Episode 6. Van Romaine // Nena, Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morse

Welcome back friends.
Todays guest is drummer Van Romaine.
Van has a legendary resume playing with artists such as Blood Sweat and Tears, Enrique Iglesias, Nena and his long standing gig as a band member for Steve Morse.
Hope you all enjoy and keep up with the podcast on all platforms!

https://linktr.ee/JeffSuburu

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

I was so nervous about getting fired from Steve's game because he basically he has all this stuff together, but he wouldn't he wouldn't communicate with me. I'm like, just a little bit of feedback, bro, would be uh incredible for my you know soul right now. And he never really did until he goes, uh yeah, so um uh my deal with MCA got extended for another record, and uh I'm really inspired to do it with you and Dave. Were you guys into that? And I was like, What? He goes, Do you want to do the record? I'm like, so you like the way I play? He goes, hell yeah, why wouldn't I? I'm like, oh this is the first time I'm finding out.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Episode six. Welcome back to the Noflakes podcast. My name's Jeff Sabrew. That is Van Romain, amazing drummer and band leader. I hope you all enjoy today's combo with my buddy Van. Ah's it going? What's up? Your studio is great. Your studio is much cleaner than mine.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

That's a fake or backdrop. I just put a fake backdrop in there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Is that a is that a green screen? I I got a but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

I got a bunch of motorcycle parts over here.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

My tennis racket. Yeah, bro. I just played tennis yesterday the first time in like uh forever with my kid with my kids. Oh, good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Good. Did you give them a couple points? Are you still like as competitive as you are with me?

SPEAKER_03 1:45

No, I I smoked him. No. No, it's fun. Dude, thank you for doing this.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Thanks for having me, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

Yeah, bro. I've got the Van Romain is here. I'm actually already recording. And our Enrique fans are gonna be so stoked because we're I'm making the rounds. I've got Fetter was on. I got I got Sean is coming. I got Joe.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Oh, nice. Awesome. So the whole team, dude. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

And are you in your are you in your house right now?

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Yeah. Okay. This is this is my uh my little music room. I got my over there, the Yamahawk custom. Bruh.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Hire me. You don't need to play.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

It's funny. This room, I redid it to make it look nicer. It was my wife, my wife's idea to like make it look nice. It sounds horrible.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Well, this is my this is my third studio. And uh when we first bought this house, Emily was like, um, what do you want to do with the first floor? I'm like, it's better. You'll see it when it's it's there's too many variables. It's you it won't make any sense. And then finally some walls came down, and she's like, Oh my god, I know what you're talking about now. So yeah, anyway.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

Well, your yours looks sick. That looks amazing. Um, and actually, this studio does perfectly fine for me for what I've done. That looks great. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's all good, man. Um dude, so thanks for hopping on here. Um, so you're where are you at right now? You're in what what city outside of Jersey?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Bought a house in uh Vernon, New Jersey, Sussex County.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Up in the mountains, north north Jersey, just south of the New York State border. And um, yeah. A little further to the airport and to a lot of the things that I like, including Trader Joe's, but uh and Whole Foods. But uh it's amazing. It's just uh Yeah. You got bears out there and wilderness. Every turn is unbelievable. I got a couple motorcycles outside. That's uh yeah, my my dog's quality of life improved by like 400% right off the bat.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

Yeah, that's that's amazing, dude. Yeah, so you you let's just like get into it. So you grew up in Jersey? Is that where you're I did.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

A small town, Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Nice my claim to fame as I graduated high school with Tom Cruise. I don't know if I ever told you that.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

You did, and that's it's amazing. Well, because everyone gives me the whole, you know, the risky business and the that I look like Tom Cruise. That's true.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Tone crew. Yeah, that's only 20 odds.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Look at my hair now. This is my military cut. So I like that. It's fresh. So that's pretty cool. Did you did you know him?

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Did you uh it was really small school, so everyone knew everybody. Yeah, it was like a hundred people in the graduating class, but we weren't like weren't we didn't hang, you know.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Yeah, yeah. So now I'm shifting into Tom Cruise uh fandom. Is his real name Tom Cruise?

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Maypother is his last name.

SPEAKER_03 5:13

Oh yeah, that's a good switch.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah, small town stuff. Like my my stepbrother dated his sister for a while, and you know, I know a bunch of girls that he dated, so I'm like you probably you know mess them up a little now that he's on every other billboard. Right. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

Wow, that's pretty cool. So, like uh how many siblings do you have growing up?

SPEAKER_01 5:36

I have one brother, and my father remarried when I was about twelve or thirteen, a lady that had five kids. Okay, so it be went from one brother to big old um yeah, six other sibs. It was like the Brady bunch on acid. Um I moved to my town, and uh yeah. I think it's what gave me my thick skin. Right? But I'm very close with very close with all of them there.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

Yeah, yeah. And was that did they come into your life when you were uh younger? How how old were you in that whole 12 or 13?

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

So it was like part of your thing. So uh, like in your family, does anybody else play music?

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Or were you kind of the um my uh not so much my step family, but my father, mother, and brothers like super musical. Cool. Uh and uh yeah, but they never uh did it for you know a career. They weren't smart enough not to go for that.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Yeah, yeah, totally. So like when did when did you get into like was it always drums or did you ever play anything else or was it just drums?

