Interview with Defcon

Defcon are a hard rock band who got a great bit of attention between about 1988 and 1991, but never got signed back then. Recently they released their old songs on an album through Retrospect and they are set to play at Rocklahoma this summer. I recently checked in with guitarist Tony Artino and drummer Nick LePar to find out more.


MM- What years were you first around and why did you break up?
Tony: Defcon was formed in the Summer of 1987 in Akron, Ohio and we moved to Chicago in the Fall of 1988. We decided to part ways in the Fall of 1991, a few months after we had moved back to Cleveland.


MM- When and why did you reform?
Nick: December 2007 to support the Retrospect CD’s and to do the Rocklahoma show.
Tony: We had just recently gotten back together to play a reunion show at a club in Akron, Ohio this past December of 2007. It had been over 15 years since we had last played together.


MM- Who are your musical influences?
Tony: I would have to say Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhoads, Roy Buchanan, Gary Moore, Pat Travers, David Gilmour, Ritchie Blackmore, Neil Schon, Peter Frampton, Stevie Ray Vaughan…to name a few.

Nick: Zeppelin, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Halen & Rush.




MM- Retrospect released a CD with your old demos on it. Have you been working on any new songs? If so then how do they compare with your older material?

Tony: We haven’t worked on any new material as of yet, we’re still reacquainting ourselves with each other. I can see us coming up with some new material once we get into a full rehearsal schedule. We also have a bunch of songs that were never recorded to play around with as well.

Nick: Planning on it, same type style, little heavier, bluesy & modern.


MM- Let’s go back to the late 80’s-early 90’s. How close were you to getting signed? What labels were interested?

Tony: We were touring and showcasing all across the US trying to get a major record deal. We had plenty of Indie offers but we were holding out for a major label. I remember it getting very close with Atlantic Records at one point; they had flown in several times to see us.

Nick: Very close, had some indie offers. Geffen showed some interest as well as others.


MM- I used to have copies of your demos back then. I remember wondering “why have these guys not been signed?” So why were you or why do you think that you were not able to get signed back then?

Tony: I believe that if we had moved to L.A. in 1988 instead of Chicago, things might have turned out differently because of timing. You know the saying “Being at the right place at the right time”. By the time we started getting some serious momentum going (being based out of Chicago), the grunge scene started kicking in and we all know what happened next.



MM- You formed in the Akron/Cleveland area and then moved to Chicago the next year. Why the move and how were the two scenes different from one another?

Nick: We had a great offer to move there. In Chicago, bands were playing originals, but in Cleveland/Akron it was mostly covers.

Tony: Freddie Salem of the Outlaws, a great friend of the band, secured us a production deal in Chicago which we jumped on. They moved us out there, put us all on salaries, set us completely up & we had a rehearsal sound stage complete with full P.A., lights and even surrounded by mirrors to work on our stage show. There was also a 24 track state of the art recording studio at our 24 hour access. Our job was to write, record & jam all day, every day…it was a musicians dream. They had a complete staff working there whose main assignment was to sell & promote Defcon world wide, trying to get us a major label record deal (remember, this was pre-internet). I still have boxes of fan mail that we had received from all over the world and stacks of international rock magazines that we were featured in thanks to all of their efforts.



MM- Who did you open for back then and what were some of your most memorable shows?

Nick: Blue Oyster Cult, Stryper, Pat Travers, Bullet Boys, Enuff Z Nuff, B.T.O., XYZ, Guiffria, to name a few.

Tony: We always loved to play the Akron Agora & the Thirsty Whale in Chicago. One of my most memorable moments was when we were touring Florida and one of our songs came on Z Rock for the first time (a nationally syndicated radio show) as we were driving to the gig…that was a very cool feeling indeed.



MM- What current bands do you like to listen to?

Nick: Disturbed, Godsmack, Velvet Revolver, Buckcherry, Shinedown, Slipknot, Dream Theater & Beyond Fear.

Tony: To be honest, I’m not on top of the current bands but I am happy to hear these guys actually playing some cool guitar riffs again. Since the “anti shred” movement of the early 90’s, I wasn’t very interested in most of the new bands coming out and decided to stay in my own little “shred” world.

