ROCK LEGEND NEWS
ROCK LEGEND NEWS FIRENZE, ITALY
INTERVIEWS ISSUE 46
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ROCK LEGEND NEWS FIRENZE ITALY
Issue 46 - Interview With Rik Fox Published By Alchemist Publishing Firenze, Italy Rock Legend News Founded By Londa R. Marks October 16, 2014 Chief Editor & CEO: Londa R. Marks Concept, Graphics & Design: Londa R. Marks Content & Contributors: Some entries are from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia which may not have been reviewed by professional editors and is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. If content is factually incorrect or highly offensive you can edit articles at Wikipedia use of data and may include other wiki’s, stock photos, private archived photos, stock illustrations, social news aggregators, contributor photos, RSS news feeds, print syndications, submitted news tips & information and similar sources. Magazine, graphics, installments, editing & website designed, developed, coded at Londa R. Marks Studio in Firenze, Italy. * Over a Million World Wide Readership/Viewers Since 2016 * Londa R. Marks Founder/Administrator of: Pete Way Facebook Group Headquarters & General Contact: Rock Legend News L.R. Marks Studio 50123 Firenze, Italy Email: support@rocklegendnews.com Website: www.rocklegendnews.com Facebook: facebook.com/rocklegendnews Twitter: twitter.com/rocklegendnews YouTube: youtube.com/rocklegendnews
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Interview With Rik Fox
December 9, 2015 By Londa R. Marks | Interviews Published By Rock Legend News, Firenze, Italy and Tempi Dispari.it, Rome, Italy
Rik Fox, originally from N.Y., began photographing glam bands of the 70s like KISS, The Brats, and The Harlots of 42nd Street, and befriending The New York Dolls and drummer Peter Criss of KISS before becoming a resident fixture on the NYC legendary Max’s Kansas City and CBGB’s rock scene himself with The Martian Rock Band as well as performing six nights a week with VIRGIN, and an early version of SIN along with The E. Walker Band on the NJ / NY club scene, before going on to Hollywood to establish his own successful glam presence. Rik Fox is also known for being one of the hotly debated founding members of WASP. Interview with Bassist Rik Fox ‘The Winged Knight of Heavy Metal’, from Hollywood, California’s 80’s glam bands: SIN, STEELER and WASP. Rock Legend News: You started on the path to glam rock of the 80’s by photographing bands like New York Dolls and KISS in New York. What attracted you to KISS and New York Dolls glam style? Rik Fox: Well, allow me to clarify, I didn’t photograph The New York Dolls so much as I did The Brats, KISS and The Harlots of 42nd Street, mostly at a club in Queens, NY not far from my home, called Coventry. It was a flourishing club across from Manhattan that showcased many of the Manhattan rock scene’s glam bands. I also hung out at the famous 82 Club where many of the same bands performed. In any case, while I was in high school during my formative years between 1970 and 1974, it was a magical and evolutionary time in the history of rock music. Many bands were rising up from out of the ashes of the 1960’s and early 1970’s, and becoming something of a theatrical rock revolution. There was something very primal and attractively exciting about this; it was very different from what came before. Bands used to just stand there pretty much and just ‘play.’ PAGE 4 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
Now, there was the incorporation of band interaction and movement onstage, a physical interpretation of the music in an energy coming from the stage. Bands began to incorporate wearing face make-up eye-liner, eye-shadow, lipstick, platform boots tight velvet or satin pants, and jackets, sequins and rhinestones began catching the stage lighting. There was also an element of androgyny, with bands like T. Rex, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Slade, The Sweet and Queen. This began to make its way to American shores and into the hard rocking punkish presentations of Detroit’s MC5 and Iggy Pop and the New York rock bands, like The Harlots of 42nd Street, The New York Dolls, Teenage Lust, The Brats, Luger, The Planets, Street Punk, Spike, and, of course, more notable bands like Alice Cooper, Silverhead and KISS. It was like the anger of punk meets the androgyny of glam. Since I had already become friends with KISS’ drummer Peter Criss before he was in the band, and began to go to watch KISS’ rehearsals in NYC, even before guitarist Ace Frehley was a band member, I was also a member of the photography club while in high school around 1972-73, so, I had access to all the film and developing materials I could get my hands on for free. My father had bought me a German-made Hanimex Practika 35mm camera and I was good to go. I began sneaking into clubs in NY like The 82 Club, and Coventry in Queens and