Interview with Steve Bello

It exceeded my expectations, very much so. I wrote the music for this album back in 2007 when I was finishing up ABOUT TO EXPLODE! Since then, I'd gone through 3 drummers and thought "Okay this isn't happening." But when Ed and Joe stepped into the picture, it all crystallized. They really brought a lot to the songs, made them better than what I heard in my head. I will never forget what Gary Numan said to his bandmates in the liner notes of his album THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE: "Thank you for turning my basics into songs." That's exactly what Ed and Joe did.

How long did it take to complete the CD?

We started on September 12, 2010 and finished on December 14th. The reason it took longer than anticipated is because our friend/engineer Johnnie Truesdale was getting requested to work on more sessions, as he won a Grammy for his work on Steve Martin's bluiegrass album. When bigger names called him, I totally understood and stayed out of the way. The breaks in between the sessions made for a looser atmosphere and felt less like work and more like fun and experimentation. Johnnie really brought out the best in all of us, nothing was squandered.

Any plans on shooting a promo video for any of the songs?

My friend Rob (Digimmortal Photos) wants to shoot a video for "Surfing To Venus" which would be cool and a challenge. How would one envision a concept for an instrumental song? We're not just going to stand there and play our instruments, so we better come up with something eye-catching and maybe even humourous.

How does "Go Bezerk" differ from previous albums you have released (Eg'Twisted Metal' 2003, 'All Wired Up' 2004, ' Jupiter Returns' 2005 and 'About To Explode' 2008) ? What makes this one so special?

TWISTED METAL was my first cd and it was only meant for Ibanez clinics, nothing else. It grew a life of its own and people started asking me for more music, which nobody ever did before (laughs). ALL WIRED UP was recorded as a true 3-piece (TWISTED METAL was Darren Patrick on drums and myself on guitar and bass, as I couldn't find a bass player fast enough) and those sessions were a lot of fun. I still have fond memories from those times. JUPITER RETURN was a disaster but the songs are still good. ABOUT TO EXPLODE! was the album that should've followed ALL WIRED UP, but you live and learn. That album was a lot of fun to record too. It wasn't promoted as well as I wanted but you do what you do to move on.
GO BERZERK! is special because the songs and the playing are the best to date. Every band says that, you know, so it's almost like a knee-jerk reaction or a cheap cliche. "Judas Priest's new album is THEIR HEAVIEST..until the next album!" (laughs) But in truth, I am proud of GO BERZERK!, as it was proof that I can get away with writing really weird shit.

I've known these guys for over 20 years. Joe DeMott (bass) and I played in a band together back in 1990 called Quiet Zone. That band was all about trying to be Living Colour meets Led Zeppelin, and I'll put my ass on the line and say we were ahead of the curve, at least in the Jersey scene. Everyone else were busy trying to be Trixter or Poison (laughs). Joe and I kept in touch over the years but last January, we were chatting on the phone and he said "I'd like you to hear some riffs." So I said, 'I'll let you contribute a song if you play in my band." That was it.

Ed Faust (drums) and I used to hang together in malls as teenagers, how cliche! Ed is a busy session cat, and when he had some down time, he called me and said, "Bro, we're getting together now!' Again, that was it. No rhyme or reason, no leg-pulling, no bullshit. And when we jammed for the first time, it was crazy!

Introduce the band and describe what they bring to the Steve Bello Band?

Ed brings a sense of musicality and diversity to the music. He is a complete musician, not just someone who holds sticks and says "Hit here". He loves really progressive music and this adds to the funkier aspects of the songs. Joe is all about groove, tone, and really injecting a positive vibe into the music. You can tell when someone is not in the right frame of mind, it comes across in their playing. But Joe always tells me, "When the music is good, then life is good."

As a guitarist who were you influenced by?

Myself, I am amazing (laughs). My first guitar idols were Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore, but it was more for their showmanship than anything else. I didn't really appreciate their playing until I was heavily getting into guys like Yngwie Malmsteen, John McLaughlin, and then when I heard Steve Vai and Vernon Reid, I was ruined! I knew I had to be the weirdest, craziest guitar player ever. But after hearing Chris Broderick and Jeff Loomis, I sounded like John Mayer next to them (laughs). I had to really step up my game. I simply can't suck.

As far as bands, I cut my teeth on Led Zeppelin, Rush, Yes, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, even the Police and U2. The Edge and Andy Summers are not technically awesome playesr but I always liked their use of delays and making single notes sound like full chords. I'm too immature to play single whole notes though, so I play really fast to hide my mistakes.

I also have to make a special note that my Grandfather was a great jazz guitar player that preferred to hide from the spotlight. It's a shame he never got much attention, he simply didn't want it. I always enjoyed hearing him play his D'Angelico through his Fender Twin. Watching everyone on our block press their noses against the windows was a sight to see. I wanted that attention too.

Do you consider yourself more of a technical player? What is your overall style and technique?