MM- Hard rock seems to be making somewhat of a comeback this decade. Do you agree with that and if so then why do you think that is?

Tony: A lot of the music that I hear on the radio today is very reminiscent to what was going on in the 80’s. I do believe that the music has begun to cycle back around, as history seems to always repeat itself. I much prefer what I’m hearing now on the radio than what was going on in the 90’s for sure.

Nick: Yes, because that music was so well produced, and had lots of energy. There isn’t much of anything new that is as appealing, at least to me.



MM- What were you guys doing after this band broke up?



Tony: I moved to L.A. three months after Defcon disbanded and immediately became a session studio guitarist for about 3 years. In 1994 (with the grunge scene now in full swing) I decided to pack it up and move back to Ohio where I changed gears and started a new business and a family…you know, chasing the American dream!

Nick: Held day jobs and played music on the weekends.



MM- You are playing at Rocklahoma on Retrospect’s side stage. What day and time are you playing? What are your expectations about this show?

Tony: We are headlining the Retrospect stage on Saturday night, July 12th at 10:45 PM playing after Warrant and before Cinderella. Retrospect will be video taping & multi tracking our performance for a live Defcon DVD to be released later in the year featuring a bonus track or two. Since all of this Defcon resurgence started back up for us, we have received several offers to do some cool things including two rock festival gigs in Europe. But, for some reason, we didn’t find the time, inspiration or motivation to get the band back together until this Rocklahoma gig fell into our laps. Now that we’re actually motivated to put the show back together, we might end up doing a lot more than we had originally thought.

MM- Outside of Rocklahoma what other plans do you have for the near future?

Tony: At this point, there are no definite plans beyond Rocklahoma but I’m sure once we get this train rolling again, it’s not going to want to stop just yet.

Nick: Hopefully record some new songs and get some unreleased material out to the public.

MM- I remember you guys as having four members most of the time back in the day. When and why did you become a trio?

Tony: Defcon was mostly a power trio throughout the majority of our years together. We had some extremely talented fourth members along the way but the power trio has always been the heart and soul of the band.



MM- Is there anything you wish that you had done differently in your music career?

Tony: If I could change anything it would be that we would have taken our amazing Chicago opportunity a little more seriously than we did at the time. Don’t get me wrong, we wanted to make the big time more than anything but over time we had gotten too comfortable and too wrapped up in the “rock star” lifestyle even though we hadn’t quite made it yet. I believe that we began to lose our focus because of it.

Nick: Been at the right place at the right time, and took it more seriously.

MM- Pick the band from the following pair that you prefer and tell why.
Firehouse or Winger

Nick: Winger-really tough drums, great guitar & vocals.

Tony: I would have to say Winger – Defcon was actually compared to Winger a lot at the time plus I really liked the guitar work on their albums.

Breaker or Shok Paris

Tony: Wow, some old school Cleveland memories…I would have to say Shok Paris because I knew those guys pretty well back in the day and listened in on a couple of their rehearsals, they had what seemed like fifty Marshall stacks lined up in this tiny basement, I thought my head was going to explode while I was down there!

Nick: Shok Paris – More heavy

Survivor or Whitesnake

Tony: I would have to say Whitesnake although I do have an appreciation for Survivor as well. Some of our studio recordings were produced by Rudy Sarzo of Whitesnake & Frankie Sullivan of Survivor; both of these guys were amazing to work with.

Nick: Whitesnake – Killer everything, plus Rudy Sarzo

Aerosmith or KISS
Nick: Kiss – Great show, which is always a plus.

Tony: I would have to say Aerosmith because I dig their bluesy & consistent vibe and the fact that they have stood the test of time through several decades. In my opinion, Kiss has the ultimate live show and a handful of killer tunes but I’m not a huge fan of their musical abilities. I am, however, a huge fan of their amazing marketing skills.

MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?

Tony: We’ are extremely grateful for the overwhelming response that our Retrospect Records release has received from all over the world. It has truly been an unbelievable experience for us and we’re going to ride this wave as far it will take us. It’s like having a second chance to do something that you have always wanted to do and love doing, who could ask for anything more at this time in our lives.

***Thanks to Nick and Tony for doing the interview.


http://www.myspace.com/defconrocks