photographing many of the bands I was attracted to. I shot many of these bands and began to become influenced by them musically as a fledgling bassist. Originally, the first band I was attracted to was Steppenwolf in 1967-68, and they were not glam, but a leather-wearing hard rock and blues band. So, it’s difficult to explain exactly what this new attraction was; it was just something I felt in my heart and soul; some new form of personal communication with an audience who loved being entertained by this new form of music, which was loud, brash, very catchy and simply played. One night, I even hung out with some of the members of The New York Dolls while I was photographing bands at Coventry, and I dressed along just like they did. In fact, Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan complimented my burgundy satin pants, and when I told him I was friends with his childhood friend, Peter Criss, he lit right up and smiled. Then I chastised him for carelessly dropping his cigarette ashes on my new pants, and he apologized. Rock Legend News: After moving to L.A. from N.Y., you played bass guitar in several bands including SIN, STEELER and WASP. Which of these groups do you feel most tied to and why? Rik Fox: Hmmm, difficult to say; each had its own special attachment. Passing the audition for and becoming an original founding member of WASP of course, had its own magic; it took me back to the loft in NYC and watching KISS evolve, so, naturally, I felt ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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like stepping into a dream come true. Everything was going well enough, until, unfortunately, four months later, Blackie Lawless changed his mind, after I had created the band’ new name from Sister to WASP, and he suddenly fired me for no apparent plausible reason; the demo we recorded reflected my bass tracks which, to this day, stand up as solid and melodic. So, any back-pedaling excuses such as ‘musically Rik couldn’t cut it’, really make no sense and are all baseless and clearly BS lies. But the songs were very fun to play and record and, to this point, Blackie was very happy with how things were progressing with this new band line-up. However, in the band photos taken by Motley Crue photographer Don Adkins Jr., I looked like I didn’t fit; I looked like Angel’s Punky Meadows, while the rest of the band looked like a bunch of sadistic truck drivers, LOL.Although briefly rehearsing with both WARLORD and HELLION, it was STEELER that initially put me on the map so to speak, and opened the way for me. That was all the energy I needed to help me establish that I was no longer just a face in the crowd, but now a solid member of one of the top bands of the Los Angeles’ history of Heavy Metal, along with Motley Crue and RATT. To look at, STEELER wasn’t so much a glam band as much as just a straight-ahead, Heavy Metal band with lots of high-energy. Going toe-to-toe with Yngwie every night that we performed, began to give me the integrity and respect that I worked so hard to earn, and Ron Keel was the consummate showman performer. Where this guy drew his performance energy from was a mystery to me, and we had fun playing off of each other onstage. We LOOKED like we were having FUN up there, and the audience picked up on that and fed it back to us. And despite coming from playing six nights a week back in Jersey, Drummer Mark Edwards taught me a lot about what really made a rhythm section click solid and we worked on it on a daily basis in rehearsal. But, despite all the hard work musically, I began to find myself constantly becoming the brunt of jokes by other jealous band members on the scene about my Angel-looking hairstyle, and not appreciated for my solid, in-the-pocket playing style. While STEELER’s music was not complex rocket science, you did need to be on top of your game musically which I was, rising to the occasion with every performance. Somehow, that became overlooked. As for SIN, that was where I began to evolve and blossom from crawling to hitting the ground running. I was finally in my element and in complete creative control of my own band, comprising of 4-fifths of us being from NY; I had the fallout members from the Mongol Horde band ALIEN join me in a reformed version of SIN, and we eventually became known as ‘a peoples’ band’. So much so, that in a public music magazine poll, SIN was voted the top-drawing Metal Rock band of the 1984 Los Angeles music scene over Keel, Stryper and Odin, and that meant a LOT. SIN had a completely different attitude compared to the rest of the L.A. bands who tried to emulate us but lacked the PAGE 6 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
