Out Of The Cellar: Interview with Slaughter bassist Dana Strum
If you don’t know Dana Strum by name I’m sure if you consider yourself an ‘80s Rock and Metal fan you’ll have come across something he’s being involved with. He was a member of Vinnie Vincent Invasion, playing on both their 1986 self-titled album and their 1988 All Systems Go. He’s been a member of Slaughter since they formed from VVI’s ashes and outside playing in bands and touring he’s done some pretty amazing stuff too. I interviewed Dana about his life as a Rock N’ Roll bassist covering as much as his history as I could. I’m personally a huge fan of Vinnie Vincent Invasion and am honoured to be able to say I’ve talked to Dana. If you’re not familiar with the band and like huge riffs, huge choruses, huge hair and erm… the most over-the-top guitar solos you’ve ever heard you need to check ‘em out now! You can’t go wrong with Slaughter’s first album Stick It To Ya either! Anyway, I’m sure if you’re here reading this you’re already familiar with this stuff so I guess all that’s left to say is All System’s Go, on with the show!
And I wanna think The Anarchist again for setting up and contributing some questions to this great interview. Cheers!
Jordan: Let’s take a trip through the history of Dana Strum…
Dana: Okay, the first thing of note that I did was that I introduced Randy Rhoads to Ozzy Osbourne.
Jordan: And Jake E. Lee too… as well as introducing Mark St John to KISS… Are you like an American Idol for guitarists?
Dana: (Laughs) Well, that’s a long time before American Idol. I’ve always had an interesting ear. I love music so people perk my ears up all the time, whether they’re singers, guitarists or drummers. As a matter of fact, the drummer that we’ve been using in the Vince Neil group has just joined Evanescence, which is riding a career high right now. That didn’t surprise me because he is a phenomenal player. Will Hunt is his name. I love good musicians and I love interesting musicians more than say just virtuosic musicians. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to and knowing and approaching a number of really interesting musicians who all went on to substantial fame. It was certainly before American idol although Ozzy used to joke “You should start a super agency and just be an agent”. The truth of the matter is that I’ve enjoyed knowing good musicians and musicians that bring something interesting to the party. There’s always great virtuosic people but that may not always be all that’s required for that particular job.
The Anarchist: You’ve gone on to substantial stardom yourself, and I’ve certainly enjoyed listening to your music whether it be the classic Invasion or Slaughter stuff or the more recent stuff, which I think is just as good.
Dana: I very much appreciate it. In Slaughter I’ve got a long lived relationship with Mark. That’s not to say that two people don’t go through various ups and downs. That would be just a psychotic lie to say that that hasn’t happened in the 20 years that he and I have known each other. I’m proud to still be his friend. He and I will reflect on the fact that I met him when he was singing background vocals on another metal bands record that I was producing in L.A. I said “Hey, you in the back, will you stay?” I played him some Vinnie Vincent stuff and asked if he could mimic it so I could pick up the phone and call Vinnie. I’ll never forget that bizarre, fateful day that went on to create not only the Vinnie Vincent Invasion legacy, but certainly the Slaughter legacy. Had it not been for me meeting Mark at that time it would not have happened.
Jordan: What was the band you were producing?
Dana: It was a group called Sin. It was a metal band in L.A. A guy that later went on to be a tour manager called him and said “Hey, I’ve got a buddy that is looking for some guys to sing some background vocals. I know you live in Vegas, but would you be interested in being in a kickass studio?” It was actually in Encore Studios in Burbank where I first set sights on Mark. It was just one of those kinds of moments that musicians always look for and hope for and producers look for all the time. Mark has an unusual talent and had an unusual talent. Unusual talents aren’t going to be for everybody, but the Vinnie Vincent scenario, Vinnie wanted a high singer. The guy that was singing at the time, who was briefly in journey and co-wrote a song… I believe it was “Wheel In The Sky… Had a really high, strong voice. So when I heard Mark singing like that I thought “Wow, what are the odds that a guy who wants to be a rocker, that has this voice, that just drifts out of nowhere into the studio”. The odds are zero. That was that really nice, fateful meeting that many producers look for those things but they just come falling out of the sky.
