CREEM SHOWCASES

CREEM SHOWCASES

MEAT LOAF STOPS FOR NO ONE!

Billy Cioffi

Meatloaf is truly a one-of-a-kind performer. To say they broke the mold when they made him doesn’t quite apply. Meat Loaf broke his own mold! This guy is big! Big not only in stature, but big in voice—and big in energy. Anyone who has seen “Meat” live will attest to his seemingly limitless range and powerful dynamics. Recently, he’s re-emerged from some nearly career-ending problems. Aside from normal nasty legal complications (that arose when he split from longtime partner Jim Steinman), Meat Loaf had some mysterious vocal problems. Here the Big Guy gives us a little insight into the care and feeding of a throat.

I understood you had some throat problems.

I have never figured out whether it was throat problems or if it was rebellion. We went out on the road in October of 1977 and came off the road in October of 1978—we did almost 270 shows. Then we took about a month off and Steinman started to write the new stuff—he had “Left In The Dark” and two other songs. We went into the Record Plant and we laid down demos on the three songs and knocked them right off with no problems. This was at the end of November, right before Thanksgiving. Went through Christmas and I couldn’t find Steinman; I didn’t know where he was. In the past, I had always been working with Jimmy like this, real close. I finally found him about five weeks later. He had been in New Jersey with Ron Bittan and he had been writing there and working with Ron Bittan the way he had been working with me. That upset me because when we finally got to the studio, it didn’t feel like me anymore.

When they started cutting tracks, Jim said “Come over and work with me on the piano with Ron.” I went over, started to sing, and nothing came out. I sort of jerked back and said “It must be early!” Nothing was happening, my voice was cracking and breaking—it wouldn’t do a thing. So I said maybe I have a cold, I don’t feel bad, give me three or four days to warm up. I kept trying to sing but nothing would happen. I sat at home with the tapes, nothing was happening and I was a little startled—and shaky. I went off to a doctor and he said that something was wrong but he didn’t know what it was. So he sent me over to Lennox Hills Hospital in New York for these tests and, when they came back, there was a graph of my vocal chords.

Vocal chords are like a "V”—they are not straight upand-down like people think; they come to a base and they are like a “V” in your throat. On the graph—in fact it got printed in a medical book—it was the first time anyone could actually see anything: the left one was vibrating normally and the right one didn’t move at all. The diagnosis was a paralyzed vocal chord. I went to this specialist who told me not to talk for six weeks, so I didn’t. He said after that what you need to do is go to a vocal coach and start very light warm-ups—10 minutes and work yourself up.

When we first started it was just about five seconds and that was it. After about six weeks my voice started coming back but I started sounding like Pavarotti. I’m an operatic Hidelbrand tenor, and there has been only about three or four in the world. He started to get me into these operatic tones, he wanted to introduce me to Pavarotti and turning me around, and I started getting very confused. Then I went to this other guy who had me jumping around, running in place and doing all these vocal exercises that were crazy. I said this is nuts, I’m out of here! Then I went to some other guy who said my breathing was all wrong! By now I was totally confused—what is going on? It started in January ’79 and by now it’s April—and I’m wacky!

Jim calls and asks me to come down to the office, and me and Jim just started singing “Left In The Dark”—and it was perfect. We went into the studio and there were all these people again syid ... nothing! This went on for about a week and it kept getting worse and worse so I just left. I basically just disappeared. I concluded that I just wasn’t going to sing. That is when I went off and I did the film Roadie. When we were doing Roadie and I got up to sing with those guys there was nothing wrong; it was great. I went back to the studio again —nothing. Finally I said “I am not meant to do this album.” I don’t like the way it started, I don’t like the arrangements of the tracks, I don’t like the sounds, I don’t like anything about it—and I didn’t.

Finally, I spent four months with this guy—Warren Bergian—it was really bizarre and really painful. It hurt, it was physical—but it was worth it. He did physical massages on my arms and legs. He takes something like an electric sander and puts rubber on it and really gets into these muscles and tissues. His explanation is that the system is like a house of electricity. When the fuse goes, you might have power on this side but no power on the other side— and to sing you have to have it all. He said there are blocks, they mostly come in your legs. Everybody sings from their legs whether they know it or not. When I do shows that is what hurts when I get offstage—the legs. It’s like a boxer getting old. I left him in ’80, and have had no problems at all since.

Do you do anything in particular to warm up?

You start humming, then you get a little louder. Sometimes I warm up with tapes from the night before— certain songs I know warm me up. The real regimen comes after the show when I go straight to my room—I don’t talk, I don’t speak to anybody, I gargle with salt water, I wait about fifteen minutes, then I gargle again.