NY attitude that the other bands lacked and we became known for. We co-headlined a show with Stryper and supported Keel and the fans went nuts for us. All the hard work was paying off. Although everyone in the band brought something great to the table, I had to refine and fine-tune it thru my vision and the end result made the fans and the club owners and the promoters very happy. SIN headlined almost every show and soldout venues everywhere. So, to answer the question, I’d have to say it is a toss-up between STEELER and SIN that I feel most tied to. Recording and performing with SURGICAL STEEL was fun, but not as rewarding overall as SIN. Rock Legend News: What was your approach to the music played during the 80’s? Rik Fox: Interesting arrangements from the earlier late 1970’s where sometimes the bass followed the guitar lines…As the 80’s progressed, lots of interesting hook-oriented songs with a simple grooving bass line at the bottom of it all. So it was apparent that one had to write in a similar vein to catch the audience’s ear. Lyrically, all my songs tell a story and as direct influences I cite Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and STARZ’s Michael Lee Smith, both true wizard wordsmiths. I LOVED Ronnie James Dio’s writing style as well. But I believe in the essential ‘formula’ rock pattern, great intro hook, and then get to the point. Have a rocking great chorus and a simple but to the point melodic solo, nothing overly complicated. For a successful song to stay on everyone’s minds, in my opinion, the guitarists’ solos should properly underscore what the song is saying and not use each and every song as a personal showcase for showing off. Bottom line: it’s about the SONG. A good team-player guitarist can underscore the song and still show what they can do without overdoing it. A great, tight rhythm section keeps the groove flowing. As long as your singer doesn’t suffer from ‘LSD’ (lead singer disease) which can ruin a band by the singer believing that they are above the team-player core value, then you’ll have a successful band who writes great songs and collaborating is the way to go. Big egos are what ruins a bands’ success. Rock Legend News: Rik, can you reveal anything that has been kept hush or tell us any secrets about the 80’s? Rik Fox: Oh boy, could I! (laughing)…I plan on talking about that topic in my book I’m writing. I can speak from personal experience on how fake and plastic a lot of the L.A. music scene has sometimes been. And, of course, once I talk about it, I seem to make enemies because the guilty parties hate it when you shed some light on their dark corner of what they’d rather you keep quiet about and not expose them. Remember that song by The O’Jays? “They smilin’ in your face, all the time they wanna take your place, the backstabbers...” While most players seem pretty cool, some walk around with egos that need some trimming down and they don’t like feeling like they have to compete with you if your ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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name is more popular than theirs. Some are envious, some jealous, and some are intimidated by you. People talk behind your back and say the most outrageous things about you, and then when they meet you, they have a completely different impression as compared to how you were described to them. Since I left the music scene a few decades ago, I slipped down in popularity, and others have come up in their own and have seemed to established themselves in such positions that they will hold on to at all costs, even if it means openly attacking whatever you’ve achieved in order to keep you from trying to re-enter the scene again. Currently at the time of this interview, I’ve been experiencing just that. Despite concrete documentation and proof as having been an original founding member of WASP, I have been dismissed and discredited just because Blackie Lawless won’t own up to it and tell the truth about it. Now he’s got minions who believe it like gospel scripture. Since he’s in a much better political position to be believed because his track record is longer and better than mine, he censors that truth. So, like Jim Jones, ultimately, there are blind fools out there who swallow Blackie’s Kool-Ade and believe the lies. Now, if and when I get back to a better level of success, then, much of the BS will to melt away (or make even more controversy) because then, my side of my personal experiences will seem that much more believable. Essentially, it comes down to this: No matter what you have achieved successfully, there will always be someone who lives to target you and shoot you down--There is no profit in lying, so why not just tell the truth? ‘A lie will be halfway around the world before the truth can get its shoes on’ as the saying goes, so, some blind sheep would rather believe the lies of their heroes instead of the truth from the underdog, right? What’s really funny is that, after the truth finally comes out, they either still disbelieve it based on nothing tangible, or come crawling back begging forgiveness and claiming that