SPEAKER_01 6:48

I would mess around with stuff. I got into playing, uh I mean, I got a bunch of guitars here, and I started um I don't know. I mean, um my career started just playing drums, and then I was working with different artists and I started rearranging some music and writing with some people. So I I took a bunch of guitar lessons and I I'm I'm horrible, but I could I could find what I hear in my head like right away, pretty much.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

Yeah, well, obviously, I mean um but that took a little time.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

I I you know I I was never gonna be like, yeah, I want to be a guitar player in a band. I just um the songwriting thing for a period of time did really well for me with publishing and all this other stuff, so for sure. And digital audio and all that other stuff. So I I focused on it pretty hard. Yeah, I don't really touch it anymore unless it's something that I have to come up with, like a TV commercial or whatever, and then for sure.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

Um when you were when you were young though, like playing drums, like what when was like the moment that you're like, you know what? I think I'm gonna like I kind of want to do this for a living. And did you have to like how did your parents take that? You know, like are you like they're probably like okay?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Uh yeah, I'm I'm one of those very fortunate people. I even though my folks got divorced, that they were super supportive, and I felt like and they're also really creative. My father was a lawyer, but like a frustrated musician, you know. So he would he would drag me out literally to like buddy rich shows and big band jazz stuff. And um that's so awesome. But to answer your question, I got I did uh I got hired to play like a bar mitzvah or something like that when I was 13 with a bunch of like 20-something year olds. And you know, made 250 bucks or something like that, and then they asked me to do the next couple weeks, and that's when I was super passionate, just the way I was super passionate about skiing and girls and stuff like that. But uh when they offered me money, I was like, I don't see any other 13-year-old kids that I'm aware of doing this stuff, so so maybe I have a little more natural ability than average, and uh so then I and then uh that that's what gave me the idea.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's amazing. And the whole there's a recurring theme with this podcast that I'm doing because I I like to kind of get into people's life before they get like the big gigs, you know. And the recurring theme is like the support system of parents is so important, like it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

I've seen both, I've seen both. I mean, you probably noticed more, but I've got friends that did it kind of out of like I'll show you kind of I and I I mean I love reading. Really successful musicians, you know. Yeah, I mean I'll mostly it's what you're talking about from my experience. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

And I I mean my experience was actually kind of in the more I'll show you zone. Oh, okay. Um, but it's not it wasn't easy, but it still worked. But it just it I like the idea of um everyone that I've talked to that has you know such a great support system, it's just very empowering, I think, for a young kid to be like, you know what, I can do this, and you'll step out, you have the confidence, you know, uh, from a younger age, I think.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

So that's yeah, yeah, I think so. And I also have this other philosophy. Uh most of the drummers that I met, and I'm just talking about drummers now, are like super easy going, great to get along. I got so many drummer friends. Like, you'd think I'd have more other musician friends because I'm playing gigs with them. Nah, I'm not playing gigs with other drummers. Well, sometimes I am. Yeah. But uh my theory is that anyone that would have a set of parents that would agree to, hey, you know, can you buy me a drum set and lessons? And even if I ever get better, like really good at five years from now, which is unlikely, it's even gonna suck five years from now. And up to that, it's just gonna sound like drums falling down the stairs, and and the parents go like, Yes, we of course, we love you, we'll pay for it, you know. So that's my theory, you know. Yeah, so uh I don't know how I if that's true or not, but uh yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

So you went to um, you know, you're like pretty pumped up, realized you can make some money, playing drums. You decided you went to Miami, right? My what is it, Miami University? Yeah, um, yeah, so studying music, Miami, that's a legendary college. Jocko went there, or Jocko taught there? Did he go there? He was kind of a no, he didn't go there.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

I do have Jocko stories, but everyone has them. But I uh he lived in Fort Lauderdale, so he was kind of in and around that world, and it's it's University of Miami. Miami University, I think, is in Ohio, but um anyway, yes, but yeah, and the other thing, just quickly, the thing that got me really inspired is the town I grew up in, Glen Ridge is about a 45-minute, half an hour train ride to New York City.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

So I would just go in and sneak into clubs by myself sometimes. Sometimes I'd bring my girlfriend, and these clubs were like Steve Gad would be playing in a corner next to a jukebox, like you know. I don't know, I was just like, oh my god, you know.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

So yeah, that's it, man. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

But yeah, I went to University of Miami for three years and then transferred up to a state school in New York to start hustling work in New York. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

So that's um, yeah, I on a on the Jocko thing. I I heard that he would come, they would hire him to come in and just sit in and and basically kind of be a uh like he would sit in and tea teach, quote unquote, but he would just sit there and basically jam for an hour and then just that would make me happy. That's all I would want. No, me too, me too. But he wouldn't like really say anything, he would just like plug in his bass, jam, and be like, all right, see you later. And then just walk away, right? Yeah. Um, so Steve Morse, he was in he went to Miami too, right? He did, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

A little bit eight to ten years before I did. Um so that's not my connection with him. Gotcha. But it was interesting to guess.

unknown 13:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

You know, just his experience of shh of school and music and yeah. Right. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