The Anarchist: I’m really glad that you told that story because I was an Invasion fanclub member and the label sent out info saying that Mark had sent in a demo but left no contact information, and that Vinnie hired Robert in an effort to mimic Mark until Mark could be located.
Dana: That demo tape was an interesting one. I in fact, had a demo tape of one of Mark’s bands and never had a phone number. So the story holds relevance, but not to the Vinnie Vincent deal, it was to me. It wasn’t until later that I realized that it was him and I confirmed it with Mark that it was him. I can’t remember if the band was Xcursion or Rose Parade, but it didn’t have a contact phone number or anything on it. I had the demo. I would get a lot of Hard Rock, I still do get a boatload of Hard Rock and Metal stuff. In fact, I liked it. There were a couple of songs that I really liked and I was interested in the songs but also certainly curious as to who was the singer. It had no contact information and at the time there was no email addresses, so it just had the name. It wasn’t an L.A. band so I pretty much just put it in the back of the pile and figured I’d never find them.
Jordan:: You mentioned still getting demos. I really like some of the stuff that you’ve produced. Are you still producing and is there anyone who’s currently catching you ear?
Dana: I’m doing a record with a girl named Erica Chase, who’s a brilliant, brilliant songwriter. She’s a rocker, kind of like a Sheryl Crow type thing. She’s got great songs. She caught me with her songs. It’s one of those things where you say “Do you realize how much is involved with this process”. These days half the stuff you do ends up getting stolen on the internet anyway, but I just couldn’t resist. I’m in the midst of doing her record right now. The best comparison would be like a hip young version of Sheryl Crow. I’m kind of a sucker for songs. Look, I love great playing and I love attitude and she’s got attitude and great songs. She plays great guitar. She plays all the guitar on her own, electric and acoustic. She’s a really valid guitar player and great singer and songwriter. I’m excited about doing that. We gelled together. She reminded me a lot of a young Dana, who wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer. She’s a little smarter than the average bear and it’s kind of interesting. We had similar family kind of things where the family didn’t really want her to do music, very similar to my family.
Jordan: After having success with Invasion and then breaking up, there were some well-placed bad feelings about Vinnie. You guy’s wrote the song “Burnin' Bridges” about him and it just seemed to be a bad break-up. After all these years, have your feelings towards Vinnie changed at all? Do you pity him for being so self destructive?
Dana: There’s no one that I’ve ever worked with that I want to see harm or hardship come to. I think that’s changed. You could call it “young, dumb, full of cum”... is the typical expression that I would use. I was definitely of that mindset where I was just pissed beyond belief that I had not been paid and so forth. I did a tour and I wasn’t paid for that, things like that. At this point, if I speed up the clock I listen to those records and I think we did some really interesting stuff. It’s too bad that it didn’t go further than it did. I’m grateful for what happened. I wish Vinnie whatever luck he can have in whatever it is he wants to do. I haven’t heard much about him. I’ve heard he still occasionally makes some remarks that, chances are we all wish he wouldn’t make. But that’s heresay, it’s second hand. I hope he’s happy in whatever he’s doing. If Vinnie Vincent said “Hey, do you want to do a couple of gigs together” I wouldn’t say “no”, whereas for years I wouldn’t even consider it. I listen back to the music and I think we did some really interesting stuff and in that kind of music it’s left its mark for a long time. VH1 Classic continues to play to this day “Boyz Are Gonna Rock” and “Love Kills”. You can’t really argue much. They’re a television network and they’re going to air what they think the public enjoys.
Jordan: I totally agree and a lot of the Glam fans, myself included, think that those records hold up against the entire genre.
