Frankie Banali Interview
Interview Introduction:
STR:
Dear Mr. Banali,
I would like to say that it's a pleasure to be able to interview you, even if only through e-mail.
I have been a fan for many years and its an honor to do this interview. I hope the questions are ok .. if there are
any that aren't, then please just don't answer them.
FB:
Hi, Please call me Frankie and thank you for your interest and wanting to do the interview. I have
attached a photo should you need one or decide to include one with the interview.
STR: When did you first start playing drums?
FB: I actually started pretty late, when I was 12, by the age of 13 I had already started playing and getting paid.
$13.00 was my first music "paycheck" for playing a Catholic church social with my basement band called "A Pound of
Flesh" in Astoria, NY. I took lessons at a local music store De Bellis Music, they are still there!
STR: Did you ever think in the beginning that it would become your career?
FB: I only thought about my family, my drums, music and pasta. Everything else was everything else. I was really
consumed with listening to records over and over and over. In the beginning, The Beatles, Stones, a lot of the
British music that was coming into it's own. But not just rock, a lot of big band, swing, jazz and opera which
is what my father listened to and a lot of Flamenco music from my mother's side. I am still consumed by music and
still listen to music every day and my taste in music is really wide. My emphasis has always been about the song,
the delivery, the feel. So I guess subconsciously I was predetermined to have music as a career.
STR: Were your parents supportive in your musical instrument of choice (haha)?
FB: While there was music around the house always, it was not considered a career choice, it was for the love of
it. Like all parents they wanted a doctor or a lawyer for security, but once they saw that I was serious, their
support was infinite, albeit they kept their fingers crossed and hoped that I would have something to fall back on.
STR: What were/are some of your musical influences as a drummer?
FB: Early on there was a combination of Ringo and Charlie Watts along with Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa. Later on Mitch
Mitchell, Ginger Baker, Max Roach, the great Tony Williams, and of course my personal favorite John Bonham. The
list is really long and varied, from Chick Webb to Terry Bozzio and everyone in-between. My family had a huge
collection of records. I still have over 3,000 LP's in storage from when I was growing up.
STR: You are endorsed by a few different companies. Can you tell us who they are and for now long you have been endorsed?
FB: I've always played Ludwig Drums as my personal sets, though my very first set was a inexpensive Kent drum set
made in NY. My second set and every set until my first endorsement were my own Ludwig sets. I still have my first
snare drum, the Kent, as well as my first two Ludwig snare drums, both 402 Supraphonic snares. I tried to get a
Ludwig endorsement in January of 1983 but was turned down. Someone from Pearl drums saw me playing at Guitar
Center in Hollywood in February of the same year and signed me to my first drum endorsement. In March of 1983 Metal
Health came out, the rest is history. I was with Pearl from 1983 to 1987. When my term was up in 1987 I left Pearl,
not because their drums were not good, but because it was becoming very difficult to get items replaced while on the
road. They were a great company to me, but it was time to end the relationship, and I did so amicably and professionally.
From 1987 until 1994 I was endorsed by Tama Drums. I loved the company, especially the Japanese branch, but in time I had
a falling out with the US artist relations rep and ended my commitment at the end of my contract term in 1994.
STR: Are you going to be appreaing at the NAMM show for any of these endorsements?
FB: Each year if I'm in LA I always participate at NAMM by doing "Meet & Greet" sessions for Ludwig Drums, Sabian Cymbals,
Vic Firth Drumsticks and next year likely with Aquarian Drumheads which I signed on as a endorsee this year. I rarely do any
performances at NAMM. I really enjoy meeting the fans old and new and seeing many of my friends in the music industry that I
normally don't have a chance to see. It's a nice social gathering mixed in with a bit of business.
STR: How did it come about that you joined FREAKSHOW?
Markus Allen Christopher called me and explained who he was and that he wanted to know if I would be interested in recording
with him. I told Markus that I would have to hear the material first to make sure that I was the right drummer for the
sessions. We talked over a period of time, maybe a month or so and he sent me a four song demo which was very well done as
complete songs. I saw that he could write great rock songs, could play great bone crushing guitar riffs, played bass and really
snag the material great as well. We talked on the phone a number of times and I decided that I could add to the songs with my
particular style and drum sound.
