John Koury: “Today have artists more opportunities to be heard”
Pete Drivere: “It's difficult for an independent musician to make a living at it, but it can be done”
John Koury and Pete Drivere
Photo: www.popdetective.com
Текст: PowerPop.ru
We already told our readers in July, 2007 about The Deadbeats Poets and their debut album. And we also talked on pages of our site with Frank Secich and Terry Hartman who are founders and the ideological inspirers of new band. Today we talk about a life and creativity with guitarist Pete Drivere and drummer John Koury.
Powerpop.Ru:Tell a little about yourselves… How many years you are keen on music? What groups have you played in and who has affected you early in life…
John Koury: Music has been a major force in my life since I was a kid. My older brother Mark is a music fanatic and had a collection of a few thousand records. I spent a lot of time listening to these records when I was growing up. Early influences were the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Love, The Kinks, The Who, The Doors, Elvis Presley, The Band, it's a pretty long list. While I was in high school I discovered The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, The MC5, The Clash, Pere Ubu, Rocket From The Tombs, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, The Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Clash, and lots of other punk and new wave bands.
I started playing guitar and drums in college. The bands I have played in so far have been The Elements, Balanced Budget, The Infidels and Slack Jaw. Pete and I played 2 shows with the Dead Boys in 1986. I also recorded an E.P. (playing bass) with a band called Harper that featured members of NRBQ Terry Adams and Tommy Ardolino.
Pete Drivere: I was born in Sharon Pennsylvania in the late 1960's. I started playing the guitar at age 9 after seeing a Beach Boys special on the television. I decided at that point that I wanted to play the electric guitar in a band! It took me a few years to properly practice and focus on the instrument but by the time that I was 12 years old I had my first band, which was called the Ancient Vision Band. By the early 1980's I had formed The Infidels, which John Koury and I are still a part of today, also I am currently fronting my solo project called 'Pete Drivere and the Pretty Demons'. I released an album with this band in 2002. I am currently working on another which I will complete after the Deadbeat Poets European tour later this Spring.
Powerpop.Ru:Last year you had released "Notes From The Underground". Tell to our readers about creative processes of the album's birth.
J.K.: The album came together fairly quickly. We had recorded 'Him Or Me' for the Greg Shaw tribute album that just recently came out. Frank asked Pete and I to play on the Deadbeat Poets album. We rehearsed 'The Green Man' and maybe one or two other songs. We recorded these and Frank sent them out. He got such a great response from these that we went into Ampreon and recorded the rest of the tracks for the album in a few weeks.
Deadbeat Poets: John Koury, Frank Secich, Terry Hartman, Pete Drivere
Photo: myspace.com/deadbeatpoets
P.D.: Songs like "The Green Man", "A Funny Little Feeling", and "No Island Like the Mind" were learned off of demo recordings that Frank and Terry had made. The bulk of the other material was learned and developed on the spot in the recording studio with Terry or Frank just plunking out some chords on the guitar and the rest of us developing our parts right there and then to tape with very little rehearsal. We did the album very quickly, starting sometime in March and finishing it by early May of 2007.
Powerpop.Ru:After the album was released is this all happens like you wanted, much better then you think or are you a little disappointed?
J.K.: The response that Frank has received from this album has been very positive. It's been very exciting to see how everything has been developing.
P.D.: As it is said, you never finish an album, you just give up on it at some point! Although I am very proud of this record, there are things that I would have done differently. Frank and Terry have written many good songs on this record and a lot of people have really started liking it....so in the end, any reservation I have about the making of the record is kind of irrelevant. At the end of the day, I am very glad that we made this album.
Powerpop.Ru:Tell us about recently last performances which have left best reminiscences and where would you like to go to and have gigs in the near future?
J.K.: The shows have been pretty good. The New York and Toronto IPO's were very fun shows to be a part of and we're looking forward to playing Europe in May.
P.D.: We have done several shows in the last few months. My two favorite shows took place in Toronto, Canada late last year and just a few days ago here in Ohio at the Cedars Lounge in Youngstown. The band was very on both of those nights and we had a really good time!
Powerpop.Ru:Pete, I know, you work in the sound studio. I have listened songs those who were written here in the studio and I like very much The Zou and Deadbeats Poets, certainly… Whom did you work with last time and cooperation with whom has given you greater pleasure?