Yeah. It's interesting with music school. Like, did you do you did you keep in touch with many people you knew then that continued on in music?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yes, and and one of my best friends is still the head of the drum department in University of Miami. I mean he's that's cool. We talk a lot, and he's and I'm thinking, dude, how many students you know students do you know over the years? How can you even you know keep track? And um but yeah, he he was one of those teachers that really um harnessed young talent and and and wanted it to grow. And um yeah, um, yeah, so he's still a great friend. And great at keeping in touch, yeah. And a lot of uh musicians too. Like my first kind of touring gig was Blood, Sweat and Tears, and that that all happened. I auditioned for it, but I got the audition because of my connections with uh friends from University of Miami.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Sure. And I mean Blood, Sweat and Tears. I mean, we're talking about Jocko, he was in there for a little bit, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:23

And Mike Stern and Mike Stern. They were in there at the same time as be way before me, but uh right.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Anyway, yeah, that band, I mean, um, I don't know too much about it. I know they have some pretty big hits. Uh is any are they still out doing it? Or is any of the original members in there? No.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

They are still doing it, they got it. Um, so my idea about Blood, Sweat, and Tears is they were arguably one of the first fusion bands. Because it was like when they were playing a a uh a groove like rock or funk song, it was in it, you know, it was grooving. Uh, but they also mixed it with jazz in a really tasteful way. Um and it was just uh unbelievable songs. And I I think the name I think they kept on uh I think it was created by Al Cooper, keyboard player, who has a pretty incredible career. Um but the hits were all sung, the main hits that most people know were sung by David Clayton Thomas, uh Canadian singer. Right, but he's not the original singer, so when I did Clayton was still singing, and it was a bunch of New York City session guys, yeah. Um and incredibly proud of the work. Like every show was just so good, you know. I bet.

SPEAKER_03 15:48

Um so what how long how old were you when you like got into that? How long after like going back to New York and school? And then you get this gig, and like uh so like what what was that? Like what age?

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Uh I guess it was like 23, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

That's cool. And you guys did full on touring, full tour full-on touring?

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Well, they didn't do long tours. Uh they would usually do like a week out, but it was all over the place. Japan and and uh Europe and nice and some of the most hilarious stories, like it was my first touring gig. Yeah, Click Um Yeah, so the stories were so funny that I started touring with other people, like older acts like Kansas and whoever else.

unknown 16:41

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Uh played a little bit with Deep Purple. I didn't play in Deep Purple, but I did some shows with them. And so I'm telling them the stories of Blood, Sweat, and Tears. And I thought, oh, all and they would ask me to like, hey, can you tell us those stories again? Those were the funniest thing I'm like, oh, I thought you guys would have more funny stories, but anyway.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

What's I mean, is there anything that you still remember that's that's doable, doable on a podcast? Because I think you've told me some, but that's that's you know, off-record. Yeah, most of them.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

I have too much respect for people. I can't really but they're all as it is they're all like you know jokes on somebody else's behalf, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

Which is usually how it goes. Yeah, no, that's awesome. Um dang man, so like how long did you do the blood, sweat, and tears thing?

SPEAKER_01 17:33

About eight months, and I I got asked got asked to audition for Steve Morse band. So Steve was had just finished a record on MCA and was looking for a new drummer, and I got that, and then um CSO. I did end up going back and subbing a little bit, but from that point on, like I suggested other other people for them. They used Graham Hawthorne played with Paul Simon and um David Byrne, a bunch of other people.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

Yeah. So man, Steve Moore, I mean, that's so amazing for you as a player, right? Like, how aware were you of him before getting that gig?

SPEAKER_01 18:17

I was aware of him. I like I was really into uh, and I know we've talked about a lot of the stuff just being on tour together, but like I'm into a lot of genres and like really into a lot of genres, and I'm like kind of like, oh, kind of like that. Now I'm like really into RB and really into Sabbath and and and really into jazz too. I don't necessarily like to mix them too much, but anyway, um I was really into progressive music like Weather Report, Return to Forever, Mavishna Orchestra, um a lot of the stuff in that vein, Pat Metheny. And uh somehow the dregs, I I heard a couple other songs that they it didn't grab me right away, it just took a little time. So um, however, Dave LaRue, who got me the audition with Steve, did a dregs tour, and he goes, You gotta come see the band. So I went to a show in Philly, and I just couldn't take my eyes off Steve. I mean, the whole band was great, Rod Morgenstein. Uh, but I was like, oh my god, that's just one of the most incredible composers, musicians, players that you know. Um so then I became a fan, and then like, yeah, three or four months later, uh Dave's like, hey man, um Steve's high tension wires record just dropped, and and he wants to tour. And it's the time the time when he cut his hair and was like flying airplanes commercially for a little bit. Yeah, and uh he was he was getting back into uh music. So yeah, I did that. I started touring with him, and then um and then he asked me to do the next record on MCA and split the publishing with Dave and I and um yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