Dana: I put my heart into making those records. I put a lot more time than the average producer probably would have put in, especially at that time. I did everything I could. The truth about those records is that that were a huge amount of Marshalls in that room and I did it very authentically. I didn’t care if we made or lost money, I just wanted to do something that I thought would be really good. I’m still really proud on the stuff as I look back on it now. There certainly was a period when I didn’t much want to hear it because I felt like I pretty much got burned. Look back on it like an old girlfriend. You’re really angry when it all blows up, but then you might look back and think “What are the good elements out of this, there had to be something good?” I’ve at least gotten past the angry feeling. I went back and listened to the music. I still keep it on my iPod on my playlist. Will Hunt used to say “Dude, ‘Boyz Are Gonna Rock’ and ‘Twisted’, I still listen to that shit today”. I go back and I’ve turned a lot of people on to it. Forget the androgynous look and forget some of these things that we thought were unique at the time, but check some of this out. Most people if you turn it on and they don’t know what it is they go “What the hell is that?” so I appreciate the comments and I think I’ve gotten past a lot of the feelings of being angry or deceived or whatever it may be. I’m happy I did it. My heart was in the right place in terms of making a record and making them sound.
Jordan: Speaking of the look… What was up with Vinnie’s hair?
Dana: (Laughs) Well, I never really fully understood that so that would probably be a question that you’d have to ask him. The Vinnie Vincent that I met had very long hair. He had normal long hair. He chose to do some things that he chose to do for reasons that, honest to God, I think he’d have to be asked that. (Laughs) That’s probably the most diplomatic way I can exit that.
Jordan: Any clue what Bobby Rock is up to?
Dana: Yeah, we played with Bobby. We did a whole Whitesnake tour in 2003 and Bobby Rock was the drummer. We actually reunited with Bobby and it was a great experience. I love that guy. Bobby and I , there was nothing we could do together that made any sense. I did use him on a couple of sessions in Vegas. Bobby and I contacted each other and I talked to Mark and Mark made the suggestion “Hey, what about Bobby?” and I thought that if he’d like to do it then it’d be great. Bobby and Blas knew each other, so it all made great sense. We did and I was really, really, really pleased. He’s a great dude. I love Bobby. He’s a great drummer and a great guy. He’s a really underrated guy. He’s underrated as a person, in terms of intelligence, and he’s an underrated drummer. Bobby Rock is just a great drummer.
Jordan: Who’s playing drums in Slaughter right now?
Dana: A guy named Tim Didur, he’s from the Orlando area. The description would be that he’s a cross between Blas and an early Tommy Lee. He’s a great player and he loves the music and style of music. He brings a lot of justice to it. When you see Tim play, he plays it with an awful lot of heart, and it’s really obvious.
Jordan: With Slaughter, not only did you surpass the success of Invasion, but for instance… the Grunge bands are all gone… the Nu-Metal bands have been neutered… and Slaughter is still able to sell tickets and get played on VH1. Did you ever imagine that you would not only be that successful, but also outlive all the trends that were supposed to kill you?
Dana: The answer would be absolutely not. I would love to give you a really intelligent answer for this because it would sound really great. The truth is that when we recorded the first record I bought the studio we were using by the month for very little money, but I mainly wanted the time. We put a lot of time into recording that first record. We never told the story that the record was done in two weeks. It was done for very little money, that was absolutely the truth, but we took a lot of time. I was a little ahead of the curve, and now Hip Hop bands own their own studio gear and make records in their garage or make records in a warehouse. I was basically doing that in 1989. We paid for the record. The record was originally not financed by a label. It was mainly about investing the time with each element, each instrument, each sound, so that it would be what I wanted. I’ve always believed in Hard Rock. I’ve always believed that rock with a melody, strong riffs, strong grooves, like Whitesnake or Def Leppard, or KISS or Ozzy or any of it. I always thought it would have long legs. Did I ever believe in 1989 that we’d be talking in 2007 and I would be on my way to fly to do a Slaughter date in Chicago? No, I never saw that coming. It was strange, I never really predicted an end and I never thought there would be an end. I remember that I told the guys when we won the American Music Award that this is a high, today we should enjoy it, but chances are that that will never happen again. That holds true for many artists. Aerosmith it did not hold true. There are a few other exceptions to the rule, but most artists, once they have that high of highs they are never at that high of level again. Motley Crue just recently enjoyed that second high of highs in a major comeback so now they’re up there in those ranks. People really enjoyed that tour and those performances.
