by Tina Peek
LINKS:
It
was to be a long day for the guys in Theory Of A Deadman. A twelve hour
drive on the bus from New Jersey to Kitchener, Ontario. No time to do
a proper sound check because of their later than expected arrival. Equipment
problems. Having to hustle back and forth in this oppressive Ontario heat,
3 blocks to the
outdoor venue, to check on how things were progressing. Grabbing a bite
to eat at yet another take-out food joint. Trying to get to their hotel
for a much needed shower and a bit of rest. Add to that, this endless
heatwave of 110+ degrees, and it's a wonder that anyone would have the
energy to perform in front of hundreds of
fans that same night. But it's just another day in the life of a rock
band. And Brent Fitz takes it all in stride. He's been around for a while
after all. I've seen him perform many times, and he is, without a doubt,
an amazing, kick-ass drummer. Intelligent, extremely talented, connected,
and just your all around nice guy, I was fortunate to have the opportunity
to sit down and speak with Brent, on a very hot, very muggy and very late,
Ontario evening in July.
TINA PEEK:
You've been touring with Theory of a Deadman for the past year and a half
throughout the States and Canada, and you've just finished doing 9 shows
drumming for Alice Cooper. The touring seems relentless. Aren't you tired
yet?
BRENT FITZ: Am I tired yet? Yes, I'm tired.
TP: Your previous band was called Union. How long did
you play for them?
BF: I think it was 3 years. It wasn't that long, it was
1997 to 2000. And then we had a reunion in 2001, although I was already
playing with Vince Neil.
TP: What was it like working with Vince Neil?
BF: Like a roller coaster ride.
TP: How so?
BF: It was like the live version of the Motley Crue book
The Dirt.
BF: A long time. I think I started when I was 5, and studied until I was 24, so whatever the math is on that, a long time. It's not an actual school you attend, it's a curriculum. You take it privately, with private teachers. So I was only five years old and I would go to the teacher as part of this course and you take it through the Conservatory. Does that make sense?
TP: Yes it does. So what's your first love, the piano or drums?
BF: Probably piano.
TP: Why?
BF: Because it's the instrument that, of all the instruments, it's the main instrument that every other instrument is based around, musically. If you could play piano, you could probably play guitar, or trumpet and drums. Well, drums are more rhythm but I think with piano knowledge it's like, just a more musical instrument, that's why it's my first love.
TP: Do you, or can you, play any other instruments that you haven't told us about?
BF: Oh gawd, no. Just guitar, piano and drums.
TP: Guitar? How well?
BF: Pretty good.
TP: Really?
BF: I guess so. You'll have to hear me play sometime. I write songs on them. I write songs on piano mostly, and then a little on guitar. The drums are like the bonus. You can't really write a drum song, unless it's an Iron Maiden drum intro or something.
TP: If you could play for any band, living or dead, who would it be and what instrument would you choose, the drums or piano?
BF: Any band? Probably Led Zeppelin. Who wouldn't? I mean, c'mon. I'd play drums. Of course.
TP: When did you realize you had a good voice, so good in fact, that you were confident enough to sing back-up?
BF: I sang in my first band. And not that I wanted to, when I was 15, playing clubs. The band had me sing a Loverboy song, and it was the worst, because it wasn't a popular Loverboy song. But I used to sing it every night, and I was like "okay, whatever". I was 15, so I didn't care. In every band I've been in, I sang background, except for Vince Neil. I never sang for Vince Neil.
TP: Why didn't
you sing background for Vince Neil?
BF: The guitar players in Vince's band were more than
capable of covering the parts, plus I had enough going on, drum-wise and
I also played the piano.
TP: Does that mean we're going to be hearing your own
songs at some point?
BF: Yes!
TP: Have you ever given any thought to singing lead vocals?
BF: Of course. I think I could do that. I think I would
sing on my own songs. If there was a song that I wrote, and wrote lyrics
and music, I would want to sing it.
TP: And you write your own songs?
BF: Absolutely. Up to this point I've co-written in the
bands I've played with, but soon enough I want to step out on my own.