I am pretty soulless (laughs). I am very technical but not so off-the-wall that you can't tap your foot to my songs. A lot of shredders can't write songs, that's it. I will get a lot of grief for that but someone has to say it. When I was growing up, I was learning SONGS, as they are the reason why people crank the radio up or buy a concert ticket. On that note, I still say the two best shred albums in my life are Jeff Loomis' ZERO ORDER PHASE and Steve Vai's PASSION AND WARFARE. Those albums have real material, not just "Here's E minor to C major, and an excuse to go nuts."

My overall style is...weird. Not as weird as Buckethead, but still pretty out-there. But I make sure it's musical and memorable. I want to be around for a long time and not a mere footnote or a "Whatever happened to" dude.

What would be some of the rest of the bands musical influences ?

Ed loves progressive music and a lot of the heavier 8-string bands that are coming out. I think I am writing heavy shit and I hear bands like Animals As Leaders and suddenly I sound like a lounge act. Joe loves funk players but also digs Sabbath, Rush, Zep, Colour, etc. All of us have diverse record collections, so it's not like every song sounds the same. I am all for having a theme on an album but when every song is alike, that drives me nuts. Maybe that's my OCD.

What could one expect from a live STEVE BELLO BAND show? Any scheduled for the future ?

Right now, we have one show lined up for Sunday August 7th in Roscoe, NY. It's for a festival called MazFest, a 3-day festival with tons of bands. Outside of that, I am talking with TM Stevens about potentially opening for him when he's off the tour with Bootsy Collins. What can one expect? Anything goes, really. I can't play the same thing once, so bring a Flip camera so I can remember what I played.

As a new band I am sure your wondering what people think of your cd. Do positive or negative reviews have any effect on what you and the band are doing?

So far the reviews have been extremely positive. Unlike a lot of musicians, I do care what people think. I won't act all cool and say, "I don't care what you say", that's a bunch of crap. Musicians have egos and need attention, both good and bad. That's it. I am not exempt from that unwritten law. I need to know what people like or dislike about my music. I know my actual guitar playing can turn people off, and that's fine with me. I don't play politely (laughs). As long as people dig the songs, I am happy.

But it's funny when people pull out comparisons and they have nothing to do with the music. One guy said to me years ago, "You sound like Iron Maiden." I do? (laughs). I did one gallop riff in the song "I Play Guitar" and now every song is about me putting my foot on the monitor. It could be worse. I could be compared to CC DeVille.

What are some of your personal favorites on "GO BERZERK"?

"Surfing To Venus" is special because when I first wrote it, I hated it! I thought it was the goofiest, corniest song I ever wrote. I wrote the melody first, which is weird because I usually have the chords first. I played the melody for my wife Brandi and she said, "That's nice, keep using it." She won this round! A lot of people think I nicked the title from Joe Satriani, so here's the truth: I got it from a band called Psychefunkapus. They had a song called "Surfing On Jupiter", so I thought "Why not surf TO a planet?" There you have it.

"Go Berzerk!" is great because I wanted to go for a Mahavishnu Orchestra vibe and I think I pulled it off well. The bass fills that Joe does are blowing peoples' minds, I love it! My friend Rocco said it reminded him of "YYZ", and that was awesome to hear. If I could be even a tenth as good as Rush, I'd be happy.

What is the song writing process of the band or is it just you ? Where do you draw inspiration ?

I write what I feel, plain and simple. Something as simple as a new chord or a new effect pedal will get the wheels turning. I can't tell myself "Today I shall write in 7/8 like Yes", it just won't work. I hate being told, "Try writing more like...", that only makes me more rebellious (laughs). I draw inspiration from a lot of sources. It could be a small conversation with a friend, or it could be a picture in a magazine. Whatever hits me, I run with.

Where can people check out and purchase your cd?

People can download the cd on cdbaby, iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody. Hard copies are going to be made available directly through me. I am working on getting a distribution deal to have my cd in stores. My daughter Emma asked me why there are no Steve Bello Band cds in Borders. Uh-oh, gotta fix that!

Will we be seeing you at NAMM 2012 ?

I had been approached by two guitar companies and I politely said I am very satisfied with Ibanez. It is bizarre to have people say, "Would you consider playing our gear?", when I am still technically a nobody in this industry. I wish I had the clout of Steve Vai, where every day, I would get guitars and amps sent to my house unsoliticed, every day is Christmas (laughs). I am very very satisfied with Ibanez and DR, and have no plans on switching to anything else.

Is their anyone you wanted to dedicate this CD to ?

I dedicated the cd to the memories of Ronnie James Dio, Munetaka Higuchi, Leslie Nielsen and a host of others in the liner notes. Guess people will have to buy a copy to read the rest!

Thanks for taking the time for this interview Steve and from listening to your debut cd I see good things for this band in the future. Good luck to you and the band. Any closing thoughts for THE METAL PIT readers?

I am glad you took the time to chat with me. I hope your readers want to spend a few minutes checking the music out, that would mean a lot to me. We all worked our asses off to make this album as great as possible. If even one person says, "Sweet stuff!", then I did my job.