they were your friend all along and then, that’s when you let them have it back. In their face. In spades. Rock Legend News: Tell us about playing with Ron Keel and STEELER. Did you enjoy playing with Ron and Yngwie Malmsteen? Rik Fox: Truly a learning curve experience for sure. As I stated above, Ron is the consummate professional performer and front man. In looking back, I believe STEELER was always Ron’s band and Ron’s vision, there’s no doubting that. Like myself, he was / is a man with a vision. Sometimes if or when that vision strays from the course you have in mind, for whatever reason(s), then you feel the need to readjust and alter your course to get it back on track. As he has stated, when Ron saw what the L.A. music scene was like and what his original line-up was up against, he felt the need to improvise, adapt and overcome. That’s a given. PAGE 8 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
It just so happened that I had an ad running in a local music magazine and that fate would have it that my ad caught Ron’s eyes, thank God. It was kismet and fortuitous. KISS drummer, the late Eric Carr and I were hanging out and had seen STEELER at The Roxy a few months before and were blown away by them. Ironically, it was Ron Keel who called me and we met and talked. Apparently he liked our meeting and gave me a demo to learn and said to learn the songs and come back and we’ll see what happens. Obviously history bears out that I not only got the gig, I recorded the STEELER debut album as well. I joined as the new bassist for STEELER in December of 1982, eleven months after I was let go from WASP, and had auditioned for RATT, and rehearsed for awhile with both WARLORD and HELLION. That’s quite a hefty comeback, ha, ha, ha…When STEELER played at The Roxy supporting VANDENBERG, Nikki Sixx came backstage (with Blackie Lawless in tow) to congratulate me and wish me well and success. We took an infamous photo of that moment and Blackie pushed his way into the photo. As for Yngwie, well, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since we both pounded the boards together. It seems that from day one, there was always a condescending and arrogant attitude there and it was only a matter of time before the opportunity presented itself for him to jump ship and leave, which he did to join ALKATRAZZ. Yngwie and Ron were always butting heads over how Ron’s songs were arranged. Drummer Mark Edwards and I could only look on in jaw-dropping disbelief, watching these two arguing and Yngwie literally insulting Ron to his face about how the songs were ‘too simple and couldn’t they be arranged to be more interesting to him to play’. As soon as the album was completed and we did a few more shows, the straw seemed about to break the camel’s back and again, I never saw it coming, but after the last show with the album line-up, I was told that the band was going to ‘restructure itself’ again and that since Yngwie left, that it was time for them to find another bassist to replace me. I have no idea how this was a sound decision, (and years later Mark Edwards told me he agreed in retrospect, that it wasn’t a very sound decision). But STEELER kept enduring line-up changes until it ultimately became KEEL. So your guess is as good as mine as to why all these changes took place. Today the STEELER fans want to see a STEELER reunion and I don’t blame them; I’m all for one, but, due to an accident, Mark cannot play drums anymore and Yngwie looks at STEELER as a step backwards in his ‘illustrious’ career, leaving only Ron and myself, so, we can’t bring the fans the album line-up. in June of 2013, after I performed two STEELER songs reuniting with Ron and KEEL at The Whisky, Cinderella’s Fred Coury who was there, stepped up and threw his hat in the ring and made it known to Ron and I that if any STEELER reunion were possible, that he’d like to step in and drum for us. And although I would dearly miss not being able to play with Mark Edwards, I’m perfectly OK with that. As for Yngwie, well, Ron always says ‘never say never’, but I can’t see Yngwie ‘stepping backwards’ to express his gratitude and join STEELER in reuniting with ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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the band that gave him his first opportunity to introduce him the U.S. I was informed that Eddie Trunk, (being a self-proclaimed STEELER fan) and That Metal Show had turned down an opportunity to have the entire band on the show as guests including producer Mike Varney. Now that is really stupid in my opinion and the fans should write to the show and demand to know WHY. I’d personally like to see Rob Marcello step in and clean some clocks…Now that would be a blast for the fans. Rock Legend News You played Hollywood at the same time Motley Crue was playing. Were you influenced by Motley Crue or were they influenced by you? Rik Fox: Actually, Motley