The secret to getting through a show when you are hoarse and you know it—and nothing is going to come out—is to take a garlic clove, raw, a whole clove, chop it up and eat it. It works every time but you better have a day off the next dayl

A doctor told me that there is only one real cure for a bad throat: sleep.

I don’t go out after gigs and party, I go to sleep. My wife met Roger Daltry’s wife and she said it was the same thing with Roger, he goes home and goes to sleep. I guess 20 years ago, when we were all kids, we could all hang out. When you’re 15 or 16 years old in a rock ’n roll band, you can recover a lot faster than when you get to be 36.

Talking—interviews—will kill you faster than anything.

That will destroy you. Talking is not a normal function of the human voice; singing is a natural thing. That’s something I learned a long time ago. Talking is forced, but singing is very natural to the human voice when done right. Like people going to football games and screaming for three hours—that is an unnatural act, but you can sing for three hours.

What’s your impression of where you—and the music industry—are at now?

I think what goes around comes around. My job is to do the best that I can. There were two records that—when I left the studio—I had no complaints about. One is the new one.

I shoot very straight, I tell you just exactly what I think. I’ll be honest about each individual part of the record. On this one, I can listen to it and I hear no holes. It all just flows and you hear masculine, big things, then it goes into this song called a “Man And A Woman” with that great guitar which really sounds like early ’50s blues stuff. This whole album was constructed in that vein and when I was in Germany I was trying to explain this to these people. The best way to explain it was when I wrote “One More Kiss,” it is a real ’50s melody—it is a dead-on ’50s melody. I said, “Guys, I want the underlying roots in this music, the bass and the drums and all that ... from the ’50s.” We’re doing “Can’t Judge a Book By Lookin’ At Its Cover” and nobody in my band remembered the song. I have a record collection that is so deep—it goes way back. Roots are important. I go back to those guys for inspiration.

NEW GEAR

EPIPHONE SQ-180

I’m a sucker for a beautiful acoustic, and here’s one at a great price—and, oh brother, what a look! The Epiphone guitar line, a long-time favorite in the low-end price range, is flexing bigger muscles now. Gibson Guitar Corp., its exclusive distributor, has been under new ownership since January 1986. Henry Juszkiewicz, President of Gibson, sends his Research & Development department to the Orient on a regular basis to guarantee that these instruments reflect the quality and craftsmanship he insists on. Epiphone now offers fine electric, classic, bass and acoustic guitars that Gibson is proud to add their name to. Newest of the acoustics is the SQ-180. Answering the need for a maple acoustic with a classic rock ’n’ roll look, the SQ-180 is offered in black with a pair of tortoise-shell pickguards.

FENDER AMERICAN STANDARD STRATOCASTER

At the Winter NAMM show, guitar wiz Eric Johnson unveiled Fender’s American Standard Stratocaster. The A.S.S. comes equipped with three single-coil Fender pickups, deluxe Fender tuning keys, Elite-style string trees and an improved dual pivot bridge with stainless steel posts for increased stability and smoother action.

THE FENDER CHAMP-12

The Fender Champ 12 is a portable, feature-packed amplifier that’s ideal for practice, teaching, recording or performance. It comes complete with footswitchable overdrive, reverb, a Fender Special Design 12” speaker, an all-tube circuit design and a variety of input options. By minimizing the parts count and housing it all in a compact, sturdy enclosure, Fender has made this a rugged, reliable amplifier for every application. Particularly good for beginners searching for something they’ll be playing 20 years from now and for the pro who needs a compact carry with umphll

EPIPHONE S-900

This new Epiphone line debuted at the Winter NAMM show. The newest member of the Epiphone family is the S-900. Some of its distinctive features are the neck-through body construction, a black Bender tremolo with locking nut, and three special-design pickups with individual switching and coil tap.

BUYING A GUITAR FOR LESS THAN $500

Tired of playing air guitar? Seen one too many dorks with a stringed object in their hand walk into the sunset with the black-stockinged goddess who just called you a puke!? And how about you girls? Sick of your main squeeze mooning over Susanna Hoffs or Lita Ford?

I don’t know what it is about the instrument but, for the last 30 years or so, the electric guitar has been a spiritual homing device fixed on the burgeoning hormones of world youth, male and female. Maybe there’s a connection to the idea that this sexual thing later evolves into an obsession with the instrument itself. The first time you buy (what you hope to be) a decent axe can shape the rest of your whole life as a musician. If it’s a piece of crap it will end up hanging on the wail of a garage or used as a planter. If it is correctly and appropriately chosen, it can become the object of love and inspiration and ... well, basically, it can change your whole flippin’ life. An axe is a personal thing, and I don’t know of one player who isn’t particular and doesn’t have his/her own way of doing things; putting their own stamp on the instrument, so to speak.