I mean incredible. It is incredible because I mean a gig like that obviously you do the massive gigs, the Enrique thing, you've been with him forever, but it there's something about those gigs where it's like the musician thing, people probably started to really know your name, right? Like because you were really featured in that band.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Yeah, just the nature of the music, right? I mean, it's I I think I think we both think the same way, like as far as supporting music, and if you're doing a session for somebody getting inside the music, and yeah, it's it's a three-piece and it's arranged, you know. He's leaning on Dave and I to bring I mean he he has suggestions sometimes, but more more often than not, he's leaning on our ideas, and it might not be the first idea, but like, yeah, let me try something else. Or um, so yeah, we just you know, all these years later, that was 89, I started tour with them. Yeah, and we just finished uh another record.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

Yeah, which is kill or what's what's the name of that, what's the name of the new record?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Uh Triangulation.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Yeah, it's badass.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

And recorded the drums here and some of the other things here. And um it's the first record I did in the studio. Um but yeah, I never thought we'd play again, you know, not to jump all over the place with you here, but yeah, we were just busy. I was like obligated with a bunch of pop stuff and Rick A and Nana and Germany and and whatever else, and uh and then suddenly the windows opened up, you know, really, really due to his uh his wife getting sick, so he left deep purple and had some time. So anyway.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so you told me about he used to like fly. You guys between shows, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Yeah. We don't do it. We don't do it now because he wanted to make it a partnership, you know? Yeah. Like a three-way partnership. In this last chapter. And so that's great. It's also a lot more work, but it's also even a small plane like that, like a Cessna 310 dual prop, it's like 500 bucks an hour in fuel.

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Yeah. Man, that's just that just blows my mind, though. You know, it's like, all right, guys, here we go. You know, you're like, whoa, my band leader is hopping in the driver's seat.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Yeah, but that, yeah, going back to the early gigs, I, you know, I'm a little kid from Jersey. I mean, I was living in Manhattan at the time when I got the gig, but um, yeah, I'm co-piloting with him. Dave and I were swap off, and we have hilarious stories about that. Just man.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

That's so nuts.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Uh and then land landing in little tiny, not not even corporate airports, but like mom and pop, you know. Right. And then there'd be a rental car there. We jump in the rental car and go to the gig.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

You ever have any any sketchy, any sketchy flights in those little planes?

SPEAKER_01 23:18

No.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

No?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Not really. He's he's he was. I never felt more safe with flying with that guy. He is just uh MacGyver ninja. Yeah. He takes it as a it's a challenge for him to just, you know, he's got like 20 backup plans, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Always he's he like is like a ninja, right? Like he does uh jujitsu and stuff too.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Well he actually, yeah. He's black belt, of course. Jesus. So yeah, and he's that like aerobatic champion, you know, doing tricks and oh my god. He's FAA to approved to work on his own planes, which is very rare. Sure. And it's a long course that usually takes, I don't know, a year or something. He did it in three months, of course. Right. Um, but we'd he's built planes. He built like a Spanish jet fighter from parts. We'd have a day off and he'd be out. He'd go, hey, can you help me out? I'm just like, yeah, I'm not doing anything. And he'd be like inside a jet fighter, handing me out carburetors and stuff. I'm like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

I mean, that's just I mean, it's just he's such a high-functioning human because he's one of the best guitar players in the world, and you would think, like, oh, he's probably just practicing guitar like all day long, and it's it's probably more like he's kind of like, well, I kind of mastered that, I'm gonna start doing some other shit. Is it kind of like that?

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Or I don't know. I think he's just incredibly intelligent, and he's uh he's also as corny as it might sound, in my opinion, he's he's in touch with some other stuff that a lot of people probably don't believe in, you know. I'm not talking about religion or anything like that, but just the what if thing, you know, and and uh yeah, I mean the the one thing when I was first touring with him, because I was so he had played with one drummer like his whole career, Rod Morgenstein, great friend, amazing drummer. However, we are apples and oranges. Like we come from a different school of drumming, and I love that. That's why I love playing with him because it it kind of works well when we do double drums, but I was so nervous about getting fired from Steve's gig because he basically he has all this stuff together, but he wouldn't he wouldn't communicate with me. I'm like, just a little bit of feedback, bro, would be uh incredible for my you know soul right now. Yeah, and he never really did until he goes, uh yeah, so um uh my deal with MCA got extended for another record, and uh I'm really inspired to do it with you and Dave. When you guys into that, and I was like, what? He goes, Did you want to do the record? I'm like, so you like the way I play? He goes, hell yeah, why wouldn't I? I'm like, oh this is the first time I'm finding out, you know, right? Uh so back then I would say maybe his personal skills weren't on the same level as all these other super freak things we're talking about. But now he's even got that together. That's good. And he has for a long time. He's he's just like such an incredible uh human being and doing the right thing by people, and yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

That's awesome. I feel like there might be a weird relationship between like band leaders and drummers to where the communication isn't always there of like letting them know their appreciation. I remember hearing the same story with Dave Grohl when he was in Nirvana. He's like, Kurt Cobain never said like anything about his drumming ever. And he was like, is that cool? And he would just never acknowledge, you know, he's like, he just like I never I never knew if he liked my drumming or anything. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

Yeah, I I feel the difference, you know, just being a band leader for some of the you know acts that I play, you know, I want people to like yeah, it's like give him good stuff, man.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

Like, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

So and Steve's very Steve's very much that way now, you know, and so is most everyone I work with, you know.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

Yeah, I think as probably as artists get older they realize how important it is to everyone, right? Like even if I'm doing like my little silly little licks on uh heartbeat or something, and Rika he'll be like, oh shit. Like I'm like, yeah, man. You know, like all you can all excited. Oh shit. Yeah. But yeah, that's awesome, dude. So like you're you got the Steve Morse thing, and then I know eventually somehow you got into Nana. What and Kansas? I don't even know anything about the Kansas thing.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

You've kind of mentioned it a little bit, but yeah, I um well that happened because uh Steve used to play with Kansas and they asked him to come back in and sub on some shows. And uh and he goes, Yes, if my trio can open up for you guys.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

Nice!