Crue was playing the clubs way before I did. I was still ‘new’ in L.A. in February of 1982 and just a ‘fly on the wall’ so to speak, reconning and seeing how the store was being run. I saw Metallica opening for Crue at The Whisky and getting booed off the stage.So, clearly Motley Crue were never influenced by me or anything I brought to the table, they had already hit the ground running long before I arrived in L.A. and were already very well established in the scene, and I was like a kid in a toy store staring in wonder at all I saw around me. Honestly, I’d have to say that a LOT of the other bands in L.A. were influenced by Motley Crue in one way or another, including myself. When you see something successful you attempt to emulate it as best as you can without ripping it off directly, so you adapt it and try to creatively do something to make it your own. Historically, everyone in rock and entertainment steals or ‘borrows’ from each other, I’ve seen it done and I’ve been stolen from too. The difference is, when I borrow from someone who’s influenced me, I don’t try and hide it, I openly admit it and pay tribute to my source. I loved what Nikki was doing with Motley Crue and I applaud and salute him for what he’s achieved. And, as with Motley Crue’s ‘template’, when I created the costuming concepts for SIN, and we began seeing it resonating with the fans that were coming to our shows wearing variations of our stage costuming, as well as other bands beginning to copy our looks, then, along with our songs, I knew I was doing something original. I’d hoped that, comparatively-speaking, for what smaller accomplishments I’ve brought to the table as any kind of pioneer of the L.A. Metal Scene, that someone recognizes what I’ve achieved as well. SIN was an awesome band to see onstage delivering loud catchy and heavy songs and looking awesome; it was a perfect marketing package…I’m certainly not finished by any measure, ha, ha, ha. Rock Legend News: Historically, SIN was one of the first bands on the Hollywood glam scene in the 80’s. In your opinion who really started the Hollywood glam era? Rik Fox: Well, allow me to correct that; SIN was clearly NOT one of the first glam bands on the Hollywood scene, there were many others who established that concept long before I ever arrived in Los Angeles. As far as I know, LONDON was one of the PAGE 10 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
first ‘glam’ type of bands to establish themselves in Hollywood, copying their theme directly from the UK bands of the British Invasion such as Mott the Hoople, Slade, Queen, The Sweet and such. The New Jersey band VIRGIN, who became SIN in 1976 also were copying the same British glam bands. But that was long before I ever arrived in L.A. SIN’s image was not so much ‘glam’ as it was a theatrical approach to a postnuke image. I had all kinds of apocalyptic themes on the drawing board and sketches of our costume ideas, and stage designs that, unfortunately, never were able to get off the ground after our management and producer (Dana Strum) had their hands involved in the break-up of the band. However, SIN *was* one of the most popular hard-rock, and heavy metal bands on the L.A. music scene and we were almost signed—we had a demo deal and recorded master album demos. I was, in fact, responsible for creating (or pioneering) some kind of theatrical stage design look which, to be perfectly honest- I was influenced by an MTV video of The Police for their ‘Synchronicity’ video- in which we see Sting hanging from a wire dressed in some kind of post-apocalyptic blast-shredded clothing—as soon as I took that adapted concept further for the entire band SIN, other bands then apparently began to imitate and our fans began to come to our shows imitating our look. This went so far as to having Van Halen’s David Lee Roth who came to one of our shows and he was looking me up and down, which I later realized why—2 weeks after he came to our SIN show, the Van Halen video for the song ‘Jump’ hit MTV and there, was DLR wearing an exact copy of my stage pants! KISS’ costume designers were also in the audience for our SIN shows; Paul Stanley was seen onstage shortly after, during the Asylum Tour, wearing a conglomeration of the stage look I designed. What’s really interesting, is at about the same time over on the east coast, in New York, Twisted Sister were also wearing a nearly identical stage look (created by Dee Snider’s wife), with all the similar colorful shredded material-over-black, the same as SIN’s costuming which I designed…Coincidence? Upon sharing a New Years’ concert bill with SURGICAL STEEL in 1986, Lita Ford (and her then-manager) rendered me a high compliment when she saw my self-designed Surgical Steel costuming, and asked if it was made by legendary rock costumer Ray Brown. I stated, ‘no, I made this myself’ and she reacted extremely impressed. Rock Legend News: You were