've heard D-Drive, it's pretty obvious he sounds fantastic. However, judging by the response from the crowd at our CD release party in Rochester, NY, his live performance was totally amazing!!
How would you describe you working relationship with Don Mancuso. How does he differ from the many other musicians that you have worked with? Don is a real professional in every sense of the word. I can't put it any better than that.
Do you have any plans to tour in support of D Drive? If so when?
As I mentioned earlier, we've already performed in Rochester, and have a gig coming up on February 19th at Rock and Roll Heaven in Buffalo, NY & March 25th in Toronto "Club 279' Classic Rock Q107 One Dundas Street West Suite 1600 Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z3 Canada. www.q107.com
In 2002, you released an amazing solo CD called "Glass Mountain." Excuse me for being so bold, but why wasn't there more promotion for it?
You can thank the record label who released that CD for their lack of enthusiasm and belief in it.
How frustrating is it to work your ass off and write a great CD and have the so called experts screw it up?
Very Painful. More than you could possibly imagine. But that's the music business for you. "It's All About The Love For Music"
In 1984, you were recruited by Billy Sheehan to be the vocalist in Talas along with Mitch Perry-guitar and Mark Miller-drums. How exciting was that and did you have to go through an audition? If so what was it like?
I didn't need an audition to join Talas due to the fact that I was in Billy Sheehan's side project in the late 70's which was simply known as the The Billy Sheehan band. I was his first and only choice for a singer when he decided to give Talas a Face-lift. It was a mid-blowing experience-especially when it came to touring-but it was a lot of fun too.
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You recorded a live CD with Talas after only being in the band for a short period of time, how exciting and nerve wrecking was that period of your life.
It was over the top! We were constantly touring across the states and Canada performing with some heavy names like "Iron Maiden", "Yngwie Malmsteen", "White Lion", Ratt, Anthrax- just to name a few. Our live shows were insane and the crowds loved us. Definitely one of the best moments of my life!
Why was Mitch Perry fired from the band?
Alcoholism led to Mitch's demise from Talas
What did you think of Perry's replacement, Johnny Angel?
Johnny was a real good soul and an excellent musician to say the least. We were real close.
It's been about twenty since Billy Sheehan left Talas for the David Lee Roth Band. At the time that he left, Talas was on the verge of signing to a major label and you had just finished a successful tour co-headlining with Yngwie Malmsteen. How devastating was it to you when Billy announced that he was leaving? And what did you do?
I was hurt by Billy's decision to leave Talas because I truly believed we were finally on the road to the big league. Everything was looking up for us when Billy made his decision to join David Lee Roth. I was depressed over the situation to the point of quitting Talas myself, but I believed in the group so much I decided to keep it going for as long as I could.
How successful do you think that Talas would have become if Billy remained with the band?
I don't doubt for one second that we would have set the music biz on fire if Billy stayed. Talas potential was unlimited.
Didn't you guys have a full album worth of material that wasn't released?
Yes we did . We had a exclusive recording contract with A&M Gold Mountain records in which Gene Simmons of Kiss was slated to produced the Album. We demo seven tracks before Billy was offered the DLR gig. A few of the those songs found there way on to various MR. Big CD's .
In 1986, you tried to reformed Talas without Billy. You had Bruno Ravel on bass, Al Pitrelli- guitar, Jimmy Degrasso-drums. What ever happened to that version of Talas?
A certain member of that line-up once wore a t-shirt on stage that said "Billy Who?. The heat generated from that incident was the final nail in the Talas coffin.
That was a great line-up, did you ever consider keeping the band together under a different name?
That line-up eventually became Danger Danger. Unfortunately certain things led to me leaving it. Fate perhaps?
What are your thoughts on the original Talas line-up that included Dave Constantino and Paul Varga?
Simply awesome.
After Talas you moved up to Toronto and formed the band 24 K. How many CD did you record with them? In retrospect, what are you feeling about that time in your career?
I was feeling burnt out in New York State to the point where a change of scenery was necessary. I was no stranger to Toronto having performed there in the early 80's in a band called Chain Reaction on Attic Records. There were ton of great musicians up there and eventually 24K were tearing up the scene. We recorded two albums,” Pure” and “Bulletproof.” Check it out www.thephilandjohnshow.com
You also played in projects with ex-Kiss members Peter Criss and Mark St. John, What ever happen with those projects. Where any of the song that you recorded with them ever released? If so, how can they be obtained?
I was in Peter's band for about a year and two of the songs I wrote with him; "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn" and "Bad People Burn In Hell" were released back in 1995 on his CD entitled "Cat 1" . Mark's project was just a one time only thing known as the "Mark St John".
Describe your working relationship with Peter Criss?
Peter Criss is a taskmaster. And that's just putting it mildly!
Criss’ problems with drugs and alcohol led to his original departure form Kiss. Was he still fighting those vices when you were working with him?
Not really. I have to admit that I saw him smoke pot but as far as chemicals and booze were concerned, he never touched them.
Who was the most amazing and talented musician that you have ever worked with?
There is no way I can single out only one person because I've been fortunate to work with so many great talents. But if I have to narrow it down, I would have to say Lou Gramm, Billy Sheehan, Don Mancuso, Peter Criss, Eddie Kramer, Tom Lord-Alge, Steve Major(My Producer), Mark St John, Mladen(Von Groove), Johnny Angel(Talas), Jim Crean, Jeff Northrup & John Rogers "Brighton Rock" & of "The Phil & John Show" and the list goes on. They are the best of the very best!
If you could only pick three songs from your repertoire to represent you, what would they be?
I couldn't pick 3 songs because that's like asking which kids do I like the best. However I can pick 3 CD's that I've recorded that best defines me. "Press Play", "Blood Red Flower" Last Link To The World and D:Drive www.donmancuso.com .
What is your biggest regret in your career?
There have been some, but I don't look at them in a negative light. Let's just say I've learned from my mistakes without going into detail.
www.myspace.com/philnaro www.philnaro.com www.myspace.com/tangodown
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