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Um so that's how that happened. Yeah, the drummer called me to Phil Ehart kind of runs that band. Um great guy and great band. That's another band I wasn't I I just wasn't that aware of all their music aside from the carry on my wayward son, Dust in the Wind, you know. Right. Um but I really ended up falling in love with that music, and um yeah, I I it did one summer tour, and then next summer they were going out with sticks, but I got booked on other things and didn't end up going back to it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Interesting. Is it like is it like The Rock's wife's dad the original drummer for Kansas? I don't know why I just thought of that. I'm not sure. And I don't even know who she is. So if there's a listener out there, maybe Google that and tell me I'm wrong. Okay, gotcha. But so okay, so the Kansas thing, and and you've stuck with Morse this whole time, which is sick.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Well, we never split up. We were just um I had an arrangement with Enrique where you know. Yeah, I could do whatever I wanted, but when he came knocking, you know.

SPEAKER_03 29:31

So was was Nana before Enrique?

SPEAKER_01 29:36

Or um, yes. Yeah. So I got called to tour with her through the same guy that got me the Enrique gig, this uh old friend Tony Bruno. Nice. And he was like, uh, yeah, we're looking for a drummer to go to Germany for the summer, and uh um Amani was great, and I knew the band that was doing it, and he goes, It's with Nana, the 99 Love Balloons person, and I was like, Oh, you know, she even I didn't know I hadn't heard anything since the 80s hit, you know. Yeah, and uh she took some turns out she took some time off to be a mother, had four kids, and um dang, I didn't know that. So, yeah, so she had she was like the biggest thing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland for sure, and then just shut it down for I don't know how long. Um six years more. Um so I just came in as the drummer and then um then she wanted to uh she wanted to hire me as the MD uh for the next tour and then and record started recording records, but uh kind of the short version of that whole story, um she had this global number one hit in '82, '99 Love Balloons.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Um and she had a bunch of other hits in Germany. They weren't number ones, uh, but she hadn't had a number one since Love Balloons. And I actually watched her, I don't know how many records it was, one, two, yeah. Like by the third record, she had another number one hit 25 years later. Wow. And and um, and she went from like a thousand-seat venues to back into arenas and uh winning all these Echo Awards, the Germany's version of the Grammys or the Juno's, and um um yeah, and I watched this whole thing happen as it became her MD and I was co-writing some of the stuff, none of the big hits, but I was also finding people for her to write with and hiring new bands for pretty much every record. Because I like one band would work great for that, and they most of the bands were from the States, just because of but then over time I realized that it was important to have more Germans in the band with the singing and the especially the uh the keyboards. Like it's such a big part of the history of pop, in my opinion. It's everything that came out of craft work and all this stuff, and I sort of grew to learn that like, well, maybe I shouldn't just be getting my friends from New York and LA to do this. Um started finding people in Germany, and then it became kind of half and half. And uh interesting. Yeah. But she's still doing great, you know. And she's yeah, still selling arenas and huge, doing incredibly successful. So I haven't played with her since right before COVID. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Is it is it tricky? This might be a dumb question, but if you're working kind of exclusively in Germany, does that get tricky like doing like taxes and stuff or like the way that works out? Don't worry, hopefully I don't flag an audit.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

No, no, no, no. Um, well, I guess the answer is it's what what it's what you negotiate with whoever's hiring you.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

So typically the laws in Germany change a lot. Well, they change a lot over the years uh since I was working with Nana. Um but initially, the very first tour I did uh before I was the MD, they said we're not taking money out of your taxes. And then at the end of the tour, we got paid and the money was taken out, and I was like, oh.

SPEAKER_03 33:40

Oh shit. So they just take they just take it out.

SPEAKER_01 33:46

We ended up working it out because I don't think she knew the manager took it back. Basically, like just for now, like let's just talk about the number I'm getting and the number that uh the people I'm bringing over are getting when they come home. Um but it depends, you know. It's the thing is if you if they take the taxes out, you can use it as tax credit against your taxes in the United States. And sometimes that works great. I don't know how interesting that is to your fans here. It's you know, I it's it's really interesting because I uh it is it is the only way to stay involved with music is to make money. So it's yeah, yeah. Uh for me, it's really important to have some knowledge about these things. Um but anyway, yeah, it is whatever you negotiate. Like, so for a while I was like we did it for a while with she just we worked out a number and she paid our taxes in Germany. And then it became like a combination, like half and half, or whatever it was, you know. Wow. But yes, you gotta you can't use it as tax credit against all your taxes in the state, which is great. Like if your wife has a corporate job and she's getting W-2s and all that stuff. But it is complicated. And and I'll the last thing I'll say about it is you gotta find the right accountant that knows or is willing to find out how to know. Because most of the people that I've found are just like, well, my accountant says this. I'm like, well, who's working for who here? Are you working for your accountant, or do they just not want to take the time? And it's complicated. Yeah, so I understand that, but I just kept on changing accountants till I found the last accountant that I've had for 15 years, and and he gets it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Basically, it's the one that comes back with the bigger number, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:39

No, well, he knows, you know, I'm a family man like you. I don't want to I don't want to get in any trouble. I want to do things right, but I want but I am willing to study and look extra hard on how to save my hard-earned money if I'm not getting not getting these days with my kids when I'm touring. I'm grateful for the music and the career, uh, but I I want to legally hold on to every dollar that I can.