interviewed in the 2011 book entitled: ‘W.A.S.P.; A Sting in the Tale’ by author Darren P. Upton. Can you tell us some anecdotes about WASP and what actually happened with you and WASP? Rik Fox: At the time of this interview, it should be known that this has become such a controversial issue among the fans and friends of the band that it has, in fact, seemingly drawn actual battle lines between them; those who believe the truth of my side of the story, and those who disbelieve in the face of it. This is not about money, or personal ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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opinions, but only that proper credit is rendered and recognized. Many of the individuals who are the most vocal about this issue are mostly those who were not actually there in 1982 when all of this took place, but are only those who have chosen to reinterpret what they have heard from second-hand gossip and then attempt to fill in the blanks themselves with their own versions of what actually happened based on bad hearsay. There are one or two individuals who were there, but have, over the years, become hostile witness’ and due to their personal issues of envy and jealousy, have chosen to lie to the public and alter the actual story to the point where it has grown a life of its own which is now, at the root of the controversy and some people just don’t know *what* to believe.. As I mentioned in another reply above: It is said that ‘a lie will be halfway around the world before the truth can get its shoes on.’ First of all, I must begin and render my extreme gratitude and deep appreciation to Darren P. Upton for reaching out to me and having the kind and thoughtful consideration to include me in his book among the other early (and later) WASP band members and to hear my story without any bias…Since his WASP book has been published, it has created an even wider chasm among the WASP universe of fans; We can read for ourselves that most of the former members have no love lost for Blackie and most share a distaste for such a greedy control-freak with boundary issues and bullying issues. Darren informed me that there are two camps of WASP fans that either believe my experience and fully and positively support me as an original founding member of WASP, and then, there is another camp of individuals who were never there, which continuously (and contemptuously) attempts to discredit me, and dismiss my personal experience as being a member of the original line-up of WASP…It’s been quite a ride and I appreciate the fans who continue their unwavering positive support for and to me, because it has not always a very pleasant one. Darren has probably been the most responsible person for helping my story get out to all the fans who, to this day, tell me they had no idea that I was the band member who actually created the bands’ name. Anecdotes I have plenty of. Whether or not they are believed by some of the disgruntled critics is another story, ha, ha, ha. But then, how could my anecdotes be so accurately described unless I was actually there when the critics weren’t, right? OK, right after I arrived at his house on Feb. 4th 1982, Blackie told me ‘If you’re going to lie, lie BIG; the bigger the lie, the more prone people are to believing it.’ And he picked a doozy; following his own advice when he carefully evades the subject of ‘Was Rik Fox ever a band member of WASP?’ Despite the photographic and recorded documentation, some thirty years later, now comes a small horde of critics who have drank Blackie’s Kool-Ade and believe his Big lie. This is why he knew what he was doing when he let me go and demanded that ‘you are not to own any proof that you were ever in this band, and you are to surrender all phoPAGE 12 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
tos you have of you with the band.’ Now, if that wasn’t premeditated, then I don’t know what is. After we recorded the now-infamous WASP demo, we’re back at his house, and Blackie looks at me and says ‘I’m glad we got you; the search is definitely over for a bassist and I’m happy with how the demo came out.’ I said ‘I hope we can make a good team working together, after all, you’re a Virgo and I’m a Capricorn…and, if Gene (Simmons) is a Virgo and Paul (Stanley) is a Capricorn, so, if that works for them, then…’ and Blackie just smiled at me. Apparently being a good songwriter is not good enough for the guy, he also has to take other people’s ideas and lie that they were his own; After I went to Blackie and told him of my idea for the new band name of WASP, (and the ‘Road Warrior’ look), and we both told the rest of the band, I had no idea that he actually went around telling people that it was *his* idea! WASP / L.A. GUNS drummer Steve Riley confirmed that for me years later, when he came over my place in Hollywood; he said ‘Blackie did this all the time to his other band members.’ Why was I let go from the band? Well, there’s two sides to that; mine and Blackie’s and Blackie is NOT going to come clean and admit it; it would undermine everything he’s ever said about WASP’s origins. The night of their Troubadour show at the after party, Randy Piper told me the story why, that today, he back-pedals and now refuses to admit to. At first, everything was great, a few rough bumps here and there equipment-wise, but musically, I never saw any problems. We were a tight band and, to my recollection, I locked in tight with Tony Richards’ drumming. All of that can be heard on the WASP demo along with my more melodic bass lines than what Blackie played later on. When Randy is asked about this, he back-pedals and, like Blackie, consistently evades coming out and answering the question directly—that’s a sign of knowing the truth and refusing to say anything out of self-protection or self-incrimination. He knows, musically, there were no problems with me. The honest story I have been told by Randy which he now recants, is that I was let go by a band leader who became angry with me because of, on occasion, one or two girls I brought back to Blackie’s place who had earlier in the evening turned down his advances at a club. I had no idea that this had happened and so, according to Randy, Blackie must have thought that I was doing it on purpose as if to rub it in his face. It was only later that I was told by the girls that Blackie had hit on them earlier in the evening and they said no, but rather came on to me being the ‘new guy’ in town. Apparently this must have become some kind of personal issue with Blackie and so, out of the blue he stops talking to me and I knew something was wrong, but never thought it had anything to do with me. One day he says ‘we need to talk’ and begins to tell me how ‘it’s just not working out with the band, and that I am being let go…I am not to own or possess any photos or proof of ever having been with the band.’ ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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I said to myself, ‘screw that’, and took the negatives and went out and had copies made, and when Blackie found out he flipped out and went berserk, yelling and screaming at me. I handed over most of the photos but not all of them, which, at present are the only proof of my actually having been one of the original founding members of the band. We’ve seen musicians let go from bands for some really ‘out there’ reasons, but for being jealous of ‘the new guy’ and then trying to use the oldest back-pedal in creation of falsely blaming it on him being an inferior player, in the face of an awesome demo, is a clear example of what has become one of the most controversial conspiracies in the world of rock music. When asked directly, Blackie (and Randy) carefully evade answering directly and try to change the subject. That is because they know that admitting the truth will prove that they have, in fact lied to the fans all these years. And because my career is not as accomplished as Blackie’s, he is in a much better position to be believed. However, if my career was just as extensive, it would be a different story and my side would be equally as plausible to be believed. I’m just very appreciative to all the WASP fans who have displayed a huge amount of positive support in the face of all this and they know the truth will prevail. As for my dismissive critics flaming up the social media internet, instead of living their own lives and staying out of my business, all they are really doing is blowing a lot of hot air, pontificating from their own soapboxes to gain their own attention by discrediting me. WHO CARES who these idiots are?!? Opinions are like assholes, it is said, and everybody has one. A few of Blackie’s fans have become obsessive internet stalkers in Face Book over all this, and insist that ‘in their opinion’ that the original line-up of WASP were the members who recorded the first album. Look, it’s all very simple: Blackie was with The New York Dolls for the very last TWO shows of the last two weeks of their last tour. Are there any photos? No. Any recordings? No. Any proof of this? Not in print so far. Does everyone believe Blackie’s claims? Yes, without a doubt... Why? Because he’s BLACKIE LAWLESS.Conversely, I was with WASP for FOUR MONTHS. Did I record with the band? Yes. Did I create the band’s name? Yes. Did Blackie arrange for a band photo shoot? Yes. Are there photos? Yes. Did Blackie try to forbid me from possessing any of those photos? Yes. Premeditated? You bet. He KNEW what he was doing. Do some fans believe all this? No and Yes. And there, is where the line in the sand is drawn. And in that line in the sand, having been drawn, I have lost a few old friends over this stupid controversy, but also gained a few new ones. I’m not the one who gets overly agitated about all this; the idiot morons who are attacking me are the ones who keep stirring all this old news up, but they blame me for what they, themselves are doing. But yet, there are critics, who were never there in 1982, and insist on claiming that in the face of the recorded and photographic documentation of my being an original member of WASP, that it means nothing and proves nothing unless or until they hear it from Blackie himself. How ridiculous can you be?!? People can believe whatever they want; it doesn’t change the fact of what I lived PAGE 14 ROCK LEGEND NEWS