The Anarchist: I didn't even know that this happened, but I think I'm the world's only Beggars And Thieves fan...
Dana: (Laughs)
The Anarchist: (Laughs) Hey! I love that band!
Dana: No, no no. Ron Macuso and Louie Merlino are both studio partners of mine in Las Vegas to this day.
The Anarchist: I love that self titled album... And apparently you had a band with them at some point?
Dana: I did, called Modern Design. It's very ironic. I happen to like kind of harder rock roots. I was really into early Sabbath. I loved Geezer Butler. I always was so astonished why nobody got him as a bass player the way I used to boast about him. I was Geezer Butler's biggest fan. I used to turn people on to him all the time. This guy is so original and amazing. At that time, if you talked about Black Sabbath people almost laughed at you. This wasn't the alternative band version of "Yeah, we're really into Sabbath", this was the real Black Sabbath in 1972. At the time, being in high school if I told people that I found this band Black Sabbath and this bass player is amazing, they were more or less like "Yeah, right". (Laughs) It's hard to convince people. Fast forward the clock to when I met Ronnie and Louie, Louie was also the singer of another band I had when I met Ozzy by the name of Bad Axe. That's where I saw Randy Rhoads. It kind of all ties together. Ronnie and Louie came shortly after that. This was now around 1982/1983. Louie sang in my band and said that there was this guy named Ron Mancuso, he's a really talented and gifted guy. Ronnie is a really talented guy. he comes from a family of musicians. His mother was a singer, and she went on to become to Lt. Governor of the state of Nevada. They are my studio partners to this day. I mean, talk about knowing people a long time! I've had some really great long term relationships and Ron Mancuso and Louie are two people that I really value. When we see each other sometimes we look at the old pictures and we're like "Turn them over!" (Laughs) It's just hard to believe that we're all still there.
The Anarchist: I've never met those guys but I did meet Beggars And Thieves drummer Bobby Borg. I met him as a fan and told them that I used to write him fan letters and he knew that I was originally from VA. It had been years since I'd written him.
Dana: Wow, and he remembered ?
The Anarchist: Yeah, so if they're half as cool as he is then they are good people.
Dana: I believe Bobby Borg is teaching classes somewhere. Ronnie just mentioned that Bobby Borg wrote a book and parlayed that. In fact, Bobby Rock wrote a book, so it's a similiar kind of thing. Again, these are smart guys. Did I think that Slaughter would have stood the test of time? I always hoped it would. When I reflect back, I never wondered what I was going to do in 5 years or 10 years. People that have a regular career, they're a lawyer or engineer or software writer, well where am I going to be at in 5 or 10 years? Keep in mind that I never really did that. I just always felt that I would always keep moving forward and do things that I thought were authentic. I'm very gratefulfor the people that enjoy the music and I'm very grateful for the people that are there and very grateful for the people that give me an hour and a half of a performance to spend the time and enjoy it. I've always been grateful abd I'll die being a grateful person.
Jordan: Well, you've got a lot of success to be grateful for. You mentioned Vince Neil. What's the status of that as a side project?
Dana: We're in the middle of making a record now. It's one of these things that started by performing live about a year ago. Vince had some dates to do and they called Jeff Blando and he said that if they really wanted to have an interesting band they should have him, Strum, this great drummer and Vince. It could be a kind of Velvet Revolver type thing, but maybe more focused on Hard Rock. Vince is a great frontman. We had never worked together, but it's an interesting combination. We did quite a few dates last year and we have a boatload of dates this year. We just played vegas last week and many, many people walked away saying it was one of the better Vince shows they've ever seen.
The Anarchist:: Yeah, I saw him with Motley recently and he was much better then than he had been years before.