SPEAKER_03 36:08

Absolutely. Um, so I don't know if I chronologically or the timeline is off. So we gotta talk about OPP, right? I mean, that's insane. So when did that go down? So, Van, our buddy here, that intro to OPP that everybody.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Actually, that's the platinum record right there. Hell yes. Um first one I ever got.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

Dude, I wanted to fly that in, but I was afraid it would get flagged. But everyone knows that that intro beat, but you've told me the story, so so tell me how how that came about and how you did that beat.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

So uh basically, one of my best friends in the world, he's losing L now, Dave Bolocchio. He's um we were playing in a cover band. I was still kind of had one foot in the last year of college, and he goes, I want to build a studio in my parents' basement. What do you think? I was like, stupidest idea you could ever have, but he was way ahead, he was thinking way ahead of me. Uh the cut to the chase, he started attracting a lot of uh rap clients, a lot of different things. And um yeah, he goes, I got uh a new rap band. They're on this new label I've never heard of called Tommy Boy. And um, yeah, I think he could probably get like 200, 250 for a day for a couple days, you know. And uh I'm like, yeah, I'm down with it. But I was already into rap. Like I once I heard the message, Grandmaster Flash and Melly Male, I was like, I got a new genre. I'm in, you know. And I and um anyway, it's all three of them. Um they're poor poor guys from East Orange, New Jersey, which is actually bordering Glen Ridge, the town I grew up in. Um, but they were just incredibly creative, you know. They they were they they were playing me cuts of like grooves and stuff they wanted off records. They didn't want to pay to use the samples. I I think in the case of um OPP they did use some of it because there's I hear some Jackson 5 samples in there.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Yeah, that little bait the bass, the bass, right? Badoo baoom, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:24

I'm not sure what they had because it was this thing. I I actually on top of playing drums, I was always into electronics. So I had I had a two or three uh S900 samplers, a Kai S900 samplers. They're worth about five bucks a pop now, but they were about a grand each back then. And um these guys wanted loops, but they wanted they wanted beats that they could write raps over. So um, so basically they just had me like I we like that beat, just play some measures of that, and then I'd find some measures, put it into the S900. And um I just did I just did a ton of that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 39:03

And and so, but like it I don't want to cut you off, which I am cutting you off. Um go for it. So when you sample like a beat like that, is it just like one room mic? Or how'd you capture the kit?

SPEAKER_01 39:16

No, like it was this whole whole board, just a stereo well stereo recorded. That's nine hundreds a mono sampler, so it's yeah, but so you mono out.

SPEAKER_03 39:27

You were mic'd up. You were you were yeah, yeah, fully mic'd up. Yeah. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

And the other the second day we did some funny stuff because a bunch of MCs came in. A bunch of big brothers, and they were like, they came into my little drum booth that was really a glorified vocal booth, and they're like, uh, yeah, we want you to listen to what these guys are beatboxing to you and play that shit back. So, you know.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

Oh, nice, nice.

SPEAKER_01 39:52

And so, yeah, I did a bunch of that. And then, you know, it was four or four or five hundred bucks over a couple days, just another session, didn't think anything of it. And then I went out with Morse or no, actually, blood, sweat, and tears, but doesn't matter. And I came back before the internet and everything. And Dave Belocchio, my friend, is like, dude, have you heard what's gone on with this with this OPP thing? And I'm like, no, like what's happening? He goes, It's blowing up, it's insane, you know. And um, anyway, yeah, that's that's the version of it. So I just I I played tons of loops, and I guess they used one of them, and then I played over some loops on top of other loops, and um, but I still get check, I still get checks from it. Hell yeah. And I met Queen Latifah. No one knew who she was. Oh she was she was on that record. She's oh yeah, and and um yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:50

So cool. I mean, that's a song that's it's stood the test of time, you know. It's like it's still you put on that intro and it's like I know what song that is, man.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Yeah, like yeah, it's almost like uh what's that 50 cent song in the club, you know, when it first starts and the whole the whole place just lights up, you know.

SPEAKER_03 41:07

Yeah, so it's it's still there. So yeah, that's pretty rad.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

You're like, and it gave me even more respect because these guys, I could tell, like they didn't they weren't brought up with parents buying them a bunch of instruments. They were like, but they're creative, so they're learning about this from the turntables and stuff. I'm like, that's just so badass. Yeah, yeah. So yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:30

That's sick. I had to touch on that because uh when you told me that years ago, I was like, what? Yeah, and I think anybody that doesn't know that's pretty amazing because everyone knows that song.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

Um and the reality is it's one measure though. I know, but dude, I mean, it doesn't matter. And I got my name in Rolling Stone magazine with Dave saying, you know, we came up with the groove. I'm like, I'm pretty sure the Jackson 5 came up with it, but I'll take what I can get, you know?