STR: When writing the songs for the CD "Welcome to the Freakshow" were you invoved in that process or did Markus have it finished
when you came aboard?
FB: Markus is the primary songwriter and four of the songs were already well on their way to completion as demos when I got involved.
The six he and I worked on when I first arrived for the sessions we fleshed out rather easily and Markus felt that the contributions
that I made on "It's Really Over" and "Four Leave Clover" were above and beyond what I had done on the recordings overall and therefore
I am a co-writer on those two songs. I really appreciate that Markus appreciated the value of my input on those two tracks.
Markus initially thought that he and I would do pre-production for two or three days, then take four days to record the
drum tracks. He played me the additional six songs that he proposed to record that I had not heard when I arrived at his house, just
guitar and singing along and I gave him my suggestions and ideas. We went to the studio that same night and we ran down all the songs
with me behind the drums and we fine tuned all the arrangements and made the necessary changes. That was the extent of the pre
production, it was just a handful of hours in one day. We went into the studio the next evening, set up the drums, got drum sounds and I
recorded the drums to six of the songs in about six and a half hours, came in the next day and tracked the following four in two and a
half hours. So all in all it was less than three days to rehearse and track the drums.
Markus and I worked independent of anyone else on the arrangements and then I recorded the drums to the work tracks that
Markus had. After I left he brought in Jeff LaBar to record the guitars and then we had Tony Franklin record the bass. Afterwards Markus
was free to record his vocals at his own pace. It's easy to play great songs.
The eleventh track, the acoustic "Mistaken" was something that Markus sent me as an MP3 demo after I returned to LA. I
liked it so much that I booked a small studio in LA, recorded percussion to it, timpani, shakers, conga and cymbals and sent Markus a
data file of the tracks and gave him the option to use the percussion or not. He decided to use them.
STR: W.A.S.P. .. What was that experiense like?
FB: I worked on quite a few W.A.S.P. records between 1989's "The Headless Children" through "The Neon God I & II" in 2004. My favorite
recording is The Headless record, but I enjoyed my time with W.A.S.P. for the most part. Like any relationship, there are good days
and bad days. I only toured once with the band for the Headless world tour by my own choice.
STR: What gave you the idea to do a Led Zeppelin Tribute CD with all your friends featured on it?
FB: I had some time on my hand between QUIET RIOT dates and decided to simply pay tribute to my favorite rock band, Led Zeppelin, and my
favorite rock drummer, the mighty John Henry Bonham. I invited some of my musical friends to participate and I had a great time making
the record. It was a lot of fun. Because it was self financed, I really needed to budget wisely, so I recorded all the drum tracks for
the record in one 12 hour session.
STR: What was it like working with all that extreme talent? Did you hand pick the people to work with?
Everyone was great to work with and they were all more than happy to participate. I picked some of my personal favorite songs and took
my time in picking a choosing which singers and guitarists would work best for each of the songs.
1. The Wanton Song - Alex Ligertwood (Santana): Vocals - Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake):
Guitar.
2. Four Sticks - Glenn Hughes (Black Sabbath/Deep Purple): Vocals - Steve Fister (Lita
Ford): Guitar - Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot): Drums/Djembe/Doumbek- Neil Citron (Hero):
Keyboards.
3. Kashmir - Don Dokken (Dokken): Vocals - Michael Lardie (Night Ranger/Great
White): Keyboards - Steve Fister: Guitar.
4. Out On The Tiles - Robin McCauley (Michael Schenker/MSG): Vocals - Reb Beach
(Winger/Whitesnake): Guitar.
5. Ramble On - Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt/Quiet Riot): Vocals - Steve Fister: Guitar.
6. The Ocean - Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen): Vocals - Bruce Kulick (Kiss): Guitar.
7. The Immigrant Song - Bobby Kimball (Toto): Vocals - Gilby Clarke (Guns N' Roses/
Rockstar: Supernova): Guitar.
8. Royal Orleans - Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen/Talisman/Soul SirkUS): Vocals
Gilby Clarke: Guitar.