Dana: Absolutely. Vince is completely clean. Completely clean, and performing his ass off. Vince knows songs, Vince knows good songs and he's really, really focused. It's a really interesting combination of people. That's the best way I can put it. It's a really interesting combination of people that's going on. It's pretty explosive and it's exciting. It's exciting to play. look, I love music so it's exciting when you're playing something that makes you feel like this.
Jordan: Are you stoked about the Rocklahoma festival?
Dana: Yeah I am. It seems like a really interesting concept and it seems like these guys are about to pull it off.
Jordan: It should be the biggest Hard Rock show of all time.
Dana: Yeah! It should be a really interesting show. Some of these bands are still playing together. We're playing both with Slaughter and with Vince on different days.
Jordan: You have an acoustic version of "Up All Night" on the VH1 Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3 cd. It's such a fist in the air arena rock anthem, was it difficult to translate that to acoustic? I think it turned out great.
Dana: It definitely was different. That's not the way it was written. It definitely was different, nor did we realize when we were blowing through the performance that it would end up on a record. We did it as something to do. Blas actually played on that. It was the first time Blas had played back with the band in a number of years. We didn't rehearse. I looked at Blas and said "Come on, how many arenas and how many states have you played this song in? You're gifted, you're talented, you know what to do". And he did. It's a different kind of song, so yes doing a rock anthem that way is different. Sadly, the audience mics were the failure of that recording. the audience mics were not what they should have been in that room. but the audience sings it at the top of their lungs. the audeience still sings Up All Night to this day. All I can do is be thankful and flattered that people still remember it, still know it, and still enjoy it as they used to.
The Anarchist:: What I think that song does is just give people a break from being an adult with a job and bills and worries...
Dana: You're right. I actually get to feel 19 years old every day of my life when I play. People will say to me that I don't look much different. I will say thank you, I guess, if it's a compliment thank you. I don't know how else to take it. I get to be at a college frat house or high school party every night of my whole life. I love to play music and I love to play that style of music. You've seen me perform. I think I peform like I'm speaking. I have fun playing the bass. I'm still kind of proudly the kid that was in my bedroom really happy to be there and excited to play the bass. I love the bass. Like I said, you go through some ups and downs in the business but I love performing. We did a Vince show last week and the week before that we did Slaughter and the next day a Vince show. I love performing. I love traveling. I love this style of music. I've always loved this style of music. If you go back to normal daily paper features, like the Las Vegas Sun, back in 1997 I said "I love this music it will always have its day, it will always be around, and it would cycle back around". Ironically, what I said in '97 is exactly what's happened in '05, '06 and '07 so far. I only spoke the truth because I've always been a big believer in this style.
Jordan: And myself as well. With the Metal Mania cds and their sponsorship of all these tours, how important has VH1 been to this reemergence of Hard Rock?
Dana: I think VH1's been really helpful. Like I said to you, there's something in it for them. They program the network with what the advertisers want to appeal to and what people want to listen to. They do call out research and online surveys and they cross reference that stuff. I'm very grateful to VH1. I think they've been a huge help.
Jordan: Like it was mentioned earlier Slaughter has manitained a consistent level of quality throughout your careers. Is there any chance of a new Slaughter album, or at least a full scale tour coming up?
Dana: The band is touring throughout the summer on many of these combination dates and the band is always out there playing or touring. We also do corporate stuff that isn't necessarily all that publicly known because they're private events. There's companies out there that have all of these kinds of bands play their events as long as they actually get what they pay for. Slaughter is certainly one of those groups that if you buy Slaughter or go see Slaughter, you know what you're going to get. The answer is that Slaughter loves to play and Slaughter's out there performing. We play 1-2 new songs in that set. One of those songs, "Living Inside Yourself", is just about always in the new music set we do. Again, we embarked on making a record a couple of years back. It's been worked on and not worked on. I think there will be a Slaughter record. I think the main thing is that everybody wants to do it right and do it, as you said, as good if not better than any of the other product that's out there and that takes time. We throw away a lot of songs. When people say "They say they've been working"...we have a couple of records that are not easy records to beat and that's an honest statement. When we put something out we want to at least equal or beat what we've done.