Tim McPhate | KissFAQ
This week, KissFAQ launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. In conjunction with the launch, the site has published an interview with former Piper drummer Richie Fontana.
With Piper being managed by Bill Aucoin, Fontana received an invitation to play drums on Paul Stanley’s 1978 solo album. Fontan plays on the first four tracks of the album. The drummer detailed his recolllections of the sessions, plus his thoughts on the entire album and Bill Aucoin, amongother topics.
The following are excerpts from Fontana’s interview with KissFAQ’s Tim McPhate:
On learning the material and getting takes of the songs:
KF: Did Paul play you any of the material? How did you first hear the songs?
RF: Actually, I first heard the songs — I think the other guys too, Bob Kulick and Steve Buslowe, probably also — when I walked into the studio to record them. I walked in, Paul was there [with] Bob Kulick [and] Steve Buslowe. We just sat around and Paul played the songs solo on guitar, just so we could hear them from top to bottom. And then we all plugged in, got on our instruments and we started to create the parts. And we just started running through some ideas of what to play where and all that. Everything was pretty much done on the spot. Once we had it together, we had a structure and an arrangement going for the basic track, they started rolling tape and we just started doing takes. And it was like bang! Just like that.
KF: About how many takes do you think you did for each song?
RF: Some more than others. Oh boy, that’s a hard one to remember. I was there two or three days. The only song I remember doing the most takes of was “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me?” which was the most energetic song for me. And who knows, the best rhythm track for that song might have been left on the cutting-room floor (laughs). We did so many takes, I was drumming my brains out on each take. So who knows how the other ones came out. But this was the one Paul chose.
KF: Did you play to a click track, Richie?
RF: No click track. I was the metronome (laughs).
On the carmarderie between the musicians at the Los Angeles-based album sessions:
KF: It seems this quartet had a camaraderie from the get-go and that you all gelled together nicely. Is that what you remember?
RF: Absolutely. Absolutely. It was really, really comfortable. I mean, the fact that Paul had each of us there, we knew we were all quite adequate to do the job, so that was understood from the beginning. The personalities — it was interesting because we had never met before. So here we are all never not previously knowing each other, walking into a room and learning new material from Paul Stanley and doing this. So our antennas were at a peak level. The work environment was really sharp and was really great. It was a nice vibe between us all.
On the album’s lead track, “Tonight You Belong To Me”:
KF: “Tonight You Belong To Me” is the lead track on the album.
RF: That’s one of my favorite songs. I thought Paul [made] a wise decision to have that as the opening track to the album because it has, what he even said, that epic feeling to it. It was ear-candy when I first heard that song because it was really melodic but at the same time it was really powerful.
KF: It’s very dynamic. There’s the quiet acoustic intro and that electric guitar comes in and just punches you in the gut.
RF: Right, it was really great. We did some cool stuff; we turned one of my cymbals into a gong. I did some overdubs where we didn’t have a gong there so what we did was, I just took a crash cymbal and we sped up the tape really fast and I hit the crash and than we slowed the tape back down and it sounds just like a gong
On rumors of his involvement on KISS’ 1979 album, “Dynasty”:
KF: Following the KISS solo albums, the band reconvened for a new studio album, 1979’s “Dynasty,” which Peter Criss did not play on. After your successful stint on Paul’s album, did you record any demos with Paul? Also, Richie, there is a rumor that you may have worked on some recordings that may have materialized on “Dynasty.” Can you shed some light?
RF: There’s some truth to that and some not. That rumor, I don’t know how that rumor ever got started that I played on “Dynasty” because I did not. It was Anton. As a matter of fact, some years ago I was at a party with Anton and I drove him home. And I said, “Anton, whenever I can, I try to correct that.” (laughs)
KF: (laughs)
RF: He was in the back seat of my car, and I said, “I know you know that’s going around.” But yeah, I don’t know how it got started but people thought that. I started demos with Paul. That did happen. After I worked with Paul on his solo album, he called me again because he was producing some demos not for himself, but for the Alessi Brothers, Billy and Bobby Alessi. And he got the same crew that he liked working with in New York. It was Bob Kulick, Steve Buslowe and myself. And I’ve said this before, I’m not 100 percent sure, but Bruce [Kulick] might have been in on one of those sessions. I’m not sure. So you know, Paul called me back again. We did some more stuff, it was all at Electric Lady. And we had a chemistry going. We just did his album and he was stretching a little bit, producing demos for somebody else. He said, “Let me get my guys.” So we had a little studio clique going there for a little while. But as far as “Dynasty” goes, I did not play on that album.
On his 2002 solo album, “Steady On The Steel,” and his current status:
KF: You released a solo album, “Steady On The Steel,” in 2002. On this album you wrote all the songs and play all of the instruments and I’ve seen you describe it as “power pop.” What is the backstory on this project
RF: Those are a bunch of songs, most of them I wrote in the ’90s. I just decided to compile them and put them out like that. I got real serious about that. I made the commitment some years ago to step out and just go solo. And I would have been fronting my own band and this and that but … yeah, all my influences are all in there. It’s melodic music, it’s rock and roll, and right now what I’m doing with those songs is, even though there’s a very retro sound to them, I pitch those songs to other artists. And that’s where I’m at nowadays. My performing days are behind me. I got that under my belt, I love it, it was great. But what I want to do now is just get my songs out there and get other artists to record my songs. And I have some that are more generic than others that would be good for some people. They could re-work them or do whatever they want with them. But that’s what I do now.
Full Richie Fontana interview:
http://www.kissfaq.com/78/interview_richie_fontana.php
About Back In The Solo Album Groove:
As KISS celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2013, KissFAQ.com has launched Back In The Solo Album Groove: The KISS Albums. 35 Years Later…, an ambitious multi-week retrospective dedicated to arguably the biggest milestone in KISStory: the 1978 KISS solo albums. More than 30 brand-new interviews were conducted with various individuals who either worked directly on the solo albums or have a strong connection of sorts. The interviews will offer readers fresh first-hand perspectives straight from studio musicians, producers, engineers, and collaborators, and the creative professionals working in the KISS camp at the time. Topical features will shed more light on KISS’ activity in 1978 while dissecting the albums and offering in-depth analysis and biographical information on the albums’ participants. Also featured will be a 1978 KISS calendar, a roundup of other notable album releases in the rock genre in 1978, a spotlight on “Double Platinum,” and much more. Back In The Solo Album Groove will put the four 1978 KISS solo albums center stage like never before.
Get Back In The Solo Album Groove at:
http://www.kissfaq.com/78/index.php