SPEAKER_03 41:59

So hell yeah. Um so then you did the Nina thing. That had already the OPP thing already happened. So how did so then Enrique comes calling? How I don't even know how you got that gig. Tony Bruno.

SPEAKER_01 42:13

Tony Bruno, same guy that got me the Nana gig. Um called me to audition right as that um um big record with Hero uh came out. So Jamar Gomez Jamar Gomez Enrique's percussionist and I both joined at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 42:35

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

And our first gig was Tribute to the Heroes, and and I'm just bringing that up because that that was done after 9-11. But basically, from what I understand, there was some like Jimmy Ivine wanted to put out Hero, but other people were concerned that it was a ballad. The first song is a ballad. But then 9-11 happened. So this song Hero, which might normally be thought of as a you know, just a love song, suddenly had a whole new meaning to it. And then uh and he he really knocked it out of the park and the performance. So it's kind of interesting to use something so tragic, uh, but you know, we were all there for the right reasons, you know. Yeah. Um on that thing with all this other huge talent in the room, Neil Young, Springsteen, and it was just mind-blowing, you know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:33

So that would that was a big show, big concert, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

2001, it was actually none of us knew where the location was because everyone was still so shell-shocked about what happened in nine eleven. And I you know, I was living in New York City and my daughter was a year and a half old. So And I'm like, just had such a huge love affair with with with Manhattan over the years. It it really hit home for me, you know. Yeah. Especially the resilience, like how how New York bounced back and how the country bounced back. Um but um but yeah, um that's that was our first gig and then we just it was like nonstop touring for two or three years. Yeah. And uh that was back when Shomar couldn't s speak any English. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

He's came a long way. He's came a long way.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

And Rickey and Rickey would prank him. Do you know those stories? Oh I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

You go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

Well basically, you know, Enrique's always prankster. He's kind of calmed down a little bit, but um he he he used to introduce the whole band back then. And and he would save Jomar for last, and he'd say, and Jamar could only speak Portuguese. And he'd go, and a native of Dublin, Ireland, he's born here, his wife's here, his white family's here, and he wants to make a speech, and he'd hand on the mic and because he was putting them on the spot because he couldn't speak. So we started coming up with these little phrases. We knew Enrique was gonna do it every show.

SPEAKER_02 45:15

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Because he he he you know turned into a thing. So he would write these little phrases on his hand to remember, you know, he we'd say, yeah, like the local soccer team, or to like, you know, hey, you know, just a few words. Anyway. Um good times.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

That is that is awesome. Oh my god. Enrique needs to bring back some pranks, man. I I I you guys told me one where like, didn't he take apart the furniture in someone's room and put it all in the bathroom?

SPEAKER_01 45:49

It was a keyboard player, I won't mention his name, but he basically his keyboard player was acting kind of cool in the tour bus, and some girl came and arm wrestled him and rocked him. And that night that guy was out partying, and he got back just in time for the bus call in the morning, and everything in the room was this is the Ritz Carlton. Everything in the room was in his bathroom. They like got tools and took things apart, like everything but the phone, just one phone sitting in the middle of the that is impressive.

SPEAKER_03 46:22

That's very impressive.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

The worst thing he ever did to me, which is pretty brutal. He I fell asleep on his plane, and he um he basically sent um many, many uh anonymous love notes to random men in my phone. Right, right as I was like my and I have two kids and they're both really young, but I'm meeting all their parents and we're going on ski trips together and shared rooms, and and I that was a lot of a lot of damage control.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

Yeah, a lot of clean, a lot of a lot of cleanup. So with Enrique, I mean, that was so massive hero coming out. I mean, I knew I was very aware of it just as a I was like 19 or something, or you know, a kid getting out of high school, but that song was everywhere. I was like, oh my god, this this is massive. You probab I mean, I'm sure it was pretty big starting out, but you saw him also grow to the level he's at now. Because I know he didn't he wasn't in like where what kind of uh venues were you playing like from yet?

SPEAKER_01 47:34

In in the States, he actually wanted to play theaters. And my understanding um is that he wanted he wanted great reviews of the shows and uh and like the band is now, the band was showed up for work big time every show.

SPEAKER_03 47:54

Dude, Tony Tony Bruno, I mean his his legacy is still lasting in the way we play a lot of these songs because it's like so much guitar, it's freaking rad.

SPEAKER_01 48:05

So like for sure. Yeah, I I would say that's pretty accurate. Um I mean, Carlos had a lot to do with it too, but sure, but there weren't guitars on the records like that, you know, especially the electric guitars, like where we have it in Hero now, and I like it. Well, I like it was kind of post-Tony, but sure. But earlier songs, um, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:30

Just the way it's featured is like, you know, it you could kind of tell it's like, okay, there someone plays guitar in there that's that's putting this together, you know. Um, which is really cool. So but so you guys were kind of playing like theaters, and then you you saw it grow. I mean, you've been there the whole time, right?