BF: My good friend Eric Singer recommended me for the gig. He was leaving for a short while to play with KISS and I was asked to step in while he was gone. It helped as well that I'd previously played in different bands with some of the other musicians. Chuck Garric and I had played together in Gilby Clarke's band and guitarist Keri Kelli and I both played together with Vince Neil. So it all just sort of made sense.
TP: Did you do anything differently on the Alice tour, change your hair colour, wear eyeliner, dress differently?
BF: Yeah, I wore a LOT more eyeliner. And a LOT more black.
TP: Have you ever been asked by a band to wear, or not wear, certain things such as make-up or hair colour changes?
BF: I've seen some band members get scared when I pull out the eyeliner. Definitely. I won't name any bands, but, yeah...
TP: Vince Neil opened for Alice in London, Ontario recently. What was it like meeting up with old friends again?
BF: Yeah, it was cool. It was kinda' awkward. It wasn't bad, it was just that I felt like I wanted to play for Vince as well. Because it's strange to see someone who you've worked with for so many years, and then they're up there playing, and you kinda' want to get up there and play too. I saw Vince Neil last year with Motley Crue, and I was thinking, "Wow, what a difference seeing him perform from an audience perspective, rather than being behind him staring at his ass"!
TP: So are there any discussions for a future Union re-union?
BF: No, but I've been asked to play drums on Bruce Kulick's next solo record. I played on his last 2 as well. We all stay in touch though.
TP: How did the guys from Theory Of A Deadman react when they heard you had this killer opportunity to play for Alice Cooper?
BF: They were supportive. Basically they said, "How could you say no to a cool opportunity like that"?
TP: So how is it different touring with Alice Cooper, than say, Theory?
BF: Well, I have to think about this...I think the main difference is just the musical catalogue with someone like Alice Cooper, when you're playing those songs. It's like a soundtrack of your life, because some of the songs have been around for 30 years. So it was a pleasure to play songs that I loved and had grown up listening to. Performing some with the person who wrote and sang the songs was pretty awesome. The Theory music is just different because it's newer. It's great as well, but I guess the difference is just the history behind all of Alice's songs.
TP: Unlike Theory's bio states, you did not live within 6 blocks of the guys...
BF: Hell no! (laughs)
TP: You are actually a Winnipeg boy. What was it like growing up in a smaller city like Winnipeg, trying to make it into the industry?
BF: It was the best! Because we had hockey, music and beer. And that's all we did, was everybody played hockey and played music and drank, a lot. And there was nothing else to do, so everybody got really good either at playing hockey, or at drinking, or, playing music. And I just chose to stick to the music.
BF: I think so.
TP: So you made the move to L.A. and lived there for a few years, what was it like living in L.A.?
BF: How do you know all this stuff? (laughs)
TP: I know everything about you, Brent!
BF: (laughs) I moved to L.A., you're asking me what was that like?
TP: Yeah, you lived there for a few years, 7 years, what was it like going out there?
BF: I would say it was a culture shock, for a kid to move from Winnipeg, down to a massive city. But it was probably the best thing I did, because of all the variety of people and opportunity. And as soon as I got there I realized, I am a small fish in a very big world. So it was inspiring for me to network with bands and musicians and people right away, because in Winnipeg, I was tapped out. Completely tapped out. I'd played with all my favourite musicians back in Winnipeg and I was ready to move on to, you know, to the next ones.
TP: So you
live in Las Vegas now. What made you decide to move there, what do you
like about living there? Isn't it tax free in Vegas?
BF: There are some tax benefits. I live there because
I really like buffets. (I laugh) I'm serious.
TP: Really?
BF: Yup, AND I'm in love with Celine Dion.
TP: You are not.
BF: I like her, I've seen her a dozen times in Vegas.
It's a good show.
TP: From what I understand, Theory Of A Deadman are winding
down their tour sometime by the end of the year. After that, what's on
the Brent Fitz agenda, do you feel you need the break?
BF: (sighs) I need the break, yeah. I'm gonna' paint
the inside of my house. As normal as that sounds, I'm gonna' go home for
probably a month and hibernate and I'm going to do domestication at it's
finest. Going to paint my house and hang all my pictures on my walls,
because I didn't want to put anything on my walls yet. I just moved in
the house and went on the road. I haven't done anything to my house.
