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The hardest working man in rock, Phil Naro is back in the spotlight with the new release from his band D Drive, which also features guitar star Don Mancuso. “Straight Up The Middle” is the second release from D Drive and features the bands best work yet. If you are into classic 70’s rock like Bad Company and Foreigner, you will love D Drive.
Recently, we caught up with Phil to discuss the new D Drive CD and the sad state of the music industry. Here’s what went down.
Phil, the new D Drive CD,” Straight Up The Middle” is a nice progression from the band’s last CD. You guys sounds like a well oiled Rock n’ Roll Machine. What was the game plan going into recording this CD?
We wanted this album to be more of a full band effort going into the studio this time. Donnie or myself would come up with a cool riff or lyric and we'd jam to it. The other guys would pick up and groove to what we were doing and add their ideas or suggestions. The end result speaks for itself.
You must be very happy with the results, every track just kicks ass.
I guess all the commuting involved to make it paid off huh?
You and Donnie really have quite a great chemistry together. Is it easy working with him and do you sense that you guys have some thing special together.
I've always had a natural chemistry with Donnie which stretches back to 1978. There were some roadblocks which prevented us from working together in the past, but I'm glad times have changed and we've both matured in order to make D-Drive a reality.
How did you record the CD? You live in Toronto and Don lives in Rochester, did you travel back and forth or did you work on the material individually and then mix in all together?
Do you want to see my gas station receipts?
How come Lou Gramm didn’t sing lead vocals on any of the tracks this time around?
Unfortunately Lou was to busy working on his own solo release and he couldn't fully participate on the new album in the same capacity as he did on the last one. At least we were lucky enough to have him doing background vocals though.
The title track has a very unique vocal style to it. Whose idea was it to record it that way?
Donnie and I both decided to lay it down in that fashion
What song are you the most proud of on the CD?
Without a doubt, "Pray for Tomorrow" & “I Can Feel No Pain.”
“Pray for Tomorrow” is an amazing song, it could be one of the best of your career. How did that song come together?
I was jamming with my sons John and James one day and they were belting out some cool riffs using a mandolin. I got floored by one of them and asked my boys if I could use it. That riff became the foundation of "Pray for Tomorrow".
“Can You Dig It” has a bit of a retro vibe to it. Tell us a bit about that track.
One day I was traveling in my car listening to some new current music. The tunes I heard on that station inspired the retro vibe for "Can You Dig It".
Is it difficult for you to write lyrics or does it come easy? Do you have to be in a certain state of mind to do?
My life is so crazy that I'm always in a state of a mind when it comes to writing lyrics. Inspiration comes easy for me!
Do you feel that this release will bring you the recognition that the band deserves. The last D Drive CD was pretty incredible, it should have been much more popular than it was and the new CD is out of this world. What is it going to take to bring D Drive to the masses?
Pounding the pavement by bombarding all forms of media from print magazines, internet radio stations, and everything else in between. We have to continue building our current fan base.
What are the tour plans of D Drive at this point? Would you like to hook up as an opener for a major tour?
We'd like to go on the road with Aerosmith and Van Halen as OUR opening act (ha ha!).
With the record industry going down the drain very quickly, do you feel that it really important to have major label support any more?
Any support is good support. I try and find the pros to every con
You’re a veteran musician, do you thing that these are the darkest days for the music industry?
Yeah it's pretty sad. The only way to solve this problem is for record companies to hire A&R people who are fans that sincerely love music -all music. It would be a nice change from the suits of today who only care about how much money a band or artist can rake in for them.
What do you feel should be done to save the music industry?
They need to build bands at grass root levels and nurture them. Ahmet Ertegun mastered that technique with Atlantic Records. Look what he did for Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. Need I say more?
Do you think that it’s just a matter of time before bands/artist just release individual tracks on itunes and myspace and don’t even bother with full length CD’s?
Some bands like the Eagles have already begun to do that, and I'm sure that more will follow. However, I think people will always want a complete disc regardless of what's available on line.
You are involved in many different projects that must keep you very busy. What is a typical day like for Phil Naro.
"Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Found my way upstairs and had a smoke. And then my wife spoke and I went into a dream". (ha ha).
Changing the subject a bit, a few months ago, ex Kiss guitarist Mark St. John passed away. You performed and recorded with him. What are some of your memories of him and when was the last time that you spoke to him?
Mark was a very sweet guy who unfortunately had a lot of demons locked up inside of him. I had a difficult time recording with him because he would always pull a disappearing act in the studio. He'd tell us "back in five minutes" and then an hour or two would pass and he still wouldn't be back. We would begin to panic when all of a sudden he'd walk in, tell us he went for a walk and got lost, lay down his solos, and then he would disappear again! He came out to jam with Johnny Rogers and myself one night at a pub called The Precinct. We churned out some Kiss tunes -unplugged! and the crowd just loved it. I last spoke to Mark at a Kiss Konvention here in Toronto eight years ago. If there is a rock and roll heaven, he must be playing in one hell of a band right now.
Phil, thanks for your time. I really feel that you’re one of the best vocalist on the face of the earth. Best of luck with the D Drive CD, you really should be very proud of it.
It was my pleasure, and thank you for the compliment.
www.donmancuso.com www.myspace.com/philnaro
To read about Phil’s other bands that he’s played in, please check out our 2005 interview with him here
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