SPEAKER_01 48:49

I he could have gone right. I mean, honestly, the tour before that, like before that record was arenas.

SPEAKER_02 48:55

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_01 48:56

So I think he did theaters on purpose because he wanted to get the good reviews and and uh I'm pretty sure that's accurate. Uh I'm not sure. I wasn't as in touch with the management back then as I am now, but um sure. I mean Enrique Yeah, dude, like we're supposed to be uh supposed to be 90,000 people on Saturday that we're playing.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

It's insane. It's insane.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

I mean it's 40,000 in Poland the weekend after that. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

And I mean, he just he shows up and people show up, you know. It's like he's got the songs. I mean, Enrique's a badass. It's it's crazy. It's crazy how much material his catalog has that you just you hear the song and you go, oh shit, that's him too. Like, that's how I feel. When when I was when I got all the songs and I was like, oh damn, like I know that song. You know, I didn't know it was him. And then I'm like, oh shit, I know this one too. Like, that's crazy. Like, so many.

SPEAKER_01 49:57

I have so much respect for him, but you know, now like it's 2026, it's 25 years. Yeah, it's going on. Yeah, and I still um and I'm not just saying this because I'm on your podcast. I'm I'm really psyched for every show, and I'm proud of every show, and um, you know, and proud for anyone to see it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 50:21

So yeah, it's awesome. I mean, I was I just talked to Joe like last week, and we were talking about he was saying, he's like, it was so crazy because he's he came and saw us on our last tour at Crypto in LA. Yeah. Um and he was like, Man, I was watching the show, and he's like, I couldn't believe it because he'd done it for so long, but he'd never been on the other side, you know, and he's like, This is what it is, like this is insane. He's like, he couldn't believe that he was doing that for so long.

SPEAKER_01 50:55

I had the same reaction like when we were doing the um co-headline thing with Pitbull. That was during your during your time, right? Yeah, yeah. So we were flip-flopping each gig, like for whoever would close. And so Pit was closing, and Rickey would come out.

SPEAKER_03 51:15

Oh, I did it, I didn't do that to her, actually.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

Okay. Um but basically, um Yeah, and Rickey, like Pitbull's band, learned I like it, and they would close their show with it within Rickey coming out. And so I got it, you know. He's like, hey, you and Carlos, go out and listen, let me know how it sounds, you know. But I basically was like, oh my god, like he's got so much charisma, you know. I'm like, I really get it now. I'm so glad that I could sit on that side of it. But it yeah, if it wasn't for that, I I wouldn't have really known. Because I mean you can watch videos, and but it's different when you're sitting in the crowd. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:54

Totally. It is wild.

SPEAKER_01 51:56

He's an incredible performer, you know.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

Definitely, and a cool dude. Um and I have to mention, I was gonna open with this, but uh fun fact about just you, you're the only person that has hired me and fired me and then rehired me. Well, you had to be the you had to be the voice at least. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:23

I was pretty honest with you and absolutely, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

I was pretty so I wasn't I I touch on this, I touch on it a lot, but because when I started the band, I was feeling in I was taking over for Alex. Basically, I played two gigs, got fired, and then you know, a year and a half later I came back.

SPEAKER_01 52:42

But but as it is, up to that point, you had done the the best first gig that anyone have ever has ever done. So I was like, Yeah, but anyway.

SPEAKER_03 52:55

Is what it is, you know. Here we are.

SPEAKER_01 52:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 52:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:00

I'm glad people came around and uh yeah, yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_03 53:03

Well, if you're persistent enough, it's uh I definitely was playing the game, you know, the the whole time. I'm like, I'm staying in this pipeline somehow. But um and happy to be there. So yeah, man. So here we are, and we're gonna play a show Saturday, which is gonna wait, Saturday? Are we playing Saturday? Yeah, this coming Saturday, I think.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

Flying the day after tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 53:26

Amazing, dude. Um, yeah. Thanks for hanging out with me, man. I'm gonna I'm gonna let you get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

Thanks for thanks for talking, and um we could talk more over a beer this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 53:40

Absolutely. Alright, bro. Well, I'm just I I know this is kind of a quick cutoff, but it's all good. It's all it's all good, dude.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

Say hello to the family, and uh your kid your kids probably don't remember me. So anyway.

SPEAKER_03 53:53

Well, hey, your drumsticks are still in a box, a little box. I'm telling you, they're they're still up there in our I actually need those back if that's okay. Yeah, yeah, that was classic when you gave them to my kid and you're and he van walks over to me and goes, uh, just Finmo me 20 bucks. No big thing. That was funny.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

Yeah, if you can have them, return them to me or anything like that.

SPEAKER_03 54:18

They're kind of chips, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 54:20

Yeah, exactly. So all right, bro.

SPEAKER_03 54:22

Thank you so much, man. Take care.

SPEAKER_01 54:25

We'll see you soon. Later. Bye.

SPEAKER_03 54:29

Thank you, Van. And thank you, everybody, for listening once again. I've got quite a few guests still coming up. You can find me at the Noflakes Podcast on Instagram, Noflakes Podcast on YouTube, and these are on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, anywhere you get your podcasts. You can also find me under my name, Jeff Sabrew, on Instagram. And I hope you all keep enjoying these. Talk soon.