TP: And only for a month? What happens after a month?
BF: Then I'll be bored.
TP: Will you really? That quickly?
BF: Yeah. I like being home though. I really do. I like
being away from hotel rooms and tour buses, but after a while I'm at home,
but back on tour, you know? I'm at my kitchen table with my computer and
phone and I'm going crazy!
TP: Tell me one thing that none of your fans know about
you.
BF: Probably that I've played in a disco cover band,
in a bar, in Minneapolis. It was during the 2000 Millennium on New Years
Eve, wearing a wig. True story (laughs). It's a true story! A friend of
mine, their drummer needed to go do something else and they asked me to
fill in and I'm thinking, "That sounds pretty ridiculous, yeah, I'm
gonna' do that"! I have another one that's cool too. I went to Taiwan
and played in a Broadway tap dancing show in 2002. I swear to God! Isn't
that fucking crazy? (laughs) I got a call from a guitar player friend
of mine saying, "Can you get on a plane tomorrow and fly to Taiwan?"
I'm like, "That sounds fucking crazy"! So I did that too! Thankfully,
I was on a tour break with Vince Neil.
TP: Tell me one thing you can't live without on tour?
BF: Computer. No, 2 things, computer and cell phone.
TP: You have to pick one.
BF: Hmm, well, with Skype I'll go with computer, because
you can call on your computer.
TP: What do you like most about being on tour?
BF: Meeting people. It's the best.
TP: What's your biggest pet peeve?
BF: People blowing smoke in my face. I don't mind smoking.
But when people are talking to you and they blow it right in your face,
argggh.
TP: You have many fans that have followed you throughout
your career from the early days until now. How does that make you feel?
BF: I think it's funny how with music, the parallels
are endless, because I never thought that people who I'd met that liked
Union music, would, after all these years, turn into Theory Of A Deadman
fans. Ya' know what I mean? I have no control over that, it's something
that evolves and the music sort of carries itself within each band. Probably
some of those fans had a hard time tolerating that I'm all over the map,
musically. One minute I'm playing with Vince Neil and then the next minute
I'm playing with Theory. And it's great the fans have been there for me.
TP: Any crazy fan stories you can share?
BF: Yeah, well it's a Theory story, I think the guys
have told the story before too, but I'll tell it again. There was this
girl, earlier last year, that followed our band around, and we were kind
of interested to know how she got to every show. She came to a lot of
shows in the States, over about a month, and we were thinking, "Wow,
she's really come to a lot of shows"! And she didn't seem like the
kind of girl that drives a car, she seemed pretty young. So we just never
thought about it too much. She was around, but we weren't hanging out
with her or anything, but we'd see her at all the shows. And she'd be
backstage and she'd be trying to at least say hi to somebody at some point,
some of the other bands who would hang out with her more than we would.
And one day, we got a message from one of the other bands, saying, "That
girl's nuts, we had her thrown out from backstage", and we were thinking,
"Yeah, she seems a little weird". And sure enough, she was riding
shotgun between either our bus, or
one of the other buses' trailer. There's a spare tire and there's a trailer
attached and she was riding on that the whole tour. Can you imagine that?
I mean, that's the most crazy thing I ever heard.
TP: How could someone driving by the bus, not have seen
her? How could she even ride on that?
BF: I can't imagine. She was probably just crouched,
she had a bag. Her life was in a bag and away she went.
TP: Did you ever have to cross the border with her riding
there?
BF: I don't think she was ever on a border crossing run.
I mean, how funny would that have been?
TP: Okay, last question. How would you like to be remembered?
BF: I think I wanna be the musician that everybody....I
don't know how to word it. I don't want a bad reputation. I'm not into
that. I don't want to be the one that died young, like a Jim Morrison.
I want to grow old and have been in the music business for a long time.
Sort of like Paul McCartney, who gets better as he gets older. You know
what I mean? Or Mick Jagger, one of those timeless musicians. I don't
know how it's going to work out, but I kind of envision that. I don't
want to become a little blip on the radar. Does that make sense?
TP: Makes sense to me. Brent, thanks a lot for taking
the time to do this interview, best of luck with the rest of the tour!
BF: Thanks!
