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| Welcome to the Exclusive Interview With Richie Fontana! |
| Richie Fontana was on top of the world in 1985. He was on a smash hit tour with pop diva Laura Branigan, he was one of the top session drummers in the world with credits behind him that included the likes of Paul Stanley, as well as past stints with bands such as Piper (with Billy Squier) and the Skatt Brothers. It was then that Richie was seeking medical advice about a funny sensation in his right hand. He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Shocked and in self-admitted denial, he plugged along and kept his condition a secret. When he finally got the monkey off of his back and made it public, he was relieved. He was finally free to do what he wanted on his own schedule, and that is what he did, recording tons of demos and writing numerous songs throughout the 90's. Today, Richie is going as strong as ever, enjoying being a multi-instrumentalist, and finally taking great pride in his first solo album entitled Steady On The Steel. Richie was kind enough to sit back and answer a few questions about music, health, and life. I hope you all enjoy it. |
| Q: Richie, thank you so much for joining me here. It's a pleasure to have you here! I didn't actually realize until many years ago that I have actually been listening to your drumming since the age of 4, when you played on Paul Stanley's album! So I want to catch up with you here today and ask you first off what kind of writing or studio projects you are currently working on? A: These days I'm mostly interested in music publishing. I write my tunes, demo them, and pitch them to various artists, publishers and producers. I'm always working at getting my songs covered. So, I'm pretty much self-contained for the most part. In fact, some of the songs on my current album, "Steady On The Steel", are tunes that I've been pitching. Q: For those that don't know, in 1985, you were diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but 17 years later, you are still going as strong as ever and keeping very busy writing and recording. You have no doubt been a role model to many other people, musicians or not, who may be suffering from MS. Before the diagnosis, did you have an inkling that there was something different with you physically? What led to having you getting it checked out? A: I never had a clue that I was going to have MS. Back in the 80's when I was on the road working with Laura Branigan, I started to have a mild problem with my right hand. It didn't hinder my playing at all but...It was mostly on and off like that for the first 8 years. Q: Being diagnosed with MS would no doubt be a life altering event in any person's life, but you were one of the top studio and touring drummers in the world in 1985, and your whole career was based on the fitness and well being of your body to endure 3 hour shows almost every night on tours that stretched out over several months at a time. What were some of the thoughts and fears on your mind after the diagnosis? A: To be honest I was in denial for many years. I just kept on going as if nothing was wrong. I was driven and I wasn't going to let anything stop me. I had heard all the horror stories about other people with MS, but I also learned that everyone who gets it has a different version. I just didn't want to know. I had so much I wanted to do with my own music so, I just forged ahead. What else can one do? I'm thankful that 17 years later I'm still on my feet, and that I only need a walking cane to help get around. I'm one of the lucky ones for sure. Q: You actually kept your diagnosis a secret for several years out of fear that it might prevent you from finding gigs. When your condition was finally made public, did it affect the amount of work you got? A: It took a while until I was able to disclose my illness, but once I did it was a relief. It had become difficult to harbor that secret. But, I finally accepted it; I realized that MS is a part of my life, but it isn't my whole life. So, eventually I was able to get passed the fear. I had a choice, either live in a cocoon, or continue to have a life. Well, it took some work, but I chose life! The bottom line is that I wouldn't want to be defined by it, after all, I'm still me! :-) So you see...it can be done. Anyway, about 3 years into the illness, I had obligated myself to being a solo artist/songwriter. I had management and a studio deal for cutting my tracks. So, getting outside work was no longer an issue. Q: To this current day, how much has MS affected your ability to play the drums? A: The only thing that prevents me from playing drums these days is the fact that I have too much weakness in my right ankle. My arms and left leg are ok but...if I can't play the bass drum, it kinda zaps my desire to play the full kit. But ya see I'm lucky because I've always played other instruments (guitar, bass, and a bit of keyboards), and the fact that I'm now a songwriter exclusively means that I haven't been looking for work as a drummer anyway. Back then I was more concerned with getting a record deal, now days it's music publishing. Only sometimes I wish that I could still play drums but...it's singing, songwriting, melody and chords that's most important to me now. I program the drums for my demos. Q: As I said earlier, you have not let MS get in your way whatsoever, and in some indirect way, it has helped you to work more on your true love of songwriting. Do you find that a lot of your writing has come from your experiences over the last 17 years? A: Definitely! I've got a number of tunes that evolved out of my personal experiences. When something happens to you, like MS for instance, it only makes you dig deeper down into your soul. When I did that, I found some tunes down there that I never would have had otherwise. It opened a door to another room, if you know what I mean. Not all my songs come from there, but some of them surely do. Q: You have also been taking part in a great program called Songs of Love, in which songwriters can contribute lyrics and compositions personalized for terminally ill children. I know that a lot of other great writers and musicians such as Billy Joel have taken part in this program as well. How did you become involved in this program, and what have been some of your greatest experiences with the children? A: My friend, guitarist Steve Conte, turned me on to Songs of Love. It's something that I think any songwriter would want to make a contribution to. For those of us who are privileged to toil at something we love like music, this just seemed like a wonderful way to give something back. It was truly a labor of love. Q: Just earlier this year, you completed your first solo album entitled Steady On the Steel, in which you played most of the instruments yourself and did all of the vocals for, and you have received glowing reviews for this great new material. How satisfying is it to finally have had a chance to work on your own time with your own material and produce such a good album? A: Thanks well, of course I love working on my own stuff. It's total freedom of expression as they say. Ya know, all my years as a drummer, I've had the pleasure of working with many great musicians, songwriters, engineers and producers; that's what set the standard for my own evolution as a writer, artist and producer. It's a great feeling! Whenever I write a new tune, I just love arranging all the instuments and vocal parts. It's like having a symphony in your head. Q: How long did it take you to complete the album from the very first demo or backing track you laid down? A: The tracks were all cut at different times during the 90's. Some are multi-tracks, the rest are demos. But it was when my web site, www.RichieFontana.com was created (by LightSites.com), that I decided to compile the material into album form, and make it available on the site. Q: Based on the results of Steady On the Steel , are you chomping at the bit to get started on some more material? A: Yeah well, when I'm not chomping on pizza or Taco Bell, I'm usually chomping on some new song ideas. Q: Richie, thank you so much for joining me here again. It has been a real pleasure and you are a real inspiration to us all. Wrapping up here, I thought it would be fun to see if you had a good Paul Stanley or KISS related story for all of the readers here that are fans of KISS, based on your association with them back in the late 70's? A: Well, there's one story that comes to mind; it was Bill Aucoin's birthday December 1977, and we had a big party at an ice skating rink on the west side of Manhattan here in NYC. Everyone associated with Aucoin Management was there that night including the members of KISS, Piper, Starz, Toby Beau, people from the various road crews, girlfriends, wives, and the whole office staff. We all got drunk on champagne and attempted to ice skate. A number of us had never ice skated before, but we did it anyway. So, you can imagine how silly it all became. Well, by the end of the night things began to get a bit out of hand as our parties usually did. Champagne and food started flying everywhere, 'til finally we were told to leave. The last thing I remember is Ace picking up the Christmas tree, ornaments, lights and all, and throwing it across the room. It was not unusual for our parties to end that way. Anyway, there's a little anecdote for ya. Thanks for having me. |
| Be sure to visit Richie's official website for all of his latest news, and more info on Steady On the Steel! |
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