Today’s guitars offer the beginner a lot more choices than even half a decade ago. In terms of the technical advances, in the last 20 years the guitar was the first instrument to be, in effect, taken apart and put back together again. The funny thing about it is, with all the developments and refinements, the instrument and how you play it is still pretty much the same. It’s got six (or four) strings, and you gotta practice! The good news is that, instead of buying a mailorder guitar that sounds and looks like an out-of-tune log, today’s beginner or intermediate player has lots of great choices when purchasing his first serious guitar.

Mike Tobias owns Tobias Guitars, one of the country’s most highly regarded custom Luthiers (a guitar maker and technician). I thought he, being a builder and designer, could shed some light on the specifics to look for when purchasing a guitar for $500 or less.

“The most important thing for buying a beginning instrument is to buy a name brand. Don’t buy an off-thewall, dumb thing for a deal, because—in the long run—it’s not. Buy something repairable, adjustable and playable. Beginner’s instruments, like the Fender Squire, the Peavy stuff, are wonderful for the price, as is Kramer. Gibson also makes a fine low-priced instrument line.

“If you have a friend who plays guitar and he’s not too egotistical about it, it would be a good idea to take him along. If he/she is really a pro, so much the better. The reason I say avoid egotistical is because you don’t want anyone who’s head is so big it’s gonna get in the way of what you want.

“You should consider the sound you’re looking for: what are you going to try to do with the instrument? Instruments have different purposes. Even though people will tell you they’re all alike, they are not.

“The important thing to be aware of when buying an instrument is to remember that anything is adjustable. If the instrument feels pretty good but the strings are too high, that’s adjustable. If the instrument sounds average but plays great, that’s adjustable! You can change the pick-ups. If you bypass a great playing instrument, you may be making a mistake. The same goes with the feel of the instrument. Any good music store can set up the instrument and fix the action and intonation. Understand that guitars, generally, are made of wood and they change with the weather and with age. They are like a car; they need to be serviced. The intonation has to be adjusted; particularly with whammy bars: necks need adjusting and so on. They don’t run for free forever. Those are the basics. The person has to decide what he wants to do with the instrument and how he wants to sound. Don’t be a compulsive buyer. Stay with name brands—besides the obvious names, the Japanese are making great instruments—Yamaha, Ibanez, Tokai,

ESP. The market is wide open. Just make sure it’s adjustable and make the salespeople show you that it is.”

My friend, Zeke Zirngiebel, has worked on every kind of gig from film scores and major commercials to road and recording work with the likes of Warren Zevon and Nina Hagen. I asked him the same questions I asked of Mike Tobias, figuring he’d have a different perspective. Zeke also has a special (I wouldn’t call it a problem) angle—he’s lefthanded. Here’s what Zeke had to say:

“The first is brand. Try to stick with something you’re familiar with, or something you’ve been informed about. Try and listen to other players, and if you can, try their axes out so you can start to understand your need. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a Fender or a Gibson. They both make quality, lower-priced models, but there are others like Carun, ESP, Yamaha, Ibenez, et cetera.

“The next is versatility. If you’re only going to play metal, a single pick-up with a whammy bar is all you’re really going to need; but if you want more out of the instrument than that, look for additional features. For example, two single coil pick-ups with a split coil humbucker and a locking nut tremolo system seems to be real popular now just because it is a versatile set-up.

“Playability. Do you like a flat, wide neck or a more curved neck? Are 21 frets enough ... how about 22, or even 24? Do you want a whammy bar?

"Looks. Some really exotic, weird-looking guitars with wings and doodads are really cool-looking, but sometimes they are difficult—if not impossible—to play when you sit down. If you want a contemporary look, that’s fine, but don’t let the looks impede the playability of the instrument.

“Cost. There are many great instruments available for under $500, new and used; but you’ve gotta remember a $150 guitar is not going to be as good as one for $400.

Even if you are a beginner you should buy the best that you can afford. Instruments that are difficult to play or adjust will either frustrate the beginner or encourage bad playing habits.

“My addendum to left-handers: remember that it’s going to be more difficult to find a large selection of quality lefthanded guitars. If you are determined to play left-handed, then there is no reason you shouldn’t. Remember, most companies charge 10 to 20 percent extra, and ordering can be an absolute nightmare; but the rule of thumb for all players, and particularly lefties, is be real picky. Don’t buy the first one you see. Kramer is offering a guitar that’s readily available. The Elliot Easton model. Of course, Elliot is left-handed!”

The overall idea in buying an instrument is to take your time and do your research. Read up on what you’re looking for, and know what you want. Whatever you buy, make sure you’re happy with it because there is nothing quite as personal as an instrument. Hopefully, it will become an old and a valued friend.