P.D.: Aside from my work with the Zou and the Deadbeat Poets, I have been working with several Ohio based artists. Some of my favorite bands that I have worked with have been First In Space, The Johnie 3, and Shynola, which is my wife's band. I have recently started a project with my friend Chris Leonardi where we are redoing the entire Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" album in it's entirety.
Powerpop.Ru:There are many in Ohio and other states, in greater and small cities of America, talented independent musicians who do not aspire to become popular for the masses because they realize that musical experiments which give them pleasure always will be clear only to a narrow circle of people. And nevertheless how I see from Russia, in USA there are many independent albums out in small circulations, but they really out. There is a similar situation in Canada, Australia and in Europe. At your sight, is there the fertile field for experiments in your country? Or its just seems to me…
J.K.: Absolutely. Even though some of these artists may be making experimental music that won't translate to the masses, they have more opportunities to be heard. The great aspect about being a musician today is that you can get your music out to a large amount of people because of the internet (My Space, etc.); satellite radio and various other means. You don't need a contract or widespread distribution to get your music heard. That benefits the musicians who are looking to experiment.
P.D.: For several years, I have made my living off of music! There are some realistic limitations that I feel that are out there for the Deadbeat Poets but recently the amount of headway that the band has made makes me very optimistic about the future. There is very little support in our country for the arts and our current government is led by daft and moronic people. But nonetheless, many people in the U.S. keep on making music and creating art and there is a demand for it. While it is difficult for an independent band or musician to make a living at it here, it can be done.
Powerpop.Ru:On YouTube's video I saw that you hold in your hands Stratocaster and on your photos I saw Gibson. What guitars do you like more and how many guitars would you like to have for full happiness?
P.D.: Currently, I have over 50 guitars and electric bass guitars, many of them Fender and Gibsons from the 50's,60's,70's and 1980's. My current favorites are a 1959 Gibson Les Paul TV Special, 1991 Fender '52 reissue Telecaster, 1991 Fender '57 reissue Stratocaster (the guitar you saw on YouTube), and a 1999 Fender Custom Shop Telecaster Special with P90 pickups. Other guitars used on "Notes From The Underground" were my 1968 Moserite Celebrity 12 string, 1968 Gibson ES-335, 1966 Gibson ES-330, 1968 Fender Telecaster Custom, 1957 Gibson ES-125, 2001 Gibson J-100, 1977 Alvarez Acoustic and Frank used my 1995 Fender Percission Bass and 1977 Music Man Stingray. On the album, we used Top Hat and Vox guitar amps and Mesa Boogie and Ampeg bass amps.
Powerpop.Ru:Recently we have learned that in Ohio there is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. If you were there, tell us please about it.
J.K.: The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is a great place to visit. I live outside of Cleveland and go there often. It's filled with great artifacts and memorabilia from some of the greatest musicians who ever walked the earth. Some of my favorite things in the Rock Hall are Les Paul's prototype guitar he made for Gibson; the actual Polaroid collage for the Talking Heads' 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' album; John Lennon's 'Sgt. Pepper' uniform; Buddy Holly's Magnatone Amp; great permanent exhibits on the California Psychedelic Scene and the British and New York punk explosions. It's a great place.
P.D.: The Deadbeat Poets did a show at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame this July. The YouTube video you saw is from that show! It was one of our first shows. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum has many, many displays with artifacts, personal belongings and instruments of the people who pioneered rock as we know it today. They have many displays. I have been through it a few times and have seen many interesting things such as John Lennon's guitars, Brian Jones' stage clothes, instruments and stage clothes from the Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Buddy Holly's guitar and Magnatone guitar amp and many other things of this nature. Plus there are a countless amount of displays featuring rare audio and film accounts of musicians and music from the past 60 years.
Powerpop.Ru:Do you have any hobbies except for music? Probably, have appeared recently or you have old hobby?
P.D.: I like building electronic gadgets and recording equipment.
Powerpop.Ru:Do you want to tell to our readers something that I forget to ask you?
P.D.: The Deadbeat Poets hope to come to Russia to play our music for people there who might like it!
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