thru in my personal experience as an original founding member of WASP. And so, until a better day, when truth shall reign, the controversy rolls on. I salute the WASP fans everywhere who still stand by me. Rock Legend News: Rik why do you think the 80’s are re-igniting? I mean, it is like it’s 1985 in Colombia, South America; it is happening here in Italy and it is apparent all over the world that the 80’s and even the 70’s styles are becoming enlivened again. Rik Fox: Well, I recently signed with Premier Records label here in the U.S. and I have a new band project called “RIK FOX’S ANGRY ANGELS”… so I look forward to rocking for you all someday and watch for my musical releases; I have plans to release a Rik Fox Anthology of highlights of some of the bands I made my mark with…but in light of the fact that there is nothing new coming out that resembles the 80’s bands or 80’s types of music and presentations. So, from what I can see (and I might be out of the loop here) it’s all harder thrash type of bands with bald heads and goatees…? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but that image is so NOT 80’s…the 90’s Seattle scene took care of that. But, that being said, everything old is new again. Why do you think there is such a proliferation of 80’s’Tribute’ bands? Because everyone misses all the FUN that those types of bands brought to the stage and 80’s bands look a little silly with bald heads and goatees, LOL Just kidding. We’re ALL older now, us veterans of the 80’s music ‘wars’, so all we can do is bring you what you loved without all the glammy splashy looks, but deliver the same hard rock with the same intensity. That last 80’s generation of players are reuniting (except STEELER it seems so far) because that is where what is left of the market still lives. Especially, mostly in Europe now, where it is still very much alive and the fans are still very supportive of it. In the U.S. the market is all but dead, or drying up; greedy promoters take all they can get off the top without lifting a finger to promote in the traditional sense as they used to (all the older Jewish guys like Bill Graham who were great promoters in the ‘Old Guard’ have retired with nobody competent enough to take their place), bands don’t draw like they used to, venues don’t want (or have the money) to pay everyone’s asking price, everyone’s asking for enough (or more) to make a profit from, and many performers are going broke in the process. Music merchant companies are not as supportive with endorsements as they were in the 80’s and have cut back on a fair amount of support unless you are a member of an upper-level range touring act. Lots of players are like hired guns, jumping from band to band just to keep playing out there. Things are hurting all over here in the U.S. and somebody needs to get organized enough to re-boot the program back into a state where everyone is happy and makes some money. Now, you have to produce your own CD albums (which cuts out the middleman--but also cuts your traditional tour support), so you have to sell your CD albums at your shows and hope you sell enough to make ROCK LEGEND NEWS
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some kind of profit to pay for your tour. Throw in t-shirts which are now being sold at an INSANE pricing and you MIGHT make enough for a hotel instead of sleeping in your vehicle. Then there’s negotiating you position on the concert bill, who’s greasing whose palm, etc. You’d really better LOVE what you do, because there is very little money in it anymore. Thankfully most of the countries outside of the U.S. still have markets of opportunity to support all that American 1980’s rock music and I salute all who do; you’re helping to keep the dream and the spirit alive. As the late Ronnie James Dio used to say: ‘Good on ya!’ Thanks for having me and keeping an open mind! Mille Grazi! Cheers! Rik Fox website: http://rikfoxbass.wix.com/rikfox Rik Fox Reverb Nation Page: http://www.reverbnation.com/rikfox Rik Fox Face Book Main Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile. php?id=1126794637 And:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rik-Fox/136813996474042Face Book Rik Fox Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/345420518814862/ (It’s a closed group, you can only post or see it if you’re a member)
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