9. Gallows Pole - Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot): Vocals - Steve Fister: Guitar, Mandolin
and Banjo.
10. Custard Pie - Chas West (Bonham): Vocals - Bill Leverty (Firehouse): Guitar.
11. When The Levee Breaks - The 24/7 Overture- Levee Guest Vocalist: Joan Fraley.
12. (They Were) The Eye Of God - Frankie Banali: Drums & Hand Percussion -
Neil Citron: Guitar/Bass/Keys/Stringed Instruments.
Kevin DuBrow did a wonderful vocal on "Gallows Pole" but sadly this was his last studio
recorded vocal.
STR: Did you hand pick the people to work with?
You just asked me that, LOL!
STR: The drums sound amazing on the "Welcome to the Freakshow" CD. Can you tell me
something about how they were recorded?
FB: There are really four components to getting a great drum sound. First are the drums and cymbals. For this session I played a Ludwig
Amber Vistalite set, 14 X 26 bass drum, 16 X 16 and 16 X 18 floor toms, 10 X 14 tom and a 6.5 X 14 Supraphonic snare drum. The cymbals
were Sabian APX line, 24" ride, 18" and 20" crashes and 15" Hi Hats.
The second component is the recording room. In this situation I opted out to use the smaller of the two rooms available
to me. The dimensions were probably no larger than 12' X 12" with about a 10' ceiling, all of which is a fairly small room which I
thought would work best with such a "live" drum set and cymbal set up. Sometimes if the drum sound gets out of control, the entire
mix suffers.
The third component is a good engineer who knows miking techniques and which mics to use. Johnny Lima did a fantastic
job in that department because he knows sounds, knows the style of drummer I am and he did a fantastic job capturing my drum sound.
Lastly, it's how you hit the drums. You have to give the mic's something to "hear" and you have to be consistent in
your playing. Since I don't muffle any of the drums I have to control the intensity and dynamics internally.
STR: If you had to make an audition tape for somebody tomorrow, which three tracks
would you choose to put on it?
FB: By now, if people don't know who I am, what I've done, and how I play, it's too late to
make a demo tape!
15) What do you think of the internet, namely MYSPACE, as a tool for bands/musicians?
Does it help or hinder one's career?
FB: I don't think it helps or hinders. Since there is no exclusivity, everyone, anyone can have a page but it's fairly
easy to set one up. I think it's a nice networking tool, but beyond that I feel it's more social than business for anyone
who places a page.
STR: Last but certainly not least .. What does MUSIC mean to you?
FB: Music to me is as important as the air I breathe. I have to have music in my life every day.
Dear Mr. Banali,
I would like to say that it has been a pleasure interviewing you, even if only through
e-mail. I have been a fan for many years and it was an honor to do this interview.
Thank you again,
Brian Boone
Smokin Tunz Radio - http://smokintunz.net
brian@smokintunz.net
724.853.6590
FRANKIE BANALI INTERVIEW QUESTION RECAP:
1) When did you first start playing drums?
2) Did you ever think in the beginning that it would become your career?
3) Were your parents supportive in your musical instrument of choice (haha)?
4) What were/are some of your musical influences as a drummer?
5) You are endorsed by a few different companies. Can you tell us who they are and for now long you have been endorsed?
6) Are you going to be appreaing at the NAMM show for any of these endorsements?
7) How did it come about that you joined FREAKSHOW?
8) When writing the songs for the CD "Welcome to the Freakshow" were you invoved in that process or did Markus have it finished when you
came aboard?
9) W.A.S.P. .. What was that experiense like?
10) What gave you the idea to do a Led Zeppelin Tribute CD with all your friends featured on it?
11) What was it like working with all that extreme talent? Did you hand pick the people to work with?
12) Did you hand pick the people to work with?
13) The drums sound amazing on the "Welcome to the Freakshow" CD. Can you tell me something about how they were recorded?
14) If you had to make an audition tape for somebody tomorrow, which three tracks would you choose to put on it?
15) What do you think of the internet, namely MYSPACE, as a tool for bands/musicians? Does it help or hinder one's career?
16) Last but certainly not least .. What does MUSIC mean to you?
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